Ally sat in the chair outside the office. A teacher had come just as Kira got punched in the face. And it was a strict one; the science teacher, Mrs. Waters. She was just leaving wen she spotted Kira on the floor, unconscious and Piper holding out her fist that was red when she realized what she had done to protect her sister.
It was a blur. Everything and everyone froze after Kira was punched. No one knew what to say as they just stared. Ally wasn't mad at Piper for doing it, but it wasn't the answer; talking things out made things better. Yet, with Ally's experience, talking things out was the reason for her many fights with Elliot. So maybe it was best to punch her so she had learned her lesson.
A few minutes later the three came out. Kira had an ice pack on her face, as well as Carrie from getting slapped so hard; Piper carried a red slip. "So what did the Dean say?" Ally asked immediately, standing up.
"What do you think?" Kira asked rudely.
"Don't yell at her!" Carrie exclaimed, looking like she was going to cry.
Kira turned to Carrie. "I didn't yell. And it's your idiot sister that got us suspended."
"That's not true," Carrie said, closing her eyes. "She was just protecting me."
"You guys got suspended?!" Ally asked in disbelief. She just thought they'd get a lecture of how violence wasn't the answer and be sent out with a second chance.
"Kira and I did," Piper corrected her.
That made sense. Carrie hadn't done anything wrong, she just needed to work on saying no. What Piper did was wrong, but it was for the right reasons. You don't mess with her like that. If you hit her, she'll hit back.
Harder.
She wouldn't let you forget it.
But if it weren't for Kira, they wouldn't be here. She was just finding someone else to blame. Why did she want money? Why would she even need money? Ally could think of a few things on the spot, but she didn't say it. If Carrie wanted to tell her than she would. That was if she trusted her enough.
"Yeah, I'm well aware of that," Kira said.
"I wasn't taking to you," Piper said through her teeth; then went to her pocket and grabbed $50 out of her pocket and handed it to her. "Take the damn money and beat it. Or I will give you another black eye."
With no thank you, Kira snatched it and walked away quickly. "Why did you give her the money?" Carrie asked quietly.
"It's the only reason to leave you alone," she explained.
"But when she comes back..."
"Hey, it's gonna be okay," she soothed, hugging her. Carrie looked surprised, then just smiled and returned it. Ally smiled as they pulled away. "So...what now?" she asked awkwardly.
"We just all go home..." Carrie said. "I guess. The principal already called our mom, she'll be here soon."
"Oh, okay," Ally nodded. She was glad they had a ride home. But Piper was going to be in the doghouse.
They in waited for a few minutes in the parking lot of Marino High. "There's my mom," Carrie said, pointing to a woman in the blue car.
"She's pissed," Piper said, fear in her voice. "I know that face. It's the 'I'm pissed at Piper' face. Trust me I've seen it thousands of times in my lifetime." Her voice sounded so serious, it almost made Ally wanna laugh, but she didn't.
"Well good luck." She hugged both of them, and watched the blue car drive away; she then went to her car and drove home.
As she drove she noticed something she hadn't seen in awhile. On the cement wall of someone's fence, there was a spay paint of a girl. She wasn't very old, somewhere between ten or eleven; in her hand was an axe, almost as big as her. She wore a pink dress, and on top of her head was a black hat; her shoes were pretty and black as well.
Shaking her head, her foot reached the brake at a stoplight. Whoever drew that they could get in a lot of trouble. It was vandalizing; it was illegal!
Yet, whoever did it and were to get caught, it wouldn't effect Ally. But if only she knew. Her long, stressful day was only beginning.
Ally closed the door behind her. "Hey Ally," Vanessa greeted.
"Hi." She was so exhausted she could barely speak. All she wanted to do was crawl in bed and go to sleep. Today was exhausting, but that didn't mean that tomorrow would be the same. Everyday was a new day.
"Damn you look beat," Elliot said, joining to Vanessa's side. "Rough day?"
"Very," she answered triedly, explaining all that happened today.
"Dude, Piper got suspended?!" Elliot exclaimed excitedly.
"It's not really something you should be encouraging Elli," Vanessa said.
"Calm down. That chick is awesome!" He rubbed his hands together. "She was just like me in high school. Rebellious, cool, troublemaker-"
"Annoying," Vanessa suggested rolling her eyes, and Ally giggled.
Elliot scowled. "Well it was pretty cool to me," he muttered.
"How long is she suspended?" Vanessa asked.
"A week," she answered.
Elliot nodded. "Well I'm gonna start dinner."
"So I saw an interesting work of street art today," Ally told her siblings at the dinner table.
Vanessa almost chocked on her drink. "Really? What was it?" she asked nervously. Why was she so nervous? It didn't have anything to do with her.
"It was a painting- well, spray painting- of a girl," she remembered.
"What did she look like?" There was still nervousness in Vanessa's voice.
"She was small, she explained, "and wore a pink dress and a black hat. And most of all, she was carrying an axe almost as big as her!"
