A/N: Hello, lovely readers! :) This is my first one shot, so I would appreciate you giving me your opinion once you read it. It is based on a song by Brantley Gilbert called "More Than Miles", and I highly suggest you listen to it before reading. Although I did have to change the lyrics a bit to fit the plot. Sorry if some of the lyrics are a bit off, I wrote them myself instead of copying and pasting. :) Also, it's in Austin's POV. Hope you enjoy it!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Austin & Ally nor do I profit from it in any way. I also do not own the song "More Than Miles" by Brantley Gilbert, but I did change the lyrics a bit. No, story's cover image does not belong to me.
Italics indicate lyrics.
"Are you really going?" Ally asks me as I slammed the trunk on my car.
"Yeah," I whisper, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and wiping the first tear off of her cheek, "it's for the best."
I was going to pursue my dream by going to the music capitol of the country: Nashville. I was going for a record deal, and to just get out of Miami for a while. The hardest part was leaving my girlfriend of five years, Ally Dawson. She is also my songwriter, so it's going to be hard for me to do this on my own. She needs to stay here, though, in Miami. With her job and family and house. We met in high school, and began dating as seniors. Now we were 23 years old, and we lived together and recorded our music together. It was going to be hard to go solo for a while.
She wraps her arms around my waist and locks her crying eyes with my own dry ones. "Please don't leave me."
I willed myself to stay strong, for her. She had never seen me cry, and I didn't plan on it tonight.
I walk to the passenger door of my car, and pick up my six string acoustic guitar where I had placed it on the ground leaning against my car a few minutes before. I open the passenger door and place the guitar there. I can nearly hear her heart breaking, because this is where she would normally sit. I don't know why I hadn't decided to just put it in the back, and I especially don't know why I put it in her seat right in front of her eyes.
The sun was just beginning to set, casting shadows over the driveway. She sobs in to my chest as I smooth out her hair. As much as I need to get going, I'll have to wait for her to calm down some. I decide to take her hand and lead her to the front porch, where she sits on one of the stairs. I bend down in front of her as the tears continue to fall.
"It's not forever, Ally." I whisper, giving her hand a squeeze. "As soon as I get a record deal, you can move to Nashville with me. And be my songwriter, of course. For now, though, you need to keep your job and keep the house going just in case I don't get a record deal. Just as a precaution."
She sniffles her nose, and her voice shakes as she says, "I just wish I could come with you. I'm going to miss you so much."
My eyes begin to water with tears, but I blink them back. I bend down and give her a long, sweet, lingering kiss.
"I love you." I tell her.
She smiles weakly and replies "I love you too."
It's time for me to go now. I squeeze her hand one last time before turning around and walking to my car. I didn't look back, because it hurts too much.
For the first time in my life, I'm questioning my career. Was this the right thing to do? Leave Ally, my other half? Sure, it's not forever, but still.
Her picture is taped to my dashboard. My favorite picture of her. She's smiling in it, holding a cone of fruity mint swirl ice cream, and she has it all over her face. That was when we were in high school, before we even started dating. We were best friends though, and partners.
I run a nervous hand through my hair, wondering if she was still sitting on the porch, crying. I check the clock. It's only been an hour since my departure, so it was pretty likely. I sigh, gripping the wheel tighter, willing myself to stay strong, and keep going.
I need something to distract me. I turn on the radio, but every single station I hit is playing some sappy love song. I groan, turning it back off. Obviously, there wasn't going to be any way to distract me from her.
I steal a glance at my guitar, and think... Maybe I could try coming up with some lyrics? No, I've never written any before, because I'm simply not good at it. Ally has always written my songs. However, if I'm going to be in Nashville for the next few months, I'm going to be on my own for a while, and I would need to learn to do things for myself. Since I only have my acoustic guitar with me, my usual pop style is going to have to evolve in to a calmer sound while I'm deprived of my studio, so I guess I'll have to get used to that, too.
I think and think, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't think of anything other than Ally to think up lyrics about. So I give in.
I glance at her picture again in the dim light as the cars heading South on the highway pass by me. It hurts to look at it, realizing that she's back there. Without me.
"Maybe I should take that off..." I sigh, but I know I'd never be able to do it. Suddenly, I realize that could be my opening line.
"Maybe I should take that picture off the dashboard," I sing it, and I like it.
The next line nearly slides off of my tongue without me even having to think about it.
"Before memory hits the brakes and takes the wheel,"
I grin. Even though my thoughts were making my heart ache, I could see this song turning in to a good one.
"Maybe I should take that picture off the dashboard,
Before memory hits the brakes and takes the wheel.
Yeah, I bet she's still crying on that front porch,
Yeah, this time it's gonna take some time to heal."
I was amazed that in only a few minutes I had thought up an entire verse of lyrics, and sang them to myself as I drove. I was honestly feelings really proud of myself, despite the tears that were occasionally rolling down my cheeks. I wipe them away quickly, embarrassed, even though there's no one here to see my cry this time.
The next part was going to be the chorus, so it needed to have a lot of meaning. Not that the first verse didn't have meaning, but since the chorus will be repeated more than once, it needs to be really good. So, I decide to start with the obvious.
"'Cause I'm on my way to Tennessee," I sing. Not bad.
"Singing Florida On My Mind,"
Is that even a real song? I wonder hopelessly, because I have no idea. I continue anyway.
