nine: bus troubles & the big apple

When Austin woke up the next morning, he reached over and found that Ally wasn't there. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Ally?"

When there was no response, he jumped out of bed and knocked on the door to Ally and Trish's room, figuring she went back over to her room to get ready. Trish's voice yelled, "Come in!" from the other side and he turned the doorknob. Trish greeted him and went towards the bathroom, curling iron in hand, and when he didn't see Ally in either of the beds he furrowed his eyebrows. "Yo, Trish, where'd Ally go?"

"Down to breakfast," she responded. "she told me to tell you to meet her there at 9:30."

Austin looked at the clock and his eyes widened. "Trish, it's almost 10:15!" He heard her mutter a half-hearted "Oh, well," as he hurried back to his room, threw some clothes on, combed his hair, and rushed downstairs. He found Ally sitting at a table for two, cutting her French toast. Austin planted a quick kiss on her cheek before grabbing a stack of pancakes and sitting back down.

"Hey, Als, sorry I'm late. Trish forgot to wake me up."

Ally cracked a smile. "Als?"

"Yeah, I thought it sounded cute. If you don't want me to use that nickname, I won't, but..."

She put her hand on top of his. "I love it."

Austin sighed in relief and started pouring the syrup on his pancakes. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I was thinking about yesterday and how you sang that song during soundcheck, and about the conversation we had. I realized that I may have overreacted a little bit and thought I should probably apologize."

"Als, you don't have to. I overstepped boundaries— it was my fault. I should have asked what you wanted but my desires got in the way and"— Ally interrupted his babbling by learning over, kissing him softly and deeply. When they let go, Austin exhaled shakily. "Woaah..."

Ally smirked. "I still got it."

"Yeah, you do!" Austin said, and both broke out into laughter.

"No, but seriously, I'm sorry that I overreacted like that. Yes, we need to have a conversation about it at some point, but I didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself. And I know that you had good intentions," Ally smiled. "I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

Austin gripped her hand. "Absolutely." He picked up his fork and knife, and added, "Now onto the more important matter at hand: Pancakes!"

Ally rolled her eyes and grinned at her boyfriend's childlike innocence. "Whatever floats your boat, Austin."

ten days later

After Austin and Ally's second show in Philadelphia, the tour bus took off for New York City. Despite leaving the stadium at 11:00 P.M. and wanting to do nothing but fall into their bunks and go to sleep, Trish insisted that they had to make out an itinerary so they could make the most of their one free day in New York City. Exhausted, fatigued, and a little hungry, the gang stumbled onto the bus and sat down at the table.

Austin yawned for what seemed like the hundredth time since the show ended. "I'm tired," he whined. "Why can't we just go to bed?"

Ally planted herself in the seat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes barely open. "Yeah, Trish, why can't this wait until morning?"

"Because... it just can't," Trish responded. "C'mon, guys, wake up! We've got things to do! Just because it's past your normal bedtime, doesn't mean you have to be party poopers!"

"Calm down, there, Trishkabob," Dez's nickname for Trish earned him a hard glare. "Not all of us had the privilege of sitting backstage and doing nothing."

"It doesn't help that she had three cups of coffee before the show," Ally added, lifting her head a little and rubbing her eyes. "I think we need to do an intervention, because this is the third night in a row."

Trish shook her head. "You guys are being ridiculous. I do not need an intervention. It's normal to consume that much caffeine!"

Dez put a hand on her shoulder. "No, no it's not." Austin and Ally mumbled sleepily in agreement.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'll just plan all of our activities myself. Which means," she said, smirking, "that we'll be spending all day shopping and not doing things like visiting boring museums or getting hotdogs at every single street corner." Suddenly, the other three perked up.

"Hey, the Statue of Liberty isn't boring!" Ally protested. "It's a beautiful symbol of freedom that has significant historical meaning to our country! Just because something has historical significance doesn't mean it's"—

"I stopped listening after you said 'historical significance,'" Trish interrupted. The boys nodded in agreement. "Now, cut the chitchat and let's start making a list of places you want to see! We don't have all night." The friends got to work and started jotting down tourist attractions they wanted to visit in New York City. After agreeing to limit the places each person chose to two because of the time crunch, it didn't take long for them to formulate a solid list.

