Hey everybody! It's PerryGirl, back again for the book of oneshots I promised. If you already know me from some of my other fics, then hi again! If you've never heard of me before then you're probably really confused right now... but hi to you, anyway!

Ok, so this particular fic requires a little bit of explaining. So the thing is, this is going to be a book of oneshots that are each going to be inspired by a single word. And the words are going to go in alphabetical order. For example: Apple, Baby, Curls, Dating, and so on. I think of the word first, and then I write what it brings to mind. I thought it would be more fun this way. If you want, you guys can give me suggestions on what word you want me to use next chapter, though there's no guarantee I'll use it. Today's word is: award.

This fic is unique in the way that i'm going to try a bunch of different writing styles. I'll go from the fluffiest fluff you can think of, to something a little more emotional and deep and loving. Maybe even a little touch of anguish if I feel the need. Just a way for me to keep things a little more interesting. So if you're someone who only likes fluffy, I hope I'm not disappointing you.

Well, enough talk. Let's begin!

AWARD

She couldn't possibly imagine things going any better.

The lights. So bright, so colorful, so lively. They burned her eyes, singed her sockets. But somehow she found herself loving that burn. It made her feel alive.

The dress she wore was tight around her waist. It dug into her sides like a cobra around its victim, but still she kept smiling. Smiling that pearly, award-winning smile—that everyone seemed to love so much—right through the cramps in her stomach. And it wasn't even a forced smile, either. She was really, truly happy. Happy. When was the last time she could honestly say that?

In all definitions of the term, everything was perfect. Trish had told her that it would be, but she had doubted. And who could blame her? She didn't want to get her own hopes up. Didn't want to excite herself only to be disappointed moments later. But now she could see the truth, and she loved it. She could have expected angles to come down from the heavens and carry her away on a bed of fluffy, golden clouds, and STILL she wouldn't have been disappointed. Perfect. It was all too perfect.

"Are you excited, Ally?"

Trish's voice, usually firm and demanding, was now full of an energy completely new to her. It was so excited, so joyous. It was almost as if her voice itself was glowing. Shining like the brightest star in the darkest night. Ally couldn't get enough of it.

"Of course!" the woman screamed back, trying to be heard above the roar of the crowd, "I don't think I could possibly get any MORE excited!"

Trish smiled at her, and Ally smiled back with just as much enthusiasm. It was really happening, wasn't it? Really, truly happening. And it just hit her now.

Ally looked all around the room. Everything just looked so… unbelievable. She really couldn't believe it. All around her sat thousands and thousands of impossibly beautiful people, talking and joking and smiling like perfectly normal human beings. And nearly all of them within an a hundred feet radius she recognized. They were the people she'd seen on her TV, looked at on her computer, and heard on her radio since she was a little girl. The people who used to sit and smile at her from the posters on her wall, wearing pretty little dresses or spiffy black suits like they were made for the spotlight. And they were all here, with her. No, that's not right. They weren't with her, she was with them. She was one of them now.

That thought suddenly sent a spark of thrill running down her spine. She jumped nervously, and Trish gave her a strange, steady look.

"You alright, Ally?" she asked for what must have been the thousandth time, "You look a little jumpy."

"I just… can't believe this is really happening," she moaned between her strawberry lips, "It all seems like a dream, or something. Like I'm going to wake up and still by a star-struck teenage girl with stage fright."

Trish laughed. A lush, mature laugh that Ally would have once never believed had come from the girl's big, childish mouth. She can still barely manage to grasp how much her manager had grown over all the years, both physically and mentally. Now 25 years on age, cutting close to 26, she had really managed to straighten out the rough corners of her rocky career life. Of course, she was still the crazy, bossy Trish that Ally knew and loved, but progress was progress. The girl had grown up. And she had, too.

"Don't worry about anything, Ally," the Latino assured her, squeezing her hand lightly to calm her tingling nerve, "This is all REALLY happening, you can trust me on that one. Now stop worrying so much. Let's have fun!"

For half and hour after that, the young women talked and giggled like best friends always do, acting once again like the little girls they used to be so long ago. Some things never change, Ally realized with a smile and a cute little giggle. And some things do. Some things change far too quickly, without even giving you a chance to hold on.

Ally gulped. She had absolutely no idea where that thought had come from, but now that it had appeared, she knew that she would not be able to shake it. Of course, things changed, she knew that. But why that thought had come to her in the middle of the biggest day of her entire life, she had no idea. If at all, that thought should have had a positive influence on her mind, reminding her how much her life has gone uphill since her lonely, shallow teenage years. But still, it somehow managed to leave her with a bitter taste in mouth. Like something wasn't quite right about the life she was living. Like something was missing.

