(A/N - Hey! I wasn't planning on posting this until I finished "Playing Matchmaker", but I literally could not wait any longer, and people seem to be pretty excited... So, here it is... MIAMI ARTS.)

"Ally," I shouted, while sprinting into the living room of the Dawson's house. I never really knock any more, Ally and I are close enough that she and her father do not care if I waltz in unannounced. I looked over and saw Mr. Dawson sprawled out on the couch, watching a football game. "Oh, hey, Lester," I called out, waving. He insists that I call him by his first name. "I got your mail for you."

I handed him a stack of envelopes and magazines, except for one, which I shoved into my hoodie pocket, alongside a matching envelope. "Uh, thanks," he said with a confused glance. "Why?"

"Well, when I checked my mailbox this morning," I explained, pulling the two envelopes from my pocket. "I noticed that I got my letter from Miami Arts. I knew Ally had to get hers too, so I raced over here and grabbed hers. I don't want to open mine until she does."

He nodded, smiling. "Oh, I really hope that my baby girl gets in," he said, turning his attention to the mail. "She wants this so badly. I hope you get in as well, Austin. I know how much this means to the two of you."

"Thanks," I said, grinning. "Is Ally in her room?" He nodded, turning his head back towards the television. I thanked him again and raced upstairs to Ally's room, which was empty. I heard water running in her connected bathroom, and her singing as well, so I know that she is taking a shower.

I wish she would hurry up, since I can't take the wait much longer, but there is no sense in rushing her. I flopped down onto her bed and listened to her amazing voice, which was currently at it's full potential. She only sang like that when she was either with me, or completely alone, in her bedroom or shower.

Suddenly, I heard the water turn off, and a few seconds later, the door popped open, revealing Ally soaking wet, wrapped in a towel. "Austin," she shouted, pulling the towel tighter and running towards her closet.

I politely covered my eyes and smiled. "Don't worry, Als," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm not looking. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen it all before. Now hurry up, this is important."

"Yeah," she replied. I could practically hear her eye roll, that's how well I know her. "When we were seven years old. Things have changed a bit since then, Austin." I blushed, knowing she was right, before slamming a pillow over my face. "Just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

Ally and I have known each other practically since birth. Our mothers were in the same lamaze class, and we are a month apart in age. We have grown up together, as best friends, and have always been there for each other. At the age of four, when a mean boy yanked Ally's pigtails, I was the one who yelled at him and made him apologize. At the age of eight, when I fell off my bike and broke my arm, Ally was the one who helped me to my mother. When we were twelve, and Ally's mother died of cancer, I was the one to comfort her. We have been through thick and thin, and have remained best friends through it all.

I know what you're thinking - a boy and a girl have been friends for sixteen years, there must be more than that. Wrong. Ally and I are just friends. I'm not going to lie, I find both her looks and personality attractive, and we have had quite the number of flirty moments over the past few years. However, neither of us have ever admitted to more than friendly feelings, and I don't think that will change any time soon.

Anyway, at the end of our freshman year, Ally and I applied to Miami Arts, a performing arts high school. I applied for performing, while Ally applied for songwriting. We had to go through a written application, which they then made cuts on. Ally and I both made the cut, and the next stage was to audition. Ally was really nervous for hers, due to her stage fright. But, through my persuasion and support, plus a few minor mishaps, she made it onto the stage, and sang her heart out to one of the songs she wrote. To say that she is amazing would be an understatement. Not only are her lyrics wonderful, but she also has a great voice and can play almost any instrument. The perks of having a father who owns a music store. Anyway, I have confidence that both Ally and I nailed our auditions. Now, if she would just hurry up so that we can open our letters...

"You can look now," Ally said, sitting on the end of her bed while tying her curly brown hair into a loose bun. She was wearing a pair of running shorts and one of my old t-shirts. It wasn't exactly an 'Ally' outfit, but we were just chilling around the house, after all.

I pulled the pillow off my face and smiled at her. "Sorry about barging in," I said. She laughed, since, like I said, I walk into her house all the time. I have for many years. "Anyway, it's worth it for the news you're about to get."

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "What is it?" I pulled the envelopes out of my hoodie pocket, and handed her the one with her name. "Oh my gosh," she said, her eyes going wide. "Are these the acceptance letters?"

"Or rejection," I reminded her. She shot me a look, and I put my hands up in defense. "Hey, we can't just assume we got in. A lot of people auditioned, remember?" She sighed and nodded her head. "Okay," I said, clutching my envelope. "You first."

