Hey everybody! Welcome back to this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own RENT: The Musical (or movie), Austin & Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.
I hope you guys like this chapter… let me know what you think in a review!
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Chapter 3
Back in Austin and Dez's apartment, the men were once again trying to film for Dez's documentary about life in downtown Miami. They had gotten further than they had in their previous attempts, but were once again interrupted by the phone ringing.
With a groan Dez turned off his camera and threw it onto the couch, before walking over and picking up the phone. "Hello?" He said slightly annoyed.
"Hey Dezzy!" Came an all-too-familiar voice through the phone. At the sound of this, Dez's eyes widened and he took the call into his bedroom.
"Kira?" He said quietly into the phone. He was still not completely over her and talking to her alone was awkward enough, let alone trying to do it in front of Austin.
"Of course silly!" Kira replied, giggling. "So you're coming to see my performance tonight, right?"
"Uh, yeah, if I can manage to persuade Austin to leave the apartment." Dez replied, a little grudgingly.
"Great!" Kira said in a screech voice. "Can't wait to see you there!"
"Sure, I guess. Was that all?" Dez says, a little confused as to the point of Kira's call.
"Well, actually, no, Dezzy, I need you to do something for me." Kira says in a childish whiny voice.
"What is it, Kira?" Dez asks, sighing and leaning against his wardrobe.
She giggled again. Dez knew he should find the noise annoying, sickening, but he couldn't help but find it adorable… he was really struggling to move on from her. "It's nothing big. So Trishykins is kind of struggling to set up my equipment properly for tonight, so I was wondering if… maybe you could be my hero and go help her out?"
Kira really knew how to bend Dez and play with his mind to get him to do what she wanted. Dez really didn't like Trish, and could barely stand the idea of having to be alone with her for any amount of time… however, it could let him show off to Kira and prove himself better than Trish – and he loved when Kira called him his hero. Could he really say no?
"Okay, I'll do it Kira. Tell Trish I'm on my way." He replied, trying to sound completely indifferent about the situation.
"Thanks Dezzy, you're the best. See you tonight!" Kira said loudly, before hanging up without giving Dez the chance to say another word.
Dez walked back out into the living room and placed the phone back in its cradle on the table. "Who was that?" Austin asked, not looking up from his guitar.
"Uhh…" Dez hesitated.
"It was Kira wasn't it?" Austin replied, still not looking up. He knew all too well when Dez had been speaking to her.
"Yeah, I need to go help Trish set up Kira's equipment for her performance tonight." Dez said as he grabbed his coat and scarf and started to walk over to the door.
"Pffff, you're such a sucker for her, dude." Austin scoffed as he finally finished tuning his guitar and gave a small fist pump in celebration.
"I know…" Dez admitted quietly. "Anyway, you are coming to her performance, right?"
"I don't know, man." Austin said, gently placing his guitar on the floor next to him. "You know I haven't felt like going out recently."
"I know, Austin, I know. But just think about it, okay? We can go out to see Kira, then we're all going to the Life Café afterwards. It's gonna be like a big party!" Dez said enthusiastically. "It is Christmas Eve after all."
"We'll see, Dez. We'll see." Austin said, picking his guitar back up.
"Okay, well I'll be back after I help Trish. Remember to take your AZT." Dez said before walking out the door.
When he was gone Austin sighed at the silence. He knew he really did need to get out more and make new friends, but he just couldn't find it in himself to do it. He'd barely left the apartment since Cassidy committed suicide. Dez had been trying to help him as much as possible, but there was really only so much he could do.
Just then, the power went out and the apartment was thrown into darkness, the only light coming from a few battery-operated lamps scattered throughout the room. Austin looked down at the floor and chuckled bitterly. This was so typical, but getting so frequent that Dez and him were just getting used to it. It had to happen on Christmas Eve, though, on the coldest night Miami had seen in a while.
Austin began to strum his guitar once again. He absolutely adored music, he always had since he was a little boy. He knew it was unlikely to ever make a career out of it, but he'd never given up – he loved the music way too much to ever do that.
