Hello from the other side of the grave.
I slept in like all of my classes today because I was soooo tired. I literally woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep because it was so fucking cold uGH. On top of that my ENTIRE body hurts. Every single part of my body is in pain. Walking is such a struggle. I'm so unfit.
I like this chapter. I really do.
I don't own anything. I hope you enjoy!
Light.
That's all she saw.
Ally groaned, trying to find the covers to throw over her head to block out the stream of light from the window. She found them and yanked them over her head. Only they wouldn't move. At all. They must be stuck under something.
Ally tried shifting around, only to find herself twisting and turning in the same spot. It was weird. Why was there a fort of pillows built around her?
Her eyes creep open as she spotted a pile of dirty laundry on the floor. A pair of jeans, and a shirt hastily thrown onto the floor. Socks and shoes littering the area next to it. She squinted at the pile. She didn't own a pair of Chuck Taylors...
Nor did she own a pair of shoes so dirty they looked like they came out of the dump rather than a decent store. She couldn't even tell what colour the sneakers were.
What the pickle?
Ally suddenly remembered where she was. The realization slammed into her like a dodge ball. She was in Austin Moon's room. And she was sleeping in his bed. The covers wouldn't move because they were crushed under both of their weights. Her legs felt funny. Like they were restrained by a force. And she felt like she was in a giant hug.
And then it hit her. She was in a giant hug. Because she was spooning with Austin Moon. Oh my god, I'm spooning with Austin. OhmygodImspooningwithAustin. OHMYGODIMSPOONINGWITHAUSTIN.
His arm was thrown around her waist tightly and their legs were tangled in so many ways she didn't even know where her leg ended and his started. His face was buried into the crook of her neck. She could feel his breath on her shoulder and felt his hair at the back of her neck. She felt the rise and descend of his chest on her back, and she could feel his body weight pressing into hers.
Ally's first instinct was to wriggle the fuck out of there. But then she realized that that would only cause Austin to wake up and confront the fact that she slept— oh my god— in his arms last night.
Ally tried to wiggle slowly out of his iron grip. But every time she moved, his arm just readjusted around her waist and it became even harder to remove herself from his grasp.
His hand was on her side. If he was awake, he could probably feel how fast her heartbeat was. His arm— surprisingly muscular— laid across her stomach in a way that she didn't even notice it was there.
Except for the fact that now it was crushing the air out of her lungs.
Ally gave up trying to slowly struggle out of his grip. She prepared herself, then used all of her might to thrash out of his arms. She was successful. He seemed disoriented for a bit, grunting and shifting on the bed before going back to sleeping as if nothing happened.
Ally, on the other hand, nearly fell of the bed. She blinked, failing on the edge of his bed before rolling over completely and hitting the ground with a thud.
Smooth move, Dawson.
She sighed, standing up and checking herself out in the mirror in his bathroom. Her hair was messy, her neck was red from Austin's nose, she smelled like Austin and looked like a mess. Her clothes were wrinkled and she looked as disoriented as drunk Austin.
Wonderful.
Ally walked back outside. There was only seven minutes until the morning outing she was supposed to attend. Ally suddenly felt faint. She panicked. She considered her options. She had no clean clothes, no suite key, no way of contacting Trish to ask for a favour. Of course she could always go banging on Trish's door, but chances were the Latina was already waiting in the lobby with the rest of the debate team.
Ally sighed, looking at the piles of dirty clothes on the floor.
She shook her head.
There had to be a better option than that.
Ally looked around for his luggage. It was at the foot of his bed. Of course, it wasn't even unpacked. Ally rummaged through his stuff before she found a graphic shirt twice her size and some suitable Adidas track pants and threw those on. She didn't have time to consider where to leave her dirty pajamas so she just decided to fling them somewhere she'll remember and that Austin won't find.
Ally quickly washed her face and looked at Austin's toothbrush. No no no. There had to be a better option. She looked through his cabinet for mouthwash.
There was no mouthwash.
Ally grunted then put an incredible amount of toothpaste on Austin's toothbrush and scrubbed the fuck out of her teeth. Quickly so she wouldn't have to feel too guilty and disgusted about what she was doing.
