Easy-Part 1

This Two-Shot is dedicated to my BFFF (Best FanFiction Friend) Wonderstruck-ambition because she is absolutely the most amazing person on this entire website and for some unknown reason she seems to like me (?;P) and I love her in a totally non-creepy, internet-friend way…She's there for me and we talk A LOT and I just really wanted to say thanks because you're the best!

Anyway, this story is based on the prompt 'Easy' which I could have gone in a COMPLETELY different direction with, if you get what I mean…but I didn't, so I hope you enjoy the, erm, innocence of this one…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.

Austin POV

"Hey baby, I've missed you." Cassidy breathed in my ear, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind. I sighed. The feeling of her warm breath tickling my ear used to turn me on, make me feel a little weak at the knees. Now it just tickles. I don't get it. Things between us have changed so much between us. Maybe it's because the novelty of having an older girl has worn off, or maybe I'm just bored of her. But for whatever reason, I don't feel the same chemistry with her anymore.

I turned to face her, plastering on a fake grin, as if I was happy to see her when the sad truth was I couldn't care less.

"Hey Cassidy. I missed you too, in the whole twelve hours it's been since we last saw each other." I muttered, unable to keep a little bit of bitterness from my voice. She frowned, pulling away from me slightly.

"What's wrong baby?" she asked. I sighed.

"Don't call me baby, I'm eighteen years old." I snapped. She let go of me completely, taking a whole step away from me and looking hurt. I groaned, mentally scolding myself. That was harsh.

"Sorry, Cass, I didn't mean that. I'm just tired…I was up all night last night rehearsing." I said apologetically. She still looked a little hurt but didn't move away when I stepped forwards again and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leant up to kiss me and for a minute I kissed back, but when I felt her tongue slide across my lips, the way she always did, I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Look, Cassidy, I'm sorry, I just can't." I sighed, pulling away and taking a couple big steps away. I saw her tear up and the hurt on her face made me feel incredibly guilty, but I just couldn't pretend like everything was fine anymore.

"What do you mean Austin? Why are you acting so strange?"

"I'm sorry, Cass, but I've been feeling pretty weird for a while now, and…"

"Are you ill? Why didn't you just say so? Austin, if I get sick I swear-"

"No, Cass, I'm not ill," I cut her off, "I'm just sick of lying to you. I'm just not feeling this relationship anymore. I used to really like you, honestly, but now…"

"You don't." she whispered. I grimaced, hating to see the pain on her face knowing that I was causing it.

"I really am sorry, Cass." I muttered. She clenched her jaw and before I could do anything about it, she slapped me.

"Yeah, so am I. Sorry that you're such a jerk!" she shouted. I frowned.

"I'm sorry Cass, but that was a little uncalled for…" I rubbed my cheek, wincing in pain. She glared at me, then her face crumpled.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't deserve that. Thank you for telling me, for breaking it off now. I just…I thought you loved me?" she whispered. I sighed.

"To be fair, I never said the words…" I trailed off, knowing that there was nothing else I could say to make this better for her. She nodded, wiping her eyes.

"No, no you didn't. Thanks, I guess, for not lying to me. I mean it, really. I'm glad you broke it off before I fell completely in love with you…" she sighed.

"I really am sorry. I'd say I want to be friends, but that would just be insulting…but seriously, I don't want you to hate me. If you ever manage to forgive me, maybe we can make things work? You're an amazing girl, and I'm not just saying that." I told her. She smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Austin. And there's nothing to forgive. You didn't do anything wrong, except not love me back, and I can't blame you for that. I'll see you around, Austin." She smiled, hugging me chastely one last time before disappearing. I sighed.

I was surprised at myself. I mean, I was expecting to feel sad, I expected it to be hard to break up with her. I mean, we'd been dating almost a whole year. But it was just…easy.

Ally POV

I faked yet another smile and forced out another giggle as Dallas kissed me on the cheek again. I used to like him so much, but now…maybe it was the thrill of the chase, or maybe it's just boredom, but whatever it is, I can barely stand to be around him anymore. He's just so boring! Like, he never does anything out of the blue, or even remotely surprising. He has the same routine, day in day out. I suppose that's what I get for crushing on some guy I don't really know…I should really start crushing on guys that I know well, like Dez or Austin…although, nobody can ever say they 'know' Dez, because he's too crazy. But Austin, see, that would be a perfectly reasonable crush. But of course, I would never crush on Austin since he is my best friend. Besides, he has Cassidy.

"Ally, what's up?" he sighed, moving away from me and frowning. I smiled slightly. That was probably his one redeeming factor; he could always tell when I was upset.

"I'm just a little bored…" I muttered.

"Why?"

"Because, no offence Dal, you're boring. You never do anything more than kiss me on the cheek, you always plan everything out, you never do anything to surprise me and, I don't know, I guess I'm just not feeling it anymore." I blurted. Then I slapped a hand over my mouth, shocked at what I had said. Apparently, he was pretty shocked too.

"What?" he gasped, shocked. I groaned.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. I'll see you later." I murmured, moving away from him and turning to leave. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. I half-hoped that maybe he was going to surprise me, kiss me, pick me up, say something different, anything that he hadn't done countless times before. But no, all he did was frown at me.

"Ally, seriously? What do you mean, you're 'just not feeling it anymore'?" he asked. I sighed.

"I don't know, Dallas, but I'll tell you one thing. Austin has kissed me more times than you have, and since you're my boyfriend and he's my best friend, that's a little scary." I said, raising my voice a little in frustration. He winced.

