Chapter Four:
"In my crazy mind, I'm with you all the time."
I drag myself out of bed when I realize it's already noon. I shower quickly and get dressed, dragging a long like a zombie. I have no ambition to do anything today, so I'm glad that I don't have any chores. But as I sit down in my kitchen I realize I have absolutely nothing to do.
I could call up Dez, or even Dallas but I don't really feel like being around them right now. Dallas has been pissing me off with the way he's treating Ally, and I'm afraid if I hang around him that I'll say something he won't like. There's no reason not to hang out with Dez, but I just don't want to listen to his goofy antics today.
I eat a couple slices of toast and decide that I'm going to go for a walk. I throw on my pair of red converse and head outside. I take the long way to the boardwalk, watching the high wave's crash over swimmers and surfers. I think I'll go surfing next week; I haven't been in a while it seems like.
As I start to walk by the stores, the only place that keeps popping into my head is Sonic Boom. Should I go visit Ally and see how she's doing? Or would that be weird? I don't even know if she's working. I walk by once, not looking in. But by the time I get to the ice cream place, I turn around and start to walk by again. I stop in front of the door and look in. Ally is at the front counter, leaning over it and reading a magazine, not paying attention. I go to open the door but hesitate. I start to walk away again and realize that I must look like a giant idiot. I take a deep breath and walk in.
She looks up at me when she hears the bell. I smile at her and she smiles back. I walk over to guitar aisle to make it look like I came here for a reason. I could buy a new strap for my old beaten up acoustic maybe, or some new strings, anything to make it look like there was a reason other than her that I came in.
I rest my hand on my chin and look over the different guitar straps when I feel something standing beside me. I turn my head and look down, and Ally is staring in the direction I was looking, "What are you looking for?" She asks.
"I… Uh…" I stutter.
She looks at me and crosses her arms, smirking. I look around and see the box of guitar picks on the counter and walk over, "I've come to buy one of these!" I say, pulling out a yellow one.
She walks over to me and laughs, "Well, there free…" She says.
I can't stop my cheeks from turning a dark red, "Oh." I say, twirling it between my fingers.
"So why are you really here?" She asks, taking her spot at the cash register like earlier.
"I wanted to see how you were." I admit, leaning against the counter towards her.
"I am perfectly fine." She says, "But thanks for checking on me. It's sweet of you."
I shrug, "What can I say? I'm sweet as sugar." I say, grinning.
She rolls her eyes, "Oh, wow. That was cute." She says, laughing. She closes her magazine and puts it back on the rack next to me, "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" She asks.
"I have no plans." I say.
"That's too bad. No chores for you to do?" She asks.
"Nah, my parents are giving me a couple of days off because I cleaned so much yesterday for the stupid dinner." I say. She just nods in response.
"How long are you working?" I ask.
"I'm not really working. My dad's just upstairs going over inventory and I told him I'd watch the store for a few minutes." She says.
"Oh how nice of you." I tease, elbowing her in the shoulder.
She slaps my shoulder back gently, "I know, I'm so nice!" She states loudly, causing us to have a laughing fit.
"So anyways, since you were looking at guitar stuff, does that mean you have one?" She asks.
"I have an old beat up acoustic." I tell her.
"I love old guitars! They are so cool." She says.
"I can show you mine sometime if you want." I tell her.
"I'm not doing anything right now." She says happily.
"Would you like to come over and see it then?" I ask.
"I'd love to! Let me go tell my father that I'm leaving." She says. I watch her run upstairs quickly, and after about twenty seconds she's back, "Ready." She says.
[][][][]
We get to my house and I bring her into my basement. It's a completely finished basement, and our entertainment room. She looks all around, amazed by the room, "I've always wanted a basement like this!" She says.
"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." I say.
"You have beds down here too?" She asks curiously, eyeing the twin mattresses in the corner.
"Yes, for sleepovers." I tell her, she laughs.
I walk over to the other corner and grab my guitar off of the stand. I walk back over to Ally and hold it up, "Here it is." I say.
"It's so nice." She says, looking it over, "Will you play something for me?" She asks.
"Uh… I've never played for anyone." I admit.
"Well you have to, for me?" She pleads.
"Oh-okay." I say, suddenly nervous.
I walk over and take a seat on one of the beds. She follows me, sitting beside me. "I just learned this song." I tell her.
"Okay." She says, smiling.
I start to play the beginning of the song, humming along. She smiles when she realizes what song it is, "Can you sing it?" She asks.
I shrug, "Everything you heard is true, everybody knows I'm hung up on you." I say.
