Ally reached for another pickle, crunching it in her mouth as quietly as she could. The silence that surrounded her was deafening. She focused on her glass of water which shook every time there was a movement around the table.

Sitting on the opposite side of her was her boyfriend's parents, Mike and Mimi Moon, and on both ends of the table were her divorced parents, Lester and Penny Dawson. Nobody made the slightest effort of a conversation, the only sounds heard were the echoes of forks and knives scraping against plates.

Finally, Ally was grateful for her boyfriend's decision to break the silence. He clears his throat, swipes his hand through his blonde hair and says, "Well, it finally rained today."

"Mhm," hummed Penny in response, making Austin purse his lips. Ally bit on the inside of her cheek. She knew her mother could be a little bit...hostile. She didn't agree with Ally's friendship with a 'rock star'. Ally only grew more anxious to know her mother's reaction when she finds out that he has now become her boyfriend, as of a few weeks ago.

"The salad was good," Ally managed to blurt for further small talk.

Ally breathed in relief when she got some acknowledgement, "Yes, it was quite lovely. Kudos to you, Penny," says Mimi, Austin Moon's mother. Mimi had calculated how many resentful stares Penny had given her, but was now caught off guard by the appreciative smile.

Penny then replies, "Thank you, Mimi."

"Hm, I preferred the steak," voices out Lester, scrounging around on his plate for any pieces of the steak left over.

"The steak was mighty delicious," adds Austin's father, Mike Moon. Ally and Austin felt their tense muscles relax at the conversation that is suddenly spread around the table. Austin and Ally exchange glances with one another.

Ally reaches for another pickle just to find the bowl was empty. She hadn't realized she'd eaten the entire thing due to her bubbling anxiety. She normally ate pickles when she was nervous, she never could quite elaborate on this relaxation method of hers.

Ally retracts her hand and settles for a bun, ripping it into tiny pieces and chewing slowly. She was dreading the moment she would need to tell her parents about her new relationship. After all, Austin was her first real boyfriend - Not that she dated fake ones! Austin was just one that finally really mattered to her. The last one she had was at a Summer Camp in the seventh grade and it only lasted as long as the camp did and they never spoke again. She doesn't even remember if they ever ended it at all. Does that mean she's technically cheating on him?

All Ally hears when she zones back in is: "Ally and I have something we'd like to share with all of you." She thinks she feels her face pale.

"Oh?" voices Mimi, dropping her fork onto her plate, setting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together beneath her chin as she lifts her eye brows curiously.

Lester crumples his dirty napkin into a ball and drops it onto his plate which is now only covered in left over barbeque sauce. He pushes his plate away from him and focuses on the attractive couple, silently announcing that they have been given his attention.

"Right, we do," Ally says, nervously. Austin gives her a look and she immediately shuts up, poking at a piece of steak on her plate with her fork.

"Ally, don't play with your food," scolds Penny, making Ally quietly drop her fork and feel a shade of crimson cover her cheeks.

"Well, son? What is it?" Mike pokes. Austin looks at Ally, but by the looks of it she wanted no part in what they agreed to say. He takes a deep breath. It looks like he's on his own. He reaches for the hand that's in her lap, feeling more relaxed when she takes it, lacing her fingers with his. Her nervous grip on his hand was so tight he could feel the pulse through her finger tips as if it was its own heartbeat.

Austin nervously glances at Penny. She was really the only obstacle making this topic hard. He knew she didn't particularly like Ally hanging out with him so he wondered how she would take it knowing they'd be spending a lot more time together. "Well," he begins, "Ally and I have been friends for a while," Penny felt her soft smile slowly fade when she knew exactly where this was going, "We have spent a lot of time together, we learned a lot about each other. Now we are mature eighteen year olds who have decided to take the next step-"

"-Ally, you're releasing your music?" blurted Lester, shocked. Last time he checked, Ally was quite the shy gal.

"-No, we have-"

"-Oh my gosh, Austin, you're going on a World Tour, aren't you?" squealed Mimi.

Sighing, Austin says, "No, would you listen-"

"- Even better! Austin, you've written your own music for the first time!" Mike exclaims, causing an excited ruckus around the table. Austin lets out a frustrated sigh, biting on his cheek impatiently as he waits for their silence. Ally's eyes fall over to her mother and gulps tightly when she sees her mother not in on the conversation, in fact, her mother is staring at her plate with an intense look. She's thinking.

