A/N
Double digits, YEAH! Thank you LimoLuzi, izzyTod, LoveShipper, ally2214, tephriam and phia514 for your reviews on this chapter! Sorry I forgot to do these on my last chapter, but thank you to anyone who reviewed and followed it, yay I hit 40 follows! I hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: Guess what? I own Austin and Ally now. Psych (as in s-ike) I don't own 'em. :P
I stretch and open my eyes slowly and then I remember that I need to pack because we're leaving at one to go camping. I sit up completely awake now and look at the time. It's 12:30, I know my body's gotten used to sleeping in lately, but I didn't expect to sleep through my alarm!Quickly, I get out of bed, shower and change. I throw a couple casual outfits, toiletries, a few books and my swim suit into my suitcase. In another bag I stuff a first aid kit and snacks, done packing; I haul my stuff along with a sleeping bag downstairs. I leave all of my luggage near the front door while I go find my small tent. When I finally found it, I had to dig it out from under all the random items thrown messily into the shed in my backyard. I hear a car horn blaring and figure it must be my friends waiting impatiently for me. I hurry back inside and grab a granola bar and apple to eat.
Outside, I lock the house door and turn around, Trish is still hitting the horn and the noise is going to make me go crazy, "TRISH! STOP HITTING THE CAR HORN OR SO HELP ME I WILL HAVE AUSTIN HURT YOU!" This makes her stop and sit back down sulkily, next to Dez. Austin isn't bothered by my outburst and waves at me, unfortunately, at the same time, he was shoving my tent pack into the back of his truck and it falls on him. I laugh and rush over to help him up. He's laughing too, so I don't think it hurt him. Once he's up, I plant a kiss on his cheek and leave him to finish packing the trunk. I get in on the passenger's side, Trish and Dez are sitting in the back together like on the way to the zoo.
"Dez, you know we're going camping right? Do you want to get those clothes dirty?" I question him. He's wearing really bright colors like usual and every smear of dirt and dust will show, unlike with jeans, greens and browns.
"Yup. It'll be fine, I'll just clean them when I get home," Dez states. He actually sounds reasonable for once until he continues, "Besides, aren't you supposed to wear bright colors so you don't get shot?" I realize he's talking about the type of camping where you hunt. I heard that once too, something about being able to be seen by your comrades and so they don't think you're an animal and hunt you instead. I shrug, whatever, we're on the road now and I just know that if we turn around to let Dez get different clothes (if he has anything that isn't tons of crazy colors and patterns) we'd each have hold ups and it'd take forever. I look out my window for a while and watch the land go bye, listening to Dez's and Trish's mostly quiet bickering. She's ratting him out for bringing his clown shoes camping, I smile, you'd never think it, but those two go well together. Austin turns on the radio and I promptly fall asleep, this is just something that happens, whenever I have music and I'm on a long car ride.
-Line Break-
I gradually wake up, the music is off and the truck isn't moving anymore. "'Mornin', Als. We're stopping for lunch, none of us had much of a breakfast and if we did it was fairly early. Trish and Dez got seated at our table and sent me back out to wake you. We've been driving for about an hour so there's one and a halfish left," Austin says. He's standing next to the truck with my door open, the sunlight is shining through his hair and it looks like it's glowing.
"Ooh, good. I'm hungry." Since it's a truck, there's a pretty big drop between the edge of the floor and the ground. Austin notices my apprehension, lifts me by my waist and helps me down. I shiver at the contact, "Thanks, Austin."
He smiles, "Anything for you, Als." I smile back and take his hand as we walk into the restaurant which is this little burger joint. We find our way over to Trish and Dez who are sitting a booth in the corner. The restaurant is decorated with a bunch of old metal hamburger signs and motorcycle things; this would be a cool place to play I-spy. Just as I'm about to start a game, a pretty brunette waitress wearing a tight, black, too short dress and leather jacket comes over to take our orders. Both the boys' eyes widen and a slight blush appears on their cheeks. I scowl and see Trish do the same; we make eye-contact and agree that after the waitress leaves they will receive their punishment. In the meantime, we order. I get a home-style buttermilk chicken sandwich, Trish a classic cheeseburger, Dez a bacon wrapped burger with mayo, mustard, spicy sauce and bleu cheese, and Austin a double cheeseburger. I forgot to order extra pickles, luckily Austin remembers to; he smiles and winks at me, I smile back, but he's not getting off that easily.
When Lucy, (the waitress) leaves Trish and I confront the boys, "Austin, you naughty boy!"
"Dez, don't let me catch you lookin' at other girls again!" Both Austin and Dez look worried and put their hands up as if surrendering.
