Hello there lovelies! Okay, it never gets old when my e-mail pings and alerts me that you guys are reviewing my stories and chapters. I love how we're only on Chapter 4 but I have 40 reviews, may not be a lot but to me it is. So I love you ALL for that, especially you, Guest people! I hope you're all having an amazing summer, I know that I'm just here at home watching The Fosters, Twisted, Austin & Ally (DUH), Tumblr-ing (even though I don't have a Tumblr, I'm on it all the time) and looking at YouTube videos... yeah. Okay, this chapter is chalk full of all kinds of twists and turns so let's get started, BA-BAM! ...Yeah, I don't know what that was either...
My hands are shaking and I'm not quite sure if I can do this. The songbook is in my lap, and it all seems too surreal. I've never performed one of my own songs before, adding onto the fact that I've never even performed in front of people, much less for an audition.
"Trish, I don't know if I can do this..." I said uneasily, my stomach doing flips and forming butterflies.
"Yes you can!" she replied encouragingly. Next to her, the familiar red head Dez nodded his head.
"Yeah, Ally, there's no need to be nervous! There's just an audience watching you and spotlights on you and-"
"Dez!" Trish snapped, shaking her head at him. I fought the urge to chew on my hair, a nasty habit I tended to do when I got extremely nervous. "You gotta relax, Ally. It's just a school play."
I sighed, nodding and taking deep breaths, inhaling the air almost violently. "You're right. You're right, I just need to relax and-"
"Ally!" a voice called. My body froze as I carefully peeped my head from behind the curtain, peering through the faces in the audience until I spotted a blonde head. Luckily, Kira wasn't with him for once. I weakly waved back, then hurriedly pushed the curtain back in its place.
"Trish, he's here!" I screeched, hyperventilating and waving my hands in the air.
"Who, Austin?!" she asked. I nodded, my breathing becoming short and urgent.
"This is great!" Dez exclaimed cheerfully. Trish and I shot him a glare. She placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Ally. You are going to kick some serious butt out there, trust me," she declared. "Prove everyone wrong for once."
I grinned, feeling myself instantly relax. "You know, Trish, you really are a great friend."
She threw her hands up in the air and giggled. "I know right?" We both laughed as I stared at my original lyrics one last time. This was it. This was my moment to prove myself, to prove that I could be anything I wanted to be if I just tried. I'd been leafing through my songbook, searching for the perfect song that I could possibly audition with, but I couldn't find one. So the only choice I had left was...
"Next!" a loud voice called.
...to write a new one.
Trish squeezed my hand and Dez gave me a thumbs up... well his thumbs were down but he had a smile plastered on his face, so I'm sure he meant to face them in the other direction. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage. The spotlight blinded my vision and for a moment all I could see was bright white, so I averted my attention to something else, my eyes searching for that familiar blonde head.
The smile on his face made my heart race, and even when my brain racked for lyrics to describe the moment, nothing could even compare to just how amazing his charming grin made me feel.
"So, Ms. Ally Dawson," a brown wavy haired lady sitting at a table in front of me stated, her voice echoing throughout the theater. "The Little Mermaid, are you familiar with it?"
I nodded. "It's my favorite Disney movie," I gushed. I could almost make out Austin smirking in his seat. He'd had The Little Mermaid marathons with me before, which included me belting along with Ariel and combing my hair with forks. He was the only person who had ever heard me really sing, so it was comforting that he was here for moral support.
"And what will you be performing for us today?" she asked, her tone sounding almost weary.
"An original song," I murmured. Her eyes lit up at this statement.
"This should be interesting then," she sighed, her lips forming a small smile. I handed the piano sheet music to the player, who took it eagerly. The melody filled the air and I carefully opened my mouth.
When we touch it's like
It's only me and you in the room
Just us two
And when you smile it's like
Our worlds collide
The sky burns bright
The two of us would be like rain
We fall then get back up again
So don't give up on us, baby
Don't give up on us, baby
The auditorium was filled with complete silence and suddenly, there was thunderous applause. I sighed and smiled, wishing I had gotten the nerve to step onto a stage sooner if I had known it would feel this good. I practically ran off the stage and hugged Trish and Dez as soon as I was behind the curtain.
"That was amazing!" Trish squealed.
