Disclaimer: I think we are all aware that I, in fact, do not own the characters from Austin & Ally. Nor do I own the song, "Come Wake Me Up".
Now that we have gotten all that disclaimer garbage out of the way...hope you enjoy!
-K
It had been five years since Austin and Ally had gone their separate ways. He had broken her heart for another girl, and once he had realized his mistake...she had already boarded a plane to California. Ally's birthday was tomorrow and when he had realized it days ago, she hadn't stopped haunting his mind.
Austin sat in the cool Miami winter air as he thought over the past few years. Once he had finally made it, he had purchased a home for the two. A home he thought he would share with Ally as they grew old together. But one mistake changed everything. She had deferred her college start by a year for him, and in return, he had left her standing for a chance with Cassidy.
The memory hurt to think about. Sighing he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, reaching for his cup of coffee.
He could still see Ally's silhouette through the fire, walking down the beach toward him. Austin had just finished telling her how he truly felt the day before. As he watched her walk toward him, he noticed Cassidy out of the corner of his eye. She looked exactly how she did before she left Miami. Austin had dropped his beer into the sand, moving toward her singsong voice.
"Cassidy?" he had barely gotten her name out when Cassidy claimed his lips in a searing kiss. When they pulled apart, he could hear a gasp to his right and that was the last moment he saw Ally. He should have run after her, he should have explained. But his mind was wrapped too tightly around the thoughts of Cassidy in his arms.
Austin had instinctively pulled Cassidy into him, forever ending any chance he had to reconcile with Ally. Ally hadn't stopped to ask why; she hadn't waited for him to show up at her door, she had simply called the college and flew out a few days later.
Austin dropped into a nearby chair, his eyes glazed over with the memories of their time together. Ally had changed her number, and Trish wouldn't give him the new one. Telling him she hoped he was haunted in every quiet moment with what he had done to Ally. Sadly, he was. Whenever he felt himself letting go of the past, a girl would remind him of Ally. Suddenly, without warning, his heart would be falling all over again.
Cassidy had lasted only days and he never stopped regretting that moment. More recently that night haunted him in each dream, in every fleeting thought. Desperately trying to get rid of the dreams and pain he had begun writing a song. Figuring, if nothing else it would be something for his new record.
I can usually drink you right off of my mind
But I miss you tonight
I can normally push you right out of my heart
But I'm too tired to fight
The words continued to play through his head as he tapped out the beat against his coffee mug. His coffee, laced with whiskey, couldn't erase her today. She was a bit too ingrained in his memory.
Giving up on the hope that some fresh air would clear his head, he returned to his piano. He was determined to get this song out, he was confident it would lead to the closure he seemed to need. His hand ran over the lid of the shined black wood, it had been Ally's when she lived here. He had given it to her when she had gotten her first record deal.
He sighed, not realizing the breath he had been holding in since he sat down in front of it. Simple things like this didn't help with his need for closure.
Yeah the whole thing begins
And I let you sink into my veins
And I feel the pain like it's new
Everything that we were,
Everything that you said,
Everything that I did and that I couldn't do
Plays through tonight
The words began to pour out of him as he remembered the sweeter moments, one that had them snuggled up on a piano bench. She had a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts, and the way her fingers spread across the keys in the most graceful motions he had ever seen. She was inspiration, beauty, and perfection all wrapped up in a pretty package. A package he let go.
Tonight your memory burns like a fire
With every word it grows higher and higher
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love
I just sit in there flames and pray that you'll come back
Close my eyes tightly, hold on, and hope that I'm dreaming
Come wake me up.
A few hours had passed, along with a few glasses of whiskey; he had finally finished the first verse. He was losing his hold on the present, his mind was reeling through past memories and he could feel his heart breaking all over again. Austin knew he had shattered her heart, but only now was he realizing he broke his own in the process. For so long he had blamed Ally for his broken heart, when in reality, it was his own damn fault.
