Ok, FINALLY! It's finally here! I hope you like this, it's the song I got my interspersion from at the time so yeah. This is AU too so bewear, but its not bad. I really like this actually :) And oh my GOSH! Have you seen the latest episode of Austin and Ally? AAAAAAAAAAAA! Any way! Enjoy!
Artist: Taylor Swift
Album: Taylor Swift
Song: Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My)
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally or anything else I mention in here that is a company, show, etc.
-Mary's Song & Twinkling Stars-
Two mothers stand huddled against cool window, looking over their children running around in the back yard. When appropriate they laugh and giggle at the children's amusing antics. From a grass war to sticking small critters into each other's faces, they never leave a show unseen. They are two peas in a pod, they go together like peanut-butter and jelly, they're best friends.
"So, have we picked a wedding date out yet, Ladies?" A male voice asks from behind.
Both women turn around, ready to see their husband's faces. "Excuse me?" Mrs. Moon asks, glancing at the mother next to her for a clue.
Mr. Dawson steps up from behind Mr. Moon, clapping him on the shoulder. "The wedding for those two." He answers, tilting his head towards the back where their children still play.
Mrs. Dawson crosses her arms disapprovingly. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well," her husband drawled, stepping closer to the window and peering out. He nudges a thumb towards the two chasing each other outside. Muffled squeals make their way through the glass. "Looks to me like they're gonna fall in love one day."
Both husbands are joking, their wives' know this. They couldn't help the lingering glances they exchange though, turning back to the glass and gazing out. Both stand like that for minutes, just observing before turning their eyes to each other then back to the children.
"That's actually not too far of a stretch to imagine."
"Don't you dare, Austin Moon!" A small girl with bouncing brown curls screams, feet running like the wind. Continually she glances back, squealing as she catches sight of the boy now chasing her heels. She bounces from side to side, weaving around his reaching arms.
"Oh come on! It's not like I'm gonna tickle you or anythin'!" He cries from behind, following his target as she bobs to the right. He follows until she ducks behind a tree. The shaggy hair of the boy's blonde hair bounces as he skips smugly over to the trunk of the weeping willow. He stands close to the trunk, waiting for movement.
A head pops out from the other side, large brown eyes cautious. "I don't believe you-" She retorts, head ducking over to the other side as he makes a grab for her. He pops his head over to see her again. "You can't help yourself. You're gonna tickle me once I take one step closer." He can just barely see her elbow bent from her placing her hands over her hips. She's unguarded.
The boy jumps for his chance and leaps towards her. He catches air. The untrimmed hair dangling over his forehead tosses around as he whips his head from side to side. Finally he catches sight of his best-friend running in the direction opposite of his, a stream of giggles following her closely. "Don't think I'm gonna give up this easily, Allison Dawson!"
"You ever wonder 'bout the stars?" Ally questions aloud, eyes gazing intently up at the summer's night sky. The flickering dots sprinkling the blackness reflects off of her brown eyes. She shifts slightly, placing an arm under her head.
"No not really. Do you?" It's a stupid question, but they are only children. Austin turns his focus to the stars above their heads. He laces his fingers together behind his head, actually looking at the stars for once. At nine years old, he's never thought about the stars much. In fact, he barely looks at them. Ally is always showing him new things though.
The small seven year-old girl watches Austin through the corner of her eye. His eyes search the stars above, his blonde mop of hair is tousled from their earlier wrestling match, and his stripped polo shirt has numerous grass stains on it. And never has she noticed how his hazel irises glint like the stars.
And that's when Ally feels it. A dip in her stomach, a fire in her chest she can't explain. She pouts, pondering why she feels what she does; she blames it on the two hotdogs she ate earlier.
Austin glances at her and her small pout. "You upset the fireworks haven't started?" He nudges her shoulder with his.
Ally, her small head nodding unsure, smiles. "Yeah, that's gotta be it." She replies happily, her voice sounding exactly how a little girl's should.
Her fingers clench around the wooden railing. She cocks an undefined hip out to the side. The stone hard glare in her eyes is frightening –not like Austin would ever admit it. 'I could beat you up easily'. That's exactly the words he had used with her. "You could never beat me in a fight!" Ally yelps at him while crossing her arms over her flat chest. She tips her small nose into the air.
"Oh yes I could." Austin replies, retracting his legs from dangling off the side of their tree house. He pushes himself up, letting the breeze catch his tangled strands. The tree rustles as he takes two warning steps towards the girl two years smaller than him. He catches the way she flinches –only slightly, but it's still there. "I'm eleven and you're nine. Bigger makes me better. That means I will always win in a fight."
"I know my own age, Austin Moon." She snaps. Her eyes taunt him to take another step. He does.
The eldest of the pair steps up to her, nose and inch from hers. There goes that falling feeling in her chest again. She jumps back, her tight curls bouncing up and down. "Well prove it. Prove you can beat me up." She throws her line in for him to bite.
Austin waves her off. "I wouldn't hit a girl." He casually states.
"Wimp." Ally scoffs under her breath as she plops down on the wooden floor, arms crossed tightly.
Still, he never hits her.
They are walking up and down their block, which seems to be their whole world right now. Just their small little block with one ice-cream truck that they never miss as it goes by. Between steps they kick the pebbles in their path away while licking the drips of melting ice cream off their cones.
"Austin, I'm board." Ally whines, taking her cold treat away from her blue stained lips. "We've been walking back and forth this street four times in the hot."
Austin bites into his cone, crumbs falling over his chin. "What else are we supposed to do? Our mom's aren't gonna let us in the house with these melting catastrophes." He points to a drop of melted cream falling over his fingers and off the bottom of his cone.
Ally's brows pull together. "You didn't need to use that word." She comments.
"It's one of my vocabulary words. Gotta use it in a sentence." He explains, looking straight ahead.
Ally's eyes widen. "You've already got homework a week into school?" She asks astonished.
Austin rolls his eyes; looking over to the girl he's known all his life. "That's what happens in seventh grade."
