Chapter 10! I finally reached double digits. It's kind of sad though since it took so long. Anyways…without further ado…
(Line Break)
Ally woke up in her bed, still fully dressed in the clothes she'd put on when she woke up the first time, before Austin, Trish, Dez and Lyla showed up in her house. It was just as bright in the room as it was when she had woken up then so it was probably only a little after one.
She sat up, rubbed her eyes and turned to look out the window. She gasped. Austin was there, sitting on the window seat, looking down at papers in his hands.
"Austin?" Ally said, leaning back against her pillows trying to stop the mini-heart attack she'd just had. "What are you still doing here?"
"Waiting for you to wake up," he replied, still concentrated on whatever was in his hands.
"What are you looking at?" Ally asked him, finally kicking the sheets off her and was about to walk over to him.
His gaze immediately left the papers and shot to her as started towards him, He instantly got up, hiding the papers behind his back. "It's nothing," he says, smiling, then brought his hand back out, empty. "See?"
Ally gave a confused look, peering behind him to see if he had hidden it somewhere but there was nothing, so she just sighed and turned around, heading for her dresser. "More secrets?" She asked, inspecting her face in the mirror.
He sighed, walking over to her. "Not really."
"Not really?" She raised an eyebrow, turning to him.
"You know you're really short without shoes," he said, smirking down at her.
She grimaced playfully, forgetting what she'd been saying before. "Shut up."
He smiled and turned around, heading back to her window seat. "So…" he trailed. "What are we doing today?"
"We?" Ally said, somewhat surprised.
"Yup. I'm staying with you all day."
"Okay." Ally flopped back down on her bed. "I'll do whatever you want to do as long as it's not a mall, or the movies or anywhere socially popular."
Austin made a face. "Why?"
"Because my social life is over for several reasons and if I see anyone I know I might just die."
Austin frowned. "Is this because of Dallas?"
"What? No, It's just…well before you were here I was umm, kind of…pop-you know what, forget it." Ally didn't know why it felt weird telling Austin she used to be popular, she used to flaunt it around like a Gucci bag. But now the title sounded conceded and made it feel like she used to be a mean girl from a cliché movie. "The point is I know a lot of people at school and my friends are probably spreading rumours about me so I don't want to be in the sights of anyone right now."
He raised an eyebrow. "Rumours? Why?"
Ally looked down, looking at him through her lashes.
His eyes widened. "Oh. Because of me."
"Well no, not completely. At first it was only because you were new and you already had a girlfriend and they like to tease me a lot-"
"Oh yeah. That conversation in Art."
Ally blushed at the memory but continued. "-and then Brooke told me Dallas wanted to go out with me-"
Austin frowned.
"-and I said I wasn't going to go out with him and she accused me of liking you-that was right before I saw you in the alley by the way-then they confronted me about…something and I snapped at them so I don't know if we're really friends anymore and if we're not then they're probably spreading rumours about-" she gestured between them.
After a minute of taking it all in, Austin raised his eyebrows, then smirked.
"What?" Ally asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"You're popular? That's what you don't want to tell me?"
Ally groaned, grabbing a pillow and burying her face in it. "Was. I was popular, but I'm not anymore," she added quickly, wanting him to know that she wasn't the same cliché plastic girl that she might've been before.
He laughed. "Why is it so important that you get that point across?"
Ally peered up from her pillow and sighed. "I don't want you to think of me as some-"
"Movie cliché. Ally come on I would never think that of you."
"Yeah but you didn't know me, what if I was?"
"Then it doesn't matter, because it was in the past and we're in the present. No looking back. And if even if you were I wouldn't care because it's not who you are now."
Ally turned away, still not fully convinced.
Austin decided to change the subject. "So your friends thought you didn't want to go out with Dallas because you liked me?"
Ally's eyes widened as she realized where the conversation was going and she was not going to have it, not now. She jumped off the bed, moving to the door.
"I'm starving." She opened the door and left the room, heading for the kitchen.
Austin smirked, following her.
She ran down the stairs, hoping to get a head start, but Austin was in the kitchen before she could reach the bottom step.
"How do you do that?" Ally asked, when she was in the kitchen. "Move so fast?"
Austin shrugged, sitting on of the stools at Ally's counter. "Vampires are very fast. It's pretty much just like walking except as soon as you blink your there."
Ally shook her head, opening the fridge. "But doesn't it feel weird. I mean, how can you move so fast if it feels like you're walking?"
He just shrugged again.
She sighed, but wasn't ready to give up just yet. Since she couldn't know anything that was important she would stick to the basic things. Things about him.
After grabbing a cup of juice and two clementines she sat down on the living room couch, Austin sitting beside her.
"So," Ally continued, "what about the sun thing? I read *Twilight once. Myth or do you sparkle?"
"Uh, Myth."
"Okay, Mirrors?"
"I was standing beside you at your mirror just before."
"I wasn't looking."
He sighed. "Myth."
"Umm, how about sleep? In Twilight they don't sleep. Do you sleep?"
He gave her a look. "Twilight?"
Ally shrugged impatiently. "I used to have serious Taylor Lautner problems, and it is a good book. Now tell me."
Austin sighed. "We can sleep, but it's not necessary."
Ally raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"We don't have to sleep, but it feels good."
