Hey, guys! Welcome back to the story! I now give you Chapter 7!
Once again, I apologize for taking longer than I said to update. Thank you for being patient with me!
Happy late Easter to those who celebrate!
Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or anything else you may recognize. Also, this is not edited, as I tried to finish this to get it up for you guys.
"Come on, Dez, can't you drive any faster?!"
"I'm going as fast as I can, Austin. Any faster and we'll end up in a ditch," Dez tried to reason.
"Fine, whatever, just get me to the hospital. I need to be there with Ally."
"Yeah, I'm trying. We'll be there in a few minutes."
Glancing in the mirror, Dez looked behind him to see Jace looking out of his window, wearing a matching worried expression on his face, and Trent's truck following closely behind Dez. Dez turned back to the road, sneaking a glance at Austin before focusing on getting them to the hospital.
Austin sighed and ran his hands through his hair, then put his face in his hands in frustration. He was worried for Ally's mental state at that current moment. He could only imagine how she was feeling, and he wanted to be with her to help her through the situation.
The guys were all laughing at the TV screen as the Zaliens fought their enemies, when their laughter was cut off by someone's phone ringing. Recognizing his ringtone, Dallas hopped up from his seat on the couch to grab his phone.
"Hey, Cass, what's up?" he answered.
Austin watched as Dallas's smile fell from his face and his eyes widened. Dallas turned towards Austin with a worried look on his face, and Austin immediately knew that something was wrong.
"Ok, Cass, go help her. We're coming to the hospital right now and we'll meet you girls there." Dallas hung up the phone before looking at the all the guys. "We need to get to the hospital."
Murmurs of confusion and worry rang throughout the room, but Austin was just waiting for Dallas to explain already.
"Austin…it's Ally. Her dad just had a heart attack, so the girls are taking her to the hospital." Upon hearing those words, Austin froze in his seat on the couch. He had no idea what to do. He had never had to experience this before in his life, and now his girlfriend was going through it. All he knew was that he needed to be there for her, but he found himself unable to move from his position.
The guys looked at Austin, trying to get him to do something. Finally, Gavin and Jace stepped forward, each grabbing onto one of Austin's arms and helping him stand up. Dez and Trent each grabbed their keys, and the group made their way to the trucks outside.
Gavin and Jace helped Austin into the passenger seat of Dez's truck, before Jace hopped in the back and Gavin went to Trent's truck to ride with him and Dallas. Dez started the car and turned to Austin.
"Don't worry, Austin. We'll get you there for Ally."
Pulling up to the hospital, Austin was eager to get inside and find Ally. As soon as Dez stopped the car, Austin jumped out and ran inside, frantically looking back and forth for Ally. He finally spotted her in the corner of the waiting room, sitting in a chair with her head in her hands and an older brunette woman sitting next to her. The other girls were scattered throughout the waiting room, anxiously waiting for any news along with Ally. The guys trickled in behind Austin, going over to their girlfriends while Austin kept his eyes on Ally, making his way over to her.
When he reached her, he knelt down in front of her, putting his hands on her hands to grab her attention. When Ally lifted her head, she immediately started crying again and leaned forward to hug Austin. The woman Austin didn't recognize looked confused when she saw a stranger approaching Ally, but a look of realization appeared on her face as she understood that he was Ally's loved one.
Ally's breathing slowed down, and she calmed a bit. She pulled away from Austin, glancing over at the woman. She was met with a knowing look, motioning for Ally to introduce them. Ally smiled a little and wiped the tears from her eyes, pulling out of Austin's embrace and gesturing towards the woman sitting next to her.
"Austin, I would like you to meet my mother. Mom, this is Austin."
Austin smiled softly at Ally's mom, reaching a hand out to her. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances."
Ally's mom smiled back and shook Austin's hand. "Thank you, dear. It's nice to finally meet the man my daughter always talks about. And please, call me Penny." Austin nodded at Penny's response, before dropping her hand and reaching out to Ally again, sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder in comfort while she rested her head against his shoulder, trying not to cry again.
After a few more minutes of engaging in conversation with Penny, Austin caught a glimpse of a doctor making his way over to them. He gently nudged Ally to let her know, and Penny and Ally sat up and stiffened when the doctor stopped in front of them.
