You guys are CRAZY awesome! How can I only be on Chapter 6 and already have this many reviews?! It blows my mind. You guys are all wonderful, thank you for reviewing and favoriting and following! Your reviews are all so sweet and I love reading them and replying to them.
My heart goes out to all of you that have been telling me your own stories of falling for your best guy friends. It's definitely a very tricky situation, but I swear that life moves on. But if you have a happy ending with him, that's just as lovely! Alright, enough ranting, let's see how that fight went...
The scream that left my mouth was high and shrill as my hands flew to my face in shock.
"Austin, stop!" I shouted. A crowd began to form around us as they chanted the words fight fight fight! I grabbed Austin's shirt and attempted to pull him away from Elliot before any further damage was done. A sickening thud filled my ears as I gasped and took a look at Austin's face, a red mark already beginning to turn purple. "Elliot, stop this now!"
"What's going on?" a tense voice asked. I looked up and sighed in relief.
"Kira, thank God, help me out here!" I yelled. The crowd was still chanting and Dez was strangely cheering Austin on. Kira quickly rushed to my side and helped me pull Austin back. Trish scurried over to Elliot and grabbed his arms. But of course, as stubborn as I knew Austin was when he was pissed, his arm made a move to take another swing, and as I clutched onto it, we both fell backwards, my forehead crashing into the cement. Voices faded in and out, and I heard an adult's voice tell everyone to get back to class. My mind tried to focus on the situation at hand, on saving Austin before he got into trouble, on yelling at Elliot for creating this mess, but my brain wouldn't let me as it slowly grew dim, leaving me with no choice but to fade away.
"Give me back my lunch, Jack Coleman!" I shouted, my tiny hands turning into frustrated fists. He tilted his head back and laughed in my face, causing my eyes to instantly blur with tears.
"Cry baby, cry baby!" he chanted, laughing hysterically as I tried my best to wipe away the tears. My knees were shaking and I so badly wanted to crawl into a corner and cry, but a brave voice made the tears halt.
"Give it back!" someone yelled. I looked up, eyes widening, and observed the little blonde boy wearing a red cape. I hiccuped.
"Oh yeah? Says who?" Jack asked, which honestly didn't make sense to me because clearly the blonde haired boy had just spoken and no one else.
"Says me!" the blonde boy declared. "Now give it back to her!" The hero launched himself towards Jack and quickly grabbed my lunch, but not before Jack swung his fist in a rage. I saw a small white item fly out of the boy's mouth and guessed it was his tooth. I gasped and quickly ran towards the boy, yelling my kindergarten teacher's name repeatedly. I carefully helped the boy stand up and accompanied him to the nurse's office.
"Oh my stars, what happened here?" the nurse asked, rushing over to us as she settled him onto the bed.
"Jack Coleman punched him," I stated, my face stiff from the tears that had been running down it not even ten minutes ago.
"Kids these days," she said, shaking her head and gently placing an icepack over his mouth. He groaned.
"Is he dead?" I asked, my eyes welling up again.
"No, sweetie, he's not dead. He'll be fine. I need to call his parents so will you be a good girl and hold the ice pack against his face?"
I nodded and watched her jog to the telephone. I sighed, holding the ice pack gently to his face. "Thank you for saving me," I murmured. He weakly smiled at me.
"It's no problem," he replied.
"Why are you wearing a cape?" I asked.
He stared at it for a moment before looking up at me, his eyes gleaming. "I'm Superman!"
My mouth formed a small "o" and I gasped. "Really?"
He chuckled. "No, I'm Austin Moon."
I felt my shoulders slump but then grinned at him. "I'm Ally Dawson," I stated, giving him my hand to shake. He wrinkled his nose and frowned.
"Don't you have cooties?" he noted.
"Oh yeah..."
He blinked, then shook his head. "It's okay! I'm sure you don't have cooties! Only icky girls have cooties," he said, taking my hand in his and shaking it. We both giggled.
My eyes fluttered open to the sound of our echoing giggles and I looked down at my hands. They were big. I sighed and smiled at the sudden reminisce of the past.
"She's awake!" Trish exclaimed.
"Hi Ally! I'm Dez!" Dez yelled, waving enthusiastically.
Trish smacked his shoulder. "She hit her head, not lose her memory, you dumbie," she muttered, carefully placing an ice pack against my forehead. I winced and shrugged away from her, but she insisted.
"It has to heal," she reminded me, and I tried my best to ignore the sudden throbbing pain, focusing only on the coolness of the ice. Quick snippets of the fight earlier came back to me. Fists coming into contact and Austin's bruised face made me clench my fists.
"Where's Austin?" I whispered, my throat feeling hoarse and weary.
"He's over there," Trish replied, nodding her head towards the other side of the room. I looked over to see Austin lying down as well, and my throat closed when I saw Kira holding an ice pack to his head. That wasn't the only thing she was holding. Trish followed my eyes to the pair. "Don't mind them. He's stupid."
I nodded but felt the need to cry, just like I did when I was five. "Are they...?" I couldn't even finish the dreaded question.
