When I opened my eyes the next morning, the events of the previous afternoon rushed into my head. For a moment I wondered if it was all just a pleasant dream, but the smell of Austin's cologne lingered on my shirt, causing me to smile. I laid in bed for a while thinking over everything that had happened.

After he had held me for a while, I told him that I should be getting home. He was prepared to drive me, but I told him that I wanted to walk home so I could clear my head. He had reluctantly agreed, although he didn't like the idea of me walking home alone to an empty apartment, but I assured him that I was sure my dad had to come home sooner or later.

But when I got home, there was no sign of him.

I sighed, getting out of bed and headed to my closet. All of my usual hoodies and jeans were dirty. The only clothes that were clean and hung in my closet were a few dresses. I pulled one out and examined it. I hardly ever wore anything besides jeans and hoodies, partly because I usually biked to school, which would be hard to do in a dress, and because I didn't enjoy the pervy looks my dad's "friends" gave me when I wore anything that showed more skin than a hoodie.

I walked over my mirror and held the dress to my body. It was a pretty floral dress that I had gotten for a school dance that I didn't end up going to because my dad decided that I needed to stay home and clean the house that night. I wondered if it even still fit. I slipped it over my head and looked at the mirror as it fell into place.

Wow. I looked good. The dress was even prettier on. It was flowy and fell to me mid-thigh. It had cap sleeves and a high neck line. I twirled around. I felt pretty. I brushed my hair out and let my natural waves fall around my shoulders, as opposed to my usual pony tail.

I went back to my closet and dug around until I finally found a pair of black flats that I had only worn once before. I looked at myself in the mirror and I actually liked what I saw. To put on the finishing touch, I put on just a touch of makeup. I looked like a different person.

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen. I searched every cupboard, but there was nothing in any of them. I opened the fridge. All that was in there was tub of butter. My stomach rumbled as I closed the door. What was I going to do, starve? I had to figure out what I would do if Dad didn't come back soon.

I headed out of the apartment and hurried down the steps. Ben was by the curb in front of the taco shop, setting up a specials board. He looked up at me as I walked closer, doing a double take.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Ally?"

I laughed and playfully nudged his shoulder. "Oh, shut up."

Ben smiled at me and motioned for me to twirl. I giggled and twirled in a circle for him. "Seriously, Ally, you look amazing."

Heat crawled up my neck and into my cheeks as I looked down at the sidewalk. "Thanks, Ben."

"That Austin Moon sure is a lucky one."

I snapped my head up and shoved him not-so-playfully this time. "There is nothing going on between me and Austin."

I turned on my heel and stormed away.

"Keep telling yourself that!"

A&A

I was about half way to school when a familiar grey jeep zoomed past me. I stopped and watched as it came to a screeching halt about ten feet away from me. It suddenly went in reverse and came to a stop in front of me. I crossed my arms as Austin rolled down the window, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Ally! I almost didn't recognize you!"

I rolled my eyes as I opened the door and climbed in. "Why do people think I'm not allowed to wear a dress?"

Austin coughed. "I'm not saying that! I'm just saying that you look really nice today. I like your hair down."

I inwardly smiled, but on the outside I just stared straight ahead. We sat there for a moment before I looked at the clock and then to him. "We're going to be late."

"Oh. Right." He started the car again.

"Were you looking for me?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Kind of." He admitted. "I still haven't figured out exactly where you live, so I figured I'd go the long way to school and hope I'd see you on the way."

"Well thank you, that's really nice of you."

"Anytime." He looked over at me and gave me a sweet smile. "You should really give me your number. It would make this a whole lot easier."

I looked down at my hands. "I don't have a phone."

Austin looked straight ahead and clenched his jaw. "Oh. I'm really sorry I asked. I really shouldn't just assume that-"

"Hey," I said softly, cutting him off. "It's fine. It's no big deal. You were just asking a question."

He looked back at me and gave me a small smile. We pulled into the school parking lot and he turned off his car. We got out and headed to the front of school together. I got a lot of strange looks. I wasn't sure if it was because I arrived at school with Austin Moon or because of my outfit. I just shook off their looks and made my way to my locker, Austin trailing along behind me. When I got to my locker, I turned around and looked at Austin.

