hey there friends, long time no see! :) i had this idea a little while ago and i finally got the chance to write this today. i think this mini fic is gonna be a fun little story and i'm excited for y'all to see what i have planned. i hope you like it!
disclaimer: not edited
enjoy! :)
-ej
chapter one
june 2030
"Hey, Ally!" Austin pried the sliding glass door leading out to the backyard open, a mischievous grin on his face. Alex came up right behind him, pressing his face against the glass. She looked up in surprise at the sudden movement at her husband and son, who were both drenched in sweat and covered in dirt from playing with Paris, their dog, in the backyard. She faked a smile.
"What have you guys been up to?" she asked, getting up from her chair to go grab a towel for the two of them. She emerged a few seconds later from the laundry room, one old towel in each hand. "Playing hard out there?"
"Yeah!" Alex exclaimed. "Paris pulled me into a pile of mud!" He started to take a step inside the house, but Ally held out a hand.
"Whoa, whoa whoa!" She motioned with her hand for him to step back outside. "No coming back in the house until you're all cleaned up. I just mopped the floor."
"How are we supposed to clean ourselves then?" Austin whined. "I was gonna put him in the bathtub when we got inside!" Ally sighed.
"Alright. Just... give me a sec." She disappeared into the laundry room again, and this time came out with about ten towels. One by one, she laid them down on the floor from the door where the boys were standing, through the kitchen, and over to the stairs, creating a sort of pathway. "Okay, take off your shoes before you come inside. And walk on the towels." Austin and Alex did as she said, walking on top of the towels until they got to the stairway. Ally scrunched her nose a bit at the smell, already dreading how bad it would be once Alex turned into a teenager. She wasn't sure she could handle two boys stinking up the house.
"Make sure you shower too, Austin!" she yelled up the stairs after them, bending down to pick the towels up off the floor. "And hose off the dog when you get the chance!"
"On it!" he called back. Ally deposited the dirty towels in the laundry bin and went back to her laptop at the table to continue working.
twenty minutes later
Austin came back down the stairs some time later, Alex right behind him. Ally grinned as he walked past, and he planted a kiss on her forehead before strolling into the kitchen and yanking open the refrigerator door. Austin frowned.
"I dunno if you've noticed, Als, but we have no food." He sighed, letting the door slam shut, then moved onto the pantry, where, ultimately, he got the same result. Realizing they were out of sparkling water, he decided that he'd settle for regular water, grabbing a bottle from the fridge and plopping down in the chair next to Ally.
"That's because we haven't had time to go shopping these past few days," Ally replied, looking away from her computer. "With work and all of the kids' sports and activities, there's barely any time to." Austin scoffed.
"We're not that busy. Summer's only starting!"
"Have you looked at the calendar recently? Summer is literally the busiest time of the year for us. Take today, for example: we have our big budget meeting at A&A Records at four o'clock. I still have to go check up on the Music Factory, make sure the place hasn't burned down. On top of that, Alex has soccer at five, Ava has swimming lessons at three thirty and dance class at six— have you been living under a rock?" Austin's eyes widened a little.
"Huh." He laughed. "I guess I have."
"Thought so." Ally turned back to her computer to keep typing.
"How do you keep track of all that?" he asked. "I thought summer was supposed to be fun."
"Well, it was your idea to enroll Alex in soccer."
"We've been playing in the backyard," Austin said. "He's a natural. At this rate, he'll be an Olympian by the end of the summer."
Ally raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you have to be older than five to compete in the Olympics." He ignored her.
"As for dance, that was a non-negotiable," Austin continued. "She may look like you, but she cannot inherit your dance moves. I refuse to let that happen." He shuddered, remembering the "Ally Way" incident. Ally rolled her eyes.
"What? It was almost traumatizing."
"My point is that this day has already been so hectic, and I've barely had time to breathe, let alone get groceries. If you want to go get them, go to the store yourself. You have..." Ally checked the time on her computer, "about an hour before you have to be back here to bring Ava to swim lessons."
"Why do I have to bring her?" Austin whined. "Can't you?"
"Um, no, I have to run over to the factory and then be at A&A Records for the budget meeting by four—which you have to be at too, by the way. Did you not hear me the first time I said all of this?" Austin shook his head, a blank expression on his face.
"Nope." Ally groaned.
"You're impossible."
Austin smirked. "I know."
one hour later
3:00 (ish) p.m.
Austin burst through the garage door, dropping several bags of groceries on the floor. He leaned up against the wall, out of breath. "I'm here! I'M HERE!" Ally rounded the corner, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, good, you're back. Ava's getting her swimsuit on, and I'm gonna drop Alex off at my dad's. Since we don't know how long this meeting is going to go, he agreed to bring Alex to practice, too, and watch Ava's swimming lesson. We haven't left her alone during it before and I'm not about to start now."
"Great." Austin put the bags on the kitchen counter and started shoving the refrigerated items into random drawers. He didn't care if Ally got mad— she did have a very particular system that the fridge was organized by, but in Austin's professional opinion, that was just a waste of time and effort. He'd made this very clear to her multiple times, to which she usually just gave him an eye roll and said "whatever."
Five minutes later, just as he finished putting away the groceries, Ava came downstairs with her cover-up on over her suit and a beach towel tucked under her right arm. "I'm ready for swim lessons, dad."
