The Battle:
AN: Here we go…I wanted to do an Austin and Ally fanfic for a while…Hopefully you guys like this…
Austin Moon had just got out of another long recording session. It was around 10 in the evening. He was pretty much beat. Team Austin all congratulated him on doing a good job today. Austin just managed a week smile.
"Now Austin…Remember we need to have a meeting next week about another possible tour for you…" Jimmy Starr explained.
"No problem Jimmy…I'll be there…" Austin smiled.
"Austin you've been working yourself hard these past couple of days…You really shouldn't work yourself to the brink of exhaustion… It's not healthy…" Ally pointed out.
"Are you kidding? The album has to come out in two weeks and Austin still needs to record 10 more tracks…" Trish pointed out.
'And I need Austin to shoot the next music video…I wanna hold a camera! I haven't held one in two weeks!" Everyone just awkwardly stared at Dez. "Going off topic again aren't I?"
"Yet again you never stay in topic anyways…" Trish pointed out.
"Good point…" Dez said running off.
"Ally you really need to stop worrying about me Ok? I'm fine…" Austin pointed out.
"I'm just saying…That you really shouldn't overdo it…The last thing we need is for you to be fainting on stage at one of your concerts…"
"OK I'll take it easy for a few days and then I'll probably feel better…"
"Feel better?" Everyone asked him in shock.
"Are you not well?" Trish asked.
"Well…To tell you the truth, I've been pretty tired most of the time, and I barely eat anything. Anything that I do digest I end up puking out a few minutes later…But it's probably from working so hard…" Austin pointed out.
"We really don't want to take any risks…So why don't you take a few days off…and then we will come back to work really hard on Monday…" Jimmy suggested.
"I think that would be a good idea…Don't you agree Austin…" Ally asked.
"I just want to get better…" Austin sighed.
Austin was on his way home, when he had to pull over on the side of the road. His vision was getting a little blurry. He figured it must have been because he didn't eat lunch and only had a banana for breakfast that day. Austin was worried. He had always been an energetic guy. He was on the school basketball team, he enjoyed dance rehearsals, he goes jogging everyday before school, why was he losing all of his energy now? It made absolutely no sense to him. Austin began to feel a few tears spill down his cheeks. He was nervous. Why was all of this happening to him?
Two weeks later, Austin was still a little tired but had some of his energy back. He began to immediately think that he was starting to recover. However, Ally had her doubts. Austin Moon was her best friend for three years. He was her partner, and she didn't want to admit this to anyone he was still her first love. She still had strong feelings for him. She didn't think that she got fully over him to be honest. As Austin walked into the Sonic Boom she decided to go confront him about how he was feeling.
"Austin I know you're not feeling well. I can practically see it in your eyes…You look weaker than before…" Ally said as she pushed Austin into the sofas.
"Ally…I'm fine you really don't have to worry about me anymore." Austin said.
"You've been getting sicker and sicker I think you should go get it checked out Austin…"
"Ally I promise you I feel a lot better…" Austin replied.
"You don't look better…" Ally said as she took his arm. "Austin if we don't find out what's wrong with you, you could end up getting weaker and your fans will be really upset about you not being able to perform…"
"I'm probably lacking on sleep…I promise when it's summer vacation and I don't have to worry about school work or college applications I will get more goodnight sleep…" Austin said getting up and heading up to the practice room. Ally still wasn't convinced that Austin was feeling better.
Ally was in the practice room late on Saturday night. Austin walked in with a smile. Ally looked at him to know that he didn't seem better.
"OK I'm having a really hard time deciding on the set list for the first show…" Austin said as he set a bunch of papers down in front of Ally.
Austin was about to launch his first North American tour in one week. The gang was about to head to New York for the first show in Madison Square Garden. Austin had been rehearsing for the shows for more than a month now. He wanted to be able to finally make a break in the music industry.
"You have over 40 songs on here. You can't do all of your songs Austin…" Ally laughed.
"You know I'm not good at making good decisions…" Austin laughed.
"I think we should really narrow it down…" Ally laughed.
"it's not going to be easy…" Austin sighed. "I have too many good songs to cut…" Austin laughed.
"Are you sure your not going to be overworking yourself with the tour? I mean your performing every night almost and you won't be able to get enough sleep…" Ally pointed out.
"I told you a thousand times Ally…You really don't need to worry about me…" Austin pointed out. "I promise I'm going to try my very best to get better. Not only for me but for my fans as well. " Austin promised.
"You better…" Ally said. "I don't want to lose one of my closest friends either…" Ally pointed out.
