AN: So I wrote Chapter 21 before I wrote this one and then came back to this... 21 seemed more interesting but then at the same time I wrote half of this one before I wrote Chapter 18. I'm all over the place man! But anyway me having only half of this one done and working on 21 instead, was not the best plan! I realized Thursday - after helping my cousin with her new baby boy all week (he's so adorable by the way) and celebrating Canada Day with all my friends on Tuesday - that I needed to finish this! And after compulsively writing the rest of this on Thursday, here it is! I'm actually pretty proud with how it turned out.

Anyway Happy (Belated) Canada Day! Or ya know, whatever you celebrate haha;)

Like always thank you for the reviews! Finally at 100(plus a little extra)! How awesome is that? :D Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Parties & Mistakes

Chapter 20: Ally's POV

The cool morning breeze drifted in through the doors as another customer walked into the Sonic Boom. It was busy for a Sunday, but made sense with it being the Christmas season. My mom had put her festive touch around the shop, a tradition that had taken up most of my Saturday. It wound up being the best distraction from my life.

My dad was busily flitting through the store, arranging new displays and marking down objects for 'Christmas Deals'. Really, all he was doing was marking them down by a dollar and hoping no one would notice. When something says deal, it must be a deal! He'd left me manning the cash. It's not an outright hard job, but when your head is pounding and you're feeling as though you could vomit, it's downright annoying. The breeze that the customers brought into the shop was comforting, but the heat at more bodies pondering through the shelves really was not helpful. I was a weird hot and cold mess. All I was banking on was staying hydrated and breathing evenly. I could stop myself.

I absently doodled in the stock book. There was more window shopping happening than actual buying and the cash desk was getting boring. I had half the mind to take my lunch break right then; walk through the mall and stand in front of a fan to cool myself down, but I knew my dad would not allow me that luxury. It was only 11:30 after all! I'd get my break at 1 once the lunch shopper rush was over.

I sighed and watched people mulling around the front. Lessons had been cancelled for the month of December, as per usual. This was the one year I wished they were still ongoing. I needed something to take my mind off of all this bullshit. All of Trish's pestering and Austin's questioning. There was a simple solution to both of those problems but I still couldn't bring myself to do it. I was terrified. Absolutely and completely terrified. The what ifs surrounding me telling Austin stopped me every time. It was still stopping me.

Because what if he hated me after this?

What if he could never look at me the same way?

What if he wanted me to get rid of it?

What if he got angry?

What if I made him cry?

What if he left?

What if he told everyone?

My mind swarmed with pointless questions and pointless accusations. I completely understood why Valentina wanted to counsel me about all this, but I had a harder time trying to understand why she wanted me to tell Austin. It was just causing me more stress.

I blew hair out of my face as it fell from behind my ear. I brushed it back and returned to the absent minded doodles. A drawing was starting to take shape... And it's Austin. Subconsciously drawing a boy with a guitar; I guess that says a lot about me.

"Excuse me?" a woman with auburn hair said, ringing the tiny bell on the front desk. I looked up and flipped the stock book shut. Her eyebrows raised at my hurried movement but returned to pleasantries a moment later.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, trying to sound cheery. Everything was about the Christmas spirit now. I had to exude joy from every pore, the Santa hat my mom made me wear just wasn't enough.

She smiled and produced a few books of sheet music from her side. "My daughter's kind of a musical prodigy," she laughed. They were all piano books from different movies. The songs of Tangled, Frozen, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games. I nodded as I scanned each book. "She started piano a few years ago and now she's 15 and she's already one of the highest levels!"

"Oh, that's kind of like me," I explained and her expression turned sour. "I mean, I started playing when I was like 3. Just kind of picked it up."

She rolled her eyes as though she didn't believe my story and looked down at her phone. It was then that my mind placed who this woman was. I'd seen her on Friday a scowl just as evident on her face as it was now. She seemed so proud of her daughter, when she so obviously wasn't 2 days ago. I absently wondered what she had made her daughter do. Was it just a check up there or was abortion her answer?

I reached across the counter for the final book of sheet music as the woman looked up. My stomach seized as she set her sights down on my outstretched arm. I pulled back and scanned the item, but confusion crossed her features.

"That'll be-"

"What'd you do to your arm?" she interrupted.

