Summary: "The only thing I want in the world is you." 6 months after leaving her, Austin tries to win back Ally. One-shot.
A/N: This should've been expected. Taylor Swift has a new album out, I couldn't not write a one-shot based off one of the songs. Even if it did take three weeks to complete (school is taking over my life). But anyways.
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or "How You Get The Girl" by Taylor Swift.
stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain. she'll open up the door, and say, "are you insane?" say it's been a long 6 months, and you were too afraid to tell her what you want
Over the sound of the pouring rain, she hears a loud knock on her door. Confused (who would be outside in this weather?), she walks to the front of the house and opens the door - only to find the last person she ever expected to see again standing in front of her.
She shakes her head. "Are you insane?" she says to him as he shivers from the rain. He only shrugs in response.
She crosses her arms and leans against the doorframe. "What are you doing here?" she asks, not bothering to keep her bitterness out of her tone.
He sighs. "Look, I know you probably hate me after what happened -"
"Oh, it's not probable," she interrupts.
He continues as if she hadn't spoken. "It's been a long 6 months since I last saw you, Ally, and in that time I've been doing a lot of thinking. I realized something about myself, and how I was too afraid to tell you what I want. What I really want," he explains.
"And what's that?"
He opens his mouth to answer, then closes it again. "Can we go inside first? It's freezing out here and I'm soaking wet."
She sighs, but turns around and lets him follow her into the house without a word.
and that's how it works. that's how you get the girl
She hands him a cup of coffee and sits in the chair across from him. It's hot to the touch, but it's refreshing after the cold and wet weather outside.
He glances around the living room (he resists calling it their's, though at one point it was) and comments, saying, "You've redecorated."
She nods, lifting up her own cup of coffee. "Yeah," she says quietly, then quickly adds, "There was some trash lying around that needed to be disposed of."
"Okay, I probably deserved that," he mutters.
"Again with the probably," she retorts.
He doesn't reply to this, knowing she's right. After everything that happened between them, he shouldn't be surprised at her hostility towards him. But that doesn't stop it from hurting him at least a little. He was hoping she would be somewhat nice to him. He did come back, after all. He came back for her.
She speaks up again. "Seriously, Austin, why are you here? You said you had something to tell me. What is it?"
He nods, then sets his coffee cup on the table between them. "You're right, I do," he says. "I just don't know where to start."
She shrugs then says, "Start at the beginning, I guess."
remind her how it used to be with pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks. tell her how you must've lost your mind when you left her all alone and never told her why
When she said the beginning, she was thinking the beginning of his life after he left her, or maybe the beginning of his realization of how wrong he was to do so. But she certainly didn't mean the beginning of their relationship, which is where he happens to decide to start.
He's looking at the fireplace next to them when he begins. He points to the ledge above. "Where are all the pictures?" he asks.
She follows his gaze to the currently bare mantel, sighing. "I got rid of them," she admits. "I got rid of a lot of things."
"Right," he mutters.
She waits for him to start speaking again. When he doesn't, she says, "Well?"
He looks back at her. "Oh, sorry," he says. He pauses before adding, "It's just a little weird being in here without all of our things."
She ignores her feeling of agreement as he continues.
"Remember when we were 17? We'd just gotten back together and so to sort of 'celebrate' it we went back to the store and ended up making out for an hour?" He chuckles at the memory. "The empty mantel kind of reminded me of that. We took a lot of pictures together, some I remember putting up there." He smiles, then tugs his phone out of his pocket, swiping through it. "I still keep a few on here, to remind me of home. Our home. Especially this one you took when I kissed your cheek after we moved in. Sometimes it makes me feel like nothing's changed. But it has. And not one day goes by that I don't regret what I did."
She speaks up. "Then why did you leave me?"
He meets her gaze. "I didn't want you getting hurt because of me."
and that's how it works. that's how you lost the girl
It was on their six-year anniversary when he realized just how much he loved this girl, and that nothing in the world could change that.
And that terrified him.
