AN: Hey guys, I'm back! Thanks to everyone who wished me a great trip, it was a lot of fun! And for those of you who asked, it was a little trip away with some friends to a cottage. Kind of like an "It's the beginning of summer and we survived school, so let's party" trip. Also thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter, as you know I love those little things. They pretty much make my day and I don't care how lame that makes me haha. I'm also loving the theories in the reviews and private messages that I'm getting. Good to know people are so involved! Thanks for the love and involvement!

So, here we are at the halfway point! Chapter 15, wow, oh, wow. Definitely didn't think I'd get here, but I'm grateful I did! This chapter is a little bit longer (like it may be double the size of most), though I think it's still good. It's up to my standards haha! So, Read, Review, and Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Austin or Ally! Also if you're offended by a tiny little dwarf joke, I apologize.

Parties & Mistakes

Chapter 15: Ally's POV

"So what're you wearing?" Trish asked, fingering the items in my closet.

"I don't have a clue," I said, raising my head from my pillow. I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, as Trish flitted around my room. She was searching for makeup, clothes, accessories, and necessities for my date with Austin.

"Where's he taking you again?"

"Some dinner theatre place."

"You sound so enthused," she laughed, pulling a gem encrusted blouse from my closet.

I raised my eyebrows at the outfit. When did I buy that anyway? "No, just tired."

"You've been so rundown this week," she mused.

I nodded. I wasn't about to disagree with that. I'd basically worried myself to the point of sickness. Gotten myself so worked up over nothing.

"Okay," Trish jumped to the foot of the bed. "How bout this?"

I sat up and stared. She'd pulled out a white, anchor patterned maxi dress and a blue scarf-like shall. I twitched my mouth from left to right... Hmmm..

"No," I decided. "I'm short. I don't need to look shorter."

"Why do you own it then?" she asked.

I shrugged and pushed myself off the bed. Trish was still busying herself in my closet, trying to find something remotely interesting. The thing was, Austin had pretty well seen all of my clothes. That's what happens when you see someone. Every. Single. Day. But there was also the fact that I rarely wore jeans, or pants, or shorts. My go to look is a skirt or a dress. A look that a lot of girls would wear out on dates. A look that on me, was nothing special.

"Okay Trish," I said in mid-stride. "We're going for different."

"What?" she paused, holding up a lavender cardigan.

"Dresses don't look special on me anymore, I need something different and wow worthy!"

She blinked at me. "You're kidding right? You look good in everything! And I mean everything. Like I literally have never seen a colour that looks bad on you."

And then inspiration struck. Her eyes grew wide and she snapped her fingers. Trish dug through my closet, discarding clothes left and right. A red sweater landed on the floor, teal shorts plopped on my bed, a grey and white chevron skirt fell onto my head. I pushed away the fabric and Trish reappeared, outfit in hand.

"Ta-da!" she smirked.

Wow. This was it. It was a black dress that was covered in lace and clung tight to my body. It was belted at the waist, similarly in black and hung down to mid-thigh. The dress went up to my neck where triangular cut outs were placed. I remember trying it on and feeling like a Bond girl. A gorgeous, sexy, totally non-Ally, Bond girl. I'd bought it for an Austin event that never panned out and it had laid in my closet ever since.

Trish grinned. "Yeah, I thought so!" she placed the dress gingerly on my bed, swiping away the other discarded clothing. "I was thinking red lips and hair half up? Full on Ally Bond?"

I laughed. "God yes. That sounds perfect!"

A&A

"Ready?" Trish shouted up the stairs to me.

"Trish, I can't go down the stairs in these heels!" I yelled back, holding the wall for support. "I can't walk, period."

"Okay," she called. "We'll switch the shoes! Just come down!"

I sighed and bent down to take off the patent leather black pumps. My bare feet sunk into the plush carpet on my descent down the stairs. Trish had situated my mother at the bottom for my dramatic reveal. I figured it was good she was the only one home, that way my dad wouldn't give Austin the riot act.

