A/N

You might be thinking, who the heck is this? Okay. So I didn't quite reach the year, but I am still the worst person ever. I am soooo sorry i haven't updated in centuries. I haven't really got a great excuse, apart from that my laptop broke and I lost all my files. But that happened around Christmas last year. I just got lazy. But your reviews kept me going! They motivated me to carry on. So thank you for continuing to read this terrible story. I love you all so much.

Chapter 24

Ally's POV

I could get used to this. Between lying on the excessively comfy mattress beneath me, and the gentle glow that gleamed onto my face and caressed it with warmth, I was in heaven. Oh yeah, and the two strong arms that embraced me tightly. The ones that are giving me a feeling of content and sending a bazillion butterflies flying all over my body. They were pretty amazing too.

But I can't. I can't get used to this feeling. I don't deserve it. I'm a terrible person. I can't just use him like this. Expose his darkest secrets just to entertain some nosey, ignorant bitches that have nothing better to do in their life than judge a celebrity. I can't become everything that I hate about the goddamn media.

The media builds people up, just to tear them down. They take a normal person and turn them into some sort of puppet that they completely destroy when they've had their fun – and that's when they have suck every single normal fibre out of them, until they are a live-less robot. An empty shell.

Oh my god. I can't do this.

"What are you thinking about?" A husky voice asks from behind me. God. Does his voice have to be so sexy? It's so rough and rugged and...I can't be having these thoughts first thing in the morning.

"How did you know I was awake?" I ask in reply.

"Your breathing. It wasn't as soft as before," he says softly. Wait. He noticed my breathing patterns. I felt my cheeks redden slightly at the thought that he would take time to notice the little things. Wow, it's not even 5 minutes into the day and he's already making me blush. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Your life. It must be hard heaving eyes on you all the time, getting judged by thousands of people who you've never met and aren't much better than you."

"It can be intense. But you just got to know how to manipulate them first." He replies.

I raise an eyebrow and shift my body so that I am facing him. His expression is dozy, but it looks peaceful. His usually flawless hair is muffed up in random directions – in the cutest way possible. Even in his waking moments, he is still perfect. Only him, I mentally scoff.

"Manipulate them?" I repeat. You can manipulate the most manipulative force in the world? Go figure.

"Yeah. You make them believe what you want them to believe." I nod in comprehension. I guess it makes sense.

"So you give them the stories that they print?" I try to articulate.

"Essentially. They can't get any information unless they are given it. That is unless they provoke it, or do some type of spying. But other than that, you pretty much control them." He shrugs.

It weird hearing about the other side. I guess celebrities have a sense of power of what gets out to some extent. I never really thought of it that way. But there is a limit to that fence. How much can that fence hold before a flood brakes loose? As a reporter I know there is only a certain about of information that gets out. But I also know that media knows how to twist things and blow them out of proportion.

"Wow. Your life is so complicated," I muse.

"I suppose. But amazing people like me know how to manage it," He smirks. Please don't smirk. I would like to keep my sanity today and there's no point in losing it so early.

I bite my lip and try to contain myself. Do not jump him, I repeat to myself like a mantra. I glance up at him through my lashes to find his gaze on my lips. I felt those butterflies flutter away again. Then his eyes meet mine. This expression is unreadable. It's one that he wears so rarely. One that I've only seen a couple of times. Like the expression I see him with when he was playing his guitar. I can't identify it, yet it is on the tip of my tongue.

I hold his gaze. His soft brown eyes are making me weak. I know that if I were standing, I would have fallen to his feet willingly. Why does he have this effect on me? His gaze lowers to my lips again and I get this sudden urge to kiss him. To have his soft lips on mine once more.

"We should get up," I say softly after a moment. He smiles and nods in agreement, but neither one of us moves.

He swipes his tongue over his bottom lip before leaning up on his elbow, now hovering above me, and looking down at me, my gaze following his movements. Tentatively, he leans down gently connects our lips. The kiss was chaste and sweet and only lasted a second, but it still had all the effects of overwhelming butterflies in my stomach and my body have a brilliant sensation of happiness.