"Are you Lester Dawson's family?" the doctor asked.
Penny and Ally nodded. The doctor smiled before continuing. "Lester will be perfectly fine. He did have a heart attack, but it was minor, so he will recover after a few weeks. He is not able to have any visitors at the moment, but you are all welcome to come back later to see him." The doctor finished with a nod, before turning away and attending to another patient.
The rest of the group had made their way over to the corner as the doctor explained the situation, and they all let out a breath of relief at the good news. The guys told Austin that they would bring the girls back home to get some rest, while the girls all hugged Ally and wished her well before they started to head out. Penny stood up as well, turning to her daughter.
"I think I'm going to head home, too, sweetie. I'm going to get some rest, but I'll be back tomorrow to visit your father. You're welcome to stay at the house with me if you want to."
Ally shook her head. "No, I think I'm going to just stay here tonight. I want someone to be here in case Dad wakes up so he's not alone. I'll talk to you tomorrow, mom."
Penny nodded in understanding, still looking unsure about Ally's decision. Austin noticed her expression and spoke up.
"I'll stay here with Ally, Penny. I'll make sure she gets some sleep, and I'll let you know if anything happens."
Penny nodded again, smiling at the thought of her daughter having someone so caring and loving with her. "Thank you, Austin, that's very sweet of you."
Austin nodded. "Of course. I just want to make sure that you Dawsons are all safe."
Penny smiled once again before bidding goodbye to the couple and heading home. Austin turned to Ally, only to find her already dozing off to sleep in his arms. Austin smiled softly at her, before pressing a gentle kiss to her head and leaning back in his chair. He relaxed in his seat, slowly drifting off to sleep with Ally in his arms. Austin's last thought before he fell completely asleep was how he wished Lester would make a quick recovery, so that the girl in his arms could go back to her happy and cheerful self.
The next morning, Austin was brought out of his dream state by someone shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes, blinking away the light. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing Ally's head resting on his lap, still asleep, until they landed on the source of the shaking. The nurse gave him a soft smile, leaning back up into a standing position.
"Good morning, sir. Sorry for waking you. I just thought I should let you know that Lester Dawson woke up a little while ago and was asking for his daughter. I assume you're the boyfriend, and Miss Dawson looked exhausted yesterday, so I figured I might as well tell you and you can wake Ally up yourself."
Austin looked shocked at the nurse's gesture, but gave a small smile nonetheless, nodding his head in acknowledgment. "Thank you…Christine," he said after searching for her name tag. Christine gave a nod back and turned away.
Austin looked back down at Ally, quickly admiring her sleeping form. She had a rough day yesterday, and Austin felt bad for having to wake her up, but he knew she would be excited to finally see her dad. Reaching his hand down, he gently pushed some hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek softly, waiting patiently as she stirred and opened her eyes. When her eyes landed on him, he gave a soft smile and she copied his expression, sitting up and rubbing away the exhaustion from her eyes.
"Hey, Ally. Your dad is awake now if you want to go see him. I can stay here, let you two have your moment."
Ally perked up at the news, but she frantically shook her head when Austin suggested he stay in the waiting room. "No way, Austin. You're coming with me. This is a special moment, and I want you to be there with me. Besides, I still need to introduce you two." Ally finished with a wink.
Austin chuckled before standing up, reaching a hand out for Ally. She smiled as she took his hand, letting him lead her to Lester's room.
Upon reaching his room, Austin and Ally slowed, Austin letting go of Ally's hand so she could go inside first to greet her dad.
"Hi, daddy," Ally greeted softly.
Lester turned towards the sound of Ally's voice, a wide grin breaking out onto his face. "Oh, Ally! I heard you stayed here all night; you know you didn't have to do that. Come here, sweetie." Lester reached his arms out to hug Ally, who happily accepted.
"I know I didn't have to, dad, but I wanted to. I wanted someone to be here for you so you would have someone to see when you woke up, so we stayed here all night just in case."
Lester looked up in confusion. "We?"