Ally scoffed. "Well of course it feels good, it's sleep."
Austin shook his head. "It's different for us."
"Really?" Ally pressed, leaning forward. "How?"
He smiled. "I'll tell you some other time."
Ally frowned but moved on. "What about coffins?"
"Ally." She blinked. "Don't you have any realistic questions?"
She glared at him for a moment then sat up. "Tell me who you are then."
Austin stared. "What?"
"Like…" Ally sighed, thinking. "Your life. What you do. I want to know every single detail about Austin Moon, if that is your real name."
He laughed. "That is my real name thank you very much." Then he smiled and threw himself back on the rest of the couch. "Hmm, who am I? I am Austin Moon. I was born on December 29-"
Ally gasped. "I was born on November 29. We're exactly a month apart, and I'm older than you…I think."
Austin smiled and continued. "I won't tell you what year…yet. Anyway I actually live in Alaska, where my family is-"
"You have a family?" Ally asked, then realized how weird and horrible that sounded. "I mean, like, I just assumed that since you're a vampire-"
"I have two sisters, both younger," Austin cut her off, smiling, "and parents."
"All vampires?" Ally asked.
He nodded.
"Oh. What are your sisters names?"
"Rydel and Evaline."
Ally smiled. "Those are pretty."
Austin continued. "Okay, personal life. Umm, what do you want to know?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
He looked up, thinking. "Umm, I like to run."
Ally frowned. "Run?"
"You wouldn't criticize it if you knew it the way we do."
Ally kept frowning. "Give me something else. What about friends? You know besides those…two." Austin smiled, clearly noticing how she didn't mention Kira though Ally hoped he wouldn't. She continued. "What do you do with those friends?"
He sighed. "Don't laugh at me but…Dez is my best friend."
Ally knit her eyebrows together. "So?"
"He's my only friend."
Ally blinked, her eyes widening. "Oh. What? What about Trish?"
"Complicated bond. Not exactly friendship."
"Kira?" Ally asked, because now it was just sad.
Austin looked away. "Mmhhhhh…."
Ally shook her head. "No. No way. That's ridiculous, how can you not have any friends besides Dez?"
Austin smiled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She blushed but went on anyway. "It means that someone like you is bound to have a million friends. There must be more to it."
Austin looked down, avoiding her eyes. "So there is."
He sighed. "It's complicated," he said, still not meeting her eyes.
Oh. Now she got it.
"So…it has something to do with one of the things you don't want to tell me."
He finally met her eyes, looking apologetic. "It's not that I don't want to tell you-"
"Although you don't."
"No, I do. Things would be a lot easier if I did tell you. But remember-"
"Until I know you're safe," Ally re-told, doing her best impression of Austin's voice, causing him to smile. "Yeah I remember."
There was silence for only a second before Ally broke it. "There's one more question I really want to ask."
Austin nodded. "Shoot."
"It's about blood."
Then his face went serious and he shot up from the couch. "Nope. Absolutely not."
"What?" Ally complained, getting off the couch after him. "Why?"
"Because," Austin said, looking away.
"Because what? Austin it's honestly not that bad, and if it is gruesome I can handle it, I just want to know."
"Mmhh mmhh," he said shaking his head. "Not gunna to happen. Forget it."
She frowned. "Austin-"
"Let's go to the beach," Austin said, moving towards the door.
"I don't understand. This is just about vampires in general, why can't you tell me?"
"Ally."
"What?"
He sighed heavily, seeming completely fed up with the conversation. Then before Ally could blink, he was standing in front of her, bury her head in his chest. She didn't even have a chance to complain before a sudden gust of wind blew at her hair and her bare skin, then, just as suddenly as it started it stopped.
He loosened her now, enough so it wasn't forced, but was still close enough so he could catch her when her legs gave out.
She felt no need to argue with him now, and just hung there in his arms as he held her upright.
"What…the…hell," she panted, feeling breathless and lightheaded, feeling too tired to open her eyes. "Why aren't…my legs…working? Why aren't…I working?"
He sighed. "Give it a moment. It'll pass."
And after a few minutes, she felt the strength to open her eyes. Austin was looking down at her, lips pressed in a line as he tried not to laugh.
Ally frowned. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"It's fun to see you helpless like this."
She scowled tiredly. "What did you do?"
"I took you out for a run with me."
"Out?"
It was then that Ally noticed the air felt different, much more humid. She pulled her eyes of Austin's and looked around, her eyes widening. They were alone on a cliff that hung out over the ocean of the beach they'd been to just yesterday.
"What the hell?" Ally said again, pulling away from Austin, then dropped to the ground, momentarily forgetting her legs weren't working.
Austin helped her up, holding her by the waist. "I told you I wanted to go to the beach, and here we are."
"But…" Ally started, finally getting some feeling back in her legs. "That was…so-"
"Fast." Austin smiled. "Yup. So fast that your body couldn't take it."
Ally could finally feel her feet and pushed them on the ground, standing herself up and leaning off Austin, but still holding onto his arms.
"If that's how you're going to get me to shut up, just tell me when to stop talking."
He scoffed. "Like it would be that easy. It's not the first time I've done this though, only the last time I did it you were drunk and already couldn't stand."