Ally tied her hair into a messy bun before grabbing her clothes and her windbreaker and ran out of Austin's suite. She flung her clothes behind a potted plant at the end of his hallway and raced to the opposite end where the elevator was. She was out of breath and it wasn't even eight in the morning yet.
Eight was when the outing started.
She just hoped she didn't look like she just got laid before they were about to visit one of the nicest parks in the city. Ally tucked in a corner of Austin's shirt into his pants so it didn't look like she was wearing a dress.
Ally glanced at her reflection in the elevator mirror. She didn't look half bad. This was something maybe a basketball player would wear right after practice. Except she was too short to be a basketball player. And the shirt was too long and the pants had to be rolled up three times. Ally crouched down to tie her laces before the elevator doors opened.
Monday mornings were great.
The elevator doors slid open and Ally burst through them before they were even fully open. The group of people going to the outing were just milling around. No one stared at Ally as she got off the elevator. Being late was a normal thing now.
Ally checked in with Ms. Krum. "Where's your buddy, Austin?" Ms. Krum asked, looking behind her as if he would just come strolling out of the elevator nonchalantly.
"He's— uh. He's not feeling well. I think he must have caught a cold," Ally said, sympathizing with Ms. Krum. The debate teacher nodded. Ally slipped her hands into the arms of her windbreaker.
"Poor thing, it must be this oddly cold weather," Ms. Krum said, shaking her head. "Well, in that case I guess you can tag along with another group." Ms. Krum looked around. "Trish and Jace are standing over there, why don't you go join them."
Ally thanked the heavens. "Alright," she said. God bless; she was tagging along with Trish and not some douche group with a bunch of crackheads.
Ally made her way over to Trish who took her in immediately. "Woah, since when did you start to look like you actually belonged in a gym?"
Ally frowned at her. "I was in a rush," she decided to say. Trish just shrugged. Ally glanced down at her attire. She smelled too much like Austin and the Miami beach.
They were silent for a bit.
"So, where were you yesterday? I thought I texted you that there was sushi down in the buffet," the Latina said. Ally nodded her head.
"Well, I got the sushi," Ally said. "And then I just went back into my room and studied for the rest of the night." No point in telling Trish she had to drag Austin's sorry ass back from a liquor protest.
Trish rolled her eyes. "Ew, never mind. If I knew you were studying I wouldn't have asked."
Ally laughed. Suddenly, the group was moving out. Ms. Krum was at the head, looking at directions on her phone. They migrated to the west of the hotel, walking in pairs. Or in Ally's case, trailing behind one.
Ally grunted as the morning air hit her with full force. It was frigid and all she had on was a t-shirt and a flimsy windbreaker.
Ally walked behind Jace, who was a lot taller than her. She sighed contently. Jace was blocking the north wind from hitting her. During times like these, Ally was glad she was short.
Trish had her arm looped around Jace's as the two walked and chatted about things. Ally frowned at their body language.
When they got to a crossroad, Ally still hadn't figured it out yet. She tapped Trish on the shoulder and gently pulled her away from Jace who didn't seem to care that much. He was busy chatting up a storm with Gavin who was ahead of him.
"Ally, what's up?" Trish asked. Ally didn't notice it earlier, but she sure in hell noticed it now. Trish was smiling and twirling her hair with her hand and sighing and looking at the clouds.
"You tell me," she laughed. "You're the one who looks like you've got your head in the clouds."
Trish sighed happily. "Jace and I are going out!"
Ally's jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh, Trish! That's... amazing! Wow!" She said. Clearly, she had been missing out on a chunk of Trish's life. Ally shook her head. She was too absorbed in her own world. "When did that happen?"
The crossroad light turned green.
Trish and Ally began to walk. "Well, after our girls day on Saturday, Jace came up to my suite and was all like, 'Hey. Trish, wanna hang out sometime?'" Trish imitated Jace, making her voice all deep. "And I was like, 'We already hang out so much because of the outings.'"
Ally laughed. Trish was always ready with a feisty comeback.
