HAIII! Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Hehe the way I titled this is very Sophie (a cold day in december). No Capitals. Makes it feel much more dramatic than it should be. But it's awesome and her stories are always successful and amazing and beautiful so maybe my story can live up to that

This one goes out to My Austin: Wherever you may be in this world, I hope you and your corn dogs are coming.

taxi's, syrup and neon signs

Everywhere she looked she saw red. And pink. And couples holding each other as if there was no such thing known as personal space.

Valentine's Day. She didn't really understand why couples needed a holiday to celebrate their…togetherness. Couldn't they do that on any other day?

She rushed through the streets of New York City. It was especially crowded on this day of the fourteenth of February, but she had places to be and people to see, she couldn't get caught up in the neon signs hanging around her and envying the sweet couples walking hand and hand through central park.

She turned the corner of the block she was currently on and saw the giant 'Coca-Cola' sign that signified she was in the perfect place to find a taxi. Even though it was still winter, the sun was hot and shining brightly, so she pulled her shades over her eyes.

Today would be a big big day for her. She had a meeting with a new manager. Being that she had gotten over her stage fright all those years ago, she was out in the world, and while she loved her current manager, Trish just wasn't booking her the performances she needed. Her crowds needed to be bigger and better now. Plus, Trish was currently living in Miami with Dez, and was 7 months pregnant. She didn't have time to find Ally more places to perform.

They would be meeting at none other than Madison Square Garden, because he had some business to attend to. This new manager had a great deal for her, a year-long tour with another client of his. Someone he promised she would enjoy working with. 'You two will work perfectly together like Peanut Butter and Jelly!' was what Carlton Davis had told her and she smiled. Why not? She liked having a partner, it was just that one partner from many years ago that things ended badly with.

Ally realized she must have looked pretty stupid at the moment. Her arm was raised high above her head and she was waving it around like a crazy woman, her other arm holding onto her mini travel suitcase that held mostly sheet music. She saw many of the taxi's passing by; she had never once waited this long for a taxi in Times Square.

She stuck her arm out high above her head one last time and finally saw one of the several yellow cabs coming towards her. She sighed in relief at her victory and turned around to pick up her mini suitcase. Heading into the car she placed the bag at her feet and turned to face the driver.

"I need to get to Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd, Madison Square Garden," She said turning to the taxi driver and then paused. Something was not right. Those words had not only left her mouth, but there was the presence of another in the car. She turned her head to see a blonde man wearing sunglasses and a hood over his head, sitting next to her, looking at her in the same confused manner. No one spoke.

"You couples and your ability to speak at the same time, I'll never understand," The taxi drivers rough voice sounded as the cab took off.

"Umm wait a second he's not my-" she began still staring at the stranger.

"She isn't my-" the stranger also started.

"Is there a problem?" but the taxi driver was ignored as the two strangers spoke.

"Well we are-"

"Going to the same place-"

"So I guess-?"

"It's alright with me," she offered and he smiled and stuck out his hand.

Ally smiled and shook his hand but inside her mind, she was freaking out. There was something too familiar about this stranger.

"So, what are the odds of something like this happening?" He asked, striking a conversation.

"One in a billionth of a chance," she smiled "But I do believe in fate, we must have been meant to meet each other, and somehow have to go to the same place. What's bringing you to MSG?"

"Well, my good friend told me there was someone he wanted me to meet, and he had to be there for something earlier…what about you?"

"I have a meeting with a manager," She smiled and the stranger raised his eyebrows at her, seemingly impressed.

"So I'm assuming you're in the music business?" He asked and she felt her cheeks heat up a bit more.

"Yea, I sing, and write music. And play piano and guitar, and, well many other instruments, but I wouldn't want to bore you," she grinned "What do you do? I feel like your some detective or someone with a hidden identity," She covered her face with her hat to mock his secretive appearance. He laughed and removed his hoodie revealing a head full of light blonde hair. Her stomach churned, she hadn't seen that color of blonde in over 4 years.

"I'm also in the music business, you could say," and he grinned at her. She had definitely seen this grin before. This grin with the sparkling white teeth that always made her blush and look down and stumble over her words.

There was no way it could be him. No way it could possibly be Austin Moon. They had gone their separate ways 4 years ago without contact. They couldn't possibly meet up randomly in a Taxi in one of the largest cities on earth. And on Valentine's Day? Not possible.

She shook the thought from her head determined to believe the smiling stranger beside her was not him. Instead, she just smiled back and decided to ask more questions.

"So you're meeting your friend on Valentine's Day at The Garden? Are you two dating?" she questioned and he roared of laughter, clutching at his stomach.