"Sorry, Als, I really like you and nothing's gonna change that. I am a guy and when a girl's flaunting like that it's hard not to look. I am sorry though, I won't let it faze me again," Austin apologizes, I nod accepting it. I understand that her outfit was very provocative. Trish isn't nearly as forgiving as I am.
"I'm sorry, Babe! She just looked cute in that outfit and it caught my attention!" Dez is much worse at calming a situation than Austin is. His face is turning the same color of his hair as Trish yells at him, but not loud enough to attract attention.
"Cute, huh?" She smacks his head and he cringes, "So how would you describe how I look?" Dez looks over her black jeggings, camo t-shirt and black, curly hair barely contained in a pony tail.
I can tell she's starting to get impatient when he answers, "You look smoking hot." This makes Trish smirk and she lunges for him. I turn away, I know that evil smirk well enough to mean that she's gonna do something I don't want to see or beat Dez to a pulp. I don't hear Dez getting hit so it must be the other option. I don't even like watching people kiss in movies, in person is worse; I hated walking down the halls in high-school having to avoid the couples creating road-blocks.
Austin faces me, a look of disgust also on his face, "Ew, those two should get a room." He glances back, "They're done, Als, you can look again." I face the table; both Dez and Trish look almost giddy. Fortunately, before they can do anything else, the food comes.
Unfortunately, Lucy comes with the food, "Here ya go, Freckles, I even brought you a soda, it's on the house," she hands Dez his food and Trish scowls. Dez isn't checking out her anymore though and this makes her pout slightly before turning her huge, completely fake smile onto Austin, "I hope you enjoy the root-beer float I got for you, Blondie, it's also on the house." The fact that his plate is piled with pickles way more than usual when you ask for extra and the free float get on my nerves even though I get more pickles, does this chick do this to every guy she thinks is cute that comes through here?
"Thanks, Lucy. Now can my girlfriend and her best-friend have their food please?" Austin says and then smiles at me.
Lucy looks really put out now, but she gives Trish and me our food before flirting with Austin again. "Blondie, wouldn't you rather have me than her?" she asks. She shrugs off her jacket revealing that her dress is strapless and hardly holding her cleavage in. She has a tattoo of some bird under her collar bone. I have to look away and gag, I think it's just gross when girls try that hard and not wear clothing that doesn't cover enough.
Austin looks really awkward and a blush is creeping up his neck. I know it isn't a nice blush like he gets when we flirt, it's the "Oh, my gosh get out of my face this is so uncomfortable!" blush. She is practically in his face though…
"Um, no. I am very happy with Ally, thank you. Go wait on some other table while we eat please." I smile, Austin is so awesome.
Lucy sticks her lip out further and flutters her eyes, "Fine, but can I have a kiss pleeeeese?" She starts getting even closer to my Austin and I'm ready to go Angry Ally on her.
"No," Austin says strongly. "Leave us alone and get us a different waiter until we go or I'll talk to your boss about your sexual harrassment and flirting with his customer's while working, and while their girlfriends were sitting right next to them no less!" Lucy looks shocked and backs away. She nods and runs off. We finish up our meal, and a new waiter comes and we pay him. As we get up to go, Austin scribbles a note and hands it to the waiter.
"What was the note?" Dez asks.
"Because she left us alone I just told the boss that she was flirting while working and it was very unprofessional. That might just get her a warning, instead of a lawsuit," Austin replies casually. I nod, understanding, he still thought she should get some reprimand, but not something terribly big. Trish takes a turn driving so Dez sits in the passenger seat. Austin lifts me up and sits next to me in the back. Trish turns on the radio again and before long, I fall asleep again on Austin's shoulder.
-Line Break-
I woke up a little before we got to the campsite, unfortunately, it was on an extremely curvy road and Dez had to use a barf bag repeatedly. As soon as we got to our campsite, Dez jumped out, "Ahhh! Fresh air at last!" he runs around until he trips on something and face-plants in the dust. "C'mon, these are my favorite suspenders!" he says, picking himself up. He is covered in dust and has some scratches on his face and hands and that's what he's complaining about?
Trish gets out of the truck and waits near the back as Austin starts pulling stuff out. She looks over her shoulder, "It's 'kay, Dez, you packed plenty of extra."
"But these are my favorite!" he wines as he brushes himself off.
She sighs, "I secretly brought your battery operated panini maker incase you got in a weird mood, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to get it out so soon. It's in my suitcase so I'll dig it out for you as soon as Austin hurries up and gets my stuff out," she says the last part pointedly, aiming it at Austin.
