Chapter 5

I do not own Austin and Ally

Ally's POV

It had been an hour since I invited Austin out tonight. He hadn't responded to anything I had said this morning. I figured he had been asleep, but since it was almost two in the afternoon, I realized he might just be ignoring me and giving me the silent treatment again. I sighed and put my phone down.

It was one of those rare Saturdays that my dad didn't ask me to help out at Sonic Boom. After my evening with Austin yesterday, I just wanted more. That may sound selfish, but I really did enjoy myself and I really did want to be his friend. I don't know what caused it to occur, but I was hoping that he would open up to me. The need to be close to him grew on me, and I wanted nothing more. I was attracted to him, I knew that. But it was more than that. He seemed to want a friend. And I wanted to be that friend.

I nearly jumped for joy when my phone alerted me to a new text. My heart beat fast in my chest as I stared at the single question I had received.

Is Ally Dawson asking me out on a date?! ;)

I laughed. Was I? It didn't seem strange that I would. Even though the winky face made the question a joke, the exclamation point and the question mark almost made him sound hopeful. And I realized that, that was what I wanted. I wanted to take him somewhere reserved where we could talk and get to know one another. That was the definition of a date, wasn't it?

I started typing my reply,

Yes, Austin Moon. I am asking you on a date. :) But don't feel pressured. It will be as friends.

I hit send and waited impatiently for him to respond. I clutched my phone in my hand, pacing the length of my room. What if he says no? The negative part of my mind asked. It wouldn't matter. You can still be friends. The more positive side responded.

Friends. With Austin Moon. Who would have thought that after all these years, we would get the chance to be friends again? It almost didn't seem real. I stopped pacing and tried to remember the last time we had spoken. It had to have been before the incident. Long before. Freshman year? We hadn't had any classes together until this year, and it was after he shut down. I sighed, trying to figure out, yet again, why Austin didn't speak to anyone. If he was innocent, which I was sure he was, why did he give up and allow everyone to assume the worst of him?

Ding.

I quickly unlocked my phone and eagerly looked at his message.

Alright, Als. I will go on a date with you. But don't expect me to talk to you… too much. I still have a reputation to uphold. I'll pick you up in an hour? Where would you like to go?

The excitement coursed through me. He said yes! It was the first time I had been on an official date since sophomore year when Dallas and I had lunch at the mall. And that wasn't exactly the best experience ever. But now I was going to go out with Austin Moon.

Every fiber of my being told me that I shouldn't be doing this. That I should be scared. But I was too elated to care. Austin wasn't going to hurt me. He was a good guy. I trusted him, despite the knowledge of what he potentially could have done. Maybe I would get to learn the truth from him today. That would definitely put an end to my worries and fears. But he did say he wasn't going to talk to me. Much.

An hour is perfect. And there are some caves I'd like to show you. If you're up for a challenge. :)

I only had to wait a minute before he responded

I am always up for a challenge, Als. :)

An hour later I was downstairs in my empty house, eagerly awaiting his arrival. I hadn't told anybody where I was going. I slightly worried that that would be a mistake. But I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted to do this without the constant worry of others tearing me down. I was willing to do this because I believed that Austin was innocent. Was I stupid? More than likely.

I had showered and changed into a pair of yoga pants and hiking boots. I wore a loose T-shirt, and I had a jacket around my waist. The caves were chillier than the everyday Miami heat. I had pulled my hair back into a ponytail and put basic makeup on. No need to go all out when it was just a hike and some caves. But I did try my best to make myself look good. It was still a date, after all.

My phone buzzed and I saw a text from the one and only Austin Moon. He was here.

I pulled the door open and stepped outside to see his truck in the driveway. He smiled at me from the driver's seat. My heart did a flutter when I saw him. I locked the door behind me and walked to the other side of the truck, climbing in excitedly. I smiled at him and said, "Hey."

He didn't say anything to me, but I expected that. I was a little disappointed because I thought he would at least say hello or something. I wasn't going to push him though. If he needed to remain quiet, I would let him. When he was ready to talk, I would be here for him. I gave him directions as to where to go. He was a careful driver, to which I was grateful. I watched him as he drove again. Today he wore a navy blue V-neck and jean and he had a sweatshirt over the back of his seat. His blonde hair fell over his face and his brown eyes watched to road.

