Goodbyes and Goodnights
I'm sure you're all reeling after the season finale (I know I am!) so this is my continuation of the final scene of Relationships & Red Carpets. I hope you enjoy it. Read and Review :)
"You ready to do this?" Austin asks, walking in and seeing his girlfriend reading her songbook.
"Yeah, I am," Ally responds. Austin wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close. She puts her arm around his waist and the two of them walk out of the music store, Ally holding tight to her songbook and to Austin.
"You guys need a lift to Ramone Records?" Trish asks, opening the driver's side door of her car as Dez closes the trunk.
"Yeah. Thanks, Trish." Ally climbs in the back behind the driver's seat and Austin climbs in opposite. He moves to the middle seat and wraps an arm around Ally as Dez gets in and buckles his seatbelt and Trish starts the car.
"Everybody have what they need?" Trish asks as she tugs her seatbelt a few times trying to unstick it.
"Yeah. Austin brought all his stuff to my house yesterday and my dad brought it down to Ramone Records last night." Ally responds, resting her head on Austin's shoulder and pulling his arm around her tightly.
"And both your parents are totally cool with you two alone for the first three shows?" Dez asks, turning to the couple.
"Surprisingly, yeah," Austin answers, looking at Ally then back to Dez. "Of course, Ally's dad is gonna fly out for the fourth show and join us for a while. And besides, Dez, your family is letting you move to L.A. for Carrie."
"For film school, man," Dez counters. "Carrie's, well, she's just a bonus as far as my parents are concerned." Dez grins a little at Austin. "But one way or the other I love her and I think my family knows that. I mean, my sister is crazy about her."
"Yeah, well. I'm going to miss you three. Managing company or not you two are my best clients. And Austin," she says, looking back for a moment at a red light. "I promise I'm not going to stop with Jimmy. He can't hold out forever. He'll give in, eventually. But for now, I want you two to have fun and write some songs together. And don't get too sick of each other all alone on that tour bus for three months." She winks at Ally and turns her head back to the road just in time for the car behind them to honk. "Oh hold your horses," she mutters and they press forward again through the intersection.
"I'm gonna miss you, buddy," Dez says tearfully as the three of them stand outside the line dividers for the check-in at the airport. Dez hugs Austin once again and then turns to Ally and hugs her tightly, lifting her a few inches from the ground, just like prom night.
"Ouf, Dez, I can't breathe." Dez places her back on the ground and she straightens her jacket then turns back to him and hugs him again. "I'm going to miss you. But I'm expecting you to meet us first thing when my tour gets to L.A. No excuses." She pulls back and feels her eyes start to sting a little. Finally Dez turns to Trish and she holds her hand out, stopping him from hugging her.
"If you hug me you know I'm just going to start crying and my makeup looks way too good right now for me to start crying." She stands with her hand stretched out resolutely, blocking his hug for a moment, but her stone face turns slowly to amusement and she moves her hand away and then wraps it around him. "Dammit," she whispers and she feels a tear roll down her left cheek. "I'm going to be in L.A. in three weeks, okay. Don't start doing anything fun until I get there, okay?" She pulls away from him and wipes her cheek with her wrist. He smiles kindly then reaches for his suitcase standing next to him.
"I'll see you guys soon, okay. Wish me luck." He turns and walks onto the line, quickly followed by a couple with a stroller.
"Good luck," the three of the say and Dez looks back and waves at them before handing his ticket to the guard and walking toward security.
"Come on guys, let's go. You've got a tour bus that's going to be leaving in a half hour," Trish says looking down at her phone and then back at Austin and Ally.
"Okay," Austin replies and he and Ally link hands as the three of them walk toward the sliding doors back to the parking lot.
"You know, one of you can sit up front with me now," she says as the two of them climb into the backseat, resuming a distance of practically nothing and holding each others hands, tangling them like a knotted ball of yarn, impossible to tell which fingers belonged to which lover.
"Uh," Ally starts, turning to Austin for a moment then reaching toward the door handle.
"Ally, I'm just kidding. You two cuddle up back there for all I care. Just don't get too crazy." She laughs and then looks through the rearview mirror as their faces relax and they laugh too. "Off to Ramone Records, then," Trish says and she puts the car in gear and pulls out of the parking lot. Ally settles back into Austin's arms as they listen to the radio and she closes her eyes.
"And this is the new single from Austin Moon," the woman on the radio announces. Her voice floats through the car and suddenly it's thick around their heads - Sometime's love's a scary place. It's like standing in the dark. Flying through the univer-
"I didn't know if you wanted to listen to that," Trish says quietly after switching it to a station playing country music.
"No, it's fine. I should enjoy it while I can. Who knows the next time I'll be able to hear my voice on the radio. Maybe I never will." He sighs and leans his head against Ally's.
"Austin, don't be ridiculous," she says softly, playing with his fingers in her hands. "All of this is going to blow over. Trish is a fantastic manager and she's going to get Jimmy to forgive you. Your fans aren't just going to abandon you."
"Yeah, Austin. And haven't you seen the video of your little speech at the WMAs? It's gotten over 100,000 hits in the past few days and literally all the comments that aren't comparing you to Kanye West are about how sweet you and Ally are and how brave it was to do that. I'm sure your fans aren't just going to abandon you because you go off the air for a while. We'll just have to make sure they all know that you're on tour with Ally. Maybe we can play up the fact that you two are Auslly now, maybe-"
"Trish, I get it," Austin interrupts, laughing at her frantic parade of ideas. "I'm really not that bothered by it. Well, maybe a little by the Kanye West thing but other than that I know I made the right choice and I think my fans want me to be happy more than they want to date me or whatever Jimmy's reasoning was. It'll all blow over. I'm sure of it," he finishes, but his voice falters a little toward the end and Ally tightens her grip on his hand and looks up at him. He meets her gaze and smiles then connects their lips for a few seconds. "I'm sure," he says with a little more confidence and Ally returns the smile.