Ally- Statue of Liberty, 9/11 memorial

Trish- 2 hours of shopping

Dez- all the hotdog stands we can find

Austin- times square

Everyone- central park

By the time they finished their list, it was a quarter to midnight and Trish reluctantly said they could go to bed, though her caffeine high hadn't quite worn off yet and she probably could have stayed up all night. Instead, she silently scrolled through social media while the others got ready for bed.

Ally sat on her bunk, waiting for Austin to get out of the shower. She opened her Instagram and saw a post that Austin had put up a few hours earlier. It was a picture of the two of them singing, their eyes locked and smiles on their faces. The caption read: "No place I'd rather be. #TwoinaMillionTour." Ally grinned and tapped on the picture twice. Just then, Austin exited the bathroom, and before she had the chance, Dez zipped in front of her.

"HA! Beat you again!" Ally rolled her eyes and sat back down, and Austin grinned.

"How many times has that happened now?"

"I've lost count," Ally replied, patting the bunk next to her. "He did it on your tour, and he's doing it again on ours. Some things never change."

Austin said nothing but put his arm around her and kissed her forehead lightly. "I love you," he whispered.

"Ditto," she said, "pal." She punched him in the shoulder and Austin winced. "Ow."

"Sorry... I'm really sleep deprived. We should probably go to bed." Austin nodded in agreement and they shared a quick kiss before climbing into their respective bunks. Ally was moments away from drifting to sleep when her cell phone rang. Narrowing her eyebrows, she answered sleepily. "Hello?"

"Ally! You picked up!" she became very confused when she heard Dez's voice on the other end.

"Dez?"

"Can I borrow your shampoo? I'm out." He'd discovered a minute or so before that he was, in fact, almost out of shampoo, but Ally still wondered why he chose to borrow hers, not Austin's. Then again, that was just Dez being Dez.

"No," she answered hesitantly. "Dez, if you need to borrow someone's shampoo, why don't you borrow Austin's?"

"I don't like the smell of that manly shampoo. I prefer lavender or another more pleasant smell."

Ally groaned. "Fine, but there'd better be some left in the morning. My shampoo is really expensive." She hung up and plugged her phone back in, then felt her eyes close closed as the exhaustion from the day took over.

the next morning

around 7 a.m.

The following morning, Austin, Ally, and Trish were woken up by the smell of something burning. Austin's nose twitched and his eyes sprung open as he rolled out of his bunk and ran to the kitchen, where a very frazzled Dez was standing beside a smoking pan, waving an oven mitt to try and clear the smoke.

"Dez! What are you doing?" Austin immediately went to open the window and grabbed a glass of water to pour on the pan, which had some very burned pancakes in it.

"I was trying to make pancakes, duh! I was using the recipe that you gave me. But now they're all ruined." Dez hung his head, and Austin gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Youdo know that the pancake recipe was only a cover up so Ally wouldn't hear I was planning on proposing soon, right?"

"Oh." The two sat in silence for a minute, until Austin pulled out his phone. He saw the time and chuckled. "Dude, why were you up so early, anyway? It's only 7 A.M."

"Because," Dez explained, "I wanted to surprise you guys by making breakfast. I'm getting tired of all these hotel breakfasts. They're not as good as making it yourself, y'know?"

Austin nodded. "Well, I guess now that I'm awake I might as well get dressed." Dez went to use the bathroom (and look for his special snacks) at the rest stop they were parked at— Tommy had stopped not far out from the city at around 1 a.m. so he could get some sleep—but not before Austin warned him about getting on the wrong bus. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to get the sound of those girls' screams out of his head. Austin pulled back the curtains separating the main area from the bunks and screamed when he saw Ally standing there.

"AAAAH!"

"AAAAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked, leaning back against the wall, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. Ally giggled.

"I always get up this early. What are you doing up?" she wrinkled her nose. "And what is that smell?"

