Ally's P.O.V.

Ally moved her plastered hair out of her face, groaning at her reflection. Tears had made her hair stick to her face throughout the night, the result not being very pretty. She brushed out her hair for the hundredth time.

Staring at the clock as the digits turned from 8:31 to 8:32, she finally gave up. Grabbing a thick black elastic from inside her drawers, she pulled her hair into a neat, high pony tail. She quickly brushed out her soft curls and washed her face. Instead of wearing her contacts, she slid on her thick framed glasses.

Walking over to her closet, she slid on the first thing she grabbed. A brown skirt, red shirt, and white lace vest with a brown belt to tie it together. It definitely looked like a granny outfit, but Ally loved it. She hadn't worn it in a while. To complete the look, she slid into her old brown boots.

She contemplated writing an entry in her diary, but decided against it as it was already getting late. Grabbing her book and bag, Ally made her way outside.

She wasn't sure what it was. But she walked alot slower towards the orphanage today. Her thoughts kept on drifting back to the previous night. A certain blonde haired boy seemed to be taking over her thoughts.

Sighing, she opened the door to Mary's house.

"Ally!" Peter squealed, jumping into her arms. Ally laughed and hugged the boy tight. He was wearing a green shirt, and one of the girls green leotards. A pointy green hat completeed the look.

"Are you pretending to be an elf?" Ally asked the little boy. He shook his head.

"I'm Peter Pan! From Neverland!" He squealed, running off, his arms out like he was flying. Ally laughed again.

"Peter! Please come back!" A familiar voice reached her ears. She looked over to the stairwell to see Austin running down after Peter, Thomas laughing in his arms. Thomas was wearing a red shirt, holding a stick, with a black mop head pinned onto his hair.

"Ally!" The little boy squealed even louder when he saw the girl. She smiled.

"Ello Hook! What are you doing?" She played along.

"Finding Peter Pan!" Thomas shouted in his best pirate accent. Ally laughed.

"Go get him then," She smiled. Thomas ran after Peter. Ally turned to Austin.

"Hey Ally," He smiled as though everything was normal. "Mary says to take them to the park this morning. We were just waiting for you."

"Thanks Austin. And can we-"

"Ally," His eyes turned pleading. "Not here. Not now. Let's just let it go, ok?"

Ally sighed in frustration, but she couldn't say no to his eyes. She ran upstairs to get the girls.

"Miss Ally!" Kalei waved Ally over. She went to the two little girls.

"Where's Keenan and Kainoah?" Ally asked when she didn't see the boys.

"They're Indians. They're hiding," Elise smiled.

"Oh, I understand. Ready to go to the park?" Ally asked. The girls nodded. As they turned to get the boys, Elise tugged on Ally's skirt.

"Austin explained. But you tell us if he's mean to you again, and we won't let him back," Elise warned Ally, who laughed at the little girls expression. She was some what sad. If Austin had already told the kids, maybe he really didn't want to be friends anymore. Just acquantaces. Work Buddies.

Ally went to find Mary. Said woman was feeding a two year old in her office, talking to Sarie and another man. A little girl stood between them.

"Hey Mary. I'm going to take the kids to the park," Ally told her. Mary looked up as the man left rudely, leaving the little girl. Mary looked flustered.

"That was Mr. Giovanni. This is his daughter, whom he has just left," Mary added the last part as though she couldn't believe it. Ally stared at the girl in shock. She had pale olive skin, layered black hair, electric blue eyes, and a frown. Her face was passive, but Ally could see the sadness in her eyes. If she looked close enough at her skin, she could have sworn that she could make out bruises. She had to be at least ten.

Ally frowned at Mary. "Does he know the age limit here? And aren't you full?"

Mary and Sarie nodded warily, staring at the quiet girl. Mary turned to Ally. "I might keep her if I can. Can she join your group please?"

Ally nodded. "Of course."

Mary smiled. "Thanks. I'll inform Mardy and Tyna. Her name is Thalia," She gestured to the little girl. Ally bent down to her height.

"I'm Ally. Do you want to come to the park with my group?" She asked sweetly. Thalia just stared at her with hollow eyes, not saying anything. Ally stood up awkwardly and worried.

"Don't fret, I think she's in a bit of shock," Mary said quietly, "Should wear off soon."

Ally nodded, walking out of the room. Thalia follwed at a slow pace. She looked at everything like it was about to jump out and eat her. They walked to where the group was waiting by the front door. When they saw who was with Ally, their hum of chatter quieted down.

