Oh yeah. Enjoyy!

After enduring a long three hours with Krista, or Kara (he could really remember her name), Austin was just grateful for when the bell rang for lunch. He got his tray of food and looked around the cafeteria, his eyes going all over until they fell on the familiar brunette he met the day before. She was sitting by herself, reading a book, her legs on the bench in front of her, her lunch on the table. She bit into an apple and he watched for a few moments before walking over to her.

He slammed his tray on the table and looked right at her.

She seemed startled when she looked up and realized he was right there, but she soon recovered, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here… remember?" He asked, taking a seat and she glared at him again.

"I didn't say you could sit."

He was so confused. The night before they were friendly and talking and now, she was cold? It didn't make sense.

"Did I do something to piss you off?" He asked her, her eyebrow rose in question, "you're acting kinda cold towards me."

"You mean… you don't know?" She asked in a tone he couldn't quite recognize.

"Know what?"

She quickly looked down, "n-nothing. Nevermind." She then went back to reading her book and he sighed.

"Ally—"

She looked up again, a sort of sad look on her face. "Look, Austin, I'm not the type of person you want to be friends with. As you can clearly see, I have none."

That was pretty surprising.

"Why not?"

But before Ally could answer, he heard a voice behind him.

"Because she's a bitch, that's why. A cold-hearted bitch."

He'd never heard anyone describe another person that way. Not at his old school (which were full of incredibly, snobby, rich prep school girls who were pretty high on the mean scale) or from his father who was in a way mean himself when he spoke to certain people. But never had any of them, said something as rude as what whats-her-damn-name said.

Slowly he turned around and she smiled at him. "Why are you even sitting with her? She's a loser, she has no friends." He turned to see Ally had her nose back in the book again. "Come sit with us."

"Actually," He began and Ally looked up at him, a sort of questioning confusion in her eyes. Yeah that was the perfect way to describe it, he realized. "I think I'll stay here with Ally, but you can take your rude self and go sit with who I assume are your other rude friends who treat this couldn't be nicer girl like shit."

Ally couldn't believe that someone was standing up for her. It hadn't happened in a while and she was starting to think that maybe, just maybe there was teensy bit of hope that she could be friends with him.

She could hear the "ooohs!" from the guys in the cafeteria and the girls gasp. No one had ever told off Kira like that and even Kira was speechless.

"You'll ruin your reputation."

Austin looked incredulous, so Ally decided to jump in.

"What reputation? He's only been here for like," Ally flipped her hair behind her shoulder, mimicking an action that Kira did everyday. She then over exaggerated batting her eyelashes, "a day, heh." She then turned to Austin who she could clearly see was struggling not to laugh. "No offense."

He held his hand up and shook his head, "none taken."

Kira glared at her, "But you totally have the potential to be popular." She told him, almost like she was informing him of big news.

"Cool, then I'll be popular with Ally." He told her, hoping that this proved to Ally he could be her friend.

"But you won't be." Kira argued, surprised that he would even suggest such a thing.

He shrugged, "sucks for me then doesn't it?" He popped a fry into his mouth and turned back to Ally.

"But who wouldn't want to be popular? It's like, so amazing!"

Austin turned towards her, slowly and looked her right in the eye, "Because I don't want to be a low life bitch or in the guys' cases, assholes. Bullying someone just because they're not into the same things you are, that's pathetic. So, you can go run along now and be that low life person that you are. I'm going to hang out with Ally." He tilted his head to the side, and mimicked what she'd been torturing him with all morning. "Kay?"

And with one last chorus of "oohs!" and "he got you good!" Austin turned back around, some people clapping as he faced Ally again and Kira huffed behind him stomping away like a child who didn't get the ice cream that was promised to him after dinner.

"So?" He asked her and Ally smiled.

"Maybe." She responded back, reaching over the table, she stole on his fries and giggled when his mouth dropped open. She just giggled and shook her head.

"I'll prove it to you," He said a moment later. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Prove what?"

"That us being friends… is a good thing." He said and she didn't even know how to respond back. He had just made her tongue-tied.

Lunch was interesting, he realized. He told off an annoying popular girl and he sort of became friends with Ally. That was a step in the right direction, if he ever saw one.

He was sitting in his history class, when someone walked into the classroom. They handed his teacher a note, and she looked up at him.

"Austin Moon, you're wanted in the principal's office," She said and then came the immature "oohs" he hated so damn much. But he just ignored them and walked to the front, grabbing the hall pass, he walked out, and towards the principal's office, which he found, wasn't so hard to find.

He walked into the office and handed the lady his pass, who then led him into the office itself. He saw that girl who's name he couldn't for the life of him remember and Ally. He was so lost.

"Oh, good, you're here," Principal White said. Austin thought that was a strange last name, but hey, who was he to judge? His last name was Moon for god's sake. "Please, take a seat."

"Uh," He looked around, wearily. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes," The snobby girl answered. He ignored her.

So did Principal White apparently. "I was told there was an issue that need to be resolved today at lunch and it was concerning, you two." She pointed at Ally, who, this whole time, had been biting her lower lip. In anger or nervousness, Austin couldn't really tell. "Kira—" Right, he remembered her name now. "Said that you two ganged up on her and completely made her feel terrible about herself."

"What?" Austin and Ally both blurted at the same time.

"No, no. Principal White, that's not what happened at all." Austin shook his head. "Kira was attacking Ally and I stood up for her."