She groaned. "I need to lie down."
Austin shook his head. "Nope, sorry, if you lie down right now you're guaranteed to stay there for a good while."
"And the problem with that is…?"
"Is that I'm not going to let you." He sighed. "Okay, I'm going to wake you up. It's not going to hurt just…"
"What?"
Then something in her shifted and her whole body jerked back, and she would've fallen if Austin hadn't been holding her. Then she gasped and it was over. Her eyes shot open. Her entire body felt completely awake now. She backed away from Austin staring at him wide-eyed.
"What was that?" She almost shouted.
He shrugged. "I woke you up."
"By doing what, sending some weird vampire thing through my veins?"
"Well, no. Actually I shifted your blood."
She stared. "You what?"
He blinked. "Umm, well, I kind of, tapped into your blood…felt the way it was running…and shifted it in the other direction."
Her eyes narrowed. "You shifted…my blood."
He didn't answer.
"Couldn't that kill me?"
"No," he scoffed, then quickly added, "Only if you do it for too long."
She gaped at him.
"Sorry?" He tried.
She closed her eyes. "Okay, my blood is officially off-limits. No shifting, no tapping, no nothing. Got it?"
A smile crept up on his face and he nodded.
She sighed. "So what are we even doing here?"
His smile turned devilish. "This!"
In a second he beside Ally, picking her up, then throwing her over the cliff. She screamed until her back hit the water and suddenly she was submerged. She started swimming to the surface and another figure exploded into the water beside her. Ally stayed where she was, waiting till the bubbles faded away so she could see and glare at Austin. He was grinning. Then he came over and grabbed her arm leading her to the surface. When she broke through she gasped for air, then turned to look at Austin. He was still grinning.
"Okay," Ally said dryly. "You've had your fun. Let's go."
"What, no, let's go swimming," Austin said, circling her in the water.
"My eyes are already hurting me from the salt water, Austin. Sorry but your plan has flaws."
"Oh, but aren't you forgetting." He stopped circling and faced her. "I'm flawless."
He moved closer to her, then lifted his hands to her face, pressing his thumbs right under her eyes. She felt a sudden coldness on her eyes, like a small breeze, but then there was nothing.
"There," he said, dropping his hands. "Now you won't feel anything."
She blinked. "What did you-"
"Nope. No more questions." Then he dove under water.
Ally groaned in frustration, then followed him under. It was much clearer now. It was like wearing goggles except without the work. And Austin was right, it didn't hurt. He swimming around under her, so she didn't see him until he grabbed her foot and brought her down to face him. He was smiling at her, silently laughing at her shock and she wanted be mad, but his happiness was contagious and she couldn't help but smile.
She pulled away from him, twirling in the water as she went, then going down as deep as she could until she needed air. They swam everywhere, going around the rocks, doing front flips and back flips, touching the sand at the bottom, only stopping when Ally had to go up for air.
Austin, it seemed, didn't need any air at all. He stayed under the whole time, waiting for Ally, and smiling when she came back down.
Finally, after another while, Ally went up, dragging Austin behind her. She gasped when she broke through the surface, then turned to face Austin, smiling.
She sighed. "Ugh. I'm tired."
Austin tilted his head. "Already," he whined, imitating a child.
Ally laughed. "Already?" She glanced at the setting sun behind her. "It's getting late. We were here for so long."
"Eh." He shrugged. "Four hours at the most."
Ally gaped at him. "Seriously?" Austin nodded. "Shit. That makes it around five! My dad will be home at six. You are not bringing me running again, so if I'm going to get home on time, we need to leave now!"
Austin sighed, sticking out his lower lip in a pout, making him look adorable. "Aww, do we have to?"
Ally wanted to stay serious, but the pouty face was getting to her and smile broke out onto her face.
"Austin," she laughed. "Come on."
He hung his head in defeat. "Fine."
He swam with her to the shore of the beach. Being Saturday, there was a crowd. Some people were enjoying the sunset, others were packing up to leave. Either way, Austin and Ally had to fight their way through. Pushing and shoving past people in their wet soggy clothes, sending glares and scowls their way.
They were just on the edge of the crowd, when Ally tripped over someone's shoe, sending her and that person crashing into the sand.
"Ugh," the person started to complain. It was a girl. A very familiar girl. "You idiot!"
Ally groaned and Austin got her up, brushing sand from her hair and face, but could do nothing about the sand caked to her wet clothes.
Ally turned to the girl behind her who had already stood up on her own and was facing the other direction, brushing sand out of her hair and off her clothes.
"I'm so sorry," Ally rushed and was about to turn and leave when the girl turned around. Ally's eyes widened. "Brooke?"
"Ally?" The Brooke's gaze shifted, her eyes falling on Austin.
Ally closed her eyes breathing in. "Shit."
Brooke blinked and looked away. "Cassidy was right," she mumbled.
Ally's eyes jerked open. "What? Cassidy was right about what, Brooke?!"
"About you being a slut, Ally!" Brooke shouted back, and Ally stared. "She was telling me-telling everyone that you were off slutting around with Kira's boyfriend right after you completely ditched us! I didn't want to believe her Ally. I thought you were still my friend, but I guess if she was right about this then she was right about everything else too!"
