Okay, so please don't hate me for it, btu I have sort of passed over the time with her mom and stuff...mostly because the good stuff wasn't coming any time soo, and because I have no idea how to write things like that, about her mom dying and stuff...it's really painful too, because even though I haven't been through anything like it, Thank Heavens, I can't bear to think of my mom like that...so I have rushed over it and been pretty vague, but not too badly I hope.
I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, thanks for all of the reviews! I read them all and appreciate them! Love you guys!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line :'(
Chapter 9
The next two weeks passed in a blur. I visited my mom every other day, spent my time at school working hard to catch up on the work I had missed, and spent the days I wasn't visiting my mom hanging out with Trish and Austin. Not at the same time, of course. Trish would die if she found out I was sort-of friends with Austin. I say sort of because things were still a little awkward after the whole make-out session.
I still can't believe that happened; I mean, of course Austin in gorgeous. I knew that even when I hated him. But never in a million years would I dream of doing anything like that with him. And I'm even more surprised that he would do any of that with me. Even after he told me all that's tuff about him always liking me, (which I was still struggling to understand now), I couldn't understand why he would want to. I'm just me; plain old, boring Ally Dawson. I'm not even hot, not like all the other girls. So why would he like me?
I wanted to visit my mom every day, but she told me not to. She said that she didn't want me to distance myself from my friends for her, because then when she died I would have no-one to go to. I understood where she was coming from, but I still desperately wanted to spend more time with her.
"Hey, Ally? Are you okay?" Trish asked me, running up to me in the hall. It was lunch and I was on my way to the library. When you're in mostly AP classes, four days off school means a lot of catching up.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired, and I'm really busy. I have loads of work to do. I can't believe how much I missed over four days." I said exasperatedly.
"You never actually told me why you were off those days…was it because of what your dad told you?" she asked me. She had called me while I was staying at Austin's, and I had given her the full story, minus the part about me being with Austin. I think she assumed I just avoided my dad, and I was planning to allow her to think that until I was forced to tell her the truth.
"Well…I was just too stressed about the whole mom thing. I finally went back home on Tuesday, and-"
"Went back home? You mean you weren't at home? Where were you then?" she asked me. I froze.
"Erm, I was…I was staying at home, I just avoided my dad so much it felt like I wasn't." I tried to tell her, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe that for a second.
"Sure, whatever. Where were you really staying?" she asked.
"At a friend's house." I told her. She frowned.
"I thought I was your only friend?"
"Nope."
"Are you going to tell me who this other friend is?"
"Nope."
"Oh, okay. This isn't over, though." She said warningly. I nodded, relieved that, for the moment, she was letting it go.
"Okay. Well, I got home on Tuesday and talked it through with my dad. Then he took me to, erm…he took me to see my mom." I told her. Her eyes widened.
"Oh my God! I can't believe you didn't tell me all this!" she cried. I smiled softly.
"Yeah, I know. I've just been so busy, catching up with school and visiting her every other day…and the times I was hanging out with you, it just never came up." I shrugged.
"Okay. Well, you can fill me in now, I guess. Although I am a little hurt, Ally. I thought I was your best friend; you should have told me all this." She said. I felt guilty; for once Trish wasn't being sarcastic and sassy, so I knew I had hurt her deeply.
"I'm sorry Trish. You are my best friend, and I do trust you. I just…I haven't told anyone else. I've been so busy, I just haven't had time." I shrugged. That was an outright lie, but I think she believed it. I had told Austin everything; I'm not even sure why. I guess I just felt so comfortable around him, despite the ominous awkwardness; my relationship with Austin was complicated, no doubt about it, and there was no way Trish would understand if I tried to explain it right now. So I lied to her.
"Okay, well, I guess its fine. When are you going to see her again? I'm guessing you went yesterday, since you couldn't hang out with me, so are you going tomorrow?" she asked. I frowned.
"Erm, actually I didn't go yesterday. I'm going tonight." I told her. She frowned.
"Then what were you doing yesterday?"
"I was…erm…hanging out with someone else. A friend." I told her. She huffed.
"Is this the same friend you stayed with for five days?" she asked me. I nodded.
"Okay, seriously, who is this person? Are they your new best friend?" she asked, sounding pained. I shook my head.
"No! Trish, you're my best friend. I just…I already made plans with him…I mean them…ages ago."
"Aha! So it's a him! Do you have a secret boyfriend, Ally? Oh my God, please tell me it's not fucking Dallas!" she shouted that last part and I grimaced. We had arrived in the library and were sat at a table in the far corner. Luckily, the librarian hadn't heard. Probably because she was half deaf, but still, I was relieved.
"No, it's not Dallas. And no, it's not a secret boyfriend. He's just a friend." I shrugged.