"Guys, this is Thalia. She'e joining our group," Ally told everyone. Pointing to each person, she introduced Thalia. "These are the triplets, Kalei, Keenan, and Kainoah. But you can call them Ka, Kee, and Kai if you want. That's Peter and Thomas. And this is Elise," The blonde haired green eyed girl gave Thalia a cautious and timid wave. Thalia just stared at her blankly.

"And I'm Austin," Austin introduced himself. A flicker of emotion played across her face, but it was gone so fast, that Ally figured she must have imagined it.

After ten horrifying minutes of chasing around the boys to get their shoes on, they finally all headed towards the park. It was a ten minute walk form the house. The entire time Ally tried to get Thalia to talk, but nothing was working. The girl would just seem to zone out.

As they arrived at the park, the children ran off to continue their game of Peter Pan. Ally learned that Elise was Wendy, and Kalei was Tiger Lily. Thalia sat with Austin and Ally on the swings.

"So, how are you doing Thalia?' Austin asked the child. She shrugged. Austin tried a different tactic. "You have a really cool name by the way. Have you ever read Percy Jackson? There's a girl named Thalia in it too, and she looks just like you. Black hair, electric blue eyes. Her dad's Zeus, which is pretty cool. Have you read that series?"

Thalia shook her head. Austin gasped in mock surprise. Thalia widened her eyes at him. "You haven't? Ally! They haven't read Percy Jackson! Were you aware of this?" Austin turns to Ally who was trying to stifle her laughter. Ally shrugged. Austin face palmed dramatically and looked towards the sky. "Gods! Di immortals! What is this world coming to?"

Ally finally couldn't take it. She laughed. That earned her a smile from Austin. He looked so carefree, it was wonderful. This was her Austin. "Well then, Erre es korrokas!" She shouted at him playful. He raised a challenging eyebrow.

"Oh it's on, graecus!" He screamed, tagging her. He sprinted in the other direction, kicking up pebbles as he ran to the play set. Ally shouted in indignation.

"Not fair cheater!"

"Braccus meas vescimini!" Was his response as she broke into a run after him. He was standing on top of the slide. It was very unsafe, and if Ally wasn't in a Percy Jackson rampage, she would have yelled at him to get down.

"I'm going to get you!" Ally screamed, climbing like a monkey up the play set. Austin stood tall. He grabbed a fallen tree branch.

"No one can defeat Perseus Jackson, Saviour to Olympus, and his trusty sword Anaklusmos!" He said in a deep voice that made her laugh. She found a smaller stick and grabbed it.

"Just remember, I'm the brains in this operation, Seaweed Brain," She drawled. "You'd be dead by now, rotting in the fields of punishment if it weren't for me!"

He rolled his eyes. Somehow we had switched to the same team. "Hurry up Wise girl! The drakon is going to eat you!"

Ally swung around, stabbing her 'knife' at the imaginary drakon. After an excrutiating fight - which she won - she turned to Austin. But he had a dazed look on his face. After a second, she understood what he was dgoing. She snuck up behind him, then pretended to jab the air in front of him. Suddenly he fell out of his trance. She smirked at him.

"Really Seaweed Brain? How many times are you going to fall for Kelly's tricks?" She shook her head in fake disapproval. He sent her a lopsided grin.

"That's why you're there for me Annabeth."

For the first time Ally realized how close they were blushed red, as did he, and stared at the ground. Suddenly laughter rang out from the swings. Alley's head snapped up, in time to see Thalia cover her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles. That made Ally smile.

"You guys are funny! Can we play?" Peter asked. Ally nodded, and then turned back to Thalia.

"Do you want to play too?"

She shook her head, keeping herself planted on her swing. Ally sighed a bit, but she was happy that they got a laugh out of her.

They played for four hours straight at the playground. No joke. Austin stayed as Percy, Ally as Annabeth. They explained the ,main idea of the characters, without giving anything away. Keenan and Kainoah played Travis and Connor Stoll. Thomas played Leo, and Elise played as Piper. Kalei played Hazel. They left Thalia's character open in case Thalia wanted to play.

At one point, Austin and Ally were fighting a group of monsters. A hell hound jumped on Ally, and Austin tackled her to safety. He landed on top of her, shielding her body with his own. When the danger had passed, he helped her back up.

"Thanks Perce," She smiled at him with a wink. He chuckled.

"Anytime Wise girl."

Finally, the children complained that they were dying of starvation. Ally could tell that Austin wanted to keep playing, and frankly, she did too. But they eventually agreed to taking the children home. Ally walked up fron with the kids, while Austin hung back with THalia.