"Dez tried to make pancakes," Austin explained. He glanced over at the pan, which was still smoking. "It didn't go too well."

"I see that," she replied, digging in the cabinet for some cereal. "We're lucky Trish is a heavy sleeper, otherwise we'd be in trouble. A sleep-deprived Trish is never fun to be around."

"I heard that!" Trish yelled from the other room and Ally grimaced.

"Sorry, but it's true. Love you!"

"None taken," she answered. Ally smiled, turning to her boyfriend. "So, how'd you sleep?"

"Decent...ly. Decently. If that's a word."

She grinned. "Are you excited for today?" she asked, taking the milk out of the fridge and pouring some on her cereal.

"Yeah, I am. What could be better than spending the entire day with my friends and girlfriend in the greatest city in the world?"

Ally picked up her bowl and took a seat at the table. "Hmm..." she paused to take a bite then said, "Yeah, I can't think of anything." Austin smiled and sat down across the table from her.

"Wow."

"What?" she asked, her mouth full.

"You still look pretty, even with bedhead and unbrushed teeth," Austin smiled, and added, "Just like you did with a mustache."

Ally furrowed her brow, but grinned. "Thanks... I think?" Just then, Trish pulled back the curtain, and announced, rather loudly, "Morning, losers. Y'all ready for a day of sightseeing?"

"Hey..." Austin said, looking hurt. "But yeah, I am. I want to check out the Nintendo headquarters! I heard it's in Times Square." He pulled out his phone to look it up.

"Well, I'm just excited to explore the Statue of Liberty and check out the 9/11 memorial. I heard that it's surprisingly really quiet and peaceful, which will be a nice change of pace from all the chaos of tour." Trish and Austin nodded, and Dez entered the bus once again, his arms full of individually packaged bags of snacks.

"Speak of the devil," Trish muttered.

Dez set all of the bags down on the table and held one up. "Look, I found crunchkins! Man, I haven't been able to find these puppies since they discontinued them. Lucky for me though, they recontinued them." He hugged the bag and pet it while his friends watched with concern.

"That's...great, Dez," Austin finally said, turning to Ally and Trish. "Hey, uh, we should probably get going. We have a lot of ground to cover today, and not a lot of time. Have you guys seen Tommy?"

"He went to use the restroom," Ally replied. "Now that I think about it, I'm going to go before we leave, too. We're only a few minutes from the city, but I prefer the rest stop bathrooms to the one on the bus. Plus, there probably won't be any other options once we get there." She turned around and exited the bus. Dez frowned.

"Speak for yourself!" he huffed, plopping down on the couch. Trish turned to Austin, ignoring him.

"Alright. I've heard some rumors going around that you plan to propose to Ally soon, yeah?"

Austin chuckled. "Um, yeah, but not for awhile. Why?" he paused. "And how did you find out?"

"You and Dez are terrible at whispering," she stated bluntly. "Now, before I give you official permission, which, keep in mind, is necessary if you're going to marry my best friend, you should know a few things," she added, starting to pace the length of the front part of the bus. "Ally and I have known each other since kindergarten. Until she met you, we were literally each other's soulmates. We talked about our futures all the time when we were younger—everything from what we like in a guy, to what we want our weddings to look like."

"I think I have a decent idea of what Ally likes in a guy," Austin mused. "Me!"

Trish put a fake smile on. "I wasn't done yet. I was going to talk to you about how you should ask her. Ally has always said she wanted to be proposed to in Paris. On the second level of the Eiffel Tower, to be exact. In the restaurant there."

Austin nodded, making it clear he was listening.

"Let's see...what else..." Trish stroked her chin for dramatic effect. "Oh, and when you propose, she wants a string quartet for the background music and for it to be completely private. Of course, she also said this before she conquered her stage fright, so if a few other people are there, it'll probably be fine. Also, she's a ring size four."

"I'm a size ten," Dez butted in, "If anybody cares."

"Nobody cares," Trish replied, shaking her head.

Austin gave Dez a weird look, then his eyes widened. "Ooh, what if I propose when we're in Paris during the world tour?" he pulled out his phone and brought the calendar app up. "Better yet, what if it was on Valentine's Day? That'd be so romantic!"