Austin turned his head. "Alright, just give me a sec." He shut the refrigerator, then grabbed his keys, jingling them in his hand. "You ready to go, Avie Bear?"
"Yeah." Ava followed him out to the car, opened the rear door on the right, where she had always sat, and got inside. Austin did the same, starting the ignition and reminding Ava to buckle her seat belt.
"What do you wanna listen to today in the car, Aves?" he asked. Over the years, he'd come up with a couple of different nicknames for both of his kids, but for Ava his top few had always been 'Avie Bear' and 'Aves,' which he'd come up with when she was just a baby.
"Uhm... I dunno." Austin shrugged, turning the radio to a local pop station. He kept the volume down low as they drove, occasionally humming along, tapping his fingers lightly on the wheel. When they arrived at the pool, Austin pulled into a parking spot near the front, put the car in park, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and opened his door, reminding Ava to grab her towel from the backseat before heading inside.
"I know, dad," she replied, setting off ahead of him. He followed her inside, watching as she set her towel on the bleachers then trotted off to join the rest of her class. Just as Austin was about to leave for the meeting, Ava turned around and came back towards him. Austin frowned a little.
"Did you forget something?" he asked.
"Yeah," Ava said, coming closer to him and wrapping her arms around his legs, "I forgot to do this." Austin smiled and bent down, hugging her back. "I love you, daddy."
"I love you too, Ava." A few seconds later she pulled away, walking back over to the edge of the pool, where her teacher had just started to take attendance. She sat down and waved at him, then turned her attention towards her teacher again. Austin waved back, although she had already looked away, and wondered whether it was even worth it to go to the meeting at four. But an incoming call from Ally told him that he should probably get going. Austin exited the pool area and headed outside to his car.
"Hey," he answered.
"Hey," Ally replied. "Are you on your way?"
"Yeah, I just dropped Ava off. I'll be there in fifteen."
"Perfect. My dad said he's on his way to the pool. See you when you get here." Austin hung up the phone and slid the keys into the ignition, taking off for the record company.
an hour and a half later
4:30 p.m.
"Great meeting, everybody," Ally mused as everyone pulled their things together and started to leave the conference room, one by one. "Enjoy your weekend." Austin and Ally said goodbye to each person as they exited the room, until it was only the two of them and Xander, Austin's assistant, left.
"Do you need anything more from me, sir?" Xander asked.
"That should be it, thanks," Austin responded. "Have a good weekend, Xander."
"You, too." After he'd left, Austin turned over to Ally.
"So... that went well, I think," he said. Ally nodded.
"Yeah, I think so, too." She grabbed the last of her things off the table and stuffed them into her bag, heading towards the door where Austin was already standing, his hand hovering over the light switch.
"So, I'm guessing your dad brought Ava back to his place after her swimming lessons?" Austin asked, locking the door behind him once they were both out in the hallway.
"Yeah. I told him where to drop Alex off in case the meeting ran long, but we still have a half an hour before his practice starts, so getting him over there in time should be no problem. As for Ava, her dance class is at six, which you'll be in charge of bringing her to..." She and Austin walked side-by-side up to the front doors of the building as Ally explained who was going to bring which kid to their activities that evening. He would never admit it, but Austin was only half-listening, and found his mind wandering to a sort of daydream instead. It was only the first week of the kids' summer vacation, but he still felt like he needed a break already.
When they reached the parking lot, which was nearly empty except for their two cars—parked right next to each other— they both stopped, and he was snapped out of his daydream.
"...I think that plan will work. There should be enough time for me to run him over to the soccer fields before five. Do you know where Ava's dance studio is?" she asked. Austin blinked, shook his head a little, and nodded.
"Of course, I do. I'm the one who signed her up for the lessons, y'know."
"Great. I'll see you at my dad's, then?"
"Mmhm." Ally and Austin both got into their respective cars and Austin slid the keys into the ignition, backed the car up and started the drive home without even thinking. He drove into the garage and put the car in park. Am I crazy, or was there something I forgot to do? He sat in the car for a few seconds before taking the keys out, wandering inside where he was happily greeted by Paris, and stumbling over to the couch to take a quick nap. He fell asleep almost instantly; his eyes closed just as his cell phone started to ring on the coffee table about a foot away.
"Ugh," Ally groaned, hanging up the phone as it went to voicemail. "Why is he not picking up? I told him the plan was to meet here." She looked over at Ava and Alex, who were lounging on Lester's couch, watching a show. Lester descended the stairs, noticing his daughter's perplexed look.
"He still isn't answering?" he asked. Ally shook her head.
"No. I guess I shouldn't be surprised; this is the same kid who stole my song when we were fifteen because he thought he wrote the lyrics himself." Lester chuckled.
"You know, part of me still wonders how you two ended up together." Ally raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Well, can you blame me? You're polar opposites! We all saw the chemistry between you two, from the beginning, but never thought it'd actually happen." Ally's raised brow had turned into a frown. "Trish and Dez had a bet going at one point, for how long it'd take you to date."
"Seriously?" Ally asked incredulously. "First, they were betting on how soon I'd be pregnant after me and Austin got married, and I'm just now learning that they were betting on our relationship when we were kids?" Lester just shrugged.
