Chapter 26

Ally woke up the next morning in a sullen mood. May be it was because of her guilty feelings. Or maybe because of her past mistakes that were coming back to haunt her. Or possibly it was just another mood swing. No, probably not a mood swing.

She groggily opened her eyes and turned her head to face her bedside table where it lay. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. His gift to her. Honestly, her head hurt hopeless like hell. It was only 7:43 AM. Ally groaned and turned herself over to get more sleep.

Suddenly the lights blared on as Trish flipped the switch bathing the room with light. Ally's day along slowly crept away.

"Ally!" Trish called, surely waking her best friend.

"What?" Ally croaked, grumpily.

"Get up," Trish ordered. "It's officially the holiday season! November's past. It's time for décor and all that jazz!"

Ally rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the enthusiasm, but... no." And she turned over to get more shut-eye.

Trish sighed, then mischievously smiled. She got up and closed the light, pulling the door open. "See ya later, Als." Ally grumpily mumbled in response. Trish walked out of the room and grabbed an air horn that sat waiting. Before she entered Ally's room again her phone beeped. She swore under her breath, but unlocked her phone to read the text.

Elliot: 8:30, get Ally here before then.

She quickly typed an 'ok' and looked at the time. It was already 7:46. It'd be a 15 to 20 minute walk because she didn't trust her driving this early in the morning with icy roads. It was just dangerous. Plus Elliot and Austin and Dallas and practically everyone would kill her if she didn't show up with Ally in one piece. She needed to get Ally up and they both needed to get ready. And that didn't give them a lot of time.

She crept into Ally's room and she could hear Ally's soft breathing that she had fallen asleep once again. "Sorry Als," she said, plugging her ears. She was going to wake up the entire apartment compound, but she needed to get Ally up. Or was pitcher of cold water would be better? Nah. She backed up until she was hidden by Ally's bookshelf and blasted the horn.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!

Ally shot straight up in her bed, wakened by a loud blast. She blindly looked around her to see if there was any emergencies only to find Trish slinking out from behind her bookshelf with the source of the blast.

"Trish," she growled so low it seemed menacing.

That scared Trish and usually nothing scared Trish. "Y-yes Ally?" she squeaked.

"Didn't I tell you that I wanted to get more sleep?" Ally asked, totally irritated.

"Um, no?" Trish played dumb.

Ally wasn't amused. "Trish! I'm just so tired from staying up late last night, I need sleep. Please. Can you leave me alone today?"

"No," Trish answered, defiant. "Why were you even up late last night? That's not usually you, well, reading a book is, but not that late into the night."

Ally glanced at the book next to her bedside table. Trish caught that glance. Ally knew Trish had seen and grabbed for the book, but Trish was quicker. "Aha! Wait... what? The Notebook? You stayed up late reading The Notebook?"

Ally prayed that Trish wouldn't open the book to find Austin's decisive notes. "Um, yeah? It's a good book!"

"Fine, you win, but with one condition."

"What?"

"Get up. Let's go shopping! Maybe some coffee at the Lighthouse Book Café? Then more shopping! Oh! We need to decorate this place inside out! Please, Ally?" Trish was desperate to get Ally out of bed. She glanced at the clock. 7:51. Maybe they'd have to skip breakfast...

"Fine. I'm up anyway." But she quickly grabbed the book out of Trish's hands and tucked it safely in her bookshelf. "Let's go."

Finally! Trish thought. "Okay! I don't want to drive, so you have about 15 minutes to get ready."

Ally groaned, but got out of bed.

In less than 20 minutes later they were talking arm in arm down main street of Manchester, Vermont. There wasn't much snowfall, but it was chilly outside. It was officially December, sweater weather season. The cold air stung their faces, but it refreshed Ally. She loved the smell of winter frost.

"Isn't this great?" Trish asked, stealing glances at her phone. 8:07.

Ally nodded. "Yeah, it does. Thanks for getting me out of bed. For some unknown reason, I was feeling so pessimistic this morning. I don't know why, but I was. The nipping air really wakes me up."

"So what's with the book? Was it really that captivating?"

Ally had hoped that Trish would have dropped the subject about the book a while ago, but guess not. Ally sighed and looked up towards the café where they were heading for breakfast. "Hey look!" Ally pointed to Brady and Dallas shouldered with a douglas fir tree about ten feet in height. Ally ran away from the conversation to the guys. "Need help?"

The both nodded as Brady added, "Open the door."

Ally held the doors open as the guys stomped in with the tree, setting it near the counter, where it was visible from all over the café. Trish smiled and walked after them. Ally chuckled and closed the door after all of them. "Putting up the tree, already?"

Dallas nodded. "First of the season."

The four admired the tall fir and took the crisp aroma of the fir tree. Ally had always loved the smell of Christmas trees. They were just... it's just a classic Christmas smell. It's calming and it smells like the holidays.

"I'll be back," Dallas said before jogging back to the store rooms of the café. A minute later, laden with a few boxes, he came back. "Christmas décor," he said, setting them before them. "And you're helping."