I enjoyed the silence again it was nice not having to listen to someone yammer on about useless information. But I was beginning to grow weary of my own thoughts. I wanted to get to know Austin. I wanted to know what he was thinking when he didn't say anything. I wanted to hear his voice. When he spoke my name last night, I was thrilled, and I loved the sound of his voice. I wanted to hear more of it. But I didn't know how to go about getting him to talk. I didn't want to push him and make him uncomfortable. That was the last thing I wanted to do. So I waited quietly.

After a long silence, I felt his eyes on me. I glanced at him and smiled. His brown eyes were looking me over. And not in a lustful kind of way, but more of a subtle curiosity. It meant more that way. And I enjoyed it more as well. Our eyes connected briefly before he turned his attention back to the road. I felt my face grow warmer as the blush affected my cheeks.

"So, are you really not going to say anything?" I asked, quietly. I didn't want to push him, but the silence was getting a little awkward. A comfortable awkward though.

Austin smiled and shrugged. I couldn't help myself, I laughed at his reaction. It was just who he was. I didn't expect him to talk, I just thought I'd open the floor for him. I went back to looking out the window. We were almost to the caves.

"Why aren't you like everyone else?"

I turned my head around to him. He was talking! He asked me a question. I was the one now that couldn't speak. His voice sent shivers down my spine. His voice was so deep and attractive. I couldn't think of what he said. I had only focused on the sound of his voice. What did he say?

"What?"

"Why are you sitting here wanting to hear me speak? After two years, you're the first and only person I have spoken to besides my parents. Why don't you believe the rumors like everyone else?" He sounded like he was asking himself as well as me. He wanted to know why he trusted me to talk to and why I trusted him to speak to me. This was a delicate situation and if I said the wrong thing, it could send him back to not talking to anyone.

I thought about how to say what I was thinking. He waited patiently as I gathered my thoughts. "Austin, I knew you before the claims came out. You were never that guy. I watched you go through it, and I never saw any reason to doubt you. You said you didn't do it. I believe you."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you believe me? We hadn't talked in a couple years at that point. I could have changed. So what made you believe that I didn't touch her?"

I tilted my head to the side and gazed at him. "Austin, you don't see yourself the way I do. You blame yourself for what happened. But it wasn't you and it wasn't your fault. I know that you wouldn't do that to someone because you are a good person. I never had any doubts. It made me sad to see that your friends turned on you. If we had been closer at the time, I wouldn't have turned on you."

"Easy to say now. But at the time you weren't stepping in to defend me."

I didn't know what to say. Was he blaming me for not upholding a friendship that had died out years prior? We didn't have a fight, we just grew apart. It happens. "I didn't know at the time that you would be cut off. I didn't understand what was happening. It was a dark time for a lot of people. I wasn't involved and I didn't want to step in and make things worse. But I never believed that you did anything wrong." I looked at him as I spoke. Trying to get him to see that I was being honest. I wasn't hiding anything.

He turned to look at me, a sad expression on his handsome face. He nodded and kept driving. "I didn't do it."

"I know."

The silence picked up again. The rest of the drive was easy, and more focus was required of Austin as the roads curved more and twisted on the side of a mountainous hill. At the bottom was a parking lot. As he pulled into a spot he turned to. "Ally, thank you for believing me."

I smiled at him, "Of course, Austin."

We climbed out of the truck and headed towards the trail that led down to the caves. We didn't speak as we hiked. I was becoming used to the silent moments between us, and they became more comfortable and less awkward each time.

I walked ahead of him, stumbling, and slipping on a few rocks. At one point I slid and almost fell on my butt, however two strong arms caught be before I could fall. I looked up into the familiar brown eyes and smiled. That was the second time he had caught me. Of course, he laughed at me. I was a little more careful after that. I didn't need him to see my clumsy side.

The caves were underground and dark. There were guides that offered helmets with lights on them at the entrance of the caves. Austin and I each put one on and headed down. There was a staircase that led to the darkness of the caves. At the bottom of the stairs, we turned on the lights of our helmets.

"This is pretty dope," Austin said, taking my hand. I felt oddly warm, despite it being much cooler underground.