"Look your not going to lose me OK…" Austin said giving her a hug. "Now what do you say we take a break from the tour craziness and head downstairs to Mini's I could seriously go for a mini hamburger right now…" Austin pointed out.
Two Weeks Later…
Austin's tour bus pulled up to the front of Madison Square Garden. After months of preparation and practice, the day had finally come. Austin was fast asleep in the back of the tour bus. Ally was really nervous about him. Austin had turned into bed at around 7 PM the other night, and it was 1 PM now. Ally decided to go check up on him.
"Austin…" Ally said as she turned on the lights to his bedroom. Austin groaned from under the covers.
"Ally what's the matter?" Austin moaned.
"Austin you need to get up seriously…" Ally said pulling the covers off of him. The sight before her made her gasp.
"Ally we're not even in New York yet…" Austin complained.
"Austin what happened to you…" Ally said shocked that he had looked so bad. Austin had bags under his eyes obviously from being tired. And he had red eyes that looed like blood was about to flow out of their sockets anytime soon.
"I've been really tired…But I promise Ally I feel totally energized right now…" Austin promised.
"Go eat breakfast. I left a whole stack of pancakes on the table especially for you because I know how much you love them…" Ally said as she helped Austin out of his bed.
Austin suddenly began to feel dizzy. Before he knew it, his face met with the floor. Ally shrieked as she helped him up.
"Austin are you OK?" Ally asked.
"Yeah…I must be really hungry…" Austin said as he began to rub his arm.
"OK let's just get you to your breakfast right away so we can get some food in you…" Ally suggested. "Are you sure your well enough to perform?"
"I think so…" Austin said as he excitedly began to dig into his favorite breakfast.
"Austin this isn't like you…You used to be filled with so much energy…What's going on?" Ally asked.
"I don't know…I'm starting to get nervous…I've been sick for almost a month now. I thought it was just the flu…But the flu never lasts for this long does it?" Austin whispered nervously.
"I think you should cancel tonight's concert to go see a doctor…These symptoms aren't normal…Your sick…Very sick…" Ally whispered.
"Look the fans have been waiting for this concert for almost a year now…I promise I will go to the hospital tomorrow morning…" Austin stated.
"OK but I'm coming with you…" Ally pointed out.
"Ally you really don't need to…" Austin stated.
"Look I'm worried about you…I want to know what's wrong with you too…" Ally sighed.
"Yeah…" Austin said as he pushed the plate away from him. Austin felt like gas was being pushed up his throat. Pretty soon, he felt the taste of bile making it's way into his mouth. Oh god he was going to throw up. Austin made a gagging noise and made a beeline into the bathroom. He locked the door before bending down over the toilet and threw up most of his breakfast.
"Austin! Austin what's wrong are you OK?" Ally yelled from outside the door as she banged the door wanting to be able to get in and help him.
What in the name of god is wrong with me? Austin thought as tears made his way into his eyes. Austin Moon was seriously sick. But he was going through a stage of denial. He couldn't be sick. He was just getting to become more famous and become a household name. And if he did get sick he would be letting so many of his fans down. This is why he trusted in himself that he was going to get better. But was he really?
"OK nothing that a little makeup can't fix…" One of the makeup artists said as she began to do Austin's makeup for the show.
"Austin…Your on in 20…" The stage manager notified him as the rest of team Austin made their way into his dressing room.
"Hey you feeling any better? Ally told us what happened this afternoon…" Trish said.
"Yeah I'm feeling a little better." Austin replied.
"I know what will make you feel better… A bowl of my grandma's steaming hot chicken noodle soup…" Dez said as he began taking out big pots out of his small backpack. "Now if only I can find it…"
"You know you can always tell us if your not feeling well Austin…" Ally said giving him a comforting hug.
"Thanks…You guy are the best friends ever. I mean you were there for me through this entire crazy, but fun roller coaster of me being famous…" Austin pointed out.
"Well this roller coaster hasn't even reached it's peak yet…I checked out the stats on your concert tickets sales and your tickets are selling out even faster then Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga put together…" Trish laughed.
"That's great news…" Austin smiled.
"OK Austin Moon we need you in your position right now…" The stage manager walked in once again.
"Well here it goes…" Austin sighed. "Is this seriously happening? Am I really going to perform here at Madison Square Garden?" Austin whispered in disbelief.
"You are…" Ally laughed. "Now go show them how it's done."
