Hey my loves darlings and dearests! Woo! Third chapter!

Ok I'm about to go back to school. I just moved back into my house (: I promise I will keep writing even when school starts back up!

Obviously, I do not own Austin and Ally.

In this chapter, Austin goes to Sonic Boom, WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!

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Chapter 3: A Second Chance

Austin hated himself. He really got along with Ally and she was easy to talk to and understood him. But, he hurt her and treated her like a freak . . . just like everyone else.

Austin blew out a puff of air as he watched customers pass him. His parents made him work in the mattress store, his parents didn't understand him. He loved his music and dreamed of being a famous rock star . . . but his parents seemed to think it would be more realistic to someday take over Moon's Mattress Kingdom. His dad had his whole future planned out. After high school Austin would study business at The University of Miami. After college he would take over his parents' business. The whole idea turned his stomach. Currently, he worked sales. He really wished he didn't have to, but it was the only way he made any money.

"Hey, son!" Austin's dad, Mike Moon, said to him as he came out of his office. He seemed as happy as everyone else.

"Sup, Dad?" Austin said in a dragged out tone.

"How was the first day?" Mike asked his son. Instead of saying something sarcastic and getting in yet another fight with his dad, Austin just shrugged. Mike walked toward a couple; he was a great business man and could sell a mattress to anyone. Austin was nothing like him.

Austin sighed again, and then started thinking about his guitar at home. How much he wanted to be playing it. He needed some new strings for it. He used the store computer to search for a nearby music store. His searching came up with a close place called Sonic Boom. It seemed cool to him. He would have to go by there after work. After a long afternoon of work, Austin grabbed his backpack and started to walk out of the store.

"See you in a few Austin." Mike said. "Your mom is making a meatloaf for dinner." Mike grinned from ear to ear.

"I need to make a stop, but I'll be home for dinner." Austin said, walking out the store door. He made his way to the parking lot and climbed into his Dodge Ram. He drove about two miles down the road to the Mall of Miami. Austin parked and walked into the mall. There were shops everywhere. It took Austin a minute to find Sonic Boom. When Austin walked into the store he was amazed. The store had an amazing design; there were wall to wall instruments, cool stands, and an awesome hang-out area, overall it was an awesome store. Austin browsed the store for a bit, searching for guitar strings, but also looking over all the cool stuff.

"Can I help you?" Austin heard from behind him.

He started to turn around. "Yeah, do you-" Austin stopped, wordless when he saw Allyson Dawson standing there.

She bit her lip and crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow, Austin Moon." She said, like she was surprised he was gracing her with her presence.

"Hey, Ally." Austin said, pushing a hand through his hair. He felt so awkward. "I didn't know you worked here." He said trying to break the tension.

It didn't help.

"Well, you might have if you weren't so worried about talking to the school freak." She turned on her heel and started to walk away.

"Look, Ally, I'm sorry about that." Austin said, following her. "I'm new and I just didn't-"

"You know what, Austin, forget it." She said, turning back toward him. "You know, I thought you might be different." She shook her head, like she was angrier with herself than with him. "Guess I was wrong." She started to walk away again.

Austin knew it would be better if he just left. But, he still needed the guitar strings. "Look, can I talk to a different employee?" He asked.

"You're looking at her." Ally said, going behind a counter in the center of the store.

"You're the only employee?" Austin asked, surprised. He thought for a second. "Ok, can I talk to the manager?" He just wanted this awkwardness to be gone.

"Ok," Ally said, then stood there, staring at him. "What do you want?" Ally asked.

Austin tried his best not to gape at her. "You're the manager too?" Ally nodded. "Are you the owner too?" Austin asked sarcasm and annoyance in his tone.

"Kind of," Ally said, tilting her head to the side. "My dad is."

Austin bit his lip, feeling more awkward than ever. "Look Ally, can we please just start over?" Austin pleaded with her.

"How do you suggest we do that, Austin?" Ally asked, dropping her hands to her sides. "It's not like you can just leave and walk back in pretending none of this ever happened." She bit her lip again, shaking her head. "I don't know, Austin, I think you should go." Ally said, looking down at her shoes.

Austin was about to say something, but sighed and walked out of the store. Ally pushed her hands over her face and down her neck, trying to relax. She looked at her journal sitting on the counter. She was about to grab it, when Austin walked back into the store. He walked back up to the counter, a smile on his lips. "Hey, I'm Austin." He said, holding out his hand for Ally.

Ally caught on, but instead of ruining it, she smiled and shook his hand. "I'm Ally." They smiled at each other. "How can I help you today?" She asked him.

"I need to buy some guitar strings." Austin said, still smiling at her.

"You're in luck; we just got a bunch in stock." Ally said, gesturing to a side of the store where all the guitars and supplies were.

"Awesome," Austin said, smiling and nodding. "Hey, aren't you in my English class?" Austin asked.

"Oh my gosh, yeah." Ally said, smiling and laughing a bit. "You're the new guy right?"

"Yeah, just started today." He said, nodding again.

"What do you think so far?" Ally asked.

"Well, I would say great, but it kind of sucks." He and Ally laughed together. Austin was thrilled that Ally was giving him a second chance.

. . .

