So this chapter is a bit more upbeat and fun than the last couple, which will probably be really refreshing. I hope you guys enjoy! -Ej

*note: not thoroughly edited

Twenty Eight: Zebras & Zaliens

July 2028 -nine months later

"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Ally yelled up the stairs at her family. "We're going to miss our flight if you don't hurry up!"

"Yeah, I'm working on it!" Austin yelled back, frantically stuffing shirts and shorts into his suitcase. Austin, Ally, and their kids were going to visit Trish, Dez, and company in L.A. for about a week. The friends hadn't seen each other in-person since Alex was born—almost four years ago now—and they all agreed it was time that they meet up and do something fun as a group. Ally had been so excited to get the call from Trish that she'd arranged for her and Austin to have a week off from work over a month ahead of time (which hadn't been that hard, given that they were their own bosses, in a sense).

"Mom, I can't find my yellow sundress!" Ava yelled from her room. Ally sighed and took the stairs two at a time, peeking her head into Ava's room.

"Why do you need that specific dress, Ava? Just...grab your green one."

"But I want my yellow one!" Ava whined, plopping down on the bed.

"Well, I don't know how to help you. If you can't find it, pick a different dress."

"Mommy, where's my toothbrush?" Ally went across the hall to the bathroom that Ava and Alex shared, where he had emptied the contents of every single drawer and cabinet in there. She frowned when she saw the mess and groaned, starting to pick everything up and throw it back in its respective place.

"Oh, here it is, Alex." Ally knit her eyebrows when she found the toothbrush sitting on the floor of the bathtub. "Any idea how it ended up in there?" The three-year-old shrugged, grabbed the toothbrush, and trotted off to pack it in his suitcase.

"Ally!" Austin yelled from the bedroom, "I can't find my lucky underpants!" Ally groaned and threw her head back, getting up off the floor and going down the hallway to her bedroom.

"You people really need to keep better track of your stuff," she mumbled, then added, "and Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Ditch the truck underwear."

"But... they're my favorite pair!" he whined.

"Like father, like daughter," Ally mumbled, sitting down on the bed. Austin sat down next to her, frowning.

"So... does this mean you're not going to help me look for them?" Ally groaned.

"Fine." She followed Austin to the hamper in their closet, then searched through the pile of clean laundry she hadn't gotten to yet, which was stacked against the left side of their bedroom, and down to the laundry room. Ally shut the washing machine door with a sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, Austin. They're"—

"Don't say they're gone," he begged. "They've gotta be here somewhere." Austin continued searching through the laundry room and Ally went back out into the hallway, through the kitchen and into the living room. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed a familiar piece of fabric laying in front of Paris, who was stretched out on the floor, napping. Ally gulped and bent down to pick the underwear up, cringing at the sight. Paris had completely ripped them to shreds. What Austin had once considered his favorite pair of underpants was now just pieces of stringy fabric connected only by the elastic waistband. He was not going to be happy when he saw this.

Paris lifted her head and immediately hopped up, running into the other room when she saw the look on Ally's face.

"You're in big trouble, missy," Ally whispered. She gulped, turning back toward the laundry room. "Um, Austin?"

"Yeah?"

" I think I found them..."

"Oh, great! Where were the"— Austin turned the corner rapidly then came to a screeching halt when Ally held them up for him to see.

"What the"—

"Before you say anything," Ally said, holding her hand up, "just know that it was Paris' fault, she didn't know any better, and... maybe it's for the best."

"But...she ruined my favorite pair of underwear!" Austin squeaked. He snatched the fabric from Ally's hands and threw his head back, groaning. "And what do you mean, she didn't know any better? She's not a puppy anymore, Ally. She damn well knew better"—

"Okay, hold on," Ally put a hand on each of his shoulders, "just...calm down for a second." she paused. "And lower your voice, the kids are just upstairs."

"I know," he huffed, "I'm just mad, is all." Ally rubbed his back gently, fighting back every urge to laugh. Whether or not it was childish and immature to her, these underpants with trucks on them clearly meant a lot to him (for reasons she still had yet to figure out).

"Sorry, babe," she muttered, reaching for his hand. Austin pulled away and instead went over to the trash can, opened it with the foot pedal, and dropped it in, sighing. His face was almost expressionless, apart from a little hurt that his favorite article of clothing had been torn to shreds. He trudged back upstairs to finish packing, Ally right behind.

This is certainly going to be an interesting vacation, she thought.

"Alright, let's go! Everybody out the door!" Ally ushered Austin, Ava, and Alex through the kitchen and out the garage door. "We only have approximately three hours to get to the airport, check in, get through security and baggage claim"—

"And then sit in the terminal for an hour, doing nothing," Austin finished. "We're going to be fine, Als. You always make us leave for the airport super duper early. Relax." He shut the garage door behind him as Ally double checked the notes she left on the table for Austin's parents, who were coming by to check on Paris and Pickles while they were gone. She then grabbed her own suitcase, put her shades on, and followed her family out.

