Chapter Two:
"I know it's on when I can't stop myself from watching you move."
It's the morning after I made the promise to Ally not to tell anyone about her musical abilities. As I roll over onto my stomach to avoid the sun from shining bright in my sleepy eyes, I can't stop thinking about Ally playing the piano and singing. I can't believe that not even Dallas has seen or knows that side of her after all this time. It's pretty bad that she can't even be comfortable enough with him to show him that side of her.
I almost feel bad about knowing something that he doesn't even know, but it's not my fault that I stumbled upon it, and Ally's my friend so if she wants me to keep something a secret, I own it to her to keep my word right?
I hear my cell phone start to ring from my bedside table. I roll over and answer it, "Hello?"
"Hey man, what's up?" says Dallas.
"I'm just lying in bed still." I say.
"Well get off your lazy ass and come to the beach with me, Dez and Ally." He says.
"It sounds like a good time, but I don't know if I have any chores to do yet." I tell him.
"Then go look, obviously." He says.
"You're a pain in the ass." I tell him.
"And you are too, that's why we're best friends." He says, causing me to burst into laughter.
"Whatever man, I'll meet you there." I tell him, hanging up.
I jump out of bed and shower as quick as I can. I throw on a striped tank top and a pair of tan shorts. I put some gel through my hair and let it go wild. I grab my backpack and go downstairs. Thankfully I didn't have any chores to do. I grab a granola bar and head out the door and walk towards Mel's where we usually meet. Sure enough, they were all at our usual spot waiting.
"It's about time." Dallas says.
"Yeah right, I only took like ten minutes." I say, punching him in the shoulder.
"Let's go." Dez says.
The beach seems busier than usual today. It seems like everywhere I look there is a huge crowd of people playing volleyball, or some other sport, or running around with their dogs. We find a spot and set down our stuff in the sand, "What are we doing?" Ally asks.
"I'm going swimming." Dallas says, taking off his shirt.
"So am I!" Dez says, mimicking Dallas.
"Okay, I'm going to tan then." Ally says. She grabs her towel out of her tote bag and lies it down, and then she takes off her dress, revealing her yellow bikini. I've seen her in plenty of bikinis but for some reason, I have to pry my eyes off of her.
"What are you going to do?" Dallas asks.
"I guess I'll join you guys." I tell them, tearing off my shirt and setting it next to my bag.
I stand at the edge, letting the waves hit my feet. I turn and look at Ally; she's scribbling in a notebook, and completely ignoring her surroundings, until her best friend Trish walks over, joining her in sun bathing. I don't really know Trish that well, but I know that her and Ally are very close, and Trish is always staring at Dez.
Dallas comes over, blindsiding me and shoving me into the water. When I come up for air I grab him by the shoulders and bring him under. Dallas and I are almost the same build, but I'm a lot stronger than he is. It's always been like that.
When we're done swimming, we walk back over to Ally and Trish. Dallas sits between them; Dez sits next to Trish and at the other end by Ally. I lie down on my towel and try to dry off, shutting my eyes from the sun, "Why not?" I suddenly hear Dallas say.
"You know how I feel about parties." Ally replies.
"It's a beach party! They are awesome." Dez says.
"Come on Ally, it won't be that bad." Trish says.
I roll over and face them, "What are we talking about?" I ask.
"Ed's throwing a big beach party at the other side of the beach tonight. It's going to be awesome." Dallas says.
Ed is a senior at school, running back of the football team, one of the most popular guys in school. He's been inviting Dallas to his parties since freshman year, and then Dallas just brings us all along, even though we're never technically invited. But Ed is always too drunk to care about our presence. I usually go because they can be fun and if I don't go Dallas ends up dragging me anyway.
"Yeah, and Ally doesn't want to go." Trish says.
"Don't be such a downer." Dallas says.
"Those parties are stupid." Ally says.
"But you should go to support your best friend!" Trish says.
"Come on, please." Dallas says.
Ally rolls her eyes, "Fine, whatever."
"Okay, who's driving?" Trish asks.
"I will." Dallas says.
"Okay, we can all meet at Mel's at eight." Dez says.
"Okay sounds good." Trish says.
"Are you coming Austin?" Dallas asks.
Ally looks over her magazine at me, listening for a response, I shrug, "Sure, why not."
Later that night…
I throw on a v-neck white shirt, and my button up dark blue shirt over that, but I leave it open. I put on some shorts and my usual converse. I'm hoping this girl Anna will be at the party. She's really hot and on the cheerleading team. I noticed her eyeing me a lot towards the end of school, and this will be the first time I've seen her since.
I walk downstairs and into the kitchen. My mother's doing the dishes, and my dad must be in the other room. I walk over and grab an apple from the bowl on the table. I lean against the counter beside her and take a bite.
"You look nice, what are you up to tonight?" She asks.
"Going out with Dallas, Dez and Ally like usual." I tell her.
"Okay, have fun." She says.
I kiss her on the cheek and throw out my apple. I go outside and my father's cleaning up the grill. "Where are you headed son?" He asks.
"I'm meeting up with the guys at Mel's." I tell him.
"Alright, have fun." He says.
That's how my parents always have been. They never ask what I'm doing exactly, they only care who I'm with. I don't know they just really trust me, or don't care that much. I want to say the first one, but it could go either way.
I get to Mel's right at eight, and notice all of them at our usual spot. I walk over and greet them; I'm not the only one that decided to look nice tonight; Ally looks especially beautiful in a blue right sun dress, and Trish has a tight cheetah dress on. Dallas doesn't seem to care about his appearance; he's wearing the same thing as earlier. And Dez, well he has his own type of wardrobe.
