A/N: I apologize for the late update, but I have been really busy and rarely ever able to write for the past however many days or weeks. I also apologize if the chapter is short and feels a little choppy. I was really tired when I wrote this so all of you readers could have something to read. Hope you still like it anyways. Happy Reading!
Chapter Fourteen
There was something strangely weird at the scene before her. Ally had to blink a few times to get used to what she was seeing. There, in the food court, sat Alton, Trina, and Dan on one side and on the other sat Austin, Trish, and Dez. They were talking animatedly as if they were having fun. Ally couldn't help but smile and then giggled to see things were working out between them. She sighed as she thought back about her days of depression and the day she almost died. She also remembered about her father's dislike for Austin, Trish, and Dez, and they were forbidden to enter Sonic Boom or to be near her. Ally usually never goes against her father's wishes, but this would be one of those times she would have to go against sneakily. For now, she was going to keep her attempted suicide memory a secret, not until she was really ready to tell to Alton, Trina, and Dan. And of course, she wasn't going to tell Austin, Trish, and Dez because there was currently no more hope for them to being best friends for what happened. They could be friends again, but they can no longer be like what they once were. It saddened her to let go such a beautiful friendship, but they already made their choice and so did she. As for her father's orders, she would have to tell both sides when the right moment occurs today.
Ally sucked in a breath before smiling and breathing out through her nose before walking up to her friends. She had gotten a text from Alton that everyone was waiting for her. She never thought that the "everyone" in the text meant Austin, Trish, and Dez were included.
"Hey," Ally greeted with a smile. Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at Ally. That kind of freaked Ally out a bit, but she tried not to show it.
"Ally, are you okay? You are looking at us weirdly," Trish stated. Well, Ally failed miserably.
"Yeah, it just freaked me out when you guys just turned your heads at the same time," Ally said. When she said that, they turned their heads at the same time, looking at the person in front of each other with a weird look before turning their heads back to her in unison once again.
"No, we don't," they said in unison. Ally really was freaked out by how precise they were, and she didn't try to hide it this time. Suddenly, they started laughing.
"Sorry, Ally. We planned it. We just wanted to see how you respond," Trina stated in her fit of chuckles.
"Your reaction is priceless," Dan said after he finished laughing. He eyed her for a moment before laughing again.
Ally was unhappy about the prank before she started giggling and then started laughing with them. She didn't understand why she's laughing, but her friends made it so easy for her to laugh. But then again, it doesn't take too much effort to get her to smile or giggle.
After they calmed down from laughing, Ally looked over at her old and new friends and smiled. She felt relief wash over her to see they were being civil towards each other. She sat at the front with Alton on her left and Austin on her right.
"I'm glad you guys are getting along with each other," Ally stated with a smile.
Trina scoffed and waved her hand as if Ally's statement was wrong.
"Whoever said we are getting along? We are cats and dogs here. They hiss, we bite," Trina stated.
Ally looked at her in confusion with what she said. She then looked to the others and sought for answers.
"It's true, Ally. Even though we are similar in personality, we obviously don't have similar tastes," Dan agreed.
"It's not our fault that you guys want to argue with us," Trish piped in.
"Yeah. We weren't the ones making threats," Dez added.
Ally sighed when they started arguing except Alton and Austin who was rather strangely calm. Alton rolled his eyes when the four started debating about zebras and platypuses. It was a strange argument, but it suited the four.
"Alton. Austin. Do you guys want to go some place that is more... quiet?" Ally suggested. The two readily nodded as they sneaked quietly away from the arguing quartet.
They decided to go to Suzy's Soups. Ally loved it there because she always gets a gold star. Though she is a mature young woman, Ally always welcomed the gold stars until she was filled from head to toe.
Alton chuckled when he noticed Ally's eyes started to brighten up when they entered the restaurant. Austin noticed as well and smiled. He remembered seeing her covered in stars when she entered Sonic Boom one day. The two guys wondered why she wanted so many gold stars but then stop questioning it because Ally deserved them. And in a way, she is a gold star.
"Oh my, hello Ally, Alton. And is that... Oh, aren't you Austin Moon? It's been a while. How are you doing?" Miss Suzy said. Austin rubbed the back of his neck and smiled shyly. It had been way too long.
"I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking, Miss Suzy," Austin replied courteously. Miss Suzy lead them to the table and started taking their orders and then gave each of them a gold star. Ally held the brightest smile on her face when she had one on her blouse.
"Thanks, Miss Suzy," Ally told the older woman. The older woman smiled gently at her, and Ally received another gold star.
When they ordered the soup of their choice, the trio started chatting. Austin felt a little left out when Alton and Ally conversed about the current book they were reading for a Book Club they were in. All Austin heard was gibberish, and he didn't like how close Alton and Ally were. It was as if the more he blinked, the closer they got.
He wanted to be the one Ally looks at, not this Alton guy. He could feel his anger and jealousy rising, but he tried a breathing technique to calm him down. It's because of these feelings that he lost Ally in the first place, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Ally didn't deserve to be treated that way.
After a few minutes, Ally realized Austin was being too quiet. She felt bad for excluding him from the conversation, but she also knew Austin wasn't into the same things that Ally liked other than music. With Alton, there was something she had in common with him other than music and it was in the form of books. Ally really couldn't find a topic that all of three of them may like, and that was when the awkward silence was formed. There was nothing else to talk about. Luckily, their orders arrived and placed in front of each of them.