"No. No. He's a guy…and I'm more into girl's, if you get what I'm saying," He grinned "I'm a sad, lonely soul on Valentine's Day. I just don't get why couples need to celebrate their couple-ness on one specific day. If they really mean that much, then everyday should be considered Valentine's Day," He paused and seemed to go deeper into thought.

"There's one girl…I'd love to spend every day with her…but I can't say she feels the same," Though Ally felt a twist in her stomach at the handsome strangers mention of another girl, she felt bad.

"How do you know? You could never possibly be sure," she motivated with a soft smile and he shook his head.

"I haven't seen her in…a long time," he explained "What about you? No special guy out there for you on Valentine's Day?"

"No. There was this one guy once, but I've all but tried to erase him from my mind. Though, you do somewhat remind me of him, and now it's like all these feelings are exploding in my face," She told him and he shrugged.

"Sorry, I must just be one of those faces, you know?" he smiled, almost like he knew something she didn't and then noted that they were at Madison Square Garden. She took out the money to pay the cab in full, but the stranger beat her to it.

"At least let me pay half," she pouted, but he refused and handed his wad of cash to the man before they both stood on the sidewalk and watched the cab drive off.

"So I guess it was nice meeting you," she offered a hand but he had come and hugged her instead. Ally wasn't much of a hugger, and she was sure there was some sort of alarm going off in the back of her mind about letting a total stranger hug her, but she felt strangely safe and returned the hug.

"Maybe I'll see you around sometime," he winked at her and turned to walk into the large building. She felt her cheeks heat up and she grinned.

Then, before following the stranger into the destination she needed to be, she inhaled the February air, a strong scent of roses and hot dog vendors, and pulled out her phone.

"Hey, is Trish there?" Ally asked into the receiver. A male voice answered her.

"Oh, hey Ally," Dez answered "No, but she should be back any minute, we ran out of milk."

"So you asked her to go and get it?" Ally wondered.

"No, I offered to go and pick it up, and she thought I was calling her 'incapable of living' and I said 'No, but you are pregnant' and then she kind of stormed out," He explained and Ally nodded, giggling slightly at her best friend's reactions.

"Oh, alright…Dez, do you by any chance know where Austin is? I mean, I know we all don't talk to him anymore, but do you know if he's playing any shows or anything now?"

"I'm online right now, I'll check," he offered and there was a brief pause and Ally could hear the clicking of keys on the keyboard.

"DEZ! I'M HOME! I cannot believe you made me go out and get the milk myself!" Ally heard an angry Trish through the phone and then Dez sighed.

"Sorry Trish! I'll be there in a sec!" Dez apologized, knowing better than to put his life on the line by letting her know that he had offered his help "Ally? He's playing a show tonight in Pittsburgh around 8ish, and he's got a few press conferences at 5. Should I ask why you wanted to know this information on the 14th of February…?"

Ally frowned at the hinting tone in Dez's voice but sighed in relief at Austin's packed schedule. There was no way he could be in New York and make it to Pittsburgh by 5. The man in the taxi was definitely not him.

"No, just wondering. Now put Trish on the phone before I tell her you got a mahogany crib instead of the white one, so you had to paint it yourself."

"Trish! Ally's on the phone!"

Ally smirked and then soon heard Trish's voice over the phone.

"Are you sure you're okay with me meeting with this new manager?" She did not want Trish to feel like she was replacing her.

"I'm the one who set up the appointment Ally! Besides, I can get you a few gig's here and there, sure, but a record producer who wants to set you up with his own successful client? On a year long tour? Ally that's amazing!" She could practically see Trish's smile through the phone "Go get 'em Alls."

"Thanks Trish, I'll call you and let you know how everything goes," she promised and the two girls said their farewells.

Ally then smiled, gazing at the building and walked in. She immediately asked a lady at the front where she could find Carlton Davis, her (hopefully) new manager. The lady smiled politely and told her where to go.

When she arrived, she knocked on the door and waited for it to open, when it did she was face to face with a 6'2 dark haired man with stubbly hair on his chin and a pinstripe suit with a bowtie. He was quite quirky looking and had an energetic, young glint in his green eyes. He couldn't be more than 25 years old, but he was one of the best and experienced in the industry, and she thinks she may have just landed the perfect new manager.

"Hi Allyson, I'm Carlton Davis. Please step inside," he grinned warmly and she returned with a gentle smile walking into the room with a long table and several chairs. The room was completely empty except for Carlton and herself.