"No, you first," she replied, motioning for me to open my envelope.

I rolled my eyes. "No, you," I said. We continued our banter for a few more moments before I threw my hands up in the air. "Okay, together. One, two, three." We both tore into our envelopes, and I scanned my letter quickly.

After seeing the words, 'Congratulations, Austin Moon', I looked up to Ally excitedly. "I got in," I exclaimed. I scanned Ally's face as it quickly dropped, looking away from the letter, and from me. "No way," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her in a hug. "Als, I promise you're going to be fine. I'm not going to that school without you. If they don't want the best, then they are crazy."

"Thanks Austin," she mumbled into my chest. I pulled away and she wiped at her face before her sad look turned into a broad grin. She flipped the paper around and bounced up and down. "Except, I got in too."

"Ally," I shouted, swatting at her arm playfully. "Don't do that to me. I thought you were being serious. When did you get so good at acting, by the way?"

She giggled. "When I found out that I made it into the best performing arts highschool in Florida," she replied, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm so excited, I can't believe we got in."

"I can," I said, standing up and pulling her into a giant hug. "Als, we made it. We're going to Miami Arts. I'm so proud of you."

"I'm so proud of you, Austin," she said, grinning up at me. "And thank you for helping me get through my audition. Without you by my side, I probably wouldn't have gotten onto the stage, let alone into the school."

"Don't say that," I said, ruffling her hair before sprawling out across her bed, taking up all the room. "You're so talented. You don't need me to help you, I'm just there for moral support."

"Well thanks," she said, as she grabbed her phone. "I have to tell Trish."

I nodded my head, pulling out my own phone. "I should probably tell Dez, too." Trish and Dez are our other best friends, from our current high school. It's going to be hard leaving them for this new school, but we all live pretty close, and hang out together outside of school a lot. We didn't have many classes with them as it is, since Ally and I have higher academic marks than them.

Ally is a whiz when it comes to language arts and science, but I'm a history and math buff. We help each other out, and make pretty great grades in the honors classes at our school. Trish and Dez are pretty smart, but are too lazy to apply themselves, so they are in lower classes. They are both really supportive of our decision for the new school, though, as long as we don't completely abandon them - which we would never even dream of.

After Trish and Dez congratulated us, and we promised to go out to celebrate later, Ally flopped onto what little room was left on her bed. "Als," I groaned, rolling over to give her room. "I was comfortable."

"And now, I'm comfortable," she said, smirking over at me. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. We sat there for a few more minutes, just smiling, until I heard something in the doorway.

"Austin, get off my sister's bed, before I kill you," a voice snapped so harshly, I rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a 'thud'. I looked up to see Ally's seventeen year-old brother, Mason, doubled over laughing. "You should've seen your face," he exclaimed between laughter. "But I was just kidding, bro. You two have been best buds for forever, if you wanted to try something, you would have by now."

"Mason," Ally snapped, blushing lightly. "Get out. Now." He shrugged and walked out of the room before Ally leaned over the side of the bed, her head dropped in embarrassment. Even after sixteen years of friendship, some things still embarrass Ally in front of me. Most of the time, it is the mention of possible romance between us.

Not that I blame her, because even I get a little embarrassed. After being so close for so long, a lot of people think that Ally and I have a sibling-relationship. And although I am very protective of her, it's in more of a best friend way, than a brother way. Because, truth be told, I do have some supressed feelings for my best friend, Allyson Marie Dawson.

Nobody - and I mean nobody - knows that, though. Ally and I are flirtatious, and even though, in the end, we truly care for each other, there is nothing sibling-like about our friendship. "Austin?" she asked cautiously, lifting her head up. "Sorry about Mason."

"It's cool, Als," I said, shooting her a reassuring grin. She smiled in return. "People just don't understand our relationship. You would think our families would, but I guess nobody really believes that a girl and guy can be so close without something else going on." We both chuckled lightly, since we have been mistaken for a couple many times in the past.

"Right," Ally said, although she didn't sound completely convinced. We sat in an awkward silence for a few more moments, before I finally spoke up.

"So, let's go tell our families the great news about our acceptances," I suggested, pulling her to her feet and placing my hand on her back, leading her down the stairs to her father. "Lester," I shouted. "We have big news."

