I love you guys! Thanks for being awesome and reviewing and giving me ideas and just being amazing to me. I'm so happy with this story.
If you guys like this story, feel free to check out another one I just put up, called Defined. It's about Dez, and I think you'll like it.
Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Ally stopped attempting to get Austin to talk as she drove, and instead was trying not to cry. There was such helplessness in seeing someone in so much pain and not being able to do anything to comfort them. He was staring hard off into the road, his eyes such a dark color and she wondered what had he just seen. As they neared the shelter, his expression seemed to slightly relax, but the boy still slammed the car door shut quickly when the stopped, ran inside, and locked himself in Riker's room.
She stood there, staring at the old door for nearly ten minutes when Riker popped up. Her own expressionless eyes blinked at him, wondering how to explain the last few minutes. "I don't know what to do," she finally said out loud, to no one in particular. Common sense told her to leave him alone for a while, and let him find her.
But ever since Dez locked himself in a room, that put her emotions on high. What if something was seriously wrong? She couldn't allow anything else bad to happen to anyone here.
"Ally, what's going on?" Trish appeared, walking forward in heels. "Is everything okay?"
"Austin and I were shopping, he got really weird and we drove home. Now he's locked himself in the room, and I don't know why."
Trish nodded at the explanation, casually looking toward the door. The woman seemed to think for a moment, and then sighed. "Well, I'm not sure disturbing him is best. He doesn't seem like the type to talk if he doesn't want to, so I say we leave him be."
Yes, Ally figured as much and agreed to it, but still as she sat in the living room, watching TV with Riker, her mind was on Austin. Riker seemed to notice this and kept his own eye on the girl, but of course, couldn't say a word. She didn't notice that he was annoyed with Austin himself, for allowing the girl to be so worked up over him. Ever since he entered the place, he seemed to only think of himself. For some reason, that just annoyed the older boy.
"Dinner is ready," Rydel chirped from the small kitchen, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Apparently, she had taken up cooking in the last few days, and Trish let her cook dinner tonight. "I hope you guys like it. I worked really hard on it."
Anything Rydel did was done with love and happiness, so Ally knew she could expect a wonderful dinner. The smell was starting to waver through house, and it seemed familiar, though her tired self couldn't place it. After watching Riker turn off the TV, the two stumbled into the kitchen to a tossed salad and tacos.
"You're my favorite," Oliver said, rushing into the kitchen with the biggest smile on his face. Jade rolled her eyes but laughed, joining him. Slowly, but quietly, Rocky joined the rest of them and together they ate the delicious meal she had made.
But of course, Austin was missing. Rocky had tried knocking on the door, but even he, who Austin seemed to like best besides Ally, couldn't get him to come eat dinner with everyone. Ally sighed at this, pretending she wasn't completely upset. The food was unbelievably good, but how could she really enjoy something when he was still angry?
Ally never remembered feeling this kind of pull when Riker or Rydel would shut her out. Why was Austin such a powerful force to her? It seemed almost wrong to be completely annoyed with him for this, but it was true.
"Ally, how did you like it?" Rydel was waiting for compliments, ones she very much deserved.
With a weak smile, she nodded her head. "It's very good, Rydel. We might have to promote you to cook."
"I just said that!" Jade giggled, as the two girls laughed together.
Ally went back to staring at the door down the hallway.
Riker placed a hand on hers. "Stop worrying," he mouthed. "There is nothing you can do. You know that."
But it didn't stop her from worrying.
After dinner, Rydel and the rest of the group, even Rocky, went downtown to an arcade, courtesy of Trish's generous wallet. Ally was once more helping her clean up the mess from dinner, but this time, silently. She knew Trish noticed this and was staring holes into her back, concerned for the girl herself, but didn't say a word.
Finally, Ally spoke up, deciding if anyone understood how the kids' minds worked, it would be Trish. "I don't understand."
"What?" Trish asked, stopping what she was doing. "About Austin?"
"Yes," she answered numbly, putting some of the leftovers on a plate for Austin. She figured she could at least knock on the door and leave it there, hoping once she left, he'd open the door and eat. "I've never been so concerned before about someone here. It's really, really weird to me. Like, Riker is probably who I'm closest to. But I was never concerned about him like this. Maybe it was because I knew he'd open up eventually to me. I don't know if Austin ever will."