"But it is the same guy you stayed with for five days…?"
"Yeah." I sighed. She squealed.
"Oh my God, you didn't!" she asked me, eyebrows raised. I shook my head fiercely.
"No, definitely not. Nothing like that. Seriously, we're just friends." I protested. She nodded.
"Sure, sure. So, please tell me, who is he?" she pleaded, but there was no need.
"Ally!" Austin called, waving as he bounded over.
"Erm, hey Austin." I replied, bowing my head as Trish turned to look at Austin, then back at me. I saw realisation dawn on her face.
"Oh my God! Austin is your new friend! You slept with Austin for five days!" she shouted. This earned a few glances from the other students in the library.
"No!" I shouted, grimacing. Austin just laughed.
"No, Trish. Ally would never sleep with me. She has higher standards than that." He said loudly, and I shot him a thankful and relieved glance. Then I felt guilty that he had said that.
"Thanks Austin. But don't put yourself down like that." I whispered to him as he sat down opposite me. Trish was just staring at him, open mouthed. Eventually he looked at her and sniggered.
"Look, Tish, I know I'm hot, but you're kinda freaking me out." He said to her. She shook her head and scowled, glancing at me angrily.
"I thought for a second maybe he had been in some kind of accident to completely change who he was. That was the only reasonable explanation I could come up with as to why you're even giving this jerk the time of day. But no! He's still the same obnoxious, arrogant twerp he's been every time I've spoken to him in the past. Which, trust me, wasn't very often." She said. I laughed.
"Look, Trish, I know that he seems like a jerk. Which he is. But he's also a great guy, and even though he still pisses me off sometimes, actually, quite a lot, he is a good friend." I told her truthfully.
"Still here, you know. And when do I piss you off?" he asked, feigning hurt.
"You're never on time and you say things then refuse to go through with them." I told him. He laughed, then looked at me weirdly.
"You weren't saying that last night…" he said, licking his lips and eyeing me suggestively. Trish burst out laughing and I slapped his arm.
"Seriously, Austin! That's another thing; you always make dirty jokes!" I complained. He laughed.
"It's because you're so hot, Ally. You bring out the worst in me…or the best, in some people's opinions." He added, grinning cockily. Trish laughed again and I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up Austin." I huffed, opening my calculus book.
"So, Tish, erm…how are you?" he asked awkwardly. I smiled; he was trying to talk to her civilly. Obviously he cares about our friendship if he's willing to try to get along with Trish for me.
"It's Trish, not Tish, and I was okay, until you turned up." She growled. Obviously she hadn't changed her opinion of him, even though she was laughing at him a moment ago.
"Sorry Trish." He said, shrugging. She eyed him suspiciously, then turned to me, obviously too weirded out by his apology to come up with a comeback.
"So, Ally…anything new gone down with you and Dal-I mean, you know who?" she asked, looking at Austin. I smiled.
"It's okay Trish. Austin knows all about Dallas." I sighed, not looking up from my calculus book. She rolled her eyes.
"Apparently Austin knows everything about you now, I don't know why I thought he wouldn't know." She groaned. I looked up.
"Sorry, Trish, but you had to go with your parents. If you hadn't you would have been the one I went to, and I never would have stayed with Austin. But you did, so I had to stay with Austin, and now we are friends. Deal with it." I said harshly, then went back to my studying.
"It's not my fault, Ally! Mom forced me to go!" she shouted at me.
"I never said it was your fault." I said calmly.
"Whatever. Ever since you and Austin became friends, you've been pushing me away. I don't even feel like I'm your best friend anymore." She said, a little quieter. I looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry if you feel that way, Trish. Just count yourself lucky that I only have one friend other than you. I think you're just too used to me only hanging out with you." I told her, trying to control my temper.
"Ally, in the last two weeks we've hung out twice!" she shouted again. I stood up, furious.
"Yeah, because I've been visiting my mom in the hospital! She's fucking dying, Trish! I'm sorry if I've been putting her first! But don't worry, she'll be dead soon anyway, then you'll have me all to yourself. Well, except for Austin of course, but apparently I'm not allowed other friends now, so I guess I'll just have to stop talking to him!" I ranted. By now everyone in the library was staring at us, even the librarian. She looked shocked, but that probably had more to do with us shouting than with what I was actually saying.
"I, erm…I'm sorry, Ally." She whispered softly. I could see that she meant it, but I was too angry to care.
"Whatever Trish." I sighed, grabbing my bag and shoving my book inside before slinging it over my shoulder and walking out.
"Ally, wait!" I heard someone call from behind me. I turned around and smiled lightly at Austin.
