Austin Moon was watching his girlfriend sing acoustically to a small group of people who had gathered in the practice room for her broadcast. He was proud of her; she had overcome her crippling fear of stage fright and was finally showing the world what she was made of.

She was playing the group a new song she'd apparently written the night before and everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Everyone except him. Don't get Austin wrong, the song was great, but his mind couldn't relax long enough to listen to what she was singing. He knew that if he'd been listening fully to her, he'd know why the group was grinning and nodding their heads to the beat of her guitar.

He looked to the left and saw Ronnie Romone, her record dealer, standing next to him was his own record dealer, Jimmy Starr. Why was he here again? Oh, that's right, Austin's ex-girlfriend Kira Starr was Ally's newest close friend, Well, that and Jimmy couldn't deny that he regretted not signing Ally to his label, he loved the girl and her music. He saw Ally's parents, standing not too far away from Jimmy, looking very proud of their daughter, and next to them was his parents who just adored Ally and everything she was. His eyes fell over to the small group; Ally, her best friend Trish, his best friend Dez (Who was filming her), a couple of fans, Kira Starr, a small girl by the name of Megan who was actually a Cheetah Beat reporter, an interviewer, and of course - the man who was filming the entire broadcast.

Austin was pulled from his thoughts when they all clapped loudly and swiftly, as if there claps couldn't exactly explain how grateful they were that she'd played for them. Austin fidgets for a moment before relaxing when Ally is asked by Megan to sing another song. Ally was not one for disappointing people, so she immediately flashes her a million dollar smile and falls back into a beautiful song that Austin has recalled hearing before.

Ally's in the middle of the chorus when Austin's restlessness gets the best of him. He takes a deep breath and leaves the room. Ally was the first one to notice and tried not to feel worried and concerned. She forces a smile and keeps playing.

Austin is standing outside of the practice room, leaning over the balcony, staring down at the empty store. He recalled so many memories in this music store; when he and Ally met, when they fell in love, when he serenaded her with a song she wrote (It's only cute if you were there to see it), the hard times between the two of them, the fun times with not only her, but Trish and Dez as well. This store held so many memories and he hoped there was room for one more.

With that final thought, Austin reached into his pocket and felt a small object in his hand. He looks around secretively and pulls it out of his pocket. He opens the small box and watches the sparkle of a diamond that sits on a silver band. He knew it would only be prettier once it was on Ally's left hand. If she even said yes.

Austin and Ally were twenty one now. He knew they still had a lot to figure out in their life, but he felt that they could figure it out together. He had a gut feeling that they were ready for this: marriage.

He didn't want to spend another wakening moment without Ally; he'd told her that thousands upon thousands of times, but now he wanted to give her this ring to prove how much he truly meant it.

"Austin?"

Panicked, Austin closes the box and shoves it in his pocket. He sees his mother standing there. "Mom," he said, breathless.

She frowned at him in confusion, "What are you doing out here?"

"I just needed a moment to breathe," he replied. Concerned for her son, Mimi Moon walked forward and put a palm on his forehead. He rolled his eyes and moved his head away from her hand. "I'm fine, Mom."

"Are you?" she quizzed, "You seemed bothered about something when you left the room. You were fidgeting a lot, too."

"I'm fine," he forced a smile. The last person he would tell about his proposal was his mother. She had a bad reputation for spilling secrets. He wanted this proposal to be a surprise for everyone and especially Ally. They'd talked about their future together every now and again, but never had a serious talk about it. Hence the reason he was so nervous. What if she doesn't feel ready? What if the ring doesn't fit? What if she wants a bigger diamond? What if she just doesn't want to marry him?

"Alright," Mimi said, "Are you going to come back in?"

"I will in a minute. Just taking in everything." he responded. Mimi smiled at her son and nodded, reasoning with herself that Austin was just proud of his girlfriend. After all, the two had come a long way. Mimi dismissed herself and walked back inside.

Austin let out a breath of relief. He ran a hand through his hair. He was lost in his thoughts when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked over, slightly startled and found himself staring down at his girlfriend.

