Chapter 11: Homecoming & Paranoia
Austin's POV:
"Hey mom good morning." I walked downstairs in my pajamas. The pain was still there, but now it was bearable.
"Oh my goodness!" My mom rushed over to me and embraced me so tight I was losing oxygen. My back was stiff, she was making it worse.
My eyes widened out of shock and pain.
"Ahhh, mom you're hurting me" I yelled
"Mike he's here!" she called out.
What is she talking about? I was here the whole night.
My dad ran down stairs looking mad.
"Where the Heck were you last night!" My dad hit me on the arm.
I grabbed my arm in pain.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a softened expression.
"I got hurt last night". I replied.
"Ally and I were out last night searching for Brandon. We found him, but he caught us stalking him, so him and his friends attacked us. I was able to get me and Ally away before any major damage."
"Are you going to be ok?" My mother asked.
"Yes mom, I just need to heal."
"Well, good. You will have plenty of time to heal at home because you are grounded". My dad said.
I sighed. But I was expecting to be punished sooner or later.
"What time did you come in last night? Your mother and I thought you didn't come home at all"
"Around 11:00. I called for you guys but no one responded" I said.
"Ohh, we went looking for you around 10:30. You know your curfew is 9:00. We came back at around 1:00 praying you were at Ally's house."
"Speaking of Ally, Lester told us about what you guys did. You know skipping school is wrong. If Ally becomes a bad influence you're gonna have to stop hanging out with her. You are not going to be a follower". My mom said.
I sighed once again. Thinking about what she said. "She won't be". I promised.
As a part of my punishment my parents took my phone away and made me mow the lawn. Even though we usually have a professional do it. They told the landscaping guy he did not have to come today. I'm not doing a very good job, but I'm doing my best. I wonder what Ally is doing right now. When I dropped her off at her house last night, she went straight to bed. Mom and Dad said I could still spend time with Ally. As long as I tell them Where we are going, and how long we will be out. I need to send Ally the picture of Brandon, so she can show her dad. But that's hard to do when your parents have your phone.
I finished mowing the lawn and was going to bring out the edger. The edges on our lawn were very messy. It was so hot outside. Fall doesn't hit very strongly in October in the state of California. The sun was beaming down on my skin like heat rays. I could barely feel the breeze that was only evident from the turning leaves.
When I finished my landscaping I quickly ran back into the house not able to bear the scorching heat any more.
I grabbed myself a glass of lemonade from the kitchen. And rested on the couch joining my dad.
"That was fast" my dad commented reading the sports section of the Fresno Bee.
"Oh, uhh yeah" I said realizing he was talking to me.
"It's easy when you have motivation". I said sipping my lemon flavored drink.
My mom came in shewing me off the couch with her hands.
"No,no,no! Austin! you need to take a shower. I don't want you stinking up the couch".
I stood up obediently and grabbed my lemonade that I set on the coffee table.
"Go shower first, then you can rest" my mom finished patting me on the back.
Ally's POV:
As I made my way down stairs I could smell the delicious aroma of waffles.
Yay! Dad made waffles. I love when dad makes breakfast.
"Mmmm" I murmured smelling the kitchen.
"They smell great dad!" I said walking over to him.
"Thanks honey. Any new updates on Brandon". He asked.
"Umm" I thought, not wanting to tell him the full story. He might get overly concerned and hinder me from proving Brandon's guiltiness.
"Not much, no" I lied. I need to talk to Austin about the pictures and see If they are good enough to put Brandon's sorry butt in jail. Something might have happened to his phone during our little fiasco.
I wonder how Austin is doing. I know he was really hurt when he dropped me off last night. He looked like he was about to cry any second. That whole situation was all my fault. All Austin was trying to do was help me. I took everything too far.
"Hey mom?" I asked my mother who was relaxing in the dining room.
"Yes dear?" She replied.
"I know I'm technically grounded but, do you think I could.. maybe go-" I stuttered
"Ally if you're asking me if you can go to that dance tonight, you can forget it". She said flatly
"No, it's not that". I said shaking my head.
"Can I go over Austin's house? It's about the Brandon case." I asked hoping so much she would let me see him.
"Ok, Just be back at a reasonable time". she said.
I jumped with excitement and ran out of the house. I decided to walk to his house.
Austin's parents let me in and told me to wait in the living room while they go get him.
"Austin! Ally's here!" Mrs. Moon yelled.
She then smiled at me "Make yourself at home Ally".
I nodded and waited for Austin.
He came down in a dark blue tee shirt and jeans.
"Hey Ally he greeted me kissing me on the cheek taking a seat next to me".
"Hey- Oh you smell nice is that a new cologne". I said inhaling his scent.
"Yeah" he chuckled adjusting his glasses. "I just got it, It's called ocean breeze".
"Oh cool, it smells nice" I repeated.
"Well, thank you very much" he said slinging his arm over shoulder.
"Ok" I said clapping my hands together. "So I wanted to talk to you about the Brandon thing and the pictures. Are they clear enough to show my dad?"
"Oh yeah! When I looked at them while running for my life, they looked great. These photos are all the evidence we'll need to lock his butt up." Austin said with confidence.
Austin retrieved his phone from his mom and came back over.
"Ok, lets take a look at these-" Austin froze staring at his phone.
I was confused at his sudden change in mood.
"What the-" Austin breathed shaking his head. "Austin what's wrong?" I asked confused.
"The pictures, they're- they're gone." Austin replied flabbergasted.