Ally gazes forward after, thinking about nothing in particular. Her hair flutters momentarily in the warm breeze as she licks at her delectable sweet. "Look, if you're board how about we play a game?" Austin suggests.
"I guess so."
Austin smiles. "Ok, it's called truth or dare. What you do is-"
"I know how to play." His friend interrupts sweetly. "But I like the idea!" she exclaims happily, a smile glimmering in her eyes. She stops, turning to him with a lick of her cone. "You first. Truth or Dare?"
Austin clears his throat, gazing beyond the picket fencing behind Ally, thinking of the options. "Dare." He finally states while throwing his half eaten ice-cream in a nearby dumpster.
Mischief dances around like a fire in Ally's dark eyes. Her smile is growing wide. Frankly, it's killing Austin not to know the thoughts of his best friend. "I dare you to kiss me."
Austin jumps back, amazed at Ally's –usually lacking- courage. Besides, she's his best friend, that would be…weird? "Ew, no!" He screams, shaking his hands in her face.
Ally hides her disappointment. "What? You chicken? Can't do a little dare?" she taunts, clucking like a chicken and flapping her arms up and down. She stomps her feet over and over adding to the effect, hoping Austin will break. He does.
"Fine!" He yells. Ally stops, one foot suspended ready to crash into the earth, arms extended out, and eyes wide as golf balls. Austin grips her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. She's shell shocked. Never did she think he would actually try it. His lips are close to her's and even though his eyes are drifting shut, her's are wide open.
Her ice-cream splatters over the cement. Her feet take off, slipping from Austin's hold on her. Only half way down the side walk does she call over her shoulder, "Sorry, Austin, I think I hear my mom calling!"
That's a big fat lie.
The day seems chilled, the sun partly masked by the clouds hanging in the midday sky.
Their tree house is older now, creaking with strain. However, it still remains the same –even if the third wall crumbled only last winter. Holes have been punched through the wooden roof, exposing the sky to the eye. The comfort still hasn't packed its things to leave yet, given the brokenness of the place to the naked eye. They still don't believe it ever will though.
"Austin," His voice escapes her mouth without her own notice, like the whisperings in the rain. She brings her hand up to her shoulder length hair, twisting a random curl between her fingertips. Her eyes remain locked with the swirling clouds above that block out the sun. She searches them, as if they hold secrets not meant to be kept.
The blonde turns his head against his pillow-esc arm folded beneath his head. "Yes, Ally?" he drawls happily. A breath taking smirk crosses his lips for only a moment before he turns his eyes closed again.
Ally drops her hand abruptly, letting it thunk against the shifty wood under her. Austin jumps, opening his eyes to watch his friend sit herself up. The brunette gazes down sheepishly, her gaze never faltering from her bare feet. Ally has been acting different today; she hasn't been very open to conversation.
Once she begins fiddling with the edge of the large picnic blanket laying across the floor, Austin sits straight up. "Hey, you ok?" His question is full of worry; that's why he doesn't understand why Ally retracts with a hushed gasping breath as he places his hand over hers.
Brown eyes that –to Austin- still show the innocents of a child look up at him through a thin curtain of curled hair. After minutes of silence, she straightens up in a flash, yanking a clump of hair behind her ear. "I guess I'm just wondering if you got your date for the dance tomorrow."
Odd question, but Austin is more than willing to answer with a wide smile. "Yeah, I did, with Kira to! Remember that advice you gave me, well it really worked. Who knew I could be so nervous about a girl to begin with?" His smile was wide and shining with pride.
Deep down inside, in a place unknown to even Austin, a piece of Ally breaks. The blonde heart-throb has been her love since she was seven. She hides it well, even if Austin says she isn't a good liar. Well she's been lying about her feelings for the past nine years.
"That's great Austin!" She exclaims, gaining her muster back. The smile she wears can never be tagged as fake, even if it is.
Austin nods with a smile before focusing again. "Why?"
Ally shrugs off her fear, ignoring the nervous pounding in her chest. "Well, I didn't get asked to go. And I know that you can go by yourself but-" Austin cuts her off.
"You're too young to be going anyway." He snaps. Is that jealousy he feels in the pit of his chest? No, it can't be. Just because the thought of Ally waltzing around with another guy makes him want to punch a wall does not make him jealous. No, their relationship is completely platonic.
Ally whips her head up, loose curls bouncing around her cheeks. "I'm sixteen, Austin." She argues, still surprised by Austin's strict tone. He can't see her -a grown teenager- as a child still. Can he?
"I know your age Ally." Austin quips sharply, dusting his hands off before relaxing them back in his lap. "But it still doesn't mean that you are old enough to go out with a guy."
The youngest of the pair throws her hands towards the heavens in frustration. A water droplet from the sky breaks on the part of her hair; the coolness does nothing to stop the boiling in her blood. "You sound like my father!" She yells towards the sky, another drop hitting her cheek.
Austin purses his lips before speaking in a raised tone. "That's because at sixteen you shouldn't be alone with a boy! You have no idea what their intentions with you are!" The point is clear, if only he can manage to break her stubborn barrier.
Ally stands up straight, the boards beneath the blanket shifting. "I'm alone with you all the time!"
"That's different!" Austin stumbles over his words. Ok, so maybe this relationship isn't as platonic as he thought.
"Oh look at you two! Running off to who knows where."His father's taunting voice booms happily. Two pairs of footsteps echo behind them. Austin turns to Ally, both exchange a pained glance. They know what's coming.
Both turn on their heels, Austin dropping his hand from the doorknob. The fathers' of the pair come bouncing up happily, mischievous smiles spread thickly over their lips. "I know where they're headed, Mike." Lester prods.
Ally rolls her eyes with a light blush tinting her cheeks. "Dad, don't." She weekly commands, trying to drag Austin out of the door with her.
"Wherever could that be?" Mike plays. Austin begins to turn with Ally, until her father stops both of them in their tracks.
"Their kissing cubby!"
