26
beginning
Summary: A word for every letter, a moment for every word. / Austin and Ally, and their relationship, based on all the letters of the alphabet, and more.
Prompt: Loosely based on David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary, but with a little twist, and difference – because I have not actually read the book yet.
A/N: Please see a/n below…if you want to, hahaha :)
Disclaimer: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the girl that owns this show? Of course, it's not me.
beginning, n.
"So this is what starting over smells like." Her voice is breathy, as she stumbles forward his apartment door. "Pancakes, wine, cigarettes…and everything father would never approve of."
"Us Americans have to stick together in this small, Northern Irish city." Chuckling, he plops himself down on the leathery red couch. "It's small, but it's home."
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Dumped and thrown out, she's finding her way through the cold hysteria of late night Belfast City. A small simple fight over the phone, the throwing of glasses and turning of tables, all coming down to her losing her own home to man – no, he was not a man, he was merely a boy; a small, scared little boy – she thought she loved. But the breathy air of winter blows relief into her very core, reminding her that she's finally free – free from his demanding, authoritative, abusive hold on her.
But she's got no place to go, no one to turn to. The city that blazed with alleyways lit up by vague neon lights, and empty roads in the middle of the night, had nothing to offer for her. So she stands alone in the bus stop, phone in hand, and looking over the starless sky.
"I need to start over." She breathes out to the night, a puff of white blowing out as she closes her eyes.
"Same." A voice answers unexpectedly, and she snaps her head up to come to face his whiskey brown eyes, and that all too familiar cheeky smile.
"Oh my God." She gasps, stepping back a little in small disbelief. He only laughs on her behalf.
"Fancy seeing you here, Ally." He says, a cheeky grin tugging at his lips, and the beauty of his eyes glossed with orange lights.
"Never expected to see you here, Moon." She breathes out, hair falling over her forehead, damp from the late night drizzle.
"It's Belfast City, Ally – come on. We were bound to bump into each other again, one of these days." A chuckle escapes his lips, and ghosts over the cold air that sticks to their skin and wraps them.
"Well, after you went MIA for about two years, I figured – perhaps Austin Moon doesn't exist after all." She's witty when she talks to him, and there's no bite in her tongue that stops her, and tells her shut up, you're making a fool of yourself.
"Of course. I am nothing but a mere figment of Ally Dawson's imagination." He quips proudly, white teeth aligned perfectly, and shining. "That is, after all, my role in this world."
It gets a little too quiet a little too soon, and the buzzing silence deafens the two lonely strangers. There are promises in the bright lights the city displayed, but not one is kept – or even remembered. For all the wonders that the world has offered, never gave justice to each other's comforting company.
"I got dumped." Ally whispers to the night, a slight breeze fanning her hair, leaving drops of rain water tangled in those locks. "Maybe it's for the best. He hit me anyway."
He's tempted to say that he understands, but that would be a lie. Because he really doesn't – he's never had an abusive relationship, nor has he fallen in love with someone so wrong for him. People who get dumped – they don't need lies; no – they need the truth.
"I'm twenty-one and homeless in a city filled with strangers I don't see twice in my life." She lets out bitterly, a tired smile adorned on her lips.
"It's not so bad – Belfast is small compared to those big named cities like New York or Las Vegas. But it's home." His tone is sheepish and understanding, but it's cheerful in a way that only she gets it. "I bet you've seen the same stranger more than a billion times here in the city, but you just never tried to mind or remember who he was."
"That is true. I mean, clearly that's possible – I met you." She laughs, a genuine symphony that whistles past her tongue and curves her lips. "You are the closest to a friend I have, ever since I've moved here. And we've only met twice."
"Maybe it's time to change that." He grins, a warmth that counters the cold, and shoots sparks through her spine – it's both endearing and conspicuous.
"Maybe." She lets out wistfully, a hand running through her hair.
He never needed to say anything, and she never has to be told, ever again. Because he picks up her bags and strolls them over the glossy parking lot, and she doesn't complain, nor ask about it. Because she gets it. She doesn't know how she does, but she just does. She knows he'll open the booth, and drop her bags in there, and open the shotgun door, and let her in with that cheeky smile. It's obvious in the way their eyes interact that they understood each other with just a glance, a small smile, and touch of the skin.
"Are we going to be listening to some Austin Moon original songs on the way to your mansion." She banters with a soft voice. "Or will you let me taste the type of music a musician such as you aspire from?"
"On the road you'll hear a mix of Mayday Parade, Walk the Moon, The 1975 and some Disney classics." His laugh reverberates through the screened windows as he sits himself down on the driver's seat. "It's the perfect combination."
"Ah, so you're going to be singing Frozen songs and A Part of Your World all the way back home." There's glitter in her eyes as she talks on, and he sees it. It's the kind of shine that leaves you mesmerized and enchanted, but still intact with all your other senses.
"Maybe a medley of Chocolate and Girls to the tune of Let it Go." He whispers, still staring right through those eyes, into her soul, whilst starting the car.
"That sounds absolutely perfect." She smiles.
And he rolls the windows down, even though it's cold and the rain still lingers with it's salty breeze and biting chills. Because the lights glow so bright and streetlamps flood the roads with orange and yellow. And there's something wonderful in the way her hair flies through the wind, and the cold that blinds their eyes. Because it's time to start over, as friends.
When they get to his house, she quickly unlocks the door with a spare key he has not so subtly hidden under a potted gnome. And then she gets to jiggle the door open, feeling of the house wafting through the air and comforting her freezing state. And she sees, for the first time in forever, what a real home looks like, feels like, and smells like.
"So this is what starting over smells like." Her voice is breathy, as she stumbles forward his apartment door. "Pancakes, wine, cigarettes…and everything father would never approve of."
"Us Americans have to stick together in this small, Northern Irish city." Chuckling, he plops himself down on the leathery red couch. "It's small, but it's home."
"I guess it's okay. Father will never seem me here anyway." She chuckles to herself, strolling to his living room, with the flat screen tv and blue carpeted floor. "Didn't think a boy's apartment could be so clean."
"Hey! I'm not a boy, I'm a man!" He laughs daintily, scooting aside to leave space for her.
"Of course you are." She mocks, curling herself on the couch, and closing her eyes.
"I suppose your father disapproves of Disney movies too." She hears him chuckle, but she's too tired to retort back – or move her lips, for that matter of fact. So she lets it go, only to feel a light blanket drape over her. "Goodnight, Ally. And welcome to your new home."
The lights shut off but she barely even notices. Because with her deep breathing and light snoring, she's never felt so protected and safe in all her life. And the feeling is perfect she can't let go of it. Not in her dreams, not in reality.
And that's okay with him. Because it only means she gets to stay. And he gets to be with her a little more each day.
A/N: I really have nothing to say. And I have no excuse for not updating since September of last year. SHEESH. I'm sorry guys, but I'm back now. And erm, this chapter wasn't reread so…sorry for any grammatical errors or anything that makes no absolute sense. I am scarily lacking in so much sleep, I can't be bothered typing or even thinking properly. Let alone correct this entire chapter. Again, sorry. But, reviews would be nice. Yeah…reviews sound awesome. Also, side note, I wrote the first half like right after posting the first chapter, so you can understand if my style changes throughout the entire thing. Another side note, the first part was so perfect I didn't want to dirty it with the sloppiness of however I choose to continue it. So it took me forever to have the balls to do it. This contributes to why wow I haven't updated this since September. Again, I am sorry.