Ally shook her head, still taking it all in. "No. No Brooke that's not-"
"Don't, Ally. Don't. I'll be sure to tell everyone that Cassidy was right." Then she turned, storming away from Ally down the beach.
As soon as she'd turned away, Ally's chest contracted, and she bit her lip, feeling a lump grow in her throat. Her eyes were overflowing with tears and she knew if she blinked they would fall, but even though she didn't they started falling anyway.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ally-" Austin started, but she pulled away, rushing past him, off the beach and onto the sidewalk that would lead the way back to her house. Her face was soaked now and she was wiping at her fiercely, but it felt like the more she wiped the wetter it got. She was biting her lip even harder now, trying to swallow her sobs.
"Ally," Austin said, now behind her but she just kept walking. His voice was making it worse. "Ally…Ally!"
"What Austin!" She shouted, almost screaming, whipping around to look at him, but as soon as she said it the sobs broke though and she buried her face in her hands, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Austin tried to peel her hands away, but his grip was gentle and she held her hands firmly.
"Ally it's okay."
"No it's not Austin!" She yelled her hands flying from her face. "I was right! I told you they would spread rumours and they did and now because of Cassidy and Brooke-my two best friends-the whole school is going to call me a slut!" Fresh tears went down her face at the word. "It's not okay, Austin."
He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Everything she said, though he hated to admit it, was right. How could he calm her if even he knew it. He stepped closer to her, but she backed away, raking a hand through her hair. Suddenly her eyes widened.
"Kira. What about Kira? The whole school will be talking about it, she's going to find out eventually. Austin, what is she going to do to me?"
"No." Austin shook his head, expression serious. "Nothing. She's not going to do anything to you. Ally, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
She frowned. "But-"
"No. Ally, I mean it. She's not going to hurt you."
She stared at him with sad eyes and he stared back protectively. She started to feel uncomfortable, not in a bad way, but like she'd been staring at him secretly and he'd caught her staring. Her stomach started to feel weird too, somewhat like the first day she saw him. Fluttery.
But she was quick to shake it off, looking away. She sniffed. "We should go."
Then she turned, walking in the opposite direction. They walked the rest of the way in silence.
Ally's dad's car was in the driveway when they got back, but she didn't really care. She just wanted to get out of her wet dirty clothes and go to bed, though it was only about six-thirty and she'd already gotten plenty of sleep that day.
She stopped walking at the edge of her driveway, then turned to look at Austin. He didn't look at her but she could see his face. He looked just as sad and horrible as she was.
She frowned, hating to see him that way. "Austin?"
He still didn't look at her. "I'm sorry Ally."
She shook her head. "Sorry? For what?"
He met her eyes then, confirming then what they both already knew.
"Oh, Austin," she started. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I was just…mad at myself."
"No but Ally, don't you see," Austin said. "It is my fault. The rumour is-"
"Stop." Ally cut him off, looking away. "I'm not going to let you take the blame for this, okay? This is not your fault. If you tell me that it is then you'll make me think that I caused you to think that and it'll just make it worse."
He shook his head. "Ally-"
"You need to say it to me."
He blinked. "Say what?"
"That it's not your fault."
He sighed. "But Ally-"
"Austin." She grabbed his hand, securing it in both of hers. She stared at him. "Please."
He stared back at her, knowing already that he would. He would do anything to supress her pain. "It's not my fault."
She smiled a forced smile and nodded. She was about to let her hands fall away when he put his other hand on top of hers.
"But it's not your fault either," he said, then stared at her for another moment before dropping her hands.
Her hands hung there in the air for a minute before she let them fall back to her sides. She looked back to Austin, who was already backing away.
"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" she asked.
He managed a half smile, nodding.
"I'll meet you at the picnic tables, okay?"
He nodded, then she blinked, and he was gone. She turned and walked into her house.
(Line Break)
The next morning Ally didn't want to get out of bed. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and now people were adding rocks. But she told Austin she would meet him and she didn't want him to have to wait for her too long and then come to the house. It was Sunday. Her dad was home. He'd been asleep in his room when she'd come home last night and Ally had felt a pang of guilt for having him used to her not being home on time. She (for some reason) would feel even worse if Austin were to show up at her front door for her dad to see.
She got out of bed, checking for the time on her nightstand. Eleven. She wanted to be at the park by twelve. She quickly changed, throwing on ripped blue jeans and a fitted bright yellow top, and putting on a light layer of makeup before heading downstairs.
Her dad was seated at one of the stools, sipping something from a mug she assumed was coffee and was grazing the front page of the newspaper.
"Good morning dad," Ally called, desperately trying to ignore the thick tension in the air, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl.
His eyes stayed glued to the newspaper. "Morning Ally."
She backed up towards the door. "Umm, I'm heading out. I'll be back before dark."
"Oh I doubt that."
She flinched, but turned away, grabbing the flats she'd brought from her room. She hated flats, since she was short, but rather be in something easy to walk in if she was hanging out with Austin…knowing Austin and his, ways.
Shoes and Banana in hand, she started for the door, then stopped and turned back to her dad.
"Dad?" She said. "I've been wanting to ask you something…about Mom."
At that his eyes darted away from the newspaper, now focused on Ally with great intensity. "Your mother?"
Ally nodded. "Yea."