"No!" I exclaimed. "That was our only evidence".
Austin shook his head in disbelief. "I-I don't know what could've happened to them. I swear I saw them last night. My mom could have deleted them.. but why would she go through my photos and delete those in particular. That just doesn't make sense." Austin said with his thinking face on.
Austin's eyes lit up in realization. He ran upstairs not missing a beat. He came back down with his keys and a jacket.
"Come on. We're going to find out what really happened to my pictures".
He said leading me out the door.
It was so loud I could hear the music blasting and kids having fun. I could smell spiked punch and cheap perfume.
This was homecoming.
"Why are we here?" I asked Austin as he was pulling me along through the school doors.
"I think Brandon might be here. And there's a good chance he is behind the missing pictures. If we can find him, we can confront him".
"But we lost all our proof. He's just going to deny whatever we throw at him."
"He doesn't know that. For all he knows, we took the picture and we can hang it over him like a sword."
Now lets find that little turd.
Austin and I made our way through the crowd of teenagers in search of Brandon.
"Do you see him?" Austin yelled trying to be heard over the loud music.
"No" i replied. "He's probably outside with his friends". I said
"Oh yeah, let's go look"
Austin and I pushed our way out of the crowd hand in hand.
We headed towards the back of the gym, where it all started.
As we turned the corner, Austin pulled me back hiding behind the wall.
"There he is" Austin whispered. He would come to a dance just to stay outside". Austin rolled his eyes".
"So what's the game plan" I asked him not knowing what to do next.
"Now, here comes the confrontation" He said turning the corner.
I trembled in fear thinking about what happened the last time we saw him and his friends.
I followed Austin closely behind.
"Hey!" Austin yelled
"Well, look who it is. Here for another beating prince charming, or have you and your pathetic girlfriend had enough". He said bobbing my nose making me jump behind Austin.
"Don't touch her" He said guarding me with his arm.
Austin ignored his irrelevant reference to cinderella and continued. "The only thing pathetic, is your logic in walking around the mall with stolen guitars. You ignorant, ill mannered, retard.
You know we got a picture of you and your stupid little friends with the guitars, and now we're gonna bust you guys".
"Why do you two even care we broke into some music store?" Brandon questioned.
"Because my dad owns that store" I speak up.
"Oh, well tell your dad thanks for the free stuff!".
Austin and I both rolled our eyes. There's that sarcasm I have not missed.
"Oh and Austin pictures really? You sure you didn't have any problems finding those pictures."
Austin suddenly lost his confidence looking confused "What are you-"
"Your a punk Austin! I know you don't have any proof because I deleted the pictures right after you went to sleep."
"How did you-" Austin started.
"I'm just that good, but don't worry. The fun has just begun". He smiled deviously walking away with his friends.
Austin stood there bewildered.
"He's crazy" I said disturbing Austin's agitation.
He nodded and lead me to his car.
"I'm tired, let's just go home. We'll figure this out tomorrow" He sighed.
I agreed and we drove to my house.
Austin's POV:
As I was walking Ally home from our date, I was overwhelmed with stress.
I thought about Brandon's last few words.
The fun has just begun
"What do you think Brandon meant when he said, 'The fun has just begun'?" I stressed to Ally squeezing her hand.
"Umm I don't know, maybe he met he's going to kill you in your sleep". Ally joked.
"Ally!" I panicked.
She laughed "Austin you're being paranoid. Brandon is a bluffer. He's not going to do anything to you. He's just trying to scare you". She reassured me.
Ally's always right, I need to trust her on this.
"You're probably right." I said.
Ally nodded stepping onto her driveway.
"Goodnight Austin" she said.
"Goodnight" I smiled snaking my arms around her waist and kissing her.
and kissing her
and kissing her
and-
"Ok" she pulled away.
"We're going to be out here all night". she smirked
"That wouldn't be so bad" I smirked.
"Goodnight I love you" Ally smiled.
"Goodnight" I said pecking her lips.
"I love you too".
I started heading back to my house noticing the street lights had come on. It was starting to get dark. The streets were barren and quiet. I shoved my hands deeply in my pockets seeking warmth. I saw a tall figure in the distance. It was too foggy to make out the figure It was probably a jogger. As I kept walking the figure became more clear. I stopped dead in my tracks.
I was frozen. Unfortunately he was not. I wasn't being paranoid I was being cautious.
"Wha- what are you doing here?" I asked him trembling as he stared at me darkly in the moonlight.
"I mean- What do you want" I said sternly with my head held high, trying to look tough.
"I want to know, why I'm going to court charged with stealing from Sonic Boom" He said walking towards me.
"I don't know how that happened, but I'm glad it did. Maybe jail could be good for you. Help you become a decent person." I retorted.
Brandon had his right hand buried in his pocket keeping his pace towards me.
"I know you and your little slut did something. And I am sick and tired of you sticking your nose in things that don't concern you".
"You don't call her that! You don't call her anything. You stay away from her!" I grabbed his sweater yelling in his face.
He pulled out a knife putting right in front of my face.
I backed away slowly horrified.
"Not so tough now uh?" He said.
"Don't do this. You don't want to go to jail? Prison is worse." I said shaking my head.
"I don't plan on going to either". He retorted.
Time slowed into a crawl, as I felt an explosion of pain in my stomach. I glanced down seeing the knife carve it's way inside me. i could see the blood gushing down my body. Brandon pushed me against the wall and I slumped to the ground in agonizing pain.
Hope your guys enjoyed it!
Until next time!
