Ally's POV
"But why?" I yelled as I followed my dad into the manager's office of Sonic Boom. I watched impatiently as he searched his drawers for something.

"Well, Ally, you know she's getting treatment for her mood swings," Dad started in a reasonable tone. I rolled my eyes to his back. That was his way of saying that Sonya is still in rehab for being a psychotic, bipolar, bitch.

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Her doctor says she's made an excellent recovery so far and that they want to test her, to see if she's okay. Where in the world is that sheet?!" he growled, urgently flicking through files.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, just as irritated as he was. Did he not see how important it was for me to get this information? Does he not understand? And what's up with the stupid sheet of paper? Surely it can wait, this is very important.

"Did you find it?" he asked hopefully, turning around to face me. I shot him a look. He sighed and continued his explanation whilst searching.

"So since you two had always had some problems, they decided that it would be good if she stayed with you for a while so that they could see her progress."

"And you were fine with this?" I demanded.

"Well, not from the beginning. But your mother just wouldn't let it go... and... aha!" he gasped triumphantly, pulling up some documents from an overstuffed drawer.

"And?" I asked, motioning with my hand for him to continue as I followed him out of the manager's office.

"And here she is," he concluded. He leaned over the counter to the newest employee, James, and handed him the document. He looked over at me and I waved hi.

"Did it ever occur to you and mom that you should have told us?" Dad stopped talking to James and turned to me.

"Us? Who's 'us'?"

I sighed, "Austin and I. We moved in together, remember?" Dad grimaced, "oh yeah."

"So that's it? She's staying?" He nodded, "For two months."

I sulked. This was totally unfair. I had to go tell Austin, but I would have plenty of time for that.

"Your mother wanted you home for dinner with us tonight, if that is okay," he said suddenly. Now it was my turn to look apologetic.

"I can't come tonight. Austin is taking me out to-"

"See you tomorrow then," he said hurriedly, not wanting to discuss anything like that. The day he accepts Austin as my boyfriend has never seemed more like a fantasy than reality. I huffed in aggravation.

"Bye," I said to both him and James before leaving the store. I pulled out my phone from my bag to text Austin, only to find that he beat me to it. He had sent me a picture of himself (naturally) leaning against his car. Underneath that, he wrote: come and find me ;). I stared at the picture quizzically. Where was I supposed to find him – he could be anywhere in Miami. I looked at the picture again, trying to focus on looking for some clues and not on how the sun was hitting him just right, or how gorgeous his smile looked, or how his eyes sparkled with happiness.

What was I looking for again?

I sighed in annoyance. Why couldn't Austin do the normal thing and just tell her where to find him? And, seeing as I didn't have a car, it would be so much harder to get to him. Wherever he was. But Austin knows that, so maybe he isn't so far away? Maybe he's closer than I think? I straightened up and studied my surroundings. I looked at the picture on my phone again, staring in concentration It was like he was smiling up at me from the picture, like he was really staring back into my eyes. I shivered. I could see that he was leaning against the front door, with his back to the tiny review mirror.

The mirror.

I noticed in the reflection, in the background, was the Pet Shop that Trish had worked at once. The thing was, it was on the other side of the meal, near the parking lot. I would have to walk all the way there. Just then, he sent me another text. Keep walkin' ;D and a picture of Johnny Walker. I scoffed and shook my head at Austin's goofy attitude and headed for the pet shop.

"I thought you'd be here sooner," Austin said to me as soon as I arrived. I held out my arms, "hey, I had to walk all the way from Sonic Boom! Cut me some slack."

"May I have some scissors?" I rolled my eyes at his not-so-funny joke.

"You can do better than that," I said, "so why are we here again?" Austin grinned and bopped me on the nose before suddenly turning serious. "I have the perfect solution to all our troubles!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around me.

"You won the lottery?"

"No."

"You decided to join my advanced calculus class with me?"

"No."

"I don't have to go to Spain with you at the end of the year?"

"No!"

"You know how to get Sonya out of our lives forever?"

"No." He paused, "Wait, yes." My eyebrows shot up high into the air. I wasn't really expecting him to find a solution to that problem. She was like recycled water; she just kept coming back. And even if he did find a solution, how could we do it and not hurt anyone's feelings?

"I don't know about forever, but I know it'll keep her away long enough."

"Then where will she go?" I asked.

"A hotel. Your parent's place. I dunno. We'll figure something out," he said, "now, come on, Ally! Ask me what my genius plan is!" I smiled at his excitement.

"What is your genius plan?"

"How will getting a dog drive her away?" I asked five minutes later as we looked at the poor caged dogs. The stared back up at us with a hopeful sparkle in their eye.

"She once mentioned how she hates dogs. I didn't know I was listening, but apparently i WAS," he shrugged.