Ally's eyes inflate and her blush goes crimson. She quickly pushes Austin's hand from her own. Austin on the other hand rolls his eyes before turning around. "Please…"He chides simply. "Ally and I are best friends. And frankly, the whole 'we are gonna fall in love' skit is getting old."
Lester nudges Mike in the ribs, smile widening further. "But you know it's gonna happen." He jokes, Mike nods teasingly. Now Ally's face has lost all color and is white as a ghost.
Austin tugs Ally behind him as he turns around towards the door again, blocking out the laughter behind them. But with a backwards glance as he shuts the door, he can see both their mothers exchange a roll of their eyes.
"You're such a hypocrite!" Ally's insult brings Austin back from memory lane.
Ally's arms are stiff at her side, fists clenched, and her breathing is labored. She's trying not to totally explode.
Austin pops up from the floor. Two cooling drops of water fall onto his head. "How so?" he challenges, taking a warning step towards his best friend.
The brown-eyed girl ignores the water now sprinkling over her body as she accepts his challenge with a step the same as his. "Let me think." she places a mocking finger to her bottom lip, as if in thought. "Oh, right! Brooke Thomas in the eighth grade! Maybe Zoie Flemmer – High School Freshman sweet heart! I could go on, Austin!" She screams into his face, shoving an index finger right into his chest. She elevates herself on her toes to put her face right in his.
The rain is beating them down now. Clothes sticking to skin and hair dripping. Ally's shirt clearly shows her bra through the now transparent fabric. Austin's hair clings to his forehead and droplets of water fall off of his features. Even in her furious state, Ally can't help but wish he wanted her closer -a cliché romantic kiss in the pouring rain to make up for the fight.
Never going to happen, her inner self states dryly in the back of her mind.
Austin grabs her shoulders; firmly enough to cause attention but gently enough so no pain is inflicted. "Listen to me, Ally! You are a child!" He screams in her face, voice carrying through the pounding rain.
A tear slips down her cheeks. Austin hopes and prays it's the rain instead of tears. "That's great to know then." She says dryly with a flop of her arms. She takes a wide step away from him. "I'm glad to see I'm still a child in your eyes. You do know realize I'm only two years younger than you. Open your eyes for once and look at what's right in front of you." Her voice cracks only once but just enough to break Austin's heart.
The soaked brunette stomps over to the latter, snatching up her shoes on the way. "I'm sorry you have to babysit me all day." Now she's at the later, readying herself to climb down. "Bye." She snaps before climbing down the slippery rungs, leaving Austin shocked and frozen in place. He can only watch her walk across the back lawn below.
That's when it all clicks. His eyes are finally open.
Her wet locks that cling to her cheeks fall past her shoulders. Without baby fat rounding out her face, her breathtaking features are clearly showcased. Her lips are plump and look softer than he remembers. She has curves, hips, a waist; since when? All Austin knows is the ten-year-old's stick straight body and now the ten-year-old is defined. Her hips sway back and forth like a watch used for hypnotism. With her light blue shirt now transparent and stuck to her body – her little black bra showing- Austin can't think straight.
Ally has grown up and the realization has triggered his heart into unhealthy speeds. It's running away, if not for his ribcage, his heart would be halfway to Timbuktu by now. Shivers run up and down his spine, numerous times, and not because of the cool rain. Warmth then bursts from his chest. If you ask him the word, he wouldn't hesitate. Love. He can't understand how he can fall in love so suddenly –so fast. Maybe, just maybe, it's been there all along.
"Ally!" The lovely name rolls off his lips with the rain. She doesn't turn, only hesitates for a moment before continuing forward. Austin can't remember sliding down the latter, or running up to her, but he finds him himself in front of his best friend who is now in the middle of the street.
Water is hitting him from above and below as it bounces from the street surface, but he doesn't register it. Instead he whips the brunette around, water droplets from her hair splattering across his heated cheeks.
The eighteen-year-old stands there, gasping for dry air and just gazes at Ally. His stare is intense and analyzing as he soaks her in. The whole her. He realizes just how warm their body contact makes him feel; the burning from his hands over her shoulders is refreshing. The girl in front of him isn't a child, her features are to striking. No, now her waist has slimmed. She has the most perfect curve to her hips. Her breasts aren't large, but since when has she had any? Her eyes -always been his favorite features- are still innocent. How much wisdom can a sixteen-year-old harbor? Ally obviously has set the bar high. Freckles that once before sprinkled her nose have faded away with the years. She is petite, she is short, she is brunette, she is two years younger, she is shy, she is everything he shouldn't love –but he does. She is the one who makes him feel this way and it's only been five minutes. Then again, Ally has always showed him new things.
Austin cups the smaller girl's cheeks in his large callused hands. His nose is inches from hers, and she has her arms tucked between their bodies. Brown eyes are wide with wonder and surprise and he instantly falls deeper. "I think I'm in love with you…" His whisper reaches her ears faintly and all the pounding rain muffles around them. They are now in their own bubble.
Ally gasps loudly, eyelashes fluttering in an attempt to rid the water from them. Austin pulls her closer with a wanting growl. "Austin, did you hit your head?" She asks in all seriousness. He can't really be in love with her. He's shown her over the years that he just wants a best friend -that he will only ever want a best friend.
Austin vigorously shakes his head. "No, but you knocked some sense into me." He mumbles for just her to hear as his head ducks closer to hers.
Ally instantly retracts, the tears welling back up in her eyes as she pushes his grip from her body. "Don't think you can apologize like this and be off the hook. It's wrong and just plain mean." Ally pauses, swallowing hard against the burning lump in her throat. Her arms snake around her own waist, protecting herself from the cruelness of the situation. "Just because you found out I've had a crush on you doesn't mean you can say that and I'll forgive you. I didn't ever think you could stoop so low. I thought living sixteen years with you would allow me to know you. I guessed wrong apparently." She begins to turn but Austin flips her back around again. This time he holds her closer, his breath mingling with hers.
"God, Alls, you know me. When have I ever tossed those words around? Huh? Never. You are the first and last person I plan on saying those words to." She can't hear any fault in his voice, nothing that sends little red flags popping up. All she can hear is his honesty, his love written like a letter in his tone. And with one look in his hazel orbs, she can't doubt him.