He moves a stray strand of hair out of my face, and smiles before sitting up. I follow suit as the heat races to my cheeks, then swig my legs over the side of the bed, stretching them as I do so.

I cover my mouth as I let out a little yawn, and then rub my eyes softly with my balled fists. When I open them again, I find Austin staring at me, a small smile gracing his features. I raise a questioning eyebrow.

"What?" I ask, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Nothing. It's just that you're adorable," He says, then hops off of the bed, and walks out of the door, leaving me in my flushed state.

I sit there trying to process what he just said as the heat in my cheeks rapidly increases. He can't just call me cute, scratch that, adorable, and just leave! That bastard. That sweet bastard.

I give myself a second to let my raging heart calm down and for my scarlet blush to subdue. It amazing how someone I didn't even know a couple of weeks ago, had this much power over me, with such little effort. In fact, it's amazing how much he has over me overall. It's a little bit over whelming, if I'm honest. Not even Dallas could make my heart race as fast as it has for Austin. It's like he makes my heart beat a mile a minute. That's a good song lyric. I should write it down.

Keep your head in the game Dawson! Now's not the time to thinking about song lyrics, (even if it has been the first time in a long time). Now pick yourself up, stop blushing like a schoolgirl, and get your lazy ass downstairs. You're starting to look suspicious.

Man my brain is tough. But right. I got to go downstairs. Doing as my brain wants me to, I stand up, and make my way down the stairs. I could already hear the low buzz of the Moon family talking amongst themselves.

As soon as I enter the room, I am greeted with warm smiles and bright eyes. I really like it at the Moon's house. They make me feel so welcome, like they'd known me their whole lives. And not to mention the house was beautiful. It's so comfy, yet modern. Stylish, but not too flashy. And it's big, but not excessively; they are a big family after all.

"Morning Girly," Amber greets me happily.

"Morning," I reply, but it's more of a greeting to everybody in the room and taking a seat next to Austin. Because it was the only seat available, not because I like him. And we're trying to put on a show here.

Keep telling yourself that. Oh hush you.

"What took you so long," Austin asks, draping an arm around my shoulder. "Did I leave you too flushed?" He whispers the last part in my ear.

"No. I got lost in your huge ass house," I reply briskly, trying to ignore the icy shiver rolling down my spine that was conflicting with the warmth that having his arm around me gave.

"Ha. It's bound to happen." Alex laughs. "It just means that there's more space for us to play while the parents are away," He finishes with an unnerving mysterious glint in his eye.

"No parties," Amber snaps curtly.

"Why not," He whines in reply, his body deflating.

"Because we are not hormonal crazy kids anymore," She replies sternly. "Except maybe Austin, but that's beside the point," She adds as a side note, ignoring the 'hey' that came from Austin.

"Then what you suggest we do for a week in this massive house while mom and dad are gone?"

"Let's go to the park!" She chirps.

"No," Was the terse reply she got back from brother, who was set on having a house party.

"Why not? You guys used to love going to the park! You can play football like old times! We can pack a picnic and everything!" She pushes.

"I'm in," Andrew interjects, gaining a delighted squeal from the girl.

"I can go for a game or two," Austin agrees.

"Come on Aaron. It'll be fun," She encourages.

"Whatever." Was his brief reply. Still a man of few words I see.

"What about you Ally?" She directs at me. All eyes turn to my direction as they all wait for my reply.

"I think it'll be nice," I answer in a small voice.

"Come on Alex. You know you want to," She teases. And all the attentions now on him, and I notice his eyes soften a bit.

"Fine!" He cracks, causing Amber to cry a thrilled 'yay', as she gushes with happiness.

"Come on Ally. You can help me prepare the basket! You guys call Adam. This is going to be so fun! Just like old times!" She exclaims, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the kitchen. Wow this family was energetic.

