Chapter Eight:
"This is just so unhealthy."
As I throw on my red converse and rub my hands through my hair one more time, I realize that this is stupid of me. Why am I going to this stupid party anyway? I have a feeling it's because I got the impression Ally wanted me there, but she's going to be with Dallas the whole night, I know it. If he isn't going to drink, then they won't be having any fights and they can have a good time, which is good. I don't like them fighting, because that involves Ally getting upset, or hurt, and I hate that more than anything.
I tell my parents where I'm going, and I walk to the beach. They told me the general area, and it wasn't hard to find seeing how there was a large group of people scattered in one area, with loud music coming from a stage. I didn't know there was going to be live music; what kind of party is this anyway?
I scan through the crowd, looking for anyone I know, and of course the first person I see is Ally. She is standing awkwardly, alone, sipping from a cup at what looks like a snack table. She is looking all around, looking for someone. She's wearing a light blue sun dress, her hair down and straight, she looks absolutely stunning, but when doesn't she?
I walk over slowly, her eyes meet mine and she smiles instantly, setting down her drink, she waves, "Austin!"
"Hello Ally." I say as I walk up to her.
"I'm glad you could make it." She says.
"So am I, where's Dallas?" I ask her.
She shrugs, "He's somewhere, talking with friends I guess." She says.
"I didn't know there was going to be live music." I say to her, gesturing to the stage. There is some strange looking kid with hair covering his face playing the guitar.
She laughs, "Well, it's more like karaoke night I guess."
"Whose party is this?" I ask.
"I have no idea, some friend of Dallas', I've never even heard of him." She says.
"That's interesting. Are you going to sing?" I ask, laughing.
"Very funny, why don't you go up there?" She asks.
My face turns serious, "Also funny." I say.
I grab a pretzel from a large bowl and stuff it into my mouth, "Where's Dez and Trish?" I ask after I'm done chewing.
"I have no idea, Dez was around here earlier." She says.
"Well this is going to be a fun night." I say, sighing.
"Hey, you've only been here for like two minutes, give it some time." She says.
"I'll try." I tell her.
After a little while of talking, I follow Ally around, looking for Dallas. We finally find him standing with a group of three girls, and one boy. Ally walks over to him, clearing her throat. I walk slowly behind, "What's going on babe?" He asks.
"I've been looking all over for you." She says.
"I told you I was talking with friends, don't act so clingy." He says, causing the group to laugh.
I clench my fists tight as he notices me, "Oh hey bud!" He says.
"Hi." I say blankly, wanting to punch him square in the jaw after embarrassing Ally like that.
"How do you like the party?" he asks.
"It's kind of lame actually." I say. His male friend shoots me a death glare and I realize that he must be the one throwing the party. Dallas' eyes widen at me and he clears his throat awkwardly, "Oh it will get better man, let's go get some food." He says.
Ally finds Trish and walks over to her, leaving me with Dallas. As we are walking over to the snack table, he punches me in the arm, "Lighten up, will you? That guy I was with is the host of this 'lame' party." He says.
"Why did you say that about Ally in front of those people? That was kind of, really rude." I say.
"Dude, why do you even care?" He asks, grabbing a few chips.
"Because you're my friend, she's my friend. I care about you guys." I say.
He laughs, "I wouldn't say you and Ally are friends, she's just my girlfriend that you associate with." He says.
"Oh, that's news to me." I say.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks.
I shake my head, "Nothing."
I grab a cup and pour some soda into it while Dallas looks around, "Now where did she go?" he asks.
"Don't be clingy." I say in a mock tone.
He rolls his eyes, "Shut up."
"You know, me and Ally haven't been doing too well lately." He says suddenly.
"You don't say?" I say sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks.
"Well anyone around you guys can sense it, plus you've been acting pretty stupid lately." I tell him.
"Dude, whose side are you on?" He asks.
"I'm not on anyone's side, just stating the facts." I say.
"Whatever, I'm going to go find her." He says, walking away.
I walk over to the front of the stage, where a new guy is standing in front of the microphone. He looks like he's about to throw up right there. There is music playing in the background, and I think he's supposed to be singing already. People are booing and throwing snacks at him. He shakes his head at himself and runs off the stage. I look over to the other side and see Ally and Trish watching. I walk over to them quickly, "Did you just see that?" I ask.
"Yeah, that's so horrible. He must have really bad stage fright." Trish says.
"Like me." Ally says.
"You have stage fright? You don't ever even go on a stage." Trish says.