Just like Valentina had said - and like I had experienced before with blood tests - a bruise had formed in the crease of my elbow. It wasn't particularly nasty, but it still looked like I had been hit with something. Yesterday I had been wearing a long sleeve shirt because of this, but apparently that hadn't been very present on my mind today. A half sleeve, mint, cotton shirt had fallen out of my closet and I considered it with my new high-low black skirt. It was adorable together and actually covered my bruising elbow. Only just, but it still appealed to me.

I hadn't expected my sleeve to roll up at the most inopportune moment.

"Oh nothing," I said brushing down the fabric to cover the bruise. "I kind of caught a shelf with my elbow yesterday! Hurt like hell!" I smiled and looked down at the cash, hoping her next words would not be incriminating. "So is that all for-"

"No," she scoffed. "The bruise isn't that bad, honey, and you're not that good of a liar."

"I'm better than you think," I mumbled, considering how many lies I've told in the past month.

She shook her head sadly and gave me a wry smile. "Does your mother know where you were on Friday?"

"I'm sorry, what?" I blinked and cocked my head to the side, trying to exude confusion.

"Don't play games with me. Allison, was it?"

I froze. Why would she remember my name? How did I manage to strike some cord in her mind? I pursed my lips and searched the store for where my dad was. "Yeah," I settled on with a roll of my eyes. "Yeah, she knows, but my dad doesn't so could we please just, not maybe?"

It wasn't the most encouraging or even convincing of sentences, but her face softened slightly. I looked back down at the till, trying to encourage her to pay and then leave.

"Oh sweetie, I'm not sure I can do that!" she drew her mouth into a thin line but looked at me as though she cared. She truly thought she was doing the right thing.

"What was your daughter there for?" I whispered.

"The same thing you should've done. You're far too young to be doing this sweetheart."

"I could do without the patronizing," I said, my eyebrows furrowing. "But you don't even know how old I am."

"I know from looking at you, darling."

I let out a long stream of air. Throwing up on this woman would not end well for me. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Clearly! You don't expect so many young ladies to be whores!"

I gasped. I'd been called a whore a lot these past few weeks with the whole Kira ordeal, but hearing it from an outside source actually stung a little. And it just made me feel nauseas. This is what people will think of me. My mind swarmed into pregnancy hell again. I didn't know what to say to this woman, let alone how to stop her from telling my father. It all ends for me here, doesn't it?

From the corner of my panic struck, wide eyes, I saw Trish. She had just walked into the store - Dez and Austin in tow. She seemed taken aback by the look on my face but clearly understood who it was directed at. She nodded at me and turned to face Dez.

"Hey!" Trish shouted, wild eyed. "Dez! Oh my God there's a bug on your pie!l

"What?!" Dez exclaimed, flailing his arms in an attempt to see and be rid of this bug. "Where? Is it going to eat me?"

I knew what was coming. I could see the plan that had formed in Trish's mind, but the fact that it actually came to be was astonishing. Dez's hands slipped from the tin of the pie as he projected it across the room. I ducked in case he missed. When I returned to my normal position, I saw it. I had to hold back a laugh.

The dark red hair of the woman was now covered in whipped cream and gelatin. It had dripped down onto her silken blazer and was smeared on her cheeks.

"Oh my God," I whispered bringing my hands over my mouth.

"Oh shit!" Trish shouted, but I saw the smirk playing on her features.

Dez frowned. "My poor pie. It was so perfect and so young. Didn't even see it coming."

The woman angrily stared down at the mess. She was breathing heavily, a snarl on her lips. She clenched her fists at her sides and clutched at her purse. "Don't expect to be seeing my business again, slut."

I almost opened my mouth to apologize. I almost wanted to be professional. Almost.

"Uh," Austin stuttered, looking between the three of us and the retreating back of that woman. "What just happened?"

"I lost my pie!" Dez said mournfully.

I turned my attention back to the cash and piled the sheet music back up. I pressed a few of the worn out buttons and cancelled the order. Taking a swig of my water bottle, I noticed my dad rushing over to the cash desk.

"What's going on?" he asked, sidestepping a dollop of whipped cream.

I struggled to find a way to describe what had just gone on. "Dez dropped his pie on some woman," Austin supplied.

"I wouldn't have thrown it if Trish hadn't said there was a bug on it!" Dez whined.