"Austin, are you okay?" she questioned him, worriedly. That's when he realized that he hadn't heard her playing the guitar for a while. She must've been done singing. He smiled down at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied, "Are you? You've had a long day," he said, referencing to the fact that she pulled off a two hour concert and then came back to the practice room just to have another two hour broadcast, and prior to that, she'd been rehearsing all morning.

"I'm a little tired, but that's not the point," she shook her head, "You walked out of there pretty fast. Is something wrong?"

"No, no," he assured her, kissing her forehead, "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. I just wanted a moment to take everything in. It wasn't that long ago that you swore to me you'd never sing in front of anyone and now, here you are, having concerts and broadcasts, interviews, etc. You've come a long way."

"Are you sure that's it?" Ally said, not falling for his excuse. Austin looked down at her, realizing how much she really did know him. Well, they had been friends since they were fifteen and a couple since they were eighteen.

"Yes," he lied. Ally stared at him for a few moments before nodding. He glanced over to the door where the broadcast was still in film. "Come on," he said to her, guiding her back towards the broadcast.

Ally was then greeted for another interview, this time Trish joining her for the interview. Austin watched the two girls, smiling every time Ally laughed. Apparently, the interview must have been hilarious because the two best friends didn't stop laughing long enough to take a breath.

"You're tense."

"Hm?" Austin hummed, looking at his red-headed best friend. "Oh, hey, Dez."

Dez knew the secret, in fact, he was with Austin when Austin had bought the ring. "You've been uptight this whole night, Austin. You should relax. She's obviously going to say yes." Austin sighed and nodded his head. If he really thought logically, there would be no reason Ally would say no. She loved Austin and she'd always mentioned in interviews that Austin treated her like his wife and that she could see them getting married one day.

"What if she thinks it's too soon?" Austin questioned his best friend.

"Then you wait. She won't be rejecting you. She'll simply be stating that she wants to wait a year or two. She might even wear the engagement ring until she decides that she's ready to get married." Dez said. That actually helped Austin a lot as he nodded. "Do you know when you're going to do it? Where you're going to do it?"

"I'm not sure," Austin said. Austin was about to say more but he was interrupted by small reporter, Megan, who wanted to discuss with him his feelings towards Ally's rising fame (Of course, sneaking into the conversation, his feelings for Ally). It was a normal thing for the couple, being asked about their relationship. They had many 'auslly' supporters. Everyone adored them together.

After some time, Megan walked away to interview other people like Trish and Ronnie, Ally's parents, etc. Austin was watching Ally, taking pictures of her in his mind. She was just so perfect; her personality, her face, the way she talked, walked, and treated others. She was perfect to him and for him.

That's when Austin felt this incredible rise of courage and took a deep breath. He looked around everyone was talking with one another and Ally was now alone, just glancing around the room with a small smile on her face.

Austin walked up to her. He was proud of himself; he wasn't even shaking! "Ally, I need to ask you something." It was one statement that caught not only Ally's attention, but everyone around her.

Ally seemed confused, arching an eye brow. "Alright?" It was more a question rather than a response.

Austin knew it was going to be humiliating if she said no, but he didn't care at this moment in time. He just needed to do this. He grabbed her shoulders, turning her so she was facing him directly. "Ally," he said, "You're my best friend and my girlfriend. You make me happy and you get me like nobody else does. I've known you since we were fifteen and I'll admit that I was blessed to meet somebody like you. You did amazing tonight and you've come such a long way. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am. This was an awesome night and I hope that this might make it even better," he said. He reaches into his pocket and feels the square box. He pulls it out and Ally's smile is gone. She stares at the box, trying to connect the dots to what was going on.

Glancing around the room, everyone either had wide eyes, a shocked face, or hands cupped over their mouths. Austin slowly opened the box and there was the diamond ring. He crouches down, getting on his one knee. "Ally Dawson, would you do me the pleasure of being my wife?"

Ally was quiet for a moment before she looked at his eyes and whispered, "Yeah." Austin grinned and felt all of his anxieties slipping away. He grabbed the ring and slipped it onto her finger. Thank God, it fit. Ally wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered her I Love You's as everyone clapped loudly around them.

"Austin!"

Austin was pulled out of his trance by somebody nudging his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Geez, man, you need to relax. She'll say yes!"

"But she did-" he cut himself off, looking over to Ally who was still in the middle of her interview with Trish. Austin hadn't even proposed yet! "But I...I proposed...I.."