Dez's face lights up and he fist pups, "AWESOME!" I roll my eyes, this guy is so weird, who brings a panini maker camping? Austin got the message from Trish and now all our stuff is sitting on the concrete part where you park the car. I don't like trying to get to something while other people are trying to get something in the same place so while Austin, Trish and Dez try to find their stuff I look around at the campsite. It's large and surrounded by trees. I can't see any neighboring campers, which is nice; there are four areas, perfect for each of our tents and a path near the back that I'll have to explore later.
Dez and Trish haul their stuff over to the two tent areas on the left side of the campsite and Austin his to the farther back one on the right. Now that my stuff is very accessible, I go over, grab it and movie it to my area where I start getting out my tent. It's one of those little two person tents that are really better fit for one, it's blue and grey and kinda round on top. I managed to set it up with out incident, hiding the fact from my friends that I was following instructions. Austin and Trish have theirs up, Trish is inside hers moving around, setting up bedding I assume. I go inside mine to do the same. I lay out my sleeping bag, pillow and secret pleasure, my stuffed dolphin named Dougie. I pull my suitcase and bag inside and set them where they won't be in the way, but I can still get to them. When I'm done I crawl back out and find that Austin and Trish are watching Dez struggle with his tent.
I go over and watch for a little while to before asking, "Well, are any of us gonna help him?" The other two mumble I guesses and we all help Dez.
"Thanks guys. I just couldn't figure Tentrickson out today and he kept insulting my hair," he says once we're done. His hair does look really weird, he dyed the tips purple using kool-aid while Austin and I were away, but I just didn't ask about it just like I won't mention him calling his tent "Tentrickson".
I laugh, "Trish, I can't believe you actually worked!"
"Hey, I really like camping! I'm even awake enough right now to go down to the lake and swim," she retorts. Trish always gets really tired after a long car ride so the fact that she worked and doesn't want to sleep yet proves her answer.
"Ok. I'll go too," I tell her.
"Count me in," Austin says over his shoulder as he gets into his tent to change.
"Well, I'm not staying here with only Tentrickson for company," Dez decides. I go to my tent and change into my purple bikini and cover it with a t-shirt and jean shorts. Once everyone else is done, we walk around the campground until we find our way to the lake. It's huge and super clear and there's hardly anyone here! There's some old guy getting into a boat, a lady and two little kids on one side of the beach, but we won't bother them. After a little bit the fisherman leaves, Austin and Dez share a glance before ripping of their shirts and running, screaming down the dock before jumping into the water. Trish and I laugh before walking to the end of the dock, taking off our cover-ups and jumping in after them. For a moment I think Austin's mouth drops when I take of my cover-up, but I can't be sure 'cause quickly after I had a face full of water. The water is very pleasant, it's not cold and it's not too warm either. There's no lake-weed and I can see down a long ways even at the depth we're at.
Austin comes up behind me and I scream, he starts tickling me and I almost inhale way to much water. I splash him and swim away. I see him looking at me and so I make eye contact and try to look panicked. I go under water and do the dramatic "save me" arm thing they do in movies before allowing my body to go limp. Unfortunately I underestimate my breath holding skills and I choke, sucking in water. A few seconds later, I feel Austin's strong arms encircle me and pull me to the surface before I black out.
The next thing I know I'm laying on the beach and Austin is hovering over me, wet hair sticking out all over the place. "Ally! You're ok!"
I sit up and he scoots away slightly. I cough, "Yeah, sorry about that, at first I was just trying to get you back for tickling me, but then I ran out of air. How'd I end up here?" Austin looks away and blushes so I turn to Trish and raise an eyebrow.
"Austin heroically dived under the water and dragged you to shore," she says rolling her eyes, but I can tell she was really worried about me. "When you weren't breathing he did mouth to mouth and then you woke up." I touch my lips, it didn't count as a kiss 'cause it was a life or death situation, but still… Austin's blush deepens and he looks back at me slightly smiling. I smile back, happy. I don't really feel like swimming anymore so I tell the others that I'll go back to the campsite and read or something. Austin looks torn whether to go with me or continue his fun, I get him to go back to swimming, after having me promise to be careful around strangers, and rocks, and knives, and sharp trees, the list keeps going. He's like a protective mother all of a sudden! I can take care of myself; sure it's cute, but completely unnecessary!
I find my way back to our campsite, dry off and change back into my clothes. I grab my book, but there's not a nice spot to read here 'cause we haven't set up chairs yet and the picnic bench has a bunch of bird droppings. Then, I remember that trail, I wonder if it goes to somewhere nice to read? I decide to follow it, for a while it goes through the forest and I notice it is gradually going up and turning around and I seriously start to worry about getting lost despite the trail, like what if I stepped of it somehow or there was a crossroads? Suddenly, the forest opens up and there's a ledge. I walk out to the ledge and sit down. From here I can see the beach where my friends are still swimming and out over the lake into the horizon, it's just awesome. I settle down and read.