We walked around for a little while, getting the lay of the land. There was supposed to be another exit through the caves that would let out above ground again. Then there was a trail leading back to the parking lot. Inside the cave, there were a bunch of rocks that we had to climb over and squeeze through. At one point we had to crawl through a small opening. The tricky part was finding the path through the caves. When it was wide enough, Austin would take my hand and lead me through. I never felt uncomfortable or uneasy about this gesture. If anything, it made me feel safer. Knowing that I had someone with me in the dark and to keep me from falling.

"So, why did you want to go out today?" Austin asked me.

"Because I had a great time with you yesterday and I wanted to do something with you again. Is it really so hard to believe that someone wants to hang out with you?"

"Yes."

I laughed, "Austin, you're my friend. Of course I want to spend time with you. It may seem out of the blue, but I have wanted to be your friend for a while. I just never had the courage to talk to you."

"Because you were afraid of me? Or of what everyone will say?"

"Neither. Well, maybe I was intimidated by you. But not for the reasons you would think." I told him, shyly. He remained quiet, so I continued. "You are a very good-looking guy."

Austin laughed at this, and it wasn't just a chuckle. It was a full laugh, one that bounced in an echo around the cave we were in. It made me laugh too, just because I was happy that he was laughing.

"Thank you, Als." We continued to trek, looking around us at the stalagmites and stalactites protruding from the ground and the ceiling. "You're beautiful. I found you intimidating too," Austin admitted in the dark. "But it wasn't just the way you look. Your laugh and your smile are very hard to look at. They are breath taking and contagious. I couldn't look at your smile without wanting to smile back. And with everything that was going on, I couldn't smile. I couldn't let anyone know what I was feeling. I have to be stoic and not show that others can still make me feel. Otherwise they would try to make me angry. Or worse."

I felt my cheeks blush and I'm sure that if it weren't so dark, he would have laughed at how red I was. "You don't need to worry what others think about you. As long as those closest to you know that you're a good guy, you don't need to hide your emotions from everyone."

Austin stopped, pulling me to him, we angled our lights away from our faces, but it allowed us to see each other. "Ally, I don't think you realize. I don't have anybody in my life. The people that were closest to me, stopped talking to me. I only have my parents. They never doubted me. They stood by me. They paid for the lawyers. They never faulted me for anything that happened. My best friends, my neighbors, and even the teachers avoided me ever since Brooke reported me. Nobody wanted to hear what really happened. Nobody cared to know what I had to say. They were too busy trusting the word of a victim. But she wasn't the only victim that night, Ally."

I stared at him as he spoke. I didn't know what to say. He seemed hurt and vulnerable. He held my hand between us, and I felt it shaking in mine. I reached up slowly to put my hand on his cheek. Our eyes met and I found the words I wanted to say. "You have me, Austin."

"I have you now. But when school starts on Monday, everything will be back to how it was before. We won't talk in the halls. We are going to pretend this didn't happen. Not because I want to, but for your safety."

"Even if that happens, you still have me. We can hide our friendship. We don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to. But I am telling you now, you have me. Even when you don't. I am here."

Austin smiled down at me. His eyes glanced at my lips, and I felt it too. This would be the moment to kiss. This would be the moment to show that I was into him more than a friend. Even if it was just a small kiss. But I knew that wouldn't be productive. So I dropped his hand and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug instead. He held me against his chest for a moment before say, "Thank you. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

I giggled and stepped away. I straightened my helmet and took his hand again. We were back to being quiet. But I didn't mind. We were making progress in our friendship. And I liked that.

"Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"Why haven't you asked about that night?"

"Because I figured you would tell me in your own time. I didn't want to push you in case you didn't want to talk about it. But when you're ready, I'm here to listen."

"You really are different than everybody else." He squeezed my hand as he said it.

At long last, we started to see light ahead. The sun was hidden behind trees, so it was still dim, but compared to the light of the underground caves, it was bright. We took of our helmets and jackets as we stepped into the muggy Florida air. I smiled up at him, noticing that he had a few smudges on his face from dirt and rocks. I'm sure I didn't look much better. And what made my heart soar even more, Austin still held my hand as we hiked back.