Chapter 2

10 Years Ago and 1 Week Later

She Moves In

10 Years Ago

Ask Ally out? No problem. Ask Ally to move in? HUGE deal. What if she says no? What if she breaks up with me? What i-

"Dude, she won't break up with you. And stop thinking of the 'what if's'. Think of 'when'."

How did he know what I was thinking of?

"How did you not know? I hear you. You're talking out loud."

I'm stupid

"Yes, you are."

Stupid Dez.

"I am stupid. Thank you."

Aaargh.

"You know it's fun to annoy you?"

No, I don't. It's not.

"Yes, it is."

Quit it, Dez.

"Why should I?"

Bye.

10 minutes later

"Austin, are you ok? The last time you did this, you asked me out. Are you breaking up with me?" Ally started to get tears in her eyes.

"No, of course not! I love you!"

"Aww. I love you, too!"

"Ally, will you move in with me? We are, after all, 19. Will you?"

"Of course!"

1 week later

I am angry. I made dinner when she first came. She was busy. I made her dinner all week. SHE WAS BUSY! Right now, she chooses to come home. Great!

"Look who's finally home." venom dripping from every word. " 'I'm sorry, I'm too busy to have dinner with you!' " I say in a falsetto voice. It doesn't sound like Ally, but I'm too angry to care. I just realized that this could be our biggest fight.

"Are you saying I'm never home? That I never do anything?" She's about to blow. "Are you saying that I'm useless? Because I'm not! Who cleans here, who writes your songs, who was the reason Team Austin made THE Austin Monica Moon famous?" I cringe at Monica. I hated that name.

"Well who is the one who made dinner for you a week in a row? Who is the one who makes all the money? Who's the inspiration of the songwriter? Who's the most important person in Team Austin?" She gasps at the last question.

"If you are the most important person in Team Austin, why do you bother with Trish, Dez, and I? Are WE useless to Team Austin, oh Royal Highness? If we are just for show, I'm leaving! Goodbye and good luck explaining THIS to the other half of Team Austin!" She hissed and slammed the door.

I guess I really did it this time. I left myself in my war path. I lost my balance on a tightrope. I'm losing my mind tryi- Wait, this isn't the time to be quoting songs with my life, especially not Taylor Swift. I blame Ally.

I sit in remorse. I miss Ally. I need her back. Where would she go? Of course, the mall pond! That's where she goes after all our fights! Maybe I'll get some ice cream!

20 minutes later

Nope, not there. The ice cream melted. Naw, I ate it. I do kinda feel bad. It was supposed to be for Ally. Maybe Trish's place! I better buy a basket of pickles. Pickles are still her favorite, I hope. Well, I only missed out on 1 week. I have a lot of begging to do. I already miss her. A lot. Trish lives on the other side of the city. No traffic now, so that would be…15 minutes? Oh well. Maybe.

25 minutes later

I was right! Woohoo! I got it right! Almost. Yeah. Eh. If I don't apologize now, I never will. I need the adrenaline rush. Ok, here we go. As I walk in, Trish and Dez are on the couch and they, in unison, scream "HE WHAT?!" Ally looks at me from a chair and says "Shouldn't you be finding your own gigs and making a music video for your new song you wrote?"

"Ally, Trish, Dez, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that! Please forgive me?"

15 minutes later

Yeah, I turned on the Austin Moon charm and they came crawling back to me. OK! They took 15 minutes, but they were convinced. Aw, who am I kidding, I begged on my knees! I'm pathetic.

What did I ever do to fate?