Austin was halfway through his performance. Suddenly, his vision was beginning to get blurry again. The thousands of people who were in front of him were now not visible to him. Austin's feet began to shake. He put his hand on his forehead and felt that he was burning up. And before he knew it, Austin let the darkness take over.
Three Hours Later
Team Austin fought their way through the sea of reporters in front of the hospital. They had been watching from backstage. And were shocked at what had happened a couple of hours ago. Ally had tears in her eyes still. She knew Austin was sick, but she didn't think he was this sick.
"How much longer do we have to wait until we hear anything? We've been here for at least three and a half hours…" Trish complained.
"I'm worried you guys…I knew that Austin was sick…but I didn't think he was this sick…" Ally whispered.
"He kept denying seeing a doctor so I think he has some blame in this as well…" Trish pointed out.
"Look whatever the news is I'm sure we'll handle it just fine…" Dez pointed out.
"Really? Because from the last time I remember you ran out of the doctors room screaming like a little girl when the doctor didn't even tell us what was wrong with him…" Trish smirked.
"OK I over reacted the first time clearly…But I swear I can take it this time…" Dez said.
"Austin Moon?" One of the doctors came out into the waiting room.
"Hi… We're Austin's best friends…" Ally introduced herself. "Doc please tell us that Austin will be OK…" Ally whispered.
"I'm sorry but I need his parents here to speak to…" The doctor explained.
"Doc please his parents are in Miami…Please tell us what's wrong with him…" Trish pleaded.
"I'm sorry you three but Austin is in a very bad shape…After running several tests on him, we discovered that he has stage three pancreatic cancer…"
"Wait there has to be some mistake…Pancreatic cancer?" Ally whispered. "How could this have happened?" Ally asked.
"Look I would really love to go into detail with all of this but I need to speak to his parents to discuss treatment options immediately…"
"Can't you start treatment on him immediately so he gets better faster?" Trish asked.
"In normal circumstances I would…But I need his parents consent to start treatment since he is still considered underage…The sooner they can fly out here to New York City the better.." Dr. Stern explained.
"What are his chances right now?" Jimmy asked.
"If treated immediately he has a better chance of beating it…But if we don't do anything about it soon I'm afraid his chances won't be that good… We're running several tests on him right now to see how far along the cancer is… Until those tests come back, we won't know how serious his cancer is…"
"Please you need to do everything you can to make him better…he still has a long career ahead of him…" Jimmy stated.
"I know…My sons are huge fans of his…" Dr. Stern admitted. "He has a great future ahead of him which is why me and my staff will do everything we can to help him."
"We appreciate that…" Jimmy said as Dr. Stern went behind the huge double doors once again.
"You guys what if his cancer is more advanced than we think it is?" Dez asked.
"Look let's not think about it like that…" Trish pointed out.
"How can we not? I mean he's been sick like a dog for more than a month now…" Dez pointed out.
"Let's hope it's not as bad as we think it is…" Ally sighed.
The doctor walked out into the hallway thirty minutes later. Trish and Ally immediately stood up. Dez and Jimmy had gone downstairs to buy some dinner for them to eat. They knew that they were going to be there for a really long time.
"Dr. Stern how's Austin?" Trish asked.
"We just got the results from the final test that we ran on him. I'm sorry but his cancer is more advanced than we thought it was…" Dr. Stern explained.
"What exactly does that mean?" Ally asked nervously.
"It turns out that Austin has stage four pancreatic cancer…It turns out the cancer has begun to spread throughout his entire pancreas and we need to operate immediately and find the source of the cancer and get rid of it."
"What if your not able to get to it?" Trish asked nervously.
"Then the tumor will have a very good chance of spreading to his lungs or other places in his body and develop a even more serious cancer…"
"How is he?" Dez asked joining the group.
"We're prepping him for surgery and then we will move him into a private room. You can all see him then…"
"Oh my gosh… I can't believe this…" Ally said a she sat down on the nearest chair. "I should have brought him to the doctor earlier and then he would have a much better chance at surviving this…" Ally sighed.
"I can't say that for sure…" Dr. Stern replied.
"Can Austin have visitors before he has to go in for the surgery?" Ally asked nervously.
"I'm sorry guys. He is in a really serious state right now….We need to get into the operating room as soon as possible…"
"Please doc can you make an exception for us…We're his best friends…We need to know if he's OK…" Trish said.
"I promise I will keep all of you up to date if anything happens…" Dr. Stern replied.