"Oh, yeah. We had a pool going for a couple years." He sauntered over to one of his kitchen cabinets, opened the door, and pulled out a decently-sized mason jar filled with cash. He held it up proudly, like an elementary schooler with a spelling bee trophy, and grinned. "I won." Ally rolled her eyes.
"You still have the money from a bet that you made—with Trish and Dez, of all people— from almost twenty years ago?" she asked. Lester nodded, setting down the jar and putting his hands on his hips. Ally turned to her kids and motioned for them to get up. "Alright, I'm just gonna let that slide for now, because if we don't get going, Alex is gonna be late for soccer. Ava, I'll take you with, too, since your dad apparently forgot to meet me here." The trio said goodbye to Lester and went out to the car, where Ally tried calling Austin again, to no avail.
about ten minutes later
When Austin awoke from his mini-nap, he sat up and stretched, squinting in the bright afternoon sun that was shining through the window. He reached over to pick up his phone, his eyes widening when he saw that he had missed about seven calls and ten or so text messages from Ally. His heart dropped as he read them, realizing that he'd be lucky if she didn't kill him when she got back from dropping Alex off at soccer.
"Shit," he mumbled, "I was supposed to get Ava! I knew I was forgetting something!" He tapped on her contact, instantly regretting it and bracing for impact as soon as she picked up.
Instead of starting with a "hello" or "hey" like she usually did, Ally answered the phone with an annoyed-sounding, "Thank God, you're alive!"
"Ally, I'm so sorry," he blurted right away. "I accidentally went home instead of over to your dad's. I was just so tired, and—"
"Austin," she interrupted, "Don't worry about it. We're both exhausted from work and rushing the kids everywhere. I have Ava with me at Alex's practice but if you can come get her so she can change, that would be a huge help. She needs to be at the dance studio by—"
"By six o'clock, I know," Austin finished. "Need I remind you, I'm the one who signed her up for the class?"
Ally grinned a little. "I know, I'm just making sure. I'll see you in a bit."
"Bye." Austin hung up the phone, a little surprised he got off the hook so easily. He thought for sure he'd earned himself a decent length lecture. Austin shrugged, grabbed his car keys, and headed out to the car again, and headed over to the soccer fields where Ally and Ava were there waiting.
several hours later
around 9:30 p.m.
Austin crawled into bed that night, exhausted, letting out a deep sigh. Ally, who'd been reading, looked over at him.
"Tiring week, huh?" He nodded.
"Yup. And it's only Tuesday."
"You mean Monday," Ally corrected.
"I knew that." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, sure."
Austin sighed again. "I can't believe I actually thought this summer was going to be relaxing," he mused, pulling himself into a sitting position. "And yet, we're busier than we are during the time the kids are in school."
"That's because during the summer they don't have school to keep them from being on screens all day," Ally replied, setting her book down on the night stand. "The main reason we signed them up for so many sports and activities was to keep that from happening."
"What if we found another way to keep them busy, without making us exhausted in the process?" Austin asked. "Like... I dunno, a vacation of some sort?" Ally let out a laugh.
"Where would we even go on vacation this time of year, Austin? Anywhere we go, it'll be just as hot, if not hotter, than Miami." She paused. "Also, if we go on vacation, it might be relaxing for them but it'll be quite the opposite for us."
"I don't know, I just... we've been so busy lately, it'd be nice to get a break. We could put someone in charge of the factory and A&A Records temporarily, so we don't have to worry about either place burning down, and—"
"Okay."
"What?"
"I said okay." Ally smiled. "Yeah, let's go on a vacation. That's a good idea. Where to?" Austin's face went blank— he hadn't expected her to say yes so quickly, or at all.
"Uhh, I dunno. I didn't think I'd get this far." Ally giggled.
"Well, you think about it and let me know where. I think that'd be fun." She reached over and turned off the lamp on the table next to her.
"Yeah, okay." Austin lay down and pulled the covers up to his chest, thinking about places they could visit as he drifted off to sleep.
"Alright, everyone out to the van! We're leaving in T-minus ten minutes!" Austin shouted up the stairs. Ally, Ava, and Alex all emerged from the top level, dragging suitcases behind them. He ushered his family outside, where a big, twelve-passenger van was waiting in the driveway for them. A smile grew on Austin's face when he saw none other than Dez and Trish pile out of the van.
"Guess who's ready for this road trip?" Trish asked, breaking into laughter. Dez and Trish ran up to Austin, Ally, and the kids, giving hugs all around.
"It's so great to see you guys," Dez said, beaming, "Vegas, here we come!"
"Whoa, hey, who said we were going to Vegas?" Ally raised an eyebrow. "That's no place for the kids, are you crazy? There's all sorts of wacky things there, the air smells permanently like smoke... they'll end up traumatized!" Dez shrugged.
"That's where Trish said we were going." Trish frowned.
"I never said that! I told you that I wanted to go somewhere that wasn't humid, so I don't look like a character from The Lion King." She huffed. "I thought we agreed on Boston!"
"Well, I, personally, think we should go up to the midwest and see Mount Rushmore," Ally interjected, beaming from ear to ear. "You can't go wrong with a historical landmark!"
Austin's smile faded. "Yes, Ally, yes you can." She rolled her eyes.
"I have the perfect compromise," Dez interrupted. "The gum wall in Seattle!"
"Nope," Ally blurted right away.
"Definitely not," Austin agreed.
"Wouldn't be caught dead." Dez frowned.