At some point, Ally looked back, just to see Thalia talking quietly to Austin. Ally had to bite back her surprise. She had no idea how Austin did it.

Once they got back from the park, Ally made everyone sandwiches. Austin helped, as though he was designed to work and co-operate with Ally. As the children sat in the backyard with the others and ate, Ally and Austin sat inside. Ally pulled out her book.

"Whatcha working on now?" Austin asked, his mouth half full with Peanut butter and jelly.

Ally contemplated not telling him, but then she realized that if she wanted him as a friend again, heck, if she ever wanted for maybe even something more, she,d have to start trusting him again.

"A new song. I'm thinking about doing it on friendship," She said cautiously, watching, the blonde closely. He nodded, taking another ginormous bite of his sandwich. "And ideas?"

He shrugged. "Well, what are the qualities of friendship? Maybe it'd be easier if you wrote them down, and then focused your song on those qualities."

Ally nodded. It made sense, and it kind of irked her that she didn't think of it. She wrote down some things off the top of her head. Trust, loyalty, and stuff like that. Then she wrote down some less common ones. Consistence, humour, faith. Then after a moment, she wrote Down love.

Austin read her writing upside down, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. He swallowed, then motioned to the word. "Love?"

Ally nodded slowly, not even really sure herself why she put it down. She timidly met his kind brown eyes with her big ones. "Yeah. Love. I think, I think all friendships have it. Have to have it. It's usually best friend love, but sometimes it can evolve to more, I guess," She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Kind of like ours had," He mumbled quietly.

"Has," She automatically corrected. His eyes swiveled to hers in surprise.

"Sorry?" He stared at her like she had four heads, but there was something else too. Hope.

"Has," Ally repeated slowly. Austin swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Are you sure?" His throat was tight. The fact that he sounded like he was about to cry, brought tears to the corners of her eyes. She looked down at her book, before meeting eyes with him again. For the first time, it was just Austin and Ally. They were completely exposed and vulnerable to each other. And Ally loved it.

She gave him a small smile. It conveyed everything. He smiled back, and held his hand out.

"Friends?"

She laughed and grabbed his hand. "Friends."

Both of them stayed like that for a moment, neither moving for fear everything was a dream. That's how Ally felt now. That their friendship was fragile. One wrong move, and it would break. Shatter, unfixable.

"So," Ally cleared her throat, "About that song..."

Austin smiled, not letting go of her hand. Ally didn't complain. "It should be on the trust one. You know, how you can always count on a friend, no matter what?"

Ally nodded, never breaking eye contact. "I like that."

"You do?" He asked her like a five year old who just got his parents approval. Ally smiled even wider.

"Yeah. A lot," She picked up her pen, ready to write. "Any ideas?"

He bit his lip as he thought, turning to look out the window. Ally loved the way that his brow formed a little v as he thought. "What about, If you ever find yourself lost in the middle of the sea, I'll saI'll the world to find you."

"And if you're ever in the dark and you can't see, I'll be the light to guide you," Ally added. Austin smiled.

"That's perfect," He agreed, biting into a piece of watermelon. The juice dribbled out of the corner of his mouth and down his chin. Ally laughed and wiped it away with her hand. His eyes widened momentarily, making her laugh more. He squirmed a bit, and she grabbed his chin with her other hand.

"Hold still Austin! It's not like I bite," She smile, using her right thumb to cleanup the mess on his chin. He stopped moving, just as she finished. "There. Slick and span," She wiped her hand s on her napkin. Austin grumbled.

"I could have got it myself. I'm not five."

"I could digress that," She laughed, collecting their two empty plates. She started to walk away, but turned around, a smirk on her face. "Do you even now what digress means?"

He blushed a crimson red, which Akky thought was extremely cute. Her laugh came out automatically. "Look it up," She shouted over her shoulder. She dropped the plates in the sink, rinsing them before sticking them in the dishwasher. Wiping her hands on her skirt, she walked out to see Austin sitting there, a confident smirk on his face.

"Argue."

She smiled. "Yup," She popped her 'p', as she sat down opposite of him.

"And why didn't you just say argue?" Austin asked exasperated. Ally shot him a coy grin.

"Because you were complaining that you weren't a five year old. So I was using big boy words."

"What ever," He grumbled, making her smile widen. He eventually smiled to. "So for that song, I was thinking-"

"Well that's dangerous," Ally teased. Austin shot her a look.