With that Dr. Stern disappeared behind the hospitals double doors. The trio couldn't believe what had just escaped from the doctors mouth. Cancer. Even the word gave everyone chills. Dez felt that he was actually going to cry. For real this time. He really wasn't faking it. He tried to wipe away one tear that slipped out, but the next thing he knew he was full out crying.
"We…can't lose him…" Dez sobbed as he slid down the wall.
"Look Austin is a fighter…" Trish said. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself about that fact.
"You know Trish is right. Austin is such a strong fighter. He can make it through anything…" Ally pointed out.
"Lets just hope that's true…" Dez sighed.
The three friends actually never went back to the tour bus that night. They fell asleep in the uncomfortable and hard hospital chairs. They didn't want to miss any important news regarding Austin's condition. Ally was awoken after she had a awkward dream. She had dreamt that her and Austin had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. But she knew that it couldn't be possible since her and Austin weren't even together…Yet…Ally took out the guitar pick that Austin had given her a while back. He had it engraved with her name at the back. She wouldn't tell anyone this, but she treasured that guitar pick. Because that was when she was positive that she had fallen in love with Austin. She had been waiting for the right moment to tell him. And when he did finally admit it, that was probably the happiest week of her life. She had many fond memories of their relationship. Austin was the only guy that treated Ally like she was special. He was her first official relationship. And she was glad that he was.
"Ally what are you doing up so early?" Trish asked.
"I couldn't go back to sleep. I've been so worried about Austin…" Ally confessed.
"You know you've been thinking about Austin a lot lately…" Trish pointed out. "You like him again don't you?"
"OK I admit…I do like him still…Which is why he needs to stay alive…" Ally responded.
"Why didn't you tell him this earlier? This could have been prevented you know…" Trish pointed out.
"I was too scared to admit it to myself…I mean what if we did get back together and history repeats itself?" Ally whispered.
"You guys were testing it out…Maybe you guys just weren't ready for that yet…But now that you've had some time to think about it…I don't see any reason as to why the both of you can get back together…" Trish explained.
"What if he doesn't like me anymore…" Ally whispered.
"Look Ally…He will love you no matter what OK?" Trish said trying to make her best friend feel better. "Now can we please get some sleep…It's 3 AM in the morning…" Trish moaned as she flipped over onto the other side of the uncomfortable chair.
Trish was able to fall asleep again with no problems. But Ally was having a little bit more trouble. As Ally stared out at the window, she noticed that it was raining hard outside. It kind of described her feelings at the moment. Austin had been in the operating room for about six hours now. She really didn't understand why he wasn't out of surgery yet. Ally sighed as she let sleep finally take over her body.
The Next Day:
Ally, Trish, and Dez were in the doctors office. They were nervously looking around the office wondering if the surgey was successful. When Dr. Stern sighed. The three friends knew that this wasn't the news that they were hoping for.
"I'm really sorry…The tumor was a lot more serious than we thought. We weren't able to pin point the exact route of Austin's cancer…" Dr. Stern sighed.
"Does this mean that he won't make it?" Dez asked the question that the two ladies were too afraid to ask.
"I'm afraid so…The best thing we could do for Austin right now is to put him on chemotherapy. And then after that…It will be up to him…But with the state that he's in right now…I give him at least six months to a year max…I'm really sorry…" Dr. Stern sighed. "Is there anyway that we can get a hold of his parents?" He asked.
"Follow me…I have their number…" Dez said sadly as he began to walk away.
"Wait Dr. Stern…Is there anyway we could visit Austin?" Ally asked hopefully.
"He's up on the 10th floor in room 1060…" Dr. Stern replied.
"Ally you should go up first…I'm sure you would be the first person he would want to see when he wakes up…" Trish encouraged.
"OK…I'm going up right now…" Ally said as she picked up her jacket off the sofa and left to see Austin.
As Austin finally entered the real world once again, the only thing that he could comprehend was a massive headache. It must have been a side effect from the anesthesia that they had given him. Austin tried to blink to get his vision to be clear again. When he could finally see again, he noticed his hospital door opening.
"Hey Ally…" Austin said trying to sit up.
"Austin lay back down…" Ally said pushing him back gently.
"So…did the doctors find out what was wrong? They told me I had to undergo surgery but they wouldn't tell me why…" Austin said in a daze.
"Austin I'm so sorry…" Ally said as she collapsed on top of him and sobbed into his chest.
"Hey Ally what's wrong?" Austin said hugging her tighter…Austin knew that if Ally was upset the best thing to cheer her up would be his warm hugs.
"Austin…It's not good… You have a very serious disease… You have…Stage 4 pancreatic cancer…" Ally said in between sobs.