Ally nodded before looking over her shoulder, silently gesturing for Austin to come into the room. Austin made his way over to Lester and Ally, a smile on his face as he looked at his girlfriend's father for the first time.
"Dad, I would like you to meet Austin. Austin, this is my dad."
Austin reached a hand out to shake Lester's hand, and Lester smiled back, excitedly reaching out to shake Austin's outstretched hand.
"It's nice to meet you, sir. I'm sorry about what happened, and I hope you make a speedy recovery."
Lester waved Austin's words away. "No worries, my boy. But thank you for your kind words. And please, call me Lester. Ally's told me and Penny so much about you, I feel like I already know you."
Austin chuckled and nodded. "Will do, Lester." Ally smiled at the exchange between her boyfriend and father, happy that they were getting along, and her dad wasn't interrogating him.
Lester turned back to Ally, starting conversation with her. Ally sat at the edge of the bed next to him, and Austin took that as his cue to give them some space and time to catch up. He walked over to the chair in the corner of the room, sitting down and watching Ally and her dad talk with a smile on his face.
Austin must have zoned out for a while, because when he was brought out of his trance, Ally was nudging him and telling him they were leaving. Austin stood up and shook Lester's hand one more time before following Ally out of the hospital. Noticing that Dez had left his truck in the parking lot for him, Austin suggested that he drop Ally off at her parents' house before he went back to the ranch.
Entering her parents' house, Ally heard Penny in the kitchen. Making her way over, Ally smiled when Penny picked her head up at the sound, the two greeting each other.
"How is he?" Penny asked.
"He's doing okay. He's still sore, obviously, but he's awake and he's happy as usual."
Penny smiled and nodded, glad her husband was feeling better.
"I introduced him to Austin," Ally added.
Penny raised her eyebrows as she looked her daughter, a knowing look on her face. "And?"
Ally blushed. "They got along very well. Dad said he felt like he already knew Austin based on how much I apparently talk about him, and even told Austin to call him Lester. Dad's never said any of that before with any of my past boyfriends."
Penny shrugged and smiled. "Well, Austin must be special, then."
Ally nodded and smiled, looking down as she thought of that comment. "Yeah, he really is."
The two sat in silence for a moment before Penny spoke up again. "You know, I think you should continue working on Fall Fest stuff to keep your mind off your father. I know you want to help him, and both he and I appreciate it, but you really need to go out and have fun with your friends and prepare for this last week of Fall Fest. It can only help you."
Ally nodded, contemplating Penny's suggestion. "Yeah, I guess you're right. The last week of Fall Fest is always the most hectic, with everybody trying to cram in their last activities before the big dance."
At the mention of the dance, Penny perked up. "Speaking of the dance…" she started.
Ally blushed and rolled her eyes. "No, Austin hasn't asked me. I told him I didn't want a big gesture, and I mean it. Sure, I want him to ask in some way, but nothing fancy. It'll happen when it happens. And if it doesn't, we both know we're going to be spending the night together anyway, so it's really not a big deal."
Penny nodded. "Well, whatever happens, just know that your father will be just fine. His accident is just an obstacle, but we will all get through it quickly, and you can go back to your regular routine in no time."
Ally laughed at Penny's reassurance. "Thanks, mom."
For the rest of the day, Ally spent time with her mom, helping her out and keeping her company. And for the first time since her dad's accident, Ally felt like herself again.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Austin found Dez and immediately started ranting to him.
"Dez, I'm so worried about Ally. She just found out her dad had a heart attack, and while she was much happier after seeing him this morning, I know she's not back to herself yet. I don't know what to do, I've never experienced her like this before."
Dez walked up to Austin, putting his hands on Austin's shoulders to stop him from pacing. "Look, Austin, I know this is a new experience for you, but you don't have to worry so much. Yes, you're being a good boyfriend by worrying about Ally, but she's strong and can handle anything. This is just a small setback, and she'll be back to her cheery self in no time."
Austin nodded, thinking over Dez's words. He suddenly thought back to Ally's story about her relationship with Elliott and agreed that she could handle anything life threw her way. His girl was strong, and that thought made him relax.
Austin let out a deep breath. "You're right, man. She'll be totally fine. I shouldn't worry so much about her, and start focusing back on this last week of Fall Fest."
