A/N: hi guys! First of all, I'm sorry for not updating my long-shot in ages... I've been busy with school since it started (it's been a hard year!) and I had not time (or the mood) to write. Though, half of the chapter is written already and I'll finish it as soon as possible (it's already planned in my head don't worry)... and I'm working on another one-shot, beside this one.

Ok, back on this story. I really hope you like it, I don't know how to feel about this but I think it turned out a cute story... let me know with a review what you think! :)

Story dedicated to: my friend Sara who I reaaallyyyy love. I'm so sad you won't be with me in Paris for the concert and I hope this story will make you smile at least :) ILYSM SARA don't forget that!

Ok...

So...

Read&Review.

"Don't people know that to succeed in a music career you need talent?"

Austin didn't show up.

She wasn't sure if he was still alive. Lots of times he had showed up an hour later or even two. But something was wrong with him. She could tell by the hurt clearly visible in his eyes, that painful disappointment of being underrated and insulted as he had no emotions.

"I like his voice… when the volume is really, really low."

He said he was fine. Everything that obnoxious man said didn't bother him at all, he said. Every person has their own taste in food, in music, in clothes. We all have different opinions and as many ways to express them.

That's what he said.

But he wasn't here yet.

And she had a bad feeling, a tight knot in her stomach.

"He will be forgotten in less than two years, I tell you. I'm never wrong."

Ally took her jacket without thinking twice and bolted out of the Sonic Boom, locking the door as quickly as she could - her hands were trembling - as she stepped outside. Even if she closed the store one hour early, she couldn't care less. It's not that you care about business when you feel your best friend is wallowing in his grief.

The cold air of mid-January pierced into her bones, even though she was wearing a warm jacket. Or maybe it wasn't just the temperature; her body started shaking uncontrollably at the thought of her best friend doing something he would've regretted later.

How much she hopped he was home playing videogames, lying on his stomach onto the bed, his elbows supporting his weight as he moved fast his fingers on the joy pad. If he was, she wouldn't get mad and scold him because he wasn't studying or rehearsing.

Her feet dragged her to his house, the yellow one you could see from three blocks before. The girl ran, ran faster as she could, the sensation of the air cutting her skin became stronger as she sped up her path a little more, risking to trip a couple of times on the broadwalk. The more she approached the Moons house, the more she hoped everything was still the way it was. The dark woodened door came into view and staggering for the toil, Ally finally reached it. She rang the bell twice, getting more impatient as seconds passed by until the blonde woman opened the door; surprise washed over her face when she found Ally standing there.

"Where's Austin?" the brunette asked, out of breath.

The lips of the woman turned up a bit, forming a sad smile, "Upstairs."

"Austin Moon is a flop."

After knocking on the door and not getting any answer, Ally carefully opened the it and stepped inside the room she had been in so many times. It felt like a different place, though. There wasn't brightness, joy or happiness floating in the air. Just an alarming calm, emphasized by the darkness, cut only by a feeble moonlight. She closed the door behind her and approached his bed, where she noticed a person lied on. She sat on the bed - on the side where he wasn't facing her - and reached for his hair, caressing it gently, in a motherly way. She could do that all day.

"Mum, I want to be alone," he stated, his voice cracking at the end.

Ally's hand stopped and she drew it back, reluctantly. "It's Ally."

Suddenly Austin's body stiffened and slowly he put himself in a sitting position, to face her. What Ally saw tore up her heart in a million pieces.

His blonde hair was messy, not the messy-way he combed it to look more attractive, but in a unintentional way, like a person too busy thinking about a bigger problem than his hairstyle. The fact he had cried was still visible in his puffy eyes and dry tears on his cheeks. The view was painful and Ally felt like crying too, but she was there to comfort him, not to join his crying people club.
Never in her life she imaged witnessing Austin crying; this one thing made her realize how much broken he was inside.

Her mind flew back in the past, a year before, when her mother left for Africa. Her departure destroyed her dad so much; he didn't know if he could make it alone: how hard it was to raise your teenage daughter without your wife! But he promised he would be fine. Ally spotted him crying occasionally during the first weeks of Penny's absence. She would never forget the pain in his eyes.

The same pain replicated in Austin's.

He stared at her for a while. "Don't be sad for me."

"Austin…"

"Ally, go home. We will talk tomorrow," he said, not looking at her. It was better for her to leave and don't suffer there beside him, but he wanted her to stay as well and tell him everything was going to be alright.

"No," she stated, covering his hand with hers, "I'm staying. How could I go home with my best friend in those conditions?"

She smiled, leaning in a little to search his eyes. "I'm sorry," Austin said.

Ally looked at him quizzically, "Sorry for what?"

He took a breath in, "For being such a wimp who cries in bed because he got a bad review-"

"You're not a wimp," Ally squeezed his hand, her eyes transmitting all the confidence she could gain, "you are one of the strongest people I know; you are not scared of anything, remember?"

He smiled at the memory and fixed a lock of hair that fell on his eye, "Apparently I am. Listen Ally, maybe that guy is right. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am… 'Austin Moon' will be over before recording my second album."

"No!" Ally said a little louder, "Austin Monica Moon. You are the most talented singer and dancer I've ever met and I won't let a stupid bad review let you down, okay?" At this point she was really close to him, sitting right beside him. In that exact moment she realized he had no shirt on, since until now she was too focused on his heartbreaking face. She blushed a little, but the darkness in the room didn't let Austin notice.

"But Ally, he is such a good artist. He has years of experience in this matter! He knows when an artist is really worth it or if he or she is going to succeed."

"He can't know. He doesn't believe in you like your fans do," Ally whispered gently, "like I do."