"Chasing what they say's the dream,"
Okay yes, this was definitely the dream. Going out on my own, getting a record deal. I felt the happiness boiling in my chest, but it was quickly chilled when I realized that Ally wasn't there beside me. Just that stupid guitar.
I sigh and my voice falters as I sing the next line.
"Thinking maybe it ain't mine."
I'm easily able to finish the chorus as my thoughts wander to Ally over and over again. I can't even look in my rearview mirror at this point, because I know she's back there, wondering. Waiting for me to turn around. And yet, I'm stuck. My head is telling me one thing, and my heart is telling me another.
"'Cause I'm on my way to Tennessee,
Singing Florida On My Mind,
Chasing what they say's the dream,
Thinking maybe it ain't mine.
'Cause that girl's in every song I sing,
She's in every song I write.
And that six string riding in her seat,
Won't keep me warm tonight.
God, what am I supposed to do?
There's more than miles in my rearview."
It takes me a little over five hours to cross the Florida line in to Georgia. I can't believe I've gone this far. It's late at night, now, and I'm sure Ally is tossing and turning in bed, longing for my warmth just as much and I long for her to be right here beside me, laughing as we sing along to the radio, or telling me that I'm driving too recklessly, or even just laying her head on her palm asleep. I missed her so much.
I had finished the song. Well... All but the last verse. Because I have no idea how to end this song, the first successful song I've ever written. And it's really good, if I'm being honest.
I'm still crying, believe it or not. I feel weak. Every now and then, I even beat my hand on the steering wheel. I just keep singing the song over and over, trying, unsuccessfully, to try to resolve it.
"Maybe I should take that picture off the dashboard,
Before memory hits the brakes and takes the wheel.
Yeah, I bet she's still crying on that front porch.
Yeah, this time it's gonna take some time to heal.
'Cause I'm on my way to Tennessee,
Singing Florida On My Mind.
Chasing what they say's the dream,
Thinking maybe it ain't mind.
'Cause that girl's in every song I sing,
She's in every song I write.
And that six string riding in her seat,
Won't keep me warm tonight.
God, what am I supposed to do?
There's more than miles in my rearview.
I'm heading North to what I swore I wanted,
Trying not to bide to my doubts.
But I just can't seem to keep myself from wondering,
Why I'm jealous of these headlights headed South.
'Cause I'm on my way to Tennessee,
Singing Florida On My Mind,
Thinking maybe it ain't mine.
'Cause that girl's in every song I sing,
She's in every song I write.
And that six string riding in her seat,
Won't keep me warm tonight.
God, what am I supposed to do?
Yeah.
'Cause there's still more than miles in my rearview.
Ohh.
Yeah, more than miles.
Well, I've been changing lanes without my mirrors.
'Cause every time I look behind me,
I see her.
I think I just realized how much I need her.
Damn."
My voice catches in my throat as I know what I have to do. I've known all along, but I've just been ignoring it. I was so sure I could do this, by myself. I'm so stupid to ever think that I could go off and leave her.
I pull off the next exit, and find my way back to the highway. Except this time, it's not going North.
It's going South.
I gain speed as I begin the five hour drive back to Ally. My Ally. My sweet, sweet, Ally.
I turn to that guitar and pick it up with my right hand, moving it to the back seat. I feel a weight lifted off of my heart, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Ally will come with me to Nashville. We'll do this together. Screw all my doubts. Screw all my thoughts. I needed Ally, and she needed me. There was simply no other way. I have no idea what I was thinking. I feel the tears finally stop falling as I come up with the final verse. And it's perfect.
"So I'm turning back for Florida,
Stopping short of Tennessee.
I can't put my dreams before her,
Man, I need her helping me,
Yeah.
'Cause that girl's in every song I sing,
She's in every song I write.
And that six string riding in her seat,
Can sleep in the back tonight.
And now I know what I'm supposed to do,
Yeah,
'Cause there's still more than miles in my rearview.
Oh, oh.
More than miles,
Yeah.
More than miles."
I pull back in to the driveway as the sun begins to rise. I've gotten back much faster than it took me to get to my turning point, because I sped the whole way back.
I turn off the ignition, jump out of the car, and sprint on to the porch and bust through the front door.
"Ally!" I call.
I soon hear the pitter patter of her feet coming from the bedroom. She has obviously just woken up, but her eyes are bright as she spots me.
She doesn't hesitate as she runs and jumps in to my arms, and I don't hesitate as I spin her around happily. She's crying, and so am I. And I honestly couldn't care less.
"Ally," I whisper, "I can't do this without you. Please, I need you."
She chuckles happily in to my neck, her breath hot. "I've been waiting for you to walk through that door and say that since the minute you left."
As she trots off to pack her bags, I smile, my heart fluttering. Ally would always be more important than my career, and I would always need her by my side. I thank God silently for putting it through my head that I needed to turn around.
I wipe my face dry of the happy tears, and smile as I look out the window at my car.
The passenger seat was empty, waiting for her.
The song I wrote in the car that night goes platinum, after I've gotten a record deal and Ally and I have moved in to Nashville for a while. We hope to relocate to Los Angeles later, but for now, this would do.
Ally had bawled when she heard the song for the first time. I had managed to keep my own tears down. The song still got to me, but not as much as it had at first.
I had a feeling I'd be playing that song until my very last gig.
A/N: PLEASE review and favorite! :) It would mean a lot if you left me feedback to let me know how it was. I worked really hard on it! Thanks so much for reading. :)