Two in a Million | Auslly

Four: New Songs & Last Nerves

"I was going to suggest the three meat," Dez said. "But if you want just plain pepperoni"—

"No, get the three meat! Get the three meat!" Austin exclaimed. Dez nodded and jotted it down on his phone.

"And what do you want, Ally?"

"What does Trish want?"

"She told me that it's your turn to decide," Dez responded. The girls usually had a harder time agreeing on a flavor than the guys, so they took turns picking.

"Uhm, okay. Well, in that case, I'll have the vegetarian, please." She turned back to her songbook. "Thanks, Dez." He nodded and left, closing the door behind him. The duo turned their attention back to their unfinished song.

"Okay, so I was thinking for this part, it could go like this." Austin played a few chords on the piano, and Ally harmonized with him on the lower keys. By lunchtime, they had gotten the melody figured out, and they decided to take a break and joined their friends downstairs. They both noted how miraculous it was that they weren't interrupted again.

When they got downstairs to the common area, the smell of pizza filled the air. Dez was munching happily on his second piece and Trish was on the phone in the other room, getting more impatient by the second. Austin reached for a piece of the three-meat and Ally looked around, confused.

"Where's Trish?" she asked.

"On a phone call. Again," Dez rolled his eyes. "You know, sometimes it seems like Trish doesn't want to hang out with me. And with you two in the studio all the time, I'm mostly just alone." He took another big bite out of his pizza.

"I'm sure it's not like that," Ally said, trying her best to cheer him up. "She's just really busy trying to get things set for tour. Plus, don't you have anything you could be working on?"

"Nah," Dez replied. "I just wish she'd let me help her, but she thinks I'm irresponsible."

"Gee, I wonder why she'd think that," Ally said sarcastically. It's not like you crash-landed a piano into my party."

"Or ruined the snack table at the Christmas party when you and Chuck were fighting in those fat Santa suits," Austin added.

"Or swung in on a literal vine and crashed into the music equipment at Trish's Quinceanera," mused Ally. "Shall we go on?"

"Nah, you're right. She's probably better off with me just sitting here...sulking...being miserable."

"Come on, buddy. Cheer up!" Austin exclaimed, trying to sound peppy. "Hey, you never told us how your trip to see Carrie went."

"Oh, it was great! She's living the dream out there. I wish I could stay out there with her for a while. I really miss her."

Austin and Ally exchanged glances. "What's stopping you?" Ally asked. "We want you to be happy, and if you stay here you'll be miserable. Why don't you go spend a few weeks out in LA?"

Dez's face lit up. "Wow, that's actually a pretty good idea. I mean, there's nothing for me here."

"What do you mean, 'nothing for you?' We're here!" Austin retorted.

"I meant there's nothing for me to do! Claws: (dun dun dun) just came out, and the chances of a sequel are pretty slim. If I went to LA, there would be more stuff for me to work on."

The three friends sat in silence, eating their pizza for about five minutes longer, while Trish yelled occasionally in the background. As much as Austin and Ally wanted Dez to stay, without anything to do or anyone else to hang out with, he tended to get on their nerves. And if he moved out to LA for a few weeks, he could still be back in time for the tour. One thing was for sure, though: Trish was in dire need of assistance. She came storming out of the recording studio about a minute later, her face scrunched and bright red. Ally was pretty sure she could see steam coming from her ears.