Hey, this is going to be another attempt of mine at an Austin and Ally fic. It is based on the song Speak Now by Taylor Swift. I hope yoU enjoy.

I own nothing!

It was just another long day at work; nothing out of the ordinary. Ally dragged her bare feet toward the mailbox -she ditched the blistering heels -and jabbed her key into the slot. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she walked up the stairs to her apartment flipping carelessly through the envelopes. Ally dug into her purse and pulled out her keys. The door swung open creaking the entire way, once inside she shut the door with a slam.
Ally's apartment was small, after all she was living off of a teacher's salary. Ally had become a music teacher never really overcoming her crippling stage fright. Trish, well, no one was really sure what she did, but they all knew she was successful. Dez went to film school and ended up winning several academy awards for his work. Austin, well, Ally didn't like to think about him. He was still glowing in the spotlight with the seemingly perfect life. Every so often she would read about her former partner in the tabloids or hear about him on the news. She had lost count of how many Grammys he had won, how many new albums he dropped, the singles that became overnight chart toppers, the never ending list of girlfriends. She had heard somewhere that he was back with Kira and that he quote on quote, was ready to settle down, become more serious about the future.
Ally had heard that before; that's what he had said before Team Austin went on to supposed better things. But, that was years ago, it shouldn't still be fresh in the brunette's mind. The bitter sting should've worn off.
The envelopes in her hand were seemingly all bills burying her deeper and deeper into debt. She figured that was something her old friends never experienced. Ally tossed the bills on the counter, promising to look at them later.
Ally flung her bag over the back of the second hand maroon leather arm chair in the living room on the way to her bedroom. Carelessly, she tossed her white blouse and black skirt into the overflowing dirty clothes hamper by the door. She threw her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and dig through he drawers to find something comfortable. Deciding on a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt that was several sizes too big - she wasn't sure which ex-boyfriend it had been snagged from over the years - she pulled the clothes over her slender body.
She padded across the hardwood floors back to her kitchen. Ally pulled open the fridge door and searched for something to eat. Sighing, she grabbed a plastic Tupperware container filled halfway with week old tuna-noodle casserole one of her teacher friends had made for her. She removed the lid and popped it into the microwave.
Grabbing the remote, Ally settled down in the armchair with her dinner. She clicked on the TV and took a bite of the steaming food. Not bad, she decided, for leftover comfort food.
Disappointed to find nothing on, Ally decided on a Zalien rerun. As a teenager, she had been dragged to see all of those movies by Dez and then forced to wait in line when they came out on DVD.
As the credits at the end of the movie began rolling, Ally heard a soft knock on the door. Sighing, Ally rose to her feet and walked over to the door. She looked in the peephole only to be rewarded with the sight of her neighbor Lindie. Ally begrudgingly opened the door -she didn't know why, but the woman irritated her to no end. Maybe it was her nasally voice or her inability to acknowledge boundaries.
"Hello, Alison" she greeted her thick southern accent evident in ever syllable.
Or maybe it was the fact that she refused to call her anything other than her full name.
"Hi," Ally smiled dryly. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, right. I was getting my mail this evening and I got some of your mail by mistake."
Ally took the envelopes extended to her and uttered a labored 'thank you' before shutting the door. The first envelope was a car payment bill. The second a ridiculous advertisement for some realtor company. And the last one surprised Ally, it was addressed to 'Miss Alison Marie Dawson' she looked at the return address, but she didn't recognize the name. Caron Starr. Curiosity overcame her and she dropped the other two envelopes on the counter. Ally quickly tore into the pristine looking envelope and pulled out the card stock contents. Ally's breath hitched in her throat as the gears turned into place. This was an invitation. Austin Moon?Kira Starr? Wedding?She was invited? Whose idiotic idea was that? It had been years since Ally had spoken to either of them and it hadn't been voluntarily or pleasant. In fact, it was awkward a suffocating.
What else could you expect after the way the left things when Austin went to LA? She remembered a seventeen year old version of herself screaming at him and him doing the same. Yeah, for several years after that, she still received birthday and Christmas cards in the mail and she sent them as well. But those became fewer and fewer until all contact was broken.
Ally was surprised he remembered her. It had been ten years. No, it couldn't have been that long, could it? But, it was. It had been ten years since she had seen him at Dez's release party that she had -for some reason she didn't know - been invited to. She suspected going into it that it was some cruel practical joke.
Gingerly, Ally held the piece of mail away from her body. She studied it like it was foreign and could at any moment self-destruct. Timidly, she flipped if open.
Ally scoffed when she saw 'Austin M. Moon.' He had somehow managed to convince his mother to leave out his very, well, feminine middle name. Reluctantly, she picked up her cell phone and scrolled through the contacts. Mimi Moon. That was a number she hasn't called in awhile. And honestly, she never expected she would ever call it again. Despite that fact, she hadn't removed it from her contacts. Maybe it was because Mimi was like a mother to her even after Austin disowned her. Mimi had been at her parents' funeral when Ally was nineteen. And then her grandmother's less than a year later followed close behind by her Papa - the last resemblance of family Ally
had. She had helped Ally sell the house to pay for college. Ally wasn't sure why, but Mimi had always been around when she was needed no matter what the circumstance.
"Hello?" The familiar voice on the other end said.
"Hey, Mimi, it's Ally. I was calling about the -um- wedding."
"I'm guessing you got the invitation," Mimi said into the phone, bitterness dripping heavily into her tone. Ally was very aware of the fact Mimi couldn't stand Kira Starr. According to Mimi, she was spoiled rotten and to accustomed to getting what she wanted the second she wanted it. Although, the older woman claimed she did not hate her -ladies did not hate anyone - she just would prefer her son marry someone else.
"Yeah, I did,"Ally said.
"Look, I'm not expecting you to go, I just thought you should be invited. He doesn't know you were sent an invitation. Caron and I were responsible for the guest list-."
"Mimi," Ally interrupted. "I'll go."
"Okay, sweetie. Just return the invitation in the mail."

What did you think? You know the drill, this is where I beg you to review and most of you actually won't.

Love,

Kaylie