AN: Hi! It's Saturday again! How'd we like Wednesday? I think it was good, I'm continuing with that anyhow:P Thanks for reviewing and continuing to read! Love you all:) This chapter ties up some ends and I think it's pretty cute too, so I hope you all like it! Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I may forget this, like always, but I don't own the show.

Parties & Mistakes

Chapter 26: Ally's POV

"I didn't tell your dad about the suspension," my mom stated as she walked into the living room.

I had been camped out on the couch all day - sweatpants and oversized sweater in tow - alternating between reading, watching TV, and sleeping. A quick glance at my phone told me it was nearly 5 o'clock. Well, there goes my Tuesday.

I watched as my mom threw her black blazer onto one of the arm chairs and plunked her purse down on the kitchen table. I propped myself up on the couch and turned to look at her.

"Why not?" I asked.

She glanced up from her phone to my peering face. "I just figured if we weren't talking about what happened at the hospital, then we probably shouldn't say you got suspended."

"So what are we saying?" I questioned.

"You just didn't feel ready to go back yet."

"But when I go back on Friday for just one day, I'm ready then?"

She rolled her eyes and put her purse down on one of the chairs. "Just work with me, Ally," she laughed.

"Okay," I sighed and plopped back down on the couch.

I flicked through the channels, looking for something remotely interesting to watch. All the daytime talk shows were over, as well as the soup operas. It was getting into that zone between daytime TV and prime time, where nothing was on. As I was scanning through the shows though, my heart stopped. My smiling school picture was in a corner of the screen accompanied with Austin, and Kira's own mugs.

Oh shit, we're on a scandal show.

I sat up straight on the couch, causing pain to shoot down my spine and right side from being in one position for too long. My mom came and plunked down next to me, noticing my odd change of mood. I turned the volume up and subconsciously moved forward.

"Apparently this has been ongoing for quite some time now and the blogosphere has just caught wind of it now!" a man with curly blonde hair in the TMZ boardroom spoke.

A petite brunette woman shook her head. "What are you talking about, Brian? I've been following this on that Kira girls blog for a while now," then she laughed. "That girl majorly lacks credibility!"

"Right?" a girl with a pixie cut exclaimed. "It just seems like something's wrong with her! I mean, how would she know about this abortion thing?"

I swallowed. Oh my God. They knew everything.

"See," the head guy said, leaning against a counter. "I kind of think this is all a publicity stunt. We saw it with Miley Cyrus, the whole no publicity is bad publicity thing? I think 'Team Austin' may have fabricated this whole story."

"Then what was that video from about a month back?" an Asian man asked.

"Probably for publicity too," the head honcho shrugged. "Didn't it end with Kira saying he lost his record deal? That'll disappoint a lot of fans! But it turns out, he still has it, doesn't he? I'm predicting the release of an album in the near future. That or he just decided to have a really ballsy start to his career."

They all laughed then moved onto another story. Our faces disappeared and there was no more mention of us. I still watched the whole show, waiting for some more accusations.

"Ally," my mom said. "It's over."

"I know," I said, still staring at the television. "I just hate that he's big enough that my life is plastered on that screen."

She clucked her tongue. "Well that's something you're going to have to think about if you want a future with him."

"I know," I whispered.

I heard her sigh, then shift. She crossed her legs on the couch and turned to face me. "Okay honey, what happened yesterday? You just came home and closed the door. Do you want to talk about it now?"

I shook my head. "But I feel like you're going to make me talk about it anyway..."

"I am," she said, placing a stray wave behind my ear. "Because you promised you wouldn't keep me in the dark."

I swallowed. What was I to say that she didn't already know? I still felt the same as before, if not worse. I still felt guilty, and angry, and upset. I still didn't know what to make of any of this.

"I have to tell Dad," I spoke. "If I'm promising not to keep you in the dark, I can't keep him in it either."

"And what're you going to tell him?"

"Everything," I sighed. "Well, almost everything. I'll tell him what happened at the hospital and why I got suspended, I just can't keep secrets anymore. It got me into this hole and I can't go any deeper."

My mom nodded and placed her hand on my knee. "You can tell him keeping it secret was my idea, Ally. I don't mind. I just don't want you to take on too much."

"I know," I mumbled for the umpteenth time. "I know everything I have to do; I knew everything I had to do... I just apparently can't do it."

