Chapter Six:
"It's summertime, and you are all that's on my mind."
I button the last button on my plaid shirt, staring out the window from my hospital bed. I'm about to get ready and leave when there's a knock on my door, "Come in." I say.
Ally walks in, holding a small stuffed bear with a balloon tied to his arm. I look at the balloon that says, 'Get Well Soon,' in big letters. She smiles at me and sets the bear on the end table, "You're looking better." She says.
"And I'm feeling it too, other than the headache. They said I could leave at any time." I say.
"That's great." She says, sitting down at the end of my bed.
I walk over to the end table and pick up the bear. It's a dark brown and insanely soft. I smile at it, and look at Ally; she sees my expression and blushes, turning away, "Cute bear." I say, "Very thoughtful."
She shrugs, "It was nothing."
"Oh, now I don't feel special." I say, putting on a fake pouting face.
She rolls her eyes, "Oh shut up Moon." She says.
"Hey, be nice to the patient!" I say.
"You're technically not a patient anyone, since they told you that you could leave at anytime." She says, standing up.
"Ugh, quit being smart." I say, face palming.
She laughs, "Just hurry up and get ready, we have some song making to do." She says.
"I don't get a morning off, seeing as I'm in such bad condition?" I ask.
She raises an eyebrow and looks me over, "You look fine to me."
"I don't know I'm really craving some ice cream." I tell her.
"It's ten in the morning." She says blankly.
"It's never too early for ice cream!" I shout.
"Okay, okay… Fine we can go to Mel's for some ice cream and work on the song there." She says.
"Yay!" I say happily.
"You are such a child." She says, heading towards the door.
"It's one of my best qualities." I tell her, grabbing my stuff.
"I wouldn't say that." She says.
Later at Mel's…
"You know that nothing rhymes with orange!" Ally argues, taking a bite from her spoonful of ice cream.
"Whatever! This is why I don't write my own songs." I tell her, licking melting ice cream off of the side of my cone.
"I know that if you really tried, you'd be able to write one." She says.
"What makes you think that?" I ask.
"Because you are so passionate about music and singing, why not put all of that into a song?" She asks.
I shrug, "I just can't."
"Okay, here's some homework for you." She says.
"Are you kidding me? It's summer!" I say, biting into my cone.
She rolls her eyes and sets down her bowl, "Stay with me, Moon. I want you to lie there tonight before you go to sleep, and whatever you start thinking about first while staring up at your dark ceiling, you are going to write about." She says.
"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.
"Don't you ever just lay there and let your mind wander?" She asks.
"Of course I do." I say.
"Then think of something to write about then. And really think on it." She says.
"That's just weird." I tell her.
"How is it weird?" She asks.
"What if for some reason, the first thing I think of before I go to bed is; unicorns!" I say.
"Then write a song about unicorns!" She says.
I shake my head, finishing off my last bite of cone, "You are so weird." I say.
"Thank you!" She says.
I checks the time on her phone and stands up, "I have to go. I trust that you know your way home right, concussion boy?"
"That's just rude Dawson." I tell her, standing up also.
She smiles and punches me gently in the shoulder, "Glad you're okay." She says before turning around and leaving. I watch her until she is out of sight and shake my head, "She's really something." I say out loud to no one.
I walk back home and when I get there, I'm surprised to see both of my parents home. They are sitting calmly on the couch, drinking coffee together. My mother smiles when she sees me enter, "Hello sweetie, how are you feeling?" She asks.
"I'm feeling pretty good." I tell her.
"No more headache?" My father asks.
I shrug, "It's definitely there, but it isn't bothering me." I tell him.
"Well if any of your concussion symptoms come back; let us know right away okay?" He says.
"Okay." I tell him, walking into the kitchen.
I grab a soda from the fridge and start to head upstairs to my room when my phone goes off; it's a text from Dallas. He wants me to meet him and Dez at Dez's house. I tell my parents what I'm doing and drive over. When I pull into the driveway, Dez and Dallas are sitting on the porch. I get out and jog up to them, "What's up?" I ask.
"Dallas is bummed because he and Ally had a fight and she's not answering his calls, so I decided the three of us should get together and have some fun." Dez says. Dallas just nods from beside him.
"Have some fun as in how? I still have a concussion you know…" I state.
"I know that, jeez. I was thinking a nice calm day at the beach or something." Dez says.
"I don't want to go to the beach." Dallas says.
"Okay, arcade?" Dez says.
"That won't be good for my head." I admit.
"Okay, Mel's for some food?" Dez asks.
"Not hungry." Dallas says.
"Okay, go to the movies?" Dez asks.
I cough, "Concussion," Followed by another cough.
"Wow you guys are hopeless!" Dez yells, pulling at his ginger hair.
"I'm sorry Dez." I tell him.
