Now or Never (An Austin Mahone and Crew Love Story)

Slumber Party

Olivia’s Point of View

Austin came back just as the guys started getting ready to leave. “Hey man!” Robert exclaimed when he saw him. “You‘re alive! How‘s Alex? We‘re just on our way over to see him.”

Austin shrugged. “I guess he‘s doing as good as any guy would if he just woke up deaf one day and realized he‘ll never hear another word come out of your mouths or a note come from my guitar. He‘s struggling with it. I promised that we‘ll make it through, but you know how he is. He teared up and asked me to leave.”

Tyler shook his head. “I guess he‘ll never be exactly the same.”

The guys all looked grim. “I‘m sure he‘ll come around,” I said. “He‘s probably just scared. What if he can‘t figure out how to read lips or it takes him too long to learn sign language?”

Austin sat on the edge of my bed. “You‘re probably right. I just can‘t believe he‘s deaf.”

I shrugged. “There‘s a reason for everything. We just usually don‘t understand it.”

Zach smiled. “Where‘d you find a girl with so many brains, Austin? It‘s like she actually thinks before she speaks.”

Austin grinned at me in the way he does. “I don‘t know. I guess some guys just get really lucky.”

The guys chuckled. “You wouldn‘t happen to have any sisters just like you, would you?” Tyler asked. 

I shook my head. “No such luck. I only have a brother, but if you‘re interested…”

Robert sucked in some air. “I can‘t say I am.”

We all laughed and chatted for a little bit. “So are you guys still going over to see Alex?” I asked.

“Nah. If he asked Austin to leave he‘d probably really rather be by himself. We‘ll stop in later tonight or sometime tomorrow.”

“You better come see me when you see him. You don‘t want me getting lonely do you?”

Robert laughed out loud. “You really think Austin‘s going to be leave you long enough for you to get lonely? You must not know anything about how he feels about you.”

I shook my head. “I know he‘ll try to be here, but he has a late studio session tonight. I‘ll be all alone.”

They all looked at each other. “Hey, if you want, one of us could spend the night with you. We‘d have to get up early for school, but we could be here for the night.”

“You guys don’t have to do that. I‘ll be okay on my own.”

Austin gave me a doubtful look. “You realize we can all tell that you‘re just saying that so no one feels obligated to go out of their way for you, right? We all know you don‘t want to be left here alone for too long.”

I averted my eyes so I didn’t have to look at them. They were right. “I‘ll spend the night,” Zach said.

I looked up at Austin. Would he mind me spending the night with one of his best friends? It’s not like he should feel threatened by it, but it’s not like Zach isn’t chased by the ladies. With his big muscles, brown hair, impressive personality, and immeasurable swag, I’d never leave him alone with my girlfriend. Austin gave me a look that told me it was up to me, but he was judging Zach for volunteering.

“You don‘t have to if you don’t really want to,” I told him.

Robert sighed. “I know you aren‘t just going to jump at the chance to spend the night with any of us, but I know you don‘t want to spend the night alone in here, and I know Austin, his mom, and probably your family don‘t want you to either. It comes down between me and Zach. Tyler has a essay he‘s been putting off to do.”