"But there was a b-"

"Okay guys," my dad interrupted. "Ally, why don't you take your friends and go to lunch?"

My dad was flustered, I could tell that. He'd lost a costumer and we'd made a mess of his store, two things he couldn't stand. I nodded and bent down to grab my tote bag, then stuffed my water bottle back in there. I joined everyone else and we silently left the shop. No one spoke until we reached the food court.

"Oh my God, that was too perfect," Trish laughed.

I broke down into unabashed laughter and it felt good. "I can't believe that just happened," I stuttered out between laughs.

"This isn't funny! I lost my pie!" Dez moaned, looking at us as though we were crazy.

"Why'd she call you a slut?" Austin asked.

That stopped us. Trish rolled her eyes and walked away. If only he knew... But I've been trying my hardest for him to stay in the dark. I shrugged and followed Trish. She'd gotten in line for Starbucks.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" she asked.

"No," I shook my head, making sure Austin and Dez weren't behind me. They had gone to the other side of the food court in search of pizza. "I can't keep anything down."

"What like at all?"

"Like the morning," I hissed. "It passes by like 12 or 1 and then comes back around midnight."

"So don't eat after midnight."

"Helpful," I muttered. "Suddenly I'm a gremlin."

We got up to the counter and Trish ordered herself a Caramel Macchiato and a brownie, then ordered a chocolate chip muffin for myself. She thanked the barista and headed for a table in the middle of the cafeteria. I slunk down in my seat and she slid me the muffin.

"When are you going to tell him?" she asked, leaning in close to me.

I looked down at the table and swallowed. "Eventually."

"That's not an answer."

"Last I checked it is."

"It's not a date, or a time, or a place."

"Well forgive me for being a little scatter brained!"

I rolled my eyes and picked a chunk out of the muffin. I loved Trish to death but she was really going overkill on this. Every time I talked to her it was all pregnancy this, or pregnancy that. That's all my thoughts were already, I didn't need another constant reminder of my situation. Sometimes all I wanted was that slight distraction or good laugh. With Trish, that wasn't what I was getting.

"We got pizza!" Dez exclaimed, slamming down a box.

They opened the box and dug in. It never ceased to amaze me how these boys could finish a whole large pizza only in a few minutes. I dejectedly ate that muffin, trying to avoid the smell of tomatoes and watching Trish sip her macchiato.

"So I was thinking," Dez said through a mouthful of pizza. "That because Ally's never seen Zaliens, that we could have a marathon!"

"Today?" I asked. "I have to get back to work, this is just a lunch break."

"I don't know, your dad seemed pretty dismissive!" Dez taunted.

Austin wrapped his arm around the back of my chair and lightly rubbed my shoulder. He was still worried about me. "It's okay. If you need to get back to work then go for it. We can have a marathon next weekend."

"You don't even like the movies," I laughed.

"Sometimes it's worthwhile to see horrible movies," he winked.

"Hey!" Trish and Dez shouted at the same time. I held back a laugh as Austin grinned.

"If we're having a marathon, there'll be none of this 'making fun' shit going on!" Trish announced. "They're too perfect to be made fun of."

I shook my head and reached into my bag for my water bottle.

"Hey," Austin stopped me, his eyes transfixed on something. I straightened up and raised my eyebrows as he grabbed my arm. He pulled up my sleeve and I knew what he had seen. "How'd that happen?"

Obviously I'd picked the wrong day to wear this shirt. Trish blinked uncontrollably and looked as though she we visibly holding herself back. "Um," I said, pulling my sleeve back over my skin. "I caught a shelf with my elbow?"

I used the same excuse I had told that woman at the store, though this time it came out as more of a question. Austin's brow furrowed and I smiled. Please just accept it.

"Oh my God!" Trish yelled, slamming her fist down on the table and standing up. "Can we just stop it with all of these lies?"

"Trish," I said, warningly.

"No, Ally you need to man up and stop hiding behind a fountain of lies!"

"Fountain of lies?" Dez questioned.

"Trish," I stared at her, willing myself to not cry. "I've asked you so many times, but I'm going to ask you once more to allow me the courtesy of my own time."

"This isn't about time!" she shouted. "You're just too scared to do anything about this! Step away from it all and just tell him you're pregnant!"