"I love that song." She says.
"So do i." I say, smiling at her.
I play a few more chords and then set down my guitar, "Austin, you should really do that contest." She says.
"I can't write my own songs." I tell her.
"I bet you could if you really tried." She says.
I shake my head, "I've tried."
"Well, I can help you." She says.
"You can?" I ask.
"Yes, I love to write songs, and we could come up with a really good one and you'd win for sure! Then you could buy your dream guitar." She says.
"That'd be amazing." I say.
"Then it's official! We can practice here whenever, and in my practice room at Sonic Boom." She says.
"That sounds awesome!" I say.
"But I don't think we should tell Dallas." She says.
"Why?" I ask.
"Because you know how he feels about music and I don't know how he'd react to this." She says.
"But I don't know if I should keep a secret from my best friend that is involving his girlfriend." I say cautiously.
"It's not like we're doing stuff together or cheating, we're just writing a song together." She says.
"I don't know…" I say.
"Well, it's the only way. Do you want to win or what?" She asks.
"I do." I tell her.
"Then it's a deal?" She asks.
"Yes, deal." I say.
She smiles, "Awesome!"
"When do we start partner?" I ask.
"We will start tomorrow, bright and early at sonic boom!" She states.
I blink a few times, staring at her, "Did you really just say bright and early?"
"Yes why not? I always do the best song writing in the morning." She says.
"Oh, I don't think this is going to work out." I say.
"Austin!" She says, punching me hard in the arm.
I raise my arms up in defense, "Just kidding!"
"You better be Moon!" she says.
We spend the rest of the afternoon goofing around. I play random songs and Ally attempts to play a few chords that she knows. It was the most I've laughed in so long, and it was just easy and fun to be around her. When she realizes it's almost five, she has to go.
"I'll walk you home." I tell her.
"You don't have to do that, really." She says.
"It's no problem." I tell her.
"Well actually, I'm going to just go back to Sonic Boom so you can walk me there." She says.
"Okay cool." I say.
I leave a note for my parents on the table that I'll be right back, seeing how they will be home anytime now from work. When we get to Sonic Boom, Dallas is standing at the counter. Ally tenses up next to me as we walk over to him. He throws a magazine back onto the shelf and gives us a curious look, "What's going on here?" He asks.
"We ran into each other on my way here." She says.
"Hello Dallas." I say.
"Hello bro." He says, fist bumping me.
"Well I'm going to head out." I say, grabbing a guitar pick.
"Goodbye Austin." Ally says.
"See you Austin." Dallas says.
I walk out of the store and walk up the boardwalk. I'm suddenly not in the mood to go home, so I decide to walk over to one of my favorite parts of the beach. The waves are calm as I sit down in the sand, making different swirls with my finger. I stay like this for awhile, lost in my own thoughts. I keep thinking about me and Ally; how she's helping me write a song for the contest, and how she still wants to keep it a secret from Dallas. Why does she even stay with him if she can't tell him anything?
Before I know it, the sun is setting. I watch as the sky changes into a beautiful orange and pink sky. The sunsets over this beach are the best I've ever seen. When the sun disappears, the darkness is lit up by the almost full moon. I pick up a pebble and throw it into the ocean. I stand up and head back home. I go the way I came. When I walk by Sonic Boom, I see the practice room lit up even though they are closed. I wonder if Ally is in there. She's probably with Dallas though, so I walk by like it's nothing. Even though in reality, something about it bothers me.
When I get home, my parents are sitting in the living room, drinking glasses of wine and having what looks like an intimate conversation. I wave at them and walk upstairs to my room. They are still so in love and sometimes it makes me want to throw up, but other times I find it really nice. They were high school sweethearts and they've been married for twenty years. I want a love like that, something that will last and then years from now we can still be in love like when we were teenagers.
I lazily fall down onto my bed, staring up at my ceiling. My phone suddenly goes off, just once, and I pull it out of my pocket. It's a text message; from Ally.
Ally: Hey Austin, reminder for you to come to Sonic Boom bright and early (:
Me: I know. How could I forget?
Ally: Looking forward to it!
Me: So am I (:
And that's where the conversation ends. I smile as I set my phone down on my night stand. I get up and change into my pajama's, deciding I should head to bed so I can get up in time. I get to spend all morning with Ally, just me and her, and I'm way too happy about it. Why? This is Dallas's girlfriend, my best friend's girlfriend. But he doesn't treat her like he should, and she totally deserves to be treated like a princess, because she's incredible.
This isn't happening; I'm not falling for her. I can't be…. Can i?