"And then he was like, 'Oh, well. Maybe we could hang out some other time, like, not the time of the outings,'" Trish said in her manly voice but failed at the end because she squealed. "And I was like, 'Yeah, sure.' And that's how that happened."
"Wow," Ally said. She was unmoved by Jace's big ask. But Trish made it sound like the entire world just fell at her knees. She was happy for Trish. "That's great! I'm so happy for you. Looks like you're gonna get lucky soon, aye?" Ally said, nudging Trish and winking.
Trish slapped her elbow away and rolled her eyes, albeit Ally could tell she was secretly pleased.
Ally let Trish catch up to Jace and loop their arms again. It was nice seeing her best friend so happy. Ally sighed, how could she have missed that?
She was so absorbed in her own world. With her own boy troubles and her own problems that she didn't even feel slightly moved by Trish's story. She felt indifferent. It was as if she could care less.
Which was an understatement, since she knew Trish was big on romance and fairytale endings. Ally groaned, she was stuck in the middle of her own boy troubles that she couldn't even take time to care about Trish's.
Only fifty people were at the outing. She counted as they walked. The group made it to the most well-known park in all of Vancouver. It was gigantic and just beyond the trees was the coastline.
Ally tried to enjoy the scenery, but every time she took a deep breath of fresh air, all she could smell was the Miami beach and Austin. There was something distinctly male about his scent she couldn't recognize, but could only describe as Austin. It made her want to lift his shirt up to her nose and take in multiple deep breaths.
It was too late to stop her train of thoughts that were crashing into the station. She thought about the way his hair flopped into his eyes while he slept. Ally suddenly understood why he kept it under a hat all the time.
Although, she wouldn't mind it not being under a hat all the time.
She thought about how tight his grip was around her, like he was holding on for dear life. Ally thought about his nose on her shoulder and his hair tickling the base of her neck and his legs tangled with hers and his scent that was now all over her on top of the fact that she was wearing his shirt and pants and she had used his toothbrush...
Ally snapped her head from side to side. No! She mentally scolded herself. What the fuck was that?
The debate team walked a full circle around the park before heading back to the hotel. It gave everyone the hour of exercise they all needed. Ally, on the other hand, was still sore from running yesterday night.
Ally grumbled at the crossroad. Her legs were killing her and her feet were burning inside of her shoes. She lifted her legs but they were stiff from the cold.
"Ally?" Trish asked from in front of her. "You've barely said anything the entire trip. Not even some smart ass comment about how many trees you've counted," Trish said. The curly-haired girl frowned at her in concern.
Ally waved a hand. "What? Sorry. I'm just... thinking."
Trish rolled her eyes. "Stop thinking so much and just enjoy the view." Trish thought about that before turning back around. "And I don't mean Jace, he's mine."
Ally scoffed. "Wouldn't dream of it."
The debate team walked three more blocks and made it back to the hotel. Ally's legs were officially dead. She was going to hold them a funeral in her bathtub later.
Ally shook her head. She still had a big task in front of her. It had been torubling her the entire time.
She sighed. Ally approached Ms. Krum as the group entered the lobby. "Oh, um. Ms. Krum?" Ally said, changing the tone of her voice to something more innocent.
Ms. Krum turned around. "Ally! What can I do for you, dear?" Ms. Krum said, beaming. She was in a good mood after that walk. This was going better than she had expected.
"I, um— I. I lost my room key. Somewhe— At the park," Ally said, stuttering. "I lost my room key at the park."
Ms. Krum frowned at her. "Oh dear. Were you startled by the sight of those cyclists as well? They move fast!" Ms. Krum shook her head. "Well, I'll get you another key from the front desk. Try to be more careful next time, dear."
Ally sighed with relief. She flashed Ms. Krum an awkward thumbs up. "Will do, Ms. Krum."
Ms. Krum handed Ally her new room key. She thanked the receptionist who didn't seem to phased by the fact that she lost her suite key. Ally rode the elevator up to her floor with a bunch of other people who occupied the same floor as her.
Then she realized that she left her pajamas in the potted plants two floors up.