Trish smiled as I came around the bend of the staircase. She gave me a thumbs-up as my mom's mouth dropped open. I bit my lip and glanced down at the ground. This was so not me... But I kind of loved it. It felt good to get all dressed up and pretty every once in a while. This was definitely the perfect dress for that.

"Ally!" my mom said "Spin for me!"

I laughed and turned around slowly so she could see my look from every angle. The smoky eyes and red lips. The figure hugging, curve accentuating wonder dress. The hair that Trish had swept to the back of my head in a braided bun, leaving two face framing curled stands of hair in front. All of it put together something that was completely different, yet perfect on me.

"Your Dad is not going to like this," my mom giggled. "You look gorgeous, honey!"

Mom kissed my forehead before running off and grabbing the camera. Trish scurried up the stairs and came back down with a different pair of shoes in hand. They were black lace peep toe booties that looked much more manageable to walk in. Trish placed the booties on the ground and I bent down to put them on my feet. Ah, much better. And they had more support too!

Trish nodded. "We're good," she smiled then snapped her fingers "A coat!"

"Trish," I laughed and turned around to find that my mother had returned. "It's 70 degrees! The most I would need is a sweater!"

"For decoration! Like a lovely little black dress coat."

My mom shrugged and Trish pulled a dress coat out of the closet. "Just hang it over your arm or leave it in the car," my mom said. "Now! Pictures!"

"Mom! This isn't even some huge event! It's just a date, and Austin isn't even here yet!"

"Honey," she rolled her eyes and poised the camera to shoot. "This isn't just some date. It's you and Austin and you know that that's special! If I know that's special and Trish knows its special, then it's special."

"Yeah, just think Ally," Trish said, a devious smirk appearing on her face. "He could be your soulmate!"

I shook my head at her, secretly hoping that maybe that were true. My mom gestured for Trish and I to stand together and we obliged. We grinned and posed in odd ways as the flash snapped. The word smile was said only about a thousand times. But by the end of it, we were a giggling mess.

"Stop you're making my makeup run!" I snickered.

"It's waterproof! It shouldn't be running!" Trish said, inspecting my face. "Nah, you're good. You're tearing up but not running. Just be careful when you rub your eyes."

I wiped away the water and glanced at the clock on the microwave. Austin was picking me up at 6 o'clock so that we'd have leisure time to get to the dinner theatre. Dinner was to be served at 7:00pm sharp, while the show would start at 7:15pm - give or take a few minutes. Either way, my stomach was starting to ache and I was starting to feel nauseas with anticipation.

"You okay?" Trish asked.

I sat down onto the couch crossing one leg over the other. "I just can't believe this is happening."

The doorbell rang and Trish grinned. "Well, believe it sister!"

A&A

"Even though your dad was awesomely supportive about the whole 'me asking you out thing' I'm kind of glad he's not here tonight," Austin said as soon as we were out of the house. I laughed, shuffling into his beat up Mazda. He closed the door behind me and I rearranged my dress.

"What? You think he'd have a problem with us?" I asked him.

Austin plopped into the drivers seat and flashed me a smile. "I don't think he'd want to see his daughter this way."

"You saying I look like a hooker?"

"Well," Austin smirked and shook his head. "If you're a hooker, then you're the most beautiful hooker I've ever seen. But I sincerely hope you aren't a hooker because I will feel very meaningless on this date if you are."

I slapped his shoulder lightly and he snickered. Austin turned the key in the ignition and backed out of my driveway. I couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were permanently stained red and the corners of his mouth were turned up. This boy must be the cutest thing in the world.

"So I'm not too dressed up, am I?"

"No, no. You're perfect," he smiled looking me over once more. I bashfully glanced down into my lap.

"Eyes on the road, Austin," I whispered.

He nodded and looked ahead again, a smirk still present on his lips. He is so cute. I've already fallen for him, but I can literally feel myself falling even harder. How does he do it? His eyes continued to shift from the road to me. Each time we met, we giggled and looked away. It felt like sixth grade all over again. That giddy crush feeling. Oh, I had that.