"You were like Hannah Montana," Dez added.
"Ally," a voice said, and I turned around.
"Austin!" I exclaimed, smiling and jumping into his arms.
"You were perfect out there," he said, his arms wrapping themselves around my waist as his head tucked into my shoulder. "You're going to get the lead role for sure."
I pulled away to look at him. "You think?" I asked.
"I know," he replied. I grinned. Trish cleared her throat. We slowly let go of each other and I shot her a look.
"Austin, you know Trish and Dez," I stated.
"Hi," Trish said, sizing Austin up with her eyes. I felt him shrink slightly behind me and I tried to stifle a giggle.
"Hey man!" Dez exclaimed, practically running up to him. The two did a hand shake of some sort, probably something that could only be deciphered if we were in their brains, which I wasn't planning to try any time soon.
"We're in the same Anatomy class," they said simultaneously, then began to laugh. Trish and I looked at each other as we rolled our eyes in synch.
"Do you guys really think I did okay?" I asked, fidgeting with the hem of my coral blue skirt.
"Yes," they all replied in unison before shooting one another strange looks.
"Okay, we really need to stop doing that," I sighed, giggling. "Austin, thank you so much for coming."
He grinned and I felt my heart drop. Trish nudged my arm. "You know I'd do anything for you," he said, ruffling my hair. "Hey, who was that song for?"
My smile faltered. "Th-the song?" I stammered. "Oh, well-"
"It was nothing!" Trish chimed in, nervously laughing. "She just wrote it during AP Psychology."
I vigorously nodded my head. "Exactly, what she said."
Austin blinked, then shrugged his shoulders. "Cool." His phone chimed and he took it out of his pocket. "Oh, I gotta go. Kira needs help with her science project."
"Are you sure that's all she needs help with?" Trish mumbled.
"What?" Austin asked.
"She said-" Dez began but I quickly cut him off.
"Nothing! She said nothing! Run along now," I breathed.
"Alright, I'll see you later, Ally!" he called, wrapping me in one last hug before he dashed away to his lady in waiting. I sighed, my shoulders slumping.
"Are you sure she doesn't like him?" Trish questioned, folding her arms.
"Honestly," I said, watching him run off in the distance, "I don't know anymore."
"Lights," I murmured to myself as I strolled down the aisles.
"I think I found them!" Austin called. I gasped and ran to the next aisle.
"Those don't look like lights, Austin," I laughed. His face was swarmed by gigantic purple sunglasses that sat atop his nose. "We're supposed to be looking for lights that I can hang up in my room, remember?"
He grinned. "Yes ma'am," he said, saluting to me while taking the sunglasses off and placing them back on its hook. "Tell me why you suddenly want to redecorate your room again?"
"Because," I replied, searching the racks. "I need change. I'm a senior now, but the last time I redecorated my room was when I turned twelve."
"So that's why you have a Powerpuff girls poster on your wall..." he murmured. I lightly punched him in the arm before spotting an employee.
"Oh, excuse me!" I called, walking up to the blue vested woman. "Do you have any room lights, kinda like Christmas lights almost?"
As she turned around, I gaped at the figure. "Trish?" I asked. "I thought you worked at the Coffee Kiosk."
She shrugged and smiled. "I got fired from there last week. Apparently you're not allowed to write Bozo on every person's cup." I shook my head in distress. "I'm working at Craftsy now."
I nodded. "I can see that."
"Hey Trish!" Austin exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
She bluntly pointed at her vest and Austin's face lit up in recognition. "Anyways, I think lights are in aisle 9. Or is it 10?" Trish questioned, tapping her chin. "Yeah, I just started today, sorry."
I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling and dragged Austin to aisle 9. I sighed in relief. "She actually got it right," I said. Trish had a well-known reputation for holding various numbers of jobs, all of which she only worked at it for a day or two. I was positive that her resume was probably around eight pages.
"What about these?" Austin asked, holding up a long string of pink lights. My nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Nah," I replied, shaking my head. I racked through the varieties of lights but nothing seemed to match exactly what I was picturing in my mind. I sighed, running my fingers through my brown locks. The sudden offer from Trish to experiment with my hair suddenly came to mind and I felt my cheeks turn pink as I glanced at Austin, who was frowning and searching through the racks as well. I wasn't about to turn into just another cliche and change myself for a boy simply because I liked him, but... the word "enhance" did have a nice ring to it. Maybe Trish could make me glow brighter...
