Waking up to the sound of yelling, to Ally, was not the ideal way to wake up. Especially a heavy sleeper like her. She groaned, trying to get back into her lovely pickle dream when she realized that she was not in her room. She opened her eyes and looked around in a daze, studying the unfamiliar territory.
The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Didi's car for a short slumber.
Short slumber? Yeah, right!
She removed the blanket and realized that she was still in Austin's clothes. She didn't mind though, it was pretty comfy, though she preferred her own clothes.
The bed she lay in smelled strongly of cologne, but not the good kind. It smelled goofy. Weird. Eccentric. Like someone had tried to create one for themselves. Honestly, without any form of dramatic descriptions it smelled like Sweet Puppy, which basically would be honey and wet dog!
And the very scent gave Ally friendly vibes. She suddenly felt comfortable in the room that smelt awful!
Stretching herself with a yawn, Ally made an effort to move from the bed.
She heard voices arguing.
"Austin! You traitor!" a male voice was heard.
"I trusted you, bro," Austin screamed, "How could you call the Police on me?"
"This is my house, isn't it? I make the rules!" the voice retorted.
"But, we are family and family comes first, right?" he asked in a softer tone.
"Well, you brought a criminal to my territory, how can I ever trust you?" the person asked again.
By this time, Ally's eyes were filled with tears. She didn't want to burden anyone.
She opened the room door to run into a tall blonde who had raised her hand to knock on the door.
"Morning!" she greeted in a cheerful voice and on studying Ally's expression, she looked confused.
"Are you alright, Ally?" she asked, guiding her back to the bed, "Was it a nightmare?"
Ally shook her head.
"I'm very sorry to burden you guys with my problems," she lamented, "Dragging Austin into this mess wasn't my intention."
"You are not burdening us," the girl assured, "I'm Carrie by the way."
"But," Ally protested, "I promise that I'll leave you all alone. Thank you for doing this. I didn't mean to upset anyone."
The blonde's demeanor became a little more serious. "Woah..woah..woah!" she interrupted, "What gave you the idea that you are leaving? You are the girl that Austin keeps talking about, Ally, we're all here for you, don't forget that."
"I heard someone, I think, Dez right now," Ally said, "And he certainly was absolutely angry that Austin brought me here."
"I don't think you heard Dez," Carrie looked bewildered, "My Dezzie is like the sweetest thing on Earth. He hardly ever yells unless- " she stopped.
"Oh!" the blonde figured out, "OH!" and she started laughing.
Then, she got up and held her hand out, "Someone of your QI should not be so sad."
"QI?" Ally asked doubtful, "You mean IQ?"
"Spellings are not really my thing," she commented, before grabbing the brunette's hand and dragging her downstairs.
"Hey Dezzie!" the blonde greeted, pushing Ally ahead.
The brunette stepped back in fear of the red-head on the couch, whose head was the only visible thing. His voice had her frightened earlier and she didn't want to disappoint another person.
"Dezzie. Tone down will you? You nearly gave the girl a heart attack!" Carrie chided.
"Umm, what girl?" he asked.
"Austin's girlfriend, silly," Carrie commented.
"No, we're not together," Ally's voice chorused with another voice on the other couch. She looked up to see Austin, whose concentration was elsewhere.
"Then, you need advice from the Love Whisperer," the red head said, whispering the last part.
"Nobody calls you that," Austin mimicked in the tone.
Ally was yet to see both of their faces. They seemed engaged in the latest version of the video game Fake Justice.
It is a game where the players get to become three characters simultaneously, one of which is a police officer, while the other two can be criminals or common people, depending on the player's choice. It was Ally's favourite! And not to brag, but she excels in the category of video games.
OH! OHHHHH! That's when the conversation became clear to Ally.
"Well, you brought a criminal to my territory, how can I ever trust you?"
It was about the game! Ally let out a breathy chuckle in relief.
They did not hate her. Yet.
Her chuckle caught the attention of both Austin and Dez, who paused the game to look at her. The redhead's blue eyes studied her sternly and then he let out a huge smile, jumped out the couch and pulled her in for a hug.
GAH! Another hug? She was already getting sick of it! No! Who was she kidding! She never really got this much attention and care in years. She felt like there were people to support her and she was eternally grateful.
She took a moment to observe the redhead, who was clad in the weirdest colour combination she had ever seen. Yellow jeans with a rainbow top and blue suspenders? Weird is a fashion understatement!
Her sentiments caused her to close her eyes and absorb all the energy from the bubbly redhead.
"Ally, were you crying?" Austin asked.
"Ya," Ally replied in a raspy voice, "It's nothing really."
"She thought that you guys were arguing over if she should stay," Carrie stated and the brunette winced.
Austin appeared confused for a second and then it clicked. He turned to look at Ally and gave a comforting smile, "You don't have to worry, girl! We are all here for you!" he smiled.
At that moment, Ally was overcome by emotions. She let out the biggest grin, she could muster and exclaimed a big Thank you to the three amazing individuals.
Then, Carrie dragged her to the bathroom and gave her a new set of clothes to change.
Ally stared intently in the mirror at her reflection. She looked paler than normal. Her eyes were glazed over, but her face held a small smile, one of those rare sights. She quickly freshened up and replaced the baggy grey sweats and t-shirt with a comfortable crop-top and shorts.
Washing her face one more time, Ally emerged from the bathroom with a renewed vigour and hope for a new day.