Dez chuckled and patted Austin on the back. "That's the spirit, buddy! Besides, the dance is next Friday, and you still need to ask a certain someone if she'll go with you." Dez finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a smirk on his face.
Austin chuckled and rolled his eyes at Dez's suggestive behavior. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get around to it, don't worry."
With that, Dez nodded, happy with Austin's answer, before he turned and went out the kitchen door and towards the corn field. Pleased with the outcome of the exchange, Austin decided to start his own work on Fall Fest activities for the remainder of the day. There were more activities to come the following week, and Austin wanted to make sure that it was as perfect as could be for his friends and new community.
The day of the dance brought both joy and stress to the residents of Crystal Falls; joy because friends and families were preparing for the end of Fall Fest with a fun celebration, and stress because of the news of Ally's dad. As a small town, everybody knew everybody, so once news spread that Lester had a health issue the previous week, many well wishes were thrown the Dawsons' way. Some neighbors expressed their sadness at the news, while others wished Lester a speedy recovery. All in all, everybody was very supportive of the Dawson family, and Ally felt better knowing that her whole town was behind them.
The morning and afternoon were filled with the gang running their respective booths, occasionally visiting each other's and participating in the activities when the opportunity presented itself. Their time was mainly spent keeping themselves busy at their own booths and making friendly conversation with any visitors and residents.
Just hours before the dance, the girls were gathered at Kira's house getting ready with hair, makeup, and dresses. Ally was originally hesitant to go to the dance even after her talk last week with her mom, but the girls convinced her that she needed to have fun. Knowing that the whole town was in support of her dad, Ally felt comfortable leaving him with her mom for the night while she went and had fun with her friends and boyfriend. Well, that, and the fact that Austin had finally asked her to be his date in his own special way.
As the girls were helping each other with hair and makeup, the conversation moved towards another type of proposal.
"So…it's finally the night of the fireworks show. And you know what that might entail…" Piper suggested.
The girls chuckled at Piper's thought.
"If anyone is getting proposed to tonight, it's going to be Trish. It's only a matter of time before Jace pops the question," Kira added.
"What? Why me, specifically? I could say the same thing about you, Kira!" Trish exclaimed.
Kira rolled her eyes playfully. "Please. There's no way Trent is proposing tonight. He's not the kind of guy to propose in front of the whole town at a dance. It's definitely going to be you, Trish."
Trish opened her mouth to argue but found she couldn't. Instead, she closed her mouth again and thought about Kira's words. It did make the most sense, but she didn't want to get her hopes up on the off chance that it tonight wasn't the night.
Ally smiled softly in Trish's direction. She would be beyond excited and supportive when Trish and Jace did in fact get engaged in the near future. And while she and Austin had only just started their relationship, there was a part of Ally that was still hoping that Austin would pull something tonight.
Meanwhile, the guys were doing their own preparations at Trent's house (and playing video games while they wait because they didn't need nearly as much time as the girls). Austin looked over in Jace's direction to see him staring into the hallway mirror, fixing his hair to its gelled perfection. Austin smirked, remembering how he sort of figured out Jace's plan for tonight.
"So, Jace, you ready for tonight?" Austin asked.
Jace froze in his motions, slowly turning around to face Austin as the rest of the guys looked over at them.
"What…what do you mean?" Jace stuttered.
Austin's smirk grew. "I mean, are you ready for your proposal tonight? Like, do you have the ring and everything?"
Jace's eyes widened at Austin's words. The other guys began bombarding Jace with questions, who threw his hands up in exasperation and yelled at everyone to shut up. Once it was quiet and all eyes were on him, Jace sighed and began his explanation.
"Okay, so yes, I am planning on proposing to Trish tonight. I wasn't going to tell you because I didn't want to ruin the surprise and you suck at keeping secrets – no offense, Dez – but now I guess I have no choice but to tell you."
"Well, I'm sure one of us would have found out eventually, so it wouldn't have really mattered if you told us or not," Gavin said. The rest of the guys nodded in agreement at that statement.
Jace's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before turning towards Austin again. At the action, Austin raised his eyebrows. "How did you figure it out, anyway, Austin?"