Yeah, sure, they'd talked about marriage before, but never seriously. It was always light-hearted conversations about the house they'd live in and how many kids they'd have, nothing more. But now that he knew how much he cared for her and could see a real future for them, he was starting to wonder just how light-hearted those conversations really were. And then she brought up something else later that night that really made him think twice about the future.
They were getting ready for bed when she said, "So, I didn't get the chance to tell you at dinner, but I finished another song."
He walked out of the bathroom and to her standing by the bed. "Really?" he said. "Is it the one we started a few days ago or a new one?"
She smiled. "Something new." She picked up her songbook sitting on the nightstand and flipped it open, handing it to him. As he read it over, she said, "Once we get that other song finished and both recorded, I think the album will be complete."
He smiled as he handed her back her book. "It sounds great, Ally. Really," he told her.
"Thanks." As she sat her book back down, she turned to him quickly and said, "Oh, that reminds me. Jimmy said we're soon going to have to start thinking about tour dates. Once the album's out, the next few years are going to be crazy busy."
He nodded, worry creeping at him. But he put on a smile and said, "Let's not think about that just yet. It's still our anniversary, and right now, all I care about is you." And before she could say another word, he kissed her slowly, drowning out his worries for the night.
But when they finally decided to go to sleep, he found sleep all too far away. All he could think about was what she told him about the album and the tour and all the busy years ahead. When would they find the time to get married? To slow down and settle down and maybe start a family? Would they ever find the time? Or were they stuck in this constant cycle of writing, recording, and touring?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't do that to her. He knew how badly she wanted to be a mother; he couldn't be the one to take that opportunity away from her. It wouldn't be fair to either of them. But for the time being he stayed, because he loved her too much and was too selfish to be willing to lose her to someone else.
But as the months went by, and the recording was finished and the album was released and suddenly they were announcing his new world tour that would last at least a year, he knew. As hard as it would be to deprive himself of the girl he loved, all he ever wanted was for her to be happy. And he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep her happy if he couldn't give her what she truly wanted.
A few nights before they were to leave for his tour, they got into a fight. They'd fought before, about as often as any average couple did. But that fight was by far one of the worst. They were arguing about what to bring on the tour and somehow it escalated from disagreements of "we don't need that" to shouts of "why do you even need to go on tour again anyway!" and eventually resulted in him telling her not to bother coming and grabbing his half-packed bag of clothes and crashing at Dez's place until the tour began. And she didn't show, just like he asked. And he regretted it ever since. So during a break 6 months into the tour, he came back, because he couldn't go any longer without her in his life.
and you know that I don't want you to go
remind me how it used to be. pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks, and say you want me
"So, you left me...because you loved me?" she asks when he finishes.
"Yes - wait, no." He pauses. "I left you because I wanted you to be with someone who could give you everything you wanted. And I felt that I could no longer be that someone."
She nods. "I see," she says. "I understand. But I don't agree."
"Why?"
"I do want all of those things, Austin - a husband, a family - but I never wanted any of that without you," she confesses. "I only wanted you."
"Oh," is all he says.
"I actually thought we could make it, you know? Juggle both our careers and still manage to get married and start a family." She pauses, anger at what he did rushing through her. She doesn't think about how much it'll hurt him to hear her say these next lines as she lets it all out on him. He deserves it, after all, for what he did to her. "And then you ruined it by walking away," she says. "Out of fear. Out of fear and terror that we weren't strong enough, and that somehow we'd mess it up. That maybe we really were just like all those other celebrity couples. And that hurts me, Austin. It hurts to know that you didn't have enough faith in us to stay. Which is why I can never forgive you," she finishes.
"But don't you see? That's why I came back to you." He gets up from his seat and walks around the coffee table, then kneels on the ground beside her. "I told you when I got here that I realized something about what I want. And the only thing I want in the world is you."
She's in shock, but he doesn't give her the chance to respond as he continues.
"I was stupid to leave you. I knew what I wanted, and instead of going after it, I let my fears get to the better of me and I let you go. But I promise you, if you just give me one more chance, I know it'll be worth it."