"Shall I take your bag, m'lady?" Austin joked, holding out his hands. Ally blushed.

"Uh, sure," she handed the bag over to him as he put it in the backseat, shut the trunk, and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer and giving her a peck on the forehead for good measure.

"You ready to go?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ally replied. "I've been ready ever since summer vacation started. Let's do this thing."

fifteen minutes later

Ally squeezed her eyes shut and banged her head against the headrest as her kids sang the lyrics to Austin's debut song in the backseat. Ava and Alex had been singing "Double Take" for the past half hour, and now the four of them were stuck in traffic due to an accident on the side of the freeway. Ally didn't know how much longer she could take the noise.

"They wanna know know know your name name name, they want the girl girl girl with game game game, and when they look look look your way way way, you're gonna make"—

"Make!" Austin interjected cheerfully.

"Make!"

"Make!"

"Make 'em do a double take!" Ava bounced in her seat and Alex clapped. Austin smiled.

"Great job, guys!"

"Let's sing it again!" Ava exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Alex agreed.

"No!" Ally shouted from the front seat. "No. More. Singing. I have a headache."

Austin frowned. "I thought you liked that song."

"I do," she assured him. "But any song gets annoying when your kids are singing it on repeat for a half an hour. Let's just...have some quiet time, okay?"

Austin nodded. "No more singing until we get on the plane. Got it. Did you hear that, guys?"

"No, I'm saying no more singing at all," Ally corrected. "Not until we get there, at least. The people on the plane might find it annoying."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "The people on the plane, or you?"

"Both."

He shrugged. "That's fair."

There was relative silence for a few minutes, and Ally felt better already. She occasionally heard Ava and Alex whispering in the backseat but tried her best to ignore it. They were kids, after all. They weren't ever quiet unless they were sleeping.

That was why nap time was Ally's favorite part of the day.

A minute or so later, Ally's precious silence was interrupted by a small noise followed by an obnoxious fit of laughter from Ava, Alex, and Austin. Ally's eyes snapped open when the smell filled her nostrils and immediately opened her window.

"Wait, wha—OH, Alex! That's disgusting!" Ally covered her nose. "Austin, don't encourage him!"

Austin hit the top of the steering wheel and threw his head back, laughing even harder. "But he...he..." he wheezed, unable to catch his breath. "He totally RIPPED ONE! It's funny, Ally, why aren't you laughing?"

Ally made a face. "Because it's not. It's immature to laugh at..."

"Farts!" Austin exclaimed, bringing on a whole new fit of giggles between the three of them. Ally threw her head back again, sighing.

Now would be a good time for us to start moving, she thought.

A few minutes later, when everyone had calmed down (and Austin had wiped the tears from his eyes—yes, he was crying with laughter because his son farted), they finally began to move along the highway again. Austin turned the radio on and the kids occasionally hummed along when they heard a song that they recognized. That was one thing that Ally had noticed, was the kids had been wanting to listen to music 24/7. It didn't matter whether it was their parents' music or not; they seemed to like almost every genre.

Austin pulled into the parking lot of the place where they'd be keeping their car for the next week, and once they got their ticket (and watched the parking attendant fangirl over how she was actually talking to the Austin and Ally Moon), they waited for the bus to come take them to the airport. A short fifteen-minute bus ride later and they'd arrived at the airport.

"Alright, kids," Ally told them as they got off the bus,"Remember to stay close to us at all times and not to run off. The airport is a big place and you can get lost easily."

"Okay," Ava chirped.

"Okay," Alex repeated as Austin picked him up off the ground. Ally grabbed her daughter's hand and they walked inside to get checked in.

After dumping their bags at the check-in station (where Alex had tried to go after the bags, lunging toward conveyor belt, before Ally had scooped him up), the Moons headed up to security. Austin set his son down, still holding onto his hand tightly and commenting on how they needed to get a leash or something for him. Ally nodded in agreement as she handed the security officer her license and plane ticket, along with everybody else's. They got through security relatively unscathed (although they were confronted by a medium-sized mob that had recognized the pop stars, which had been...fun), and headed over to the gate to wait for their plane.

"Mom, I'm hungry," Ava whined, "Can we get something to eat?"

"I'm tired," said Alex, who was riding on Austin's back at the moment. Ally furrowed her brow.

"But... your dad's giving you a piggyback ride," she replied, turning to Ava. "And yes, we can get some food. Let's just put our stuff down by the gate first." She paused. "Also, since when am I mom and not mommy? I think I like the latter better." she pinched her daughter's cheek, who let out a high squeal. "It means you're growing up, and I don't like that."

"I'm only five," Ava said. Ally tapped her on the head and planted a kiss on her hairline.

"Stay like this forever, okay?"

"But, I'm going to get older, mom," Ava replied matter-of-factly, "I won't always be your little girl."