"What? How could this be? I'm the healthiest person alive! Ally come on…tell me the truth…" Austin laughed. But when he saw that Ally was now sobbing harder into his chest, he knew something was wrong. "Ally…" Austin said heartbroken… "Please…tell me this isn't true…"
"I'm sorry Austin…It's the truth…" Ally sobbed.
"Ally…Am I…Am I going to die?" Austin whispered as tears began to fill his piercing eyes.
"Austin…" Ally said as she grabbed a hold of his hands. "Have hope…There is still a chance that you could make it out OK…" Ally said. "You start your chemo treatments tomorrow…I have faith in you Austin Moon…You still have to make a ton more records, go on a lot more tours…maybe accomplish that action musical movie you wanted to do for a while… You have a ton of things left to do Austin…So I know that you are going to do whatever it takes to make sure that you make it out of this OK so you don't die…" Ally said confidently.
"What if the battle is too much for me?" Austin asked.
"Austin…There is never a battle that is too much for you…Knowing you…You take each battle by the arms and pin it down until they tap out…" Ally said metaphorically.
"I sure hope your right Ally…" Austin sighed.
The next week was a tough one for everyone. Austin had begun his chemotherapy, treatments and they have not been going well. It seemed that every time Austin would try to eat something, it would always come right back up. And the chemo sessions weren't doing any good to his body either. It looked like he had been consistently been getting weaker and weaker as the days went by. His three best friends were worried about him. His parents had came to visit Austin several times this week, and they were worried about him as well. They could tell by the look in his eyes that it wasn't going to be much longer. It was the end of the week when they had received possibly the worst news.
"I'm sorry. It seems that no matter what we do…The tumor just won't die down…Austin's cancer is spreading…" Dr. Stern said to everyone gathered in the small hospital waiting room.
"Dr. What exactly does that mean?" Mike Moon asked. He was really worried about his sons condition.
"It means that since the cancer Is spreading quickly, it means that it will eventually spread to all of his important organs such as the liver, and his lungs…meaning that his organs will consequently stop working…" Dr. Stern explained.
"How much longer do you think he has?" Mimi asked heartbroken.
"I would give him a maximum of up to a year and a half left…But I think with his condition right now, we could lose him a lot sooner than that…" Dr. Stern replied.
"How soon?" Dez asked.
"My guess would be within three to four months…" Dr. Stern replied. "I have done everything I possibly could to help him with this battle…But unfortunately my efforts have done nothing to eliminate the cancer…The best thing I would do now is to bring him home…" Dr. Stern explained. "I will give him some medication that he needs to take to aid his body in fighting the illness, and I will also give him some painkillers for the pain…" Dr. Stern said as he wrote up the prescription and handed it to Mimi… "I wish I could have done more…But I've done the best I could…It's time to let him be…" Dr. Stern replied as he began to return to another patient.
The gang stood there shocked. It was all starting to sink in for them. They were going to be losing Austin. At such a young age. He was only 18. No one should die at that age…And from cancer… Ally just sat down on one of the available chairs and just cried. She was losing the love of her life…
It was later on that night, Austin was being wheeled into his house by his parents. Trish, Dez, and Ally helped Austin up the staircase. Austin was ordered to bed rest for the rest of his illness. He was just too weak to move around now. As the four best friends helped Austin feel comfortable, Austin looked a little upset.
"Austin what's the matter?" Dez asked.
"Now that I don't have that much time left around here…I might not be able to do the things that I wanted to do…I might not release another album for the fans, I might not get to do a action musical movie that I've always wanted to do…I won't get to finish the tour…" Austin said as tears made their way down his cheeks. "I wanted to do so much more with my career…I'm letting my entire fan base down because I just can't make them happy because of this frickin cancer… " Austin said angrily.
"Austin you have to know that none of us wanted this to happen…" Trish began. "You made your fans proud…and once you tell your story…you are going to be an everlasting inspiration to them."
"Trish is right…Your fans will be happy with what you have done for them…so know that they are going to be happy…" Ally said.
"But what about you guys…" Austin began. "You guys are the bestest friends that anyone could ever ask for…If I leave you guys are going to be depressed…and I can't stand the thought of not seeing you guys everyday…I'm going to miss all the adventures we would go on, all the times we would pull an all nighter just to finish a song or record an album, I'm going to miss being with you guys…" Austin said heartbroken.
"Look Dr. Stern said that you have at least six months left…so why don't we make the best of it…" Dez began.
"What do you mean?" Austin asked.