She watched as Trish cleaned the table and then looked at the younger woman. "I can't say I know what to tell you, Ally. Sometimes life is funny, in a kind of cruel way. Austin seems like the quiet type. At least, when it comes to his feelings. You may just have to wait and see what happens. Not everyone can be saved, Ally. That's something you learn in this part of life."
"I don't believe that," she said firmly, though looking down at the hallway once more, she wondered if she would be proved wrong because of Austin Moon.
Ally decided to stay over once again, just because she hoped in some way, Austin would leave the room and look for her. When she said goodnight to the others, Riker came into her room to sleep on the other bed (as he couldn't get into his own room), his guitar on his lap.
"Play something," she said with a gentle smile. "I could use a riff or two tonight."
He started playing what sounded sweet and light, the guitar sounds humming in her ears. Closing her eyes, she pictured the group happy and laughing, everyone together but all okay. Then she pictured her own life, back at her actual house, when her parents were actually home. He continued to play as she started to drift off, his guitar getting softer and softer, until it was just one strum, over and over until he was sure the overtired girl was asleep.
The next morning, all seemed quiet and content in the shelter. As the others went off for the day, Ally found herself alone with Riker, as she didn't have any classes that day. A part of her wanted to head home and just spend the day in bed but she knew that was not productive and there was always something to do with your time.
"We should work on your song today," she said, while making her bed, to Riker.
Riker, who was watching her with those beautiful eyes of his, nodded eagerly. It was the first time she'd seen a real smile since yesterday afternoon with Austin and she welcomed it with a wide smile of her own. With a laugh, the pair walked from the room and into the kitchen, making a late breakfast.
Trish, who had taken advantage of the empty shelter to get some of her other work done, had left breakfast for the group before leaving about an hour before. She had taken quite a liking to the woman who once lived here. She managed to be a friend to Ally while being an adult to those who needed it, and did so while maintaining her composure. It made her a little disappointed to know the woman wasn't here to stay.
"I think we could probably go outside and play," Ally said absently as she munched on an apple, thinking thoughtfully of the day in front of her. Truthfully, she had pushed the thoughts of Austin out of her head the moment she woke up and had enjoyed her morning so far. Riker was great company despite his quiet self and it was often peaceful with him around. Unlike the others, who were either fighting or talked a lot (sorry Rydel) he knew how she liked to spend her time and often enjoyed her presence.
Just as Riker went to write something down as a reply, a sound came from behind them.
Ally flipped around to see Austin Moon, in his new clothes standing before them. He looked uneasy, as if he walked into a private party. Shocked that he actually left his room, she couldn't find words to say.
He spoke for her. "Hey. I was wondering if I could get something to eat."
Nodding her head, still not able to talk, he walked past and grabbed an apple of his own. He smiled softly at her and then walked back out, and to her surprise, left the door open. Riker shot her a curious glance at this and Ally peeked down the hallway.
"I'll be right back," she said quickly.
She didn't see it, but Riker gave her a look when she left.
Ally entered with caution, seeing as she didn't really know how he was going to react to her. He was sitting on bed, playing Rocky's guitar softly. His apple, still untouched was sitting on the desk. Didn't he say he wanted something to eat? Ally knocked and then entered, but he didn't look up.
"I was wondering if I could come in for a minute."
A soft shrug of his shoulders left Ally wanting to sigh.
"I'm glad you left the door open this morning."
He sighed this time.
Ally frowned, wondering how to go about this. "Look, I'm not here to fight with you. I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine," he said in a short voice. It wasn't cold, but it definitely wasn't friendly.
"Okay." Thinking it was her cue to leave, she backed away only to have him actually look her way with those stupid depressed eyes of his.
"Wait."
Ally did as she was told.
"Are you busy today?"
Her mind went to Riker and then shook her head. He'd understand to why she needed to be with Austin today. Maybe he'd tell her why he was upset. "No, not really."
"Would you like to maybe spend the day with me, then?" he asked, his voice soft.
Ally smiled. "Sure."