Austin and Dez were still playing the video game, while Carrie had smiled and offered her a stack of pancakes.
Ally ate to her heart's content, considering that she refused to eat for hours because of her depressing vibe. As she enjoyed a peaceful breakfast at the kitchen counter, the redhead made his appearance on the table.
"So, Sleeping Beauty, how did you sleep?" he asked, smirking teasingly.
"Hey!" the brunette protested, "I didn't sleep for that long!"
"Ya, right," Dez mocked, looking at his watch, "It's just twelve noon. Too early, I guess."
"Wait," Ally paled, "You mean to say that I've been sleeping for thirteen hours straight?!"
"Dez!" Austin whined, "Leave her alone," he exclaimed, as he sat down next to her.
Dez raised his hands in surrender, "Fine. I'll leave your girlfriend alone!"
Austin turned visibly red and spluttered out a protest, which was conveniently ignored by the redhead and blonde.
"So Ally," the blonde girl, who was sitting on her other side, questioned, "How old are you?"
"23 at present," she stated as she devoured the delicious syrup-drenched pancakes.
"Oh, so you're Austin's age?" Carrie prompted, hearing which Austin, who was eating his own pancake stack, choked.
"Easy there, tiger," Dez teased.
Austin glared at the couple, who gave him teasing glances and nudges. He knew they were setting him up with his long-time crush, but he knew that right now, she needed a friend more than anything and he tried to convey it to the duo with his eyes.
Ally was paying no heed to the on-going conversation. She was busy gulping as much food as she could to console her starving stomach.
"Did my brother not feed you, Ally?" Dez asked, wide-eyed.
"Hmm?" she asked, her mouth stuffed, only raising her head when her name was heard.
"Never mind," he backtracked, as Austin's laughter echoed through the room.
Ally glared at him, sticking her tongue out in the most unlady-like manner.
"Stap tasin' ma. Am jus hangree," she spoke, while chewing.
Austin, who had calmed down, broke down laughing all over again, this time clutching his sides and leaving tears in the corner of his eyes.
Ally paused for a second and looked at the couple who were staring at the laughing blonde, wide-eyed with looks of amazement on their faces.
At that moment though, her concern turned to her growling stomach, causing her face to redden. And for the blonde to throw another laughing fit, so hard that he doubled over the floor.
The brunette didn't find it funny. She was a growing woman and wanted to have her share of breakfast. Granted that she had four stacks of pancakes, swallowing them whole and groaning at its deliciousness, but for a second she imagined what she would've looked like stuffing her mouth with the food.
She remembered how her dad used to call her 'chipmunk' when she used to stuff her mouth with food and smiled fondly.
"You have quite an appetite, girl," Carrie commented, chuckling at the brunette, once she finished licking the crumbs off.
She smiled wryly and mumbled an embarrassing 'thanks'.
"Have you never eaten pancakes before?" asked Dez.
"Pancakes were my mom's speciality," Ally recalled, "I haven't touched them since she left, seven years ago. "
The laughable atmosphere in the room died down at her comment. The silence that followeed made it clear that the couple was aware of her situation.
Carrie placed her hand on the girl's and squeezed in support, which she appreciated greatly.
After a minute of silence, she asked, "So, tell me about your story. How did the two of you meet?"
She was desperately trying to break the tension in the room and they knew. They understood.
Dez was the first to respond, "It was in high school, actually. I was disappointed that everyone except Aus and I were in a relationship, so we were trying to find someone for me."
"Hey!" Austin protested, "It's not that people weren't interested in me, it was just that I didn't want to date, ok?!"
Hearing that Ally's heart sank. He doesn't want to date. She thought, but then backtracked. Why was it affecting her?
"Anyways," Dez continued, ignoring his blonde brother, "I was walking around the mall, when I came across a cafe, where a very beautiful waitress, named Carrie, asked me if I was OK," he explained with a smile, which caused Ally to smile as well.
"She called herself the Love Robot and consoled me with my problem. I don't know how but by the end of the day, I got home, grinning at the fact that I had a girlfriend!"
"Awwww!" Ally swooned, unable to control herself, before she composed herself.
All heads turned towards her.
"What?" Ally questioned, acting annoyed, but her sparkling eyes betrayed her.
"Is Little Miss Serious a secret romantic?" Austin teased.
She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to continue.
Dez continued telling his love story, about their amazing dates to the Zalien Convention and Videogame dates and first apartment together and Ally bit her tongue to prevent her from cooing at the lovely couple.
"They are so cute!" Ally whispered into Austin's war, "What did you mean by, them being dumb?" she asked. The couple were so engrossed in the tale that they did not notice Austin and Ally's conversation.
The blonde froze for a moment, before subtly whispering back, "Just, you wait."
"And after eight years together, there is my fiancé," Dez finished the story, pointing lovingly at Carrie.
"Where?" Carrie asked, turning around.
Ally thought that she was just teasing him, but the girl looked genuinely confused.
"You, Carrie," Dez stated, completely unaffected by her weird question, "You're my fiancé."
Ally looked at Austin in question and he raised his eyebrow in return as if to say, 'I told you so.'
The brunette turned to look at the couple, who were completely lost in each other's eyes.
The 'gross' part Austin was referring to seemed pretty clear, though Ally found it adorable.
But what actually caught Ally's eye was the black design on the redhead's forearm. A very familiar one to be exact.
She squinted her eyes to observe it properly.
And the girl paled, almost immediately.