Austin turned into a parking lot for a bakery and stopped the car. He smiled at me.

"Why are we stopped?"

"Just forgot something," he laughed. "So does your mom take pictures with all your dates?"

"No," I breathed. "Just you. She and Trish think that you're my soulmate."

I braced myself for a bad reaction. Those were kind of scary words for a first date. "Oh," he smirked. "And what if I am?"

I shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Austin laughed and I sensed him coming closer to me. "Is this what you forgot?"

"Maybe," he chuckled. Our lips met in a short, soft, sweet, kiss. We parted a moment later and smiled at each other. "You know, you really are beautiful."

A blush crept onto my cheeks and I turned my gaze downward. I'm in love. I'm so in love. Austin brought his hand beneath my chin and I met his eyes again. There was a spark in his dark brown orbs, a glint of happiness and I definitely felt it too. His lips came onto mine again and I threw my arms around his neck. I gently kicked off my shoes, unbuckled my belt, and climbed onto his lap. He drew his arms around my waist, helping me settle on top on him. Our lips worked together and we kissed like there was no tomorrow. He held me close to him. His hands touched up and down the length of my spine, sending shivers through my body. I worked my hands in knots through his hair as his mouth travelled from mine to my neck. Our breathing was hot and fast, I could feel him tracing lines of kisses on my neck and the exposed area of my collar bone. My hands moved to the buttons on his shirt, bunching and undoing in swift moves. Desire settled in my stomach, I never wanted to let go. I never wanted to stop. Austin's mouth came back to mine and I forced all the passion I was feeling into that kiss. My hands went to his shoulders and he held me there. Our lips smacked together and he playfully bit down on my lower lip. I laughed and kissed him back. He pushed my body flush against him. I felt the little bit of exposed skin of his chest, the calloused musical hands on the back of my thighs, and the soft lips that were under mine. My stomach was doing flip-flops, my heart was on fire, and my head was swimming.

And that's when there was a knock on the window.

"Oh my God!" I jumped.

Waiting on the other side of the window was a smirking young police officer. Austin hastily re-did the buttons of his shirt and rolled down the window.

"Hello kids," the officer drawled. "Having fun?"

"Uhhh," Austin stumbled out.

"Hate to be the party pooper, but you're on public property and it's still light outside. You might want to go elsewhere if 'that' was your intention," he laughed lightly and tipped his hat. "Have a good night."

The officer loped into the bakery and I blinked. Austin laughed as I clambered back into the passenger seat. A blush creeped over my cheeks and Austin wiped my red lipstick off of his.

"Well, now I understand how we did that at Kira's," Austin said, biting back another laugh.

"Oh God, I never expected that to happen. Cops come knocking at the window? That's certainly an interesting way to start a first date."

I glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. It was getting a little late. Maybe this was why Austin had picked me up so early. He rolled up the window, buckled his belt, and started the car. "Time to get a move on! We need to be there for 7 sharp!" he mocked.

I shook my head, giggling and we drove away. I glanced in the passenger side mirror and quickly swiped some red lipstick over my lips again. The world sped past us as we made our way to the dinner theatre. Palm trees, restaurants, houses, teenagers, movie theatres, beach scenes, department stores - they all flew by in a mass of colour as we straightened ourselves, laughed, talked, and made googly eyes at each other.

Eventually we arrived. It seemed as though we were just on time. A security guard was directing traffic in the parking lot. He gestured us to a spot on the left. Austin swung into the space and flashed a smile my way.

"Shall we?" he asked in glorious fanfare.

"We shall!" I replied, opening the door and swinging my legs out. Within a second Austin was on my side, holding a hand out to help me out of the car. "Thank you!" I smiled.

He kept the hold on my hand as we walked towards the entrance. The cuff of his midnight blue dress shirt brushed against my bare wrist. A smile crept onto my lips. Whoever thought we'd get this far? Who thought that we'd actually start going out? Who thought we were ever going to go to a dinner performance? I certainly didn't, but I'm definitely not complaining.