"Why? You've never wanted to talk about her before."
"I know but I guess that's kind of why I want to talk about her now. H-how did she die again?"
Her dad stared at her, eyes blank, hiding an unknown emotion underneath. "S-she died when you were born Ally. Of childbirth, I-I already told you-"
Ally shook her head. "Yeah, I know I just…I want to know more about her, her and you. Like how did you two meet or-"
"Ally I don't think now is the best time to be talking about this."
She stared. "Okay, so maybe later-"
"Not ever."
Her eyes narrowed. "What? Why?"
He didn't answer her.
Ally scoffed. "Okay, I get that she was your wife, and that it's painful for you to talk about, but it was seventeen years ago! She was my mother I have a right to know these things!"
"It's out of the question Allyson," he said, in a straight, plain, guarded tone that told her the conversation was over.
She let out a shocked, exasperated puff of air, then stormed out the door, slamming it shut behind her.
She reached the park in record time, storming angrily across the street and onto the soft grass barefoot, flats still in hand. She ditched her banana in a bush, knowing there was no way she was going to eat it now.
Austin was seated at the same park bench they'd been sitting on since the beginning, staring at nothing in particular. Then he heard Ally's feet against the grass. He turned and looked at her, smiling, then stopped, seeing the look on her face.
He frowned. "What's wrong?"
She sighed, hoisting herself up on the bench beside him. "My dad. He's just…just so…ugh!"
He laughed. "What happened?"
She grabbed one of her flats and began slipping it onto her foot. "I asked him about my mom and he got all weird and closed up. He said we shouldn't ever talk about it but she's my mother. I have the right to know, don't I?" There was no answer. "Austin?"
His face had gone blank and Ally thought she could see something that looked like panic in his eyes. "Austin?"
"Yeah, of course you do. You deserve to know," he said, but he seemed distant.
Ally blinked. "Right…anyways," she sighed, trying to shake off the thought of her dad, "what are we doing today?"
"That's where we come in!" A voice behind Ally yelled.
She screamed, jumping off the bench and turning around. Now on the bench sat Trish and Dez, who was looking at her excitedly. She assumed he was the one who had spoken. Trish sat beside him, checking her nails, looking bored.
Ally wanted to slap them in the face. This was just getting annoying.
Austin rolled his eyes at the two, smiling apologetically at Ally. She raked a hand through her hair, glaring.
"We're spending the whole day with you!" Dez yelled as if it were the best news in the world.
"Can it Dez," Trish said, finally letting her hand drop.
Ally let that sink in, then turned to Austin, pleading with her eyes that it wasn't true. He just looked away sheepishly. It wasn't that she didn't want to hang out with Trish and Dez, because, well, she hated to admit it but she found it scary to be hanging out with two vampires, one of which tried to kill her. Austin would probably be the only vampire she ever trusted.
She turned her eyes back to the other two vampires, biting her lip. "Umm…okay." To be honest, Ally didn't really understand why they were going to hang out with her and Austin, since they'd never shown any interest before, but she let the question slip away since there was no way she was going to ask. Or maybe she'd ask Austin later.
Trish turned to Austin. "What's on the agenda moon."
He glanced up at Ally, smiling. "It's a surprise." Then he frowned. "But first, you two wait here. I'm going to get Ally something to eat. She hasn't eaten yet."
Ally frowned, hating to hold everyone back with a problem only she had, since no one else was going to eat anything.
"I had a banana," she lied, her eyes itching to glance back at the bush she'd thrown it in.
Austin jumped off the bench. "No you didn't. I saw you throw it in to that bush," he said, walking past her.
She followed him. "I was angry."
(Line Break)
Ally picked at her bagel the whole back to the park, forcing pieces into her mouth when Austin glared at her.
"I'm not hungry," she complained, her fingers itching to 'accidentally' drop the bagel on the ground.
"You have to eat it, or you'll be completely drained and out of energy by the time we get to where were going." He raised an eyebrow. "You're not afraid of heights are you?"
She narrowed her eyes. "No. Why?"
He smiled smugly. "It's a surprise." He was having way too much fun with this.
Just then the bagel happened to 'slip' from her fingers, plummeting toward the dirty sidewalk. But it never hit the ground. Austin had it in his hands before it even had a chance.
He shook his head. "Yeah, I saw that coming. Nice try though." He smiled handing back Ally the bagel.
She grimaced, reluctantly popping another piece into her mouth. "How did you know I hadn't eaten anything."
He shrugged. "Your blood was running slower than usual."
She glared. "I thought you weren't going to do that anymore."
He smiled. "I don't have to tap into your blood to feel it."
She frowned. "So can all vampires…feel blood?"
He scrunched his mouth up to the side, staring at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She put the last dreadful piece of bagel into her mouth. "So why are Trish and Dez hanging out with us today anyway?"
He smirked. "You can't always have me to yourself, Ally."
She blushed, looking at him. "That's not what I-"
"You guys take forever," Trish complained, suddenly appearing beside them. Ally jumped, but was glad that the conversation was interrupted.
Trish jerked her head towards Ally. "Is she ready?"
Austin nodded, Ally mildly annoyed that he hadn't even asked her. "Where's Dez?"