"Alright, well, what's your guys' brilliant idea, then?" he asked, "Since we can't seem to decide on one place."
Austin could've sworn he felt a lightbulb go off in his brain. "What if we visit them all?" Ally raised an eyebrow.
"All of them?" she asked incredulously. "As in, Las Vegas, Boston, and Seattle? Seems like a... random combination."
"It doesn't have to be that combination specifically," Austin said, "I mean, like, since we can't decide on just one, let's take a road trip and hit all of the big landmarks." Ally, Trish, and Dez exchanged looks.
"That's... not a bad idea," Trish said. "I'm in."
"Me too," Dez agreed.
"So am I." Ally grinned up at him. Austin smiled.
"Alright, so... road trip to... everywhere it is, then." He wrapped his arm around Ally's shoulders, planting a kiss on the top of her forehead.
"Austin..." He frowned. "Austin..."
"What?"
"AUSTIN!" His eyes snapped open, then squinted in the light.
"What?" he grumbled.
"You were kissing the pillow," Ally stated matter-of-factly. "What were you dreaming about? You kept saying weird things."
"I dreamt that we were going on a road trip with Dez and Trish," he said. "We were gonna visit Boston and Vegas and the gum wall—"
"The what now?"
"In Seattle. It was Dez's idea."
"I figured."
"Yup." There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Austin looked over at the clock— it was just past eight a.m.
"So... a road trip, huh?" Ally asked awkwardly, breaking the silence. "That's not a bad idea."
"I know," he said. "Imagine if we went with Dez and Trish and their families, too— think about how fun that would be!" Ally nodded.
"It'll be just like the old times, when we went on tour together when we were teenagers." She grinned. "Except the kids would be with us, this time. It'll be even better."
"I think so, too." Ally hopped out of bed, grabbed her phone, shoved her feet into her pink fuzzy slippers and headed toward the stairs.
"Wait, where are you going?" Austin asked.
"Downstairs to make some calls. I figured if we're going on a road trip, we should get started planning it right away, yeah?" Austin grinned, following her down.
"Absolutely."
a couple of hours later
"Hey, Trish!" Ally greeted, waving at her best friend on the video call. She and Austin had already done some preliminary research on places they should visit and sights they should see, but before they did anything else Ally had insisted that they call Trish and Dez on FaceTime to make sure they were on board with the road trip. It won't be as fun if they can't come, she had said— without their best friends, there was really no point in going on this trip at all.
"Hey!" Trish smiled and waved back. "So, what did you guys want to talk to us about?"
"Well, we should wait until Dez gets on the call," Ally said, "But how've you guys been doing? It's been a while."
"Super great, and getting better!" Trish exclaimed, the sarcasm evident in her voice. Ally laughed.
"Alright, then. Well, I guess we don't really need to wait for Dez... Should we just start talking, and we can catch him up later?" Trish and Austin both nodded. "Great. Well, me and Austin actually were talking, and we thought it'd be fun if—"
"I'm here!" At that moment, Dez joined the video call. "The entertainment has arrived!" He stuck his hands out, making jazz hands and flashing a cheesy smile. "Sorry I'm late, I was helping Darrie unpack his dorm stuff. What did I miss?"
"Well, nothing actually. We were just about to tell Trish that Austin and I were thinking about—"
"Did I tell you guys that they're making a Zaliens 24?!" Dez blurted before Ally could finish her sentence.
"What?" Austin shrieked.
"No way!" Trish's jaw dropped, and turned into a smile. "I thought they weren't gonna make another one, after the reviews that the 23rd one got!" Ally rolled her eyes.
"Not this again," she muttered. "Guys, focus!" Ally clapped twice to get her friends' attention. "Austin and I were thinking, and we thought it'd be fun if we all went on a road trip together."
"I'm in!" Trish said, without hesitation. "Let's do it. I'll go pack a bag." She had started to get up from her chair when Ally interrupted her.
"Wait, wait, wait, just wait a sec," she said with a laugh. "What about Dez, are you in?"
"Totally," Dez replied. "I've been working on the screenplay for Jaws: Dun Dun Dun 9, but I could use a break. When are we leaving?" Ally glanced over at her husband.
"Um, well... we haven't exactly gotten that far yet, but we could talk about it now. I was thinking you guys could fly out here, and then we'll rent a huge motorhome that could fit all ten of us, and take off from Miami. When would you be available to fly out?"
"What about you guys flying out here?" Trish asked. "Some friends of ours own a motorhome and RV company; I'm sure we could get it for a discounted price."
"Oh, wow, really?" Ally looked over at Austin, who shrugged, indifferent. "Well, okay, I suppose we could make that work, too. When's the earliest possible day you're able to take off work?"
"I could do... the 7th," Trish stated, without bothering to look at her calendar. Ally raised an eyebrow.
"But the 7th is... tomorrow. Isn't that kinda late notice? I mean, doesn't Chuck have to take time off weeks in advance?"
Trish waved a hand. "I'm sure he'll be able to get it off. He's high up enough— he's got authority." Ally frowned.
"What about you, though, Trish? You're the head of a management company; you can't just take off without letting people know you're going to be gone! Here, how about this— why don't we aim for like, a month from now, instead? Dez, does that work for you guys?" Both Dez and Trish nodded. "This would be everyone in your families, too," she added, "Spouses, kids... I'm not sure about pets, you'd have to ask the owner of the motorhome."
