A/N: This is a cute little one shot that I jotted down awhile ago. I kind of like some moments. It's a thing. Enjoy. R&R! Thanks! -Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally.
But All I See Is You And Me
"This is not the end; this is only the beginning..."
That was the generic, cheesy line that everyone liked to toss out to the graduates at every available opportunity as the ceremony drew closer and closer. As if there weren't enough things out there already to remind them that high school was only a stepping stone to the real world, people had to spell it out explicitly. The graduates had learned to smile and nod, maybe laugh a little, like whoever just said that sentence was the first person to have ever been clever enough to say it. Austin, however, was having trouble mustering those small common decencies, because, while he had so much before him, this really felt like an end to him. While everyone else was only leaving high school behind, he felt like he was leaving behind the very life he'd had for the past few years.
After graduation, Austin had a full time career ahead of him. His music career was something that had been a big part of his high school years, but at their close he could finally devote all his time to it. It seemed most of his team was on track to do the same. Dez and Trish were ready to follow Austin wherever he went—preferably straight to mega stardom. They waited on his word. Ally, on the other hand, was always going to be heading to college. She would still write songs for Austin, but she wouldn't be there for the day to day. She would be off playing dedicated music student as an undergrad, and their established routine would effectively be at an end. While many things would stay the same, most of the important ones would have to change—like being able to see Ally every day.
As graduation drew nearer and final decisions about the future had to be made, it got harder for Austin to imagine a future that took him and Ally in different directions. Ally was a pro at having a back up plan after years of dealing with Austin, Dez, and Trish's chronically misguided schemes. She forced all of her friends to apply to college, even though they all assumed higher education was unnecessary if they had careers waiting for them already. At the time, Austin felt it was silly, but he reluctantly chose a few schools to apply to scattered around the one Ally intended to attend. Looking back, Austin felt like the hours of filling out applications and essay writing were worth it because is acceptance to some of those schools gave him options he wouldn't have had otherwise.
He was on a deadline and had to come to a decision soon. While he would usually talk his problems through with Ally, given that she was the subject of his most immediate problem, he ended up broaching the subject with Dez instead. It wasn't an ideal situation, since Austin wasn't sure if Dez was qualified to give him the advice he needed, but he would work with what he could get. Austin waited until he and Dez were alone with no chance of Ally or Trish interrupting and then casually brought up the topic of the future.
"Hey, Dez, can I ask you a question?" Austin said.
"Of course, buddy," Dez replied. He was fiddling with a camera as he spoke, but Austin didn't mind the inattention.
"What would you say if I said, hypothetically, I was thinking I might want to go to college?" Austin asked, spacing out the words to give the illusion of off handedness.
"I'd say, you must be going temporarily insane because you've been waiting to do music full time since you were in, like, diapers," Dez replied, his eyes still cast down on the camera. "I would probably advise you to consult a trained health care professional."
Austin breathed in, "I guess that would be crazy—"
"Unless," Dez interrupted, "that temporary insanity is a symptom of a larger problem."
"Like what? A mental breakdown?" Austin raised an eyebrow.
"Like being in love with a certain somebody that will be going full time into college as opposed to the music biz," Dez continued. "In which case, I feel completely justified in saying, follow your heart."
"How did you..." Austin frowned.
"I may always be watching you through this," Dez tapped the camera and finally looked up at Austin, "Or in my own little world, but I would have to be blind not to see how you feel about Ally. I know ya Austin."
"So, you wouldn't mind if I decided to go to college and keep doing music part time?" Austin said. "What will you and Trish do?"
"We'll figure it out," Dez said with a shrug. "Maybe we can find jobs near where you're going."
Austin smiled, "Trish probably wouldn't have any problem with that. She's running out of places to work here anyway. You could just follow her around and replace her each time she gets fired."
"Good plan, my man," Dez said. "Now, go get your girl."
While Dez's urging would have had Austin running across town immediately to make a declaration of love for Ally like something out of the third act of a chick flick, Austin knew he needed to have a little more composure than that. He was making a very important life decision in response to how he felt about Ally, and a rushed, far-too-spontaneous announcement would not be able to signify the significance of that decision—nor would it uphold his usual cool and smooth demeanor. Austin waited a couple days, until after he had gotten a few things in order, and then went to find Ally.
Ally was in her practice room at Sonic Boom and the soft melody she played on the piano drew him toward her. He watched her play from the open doorway, as he had so many times before. As usual, she was too engrossed in the music to notice his presence. He waited until her fingers stilled on the keys before moving further into the room.
"That was beautiful," Austin said. Ally smiled as she turned to look at him. He walked over to stand by the piano. "Was that for me or you?"
Ally shrugged, "It doesn't have any words, so I haven't decided yet."
"Maybe it should be for both of us then," Austin suggested. "I wouldn't mind sharing."
"I'll think it over," Ally smiled and wrote a few notes on the sheet music.
Austin stuck his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes on the ground as he spoke again, "Can I talk to you about something, Ally?"
"Of course," Ally said. "You can talk to me about anything. What is it?"
"I've been thinking a lot about the future and what we're going to do after graduation," Austn said.
"If you're worried about our songwriting process, you really shouldn't be," Ally said. "We talked about this. Even if we're not in the same place, we can still work together around my school schedule. There are so many ways to communicate. We'll work it out."
"I'm not worried. I'm sure we would work it out," Austin said, "The problem is, I tried to imagine what I wanted my future to look like and it isn't going our separate ways. I used to think there wasn't anything I needed in my future as long as I could do music full time, but all I see is you and me now. We could do our own things and be okay, but I don't want to be just okay. When I picture myself a year or two from now, I'm with you and there's only one way I can have that because I couldn't ask you to give up what you want."
"What are you saying?" Ally's voice was barely a squeak.
"I'm saying, I've decided to go to college too," Austin said. "Give myself 'something to fall back on,' as you said, before going full time into music. That way I can stay near you and keep doing things how we have been in the meantime."
"No, Austin. You can't do that," Ally shook her head. "You can't give up what you want just to be near me. There are other ways."
"I'm not giving up what I want," Austin cut her off. "I'm postponing one thing I want so I can have the thing I want that is more important."
Ally sighed, "Why is staying together so important to you that you would postpone your dream job?"
"Because it's you Ally," Austin smiled. "You're more important to me than anything. I want to be with you."
"I'd like to stay close to you too, but—"
"No, Ally, I want to be with you," Austin repeated with the added emphasis.
Ally's eyes widened, "Oh."
"Do you want to be with me?" Austin asked.
"Austin, you're the most important person in my life too," Ally blushed, "And I've had feelings for you for awhile...I just thought it would be better to wait until after we weren't apart...I guess that isn't an issue anymore."
"No, it's not," Austin's grin widened.
"I guess I should just say, yes, I want to be with you too," Ally matched his smile.
"Good, because it would have been pretty awkward if I had to follow you after you rejected me," Austin joked.
"As if I could ever reject you," Ally rolled her eyes as she stood up and faced him. "You're Austin Moon. Who could say no to you?"
Austin put his arms around Ally, "Anyone, as long as it's not you, Ally Dawson."
"Stop being a dork and kiss me," Ally said.
"Can do," Austin replied.
Austin leaned in and kissed her, tightening his hold on her waist to keep her close. If he had his way, he would never have to let her go. He would keep her this close until the end of time. There wasn't a future he could ever imagine that didn't include Ally. Now that he knew, she felt the same, he would take whichever one was thrown at him.
-fin-