His face flashed across her mind far too quickly for her to stop it. She tried hard to push it from her brain, but she knew deep down that it was forever imprinted there. Like a tattoo made from permanent ink. She could try all she wanted to scrub it away from her once untainted skin, but no amount of soap and water would ever send it swimming down the drain. That's just the way tattoos are. At first when you get them, you love them. The design seems to match your personality, the person who you are inside, nearly perfectly. It all just screams you. But as you grow up, start discovering more of yourself and leaving behind the parts of your life that no longer seem to fit, you find that its more of a curse than a blessing. It just sits there, eternally staring at you, silently reminding you of all that you want to forget about who you used to be. It never goes away.

He was her tattoo.

Almost as if she had waited for Ally to make this exact discovery, Trish suddenly spoke up, excitement building in her voice.

"It's starting, it's starting!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Clearly, she was not the only one who noticed. All around them were the sharp voices of thousands of screaming humans, ringing along nicely to the deep rhythm of the sound of hands clapping and feet stamping. It was time now. There was no denying it.

Ten thousand pairs of eyes watched as a skinny-as-a-twig woman and an obviously-goes-to-the-gym-ten-times-a-week man walked on stage. They had large, phony smiles stretched across their flawless, make-up covered faces, and their voices were as lively as the lights. Ally was barely listening as the two of them began to talk, announcing the annual show as though it were some gift from the gods. Trish was watching the two in rapt attention, but Ally was already beginning to drift. All she could think of was that face. It still lingered in her mind, swimming through her memories like a beautiful swan in a murky, polluted lake. She simply couldn't concentrate like this. Not at all.

Austin. The name that went with the face. She'd given up trying to hold it back any longer. It'd been tugging at her memory strings for far too long to bother anymore. Austin. It was time for her to stop pushing that name away. It was time for her to embrace it. Embrace it so that she could forget it, for real this time. Because if there' was one thing she knew for sure, it was that Austin was gone from her life. Gone for good.

Just then, the couple standing on stage stopped their mindless chatter and finally reached the important part of the show. Ally could feel the tingling of excitement travel through the crowd, almost as if it were an actual, physical thing.

"And the nominations are…" the woman began, her voice cheery and melodious through her cherry-red lips. She laid out a long list of names, each one met with a picture on screen as the person in question stood up, smiling in the spotlight. This award had something to do with the top male actor of the year, so honestly, Ally couldn't care less. She just sat there, paying attention out of nothing more than respect. When the woman on stage was finished talking, it was the man's turn to speak.

"And the winner is…" he said, opening up a card. For a long moment, everybody was silent. Deathly, deathly silent. It was almost eerie how quiet a room full of so many people could be. Almost… unnatural.

As soon as the name was announced, a man Ally recognized as being the teenage heartthrob of the generation, stood up to receive his award. Ally applauded with the rest, but already she could feel her mind drifting back to where it had originally fallen. She gulped as her memories flashed back across her mind.

Austin. Bleach blond hair. Brown, puppy dog eyes. A smile on his face that made her feel as if she were the only girl in the world. Or at least the only one that mattered.

It started out as a simple partnership, it really did! The two of them, a boy and a girl, a rocker and a writer. The perfect team, the perfect match. Back then Ally had been painfully awkward. A girl with big dreams, but a small self esteem. She was kind, yet annoyingly goody-two-shoes. Always following the rules or creating her own. Sometimes she wondered how in the world she and that bossy, loud-mouthed Trish ever became friends to begin with. She questioned it, but she sure was glad that it happened.

Austin began it all with an act of such rash, stupid clumsiness she could barely believe it possible. He, somehow—she still doesn't really understand it—managed to accidently steal her song. Back then it had seemed like the absolute worst thing in the entire world to happen to the girl. Now she merely laughed at it. She had so many songs, she probably wouldn't even notice if someone swiped a dozen of them.

After a whole big thing, one she was far too impatient to go into details thinking about, the two finally made amends by deciding to become partners. Ally could still remember the moment that he finally asked her. The words had come out of his mouth as real and true as she could imagine, yet still she couldn't believe them. It was the way he looked at her, really, that took her off guard. As if she were the most holy, beautiful creature that had ever breathed a breath of life. As if she really, truly mattered. At the mere age of fifteen, she couldn't recall having ever been looked at this way before. It made her feet tingle and her face flush red. And so, of course, she said yes. Just said yes. And the rest is history.