-Line Break-
I turn around when I hear a noise behind me, it's Austin and he's flustered. "Ally, this is where you were?"
"Yeah, is it an issue? Am I too close to the edge?" it comes out a little sharper than I intended and Austin looks slightly hurt. "Sorry, Austin. I didn't mean it that way but when you were listing things for me to be careful of earlier it made me feel kinda defensive."
"It's 'kay, Als. It's just we swam for a while longer and then when we got tired we came back to the campsite. You weren't there, but we figured you'd be back soon, but you didn't come back. We started searching everywhere and then I saw this trail. It was the only place I hadn't checked so I came down here and found you."
"Oh, sorry. I guess time got away from me. What time is it anyway?" I look at the water, it's glowing now with the golden light from sunset.
He checks his phone, "Um, it's nine."
"Nine?! How did I read that long!?"
"I don't know, but it looks like you almost finished that entire book," Austin chuckles. I smile at him, I love this guy so much, but I don't want to make anything awkward by saying anything. He smirks and pulls me to him, he sings quietly in my ear while we sway in the sunset. The moment is so fairytale and cliché, but I love it.
Take my hand,
I'll teach you to dance,
Spin you around, won't let you fall down.
Would you let me lead?
You can step on my feet,
Give it a try, it'll be alright.
The night's hush, hush and now is our moment, I like it how he changed "Room's" to "Night's" to fit the situation.
Take it in, feel it all and hold it,
Eyes on you, eyes on me we're doing this right
'Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love
Spotlight shining, it's all about us,
It's ah-ah-ah-ah-all about ah-ah-ah-ah-us…
He trails off but we keep swaying and holding each other until the sun's light has completely faded from the sky. When we break away, I pick up my book from where I dropped it on the ground and let Austin lead me back to camp. Dez and Trish are sitting next to a fire looking worried. Dez looks up and grins, then pokes Trish in the shoulder until she too looks up and sees us.
"My gosh, Ally! You had me so worried! Don't wander off and not come back for hours!" she yells at me; I know this is how she shows her relief for the second time today so I listen to her rant. "What if a bear had got you? Or you had gotten lost? Or like, um, you'd tripped and broke your leg or something?" at the end of her little rant she hugs me tightly.
"It's ok, guys. I can take care of myself you know. I should've left a note or something 'cause I said I'd be at the campsite. Anyway, you guys eat yet?"
Dez answers, "Nah, we were too busy looking for you. I'll grab the hotdogs. Don't worry, they're not real dogs, I checked the nutrition list." We laugh and sit down around the fire in the chairs that were set out in my absence. We roast our hotdogs and some marshmallows and then Trish goes to bed, wiped out from the drive, swimming and then looking for me. Soon after, Dez goes to bed also muttering something about Tentrickson getting jealous about not having enough time with him. Austin and I are left alone sitting by the fire.
"Hey, Als?" Austin asks breaking the quiet of the night.
"Mm?" My left arm and his right arm are intertwined and I'm resting my head on his shoulder.
"I was wondering what you want your first kiss to be like."
This takes me by surprise and I have to think for a moment before responding, "I would want it to be really sweet; probably on my wedding day to make it extra special. I would want it to be with a guy that I was sure I loved and that he loved me back." I know who I love, but does he love me and what about all the stuff we haven't worked out yet? "What about you, that other one didn't count 'cause you didn't even know the girl."
"With you," comes the quick, two word answer. He blushes and so do I, I don't know what to say back so we fall into silence. Neither of us says anything for a while and I'm tired, so I get up and tell Austin that I'm gonna go to bed. I go to the restroom to brush my teeth and use the toilet one last time before going to sleep. When I get back Austin is still sitting by the fire and is staring into it, his mind somewhere far away. I feel like things got awkward and so I go to say goodnight properly.
"Good night, Austin." I hug him and he kisses my forehead. I don't think I'll ever get tired of his touch.
"Good night, Als. Sleep well. I'm gonna stay up by the fire for a while." I nod, hug him again and retire to my tent. I wriggle into my sleeping bag, clutch Dougie to my chest and fall asleep.
A/N
Longest chapter! This one has a bunch of Dez being goofy so I hoped you liked that. I thought throwing in the waitress scene would be interesting. Please review, favorite and follow if you haven't already! Guess what's gonna come up soon?
~Maggie