Trish shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows. But Ally," she said, squeezing my hand, "I promise that we're going to find out. Okay?"
I smiled, wincing again at the throbbing. A figure knocked at the door and I glared.
"Can I talk to Ally?" Elliot asked, carefully walking towards the bed.
"I don't know, can you talk if I punch you?" Trish threatened.
"I don't think he can..." Dez pointed out. I took a deep breath.
"It's okay, Trish," I murmured. Trish shot me an are-you-nuts look, but I pursed my lips together. She sighed and dragged Dez out of the room. I smiled when Dez shot Elliot a glare before he left. Elliot walked cautiously towards me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, kneeling down to face me.
"Not so great," I deadpanned.
He chuckled. "You're feisty even when you're in pain." I opened my mouth to shoot back a witty retort, but he lifted the ice pack off the bed sheets and held it up. "Do you mind?"
I closed my mouth and thought about it before nodding. He lightly placed it against my forehead, staring down at the sheets as he spoke.
"I'm sorry, Ally. I didn't mean to start anything." I shot him a look. "Okay, so maybe I did. But I meant what I said. I like you. I really like you. And I'm sorry."
I bit my lip, hesitant at his apology.
"And I understand if you never want to speak to me again," he continued. "I just wanted to let you know that-"
"I forgive you."
His head snapped up. "What?"
I sighed. "I said, I forgive you."
He grinned. "Really? Ally, that means so-"
"But," I interrupted, "that doesn't mean that I'm going on a date with you. And it doesn't mean I like you. And I want you to stop putting Post-Its on my locker or else you're going to get punched, and this time it's going to be by me."
He laughed. "Okay, got it."
I smirked at his purple eye. "So you got beat, huh?" I asked.
"I would actually say it was a fair fight. I mean, he punched me and I punched him. Equal punches."
I rolled my eyes. "Equal and punches should never be used in the same sentence."
"You really don't like violence, do you?" he asked.
I shook my head. "There's no point in hurting someone physically. It's not going to solve anything." The ice pack was beginning to sweat and trickle down my face. Elliot caught the drops with his fingertips, and I gulped. I sat up.
"Okay, well..." I said uneasily. "Thanks."
"For what?" he murmured, and I didn't like how he was staring at me so intensely.
"For helping me with my forehead."
He sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought," he said as he got up from his knees and started walking towards the door.
"What is?"
"Trying to get the one girl who doesn't like me back," he replied, sending me a wink before he disappeared.
"He what?!" my mom screeched through the phone.
"Calm down, Mom," I giggled. My forehead was feeling much better now, and although my dad seemed mellow about the whole situation, I was pretty positive the only reason he kept stopping by my room every five minutes was to make sure I hadn't died or collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh, Ally. He is obviously jealous. The apes here in the wild throw punches all the time at other apes that try to steal their mates!" she exclaimed.
I shook my head, smiling. "Well, Austin's not an ape. And he's not jealous. He likes Kira, remember?"
"Whether he knows it or not, Alls, he's jealous," she stated.
I picked at a loose thread on my comforter, looking around at the twinkling lights that hung around my walls. I thought back to when Austin had hovered above me, almost as if he'd wanted to kiss me. "Do you really think so?" I asked.
"Honey, I am one hundred percent positive." A shrieking noise pierced the background and I held the phone away from my ear before putting it back. "Alls, I have to go. They're throwing punches again. I love you!"
"Love you, too," I murmured, sighing and falling back onto a pillow. A familiar head peeped through my doorway.
"Hey Alls, just making su-"
"I'm not dead and I haven't collapsed, Dad," I groaned, grabbing a pillow and throwing it onto my face.
I felt him walk over and sit down next to me. "Are you alright?" he gently asked.
"No. Life sucks," I declared, then laughed at how teenager-like that statement was.
"I'm sure it does," he agreed. "But you know what I think?"
I removed the pillow from my head and stared at him curiously. "What?"
"That everything will be okay," he said. I smiled and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek.
"Thanks Dad," I whispered, so happy that at least someone in my life was there to remind me that the world wasn't falling to pieces. "Do you need help with dinner?"
"Not with your head banged up like that, I don't," he chuckled. "But there is someone here to see you."
"There is?" I asked, confused. He nodded and helped me walk down the stairs. I froze at the figure sitting on the couch.
"Kira," I said. She looked up and smiled.
"Hi Ally," she replied.
"I'll leave you two alone," my dad murmured, and he sent me an encouraging smile before he left for the kitchen. I limped over to her and took a seat on the couch, my leg sore from the fall.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
She fiddled with the edge of the couch. "I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said. "And..."
"And...?" I asked, a horrible feeling entering my stomach.
"I need to talk to you," she blurted out. My gut clenched. "Ally, I-"
"Wait," I said, holding up my hand and taking a deep breath. "Before you start, just... just tell me why."
She let out a shaky breath. "I don't know. It just... happened."
"So are you guys..." I gulped, "...together?" I felt my voice crack at the last word. Together seemed to hold only one meaning these days.