"By calling me and my friends low lives." Okay yeah, that he had to admit was wrong, but she wasn't going to get his point any other way.

"Austin?"

He sighed, "Yeah, that part is true, but—"

"No buts." Kira cut in and he wanted to punch her. He could see Ally wanted to do the same thing beside him, but she was able to keep it more in check than he was. "I was hurt and I think I deserve an apology."

"An apology for what?" He demanded. "You were out of line, you were the one who called Ally, and I quote, a 'cold hearted bitch' for no damn reason. You are also the one who butted into our private conversation." He was so mad now, he couldn't even see straight.

"Austin, language." Principal White told him.

"Okay, look. No disrespect, but come on. She was the one who attacked Ally first and for what talking to me? I mean, what's she going to do next call her a slut for fucking breathing?"

Ally looked pretty shocked at that and Kira looked like she was going to cry, though he could tell it was fake. He spent enough time with girls like her in Colorado to know what was real and what wasn't.

"Austin—"

"No. I will stand bullying okay? I completely hate it and it's what Kira is doing to Ally." Austin stood up, but quickly sat down once he realized what he did. "Sorry, but it's what I think and I think that Ally deserves to be treated better, so no. I won't apologize for what I said to Kira. Yes, it maybe have been out of line, but she deserved it."

"He's totally lying!" Kira exclaimed and Austin looked at her, his eyes widened at her accusation. "Ask anyone in the cafeteria. They were all there, they can back me up."

He really couldn't believe what a bitch this girl turned out to be. All she cared about was herself and her popularity. He'd make a bet that she was the one who had orchestrated this whole thing so that she could get off free and Austin and Ally would be the ones who would get punished because she was just a spoiled little bitch like that.

"Is this true, Ally?" Principal White asked her. Ally stayed silent. "Ally?" She tried again.

Ally still didn't say anything.

"Ally?" Austin asked, but she looked up at him. It seemed to have given her some courage because she looked at Principal White.

"If you haven't seen the way Kira and her friends and practically everyone in this damn school have been treating me for the last couple of years, than you're really not a very good principal."

She gasped once that left her mouth, and though Austin was more curious now, he chose to wisely not say a word.

But then again, he wondered, if she was being treated so badly… why didn't she just transfer schools?

"Look, Ally, I know the situation with your parents has left you—"

"Don't talk about them," She coldly responded, "I don't want to talk about them, not now, not ever again."

"Oh, why not? Gonna be a little baby about it? Come on Ally, your parents ruined everything. At least show some compassion for the people who lost a lot. You're not the only one." Kira scoffed at her and Austin really was confused. Didn't he meet her parents the night before?

Though, besides that question that was lingering on his mind, Kira was clearly out of line for saying what she just did to Ally.

"See? It wasn't me who started it." Austin told the principal who just shook her head. She paused Austin and Kira for a moment and then looked at Ally.

"We're going to have to talk privately once this is all sorted out, after they leave, understand?"

Ally didn't answer.

"As for you two, I don't understand what the problem is, but Austin this is your first day. I was hoping you wouldn't get into too much trouble."

"I didn't—"

"In any case, you have a week of detention starting after school today."

Austin shook his head, "I can't—I have somewhere to be. I can't miss it. If I do, I'm dead."

"Well, then you shouldn't have opened your mouth the way you did today." Principal White told him. "If you do detention today, then tomorrow, we'll think of a more suitable punishment for you."

"Whatever." Austin mumbled.

"And as for you, Kira, I'm very sorry about what happened today. I hope it doesn't happen again."

Kira grinned.

"But you're not getting off without a punishment either. You, missy, will be volunteering in the cafeteria for two weeks. With what you said to Ally, I feel that's a respectable punishment. If I hear you haven't been there once or at all, it'll be suspension, understand?"

Kira gasped and Austin was just relieved to know that she didn't get off as free as she had hoped.

Principal White waved them off. "Go you two, back to class. I need to discuss a private matter with Ally alone."

Austin nodded and stood up, grabbing his bag, he walked out, but not before giving Ally a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. He turned just in time to see her smile softly at him before he walked out, Kira behind him.

Though, it didn't seem she was done with him quite yet.

"What is your problem?" She demanded.

He looked at her, closely. "My problem? I'm not the one who's been causing trouble today, you are. And why? Because I didn't want to sit at your table?"

"No, because you want to be friends with that freak in there. She's nothing but trouble Austin."

"More trouble than you?" He snapped.

"No, she's got problems, like serious ones, and if you be here friend, you'll just make her worse."

"I somehow doubt that."

"Oh yeah? Ask her what happened to her parents then. I'm sure she'd love to tell you." With that that she stormed off, leaving behind a very confused Austin. But before he left, he heard a Principal White ask Ally a question that left him very curious.

"Have you taken your pills today?"

And it was in that moment when he realized, he needed to figure out Ally. And he wasn't going to give up until he got his answers.

"Thanks for standing up for me today." Austin looked up from getting his books into his locker and noticed Ally was there. "You didn't have to."

"I know." He gave her a soft smile and shook out his backpack so things would fit in it easier. "I wanted to."

"What's your next class?" She asked.

"Math, with Thompson, I think." He said and she nodded.

"Perfect, we have the same class."

With that, they walked down the hall togther, silently, but not awkward at all.

Austin could admit that he was okay with it.