A/N: Hi there! So this is my new Auslly story, and it's something totally different than The Summer of Us. I hope you guys like it!
Summary: In high school, Austin Moon and Ally Dawson were best friends. But when Ally moved to New York for college and Austin stayed in Miami, they lost contact. Six years later, they meet again - and they have a lot of catching up to do.
Disclaimer: If I owned Austin Moon, Ally Dawson, or Austin & Ally, I'd have better things to do than sit here writing fanfiction. Jk. I'd still probably write fanfiction because I love it. Anyways...
Enjoy! :)
"Hi, I'll have a tall iced caffé Americano, please," a slightly frazzled Ally Dawson says as she digs around in her purse for money to pay for her Starbucks drink. She comes up with the money and hands it to the barista. She feels just a tiny bit of guilt; her music store, Sonic Boom, is losing business and she's sitting around drinking expensive coffee? She settles her mind by telling herself she's investing in her sanity. She's investing in a few quiet moments by herself, plus the caffeine will help her say awake to go over bills for the store.
Her drink is ready and she sits at a table with her laptop. She opens her work inbox, which is flooded with invoices. She rubs her temples and takes a swig of iced coffee. She tries to focus on the screen in front of her, but she's distracted. She's looking around the café staring at random things like... well, like a morbidly exhausted 25-year-old woman running on expensive coffee and false hope.
As her eyes wander around the store, something catches her eye. Well someone, rather. A cute blond guy clearing a table. He has nice hair, he's fairly tall, his short sleeve shirt is showing off his arms, he's-
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
She can't really believe it when she recognizes him. Only one person would be able to rock hair like that, would laugh like that, would have that spring in his step.
It has to be him.
Austin Moon.
She hopes he'll come over her way. She hasn't seen him in almost six years. When she went off to college in New York and he stayed in Miami, they had lost contact. But there he is, mere feet away.
He almost walks past her, but he doesn't. "Ally?" he sputters, like he can't believe it. Her face lights up. "Austin!" she exclaims, standing up and giving him a hug. He holds her for a moment. "I thought you were still in New York!" he exclaimed, slightly confused but clearly happy to see her.
"I finished school and came back to Miami to help my dad with the business...oh my gosh, how have you been?" she asks, suddenly overwhelmed by just how much catching up they have to do.
"That's great, I mean...that's awesome! How long are you here?" he asks, running a rag along the table to at least look like he's working. She exhales. "I'm not really sure yet. I'm just playing it by ear right now. It depends on how things go," she explains, referring to the ever-demanding business of running the music store.
"Well, um, I get off my shift in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, could you stick around?" he says, looking around the store. She nods, maybe a little to exuberantly. "Yeah, of course! I'll be right here," she says with a grin. He smiles back and disappears behind the counter.
She tries not to watch him as he's waiting on customers, calling out names, joking around with his co-workers. He was cute when they were in high school, but now he's straight-up hot. His wild blond hair has calmed down a little bit, but it's still definitely noteworthy. He's muscular and tall and he smiles the way a male love interest in a romantic comedy would. He's still goofy and fun though. She stares blankly at her computer screen and eventually answers a few emails and pays a few bills.
Austin comes over holding a caramel frappuccino. Ally smiles. "Have you become a coffee addict since high school?" she jokes. He rolls his eye. "Hey, I'm doing the store a favor. This is one of the rejects, someone made an extra I guess. Apparently I'm...Emma now," he muses, reading the Sharpie-scrawl name on the side of the plastic cup. Ally laughs. "Well, Emma, how have you been?" she asks, closing her laptop.
He opens his arms, gesturing around the small café. "Livin' the dream," he says hempenly, eliciting a giggle from Ally before she smacks his arm gently. "I'm serious! Are you still in music?" she asks, propping her elbows up on the table.
"Trying to. It's so much different now than it was ten years ago, you know? I'm not a kid anymore, and it's tough. Plus when you went to college, I had a lot of trouble putting out new material," he admits. She's flooded with memories of late-night songwriting sessions, writing music, of when they used to have their songwriter/singer partnership. She smiles, and he interrupts her thoughts.
"Do you still write songs?" he asks, a grin curving his lips slightly. She shrugs. "I try to, but like you said, it's so different now. I'm so much busier and less creative. It's hard," she admits. She suddenly realizes how much she's opening up to him. Then she remembers that she's talking to Austin, the Austin she used to tell everything, the Austin who listened, the Austin she loved.
"You should get back into songwriting, Miss MUNY," he says, and she smiles. "I would certainly be open to trying. With the way everything is right now, I kind of have to be open to anything," she says vaguely. Of course, Austin isn't at all satisfied with this. "What do you mean?" he asks, cocking his head.
She sighs, then waves a dismissing hand. "It's nothing, really. Just a lot of responsibility trying to run the store while looking for a real job and settling back into Miami and everything," she explains. He nods, and she knows he's really, truly listening.
"Trust me, the Ally Dawson I know can definitely handle herself," he assures her. And it occurs to her that maybe the Ally Dawson he knows isn't even her anymore. Maybe she's changed.
"Thanks, I'm scraping by," she says, taking another sip of iced coffee. He looks at her. "You're different," he states, as if he's reading her thoughts.
She furrows her eyebrows and leans in a little closer across the table. "Good different or bad different?" she asks quietly. He smiles and lays his hand on top of hers. "I don't know for sure yet, but I'm thinking it's a good different," he whispers.
This makes her smile, and suddenly she doesn't mind being different anymore.
"Thanks. You're a good different too," she says beaming. He leans in closer. "Ally?" he says, as much of a question as it is a statement. "Hmm?" she asks.
"I'm not losing you again."
She stops. She almost asks him to explain, but she doesn't. She wants to leave that open for her own interpretation.
"I'm not losing you either," she assures him as she grabs his hand. He scans her eyes for a moment.
"Here, contact info," he says, opening his phone so she can put her number in. She adds her mobile, home, work, and e-mail, perhaps to solidify her point that she was not losing contact with him for a second time. He smiles when he sees this. He does the same thing in her phone, adding his mobile, home, work, email, and even his apartment address.
"Is this an open invitation for me to come knocking on your door whenever I want?" she asks jokingly. He flashes a grin. "I wouldn't mind it," he admits, completely seriously. As Ally is putting her phone away, the time catches her eye, and she needs to get back to the store.
"Crap, I really need to get going, I need to get to the shop... I'll see you though, okay? We could grab lunch or something," she suggests as she packs up her laptop. Austin nods. "Definitely. I'll see you, Ally," he says, stepping forward to give her a hug. His palms press against her back, her nose brushes against his shoulder, and suddenly they're hanging on just a moment too long.
"I'll see you later," she says hurriedly as she leaves the cafe. He nods and starts making his way to the back door where his car is.
They both look back, then quickly away.
Then smile.