Austin smiled. "Last week when we were hanging out before Ally's dad's heart attack, you hinted at it. I figured a proposal is what you meant, and I guess I was right."
Jace nodded in understanding. "Well, like Gavin said. It was only a matter of time before you all found out, anyway."
The guys agreed with the statement before they changed their expressions to one of excitement. With the plans for the proposal sinking in, they started to hoot and holler, expressing their joy at the prospect of two more of their friends getting engaged. Jace blushed at the behavior, but enjoyed their happiness, nonetheless. If things went well tonight, this would be one of the last times he would allow their teasing about him being a bachelor.
Austin joined in on the cheers, smiling widely at the guys. He still couldn't believe that he had made so many great friends since he arrived in Crystal Falls, and this group of men were better than he could have asked for. Sure, Dez was a great best friend and they had their fun memories to share, but having four more guys fill the void in Austin's heart made it all the more fun and exciting for him. He was grateful to call not only the guys his friends, but the girls as well. Their group kept each other balanced with their wide variety of personalities, and Austin hoped with his entire being that they would stay this close for many years to come.
Arriving at Kira's house, Austin took a deep breath and smiled. This would be the first time that he would see Ally dressed formally, and he was anticipating their first glances.
Trailing behind the rest of the guys, Austin looked at the front door to see Kira opening it with a wide grin on her face, greeting everyone before focusing on Trent, who was standing in front of the guys, directly in front of Kira. Austin sent a greeting back her way, briefly admiring her blue dress before making his way inside with the rest of their friends.
The girls had all decided to wear a different color dress, all wearing their favorite color in their own personal style. The guys then decided that they would wear dress shirts that matched their girlfriend's dress, if only to show off to the town who was coupled with whom (not that they really needed to; everybody knew everybody, and that meant everybody knew who was dating or married to whom). As Austin glanced around Kira's foyer, he appreciated the bright colors of the girls' dresses and the greetings exchanged by all parties. Kira and Trent were in blue, Dez and Carrie in orange, Piper and Gavin in pink, Jace and Trish in purple, and Cassidy and Dallas in yellow. The colors seemed to brighten up the room, which reflected the way he felt when he was with his friends.
Ally was the last one to make her way down the stairs from Kira's upstairs bathroom, having gotten distracted by her thoughts. As she was finishing up her look, she could hear the guys entering the house, exchanging words of greeting and compliments. Ally smiled, content with her appearance, before starting her way to meet up with everybody else.
At the sound of footsteps, Austin looked up from his embrace with Cassidy to the stairs to find Ally softly coming towards him, a smile on her face as they made eye contact. Austin's breath hitched and his jaw dropped slightly at Ally's appearance. Breaking from Cassidy's hug, Austin stepped towards Ally, feeling everybody's eyes on him and Ally, but finding himself not caring. Once the two reached each other, they stopped in front of each other, wearing matching smiles on their faces.
Ally was simply the most beautiful woman Austin had ever seen. The bright red fabric of her dress hugged her body perfectly, coming to a stop at her ankles, and her feet were donned with matching heels. The sweetheart neckline of the dress was innocent yet sexy at the same time, and Austin found himself in awe.
"Ally, you look…breathtaking. Just…wow." Austin stuttered.
Ally blushed. "Thank you, Austin. You look pretty 'wow' yourself."
Austin chuckled before wrapping his arms around Ally's waist, bringing her closer. They leaned into each other and kissed softly, smiling against each other's lips. Coming out of their embrace, they turned to see ten heads all looking their way, and they both laughed before intertwining their fingers and leading the way outside towards the cars. With that, the rest of the group followed, and they were off to the dance.
Arriving at the dance, the guys each helped the girls out of the cars, linking their arms together. In a single line, they filed into the dance barn in pairs, smiling and greeting familiar faces. Austin greeted who he knew with ease, and Ally looked up at him in awe of his accomplishments. At the look on her face, Austin knew that she was impressed with his ability to recognize so many residents after such a short amount of time being in the town.
"I'm making new family members every day," he explained at her look. She smiled up at him sweetly and leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips.