Ally bit her lip, then shook her head. "Nonsense, you'll always be my little girl. Now, let's go get you some food before I start crying in the middle of the airport."

"Now boarding Flight 828 to Los Angeles, Section 3 welcome aboard."

Ally set the book she was reading back into her backpack. "That's us, guys. Let's go get on the plane so we can see Aunt Trish and Uncle Dez!" She zipped up her backpack and Austin picked Alex up (who was currently out cold), swinging his backpack over his other arm. Ally grabbed all of their tickets as they made their way to the gate.

"And also aunt Carrie and uncle Chuck," Austin added. "Oh, and don't forget Maggie and Darrie."

"Mommy, why don't uncle Dez and aunt Trish look like you?" Ava asked as they inched forward in the line.

"Well, that's because they aren't actually our siblings. Just really good friends of ours." Ava nodded.

"But they're like family," Austin pointed out, shifting Alex's position on his hip. "That's why we say they're your aunt and uncle."

"And Maggie and Darrie are our cousins," Ava finished. Ally nodded and smiled as the attendant scanned all of their tickets. Ally put them back in her purse afterwards for safe keeping as she led her family down the tunnel and to the entrance of the plane.

"Are you guys excited to see Maggie and Darrie again?" Ally asked as they boarded the plane. Ava nodded. Ally scanned the aisles for their seat numbers, which were 28 B, C, D, and E. Ally had booked the tickets so Austin and Alex were on the left side in seats B and C, with Alex being in the middle and Austin in the aisle, and she and Ava were D and E. That way she and Austin could still talk to each other while each keeping an eye on a kid, and there was less of a chance for Alex to escape and wreak havoc during the flight.

Then again, there was still the possibility of that happening. Nothing was completely out of the question when it came to their son—he could be really hyper sometimes.

Ally stood aside while Ava stepped past her into the middle seat. Austin set Alex down in his seat, causing him to squirm and open his eyes, looking around in confusion.

"Daddy, where are we?" he asked in a tired voice.

"We're on the airplane," Austin whispered back with a laugh. "Go back to sleep, bud."

Alex's eyes shot open. "We're on the airplane?" He sat up and got down from his seat, looking out the window at the parking lot. "Wooooaaaah!"

Austin smiled. "Cool, huh?" he asked. "We haven't left the ground yet, but we will soon."

Alex jumped up and down, receiving some quizzical looks from other passengers. Austin smiled at them sheepishly, grabbing Alex's wrist and pulling him back toward the aisle.

"Calm down, bud. Here, let's sit down in your seat, okay? Someone else is sitting by the window."

"Who?" Alex asked, gazing up at the other passengers milling about in the aisles.

"I don't know," Austin replied impatiently. "But that's not your seat."

"But I wanna sit here!" Alex yelled. Austin gulped. Please, not here, he thought. Of all places to throw a tantrum, it had to be on the airplane.

"Alex, just sit in the middle seat," Austin pleaded, "Please."

"I don't WANT TO!" This time, Ally looked over at them, brows furrowed.

"I thought he was asleep," she said. "What's going on? Why is he yelling?"

"I don't know!" Austin shot back. "He wants to sit in the window seat so he can see outside when we take off."

Ally groaned. "Seriously?" she asked, getting up from her own seat and crossing the aisle. She grabbed Alex's shoulder and turned him around.

"Buddy, you need to calm down," Ally said in a hushed tone, "People are staring."

"B-but I wa-want to be in that seat!" Alex complained.

"I know," she responded. "but that's not your seat. You have to sit there, next to daddy."

Alex stared at her with a blank expression. "Or if you want you can come sit next to mommy." He shook his head silently. "That's what I thought. Now, are you ready to behave?" Her son nodded, plopping down in the seat next to Austin. Ally ran a hand through her hair, sighing. Austin mouthed thank you and she nodded, sitting back down in her own seat. Crisis averted.

As the flight attendants shut the door to the airplane and took their positions at front, middle, and back of the plane Ally got Ava situated with a movie on her iPad and dug out a piece of gum for her ears. She handed one over the aisle to Austin, only half listening as the flight attendants went through their spiel. When she looked back over at her husband and son five minutes later, Alex was fast asleep, leaning on Austin's shoulder. She grinned at her husband and he gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Wow, he's out like a light," she commented. "That was fast."

"I gave him one of these," Austin held up a case of children's dramamine. "I guess it worked." Ally chuckled and turned her attention back toward the flight attendants.

Fifteen minutes later, they were heading towards the runway. Ally tapped Ava on the shoulder, signaling that she needed to put her iPad down.

"Look outside," she encouraged. "This is your first time on a plane, don't you want to see what it looks like when we take off?"

Ava shrugged. "I don't know." Ally pulled her close and pointed past the lady sitting in the window seat at the people on the ground, who were waving glowing wands. The plane made a 180 degree turn and now the entire runway was in front of them.