"Well, we're here," Trish says pulling into the parking lot for Ramone Records. Two buses are waiting.
"That's for one of the other artists. She's starting her first tour tonight too." Ally says, lifting her head from Austin's shoulder and tugging on the door handle. She climbs out of the car and Austin follows her.
"Well, you're supposed to be pulling out in 10 minutes so there really isn't much time for chatting. I'm going to go see if the receptionist is in the building and I'll be right back. You guys can get on and make sure all your bags and stuff are there."
"Thanks, Trish," Ally says and she and Austin clasp hands again and walk toward the bus.
"Hi, I'm Janet," a woman says walking from the driver's area of the bus. "You must be Ally and Austin." She holds out her hand to Ally and after Ally shakes it, she holds it out to Austin.
"Yes, ma'am," Austin replies. "Are you going to be driving?"
"Well, if not I probably shouldn't be wearing this ID card that says I drive for Ramone Records." She laughs and Austin and Ally do too. He smiles at Ally and they share a knowing glance - a good driver is going to make the trip a whole lot easier.
"Well I'm going to be driving with Craig, he's the other driver, he's really nice too. He'll be out in a couple of minutes if you want to introduce yourselves but I'm just going to run in one last time before we leave." She nods toward the building and then walks away, leaving Austin and Ally in the parking lot. They climb onto the bus and walk around.
"It's a little smaller than the one that I had," Austin says, walking toward the couch.
"Well, there were also four of us last time. Now it's just you, me, my band, well, they have their own bus, and whichever one of our parents shows up for a couple of shows.
"True," Austin agrees and he slumps back into the couch and picks up his guitar from the table. "Good, it looks like your dad brought everything. Was he really too busy to stay and say goodbye?"
"Yeah, he had to get back to the store and sort some things out. Remember he just lost two employees in a matter of two weeks. He needs some more help before he can be away from there for too long."
"Yeah," Austin replies, strumming a little on the acoustic guitar.
"Hi," a man says, walking up the first step of the open doorway. "I'm Craig,"
"Hey," Ally says, "I'm Ally and this is Austin. Janet said you'd be driving too?"
"Yep. Well, I'm going to go get us running. We've got about five minutes before we head out."
"Thank you," Ally says and Austin echoes it. Craig waves at the two of them and hops down from the step and in a few moments they hear the engine roar to life.
Trish walks up the steps of the bus and Austin and Ally stand quickly. She hugs Ally first for a good two minutes and then turns to Austin and hugs him too. "I'll see you guys in a couple weeks, okay? Don't have too much fun without me." She smiles and Austin and Ally return it wholeheartedly. She rubs Ally's shoulder once more and and tells her 'good luck' and then walks out the door as the passenger door in the driver's area closes and they know that Janet is back and everyone's ready. Austin and Ally move toward the window and watch as Trish gives them a thumbs up and the bus pulls away. She waves again and the two of them return it, waving and smiling as Trish disappears from sight.
Ally lies curled up with one of her favorite books, A Tale of Two Cities, tucked under her as she leans against one end of the couch. Austin is on the other end picking at his guitar.
It takes a few moments for Ally to recognize the soft tune. It's almost unintelligible in its soft acoustic version, but she knows the song so well that it catches her attention. She turns to him but he's focused on his left hand as it moves up and down the neck of the guitar. Ally slides her bookmark into her book and unwraps herself from the blanket around her. It's dark out and she can see her reflection in the bus windows. There is only one light on by the couch.
As the chorus comes back around, Ally slides closer to her boyfriend and she notices him grin just a little as her leg grazes his but his focus remains fixed on the guitar.
"There's no way I can make it without you, do it without you, be here without you," she sings softly. She pauses and Austin picks up the next part. He looks up at her finally and sings.
"It's no fun when you're doing it solo, with you it's like whoa, yeah and I know."
Ally joins in and the two of them finish the chorus, still softly, as if trying not to break the silent barrier that surrounds the little bubble they're in.
"I own this dream, 'cause I got you with me. There's no way I can make it without you, do it without you, be here without you." They smile at each other and Austin places the guitar beside the couch and Ally take the invitation to move next to him. She nuzzles into the crook of his arm and breathes deeply.
"Are you ready to do this?" He asks, kissing the top of her head lightly.
"Yeah, I am," she responds, turning around and kissing him, placing a hand on his cheek and taking in every one of his features.
She's going on tour. She's going on tour with her boyfriend, who just happens to be Austin Moon, her partner and best friend in the world. She thinks about everything that has happened in order to get her to this moment and the fact that she could never have gotten here without Austin washes over her again and she kisses him harder. The two of them finally take a moment to breathe and she gives him one last kiss before turning back around and settling in his arms. He hugs her tightly and the two of them squeeze together closely on the couch and close their eyes, not bothering to move to their beds because what could be better than sleeping in each other's arms. Austin reaches up and turns off the single light, washing the little room in a romantic darkness.
Yeah, she thinks, I am. And Ally feels sleep take over as Austin's breathing becomes the soundtrack to her everything thought.
"I love you, Ally," he whispers, breaking the silence of the night.
She doesn't hesitate and sighs back sleepily, but with complete conviction, "I love you too, Austin," and Austin kisses the top of her head once more as the two of them fall asleep.
Thank you for reading. Please review if you liked it and give me other head canons and one shot ideas!