He's been her best friend for ages. Everyone expected them to get together way back in freshman year, when it was getting less weird to be in a serious relationship. It didn't happen, though, still hasn't happened even though they're sophomores in college together and everyone who doesn't know them thinks they're a couple while everyone who does know them wonders why they aren't.

Guys and girls can be friends without dating, they try to tell everyone. They're just friends. They'll never be anything but just friends.

But for some reason, people consider it odd that just friends spend pretty much every second of their free time together. They think it's strange that just friends have gotten to the point where they can't sleep without each other next to them. They don't understand how just friends have literally been each other's first everything because they trust each other that much.

Well, the only thing he hasn't been is her first boyfriend. But she's still waiting on that.

The main thing that seems to bother people is how despite everything, nothing between them has ever been awkward. It doesn't matter what people have said about them flirting or being totally in love. They just brush it off. By now they're used to it, but even when the comments first started they didn't really bat an eye.

The remarks about them being like a couple aren't even the worst of it, though. Surely things would be awkward after they kissed. They were each other's first kiss. But they had just hugged and taken one last look at the mistletoe above them and gone back to whatever they were doing before he got the genius idea to kiss her.

Things would definitely be awkward waking up next to their best friend after sleeping with them, right? There's no way things wouldn't be awkward.

Unless these best friends happened to be Austin and Ally.

Their friends have asked them about it a million times, and it's the same story because, well, it's the truth. They got up, got dressed, ate some Lucky Charms and went on with their day.

For some reason no one seemed to be able to understand that. It was three years ago; they should really get over it.

He's her best friend. She doesn't care what they've done, how they act, what kinds of looks they give each other. There is no way that he will ever be anything but her best friend.

"For the last time, you aren't a bad person!"

He sets down his coffee cup and flicks her nose. She still feels guilty.

"But the turtle was looking at me like I was betraying it! I should've just bought it."

"Ally, reptiles don't feel emotions!"

"This one did!"

"You're ridiculous."

"And you have no soul!"

"Where would you even keep the dumb thing? You hardly have enough room in your dorm as it is."

"In your apartment," she says with a nonchalant shrug. "I practically live there anyway."

"Maybe I don't want a turtle living in my apartment."

"It would keep you company when I'm not there."

"You're always there."

"It would keep us company when our friends are all on dates and we're lonely."

He looks at her, and she holds his gaze.

"Ally, we're not getting a turtle."

"It's just like a dog! But smaller and harder. And slower."

"I don't want a turtle living in my apartment! Dez would do something stupid and it'd be dead in a week, anyway."

Ally frowns, her eyebrows knitting together. She takes a sip of her coffee and he watches her.

"Fine. But if you get a girlfriend and the two of you get a turtle, I'm never speaking to you again."

He rolls his eyes. She mocks him.

"So, what's been going on with you and Cassidy?" he asks her.

She sighs and sips her coffee, thinking about her friend.

"She's just been being really irritating and obnoxious lately. I don't know what her deal is. She's, like, mad at me because I'm your best friend. It's stupid."

"What do I have to do with it?" he wonders, knitting his eyebrows together.

"The usual," she replies. "Apparently it's a waste because we're best friends and not together. But if she were your best friend, you two would've already been dating for years, according to her."

"Well, that isn't really being best friends then, is it?" he says. "That's being a couple. Honestly, I still don't understand why it bothers everyone so much."

"Well, girls are jealous because they like you yet I'm the one closest to you. You know that whole situation." She rolls her eyes.

"Can't they mind their own business?"

"They're just mad because you don't like me but you won't date any of them."

"Because they're all annoying."

"True."

They tap their cups together and drink the rest of their coffee.

Later that night, he stays up listening to her rant for hours, even though she can see him struggling to keep his eyelids from drooping.

"Ally, there isn't really much you can do," he finally tells her.

"There has to be! She failed me for giving the 'wrong answer!' The essay was supposed to be our definition of beauty! How-I don't understand how there can be a wrong answer for that!"

"Me neither. Did you ask her about it?"

"Yeah. She said that things can't be beautiful if you can't see, smell, hear, touch, or taste them. How ridiculous is that?! Like, I said that love is beautiful. How could she possibly fail me for that?!"

"I don't know, Ally. It's three a.m. and I get that it's unfair and all that but I'm tired and I know you're exhausted. You still have an A in the class. Let's just go to bed."

