Hey loves,
First let me say I'm sorry I've been gone. In January, during a dance class I suddenly felt a great deal of pain and I was so dizzy. I ended up fainting and was taken to the hospital. I don't want to get too in depth about what happened to me, since it's personal to me. But I had to stay in the hospital for a little over a month. By the time I got back to school, it was difficult to catch back up. Thankfully they worked with me and got me back on track. I am still recovering but I feel a lot better now. I am sorry to have stopped writing for so long, but I had focus on getting better and getting caught up. I hope you understand.
All that being said, I'm excited to get back to work on these stories for you guys.
In this chapter the girls take Ally shopping and she tries to let herself be vulnerable.
ENJOY!
Chapter 9: New Clothes and Onions
Ally pushed the clothes on the rack, her actions feeling meaningless. Her face was stuck on an almost permanent frown. She didn't want new clothes . . . she didn't need anything . . . and no matter who cracked a joke or talked to her, she wouldn't let herself be moved. She knew though that she wasn't really mad at them . . . she was mad at herself . . .
She had let herself be vulnerable . . . 18 years of living in a shell, not letting herself get close to anyone, or show anyone anything about herself, of being a rock that couldn't be broken . . . in three seconds he broke everything . . .
What the hell was wrong with her?!
Ally looked up as Kira and Cassidy picked up some clothes on another rack and held them up to get a better look. Trish was on the other side of the store trying on some sunglasses. Anything they had for Ally would make Ally only want to crawl out of her skin. She didn't like shopping, not one bit . . .
Ally looked back down at the clothes rack she was still in front of. She sighed to herself as she pushed back some of the clothes and crawled to sit on the floor. She used to do this a lot when she was younger, around 13, and she had just started really living as a lone wolf. She would come into malls and sit in the racks and watch families and groups of friends pass her by. She sighed and rested her chin on her knees.
Suddenly Ally noticed a pair of shoes step in front of her. The person quickly pushed the clothes aside and exposed Ally's hiding spot. "What are you doing?" Trish asked her.
Ally turned up a corner of her mouth. "Hiding," she said, like she was 13 again. Trish surprised her, sitting down next to her and pushing the clothes back in place so no one would find them. Ally looked at Trish waiting for her to say something. Trish smiled and rocked herself, grinning to herself. "I used to do this all the time when my mom would take me shopping." Trish said, smiling at Ally.
Ally raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah, she never liked what I wanted to wear, always trying to get me into nice dress and pulling me away from any cheetah print." She laughed to herself. She looked at Ally and smiled. "Did you ever go shopping with you mom?" She asked.
Ally thought for a moment. "I think my mom might have taken me shopping, once." Ally really had to think hard about it. She could only remember one or two times where her mom wasn't fighting with her father. The first was an afternoon where she picked up Ally from a babysitter and she seemed to be happy, but since Ally was only three she didn't share her happiness with her child. The other time was when she took Ally to get new shoes. One of the soles had fallen off her shoe and her mother seemed angry about having to spend money on her. I guess that counts, Ally thought to herself. She shrugged to Trish, and Trish shrugged back to her. Ally really liked Trish. She was kind and sweet. Ally weakly smiled at Trish.
Suddenly, the clothes pulled apart on the rack and Kira and Cassidy looked down on Trish and Ally. "Come on, Ally. We got some cute stuff for you to try on!" They were both used to her hiding tricks. Cassidy grabbed Ally's hand and helped her stand up. Trish stood up on her own.
Kira and Cassidy took Ally to the dressing room as Trish continued to look at the clothing racks. Apparently, they had already started her dressing room. Once Ally was alone in the dressing room, while the girls waited outside, she put on the first outfit. It wasn't that she didn't like Kira's or Cassidy's taste in clothes (everything they wore looked awesome on them), but Ally never considered herself pretty or beautiful or anything special . . . a dirty t-shirt and pair of loose fit jeans were all she felt comfortable in.