"For this trip, we'd probably leave Prince at home and have a dog sitter come watch him," Trish replied. He's getting older, after all, and I'm not sure how he'd do on a big road trip like this."
Ally nodded. "That makes sense."
"OOH, can we bring Greg?" Dez asked excitedly, bouncing in his seat. Austin and Ally exchanged glances.
"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but... who is Greg?"
"Our bearded dragon. We just got him. You wanna see?" Dez turned behind him yelling, "Carrie! Can you bring Greg's cage down here? The gang wants to meet him!"
"Actually, that's okay, Dez, you don't have to—"
"CARRIE!" he shouted again, then turned back to the camera. "Hold on a sec." Dez disappeared from view, and the rest of the friends gave each other blank looks.
"There's no way this is gonna end well," Ally said. Trish and Austin nodded. A few minutes later, Dez came back and sat down in front of the camera, with Greg sitting on his shoulder.
"So. What'd I miss?"
"We were talking about your stupid chameleon," Trish said bluntly. "Now, can we get back to the road trip thing? I swear, it's like we've gone back in time to the Team Austin & Ally meetings we used to have in high school."
"Hey," Dez interrupted, looking slightly hurt, "He's a bearded dragon."
Trish rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Same difference. Now, about this road trip..." The gang continued to hash out the various details about this spontaneous, epic cross-country road trip that was apparently going to happen in a month for the next hour or so. In the end, it was decided that Austin, Ally, Alex, and Ava would fly out to L.A. from Miami, and they'd be taking off from Trish and Chuck's house. Since nobody could agree on a single destination, they decided that they were going to change the original plan of spending one week at a single destination to traveling multiple places and extending the time frame to three weeks long. They had also come to the general consensus that they were going to keep the destinations a secret from the kids until the day that they left, especially since they were going to be extra excited about the first stop.
At one point Ally started to fret about getting all of the necessary groceries and snacks— they had to keep a low profile because of paparazzi, she'd pointed out, and didn't want to be eating at restaurants every day because of this— but Trish assured her they could buy everything when they got to L.A. and split the bill. With all of the gas costs, rental fees, and food costs split between the three families, it hopefully wouldn't be too taxing on anybody's wallet.
It had been fairly easy for Ally to find four plane tickets for her, Austin, and the kids— after all, not many people were interested in going to Los Angeles during the hottest season of the year. Chuck had no trouble finding a motorhome that would fit everyone, either, since the model they were looking at was about ten years old and not in very high demand.
Two weeks later, Ally had started to pack for herself and the rest of her family, at the same time making sure that both the record company and the music factory would be able to function for three weeks without her and Austin there to oversee everything.
By the time another week had passed, everything was completely set in stone for the trip. Austin and Ally continued bringing Alex and Ava to their practices and activities as usual, while going about their day-to-day duties at both companies, giving instructions to the people who were going to be taking over for them while they were gone. This week, in particular, had been even more exhausting than either of them had originally anticipated, with all the packing for the trip added to their normal, hectic summer schedule. It was clear that both of them were very anxious for the trip to begin.
july 2030
Finally, the day that they had all been waiting for had come. Ally had dropped Pickles and Paris off at Lester's house the night before so they wouldn't have to find a way to get Paris on the plane— luckily Lester was more than happy to look after them. The Moons' flight was set to leave at about noon, which meant that they had to be at the airport by around ten a.m. Ally was still up at the crack of dawn, as usual, double checking the very long list that she and Austin (but let's be honest, it was mostly her) had put together to make sure that they didn't forget anything. Austin and the kids woke up a little bit later, and they set off for the airport around nine a.m.
9:25 a.m.
miami international airport
When they had arrived and paid for parking, Austin, Ally, Ava, and Alex headed inside the airport, dragging suitcases behind them and wearing backpacks on their backs. Though Ally had encouraged everyone to pack light, they still ended up bringing an entire suitcase each. It didn't help that Austin had insisted on packing Dougie the Dolphin "for the kids," because it was an "essential." Ally had eventually given in, although Austin was still disappointed when she took the stuffed animal from him and put it in the Alex's suitcase instead of his.
"Does everyone have everything?" Ally asked her family for what felt like the millionth time that day. She pulled out her phone to double check that she had everyone's tickets pulled up on her app. The kids and Austin all nodded. She shut the back trunk of their car and locked it, then they headed inside to go through security.
About a half an hour later, the four of them met up on the other side of the security area and headed over to their gate. They waited in the gate area for a couple more hours; Ally read her book (or tried to, anyway, because Alex kept interrupting her), Austin listened to music, Ava played on her iPad, and Alex made it his utmost priority to annoy his mother as much as possible. Just as Ally was starting to get fed up with Alex's constant questions, their ticket numbers were called, and the Moons prepared to board the plane.
about four and a half hours later
By some miracle, Austin, Ally, and company managed to make it to Los Angeles without any major accidents, mishaps, or lost luggage. The four of them grabbed their bags from the carousel and waited by the doors of the airport, where Trish and Dez would be picking them up.
Not five minutes later, Ally saw Trish's van pull up next to the curb in front of the door where they were standing. She set off ahead of her family, squealing as Trish got out of the passenger seat and ran towards her. Ally squeezed her best friend in a hug.