"Here," Dez said, appearing beside Trish. Ally blinked, his sudden appearance hurting her eyes.
Austin turned to Ally. "You might hate me for this."
She narrowed her eyes. "What? What are you going to do?"
He looked at her gently. "Okay, Dez is just going to put you to sleep."
She raised her eyebrows. "Put me…to sleep?"
Austin nodded, then looked away. "I didn't you should be awake for another run. Especially one this long."
Her eyes widened. "I can't believe you! We said no more runs! No. I refuse. I'm not going. You can't make me. I'm putting my foot down." She gasped. "That's why you wanted me to eat. No. No. No. No, no, no. It's not happening."
Trish smiled and covered her mouth. It sounded like she was stifling a laugh. Austin stared at Ally, his eyes glinting, pressing his lips into a thin line.
"You are so stubborn."
An incredulous washed across her face. How dare he call her stubborn after this. She didn't get to say anything though, he beat her to it.
"Dez," he called, eyes flicking towards the red head. "Now."
Ally flashed around, meaning to tell him not to touch her, but as soon as he did his hand came up and touched her forehead. She stopped frozen in place, as a sensation came over her head. It was like a weight, a weight of exhaustion hovering over her mind. Then Dez took his hand away and the weight came crashing down, plunging her into darkness.
(Line Break)
Ally didn't open her eyes immediately when she woke up. She felt too comfortable and wanted to stay where she was. Then the voices came into focus.
"Is she awake yet?"
"Maybe I should wake her up."
"She's waking up right now. I can feel it."
The last voice was too familiar to ignore. Her eyes shot open. The first thing she saw was a giant red bridge, then she water, then she saw Austin.
He was looking down at her, smiling. She almost smiled back, until the events from before came back to her. She glared, all traces of fatigue gone.
"You're an idiot."
She slowly became aware of her feet not being on the ground and Austin's arms around her.
"Can you put me down?" He did and she steadied herself, frowning at her desire to be held again.
She noticed Trish and Dez behind Austin smirking at her and glared at them. Then she turned around and took in her surroundings. They were on the edge of giant cliff that looked out onto a vast body of water. Stretched over the water was a giant red bridge, connecting to another piece of land across the water. You'd have to be dumbest person ever to not know where they were right now.
"San Francisco?" Ally breathed, turning back to look at Austin with an exasperated look on her face. He was still smiling. "Austin why are we in San Francisco?"
He didn't answer. He only reached forward, taking her hand and leading her off the cliff, Trish and Dez, following them closely. Once they were off the cliff, Austin led her to the bridge where the four of them walked on until they were a good distance in then he stopped.
Ally sighed. "Okay, why are we here?"
Austin opened his mouth to answer, but Trish was already there, in front of Ally, pushing her back with incredible force. Ally lost her balance, her back arching over the fence, her legs swinging up after her. Before she could scream she was falling, the air whipping against her face as she plummeted face first to the water below, that would feel like smacking into concrete from this high up. She was going to die.
I'm going to die, she thought. Fear rushed into her and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see death come…waiting for it.
Then something caught at her waist and she was lurched sideways, slamming into something warm and comforting. She didn't open her eyes. She just stood there, her arms wrapped around something, the thing she'd slammed into, only aware of the fact that she wasn't falling anymore. She was breathing hard, her chest burning with fear.
"Ally?"
Slowly, she opened one eye. Austin was looking down at her once again, this time, his face a mask of concern. She realized with great relief that he'd been the one to snatch her from mid-air, and she'd slammed into him, her arms wrapped around his waist.
She opened her other eye and sighed, never having been so relieved to see someone in her life, though it came out shaking and unstable. One by one she removed her arms from his waist, wrapping them around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder, her body convulsing with fear.
Austin ran a hand through her hair. "Hey," he whispered. "It's alright."
"I…almost…died. Trish pushed me. She pushed me off. I would've died."
"No," he said, stroking her back now. "I would've caught you."
"But if you didn't-"
"I will always catch you."
Ally dug her head deeper into his shoulder, not wanting to see where they were, too afraid to distance between them and the water that had almost killed her.
He laughed, but it was dry, no emotion at all. "I thought you weren't afraid of heights."
She shook her head in his shoulder. "That's not funny."
He held her tighter. "I know."
She sighed. "There's a difference between being scared of heights and being scared of falling."
Her breathing had finally slowed and Austin tried to ease her up, but she wouldn't let go. "Are you okay? Can you-"
"I don't want to look."
"I won't let you fall, I promise."
She hesitated, then slowly, carefully eased up enough to look. She instantly slammed herself back into him, but kept her head up. They were hanging against one of the legs of the bridge. You could see the water further out from here, sparkling darkly in the sun. Maybe it was the height, but it looked much prettier from up here.
"Wow," Ally breathed, and Austin chuckled. She could feel his vibrating. Suddenly she was aware of how close they were, her body pressed against his, her chest rising and falling with his. Her stomach fluttered.
"I'm going to sit you there okay?" He pointed to a triangle in the structure.
She took a deep breath and nodded, then before she could blink, she was sitting there, Austin holding her by the waist to steady her. She held onto a bar and he let go.
Suddenly Trish and Dez were there, hanging onto the sides. Dez was smiling, looking clueless, and Trish was smirking.