"We're going to go really fast now," Ally said, "brace yourself." Almost as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the plane jerked forward, throwing everyone back against their seats. It sped up faster and faster and Ava instinctively reached for her mom's hand, wincing as the engine roared in her ears.

"I'm scared," Ava said, her big brown eyes staring up at her mom. "We-we're going really fast."

"It's okay, just hold onto my hand." Ava did as she said, her eyes widening as the plane lifted off the ground. The cabin shook slightly and Ava let out a shriek.

"Shh, it's okay. Hold my hand and close your eyes." Ally lifted the arm rest that was sitting between them and pulled her close. "Everything will be okay. Just...don't look down." She stroked Ava's hair and immediately felt guilty for pushing her to look out the window as she trembled in her arms. Poor kid, she thought.

Austin narrowed his eyebrows when he saw Ava. "Is she okay?" he whispered.

Ally nodded. "Yeah. Just a little scared is all." He nodded, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. "She'll be okay."

By the time they had reached cruising altitude, Ava had calmed down a little bit. Ally was able to unbuckle her and transfer her into her lap, which sped up the process more. The whole time, all Ally was able to think about was how, when Ava was born, she'd had the overwhelming feeling that she needed to protect her daughter and she still had that motherly instinct inside of her. It didn't change just because your kids got older, she knew that now. She was pretty sure she would always feel that way.

"Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking. We have now reached cruising altitude and you can now put down your tray tables, use electronic devices, and move about the cabin. We're looking at about a five and a half hour flight to Los Angeles, where it is currently a balmy ninety two degrees."

Austin scrunched up his face. "Ninety two degrees? Gross." Ally chuckled and focused her attention back on Ava.

"Do you want to watch your movie now?" Ava nodded and Ally helped her get the iPad out of her backpack. Once she'd gotten Ava settled, Ally put her earbuds in and grabbed a blanket from her bag, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

five hours later

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are about to begin our descent into Los Angeles. Please turn off all electronic devices and return your tray tables to the upright positions. Flight attendants, prepare for landing." Ally set her book down and stretched, letting out a yawn. Ava had fallen asleep beside her after she'd been given a dramamine, too. Ava, Ally, and Alex had slept for most of the flight and Austin had kept himself busy by listening to music and playing games on the tablet attached to the seat in front of him. While they were technically intended for kids, Austin still was a kid, in a way. After all, he had laughed at Alex farting earlier.

Austin and Ally made eye contact across the aisle and shared mutual smiles. The flight itself had been fairly uneventful, unless you count Alex almost having an accident and Austin having to pick him up and awkwardly walk-run down the aisle, praying that they'd make it in time and also that there wouldn't be any turbulence so he wouldn't fall flat on his face. He ended up making it to the bathroom on time, but Austin had to dig out a spare pair of shorts for his son, anyway, when he spilled the glass of water the flight attendant had given him all over his shirt and pants.

Not much else had happened on the other side of the aisle, as was to be expected with the calmer members of the family. After Ally had fallen asleep, Ava kept watching her movie and was relatively unfazed by the noise of the engine. Austin had handed her a dramamine shortly after and, like her brother, she'd fallen asleep quickly.

The plane tipped to the right, then to the left, then jerked down and leveled off, Ava grabbed hold of her mom's arm for dear life, squeezing her eyes shut. Across the aisle, Alex bounced in his seat and Austin looked out the window. When the plane finally landed, Ava quickly unbuckled.

"Whoa, hold on there missy," Ally said with a laugh. "We have to wait for the people in front of us to get off the plane first. We probably won't be getting off for another five, ten minutes." Ava groaned and sat back in her seat.

fifteen minutes later

"Alright, you guys know the drill. Stay close to us and don't run off," Ally said as they exited the tunnel and came out to the terminal. She turned to her husband. "Austin, grab his hand just in case." He did as she said and they walked over to baggage claim together, where Trish and Dez were waiting.

"I can't wait to see them again," Trish mused. "It's been four whole years since we've seen them in person. Can you believe it?"

"No," Dez replied, picking up the sign he'd made that said, 'Welcome Austin and Ally!'. "I can't wait to see that little scamp again."

"What about Ally and the kids?"

"Oh, yeah. Them too." Trish rolled her eyes and checked her phone again.

"Well they should be here any minute," Trish said. "Ally said they just got off the plane."

Austin and Ally approached the baggage claim, looking around for Trish and Dez. "I don't see them," said Austin. "Do you?"

"No, I don't think—OH there they are!" Ally exclaimed as she and Trish made eye contact. She dropped her bag on the ground and ran over to Trish, both of them squealing, and wrapped her in a big hug. Austin, Alex, and Ava followed closely behind as Dez held the sign (which was upside down) above his head.

"AUSTIN OVER HERE!" Dez shouted. Austin laughed as the friends did their handshake followed by a bro hug.

Austin stifled a laugh. "I saw you, Dez. You didn't have to shout like that." He paused. "By the way, your sign was upside down."

