Derailed Chapter 3

. . .

School started and they fell into familiar patterns. Austin and Ally's 8th grade class schedules were really different and they only had history together. One or two nights a week when Austin didn't have basketball practice he would come over to Ally's and they did homework together.

One night late in September Austin was over and they sat at her kitchen table studying. Austin sat at the head of table with Ally is to his left and they were both absorbed in their work. He eventually let his mind stray to his upcoming 14th birthday and the new skateboard he wanted. That was when he noticed Ally fidgeting, twitching uncomfortably, and then she reached up to pull at something on her shoulder. The neckline on her baggy shirt shifted and he saw her bra strap. He froze, staring, and Ally looked up at him.

"Austin? What's wrong?" she waved a hand in front of his face.

He swallowed hard and pointed at her. "You, . . . when did you get that?" he asked.

She looked confused until he reached out and pulled at her neckline, shifting it an inch, revealing the strap. The second his fingers touched it he pulled back like he was burned. Ally's face turned red and she tugged at the large shirt nervously to put it back in place, pulling her hair over her shoulders as well and effectively hiding her form again.

"Please don't make fun." She pleaded.

"I'm not. . . it's just. . . how? When?" Austin sputtered.

"It's totally normal okay?" she snapped. "Just because I'm one of the last in our class doesn't mean you have to tease me." She picked up one of her books, holding it against her chest as she glared at the table.

Austin was completely surprised. "Ally, calm down. I just didn't notice before. It surprised me. Why are you so mad?"

Ally huffed and her eyes swam with tears that she tried to blink away. "Sorry. I just don't want you to look at me different too."

"What do you mean?"

Ally swiped at her eyes and finally looked up at him. "Who was the first girl in our grade to get a bra?" she asked.

"Stacy Harrison." Austin answered.

"Yeah. Everyone knows that. All the guys look at and treat her differently. But tell me this: what color are her eyes? Her hair?" Ally challenged.

Austin scoffed. "She's . . . her hair is darker than mine and lighter than yours, what do you call that? And I don't know her eye color, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It means guys our age stopped looking high enough to know the answers to those questions. And being looked at like that makes me uncomfortable." Ally hugged the book tighter to her body.

"Yeah, but you aren't like Stacy. I mean, she wears those tight little shirts and shows off how she changed. You don't do that. And come on, guys are supposed to like the way girls are shaped: it's kind of in our DNA and stuff so we can't help looking." Austin said. He tried to get Ally to look at him and failed. "As if you never check out the guy's muscles in gym class."

Ally's eyes snapped up to his and he smirked, folding his arms over his chest triumphantly.

"See? It goes both ways Miss Dawson." He laughed lightly. "It's what keeps us guys up late at night doing push ups all the time. We want muscles to get girl's attention."

"Yeah, but you can control that. This just happens to us and we have no control how much or how little they grow or when and we get judged on that."

"Ally." Austin leaned forward on the table, holding her gaze. "I know that your eyes are this amazing brown color and you have really soft and pretty brown hair. I'm not going to forget that just because we go through puberty. Relax."

Ally sighed. "I know you know. It's the others that I worry about."

"Why? You weren't freaked out about this last week." Austin asked.

Ally hesitated and Austin raised his eyebrows curiously, waiting

She sighed and then relented. "It was in gym class yesterday. We were playing dodge ball and we were all running around and Ethan started to trip and reached out to stop his fall. I was passing him and he, kind of, grabbed one. And then he looked at me like, I don't know, with this creepy smile. And then he and his friends were talking and laughing after and they kept looking at me, and it was just humiliating!" Ally explained quickly, dropping her head onto the table when she finished.

"You mean he grabbed your . . . like, he felt you up?" Austin asked in shock.

Ally nodded her head, bouncing it against the table top. "I know it was an accident. Well, I hope it was, but it hurt. And then he and his friends kept laughing."

Austin reached out and rubbed Ally's shoulder and back soothingly. It was strange to feel the straps of her new underwear underneath her shirt, but he tried not to think too much about that. "You know what? I don't think you should be upset. I'm pretty sure he and his friends weren't laughing to make fun of you. He was probably excited about what happened and it just. . ." Austin chuckled. "I'm betting he's pretty happy about the whole thing right now and was bragging to his friends."

"What?" She lifted her head to look at him.

"It's just the biggest dream of pretty much all guys my age to touch a girl's, you know, and even if it happens by accident, that's a huge deal for a guy. So you just made his day." Austin said.

Ally groaned. "Great."

"Listen, if it will make you feel better I can talk to him and make sure he leaves you alone." Austin offered.

"No! Don't talk to him or anyone else about my, . . . um, . . . chest. That's just. . . ugh, this keeps getting worse and worse!" she dropped her head to the table again.

"Okay. But seriously, tell me if anyone messes with you. I'm your friend and it's my job to watch out for you." Austin said.

Ally nodded her head against the table in agreement.