He's letting her talk now, but she's at a loss for words. She wants to believe him, she truly does. Her heart is telling her to forget about his mistakes - he's making up for them all right now. But her mind won't let go of the pain his mistake put her through, and she's not sure she wants to give him the ability to do that again. He's screwed up one too many times, and it's time to move on.
She sighs. "Austin," she starts.
He smiles nervously. "Yeah, Ally?" he replies.
Her expression falters, and she thinks he might already know the answer. "I'm sorry, Austin," she tells him, "but I can't be with you."
His smile falls. "Oh."
"I'm sorry," she repeats. She pauses before continuing with, "I really do appreciate you stopping by, though. It's just...not gonna work out."
He nods, leaning back. "I understand."
She gives him a sad smile before standing up from her chair. "I guess you should go then, huh?" she asks.
He nods, standing with her. "Yeah, probably."
She hesitates at first, but eventually decides to stick her hand out toward him. "Friends?" she asks.
He glances at her hand, unsure of what to do with it, then smiles and takes it in his own, shaking it. "Friends," he repeats.
and then you say, "I want you for worse or for better, I would wait forever and ever. broke your heart, I'll put it back together. I want you forever and ever"
He walks to the door alone, prepared to go back out into the rain and away from her. But as he reaches for the knob, he stops himself.
Is he really just going to give up so quickly? He came all this way to win her back, and now he's going to leave just like that? He may understand why she's not giving him a chance, but she needs to know his intentions are true - he would never hurt her again. And he's never going to give up. Not on her.
"Austin?" he hears from behind. He turns around to see her standing at the other end of the hallway, looking at him with confusion. "What are you still doing here?"
He gestures toward the door. "Nothing. I'm just leaving," he says.
"Oh."
She's about to turn around and walk away without another word, but he stops her by saying, "Wait." He has to tell her the truth.
She faces him again. "What is it?" she asks.
He takes a deep breath before starting. "I'll be waiting for you."
"Wha -?" she begins, but he interrupts her.
"Every second of every day that goes by where I'm not with you, I'll be waiting for you. I know I broke your heart, Ally, and I'm sorry. If I could go back in time and undo my mistake, I would. But I can't. But what I can do is fix it. I can put your heart back together. If you just give me a chance, I know I can make it right."
He finishes, waiting as she stares at him, both shocked and confused. When she doesn't say anything in return, he turns around, ready to leave. She knows the truth now, and if that doesn't change anything, he's not sure what else will.
He reaches for the handle again, but as he does, he's stopped once more. But this time, it's not by himself.
"Wait!" he hears her say behind him, and he turns around to see her running towards him. He stays quiet as she does, letting her speak.
When she's next to him, she asks, "Did you - did you really mean that? When you said you'd wait for me?"
He nods. "I meant everything I said," he says seriously.
She shakes her head. "You're crazy."
He chuckles. "Ally, I may be crazy, but it's because of you. I want you, and only you. For better or worse, rich or poor, in sickness and health -"
Her laughter cuts him off. "Austin, those are a part of marriage vows," she says.
He doesn't drop his serious look when he says, "I know." He takes a step towards her, taking her hands in his. "I want you. Forever."
She smiles shyly, and this time he thinks her answer might be different. "And you promise you'll never leave me like that again?"
"I swear on my life."
She nods. "Okay."
"Okay? Wh-what does that mean?" he asks nervously.
She giggles. "You worry too much sometimes, you know? It means yes."
He smiles a little. "Yes?"
She nods. "Yes." And without waiting for a response, she throws her arms around his neck and pulls him in close, kissing him soundly.
and that's how it works. that's how you got the girl
So, bit of an update: I've been trying to work on a couple other one-shots and this really big multi-chapter that I'm kinda looking forward to start uploading (hopefully sooner rather than later), but with school and this awful thing called 'writer's block', I've a bit behind. But I'm hoping to get something done before Christmas break, so I guess you can look out for that. Anyways, thanks for reading! :)