"The fact that she has you," I whisper.
"What?" he asks.
"I'd better get home," I tell Austin starting to stand up.
"Wait, Ally," Austin says. I sit back down. He kisses me and I kiss him back. He pulls away first.
"I really need to go," I tell him quietly. I jump up and run out of the library. I run to my house as fast as I can and up to my room. I lock my door behind me so my dad can't come in. I walk across the room to my bed side table. I grab a pen and notepad out of it.
Things To Tell Trish:
1. I had my first kiss.
2. Austin kissed me.
'Why are those two separate? Was he your first kiss or not?' she'll ask me.
Wait a minute. I have a notepad. Why haven't I been using this to write down lyrics? I write down the lyrics I thought of today in the library. It just doesn't feel the same…
But it'll have to do for now. Just until my dad gives me my songbook back… and my keyboard… I just sit there for a few minutes. Then I sigh and stretch out on my bed. Now I can think about what just happened.
Austin kissed me. Why? I don't know. Oh no, his girlfriend if going to kill me. But… Ashley wasn't there… He'll end up telling her… maybe. Or maybe he'll—
I'm cut off mid-thought by a tapping sound on my window. I'm on the second floor though. No one can knock on my window… not with their hand at least…
I stand up and draw back my curtains. Yep, just as I thought. Austin's sitting at his window with a handful of pebbles. Well, I don't want to talk to him. He messed up the plan.
He wasn't supposed to kiss me. He was supposed to get jealous and break up with Ashley. Now what am I supposed to do? I can't deal with this right now. I close my curtains and turn around. He continues throwing the pebbles at my window. I bear it for a few seconds before it becomes aggravating. Finally, I jerk my window up.
"Stop throwing pebbles at my window!" I yell at him.
"Then just talk to me, Ally!" he begs.
"I don't want to talk to you," I say.
"I didn't mean to kiss you," he tells me.
"That makes sense because plenty of people accidentally fall on other people's lips all the time," I say sarcastically.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant… I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm sorry," he tells me. I don't want to hear it. I shut my window and close the curtains. Again, he throws the pebbles at it. I walk downstairs and back to town.
"Dez, I need to tell you something," I say walking up to him outside of the bakery. He's sitting at one of the tables outside of it. I sit down beside him.
"What do you need to tell me? That I'm an amazing kisser?" he asks cockily taking a bite out of his cupcake.
"No… just—no. If I tell you this, you cannot tell Ashley, got it?" I ask. He pretends to zip his lips shut. "Okay, Austin kissed me."
"What?!" he exclaims standing up. His cupcake flies out of his hand and lands on his head but he doesn't seem to notice. He stands up and walks away.
"Where are you going?" I ask. He doesn't answer. I stand up and follow him. He walks to my house—wait, no. He passes my house and goes to Austin's.
"Dez, what are you doing?" I ask. He still doesn't answer. I can't catch up to him. His legs are too fast. He walks straight into Austin's house.
"Hello, Dez," Mimi says.
"Hi, Mrs. Moon," Dez says walking past her.
"Hi, Mimi," I say passing her too. I follow Dez up to Austin's room. He pushes the door open and Austin jumps.
"Ally? I thought you were—" –he points out the window "—but now you're… How?" he asks.
"Dude, you kissed my girlfriend. That is not cool!" Dez yells at him. Austin looks at me. I grab Dez's arm.
"Dez, don't you remember?" I ask him quietly so Austin won't hear. He nods as if he remembers.
"So what are we doing here?" he asks me. I roll my eyes.
"Sorry for wasting your time, Austin. We'll leave you alone," I say pulling Dez to the door.
"Wait, Ally, can we talk?" he asks. I sigh.
"Fine. Just let me talk to Dez outside for a second," I tell him. I drag Dez into the hallway outside of Austin's room and close the door.
"Dez, we are not really together. Remember that at all times. Got it?" I ask.
"Got it!" he exclaims to me running down the stairs. I slowly turn the knob to Austin's room and walk back inside. I sit down beside him on his bed. I look out his window to my house while he talks.
"Okay, Ally, I'm really, really extremely sorry for kissing you. Now I know that you and Dez really are together and—"
The rest of his words are blocked out by what I see in my house. There's a man standing at my window. And he isn't my dad. He's staring right at me.
"That's impossible," I whisper.
"I'm serious, Ally. I really am sorry. I—"
"No, not your apology. That's impossible," I tell him expecting him to follow my gaze but he doesn't.
"Ally, I really am sorry," he says.
I take his head in my hands and turn it to my house.