"Find out what were made of, when we are called to help our friends in need.". He told her. She nodded. That would sound good.

"And then for the chorus, You can count on me like 1, 2, 3, and I'll be there, and I know when I need it-"

"I can count on you like 4, 3, 2, and you'll be there. Cause that's what friends are s'pose to do oh yeah." He cuts me off. I nod.

"Great. What about, If you're tossing and your turning and you just can't fall asleep..." She drifted off as she tried to think.

"I'll sing a son, beside you," Austin laughed a little, and Ally did too. Ally picked up the ball.

"And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me," She sang.

"Everyday I will, remind you," Austin sang to her, looking into her eyes. She knew that those weren't just lyrics for their song. It was the truth. They. other started to sing the chorus in sync, a Capella.

"Find out what we're made of, when we are called to help our friends in need. You can count on me like 1, 2, 3, and I'll be there, and I know when I need it I can count on you like 4, 3, 2, and you'll be there. Cause that is what friends are s'pose to do, oh yeah."

Austin started singing as Alley's voice died out. "You'll always have my shoulder when you cry."

Ally continued after him. "I'll never let go, I'll never say goodbye. I love you, you can count on me like 1, 2, 3, and I'll be there. And I know when I need it,". Austin started to sing.

"I can count on you like 4, 3, 2, and you'll be there."

"Cause that is what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah," They finished enharmonic. They smiled at each other as Ally madly scribbled down the lyrics. She and Austin high-fived.

"Another amazing song Als," Austin smiled at her. She smiled back, looking at him through her lashes as she wrote.

"Thanks Austin, but give yourself some credit. You wrote at least half.". Suddenly they were surrounded by clapping. They both took in their surroundings for the first time, realizing that the entire household was applauding them. Ally blushed and Austin smiled.

"Austin! Ally! That was amazing!" Mary smiled. Tyna and Mardy were staring at the two in shock. Mostly at Austin. The children squealed and clapped louder.

"You two should sing another song for us! We have a piano," Sarie suggested. Austin and Ally looked at each other before shrugging.

"Why not?" Austin had a mischevious glint in his eyes. Ally agreed.

They walked to the living room, both sitting on the rickety piano bench. Ally notice how close she and Austin had to sit. In harmony, they started playing the well known tune to State of Grace. They sung the entire song staring at each other.

The rest of the day passed quickly in a blur. They ended up playing in the sandpit in the backyard, Austin making a huge sand castle, and guarding it jealously. He let Ally in, but no body else.

The girl Thalia still wouldn't talk to anybody but Austin. She looked so sad. She smiled a couple of times at Austin's cheesy jokes, but other than that, she was always lost in her head, unfocused and not there. Ally was determined to find out the little girls story, so as everyone took a water break, Ally took the chanced to go talk to Mary.

"Be right back guys," She shouted. She walked inside, smiling at the cool air inside the house. She walked room to room, waving at Mardy at some point, and picking up a toy truck. She placed the truck in it's dutiful cabinet, before finally finding Mary.

"Hey Ally. What's on your mind?" The lady smiled as she took a seat. Ally walked over to the sink to grab a glass of water.

"Thalia. What's her story?" Ally frowned. Mary's eyes turned sad.

"I read her file. It's on my desk if you want to read it," She got up, walking to the door. At the last second she turned back to Ally. "Be careful where you tread dear."

Ally frowned more as the woman walked out of the room. She bit back a sigh. Why couldn't Mary just tell her? She got up in frustration and made her way over to the desk. She shuffled through some bills, a couple of letters, before finding the desired file. She made herself comfy on the couch before opening it.

Right at the front of the file was a picture. But it didn't seem to fit. The girl in the picture had hollow eyes, empty cheeks, deathly pale skin. Chunks of her black hair was missing, blood coating one side of her face. It was just a head shot, but the sight horrified Ally. She read the caption on the bottom.

Failed suicide attempt number two. Hit side of head with metal pole. Found unconscious by neighbourhood dog.

Wait, the girl had done this to herself? Ally stared at the picture again, now seeing how the angle that the wound is at is reachable by the girl. She flipped the file over and read.

Thalia Benson Giovanni. Daughter of Michael Giovanni, prominent businessman, and Ellie Marital, deceased. Age, ten. Date of birth, July seventh, 2003. Mother committed suicide when Thalia was seven, but it is suspected murder. Only witness, Thalia Giovanni. Main suspect, Michael Giovanni. Case pending.

