Ally felt a knot tie in her stomach.
"I always knew you'd come back to Miami," Zack said. "Come back to me."
"Go away," she said, gritting her teeth together. The memories playing back in her head were about to make her throw up.
"You know, my mom asks about you all the time. The troubled girl I hung out with. I told her you ran away to Texas," he said.
"Go away," she repeated.
"You were never good at confronting your problems. You just ran away like a coward. Isn't that right, Ally?"
"She said go away," Austin said. "And excuse my old-fashioned manner, but it's in the kindest respect to listen to a woman's wishes."
"Who the fuck are you?" Zack said.
"Austin Moon," he said. "The little I've heard of you so far already makes me want to kick your teeth in. Don't expand that feeling."
"This isn't Texas, or whatever the hell hillbilly town you're from. This is Miami - this is my city, don't tell me what the fuck to do."
"Austin, can we just leave?" Ally muttered.
"Go ahead, run away again," Zack said.
"Austin, please."
He sighed and turned away, taking Ally's now trembling hand in the process.
/
"He's still here?" Trish said. "I could've sworn that he'd either be in jail or in a grave by now."
"He will be," Austin muttered. "I ain't ever seen Ally like that. Her face went white like a ghost, she was shaking. Just by hearing his voice."
"She's scared of him," Trish said. "He really fucked her up."
"He should be scared of me," Austin said. "I'll fuck him up."
"That did not sound right," Autumn said. "Did I come in at the wrong time?"
"Kind of," Trish said. "Speaking of, has anybody seen Ally?"
The trio looked around at each other, nobody saying anything.
"Aw shit," Austin said. "You reckon she's alright?"
"She's Ally. Of course she is," Trish said.
/
"That hick," Zack said, "that your boyfriend?"
"No," Ally murmured.
"You couldn't find anyone after me, could you?"
She stayed silent, eyes fixated on her legs that were swinging as she sat on the fountain.
"We could've had it all, you and me. You just had to go and fuck with it, though, didn't you Ally?"
I hate you. You ruined us, not me. I hate you.
"I was such a good boyfriend to you. You were such a bad girlfriend, Ally."
Bad girlfriend.
Somewhere, vaguely sputtering in her mind, those two words still lingered. That was his excuse for everything.
"I'm willing to give us another shot, Ally," Zack said. "Are you?"
She didn't say anything else. The way he said her name shot chills up her spine and left a painful sound in her ears. It was disgusting.
She could feel his breath creeping down her neck, and she shuddered on impulse.
"Are you?"
His lips connected with hers, hands holding her head in place. She kneed him off of her.
"Get away from me!" she screamed, before he slapped her.
Ally stumbled back into the wall, freezing.
She did something she hadn't done for three months.
She shrank back and waited for the impact of another blow.
/
"Hey," Austin said, taking a seat next to Ally on the piano. "Did you wanna work on that song?"
"Sure," she said, brushing her hair in front of her face.
I see you there, don't know where you come from
Unaware, the stare from someone
Don't appear to care that I saw you
I want you
"That's it. That's literally all I've got," she said. "Writers block, I guess."
His fingers nimbly swept across the keys. Her mouth gaped open in shock. Was it possible that the same callused hands could play a piano so beautifully?
"How about…this," he said, gliding across the keys.
What's your name, I have to know it
You let me in, begin to show it
We're terrified, we're heading straight for it
Might get it
"I thought you couldn't write songs," Ally said. "That was actually really good."
"If I have motivation," Austin said, thought trailing off as he started playing again.
You're like a song playing in the background
All alone but you're turning up now
And everyone is rising to meet you, to greet you
Turn around and you're walking toward me
I'm breaking down and you're breathing slowly
Say the word and I will be your man, your man
She placed her hands on the piano as well, playing a melody similar to the one Austin started with.
Say when
And my own two hands will comfort you
Tonight, tonight
Say when
And my own two arms will carry you
Tonight, tonight
He paused for a minute, before continuing to play.
You come across, lost and broken
You're coming to, but you're slow in waking
You still haven't spoken, what happened?
Ally pulled out her book, creasing the spine and changing the tempo slightly.
They're coming back and you just don't know when
You want to cry but there's nothing coming
They're gonna push until you give in
Say when
Austin adjusted to the tempo, slowly down the chorus slightly.
Say whenA
nd my own two hands will comfort you
Tonight, tonight
Say when
And my own two arms will carry you
Tonight, tonight
Her fingers gently hit the piano again, but no words seeped out.
"My granny used to tell me every song had a meaning," Austin said.
"Yeah?" Ally creaked out.
"Yeah," he said. "Say when."
She smiled slightly and turned to face him.
"Right," she breathed out. "Say when."
A/N: Again, sorry for the delay in updating. I had to go to Charleston yesterday which was an all day trip and before that I had a follow-up. Sorry!
*the song is Say When by The Fray. the lyrics are changed up slightly to fit this fanfic, but not much.
Review!
~rebel