"So, Allyson," he began "I heard your demo cd's. They were quite impressive. Especially those instrumental pieces. Was that mix of Beehtoven's 5th and your original song 'I Wonder' all done in one take? Or were both pieces recorded separately? I've been dying to know," he grinned eagerly and she was overjoyed that he enjoyed her work.

"All done in one take. I've managed to change the keys around a bit so that I can play that song live," she explained and he clapped his hands together and pointed at her.

"Well it was a brilliant take on combining classical music with modern pop! Oh my other client will just love you!" Ally's stomach felt like fireworks were exploding as he delivered more praise to her work "He'll be here in a few moments, he just ran off to make a phone call. I'm sure you'll recognize him once you see him."

Ally grinned at the thought, sure she had definitely gotten further into the music profession then she once was, but she wasn't nearly all that big yet. Local papers and small events were her grounds. Now she was looking for neon lights and huge crowds. Who ever thought she would make it here one day? She definitely didn't.

But he had. He had believed in her. As much as Ally blamed Austin for all the misery he had cost her, she had to give him credit for always trying to help her getting over her stage fright. But, asking her out, and then leaving for LA not even two days later, without even asking her if she wanted to go with him?

Flashback-

18 Year old Ally Dawson sat at the counter of Sonic Boom, scribbling away in her brown leather journal.

"Hey Ally," Austin called entering the store. He walked over and gave her a big hug from behind, squeezing her petite waist and planting a kiss on her cheek.

They were only best friends, but anyone who saw them together could agree, they were way too intimate for 'just friends'. Holding hands, cuddling, kisses on the cheek, kisses on the lips (okay, that was only one time! And they were caught up in the moment afterall…), and hugs that lasted a few more seconds then they should have.

They never made anything official though. They'd just blush and denydenydeny whenever someone told them they needed to suck it up and just call themselves boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Hey Austin, whatsup?" she mumbled not looking away from her book. Austin rolled his eyes and forced her to turn around.

"Umm, hello? It's nice to look at people in the eyes when they talk to you," he smirked and she just smiled putting her pen in the book to hold her place and put it on one of the shelves under the counter.

"Okay, now what?" she asked facing him. He grinned quite widely.

"You. Me. Dinner and a movie marathon? We can watch whatever you want, all night long," he suggested and she nodded.

"You had me at dinner, I'm starving! I haven't eaten all day," she gazed at the clock and noted it was 6:37. She figured since the shop was empty, and they close at 7 on Sundays anyway, she'd just lock up early and let her friend take her out to dinner. Plus, he offered to let her pick the movies this time. She couldn't say no to that.

So after going through two pizza's and a large coke at Lia's and some ice cream at Ben&Jerry's, Austin and Ally went back to Austin's house and sat in his movie room watching movie after movie after movie, without a single word spoken. At 2am, Austin coughed and looked at Ally, pausing 'Spiderman 3'.

"Ally?" he questioned, she raised her eyebrow signaling him to continue.

"Do you think what they say is true?" she was confused but he continued "Do you think we should you know, go out? Like go out go out? As in more than best friends?"

"Where is this coming from?" she asked sitting up and thinking his words over.

"I don't know just, I guess tonight when we were laughing and talking and stuff, I was thinking about it. And we do act more like a couple then friends, I thought, maybe I would kind of like to make it official?"

Ally sat silently, though a small grin was forming on her face.

"So what do you say Alls? Wanna be my girlfriend?" he asked and she nodded, scooting closer to him and resting her head on his chest. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. She kissed his cheek and he smiled and shook his head. He kissed her on the lips and she internally melted.

Their movie was completely forgotten.

She couldn't help but smile to herself of the good memories, but it was what happened not even two days later that made her yell his name at the sky and wish he had never shown up in her store when they were 16.

"Hey Austin!" She said brightly, skipping over to her boyfriend (she still loved the way it so easily rolled off her tongue). She planted a kiss on his cheek and he smiled, but it quickly faded. She then frowned.

"What's wrong?" Something she had always worried about when she was friends with Austin was Why? Why did he choose her to be his best friend and now girlfriend when he could have any much prettier girl in all of Miami. It never quite made sense to her, but she didn't dare complain when she was fortunate enough to be able to look into those gorgeous brown eyes of his and suddenly everything would be ok.

"Nothing Ally, it's nothing," he said coldly shaking her off and she frowned even more at that. He noticed and apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just I've got a lot on my mind."

"It's fine Austin. Are you sure you don't wanna talk about-"

And suddenly the truth came out before she could finish a sentence.

"I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" She was confused. What did he mean? Leaving the store? Leaving their partnership? Leaving Miami? Even worse- leaving her?

"I got a record deal with Starr Records," he explained "And their flying me out to LA tonight."