"EEE! I can't believe the day is finally here!" she exclaimed. Trish nodded.
"I know! We only planned this, like, a month ago, but here we are!" She turned back toward the car, where Dez had since gotten out and was now talking to Austin. The kids stood next to it, looking bored, since Darrie and Maggie were not along for the ride. "It's crazy that we haven't seen you guys in almost a year. How's life?" Trish asked as she and Ally made their way slowly over to the car.
"Well, that's certainly a loaded question," Ally said with a laugh. "But we're good. Very busy, but good. How about you guys?"
"Same. Chuck got a promotion at work that he's been excited about, Mags starts first grade this fall. Time's flying so fast." Ally nodded.
"Tell me about it. Seems like yesterday that we were just bring Ava home from the hospital. Now she's gonna be a second grader, and Alex starts kindergarten." She laughed a little. "Kinda curious about how that's gonna go, not gonna lie." The four friends continued to make small talk for another minute or so, until they started receiving dirty looks from the crossing guard, signaling that they should move the van. Ally and Trish quickly loaded everyone's luggage in the back and ushered the kids back into the car.
fifteen minutes later
"Before we start loading the motorhome, Chuck wanted me to let you know of the few 'ground rules'." Trish made air quotes with her fingers, giving a slight eye roll when she said it. "First off, we decided that, since it's a rental and it's still in pretty nice condition, no kids are allowed alone in there without an adult. Just in case something were to happen. His words, not mine." Ally nodded a little.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I don't think anything will, but it's better to be safe than sorry," she replied.
"Oh, also, nobody touches the bearded dragon without my permission," Dez said as he turned onto Trish and Chuck's street. "I just wouldn't want him getting out. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something were to happen to little Gary." Austin raised an eyebrow.
"I thought his name was Greg."
"No, it's Gary. I just refer to him by his middle name sometimes. Gary Greg Wade." The other three gave each other confused looks.
"I still don't think you should bring that glorified gecko, but whatever," Trish said. "Anyways, Chuck left with Maggie to go pick it up a few minutes before we took off for the airport, so if he's not back with the motorhome already, he should be soon." Just as the words left her mouth, they approached Trish and Chuck's driveway, where the motorhome was sitting, parked against the curb. The kids' jaws dropped to the floor, and Austin and Ally exchanged awed glances.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said it was nice," Ally commented. "That thing is huge though, who's going to drive it?"
"Before he got his current job, Chuck used to work at this place. Assuming he still remembers how, he could drive it." Trish shrugged as Dez put the van in park and everyone started to pile out. "I would assume he still remembers, anyway, because if he forgot, I'm not sure how it ended up in front of our house."
"Maybe Chuck teleported it over here," Dez suggested nonchalantly. "Probably hired some aliens to help him." Austin nodded.
"Makes sense." Ally raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, it doesn't."
"Speak for yourself, Ally. I choose to believe science." Ally rolled her eyes at him, for what would probably be one of many times throughout this road trip, she thought.
"Mommy, can we go inside?" Alex tugged on Ally's arm, pointing at the motorhome. She shrugged, nodding.
"I think that'd be alright. Let's go take a look around, shall we?" She turned to Trish. "Is it open?"
"Yep, it's open," Trish replied. "You can go in, just make sure they don't break anything." Ally nodded and she, Austin, and the kids headed toward the vehicle.
Trish grabbed a suitcase from the back, set it on the pavement, and paused. "Wait, why am I the one unloading?" She turned to Dez, who'd been playing fetch with Prince. "Dez. Unload the car." He frowned.
"Why do I have to unload? It's your car!"
"But it's not my luggage. This is all Austin and Ally's crap, and they're too busy making sure their children don't destroy the RV. So, therefore, you're unloading." Dez groaned, doing exactly as she said, lifting each suitcase out one by one, and setting them on the driveway next to the car. Once he'd finished, he shut the trunk of the van and stood, hands on hips, looking and feeling accomplished. He started to walk away, but Trish grabbed his arm.
"Aw, that's cute, you think you're done!" She picked up one of the suitcases and shoved it into his arms. "Go put them underneath the motorhome now."
"Why can't you make Chuck do some of this stuff?" Dez whined, popping the handles up on two of the suitcases and dragging them behind him, over to the side of the motorhome. Trish watched him struggle to get the undercarriage of the vehicle open for a solid five minutes before walking over to where he was standing.
"What are you doing, you doofus? You know that you need a key to open that, right?" Dez knit his eyebrows. His jaw dropped.
"You tricked me!" Trish couldn't help but laugh as she walked away, heading back inside to get the keys.
"Man, this is gonna be a fun trip," she said to herself.
Austin and Ally ascended the steps of the motorhome, looking around in awe. The front of the vehicle boasted two genuine leather seats, one for the driver and one for the passenger. There was a drop-down overhead bunk above the driver's seat area, not currently visible, but one that they would pull down at night to create sleeping space. Behind that sat the sofa, which turned into a sofa bed, and across from it a dinette with a flatscreen TV (this area also, you guessed it, turned into a bed). The mini-kitchen sat adjacent to the sofa bed, and a washer/dryer, mini pantry, and fridge across from that.
In the hallway, there were two bunk beds on the left side and a bathroom with a full tub and shower on the right. Beyond that was a sliding door that led into the master bedroom (and a second bathroom). A king size bed sat propped against the right wall, and straight ahead of them was the master bathroom, complete with two sinks and another full shower. Across from the bed was a wardrobe and another flatscreen TV.