"No, Austin, that is impossible," I repeat.
"Oh my God, someone's in your house, Ally!" he exclaims. Suddenly, the man moves out of the way of the window. Something flies across the room… then something else. I jump up and run out of Austin's house to mine as fast as I can.
"Ally, why are you in such a hurry?" my dad asks. "Oh, hi, Austin." I ignore him and continue up to my room. When I open the door, I see a quick flash of black in the corner then it disappears. My room is a mess.
"I don't understand this at all," I say quietly picking up my sheets and throwing them back on my bed. I sigh.
"What happened in here?" my dad asks.
"Dad, do you believe me about the ghosts now? I was over at Austin's so this couldn't have been my fault!" I exclaim.
"Just clean this up," he tells me leaving my room. I pick up my blanket and throw that on my bed too.
"What's this?" I wonder out loud. I bend down and pick up a small vial of powder. Austin leans over my shoulder to look. I take the top off and smell it. It's an unfamiliar smell to me.
"Austin, what does this smell like to you?" I ask extending it over my shoulder. He takes it from me and sniffs it.
"It smells like… almonds," he tells me.
"Almonds?" I ask. A science lesson flashes into my eyes.
"Cyanide," I whisper.
"Cyanide? What's that?" Austin asks me.
"It's a type of poison. The almond scent is a façade," I explain. He gives me a weird look. "The poison is… like a ninja. It hides, right? Until your guard is down which is when the cyanide is descending inside of you." He still doesn't understand.
"The cyanide is a ninja and the almond smell is a wall that the ninja is hiding behind," I say.
"Ohhh, but why does it do that?" he asks.
"I don't know," I tell him. I take the vial from him, put the top back on, and slip it into my pocket. Austin helps me clean up the rest of my room. It takes about an hour. Everything had been slung out of the drawers and some stuff that I had kept in my bag because I had nowhere else to put them had been slung out too.
"Austin, I'm sorry for being mad about the kiss. I really need someone to protect me and you can't really do that if I'm mad at you," I tell him.
"Is that the only reason you want me for? So I can be your bodyguard?" he asks.
"No, of course not!" I exclaim. "You're a really good friend to me. That was just one of the reasons that I thought of because of the situation that just happened."
"Oh," he says smiling. "Okay."
I thought today was a pretty bad day but the next one was even worse.
I'm sitting at the bakery eating a cupcake with the same flavor that I saw Dez eating yesterday. It's really good.
"Ally, I know you don't like Ashley but this is just crazy!" I hear Austin exclaim behind me. I wipe my lip with a napkin and turn around. Ashley has a black eye.
"What happened to her?" I ask.
"You should know. You did it," Ashley snaps at me.
"Excuse me?" I ask. "I don't remember punching anyone in the eye."
"You don't remember? You told me to stay away from Austin and I told you I wouldn't since he's my boyfriend. Then you punched me!" she exclaims.
"I know what you did," I tell her. I grab her water bottle out of her hand and pour it on her face. The makeup doesn't come off.
"Ally!" Austin exclaims.
"Ow, ow, ow, it burns. Austy, it hurts," she whines.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ally, you really should apologize," Austin tells me.
"I'm not apologizing for anything!" I exclaim.
"Ally! Apologize!" he tells me.
"I did not do it!" I yell at him. I grab my cupcake and storm off. How did she do that? Is she wearing some serious water proof mascara or did she get someone to punch her in the eye? I know I didn't do that unless I sleep walk or something.
I speed walk to my house. The anger just keeps switching back and forth between Austin and I, doesn't it? First, I was mad at Austin because he ditched Dez and me for… Ashley, then he was a little mad/jealous of me "dating" Dez, then I got mad at him for kissing me, and now he's mad at me for something I didn't do!
I walk up to my room casually so my dad won't ask questions. I close my door behind me. I sit down on my bed and take out my make-shift songbook. Lyrics just flow out of me. They aren't what I'm feeling though. I felt these lyrics a few days ago.
You
Got me caught
In all this mess
I guess
We can blame it on the rain
My pain
Is knowing I can't have you
I can't have you
Tell me
Does she
Look at you the way I do?
Try to understand the words you say
And the way you move?
Does she get the same big rush
When you go in for a hug and your cheeks brush?
Tell me am I crazy?
Am I crazy?
I catch my breath
The one you took
The moment you entered the room
My heart
It breaks
At the thought
Of her
Holding you
Does she
Look at you the way I do?
Try to understand the words you say
And the way you move?
