I followed him into the woods and down this path. We reached the darkest part of the woods. There were beer cans everywhere, broken glass, and an old mattress. Why would Austin come here?
"What is this?" I asked.
"My brothers hiding spot," he sighed. It seemed so unlike his brother. The way him and Dez described Matthew was far from what I was seeing. This area was terrifying.
"He drank beer and slept on a mattress?" I mumbled.
"No, this is Elliot and Barry's work," he sighed and sat down on the log.
"Why would they do this?" I asked.
"Because Barry never liked my brother and Elliot took after him. It's a mystery why Barry and Matthew never got along. Elliot and I used to get along. We actually used to be friends. Our friendship was strange. He was really competitive, so he tried to beat me at everything. Deep down we hated each other, but had to be friends because of Brooke," he explained.
"Have you two ever talked? Maybe he has a guilty conscience after what happened last year," I suggested.
"We were fine. We stayed out of each other's path until we became friends. Suddenly, his hate for me became twenty times stronger," he sighed. I was the reason why Austin is slowly progressing back into his dark stage.
"I'm the reason," I mumbled.
"Ally, I didn't mean it like that. It's not even you. It is every girl I have dated in the past, well besides Cassidy, no one likes her, but still he has always tried to take my previous girlfriends away. He tried with you and I was a coward. I didn't fight back. I wanted to fight for you, but I knew you'd come back," he half-heartedly smiled.
"How many girls has this happened with?" I asked. How many girlfriends did Austin actually have?
"Well…" he trailed off.
"Too many?" I suggested.
"No. Brooke, Kira, and…Tilly," he frowned. Tilly…he dated Tilly. But Tilly hated Elliot and Tilly and Austin were still friends. Did that mean he loved Tilly?
"Did you love Tilly?" I asked.
"No, not at all. Tilly is actually a family friend, dating her was really wrong. We went out for a few weeks until Elliot started to talk to Tilly. Then a week later Tilly and I broke up, but still remained friends. My family is always at her family's house talking about things," he explained. That also explains why Tilly knows so much about Austin. If anything, Tilly is like an older sister to Austin, trying to protect him.
"What about Brooke or Kira?"
"Ally, why does it matter?" he asked.
"What if this ruins our friendship?" I asked.
"Despite what Elliot tries to do to me, I'd always be your friend. I don't care what stupid mistake you will make in the future, I'll always be your friend. Ally, I'm not going to let a girl like you slip out of my hands, trust me, it happened to my brother. He told me if I loved a girl, I shouldn't give up," he chucked lightly.
"If I never moved here, none of this would have happened," I sighed.
"Ally, stop blaming yourself. Elliot will be Elliot, I'll always be Austin and you'll always be Ally. It doesn't matter why Elliot hates me, as long as we're Austin and Ally, that's fine by me," he smiled. Austin still looked upset despite everything we just talked about it.
"What's really bothering you?" I asked.
"What makes you think something is bothering me?" he retorted.
"You still are not yourself. You're acting the way you were the day I met you. Strange and upset," I mumbled.
"I don't think we should do this," he stuttered.
"What? Why?" I choked.
"I don't want you involved in any of this. Listen, we'll remain friends, but for the sake both of us, we should just be friends," he sighed.
"I'm sorry," he muttered under his breath.
"Don't be sorry. I get it," I mumbled.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked, still looking down.
"No, but I'm going to help you. I'll figure out why Elliot doesn't like you. Austin, I'll always care about you, even if we stop talking for a while or even if we break up in the future. I'll help you out whenever you need me," I managed to smile.
"I don't want to rely on you for everything though. Especially because this is our last year together," he mumbled.
"Why? Where are you going to college?" I asked.
"New York. I'm going to NYU," he sighed. I was going to go to Philadelphia, which isn't that far. But, New York…why so far?
"Why New York?" I asked.
"I don't know. Just to get away from Miami. I want to live in a city, where I'm guaranteed I'll make it as a singer. I wanted you to come with me, but that is too much to ask. You are my songwriter," he shrugged.
"I'll go anywhere you go," I smiled. Not knowing what I'm going to get myself into, but if it involves being with Austin; I guess I'll manage.
"Don't decide your college based on me, decide on what you want to do. If anything, I'll go anywhere you go, as long as there is a music school," he laughed.
"You really mean that?"
"I have meant everything I have ever told you, Als." He managed to smile. "Come on, let's go somewhere," he got up.
"Where are we going to go?" I questioned.
"No idea, let's just drive somewhere, clear our minds off of everything. Forget school, parents, Elliot, and all of our troubles, lets just drive," he shrugged.
I sat there, confused. There was something way off about Austin. He went from annoyed, to happy, to sad, to ecstatic in just an hour or two. He was never like this. Not even before everything has happened. I put it aside and just went with it.