Dez gave his friend a funny look, "No, you didn't. I was talking to you and you zoned out again." He shook his head, "Dude, it'll be fine!"

Austin nodded his head. He couldn't believe he dreamt that! Maybe it wasn't a dream, maybe it was...a vision? He gulped and grabbed his courage and walked to Ally when the interview was over.

"Ally, I need to ask you something," he said. He knew this was definitely not a dream anymore because he was trembling. Trish seemed to understand already what was going to happen because she gasped. Ally raised a brow. "I love you, Ally. Sometimes I think too much," he chuckled nervously. Ally smiled slightly. "You make me so happy and I can't imagine life without you. I wanted to tell you something," he said. Ally straightened up, realizing he was serious about something. But what?

Trish was shaking excitedly in her high heels. Austin reached into his pocket and felt his face pale. Where was the box? He smiled nervously at her and went for his other pocket. Nothing. No box. No box=No ring, no ring= no engagement, no engagement= no marriage, no marriage= an unhappy Austin.

Austin gulped, "I just wanted to say I was proud of you." That's when Austin realized Ally had been smiling and it was now vanishing. She didn't look disappointed, just very confused.

She grinned again after a moment, "Aw, thank you, Austin!" she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before hugging him. He embraced her as well. He glanced up and saw Trish giving him a What-The-Heck look. Well, now one more person was in on the surprise.

He hugs Ally tighter, whispering to Trish over Ally's shoulder, "If you see a ring, please tell me, because I really, really need that ring." Trish's eyes widened, she immediately ran over to Dez, whispering the news into his ear. He widened and slapped a palm over his mouth to muffle a shout.

Ally pulled out of the hug and grinned up at Austin who forced a smile back at her. Ally heard the sound of her parent's beckoning her to come over. Ally kissed Austin's cheek and dismissed herself. Austin watched her walk away and thanked God that only Trish had seen the fiasco.

Austin gave Trish and Dez a sharp look and walked out of the practice room. The two joined Austin outside. Trish smacked Austin's arm, "How do you lose a ring?!"

"I don't know!" Austin shrieked, "I was just holding it! I was standing out here holding it." Austin shut his eyes, massaging his temples as he searched his brain for an answer to wear the ring could be. "My mom came out and I put it back in my pocket and that was it. I swear." He looked at Dez and Trish with panicked eyes. "Where could it go?!"

"Alright, we all need to relax," Trish said, taking a deep breath as Austin did the same. "It couldn't have gotten fair. It's not like it sprouted legs and ran away."

"Or did it?" Dez challenged. Trish and Austin gave him a look. "Okay, sorry."

"Let's look around, alright? Last time it left your pocket, it was out here. Maybe you thought it went into your pocket and it didn't. Let's look on the floors." Trish said. Austin nodded and the trio scrounged the floors.

"What are you guys doing?"

The trio looked over to Kira Starr who was staring at them weirdly. Austin looked at his two friends before deciding he really needed this help, "Have you happened to see an engagement ring lying around anywhere?"

Kira gasped, "You're proposing to Ally?!"

"SHH!" The trio shouted. Kira covered her mouth.

"Sorry, Sorry. I meant," she cleared her throat and shrieked in a whisper, "You're proposing to Ally?!"

Austin sighed, "Yes," he then gave her a sharp look, "but that won't happen unless I find it!"

"You lost it?!" she shrieked, her voice still low. Austin sighed and nodded. Kira was about to insult him but she saw the sad look on his face and sighed. "I'll look in there," she said, gesturing to the practice room with her thumb.

"Hey Kira," Austin said. Kira turned and looked at him. He smiled softly, "Thanks."

"We don't have time to be sincere! We need to find this ring!" Trish shouted. They all nodded and scrambled around.

After half an hour, Austin stood up from the ground, running his fingers through his hair. "Where is it?!"

"It's okay, Austin," Trish said, touching his shoulder. "We'll find it."

"Will we?" he sighed. "I need to do it tonight. Today six years ago, Ally and I became partners. I wanted it to be the day I proposed to her too."

"Aw," Trish cooed. Austin glared. "Sorry. But I repeat, we will find that ring," she assured him.