Dez looked down. "Oops." He flipped it right side up and flashed a smile. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss us. There are a lot of tall redheads and short latinas around here, you know." Austin raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see any." Dez waved a hand.

"Anyways, I'm so glad you're here! We have a lot to catch up on. Claws (dun dun dun) 7 is coming out in December. It only took seven movies, but it's starting to become a really popular franchise."

"And I'm starring in it!" Trish interjected from a few feet away.

Austin smiled. "That's great, Dez. Maybe one day it'll be as popular as the Zaliens movies."

Dez shook his head. "Nah, I don't really want it to be. Those movies are and will forever be iconic, and as much as I'd like for my movies to be popular, I don't think they'll ever be Zalien level." Austin nodded.

"Makes sense."

Meanwhile, the girls were engaged in their own conversation. Trish was saying how fun it was to be starring in a movie made by Dez, and how she never thought she'd be saying that she actually likes something that Dez created.

"Yeah, that is kind of weird to hear you say," Ally agreed with a laugh. "Oh, and I heard about your nomination for best actress award—what is this, your fourth?"

"Third," Trish corrected. "But there will eventually be a fourth. I'm calling it now. I'm just that good."

Ally faked a laugh. "Wow, you haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"Nope," Trish replied proudly. Her smile faded and she looked around, confused. "Hey, where'd Alex go?" Ally frowned, looking up at Austin.

"I...don't know. I thought you had him," she said.

"I thought you had him!" Austin exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"Well, I don't!" Ally shot back, turning to her left and stepping toward the right part of the carousel. "Ugh, I knew that he'd find a way to run away from us." She turned back to the group. "Alright everybody split up. Austin, you go check the bathrooms, Trish, look outside, and Dez, stay here with Ava...ready break."

Ally circled the carousel multiple times, checking each and every time she passed a suitcase. By her third time around she was getting slightly dizzy and stopped, putting her hands on her knees. "I just don't get it," she mumbled to herself, looking around at the other passengers who were searching for their luggage. "Where could he have gone?"

"I'm here, mommy!" Ally spun around to find her son sitting on the conveyor belt, smiling big and bright as he passed her. She ran over to him and scooped him up, giving him a crushing bear hug and planting a million kisses all over him.

"Alexander Michael, don't you ever scare mommy like that again!" Alex giggled, trying to squirm out of Ally's grip. "Uh, uh. You're not going anywhere." She situated Alex on one hip as Dez approached her, a bag of some rare snack food in hand, Ava trailing not far behind.

"Where were you?"

"Me and Ava thought we'd check over by the vending machines, specifically the ones that hold the almighty macaroni and cheese puffs, which can only be found in airports." Ally raised an eyebrow. "He wasn't there."

"Oh really?"

"Nope. Oh, hey, I found him!" he pointed to the toddler in Ally's arms. "We should probably let Trish and Austin know."

"Yeah, we should," Ally mused. "Could you just send them a quick—"

"HEY TRISH AND AUSTIN! YOU CAN COME BACK NOW! ALLY FOUND THE KID!" Dez yelled, receiving some questionable looks from nearby passengers. Ally put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head. "Problem solved!" He flashed a smile and gave her a thumbs up.

"Dez, I meant text them. They're not going to hear you if you just scream it."

His smile faded. "Oh."

Ally shook her head. "Here, you hold Alex while I let them know." Dez nodded. "And don't take your eyes off him, even for a second." She pulled out her phone to text the group chat.

You guys can come back now. Little stinker was sitting on the conveyor belt, giggling away!

As soon as Austin approached the group, he let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. You had me scared to death!" Austin grabbed Alex out of Dez's arms. "It's a good thing you found him. I had already checked the mens' room and I wasn't going to check the women's' unless it was necessary. That would've been awk-ward," he joked.

"You do know that you could've just had one of us girls check the women's' room, right?" Ally asked incredulously. Austin scrunched his face up like he always did when he was thinking.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I could've." He shrugged. "Well, we should probably get out of here before we lose another kid, huh?"

Ally gave him a 'don't ever joke about that ever again' look, and he nodded, going to the other side of the carousel. She turned to Trish and Dez, setting down her bag. "Can you guys watch Ava while I use the bathroom for a quick sec?" They both nodded.

"Although," Dez interjected, "I don't think that Ava's the one you need to be worried about. Alex is a hand-ful." Trish's eyes shot daggers at him and she slapped him not-so-playfully on the shoulder as Ally faked a smile and headed toward the bathroom.

a half an hour later

Trish's house

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen your L.A. house," Ally mused, ushering the kids in in front of her. "It's really nice!" The house itself was pretty big, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The exterior was all brick, and a cement path from the driveway led to the front porch, which had a big archway towering over it. The house also featured a newly furnished basement with a big, open area downstairs and a pool/hot tub in the backyard.