"You're not lying." She says breathy. Her voice is only barely audible over the still pouring rain. It isn't a question but Austin nods his head anyway. He inches his lips ever closer to hers. "Well in that case…" Ally tugs his head down to her lips and experiences her first mind blowing kiss that only Austin Moon can give; and none-the-less, in the pouring rain.
"Remind me why I let you drag me into this?" Ally wheezes with a swipe of her wrist to her brow. Her mouth hangs ajar as she tries to catch her breath. She leans against her shovel for support as she watches Austin hunched over a large hole in the muddy creek bed. He clutches his knees as he tries to gain the oxygen back into his lungs.
The blonde sweeps the hair barely tickling his eyes over to the side with a gloved hand. Gooey mud sticking to his garden gloves leaves a solid brown line across his forehead and for some reason unknown to man, Ally wants to kiss him right there. Sadly, they are in the middle of a crime –well at least in her mind it's a crime. "Come on Alls, it's not like this is illegal." He pries with a lopsided grin.
Ally shifts her weight to the opposite foot. "Austin, you're digging up your mothers dried up creek bed, which by the way, the stone work took weeks to do." Ally points to the rocks piled on top of each other next to the 'digging site'. "Not to mention you dug her flower gardens up too and all because you just have to find the hamster you had when you were nine. He's dead, Austin." Ally argues, twisting her lips.
"Why is it when It's something that I do wrong it's 'me', but when you do something wrong it's 'us'?" His girlfriend shoots him a warning glare. "Anyway! My parents, to this day, still say he ran away! I need my proof to show my father murdered him!"
Ally drops her shovel, picking her feet out of the now mud coated rocks. "Really, Austin?" This is about finding out if you dad killed you hamster? The thing is dead and last time I remember, Dez told me you couldn't even dissect a frog in biology. It's not like you could perform a biopsy on the thing. There's only gonna be bones anyway."
Austin crosses his arms defensively. "You know my dad hated Mr. Squiggles. And he finally got rid of him and created the perfect crime." Austin stomped his foot in emphases before forcefully yanking it from the mud again.
Ally rolls her eyes, placing her balled up hands on her hips. "Austin, its name was Humpleberry." She corrects flatly while flipping the blond tips of her brunette pony tail over her shoulder.
The eldest of the pair begins stating his excuses defensively. "So, I got my goldfish and hamster mixed up. Who wouldn't?"
Ally gives him a static glance before beginning to speak. "Pretty much every-" Austin claps his hands together, successfully cutting the girl off.
Austin stabs the earth with his shovel before crossing his arms over the top of it. "Finding the body will blow this thing out of the water." The authority in his voice is cut short by none-other than Ally as she snorts.
"Oh my gracious! Austin, it's a hamster that died when you were nine! Let it go! All these years, not a single word on of the thing and suddenly you're digging holes all over the yard looking for it?" Ally crosses her arms over her chest. "Your moms not gonna believe that its gopher holes for much longer."
Austin stretches a finger out towards the brunette. "First of all, my mother believes my gopher story fully." Austin ticks that off on his index finger and moves to the next. "And secondly, Mr. Squiggles-"
"Humpleberry."
"Deserves his justice." Austin finishes. "All I know is that my dad did it!" Austin mutters before beginning to dig up an entirely new hole. Ally stands on the side, watching amused as her boyfriend's foot slips. He quickly pulls himself together before taking a fleeting backwards glance at the beautiful girl behind him.
Ally gazes on as Austin digs the shovel deeper into the flesh of the earth –that is until he freezes. A loud clunk breaks the night's weary silence. "What was that?" Ally gasps over his shoulder. "I swear, Austin, if you hit-" A large hand inches from her face stops her from continuing.
"No, no. I think I found it." The blonde mutters, bending down to the hole he dug in the earth. He takes a glob of mud from the flat surface beneath and flicks it away.
Ally crouches down next to him, unbelieving of his discovery. "You actually found your hamster?"
Her best-friend shoots her an incredulous look. "What? No. This is my time capsule."
"Excuse me?" Her question comes out dry.
"I made a time capsule when I was fourteen." He wheezes out in answer as he pulls a large round top from the ground. It makes a protesting sucking noise as Austin finally get it loose from the mud. He drops the dense object next to the girl beside him with gasp for air.
Ally huffs. "So, were we looking for this or the hamster?" She asks, a tinge of frustration staining her tone.
"Hamster." Austin answers simply.
Ally rolls her eyes and studies the lid next to her. Her nose crinkles in remembrance. She extends a single finger towards the large metal circle easing its way into the wet ground. "Is that the manhole cover that went missing when I was twelve?"
Austin shifts uncomfortably on his feet. "Maybe." He squeaks.
Ally holds her arms out towards him. "Let me get this straight, this is the missing manhole cover that caused Mrs. Carpal to drive right into the manhole it was meant to cover up?" Silence is her only answer. "How did you even manage to get it over here without anyone noticing, much less be able to carry it?" She asks.
"Dez will never confess!" The blonde blurts out, only cringing afterwards.
Ally clears her throat. "No, but you will."
Instantly, the nineteen-year-old male deflates. "Well we needed to cover up our stuff." The excuse is childish and something expected from a five-year-old, right down to the crossed arms.
For the fiftieth time, Ally rolls her eyes. "Anyway, what did you two even put in this?" She takes a closer look before gasping loudly. "Oh my gosh! Is this my dad's old safe? The one that the door broke off of?" Her eyes are wide and just as questioning as her words.
Austin shrugs, pouting his lips in thought. "He said he was getting rid of it, so I figured, 'one less thing for him to worry about'."
"Before he figured out he could fix it!" Ally scoffs.
"Oh! I forgot about this!" The sly singer diverts the topic to something much safer. He reaches his hand into the depths of the small safe and retracts a dusty card. With one puff, the dust flies away to reveal an old baseball card. Once the card is dirt free and the print on it legible again, Austin smirks. He passes it over to Ally who doesn't recognize the name. She throws it back in.