Trish smiled. "Now you're talking!" she pulled a stack of papers from her bag. "One more thing: this is a contract I made for you to sign. If you sign it, you promise not to break her heart. If you do, I'll break you." Austin nodded hastily, a little scared. Not long after, Tommy entered the bus again, followed by Ally. Austin threw the papers, which he'd just finished signing, in Trish's direction when he saw them coming and greeted Ally with a side hug. The friends all sat down and continued to discuss the plans for the day as Tommy pulled out of the rest stop.

Around twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of their hotel, which was only a few minutes outside of the city. Trish urged them to drop their luggage in the rooms and get back out quickly, adding that time was of the essence. Not long after, the four friends peered out the window as they entered the "Big Apple."

"Look, it's the Empire State Building!" Ally exclaimed as she pointed out the window at the skyscraper, which was still small from where they were.

"Cool, that's where Buddy the Elf's dad works!" Dez added, grinning gleefully. Trish and Ally exchanged confused looks.

"You do know that Elf is fictional, right?" Ally asked slowly. Dez glanced over at Austin, who shook his head.

"Don't listen to her, buddy. She doesn't know what she's talking about." Ally shook her head.

"So, where are you guys off to first?" Tommy asked them from the driver's seat.

"Uh, Times Square," Trish replied. "It's only," she checked her watch, "About 8:45, so two hours should be enough time. After that, we can head to the mall and then onto the 9/11 memorial."

The bus dropped them off, and just as Dez and Austin were about to break away and head in their own direction, Trish whistled loudly.

"If you guys think you're going to be allowed to roam Times Square on your own, you're sadly mistaken. Get your butts back here." Austin and Dez hung their heads and groaned.

"Why do we have to stay with you guys, anyway? You're just going to be doing girly stuff the entire time!" Austin whined.

"It's not that we don't trust you..." Ally started, but shook her head. "Actually, yeah. That is the reason." She ushered her friends to follow her down the street, where they received quizzical looks and the occasional "Is that...OH MY GOSH IT'S AUSTIN AND ALLY!"

A few fans even asked to take selfies with the couple, and being the personable and friendly celebrities that they were, Austin and Ally both heartily agreed. After repeating the process a few times, Trish stopped the group.

"I love that you guys are being nice and all, but you can't stop to take pictures with every fan. It's too time consuming! Do you know how many fans you have in New York, and how long it would take to take pictures with every single person that recognized you?"

"I get your point, Trish," Ally answered, "But it wouldn't be fair to turn down taking a picture with our fans! It's the least we can do— they buy tickets to our shows, download our music, follow us on social media..."

"Yeah, our fans are the reason why we're recognizable in the first place," Austin agreed. "And the reason you have a job."

Trish groaned. "Okay, fine. Just...make them quick. Come on, we're burning daylight here, people!"

They continued to walk through Times Square, occasionally stopping for selfies with fans while Trish put on a fake smile. She might have come off as selfish in some ways, but if they kept stopping for meet and greets every five seconds, they wouldn't have time to do everything they wanted to do. Nevertheless, she stood idly by, watching their fans' dreams come true.

Just when they were about ready to move on to the mall, they heard somebody yell, "Is that Austin and Ally?"

Trish sighed. "Here we go again."

A teenager with blonde hair slowly approached the group, her jaw dropped. "Oh, my gosh, it IS! It's Austin Moon and Ally Dawson!" The other girl next to her, who had bright, curly red hair, nodded slowly, obviously not as big of a fan.

The red haired girl gave her friend— sister, maybe? Ally couldn't tell— an incredulous look. "I have eyes. I can see them."

The first girl ignored her, gripping her companion's shoulders. "I don't think you understand. Austin Moon and Ally Dawson are here right in front of us! How are you not freaking out right now?"

This time, the second girl put her hands on the energetic girl's shoulders. "Erika...calm down."

Erika turned to face Austin, Ally, Trish, and Dez, sending a shy smile their way. Austin and Ally smiled back. "As you can see, I'm a big fan."