We reached the open glass doors where men in dark grey suits were jovially greeting everyone. The old, jolly men smiled at us and checked the tickets which Austin had pulled out of his shirt pocket. They waved us through, stopping us only to tell me that I looked beautiful - much like they had done with every woman who passed. It made me blush. I'd been to plays before, both on broadway and off, but none had been this welcoming or flattering. This was about to be some cool, new experience.

"Wow," Austin mumbled as a waitress, dressed in 50's era clothing, brought us to our seats.

Tables and chairs were in a giant arch around the stage, set in twos or fours. The deep red curtain was drawn, shielding the backstage from the awaiting viewers. Above our heads was a gorgeous, sparkling chandelier. Lights were strung around too, making it look like stars were floating in the air. There were pillars, and old sconces, draped in ivy and vines. It was as though we were dining in the park.

"This is magical," I whispered, pulling in my chair. Austin sat down next to me, eyes wide.

"I'd heard that it was amazing in here, but wow. It does not disappoint."

I laughed. "So, they're dressed as the 50's... What're we seeing?"

Austin rolled his eyes. "Take a guess."

"Grease?"

He nodded as dinner was announced and brought out. It was - as they had told us - exactly 7 o'clock. They placed classic diner food before us. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Obviously not the most fancy food, but it went perfectly with the show they were about to perform.

"This is so cool!" I mused. I loved the feel of the theatre, the layout of the tables, the aroma of delicious food, the authentic 50's garb to go along with the play they were about to put on. "Do you think they wear different style clothing depending on what show they're doing?"

"They probably do that," Austin replied, taking a giant bite out of his burger. He held back a moan and shut his eyes. "God, that's good!"

"Would you say best burger ever?" I asked, laughing at the pure look of ecstasy on his face.

He took another bite of his burger, swallowed, then grinned. "Talk about gourmet!"

A smirk came across my lips. How did he manage to be cute while eating a burger? I glanced down at my hulking, juicy, burger - nothing had ever looked or smelt this good to me. I brought it up to my lips, staining the bun red with lipstick, and took a huge bite.

"Oh my God! Best thing I've ever tasted!"

Austin smiled, then picked apart his burger. I cocked my head to the side and scrunched up my face. He pulled out a tomato and gestures to me. "You like tomatoes right?"

"You don't?" I asked, surprised.

"Not on my burger," he shook his head.

I nodded and let him place the tomato slice under my bun. Lettuce, pickles, cheese, ketchup - it looks like I didn't have a tomato on mine to begin with.

"Thank you for that," I winked.

Austin took a sip of his milkshake as I chowed down on some fries. This really was a good meal.

Chatter filled the theatre, of people marveling over the decor and the food. It was a sight to see. I was glad that Austin had chosen a place that was so out of the ordinary, yet so us. I bit my lip to hold back a grin. This was perfect. And that is such an understatement. This was beyond perfect. It was me, and Austin, and music, and theatre, and gourmet food, and ambience, and fancy dress, and stars, and ivy. Is it okay to cry over how cute everything is?

"See that guy over there with the hat?" Austin asked, jarring me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Do you think he smuggled a dwarf in with that hat?"

My eyes widened and I laughed, slapping Austin lightly on the arm. The man in question, looked as though he was in his forties and was probably out with his wife. The hat in question was an abnormally large cowboy hat. He more than likely could be hiding something under it.

Austin smirked and took another bite of his burger. I followed suit, biting into my newly tomato clad one. We ate in silence for a few minutes, not wanting to talk while eating food this delicious. But between those beating minutes, I went from giddy, nervous, excited, salivated, and happy - to sick.

My stomach churned and I was suddenly forced to put my burger back on its bedded lettuce plate. I blinked a few times, wondering if this was just my nerves sinking in again. Maybe the exciting, nervous debacle of my first date with Austin was giving me butterflies. But this wasn't butterflies... Does food poisoning act this fast?