For a long while they were friends. Just friends. Or at least that's what they told themselves. They'd do their homework together, spend all-nighters working on songs in Sonic Boom, even leave their stuff over at each other's houses. In all definitions of the term, they were inseparable. The best of buddies. But of course, all things change. And this was no exception.

She fell first. Or at least, she was the first one who realized it. Not long after, so did he. They got together. Then broke up. Then got together again. And, inevitably, broke up. It was complicated. Confusing. A complete maze of emotions. But that was probably why she liked it so much. The fact that they neither really knew how their relationship would turn out made the time they spent together even more exhilarating. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't in love. Or at least a hyped-up, bone-chilling teenage drama sort of love. But wasn't that the best kind?

For a moment, Ally closed her eyes. She took a deep breath of air, letting in an intoxicating mix of aromas. Several popular brands of perfume. Some type of expensive, luxurious skin cream. Sweat and heat from the wide variety of bodies crammed together like sardines in a can. Spray tans, deodorant, after-shave, lipstick. And, strongest of all, the smell of excitement. And boy did it smell could.

Somehow, it brought back memories. Memories stronger than anything she'd ever experienced before. It's not the first flashback she's ever had, but she sure does hope that it'll be her last…

"Hey Ally, guess what! Guess what!"

It's Austin Moon. The one and only Austin Moon. By the looks of it, he's seventeen again. A young, boisterous seventeen. And so is she. Looking as cute as ever in a little flowered blouse. God, she misses those days.

"What?" she asks her boyfriend cutely, a smirk playing on her lips as she looks up from her leather-bound songbook. She can smell his excitement, it lingers on skin like dew on grass, and that in turn makes her excited. She can't help it. His happiness is just so… contagious.

Before answering, the boy steps forward and puts his hands on the other side of the counter, so that he's exactly facing her and the shiny old cash register that she's tapping on like a piano. Ally's in the middle of taking a shift at Sonic Boom, but it's a pretty slow day, so she welcomes the distraction.

"Trish got us BOTH a gig at the Florida Annual Jam Fest this Saturday!"

Ally raises her eyebrows. "What's that?" she questions.

"Well, this is its first year… but Trish told me that it's going to be BIG. And we're going to be the finale! We can preform a duet!" In actuality, the event turned out to be a big flop. Going on for two, maybe three years tops. But as this point, neither of them knew it yet.

At his words, Ally smiles. She can't help but think of all the duets they've preformed in the past, most of them ending in a very passionate, very romantic kiss. It makes her body tingle just thinking about it.

"That sounds awesome!" she said enthusiastically. She leans forward a little to hug her cute, blond companion, but he's already one step ahead of her. Before she can even comprehend what's happening, he hops the counter and throws his arms around her tiny waist. She giggles as she tries to push him away. But, deep down, she doesn't really want him to let go. The feel of his heartbeat against hers is the most comforting feeling she can even hope to imagine.

"I'm glad you're excited, Austin," she teases him, very much aware as one of his strong, warm hands discretely strakes her back, "But save it for the performance."

After Austin lets go and the blush dies down in both of their faces, they get to work. They decide to write a new song, of course, instead of just reusing some of their old stuff, and both end up staying the entire night. They didn't technically HAVE to work until 4:00am, but they couldn't help themselves. Somehow, working the whole night made it much more exciting. Especially, and Ally hated to admit this, when they had some extra time to cuddle on the piano bench, their hands just barely touching. The best was when they fell asleep inside each other's arms. It was so corny sometimes, Ally would admit it, but she loved it all the same. She loved him, she really did.

Suddenly, without warning, Ally was thrust back into reality. She didn't even know why, though she could guess that it had something to do with Trish poking her harshly in the side with her elbow.

"They've finished the movie awards, now it's time for music!" Trish whispered to her in an excited, nearly frantic, tone, "You'll be up soon, I just know it!"

Ally smiled weakly at her friend, trying hard to look a little more pumped up. Somehow, she just really didn't feel like celebrating right now. All she could think about was Austin. And with that, brought a lot of mixed up feelings. Once Trish turned away, Ally allowed herself to fall right back down into her world of memory. But what's up next, she realized, was not going to be quite as pretty as the first.

"Austin, I can't believe you!"

Ally could hear her own voice ringing around and around in her head. This time she was twenty years old, just turned by the looks of it, and has a look of complete hurt and fury spread across her face.

"Ally, come on, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry, but I was busy. What was I gonna do?"