"Isn't your locker on the other side of school?"

He rubbed the back and almost looked… shy. "I just wanted to walk you to class."

"Oh. Um, yeah, ok." I turned around as heat rushed to my face. I quickly gathered my things and slammed my locker shut. I smiled at him and we began walking.

"Who do you have for history?" I asked, making small talk as we walked.

"Mrs. Norrin." He responded.

"Oh, I heard she's tough."

"Tell me about it! Last week she-"

We fell into a deep conversation and too soon we were at my class. The warning bell rang, and people began to scramble on their way.

"So… I'll see you later?"

Austin gave me a big smile. "Yep. Meet me in the front after school; I'll give you a ride."

I smiled back at him. "See you."

He half turned, gave me a small wave, and walked down the hall. I leaned against a locker, watching him walk away. I realized I was staring way too long; I shook my head. What was I doing? I turned into my history class as the bell rang. My head was clouded with a million thoughts, but I knew one thing for sure: I couldn't wait until after school.

A&A

"OMG ALLY YOU LOOK HOT!" Trish screeched as I sat down at our table at lunch.

I ducked down in my seat, as a few eyes found their way to our table.

"All my other clothes were dirty."

"This is the beginning of a new Ally, I'm calling it right now. You're never going back to hoodies."

I rolled my eyes as Trish launched into a long speech about how 'I was finally understanding fashion' and I was 'headed in the right direction.' While Trish was yammering on, my eyes roamed the cafeteria, only to immediately find Austin, who was staring right back. He smiled at me and waved from the table that he sat at with the rest of the baseball team. I blushed and waved back.

Trish stopped short and turned around to see who I was waving at. When she saw Austin, she whipped around and stared at me with crazy eyes.

"SO THAT'S WHO YOU WERE WITH YESTERDAY!"

I broke my gaze with Austin and stared at Trish. "W-What?"

"Don't think I didn't notice you were missing yesterday! You haven't missed a day of school in your entire life! Who is this new Ally Dawson that dresses well and ditches school with a boy."

"I-I don't know. We were just talking and he was like 'Do you trust me?' and I was like 'I guess so' so then he dragged me out of the school and we went to his house and we talked and then I just went home and-"I was talking a thousand words a minute.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! You actually went in his house and talked to him."

"Um. Yeah?"

Trish nearly fell out of her chair. "I need to start planning your wedding!"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I don't like him like that, Trish. I've only really known him for a few days."

"Oh sure Ally, that's what you say now," She purred while I stood up and began walking away, "but that's not what you'll be saying when I ask two weeks from now! I swear!"

A&A

When the final bell rang, I nearly sprinted to the front door. There he stood, leaning against the rail. He stood up and smiled as I walked closer.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

We walked to his car and got in. We sat there for a moment, him not making any move to turn on the car. I opened my mouth to ask him if he was ok, when he suddenly turned.

"Do you want to have dinner at my house?" he blurted out. I blinked a few times. I imagined me sitting at a fancy table with his parents, eating a fancy meal, with butlers roaming about. I wanted to say no, knowing that I didn't belong there, but my growling stomach told me to say yes. I hadn't had anything to eat at lunch, and obviously there was nothing to eat at home.

"Um, sure, that sounds great." Austin looked relieved. He smiled and started the car. We sat in a comfortable silence until we got to his house. I followed him up to his room. I launched onto his bed, letting my body melt into the mattress. It was no doubt the comfiest bed I had ever experienced in my life. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Yesterday I hadn't even realized the mass amount of instruments in his room.

"You're into music?" I asked, sitting up. He crossed the room and sat behind his keyboard. He put his hands on the keys, took a breath, and started playing. I immediately recognized the melody and laughed. I got off the bed and walked closer to him. "No way."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled teasingly. Then he actually began to sing.

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin

I laughed as he tilted his head back and belted out the lyrics. I was stunned at how good of a singer he was.

