The rest of the movie passed and Austin and Ally remained silent. They did not speak to each other but neither attempted to break their physical contact. Ally had at one point moved closer to Austin and in response he had tightened his grip on her, holding her closer. Sitting closer to Austin gave Ally the opportunity to rest her head on his shoulder, and she did, cautiously. She was not sure how he would react. Almost immediately, Austin pressed his cheek into the top of her head. Ally realized he wanted this just as much as she did. She decided it was her turn to make a move. Despite the butterflies in her stomach she reached her free arm around Austin's waist and hugged him. Automatically Austin shifted slightly, pulling Ally closer. He took his free arm and traced a line with his fingertips up Ally's arm, causing her to shiver. He held her tighter. He did not want to let her go.
When the movie ended and the lights came back on, Austin and Ally pulled away from each other. Neither wanted too but at the same time, things always look different in the light.
"What happened to Trish and Dez?" Ally asked.
"I have no idea." Austin replied.
"We'll maybe we should go look for them."
"Alright." Austin stood and looked at Ally. He smiled warmly at the memory of holding her only a few moments ago, Why did the movie have to end? I wasn't done touching her!
Ally could not help but smile at Austin while he was looking at her like that, smiling that smile. God he's perfect. I hope that wasn't the only time he will hold me like that.
Austin and Ally left the theater in search of Trish and Dez. They walked a little closer to each other than usual. Their hands would occasionally touch and they would smile.
They entered the lobby of the theater and saw Dez and Trish sitting by the counter near the popcorn machine.
"What happened to you guys?" Ally asked when she and Austin joined their friends. "You guys never came back."
"My boss caught me and told me to get back to work so I made Dez sit with me so I wasn't bored." Trish quickly made up a story and secretly hoped Dez would not say anything stupid.
"Yeah," Dez played along, "I never made it to the bathroom." He started jumping from foot to foot.
"Then go!" Austin, Ally, and Trish all said together and pointed toward the bathrooms. Dez ran off in the direction they pointed.
"So..." Ally said, "Trish what are you doing tonight?"
"Actually I have to work. My boss is mad at me. He says I've been slacking," she air quoted. "He wants me to clean all the theaters."
"Sounds like you'll be busy." Austin said, sneaking a look at Ally.
"Yeah, I kind of like this job, the free popcorn is awesome. I don't want to get fired yet."
"Oh, hey, where's my gummy bears?" Austin asked.
"Right here Austin." Dez said as he rejoined the group. He pulled a large bag out of his backpack and handed it to Austin. "I took out all the white ones for you buddy."
"Um thanks," Austin said, taking the bag. "Why?"
"Cause they're weird, duh." Dez shook his head.
"We'll I think I'm going to head home." Ally said. "You guys want to go to the beach tomorrow?"
"Yeah!" Her friends answered.
"That would be awesome!" Trish added. "The sun, the sand, and the surf, it can't get much better than that."
"Alright, we'll meet at the beach then." Ally said. "Bye guys." She waved and left the theater.
Austin waved goodbye and watched her leave. He turned back to Trish and Dez only to find dumbfounded expressions on both their faces. "What?"
"Go walk her home!" Trish almost yelled.
"Yeah Austin." Dez agreed. "Girls like that. At least they do in movies."
"Um ok." Austin stood up said goodbye to Trish and Dez and left the theater to catch up with Ally.
"Ally! Wait up!" Austin called when he spotted her.
Ally stopped walking and turned to see Austin jogging toward her. "Hey Austin, what's up?"
"Can I walk you home?" He asked politely.
"Um sure." Ally replied, smiling at him. Austin grinned back at her and they started walking toward Ally's house side by side.
"So the beach should be a lot of fun tomorrow." Ally said.
"Most defiantly." Austin agreed. "We should bring a Frisbee and play."
"I don't know Austin." Ally said.
"Come on Ally," Austin stepped in front of her. "You can play one game with me can't you?"
"Austin, you know how bad I am at sports stuff."
"Ally," Austin reached out and put his hands on her arms. "Frisbee is like the easiest game ever and I'll be there to help you. I promise."
"Really?" Ally asked.
"Of course. I'll always be there for you Ally."
The pair stood there for moment, staring at each other. Ally was looking up into Austin's eyes, while he was looking down into hers. they were completely oblivious to everything around them.
"You're really sweet Austin." Ally said quietly. "You're always so nice to me."
"I can't help it," Austin shrugged. "Now I should probably get you home." He turned to the side and bowed, motioning for Ally to start walking. "After you."
"Way to make it sound like we were on a date." Ally laughed.
"Well..." Austin thought out loud, "It kind of turned out that way. We did watch most of the movie by ourselves."
Ally laughed, "Yeah but most dates involve dinner too."
"Are you hungry?" Austin asked, worried that she was considering the night a date and he had messed up somehow.
"No Austin," Ally assured him, "All I meant was that if someone wanted to take me on a date I think I'd want more than just a zombie movie."
"oh, okay." Austin said absently, thinking to himself, So she doesn't think tonight was a date but she didn't mind me holding her.
They were nearing Ally's house now. It was not a very long walk. Ally had become quiet and Austin was fidgeting. Neither wanted to say goodbye. They wanted to go back to the theater and live those two hours that they had each other and nothing else mattered.
Ally climbed her front steps pulling out her house keys knowing that he dad was still at Sonic Boom. She turned to say goodbye to Austin but she found him standing at the bottom of the porch steps staring up at her. "Is everything okay Austin?" she asked, concern written on her face.
He smiled up at her, "Everything is perfect." He climbed the steps quickly a plan falling into place in his mind.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Ally asked when he was standing in front of her.
"Of course, " Austin answered. "Want to meet at Sonic Boom?"
"Sure," Ally replied. "Have a good night Austin."
"You too Ally," he reached out and squeezed her hand quickly before walking back down the front steps. "Oh Ally?"
"Yeah?" she replied.
"You look really pretty tonight." Austin smiled at her, "Good night Ally."
Ally's grin spread across her face and he cheeks flushed. She looked away from Austin for just a moment. When she looked back her eyes were sparkling with unspoken words of how she felt. "Thank you Austin, you look pretty good yourself."
He grinned in response and backed down the walk way. He reached the end of her yard and raised his hand in a small wave. "Until tomorrow." Austin said just loud enough for her to hear.
"Until tomorrow," she replied and watched him leave. She watched Austin walk toward his house. He turned back a few times to find her still standing on the porch, watching him. When he was finally out of sight Ally went inside, still grinning.