She sighs and lays down next to him. He drapes his arm over her and pulls her into him, her back pressed against his chest.

Her tense muscles relax and she closes her eyes.

She's always liked being the little spoon. Something about being enveloped in his big body comforts her. She tucks her head under his chin and drifts off to sleep.

She wakes up with her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. She smiles at the comfort he gives her, how normal this is, how lucky she is to be able to wake up like this every day next to her best friend.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she says, poking the blonde's cheek.

He groans sleepily and turns on his side, draping his other arm over her and pulling her legs between his. He settles into his new position and starts snoring again. Ally giggles.

"Austin, wake up." She places her cold fingers under his chin to try to wake him, as well as to warm herself.

He doesn't even flinch. All he does is pull her closer into his chest.

"Austin."

"Mmmm," he whines, not opening his eyes. "Go back to sleep."

"I don't want to. Get up."

The boy opens his eyes and looks at her.

"Bossy."

She grins at him, scrunching her nose. He rolls his eyes.

Everything is right in the world.

When he gets a girlfriend, everything is not right in the world.

She's lonely and she always has an uneasy sinking feeling in her stomach, as if she's constantly free-falling. She hates free-falls.

He blows her off to go on dates, and sometimes she falls asleep alone in his apartment.

But Austin is always in bed next to her when she wakes up. Always.

One day, he tells Ally that he planned for her and the girl to go out to lunch. He explains that the girl feels threatened by Ally, because apparently it's odd that he has a girl pretty much living with him that isn't his girlfriend, even if she's his best friend. All Ally has to do is become friends with her, reassure her that she and Austin are just friends.

Within five minutes of talking to the girl, Ally can pick out what made Austin like her and what will make Austin break up with her.

She's confident, beautiful, sweet, and polite.

But she hardly ever smiles, and her blue eyes are cold. She can't take a joke, and when Ally orders a burger, the girl gives her a look of disgust behind her oh-so-healthy salad.

Another thing, the girl isn't particularly nice to Ally.

"So, you live with my boyfriend."

"Well, not technically," Ally says, swallowing a bite of her food. "But kinda."

"You need to stop."

"He's my best friend. I swear, I'd never try to steal him from you. If I wanted him, I would've told him years ago."

"I don't care. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"I'm sorry, but you can't tear me apart from my best friend. I won't let you do that, and neither will he. I'm not competition, I promise."

"Oh, I know you're not competition. You couldn't take him even if you tried. But I know you're lying about not having feelings for him."

Well, that stung.

"I'm not lying."

The girl laughs bitterly.

"Whatever you say, Ally."

It takes him all of two weeks to break up with the girl. And Ally doesn't even tell him about their encounter.

But now it's Valentine's Day, and they're both single, and it kind of really sucks. They don't have plans, so they hang out in his apartment and watch Disney movies.

She's wearing his clothes. She knows he did laundry yesterday and she probably has plenty to choose from in her designated drawer, but his boxers and old t-shirts are more comfortable, in her opinion.

After two movies, they're bored. They each have a beer, and then they're drunk, but not really.

"I'm still bored," he says.

"Me too."

"It's Valentine's Day."

"I know."

"Wanna have sex?"

"Sure."

And then his lips are on hers and she's not wearing his clothes anymore.

She's listening to Trish and Cassidy talk from around the corner.

"Yeah, I think she loves him," Trish says.

"Me, too."

"But I don't think she realizes it."

"She must not, or she would've told us already."

"True."

"Hey guys," she hears Dez say as he walks over. "What's up?"

"Do you think Ally's in love with Austin?" Cassidy asks.

"Doesn't everyone?" Dez replies.

"She doesn't."

"Really? Even Austin knows she's in love with him."

"You're kidding," Trish says.

"Nope. Did you know they slept together again?"

"What?!" the girls exclaim.

"Yeah, on Valentine's Day. Austin said they were drunk, but they can't have been that drunk. He said he fell even more in love with her than he already was."

He's in love with her?! He's been in love with her?! How does she not know these things?!

The girls squeal, and she hears Dez chuckle.

"He told me they haven't talked about it, so I wouldn't bring it up," he says.

Ally doesn't stick around to hear the rest. She marches to Austin's apartment and bangs on his door.