He motioned for her to join him on the bed, and for a few minutes, all she did was listen to him play guitar. He was really good, to the point where she wondered how he got that good. Not wanting to disturb his playing, she sat there just enjoying until there was a knock on the door.
Riker stood there, an expression on his face she couldn't read.
"Oh! Riker. I almost forgot to tell you. Austin and I are going to hang out for a while. We can totally work on your song later though. Okay?" He just stared back at her with these eyes she knew she'd seen somewhere before, but still couldn't read or place. "Okay, Riker?"
He smiled softly and turned around, settling things for Ally.
Turning her attention back to Austin, she noticed he was watching her. "What?"
"Nothing," he said with a smile. "I just admire how you are."
It amazed her that he could go from being so angry and hurt to being the smiling, almost happy Austin that she now saw. Did he really think she forgot about yesterday and was just going to pretend it never happened? Angered with the though, Ally let a few words slip through her lips before she could think.
"I think we should talk about yesterday."
He nearly dropped the guitar, his eyes widening in alarm. "No."
"Why not?" she challenged. "Austin, you're safe here. Whatever happened yesterday, or whoever you saw can't get you
here. I really like you and I think you're a great guitar player, but if you can't trust me, we're not going to have the best of times here. I'm not saying you have to open up and tell me your life story, but to pull me out of the mall and drag me home with no explanation at all is really, really not fair."
"Life's not fair," he snapped angrily.
Ally agreed. "Yeah, I get that. I know that. But sometimes if you find people who you can trust, it gets a little nicer."
"Stop," he warned.
Ally didn't though. She knew she had to break his wall in order to ever get somewhere with him. She was borderline pushing her limits, but she didn't care. His wall was getting higher with each day and if she didn't stop it now, it would be as high as the ceiling soon. "Just talk to me. I'll listen. I won't say a word. I promise."
"Ally, stop," he growled.
She stood with anger in her own eyes. "Fine then. I'm leaving."
He stood up, running in front of her as if it was going to stop the determined girl. "No, you're not."
"If we're not talking about this, then yes I am. I'm not going to bother being here, sitting in silence just because you feel that's what I'm good for. I'm not here for that, Austin. I'd like to be your friend, but I can't take you shutting me out. I don't do well with that. You said that I'm good at helping people; you say I'm amazing at what I do. LET ME HELP YOU. That's all I want to do. And if you don't want that, then I'm leaving right now."
Yeah, she'd completely ruined any chances of him ever listening to her, but he was driving her insane. Those constant sad looks he'd give, the constant stares and prompts to get her over there. "Spend the day with me" and then sit there doing nothing for what seemed like forever. No. She wasn't doing it. She couldn't do it anymore. Old Ally would have sat there for hours and just let him be, but not this Ally. Not the Ally since Dez. She needed something to go off of. Some kind of hope. And she thought he was that. And if he was going to shut her off, she was done.
Maybe not with the shelter, but done trying to help people who didn't want it.
"Ally, wait."
"Give me one reason to," she snapped.
He grabbed her on the wrists and pulled her back toward him. "I'm scared," he finally admitted. "I'm scared he's going to find me and then I'll never see you again. I just want to be able to sit in a place, without being bothered and know that I'm safe, and that I'm okay to just be here."
"Austin, you always are safe here!" she yelled. "I told you that. You should know that."
"I'm not safe anywhere, currently," he answered. "And that's why I'm not getting close to anyone. I enjoy your company, Ally. I enjoy you, and I enjoy the people who live here, but there is nothing for me here, other than a place to stay. Because while this is nice for right now, eventually he's going to find me, take me back and this time, I'm not going to live through whatever he has planned for me."
Ally grew even more angry, but felt so broken at the same time. Whoever he saw, whoever this was, needed to leave him alone. "Then why come back at all then?" she continued, her face heating up and tears threatening to fall. "Why come back and act like everything is okay when it obviously isn't? If you think you're just going to leave, you should have never come back at all!"
He stopped when she said that. Stopped holding her wrists, and gave her a look that she knew she wouldn't forget for a long time. He dropped her and walked out of the room, and toward the hallway. Still angry, she followed him.
"Where are you going?" she yelled.
He stopped once last time and smiled weakly at her. "Might as well not delay the inevitable."