The inside of the house was grand and fancy; something Trish had insisted on when they bought it. Right when you walked in, there was a spiral staircase on the right leading up to the four upstairs bedrooms, complete with a sleek black railing and tiny white pillars supporting it. A golden oak flooring covered the entire main level, aside from the living room, which featured tan shag carpet. Past the staircase was the kitchen and to the right of that was the living room. There was also a bathroom down the short hallway next to the kitchen, as well as the laundry room and a door that led out to the garage.

"Thanks," Trish replied, "There might only be three of us living here, but hey, that just means more room for guests."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting plenty of space," Ally said, setting her bag over by the couch. "Especially if you still have Prince—dogs need a big, open backyard to run around in."

"Exactly," Trish agreed. "Well, you guys can make yourselves at home. Your bedrooms are upstairs and to the left."

"Thanks," Ally said as she and her family headed up the stairs. In the hallway of the upper floor were multiple pictures of Trish, Chuck, and Maggie, and some of Austin, Ally, and Dez throughout the years, too. Some even featured Prince, and Ally smiled, thinking about the day that Trish had fallen in love with the dog. Sure, she'd expected a knight in shining armor, but the little black furball with four paws and a wagging tail had made her just as happy.

When they got back downstairs, Trish was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. The smell of the food made Ally's mouth water and she was practically drooling the second it reached her nostrils.

"Oh, my god, Trish, that smells amazing!" she exclaimed. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken tacos," Trish replied. "My mom's famous recipe."

"Well, I for one am looking forward to that," Ally smiled as the kids and Austin sauntered downstairs. "So, where's Chuck and Maggie?"

"Maggie's over at a friend's house and Chuck is at work. Both of them should be home soon."

"Great," she said, turning to Dez, who'd sat himself on top of the counter, "How about you, Dez? What's the fam up to this fine evening?"

"Ah, not much. Carrie's helping Darrie study for his ACTs. It's been kinda rough. That test is brutal." Ally raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, hold up. ACTs? You don't take those until you're a junior."

"I know. Darrie had an aptitude test recently, and they said he's testing at an eleventh grade level for academics. In other words, our kid's a genius." Dez smiled proudly.

"Wow," Trish said. "Never thought I'd see the day when those words came out of your mouth."

Ally nodded. "Yeah. And...wait, did you say Carrie was helping him study?"

"Yup!" he replied. "They've been working really hard for the past week or so. My boy's all grown up." Dez fought back fake tears (they might've been real too, who knows).

"Well, he's still only...what, five? So he's a kid but his aptitude makes him seem older."

"Are you sure Carrie is teaching Darrie? It seems like it would be the other way around," Austin added with a laugh.

Dez shrugged. "Well, either way, someone's learning something."

Ally shrugged and Trish turned the stove off, announcing that dinner was ready. She turned to Dez and asked him to set the table, and after some complaining, he finally complied. Ally went outside to get the kids while Trish grabbed the condiments for the tacos from the fridge.

About ten minutes later, they heard the garage door open and Maggie stepped inside sassily, dropping her bag carelessly inside the doorway. "Guess who's back from her playdate?"

Ally grinned and tapped her chin as if she were in deep thought. "Hmmm, I don't know. Who?"

"It's me!" she exclaimed as Ally stood up to give her a hug. Trish pecked Chuck on the cheek.

"How was work, babe?"

"It was fine. Real busy this time of year, but—" at that moment, he locked eyes with Dez and Austin swore he heard western music as they narrowed their eyes at each other.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother. Please don't start with that," she said. "At least try to be civil to each other these next few days, yeah? I think I speak for everyone when I say having you two fighting the whole week would just make it miserable for everyone."

"Fine," Dez grumbled.

"Deal," said Chuck. "But only because you asked me to, sweet cheeks.''

Trish rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Can we eat now? The tacos are going to get cold."

Chuck nodded. "Right, sorry."

After dinner, the boys went outside to run around with Prince and the kids while Trish and Ally stayed inside to clean up. Ally nearly dropped the dish she was holding when a loud shriek came from outside. Trish went over to the sliding glass door to look outside, where Dez was frantically hopping on one foot, yelling, "Get it off, get it off!" Ally grinned.

"Sounds like someone stepped in dog poop."

Trish rolled her eyes again. "What a doofus."

When they were done loading the dishes about ten minutes later, they decided to sit out on the deck, Trish insisting that "it'd be like dinner and a show...except without the dinner part." And she was right—Dez and Austin provided plenty of entertainment, with the whole poop on the shoe debacle, combined with Austin accidentally nailing Dez in the face with a football. The girls chatted about everything from work to family and in between, Ally noting Ava's newfound musical talents and Alex's impeccable fashion sense. She showed Trish pictures that she'd taken at a photo shoot a few weeks ago, where Alex was sporting the same outfits as Austin—one of them a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath and jeans, and the other the exact same thing except in red. Trish talked all about her management company and the roles she'd been auditioning for, including Dez's upcoming movie, Claws (dun dun dun) 8. Even though he hadn't confirmed it was actually happening yet (because the seventh one had just come out), Trish seemed pretty confident she would get the part.

