Hey guys! Anabelgem14 here with another Austin and Ally story! I just wanted to thank everyone for the continued support I've gotten from my story Scream. I hope you'll enjoy this one as well. It won't be very long, and updates might be few and far between. But I have a very big plan for this story. I wanted it to be a one-shot, but it just wasn't possible. The inspiration for this story was the song "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson. (Which I don't own.)

There's not really a way I can summarize it without giving the whole plotline away. Gather what you can from the inspiration, story description, this first chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson. I also don't own any songs that appear in the series.

"Hey Austin, you've gotta check this out!" Austin had just gotten off from his shift at Melody's Diner, and decided to stop in to Sonic Boom before close. He secretly had a craving for pizza, and he wanted to see if they had any left over from last night.

Ally, Dez and Trish were huddled around Trish's computer. When he walked over, Ally pressed play on the video. A very pretty blonde girl came on the screen, holding a guitar. As she began to play, Austin immediately understood what was so amazing- she was singing his song! "Not a Love Song" was streaming through the speakers. It had been taken up a key or two, and it was more of a slow, acoustic version than the actual, but it was still his song.

When the video was over, Austin was nodding appreciatively. "Who is that girl?"

Ally clicked something on the computer. "Her profile says her name is Macy McCallister, age 17 and from right here in South Florida!"

Austin's thoughts flew to duets and collaborations, although when he caught sight of Dez, that train of thought came to a halt.

"Buddy, something wrong?" After no response, Austin snapped his fingers in front of Dez's face.

"Yeah?" Dez answered slowly, and not quite like himself, either.

"What's going on in that crazy brain of yours?" Ally closed the computer as she spoke, and Trish stood, arms cross, waiting for an explanation.

"I think she made me believe in love at first sight." Austin would have thought he was joking. But there wasn't a goofy dance or a reference to something in his backpack. He stood, serious and sincere.

"Whoa. Okay, then."

And then, suddenly, as if the moment had never even happened, Dez was himself again. "I bet her face is really soft. Don't you think? I mean, people with freckles usually have really soft skin. And she has freckles. And that hair? I bet it's natural." This continued for a while.

After a while, Ally closed up the store and the four friends went up to the practice room. They had just posted a video yesterday, and they were planning on answering viewers' questions and emails. However, when someone knocked on the door, everyone was confused. Austin stood up and went to get the door.

The blonde girl from the video, Macy, was standing there. She had a duffle bag and a guitar. "Hi, I'm Macy McCallister. I talked to Ally earlier?"

Ally's face lit up in recognition. "Yeah, I sent you an email! I'm Austin's songwriter. I didn't think you would come so soon, though." She got up and helped the girl set down her belongings. After a quick hand shake, Ally started talking again. "I sent her an email inviting her down here to work on some music with Austin."

Austin grinned. "Cool! You're really talented!" Macy smiled.

Trish made herself known. "Hi, I'm Trish. Austin's manager. And the goofball that has yet to move next to me is Dez. The video director."

Dez heard his name and jumped, his eyes never moving from Macy. He got up and walked over to her. He raised a hand, and she flinched, as if she though Dez was about to hit her. Instead, he only stroked the side of her face. Macy blushed.

"What are you doing?" She stood back up, and craned her neck to look at Dez in the eyes. Although she wasn't that much shorter than the others, it was still something to get used to.

"You have a really soft face." And she laughed. Dez's heart rose. It almost went through the roof when she raised her own hand and touched his face.

"Hmm. You do, too. Did you know that people with freckles usually have really soft skin?" Macy giggled after she was done talking. But she didn't move her eyes away from Dez's.

Everyone else in the room was very shocked. Where was the Dez they were used to? The one who got a starfish stuck to his face and got himself stuck to a giant glue trap?

"I'm Dez."

"Macy."

"Austin!" Austin tried to break the awkwardness in the room. Macy jerked her hand away from his face. Dez reluctantly moved his hand away, too.

"Right. Sorry. Forgot why I was here." She looked around, taking in all the bright colors of the practice room.

"Why are you here? Not to be rude, but your email said you didn't know when you'd be able to get away." Ally asked.

"Well, me and boyfriend got in a… a fight and I had to get away. I didn't think it through, though. I don't have hotel reservations."

"Well, I'd offer my place, but my dumb cousins are staying over this weekend." Trish sounded sincere, but it wouldn't have surprised anyone if that was just an excuse to avoid having a house guest.

"My parents are fighting. They hate it when I come home while they're fighting, they would literally tear each other apart if I brought someone with me." Austin's parents are fighting more and more lately, and it had brought a good song or two out of him. But it still hurt on the inside.

Ally sighed. "My house is out, too. Dad's new girl… is not fun to mess with. I don't even like to go home. I don't want to put you through that."