Mr. Dawson looked up at us with interest, and the look he shot me didn't go unnoticed. I silently put my hands up in the air, letting him know it was nothing like that. Ally's father and I have a secret way of communicating, through facial expressions and gestures. He shoots me dirty looks at the thought of me doing anything to Ally - as he probably assumes right now. Although he trusts me and has known me since I was born, I am still a teenage boy, and Ally is a pretty girl. We also use the system to communicate things such as when Ally is in a bad mood, or for me to secretly follow Ally on dates that he thinks aren't suit for her - which is all of them.

I don't think Ally knows of our secret communication, nor would she mind, because we are just looking out for her. I looked back to Mr. Dawson, who made a go-on motion. "Well," Ally said, bursting with excitement. "We both got accepted into Miami Arts."

"That's great," he exclaimed, jumping off the couch and running over to pull us both into hugs. "I'm so proud of you two." We both thanked him and told Mason the news, who was also pretty excited for us. To be honest, Mason isn't a terrible guy. We are actually pretty good friends, since I spend so much time at the Dawson's, and we are only a year apart in age. However, he is extremely lazy, and teases Ally a lot.

We both thanked them and I grabbed Ally's hand, pulling her out the door. "Where are we going?" she groaned, reaching up to fix her hair. "You could have at least let me change clothes."

"Chill, Als," I said, walking down the driveway. "We're just going to my house. And you look beautiful, as always, so don't freak out about your clothes or hair."

"You think I'm beautiful?" Ally asked softly.

I rolled my eyes. "I only tell you that at least once a day," I said, chuckling lightly. But then, I shot her a serious glance. "But, yes, I do think so. You're wonderful, Ally, and you really need to stop underappreciating yourself. That's not how any best friend of Austin Moon should act."

"Well, your confidence is contagious," she said. Then she giggled. "And you have enough of it to fill both of our heads, so I don't think that's a problem." I rolled my eyes once again, and we walked to my house, which was only a few doors down. On top of being in the same lamaze class, our parents also bought houses very close to each other.

I opened my front door and ushered her inside. "Mom," I shouted. She came running into the foyer with a worried look.

"Who's hurt? What did you break? Who do I need to write a check to?" she shot a string of questions at me, before her eyes settled on Ally. "Oh, hello, Ally," she said, pulling her into a hug.

"Hi, Ma," Ally said, grinning at her. Ally often referred to my mother as her own, since her real mother died. None of us mind it all, since Ally is practically family. But, again - there is no sibling-relationship between us. That would be awkward.

"Well, what's the news?" my mother asked. I had briefly mentioned to her and my father before I ran to Ally's that I got my letter, but wasn't opening it yet.

"We both made it in," I said, grinning.

My mother squealed, and pulled us into a giant hug. "Oh, I knew you two would," she exclaimed. "Mike, Elizabeth, get down here." My father and five year-old sister came down the stairs, and we told them the news.

I smiled as Elizabeth latched onto Ally's leg. "Hey, Lizzie," Ally said quietly, giving her a big hug and smile. I grinned, because Ally is always so good with children. Lizzie has taken a particular liking to her, and Ally helps me babysit all the time.

"Well, this calls for celebration," my mother said, clapping her hands. Then, she paused. "Actually, your father and I are going out to eat tonight. Would you mind if we postpone the celebration until tomorrow night? You guys can bring Lester, Mason, Trish, and Dez, too." We nodded, saying it was a great idea. "Oh, and Austin, can you babysit Lizzie tonight?"

I sighed. "Sure thing," I said, ruffling my little sister's hair. Then I ruffled Ally's hair, which was easy since she is almost a whole foot shorter than me. "I got my backup here already, anyway. Do you have plans tonight, Als?"

"Nope," she said, smiling. "I'm free." My mother thanked us both for agreeing to watch Lizzie on such late notice, before grabbing her purse and being ushered out the door by my father.

"Have fun, and please be safe," my mother called over her shoulder. "And Ally, please make sure Austin doesn't try to light anything in the toilet on fire again." I felt my cheeks grow hot at the memory, while Ally laughed beside me, remembering that day as well. Not even that could bring me down right now, though. In one week, summer will be over, but that's okay. Because my best friend and I will be attending the best performing arts highschool in Florida, living our dream.

(A/N - well, that is the first chapter! If you are a reader that follows me story to story, I want to thank you for being so loyal. (: and if you are brand new, welcome, I am Heyitsme517. I wanted to finish my other story first, but I thought I might as well post it, because people seemed pretty excited about it! Now, prove that excitement with some AWESOME reviews! Thanks for reading!)