"Are you ready?" Dallas asks everyone.
"Ready." We all say in unison.
We all follow Dallas to his pickup truck. Dez yells shotgun as soon as it's in sight. I punch him hard in the shoulder before getting in the back with Trish and Ally. Ally sits awkwardly in the middle, and we're all squished together. I'm really glad that the party isn't too far away, or this would get very uncomfortable.
We pull onto the road and I can already see the huge bonfire in the distance. We park a little ways away and I jump out as fast as I can. I stretch out my arms dramatically, "I get shotgun on the way home Dezhole." I say.
"Okay whatever man." Dez says.
Dallas walks over to Ally and wraps his arm around her shoulder as we walk over to the huge, loud crowd. It's only twenty after eight and everyone's gone wild. But that's what happens at Ed's parties. I really want to know who buys him all of his alcohol; he must have a lot of connections.
I walk over to a group of guys I know from school with Dez. We all talk about different sports and things and it gets boring fast, so I walk over to the coolers. I open up one and it's completely full of beer. The next one I open, there is mountain dew and Pepsi. I grab a mountain dew. I just don't feel like drinking tonight.
Through the crowd, I notice Anna. She's standing around with one of her girl friends. She looks my way and I smile and wave at her. She doesn't do anything at first, but then I guess she realizes it's me and waves back, then she starts to walk over. I walk towards her to meet her halfway.
"Hello Austin." She says.
"Hello Anna." I say.
"How's your summer going so far?" She asks.
"It's going pretty good. What about yours?" I ask.
"Not bad. This party is pretty cool." She says.
"Yeah I guess." I say.
She walks over to a cooler and grabs a beer, opening it and chugging it. I have to say, that is sort of a turn off right there. I don't really like girls who drink a lot, or that can down a beer like that. I take an awkward sip of my mountain dew and shove my other hand in my pocket. Thankfully Dez comes over then with one of his friends and starts up a conversation. Anna grabs another beer and walks away a few minutes after. Well I guess any chances of us happening are gone now.
I walk around for a while, talking with different people here and there. After a while goes by, I take a walk by myself towards the shore. It's dark and slightly windy; a light chill in the air. But the moon reflecting on the ocean is really beautiful.
I'm not really in the party mood anymore, so I take a seat in the sand, letting the wave hit the tip of my shoes. I watch and listen to the waves until I hear footsteps behind me. I look over my shoulder and notice Ally walks towards me. She stays silent and takes a seat next to me.
I just look at her, studying her face. She has no expression, and she's staring at the water, "Are you okay?" I ask her.
"There were reasons that I didn't want to go to this stupid party." She says.
"Like what?" I ask.
"I hate it when Dallas drinks." She says, keeping her eyes on the water.
"Is he drunk already?" I ask.
She nods, "He's a jerk when he's drinking."
"Did he do something to you?" I ask.
"No, but sometimes I'm afraid he could. That's why I always keep a distance from him after he's too far gone."
"So that's why you were bummed about going earlier. Why didn't you just stay home?" I ask her.
"Trish likes to guilt me into stuff." She says.
"Yeah, Dallas does that to me too. I'm really not into parties anymore."
"I'm glad you aren't, or I wouldn't have anyone to talk to right now." She says, turning to face me now.
"You can always talk to me, you know." I tell her.
"I know." She says.
"Hey Ally!" We hear a voice from behind us; it's Dallas.
We both stand up and turn to him. He stumbles over to us, barely able to stand. Well I know that I will be the one driving home tonight, "What are you guys doing?" He asks.
"Nothing, we were talking." Ally says.
"Why did you leave me?" he asks.
"You already know why. We've talked about this before. I just want to go home." She says.
"Oh come on Ally, why are you so boring?" He asks.
"Hey man, I would just stop while you're ahead." I tell him.
"Whatever." He says, walking away from us.
"Do you want me to drive you home real quick? I'll come back for the others after." I tell her.
"You'd do that?" She asks.
"Of course I would." I tell her.
"Thanks Austin." She says.
We walk together back to the truck. She hops in the passenger seat as I start the engine. The silence is getting unbearable after only a few minutes, so I turn up the radio really loud. It's one of my favorite songs lately; Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. I start nodding my head a long to the music. When I look over, Ally is doing the same thing without noticing what I was doing.
"I don't want to lose you now; I'm looking right at the other half of me." I sing out loud.
She turns to me and smiles, singing the next part. Before I know it, we're in front of her house. We sang along to all of the songs that the radio station played, at the top of our lungs. It was the best car ride I've had in a long time. I get out and walk with her to her front porch. We are both still smiling and humming the rest of the song that was playing when we got out of the truck.
"Thanks for the ride home Austin, it was really sweet of you." Ally says.
"No problem at all. Thanks for singing with me." I tell her.
"No problem! It was so much fun." She says, giggling.
"Yes it was." I say and smile down at her.
Eventually everything goes quiet and she clears her throat, "Well, goodnight Austin." She says.
I look at her for a moment before saying, "Goodnight Ally."
I turn around and walk back to the truck when Ally stops me, "Austin?" She says.
I turn around fast and look at her, "Yes?"
"Thanks for accepting the music part of me." She says.
"I could say the same thing to you." I tell her with a grin. She gives me a big smile back before turning around and going into her house.
I hop into the truck and blast the radio back to the party. I feel like I'm high on happiness all the sudden, and I can't tell why.