She turned to look at herself in the mirror, but immediately turned back. Maybe this was too much for her. Too much change in one day . . . the way she saw herself was all she had left. She shook her head and tried to calm her anxious body down. She heard a soft knock at the door.
"Ally, sweetie?" She could hear Kira's voice on the other side of the door. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," Ally was finally able to breath out the words. "But, I don't think I can do this." She said a moment later.
"Als?" Trish's voice spoke on the other side. "Changing your clothes won't change you." Trish said to her in a kind sweet voice.
Ally nodded slowly to herself, and opened the changing room door. All the girls stepped back and watched Ally step out. She held up her shoulders, trying to be confident. All the girls awed at her, each girl grinning at her. All the girls clapped and pulled Ally into a hug. They were very proud of her.
. . .
Austin ran his hands through his hair over and over again. He was still really angry with himself for pushing Ally too far. He wanted to know so much more about her, but it felt like every time he tried to dig a little deeper she pushed him further away. She was a very frustrating girl. Elliot and Dallas were jamming in the kitchen. Dez flopped down on the couch next to Austin. Austin looked over at him and saw he had a jar of mustard in one hand and an onion in the other. Austin smiled weakly and shook his head at Dez's actions. His mind quickly slipped back to Ally and he sighed to himself.
"Ok, man, talk to me." Dez said to Austin. Looking at him with a cocked eyebrow and a sly smile.
"It's like this, Dez," Austin started. "I try to get her to open up to me, and she starts to, but then I try to open her up a little more and she completely shuts herself down." Austin shook his head again and ran a hand through his hair again.
Dez thought for a moment and then held up his onion to the light of the room. "You know, Austin, Ally is like an onion." He said, looking at the onion like it was a miracle.
"Dez, you're losing me." Austin said, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
"You've got to peel her one layer at a time." As Dez said this he slowly peeled a layer off the onion.
"You lost me." Austin said, staring at Dez with absolute confusion.
Dez sighed and turned to Austin. "Take it slow," Dez said, saying each word as slowly as possible.
"Oh," Austin said nodding to himself. He had to let Ally open up to him and not force her. It frustrated him, but he didn't want to hurt her.
Dez slapped some of the mustard on the onion and took a big bite of it. He chewed in happily and smiled as he said, "wow, that is awful." He proceeded by taking another bite. Austin rolled his eyes, Dez was something . . .
Suddenly, Cassidy opened the front door; she was followed by Kira who was then followed by Trish. Each girl carried a good number of shopping bags. Austin stood up a little tense when he noticed Ally wasn't with them. But they were all smiling . . .
"Guys, we would like to introduce you all to a very beautiful girl," Trish said, her grin stretch from ear to ear. "Come on in," Trish said excitedly.
Austin's eyes almost popped out of his head. Ally stepped inside and she was a truly beautiful sight. She was wearing a white long sleeved crop top, which slightly exposed her stomach along with a flowy floral skirt that really showed off Ally's amazing legs. Her feet were covered by tan ankle boots. Her hair was in big curls and Austin noticed a simple smile on her lips. She was anxious, but she did seem like she really was happy.
Before Austin could say how amazing she looked, Dez made sobbing sounds and burst into applause. "So beautiful!" He shouted, trying to wipe away his tears of joy with his onion, which only made things worse.
"Yeah, you look really hot!" Dallas commented. He and Elliot were grinning like idiots. Austin would have been more mad at them if he was not still stunned by Ally.
Ally smiled a little more, but only looked at Austin. She was waiting for him . . .
"You look really good." Austin was finally able to say. Was that the best he had?! Really good?! She was beyond amazing, and he was lost for words.
But the look in Ally's eyes, as she blushed and looked away . . . that was exactly what she wanted him to say . . .
There is much more to come! What do you think will happen?
Again, I'm very sorry for being gone so long, but I'm glad to be back (:
For updates on this story check my profile page, where I will be posting weekly updates! AND also monthly news as well, just so you guys know what's going on and know about my new ideas and works (:
Please review, favorite, follow, send me a message, or be super happy (: Or all of the above
~Spencer
