Chutzpah, an Austin and Ally oneshot (part two)

I do not own Austin and Ally. I was asked to continue this, so for those of you who want more of a closed ending, here you are. Enjoy!

Two weeks passed, yet the burden of a heavy heart did not dissipate. He should have been used to the idea of her dating Green Boy, whose name he now knew, only to 'forget' every time he talked to her. Using his real name would be acknowledging the realness of the situation. It would be solidifying his loss.

Watching them exchange a brief kiss, he tightened his fists.

That was some pretty solid proof.

"That could have been you," Hector remarked, stepping away. One should never make a hurtful remark around those with angry fists, no matter how true.

Green Boy adopted a nickname for her. It was mushy gushy. Well, the oatmeal he had at breakfast was mushy too, but that didn't mean it was any good. Judging by the look that was on her face, it was a good thing. Man, he wanted Green Eyes to be the equivalent of oatmeal.

Boring, bland oatmeal.

He was more like, 'wow, oatmeal with brown sugar and maple syrup, so sickly sweet.'

So sickly sweet that Austin led Hector out of the Sonic Boom. He couldn't take it anymore. Not without a countdown to their demise. Because there would be a demise. He'd get his act together and pull off a stunt so romantic, so sickly sweet that she'd get a cavity.

Maybe not that sweet. He liked her smile too much to cause purposeful damage.

"Wanna help me write a song?"

(the page breaks here)

Hector tilted his head back and groaned at the ceiling. Austin caught sight of the small scar by his clavicle.

"What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"You've been sitting here for the past half hour because you can decide between a major or minor key, and I got frustrated." His stomach growled, making him snap his head back. "And I'm hungry."

The guitar got set down. "No, I mean the scar."

Hector's hand flew straight to it. It was too late to hide, but he didn't like the feeling of getting stared at.

"It's nothing." A tear prickled his eye. Although worried, Austin let the subject drop. It was in the past. He wasn't going to rouse memories to stimulate nightmares.

He shook his head of all the possible scenarios passing through.

Some were going to fuel his own nightmares.

Better than performing in his underwear again. He'd looked it up on the internet, after Dez had convinced him it was his sub-conscience talking to him. Evidently, being ashamed of being in your underwear signified hesitance in revealing true feelings.

Hesitance was going to get screwed over by a chord he liked to call C7.

"How about that?"

"It's fine."

"Just fine? This song has to be perfect." He threaded both hands into his hair, tugging it backward.

Hector's stomach growled again.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

(the page breaks here)

Deconstructing his pizza into a mound of bread, cheese and toppings, the young boy swung his leg out to hook it over the other. It made contact with Austin's leg.

"Sorry." He popped a mushroom into his mouth.

"No worries." One bruise was nothing compared to the amount that this kid had endured. He'd get through the minimal pain.

The guitar, which had been propped against his leg, fell down.

Okay, maybe one worry.

He picked it up, checking it for damage. Strumming the strings, it sounded fine.

Worry be gone. If only it could be that simple in removing his other worries. Then he could ask her out, and stop dreaming about himself in his underpants. The same pink pair. It made him wonder if there was some sort of significance, or if it was the same scene repeated, or if you only get one pair of underwear in your dreams.

"Do you think-." He stopped. There was no way he was going to confide in Hector about his dreams.

"What?" He turned around, expecting to find Ally and her boyfriend, the way he had stopped in mid-statement like that.

"Nevermind."

(the page breaks here)

They ran up the stairs of the Sonic Boom, Hector tripping over an untied shoelace. He fell into Austin's back. The results weren't too graceful, but neither were injured.

More importantly, no one was watching. No one being Ally, who was too engrossed in an elaborate joke. He wanted to call out the punchline. That would spoil their fun. But he didn't want to spoil her fun. Just his. Since one would influence the other, he was stuck.

Stupid Green Boy.

"Okay, you take the guitar, and I'll do piano." Counting from three to one, they commenced.

Half a beat can ruin a harmony.

"I can't move my fingers fast enough." Hector sank into the chair. Posture slacken, he folded his arms over the guitar in defeat.

"You'll get it, I promise."

Yeah, like how he promised himself that one day Ally would be his. They both know how that worked out.

This time, things would turn out better.

(the page breaks here)

In three days time, Hector was playing the song without struggle. His eyes glanced down occasionally, but his calloused fingers had grown accustomed to their battle stations.

Which meant that it was time to employ the forces. Two hands, and one voice.

"You ready?" he asked, though his own hands were shaking. He'd had the underpants dream again.

"You're not."

There was that darned insight of his. In the long run, he'd thank him. Hearing the obvious out loud can push a reaction.

Today, it irked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're ready for her to love you, but you're not ready to tell her that you love her." Hector adjusted his bow tie. The guitar had knocked it crooked. "You want to show her that you love her, not that you're going to wet your pants."

Austin looked down to make sure that there were no stains running down his legs.

"I'm going to go use the bathroom."

(the page breaks here)

As his straw signaled the conclusion of his smoothie, he realized his mistake. The same one that he had made the day before.

Either he was going to have to use the bathroom in about twenty minutes, or his nerves would bring the entire thing back up.