Finding an empty table surrounding the dance floor, the group went to sit down, the guys pulling out the girls' chairs for them. The couples took turns going up to the refreshment tables and grabbing food and drinks before returning to the table. Once everyone was back, they resumed their fun laughing and talking with each other.
As people started to crowd the dance floor, Austin and Ally eventually become the last two at the table. As an upbeat country song played, Austin excused himself to use the bathroom. Ally nodded, taking this opportunity to finish her food. Hearing the music change to a slow song, Ally started to get antsy, wanting to dance with Austin. Looking around, she felt disappointed when he was still gone. She played with her food for a little while before she heard a familiar voice.
"May I have this dance, my lady?"
Looking up, Ally giggled and smiled when she saw Austin's outstretched hand, accepting it and letting him lead her to the dance floor. They smiled at each other while they danced, whispering sweet nothings to each other. As the song came to an end, they both looked up at each other with soft smiles.
"I love you, Austin," Ally said.
Austin's grin widened. "I love you, too, Ally. More than you know."
They leaned in to kiss again, but before their lips could touch, they heard shouting coming from the entrance to the barn.
"Look! There he is!
"I can't believe it, we actually found him!"
Before Austin could think, a flash of white light blinded him. He blinked, and it only took a moment for him to understand. Oh no, he thought. How…how could this happen?!
The cameras kept flashing, with the reporters yelling questions at him. The words were all a mess in his head, and his only thought was Ally. Looking over in her direction, he caught her eyes and was met with disappointment. Suddenly, the sadness was replaced by anger when she heard a reporter ask a question.
"Austin! Is it true that you came here to Crystal Falls as a publicity stunt?"
At those words, Austin snapped his head to the reporter. He couldn't even express his shock at the question and started to deny the claim, when he caught Ally's eye again.
She glared at him before turning and stomping away. Not caring about the press, Austin followed, pushing through the crowd to chase after her. Catching up with her outside of the barn, he caught her wrist to stop her, only to have her spin around to face him with fire in her eyes.
"I can't believe you!" she started yelling. "You lied to me! I was right about you all along! You only wanted fame and money, and since you couldn't get that anymore in LA, you just had to come here instead to get it. You had me convinced that you were this victimized wannabe looking for a new chance, but no! You were actually some popstar who wanted more fame than he got from his short-lived career in California!"
Austin started to protest, but Ally continued, cutting him off.
"I thought what we had was something special, something like no other. No one else could ever possibly have what we had. I thought we were forever…I thought you were my forever. But it turns out, you're just another stuck-up celebrity."
Ally turned to leave, before marching right back up to Austin to say one more thing.
"I trusted you. I trusted you with my past, with my life, and most importantly, my heart. I never thought my heart could break more than it did with Elliott, but I was wrong once again. You made it break even more. I was never in love with Elliott. My time with you made me realize it was never love, I just really liked him. But I was in love with you, Austin. More than anything or anyone I had ever loved before. And you just went and ripped my heart out of my chest."
With that, Ally turned away, leaving Austin to watch her leave sadly with nothing but her words to replay in his mind over and over again.
As Ally turned and walked away, her tears burst. She powered everything she had into not crying in front of Austin. But once she was no longer in front of him, she let go and the tears spilled down her cheeks. She walked down the street to the diner, where she composed herself enough to call her mom, asking for her to pick her up. Ally didn't feel up to explaining to the girls what had happened, so she prayed that somehow, they would understand her disappearance. As she waited for her mom, Ally hugged herself, trying to calm herself down. Her head was filled with emotions: anger at Austin for lying, sadness at the thought of losing the best thing to ever happen to her, guilt for not stopping to say goodbye to the girls, and exhaustion. She was tired, drained from that whole experience. But through all of those feelings, she couldn't help but still be madly in love with the man who she believed ruined it all.
Watching after Ally, Austin's emotions took a nosedive from utter disappointment to raging anger. He was beyond angry; angry at the press for finding him and bombarding his privacy, and angry at himself for somehow letting it get so far that the press felt the need to find him. Austin was mad that he hadn't gotten around to telling the group the entire truth, never finding a way to mention the idea of the press finding him.