"Awesome," Austin said. "We're glad you like our music."

"Hannah..." she whispered. "Did you hear that?" Hannah smiled faintly, nodded, and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"So, uh, what brings you guys to New York?" Ally asked.

"Your tour, actually," Hannah replied. "We're from the Midwest, but my cousin wanted to see you guys in New York. Why we didn't just go to the show in Minneapolis, I have no idea."

"Nice," Austin replied, noticing that Trish was getting antsy. "So, what's your favorite song of ours?"

"Yes," Erika replied. Her eyes widened. "I like all of them! But my favorites are 'Steal Your Heart,' 'Superhero,' 'Parachute,' and 'Double Take.' Like I said, though, I love them all!"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Don't get her started on your music. It's all she ever talks about."

Austin chuckled. "Yeah, that seems to be the case with a lot of the fans we've met."

Trish stepped up from the back of the group. "Well, this has been nice, but we're on a time crunch." She turned to Austin. "Why don't you guys grab a selfie and we can get going, yeah?" The two girls exchanged looks, but agreed. Both thanked Austin and Ally for the picture and started walking the other way.

"Trish! Why'd you have to interrupt us like that?"

"I already said, we're running low on time! If anything, this just proves my point that you guys are too friendly for your own good." She started to pick up the pace, and Austin, Ally, and Dez struggled to keep up.

"I wonder what's gotten into Trish," Ally said, barely able to catch her breath.

"No idea," Austin replied hesitantly, thinking about the conversation he'd had with Trish earlier and suddenly feeling nervous, despite the fact that he wasn't proposing for a few more months. "Maybe she's just tired."

Ally nodded, not fully convinced by his answer. Was there something he wasn't telling her?

After an afternoon full of shopping for Ally and Trish and complaining about shopping from Dez and Austin, they made their way to the front of the mall, where Tommy was already waiting.

When they approached the bus, Tommy opened the doors and they all boarded, immediately plopping down on the couches. He greeted them and asked how their day had been so far.

"Great, thanks," Trish answered. "The next place on our schedule is...the 9/11 memorial."

"Sounds good," Tommy replied, and Trish went over to the couch and sat down. The friends chatted amongst themselves for a few more seconds, and Ally was the first to notice the weird noises coming from the bus when Tommy tried to start the ignition. She slowly stood up and made her way to his seat.

"Everything okay up here?" she asked, and Tommy turned the key again but nothing happened. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"The bus won't start," he said. The friends exchanged worried glances. "I don't know what would be wrong. I just filled it up with gas not too long ago and it was working fine when we left Miami."

"Hmm, that is weird," Ally looked back at her friends. "Why don't we try to find someone who can help? There's gotta be some sort of...bus...repairman around here somewhere." She paused. "To the internet!"

The friends spent the next few minutes scouring the Internet for repair shops that could send a technician out. Suddenly, Dez exclaimed, "I found it!"
"You found a repair shop?" Austin asked.

"No, I found the video I was looking for. It's a compilation of cats trying to jump over wide gaps and failing." He pressed play and started laughing obnoxiously as cat after cat tried to make the jump and failed.

"What are we supposed to do now? None of these shops have technicians that come to you." Trish leaned back. "Which is ironic when you think about it, because how else are stalled busses supposed to get fixed?"

"Yeah, no kidding. I was really looking forward to seeing the museum," Ally sighed. About an hour later, just when they were ready to give up, she had an idea. Ally jumped up and went to the front of the bus, where their frazzled driver was on the phone with yet another repair company.

"Have you tried starting it again?" she asked Tommy, who shook his head no. "I was thinking that the engine might have overheated, and that's what caused it to shut down. I remember my dad saying something about that." Tommy shrugged but grabbed the key and turned the ignition, hoping that it would work.

Miraculously, the bus turned back on. Tommy hastily hung up the phone while the others cheered and high-fived Ally.

"9/11 Memorial, here we come," Tommy announced, pulling out of the parking lot.