He opens it, looking confused.

"Hey, Ally. What's wrong?"

"Are you in love with me?" she asks.

"Yes."

Her breath hitches. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"How-how long have you been in love with me?"

"How long have I known you?" he replies.

"What?"

"What?"

"You….You're…"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"This doesn't screw up our plans to see that movie tomorrow, right? I've been wanting to see it for ages."

And just like that, she can breathe again.

A few weeks later, they're officially dating. She doesn't remember him asking her, but all of a sudden he's holding her hand and kissing her and treating her like the queen he says she is.

She hasn't told him she loves him because she doesn't think she does. But he's been telling her that he can see that she loves him, even if she can't. And apparently that's all he needs.

She won't deny that she likes him. Because now that they're dating, she realizes she does. But love is a little much, and she can't really see herself ever loving her best friend. It's absurd.

Dating him is a blur. A heavenly, blissful blur, but still a blur.

But then it's been months and all of a sudden he's on one knee and he's proposing and things are moving so so so fast and she's confused and feels kind of sick.

"I know you don't know you love me yet, but that's okay. You will. All I know is that I want to be yours forever and I kind of already am so why not make it official? You're my best friend and my first everything and I've loved you since the day we met and I'm gonna keep loving you till death do us part. And I'll probably still love you after that. I know we haven't even been dating for a year but to me it feels like we have and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. So will you marry me?"

Her heart tells him yes before her brain has time to process, and then he's kissing her and her brain stops working all together.

She's walking down the aisle at her wedding, her freaking wedding with her best friend and she still isn't sure if she loves him. But apparently everyone else is and none of it makes any sense but the way her heart is skipping beats and her stomach is full of butterflies is enough to assure her that things are gonna turn out okay, that her heart is better at decision making than her brain at the moment.

Her hands start shaking when she gets close to him and she sees the way he's looking at her. There's a grin on his face and his eyes are swirling with emotions and suddenly she can't wait to marry this boy because she's going to spend the rest of her life with her best friend and it'll be more fun than she's ever had before in her life.

He takes her hands in his and leans down to whisper in her ear.

"I know you're not sure quite yet and you're terrified, but it's okay. We're gonna be okay and I'm sure enough for the both of us to last until you know."

He squeezes her hands and she's calm and excited and she grins because she may not know if she loves him yet but there isn't anyone else she'd rather get married to.

She's been his wife for about a month when she has an epiphany. It's three a.m. but it comes to her as clear as day.

She loves him. She's loved him for years but it hasn't ever hit her because all the little pieces of the puzzle that made her fall in love with him have been too small for her brain to put together. Her heart has always known, but her mind has been spending years working on this puzzle. And now she's places the last piece and she loves him. She loves him so so so much and she grins at the ceiling because he's her husband and her first everything and oh goodness she loves him.

"Austin," she whispers, shaking him gently. "Austin, are you awake?"

"It was just a dream," he says, half asleep. "Go back to bed."

"Austin, I didn't have a nightmare. Wake up."

He turns on his side to face her and she sees his swirling hazel eyes in the darkness.

"What're you smiling at?"

"I love you."

She expects him to shoot straight up in bed and turn the light on, start grilling her about how and when she realized it. She expects him to grin and celebrate and be as excited as she is.

But he doesn't do that.

All he does is give her a sleepy smile and close his eyes again.

"I love you, too."

And then he drapes an arm over her and pulls her into him.

She's confused for a while, but then it hits her.

He's known she loved him for a while. He's been telling her that since they started dating. He isn't surprised at all. He's happy that she finally realized it, yes, but this isn't a shocker to him. This is just her finally coming to her senses.

And then she realizes another thing. The only celebration he needs is being able to add that fourth word to the statement he's been telling her for a year.

With her head pressed against his chest, she can hear his heart pounding, and though he's pretending to be asleep, she knows he's going to be up for a while, just thinking. Thinking about their memories, their future together, how it was always gonna end up this way, no matter how long it took.

So she lifts her head to press her lips to his, and she smiles when he gives up his act to kiss her back. Then she pulls away and rests her head on his pillow because hers is too far away from him.

She thinks about how many times she's fallen asleep next to him, but none of those times has been like this. Because now she loves him and this means something and she'd really like it if she could stay here forever.

I really don't know what this is but it'd be cool if you reviewed it.