YOU GUYS ARE ALL AMAZING. Your reviews always manage to brighten my day and make me smile. It literally never gets old to check my e-mail only to find those amazingly sweet reviews from each and every one of you. I know I always, ALWAYS say this, but I really do appreciate everything that you guys do, even the people who don't have actual accounts but review anyway! And even the people who just read my story in general, I'm glad my writing makes people happy out there, wherever you all live. Thank you so very much! On a more important note: The Auslly kiss is OUT! Spoilers, and I'm not gonna lie, I looked and I *sings* regret nothingggg. Although I'm not going to get on a controversial topic about spoilers because there's enough of that going around, I'm just going to say that I'm very excited to see the episode! Alright, here we go, Chapter 17, the second to last chapter guys...
Shelby's familiarity has never felt more comforting since my nerves are practically shot this morning. Austin smiles warmly at me from the driver's seat as I buckle my seat belt, playing nervously with the hem of my skirt.
Today is the last play rehearsal, and then tomorrow is the show.
The show.
Where there will be actual people in the audience.
Staring.
At me.
"Hey, you okay?" Austin asked, his right hand leaving the steering wheel to grip onto my hand, puling it away from the hem of my skirt squeezing it. I offered him a weak smile that wasn't fooling anybody and sighed.
"No," I admitted quietly.
"Why not? What's wrong?" he said, making a left turn, his fingers wiggling through the spaces of my own so that our fingers were intertwined. I felt my cheeks grow warm at the fact that he so often liked to hold my hand now.
"The play is tomorrow, Austin. Tomorrow," I emphasized, feeling my voice shaking in fear. His eyebrows knitted in deep concern, and he pulled over to the side of the road. My eyes widened. "What are you doing; we might be late!"
"I don't care," he said. "Ally, you have no reason to be nervous or scared tomorrow."
I folded my arms. "Yes I do! This is my-"
"Ally, don't you see it?" he asked. "You've changed." He tilted my chin so that I would meet his eyes. Darn those hazel brown eyes that make me melt and give in to everything. "When you're on that stage, I can't take my eyes off you. It all comes naturally to you, even if it doesn't seem like it."
I smiled, genuinely this time. "Really?" I asked in a hesitant tone.
"Yes. Now stop worrying or else I'll-"
I leaned in and pressed my lips gently and quickly against his. When I pulled away, his mouth hung open wide in surprise. I laughed.
"Now who's the threat?" I teasingly stated, my heart soaring as he grinned widely at me before pulling back onto the road.
"Ladies, how is your preparation for the report coming?" Mrs. Jefferson asked sweetly, smiling down at our notebook.
"I personally think my hypothesis won this argument," Trish stated proudly. I rolled my eyes, but I knew she was right.
"I'm sure it did," Mrs. Jefferson replied, staring at me with strange twinkling eyes before walking away to the next table.
"Did you see that? It's like... she knows," I hissed.
Trish snorted. "Ally, everyone knows! Everyone's been waiting for you and Austin to finally admit you've been in love with one another since kindergarten! Trust me, she's not the only one in the loop."
I bit my lip, embarrassed that this whole time it seemed that I'd been the one out of the loop. "Oh my God," I laughed, burying my face in my hands.
"So...?" Trish asked, the same mischievous sparkle in her eyes. I peeked at her through my fingers.
"So what?" I replied.
She sighed in frustration. "So is it official, you dumbie?!" She eagerly leaned forward, her expression almost quite similar to one of the Cheshire cat in Alice In Wonderland.
"Almost," I whispered, feeling the sudden tension in the room. My peripheral vision told me that Trish wasn't the only one wanting so desperately to hear my answer.
"Almost?" she deadpanned. "Let me get this straight: you guys have kissed and held hands and gone on a moonlight snack trip... but you two still aren't together?"
"Um... yes?" I squeaked.
She groaned, now burying her own face in her hands. "You guys are killing me."
I shut my locker door, settling the notebooks carefully into my arms when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I whirled around, only to face the person who had basically tipped the dominoes until they all came tumbling down.
"Kira," I breathed, smiling awkwardly. "Hi."
"Hey," she replied.
A tense silence formed as we simultaneously opened our mouths to speak.
"I just wanted to-"
"What did you want to-"
We both stared at one another before falling into a nervous fit of giggles. I sighed, leaning against my locker. "Kira, we've known each other for years," I stated.
"We have, but... well, you know," she said softly. I cleared my throat.
"I know," I murmured. Another awkward silence lapsed.
"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I never should've... I never should've gone out with him. At the time it felt right, but I should've seen how much you were hurting."
I shrugged my shoulders. The New Ally believed in second chances but at the moment was hesitant about forgiving.
"But they're right, you know," she said. This caught my attention.
"About what?" I asked, gripping tightly onto my notebooks.
She smiled. "That if it's really yours, it will come back to you." She placed one hand on my shoulder, and I felt myself relax. "You should see the look on his face when he's around you, Ally. It's like... you're worth the entire world. Hold onto him."