They locked gaze for what seemed an eternity, until Austin whispered back, "thank you. As long as you stick by my side everything is going to be amazing. Just don't leave me."

"I won't. As your partner and songwriter I assure you I'll always work hard to write a new original sound very often so nobody will ever get tired of you. As for you voice and dancing skills, there's nothing I can do; they are both perfect."

He didn't reply. He just wrapped his arms around her, scooting her closer till the personal space was reduced to a minimum. His head rested in the crock of her neck, where his hot breath sent tickling all over her shoulder area; his body was warm against hers – since he had been under the blankets for hours - and she must admit it was an extremely comforting sensation.

She pulled out from the embrace, but still so close to him their noses were almost touching. His gaze became intense, if the lack of light wasn't misleading her eyes; her heart started beating faster and she felt dizzy all of a sudden that she had to support herself resting her hand on his toned chest: his heartbeats' speed matched hers perfectly. They both knew something was about to happen… the intimacy, the warming feeling into their hearts, it meant so much and it was impossible to shrug it off. Austin studied her moonlit face for a moment, before sliding one hand on her check. She felt that burning too.

But the feeling lasted for a short amount of time, since her lips just got crushed with his. The pace of her heartbeat was out of control, she was sure it was going to explode in the next seconds. The kiss started gently, like they were too scared to hurt the other, then became rougher, deeper. Their lips molded perfectly, creating a magical kiss made of desire, passion, unspoken words and the lingering question both of them had been asking themselves for a year: "are we just friends?"

Austin flipped them over, so now she was lying on his bed with her cascade of curls spread all over his pillow, and he was on top of her, supporting himself on an elbow while his other was still pressed on her cheek. Delicately, he grazed her lips with his tongue, trying to get her allowance, which she gladly gave him; now they were tangled in each other, sharing a sweet French kiss, none of them even registering what they were doing. As his hand landed on her waist, it slipped under the soft fabric of her shirt and started to move up in a slow motion, his wrist raising her shirt more in the process. Her breath caught in her throat, the feeling of him touching her that way made her mind go blur. Who would have thought Austin Moon would kiss his innocent goody-two-shoes best friend and then try to go a little further?

Though, as she tried to steady her breathing, his next move relaxed her: his thumb had reached the spot just below her bra and caressed it in a gentle and reassuring way, but intimate enough to send shivers down her spine. Too soon they had to break the kiss - since apparently you need oxygen to live - but their faces remained dangerously close, their foreheads touching. Her heart was racing and he was feeling feelings and he really couldn't get enough of her.

He wondered why he didn't do this sooner.

Ally's mind crowded with confused thoughts; she couldn't quite understand why all of that happened and why none of them stopped it. He couldn't had that type of feelings for her, for his best friend... this is why Ally blamed it all on the heat of the moment or on his tension that needed to be relieved. But realizing there were no romantic feelings behind that gesture made her heart ache… what did she actually want? Austin to admit his undying love for her? Did she even care?

The blond guy plopped down next to her, his heavy breath was the only sound in the silence-filled room.

His arm circled her waist and moved her closer, pressing their bodies once again, mixing their scents and their skins another time.

She would have just snuggled up in his embrace until she fell asleep, waking up the next morning with him by her side; it felt so damn right. "Did you relieve your tension yet?" She asked, bitterly. You could hear in her voice that she was in the verge of crying.

Austin raised his head from the pillow, showing a baffled expression. "What do you mean?"

Ally refused to look at him in the eye, so she decided to stare at a random spot in the wall, that had immediately become interesting. "This. Everything that has just happened. The kiss… I got it, you needed that just to–"

"Relieve my tension? Are you serious? I wouldn't kiss you for a selfish reason like that, Ally," his voice showed sadness with a bit of disappointment.

She should've known.

She shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.

But then again, what did it mean?

Was it possible that Austin… "I felt something when we hugged a couple of minutes ago. Electricity, love… something magic. It's not the first time it happens actually, and I can't still pretend there's nothing going on there. I can't ignore these feelings, Ally."

He was absolutely right.

She herself couldn't ignore it. Though, no words formed in her mouth and the silence around them was oppressive. Austin didn't utter a word either, expecting the brunette next to him to say something, anything. "By feelings you mean romantic feelings?" This time she turned her head, looking at him eagerly.

He nodded, not breaking the eye contact. Slowly, he took a honey-colored lock of her hair on the pillow and curled it into his long fingers, "You're so beautiful."

That one little gesture and the following compliment made her insides melt, till she was reduced in a pudding-state; if she wasn't lying on the bed, the floor would have already sheltered her limp body.

"It was my first kiss," was her reply, totally out of the blue.

Austin eyes widened, guilty hit him like a ton of bricks. "Was it? I'm sorry, Ally. I shouldn't have stolen your first kiss, maybe you were saving it for someone else." Even if the thought alone of her kissing another guy made him sick.

"Don't be sorry," she whispered, staring at the ceiling, "I liked it. I wanted it as much as you did. I obviously feel something for you too, in a more-than-friends way."

He grinned one of his goofy grins made in Austinmoonland and placed a chaste kiss on her exposed neck. "Thank you for being here."

"It's a must for a friend to be on their friends' sides in rainy days. When you're happy, I'm happy and when you suffer… I suffer as well."

He hovered over her again, so his face was directly in front of hers, forcing her to lock eyes with him. His hazel eyes were so bright and sparkling from that proximity. She made mental note to write a song about them later. "Well, I'm happy right now," he said playfully, his smile going from ear to ear.

Ally lifted her head up a little, until her lips could reach his nose, which she softly kissed.

"And so I am."

So? What do you think?