"How good is this soup?" Austin piped up when they started sipping their soup.
"Uh... very good," Ally replied.
"Yeah," Alton could only answer.
"Yeah," Austin agreed. Once again, awkward silence erupted.
The door to the shop opened and in came Cassidy. She was rather surprised to see Austin, Ally, and some other guy there sitting at a table. She was about to secretly sneak out of the place before they noticed, but it was too late. Miss Suzy welcomed her, and Ally, Austin, and Alton turned their heads to see the young woman. Ally gaped to see how beautiful Cassidy became. Yes, Ally saw her on television, but she looked more beautiful in person. Austin gaped for a different reason. He didn't want Ally to know Cassidy was here in Miami. For some reason, it felt like he was being found out for cheating though he wasn't even dating either of them. Alton watched Ally's and Austin's expression and then looked over to Cassidy, wondering why it suddenly became more awkward. Alton had to admit, Cassidy looked very pretty but that was it. Just another pretty face. Alton had seen her on television before, singing a duet with Austin from time to time. He heard her sing before and she had a nice voice but something was always missing. Whatever it was Alton didn't really care either way because he had the perfect songwriter beside him even though he hasn't gotten a record deal yet.
"Um... hey, you guys," Cassidy said stiffly. She knew Austin did not want her to show herself to Ally, but how would she have known they would be here? Now, he could see Austin's shocked face as well as Ally's.
"Hey, Cassidy," Ally greeted in return just as awkwardly. She turned her head to Austin to see his shocked expression. Ally concluded Austin didn't want to see Cassidy as of yet. She wondered why. After all, Cassidy is his songwriter and partner.
"Nice to see you here, Cassidy," Austin stated rigidly. His hand automatically went to the back of his neck and rubbed it lightly.
"Yeah," Cassidy whispered.
Trying to break the ice, Alton spoke up.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Alton, Ally's best friend and partner," Alton stated, showing his hand for her to shake. Cassidy looked to his hand and smiled warmly and shook his hand. When Austin heard Alton's statement, he felt his vacant hand clenching to his side. Austin wonders if he could ever get used to it. But somewhere inside of him, he knew he wouldn't.
"Oh, I see," Cassidy paused and looked over between Austin and Ally then back to Alton, "Nice to meet you, Alton. I'm Cassidy, Austin's songwriter and partner."
"Well, I'm going to sit... over there then," Cassidy said awkwardly as she pointed at the farthest table away from them. Ally shook her head, refusing to let Cassidy sit by herself.
"Why don't you join us, Cassidy?" She asked and then looked over at Austin and elbowed his side. She looked at him as if she was asking him to say something to Cassidy. Austin sighed and cleared his throat.
"Yeah, Cassidy. Why don't you sit with us?" Austin asked reluctantly.
Cassidy felt the air being tense and hard to breathe in. She wanted to run away, but she had no choice but to accept with some reluctance in her slow nod. Nobody seemed to have noticed except for Austin. He knew that she wanted to escape, and he didn't want Cassidy here either. Instead, he kept quiet about it.
The table was quiet, and they all slurped or sipped their soup either quietly or loudly in the awkward silence. Alton didn't like moments like these very much, so he spoke up instead. It used to be Austin who would take away the awkwardness, but he had changed since the moment he left for his tour and left Ally behind. Austin disliked his new self. He wished to go back to being the kind, carefree guy he used to be, not this... this person. He didn't want to be the self-centered guy with the anger problems. He started becoming self-conscious, and he disliked it so much. He felt like he was no good for Ally, and that Alton deserved her more than he ever did. He didn't want that at all. He wanted to be the Austin Moon again, not like the Hollywood rockstar who lost his way Austin Moon.
When he heard Ally's laughter, Austin's thoughts shifted in the back of his mind as he watched the girl before him. Ally looked so happy. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh, to protect her, and to be her number one fan. His eyes shifted to the one person who was responsible to making her laugh, Alton. Alton with his blonde hair and expressive green eyes while his eyes are just a dull brown. He wanted to be the one to light up Ally's world like he used to do. Lastly, his eyes shifted to Cassidy. What did he see in that girl now? He used to have a crush on her, but his crush for her had long since disappeared. Don't get him wrong, Cassidy is still pretty but that's it. There was no spark like he had for Ally when he asked her to be his songwriter and partner. There was no spark even through time he had with her. The first song he made for him held no meaning to Austin. He just sings it as if it was just words on paper. But when it came to Ally's songs, he could sing them with expression and meaning. They weren't just words but music. His eyes once again shifted back to Ally.
It was then he realized for the first time he had been in love with and is still in love with Ally. His Ally Dawson. He loves the Ally don't-know-her-middle-name Dawson. He stood up suddenly, surprising Alton, Ally, and Cassidy from his sudden movement. It hit him hard in his head and heart when he finally comprehended his thoughts. All of those longing, empty moments he had felt without Ally. All of those pent up frustration with her and the way his world seemed to be upside down when Ally declined in going with him for the tour was because he needed her to be with him, not because he felt betrayed but she was his everything and it frustrated him to be without her.
He finally understood, but will he ever have another chance to make up for his mistakes and have his Ally back?