Maybe by enhancing myself, Austin would notice and-
"Ally, I think I found the ones!" Austin exclaimed cheerfully as he held a white string of softly glowing lights. I felt myself break out into a grin as I observed how the lights reflected off his light brown eyes. He was glowing. Maybe someday I could glow along with him.
"Perfect," I murmured, taking them from his hands.
"A little more to the left... there," I sighed in satisfaction at the sight of the new lights hanging along the walls of my room. Austin turned around from his stance on the step stool and laughed.
"Your face right now is just priceless," he said, imitating me by widening his eyes and smiling a little too wide. I folded my arms.
"Don't make me push you off that step stool," I threatened. He shook his head, still laughing, and stepped back down onto the hard wood floor.
"I can't believe I spent this whole Saturday helping you with lights," he declared. I placed my hands on my hips.
"I am offended," I gasped sarcastically, throwing a small pillow on my bed at him. He opened his mouth in surprise, then cocked his eyebrows at me.
"So you really want to start that, huh?" he asked. I squealed and tried to make a run for the door, but I felt a pair of strong hands grab at my waist and pull me back. His fingers brushed beneath my shirt for a moment before he started an all out tickle war, knowing full well that my stomach was my weak spot.
"Austin!" I yelled, gasping for air in between my laughter. "Please...stop!"
I felt my back hit against the bed and my face was growing warm from the peals of laughter that continued to spill out of me. I opened my eyes and grew quiet, noticing our position: him on his knees crouched above me, his face only inches away from me. I gulped at the sight of his body being so close to mine. Was he moving closer, or was that just my imagination?
"The lights," I whispered before he could move any closer, making him pull away, blinking rapidly as if he had been in a trance. My heart was literally beating out of my chest. We both got up from the bed and stared at one another for a moment. I walked over to my light switch and watched my room turn into a night sky.
"Woah," he murmured. "Come on." He gently took my hand and moved the both of us towards the bed as we lay on our backs in silence.
"It's beautiful," I sighed, smiling at the sight of my glowing room.
"It's like you brought the night into your room," he added, turning to look at me.
"Now all I need is the moon... oh wait, you're here," I giggled.
He rolled his eyes but laughed along. "You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?" I asked, turning to him as well.
"That night when my parents and your parents took us out to catch fireflies."
I tilted my head back, laughing. "I remember that. We were, what, nine?"
"You wore your Dora the Explorer hat," he chimed in. I wanted to capture his laugh and trap it inside a jar, or even better, turn it into the best song ever. Who wouldn't want to keep his laugh on repeat?
"At least I wasn't the one wearing a cape," I teased. "You were obsessed with Superman."
"He's awesome," he defended. "It was so dark; you wouldn't let go of my hand."
I blushed at the thought. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay," he murmured, his eyes twinkling. Silence lapsed around us and the only sounds were our steady breathing.
"I miss being a kid," I sighed. "We didn't have to worry about anything yet, didn't have to worry about the future or college... the only things that mattered were the cartoons on TV and who reached the playground first at recess."
He chuckled. "I remember one time you turned purple from being upside down on the monkey bars for too long," he said.
"You remember a lot of things," I pointed out. Austin shrugged his shoulders.
"All my best memories are with you," he admitted. I felt my heart instantly warm.
"Do you think I'll be okay?" I asked. For a moment I watched his face as he pondered the meaning of the question.
"I know," he replied. "I know that you're going to get the part in the play, and I know that whatever happens in the future, you'll succeed at it." He turned to look at the lights. "You'll be happy. That's all that matters, right?"
I followed his actions, turning to stare at the lights as well. "Right."
My eyes quickly scanned the list as I squeezed both Trish's and Dez's hand. A week had passed, and the list for who had made it into the school play had finally been posted on the bulletin board. My breath hitched as I landed on my name.
Ally Dawson ... Ariel
I slowly turned around before shouting out in joy. Trish squealed along with me, and Dez began to jump and skip around in circles.
"Ally!" a familiar voice called, and I turned around only to come face to face with Kira. Austin stood next to her. "Did you get the part?"