"Okay, everybody, listen up," Ally announced after they were informed by Tommy that the museum was about a mile away. "I'm specifically talking to Dez and Austin here, and since we're about to enter the museum I thought I'd give you all a few reminders. First, since this is a monument dedicated to those who lost their lives during the tragic events of 9/11, be respectful. You never know if the people are just tourists on vacation or people who have lost loved ones. Second, I think we should try to stick together since this is a pretty big museum and you can get lost easily. Third... actually, I think that's it." The bus pulled up to the curb and the four friends exited the bus, thanking Tommy on their way out. Ally insisted that they start with the memorial pools and make their way inside, and the others followed her since she was the only one who'd done any research.

As they approached the North pool, Ally felt herself getting uneasy. They were so big and had so many names on them. It was almost overwhelming. Noticing she was on edge, Austin grabbed her hand and they made their way around the circumference of the first pool in complete silence. The only sound that they could hear was the whistling of the gentle breeze and the distant sound of traffic. Austin bit his lip as he read all of the names.

Suddenly, all of the problems that he had to face on a daily basis didn't seem like problems at all. These were all real people: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, uncles, and aunts. The list went on. They woke up that morning not knowing it'd be their last. Austin sighed and followed Ally as she moved onto the South pool.

Not long after, they moved inside the museum, which was just as quiet except for the occasional tour guide speaking to a group of guests. The four friends ended up spending about three hours total exploring the museum, and by the time they were done, it was nearly 5:00.

It seemed like they all let out a collective sigh as they left the building and made their way back toward the bus. Everyone was pretty much speechless and emotionally drained, and by the time they had gotten back on the bus, Ally decided that they should just head back to the hotel. Suddenly, seeing the Statue of Liberty didn't feel so important.

Austin and Ally sat on the couch in the bus, his arm around her, both scrolling through their phones. Trish was at the table on her laptop, and Dez had gone to his bunk to take a nap. Nobody had spoken much since the museum. There wasn't much to say, anyway. After they'd gotten back to the hotel and unpacked, Austin knocked on the door to Ally and Trish's room. Ally opened the door and he came in and plopped down on her bed. Trish and Dez had gone to get something for dinner, so they were alone for the moment.

"So," Ally started, sitting down next to him, "What did you think of the museum?"

Austin hesitated. "It...put things in perspective, to say the least."

Ally nodded. "Yeah, it did. I really liked the K-9 Courage exhibit. I didn't know dogs were so involved with the search and rescue effort when 9/11 happened."

"I guess dogs really are a man's best friend, huh?" Austin cracked a smile.

"You could say that," Ally replied. "I've always been more of a cat person, myself, but dogs are cool, too."

Austin lay back on the bed, sighing. "When we're married, do you want a dog or a cat?"

Ally stifled a laugh. "Uh, a cat, obviously. Were you not listening to what I just said?"

"Not really." Ally giggled.

Austin turned his head toward her. "What if we got one of each?"

"I'd be okay with that," Ally responded, nodding. She lay back beside him and stared up at the ceiling. They were silent for a minute, until she said, "Do you remember our wedding in Home Ec class?"

"Do I? It was only the single greatest day of my life. How could I forget?"

Ally blushed. "Yeah, it was pretty great, wasn't it?"

"I mean, besides the cake getting ruined and the fact that I didn't actually get to marry you. That will be the best day of my life." Austin grinned and Ally's cheeks turned bright red. How does he manage to be so charming and cute all the time?

They sat in silence for a bit, thinking about how magical that day was. Sure, Ally ended up getting covered in cake and their teacher sort of ruined the happy mood by complaining about her deadbeat ex-boyfriend, but it was everything that they both expected it to be and more. When Trish and Dez arrived back with a couple of pizzas about fifteen minutes later, both sat up and struck up a conversation with their friends about something tour-related. Despite the bus breaking down and the 9/11 memorial being a little emotionally draining, the day didn't turn out to be so bad. The friends ate their dinner and discussed the schedule for the next few days, eager to see what kind of adventures lie ahead.

what do y'all think about Austin's proposal plans and Trish's contract? Let me know in the reviews! As always, give a favorite or follow if you feel so inclined :) -ej