"Oh please. You just want a pet."

"And you don't?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me. I crossed my arms and tried to look serious but caved in. He laughed.

"Okay, so maybe I want one too. But having a dog is a huge responsibility and-"

"And I've had a pet before," he cut in. "See one you like?"

I was about to shake my head no, when I saw it. Him. He had to be the most cutest little puppy I had ever seen. I motioned to his cage, cooing. "Aw, Austin he's so cute! I mean, seriously, look at him!"

"Cute," he said, "But too small." I gaped at him, "He's a German Shepherd!"

"A puppy! It's a puppy! We need a full grown dog to scare your cousin away! She's not going to be freaked by some... aw he is cute!" I smirked at him as he fawned over him through the cage. "Like me, except, of course, I am devilishly handsome. Cute stopped at the age of ten."

"Oh no, Austin. That won't do! He's just a puppy! We need a full grown doggy to scare Sonya," I mocked him. He playfully shoved me, "shut up."

"Did you find anything you like?" asked the girl behind the counter. We nodded, and she came out with a set of keys. Unlocked the cage and gently took out the small, frightened pup. I took him as Austin followed the sales girl to the counter. As he filled out a form, I stood by the door, stroking our new friend. I was right, it was a boy. His fur wasn't the cleanest, but it was very warm and soft. He stared into my eyes and licked my cheek. I giggled. He liked me. What should we call him?

Austin walked up to us. "What should we call her?"

I stared at Austin, "He's a he."

"Looks like a 'she' to me," he joked. I swatted his arm. "How about Buster?" I offered. Austin shook his head.

"Nah. How bout Dude?"

"Err, how about Angel?"

"It's a boy, Ally," he laughed, "How about Alfie?" I thought about it. Alfie wasn't such a bad name. Then, we'd be Austin, Ally and Alfie. I giggled at the thought.

"It's perfect."

"It's a disgusting beast!" Sonya screeched the moment we came home. She was standing on the island counter in the kitchen, in her sky-high heels, with a napkin over her nose and mouth. I rolled my eyes at her.

"It's not the disgusting beast," I said, motioning to the space around me. While we were gone, she had trashed the house and by the time we came home, she was wasted. Half full beer bottles littered the kitchen and lounge, and there was a suspicious white stain on the couch in there, too. There was a whole lot of empty packets everywhere and discarded food lay around. When I asked how many people she'd had over, she said four.

I don't believe her.

At least she had the decency to get them out before we came back. But just as Sonya was about to retort, a shout came from upstairs.

"Austin!" Sonya and I said at the same time. I glared at her before dashing for the stairs with Sonya in tow. She seemed to have forgotten all about Alfie. A man completely in the nude was at the top of the stairs. Before I could make sense of what was happening, Austin appeared with a hockey stick in his hand.

"Out! Shoo! Get outta here!" he snapped, poking the stranger harshly. I almost laughed.

I turned to Sonya, "who is that?!"

"A friend..." she replied, not meeting my gaze. She turned to the stranger and flirtatiously flipped her hair, "I'll see you here tomorrow!"

"Oh heck no! Sonya, we need to talk," Austin growled once the stranger had left. "Living with you had never been on my list of things to do, mostly because I didn't want you to find out where I live. But now you've trashed the place and brought home random people we don't know, so I'm gonna lay down some rules."

"Rule number one: don't touch any of the instruments," I began.

"Rule number two: don't play your weird music when I'm home," Austin said.

"Rule number three: Stay out of our bedroom."

"Rule number four: don't touch the remote."

"Rule number five: there's no eating in the music rooms, which you're not supposed to be in anyway."

"Rule number six: we need you to be seen, not heard."

"Rule number seven: don't bring weirdos into our house."

"Rule number eight: be nice to Alfie. Even he is above you," Austin said. I elbowed him in the side. He didn't need to state the obvious. Sonya might actually have feelings.

Sonya sighed, "Anything else?" Austin and I exchanged glances before turning back to Sonya.

"Get a job," we said in unison.

"What?!" she exclaimed, "a job?! You want me to work? I was born to shop, not work! That's for normal people with no money or lives!"

"And yet you're living in our house because you can't afford one of your own..." Austin said, looking her in the eye, "No life, you said?" She scowled at us and marched up the stairs to her room, swearing colorfully in Spanish as she did so. Then, she slammed the door so hard that the chandelier above us shook.

"And don't slam doors!" I called after her. She responded by opening and slamming the door continuously. I sighed at picked up Alfie. You'd think Sonya was still a troubled teenager.

There we go! I hope you guys still love me enough to leave a review? And, by the way, Sonya will be leaving in the next chapter. So hold on!

Sammie