She huffed at him. "Not a big deal? Austin, it was our three-year anniversary, for God sakes! We've been planning this for months! How could you just ditch me like that?"

"I told you, it wasn't my fault!" Austin replied, his voice faltering slightly as guilt began to seep into his once so golden heart, "I had an emergency record company meeting on my new album, I had to be there!"

Ally's face scrunched up, still not quite convinced. "But you promised me you wouldn't miss it," she moaned, biting her lip in frustration, "You said that you canceled all your plans to make room. And I did, too. Why couldn't you have just waited until tomorrow?"

"They told me it was an emergency! Everybody was already there, waiting for me! This is my career, I couldn't just disappoint everyone who's helped me get this far."

Ally shook her head sadly. "But what about me, Austin? You can't disappoint a bunch of top notch executives in fancy suits, but you'll leave the girl you love in a heartbeat? I thought I meant more to you that that."

"Oh, please don't say it like that," Austin complained, "I just can't risk my career for a simple date, that's all. We can postpone it until next week, is that okay?" The boy pouted his lips like a lost little puppy dog. Ally had to admit, it was tempting to forgive him right then and there just by that look he gave her, but she was stronger than that. She pushed forward

"Austin, I have a performance next week, remember? And the week after that, so do you. This was the only day where we were both free. And now…" her voice trailed off. She wanted him to see the disappointment in it, she really did.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I really am," Austin whispered, looking down at his feet in guilt, "But I have to do what I have to do. We both have careers, after all. No one said it would be easy."

"You're right," Ally replied, tears beginning to form in her beautiful, brown eyes, "But I remember when that didn't matter. I remember when we depended on each other. The rocker and the writer. We were inseparable. And I knew for a fact that you would give up everything for me. And I would do the same for you. We were so in love, Austin. What changed?"

Austin just stood there, looking at her. Finally, he sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know, baby. I really don't know."

After a long, uncomfortable stretch of silence, Ally stepped forward. Very gently, she placed a kiss on the boy's lips. They felt warm and soft, and she hated herself for what she was about to do next.

"Austin," she whispered, the weight of the world clinging on to every word, "I think we need to break up."

She couldn't stand the look of heartbreak that flashed across his tender face. It made her feel like such a monster. She was a monster. How she possibly be doing this to him?

"But… why?" he had responded, his eyes glistening with tears at the mere prospect. "I know I messed up today, but I promise I'll make it up to you! Please, just give me a chance!"

Ally was on the verge of bursting into wild, unattractive sobs. But she knew what she was doing, and she had to pull through. It was for the best.

"Austin," she said kindly, between her soft and delicate lips, "Things have changed. We're not the people we used to be. Our careers are taking us down different paths and… I just don't think we really fit together anymore. It'll be easier to end it now, then far down the road. We both know that in a year we'll be going on two different world tours, and even before that we can't even find a day to spend together, just the two of us! It's ridiculous, Austin. We're fooling ourselves by trying to keep this thing going. I think it's time to move on."

"But…" Austin stammered, his heart falling to his feet and shattering on the cold, hard floor, "But I love you."

At this, a single tear trickled down Ally's face. "I love you, too," she replied, taking his hand in hers and holding it to her heart, "And I think I always will. But things aren't what they used to be. I think its time that we accept that and move on."

In a flash, she lets go of Austin's hand. Limp and lifeless, it falls to his side. And her heart falls with it.

The real life Ally, now back to being twenty-three, still sat on the red, plushy chairs. Her breaths are hard and hitched in her throat. She can't help the violent beating of her heart inside her chest. That had to have been the last time she had seen Austin… or at least the last time she had had a real conversation with him. After that, the two had went their separate ways. Still, even though she hadn't spoken to the boy for three entire years now, she couldn't help the pang of guilt and unwanted longing that spread across her whenever she happened to read his name in a magazine, or see him singing on stage whenever she flipped through the music channel. Austin… thinking of him HURT, it really did. And that's why she tried so hard to keep him off her mind. That was until today. She wasn't sure why today was any different then all the days before, but somehow, it just was. It really was.

"OH MY GOSH, ALLY, IT'S TIME! IT'S TIME!"

Trish's voice, now sounding exactly like an anxious teenage girl, whispered excitedly in her ear. Ally turned to smile at her, trying to copy her friend's jumpy behavior. Apparently, they had just announced the award that Ally had been nominated for. Something about being the most promising young singer of the year. She must have been too deep in thought to notice.

