Hey! I'm back! Almost getting to the middle point of the story.. everything starts going downhill from there... Just kidding! It gets better, I promise!
I'm in the process of editing a new fic I recently completed last week. It'll be a short one, but it's a bit more well developed than this one. I might have it up after exams are done, since they're coming up soon. Gotta study hard!
Anyways, enough of me blabbering about life, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally or Taylor Swift.
Austin woke up the next morning feeling hollow and dried out. He felt like a flower that didn't get enough water, left to wilt and wait, wondering when the next bout of rain will come. And will it come as a blazing storm with strong wind? Or a gentle pitch of fresh rain, leaving dew on the grass.
Either way, he felt empty.
Austin got up out of bed, already late for another table reading session. He quickly changed from his shirt and boxers into something more presentable. He buttoned up a blue flannel and rolled the sleeves up past his elbows. He added a vest on the outside of that, feeling vesty today.
Austin brushed his teeth quickly and then combed his hair with one half of his comb. He grunted when his hair still refused to be tamed. Austin left his bathroom and room feeling slightly better about himself.
But not a lot.
The party literally doesn't start until he walks in. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look up and see Austin enter. He was already fifteen minutes late anyways, so he probably should've expected it. Austin slowly took his seat beside Ally's, which was empty since she was busy chatting with Gavin.
"Buddy, how are you?" Dez said through fake enthusiasm. Clearly, he was irritated that Austin hadn't been on time for the table reading. Austin shrugged, brushing off Dez's stare.
"Great. Let's get this over with," he sighed. Dez stared at him with a frown, but then quickly shook it off, as if this was another 'Bad Austin Day,' as he liked to call them.
"Alright, we're going to go through today's reading and then you guys can start memorizing lines. We'll start with scene 4, where Cecilia - played by Ally - runs into Kris - played by Austin," Dez said.
Dez waited until everyone scrambled back into their respective seats around the small dining room table. He sat at the head of it, flipping through the script he wrote, waiting for everyone, occasionally looking up to see if they were in place.
When everyone found their place, he shifted slightly so he was closer to Ally. He wanted to see if she was still ignoring him. Austin leaned over, pretending to drop his script. It landed right beside Ally's foot.
Austin waited to see if she would pick it up for him, or even let him pick it up. When she hadn't moved, he sighed and leaned over, arm outstretched to grab his papers off the dusty floor.
"And, action!"
He saw Ally shift in her seat as she read her highlighted line from her script.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ally recited. The whole scene was about how Cecilia bumped into Kris while walking in Central Park. It was how they felt connected afterwards that sparked the idea of the whole movie.
"It's fine,"he read. "What's a pretty girl like you doing without a pretty gentleman?" He frowned. He'd have to consult Dez on the lines later.
Pretty doesn't really go with gentleman.
Does it?
Austin glanced over at Ally and saw her gulp. The next line was where Cecilia was supposed to say how handsome Kris looked, while acting a little swoony. She was also supposed to admit that he was the most handsome gentleman here.
He saw Ally cringe.
"Sorry," Ally mumbled. "I don't think I can, uh, rehearse, right now," she said. Ally abruptly stood up and Dez just sighed. Ally quickly headed for the door of the apartment, covering her face with her hair.
"Alright everyone, take five!" Dez quickly went over to the coffee maker and started a new batch. He watched as Dez sighed to himself. This was probably another one of his 'Bad Dez Days.'
Austin followed Ally out of Dez's apartment. This time, he was quick enough to reach her before she had a chance to slip from his grasp again. Austin followed her quickly when her footsteps quickened, realizing that she was being followed.
He grabbed her wrist gently, pulling her small form to him.
She was wearing a red tank top today, with ruffles all along the front of her shirt. She also had her gray jacket tied tightly around her small waist. Her tiny legs were covered by a pair of black leggings, making them seem smaller than they needed to be. Austin frowned when he realized her shoelaces weren't done up.
They always were.
"Ally, wait," he started. Ally turned around and tried to yank her wrist from his grip. She hadn't succeeded after seconds of struggling. Her eyes blazed with unexplained emotion.
"Let me go, Austin," she sighed. "What's your deal anyways? Why would you want to stop me when you've got Brooke," Ally sneered. Austin felt her words burn a hole right through him. He loosened his grip just a little bit, so that she thought she had defeated him.
Just as he thought, Ally yanked her wrist away, only to be stopped by Austin's hand that had clamped a stronger grip on the same wrist. Ally stumbled a little bit, and he caught her, standing centimetres apart.
He'll always catch her.