Ally probably reread that paragraph several times. Did Thalia possibly see her own mother murder? Is that why she won't talk?

Currently a ward of the state. Mental condition: Unstable. Prone to suicidal thoughts and actions.

Ally closed the file, her hands shaking. How could that sweet little girl outside have such a horrible past? She slowly put the file back on Mary's desk, covering it in the other papers. If a kid walked in and just happened to look at the papers on Mary's desk, Ally didn't want them to see that file. She stood up slowly, deep in thought.

She made her way back outside, only to realize that it was six. Austin was putting his shoes on by the door.

"Hey Al- What's wrong?" His voice turned to concern. Ally shook her head as the kids came down for a good bye.

"You're coming tomorrow, right Ally?" Elise asked.

"Of course," She forced a smile onto her face. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Bye guys!" Austin shouted as his usual jolly self. After hugs and lots of screams of protest, the two of them were finally out the door. They walked together, Ally clutching her book. "Do you want a ride?"

"What?" Ally looked up from her thoughts.

"Do you want a ride?" Austin repeated. "Looks like you need to get something off your chest."

Ally nodded. "Can we go get ice cream?"

He laughed. "Of course. But don't you think we should eat dinner first?"

Ally blushed at her slip up, before nodding. They got into his car. He started it slowly, and backed up with ease. They drove to the best restraint in the entire world: Jack in the Box.

They walked in together, Ally picking seats while Austin went to get their order. He came back to the table with two Jumbo jacks, onion rings, and one large coke with two straws. One was red and one was yellow. Ally pulled the red one towards herself.

"So," Austin started, burning himself on an onion ring. Ally stifled a laugh. "What's up?"

Ally took a deep breath, swallowed her bite, before answering. "It's Thalia."

"The new girl?"

Ally nodded slowly. "I read her file."

Austin stopped eating looking at her. "What did it say?" He asked curiously. Ally closed her eyes.

"She's suicidal."

"What?" Austin choked on his burger. Ally sighed, passing him the coke which he drank readily.

"Thalia is suicidal. I guess she has been for a while. Her mother committed suicide in front of her when she was seven. It's a possibility that her father murdered her though."

Austin's face shone with horror, and Ally didn't blame him. "That's sick. Is that why she's so quiet?"

"I think so. I don't know for sure. I saw you talking to her. What did she say?"

Austin shrugged. "I just asked her things like what her favourite color was, and if she watched zalien movies."

Ally nodded. "She seems to trust you, which is good. I'm just worried for her, if you know what I mean."

Austin nodded. Then he changed the topic, which Ally was glad for. "I'll bring my collected edition of the Lightening Thief tomorrow, and we can read it to the kids."

Alley's face lit up. "You have the collectors edition? How?!"

"I have my ways," Austin smirked at her.

They finished eating their meal, tossing out their garbage. They got back in Austin's car, as he drove them to the ice cream parlor in the mall. He ordered two scoops of cookies and cream, and she got two scoops of fruity mint swirl. It was her favourite ice cream. They walked out to the boardwalk, the sun starting to set in the distance.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Austin turned to Ally. "Let's have someone take our picture, so we have this moment forever."

Ally smiled and went to reach for her phone, only to remember that it was broken.

"Nards! I forgot that I broke my phone. I have to take it to a store I guess," Ally shrugged. She made a mental note to bring it to the store before school started again. Austin nodded.

"OK. If you ever need a phone to get in touch with someone, you can just use mine."

"Thanks."

"No prob."

They finished eating, both holding their empty ice cream comes. An older lady passing by took their picture with Austin's phone. They smiled as they looked at the result. As the last rays of sun lit up their faces, they were no longer Austin the popular jock, and Ally the nerd. They weren't friends who were trying to work through their problems. They weren't even the boy and girl at the end of the dock.

They were simply Austin and Ally.

HEY! I hope you guys liked that chapter! It was lots of fun to write. Now onto the questions...

Q. Who do you like writing more about, PJO, or AaA?

A. Honestly... PJO.

Q. What is your favourite TV show apart from AaA?

A. Person of Interest!

Q. Do friends think about their friend all day everyday and wish they could be close to them all day and when they're sick just want them to hold you...when they feel like crying all you want to do is hug them and make it better?

A. Um, yes and no. If it's a friend, totally. If it's your crush... well... he might be more than your crush now ;-)

Q. Are you a Directioner?

A. YES! But I also love R5 and Taylor Swift.

And that's all! Please review, send in comments, and questions! I'll try and update soon, so until then, Live long and Prosper! :-)