"How about we go to a party tonight?" Dallas says.
"A party, just us guys, without Ally?" Dez asks.
"Hell yes." Dallas says.
"I don't think that's a good idea for me." I tell them, "Or you." I say to Dallas.
"I don't give a shit if it's not good for me. I'm done with worrying man." Dallas says.
"Well you guys can go, I don't mind. I have stuff to do at home anyway." I say.
"Are you sure?" Dez asks.
"I'm sure." I tell him.
"Sorry you can't come." Dallas says.
"Just be careful of Dal?" I say.
"Sure thing." He says. He pats me on the shoulder, "Thanks for looking out for me."
"What are friends for?" I ask, swallowing hard. It feels weird saying that to him for some reason, maybe the fact that I've been having secret meetings with his girlfriend, even though they are innocent.
That night…
I lie down on my bed, strumming at my guitar. It's almost nine thirty, and I'm already yawning. I play a few chords, just messing around in my boxers and no shirt. My parents went to bed about half an hour ago, and I'm officially bored, until I hear something outside. At first, I don't think anything of it, but then I hear it again.
I look towards my window and wait, and that's when I see something hit my window, causing the noise. I set my guitar down at tiptoe to my window. I look down and Ally is standing under my window. I open it up and stick my head out, "What the hell are you doing?" I whisper yell.
"I need to talk to you." She says.
"You couldn't have called?" I ask.
"I didn't want to be alone." She says, and that's when I realize the tone of her voice; she's been crying.
"I'll be right down to let you in." I tell her.
I rush down the stairs, forgetting to put more clothes on, and open the door. Her tear streaked face looks me up and down, causing her cheeks to run a darker shade of red, she looks at her feet, "You could have put some clothes on." She says.
"Well, you kind of just came unexpected, I didn't think of my attire." I tell her.
"Its fine, can I come in now?" She asks.
"Yes, but be quiet, my parents are sleeping." I tell her.
She follows me through my house and upstairs to my room. I shut the door behind me and throw on my shorts from earlier. She sits down on my bed, looking around my room. I get my guitar and put it back on my stand. She looks at me again, and I notice the same blush forming, "You couldn't have put a shirt on too?" She asks.
I grin widely, "It's too hot in here for that.
"Sure it is." She says, almost laughing.
"So what's wrong?" I ask her, sitting on my desk chair across from her.
"Dallas went to some party, without even telling me, Trish was there and texted me it. So I texted Dallas and confronted him and he totally blew up at me." She says, sighing.
"Ugh, I warned him to behave." I say, running my hands through my hair.
"You knew?" She asks.
"Well, he said something about going earlier." I say.
"Oh." She says.
"Yeah, if I knew this was going to happen I would have told you myself, believe me." I tell her.
"I believe you. I'm just so tired of this." She says, and I see tears starting to stream down her face again, "What did I do to deserve a reaction like that? All I did was ask a question." She says, covering her face with her hands. She starts to cry harder.
"Ally, don't cry." I tell her. I stand up and walk over to her, seating next to her. I pat her causally on the back, trying to comfort her. Instead, she moves in and presses herself into my chest, hugging me to her and crying. I slowly put my arm around her back and rub it gently as she cried. And that feeling came back again, the one I've been craving to feel again since our hug. The electricity, the thousands of feelings at once, and it has to stop, but I never want it to.
After she cries a little longer, she lets go of me and straightens up, wiping her face, "I'm sorry about that." She says.
"Don't be." I tell her.
"Thanks for being here for me, it means so much." She says.
"No problem." I say back. It's all I could say.
She looks over at the clock on my nightstand, "Crap, I should get home before someone notices." She says.
We both stand up at the same time, "Okay, I'll walk you out." I tell her.
We walk quietly through the house and go onto the porch. She turns around and looks up at me, her face shining bright in the moonlight, her sad big brown eyes peering into my soul, "Goodnight Austin, thanks again." She says. For a moment, I'm completely frozen and speechless. She keeps her eyes on me and I just smile at her, a dumb, silly smile. She looks at my chest and then back to my face quickly, blushing for the umpteenth time tonight.
"Goodnight Ally." I say quietly to her. She smiles and turns around, walking away.
I go back into my house and back into my room. I shut off the light, and lay down in my bed. All I can think about is what just happened, and that feeling I got with Ally in my arms, and then I remember what she told me about at Mel's earlier, to write a song about what goes through my head when I'm trying to sleep, and I realize what's been in my head lately every night; her. I can't write my own songs because the only thing I'd be able to write about is her, and I don't know if that's a good idea.
I get up quickly, turning on my light again. I go over to my desk and fumble through my pile of old school stuff, finally finding a blank notebook. I open it up to the first page, and grab a pen, slowly and shakily writing the first line... "The way you turn me on like a light switch, I might just go crazy."