The table froze. Trish - realizing what she had just said - sat back down, face blank. No one moved. All that anyone did was stare. Some people around us were staring too, but only for a moment. It took them a few seconds to return to normal conversation, it took us much longer.

I didn't dare look at Austin's face. I trained my gaze to the table. The peeling white linoleum was less interesting and where I wanted to focus my energy. I picked at a spot that someone had already spent time destroying. The conversations of other people drowned out our silence. In the immediate vicinity, all that could be heard was breathing and Dez's chewing. I wanted to cry. I wanted to jump across the table and murder Trish for doing this to me. I wanted to go back in time and wear a different shirt or have the balls to tell Austin. Hell, if I'm wishing anything, I wish I never slept with him.

"What?" Austin said. There was something I'd never heard in his voice before. Somewhere between fear and disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Trish whispered from across the table. I snapped my head toward her, anger playing on my features. I saw Austin turn his gaze on her too.

"So this isn't some joke then?" he laughed nervously.

I took a deep breath, desperately clawing at some form of calm; some form of sanity. "Can we go back to the store, Austin?"

A&A

He paced. I sat down on the piano bench in the song room and he paced. We hadn't said a word to each other on the way here. There was nothing to be said. I knew he was angry. There was some form of betrayal brewing within him and I understood. I felt horrible. I couldn't tell him and now I was paying the price.

I turned my back on him and faced the piano. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of all the memories we'd made in this room. I hoped I hadn't ruined all of that. I had too many bad moments here now, just in the past month. I wished we were back to that first time we were writing a song. Or that time we wrote a love song and almost kissed. Things used to be so easy, but bring cheating into the mix and you get this. Whatever this is.

I ran my fingers along the keys, absently playing a slow scale. It sounded sad. It perfectly matched my mood. When I finished, I heard the pacing stop. He'd come to a halt behind me and I turned to face him. Once again I looked into a face that I had broken.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

He smiled sadly, it didn't reach his eyes. "Tell me."

"What?"

"Tell me the truth. Tell me how you would tell me."

I blinked and looked down at my hands that were clasped in my lap. "I'm pregnant."

He sat down next to me on the piano bench and sighed. "When did you find out?"

"Last week... But Friday for sure."

"You've been to a doctor?"

"Trish made me."

"Trish has been making you do a lot lately," Austin mumbled. He ran a hand through his hair and when he put it down on his lap I could see how much he was shaking. I grabbed onto it and held, needing some form of comfort. He intertwined his fingers with mine and squeezed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't," I stated, staring out the window. "I was too afraid of how you might react."

"Were you planning on telling me?"

I could see this was a bone of contention. I'd been too chicken to tell him and that made him feel unimportant. He knew as well as I did that if Trish hadn't of told him, he would've been in the dark for weeks. Maybe this was better in the long run, but I hated myself for making him feel like that. I should've just told him to start with. He was my best friend, he wouldn't have done anything bad.

Austin took my hesitation as an answer and sighed, pulling away slightly. "You should've told me."

"Well now you know," I whispered, tears trailing down my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I'm sorry we're in this mess. But you can do whatever you want. You can stay or you can leave or you can be mad or happy or whatever, I just don't want you to feel obligated or like you're stuck with me. I know how new this is and we've been dating for like a week. Less than that even, we barely even went on a date. So I'm sorry for that too. I just, whatever you decide I'm on board with."

"Ditto," he said. "But I'm not leaving and I don't feel obligated to stay with you. You're basically my best friend Ally, and even if I didn't love you I would still support you 100% in this situation. Sure I'm a little pissed off that you didn't tell me but we're still here and we still have to deal with this. Obviously it's not going to be something easy, but it doesn't have to be as scary as you're making it out to be."

"I don't know how to not be afraid."

He laughed. "I don't know either."

Silence filled the room. Neither one of us spoke. We were both hurt and confused and afraid. I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. Austin pulled me to his side, wrapping his arms around me. I curled into him, reveling in his warmth.

"What're you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know."

He nodded and kissed my forehead. "Just tell me from now on."

"Okay."

AN: This is probably the latest I've gotten this up here! But I was whisked away from my slumber paradise early this morning by my boyfriend. We wound up going to an amusement park which was actually amazing, but I still knew this needed to come up! So sorry for the lateness but I hope you enjoyed! And now Austin knows! Drop me a review:)