"Isn't that the point?" I ask.
"Never mind that, these kids are so cruel to him." Ally says.
"Dallas is looking for you." I tell Ally.
"Good, Dall Ass keep looking for her." Trish says. I can't help myself from laughing the her new nickname for her. I even notice a small smile coming from Ally.
"Have you seen Dez, Trish?" I ask her.
She nods, "Yeah, he's on the other side of the stage I think." She says.
"Thanks." I tell her, walking away and into the direction she told me.
I finally find him, he has a digital camcorder in his hand and he's recording the person that is currently on the stage. He looks at me at points the camera at me, "Say hello Austin!"
"Hello Austin!" I say into the camera.
He rolls his eyes and points it back to the stage. I stand next to him and watch him for a few moments until he stops recording, "So what are you doing?" I ask.
"I'm in charge of taping the different performances. I'm one step closer to being a famous director!" he says happily. That's Dez's dream, to be a movie director, but I don't see this as a big first step.
"That's cool Dez." I say.
"Yeah, this party is awesome." He says.
"I wouldn't even call it a party; it's more like a beach bash." I say.
"Well whatever it is its fun." He says.
After a while of watching Dez record, I get bored and walk back over to the table. I grab a few different things to munch on and look around the party. There is a bunch of different things happening at once. There are three girls with violins on the stage, two different couples making out right next to each other, a couple fighting, two guys playing soccer… wait; the couple fighting, is Ally and Dallas. I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm sort of interested in what they could be fighting about now.
I put my focus on them and try to listen. Ally is standing in front of him, making angry facial expression, her arms cross. Dallas' arms are flailing everywhere and he's almost shouting, "All we do is fight!" Dallas shouts.
"And whose fault is that." She says back.
"That would be yours!" He says.
"You are seriously blaming me?" She says.
"It's not blame when it's really your fault." He says.
"You are unbelievable!" She says, picking up a handful of sand and chucking it at him. She storms off and he follows her.
He really is unbelievable. I know I've only been in one relationship but I'm pretty sure it's never a good idea to blame the girl for everything. I'm sure a lot of it was his fault, since I've seen the way he has been acting towards her. I would never treat her like that. I mean, how could anyone treat Ally Dawson like that? She's the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I've ever met and… okay I need to stop thinking.
A group of guys walk over to the table and set a keg down. Now, I thought this was an alcohol free party, but it was Dallas that said that. Maybe he was being truthful, maybe he didn't know. I want to believe it, and I was about to, until Dallas walked over grinning and high fiving one of the guys. I walk over to him and stare at him. He stops and looks at me, "What?" he asks.
"You said there wouldn't be drinking." I say.
"I know, but you were right, this party is lame, but now it's going to get better!" He says.
"Come on Dallas." I say.
"Dude, lighten up! Have some fun for once in your life!" He says.
"I always have fun!" I tell him.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say." He says, setting up some cups.
"I do." I say, crossing my arms like a young toddler having a fit.
"Prove it then!" He says.
"Okay, how?" I ask.
"Chug this." He says, pouring some beer in the cup.
"That doesn't prove anything." I say.
"It proves you're a chicken." He says, making chicken noises. The rest of the guys chime in after him, causing me to roll my eyes.
I know giving in to peer pressure is wrong, and I really didn't feel good about it, but I tend to not like being teased, and I'm always weak compared to Dallas, and I'm sick of it. Plus, my mind is already distraught from the feelings I have for Ally, maybe this will help me.
"Whatever." I say, grabbing the cup and chugging it down in one sip. All the guys cheer me on, completely changing their views of me, which I found actually pathetic.
I swallow hard when a voice comes from behind me, "What's going on?"
I turn around and see Ally standing there, eyeing the cup in my hand and then moving her attention to Dallas and the keg, "You promised." She says towards Dallas.
"We were just having fun Ally, it was Austin's idea." He says.
She looks at me with sad eyes as my mouth drops. Did he seriously just say this was my idea? "Are you serious? This was not my idea!" I say, throwing the cup onto the sand.
"Well, you're the only one drinking." Ally says.
"Yes, because Dallas was making fun of me. It was one cup." I tell her, "And not my idea. You know that."
"Wow, Austin's a liar, and drunk." Dallas says, laughing.
"You can't get drunk from one damn cup, and I'm pretty sure you are the liar, why would you throw me under the bus like this?" I ask. His buddies stay silent and Dallas turns his attention to the floor, shrugging, "I'm not." He says.