"Hey," Austin touched my arm, lines drawn on his face in concern. "Are you okay? You've gone pale."

"What time is it? Maybe I'll just go to the washroom before the show." I replied with no intention to wait for his answer.

I briskly walked to the bathroom, not wanting to risk falling in these shoes. It was easily located at the front of the theatre and luckily there were no lines. Even in my moment of sickness, I was still able to take in the beauty of the room. It seemed entirely marble, as if it were part of a Versailles. There was a fainting couch at the entrance and dark cherry wooden doors to every stall.

I hurriedly scuttled in the last few steps and locked a door behind me. A second later, everything I had consumed during dinner was in the toilet. One of the doors slammed open and shut, heels clicked to the sinks. I rest my head against the cool porcelain and tried to even my breathing.

"Bulimia these days," the woman at the sink spoke.

I laughed in spite of myself. That was such a rude comment! What if I actually had an eating disorder? She was speaking as though it were some fad that young folks love getting swept up into.

"Good luck, sweetheart!" she chimed as she clicked away and out the bathroom door.

I brushed a strand of curled hair away from my face and let out a stream of air. I closed my eyes and reached for the handle to flush. Steadying myself on my feet and making sure that the bout of nausea was gone, I slowly reopened my eyes. The world was no longer shaking. But now, my head was pounding.

I unlocked the door and stalked over to the sinks. Boy, am I pale. I took in a couple even breaths hunched over the sink, willing myself not to cry. I turned on the faucet and placed my cold wet hands at the back of my neck, then splashed water on my cheeks. I grabbed a paper towel and gently dabbed it on my face to be rid of the water and not smudge my makeup.

Breathe.

Breathe.

I bit my lip and threw the paper towel into the trash. There was an awful taste in my mouth, but bending to get a drink of water didn't really appeal to me. I let out a shaky breath and stood on shaky legs, as the decision to go back out there came over me. Just pretend like nothing is wrong. Nothing ever was.

I swallowed back fear, pain, and sickness, then opened the door. On the other side of the ornate washroom, was Austin. He was leaning against the wall directly in front, my small clutch purse in his hand. There was a grimace on his face as I advanced towards him.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, noting that the doors were closing into the auditorium.

"Waiting for you," he managed. "We're going home, Ally."

"What? Why?"

"Because you're sick! Some woman walked out of there asking if I was waiting for the bulimic girl. I -"

"I'm not bulimic," I interrupted.

"I'm not saying you are," Austin murmured, shaking his blonde locks. "You're just sick. I mean, by the way you got up and booked it out of the theatre, I knew something was wrong. That was the kind of immediacy you get when you need to puke."

"Eloquent," I muttered. My gaze turned to the floor. I didn't want to admit to him that I did feel sick. I didn't want to ruin - what could be - our perfect evening.

Austin handed me my bag and put an arm around my shoulder. "Ally, if you're sick and not going to enjoy yourself, then that's fine. You need to look after yourself rather than trying to have the perfect date."

I shook my head and looked into his eyes. "But, you planned all of this out and spent time and money on this. I can't ruin that for you."

"I think it'd be worse if you stayed and got sick during the show. What fun would that be?"

"Okay," I whispered.

He kissed me on the cheek, grabbed my hand again and led me out of the building. I felt flushed. I wasn't sure of it was from Austin, or this oncoming flu I apparently had. Austin opened the red door of his car for me and while I settled, he jokingly wiped his 'germy' hand on his dress pants. He laughed as I shook my head imperceptibly.

"I'm sorry if you get sick," I told him as he sat down in on the drivers seat.

Austin turned the key in the ignition and smirked. "Don't even worry about it. It's just a bug. Besides, I haven't been sick since I was 7, so I'm basically indestructible!"

I smiled, rest my head against the window and closed my eyes.

AN: I re-read my disclaimer up at the top and laughed. What I said wound up seeming like a pun and I totally did not intend that, so my apologizes. Drop me a review please! ;)