3 years later
"Austin!" Ally said. Austin looked up in time to catch his girlfriend as she ran into him on the edge of the ice skating rink.
"Woah, steady there." He said, making her laugh. "What happened to you boasting about how well you could skate? I think I've caught you about five times Miss Dawson." He said, and Ally laughed.
"And what was that you said about taking me on this wonderful Christmas Eve date before I have to go shopping for dinner for tomorrow? This is the third time you've zoned out on me blondie." She said. Austin pulled the beanie, that just happened to be his, over her eyes before leaning in and kissing her. She smiled, and pulled the beanie back up over her hair so she could see him better.
"Sorry Alls, I just got a lot on my mind." He said, giving her a half smile. She returned it by pecking him on the nose with her lips.
"Well, box it up and put it in a corner until we finish our date. I have a lot to get today. I have to get turkey and ham and pasta and cheese..." Austin let her trail off and pull him into the middle of the ice. They skated around, laughing with each other, but Austin had another more important thing on his mind that he couldn't box up and put in a corner.
Like, the fact that he wanted to propose to Ally tonight.
And he didn't have a ring, he didn't have a plan on how he was going to do it, nor could he think of anything creative and special enough to say to the most important girl in his life other than, "Will you marry me?".
So even when he had dropped hints asking what her ring size was, she was being her obliviously adorable self and had no idea what he was talking about.
Now as he was waving goodbye to her as she got in her car to go to the store and he was walking back to the apartment building, he had known he had to result to his only choice. Which was to call his manager, and Ally's best friend, Trish.
He dialed the number, and waited. She picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, Austin, what's up?" She said. He could hear the classic sounds of New York traffic in the background. He really hoped she was stopped, because if he told her his news while she was driving, she'd probably cause an accident.
"How much do you love Ally?" Austin said. Trish laughed.
"Austin she's my best friend. I've known her since we were five." Trish said with an obvious tone to her voice. "Why do you ask?"
"Ok, now how much do you love me?" Austin said. Trish laughed again.
"Well, your my favorite client if that's what you mean. And you make Ally really happy. Does any of this have a point?" Trish asked. Austin silently expelled a breath of air, it was now or never.
"I'm going to ask Ally to marry me." Austin said. There was no sound on the phone except the honks and yells of traffic in the background. Austin heard a car door slam.
"Trish?" Austin said gently.
"Yeah, I'm still here. Your going to ask Ally to marry you?" Trish said loudly. So loud that Austin had to pull the phone away from his ear and switch it to his other one. "Yes, I'm going to ask her to marry me."
"Austin, that's great!" Trish said loudly, making Austin again, having to pull the phone away from his ear. "What kind of ring did you get? Did you decide how you're going to do it? What are you going to say?" Trish said, rattling off all the things Austin still hadn't done yet.
"Well, you see," Austin started, "I haven't exactly bought a ring yet, or figured out how I'm going to propose. Or what I'm going to say." He said. There was quiet on the line again for a little longer than the last time.
"Trish?"
"I'll be at the apartment in ten minutes." She said, before the line went dead.
"So, you don't have the ring."
"No."
"And you have no idea how you are going to do it."
"Nope."
"And why exactly didn't you have this planned?"
Austin sighed. "Because I was looking at her this morning and I realised it. And I want to do it tonight because Christmas is kind of a big thing for us if you've forgotten." Austin said, making Trish stop her pacing. She leaned over the couch to look Austin in the eye.
"Are you absolutely positive you want to do this? Cause if you break my friends heart—" Trish said, but Austin interrupred her mid sentence.
"I am in love with her Trish," Austin said slowly, making sure the latina caught his every word. "She is it for me." Austin said quietly. Trish blinked at him, and straightened her back. She nodded slowly before running a hand through her hair and grabbing her purse and her keys.
"Come on." Trish said, walking towards the front door. Austin grabbed his jacket and his key and followed her out the door.
"Where are we going?" Austin asked as they thundered down the stairs. Trish pushed the door open as they walked into the lobby. "Ally has wanted the same ring since she was old enough to know what it is. So we're going to the mall to get it. And while we are driving, you are going to rack your song writer brain until you figure out how to ask my best friend to marry you." She said.
"Trish, it doesn't come automatically. And what if Ally comes home and finds me not there? I told her I'd be off today." Austin said. Trish pressed the unlock button on her jet black Subaru, pulling the driver's side open and jumping in. "We'll tell her we're taking care of some extra stuff for your show tomorrow. And I can get Jace and Dez to keep her busy." Trish said, leaning over to open the passanger side door. Austin climbed in.
"So what store are we going to?" Austin asked, as Trish pulled out of the parking lot. Trish laughed.
"Where do you think we're going? We're going to Jared." She said, before pulling off.
"Are you writing like I told you to?" Trish asked, not looking away from the road. Austin glared at her sideways.
"It's not as easy as you think." Austin said, and Trish scoffed.
"Why can't you just ask her to marry you? That's what Jace did for me." She said. It was Austin's turn to scoff. "Please, guys can't just ask a girl to marry them. If we don't put effort into it, you guys get mad. And Jace told me he asked you while he was jumping on the trampoline at work. Not to mention you two have been dating since you were in high school." He said. Trish grinned.
"And we've been married for two years. And he's a stunt double. If he didn't do it special I would have been offended." Trish said, further proving Austin's point. "Exactly! And she'll get offended if I don't write her a song or a poem or something. And, plus, Ally hates big gestures. That's why she said no to Chandler." Trish shook her head as she turned into the mall parking lot.
