In the United States of America, in the state of Florida, there is a town where the sun is always warm and ocean waves rock against the Atlantic beach. This town is called Miami.

There are many things that make Miami unique, but perhaps the most intriguing thing about Miami has to do with a small music shop called Sonic Boom, a place most people wouldn't glance at twice, but that holds all sorts of surprises to share with the world.

But not this day. Today was an ordinary day in the small music shop in Miami, a quiet day. Customers filed in and out of the shop, some with the intent of buying expensive musical equipment, others with the intent of finding an eye doctor. And every single one of these people, be they customers or blind people, were greeted by a sixteen year old girl with wavy dark brown hair and a petite frame. Her name was Ally Dawson.

Ally had been working in the store since she could walk, as her father owned the store. All the regular customers knew Ally like they knew their own children. She liked her job and loved music more than her own father.

But not today. Today, Ally was feeling off. There was something wrong, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, like the feeling you get right before a storm. It wasn't often Ally felt like this. She was an intellectual person. The only instinct Ally followed was her musical instinct, and she liked it that way. So, being Ally, she dismissed her foreboding. Must be hormones, she thought. Nothing's wrong. This happens every month.

Ally had just finished with a costumer. She sat down behind the counter and, glancing around to check for eavesdroppers, she covertly opened her super personal, super-secret songbook and diary. Ally wrote everything in that book. Most of the time, she opened it to add an entry. Today, she just wanted to read old passages. She flipped to a random page, and read;

Hey, I will always stay, by your side forever

Cuz we're better together.

Ally smiled. She'd written these lyrics down a long time ago, but had used them more recently in a song she wrote for her friend and partner in music, Austin. It seemed like only yesterday, but had really been a year ago when Austin had used one of Ally's songs to become an overnight internet sensation. Since then, they'd made their first album. Ally always had it playing in the music store. She and Austin were both extremely proud of everything they'd accomplished. Of course, their friends Trish and Dez had helped too. Trish was the manager. Dez made the music videos. And speaking of Trish…

"Guess who got a job at the movie theatre!"

Yep, right on time.

Ally slammed her book shut and tossed it under the counter. She looked up at her best friend and smiled. "I thought by now you would've been fired from every job they offer in Miami."

"There's always knew jobs." She countered. "And it's not like I've never held down a job. I'm still Austin manager."

"You don't get paid for that" Ally pointed out. Trish ignored her.

"Speaking of which, I got big news for Austin. Have you seen him?"

Ally shrugged. "Not since yest-"

"Duck!"

With an instinctive speed born out of spending every day dealing with Dez and Austin's many games involving flying objects, both Trish and Ally hit the deck. Just in time, too, because at that moment, a pineapple came flying over their heads, crashing into the drum set at the back of the room. The girls stood up and turned to face the culprit. Or, better yet, culprits.

"That was awesome!" Dez exclaimed, a childish grin on his face. Austin dashed in after him, with an equally childish expression, and they high fived.

Ally turned to the ginger. "Tab?" She asked, not needing to say more.

"You know it." Dez answered, and Ally quickly jotted down the damage. Once, the damage to the instruments would have driven her nuts, but she'd gotten used to it- sort of.

Austin ran over to the drums to pick up the pineapple. "We invented a new game" He said. "We call it pineapple football."

"It's like football, but with a pineapple!" Dez added. They all rolled their eyes.

"Whatever." Trish said. "I got bigger news. Everyone, gather around."

The boys rushed over to the counter. Austin jumped onto it, swinging his legs over to get comfortable and lay down, right next to Ally. Ally tried to glare at him, and he smiled, which, of course, made her smile too. Ally's heart started to flutter and she had to look away. This had been happening more and more around Austin. When he smiled, her heart fluttered. When they touched, a feeling of warmth would spread through her, and it was almost electric. But Ally didn't have time to figure out what it all meant, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to, anyways. Their friendship was perfect.

"Ok" Trish said, shaking Ally back to reality. "So I got a letter earlier today…" She pulled out an official looking envelope and handed it to Austin. He took it and quickly opened it. His eyes darted across the page,and his whole face lit up. He honest-to-god squealed. "We've been invited to the MMVAs!"

Shock filled Ally as she processed his words. "No way!" She said, ripping the letter out of his hands. She scanned the page, and indeed, Austin had been telling the truth. She looked up at him and beamed. "This is HUGE!" She threw her arms around him in a victory hug. He squeezed her back. Hugging was natural to them now. Ally loved it every time.

"We get on the plane tomorrow." Trish said, as if it were like any other event. "And we've all got tickets, too, so we get to be there this time."

"Awesome." Austin said. "I couldn't imagine going without you guys." Ally knew he meant it. Austin Moon was nothing if not loyal.

"Awesome!" Dez said. "I've always wanted to see the pyramids!"

"It's in Toronto, dummy! There are no Pyramids!" Trish chastised. Ally rolled her eyes. Those two were always like that, even if they secretly adored each other. Well, Ally liked to think they secretly adored each other. She loved romance.

Ally had been expecting Austin to laugh at the exchange, like he normally would have. When he didn't, she looked over at him. Instead of his usual cheery face, he looked worried. Alarms immediately went off in Ally's head. Austin was a very easy going guy, and everything seemed to make him smile. Worry didn't look natural on him. Her earlier sense of foreboding returned.

"You okay, Austin?" Ally asked quietly, so as the others, who were still bickering about whether or not there were pyramids in Toronto, wouldn't hear.

Austin looked over, and his worried expression was instantly replaced by his usual cheery one. In fact, it was such a dramatic change that Ally began to wonder if she had really seen the worry.

"Of course." He answered. "I'm really excited, are you? I can't believe our video is that popular. This is so cool!" He giggled and jumped off the counter. "I gotta go, me and Dez promised my mom that we would get pizza for supper." He said, interrupting the argument. Dez instantly turned tail and ran out the door. The argument must have gotten heated. Austin smiled and ran out the door after him.

"Be here tomorrow at nine!" Trish yelled after the pair. She turned back to Ally. "I hope they heard that. I am not going to chase them down to catch a flight. Too much work."

"Of course it is." Ally mockingly agreed. "Will we need a new song?"

"Nope." She said. "Just songs from the album. I'll be back tomorrow morning, okay? Be ready!" And with that, she turned tail and skipped away, runway style.

Ally smiled. She decided she must have imagined Austin's earlier worry. Either that, or he had developed a bit of stage fright (barring the fact the that was impossible). Surely, everything was fine. Great, even. And this would be the greatest experience of their lives.