"Come on guys…Summer is officially here tomorrow…and since this is the last summer that Austin will be with us…I say we do whatever is on your list Austin…" Dez said.
"Dez is right…We should make a list of all the things that you want to do this summer and we will try our best to do them…" Ally said. "We can start tomorrow…" Ally said as she looked out the window. "It looks like it's getting late…" Ally began.
"Yeah we should probably head home…" Dez said as the three friends began to make their way to the door.
"Wait…Guys I know I might be asking too much from you guys…But can you please stay with me? I…I just don't want to be alone…" Austin said embarrassed.
"Of course…" Dez said.
The four best friends fit perfectly into Austin's twin size bed. They each had their arms wrapped around Austin protectively. They were afraid that they were going to lose him that night. When Mike Moon came to check in on Austin, he found him surrounded with his best friends. Mike smiled to himself, he went downstairs and called the other parents to tell them that their kids were sleeping over.
That summer was easily one of the most memorable summers for everyone. The four best friends had tried their best to do everything on Austin's "Summer list"…Austin refused to call it a bucket list because he found that it was too depressing. There was a bunch of stuff on Austin's list that the gang had done before, and there was also some new stuff as well. The gangs summer was filled with bike rides, trips to the beach, building a canoe and using it, and Austin also had the energy to perform one concert at the pier for one night. Without a doubt, it was one of Austin's favorite summer's. Before anyone knew it, it was memorial day already and the gang would begin their Senior Year. Austin was sort of bummed out that he wasn't going to be joining them for their last year of High School…He was going to be home-schooled for the school year. He was really nervous that he wouldn't be able to graduate.
May 2013
Austin had surpassed the six month timeline, but he knew that he wasn't going to be sticking around for much longer. He was actually surprised that he had almost made it through senior year of High School. He felt he had accomplished so much this year…He still wanted to do one more thing before he died though…
"So Austin…" Ally said as she helped him out with a difficult algebra question.
"Yes Ally?" Austin laughed.
"What does Mr. Moon want for his birthday tomorrow?" Ally asked.
"To get better…I want to be able to be there with you guys…to see you graduate…to do all of these things… to be able to do more records for the fans...to be able to travel around the world...to perform for the Queen of England...I wanted to do everything with my career...But now I won't get to..." Austin said sadly.
The duo was interupted when Dez came running into the bedroom causing a whole ton of noise and making the both of them look up.
"You guys I got in!" Dez said barging into Austin's room. He was carrying a package that Austin and Ally assumed was for college.
"That's awesome Dez…" Austin said weakly.
"Dez I'm so happy for you…Your going to be going to college in the movie and television land…" Ally laughed.
"I'm so happy for all of you guys… The three of you are living out your dreams…Ally your going to New York to study music…Dez your going to Hollywood to study Film and Television Directing…and Trish is going to be going to community college here to be a business manager…Everyone is doing everything they want…" Austin said.
"Yeah… I guess it was meant to be…" Ally pointed out.
"You guys are going to make me proud…I know it…" Austin smiled.
"Austin…you look so pale…"Ally said walking towards him.
"Ally I'm OK really." Austin said.
"Are you sure buddy? You don't look too good…" Dez stated.
"I must be tired…" Austin said.
"I think we should leave you then…" Dez said starting to leave.
"Ally can you stay behind…I want to talk to you…" Austin began.
"Sure…" Ally said approaching Austin. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I want you to know how much I love you…You love me too right?" Austin questioned.
"Austin…I've loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you…" Ally said tears going down her cheeks. Austin had finally admitted that he loved her.
"I want you to find someone else…someone who will love you just as much as I do…" Austin stated. "I want you to be able to open your heart again…"
"Austin…I…I can't…I love you and no one else but you…" Ally said hugging him tightly.
"Ally I need to know that someone besides your dad is taking care of you…I need to know that your going to be OK…" Austin said.
"Austin what if I can't move on from you?" Ally questioned.
"You will...I know that special someone will be right around the corner…" Austin smiled. "I just want you to know that I love you Ally…And I don't think anything could change that…" Austin stated.
"I love you too you know…" Ally said kissing him on the cheek again.
"Wait before you go…Can I have one more kiss?" Austin pleaded.
"My pleasure…" Ally smiled as she leaned in and kissed Austin with all the love and passion she could muster. She needed him to know how much she loved him. "I gotta head out now…I have a shift in 10 minutes…"
"OK…" Austin said kissing her once more. "I love you…" Austin whispered in her ear.