"No, she said no to Chandler because she didn't love him. That's different." Trish stated, pulling into a parking spot. They both got out of the car, still bickering about what Austin was going to say to Ally.
Austin was having trouble writing his proposal because this wasn't just another song. It was him asking Ally to spend the rest of their lives together. And for someone like Ally, who had changed his whole outlook on life, not just Christmas itself.
They walked into the galleria, Trish walking right up to the counter. "How may I help you Miss?" Said the man behind the counter, who was in a black tailored suit and a satin blue tie. Trish smiled at him politely.
"Is there any chance you still have the 'My Music' collection in stock?" Trish asked, the man nodded and bent down to go under the glass. He pulled out a row of rings and necklaces and bracelets. Trish pointed to the ring in the middle, and Austin leaned over to look at it.
"That's the one." Trish said. The ring was white silver with a round diamond. There were blue sapphires wrapped like thread on the top and bottom of the diamond, continuing out on the front of the band on both sides. Austin looked up at Trish, who was looking at him. "How much is it?" Austin asked the man who was also looking at him.
"Eight hundred dollars." The man said confidently. Austin blew air out of his cheeks, before he reached for his wallet. "Why does she want this specific one anyways?" Austin asked Trish as he handed his credit card to the man. Trish smiled.
"It's the same one her dad got for her mom." Trish said. Austin looked back at the man who was boxing the ring. He handed back his credit card and Austin gingerly put it back in his wallet before taking the ring, and wishing the jeweler a merry Christmas.
Trish and Austin pushed through the Christmas Eve rush crowd towards the escalator.
"Have you figured out how your going to do it yet?" Trish asked as she leaned against the side of the moving stairs. Austin shook his head.
"No, I can't think of anything—" He started, stopping when he looked into a store over Trish's shoulder. "Special enough." He finished. Trish turned around and followed where he was looking at. She put her hand over her mouth.
"That's perfect!" Trish exclaimed. They were both looking at the advertisement the Hallmark store had in its window for a silver ornament that opened up like a rimg box. The headline said, "Make this a Christmas to remember and propose while trimming the tree. Limited time only."
"Do you think they sold out yet?" Austin asked, as he dismounted the escalator and speedwalked to the store. Trish shrugged, trying to keep up with his long strides. They ran into the store, alarming the old lady behind the counter. Austin reached the counter, out of breath.
"Would you, uh, happen to have any ring box ornaments left?" He said, still trying to catch his breath. The lady turned around and picked up a square silver box which she handed to Austin shakily. He handed her his credit card.
"I hope this works." He said, as they exited the store. Trish laughed.
"Have you met Ally? She won't realise it until you open the box."
"Austin? Could you come help me with the b-bags?" Ally started, but stopped when she saw the Christmas lights leading almost like a trail from the door.
"Aus? Where are you?" Ally called, following the trail of the lights. She walked past the kitchen and smiled when she saw her boyfriend standing next to the Christmas tree with two crystal champagne glasses. "I'm right here." He said. Ally smiled, walking forward and taking a champagne glass from him.
"What is all this?" She said, looking around at the lights. Austin gently hit his glass against hers. "Its Christmas Eve, and I thought I'd make up for zoning out on you this morning." He said. Ally leaned forward and kissed him softly.
She pulled away, wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes as she squeezed him, opening them again as she was about to pull away, but she noticed something on the tree.
"Is that a new ornament?" Ally asked, pulling back enough so she could look at the new edition to their Christmas tree. Austin grinned.
"Yeah I got it today. Do you like it?" He asked. Ally reached out and put her hand around the silver ornament. She saw how much it weighed down the tree branch it hung on, but thought it was normal. "Its beautiful. Is it glass?" She asked, running her finger over her reflection. Austin shook his head.
"It looks like it." She weighed it in her hands. "And its really heavy for an ornament." She said, removing it from the tree. She ran the pad of her thumb up and down the ornament a few times before she noticed a fault wrapping around it. She turned it over and saw the hinge.
"Austin... Why does the ornament have a hinge?" She asked. Austin kissed her on the cheek from behind. "Because it's an engagement ring box." He said nonchalantly. She turned her head to look at him.
"Its a what?" She said in a breath. He took the ornament out of her hand and opened it, revealing the white pillow that was incasing the ring. Ally sucked in a breath, placing her hand over her mouth. "My mom's ring." She whispered through her fingers. Austin bent down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree, the different colored lights refracting off of his face.
"I know you wouldn't want me to sing a song to you, because you hear me do that everyday. But, I couldn't put important enough words in a song, to ask you to spend of our lives together." Austin said, Ally had tears streaming gently from her eyes.
"I know it's not much, and I know you deserve a hell of a lot better," he said, "but would you, Ally Hope Dawson, do me the honor of being my bride?" He said. Ally didn,t know what to say. No wait, she couldn't get the words out. She just nodded her head and watched him rise up and put the ring on her finger. Then when he looked up, she went up on her toes and pressed her lips against his.
They kissed like they had the first time he'd kissed her under the sprig of holly that he had pretended was mistletoe. He could taste the saltwater on her lips, but he didn't care. All he could do was feel the soft pressure of her lips as she moved them against his, the fireworks that she set off inside him since the first time they touched.
She pulled away a few inches, looking him in the eyes. "You won't be able to call me Miss Dawson anymore." She said against his lips. He smiled.
"I think I can manage." He said, before pressing his lips against hers again.
MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES :):):):):)