"As long as he holds onto me," I joked. She laughed, removing her hand.
"Oh trust me, he'll be holding on until you guys get married," she replied, and I felt my face turn pink.
"M-married?" I stuttered, suddenly imagining walking down the aisle and actually seeing Austin at the end of that aisle. She winked.
"Just don't forget to invite me to the wedding," she said, then walked away to her next class. I brushed the thought away but was surprised to find myself sketching wedding dresses on the top of my Math notes.
What has this boy done to me.
I sighed, taking off Ariel's quite uncomfortable shoes in the dressing room before taking a look at myself in the mirror.
I still saw the same girl, only with highlights. The same girl, the same face, the same me. Yet something inside me had changed.
"Knock knock," a voice said, and I turned around.
"Elliot," I replied, grinning. He walked towards me, plopping down into the chair in front of the mirror.
"That was a pretty decent last rehearsal, huh?" he asked.
I nodded, sitting down next to him in another chair. "It was," I noted. "But..."
"But...?" he asked, sitting up suddenly.
I ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm going to miss being on stage," I murmured. His reaction surprised me as he began laughing. I frowned. "I'm being serious!"
"Sorry," he gasped through his incessant chuckles. "It's just... when I first met you, you didn't even want to set foot on a stage. But now, it's like you can't get enough of it."
"I feel different when I'm up there," I said. "I feel like me."
"You know," he suggested. "You could always major in theater."
"Major in... theater?" I asked, the words feeling funny on my tongue as I said them out loud. Why had this thought never occurred to me before?
"Sure," he said. "Look for a college that has really good theater and performance majors, and apply for them. It's a one hundred percent guarantee that you'll probably get in."
I scoffed. "You don't know that."
He bluntly stared at me. "Ally, you have straight A's and you're a triple threat." He caught himself and grimaced. "Well, maybe you need to work on your dancing, but a double threat is just as close to a triple."
"I need to think about it," I said carefully. He nodded.
"You're in control of your future. No one else," he said, leaving me alone in the dressing room to resonate in his words. Whatever the world held in store for me was my choice and my choice alone. The next step was simply taking that leap of faith and praying that the end of the tunnel would be just as bright as expected.
"Still up?" Mom asked as her head peeked through my open door. I sighed, nodding. She came inside the room, sitting down gently on the side of my bed. "What's on your mind?"
I laughed. "Not much," I said sarcastically. "Just the fact that tomorrow a bunch of people will be staring at me onstage, plus the question that I should have already answered but I can't seem to."
I leaned my head against her shoulder, frowning as she soothingly rubbed my back.
"Oh, sweetie. Sometimes it takes time, small chunks of it, before everything falls into place."
"But what if it doesn't?" I asked. "What if everything just falls apart at the last minute?"
"Then you just have to make sure that won't happen."
"How?"
She pulled away, smiling down at me. "By letting yourself."
She got up, shutting the door quietly behind her. I collapsed onto a pillow, hugging the blankets and wrapping them around me until I felt like I was inside a cocoon.
"It's c-cold," I shivered, the goosebumps on my arms escalating. Austin chuckled.
"I texted you to bring a jacket. We're at a ski lodge, for crying out loud," he replied, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his own jacket. I glared at him, trying my best to ignore the numbing feeling now spreading to my fingertips.
"Well, why would they plan a field trip at the end of 7th Grade anyway?" I sighed. But I couldn't stop my eyes from looking up at the sky, snowflakes falling all around us, like being encased in a white slate of winter wonderland perfection. I closed my eyes, smiling at the feel of the snowflakes landing on my face, dainty wet petals dissolving into my skin.
I suddenly felt something being wrapped around me, my eyes flying open in surprise at the fact that my shoulders now held Austin's jacket. I turned around to face him, his arms now rising with goosebumps.
"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling my skin turn hot, my cheeks probably flushing a rosy pink.
He shrugged his shoulders. "You were cold," he mumbled.
I blinked. "But you did text me to bring a jacket," I replied.
A small smile played upon his lips as he laughed. "Who plans a field trip at the end of 7th Grade anyway?" he teased, and I bent over to form a snowball that I could tackle him with.
I shut my eyes, imagining that winter wonderland five years ago, when all I could hear was the sound of the world and the feel of the sky. I thought of that snow, that blonde headed boy, and drifted off.
I woke up feeling cold, and stared at my arms.
Goosebumps.
I walked over to the bathroom, looking at my disheveled appearance in the mirror. The bags under my eyes. The paleness of my face. These were my imperfections, yet I was more than happy to see them. I no longer despised them, and this is what had changed inside me. I took a deep breath, then let it out.
"Today you are going to answer that question, and today you are going to rock that stage," I said to my reflection, who almost seemed to look at me in fear. I straightened my posture, sending her a small smile. "Today you're no longer going to be afraid. Know why?"
She stared at me with doe like eyes, blinking, waiting.
"Because you won't let yourself."
