An Incompetent Irritation
Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to be updating right now before Christmas. I have currently just started my Winter Break yesterday, and am already so bored. Hopefully, that'll lead to me writing quicker and updating sooner.
Please read the AN at the bottom when you're done, pretty please.
Enjoy!
Ally's POV
Suddenly, the bell rings, and I have a reality check. First day of school; 2 more periods left. I get up and throw out my garbage. I return to the table and Trish is waiting for me while Dez has already left.
"English?" I wonder, glad to be moving onto a different topic.
"Yep," Trish confirms, and together we walk to class.
Almost done. 2 more hours…
X X X
When the bell rang after English, Trish wished me luck in my last class and we parted ways down the hall. I'd been introduced to many people throughout the day but Trish and Dez were who I considered my friends. Coincedentally, I had no classes with Dez, but had three out of four with Trish, my last period Drama being the only one I had to face alone. Luckily, I wasn't the completely dependant type and could survive a measly hour by myself.
Thanks to Trish's earlier tour, I found the drama room without difficulty and walked right in. Unfortunately, the new girl buzz hadn't all died down yet so when I entered the room every pair of eyes were on me. I internally cringed when most of the boys' eyes trailed down the length of me appreciatively. Jeez, get a life, fellas. I avoided all those guys and found an empty seat near the back of the room. The Drama class had no desks, so I just dropped my bag on the floor and leaned back on my chair while waiting for the class to begin. To say I was excited was true, but I was also immensely nervous. When I was 14, I had horrible stage fright. I had been publically rejected for the lead in a musical, and ever since, my self esteem had taken a huge blow. That was part of the reason why I was so transfixed with Elliot. He had made me feel confident and liked me, flaws and all. Lies. However, I may have gotten my confidence back over the years, but I was still terrified when performing in front of crowds. That is the sole reason I decided to take Drama: I was interested in performing and getting over my stage fright at the same time.
By the end of my thoughts, the class had filled up and the teacher was standing at the front of the room.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. You may call me Mrs. Shannon and welcome to twelth grade Drama!" Mrs. Shannons was spirited and full of enthusiasm and I immediately liked her. She glided across the room as she introduced us to the course and its expecations, but I was never bored listening. When she finished, she launched into our first activity.
"So, most of you have known each other all through high school," she started, and I was glad she didn't call me out as being the exception, "but we are going to do a trust excerise to get to know your fellow classmates." Mrs. Shannon then brought out a bundle of blindfolds and proceeded to tell us that we were to wear them, walk around until we found a partner, converse with them until she rang the bell and repeat. It sounded interesting.
Once we all had our blindfolds on, we were told to begin. Instinctively, my arms reached out in front of me and I staggered forward. I caught the fabric of what I thought was the hem of a shirt and pulled lightly on it. A pair of hands that I assumed belonged to the shirt owner found my shoulders and we did our best to face each other.
"Hi," I went first. "I'm Ally."
"Piper," A sweet voice replied back.
"Hey, you're the new student right?"
"Yeah, I guess everyone's heard of me," I laughed lightly.
"Pretty much, yeah, but it's nothing to worry about. So how was your first day?"
"It was interesting, though this is by far the weirdest thing I've done today." We both broke out into a fit of laughter and she agreed. Suddenly a horn like bell blared at us and Mrs. Shannon's voice yelled "Switch!"
"It was nice meeting you!" Piper exclaimed, before I heard her whisk away. This continued for a couple more rounds as I had mini conversations with a bunch of different people and learned some new names or had conversations with people I'd already been introduced to in my other classes. As I finished conversing with a boy from my second period History, I spun and suddenly collided with someone. Their hands grabbed my upper waist and slid down until they reached my hips while my hands clung to their arms to keep from falling over. Once I settled myself, I relaxed my hands and my fingers brushed over the prominate muscles underneath their shirt.
"Um…," I trailed off. Damn.
"Hi there," a masculine voice spoke. The sound came from above me, so he was much taller than me, and I could hear amusement in his voice. I bet he was smirking, but what I really noticed was the famaliarty of his voice.
"Hi," I cleared my throat. "I'm Ally."
"Nice to meet you Ally. My name's Austin."
Ah, crap. Was I delusional enough to think that this wasn't the same Austin I knew about? The player, jerk, ex-friend of Trish and Dez? The guy with perfect hair and eyes and arms…that I still had my hands all over? At this, I immediately pulled my hands away and felt him release my hips as well. Anyway, I'd remember his voice anywhere. It was smooth and slightly husky—alluring without meaning to be. Or did he mean it to sound so…seductive on purpose? Great. Here I was standing with the one person I had managed to avoid all day and we were supposed to make small talk now. It was unbelievable luck that we were blindfolded right now, but also misfortunate that he was in my Math, History and Drama class. I guess I was bound to confront him at some point, so might as well take advantage of the fact that he couldn't see me right now and recognize me. But, just as I was about to say something, Mrs. Shannon interupts the class with what's probably the most poorly-timed announcement ever.