I felt my smile fade for a moment, but Trish lightly kicked my foot. The smile returned. "I did!" I exclaimed. She grinned. It seemed genuine enough, but when I looked down and saw just how close her and Austin's hands were touching, my gut kicked again.
"I told you, Ally!" Austin said, smiling enthusiastically.
"That's so awesome!" Kira added. "We are definitely going to come and see the play, right Austin?"
I watched his face light up at the sound of that we.
"Yeah? Well... so are we!" Dez said defensively, moving next to Trish. I secretly smiled at Dez's sudden need to protect me. I had grown quite close to the strange red head throughout the past couple of weeks, and his odd mannerisms were becoming more and more normal to me. "Hey, who's playing Eric?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I actually didn't look," I said, as we all turned back towards the list.
Elliot Johnson ... Eric
"Oh my gosh," Trish whispered. We all turned to her in curiosity.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Do you know who that is?" she squealed, her face breaking out into a grin.
"No..." I replied. "Am I supposed to?"
"Girl! That is Elliot Johnson, captain of the football team and our class president! He is... as cliche as it sounds... the most popular guy in school!"
I blinked at her. "Oh."
"And..." Dez said, checking his phone. "Beep beep! Hunk alert!"
I giggled, shaking my head. "I've seriously never heard of him before."
"I wonder why," Trish mumbled, and I shot her a look. I turned to glance at Austin and caught him frowning at the list.
"What's wrong?" I asked him. He snapped out of it and vigorously nodded his head.
"Nothing, I just..."
"Are you Ally?" a voice asked. I turned around and came into contact with an extremely good looking, brown haired, built boy about my age. His smile could make millions swoon.
I made a sound that resembled something of a seal dying. Trish shoved my arm.
"I'm Elliot," he said, introducing himself.
A gargle came out of my throat.
He stared at me oddly but brushed it away. "Well, I'm just glad my leading lady is guh-orgeous," he chuckled. I broke out of my trance and sent him a genuine smile.
"Thanks," I softly replied.
"I'm Dez, big fan," Dez blurted out, smiling and offering his hand out to be shaken. Trish glared at him.
"He's not a celebrity, dumbie," she snapped, but turned to give Elliot a wide smile. "But since we're doing introductions, I'm Trish."
"This is Kira and Austin," I added. Austin had his hands stiffly stuck in his pockets and I shot him an are-you-okay look. Kira, on the other hand, gave a bubbly wave and smile.
"Oh, Austin! Yeah, you're Ally's best friend," Elliot noted. I felt Austin relax a little and smile.
"That's me," he said cheerfully, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I took a glance at Kira and noticed her frowning. Why was she frowning if she'd said that she didn't like Austin? I looked over at Trish, who had thankfully noticed it, too. She rolled her eyes at me while I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to start anything.
"Well I'll see you guys later. I have football practice," Elliot sighed, but sent me a wink. "I'll see you around, Ally."
I felt Austin's grip around me tighten and I stared at him confusingly before cheerfully waving at Elliot. I turned to Trish, a bright grin on my face. My cheeks hadn't hurt so much from smiling since... well, forever.
"He's..." I sighed.
"Perfect? Charming? Every girl's dream?" she asked, listing the characteristics off her fingertips. Austin snorted.
"He's not that perfect," he said.
"He is," Dez replied. I stared at Elliot as he turned a corner down the hall and disappeared. Austin and Kira bid their goodbyes as they sped off to who knows where. I slumped against the bulletin board in despair. Trish patted my shoulder and Dez smiled reassuringly.
"At least you got the part," Dez said. I sighed, nodding my head.
Trish pulled something out of her backpack. "By the way, you're in charge of the notebook tonight," she stated, handing me the AP Psychology composition book. I groaned, taking the item from her as we headed towards my locker.
My load just a whole lot heavier.
Whew, I told you this chapter was a hand full! Yay, Ally got the part, not to mention the privilege of getting to work with the most popular guy in school. How do you think Austin feels about this? And what is with Kira's dirty looks? I made sure to add lots more Trish and Dez in this chapter because it was requested, and I felt happy to oblige. I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Don't forget to review so I know how I'm doing. I AM SENDING VIRTUAL HUGS TO ALL OF YOU.