All eyes went to Dez, and he noticed that Macy's were pleading. "My mom is out of town, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I told her your situation." Macy let out a huge breath, and her face broke into a smile.

"Thank you so much! I promise, I don't normally do this kind of thing."

Dez just smiled. Austin figured he was probably still shocked from meeting the girl that made him believe in love at first sight. He'd have to ask him later.

After a little while just hanging around and snacking on pizza, everyone started to part for home.

Dez was the only one that lived close enough to the mall to walk home. He carried Macy's bag and guitar case. They were silent, but it wasn't awkward. Dez was trying to avoid making himself look like an idiot. He usually didn't care, but he didn't want to scare this girl off. She was already so nice and very pretty and he didn't want to ruin it by running his big mouth. It seemed like Macy didn't want to either, because they remained quiet the whole way home.

After Dez unlocked the door, he started to realize that this may have been a mistake. His mother was just as eccentric as he was, if not more. Crazy paint colors and weird pictures hung everywhere. He glanced sideways at her, catching her very surprised expression.

"Wow." Dez flipped the lights on, and it was even worse.

Macy, however, was smiling. "We have this picture." She pointed at a random picture, but Dez didn't notice which one it was.

"Um, you can either sleep in the guest room or on the couch. I have to warn you, if you pick the guest room, it's hard to find the bed under all of the boxes.

Macy started walking down the hallway that led to the bedrooms. She poked her head into the bathroom, and then the guest bedroom, and then his room. Dez couldn't do anything to stop her, since his hands were still full of her things.

She flipped on the light, and smiled. "I want to sleep in this room."

Dez's mouth literally fell open, and he rushed in after her. "This is my room." Even as he said the words, he knew she would win this argument. He set the bags down on the floor and walked over to where she had sat down on his bed.

"And I like it." Macy smiled. She knew she had won.

Dez rolled his eyes playfully. This girl was going to kill him. It was like another Trish, but without the arguing. And this girl already held the key to his heart.

"Um, you saw the bathroom. Towels are in the closet. Make yourself at home. If you get hungry, holler and I'll hook you up."

He left so that she could change into her pajamas, and went to the living room. He was frantically trying to clean, throwing pillows on the couch and gathering empty glasses and dirty bowls. He was almost done when he heard a throat clear behind him. Macy stood, wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts. Dez's heart leapt out of his chest. He willed his eyes not to wander, and took a deep breath.

"Do you need anything?"

"I'm tired. Do you wanna talk for a while?"

"About what?" He gestured to the couch, and she walked over and plopped down, taking one of the pillows and cuddling it to her chest.

"Anything. We barely know eachother. I'm actually surprised I found a place to stay so easily. Granted, it was with a complete stranger, but still. I kind of feel like I already know you." And so they talked. About music and video games and Austin and Ally and how even though Macy had just met them, she already knew that they liked each other and should be together. They talked about Trish's overbearing attitude. They talked about how Macy had gotten into music. And then the topic landed on her personal life.

"So you mentioned you had a boyfriend?" Dez didn't feel like talking about this, but maybe things were rocky and he could swoop in and keep Macy for himself.

"On-again-off-again. It's kind of like, I can't live with him, but I can't live without him, either."

"So you guys fight?" Macy shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah. A Lot."

"Well, why can't you break up with him? I'm not claiming to be a relationship specialist here, but I think you would be happier with someone who you didn't fight with all the time."

Dez's eyes travelled from Macy's face to her arm. There was a big bruise on her shoulder. His heart sank. He didn't like jumping to conclusions, but he had a pretty solid idea of where this one came from. Bruises that size and shape seldom had more than one origin. His eyes jumped back up to Macy's before she caught him staring at it.

Too late. She turned her shoulder away from his gaze. When he questioned her about the blemish, she simply shrugged. "I think I ran into a wall. I get so many scrapes and bruises, it's hard to remember where I get them." She was avoiding looking at him. He wanted to force her, but that probably wasn't the best approach.

"Macy." He pleaded. When she finally glanced up at him, he pretended like he didn't see the tears forming in her eyes and she pretended like he didn't know about where the bruise actually came from. His thoughts flashed back to earlier in Sonic Boom when he mentioned that this very girl had made him fall in love. He wasn't sure what love was. He wasn't sure if she was in love with her boyfriend. But he was sure that her boyfriend was the one causing her pain. He had probably grabbed her, hit her, called her names, touched her. He had fallen in love with a broken girl. It wasn't anything special about her. But he felt like he needed to be the one that put her back together.

What'd you think? You know the drill, review! I'm always open to critique and suggestions. I'm already working on the next chapter! Please stick with me!

Until Next Time, Anabelgem14