Does she get the same big rush
When you go in for a hug and your cheeks brush?
Tell me am I crazy
Or is this more than a crush?
Maybe I'm alone in this
But I find peace in solitude knowing
If I had but just one kiss
This whole room…
Would be glowing
We'd be glowing
We'd be glowing
Does she
Look at you the way I do?
Try to understand the words you say
And the way you move?
Does she get the same big rush
When you go in for a hug
And your cheeks brush?
Tell me am I crazy?
Or is this more than a crush?
Tell me
Does she look at you the way I do?
Try to understand the words you say
And the way you move?
Does she get the same big rush
When you go in for a hug and your cheeks brush?
Tell me am I crazy?
Or is this more than a crush?
This would sound a whole lot better with a piano or keyboard… But I don't have it… I sigh at the thought.
"Ally, I'm going to Steve's. Do not invite Austin over this time. I mean it," he tells me.
"I won't, Dad. I swear on my life," I tell him raising my right hand. I sigh and put my hand down. "Mostly because he's mad at me," I mutter after he leaves my room.
I crawl under my covers and take a nap. That nap is quickly interrupted.
I'm awoken by a screeching sound in my ear. I groan at the noise and sit up. There's a small boy in the corner of my room carving something into my wall.
"Who are you? What are you doing to my wall?" I ask. He looks at me and screams. Then he just disappears. I try to read what he's written but I can't see it from here. I walk over and crouch down.
"Dear God, My mommy is going to kill my daddy. She might even kill me. She tried to kill me once but it didn't work. Please help us both, Love…" I read. He didn't get to sign his name. If he wasn't a ghost, this would be so adorable. I look closer at the carving and realize that this has been here for years. Wait a minute.
The Fitzgerald's didn't have a son. The obituary didn't say anything about a son. Austin didn't say anything about a son. Dez didn't say anything about a son. There was no son dead at the table. Who is this little boy? Maybe this boy was on the next page of the obituary… This mystery just keeps getting more and more confusing. So his mom tried to kill him? What is that supposed to mean?
Was she a mass murderer or something? Or did she only kill her family? So many questions are racing through my mind right now that it gives me a headache. I walk downstairs to look for an aspirin. I open every drawer but can't find it. I walk to my dad's room to look for it. My keyboard is just slapping me in the face. I just need to press one key. So that's what I do. It feels so good to hear the noise. It's relaxing for my headache.
I play the melody I thought of for Blame It On The Rain and my headache is completely gone. I hear the front door close. I run out of my dad's room and close the door quietly. I walk downstairs but I don't see my dad.
"Dad?" I call out. All I hear is my own voice then it's silent.
"Dad?" I ask again. I could have sworn I heard the door close.
"What are you even doing in my house? I know you don't work here. And I know you don't live here," a woman says casually. I turn around and see the woman that tried to kill me.
"I do live here. My dad bought this house about a week ago," I tell her.
"But we still live here," she tells me.
"But you're dead!" I exclaim.
"Dead? You take that back! I am not dead! My husband is dead and that's all!" she yells.
"What about your son?" I ask.
"M-my son?" she asks. "I don't have a son."
"I know you have a son. He was up in my room," I tell her.
"That is his room!" she screams at me angrily. I guess I know her weak spot now: Her son. "Well, unless someone comes over then he has to stay in the basement," she says. Then she acts like she shouldn't have said that.
"What did he mean by you tried to kill him once before?" I ask. The front door opens and she disappears. I still need some answers.
"Ally, I'm back," my dad calls up the stairs. I walk to the kitchen.
"I'm right here, Dad," I tell him laughing. He smiles.
"So guess what Steve gave me?" he asks excitedly digging around in his pocket.
"What'd he give you?" I ask.
"A dime!" he exclaims pulling it out of his pocket.
"Oh… um… exciting," I tell him. I turn around and walk up to my room. I wonder if Austin's home. I open my window. I see him walking around his room. He glances out of his own window at me and closes his curtains. I sigh and close my own.
This is stupid. We've only known each for about two weeks now and we've been mad at each other about four freaking times.
Who is that boy that was carving his note to God on my wall? How can I get Austin to believe me about Ashley's black eye? Who is that boy? How can I get Austin to believe me? Who is that boy? How can I get Austin to believe me? Who is that boy? How can I get Austin to believe me? Who is that boy? How can I get Austin to believe me?
You're going to give yourself another headache, Ally.
I really don't have much to say today because I'm so tired so I'll just say what I always say: Review, my loyal minions! … And Micchir333!
Love, Kenzie