But the emotion that Austin felt the most was sadness. He had just lost the best thing to ever happen to him, and he had no idea how to fix it. He suspected that he should give Ally some space, but he really just wanted her back already. He wanted to hold her in his arms again, kiss her, hug her, make love to her. He wanted to get back to feeling like they would last forever.
He didn't know how long the exchange with Ally took, or how long he had been standing by himself hopefully staring after her, but it must have been a while, for when he came back to reality, the dance had ended, and everyone had started to gather in the field behind the barn for the fireworks show. Deciding it was better to at least do something than stand in the street alone, Austin decided to join the rest of his friends.
Mesmerized by the colors painting the sky, Austin was once again too preoccupied to notice what was happening around him. That is, until he heard an excited scream and he looked over in the direction of the noise. At the sight, his heart both jumped excitedly and broke even more.
Jace was on one knee, looking up at Trish with a smile as she nodded her head enthusiastically, jumping up and down in her spot. Standing back up, Jace put the ring on Trish's finger before the two shared a passionate kiss. Austin found himself smiling softly at the sight, happy for his friends. But just as quickly as it came, his smile faded upon the realization that he had lost his own chance at that same happy ending.
Trish and Jace were soon surrounded in a group hug, and the group separated from the crowd in the field to create their own small, crowded group near the park down the street. Along the way, everyone was too busy congratulating the newly engaged couple that they didn't even realize Ally's absence, until Dez noticed Austin's solemn expression. Looking around, he noticed that Ally had somehow disappeared between the time the press showed up and the current moment.
"Austin…where's Ally?" Dez asked.
At his words, the rest of the group turned towards Austin, just now realizing that they were missing a member of their group. Austin swallowed nervously when he saw everyone watching him in confusion. Knowing he had to explain sooner rather than later, he took a deep breath.
"When the press showed up and started asking me questions, Ally got mad and stormed off. I followed after her, and she yelled at me, saying how she was right all along and claiming that she thought I was a stuck-up celebrity, a wannabe popstar who only came to Crystal Falls to get more fame. I tried protesting, but she kept yelling, until eventually she turned and stormed completely off. I hadn't heard from her since, and now I don't know where she is, but I hope she's safe."
When he finished his explanation, Austin saw everyone's mouths open and shock written on their faces. Trish's expression turned to anger, however, and she turned towards Austin.
"I guess Ally really was right all along. She told me since the beginning, since the first day you came to the orchard, that you were trouble. I didn't want to believe her and even managed to convince her otherwise – you're welcome, by the way – but I guess I was wrong, too!"
"What, Trish, no! I had absolutely no idea the press had found me! Sure, when I first came here, I had a hunch that they were looking for me, but I was just as shocked as you were when they actually found me! I wanted to get away from them! Crystal Falls was supposed to be a fresh start for me. And it worked. I hadn't thought about my life in LA since the day Ally and I became friends."
Trish's face softened at his words. She knew deep down that Austin wasn't who the press (or Ally) claimed he was, and his words proved her point. He really did care about her best friend, and it was clear he was willing to do anything to get her back and never let her go again. She genuinely trusted that he would do the right thing and never make that mistake again.
"Okay."
Austin's eyebrows shot up. "Okay?"
Trish nodded. "Yeah. Okay. I believe you. I believe that you would never intentionally hurt my best friend, and now that you know you did, I can see it in your eyes that you truly care about her and would do anything for her. So, I am making my claim right here that I will help you do whatever it takes to get Ally back."
The rest of the group threw soft smiles Austin's way and they all nodded in agreement. Austin smiled at them. "Thank you, guys. I seriously do not know what I would do without all of you."
He threw them all a smile, before it faded as he realized something else.
"While I appreciate the help, I don't want to burden you. It will take a miracle to get Ally back. She was so angry and heartbroken; I don't know what I would have to do to get her back."
The group exchanged looks with each other. Dez came up beside Austin, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, buddy. We will all do whatever is necessary to win back your dream girl. You will get your happy ending."
AHHHH! I am so sorry for the super long update wait time. Things have been kind of crazy lately. I really want to finish this story before my school semester ends in May, but at this rate, I can't promise anything.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Only 2 more to go before the epilogue!
Long live A&A!