He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"

"C'mon Ally, this is your part." He nodded encouragingly. I hesitated. This was my mother's favorite song. She used to sit at the piano and play while I sang. My heart clenched for a moment, but when he reached the verse, my mouth opened automatically.

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright

Austin stopped playing and stared at me. My face grew hot. Was I really that bad?

"Wow." Austin whispered.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"You're voice. I-It's beautiful." If I wasn't blushing before, I was definitely blushing then. "Ally, you seriously have a gift. Do you sing often?"

My throat tightened as I thought about my mom. "No. I haven't sung since my mom died. I used to sing all the time while she played the piano."

Not even for a moment did Austin give me the 'I'm so sorry for your loss' look. "You should really sing more often."

I couldn't think of anything to say, but luckily there was a knock on the already open door. The woman that had first answered the door on that afternoon not even a week ago stood in the doorway.

"Dinner's ready!" She walked away swiftly. I looked over at Austin as he stood up from the bench. He led me out the door and down the hallway. We went down the stairs and turned to the right, into an informal dining area. It was a small table with just four chairs, two of them already occupied with Mrs. Moon and a man I assumed was Mr. Moon.

Unlike what I imagined him to look like (all business like in a suit), he wore a plain white tee shirt and gym shorts. Mrs. Moon wore a simple yellow sundress. She smiled at me as I took the seat across from her, and Austin took the seat across from Mr. Moon.

"Ally, this is my dad, Mike." Mr. Moon reached out his hand and smiled at me warmly. His handshake was friendly and welcoming. "And you know my mom, Mimi." Mrs. Moon smiled at me warmly.

"I guess we haven't officially met. I'm very sorry about the other day."

"Oh don't fret, honey. I was just worried when you went running off like that." I nodded and looked down at my plate. It was filled with spaghetti and garlic bread. My stomach roared. I picked up my fork and dug in along with the rest of the Moons. I nearly melted at the goodness of the home cooked meal, something I hadn't had in so long.

It turned out that despite their wealth, the Moons were pretty ordinary people. When Austin's parents asked me about my home life, Austin politely diverted the conversation.

"So Ally," Mr. Moon began as Mrs. Moon started clearing our plates. "Where's your dad been? We've been trying to get a hold of him so we could get that work done, but he hasn't returned our call."

"Oh um, right." My mind raced for an excuse. "He's been… on a business trip! But he just got back last night, so he'll probably be in touch with you soon.

Austin looked over at me and raised his eyebrows.

He's really back? He mouthed. I nodded hesitantly. I didn't want to lie to him, but I didn't want him to worry.

Mrs. Moon peeked her head into the room from the kitchen. "Would you like to bring some of these leftovers home to your dad, Ally?"

"Oh yes, that'd be great, thank you."

After about another hour, I walked out of the Moon house with a container of spaghetti in my hands. I got into Austin's Jeep and closed the door. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wasn't that bad, right?" Austin said teasingly.

"Your parents are so nice. I love them."

"Well trust me, they love you too." Austin smiled at me and I giggled. I directed him to drop me off a street away from the apartment. I got out and thanked him again for the dinner.

"Hope your dad likes the spaghetti."

I gave him a small smile and waved as he drove away. I turned down the street and walked home, suddenly feeling more alone than I had ever felt before.

A&A

Hey guys! I decided to stay up late to finish this chapter. If you're wondering how I update so fast I'll tell you my secret: I avoid all my responsibilities. Like seriously I avoid doing my homework and just write instead. I also got to write most of this chapter this afternoon because we were watching my little cousin and she started throwing up and I was like 'nope' and I hid in my room and just typed.

If any of you are like "why isn't Austin like 'where the hell has your dad been' to Ally? Is he not worried?" Well I just don't want to make Austin really pushy. I mean I think Austin trusts her enough to think that she'd ask him for help if she needed it, so… yeah.

Anyways, thank you for all the nice reviews! Reviews have already passed You Are In Love, which has eleven chapters, and this story has only been three chapters so far!

The song that was in this chapter was Piano Man by Billy Joel.

I own nothing

Reviews rock! :)

Review, Follow, Favorite!

|April|