Life's too short to stay behind the curtain. Cheers to stepping into the spotlight. -Trish and Dez
I grinned, staring up at the two while trying to balance the card and the bouquet of daisies in my arms. I blew a stray hair out of my face.
"Guys, I don't know what to say," I sighed, my eyes welling up.
"Oh! No crying!" Dez yelled.
"Yeah, you might ruin your make-up," Trish reminded me. I let out a small laugh.
"Either way, she'd look perfect," a voice said, and I sighed, leaning against the presence from behind me, my head falling against his chest.
Trish rolled her eyes, smiling. "We'll leave you two alone," she said, practically having to drag Dez away.
"But I want to see!" he whined, and I giggled, turning around to face Austin.
"And what do you have there?" I asked, nodding my head to the item he was hiding behind his back.
"Oh, just this," he said innocently, pulling out a single rose and handing it to me. I scrunched my nose, laughing. "Too cheesy?"
I nodded. "Just a little bit," I said, leaning in to hug him. "But that's okay."
My heart was beating so fast that it sounded like a simple hum, and I opened my mouth before I lost the courage. "Yes."
He pulled away from me carefully, staring down at me. He blinked. "Yes?" he asked.
I nodded, smiling. "Yes," I repeated, waiting for him to realize. He looked at me for another good two minutes before the realization dawned on him.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, grinning widely and lifting me up into the air, twirling me around. I tilted my head back, the laughter filling my lungs as he settled me carefully back onto the ground. "So this means..."
"That you're my... boyfriend," I said, testing out the new word.
"And you're my... girlfriend," he said, grinning and leaning in closer to me, touching his lips lightly against mine.
"Now you have to take me out on dates," I murmured in between the kisses.
"That's not a problem," he said, smiling against my lips.
"Ally, we're about to start!" Andy yelled, then stopped in his tracks. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I-"
"Nope," Austin said, pulling away and scratching the back of his neck. "She's all yours."
I looked back at him before going onstage.
"Go," he mouthed.
And I did.
"Ariel, wait," Elliot said, running after me across the stage, pulling my arm back to face him.
I looked at the ground, but he held my face in his hands, lifting it up. I searched his eyes nervously.
"Why are you always running away?" he asked.
"I'm afraid," I spoke, my voice shaking. The spotlight turned from a blinding white to a soft glow of yellow.
"You don't have to be anymore," he murmured. "I love you, and I don't care what other people think about it."
I closed my eyes, waiting for the stage kiss, for his lips to touch mine, then cracked open a single eye when nothing happened. I looked at him in alarm when I realized he had his hand held out, suddenly recalling what Austin had said that day at the fair.
"A kiss, I mean, out of all the things she could add into the play! She could add in a... a hug, a handshake... those things are romantic, too!"
I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing as I took his hand and shook it. The audience chuckled a bit, and I sighed, remembering my line.
"I love you, too," I replied, and I leaned in to hug him because... well.
Ariel can only say "I love you" and shake hands for so long.
After the play, I am practically bombarded to death by nearly everyone congratulating me.
"Oh, Alls, you did fantastic!" Dad exclaimed, wrapping me into a large hug.
"Dad... can't... breathe," I choked, and he sheepishly let go.
"Honey, you were amazing, breath taking, uni-"
"Mom, I get it," I laughed. She smiled, squeezing my hand.
"I am so proud of you," she stated, her eyes tearing up. I softly smiled at her.
"Thank you," I replied.
"And," Dez interrupted, waving his camera at all of us. "I got it all on tape!"
Trish stared up at him admiringly, but when he looked down her expression quickly changed as she rolled her eyes. I bit my lip in amusement.
Someday they would. Someday.
"I told you that you would be amazing!" Trish squealed. I grinned.
The theater was still packed and the conversation in the air buzzed with excitement. Clearly, the play had been quite the success, and I didn't choke on any of my lines or song lyrics- not once.
"She was pretty awesome," a voice said, taking my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. The looks on everyone's faces were priceless.
Mom's grin reached all the way to the moon and back.
Dad turned an interesting shade of off white.
Trish looked at us with pride, while Dez was screaming a little too joyfully. I cleared my throat, and they all dispersed in different directions. Mom grabbed Dad's arm, leading him outside.
I sighed, shaking my head and turning around to face him.
"Now, why did you do that?" I asked, smiling.
Austin shrugged. "Because I love you."
I blinked. "You do?"
His hands slid around my waist as he tilted his face towards mine, kissing me until I could no longer think straight. And that's when I heard it.
The unmistakeable click as, suddenly, everything fell into place, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, as I realized that I never wanted this moment to end. He pulled away, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, smiling.
"I do."
WHEW. Okay, this took my forever, but I'm smiling because I actually like how this chapter turned out. What do you guys think? Leave me a review or Tweet me letting me know what you thought about this chapter! I put in a TON of Auslly kisses, probably because the fact that the actual kiss is out and I set it as my wallpaper... wait... um... oops. The last chapter comes out NEXT WEEK! It's almost coming to an end, guys... I am sad. But the support has been too unreal. I. Love. You. All.