"So, Mr. Nelson totally sucks as our science teacher this year, am I right?" Austin changed the subject. They had the same teacher during different periods for science. Very soon, to his great relief, Ally went back to her normal self as they worked on their homework. With her acting normal again he was almost able to ignore the fact that her body changing mattered to him and he wished he was Ethan yesterday. Almost.

. . . .

A little over a month later Ally was over at Austin's house. He finished his homework faster than she did and he was bored. While she was busy with a math problem and not paying attention, he stealthily reached into her backpack and slid out the leather journal she carried everywhere with her these days. He stood up to get a drink and stood at the counter behind Ally where he finally opened the mysterious book.

He knew it was a present from her mom for her 13th birthday last February, but she had kept it private and wouldn't ever let him touch it. Of course that just made him want to get at it more. Now he finally had it and he had to stop himself from cheering out loud. He quietly flipped through a few pages and saw a variety of things. It was full of lined pages and from what he could tell she used it as a journal. He didn't exactly read any of the entries, but caught glimpses of familiar names: Austin, Dez, Trish, Elliott, her parents.

He also found pages filled with words, some written fast and sloppy, others with a lot of cross-outs and corrections and they looked a little like poetry or something. As he scanned quickly through the pages he also noticed a few with musical notes, pages filled with measures of music. He stopped at one of the pages which held music with words paired to the notes. Was Ally writing songs?

He was just getting excited when he heard Ally's chair slide from under the table. Austin looked up in time to see Ally stand and catch him. Her eyes widened when she saw the book in his hands and then she got mad.

"I told you not to touch that!" she said as she rushed at him, reaching for her book.

Austin dodged and moved around the counter and out of her reach, holding the book high with one finger marking the page with the song.

"Do you write songs?" he asked.

Ally ran toward him again and he put the table between them so he could stay out of her reach. She began to move and he circled the table, keeping the distance between them the same always.

"Give it back! I told you never to touch my book!" Ally yelled at him.

"I didn't read anything. But I found a song."

"It's mine."

"Did you write it?" he asked again.

"Austin please." she began to beg since her pursuit was doing nothing for her.

"I dance in my room so no one knows about it." he blurted out.

"What?" Ally stopped, confused by his confession.

"I like to dance, but I didn't want anyone to know. I've been practicing, learning some routines I found online." he explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"So you'll answer my question. I told you something no one else knows about me. So, do you write songs?" he asked again.

Ally sighed. "Yes. But I don't want anyone to see them or know about it."

"I'll keep your secret if you keep mine." he offered.

"Deal." she agreed.

Austin smiled as he lowered the book and opened it back up to the song. "Can you figure out the guitar chords? Cuz then I could play it . . . oof." he said as she rounded the table and tackled him from the side. He stumbled, pulling her along since her arms were wrapped around his middle and they crashed into the back of the couch. He barely lifted the book out of her reach in time as she tried to snatch it from his hands. With his free hand he pushed her back onto her feet and stood up to his full height. Ally reached toward his raised hand with her book but it was no use. He was half a foot taller than her now and only seemed to grow taller each day.

"I thought we had a peace treaty." he complained.

"I agreed not to tell anyone about the dancing. I didn't say you could read my book!" Ally said and jumped for it but missed.

Austin laughed at her sad jumping skills. "You'd never make the basketball team." he said, shaking his head.

"It's a good thing I don't care about sports then. Basketball is your thing. Now please give it back." she hoped changing tactics would help and her sweetness would win him over.

"No way. Not until you sing this song for me." he said.

"Austin." Ally whined.

"Ally." he echoed her whiny tone teasingly.

"I don't sing in front of anyone, not even my dad." she said.

"But I'm your best friend." he said. "and besides, you've sung to me before."

"You've never danced in front of me." she pointed out.

"Okay, another trade: I'll show you my sweet moves if you sing this for me." he said.

Ally considered him for a minute. "You swear not to make fun or tell anyone?"

"I swear." he said solemnly and handed her the book.

"Okay. You first." she said.

"But then you won't."

"I will." she promised.

"Alright, but if you back out, you are in serious trouble." he said, pointing at her and trying to look stern.

Ally giggled because he just looked like a disgruntled puppy but nodded her understanding.

Austin shoved the kitchen table over a bit, clearing a larger floor space for himself and Ally helped with the chairs. He picked up his phone from the table and started some music. He nodded his head with the beat and then started moving. Ally's jaw dropped immediately as she watched him do some complicated footwork and spins. He stopped when the song ended and grinned at her breathless.

"I've been trying out some flips too but I need more space than this." he told her.

"Wow." Ally said.

He smiled shyly at her. "It wasn't too bad, right?"

"No. You are really good! How long have you been dancing?" she asked.

"A while." he said with a shrug. "Alright, your turn."

Ally paled slightly but then said. "Get your guitar."

Austin ran up to his room and brought the guitar back. He returned the table to its normal place and they sat down in chairs, Austin facing Ally with his as she got settled with the accoustic guitar on her lap. She glanced at him nervously a few times as she did this, strumming experimentally on the guitar.

Finally she closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. Her face grew calm and her fingers formed the chords easily. Soft music filled the room and then she began to sing.