"The four of us? That's quite a job," Trish commented. Ally rolled her eyes at her laziness as did Brady.

Dallas also sighed. "I knew you were going to say that. So why not invite some friends? Meaning, I brought back-up."

Trish and Ally opened their mouths to question him when the bell signaled the arrival of people.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Holiday décor personnel at your service!" Cassidy exclaimed.

If Cassidy was here... Ally groaned. She wasn't ready to face him yet. They all turned to the door. "Hey Cassidy!" Ally called, then turned. "Hey Aus- Elliot?!" She looked between Cassidy and Elliot and where their arms were linked. She raised her eyebrows and they quickly pulled away.

Elliot cleared his throat. "Hey everyone. Hey sis."

"Elliot." She still was a bit hurt and angry with him. But things seemed to cooling down. "So... uh, are you two a thing now?"

They both frantically shook their heads. "No! We just arrived at the same time! She slipped on the stairs, so I helped her! We're not a thing!"

"Whoa, defensive," Ally wise-cracked. But she was glad she was able to joke and tease Elliot. It meant their relationship was driving back to normal. Then she looked at Cassidy who was able to read the question in her eyes without Ally having to say it out-loud.

"Dez and Austin are a few doors down," she said. "They needed to pick up a few things Dallas suggested."

Ally sighed with relief. She didn't have to face him yet.

"Well, until then, take a seat!" Dallas said. "The store's closed today. We have the whole day to our disposal." They all laughed, but in Ally's head she was scared out of her wits to when Austin would come. She didn't know what to say or how to act. How could things be normal between them?

Suddenly the bell chimed again, signaling their arrival. "Hey guys! Happy Holidays!"

"Hey you two!" everyone chorused. Dallas ran up and looked into the bags they were carrying. "Did you get it?"

Austin rolled his eyes. "Yes. We got the extra lights and garland and the coffee creams. Happy?"

"Very much," Dallas replied, taking the bags and handing Austin a twenty dollar bill. "Thanks dude."

"And what am I?" Dez quizzed, pointing to himself. "Chopped liver?"

"No, diced tomatoes or carrots. Must be the hair," Cassidy sarcastically quipped brightening the mood entirely.

Ally looked at Austin. She noticed his gaze land her hers, making a second of eye contact, before he looked away. She quickly looked down too.

"Well, take a seat! We have a lot to do!" Dallas suggested. "So why don't Brady and Dez and myself put up the lights? It's a three man job. Cassidy, you can decorate the tables and chairs. Elliot, you can hang garland and place these signs on the glass. Austin, Ally, why don't you two decorate the tree?"

Both Ally and Austin's mouths opened to argue the arrangement of jobs, but everyone already had gotten a move on. They couldn't argue. It was already set.

It was an awkward silence as they walked to the tree where all the ornaments, tinsel, and everything else sat waiting. They needed communication for this to turn out well. But things were a bit rocky between them.

Ally hesitated, but said, "Hey Austin."

He nodded and took in a deep whiff of the tree. "Fir. Smells delightful doesn't it?"

Ally nodded. "Yep. Smells like the holidays!" She awkwardly laughed and when he didn't catch on, she just stopped. "Okay. Let's get this done. So how should we decorate this?"

Austin shrugged. "Up to you. Everything you do is perfect."

Ally blushed and timidly smiled. Wait. What?! She's blushing! Then a memory flashed though her mind and her smiled dropped. "Not everything," she mumbled. "Anyway! So what do you think? I just can't do it all by myself!"

Austin smiled. "Well, let's just decorate and see where we end up."

"That works."

Ally grabbed a package of assorted ornaments as Austin grabbed for the same one. "Oh." Their hands brushed, as Ally pulled hers back. A tingle shot though her, as she recovered and grabbed some fake presents and set them under the tree.

"Here, take it," Austin said, handing her the ornaments. "Didn't mean to..."

Ally shook her head. "No, its okay. I'll put up the garland."

"Cool. But I get to place the angel when we're all done, right?" he asked with an expectant look.

"Um, no. I get to," she teased.

"Ally," Austin whined. "Please, pwetty pwease?"

Ally laughed. "I was just kidding. Sure. Plus you're a whole lot taller than me."

A while later, everything was nearly up on the tree. And not to brush their egos, it looked amazing. It was color balanced with ornaments strategically placed. Ribbons, candy canes, tinsel dotted the tree. Austin plucked a candy cane from the tree and opened the wrapper and popped it into his mouth. Ally looked at the table and picked up the last two ornaments.

Two turtle doves.

"Austin."

He turned with a candy cane sticking out of his mouth. He pulled it out, "Yeah?"

"Here." Ally handed him one turtle dove and continued, "From my favorite scene in all Home Alone movies. The turtle doves."

Austin looked at it. Knowing Ally, it must mean something. Something powerful, something beautiful. "What are they for?" he softly asked.

"They are a symbol of love and friendship. It is supposed to be given to a special person whom you'll be friends forever with. These turtle doves are a sign of promise. That's why I'm giving one to you. They can be on the tree, next to each other, holding the promise of the holder."