"Dad, Mom, Lester, could you listen to what I actually want to say-"

"We already know, son!" grins Mike.

"We are so proud!" chimes Mimi.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Austin!" shrieks Lester.

"They're dating." Blurts Penny, her voice was devoid of emotion and her face carrying a flat look. The table falls into an increasingly vast silence. Austin feels himself tense and Ally's grip on his hand tightens further more.

"I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong. What was that?" Lester finally lets out, leaning forward and touching his ear lobe as if it would change the volume of his hearing.

Austin swallows thickly, "Ally and I have decided to start dating."

"...So I didn't hear wrong," mutters Lester. Mimi blinks animatedly, staring at the couple. Mike's face is still besides his gapped lips. Why weren't they expecting this?

Lester goes in for the kill again, "Well, this was unexpected."

"Was it?" Mimi replies suddenly, a smile breaks out on her lips making the couple relax slightly, "I, for one, am happy for the two of you."

"Told you she wouldn't be a hard egg to crack," Austin mutters. Ally holds back a giggle, her eyes turning towards Mike.

"I am processing," he voices out, noticing the stares on him.

Mimi looks to her husband, "What's taking so long?" she asked, "Your son has a girlfriend that just so happens to be his Ally." His Ally. That made Ally smile slightly.

That seemed to narrow it down for Mike. It still took a couple seconds before he manages a grin and holds out his fist, "Way to go, Bud." Austin stares at the fist questioningly before slowly reaching his arm out and fist-bumping his Dad. "It was my Lady Advice, wasn't it?" he winks at his son.

"No, Dad, it wasn't," mumbles Austin. Mike shrugs.

Lester was staring at the two, "Ally, are you happy?" he asks. Ally nods slowly. She hadn't uttered a peep this entire time. "Then I am happy and more than willing to accept this news." Ally smiled at her Dad but then she bit her tongue when she looked casually over to her mother.

"Mom?" she managed to finally get out.

Penny was staring intensely at the two of them. How did she feel about her daughter dating a musician? Absolutely aggrieved! Rock stars only break hearts and want idealistic love which they never seem to find! She would not let this boy tear her daughter's heart out. But she watches Ally's eyes glance nervously to Austin, who is only biting his lip and waiting for her acceptance, searching for a piece of comfort to put her mind at ease. She used to stare at Lester like that once - but that ended in divorce.

"I'm not sure about this," blurted Penny. Ally thought she felt her heart break, but she knew whether her Mom accepted it or not, she was going to date Austin Moon anyways.

Lester stared at his ex-wife, "Oh, come on, Penny, don't be such a hard-head!" Penny looks over to ex-husband, raising her eye brows, daring for him to say something like that to her again. Lester shrinks in his seat. Penny was an intimidating woman. Lester had managed to work around that while he was married to her but he has grown to forget those points since she'd been in Africa for so long. He was also sure that the divorce made Penny a lot more bitter than she'd ever been.

"Alright," says Mimi nervously, "Let's simmer down, just a tad," she gestures a downward motion with her hands.

Penny refocused on the couple. "This is a bone-headed decision, Allyson." Ally fought the urge to roll her eyes. Austin only gulped. "But," she gave a tight-lipped smile, "I can see that you are happy and Austin seems to have his heart in the right place...I'll accept this. I'll accept your relationship with him."

Ally's eyes grew big. To be strictly honest, she was sure her mother would ban her from seeing him again and she would have to spend the rest of her life sneaking away with Austin. But now she didn't have to; she was allowed to see Austin, to pursue a career with him or a friendship, to pursue a relationship with him!

"Thank you!" Ally exclaimed, far too happy to be shy for once in her life. Austin and Ally embrace.

"Yeah, ok, I accepted it but I don't want to see this!" she snapped, swatting them with a napkin and they immediately jumped apart. Both of their cheeks growing red. Ally tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down at her plate. Austin and Ally exchanged glances, smiles tugging on their lips.

"Would anyone like pie?" Penny questioned when there was a tension in the air. Immediately, everyone volunteered for a piece. Everything seemed to fit in place; their music, their relationship, their life. Everything was perfect. They were happy.