Ally glared at her. "Why the hell did you push me?"
She rolled her eyes. "I knew Austin was going to catch you. If I hadn't done it you would've taken forever to jump."
"Jump?" She turned her glare to Austin. "You wanted me to jump?"
He narrowed his eyes at Trish. "I wanted you to jump with me. Trish what you did was totally uncalled for."
She scoffed. "Whatever."
Dez, swung himself over with cat-like agility and set himself on the bar Ally was seated on. Dez sat down beside her so carelessly she was sure he was going to fall.
"Well, this is fun," Dez said brightly, looking at Ally. She smiled awkwardly. He smiled back. "I'll see you guys at the bottom," he said. Then he jumped.
Ally gasped, looking down just in time to see Dez's figure hit the water below. She gaped down in horror.
"Don't worry about him," Austin said, and Ally stared at him in shock. "He'll be fine."
"But he just-"
She was cut off by a yell that came from below. Ally looked down, seeing Dez's head popping out of the water. He was waving. She breathed a giant sigh of relief. Behind her, Trish stared, confused.
Then Ally realized something. "Wait. He said he'll meet us at the bottom. Does that mean we're-"
"Yup." Trish cut her off. "Jumping."
"B-but I'm not a vampire. I can't-I won't survive that. Unless I'm not jumping. That makes more sense. Yea Austin you're going to take me back up, right?"
He just stared.
"Nope," Trish said, bracing herself. "We're all jumping." She lunged forward, plummeting to the waters below.
Fear paralyzed Ally again and she stared at Austin. "I can't do it."
"Yes you can. This time you're jumping with me. I promise you'll be fine, just keep your eyes on mine."
"But I-"
"Eyes on mine," he repeated, then suddenly she was upright, in his arms again, her arms fastened around his neck. "Ready?"
Ally shook her head. "No."
He smiled, then leaned back letting himself fall back first. Ally wanted to scream at the sight around her. Though she was in Austin's arms, she was facing face first, so she could see how fast the water was coming to them. Then her eyes found Austin's and everything else faded. They were so reassuring, so caring, they basically screamed trust me. So she did. She smiled, bending her head so her forehead touched his, staring at his brown eyes until his back broke the surface of the water and they were submerged, underwater together once again.
Her arms were still around Austin. She could see everything clearly, obviously whatever Austin had put on her eyes yesterday was still there. His eyes looked clearer than ever then, staring at her in the water. He was smiling and so was she.
The fluttery feeling was back, but, this time, Ally didn't fight it. She surrendered to it, completely letting it take over until every single one of her nerves trembled at his touch. She could tell she was blushing, hard, but hopefully he couldn't see it underwater. She knew then, she was positive.
She didn't know what it was, but she felt something for Austin. Something strong.
Her lungs started to burn, and as if he sensed it (which Ally believed he did) he released her and took her hand, bringing her up. She gasped for air when they came to the surface and when her breathing was steady, she turned and looked at Austin grinning.
"We have to do that again!"
He laughed. "I wish. But we have other things to do. Come on."
Ally turned in the water, looking for Trish and Dez. Trish was a little further up then Austin but Dez was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly she was hoisted up out of the water, something under her.
She screamed and looked down, collapsing into giggles when she found Dez. She was sitting on his shoulders. Austin looked back and smiled, continuing forward.
"Humans swim slow," said Dez, and Ally laughed. Right now, everything seemed funny. She leaned down, wrapping her arms around Dez's neck. Vampires did swim much faster than humans. They were caught up to Austin and Trish in no time, where Dez tried to transfer Ally to Austin shoulders, but she'd lost her balance and fell back, screaming playfully. Austin had just swam with Ally in his arms, where she tried desperately not to blush as he held her to his chest. He'd held her like this before, but now it felt different, better.
Trish, who was a little ahead of them, looked back and Ally could've sworn she'd seen her laugh.
(Line Break)
Ally munched her deluxe grilled cheese hungrily. When they'd left the water her hunger had finally started to kick in and they'd taken a cable car, still in their wet clothes, to a small café nearby. Ally, of course, was the only one who ordered.
The other three stared at her while she ate and every now and then she'd glance up at them awkwardly.
"What?" She'd asked playfully, though it was actually starting to get weird.
"We have to tell you something," Trish said, still staring, along with the other two.
A burst of excitement rushed through her. "You do?"
"We do?" Austin said, giving Trish a warning look. She glared at him.
"It's about Kira. She can't know about this. About you knowing about us, at all, okay? She can't."
At this Austin grinned at Trish. He looked like he wanted to hug her.
Ally sighed, but nodded. "Okay, fine. Got it."
"Which means, we can't talk to you when she's around, not even Austin."
Ally frowned. "But we were hanging out before when she was there-"
"And she thinks there's something going on which we have to shake off immediately. Austin most of all. You're still her boyfriend, you need to act like it."
Ally flinched, uncontrollably and tried to cover it up by clearing her throat. She'd forgotten that, though it had been stupid to. Of course he was still her boyfriend.
Ally would never know it, but Austin was horribly conflicted. He knew Trish was right, but he didn't want to leave Ally by herself at school, especially with everything that was going on with her friends. She wouldn't know that he'd flinched at the word boyfriend too.