"Wow," Elliot said, sounding surprised as he drank his milk.
Vanessa remained silent.
"She looked so angry," she continued.
"Angry?" Elliot questioned.
"Mhm," Ally nodded, taking another bite of her potatoes.
"Street art is illegal, you know," Elliot said.
"No kidding!" Vanessa said, annoyance in her voice. "But it's art," her voice was more calm and let out a small sigh.
"It's not art," he argued.
"Well, it depends on-" Ally started, but was cut off by her brother.
"Zip it Pigeon!" he snapped.
Ally slumped down in her seat. Why does he call me that? she though, frustrated. Pigeons are ugly!
"Now what's gotten into you?" He turned back to Vanessa.
"All of those artist, they have something to say! And it's the only way they know how." Vanessa had a good argument. Maybe street art was the only way artists could get their art up to show the world. But Ally kept her mouth shut.
Later that night Ally lay in her bed questioning everything that had been going on. From the Kira situation, to the awesome street art she saw driving home. Concluding her thoughts, she decided to text Austin
*Italics is Ally*
*Bold is Austin*
Hey...
Hi Ally! :)
Ally smiled at this. His hello was such a nice gesture and it made her heart ache and her stomach have butterflies and... Stop it Ally! You can't fall in love again! Love..? Wait did I say that aloud? Ally scolded herself. Before he had he chance to think of it she was getting a call from Austin.
"Hello...um...Hello, hello" She practiced and paced around her room before she answered the phone.
"Austin! Hi um I...you..what's up?!"Ally silently cursed at herself for sounding so stupid
"Oh nothing much.. Listen, some friends and I were going to the park but they canceled on me and I don't have any planes. I guess what I am trying to ask is, would you like to go to the park together?"
"Austin, it's 11:15! Elliot and Vanessa are asleep, I can't just can't leave!"
"GREAT! I'll pick you up in 5 minutes so you soon!"
"But Austin I...Austin?...Hello?"
He hung up.
Some part of Ally was mad that he didn't listen to her whatsoever but a little amused that he was picking her up. Before she knew it there was a knock on her window. When she opened it to see what was going on, Austin hurtled into her room through the window. Making a small sound, he lost his balance and tumbled on the floor.
"That was awesome!" He chuckled, hurling himself up. "Phew! Ready to-"
"Shh!" Ally covered her mouth, fighting the urge to chuckle herself at her blond, loud friend. It was kind of funny how he fell down and said it was awesome in a silly voice.
But if Elliot woke up, he'd have both of their skins. Vaness would be more subtle, but she still wouldn't be too keen about Austin being there at 11 at night and even worse without permission. Though Ally was sure she'd let it slide and not tell Elliot. That happened a lot of things. She'd always say "this will be our little secret" with a smile. And the secret was always kept.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, blushing and clearing his throat. "Ready to go?" he whispered this time.
Ally nodded with a smile. They snuck past Vanessa, who was sleeping. Then Elliot, who had one hand in his bowl of popcorn and his mouth was slightly opened as he snored. "Alls," he laughed, "you're brother." He pointed.
He and Ally both laughed out of their noses.
But Ally stopped laughing when she noticed Austin creeping in Elliot's room. "Austin!" she whispered, her eyes hardening. He'd be dead if he woke her brother up! "Get out of there!"
"Ally it's fine," he whispered, then pulled a black marker out of his shirt pocket.
He wasn't going too...
"Oh God," Ally whispered, putting her face in her hands. "Ausstinn!" she complained slowly, urging him to come back by gesturing her hand.
"Alllyyyy," he replied in a babyish tone, somewhat offending her.
She scrunched up her face as he got closer. "I thought we were going to the park!" she whined.
"We're just taking a little pit stop," he insisted. "It'll be fun. I promise."
"If you promise," she smiled shyly, feeling her cheeks heat up. She didn't know what it was, but suddenly she felt as if waking her brother up wouldn't matter, and they'd just run. He'd take her hand and they'd run out, laughing without a care in the world; they'd be clear out of Miami before Elliot could kill them and dance on their graves. She could almost see it now.
But that wasn't reality.
Suddenly she felt the butterflies as Austin slowly approached Elliot. She had to admit that he had a nice body. She never realized how good looking he was until then. She always thought he was cute, but this was the first time she realized how extremely attractive this boy was. I wonder how he looks shirtless... she thought dreamily with a lovesick smile on her face. Cute butt. She tilted her head, still smiling.
He was about to apply the marker on Elliot's face, but he felt himself being watched. He turned to Ally. "You were checking me out, weren't you?" He smiled, raising his eyebrows.
"N-No," she stuttered. How did HE know? she wondered. He really is perfect. She smiled again. "Maybe," her face dropped as the word quickly came out of her mouth.