"Austin that's great news!" she smiled, both with excitement for him and relief at that it hadn't been anything worse.

"No it's not Ally! It means I have to move out there for 2 years and leave Miami and Trish and Dez and you behind!" he explained frustratedly running his hands through his hair. He suddenly stopped and looked at her.

Then her ran over, grabbed her roughly by the chin and kissed her. It was hard at first, but the kiss was slow and sweet and full of passion. Then he pulled away and looked into her big brown doe eyes, his own eyes widening, whether it was shock or fear, she couldn't tell.

And then he began to run. Away from Sonic Boom. Away from Miami. Away from her.

And he never did bother to contact her again. And that's what killed her the most. He never once tried to call or text or videochat or email or anything! He just left her with the taste of sweet syrup on her lips and a broken heart.

Her heart still clenched at the memory. And she began to feel her eyes prick with a warning of unwanted tears. She had to pull together though. She can't just burst out crying in this new office when she's about to make one of the most important deals of her life.

"So, basically what will happen when I meet with the client?"

"Well, Allyson, if you two end up liking each other, which I'm sure you will, then were going to sign you both to a year-long tour," he explained "The both of you have proved to have very similar music styling's, yet with your own unique twists, which is why we think you'll work so perfectly together!"

"And, am I allowed to ask who this mystery client is?" She was dying to know.

"Oh no, we want it to be a surprise. I'm pretty sure he's heard your work before, and enjoyed it. And I can be absolutely positive that you've heard his work," he laughed "In fact if you haven't, you must live in a rock!"

Ally laughed and decided that now was not the time to tell him she didn't get out much, and all that modern music like Lady Gaga and Skrillex weren't really her thing. Neither was most of that new modern music for that matter. She enjoyed older music, like The Beatles.

She was hoping she had heard this mysterious clients music, and was double crossing her fingers beneath the desk she enjoyed his music.

The doorknob began turning slowly and Mr. Davis stood up.

"Allyson, I'd like you to meet Austin Moon!" He smiled brightly and waited for her excited reaction.

But it never came.

She watched as the door swung open to reveal none other than the man who had been in the taxi with her, and she noticed without his sunglasses and hoodie shading his identity, he was in fact the Austin Moon.

She was frozen in her spot, like a deer in headlights. Austin looked at her a little confused but after a few seconds grinned.

"Ally?" he walked closer to her "I mean, I thought the girl in the taxi looked like you, but I figured it couldn't have been! I mean, you had stage fright when I last saw you! I mean…Carlton? Would you mind giving us a moment?"

Mr. Davis had sat watching the reunion with a puzzled look on his face. He had not an inkling of understanding of what was happening, but nodded respectfully and left the two to be by themselves.

"Ally…wow Ally you look…all grown up," Austin breathed out and Ally decided it was then she would look him directly in those big brown eyes she had found comfort in.

"I won't do it," she stated "I refuse. I refuse to work with you Austin Moon," the way she said his name came out like venom and a pained look crossed his face.

"Look, I know leaving you after we had barely started dating was kind of rude. Especially since I gave you no warning, and for that I'm sorry," he said genuinely, but then shook his head. Ally knew at that moment the smiling Austin that had walked into the room was gone as his eyes turned dark.

"But, Ally, do you know what you put me through? Changing your number? And then after I got a hold of that new number you never responded to texts or calls or emails or videochats or ANYTHING? I sent you letters Ally! How many guys in this world write letters? Not many! But I did because I wanted to apologize and make things right and stay in contact. I wanted to keep our relationship going even though we would be thousands of miles apart,"

"I know leaving so sudden with barely an explanation was wrong. But I was scared. This was a whole new chapter in my career. I wasn't sure if it was going to succeed or fail. As you can see I have succeeded. But not the way I wanted to. I didn't want to see the name 'Austin Moon' in shiny lights. I wanted to see 'Austin&Ally' in shiny lights. I wanted our names together on everything with that squiggly 'and' sign in the middle!" his face faded a little "But you obviously didn't care enough to hear it."

At this point, Austin looked about ready to cry, but he didn't, he just kept opening and closing his fists until his knuckles turned white. Ally on the other hand was not holding back. Hot tears streamed down her face and she was sick of it all. She began screaming at him.

"Change my number? Austin I've had the same phone number since we were 16! And screw all that letter crap! You left without trying to contact me! I never got any word from you after you just kissed me and left!" She was trying desperately not to meet his eyes. "Do you know what that does to a girl Austin? You can't just kiss someone like that and leave!"