Around an hour later, the sun had started to set and Ally and Trish called everyone inside. They all hit the sack pretty much as soon as Dez left, and everyone slept soundly that night, looking forward to the next day's adventures.

the next morning

around 10 a.m.

"Alexander Michael get back here!" Ally yelled as she chased her son around the upper level of Trish's house. Alex had been running around for the past fifteen or so minutes in nothing but his underwear, and every time she swore she was getting close to catching him, he sped up. At this rate, she thought, we'll never make it to the zoo.

"Austin! A little help please?" Austin poked his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush peeking out of his mouth and toothpaste lining his lips. His hair was still messy and face unshaven, but Ally noted how handsome he looked despite this. He smiled as Alex ran past the bathroom and scooped up his son, laughing along with him. Ally leaned up against the wall, grinning.

"Thanks," she panted.

"Nahprahlem," Austin replied, leaning over the sink and spitting in it, then grabbing a washcloth and wiping his face. "We need to get you dressed, mister," he commented, tickling Alex in the stomach. "What time are we leaving, Als?"

"Ten thirty," she replied. "Well, supposedly. It'll probably be later, since Alex still isn't dressed yet."

Austin nodded. "Let's change that, huh?" He brought Alex into the guest room that the kids were sharing and pulled some clothes out of his suitcase.

Around 11:45, the seven of them finally piled into Trish's minivan, with Trish and Chuck in the front, Austin and Ally in the middle, and all three kids in the back. They chatted the whole half hour ride there and when they arrived at the zoo, Dez, Carrie, and Darrie were already by the front gates waiting for them. Trish wasted no time getting them all checked in and they went through a few exhibits before stopping outside one of the buildings and gathering in a circle.

"Alright, gang, which exhibit do we want to see next?" Ally asked, gazing down at the map she held in front of her. "We could do the bears, the monkeys, the zebras—"

Austin stifled a laugh. "Good one, Ally." He tapped Dez in the shoulder playfully and scoffed. "Heh. zebra exhibit. As if we'd believe that."

Ally raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious."

"Oh."

"How many times have I told you, Austin—Zebras. Are. Real."

"Mmhm," said Dez, winking at Austin. "Sure they are."

Ally sighed in defeat, but a few seconds later her face lit up. I might be able to make some money off of this. "Alright, fine. Want to put some money on it?"

"Nah, I-I'm good," Austin replied.

"Absolutely!" Dez exclaimed. "How much?"

"Mmm, I dunno, what about...ten bucks?"

"Make it twenty and it's a deal," Dez said, sticking out his hand. Ally tried her best not to burst into laughter.

"Alright then." She smirked. "You've got yourself a deal."

Dez' jaw dropped as they approached the zebra exhibit. The smile that he'd been wearing on his face after laughing at a joke Austin had told a few seconds ago turned into a scowl as he whirled around to face Ally.

"You tricked me!" Ally shrugged.

"Hey, all's fair in love and war."

Dez narrowed his eyebrows. "I have no idea what that means, but I'm pretty sure it's not good."

Ally laughed. "I totally got you! I gotta be honest, I didn't think that would work." She held out her hand. "Pay up."

"But...but..."

"Eh eh eh, no buts. Hand over the $20."

Austin snickered. "You said butts." He immediately cracked up, and Dez laughed along with him. After a few seconds his face turned from amused to unamused and he reached for his wallet, pulling out a $20 bill and grumpily placing it in Ally's outstretched hand.

"Heh heh...mama's gonna get herself a new book." Trish rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? Why do you have to spend it on something boring? Why wouldn't you get something exciting like a new pair of shoes?"

"I already have shoes," Ally replied. "You can never have enough books, though."

Trish scoffed. "Ugh. Lame."

"Y-yeah," Austin stammered. "Super lame."

"Hey!" Ally turned around to glare at her husband.

"Sorry babe, but I agree with Trish on this one. Love you!"

Ally rolled her eyes. "Mmhm, sure. Now, let's take some pictures and move onto the next exhibit, yeah?" She looked down at Alex, who was leaning his head on her shoulder, his eyes droopy. "I think someone's getting tired."

Dez yawned and stretched dramatically. "You know, now that you mention it, I am a little tired."

The rest of the group looked at him quizzically. "What?" he asked. "I am."

A few hours later, the friends stumbled back to the car, laughing hysterically and chatting. Trish unlocked the car and went back to the trunk, fumbling around through the items she had back there.

"Did-did you see his face?" Austin asked, "He was all like 'get your kid under control or else we're banning you from the zoo!'" He ruffled Alex's messy, moppy hair, and Ally nodded.

"I know, right? Who knew we'd be pulling our own kid out of a fountain, like, seventeen years after the whole incident with hater girl? It's like I'm getting deja vu or something."