Once Austin's hand is back in the safe, he repeats the cycle again. Only this time, his jaw drops. "I can't believe I wasted perfectly good pancakes!" He whines, taking in the moldy, fungus ridden 'pancakes' safely kept in a plastic baggy. His nose tilts away in disgust as he sniffs at the open contents of the bag. "Man, that reeks." He chokes out past his coughing breaths.
Ally whips her head around, her face contorting in disgust once her gaze finds the pancakes. "No wonder it reeks. Pancakes are a perishable food item!" She pinches her nose between her fingers, trying to get the stench now wafting through the air from her senses.
The pancake-loving man chucks the pancakes back into the 'capsule'. His hurt hazel irises land on her and she's forced to scrape it off of her back. "I was going to be a savior for introducing the future to pancakes."
Ally shakes her head, dropping the subject before tentatively reaching her hand into the rusted safe. Her fingers trace over a familiar laminated texture. Fumbling with getting a proper grip, Ally yanks the object in her hand from the safe. She looks over the faded pink cover of the all too familiar book.
Austin finds himself staring at the reflective cover of a book. He follows the hand holding it up to him to Ally's scowling face. "What is my childhood diary doing in here?" Her voice is as sharp as nails.
To Ally, it isn't the fact that he could have read it –knowing all of her secrets. No, he already knew all of her secrets, so that doesn't bother her. He would never exploit her secrets anyway, that isn't her issue. It's the fact that he denied knowing where it was after she asked him countless times if he knew its location. The past five years –when the occasion would remind her of words written in that diary- she would go searching through the few boxes in the basement. She would tear apart her room, look under rocks, and turn up rugs in effort to find it. All those lost efforts only to find out that it's been sitting in Austin's backyard, two feet underground under a manhole cover.
The blonde quickly grabs the sewage cover and haphazardly places it where it once was. "Nothing." He answers innocently. He begins throwing mud back over the wound in the earth. Ally doesn't even register he's up until he's already walking towards his shovel, lying like the dead on the mud.
She quickly runs up to meet him, placing herself between him and his destination. "So, can we give up now?" Ally chimes hopefully, rolling up onto her toes and tauntingly running her lips lightly across his. Austin can distinctly feel every pin prick her touch causes.
"Please, Alls, like I'm willing to give up on justice." He answer with a lopsided grin; one that causes the songwriter's heart to flutter. She plays her rising blush off with yet another roll of her warm eyes. However, her smirk doesn't budge.
She's ready to turn; in fact she's in the middle of it, that is, until he pulls her back. He holds her around the waist, securing her in place. A flick to the back of the diary in her hand, snaps Ally to full attention. Austin glances between her and the small book. "You, know I'm pretty sure I memorized that when I took it. I read it over and over looking for some juicy blackmail. That type of stuff. What I found was entry after entry about a mystery boy. He was never given a name." He tightens his hold on her, pulling her ever closer. "So, I must know, am I in trouble of being replaced?" His eyes dance with his teasing nature.
Ally can't help but giggle. She rolls to her toes, putting her lips only inches from his and huskily whispering, "Nope, I think you're good."
Austin only smiles before placing butterfly kisses to her lips. Between the kisses they smile, even laugh, and dive in for more of each other. It continues for an eternity, or at least it seems that way. However, a bright light pierces the closed lids of the couple. They both let their eyes flutter open, in hopes not to blind themselves in the process. The connection between them is broken when their arms fly up to cover their eyes from the blinding light. Ally loses her grip on the diary, sending it falling to her feet.
Slowly both open their arms to find Austin's mother standing in the porch doorway in a robe. Curlers litter her blonde hair and even though her eyes are bloodshot and puffy with sleep, they are wide as goofballs. The blue eyes scan the yard and the freshly dug holes in the earth. She then takes one glance at the shovels laying at Austin and Ally's feet. Her face is reddening by the moment and both know she is due to explode any second. Then she blows. "Austin Monica Moon! Allison Marie Dawson! What in the hell do you two think you're doing?" She barks.
Austin glances over at Ally, eyes wide and fearful. He clamps his gloved hand over hers. However, Ally is too focused on coming up with an excuse to give Mrs. Moon that she doesn't notice. She only notices the one word he screams out, causing her mouth to stop bobbing up and down. "Run!" With that he tugs her arm to sprint but not before she can snatch her diary up, and then their dashing to his truck.
The city lights are beginning to ebb away like a dying heartbeat. The night sky holds the stars on its strings, playing a silent balled of peace. The moon hangs above it all through the branches of trees. Its crescent shape looks like God's finger nail, like he's touching the world with night's calm influence.
The silence in the cabin of the Chevy bouncing down the rough road may be heavy to anyone else. Not them. The silence holds so much more than empty words ever can. Why make an awkward situation with forced words if you don't have anything unparticular to say? All they need is the presence of each other, the wind running like lightning over their bodies, and the absents of a clock. His hand laying contently on her thigh and her fingers playing circles with his hair is all they want; it's all they need. Nothing more, nothing less.
After driving for a good five minutes on a country dirt road he stops the engine. He slips out of his seat, shutting the door forcefully while tossing his keys around in his hands. Taking a glance up at the stars graces his lips with a smirk. He's going to sleep under those stars tonight.
It's been a restless night for both of them. They don't know why, it's just been impossible to sleep. Thus this last minute camp-out was planned, making sure the weather allowed it of course. They packed up and drove off at two in the morning, it feels like it's been hours since then even though it hasn't.
He rounds around to the back of the truck. Jerking the tail-gait open with a heave, he watches as she bounces up next to him. They both reach for the many blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows they stalked up on and go to work with the same silence they've kept for the entire ride. It almost seems like a sacred ritual.