"That's what he told me! Jerry told me you changed your number!" Austin punched the wall so hard, Ally gasped at the loud thud it had made. Surprisingly though, the wall did not break "He hated me! He told me he mailed all those letters! He was such a lying- Do you know what he did Ally? This- this-" Austin was raised well enough to know he shouldn't use the words he was going to use to describe his horrible manager. Especially not in front of a lady.

"Austin, just stop okay. Just stop!" She screamed and Austin stopped the pacing he hadn't realized he started in the first place.

"So maybe you did try to contact me," she smiled a bit at the thought "But, Dez got your emails? You couldn't have said anything to him? And what about Trish?"

Austin's eyes turned a darker shade of brown she had never seen before "I was afraid okay? When you never tried to contact me I thought you were just done with me! I thought you never wanted to speak to me again! I thought I just had to move on in my life and let you go."

"Austin, I-" but her voice faded out. She couldn't talk. What should she say? Four years between them had been screwed up. As familiar as Austin was to her, he was different now. Different in so many ways.

"Save it, Ally," he muttered, staring directly into her eyes one last time before turning around and storming out the door.

"Austin, wait!" she cried running after him, she saw that Carlton was still waiting out the door confused, but she didn't stop until she had caught up with the blonde who was exiting the building "Austin, please let's be reasonable! So some stuff got screwed up! So what?"

"Ally it's not just 'some stuff'. Ally, I loved you. I'll admit it once, twice, however many times you want me too! I loved you Ally Dawson! As a matter of fact I still love you!" he said exasperatedly, he then turned around and screamed "I LOVE ALLY DAWSON!"

"Austin, shh, shh," she shushed him as they received several glances from passerby's. "I get it, you love me."

Austin's face contorted into pain, "I hate my record label, I hate my parents, I hate myself. I never should have left you in Miami, ever. I will never forgive Jerry for making me think you wanted to never talk to me again. I will never forgive my parents for convincing me that leaving would be a good thing," his head began to drop lower and lower "I will never forgive myself for kissing you like that and just running away. I will never forgive myself for leaving you behind, it was your career too. I will never forgive myself, never, ever, Ally."

Ally had begun to tear up again and as much as she tried to be strong she couldn't help but let a few tears fall. Austin was quick to wipe a few of them away.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hold you when you were sad or scared. I'm sorry that for four years I couldn't have been the person who put the smile on that lights up your face. I'm sorry I couldn't hug you or kiss you when you wanted me there. If you wanted me there," he looked into her eyes again "I'm sorry."

"Austin, you don't have to be sorry," she said simply and while his face looked confused, she explained "I'm the one who should have tried harder, all those times Trish and Dez went out to visit you, I should have come. I shouldn't have been so stuck up to stay behind and not want anything to do with you because I thought you were the one who was done with me. I'm sorry too Austin."

And they both just stood there, in the now frigid February air, as couples passed giving them questioning stares.

And then Ally started laughing. At the situation. At what had happened. When you finally reach a point where you can just stare at someone and…laugh.

Soon Austin began to join in, and they both just began to fall over each other and laugh. They laughed for a long time, hoping to relieve the stress, the drama, of the situation at hand. But once they were done, they both continued to just stare at each other.

Austin then cautiously leaned closer to her, and looked into her big brown doe eyes as if asking a question. She in turn, reached up as far as she possibly could, and kissed him.

Everything that they had missed in the past four years was gone, and it was like they were 18 again, and Austin had never left for his record label. The kiss was slow and sweet and Ally couldn't help but smile to herself. Any thought of being mad at the other was completely forgotten.

Too soon, they needed to pull apart for air(oh yeah, they kind of needed that) They were still extremely close together, with his arms wrapped around her waist, and her hands on his shoulders.

Austin's face suddenly broke out into a huge grin "So I'm guessing you love me too?"

She just laughed "Happy Valentine's Day, Austin."

He kissed her again. She ended it though, her eyes still closed as a smile grew on her face.

"What?" He questioned and she shook her head at him.

She grinned madly and stated "You still taste like syrup," before swiftly connecting their lips again.

Oh my gosh, it's over! I'm actually quite proud of this. It took me two months to write!

It's 12 pages on Microsoft Word and the word count is 4972!

I actually have a little epilogue I can add onto this. It was originally part of the oneshot but then I kinda thought it was unnecessary. If you really really want to see it, you can PM me or leave a review or something.

But yeah, so question how are most of you spending your Valentine's Day? I happen to have two Valentines!...Their names are Ben & Jerry ;) #ForeverAlone. Haha but even if you're spending Valentine's Day alone, we still have our Auslly feels to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside! xD

Thanks Guys! *Hand Heart*

-Carlie