"Okay class, now take off your blindfold and properly speak to the person in front of you, because they will be your partner for the first project we have coming up!"
Crap on a cracker. Was it too late to duck away? Yes, it was, since I could hear Austin removing his blindfold as I planned my retreat. I stiffle my groan and pull off the fabric, blinking as my eyes adjust to the flourescent lights. Immediately, my eyes are drawn to the golden blonde hair in front of me and I begrudgingly stare at his face.
Oh, what a…beautiful face he had. I even had to admit that. Before I could dwell too much on those sharp angles, pouty lips or smooth, tan skin, I notice how his once relaxed face morphs into one of recognition. So, apparently he remembered me as well.
"You!" he whispers accusingly. His handsome features are now twisted into a frown/glare and his eyes are smoldering darkly. I had the sudden urge to step back…all the way out of the room.
But I held still. In his moment of shock and anger, I got past my accidental-ogling. I reminded myself of who Austin Moon was: a jerk, a player. It was unfortunate that we were partners and that he remembered me from 2 weeks ago, but as long as he stayed out of my personal bubble and I his, then there really shouldn't be a problem.
So I stood there and listened to his ranting emotionlessly.
"—she was already suspicious. It took all my charm to convince her again. I can't believe I was about to get a nice fuck from her that night and you—," I stopped him with my own glare.
"Me?" I whispered hotly back at him. The teacher was now grabbing the papers for our assignment and the rest of the class was talking to themselves, but I still didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to us.
"I wasn't the one ditching my date for another one. That's just so amazing. You should be ashamed!" As I said this, Austin's face had gotten fiercer and he had a confused look in his eyes. No doubt that he's never had someone fight him back on something.
As he opened his mouth for what was probably another angry retort, Mrs. Shannon cleared her throat and told us to all take our seats. Bless her. Her timing was perfect this time. Austin shot me a resentful glare and headed back to his seat in the front while I sat down in the back. I was fuming. How dare he accuse me when he was the one who was cheating. And I've never met someone who bluntly says that all they had wanted was sex from a girl. It was horrible.
"Alright, kids! This assignment should be a fun introduction to your semester in Drama! You and your partner—whom you should be familiar with now—are going to pick a scene from any book, play or movie and perform it to the class. I expect you to work on this in class and out, and we will set the performance date to a week from now on Monday…"
And just like that, Austin was the furthest thing in my mind and anxious butterflies swirled in my stomach, tying tighter the knot that formed after my rejected audition at 14 years old.
Mrs. Shannon continued explaining the details of the assignment but her voice was an irritating hum in the background. I was too busy worrying over the performance. In fact, it wasn't until the bell rung that I realized that I had completely tuned her out and had unintentionally dozed off. When I open my eyes, I almost jump at the sight of Austin staring down at me. There was an unrecognizable expression on his face but it's gone before I could place it. Instead, his lips pull up into a smirk, and fuck him it was sexy, and he states more than asks, "Wanna come over to my house and work on the project?"
The previous anxiety attack plus the after-nap-haze made me hesitate for a second before answering. I bet he was surprised when I laughed at his offer to go to his house.
"Sorry, some of us have lives—" Not totally untrue. I wanted to go to the beach today and planned on asking Trish and Dez to join me,"—but you can come to my house after that. Here's the address." While I talked, I wrote my address and the time he was supposed to show up on a piece of paper. Not wanting any accidental—on my part—but intentional—on his part—skin touching, I stepped closer and slipped it into the front of his pants pocket. I could've sworn his breath hitched. He really can't control himself I thought with an eye roll. Without waiting for a reply, because Austin seemed like the guy who wanted the last word, I took off and headed to my locker.
I tried to forget about Austin and the performance, deciding to focus on the beach with my new friends.
The other things could wait until tomorrow.
XXX CHICKEN BUTT APPLE SAUCE PIZZA BUBBLES XXX
Alright, if that caption didn't stop you from ignoring the AN, I don't know what will.
A couple things to cover, but I hope you read it all.
So, if there are any grammatical errors or something just doesn't make sense, its because:
1) My Spell Checker isn't working on my Microsoft Word and I don't know how to fix it. If any of you do, please let me know!
2) I really wanted to update soon so I was rushing to finish this chapter. I know that's no excuse, but I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter despite the probable mistakes. I don't know if I'm spelling anything correctly! It's so frustrating!
Now, I have a question for my dear readers. As you know, Austin and Ally are paired up to do a scene from any play, movie etc and what I'd love is for you to review and tell me this:
Which scene should they perform?
Keep in mind that they'll be practising this for the next week so choose a scene that might move the story along how you want it (wink).
So, if you made it through the AN, review any scene suggestion, or if you don't care, review any word from "CHICKEN BUTT APPLE SAUCE PIZZA BUBBLES" so I still know you've read it.
Happy Holidays, my dear readers. Be safe, and I'll see you in the new year!