Finally, the truck's bed has been transformed into an actual bed -large and comfy with plenty of blankets to keep warm. Calmly, they both climb into the back, tucking themselves deep under the blankets. He -even though it isn't necessary- closes the tail-gait back up before lying down. Once he's down and lying next to the brown eyed beauty, she instantly snuggles into his side. Without hesitation, he wraps an arm around her back. She shivers, tucking herself deeper into him and tugging at the baggy sleeves of her hoodie. Suddenly she isn't so energetic anymore, not with his heartbeat acting as her lullaby and the crickets wishing her goodnight. The yawn on her tongue slips and it's not only a moment longer until she is breathing deeply against him.
The blonde can't help his silent chuckle at his best friend. She's probably the single most adorable thing he has ever seen.
He tucks an arm under his head, keeping the other wrapped protectively around her. He watches the stars twinkle; it almost looks like their communicating with each other. Ever since he was nine and she first pointed the stars out to him, he hasn't been able to not give them a glance every night. And it wasn't until he was twelve that he saw the way she would look at him. She had the adoring glint in her eyes that would only escape when she stargazed. He dismissed it at that time. When he turned seventeen, he couldn't dismiss it any longer. The big brown pools still would sparkle up at him, and he thought of all the possibilities for it. It wasn't until they finally shared that kiss in the rain that it finally clicked. She adores him, like she does the stars. He loves her for it. Not only because the gleam lights her eyes up brightest of all, but because she has taught him yet another thing.
She's shown him how to really look at someone, study them, read their eyes. She's shown him how to adore and he'd be lying if he said that he hasn't taken her teachings to heart. He'd be lying if he said that he doesn't look at her like he does the stars.
She barges out of the house, tears running away from her eyes. Her hair bounces when she jumps down the steps, desperate to run away from him. "Come on, Alls!" He yells after her. Given the chance, no one would ever be able to find the slur in his voice. She can.
With his foot falls coming closer, she picks up her pace. If she can make it across the street and into her house before he can get to her, she will thank God for the rest of her life.
A hand clamps over her shoulder. So much for prayer.
She jumps with a scream before beginning to duck away from him. Her tears are pouring faster and faster now and her sobs are skinning her throat. "Get away, Austin!" She cries, backing away from him.
He steps forward, she catches him wobble. "I'm not even that drunk." He assures, reaching a hand out to her.
Ally eludes his grabbing hands, taking even more steps backward. "I said stay away from me! I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Her words are almost unrecognizable through the hiccups in her sobs.
Austin takes a large stride towards her yet again. "Ally, I'm not even drunk!" He barks, frustration wearing thinner due to the alcohol.
"No, you are drunk! I can tell!" She screams right back. "You know I don't like it! You know! You were there when I went through what I went through! You know I hate it when people drink! I can stand it with strangers but not you! And you have the nerve to call me over, and I find out you've been drinking! I can smell it all over you! I'm hypersensitive to it and you know it! You freaking know you!" Her sobs are mixed with her screams as she gets right in his face.
Austin steps even closer, patients worn. "Get over it, Ally! It happened when you were thirteen! It's time to move on!" He wouldn't have said it if the small amount of alcohol buzzing his mind didn't already push it out. Austin knows it's bad once it's out and in the open. He doesn't even mean it, he would never mean it. Ever.
She gasps, placing a hand over her heart to keep the pain still. "Don't tell me to forget, Austin! I watched as my uncle came stumbling into the house late at night drunk. I watched as he hid the alcohol from my parents and the stench on his breath with stick after stick of gum! I watched him as he lied time and time again to my parents, threatening me into not telling them about breaking his parole! Then finally he ended his joy ride by killing three people in that car accident, including him because he was drunk! So don't you dare tell me to forget about it!" She's gulping in the air, trying to keep from passing out as she stumbles back.
Austin takes a careful step towards her, his heart breaking. She steps back alert. "I'm not going to watch you with alcohol in your system. I can't handle it. I'm not going to be responsible for another death." Ally takes off across the street, sobbing harder than she has in a long time.
The door slams and locks just as Austin is racing up the porch steps. He curses at himself for being such a jerk. "Alls, I'm so, so sorry! I promise, scouts honor, that this will never happen again!" His hand flies up in the respectable sign as he watches her room light switch on. "Alls?" He calls to the open window a story up. The nineteen-year-old slams the window shut and her blinds snap shut.
Austin gulps, sitting down on her front grass. "Fine!" He screams, loud enough that he hopes she can hear. "I'm just gonna sit out here all night! Just to prove that I'm serious!" He smirks when a single brown eye peeks through blinds. She retracts her hand quickly, letting the blinds snap shut again.
He doesn't lie about staying out all night, because when she wakes up the next morning she goes straight to the window. After a self argument, she opens her blinds, but only enough to spy out. Sure enough, there's Austin, sprawled out across her grass and snoring like a pig. Ally takes a deep breath as she slips into her robe and rain boots. She just knows she will regret this.
Austin finds that his wake-up call is an angelic voice. "Need an Advil?" Sluggishly, he rises from his back, feeling a dull headache setting in. His hand holds his head and he blinks through the morning sunlight leaking over the distant hills.
He bats his lashes at Ally, who stands on her porch in cloud pj's, hair tied to the top of her head, and a glass of water in hand. Austin nods his head in answer before running up to her, saying over and over how sorry he is for last night. Ally only brushes it off, spilling two blue pills into his hand and pushing the water into the other.
They walk back into the house together and both take a seat at the kitchen counter. "It's ok," she sighs after the hundredth apology from Austin. "Besides, if you drink around me again I'll just punch you as hard as I can in your face." Her tone is serious, not one string of teasing is found.
Austin only shakes his head, looking her dead in the eye. "Oh, trust me, you won't find me drinking ever again." He replies just as seriously. As quick as the seriousness is there, it's gone as he leans back in his chair.
"I never really liked the taste anyway." He smirks even if what he just said is a lie.
"Why the flustered look?" Austin question's as his lovely best friend and girlfriend plops into the chair across from him. Her cheeks are red and her breath is heavy as she leans her head back to the umbrella shading them above.
Ally groans. "My Dad just wouldn't let me leave! I don't even know why!" Her arms flail around in exasperation. "I got here as fast as I could." She takes a gulp of air.