"Okay, I want a clean friendly game. The Macaroni madness start first," Aaron shouts as we prepare for our game of football.

I don't even know why I agreed to do this. I don't even know how to play catch, let alone football. Plus I'm so small, I'm sure I'm going to snap like a twig. Let's just say this body was not meant to get tackled by 6 feet tall men with plenty of muscle.

"Okay team, huddle," Andrew, our team captain; leader; or whatever the heck they call it. Remind me why I'm doing this again.

"Okay, this is the plan. I'll be quarter back, Austin, you be forward, and Ally..." He hesitates. "Just try not to get crushed,"

"Don't need to tell me twice," I mumble.

Austin and I, along with Andrew made up our team – the Super Shades. Our opponents, Macaroni Madness (just for the record, I has no input what so ever in the choosing of names). And their team consisted of Adam, Alex and Amber. And of course, Aaron, the one that played football for years in high school, is the referee. I'm actually quite grateful for that.

After getting given the ball by Aaron, Alex gets into the starting pose, before yelling a load of things I don't understand, then throwing the ball behind him to Adam, who caught it easily. And so the chaos begins, I mumble to myself.

As soon as the ball landed in Adam's hands, both Austin and Andrew charge at him like bulls. That is when I decide it would be easier, and safer, to hang in the corner. Safe. And away from grown men, and a girl, jumping each other like animals.

My plan works as I watch cautiously. That was until the ball rolled right at my feet. All eyes were on me, and nobody moved a muscle. My eyes meet Austin's and Andrew's wide in shock, alternating, looking for any indication of what to do. Anything! I'm pretty sure this wasn't part of the plan. I was supposed to keep out the way!

That's when Austin's voice broke the silence. "Run!" He cries. I look to the ball, and back to him.

Acting on instinct, I grab the ball and run. In the corner of my eye I could see my teammates jump our unsuspecting enemies, but I pay no mind to it. Determination sets in, and I run as fast as my tiny legs can take me, and run to the other side of our 'pitch'. When I get to our goal (which was Adam's and Alex's tops, as our 'goal' was Austin's and Andrew's tops) I look to Austin in search of what to do next.

"Drop it!" He exclaims, before getting tackled to the ground by Alex. Drop it. Right here? Okay?

When I do, I hear loud cheers erupt from my partners in crime. I'm not sure what I did, but I think it's good. They both push the losing team off them, and run towards me, flailing their arms in the air. When they reach me, Austin hugs me round the waist tightly, picks me up and spins me around in glee.

"What did I do?" I ask, confused, but laughing along anyway.

"You won the game!" He exclaims putting me down, but hugging me close.

"Really," I don't understand how I won the game, but oh well.

"Yep," Andrew smiles, ruffling my hair. All I did was throw a ball to the ground, but I feel pretty good about it.

"Good game," A sweaty Adam sighs, holding out a hand, accompanied by a sweaty Alex.

"Who knew that your frail form could take you that fast?" Alex jokes.

"I certainly didn't" I huff, suddenly feeling quite drained. Wow. I am so unfit. It's like, not even funny.

"I think a game like that deserves a rematch," Alex says, after whipping the sweet off his forehead.

"Can we have Aaron on our team? It was basically only me and Andrew that time," Austin asks, pointing to Aaron who was sitting under a tree reading a book, causing me to stick my tongue out at him. He smiles and gives me a side hug.

"Oh no. That's all the football I can play. I'm drained," I state, really not wanting to play another game.

"You barely did anything!" Austin exclaims, and that once again get a tongue stuck out from me.

"It's okay. We can set up the picnic. You guys play." Amber says, walking towards me.

"Okay," Alex says, and they all set off to play their very violent game.

"How can you do that?" I ask Amber. It must be hard, keeping up with boys her whole life – especially since she is the only girl.