Her lips quirked and she laughed lightly. "It's always easier to say something than actually do it."

I let out a chuff of air. I felt like I'd had this conversation a million times in my life. The actions around this whole situation didn't feel new anymore. It was something I had grown used to and that still terrified me. I was just going through the motions, pretending like things could be normal.

But that's the whole deal. Nothing can ever go back to how it was. Nothing can ever be the same.

"I hate my life right now," I whispered. Tears began to dribble down my cheeks, something that was just another motion in this situation. "Am I ever going to feel okay again?"

My mom pursed her lips. I knew she hated it when I cried, especially over this. She didn't want to see me like this, but there was no way around it. I brushed her hand off my knee and curled my legs up, resting my head in the space between. There was protest from my right side. An ever present reminder that nothing could ever be normal.

"Oh sweetie," my mom murmured. I felt her weight shift off of the couch and shuffle into the kitchen. She tinkered around for a bit, moving utensils, running water, and slamming cupboards. I heard the kettle come to a hissing boil and she returned.

A steaming, whipped cream and chocolate sauce topped mug was placed before me. From the overwhelming sweet smell I knew what it was. It was my moms special hot chocolate. She came up with the recipe around Christmastime when I was 5. Along with being the drink of choice on Christmas Eve, she produces it whenever I felt stressed or down.

I bent to pick up the red and green elf mug, resting it between my knees. The heat soothed me in a way, the aroma comforting me with memories.

"Thank you," I spoke, taking a sip from the mug.

"You're welcome," she laughed wiping the whipped cream mustache from my face. "I can't tell you when it'll ever feel perfectly fine for you, Ally. But I know it'll happen. You'll find your way out of this slump because I know how strong you are. I'm willing to do anything to make you feel whole again."

"I don't know what that is," I mumbled, fingering the designs on the mug.

My mom sighed and took a sip of the tea she had made for herself. "Do you want to talk to somebody?"

"Like who?"

There was a giant part of me that did want to talk to a professional. They'd know how to deal with this grief a lot better than I did. But at the same time, I didn't want to involve anyone else in my problems. My level of pride would definitely hurt if I went to a therapist.

"Like your Aunt Kristin or a therapist."

I shook my head and closed my eyes. The remaining tears fell at that point, making lines down my cheeks. What else can I afford to lose?

"I don't know," I stumbled out. "I don't know how I'd talk to Kristin about this, let alone a therapist."

"Alright," she said, placing her tea back on the table. "Baby steps right? Kristin will be at Christmas dinner, you can talk to her then if you want, but if not I'm always here."

"Okay," I gave her a wry smile and she moved from the couch.

She walked over to the table and plucked her phone from the spot she had left it. Her features turned into a mask of concentration as she looked down at her messages. I assumed that meant she had gone back to work.

I sighed and picked at stray threads on my dark grey sweatpants. Laughter droned on from the television. A laugh track infused comedy had come on after TMZ. Maybe a good laugh was what I needed. It was definitely what I needed, but I felt too detached to make myself actually watch it.

I returned to picking threads on my pants. I bent forward and shoved my Christmas mug onto the table. What was I going to do with myself?

"Al," my mom said, pulling her legs under her as she sat down on the leather couch. "Can you explain this email to me, please?"

She held her phone out to me and I eventually grabbed it. The email was dated yesterday; the sender, Principal Vanderhouse.

It was a vague overview of the suspension, coupled with some condemning words on what I had done with my pregnancy. She had suggested I get some counseling due to this 'rash and morally wrong' action.

I stared at the email, mouth agape. This was just as bad as Kira's judgement.

"Why does your principal think you had an abortion?"

I threw the phone to the middle of the couch. I wanted nothing to do with this stupid situation anymore. My mom stared down at her phone - screen faded to black - then back to me.

I shook my head and let out the slightest little snicker. "It's this whole Kira thing."

"What'd she do this time?"

I snatched my phone from the coffee table, scrolling through Facebook until I got to the picture I had recently been tagged in. I turned it to my mom. Someone had taken a picture of the bulletin board - photos and note included.

"Because she has pictorial proof! Obviously I got an abortion because I'm on the pregnancy ward. It's the only logical answer!" I rolled my eyes. Everything this girl did was a joke. "But wait, there's more!"