Ally grumbled, waiting until everyone got out of the elevator before she pressed the ninth floor button. Ally felt anxious.
When the doors slid open, Ally slowly strode to the end of the hallway. Ally was approaching Austin's door. She slowed and hesitated by his door. Should she check up on him? Was his hungover ass doing okay?
Ally thought about what happened when she woke up from her own hangover. Dry throat, red eyes, disoriented memory. She should get him a glass of water, if he wasn't already awake. And maybe some breakfast too, his legs would've been tire—
Ally furrowed her eyebrows. Why did she care?
She strolled past his door and retrieved her things from behind the potted fern at the end of the hallway. She decided to take the stairs that were there so she wouldn't have to walk past his door again.
Ally took in a whiff of the steaming aroma.
She was reading Oliver Twist and sitting in her bathtub. The lavender scent calmed her senses. She played a soft tune in the background. One of Mozart's concerto pieces.
Ally's phone kept buzzing now and then, interrupting the effects of her book. Ally sighed, placing her book on the counter beside the bathtub and grabbing her phone in exchange.
the stars are nice out
Dan texted her a picture of the sky. He must be outside somewhere, laying on his back on the damp grass. Ally imaged the cool, frigid air surrounding him and he adjusted his glasses and named every star, constellation and planet that he saw.
She was tempted for a second to run outside and see them for herself.
judging by the picture it sure looks like it
wish u were here with me to see them
Ally felt all warm and fuzzy inside as she read his text. Aw, shucks. She felt a tingle start from the tip of her toes and ran all the way to the top of her head.
She was about to reply when her phone vibrated in her hand. Another scenery picture from Dan. This one showed that he drew in the constellation.
gemini
really?
no i just connected some dots
Ally huffed. She placed her phone back on the small counter and picked her book back up. Ally was enjoying herself. The steamy aroma, the story that danced in her head, the feel of the warm water.
After a while, Ally's phone buzzed, once, twice, then three times. Ally frowned, looking at her phone. She picked it up, careful not to get her mobile wet.
Three consecutive texts from Trish. More incoming.
ally
wanna hang or something
let's watch a movie
in my suit
it's already starting so hurry and get your ass over here
please
it's a horror film and i don't want to watch alone
pls
Ally sighed, texting Trish back.
i'll be over in ten
gotta get changed
omg what happening why do you need to change
TRISH I TOOK A BATH
oh
Ally rolled her eyes and slowly eased herself out of her bathtub. She wiped the water down with a towel and walked into the main part of her suite. Ally rummaged through her luggage for something to wear.
Trish was probably going to make her stay there until the movie was finished.
Ally grabbed her pajamas. She threw them on and found a dry bathrobe to wear over her sleeping clothes. She wanted to be as comfy as possible while being scared to death by whatever movie Trish was watching.
Ally sighed, grabbing her phone and new suite key before walking out of her rented room. The door clicked shut behind her.
Ally made her way to Trish's suite. Counting all of the thirty-two steps that it took to get there. Ally knocked on the door.
It flung open and she was pulled inside by an arm.
Ally squealed.
"Trish, I know you're watching a scary movie with the lights off and everything but can you at least let me get my shoes off and all before you grip onto my arm for the rest of the night," Ally said sarcastically. Trish clung to her like a leech.
"Okay, but if I let go what if you get replaced by an alien clone? Or you get possessed by a ghost and I'm not sure if you're telling me the truth or not because you're my best friend and you would never lie to me so I'd never know and then—"
Ally groaned.
The movie wasn't too scary. Aside from the part about the little boy getting possessed and the family going paranoid and the creepy lady by the window and the creepy ending that broke into a sequel.
Yeah, totally not scary.
"Trish?" Ally whispered from under the covers. She had them pulled up past her eyes.
"What?" Trish hissed. She was under the other set of covers. The two girls were in Trish's bed, trying to watch the movie because it was pretty cool, but at the same time pretty scary.
"What's happening?" Ally asked. The movie was silent, except for an eerie creaking noise that gave Ally the chills.
"I don't know. I'm not watching. Are you?"
"No, that's why I asked."
Suddenly someone screamed.