Although he loved playing instruments, Austin had never really been very good at writing songs. His main goal was actually to just write one good song before he died. 'One song… One good song' He thought to himself, before a wave of inspiration suddenly hit him and he began to strum out a tune on his guitar.
One song
Glory
One song
Before I go
Glory
One song to leave behind
Find one song
One last refrain
Glory
From the pretty boy front man
Who wasted opportunity
One song
He had the world at his feet
Glory
In the eyes of a young girl
A young girl
Find glory
Beyond the cheap coloured lights
One song
Before the sun sets
Glory - on another empty life
Time flies - time dies
Glory - One blaze of glory
One blaze of glory - glory
Find
Glory
In a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame
Find
One song
A song about love
Glory
From the soul of a young man
A young man
Find
The one song
Before the virus takes hold
Glory
Like a sunset
One song
To redeem this empty life
Time flies
And then - no need to endure anymore
Time dies
(One Song Glory from RENT)
Just as Austin finished writing his song, there was a sharp knocking at the door. Thinking it was Dez having something, like usual, Austin put down his guitar before walking over. He swung open the door saying "What'd you forget?"
But when the door opened it did not reveal Dez; instead there stood a very pretty, slightly short girl looking up at Austin with a candle in her hand. "Got a light?" She asked, smiling.
Austin stood staring, slightly open-mouthed for a second, stunned by the beauty of the woman in front of him – he had seen her somewhere before but he couldn't remember where… all he could think about right then was how pretty she was.
"Uhhhh…" Austin eventually stuttered. "Ye-yeah, sure, come on in." He said, moving to aside to allow her to walk past him and into the apartment.
She walked over towards the couch whilst Austin headed towards the kitchen, where they kept the matches. He grabbed them out of the drawer and walked over to where she was perched on the arm of the couch. "You're shivering a little… you okay?" Austin asked as he struck the first match and moved to light the candle.
"Yeah, I'm fine, they just turned off my heat so I'm a little chilly." She explained, with a warm smile that made Austin lose the ability to look away from her. She looked amazing in this lighting, with the streaks of light from the moon coming through the windows and illuminating her face and perfectly straight brown ombre hair "What are you staring at?" She asked with a giggle.
This snapped Austin from his trance as he tried to think of a quick recovery. "Nothing, nothing." He said quickly as he turned his attention back to the candle, which was now lit. "You just look familiar." He moved the match away and put it out.
Ally offered him a smile and a small "Thanks." before turning to leave the apartment. She only made it a few steps, however, before suddenly swaying on her feet and looking like she was about to fall… luckily Austin stepped in to grab her shoulders and support her.
"Can you make it?" He asked, worried.
She turned and gave him another smile. "I'm fine, honestly." Austin let go of her shoulders, dropping his arms to his sides. "I just haven't eaten much today. Besides, it was a lot worse earlier, the room was spinning and everything." She said with a small laugh. She noticed Austin was just staring at her again. "What?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just your smile reminds me of…" He trailed off as thoughts of Cassidy entered his mind again, but the woman in front of him soon snapped him out of that with another laugh.
"Don't worry, I always remind people of someone else." She said. "Who is she?" She asked almost mockingly.
"She died." Austin said bluntly. She looked a little taken aback by this, but he continued. "Her name was Cassidy."
The woman stifled a gasp at this and discreetly blew out the candle, intrigued by the man in front of her and not really wanting to leave just yet. "The candle blew out again, sorry." She said apologetically with a sad smile. "And I'm sorry about your friend. Were you close?"
"Yeah. She was my girlfriend of two years." Austin replied, smiling fondly at the happy memories before grimacing at the way it ended. "And I think you can guess why it ended." He finished, looking up at the woman to find sympathy and genuine caring in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. But some things just happen for a reason." She said, walking over and gently rubbing his shoulder.
"Thanks." Austin replied with another small smile, before bringing the matches back out of his pocket and relighting her candle.
However, neither of them moved when it was lit, instead finding themselves locked staring at each other. Austin was completely transfixed by her beautiful, deep brown eyes. They simultaneously smiled, and for the first time in a while Austin felt completely calm and happy. It was weird.