"Wow," Ally marveled, sitting down on the bed and running her hands over the sheets. "This is really nice. I feel spoiled."
"Well, we kind of are," Austin said, peering into the master bathroom. His jaw dropped as soon as he saw the walk-in shower. "Whoa! This bathroom is so nice!" He looked back out at Ally. "Did we decide who's getting the master?" Ally chuckled a little.
"No, but my guess would be that Trish and Chuck would get it. They're the ones who are renting it, after all." Austin frowned.
"What, so just because they know the owner automatically means they get the biggest bed?" he whined. "That's no fair!"
"I know. Maybe we can find a way to fairly decide who gets it—" Ally was interrupted when they heard commotion outside of the bedroom. She stood up and went out into the hallway, where she discovered Alex and Ava fighting over who would get to sleep on the top bunk.
"Hey! What's going on out here?" She stood in front of them, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
"Ava said she was gonna get the top bunk because she's older but she always does that—"
"I never said that!"
"Yes you did! You always get your way because you're older—"
"No I don't!"
"Enough!" Ally shouted. Both kids' eyes went straight up to their mom. Alex's cheeks turned bright red. "Here's what's gonna happen. Tonight, Ava will get the top bunk—"
"Yesss." Ava pumped her fist. Alex scowled at her.
"...But, tomorrow Alex will get the top. Since you guys can't handle one person getting it the whole time, you can alternate every other night. Sound fair?" They both nodded. "Good. Now, we have to get our stuff loaded, and figure out who's sleeping where." She headed toward the front of the motorhome. "Austin, come help load. You guys, too." She beckoned to her kids and husband, and they all left the vehicle, heading up the driveway and into Trish and Chuck's house.
a few hours later
around 4:30 p.m.
The next couple hours were spent productively, with the guys loading the motorhome and the girls heading to the store to get groceries. Once Trish Ally, and Carrie had returned from shopping (where they'd racked up quite a bill), they discovered that, somehow, Austin, Dez, and Chuck had managed to work as a team and load almost everything into the undercarriage of the motorhome. Now, it just was a matter of wrangling everybody up and making sure nobody was left behind.
"Everyone out to the bus, c'mon, let's go! Make sure you have everything that you brought here packed in the bus, because we're not coming back here." Ally said to her kids as she ushered everyone out the door leading to the garage, counting heads as she went. "It's only a forty-five minute drive, so as long as you have everything you need, we should be able to make it there with no stops." They nodded as they walked by, and Ally stood on her tiptoes, trying to make sure she wasn't counting anyone twice. "By the time I get out there, there should be six adults, four kids, and a... salamander," she said as Dez went by. He groaned.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Gary is a bearded dragon!" Dez huffed, clutching the bearded dragon's oversized cage to his chest.
"I was just joking!" she yelled after him. "I've taken science classes before, you know— I know the difference between a salamander and a bearded dragon!" She nodded at everyone else as they walked by, counting all adults and kids except her and Trish, who left the house last to lock up. Everybody else gathered in the motorhome while she did yet another head count, insisting that she had to double check. Once Trish had entered the motorhome, clarifying that the house was locked and nobody was left behind, the doors swung shut.
"Alright," Trish started, meandering into the kitchen, which was already crowded with the bags of food, then turning around to face everybody. "Now that everybody is all gathered in one place, I think it's time to reveal our first destination. We ready?"
"First?" Darrie piped up from the kitchenette, where he was attempting to teach Alex, Austin, and Dez how to play Hand and Foot, his favorite card game. "How many destinations are there?"
"There's...let's see here, one, two, three..." Trish counted on her fingers, knitting her eyebrows as if in deep thought. "Five. I think. Right, Ally?"
"Yep, there's five," Ally said. "I have an entire itinerary mapped out, telling us where we're going and when, and what kind of things we could do when we get there." She pulled out her backpack, where she'd been keeping several copies of said itinerary. She stood up and placed herself next to Trish, holding the sheets of paper to her chest. "You guys ready to know where the first destination is?" The girls, who had been watching TV on the bottom bunk bed, scurried out to the living area.
"Ooh! Where is it where is it whereisit whereisit?" Dez chanted, bouncing up and down in his seat on the couch, a giant smile etched on his face. Ally grinned.
"You already know where we're going, Dez," she said, "this was your idea." Dez stopped bouncing, then raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. Well, I'm still excited. Now, tell us, we're dying over here!" Ally shook her head, giving a little eye roll.
"Okay. For our first destination, we are going to... drum roll, please!" Austin started drumming on the kitchenette table with his bare hands.
"Disneyland!" she and Trish shouted together. The kids started cheering, chattering excitedly about which rides they were going to go on together. Dez, with the same enthusiasm, pulled a tube-like object from his pocket and pushed in the stick on the backside of it, making confetti explode everywhere. Trish's smile immediately faded. She waved her hands around, brushing the confetti pieces out of her view so she could see Dez.
"You brought a confetti canon?" she asked him, scowling.
"Yup!" he replied cheerfully. "Figured we needed some pizzaz for the big reveal. Nice touch, huh?" He put his hands on his hips, looking pleased.