Austin snorted. "Well okay," he said sarcastically as Ally joined his side, shaking off the thought that she really wanted to see him shirtless. A girl can dream, she sighed. She hated that she liked him so much. She didn't mean to, it just happened so fast. In the moment that they almost kissed, she realized she was falling in love with Austin, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was as if her brain was against her, telling her that falling back in love would just give her even more pain then she already went through; but her heart...her heart was soaring, and running. The way she thought of it was as if her heart was on a leash like a dog, and her brain was the walker; and her heart just wanted off of the leash so badly while her brain tried to hold her back, telling her not to fall so hard again for a boy that would just end up shattering her heart into millions of pieces.
She watched him draw a perfect mustache on Elliot's face, and they both giggled. "Ohh!" She jumped in excitement. "I wanna draw a uni brow!" She reached out her hand, and he handed her the marker.
"Knock yourself out," he whispered in amusement.
She drew it perfectly. She smiled, proud of her work that she accomplished. Elliot stirred a little in his sleep. "We should go," Ally said.
Finally, Austin had enough. "Okay," he nodded, grabbing his keys out of his pocket, and they were on their way.
When they arrived at the park, no one was there. But it was absolutely freezing. Ally shivered, rubbing her arms, and hugging herself, trying trying to produce best not to make it too noticable. Then Austin, being the gentlemen he was, would give her his coat, making him cold.
"A-Are you cold?" Austin asked.
"No," she lied, her teeth beginning to chatter.
"Liar," he whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzled into her back. "Who's a Shark Slayer?" He said, lips still pressed against her shoulder.
"Shark Slayer? That's the best you could come up with?" she laughed, feeling her face heat up as his touch just just made her feel so free.
He ignored the question and repeated his. "Now tell me who's a Shark Slayer?" She knew he was saying that because if anyone saw Shark Tale, they'd know that the fish, Oscar, had lied about killing a shark, leading him to fame.
"No one..." She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "You're so childish..." In a way she kind of liked the child in him. It was cute. Austin liked a lot of things little kids liked, which made him good with them. He liked coloring (especially out of the lines), kids movies, pudding, and all kinds of stuff that you don't see a normal teenage boy do. But Austin was different. A good different.
"You're so adult...ish..." he said awkwardly, causing her to giggle.
"Thanks?"
"You're welcome," he teased.
She started to feel warmer as they walked past the playground where they currently were and into the field. His arm was around her as they walked. They didn't question it, they just walked, heads close to each others as they just walked like there was no tomorrow. Then they started talking about anything and everything.
Suddenly Ally stopped taking when she felt something tickle her nose. She stopped walking. "Austin," she whispered. It was a bug, right on her nose. She hated bugs.
"It's okay Alls," he soothed. "Stay still..." He approached her, griping her shoulders and gently blowing on the bug; it lit up, bright yellow.
"It's a firefly!" She jumped a little in excitement, and Austin nodded, amused as the firefly flew away.
"Watch this," he said excitedly. Then he ran, the wind rushing in his face. The fireflies popped out of the grass like daisies and shined, illuminating the darkness.
"Wow..." she said, looking at the fireflies in awe as they flied. She attempted to catch them, looking absolutely beautiful and adorable in Austin's eyes.
He couldn't stop smiling that night as he watched her. She then ran with him, more fireflies came out from hiding as they just ran together, his hand in hers. He looked at her; she just looked so amazing in this light with the fireflies. Their light reflected on her soft hair. He wanted to tell her right there that he loved her, and kiss the life out of her.
Ally stopped, realizing this was the area were she had seen the amazing street art of the girl with the axe, driving home from school. She didn't know why the axe girl fascinated her so much, but she wanted other people to see it; she wanted to know how it made them feel.
"I wanna show you something Aus," she said quietly,her breathes normal now as she catched it after running so much. He nodded and she took his hand, leading him up the hill to get out of the park. And there was the cemet wall was, were she discovered axe girl.
They stood in front of it. "I saw this on the way home from school today after the whole Carrie insedent. It made me feel so many things. I don't know why, it's just..." she trailed off. "Well complements to the artist that's all." She finished awkwardly.
"It's amazing," Austin said in awe, staring at it. "Why does she look so angry?" he asked.
"Dunno," she answered. "I told Vanessa and Elliot about it. Vanessa was acting really weird about it. Elliot got mad because she called street art real art, then they started-"
"Ally," he interrupted, "don't you see what's going on here?"
She looked up at him, confused. "What?" she questioned.
Austin gave her a small smile. "Didn't you saw Vanessa was an artist?"
"Yeah, but how does that-"
"Vanessa is the artist," he interrupted again.
Ally's eyes widened, looking at the piece of work. It was coming together now, that's why she got so defensive. That was why she was so nervous. Vanessa was the artist.
I like this chapter! Even though this wasn't my idea, my sister wrote some of this. She came up with the idea of them going to the park, and I wrote about the fireflies (which is somewhat based off of the scene of The Good Dinosaur. If you haven't seen yet I'd totally recommend it, it's an amazing movie and it made me cry so hard. Same thing with Shark Tale, I didn't cry though...).
