Expect the Unexpected

Chapter 7

A/N: This will probably always be my favorite chapter :-)

Normani's POV

We were on the floor for about an hour until Dinah came in to tell us that they had ordered pizzas at the last stop and they had set aside a few slices for us. Ally's tears had dried already and she didn't look nearly as sad as she had before. Dinah still looked slightly suspicious as to why we were cuddled up on the floor together. I could tell that she noticed something was wrong, but thankfully, she didn't ask any questions.

Ally joined in the conversation every once in a while so that she wouldn't draw too much attention to herself. "So," Camila started as we all curled up on the "living room" couches to watch a movie. "Was it fun seeing Troy again, Ally?"

"Mila!" I stressed. I gently pulled Ally into me and I felt her begin to shake in my arms. "Shhhhh," I tried to calm Ally down as I shot Camila a death glare. I suddenly felt incredibly protective over my older but smaller friend. "They broke up," I mouthed to Lauren, still mad at Mila for making Ally cry right after she was starting to feel better.

Lauren gasped, quickly passed the message on to the other two girls and I reluctantly let go of Ally so that Lauren could hug her. "It'll be okay, baby." She tells her, softly rubbing circles on Ally's back. I noticed that Ally still wouldn't let go of my hand and I smiled knowing that I would always be the one she would turn to for comfort.

Ally's POV

The movie was almost over by now, and Normani and I were the only ones that were still awake. "ManiBear?" I asked quietly, nuzzeling my head further into her neck.

"Mmmhm?" She mumbled, her eyes shifting from the screen to my finger that was tracing random shapes on her forearm.

"Can you carry me to bed again tonight?"

I looked up to see her smile and nod. "'Course Allycat!"

I tilted my head up so that my mouth was directly next to her ear. "Will you sleep with me, too?" I could see her face start to heat up as she took a deep breath and slowly closes her eyes for a few seconds.

She turned her head to face me and let a small smile slide into her lips. "Yes, I will." I beamed back at her, realizing that she might have some feelings for me too.

I stuck my arms up in the air the way a child would've if they got tired of walking and wanted a piggyback ride. Mani giggled and picked me up bridal style like she always did. She laid me down in my bunk and then climbed in. "Night, Allycat." She whispered, her eyes barely staying open.

"Night, ManiBear," I kissed her forehead and then wrapped my arms around her waist.

Normani's POV

I heard screaming, and this time, no one held me back as I bolted in direction of my bestfriend. I couldn't let her get hurt. I couldn't let anyone take away the best thing in my life right now. "Ally?!" I called into the night. At first I was back in the mall in Nashville, but somehow I'd ended up next to a dark alley. "Allycat, where are you?!" I felt tears spill over my cheeks and heard her scream again. "This isn't funny! Someone tell me what's going on!"

I felt strong arms grab my waist from behind and a cloth was placed over my mouth before I could scream. They carried me at top speed and I was so afraid of what was going to happen next. As soon as they removed the rag, I started shouting at them. "Where is she?! What did you do to Ally?!" The guy just laughed and pointed his gun to an area a few feet away from him where they had her tied to a chair.

"Let her go!" I cried. Another guy had me pressed against the wall so I had no strenght to run over and save her. "Please.." I hung my head in shame, knowing that there was nothing I could do about it. He pulled the trigger, and when I looked back, my little Lemon Head was gone.

"Mani? Mani, baby, it's just a dream; please wake up." I felt someone shaking me and I shot up, realizing who it was.

"Ally!" I pulled her impossibly close and almost started crying again out of happiness. She giggled but shushed me and reminded me that we still had a couple of minutes before Dinah came around. "I-I I had this awful dream and you....you left me."

"Mani, I would never leave you!" She brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and I looked at her in a completely different light. I never really noticed how beautiful she was, especially when she wasn't trying. How much I trusted her with everything I've done, said, and felt. How much I needed her to make happy and how she could always make me smile, even I didn't want to. And I realized that, all this time, she wanted me.

I suddenly felt compelled to lean forward, so I did. And I wasn't all that suprised to see her do the same. I knew she had been acting different around me, but I didn't really know why until now. When our lips touched, I expected it to feel different. Gross, repulsive maybe. But she was so gentle, so soft...it felt like everything around us had disappeared. I had only planned on letting the kiss last 5 seconds, but the curtain flew open at around the 3-second mark.

"Aha! I knew it!"