"Hey." I said weakly. He grabbed my elbows and looked me in the eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I tried to nod, but burst into tears instead. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him as I cried. There was no-one else in the hall to stop and ask what was wrong. Well, there wasn't; until the bell rang.
I didn't even register that the bell had gone at first. I was too busy crying into Austin's chest. Then I heard laughing and talking as people began to round the corner. They all froze when they saw me and Austin. I pulled away from him, wiping my eyes, and looked at them pointedly. He shrugged.
"I'm not in your next lesson; are you going to be okay?" he asked me quietly. I nodded, and he smiled comfortingly.
"You guys will make up. She was being stupid, and you have every right to be angry, okay?"
"Yeah." I sighed. He smiled and hugged me again.
"See you later then Als." He said, waving at me as he jogged down the hall, past the group of people gawking at us, and around the corner. I turned around to make my way to my next lesson, ignoring the whispering going on behind me.
"Ally! Wait!" someone called. I groaned, then turned around with a small smile on my face. It was Tilly Thompson. One of the popular kids.
"Hey Tilly. What's up?" I asked her wearily.
"Are you dating Austin Moon?" she asked. I laughed at the way she just came out with it. Then again, Tilly was never any good at subtlety.
"Nah, we're just friends." I shrugged.
"Sure, it really looked like you two were just friends. Stood in the middle of the hallway hugging each other. I frowned.
"I was crying, Tilly. As my friend, he was trying to make me feel better. Austin wouldn't date me anyway." I told her. She laughed.
"Well, of course we all know that. That's why we were all so shocked." She said. A year ago, that comment would have hurt. But knowing how completely wrong she was, it didn't bother me.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just not his type." I shrugged, trying to walk away. She grabbed my arm, holding a little tighter than necessary.
"Well, he does usually go for hot blonde sluts…and you are only one of those things." She said, smirking. I frowned, confused.
"Which one?" I asked her, not sure I wanted to know.
"You're a slut." She said, and I gasped.
"What? No I'm not!" I protested. She laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Sure you're not." She said sarcastically.
"I'm not! What makes you think I'm a slut?" I asked her.
"Oh come off it. Dallas told everyone all about your 'summer romance'. Usually it's the guy who seduces someone and leaves them. Frankly, I'm surprised at you. I always thought you were a good girl." She said condescendingly.
"What exactly did Dallas tell you?" I asked her, feeling my eyes well up.
"Just that you pretended to be in love with him so that he would sleep with you, and then you left him, refusing to speak to him again." She said. I couldn't believe it.
"That lying bastard! I'm going to kill him!" I muttered. Tilly laughed.
"Don't you think you've hurt him enough?" she asked.
"I never hurt him! He's lying! That's what he did to me! He slept with me then left me!" I protested. She rolled her eyes.
"How pathetic. Seriously? Well, I wouldn't count on being able to do that to Austin…he'd never sleep with you anyway. And he's definitely not the kind of guy to fall in love with you." She said.
"I wasn't planning to do that to Austin. I never did that to Dallas! Austin and I are friends, and Dallas broke my heart."
"Why don't you just give it up? No-one is going to believe you, Ally. It's obvious that you've changed." She shrugged. I turned and walked away then, not wanting to cry in front of her.
"Walking away from me won't change the fact that you're a slut, Ally." She called after me, and I heard laughter. I ran into an empty classroom, curled up in the corner, and cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Then I stayed there for a little longer and thought about everything.
Eventually the end of school bell rang. I was surprised that no-one had found me, but relieved at the same time. I knew this would only mean more catching up, but I didn't care. I walked out of school as fast as I could, wanting to avoid the crowds, and dad picked me up to take me to the hospital. I sighed with relief at getting away from there. My senior year was supposed to be a breeze. I was supposed to work my socks off, get the best results possible and leave school on a happy note.
Now I had lost my best friend, had to face the guy who broke my heart, had to deal with losing the mother I only just found and, to top it all off, the entire school thought I was a slut and a bitch, thanks to the guy I hated most in the world.
I didn't think about the positives, like how I now had another great friend, and how I now knew that my mother hadn't just abandoned me. I was too depressed about the bad things in my life to think about the good things.
"How was school then, Ally?" my dad asked me after a few minutes of silence. I sighed, deciding to lie. I didn't want him to worry. He had enough on his plate with mom and his work.
"It was fine, dad." I told him, smiling brightly. He didn't realise it was faked.
"Good. I love seeing you so happy, Ally. Your mom does too. She says she's glad I did tell you, and that she has met you. She still worries about how you'll take it when she, you know…" he sighed. I smiled sadly.
"We'll think about that later, yeah? For now I just want to enjoy the time I have with my mom." I told him. He nodded, and we didn't speak for the rest of the drive.
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