.

"I'm the girl in the corner of the room

The one you never notice

getting lost among the stars in the sky

like a picture out of focus.

.

I'm the sun in your eyes yet you don't see me

I wear no disguise but you don't see me

I'm a total surprise and you don't see me

I'm so agonized that you don't see me. . .

.

When Ally finished the song she dared to look at Austin again.

"You're amazing." he said.

Ally blushed.

"And you wrote the whole thing yourself? Music and words?" He asked.

"Yes." she admitted.

"You ought to share this Ally. You're really good." he said.

She shook her head. "You know what happened last time I sang in front of people."

Austin's forehead creased as he tried to remember. "What?"

"Tilly." Ally said.

"Oh, right: the butterfly song - how could I forget? You wrote that too, way back when we were 8 and it was good." he said, remembering.

"So you know why I'm scared to sing for anyone else." she said.

"Sure, but maybe we can change that. And if anyone teases you, I'll be right there by your side." Austin said.

A door opened on the other side of the kitchen and Austin's mom walked in carrying grocery bags. Ally quickly handed the guitar to Austin and turned back to her open math book on the table.

"Hey kids. Is your homework done Austin? You know you can't play music until it is." Mimi said, noting the guitar in Austin's hands.

"It's done." he assured his mom. He noticed Ally's special book sitting on the table near him and slid it toward Ally. She gave him a grateful smile and placed the book in her backpack before she started gathering the rest of her things.

"I better get home. Dad will be home soon for his dinner break." Ally said, shouldering her backpack.

"See you tomorrow." Austin said as she walked out the back door and crossed into her yard next door.

. . .

Over Christmas break during 8th grade Austin divided his time between Dez and Ally. Dez got a bunch of new camera equipment for Christmas and the two 14 year olds had a great time finding things to film and ways to goof off. When Ally wasn't being passed between her parents she was often at Austin's house where they now spent a good deal of time playing music together. Ally had given in and shown Austin another song she wrote. He was determined to learn them on guitar and offered to accompany her if she ever decided to sing for anyone else. Austin also wanted to try writing a song himself, but it didn't go well and Ally agreed to help him. Together they wrote two songs that fit Austin's style before school started up again.

During the second half of the school year Austin and Ally were almost inseparable. Every weekend Ally went to his basketball games to cheer him on, and after that they would hang out at her house making music. She played piano while he continued to perfect his guitar playing. And they both sang. Austin had been reluctant at first but he had natural talent and they agreed that their voices blended nicely. So when no parents were around to hear, they made music.

A month or so after Ally turned 14 the school announced a talent show to be held before the end of the year. Austin begged Ally to sing with him but she was still scared. Instead she suggested that he sing one of the songs they wrote together and dance. He wasn't scared of the spotlight like she was, being a star basketball player for several years now.

Austin agreed to the plan but was still disappointed that Ally wouldn't perform with him. The day of the talent show he took the stage to pre-recorded music Ally made for him. He sang and danced while Dez filmed everything. The crowd went crazy for it and Austin had even more attention than usual at school after that.

Dez put the video up online with his other film experiments and it quickly went viral. Soon people everywhere knew the name Austin Moon and were singing his song. Ally didn't want any of the attention and asked Austin not to mention her, but he wanted to give her credit for writing the song. Dez had already posted that information with the original video anyway, citing Ally Dawson as composer and lyricist for the song. Kids all over school were treating Austin and Ally differently now and Ally was teased less since she was associated with Austin's overnight stardom. Trish encouraged them to post more songs if they had any to keep Austin popular. She put the idea of becoming a star into Austin's head and he liked it.

The four teens went to work. Austin and Ally worked on songs while Dez planned videos and Trish tried to get Austin a few chances to perform live. He loved the audience reaction he got at the school talent show. Sure, the attention the video received was great, but he liked the direct contact with people and hearing them scream for him.

Because of school and homework, Austin only put two more songs online after the first. Then summer break came and he had more time. He took advantage of it and monopolized a lot of Ally's time. Not that she was complaining. She had always enjoyed music and the moments she found to write her own songs had been some of her favorite times. But now, sharing that music with Austin and being pushed by him to expand her talents and try new things, she was incredibly happy.

And people liked their music. Austin's popularity only grew and the summer between 8th and 9th grade he was approached by a record producer. Austin's parents were worried that he was too young, but Jimmy Starr was a reasonable man and worked out a contract that both Austin and his parents were happy with. One of Austin's few demands was that he keep working with Ally to write songs. The producer had no problem with this since she was behind all of his successful songs so far. Austin wanted to share everything with Ally and she was recognized and reimbursed for the songs.

Because of Austin and how busy they were writing music, Ally didn't go to her craft camp that summer. She didn't even mind that much though, because she was having a great time with her best friends. That summer she also exchanged her glasses for contacts which helped a bit with her self esteem. Especially when she caught Austin staring at her during their songwriting sessions.

. . .

Awww, they are growing up! What do you think? Did you like this chapter?