Turn the TV up loud just to drown out your voice
But I can't forget
Now I'm all out of ideas
And baby I'm down to my last cigarette
Austin's head was leaning on the keys as a shrill sound emitted through his home. He had been beating himself up over the events of their last encounter for hours now, and all he had to show for it was a bottle of half emptied liquor and what was sure to be one hell of a headache the next morning.
You're probably asleep deep inside of your dreams
While I'm sitting here crying and trying to sleep
Yeah wherever you are baby now I am sure you have moved on
And aren't think twice about me and you tonight
He had given up on writing tonight as he crawled into bed.
Wherever he looked in that house, there she was. There she was on the deck, head thrown back in laughter- her sunglasses shielding two eyes he knew would be sparkling.
Sitting up in his bed, he could see her twirling around the bedroom in a sundress.
Austin's eyes moved to the hallway, and he swore he saw her walking from the bathroom in a fluffy white towel.
There were no words to express how empty this place was without her presence. He could still feel the memories buzzing around, but somehow...he still felt the cold reality in which the truth lingered.
Tonight your memory burns like a fire
With everyone it grows higher and higher
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back
Close my eyes tightly, hold on, and hope that I'm dreaming
Austin rolled over, his face buried into his pillow. It had been five years, he was certain Ally Dawson had moved on.
Now and then he would hear about her doing great things out there in California...he'd seen her name on a few songs that some big artists were singing. He was proud of how far she came- from that girl who wrote songs so beautiful, but hid them from the world...to a girl who took on the world without a second thought. She was truly the definition of inspiring.
I know that you're movin' on
I know I should give you up
But I keep hopin' that you'll trip and fall back in love
Time's not healing anything
Baby this pain is worse than it ever was
I know that you can't hear me but baby I need you to save me tonight
There were times, late in the night when Austin would wake up abruptly from a dream that captured Ally so vividly in his mind that he swore he felt her warmth sleeping next to him. He silently prayed this was all a dream, and that her small hands would shake him awake.
...I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back
Close my eyes tightly, hold on, and hope you'll come back
Come wake me up
Oh, I'm dreaming
Come wake me up.
The next morning he had finished the song. He had given up on sleep after hours of tossing and turning.
Austin looked over the handwritten lyrics as he scrawled the name of the song above the first bar, "Come Wake Me Up".
He had called his manager early that morning, requesting the mailing address of a Ms. Ally Dawson. He had given some lame excuse about wanting to collaborate with the lyrical genius. His new manager, Jake, had only been on the job for a year and knew nothing of his past with her.
He slipped the new song into an envelope and headed for the door. She may never speak to him again, she may simply see the return address and discard the envelope...but he had to try. The note attached to the lyrics was simple.
Happy Birthday, beautiful. Love always, Austin
Weeks had passed since Austin had sent out the lyrics. The first few days he kept his phone glued to his side, almost sure he would hear from her. But days turned into weeks, and he never heard a word from her.
His heart still ached; closure hadn't come with the mailing of that envelope. Austin had come to the realization that he would have to live with this burden, and nothing he could do would take away the pain he had caused himself.
He settled onto the couch as his phone lit up, he half glanced at the screen noticing it was a call. Flipping to his side to get a better view of the phone that was just out of reach on the coffee table he realized it was an unknown number.
"Ugh…what now…?" he groaned as he dropped his feet to the floor. That was when he noticed it…an unknown set of numbers…from California. He read and re-read the state name under the numbers.
He cleared his throat as he quickly unlocked the screen to answer "Hello?" Austin's voice was noticeably shaken. He hadn't expected to hear from her after all this time.
"Austin?" the voice on the other end was timid, but he would have recognized it anywhere, "Hi..it's Ally."
Okay, before anyone comes after me with pitchforks for how it ended...I felt like it was the right place to finish.
Gives the reader the ability to come to their own conclusion. I had originally planned to make this a multi-chapter story, but when it came down to actually writing the story out it felt better this way. I was struggling with Ally fully forgiving him, but had an issue with them not ending up together...this ending gave me peace though. Because just like life, it is up in the air.
Hope you all enjoyed this one-shot. Please read and review, let me know what you thought!
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my other one-shots, you guys are amazing!
-K