Austin snickers, realizing just how devious her father really can be. "Hey, it's fine. I'm not tracking time." He smiles widely as Ally looks up at him, running a hand over her head. She blows out a puff of air and gazes at the rocky shore beyond.
"I love this place." She sighs, plopping her chin into her open palm. Her smile is infectious and Austin can't help the smile reaching across his lips too.
He leans back in his chair. "Well, the ocean does have a special something about it. Doesn't it?" She nods in agreement. "For me there's just something about a giant man-eating crab that calms me." He plays it off like his other words and laughs out loud when Ally's head snaps up at him.
Her eyes light with her remembrance. "Dez never did sell the movie did he?" She giggles, thinking back to last year when he was in 'production' of the action movie.
The blonde laughs, his eyes glancing up as he does so. "Nope, they thought it was a parody of Jaws and that he was joking."
Ally throws her head back and laughs. "Was he heartbroken?" She asks, feigning a pout.
Austin nods, smile still gleaming on his face. "Very." He answers.
Ally is just about to speak again when Trish –a good friend gained over the years- calls into the speakers. "Number fifteen, number fifteen." And as her voice stops, the music comes softly back over the speakers. Austin stands, dusting himself off. "That's us. I'll go grab our drinks." He states.
The brunette turns around in her chair. "You got me an iced coffee, right?"
"Yep." Austin answers with a smirk.
She watches as he goes up to window to pick up their drinks. Trish sends him two thumbs up as he begins walking back. "What was that about?" She asks as he walks by and sets her drink in front of her.
Austin shrugs as he takes his seat. He takes a glance at Ally's cup which she grabs in a blind hand. "I don't know what you mean." He nervously answers, watching as Ally lowers her cup that is only inches from her lips. She still hasn't even glanced at it.
Instantly, she shifts in her seat. "No, something's up. Why are you so nervous?" He licks his lips as the cups lip comes so close to hers again, until she lowers it. Again. She's taunting him and she doesn't even realize it.
"Nothing." He squeaks, not even hearing her question.
Ally only rolls her eyes, flopping back against the back of her chair. Finally she brings her lips to the cup, readying herself to sip on her cold beverage. She stops short when something other than the cup's plastic lid touches her lips.
Austin watches as she jumps and lowers her eyes to her cups lid. They widen when they fixate themselves on ring taped over top of the opening. Her big brown eyes stare at him in amazement. Slowly, he rises, casually playing off tying his shoes -so not to cause any attention- as he bends down on one knee in front of Ally. Her eyes are still wide and unblinking. "Hey?" He gains her attention softly whilst pulling the ring from the cup and peeling the tape away.
Her voice is barely audible when she answers. "Yeah?"
Austin holds it up the ring for her to look at. "You wanna marry me?" He holds his breath.
Franticly, she nods, as if the opportunity is going to wash away. A hand clamps over her mouth as it finally hits her. Joyful tears prick at her eyes and one by one they fall. Austin rises and stands behind, leaning his head on her shoulder as her slips the ring onto her finger so he can see it in her vantage point.
A random man passing by catches Ally's tears and Austin looming over her. He glares at the blonde. "Ma'm?" Ally looks up. The man points out Austin. "Is this man bothering you?" The glare is still cold and deadly. Austin's eyes inflate.
Ally shakes her head, laughing loudly. "No, he's fine. He's absolutely amazing." She sends the man leaning on her shoulder a large smile. Before the pudgy man stalks away he glares once more at Austin.
Once he's gone they can't contain their laughter and Ally can't stop herself from placing a messy kiss to Austin's lips.
The proposal is odd but that sums up Austin's and her's relationship. In her eyes, it will always be perfect.
Everyone has gotten into their rightful position and the music is playing muffled through the heavy oak doors. They must be mingling in the chapel, gossiping about the day to come, about what she must look like, and about the dashing groom. Ally can already picture Austin standing by the alter in a fitted tux, checking his watch every five minutes. She smirks.
She cautiously glances around; making sure no one is looking as she makes a small crack in the door. She pokes her head into the chapel, watching as people mingle in their pews. Her eyes widen, it seems as if it's the entire town out there waiting to watch her walk down the aisle. She panics before she can even find Austin standing by the alter, she shuts the door quickly.
"Don't think that I didn't see that." Trish calls from behind.
Ally jumps with a squeak and whips around on her heels. Her hand hovers over her heart as she tries to calm it. "Wh-What?" She stutters.
Her mother appears behind Trish and smirks. "We saw what you just did." Penny smiles widely before stepping forward.
"Whoops." Ally says.
"It's fine, I won't sell you out." Trish hisses in a not-so-quite whisper. Ally giggles at her maid-of-honor.
Penny adjusts the white vale shading half of Ally's face. She pushes it farther back into her daughter's hair, hoping that she doesn't ruin the beautiful bun. With an airy sigh she dusts off the lacy white gown, tugging the lace long sleeves farther down on Ally's arms. "You look gorgeous." She states, tears welling in her eyes.
Ally steps forward, enveloping her mother in a tender hug. "Don't cry, because then I'll start crying and I've already had to fend off tears while my hair was being done." Penny only laughs and squeezes her daughter before pushing her back at arm's length.
"I'm just so proud." She cries, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Ally nods, keeping her tears at bay. "I know."
The music starts and the groomsmen begin leading the bridesmaids out the door. Ally's mother gives her another quick hug before rushing away to take a seat. Finally her father grabs her arm, linking it with his. His smile is large and his eyes glisten with joyful tears. Ally's choice of music –Pachelbels Cannon- starts over the speakers. Everyone stands as she steps into the room. All eyes are on her, Austin's included. However, she only keeps her smile aimed at the groom. Her groom.
The smile on his lips grows when their eyes lock. Brown on gold and the burst of color in-between is the spark that they've always carried.
The walk down the aisle is painful, all she wants is to be standing up there with him. Why must the slow step be so proper?
