"Please, Austin?", 4-year-old Ally looks up at the 5-year-old blond hair boy. "I'll give you pancakes!"
The boy brightened at the thought of pancakes, but he knew that even without that incentive, Ally already had him wrapped around her pinky. With a resigned sigh, he picks up a Ken doll and begins to play with her.
-break-
11-year old Austin tugs on 10-year-old Ally's pigtails. She cries, saying that she won't talk to him ever again.
Austin immediately feels bad and gives her a hug, giving her his puppy-eyes. He then runs into the house and grabs a flower sitting inside a vase on his dining room table-a calla lily. When he comes back outside, he offers it to Ally. She takes it with a smile, declaring it to be her favourite flower. Within a few minutes, the two kids are laughing again, Austin pushing Ally on the swings, her begging him to make her go higher. She wanted to fly.
-break-
17-year-old Ally watches 18-year-old Austin walk across the stage with an easygoing smile on his face.
After grabbing his diploma, he does his signature spin and winks at Ally. She feels a flutter in her stomach, and ignores the fact that she's in love with her best friend and partner, teen pop sensation, Austin Moon.
-break-
19-year-old Austin presses his face against the airport window. He had gotten there too late-too late to tell Ally that he wants her to live her dreams, but that he also wants her to stay; too late to tell her that he's in love with her; too late to ask if she feels the same way. As the airplane takes off, he slumps to the ground. His best friend is finally flying, but without him at her side.
18-year-old Ally presses her face against the airplane window. Austin hadn't shown up. She regrets that he didn't support her dream to go to New York to study music. She regrets the fight that they had gotten into the other day. She regrets not telling him how she feels. She regrets not asking him if he felt the same. As the plane lifts off, she closes her eyes and prays that they arrive to New York quickly.
A week later, Austin is still moping around the house. He wouldn't hang out with friends; he wouldn't sing; he wouldn't play any instruments. Everything reminded him of Ally.
Meanwhile, Ally had settled into her dorm at MUNY. She made new friends and went to parties, turning over a new leaf. However, whenever she returned to her dorm, she felt like something was missing-the spark she used to feel when playing music, writing songs, and spending time with her friends. She picks up her phone to call her dad, her fingers itching to call Austin as well. A few times, she almost hits send. Then changes her mind and sets her phone back down.
Austin's parents are sick of seeing their son depressed, so they slip a plane ticket under Austin's door. One-way to New York. He doesn't see it until the next day, when he gets up to make pancakes. He tried not eating pancakes either, but there was no way he could live without pancakes AND Ally.
Then he realised what the plane ticket meant, and he hurries to pack his clothes and guitar. The plane leaves for New York in two days. He uses this time to talk to Ally's dad, figuring out where Ally is and where he could stay. He thanks his parents. They haven't seen him this animated and happy since before Ally had left.
When Austin arrives in New York, he drops his things off in the hotel he had booked, and walks over to Ally's dorm. As he passes by a Starbucks around the corner, he notices Ally through the window, her head resting on a guy's shoulder, her hair covering her eyes. He seemed to be comforting her. Austin's stomach clenches. Balling his fists, the blond haired boy marches into the café towards the pair. "Why is she crying?", he demands angrily. The boy looks at him, confused, not knowing that the boy standing in front of him is the reason Ally is never happy, and not realising that she had stopped leaning on his shoulder to stare at the the person who confronted him.
"Austin?!", she gasps disbelievingly. She stands up, reaching tentatively towards him, wondering if she'd finally gone crazy. When her palm makes contact with his firm chest, she gasps again. And before either of the two boys could react, she starts repeatedly hitting him. "You." *slap* "Stupid." *slap* "Prick." *slap* "I don't want to see you ever again! You can't just yell at me for wanting to follow my dreams after I've helped you with yours and then come back! That's not how it works! You didn't even say goodbye.", she finishes, sounding broken. The boy Ally is with rubs her back soothingly, and noticing the stares of the people around them, ushers her out of the shop. Austin is rendered speechless.