"Ally, listen to me," he said. He was holding her with a steely grip so she would actually listen to him this time. Ally struggled, but when she found out that it was no use she sighed and lowered her head.
The air grew thick.
"It was just a huge misunderstanding!" He started. "I met Brooke at the jewellery store the day I bought you your necklace," Austin said. "She was the crazy sales clerk who wouldn't let me go. When she did, she wrote her number on the gift receipt and kissed me. That's it." When Ally still wasn't looking at him, he frowned.
"Ally?" Austin felt like she was slowly slipping from his grasp. And not in the physical way.
Ally stood still for a little, and he felt himself being swallowed whole when Ally shifted. He saw her eyes flash with something. Austin almost started smiling, but then Ally spoke up.
"You've got to be kidding me! How many times have you said that already!" Ally fumed over. Austin gaped at her.
"What do you mean?" Austin had began to think she was going to forgive him.
Nope.
"You're a freaking player! How many girl's hearts have you broken? How many cliche apologies have you recited? Huh?" Ally dared him with her big brown eyes. "Tell me, Austin!"
Austin sighed. Suddenly, he lowered his face, so he was eye level with her. He was impressed; she stood her ground, refusing to give in.
Feisty one.
"I swear, you're the only girl I've got eyes on," he said quietly, finally admitting it to himself and the girl he liked. To be honest, he didn't really know how to answer any of her questions anyways. Better to come out with the truth now.
Austin felt Ally's body go rigid. She stood there, with her big doe eyes, staring at him. And he got lost in them. The brown shifting into different colours under the light. Sometimes, her eyes look green, or a hazel-green, when the light hit them perfect. But other times, her eyes were pure gold.
"Really?" Ally blinked at him. Her big brown eyes looked tired beyond her years. Her face was a little blotchy but that didn't matter.
"Really." Austin said. "Ally. I'm sorry I ruined our first date," he said sincerely. Austin used a soft voice, willing for her to understand. He felt his heart beating fast. This was it.
Ally looked at him through her lashes.
Ally looked like she was weighing her options. To trust him, or to not. She finally smiled a little, and Austin let out the breath he was holding, sighing with relief. His heart was literally beating out of his chest. With fear, hope, relief. Everything.
"It's alright, Austin." Ally shifted her feet, putting her weight down on the other foot. Ally bit her lip, continuing slowly. Austin watched as she lowered her head, her reply coming out no more than a whisper.
"I guess, I felt a little played, you know? You're like this, popular, handsome guy. And I'm just a small girl from Miami." By the end of the sentence, her voice had raised just a bit, trying to hide what she really felt.
But he saw through it.
Austin smiled. "You think I'm handsome?" Austin said bluntly, finding a way to be cocky. Ally rolled her eyes.
"I'll have to get back to you on that," she smiled, looking up at him. Austin huffed.
Worth a shot.
"So me and you," he let go of Ally's wrist and gestured between the two of them, "We're okay?" He felt the tension clear up now that everything was off their chests. He almost felt like he could fly.
Almost.
Ally suddenly narrowed her eyes at him, like he had just asked if she had three heads instead of four. He gulped, shifting his feet uncomfortably. Austin felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck.
"Yeah," Ally smiled, giving in to the act. "We're okay." Austin smiled back, sighing in obvious relief. He went in for a hug, wrapping his big arms around her tiny body. She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy toes. He smiled to himself.
"Oh and Ally," he pulled back gently, "I'm from Miami, too." She giggled. Ally began to pat his hair down as he sighed and tried to push her off.
"Ally!" He wined. Ally was too busy fixing his hair.
"Austin, your hair is a mess. I can't stand it," she stated while running a comb through his blonde locks.
"Where did you get a comb?" He asked dubiously. Ally sighed.
"I always have one," she retorted. "Now come on, we've got to do something about those bags under your eyes." Ally pulled him back into Dez's apartment as he sighed to himself.
"Hmm," Ally sighed to herself. "Maybe we might need to pluck those eyebrows of yours..." She pulled him back into their rehearsal apartment. They both sat down in their respective seats side by side.
"What?" Austin sputtered.
That sounded painful.
"I'm kidding!" Ally giggled. She seemed so much at ease now that Austin couldn't help but laugh. He watched as Ally finished brushing his hair, giving him her comb.
"Keep it," she said. Her eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint. Austin narrowed his eyes at her.
"What did you do to it? Is it going to explode?" He playfully took the brush, trying to be as wary and cautious of it as possible. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Ally who just giggled and rolled her eyes.
"Something like that."
Told you things are looking up! Haha.
Thanks for reading!