Austin smiled. "Okay. Let's." He reached up and placed his turtle dove right next to Ally's. As they hung from the tree, the seemed to give the illusion of two birds to take flight. To be free. Together.

"Pretty," Ally commented, taking a step back. "Austin. Do the honors please."

Austin pulled up a chair, close to the tree and picked up the angel topper. He carefully stood on the chair and gently placed the angel on the top of the tree. Done. It was perfect.

"Amazing, guys!" Dallas said, impressed. "How about some hot chocolate? It'll be prepared in a minute."

They both nodded and followed him to the center where everyone was. They all congratulated them with compliments to how great the tree looked. They thanked everyone and shared a knowing smile.

Dallas came around with a tray of steaming hot chocolate. "One for everyone." Then added, "Austin can you please go to the back and grab a small pack of marshmallows. There wasn't any here."

"Sure," Austin replied walking out back. He returned a minute later with two marshmallow bags.

"I said a bag. One bag. Not two," Dallas said. "Why do you even have two?"

Austin threw a bag to the table, keeping one. Then he looked up, while trying to open the other. He almost seemed amused by Dallas's question. He finally got it open and shrugged. "Ammo."

Everyone looked at him, while trying to figure out what he had meant.

Austin smirked and grabbed a handful of those fluffy delicious treats and threw them at his friends. The girls squealed. One hit Ally in the face. "Oh, its on!" Ally grabbed the other bag, ripping it open, throwing a handful at Austin. He squealed like a girl, hit after hit. Everyone laughed. But Ally immediately ran out of 'ammo'. She looked down at the empty bag then at Austin who was taunting her, throwing marshmallows one by one at her. She lunged at him, but missed. He ran out of her reach, still throwing marshmallows that hit her every time.

"Austin!" she squealed, blindly running. She tripped on the leg of a chair and fell, sprawled on the ground. She grunted in pain.

"Ally!" Austin ran to her, forgetting all about the marshmallow fight. "Are you okay?"

"Gotcha." Ally swiped the bag from him and threw the rest at him.

"Oh, ho ho. You're getting it." Ally ran as Austin made chase. He finally caught up to, catching her in a hug at the waist. They laughed and panted, catching their breaths.

Someone cleared their throat. Ally turned to see the rest of them, eyeing them with amused smirks.

"What?" Then Ally noticed their position, as did Austin. They quickly pulled away. Austin scratched the back of his head while Ally looked down.

"Now that's over, let's get back to some hot chocolate?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah," Ally quickly agreed nodding as Austin hastily followed her grabbing his cup to take a quick sip.

"There's no marshmallows," Austin complained quietly to Ally.

"Shh," Ally said. "I don't want another marshmallow fight. And I don't need marshmallows. And you're the child here."

"Nuh-uh."

"My point proven."

...

"Omph!" A sound escape Ally's mouth as another snowball hit her. And of course, it was Austin who threw it. She ducked to the ground and scooped up another handful of snow to retaliate back at him.

"You're going to have to throw hard and faster to get me!" he taunted as he threw another snowball. Ally narrowly missed it. What happened to her teammates? Elliot was busy throwing snowballs at Dez and vice versa. Cassidy and Brady stood on either side, creating snowballs. But they were gone just as they were created. Trish? She was on the steps of Lighthouse Book Café with a magazine in hand.

Ally sighed. So much for teammates. She grabbed in armload of snowballs courtesy of Cassidy. She ducked the few that came her way and ran towards Austin throwing one after the other. But within seconds she was out of snowballs. Ally stood in the line of fire and rethinking her position she ran back to Cassidy.

"How do we beat them?"

"They're guys," Cassidy answered. "They can't be beat."

"Well, I want to prove that statement wrong." Both girls squealed as a volley of snow was thrown at them. "Austin!" both yelled at him. He shrugged with a sheepish and teasing smile.

"Hey Ally."

"Yeah?" But she really wasn't pay much attention. In her head, whirled battle strategies to take the guys out. "How about we aim for Brady?"

"Ally? Do you like Austin? Do you even possibly love him? Do you feel that you're falling for him again?"

Those question caught her off guard. "What?"

"Do you think you could possibly love Austin again? And this time, hold on to him?"

"I..I... Honestly, I have no idea."

"Ally. You can tell me. I promise I won't tell him."

"Well... I feel like I could. But I... I just don't know if it's possible for my heart to love again. I do feel attracted to him." Ally looked toward Austin as Cassidy followed her gaze. Austin and Brady were talking and laughing, waiting for the hold-up on the girl's side to be over. "I mean, he's Austin. I've loved him for years. You can't forget a person you've loved for ten years."

"After all this time? Even after he broke your heart? You still love him?"

Ally nodded. "I've always. And who said I ever stopped?"

"Then what's holding you back?"

"My doubts," she simply answered. Then she created another snowball and threw it at Austin who was caught off guard.

A/N: Late again. I feel like I'm saying that every time. Maybe I should move updates to Saturdays. Hm, maybe...

Well, enough of that. How was the chapter? This is my favorite chapter because its just so sweet. But wait... the next one is a good one too!

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