"I love you more than you will ever know…" Ally said as she shut the door.
Austin stared up at the ceiling. He knew that his time had come to an end. Which was why he had asked Ally to stay behind…He needed to tell her how much he loved her…In his heart he knew that someone else was going to love her, and they would raise a great family together. As he began to think about that, Austin's eyelids began to fall. He looked at the photo laying on his computer desk one more time. It was a photo of the four of them from the photo booth at the pier.
"I love you guys... forever…" Austin managed to say before he closed his eyes forever.
"Dez your going to wake him up…" Trish whispered.
"You guys it's 2 in the afternoon he's probably awake by now…" Ally laughed.
"Thank god we got the cake lit…" Dez said as he unveiled a cake with a bunch of bright lights.
"Dez when I said light the cake I meant with a candle not a bunch of florescent light bulbs…" Trish growled.
As they made it to the top floor they heard Mike and Mimi sobbing in their bedroom. But they wondered why. They just shrugged it off. They were probably still getting over the fact that Austin was dying soon.
"SURPRISE!" The three of them yelled. They were actually kind of shocked that Austin didn't react to that. He just continued to sleep.
"Why didn't he wake up? He always freaks out when someone yells loudly…" Dez pointed out. Dez walked up to him and began poking his face. "Come on birthday boy… you don't wanna waste your entire birthday sleeping do you? Now that's just silly…" Dez laughed. Dez took a look at Austin and for some reason he was still asleep.
"Austin come on…Stop scaring us…" Trish said joining Dez beside Austin. "I just got off the phone with Jimmy and he said since the news broke out that you had cancer your record sales have been going through the roof…" Trish pointed out.
"Austin?" Dez asked. Still Austin continued to lie there silently.
"Oh my god…You don't think he's…" Ally sobbed.
"Austin…Austin… Austin come on…Quit scaring us like that!" Dez said as he begged for his best friend to wake up again.
"Austin!" Trish yelled trying to wake him up. "You need you get up right now or I swear this cake is going in your face!" Trish said in her classic aggressive style. Not even that was able to get him up.
It was then that it was clear to all of them. Austin had passed on. Ally ran over to Austin's still bod and hugged him tightly. She was never going to get the chance to see him ever again… She was never going to tell him how much she really loved him. Because she did. She didn't know how she was going to move on…But she had to do it for his sake.
One Week Later…
Ally was dressed in her graduation gown and cap. She had just graduated a couple of hours ago. She had finally done it…And she was so excited to move on to the next chapter of her life in New York City in a couple of months. But before she could move on, there was one more thing that she needed to do. Ally walked down the familiar path towards her best friend and her first love. He had been laid to rest one week ago today, and they already missed him. Ally knelt down and kissed Austin's tombstone before placing his diploma on top of his final resting place. Ally took a deep breath…There was so much that she wanted to say but she just didn't know how to word it.
"Thank you Austin…Without you…I don't think I would be where I am today…You helped me build the courage to conquer my stage fright…and that is one of the best gifts that you could have possibly given to me… I feel so blessed to have known you for these amazing four years… I know your going to have a special place in my heart…but your right…I should move on…Because you wouldn't want me to live a lonely life now would you…" Ally laughed. "I know you would have loved to be there today…It would have been a lot more special with all four of us…Dez is moving out to Los Angeles tonight…I can't believe it…We're off to college already…I'm gonna say goodbye to him in a couple of hours…The three of us may be in separate states…but there is one thing that I know for sure… The three of us are going to stay best friends forever…" Ally said. Ally frowned as she looked down at the tombstone in front of her. "Can you do me one favor Austin?" Ally began as tears welled up in her eyes. "Keep an eye out for us OK? It makes me feel a lot better that you're watching out for us up there…" Ally said as she began to stand up. "I'll see you before I leave for college OK?" Ally said as she began to leave.
As Ally got into Trish's waiting car, Austin's ghost came out from behind his hiding spot behind the tree. He had to stay around until all of his friends had left Miami safely and made it to their destinations. Austin looked down at his graduation diploma. He would have loved to be at the graduation. Austin closed his eyes. He needed to catch his best bud before he took off. Austin closed his eyes and disappeared from the graveyard.
Miami International Airport
"Wow I can't believe it…I'm going to be going to be in Hollywood…This is a dream come true for me…" Dez said excitedly.
"I'm so happy for you Dez…" Ally said giving him a hug.