Regurgitated strawberries do not make a good impression.

"Dude, it's almost four thirty. Aren't you supposed to be babysitting Hector?" Dez took the lid off his smoothie and drank it. The pineapple clogged straw left a trail of smoothie on the table. One much like the trail along his upper lip.

"Ally is watching him."

"Did you sing her the song yet?"

"Today." He stood to toss out his empty cup. "Maybe tomorrow."

Or ten thousand years from never.

(the page breaks here)

The dream changed. No longer was he ashamed to be in his underpants. He gave a concert, and there was applause. At the last song, they had screamed for an encore.

That new song was going to be a hit.

First, he wanted it to not make him get hit. Rather than opting for a traditional love song, he had penned a heartbreak song, in hopes of appealing to her sympathetic side. She'd see how badly she was tearing him apart. She'd fix things.

"You ready?" he asked Hector.

"I'm ready."

They walked downstairs to see Ally's head in her boyfriend's chest, disguising a fit of giggles. She seemed so happy. What was he thinking, trying to break that? All he ever wanted was for her to be happy. And now that she was, he had to accept his losses and move on.

"I'm not ready."

(the page breaks here)

Two weeks passed.

"How come you never recorded your song?" Hector closed his science book. Cramming for his finals was giving him a sore back. Stretching out, he awaited the answer.

Austin's mouth opened, letting out a string of mumbled noises. Eventually he came up with a response.

"I don't know."

"It's because you don't want everyone to ask who the song is about and have Ally find out it's about her, ruining her relationship and your friendship, isn't it?"

This boy would make a master carpenter, the way he always hit the nail on the head.

His mother rapped her knuckles on the door.

"Hector, time to go." She gestured towards the stairs, handing him his book bag. He heaved it over his shoulder, noticing the slight nod that Austin had given him.

There had to be some way to fix the mess.

(the page breaks here)

Gliding his fingers along the piano, he gently sang his song.

You look perfect in my jacket,

but I guess that was not enough.

I had nails as my exterior,

but I'm not that tough.

I miss our laughter,

you in stitches,

as you rolled on the floor.

But I can see we don't have it,

anymore.

The door creaked open. His heart jumped to his throat.

"I forgot my science book." Hector picked it off the floor. Walking towards the door, he momentarily stopped. "You know how I got this scar?"

"What scar?" He'd forgotten about it, too busy navigating the turbulence of his own problems.

Unbuttoning his collar to show it off, he remembered.

"My brother was babysitting me, and I was wearing my rainbow friendship necklace that Gary had made me. I never took it off. So one day I had fallen asleep on the couch, and he took a knife to cut it off. He slipped."

Austin passed him a tissue to wipe the snot away. He took a second to dab at his own eyes.

Why did people have to pick on this kid, just because he was different?

"That's terrible."

"And then Gary thought I didn't like him anymore, since I wasn't wearing the necklace, so he stopped talking to me. My mom tried to get me a new babysitter, but none of them ever lasted long. None 'til you anyhow." He blew his nose, cringing at the dirty tissue. There was no way to hold it without getting slimed.

He dropped the tissue in the garbage.

Hugging him close, Austin smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere." He thought about it for a moment. "Unless they ask me to go on tour. But then I'd bring you along."

Hector broke away, grinning. "You'd take me on tour with you?"

"Well, I need somebody to play guitar for me."

"I'm not that good."

"Then you better start practicing."

(the page breaks here)

Feet buried in the sand, Austin stared up at the clouds. Hector took to work around his ankles.

"Why'd you tell me the story about your scar?"

"Because, I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't defend myself when I was sleeping." He moved to look him in the face. "You can't sleep through life Austin. If you want Ally, you have to do something about it, before you end up hurting of heartbreak."

He scrunched his eyes closed, blocking out the sun as it came out.

"You're really insightful for a young kid."

"My last babysitter was studying psychology. She made me quiz her a lot."

"Oh."

(the page breaks here)

Green Boy kissed her goodbye. As he exited the Sonic Boom, Hector took her hand and led her up the stairs.

"What's going on?" He closed the door behind her.

"Austin wrote a new song, and wants to know what you think of it." He took the guitar from its stand, fingers falling into their first position.

Two hands, one voice, and one tear, each to a different owner.

He wiped her cheek clean.

"I love it." Her phone buzzed, and she checked it. Letting his eyes wander, he noticed it was from Green Boy. Her smile was short lived, and she didn't respond.

"Thanks."

(the page breaks here)

He walked in late the next morning, ragged from a lack of sleep. How long would it take her to discover the true meaning of the song?

From the grin on Hector's face, he could tell something was going to happen.

"I love you too."

Sometimes it's the simplest of words that make him happy.

Other times, confused.

"Huh?"

"Hector told me what the song was about."

"Hector!"

"Hold on." She stepped in front of him. "It was only because I asked him. I wanted to make sure before I break up with Peter."

At that moment, his brain gave out. There were flashing lights and bells and whistles, and-

"You can't break up with him. You love him."

"I like him. I love you."

She loved him.

Such simple words.

Sometimes it's the simplest of words that make him happy.