As if on cue, Kira runs out of the practice room and looks at the trio. She grins, holding up a black box, "I found it!"

Austin gasps, grinning as he retrieves the box. "Kira, thank you!" He hugs her quickly and opens the box. "I can't wait to ask-" he stops talking and his eyes widen, "where is the ring?!"

"What!" Kira, Trish, and Dez shout in unison. Austin looks at them.

"Somebody took the ring," Austin said.

They all stare at him in horror. Slowly, the group turns and looks into the practice room. They turn back and exchange glances with each other. In unison, they hiss, "Megan."

Megan is sipping some water when she feels two strong arms wrap around her small body. She doesn't even get the chance to scream when a palm is slapped over her lips, dragging her out of the practice room. Megan is squirming and wants to know why nobody is noticing her abduction.

Megan is kicking and attempting to shout for help when she is tossed into a closet. She's breathing heavily, looking around the room, but she can't see a thing because it's dark. Nearly a moment later, a light is flicked on. She's surrounded with four angry, condescending faces.

"Where is it?" Austin growls at the girl.

"What are you talking about?" she shrieks, confused.

"The ring, Megan. . .?" Austin hissed. Megan looked at the blonde boy, her face showing nothing but confusion.

"Ring? I don't know anything about a ring!" she claimed.

"Likely story!" Trish scowled.

"No, I don't!" she gasped, looking at Austin with wide eyes and a grin, "Are you and Ally getting married?!"

"Well, we can't without that ring!" Austin shrieked.

"So, it's true! You're getting married! This is so excit-"

"Zip it," Kira said, putting a hand over Megan's mouth. "Ally doesn't know about this. Austin hasn't asked her yet because the ring is gone! If you know anything, please, please tell us."

"I'm serious, I don't know about the ring!" she shrieked, she then adds quickly, "I could help you find it!"

The four of them exchange glances before looking back at Megan. Austin crosses his arms, "Okay," Austin said, "You're in. But you can't tell Ally!"

"I won't!" she promised. Trish opened the closet door and they all fell out of the tight, small room. They all scattered looking for the ring. "Is this it?" questioned Megan. Everyone gasped and looked over to the ring.

"Hey! I lost that three years ago!" Trish said, taking the ring.

"Trish," Austin said.

"Sorry! Everyone back to work!" demanded Trish.

Ally was up in the practice room. She was finished talking to Ronnie when she looked around for her boyfriend. He was no where in sight. That's when she realized not only Austin was gone, but so was Trish, Dez, Kira, and Megan. "What the.." she mumbled.

Ally stalked out of the practice room and saw the missing persons all scattered around Sonic Boom, muttering to themselves on their hands and knees. "Guys," Ally said, standing on the balcony.

The five of them froze at the voice. Slowly, they all looked up. "ALLY!" they all shouted.

"What are you doing?" she sang, staring at them weirdly.

"The floors...they...uh...they...they needed cleaning!" Austin quickly said, "We thought we'd clean."

"Yeah..." Kira gave Austin a sharp look, "With our finger nails!"

Ally stayed silent for a few long beats before pointing at the closet, "You know that there's a broom in the closet, right? And a mop. You could just use one of those," she provided.

"We know," Trish said, quickly, "But we didn't want to miss anything! I mean, have you seen these floors? Absolutely filthy!"

Ally stared at the floors, "They look like they always do, Trish."

"Exactly! There needs to be a change!" Trish replied.

"Well, okay," Ally finally said. "I can help if you want, but if I'm helping, I'm using a mop," Ally said, laughing slightly as she went into the closet.

"No!"

Ally looked at her friends from below. She put the mop back into its place and folded her arms in front of her chest, "Okay, what is going on? You guys are acting weird and Austin, you haven't been yourself all night!"

"Nothing's up! I promise!" Austin said, "I...I just needed to take in everything around me. I just want to really look hard in this place to remember the things I might have lost somewhere along the way."

"You're cleaning the floors to look upon old memories?" Ally rose a quizzical brow.

"Yep, that's it," Dez murmured.

"It's quite helpful, if you think about it!" Megan said, "I mean, if you really scrape these floors, you might find something very valuable!"

"Life altering, really!" Kira added.

"Okay, guys, I think she understands," Austin hissed.