"I wish Austin was here…" Dez said sadly. "I bet he would be just as happy as the both of you are…"
"Who said I was happy for you?" Trish said. Ally and Dez just stared at her. "Kidding… I knew you would make it out to Hollywood eventually…" Trish said pulling Dez in for a hug.
"I'm really gonna miss you…" Dez whispered to Trish.
"You know I hate to say this…But I'm gonna miss you too Dez…" Trish laughed.
Austin's ghost appeared behind Dez. He had a great view of everyone. He felt a few tears run down his eyes. He was never going to see these people again…At least for a long while… Austin frowned as he realized that Dez was about to take off…He felt so guilty that he wasn't there to say goodbye to his best friend in person…
"Flight 617 leaving for Los Angeles is now boarding…Flight 617 leaving for Los Angeles is now boarding… Passengers please board your flight at gate 27…" The voice boomed over the loud PA system.
"Well that's my cue to go…" Dez said as Ally and Trish both gave him a hug goodbye.
"We'll miss you Dez.." Ally whispered.
"I'll miss you guys too…" Dez said sadly.
"I swear if you don't answer all of our calls and emails I am seriously going to hop on a flight to LA and drag your butt back here to Miami…" Trish said getting back into her offensive attitude that she was known for.
"Don't worry about me…I'll be just fine…I'll see you guys for Thanksgiving OK?" Dez smiled.
"OK…" Ally and Trish both said sadly.
Austin's ghost watched on sadly as Dez gave the girls one more hug goodbye and made his way towards security. Ally and Trish began to walk towards Trish's car which was parked right outside the airport. Austin walked towards security to be sure that Dez made it to his terminal safely. As he got there, he noticed that Dez was collecting his things from the airports X-Ray machine. He saw Dez look around the Miami airport one last time before he turned around and walked away…Towards his dream…
"So long pal…" Austin said as tears fell down his face quickly.
Austin's ghost had stuck around the entire summer to be sure that Trish and Ally were OK. For the first few months they had been sad that Dez had gone. But they soon realized that they only had one more summer left together. So the two of them enjoyed it as much as they could. The girls would have sleepovers, go to the beach, go on bike rides throughout Miami, and just enjoy each others company. Because Ally would be leaving soon. Soon enough, the girls were once again at the Miami Airport. This time the tables were turned and Trish was saying goodbye to Ally.
"Are you sure your going to be OK?" Trish asked as Ally stood in front of security.
"Yeah…I will be eventually…I just can't believe I'm doing this…" Ally said as she hugged Trish goodbye. "I promise I'll call you every night…and we will still have email and Facebook to keep up with each other right?" Ally said cheerfully.
"For sure…I can't wait to see your music career take off Ally…Your going to be great…" Trish said.
"You know none of this would have ever been possible without Austin…" Ally sighed.
"He would have wanted to be here too…" Trish said sadly.
"I don't know how I could have conquered my stage fright without his help…" Ally pointed out.
"I think you would have gotten over it eventually even without his help…" Trish replied.
"Maybe so…" Ally said.
"Well…You better get a move on if you don't want to miss your flight…" Trish said sadly.
"I promise I'll call you as soon as I get settled into my dorm…" Ally said walking towards security.
"I know…" Trish laughed.
Austin's ghost appeared once again in the same spot that he had appeared when Dez left. This time he felt a lot sadder that he wasn't there to say goodbye to Ally in person. He didn't tell her this…But Juliard had offered him a scholarship when he had applied back in his Junior year of High School. He would have loved to surprise Ally with that. And to think…they would have been leaving today… As Ally began making her way towards her gate, she turned around one more time and waved goodbye to Trish, who returned the wave.
"I'll see you Ally…I love you…" Austin whispered as he watched her go.
Austin's ghost followed Trish as she walked to her car. He was surprised to see that her car was already packed and ready to move into her dorm. Trish took a deep breath before climbing into her car and starting it.
"Goodbye Trish…Thank you…For looking out for everyone… I knew I could count on you…" Austin smiled as he watched her drive away and onto the freeway not far from the airport.
Austin noticed that a bright light was shining up ahead. He knew it was time for him to go. He had no other reason to stay…He only stayed behind to make sure that all of his best friends were going to be OK, and that they were off to pursue their dreams. Now that Austin knew that his three best friends were going to be doing what they loved, he was happy for them. As Austin walked towards the light that would lead him to his eternal happiness, one thought went through his mind. He had the bestest friends anyone could ever ask for…
The End
AN: I'm thinking of doing a follow up story that deals with Ally's journey in finding true love…it would be a multi-chapter fic…Review and let me know if I should do it…