She nodded. "Okay. Fine." She was already dreading school tomorrow…alone. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore.
Austin sensed this, getting up. "Ally do you want to go for a walk?"
She nodded, getting up.
"We'll meet you guys later," Austin said, leading Ally out of the café.
They walked in silence for a while, until they were a good distance away from the café. Austin was the first to speak.
"Ally…" he started, and she looked at him but he wouldn't meet her eyes. "I feel…I don't like this. Not being able to talk to you in school, especially if you have no one else to talk to and on top of that there's the rumour-"
"Austin." He looked at her. "It's okay. I mean, it's nothing I can't handle. And if it's important that…if you know that this is the safest thing to do then…I trust you."
He blinked, and though his face stayed the same, his eyes lit up with happiness. That was first time she'd ever said it completely and out loud.
He looked away. "If you don't-"
She shook her head. "I'll be fine."
He sighed, gazing at her. "If you need me tell me, okay? No matter what."
She smiled, nodding, but he was still gazing at her. Heat rose to her cheeks and she looked away, biting her lip.
"I'm still mad at you," she said.
He frowned. "For what?"
"For kidnapping me and bringing me to San Francisco!" She exclaimed, but a grin had made its way on to her face.
"Whatever," he said, smiling. "Don't even try to tell me you don't like it here."
She lifted her chin defiantly. "I don't like it here."
A mischievous look passed over his face. "Take that back."
She shook her head. "No."
The next moment her back was pressed to his chest, his arms squeezing tightly around her. She'd never been more aware of him than she was now, hands pressed again her stomach, head leaning over her shoulder, his cheek brushing against hers. She blushed fiercely.
"Take it back," he said playfully, his breath tickling her skin.
She laughed. "Austin, let me go."
His hands pressed into her stomach, and Ally let out a short squeal, quickly supressing it when pedestrians around them glanced their way.
"Austin," she panted, desperately trying to pry his hands off her abdomen. "People are staring."
"I'm not letting go until you take it back," he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice, making her all that more stubborn.
She said nothing, bracing herself.
He dug his hands further into her stomach and cried out in laughter. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Okay! I give! I give!" She screamed, forgetting anyone around them.
"Take it back," he said slowly, still tickling her stomach.
"I take it back! I love it here! It's the best place I've ever been to in my life…" she trailed off in gasps of laughter.
Slowly, and seeming reluctant, Austin released her and she straightened up, moving away from him.
"I…hate…you," she said in between gasps.
He moved toward her, threatening to bring her back in the same embrace.
She held her hands up, surrendering. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
He smiled. "That's what I thought."
She rolled her eyes, then fell into step beside him, smiling uncontrollably.
(Line Break. Later that day. Austin's POV)
Austin strolled along the sidewalk, in between Trish and Dez, now back in Miami. After some sight-seeing, hill climbing and more bridge jumping. Ally hadn't wanted to leave, but it was almost four in San Francisco, which meant almost seven in Miami. Before she could protest Dez had knocked her out and they'd run home, waking her up only when they'd reached her house and she'd drowsily stumbled inside.
Now the three of them walked through the streets, saying nothing until now.
"So," said Austin. "Trish what did you think?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't."
"Don't what? The entire purpose of this was so you could get to know her, and by the looks of things…you like her."
"I-," she started, but stopped, finding it pointless. "When Dez jumped off, she was so worried about him. I mean, I saw the relief on her face when she saw that he was okay. But she doesn't even know him…"
Austin frowned. "All humans are caring…in some way."
Trish shook her head. "Not all humans."
"Well," Dez said, sounding as cheerful as ever, "I like her. Can we keep her. She's the cutest human I've ever seen." Suddenly Dez's face dropped. "And you like her. Like…like-like her." He gasped. "You like-like her and you're attached to her. What about Kira? Your betrothal? Oh, my-"
"Dez!" Austin and Trish both shouted at the same time. He curled back, pouting.
Austin sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "I don't know what it is, I just…I just don't know."
"You're in love with her," Trish said suddenly, and Austin went rigid. He knew she was right. He'd been in love for a while now, possibly since the first time he'd ever seen her, but he'd known when they'd jumped off the bridge, and she'd leaned into him, trusting him completely to protect her.
"She loves you too," Trish said. "I can see it, but she doesn't know it yet. She knows she has feelings for you though."
Austin smiled, though he shouldn't. There were so many other things to worry about.
"Maybe," Dez started. "Maybe we should tell Kira. It's not fair for you to string her along if you're in love with someone else."
Austin shook his head. "It's not about that. She'd kill Ally. If that happened…" he trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.
Trish smiled. "Your secret's safe with us. I do like Ally. She's…cute. You're good for each other." With that she was gone, leaving nothing behind but wind.
Dez turned to Austin. "So…when are you planning on telling Ally the truth?"
Austin sighed. "When I know there's nothing or no one that wants hurt or kill her for who she is."
Dez nodded. "Just pray she won't hate you for lying to her about what she is."
Ugh, finally. This chapter is over 8k so better be seeing some REVIEWS. Even if they just say: Good. Great. Or Awesome. Any will do. I hoped you like it and I promise I'll try to start updating faster. School's letting out soon so I'll be sure to write more then. Starz out! :p