"Alright," Ally drawled, "I'm going to...head back to the broadcast. There's about half an hour left. You guys...have fun...cleaning?" Ally gave them one last weird look before heading back into the practice room.

Everyone let out a breath. "That was close," Trish muttered.

"Half an hour...half hour..." Austin's eyes widened, "We have half an hour to find that ring!"

"What!"

"What do you mean half an hour?" Trish shrieked.

"The broadcast ends in half hour! Ally is leaving to Chicago tomorrow for a Meet and Greet! I need to propose to her tonight!" Austin elaborated.

"Austin, are you serious?"

Austin's eyes widened, hearing a new voice. He slowly glanced over and saw his record dealer, Jimmy. "Jimmy," Austin said, his voice raising in pitch. Jimmy stared at Austin, it was clear that he'd heard Austin's explanation.

"What are all of you doing? And what's this about a proposal?" he questioned.

Kira got up from the floor, "Daddy, Austin is going to propose to Ally tonight, but he lost the ring."

Jimmy pressed his lips together in a thin line, "Of course he did," he said, making Austin cringe. "You're sure about this Austin? You and Ally are very young and this is a serious commitment."

"I know," Austin said, avoiding eye contact.

Kira grabbed onto her Dad's arm, "Daddy, will you help us find the ring? He needs to do it tonight. We need to find that ring."

Austin stared at Jimmy, eyes full of hope. Everyone waited for his response. Jimmy took a moment before taking a deep breath, "I'll keep Ally distracted for as long as I can. Keep looking. It could've fallen anywhere. Someone check the practice room."

They all nodded, Kira being the one to volunteer to check the practice room. Everyone else scattered; Megan checking vents and any place small that it could have fallen. Dez, Trish, and Austin continued to scrounge the floors. "What if we don't find it?" Austin questioned.

Trish looked at her blonde friend, "Don't worry, Austin. We will." she assured him. Austin sighed and went back to looking.

"Hey, Ally," Jimmy said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her away from the food table.

"Hey, Jimmy," Ally said.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Yes and no. I mean, tonight was great and I just had so much fun and I appreciated everything that's happened, but Austin was acting weird all night. He was fidgety and nervous, restless. He left in the middle of my song, which is abnormal of him. Then I find him and everyone else... cleaning the floor? I'm just so confused." she said.

Jimmy nodded his head, "Austin is a strange boy. Kinda like his middle name - I mean, Monica. Who names their sons middle name Monica. It's a girls name!"

Ally laughed, "I know. It's funnier when I call him that, it makes him angry." Jimmy laughed with her. Jimmy glanced at Kira who was moving food around, guitars, shoes, etc. She practically turned the place inside out.

"So, Ally, you working on your next album?" he asked, "I have to say, your second one was outstanding. You're writing is phenomenal! You should write for Kira one day."

"I'll think about it," Ally nodded, smiling. Kira was combing her hair with her fingers, feeling the stress of the night creep into her muscles. Where was that darn ring?! Time was ticking. Kira glanced at the clock. The broadcast was going to end pretty soon.

Kira sighed. This was of no avail. There was no way they were going to find that ring in less than ten minutes. Kira groaned softly, her feet were blistering in her high heels. She unstrapped them from her feet and carried them in her hands. She stepped forward to tell Austin that the ring was no where in sight when she felt something hard beneath her foot. "Ouch," she mumbled.

Kira moved her foot and frowned at a silver object on the floor. As she crouched down to retrieve the object, she realized what it was. The ring. She gasped and collected it into her hands. She stared at it, the diamond glimmering as the light hit it. She tried not to squeal in excitement. She quickly stood up and waved her hand for her father's attention.

Jimmy was in the middle of a conversation about Ally's music when he saw his daughter waving. He looked at her for a quick moment and smiled slightly as she held the ring up for him to see. She then took off out of the practice room.

Kira ran down the stairs, "Austin! Austin!" she called. Austin looked over and she saw the defeated look on his face. She finally squealed as she held it up.

"The ring!" he gawked, jumping up and collecting it in his palm. He laughed happily. "Kira, thank you!"

"You will not believe where it was," she said, shaking her head, "it was on the floor! Right in the middle of the practice room! I can't believe nobody saw it!"