"You're cleaning all that up, I hope you know that," Trish said, sitting back down on the couch next to Carrie, who looked perplexed. She made a face, then stuck out her tongue and grabbed a piece of confetti off of it. She held it in front of her.
"These giant sprinkles don't taste very good," she remarked, crumpling it up and throwing it in the trash bin. Trish rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything, figuring it would be no use. She stood up and went towards the driver's seat, where Chuck had been busy pulling up the route on his GPS, to let him know they were ready to take off.
5:20 p.m.
Approximately forty-five minutes later, the gang reached the campground that they would be staying at while they were in Anaheim for the next few days. Chuck pulled into the designated parking spot that they had reserved, and Ally and Trish started getting dinner ready. The boys were still engaged in their card game over at the table, and the little girls hadn't moved from their spot in the lower bunk bed since they had taken off. Carrie was in the master bedroom, completely invested in an Animal Planet document about butterflies, along with Gary Greg, who was sleeping peacefully in the large cage that Dez had placed at the foot of the bed.
Twenty minutes later, when Ally and Trish had finished making the rather large batch of mac n' cheese, everyone headed outside to the two picnic tables next to their motorhome to eat dinner. They chatted and laughed for a good hour, and the kids took it upon themselves to explore the campground more, where they discovered a swimming pool not that far away. The group spent a good chunk of the rest of the night watching the kids as they swam and played in the pool, inventing games such as "let's see how many times we can splash our parents before they yell at us to stop." Finally, around eight p.m., everyone was starting to get tired (and the parents were pretty drenched, too), and they all headed back to the motorhome.
"Alright," Ally said as soon as everyone was back inside, "I know you all have been wondering about sleeping arrangements, but I talked to Trish, and we agreed the fairest way to decide which family gets the master bedroom would be to draw names." She grabbed a small bowl from the cupboard, placed three folded-up pieces of paper into it, and shook it around a little. "Alright, who wants to draw?"
"Ooh, me! Me! I want to!" Dez exclaimed, his hand shooting in the air. Ally held the bowl out in front of him, and he reached his hand out.
"Remember, no peeking," she said. He squeezed his eyes shut and picked a piece of paper out of the bowl. When he saw it, he frowned.
"Aww, no fair!" he whined. "How come Austin and Ally get the King bed?"
"Wait, really?" Austin exclaimed, grabbing the paper out of his hand. His eyes widened. "YESSSS!"
Trish scoffed. "You guys got lucky. Now, who gets the drop-down queen, and who gets the pull-out sofa?"
"I... guess we could draw again," Ally suggested, holding the bowl out to her. Trish reached in the bowl, fumbling the two pieces of paper around with her hand for a few seconds.
"This is for... the drop down," she said. "Whoever is left gets the sofa." When she pulled out the second piece of paper, she grinned. "Looks like Dez and Carrie get the drop down. Chuck and I will take the sofa."
"Great," Ally replied. "So, are we all set, then? Where are the kids sleeping?" Ava emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas just then, hair still wet from showering.
"Me and Maggie want the bunks!" she called from further down the hallway. "We call dibs!"
"But I thought I was gonna get a bunk," Alex whined. "Mom, why can't I have a bunk?"
"You guys can switch off, if you want," she suggested, "We're gonna be sleeping in here for three weeks, after all. There's plenty of time." Alex thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"Okay."
"Great, then Alex and Darrie will take the dinette bed. Are we good?" Everyone nodded and started to get their respective beds ready, folding out the sofa and putting down the drop-down bed. The dinette was pretty easy to transform into a bed for the younger boys, too, and within almost no time, the kids' beds were all ready and they had fallen asleep. Austin, Ally, and the rest of the adults decided they wanted to chat a bit more before turning in for the night, so they snuck outside to the picnic tables after they were sure the kids were really sleeping. Ally led the group out, followed by Austin, and stopped right outside the motorhome, closing her eyes and letting the slight breeze tousle her hair. Austin stopped beside her.
"You tired?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist from the back and resting his chin on her shoulder. She laughed a little.
"Yeah. You?"
"Mmhm," he replied. "Very." She giggled.
"It was a long day," Ally said. "And not even the longest day of this trip, according to the schedule."
"Really?" Austin asked. "Wow. I guess you're gonna get to see sleepy Austin come out on this trip, then." Ally giggled.
"Good, I like sleepy Austin."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." There was a brief pause as they listened to the conversation Dez, Trish, Chuck, and Carrie were having before Ally spoke up again. "I can't wait for tomorrow. It'll be so fun to see the kids experience Disneyland together. It'll be..."
"Magical?" Austin suggested. Ally grinned.
"Yeah, exactly. Magical."
"Hey, lovebirds!" Trish called from the picnic table. "You comin' over here or what?"
"Yeah, just a sec!" Ally yelled back. She took Austin's hands off from around her waist. "I think that's our cue to go be social."
"Fine..." Ally grabbed his hand and dragged her husband over to the picnic table, where the rest of the adults were having a lively conversation/argument about who the best Star Wars character was. They chatted for about another half an hour before agreeing to go back inside, just before the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
so yeah, that's that lol. i had the idea about three weeks ago but school got busy and i'm finally posting it now. what do y'all think? hopefully i'll be able to have the next chapter up soon(ish) but as we've all learned by now i shouldn't make promises that i can't keep lol. thanks as always for reading, until next time :)
-ej