As the man and woman announced the names, Ally got a good look at her competition. When her name was called, she stood up proudly as she was supposed to, giving a wide smile to the cameras despite the fact that the spotlight was burning her eyes. This time it didn't feel so great. Before long, all the nominations had been listed, and the man was opening a card, ready to read the winner. Ally felt Trish squeeze her arm, and suddenly her mind was a thousand miles away from the blond boy of her childhood. All that mattered now was the present moment. And at that present moment, Ally just HAPPENED to be waiting to receive the biggest award of her career. Her heart beat fast. Her breathing quickened. Suddenly, everything else just seemed to slow down. Time was still.

And then she heard it. "ALLY DAWSON!" Her name, loud and clear as it had always been, was now ringing around and around the giant room. It was met by a monsoon of applause, and before the girl could even unfreeze her stiff and unmoving joints, Trish had pushed her to her feet. She never thought, not in a million years, that her name would be the one to follow the infamous, beautiful words of "The winner is…" But it had, and she couldn't be happier. That was made quite evident by the glistening tears of joy that suddenly filled her big, brown eyes.

It was almost as if an invisible fishing line was pulling her slowly on stage. Everything seemed unreal, like an out of body experience. It was truly amazing. When she got to the podium, the man handed her her award and gave her a kind congratulations. But she barely heard him, all her attention focused on the shining, golden prize now placed in her soft hands. She couldn't breath… but in a good way. And now, she knew, because of how important this particular award happened to be, she had to give a speech. Ally had always been a little uncomfortable on stage, but that was okay. Nobody expected it to be perfect. Half the people who came up here were so overrun with tears that they barely managed to snuffle out a word.

The man in the suit stepped to the side, encouraging Ally to stand at the podium so she could give her little speech. She did as she were told, all the while digging into her mind to remember the words that she had wrote herself weeks before just in case this exact scenario happened to occur. Most singers, she was told, had people write their speeches for them. But not Ally. Hers had to come from the heart.

"I am honestly so stunned… and grateful… for this award," Ally began, tears threatening to slide down her cheeks as her voice quivered from excitement, "I never once expected to get this far in my life, but the fact that I have is due to so many amazing people, more that I could count." Good start, Ally told herself, but keep going. Don't get sidetracked.

"First off, I need to thank my fans," she continued, "They are the reason that I am here today, and the reason that I will continue to be here for, hopefully, a long, long time. I'd also love to show my gratitude to my parents, to thank them for their endless stream of support and love, and my best friend and manager Trish, who I can count on to be there for me no matter what."

The rest of Ally's speech was supposed to go about and thank all the people who had helped her produce her first four albums. But now, for some unknowing reason—maybe a miracle, maybe even an act of God, but more likely just a coincidence—an image of a sweet, cute blond boy flashed across her mind. And this image just happened to be stronger than all those before it. She gulped. And then she did something so completely stupid and impulsive, she just knew she'd wonder why for the rest of her life.

"And, most importantly, I'd like to thank my friend, and former partner, Austin Moon," she gulped, hearing the murmur of surprise and excitement in the crowd. Now that she started, she knew she couldn't stop. "I'll admit, I haven't spoken to him in quite a while now—three years, actually—but that doesn't mean that I've forgotten him. Without his friendship and guidance, I know that I would never have gotten the opportunity, or the courage, to be here today. Not only did he help cure my stage fright, but he showed me that I was special. Unique. That I could do anything I set my mind to. And that, in itself, is priceless. How many people are you lucky enough to know that change your entire worldview? He showed me that the world isn't such a scary place, and he taught me how to have fun even when it is, and for that he is, and always will be, my friend."

At that, Ally ended. She thanked the crowd, shook the man and woman's hands, and then sauntered off stage, the shining award still clutched between her fingertips. As she sat down, she caught Trish's shocked, open-mouthed expression, and suppressed a little giggle. She'd have to explain everything to her later, she knew. But at least all was done. She'd gotten out what she wanted to say, and now she could get on with her life. She wouldn't have to stress over Austin again. She paid her dues, and now it was time to move on. Or so she thought…

A week later, Ally received a call on her new cellphone. It was an unrecognized number, but she answered it anyway. What she heard on the other end of the line was astonishing.

"Ally?" a voice said. She didn't need him to introduce himself for her to know who that voice belonged to. "I miss you."

Ally dropped the phone. She watched as it fell to the ground, creating a large, heavy boom. Those three words. They were so little, so short compared to all the time that the two of them had spent apart. But they were enough. They were more than enough.

She met him for coffee the very next day. A year later, they were married. The rest, as they say, is history.