"Do what?" She asks, spreading out the blanket that we are going to use for our lovely picnic

"Stay sane around all these boys? I'm pretty sure I'd gone crazy by now,"

"You just got to show them whose boss, y'know. Being daddy's little girl has its perks." She shrugs. "And they're not that bad really. Once you get beneath all of that idiot, they're actually giant teddy bears,"

I nod nonchalantly, and help her setting things out for later use. Behind us I can hear bodies flying to the ground, that are accompanied by groans and cries for help. How is this fun? Beats me.

"They made you play that?" I ask in horror, setting myself down to watch them frolic around like animals.

"Yeah. But it roughed me up. Now I can fight for myself," She smiles, flexing some 'muscles' to make her point.

"You poor girl,"

"I just wish that they'd stop fighting my battles for me. Especially this time," A wry smile makes it way to her face, and her voice suddenly becomes a lot quieter.

"What do you mean by 'especially this time'?" I ask curiously.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asks looking at me. I can see the fear creeping into her eyes, and I feel my stomach drop.

"Of course," I haven't known her that long, but I know that I'd take this secret, whatever it is, to the grave if she wanted me to.

Leaning in closer, sparing a quick glance at the occupied boys, she says in a soft whisper, "I'm pregnant,"

My eyes widen, and I turn to face her. "Congratulations," I smile, already knowing that little boy or girl is going to have a wonderful mom.

However, my smile falters as I see the scared expression on her face.

"You're the first person I've told," Her voice was so small, but it spoke a big impact.

I stay silent for a second trying to read her facial expression. She was searching for any sign of judgement, her eyes worrisome. I give her a reassuring smile.

"Does the dad know?"

"Well..."

"Amber," I start cautiously, making sure my tone is soft. She's probably scared shitless. The last thing she needs is a lecture. "He needs to know,"

"I know, I know. It's just that this whole thing is so messed up and..." She cuts her sentence short with a sigh, and I know that she's having a small anxiety attack.

"Hey, it's okay." I rub my hand on her back in a feeble attempt to comfort her.

"No it's not! Not only will my family flip, the dad is out of the picture. And I don't think I'm ready to be a mom, and-"

"Amber, take a breath," I interrupt, trying to calm her down. It works, I suppose, because she starts to hyperventilate. "It's going to be okay. You've got an awesome family to support you through it all, and if the dad doesn't want to help, then he doesn't deserve you."

My words seem to have a soothing effect, as her breaths become slower. "And I for one, think, no, know that you'll be the best mom to that little boy or girl,"

"Thanks, Ally. I'm sorry that I've just kinda shoved this on you, but I really needed to get this out of my system, and you're someone I knew wouldn't judge,"

"No worries," I smile. "You can't keep that kind of thing to yourself. I'm just glad that I'm someone to vent to. So, how long have you known?"

"Only a week. But I've been freaking out. Like a lot,"

"That's normal. I think you just got to let it settle, y'know,"

"Yeah. I just can't believe that I got a tiny baby living inside of me," She muses.

"It's quite a weird thought at first," I agree. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to process the thought until I was in the hospital bed screaming as I give birth.

"Yeah. You should really take this as a warning. Be safe," she chuckles, causing a searing heat to come to my cheeks, and make me laugh uneasily. At least she's joking. That's a good sign, I guess.

"So, how do you think you're going to tell the others," I desperately needed to change the subject, and this was my way of doing it.

"I don't know. But I'm glad we have this week together. It's been a while since we've been like this," She smiles, watching her brothers play. "I want to embrace this. I might tell them at the towards the end,"

"Well, whatever you decide, just take your time and don't stress out. And if you ever need to talk to me, then I'm all ears," I reassure, meaning every word. Despite of the short time of knowing her, Amber is like a sister I never had.

"Thanks Ally," And with that, she pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"I am so hungry!" Andrew announces, taking a seat next to Amber, who releases me from her tight grip.

"When are you not?" She retorts.

"When are you not?" He mimics under his breath.

"Well lucky for you, we packed a lot of food," I announce.

"Did someone say food?"