"I thought you were different."Ally says to me before he turns around and runs away.
"Are you serious?" I say, running up to Dallas and taking his collar into my hands, "Why did you do that?" I ask, getting into his face. We're about the same height, but I'm slightly taller.
"Man, I'm sorry but I couldn't afford Ally getting mad at me, again. Thanks for taking one for the team." He says, patting me on the shoulder as I let go of him.
"I can't believe you." I say as I turn around and storm off.
I thought Dallas was a real jerk before, but this just completely proves it. It's one thing to hurt Ally, but turn it around on me and make her upset because of something I didn't even do; well that's a real low. I walk over towards the back of the stage and find Trish and Dez; they are standing and having a deep conversation. Once I see me, their faces turn into scowls, "What do you want?" Trish asks.
"Have you seen Ally?" I ask, looking past them.
"She was just here, but I wouldn't bother going after her." Dez says.
"Yeah, why did you do that?" Trish asks.
"I didn't do anything, Dallas set me up. He just admitted too. He made me look like the bad guy so Ally wouldn't be pissed at him again." I say.
Trish's' face goes blank but Dez shakes his head, "He wouldn't do that."
"Well he did!" I say.
"Yeah, I'm not so sure that Austin would lie like this." Trish says.
"Dallas wouldn't do that." Dez repeats.
"So you are going to believe him over me? We've been friends for years." I tell him.
Dez just shrugs, "Sorry," And walks away.
"I can't believe this." I say, pulling at my hair.
"Austin, I know we aren't close, but I believe you. I've seen the way you look at Ally lately, I know how much you care about her and you would never want to hurt her, unlike Dallas. I believe you also because it's something he would do." She says.
"Thank you so much Trish!" I say, hugging her. She tenses up at first but then hugs me back slightly. But when I realize what she said, I pull back and look at her, "What do you mean you've seen the way I look at her lately?" I ask.
"We will talk about that later, go find her. She's walking down the beach over there." She says, pointing in the direction she ran off.
"I owe you." I say, touching her shoulder.
I jog towards the shore line and look around. All I see the darkness besides the moonlit waves. Finally, I see a silhouette a little ways down, "Ally!" I shout.
She stops and turns around, but when she notices it's me, she starts walking again. This time I run full speed towards her, stopping beside her and keep up with her walking speed, "You've got to believe me, this was all Dallas." I say.
"Why would he lie to me like that?" She asks.
"He didn't want you to get mad at him and end up in another argument." I say, half out of breath. She starts to slow down and think a little.
"Why were you drinking?" She asks.
"I told you, Dallas and his friends were nagging on me. Dallas gave me his famous speech about how I'm boring and never have any fun, so I figured I'd just have one cup to shut him up. I'm not drunk or anything and I never planned on drinking, unlike Dallas who got that keg with his friends." I say.
She stops now, facing me. She looks me straight in the eyes for a long moment, and studies my face. I look hopelessly back, realizing everything she's got just kills me; her beauty, her body, her smarts, her music talent. God, she's perfect, and Dallas'.
I see tears start to form in her eyes and she face palms, "Wow, I am seriously so stupid. Why would I ever believe Dallas over you? I knew you wouldn't do something like this." She says.
"You believed Dallas over me because he is your boyfriend and that's how it's supposed to be." I say.
"Except when I believe my boyfriend over another guy it's supposed to be because my boyfriend is telling the truth, not lying." She says.
"I know." I say.
She takes a seat in the sand next to my feet, staring off at the waves. I sit down next to her, our shoulders touching. I stare off at the moon and the stars in the sky, letting her have her silence until she was ready to say something again. About five minutes later, she speaks again.
"I can't do this anymore." She says.
"Do what?" I ask stupidly.
"Be with Dallas. It just doesn't feel right anymore. Hell, it hasn't felt right in months." She says.
"Are you sure?" I ask her.
"Positive." She says, "I'm ending it tomorrow."
"Are you okay? Are you going to be okay?" I ask.
"I think so." She says.
And we stay silent after that, watching the waves, and the moon and the stars. I didn't mind the silence, because there was nothing really left to say. I was comforted in the fact that her and I could just sit here and have this silent moment together. But there was this bad feeling in my stomach, and it wasn't the cup of alcohol I had. It was the fact that tomorrow, if she goes through with it, Ally will be single. And that means that I don't have to feel as guilty with myself for loving her. But it's not like I could, or would do anything to ruin this friendship we have. She doesn't feel the same way about me, and I'm cool with it, as long as I have her in my life.