She shook her head. "Not officially," she said. "I know that you like him, Ally. Don't think this hasn't been eating me up inside, that I haven't stayed up late at night knowing how you feel. I do."
"Do you?" I asked, my eyes welling up for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day.
She broke her eye contact with me and focused on the ceiling. "No. No, I guess I don't," she admitted. "But I want to let you know that I'm not doing this because I'm out to get you."
My laugh was bitter. "I know that, Kira."
"He was going to tell you that day he helped you with the lights-"
I felt my breath hitch. "You knew that he was helping me with the lights?" I asked, my head spinning. What else had he told her? I felt sick at the fact that she had been peeking into my life this whole time, while I had been on the outside looking in.
"He makes me happy," she said. I stared furiously at her.
"Did you ever think that maybe he made me happy, too? That maybe I don't just like him, maybe I love him?" I asked, my heart bursting at the seams.
"Ally, I-"
"Kira, you know that... that I consider one of my closest friends and that I won't let this erase our friendship this easily, but... I'm going to have to ask you to leave," I whispered.
She nodded. "I understand," she replied quietly, getting up from the couch. "I'll let myself out." I stared at the floor, my eyes blurring as the tears slid, stinging on my cheeks.
I ignored my dad when he called that dinner was ready.
I ignored the door shutting when Kira left.
I ran up to my room and slammed the door so hard, a picture frame fell down.
I grabbed my phone and shakily punched in seven numbers.
"Hello?" the voice answered.
I furiously wiped away at the tears. "Trish, I think I'm ready to take up that offer on my hair."
Trish was right: it was only an enhancement. As I looked at my new reflection in the mirror the following morning, I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't going to waste any more time crying over Austin. This wasn't just a new hairstyle.
This was a new me.
"How about an ombre?" she had asked as I sat in a hair parlor the night before.
"I don't know what that is, but sure!" I exclaimed. She clapped a reassuring hand onto my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Ally. I'm gonna help you with this. We're going get through this together," she said. I weakly smiled at her.
"Do you guys think I would look good with a perm?" Dez had asked, and we'd shot him weird looks.
Staring at the new me, I tested out my new smile. Lips stretched, teeth showing, pink cheeks. This new Ally was happy. This new Ally did not cry over her best friend. This new Ally had soft waves that cascaded around her face and a soft hint of ombre. Maybe this new Ally could help me heal. A horn honked outside, and I quickly grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
"Bye Dad!" I called, running towards Shelby, shoving aside everything my heart had been telling me for the past six years. As I climbed into the passenger seat, Austin gaped at me.
"What is it?" I asked, buckling my seat belt.
"You dyed it," he said in surprise.
"Yup," I replied cheerfully. "Now come on, mister, we're going to be late for school!"
I stared out the window, yelling at the butterflies in my stomach to go away and never come back. It was better this way: just friends. It was better. Austin stared at me, and I prayed he wouldn't ask why, wouldn't ask if I was okay, wouldn't ask if I was feeling better.
Because my stomach was already twisting in ways I couldn't explain, my heart was already breaking in forms that I didn't even want to imagine, and my mouth was dying to open itself and confess to him.
"Okay," he said softly, pressing his foot against the pedal. The heaviness in the air was so sharp, a knife could cut through it. "Ally, I need to-"
"It's okay, Austin," I forced myself to say. "We don't need to talk. Kira told me."
He froze, and I noticed our speed limit was slowly accelerating. "She told you?"
I nodded. "Yeah. And I totally understand." Lie of the century. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked.
"I wanted to, but the timing never seemed to be right," he said.
"Slow down, will you?" I told him, and I watched the speed limit decrease a bit. "Well, she beat you to it."
"Oh." Silence. "So you're... you're okay with it, then?"
"Sure." More silence. "Do you know what happened when I knocked out, Austin?"
He winced, taking a peek at my forehead. "What?"
"I dreamt about the time we first met each other," I said, and I could feel the old Ally creeping its way back up. "You got my lunch back from Jack Coleman. Do you remember that?"
He smiled fondly at the memory. "Yeah, I do."
"Austin, I don't want you fighting Elliot anymore, okay?" I murmured, and my voice sounded almost child like.
"I promise," he said, holding out his pinky while keeping his eyes on the road. I grinned and linked my pinky with his, then frowned.
Darn these butterflies.
I greatly apologize at the fact that this chapter is so sad, and sorry if it was kinda ehh. But I had to make it a little melancholy for the sake of where I want this story to go and how I want it to flow (that rhymed). What do you think is going to happen next? I'd love to hear your theories! And don't forget to review so I know how I'm doing! You guys are all so amazing, each and every one of you, I really mean it. Your support means the world, and I appreciate the time you take out of your day to read my story. So THANK YOU. And I will see you in the next chapter! Sending all my love ~
P.S. Just a warning: Choir camp is coming up this week (yes, I am in Adv. Choir at my school) and as treasurer, I'm going to have to be there and participate, so I'm pretty excited! I will try to update whenever I find the time, I'm definitely not going to abandon this story or you guys. Just thought I should give you guys a heads up! :)