"And here come the rest," Amber mumbles.

And surely, one behind the other, the boys pour in.

"Hey guys," I greet as the all take their seats.

"Have much fun without me?" Austin says smugly, wrapping his arms around my shoulder. Despite the fact we're not actually dating, it didn't feel entirely out of place.

"Not anymore than you did, getting your ass kicked," I reply.

"Yeah, yeah. You know you can't resist watching these muscles in action," He smirks, flexing his other arm for effect.

"Some people are trying to eat," Adam interjects. I avert my gaze, to find him stuffing his face with a cupcake.

"C'mon, don't tell me you're not like that with Katie," Amber teases.

"I am not very public with my emotions," He explains, crossing his arms.

"Well you weren't holding back your love for that cupcake."

Instead of coming up with another witty comment, he settles with sticking out his tongue in a childish manner before wiping off the frosting that coated his face then licking it off of his finger.

"Katie's his girlfriend," Austin explains, quickly whispering it in my ear and I nod in understanding.

"So when are you popping the big question?" Alex asks, elbowing him and raising his eyebrows suggestively. This makes Adam choke on the cupcake he was devouring, and his face turn a brilliant red.

"Yeah! I mean c'mon Charlie! When are you going to make her Mrs Charles Adams?" Andrew joins in.

"Um... Well,"

"I mean, how long have you been dating her? Like 7 years?" Amber interrupts.

"I'm waiting for the right time," He says, after he stopped himself from choking.

"You can't just wait for the perfect moment! You go to just do it. Be spontaneous,"

"Austin's right. And I'm sure that any moment would be perfect, because it's one of the happiest moments of a person's life, regardless of where or when," Amber continues.

"Can we change the subject? I know – Alex, how's the travelling been going?" Adam says quickly, trying to divert the conversation. Alex hesitates before answering, but decides that he's had enough torture.

"Awesome! I have seen some of the most amazing things on the road. I'll tell you, there is nothing more amazing than staying in different hotels every day, seeing completely different cultures and taking their way of life, or just breathing the different air. Not only do you learn so much about the world, you learn more about yourself," He finishes, his eyes beaming with excitement from every word that came out of his mouth.

"Sounds like you're having fun," Andrew concludes.

"You have no idea. But I love being home. Travelling can get pretty tiring,"

"No kidding. Even living though I'm not mountain climbing in Europe, I still miss home," Amber sighs.

"How about you? How's your dance studio going?" Adam asks.

"It amazing! We're on break right now, but we've just had some new recruits! Is so nice to see some fresh talent,"

"Wow! You guys live some pretty exciting lives," I muse. I swear my tedious routine will be the death of me.

"I guess you can say we live on the edge," Alex smirks proudly.

"So Andrew, do you do anything as exciting as your siblings?" I ask. I feel so out of place. Everyone here has such an amazing life. And then there's me.

"I work at our old recording studio. I'm just a sound engineer, but its cool being on the other side of the recording studio,"

"That's so cool! My life is literally so boring."

"C'mon. How can your life be boring when I'm in it?" Austin nudges me, while smirking.

"Don't remind me. Where ever you are, trouble isn't far away," I say while rolling my eyes.

"That's what makes me exciting!" He shrugs, wrapping his arm around my back.

"You guys are so cute," Adam sequels, though I have a feeling that it was sarcastic.

"Yeah. I think I might get a cavity after watching you guys be so lovey dovey." Alex adds.

"I could watch it all day. But unfortunately, I think we should get going. It's getting late," Andrew announces.

The group all replied with a rumble of 'yeah's. And with that, we were on our way of the park.

Okay, so this is terribly long and boring. Sorry. I can't always promise I'll update a lot, but I really will try. And if i ever get lazy, bug me until I do it. And I will imagine all of your faces giving me a disapproving look. On a totally different note, Who can't wait until Season 3! I swear a couple of chapters ago I was talking about season two. I was really gone for years.

So once again, Until next time.

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