Only once does her gaze glance away from Austin's. He breaks contact at the same time as her and they both glance at their mothers huddled together on the front pew, tears streaming down their faces. As soon as they lock eyes again, their shoulders shake with laughter.
Even in the most serious situations they find a way to laugh, but only if they have each other to do it with.
She's furious. He does a lot of things that anger her, but this goes above and beyond. "You did what?" She barks, her arms clenching around her abdomen. All she can focus on is the budget. They can't afford something this big. Not with all of the other things happening right now.
All she can hear is how his voice is higher. "I got you a house."
Ally blinks her eyes under the tie acting as a blindfold to her eyes. "Austin, we can't afford a house!" She finally yells, fear etching out her words. A warm hand heats her thigh. She bites her lip.
"Just trust me." He coos. "We're here anyway." A bump in the road signifies that they have pulled into a drive way.
Ally can hear Austin's car door slam shut. A burst of air hits her legs as her door creaks open. Austin takes both of her hands and assists her out of his truck. "Follow the sound of my voice." He calls, his hands still pulling her along.
Suddenly he stops her, his breath running down her neck. Even after the years, the shiver still falls down her spine. "Ready?" He whispers into her ear. With a deep breath she nods. Austin slips the tie off of her eyes slowly. Instantly tears well in her eyes.
Austin's parents stand with his brother and brother's wife next to them, her father, Trish, and Dez stand on her childhood house porch. The absents of her mother strikes her hard. "Your dad gave us the house." Austin whispers to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her abdomen.
Ally can't hold back the tears. Her father can't be more caring than he already is. "But, what will he do?" She squeaks through the sobs choking her. She can't help but wonder about him and how he's taking it. Her mother is dead, dead of skin cancer that took her within months. The wound is still fresh, two weeks is all it's been and he's already giving the house up.
Austin rests his chin on her shoulder. "He's gonna live with my parents. He gave us the house; said that we need it more."
Ally sobs, covering her lips as she looks over the house. It's her home, the home where her parents took her home from the hospital, the home she grew up in. The thought of her mother tears a new hole in her heart. She nearly collapses. "Daddy." She calls out to him. Austin lets her go and watches as she runs into her father's arms.
Ally buries her face into her father's shirt. Both break down in tears. "I want you to live here, it's too big for me and I can't bear to see a stranger move into it." Ally's sobs into his shirt, clutching the fabric.
"I miss her so much." She cries. Her words are muffled.
Her father strokes down her hair, tears running down his cheeks as well. "Me too sweet heart. It's gonna be hard for a long time, but it will get better when you become a mother yourself." He whispers.
Ally's sobs worsen thinking about her mother and how she won't see her grandchildren like she always dreamed. "Oh, Dad." She sobs.
Austin strolls up to them as Ally finally pulls away, still sobbing. He wraps her tightly into his arms; tears threaten his eyes as well. He holds her as close as possible, a single tear falling. His mother catches his eye, her eyes are red and tears stain her face. Penny was close to all of them and the thought of life without her is still difficult.
After Ally's sobs have died down to hiccups, Austin ducks his head to her ear. "Do you like it?" Ally nods into his chest, hugging him closer.
"It's perfect." She sighs into his shoulder.
Austin smiles into the crook of her neck before pulling away and kneeling in front of her. He gazes at her small rounding stomach and places a kiss to it. Ally smiles widely down at him as he gazes lovingly up at her. "You ready to have a baby?" He asks even though they still have seven months to go until childbirth.
Ally nods her head eagerly, another tear slipping down her cheek. "I'm ready to rock them right on that porch."
Both of their smiles are blinding.
Their wrinkled hands are entangled together. The silence is nice after the busy holidays. Ally, eighty-seven and an old lady at last, cranes her neck to look at her husband who is engrossed in the night's sounds. His breathing is smooth and deep and it still lulls her. She leans up against him, placing her head on his shoulder. After all this time they are still madly in love and still married. After all this time, she still looks into his hazel eyes that sparkle in the light. Even with the wrinkles surrounding his hazel orbs, they still are energetic and young. It's her favorite part about him. After all this time she can still look into his eyes and see the stars like the pretty lights in the sky.
She said,
I was seven and you were nine
I looked at you like the stars that shined
In the sky,
The pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled
And rolled their eyes
And said oh, my, my, myTake me back to the house in the backyard tree
Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me
You never did,
You never did
Take me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids,
You and I...
Oh, my, my, my, myWell, I was sixteen when suddenly
I wasn't that little girl you used to see
But your eyes still shined
Like pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
They never believed we'd really fall in love
And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes
And said oh, my, my, my...Take me back to the creek beds we turned up
Two A.M. riding in your truck
And all I need
Is you next to me
Take me back to the time we had our very first fight
The slamming of doors instead of kissing goodnight
You stayed outside til the morning light
Oh, my, my, my, myA few years had gone and come around
We were sitting at our favorite spot in town
And you looked at me,
Got down on one kneeTake me back to the time when we walked down the aisle
Our whole town came and our mamas cried
You said I do
And I did too
Take me home where we met so many years before
We'll rock our babies on that very front porch
After all this time,
You and II'll be eighty-seven; you'll be eighty-nine
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine
In the sky, oh, my, my, my...
The crisp piece of paper flutters in the wind, like it's trying to escape from the tape holding it to the tomb stone that both of their names are carved into. A fifty-six-year-old woman with brown hair and hazel eyes walks away from the stone on a worn path.
Her parent's story plays over and over in her mind like a broken record. She never got tired of listening to them tell the story of their lives and how they fell in love. In fact, it was her favorite bed time story. Since they died -laying in their final bed together- she's been working on the perfect story for them, the perfect masterpiece. Try after try she couldn't get it right. That is until she finally did. Now their story is posted on their tomb stone so they can read it when they feel tired and need a bed time story.
I really loved writing this. I hope you enjoyed reading it. If it seems forced in places please excuse it, I tried really hard to make it flow smoothly. Anyway, please please review! I make my day and spins my world when I get them. Kay, hope you liked it! Peace out!