Before going to Ally's dorm, he looks for lilies to give to Ally. He finally finds the perfect bouquet, with calla lilies. He adds a single rose to its center. Austin doesn't care if Ally has a boyfriend, because he gave her his heart before they even understood the concept of love. He knocks her door, anxiously tapping his foot as he waited. However, the same boy he had seen with Ally earlier answers the door. He smirks at Austin, and yells, "Ally, love, I think there's someone at the door for you!" Seeing Austin's face, he smirks wider. He says, "Calm yourself, kid. I'm Nate, and Ally and I are just friends. I play for the other team." With one more smirk, he yells again, "I'm outta here, girl! You know where I am and how to reach me if you need it. Don't forget to use protection. Make-up sex is my fave! Mwah."
"Wait, Nate! Don't-", the door slams. "...go." Ally sighs. Noticing Austin, her face turns cold, and she begins to turn back around, saying curtly, "You can show yourself out."
"Als, please hear me out.", Austin begs. He holds out the flowers to her. "I got these for you." Her eyes soften slightly as she takes them.
"You remembered.", she says quietly.
"I remember everything.", he responds just as quietly. After a pause, he asks again, "Can you hear me out?"
Ally gives a subtle nod and gestures at the couches in the corner of the room. Austin sits down as Ally leaves to put the flowers in water. He fidgets with his fingers as he waits for her to come back.
When she re-enters the room, Austin stands up and pulls her down on top of him, wrapping his arms around her body, his hands playing with the tips of her hair. He noticed that it's the same as when she left Miami, just longer. Austin begins talking when he feels her relaxing into his arms.
He begins with, "I'm so sorry, Als. I'm the worst best friend ever and you can hate me. You probably already do. But I can't live without you. This past month has been torture. My parents got so sick of me moping around the house that they basically kicked me out." Before she could interject about that, he explains how they left the ticket under his door. "I was so dumb for not thinking of that sooner! But you were always the smarter one, not me.", he gives her a wry smile. "I don't know if you'll ever forgive me. I don't even know if I'd forgive me if Iwere you. But I do know that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't tell you this: you have my heart, Als. I'd given it to you before either of us understood what love is, before I'd even realised that I gave it to you. And no matter what happens, I'll never be able to take it back. I've loved you since you were that little girl who forced me to play Barbie and Ken. I fell in love even more when you became the one to make my dream come true. And then after you left, I realised that my real dream was, is, and will always be you. You know, I was there when you left for New York. I was just too late. Like I am with telling you all of this. But I just couldn't not let you know, and always be wondering forever. And I couldn't wait for you to come back to Miami. It would've been-"
Ally cuts him off by turning around and capturing his lips in hers. He spins her around without breaking the kiss, making it more passionate. When they both come up for air, Ally says breathlessly, "And to think I've been waiting for you to realise since I was 14."
Austin pulled back, looking into Ally's chocolate eyes. "You know that it wasn't your dream that I didn't support, right Als? I just didn't want you going after it without me by your side, since you were always at mine."
Ally gave him a small smile. "When I said I'd be your song writer, it wasn't entirely selfless. I wanted us to be together forever. I knew that when you became famous, I wouldn't be a part of your life unless I helped you become famous. And yes, whether it was me or someone else, you would have made it in music. You were born to be a star, despite your last name."
"Silly Ally.", Austin chuckles affectionately. "You would always be a part of everything I do, because you ARE my everything. But, I am glad you agreed to be my songwriter because you're the best in the business." He sings, "There's no way I could make it without you, do it without you, be here without you. It's no fun when you're doin' it solo, with you it's like woah..."
Ally smiles softly at him. "I really missed you, Aus. And writing songs for you. And spending time with you. And talking to you. I almost called a few times, but...", she shrugged.
Austin sighed and Ally snuggled closer to him. "I'm sorry, too, Als.", he apologises again.
They spend the rest of the night talking, making up for the missed month. It was easy to fall into their old routine, stealing kisses every once in a while. It was almost as if nothing had changed, even though everything did just change. But it was for the better, their bond stronger than it had ever been.
-break-
Austin watches proudly as his fiancée receives her MUNY diploma. Getting off the stage, Ally starts doing a happy dance. Austin laughs, grabbing her hands from the crazy motions she was doing, pulling her into his arms. "Congratulations Als. I am so proud of you.", he whispers into her ear.
Ally pulls back and smiles at Austin. He proposed the night earlier, and she still couldn't believe that she would be marrying her best friend since she was born. "I love you so much, Aus.", she says with a sweet smile. "Thank you for everything."