Ally and Trish both screamed in unison.
Ally got a text under the covers the moment both of the girls screams died out. Ally was glad she had a distraction and an excuse not to watch the movie. Although, it was getting pretty interesting.
Still wicked-scary though.
Ally checked her texts.
hey we should meet up soon
i know you're really busy but i really want to see you
Ally blushed. Dan was such a sweetheart. A sweetheart who she met at a party where the lights were too bright and everyone was too sweaty. She thought about that for a second.
What if Dan was one of those party-hard, sweaty guys? Ally shook her head. No. She saw what he looked like. Maybe he was dragged to the party like she was. Ally thought about that for a while before deciding to text him.
oh yeah definitely
hey remember that party where we met
yes it was a good night
Ally blushed.
it was
aside from the fact that i was dragged to it
Ally decided to leave out the part about Austin dragging her to the party. It wasn't fitting for the snooping she was doing at the moment.
you were dragged to the party?
that sucks damn
if it weren't for the fact that i got hauled myself to the party
Ally smiled. Exactly what she needed to hear.
"Ally?" Trish hissed. Hearing her voice startled her so much that Ally dropped her phone. It made a loud thud. "What was that?" Trish's voice was shrill. "Are you watching the movie?"
Ally was scared Trish would check what she was doing so she lifted the duvet cover off her head. "Yeah. I'm watching. It was-" Ally looked at the screen of the TV where the little boy's eyes just—
Ally screamed.
Nope. Nope. Nope. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't even want to remember what she saw.
Nope.
"Oh my god," Ally heard Trish whisper. Ally tried rubbing the image out of her eyes. Nope.
"God, that was the worst. That was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm so done with this movie," Ally said.
"Don't leave me!" Trish whispered from the under the other cover. Ally squealed out her reply.
"Can't. Too scared to get out under the covers. How long have we been watching for? And when does it end?"
"I don't know!" Trish wailed. "But what do we do after it ends? I'll be too scared to do shit tonight and for the rest of my life."
Ally shrugged even though Trish couldn't see her. Since her phone had stopped buzzing, she assumed Dan stopped texting her. Ally needed to leave. If she stayed any longer, she was going to cry.
She was scared shitless.
"Trish, I'm leaving. I'm so done with this movie right now. This is the last time I'm watching a horror movie. Ever," Ally announced. Trish screamed at her in protest but Ally was already taking the covers off her head.
She made sure she saw none of the TV screen before grabbing her phone and keys and bolting out of Trish's room, slamming the door behind her.
Sorry, Trish.
Ally raced down the hall, her feet thumping on the floor. She realized she had forgotten to get her shoes from Trish's suite. Oh well. She'll have to retrieve them some other day. She was in no mood to return to Trish's room.
The hallway was dimly light as she raced back to her suite. Ally fumbled with the room key before hopping into her suite. She slammed the door behind her, sure that there was someone chasing her.
God, she was paranoid.
Ally's heart pounded. She walked first into the bathroom to check for uh— scary things. And then back out into her suite. The shadows in the corners of the room were scaring her so she turned on every light. The regular suite light, the bathroom light, the vanity set light, the reading light by the chair, the nightstand light, even the huge chandelier hanging from the room.
Alright. Her room looked like heaven.
No stray souls lurking in any corner under Jesus' watch.
Ally sighed. She flopped down onto her bed. Her mind was racing. It's been such a long day. She backtracked everything that had happened in her mind.
That movie, texting with Dan, the nice outing that morning, waking up...
Aw, shoot.
Ally shook her head. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Nope.
She could still remember the Miami beach and the soft detergent. Ally got up off her bed, only to find herself staring at Austin's shirt and pants.
She almost screamed.
This was even worse than that movie.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Ally's heart began to pound again. Calm down, it's probably not some possessed person coming to steal my soul. Yeah, Ally, you'll be fine.
Ally straightened out her hair and pajamas before sighing coolly and walking towards her suite door. Sadly, she was too short to see out of the peephole so she had to open the door to figure out who knocked.
She unlocked the door and opened it slowly. Her heart pounding.