Just then Ally let out a small squeal and stuck her thumb into her mouth. "Ow." She said. "Sorry, the wax dripped on my fingers." She explained.
"Ouch. I hate that." Austin said, suddenly feeling a little awkward.
"Same… but, hot wax can be fun sometimes…" Ally said flirtatiously, walking slowly towards him.
Austin quickly backed away and replied. "Yes, yes I guess you're right. Oh well, goodnight." He said, gesturing towards the door and turning towards the windows.
She was a little confused by his sudden change of character, but simply shrugged and went to leave the apartment with her candle, when she suddenly realised she no longer had the stash she had when she walked in. She muttered a curse and once again blew out the candle, before knocking on the door and walking back in.
"The candle blow out again?" Austin asks, turning back to the door to see the woman frantically patting all her pockets and looking round on the floor.
She suddenly stops and looks up at him. "Uh, yeah." She said, remembering her excuse for being back in the apartment. "But I also lost… something… in here."
As she scurried around the living area, Austin studied her again. "I know I've seen you somewhere, back when I used to go out…"
"Umm have you ever been to the Cat Scratch Club?" She asked as she got on the floor to look under the coffee table. Austin nods. "Well I work there – I'm a dancer." She explains.
"Ah yeah I remember you now!" Austin says, smiling. "Man, sorry, I guess I didn't recognise you when you're not in handcuffs." He joked with her. She turned and gave him a stern look.
"Funny. It's a living, okay? Now will you help me look?" She said, standing up.
"I thought you were here because your candle blew out." Austin said smugly, walking over to her with the matches.
"Uh, yeah, that's it." She said, holding up the candle for him, which he lit.
"Why don't you forget that dancing stuff though? You only look like 16." He said.
"I'm 19 actually." She replied smugly. "And I happen to be very old for my age, okay?" She said, before continuing to look around.
"Okay, be honest with me here. I know what you're looking for." Austin said.
"Uhh… what do you mean?" She replied nervously.
"I've been in your position. I used to shiver like that."
"I told you, I have no heat." She defended.
"Yeah, I believe you. But you're sweating."
"I… uh… I got a cold."
"Face it, I know because I used to be a junkie too!" He finally concludes, and she knew she was defeated.
"Well I like to feel good sometimes, okay?" She said, looking around the sofa.
Just then Austin spotted the small bag of powder the woman was looking for just by his feet. He quickly bent down and scooped it up, placing it in his back pocket, but accidentally saying "Oh, here it is." quietly as he did so.
"What?" The woman said, quickly turning round to him.
"Oh… nothing… just a candy bar wrapper." Austin lied.
The candle had by this point, with all the movement, gone out again. "Could you light my candle again please?" She asked smiling and walking over to him.
Austin opened the match box but found it empty. "Sorry, I'm all out." He said with a shrug.
She also shrugged. "Okay, I guess I'll just thank God for the moon, huh?" She said with another smile, before sitting next to him on the couch.
Their hands brushed together, and she 'accidentally' rested hers on top of his. "Your hands are cold." Austin chuckled.
"So are yours." She said, also chuckling. There was a couple of seconds of silence as she subtly intertwined their fingers. "You wanna dance?" She said suddenly, standing up and dragging him with her.
"Uhh… sure?" Austin replied as she rested her hands on his back and he placed his gently on her hips. "I'm Austin, by the way." He said as he realised they hadn't even been properly introduced.
The woman smiled and slowly moved her hands down his back, reaching into his back pocket and grabbing the stash he had found and hidden from her. "Ally." Is all she said, pulling her hand from the pocket with the bag in hand, waving it in front of his hand before strutting out of the apartment.
And Austin was left stood there, dumbfounded, simply thinking: "Wow."
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There's chapter three.
This is a little longer than the previous two chapters, it was either that or not completely do the whole scene with Ally…
Speaking of Ally, what did you think of her and Austin's first encounter? Did you love it? Hate it? Please please please let me know in a review, it helps a lot!
Remember to follow, favourite and review and I'll see you next Friday with another brand new chapter!
Catch you later! :)