Austin took the box from his pocket and tucked the ring safely inside and closed the box. "I wonder how it fell out," he said.

"Austin, the broadcast is over in 3 minutes!" Trish said, staring at her watch. Austin's eyes widened and he bolted upstairs, the group following behind.

Austin stood behind Ally, taking a deep breath. He got encouraging smiles from his friends, Jimmy, and even the small reporter Megan. He tapped Ally's shoulder. Jimmy took this as his cue to step away from the couple.

"Ally, I have something very important to ask you," he said, sounding breathless. Ally looked at him, confused and nodded. He swallowed hard. "We've known each other for a while and believe me when I tell you, I am so thankful and happy I met you." Ally looked at Austin weirdly but smiled anyways. "Tonight did not go how I planned, but I think that's just like life, it'll never go as planned. And you like to plan a lot of things ahead of time and be prepared, so I hope you don't mind that I'm going to ask you an unexpected question," he said. He stared at for another moment before reaching into his pocket and being able to smile because he felt that small box in his palm. He took it out of his pocket, snapped open the box and got down on his knee.

The producer of the broadcast slapped the camera man's arm, "Get this! Get this!" he demanded. Immediately, the camera man operated the camera to be focused on the couple.

Ally gasped, her eyes shocked as she stared down at the silver band with a diamond rock attached to it. It must have cost a fortune!

"Ally Dawson, I love you and I was hoping that you could give me permission to call you my wife," he said. He chuckled slightly as he looked her in the eyes and said, "Will you marry me?"

Ally didn't hesitate before responding, "Yes!" Austin took her hand and slid on the ring. It fit. He smiled wide. "Um, Austin," Ally murmured.

"What?" he looked at her confused. Was she second guessing this?

Ally laughed slightly as she looked at him, "Wrong hand."

Austin looked at her hand and laughed. He took it back, sliding the ring off and swapping it for her left hand. She laughed, tears in her eyes. Austin got up from the floor, wrapping his arms around her as hers wrapped around his neck. Everyone in the room clapped loudly.

Austin nervously glanced over to Ally's parents, hoping he wasn't in trouble for not asking for their blessing. He immediately relaxed when he saw them smiling wide and hugging one another in happiness for their daughter. His parents, too, were smiling. He smiled bigger when they walked over to Lester and Penny, introducing themselves as becoming family now.

Ally walked up the camera, Austin's arm slung around her waist as she thanked everyone was watching her broadcast and all of her fans in general. The camera went off and all that was left was for people to congratulate Austin and Ally on their engagement.

"Austin, Can I tell you something?" Ally said while they were walking along underneath the moonlight. They were on their way back to their apartment, thankful that there were no reporters anywhere.

"Yeah, anything," he said, kissing her temple.

"I found the ring."

"What?" he said, laughing slightly. Ally looked at him. He stared at her and saw she wasn't kidding. "What are you talking about? You're wearing it right now."

"I know, but I mean...I saw a black box on the floor earlier," she began, "I didn't know it was yours. I saw the ring inside. Figured somebody must've left it behind because I had fans in there earlier. I took the ring out, I know I shouldn't have but it was so pretty, then I couldn't get it back in, so I left the diamond ring on the table. When I wasn't so busy, I went back to see if I could put the ring back in, but the box was gone."

"You mean..." he paused, "You took the ring?!"

"I didn't know it was yours!" she claimed. Austin was in disbelief. After the entire time of trying not to let Ally find out about the ring, it was her who had taken it in the first place! "I'm surprised Kira found the ring. I went to put it in the lost and found but when I got back it was gone. That's when Jimmy started talking to me."

"What a crazy night." Ally said. Austin took a deep breath and nodded.

"I can't believe this. It was you the whole time." he shook his head. Ally giggled slightly. "At least I got the ring back."

"I normally hate surprises, Austin, but this was a great one," she grinned, "I didn't even suspect that the ring was yours." Austin smiled as he looked at her. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you, too."

"Hey, Austin," Ally said, after a long moment.

"Yeah, Ally?"

"My ring's gone."

Austin looked back at her with wide eyes and saw her staring at her hand that no longer had the ring around her finger. He groaned. Ally giggled. They then turned back and began to search for the ring.

THE END.