Austin pulled into his driveway about 45 minutes later. He really enjoyed talking to Ally. She was really funny and it was cool to make a real friend. Austin looked at the package of guitar string sitting in the passenger's seat along with a sheet of paper Ally wrote her e-mail on so they could message each other later. He took them in his hand and got out of his car. He knew his folks might be pissed that he was a little late, but they should be happy that he made a friend on his first day.

Austin walked into the house and shut the door behind him. He could see his parents sitting at the kitchen table. The both frowned at him. "Ok, so I'm a little late." Austin said, knowing they were about to yell.

"Where have you been, Austin?" Mimi asked.

"I needed to get some guitar strings." Austin said, shrugging. "Turned out my new friend works there." Austin smiled thinking about Ally.

"You made a friend?" Mimi asked, seeming very thrilled.

"Yeah," Austin said, still smiling.

"Well, that's still no excuse." Mike said, still upset. "You know what time you needed to be home, Austin."

Austin rolled his eyes and sat down at the dinner table. His mom passed him a plate with food. "So, Austin sweetie, tell us about your little friend." Mimi said, still excited that her son made a friend on his first day.

"Her name is Ally." He said, trying not to grin too much.

Mike and Mimi giggled to each other. "Oh, a girl." Mimi said, in between giggles.

"What?" Austin asked, looking in between his parents.

"Our son likes a girl." Mike said, winking at his wife.

"I do not like Ally." Austin said, even though he thought he might.

"Tell us about her, Austin." Mimi asked her son. "Oh! I know! We should have her over for dinner!" Mimi said, clapping her hands together.

"You be sure to ask your little friend to dinner, Austin, so your mom and I can meet her." Mike said, winking at his son.

Austin rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, dad, I'll be sure to remember that." He poked his meatloaf with his fork. He wasn't feeling all that hungry.

. . .

*About an Hour later*

Austin sat in his room with his feet up on the desk, strumming his newly stringed guitar. He had his computer open on his desk. He had just sent a message to Ally and was waiting for a response. The sudden ding from his computer made Austin put his guitar on his bed and his feet on the floor. He scooted closer to the computer so he could read the messenger.

AllyCat88: Hey, what's up?

Austin thought for a second before responding: Not much, what about you?

AllyCat88: Working on the paper for English. Have you started it?

Austin typed out: Nah, I'm a last minute person (:

AllyCat88: lol (:

Austin thought for a minute before typing: What are you writing about?

There was a pause before Ally replied.

AllyCat88: A garden in my backyard

Austin thought again before replying: Cool

Ally didn't respond to that, Austin decided to at least get a start on the reading. He took out the book he bought for the class and opened it up. He began to read about the main character Holden getting into a fight with Stradlater, another character. About fifteen minutes later his computer dinged again. Austin looked up at his computer and saw:

AllyCat88: Just finished.

Austin smiled at the computer and wrote: Seriously?

AllyCat88: (:

Austin tried to think about what to reply. Should he ask about what she wrote? Should he ask if she already read the chapters? Before he could decide, Ally replied again.

AllyCat88: It was an interesting assignment.

Austin bit his lip before typing: What do you mean?

AllyCat88: It made me think about the garden in a different way. I started out just describing it and the way it looked, felt, smelled but then I thought more and wrote about the memories I have of it, the way it makes me feel to see it, how it seems to be something I look at every day, but I rarely take the time to admire it.

Austin stared at her words for a while. He admired the depth and beauty that she seemed to live in. Ally seemed to have this amazing way she saw the world. You thought about all that in 15 mins? Austin asked.

AllyCat88: No, when I got home from work, I immediately went and sat in the garden for a while. I had my journal with me and I just wrote non-stop. It took me 15 mins to edit.

Austin typed: What kind of things did you write?

AllyCat88: As the flowers wilt, and try their best to hold on to what life they have left, I think back to when this place was a jungle in my eyes. I think about the sweet scents of the flowers now drifting away in the breeze. I wish I would take more time to sit in this garden. Try to bring it back to the glory it once was.

Again, Austin sat there wordless. After a minute he was finally able to type: That's amazing.

AllyCat88: Sorry to get so heavy so soon

Austin quickly replied: I don't mind

AllyCat88: Thanks. Well I need to go to bed. Have to open up the store tomorrow before school.

AllyCat88: Night

*AllyCat88 is now offline*

Austin put his hand under his chin and stared at the computer. "Good night."

Aw! Ain't it so sweet! What do you think will happen next?!

Very special thanks to:

LoveShipper – I hope you loved how Ally gave Austin a second chance! Thanks for your continuing reviews!

Ausllyxaustinally – Maybe you can in the future! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you!

Ross's Juliet – I hope you enjoyed Austin and Ally in this chapter! Thanks for continuing to read my stories!

R5AustinAlly – YAY! I'm so glad you loved it so much! I hope you loved this chapter too!

Also thanks to everyone who favorited and followed! Thank you guys soooo much!

For updates on this and other stories check my profile page, where I will be posting weekly updates! AND also monthly news as well, just so you guys know what's going on and know about my ideas and works (:

Also, check out my other Austin and Ally story: Be My Escape! Which just got 100 reviews! SUPER HAPPY!

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~Spencer