I yanked my phone back in a burst of anger and typed in Kira's blog address. Her last few posts had been about the suspension, me, and Austin. I was at the point where seeing all of this gave me an odd sense of satisfaction. All of this was so big to her that she needed to go on and on and on. But along with that satisfaction came rage and guilt all over again.

The fact that I had caused all of this was just mind blowing. What a stupid little girl...

"She's blogging about you?" my mom asked when I showed her the website.

I nodded. "Well that's what TMZ said, isn't it?"

"I don't understand this..." she shook her head, lines drawn on her forehead in confusion. "Why were you suspended?"

"Kira put that note on the board yesterday with pictures from the day Trish took me to the hospital..." I paused, thinking of how that day could have turned out dramatically different. "She got the whole school to believe I had an abortion, which couldn't be further from the truth. It literally eats me up inside that that's the lie she came up with. I mean, that's what my body did itself, isn't it?"

My voice broke and my mom reached out to me. I couldn't allow her to offer me any form of comfort, though. If she said it was okay, or it wasn't my fault - I wouldn't be able to continue.

"Don't," I swallowed, and she took her hand back. "We all got called down to the office, because 3 notes is the third strike apparently. Principal Vanderhouse was pissed and she was so judgmental towards me. She flipped the pictures of her children away from me as if I would kill them with my brain power. God, they looked like little baby Austin's."

"Ally," my mom said, eyebrows furrowed in sadness. She reached out to me again, rubbing small circles on my back.

"And she gave us a warning," I sniffed, trying to move passed my grief. "She told us to go back to class but Kira wasn't having any of it. We got into the hallway and she finally confronted me. Something in me just snapped. After all the notes and rumours and names swirling around, I just couldn't take it. Everyone was yelling and I just slapped her in the face. I've never done that to anyone in my life. I had no idea I could even do that... Honestly, I'm just glad it wasn't Austin who hit her."

"You're my daughter for sure - feisty," she laughed. "I probably would've hit her too. So that's why you were suspended?"

"No," I shook my head. "Only Mr. Fairfield saw me hit her and he took my side too."

"That doesn't happen all that often," she muttered.

"We were suspended because of all the noise we made in the hall. It disrupted classes or something - which it did - and that was the last straw. She suspended us and Kira was pissed and I was just in shock, I guess. I..."

What was bugging me the most, was what I had said to Austin. I saw his face. I saw how much I had hurt him.

But did he know how much all of this had hurt me? How his celebrity was what put the lock in the coffin? How all of this was just absolute hell?

"I basically told Austin that I hated him."

"Oh Ally," my mom moaned, enveloping me into her arms. "Oh honey."

"I don't," I mumbled into her chest. "I really wish I did after all of this, but... I can't hate him. Everything that's happened I find myself blaming him and I don't know why. I just blame him and blame him but I've fallen for him all the same."

"Well honey," my mom spoke, brushing through my hair with her fingers. "That's love for you."

"I don't like it."

She laughed softly. "Not at this point you don't. You'll have those moments, but you'll also have glorious, wondrous, fire igniting moments. You just need to let the boy in."

"What?" I sniffed, pulling away so I could look at her face.

"Both of you are hurting right now, but neither of you are talking. You need to let him in. You need to explain yourself and talk things through. I have every faith in you that this'll turn out right, you just -"

There were four periodic knocks on the door. I untangled myself from my mom and she slowly got off the couch.

"This better not be that Jehovah's Witness 'Let the Lord in!' woman again!" she said, heading into the front hall.

I laughed. This woman had been combing our neighbourhood for weeks, it was starting to get just a little bit crazy. "Just hope that it's carollers!" I yelled back.

"Hey," I heard her say as the door swung open. "Are you hear to sing us some carols?"

I heard awkward laughter and the door slam shut. Shoes were shed, along with coats on the banister. Pleasantries with whoever the woman was, but it sounded like more than just their feet. My mom's face appeared around the corner, an ironic smile on her lips.

"Hey Al," she smirked. "Speak of the devil, right?"

I opened my mouth to question as Austin and his mother appeared. My breath was taken from me and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, a hopeful yet hesitant expression laid on Austin's face.

I looked down at my hands then pushed myself off the couch. I winced slightly, but smiled through the pain. "Do you want to go talk?"

AN: Leaving on a cliffhanger again! But hey, at least you don't have to wait too long now:P Drop me a review!