"Hey, hi, um, hey. I- uh, I—"
Her heart stopped.
Austin.
"Woah, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" He laughed. Ally grumbled.
"I watched this scary movie with Trish and now I'm scared of my own reflection," she said sarcastically. Albeit, it was kind of true.
"What else is new?" Austin said, laughing. "You sure you're a match for horror? Seems like—"
His sentence was cut short when she flung the door open wider. "Oh my god. Why is your room brighter than the sun?" Austin groaned, covering his eyes with his hands.
He looked better. He didn't look like he had a hangover but she could see remains of what that alcohol did to him. His eyes were a little red, his hair was messy, his face tired. He changed out of his clothes from yesterday but she could tell it took a lot of effort to do so.
Something was off. She felt different when she looked at him. It was as if she couldn't look him in the eye.
Literally, his hands were covering his entire face.
Ally grabbed his arm and quickly shoved him into her room. She didn't need unwanted ghosts coming into her room. Although, Austin was so pale he might've passed as one.
"Seriously, turn the chandelier off," Austin grumbled, his hands still over his eyes. Ally sighed, but she left the lights on.
"What do you want, Austin?" Ally asked, sitting down on her bed. Austin stood by her door, still trying to open his eyes.
"I want you to turn the lights off so I can see, know-it-all. I don't want to go blind," Austin groaned. Ally sighed, turning off the vanity set lights and the chandelier. She sat back down on her bed. Austin stayed where he was, blinking.
"Okay, now what do you want?" Ally asked. She suddenly realized that she was setting herself up for disaster. Her heart thumped in her chest. He must know that they kind of slept together. Oh my god. He obviously came over to talk about it.
Shit.
Austin smiled. He leaned against her suite doorframe."Just wanted to drop by and say hey."
Ally nearly fell off her bed. "I covered your hungover ass today. Ms. Krum wanted to know where you were." Three more debaters had been sent home over the last few days because Ms. Krum had found out that they had snuck out and gone to a club. Since then, Ms. Krum had been extra careful, making sure everyone was going to outings and showing up to debates. If not, she was storming up to their suite and pounding on their doors until she saw their faces, enjoying a Happy Meal from McDonalds.
"What'd you tell her?"
"That you were sick."
Austin grinned. "That's 'cause I am sooo sick," he said, making the universal sign for rock and roll with his hand. Ally grumbled.
He swayed on his feet.
"You okay?" Ally asked. "Your drunk ass probably took like nine shots yesterday. Not to mention whatever that stuntman thing you had was."
Austin waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. Totally fine." Suddenly, something flashed across his face. His eyebrows furrowed and he took in a deep breath. His hand flew to his mouth.
"Don't you dare throw up in my suite," Ally shrieked. Austin gave her a thumbs up, indicating he was fine.
Ally rolled her eyes. "Fine, huh?" She realized that his clothes that she took were out in the open behind her on her bed. She furtively slipped them under her duvet cover.
"Yeah." His reply came out more strained then she expected.
Ally let it slide. "Why are you still here?"
Austin shook his head. "Oh, um. Well." He scratched the back of his neck with his hand. He was wearing a huge snow jacket, fluff on the collar. He wore a simple white t-shirt and black jeans. His shoelaces were untied.
It bugged Ally that his laces were undone. She was kind of a perfectionist.
"I— uh— Remember how I said I might be needing a favour?" Austin asked, looking a little lost. Ally didn't like where this was going.
"Yeah...?" She dragged her answer out.
"I need a favour."
Damn it.
Ally braced herself. She stared at his shoes, then his legs, his chest, his shoulders. Finally, she met his eyes. He stared back at her with such intensity, it made the hair at the back of her neck stand up. "What is it?"
"I uh— I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend."
WOAH WOAH WOAH. Whazzza going on?
I think chapter 7, 8 and 9 are my favourites out of the entire thing. Not gonna say much but... ;) Anyway, I'll leave this for all of you to interpret and figure out. I think I'm gonna go enjoy a cup of coffee now. *frog emoji* *coffee emoji* ;)
I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!
i need to get me some vanilla scented candles because damn
