Austin Moon couldn't believe what he was hearing. And as his friends gathered around him, he couldn't wait to tell them. In a daze, he hung up the phone.
"Well?" Trish prompted.

Austin turned and smiled innocently.

"Look Austin, are you going to tell us or do we have to drag it out of you? Because believe me, we'll do it!"

"Yeah!" Dez chimed in. "And boy did it hurt! Believe me, I know! My shoulder still hurts from the last time we dragged something out of you!" He rubbed his shoulder and winced. "You could stand to lose a few pounds by the way!"

Ally's jaw dropped. "Dez!"

"OW! What?" Dez replied, flinching when Ally hit him on the arm.

"Don't mind him, Austin." Ally said. "What's this big news?"

Austin couldn't hide his grin. "That was Misty Markhurst, the woman from the recording company on the phone. She introduced me to her boss, Roderick Jefferson, the guy who discovered The Base Hit Boys!"

"Who are they?"

Austin, Dez and Trish stared at Ally in disbelief. "Who are they?" Dez asked. "Well duh, they're only the hottest band in Miami right now!"

"Oh..." Ally nodded, wondering why she'd never heard of them.

"Anyway, guess what?"

"What?" Dez, Trish and Ally asked in unison.

"They want me to move to Seattle!" Austin exclaimed.

The three friends could only stand there, speechless.

"Isn't that great?" Austin continued. "I'm going to be a big star!"

"But... You already ARE a big star, Austin!" Ally said. "How can you do this, just leave us like this?"

"Yeah, Austin!" Dez said. "You've got some nerve!"

"Boy Austin, I've heard some selfish things, but this takes the cake! I'm your manager and I have to find out about this with these two?"

"HEY!" Ally and Dez yelled, glaring at Trish.

"Did someone mention cake?" Dez asked. "Oh! What kind?"

Trish rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Austin. "Never mind him. What do you think you're doing?"

"Making a name for myself." Austin explained. "I thought you guys wanted me to be successful and happy."

"We do!" Ally insisted. "But Austin, we'll miss you so much! What will we do without you?"

"You'll be fine!" Austin said, not so reassuringly. "You'll still have the Sonic Boom and you'll have each other! You don't need me for that!"

There was a collective sigh as the three friends tried to take in this disturbing news.

"When are you leaving?" Trish asked.

"Tomorrow." Austin answered. "Look, I've gotta go pack."

And then he was gone.

The three friends stared at each other in disbelief.

"This is unbelievable!" Trish said.

"Worse than unbelievable!" Ally replied, feeling as though she might cry. "This is a nightmare!"

Dez shuddered. "You have those too? Oh good, I thought I was the only one. Last night I had a horrible one! This monster was hiding underneath my bed and-."

Suddenly he let out a loud shriek, startling Ally and Trish.

"Dez!" the girls shouted in unison.

"Sorry." He shrugged. "I can't get that monster out of my head!"

"Not that kind of nightmare!" Trish said, not bothering to hide her exasperated tone.

"It might as well be!" Ally said. "What are we going to do without Austin?"
The thought was almost unbearable and none of them got any sleep that night.

The next morning Ally woke, feeling groggy and more nervous than ever before. It was so hard to believe that her best friend was leaving. Seattle was so far away that it felt like another country.

She laughed remembering Dez's reaction to the news. He was so convinced that Seattle was another planet! He really needed to stop watching so many movies. But truthfully it might as well have been another planet. For without her best friend, her world would turn upside down.

Before she knew it, the foursome was walking into the Miami International Airport toward the gate. It was here that they would say goodbye and Austin would be on his way to Seattle.

The closer they came to the gate, the harder it was for Ally to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. And she knew that Trish and Dez were the same way.

"Flight 415 to Seattle now boarding at Gate 16." The overhead announcement said.

"Guess that's me." Austin said. He took one last glance at his friends and smiled.

"Have a great life in Seattle." Ally said. "I know you'll be a big star, Austin. And I wish you all the best!"

"Just... Don't forget about us little people in Miami." Trish said.

"Yeah! That goes double for me!" Dez added.

"Final boarding call for Flight 415 to Seattle." The overhead intercom blared.

"You'd better go." Trish said. "Goodbye, Austin."

He smiled and hugged Trish tightly. "Thanks for being such a great manager... and a great friend."

After a long moment he let go and went to Dez. But the instant Austin put his hand around his friend, Dez began to cry.

"Don't worry. I won't be that far away." Austin said, rather unconvincingly.

"Are you kidding?" Trish asked. "3300 miles is hardly close!"

"Goodbye Dez." Austin said. "Stay cool!"

Finally he turned to Ally; who was struggling with keeping her tears at bay. He hugged her tighter than ever before; so tight that she could barely breathe, but she didn't care.

"Thanks, Ally. You're the best friend I could ever have." When he finally let go, she brushed away tears and moved to kiss his cheek. "I know you're going to be a great songwriter-because you already are."

After a short silence, Austin glanced at his friends. "I'll miss you a ton... all of you."

Ally hugged him one last time and went to join Trish and Dez.

The three of them stood and waved as Austin turned to go to the plane. And when he was no longer visible, they huddled together like football players and let their tears flow.

"Don't cry." Ally said between sobs. "I-it'll be all right. We'll get along without him somehow."

"Well..." Trish said finally. "I guess we should be going home."

"You're right." Ally said. "Come on, Dez!"

"Can we get some ice cream?" Dez asked. "It always cheers me up."

Just the mention of ice cream lifted Ally's spirits as she and Trish cheered with delight.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Ally said "Let's go!"

"Hey! Wait for me!"

At the very familiar voice they turned around, their eyes widening in stunned amazement.

"AUSTIN!" They yelled at almost the same time.

"W-what are you doing here?" Trish asked.

Austin laughed. "You didn't think you were going to get away with having ice cream without me, did you?"

"B-but... Your plane-You're supposed to be on your way to Seattle right now!" Trish said.

Austin turned and looked through the huge glass window, smiling as the plane pulled away from the gate. "Looks like I missed it."

"But what about your fame and fortune?" Dez asked. "You can't just give that up."

"Sure I can!" Austin said. "And besides... fame and fortune aren't that important to me. But my friends are. We're a team! And nothing's more important than that. I love you guys!"

Trish, Dez and Ally ran to hug him. "We love you too, Austin." Ally said, smiling as they huddled in a group hug, afraid to let go. But when they drew back from one another, Austin proceeded to hug them each individually.

And when he turned to Ally and smiled, she knew that she never wanted him to leave again.

"Thanks, Austin." She said, hugging him even tighter. When she sniffled, he slowly drew back and looked at her in confusion. "Hey, why are you crying? I'm staying! I thought you were happy about that!"

She smiled through her tears. "I am happy, Austin. I'm happier than I ever dreamed."
They all hugged once more and then Austin picked up his suitcases. "Come on; let's go get that ice cream now. My treat!"

They walked out of the airport, their arms linked together, anxious to enjoy their ice cream. But Austin, Dez, Ally and Trish knew that they'd never find anything sweeter than their friendship.

THE END