"Hey, Alex isn't completely to blame here. I'm the one who gave him the coin to throw in the fountain," Dez added, then paused. "Although, the falling in part was all him." The friends cracked up again as Trish brought a towel over to Ally.

"This is from when we went to the beach the other day. It might still have sand on it, but it's better than nothing." Ally nodded and thanked her, wrapping a soaking wet Alex in the towel and using it to dry off his hair.

"Well, we'd better get going," Trish nodded toward Alex, "I'm guessing you want to get him cleaned up."

Ally nodded. "Definitely. Who knows how dirty those fountains are?" She shivered a little. "I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it."

The rest of that day was fairly uneventful. After Ally gave Alex a very thorough shower, everyone hung out for a little while longer, grilling burgers and hotdogs for supper and enjoying them out on the back deck. Dez's family left around eight, and everyone hit the sack almost immediately after. They had a late breakfast the next day (technically brunch, since everyone wasn't out of bed until almost eleven), and hung out all afternoon, when Dez came back over again. Dinnertime came and went, and afterwards everyone had segregated themselves into groups: Austin and Dez in the basement, playing a Zaliens video game, Ally and Trish upstairs in the living room, watching their daughters play with Maggie's Barbie Dreamhouse, and the little boys upstairs in one of the guest rooms, where Darrie was attempting to study for the ACTs (and ultimately failing, because all Alex wanted to do was play with him).

"Awww, man! That was sick!" Austin exclaimed, high-fiving his best friend as they paused the video game. "We need to get together more often."

"You totally bashed that zombie's head in!" Dez yelled. "WOO! Man, I love this game!"

"Me too," Austin agreed. "This was really fun."

"Wanna play the whole game again?" Dez asked.

"You know it!"

"Oh, before we do that," Austin said, putting his controller down. "There's something else we should do."

Dez's smile grew and they both yelled, "ZALIEN BRAIN SUCK!"

"Geez, the boys are being really loud," Trish commented. "What could they possibly be doing down there?"

"I thought I heard them say 'zalien brain suck,' if that answers your question," Ally replied. "I can't believe they're still into those lame movies."

"Hey, they're not lame!" Trish argued. "You're lame!"

Ally chuckled. "Somehow I knew you'd say that. I just don't get why you guys are so into them still."

Trish shrugged. "Honestly... You're right. I have no idea why I was so into those back in high school. They are kind of lame."

"Yeah. How many of them are there, now? Like, twenty two?"

"Twenty-three," Trish corrected, "the twenty fourth one is coming out next January." She paused. "But it's not like I'm gonna go see it or anything...pffft, why would you say that?"

"I...didn't."

"Oh. Heh. Right." There was a few moments of silence between them as the girls conversed through their barbie dolls about a ball supposedly taking place that night.

"You know, it's really sweet seeing them interact like this," Ally said. "It's exactly like our relationship."

"I know," Trish smiled. "It's too bad they won't get to go to high school together. They may be a few years apart but I just know they'd get into all sorts of trouble—just like we did." Ally laughed.

"We did get into plenty of mischief, didn't we?"

"Yeah. But to be fair, most of the mischief was caused by the boys," Ally pointed out. "Like when Dez swung in on a vine at your quincinera."

"Or when Dez crashed the piano at your no stage fright party."

"Or when Dez—you know, I'm starting to think that Dez is the one behind all the mischief we got into."

"Not all," Trish said. "Just most." The girls burst out laughing and pulled each other into a tight hug.

"So, are you absolutely sure that you won't be able to move back to Miami? It's like you said, the girls would have so much fun if they were able to experience high school together."

"I'm like, ninety nine percent sure," Trish replied, the smile disappearing from her face. "I'd be able to come back if it weren't for Chuck's job. He's really happy where he is now, and I don't want to ruin that for him."

"Well, he'll never know if you don't bring it up," Ally said. "At least promise me you'll talk to him?"

Trish nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Because I do really miss you and Austin and the kids. It gets lonely sometimes when your only friend that lives close by is a red-headed, llama-obsessed, dim-witted ding-dong." Ally snorted and they both burst out laughing again. After that, they were both silent as they watched and listened to the girls play.

"Maggie," said Ava, holding up her doll and making it 'talk,' "Are we best friends now?"

"Totally," Maggie replied with the same sassiness that her mom often exuded, "Best friends forever and ever."

"And ever," Ava finished, sending the girls both into a fit of giggles. Ally back on the couch and sighed, looking over at her best friend.

"Trish," she started, feeling a smile creep onto her face, "are we best friends still?"

"Totally," Trish responded, reaching for Ally's hand. "Best friends forever and ever."

"And ever," Ally finished with a smile.

Ahhh okay so what did you guys think? What was your favorite part? Tell me, tell me, tell meeeee! It was so fun getting to write Trish and Dez into this chapter since there hasn't been much of them in the last few. Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to add this story to your library, vote and comment! Take care! -Ej