Hola, everybody! Okay, this is my first Austin and Ally fic (a show which I loved from the earliest promos) and hopefully not my last. Yes, it is a multi. I don't think I ever write anything else! :)

I know I've been MIA for a long time, but lemme tell you: high school is NO JOKE. Especially when you're transplanted to a Catholic school outside your district with people you've only just met and hideous, HIDEOUS uniforms. Sigh... Anyway, enough depression. Let's get on with the story!

Ballads and Bonfires

Chapter 1 - The Proposal

It was a normal day at Sonic Boom in Miami, Florida. Business was, well, booming and salesgirl Ally Dawson was having trouble keeping up. "Yes, sir, the violins are over that way!" she shouted over her shoulder as she turned back quickly to the woman to whom she'd been explaining the difference between plastic and wooden recorders. Yep, she needed a vacation.

"Hey!" cheered Ally's best friend Trish Rodriguez* as she strode into the music store, slurping away at a bright yellow slushie. "Guess who got a job at Frozen Sweets'n'Treats!" Ally giggled as the woman stalked away to the kazoo section. "The same person who's dressed as an ice cream cone?" she guessed, taking in the multi-coloured sprinkles on Trish's hat and her waffle cone dress.

Trish nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. It's lasted a lot longer than any of my other jobs. I've already been hired for..." She paused to check her watch. "...3 hours!" Ally propped her elbows up on the main counters and eyed her best friend suspiciously. "When were you supposed to start your shift?" she questioned. Trish calculated the number quickly and frowned. "Um, 2 hours ago." Her mood swiftly picked up again, though, as she shrugged and said, "Well, no point in going now, is there?"

Ally rolled her eyes and was about to lecture her on the merits of being a good employee when a voice rang out from the stairs: "Hey Ally!" Ally, Trish and all the customers in the store looked up to see Austin Moon waving at them. "Sorry to disturb you," he called out quieter. "Please, continue your shopping." Then he hurried down the stairs, with his best friend Dez Worthy* hot on his heels.

"Ally, Ally, Ally," he chanted as he finally reached the counter, leaning towards the brunette with a big grin on his face. "You have GOT to see this." Dez produced a laptop from his backpack of wonders and opened it up. On the screen was a girl about their age with curly reddish hair, glasses and an eager, excited look in her blue eyes. Just as Ally asked if it was a picture, the girl chirped, "Hi! Omigosh, you're Ally Dawson, right? Austin Moon's songwriter?"

Ally shrieked in surprise and grabbed the counter. The girl seemed to recoil and said quickly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! My name's Carisa Jenkin and I have a proposal for you and Austin." Trish clapped her hands and stepped closer to the laptop. "Well, I'm Austin's manager, so all business negotiations go through me," she said in an authoritative voice, then added, "Is there money involved?"

Carisa nodded sagely, her smile widening. "Oh, yes. He'll definitely get paid." Trish tossed her hands up in consent and shouted, "Well, I'm all for it!" Ally swatted the diminutive girl away. "Wait just a second," she told no one in particular. Secretly, she was still thinking about the fact that Carisa had addressed her as "Austin Moon's songwriter," as if she belonged to him. That wasn't any different than Trish being Austin's manager, though, was it?

Austin wrung his hands impatiently. "Basically, Carisa's having a big beach party this weekend and wants me to be the entertainment! Isn't that awesome?" he told Ally, holding out his arms as he waited for her scream with excitement. Ally, however, stood stock-still. "So you're renting yourself out now?" she snickered, raising her eyebrows. It came out meaner than she had intended, but she couldn't take it back now.

The blonde's eyes narrowed considerably, but Austin evidently decided to ignore her as he tried again. "Yeah, that's what celebrities do. They perform for their fans. Imagine that, Ally! I have fans! Isn't that awesome?" Out went his arms again, as if he had presented a fantastic opportunity for the group. Which, come to think of it, he had.

Ally bent over to look Carisa in the eye. "What's the catch?" she asked plainly, her arms folded in front of them. Austin sighed, exasperated as Carisa pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Well, I tried to tell him upstairs that I'd really like it if he could, as well as his usual fast songs, do a ballad." Dez immediately piped up, "Oooh, sorry, Austin's not capable of doing those."

Austin turned to his friend. "Since when?" he asked, surprised. "Since this afternoon when I smoked you on the half-pipe!" Dez crowed in reply. Trish buried her face in her hands and her voice came up muffled. "Dez, Carisa said a ballad. As in a slow song, usually about love. Where in your little ginger brain does a ballad have anything to do with skateboarding?" Dez looked shocked at this revelation as Ally turned back to Carisa, who was thoroughly confused.

"Look, Carisa, I think that might be a -" Ally couldn't get in another word befor Austin swooped in and cut her off. "A great idea!" he hooted, although Ally thought he might be a little fuzzy on the meaning of the word, too. "I'll have Ally whip something up and we'll see you Saturday at 4!" Carisa waved one last time and the screen went black.

"Austin!" cried a frustrated Ally. "Why did you do that?" Austin crossed his arms defiantly and replied, "Because if I didn't know better, I could've sworn you were going to end that sentence with 'problem.'"

Ally made a move to tear out her dark brown curls. "I was! And you know why? Because I can't write ballads!" Everyone was paying attention: Trish stopped smacking Dez's shoulders, Austin stared intently at Ally and Dez stopped cowering from Trish. "What do you mean, you can't?" Austin demanded. "You're Ally Dawson, songwriter extraordinaire!"

"I know very well who I am, thanks," snapped Ally, sitting down heavily in a nearby chair. "But love songs...well, love in general isn't really one of my strong points." Trish made a huge gasping noise, like she was sucking all the air out of the room. "Ohhhh, you mean because you never - " Immediately, Ally shot Trish a glare that said something along the lines of "Finish that sentence and losing your job will be the least of your worries. Well, even less than it is now."

"Never...what?" Austin asked, blissfully ignorant of the death stares being traded between the girls. "C'mon, I need to know here! The fate of my gig depends on it!" Dez held up the video camera he never went anywhere without. "And my video! How can I have a video of Austin being worshiped by native dancers on a beach before a mighty bonfire without the beach or bonfire? Without those things, it's just a bunch of weird guys with paint on their bodies."

Ally didn't bother to try and figure out what had just been said. Dez was beyond strange. "Look, I don't want to talk about this any more," she said firmly, snatching up her songbook from the counter. "Please, just call Carisa and cancel the performance. Trish, you're in charge. I'll be upstairs if you need me." And with that, Ally tiredly headed for her practice room, very aware of Austin's stare on her back.

YOLA! So what'd you think? Are you wondering what Ally's big secret is? It should be pretty obvious if you think about what kind of person she is... Also, I'm thinking Trish (who's shaping up to be my fave character) will have a new job each chapter. Feedback on this?

I want to write this like I'd imagine a real episode of the show, so tell me if it's not realistic. Except for Dez, because I know I can't write him very well. Maybe when we've seen more episodes, I'll do it better. Scroll down for the asterisks!

*1: They still haven't given Trish a last name in the show, so I'm just gonna use the last name of her actress, Raini Rodriguez.

*2: Ditto for Dez and Calum Worthy.

REVIEW IT, BABY!

\/

\/

\/

\/