"You've kissed Austin?"

"Yeah, a couple times." I shrugged. He looked hurt.

"While we've been dating?" he asked. I scowled, shaking my head.

"Of course not! What do you take me for?" I shouted. He looked relieved.

"Sorry, I know you wouldn't do that, I was just worried." He apologised. I glared at him.

"I've kissed him once at Midnight on New Year's Eve, and once at Christmas under the mistletoe…that's it. And they were just friendly kisses. But they were on the lips, unlike any kisses we've ever shared." I complained. He sighed, pulling me closer to him.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I just don't want to rush you. I guess I can kiss you if you really want…" he said, sounding reluctant. I scoffed.

"Please. If it's that much of a bother for you to kiss your girlfriend, maybe you shouldn't have a girlfriend." I half-shouted, pulling away from him. He looked surprised.

"Was that…"

"Yeah, apparently it was. We're over, Dallas. And you know what?"

"What?" he asked, looking a little downhearted, but not too devastated. That only served to make me angrier.

"I thought that it would hurt when we broke up. I thought I would be sad maybe cry a little, or a lot. I thought I would miss you. But most of all, I thought it would be you breaking up with me. But no, it's me, breaking up with you, and as much as it doesn't pain me to say it, it's not hurting me at all," I ranted, "I figured it would be hard, but you've made it shockingly easy."

NPOV

"Hey, Ally, can I talk to you please?" Austin asked. She frowned, worried by the slightly dazed look on his face and the red mark on his cheek.

"Of course. What's wrong?" she asked him. He blinked, still looking shocked.

"Unless I just had some kind of really, really vivid daydream, I just broke up with Cassidy." He said. Ally gaped, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"B-but I thought you loved her? You and Cassidy were so happy together…I was sure you two would be together forever!" she said, shocked. Austin shrugged.

"I guess not…I feel kinda bad, though. I mean, I must have really upset her…she slapped me. Ally, I've never been slapped by a girl before. Sure, she apologised and said I didn't deserve the slap, but still…I feel like shit. And I'm the one that did the breaking up!" he exclaimed, unable to make any sense of his emotions. She smiled softly, patting his arm comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Austin, eventually everything will make sense to you. Actually, this is quite a coincidence. I broke up with Dallas today." She mused. His eyes widened.

"What? But you like him! Like, you really, really like him! Why would you break up with him?"

"I don't really know. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. But you wanna know something weird? I don't even regret it. I mean, I'm a little bummed that my first real relationship ended so suddenly, but I'm not hurting. I don't even miss him, not really. Maybe it hasn't really hit me yet, but I don't know…I think I'm okay with it."

"Wow. It looks like we're both pretty confused right now. Come on, let's go out and do something to take our minds off it." He said, taking her hand and dragging her towards the exit. She laughed and stumbled after him.

They arrived at the movie theatre with Austin's arm slung around her shoulder while she gestured wildly, telling him a story about some crazy customer she had dealt with in the story a few days ago. They were both laughing easily, enjoying each other's company. Unfortunately, due to the unexpected appearance of a certain ex-boyfriend, that couldn't last long.

"Ally? What the hell?" Dallas shouted, jogging over to the pair, frowning.

"Dallas! Erm….hi?" she greeted him, shrugging Austin's arm off her shoulder and stepping towards him. He stepped backwards and scowled at her.

"Now I get it. This is why you dumped me; you've been fooling around with Austin, haven't you? Wow, this is rich. Wait until I tell Cassidy about this." He muttered, laughing sourly.

"No! Dallas, you've got it wrong! Austin and I are just friends, and that's it. We're just going to the movies as friends to take our minds off our recently ended relationships." Ally explained. Dallas rolled his eyes.

"I must say, Ally, you have gotten better at lying, but you don't honestly think I'm going to buy that, do you? I mean, you just told me that you both just broke off your relationships, and you're going to the movies together as friends." he asked, disbelieving.

"I guess it does sound pretty suspicious, but it's the truth, I swear!" she exclaimed. Austin grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Come on, Ally, he's not worth getting upset over. Let him believe what he wants. You two are broken up, aren't you?" he asked. She sighed and nodded, looking back at Dallas sadly.

"I guess there's no point fighting with you. I'll see you around Dallas."

"Yeah, whatever. But when you do see me around, don't talk to me." he muttered angrily. She groaned quietly as he stormed off, and Austin placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it, Ally. He'll get over it." He shrugged. She nodded.

"I'm just worried that he might spread it around. I don't want to be known as the kind of girl that cheats, or that breaks up with her boyfriend and moves on within the same day."

"Ally, everyone knows you're not that kind of girl. Nothing Dallas says or does will change that."

"Thanks, Austin. Come on, let's go and see a movie."

Austin POV

It was a Friday when I got the news. I got called out of my fifth period English class to go to the office. There was a phone call for me. For a minute I was worried that it was my mom, calling to tell me that my sick Grandma was dead. But then I got there and the principal looked ecstatic as she held out the phone to me, and I knew there was no way she would be looking at me like that if my grandma was dead.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Austin Moon?" Came a cheery male voice from the other end. A very familiar male voice. Austin gasped, mouth open.

"Y-yeah. Erm, who's speaking?" he asked, wanting to be sure that it was who he thought it was.

"This is Jimmy Starr, from Starr Records. I'm calling to discuss a record deal. I've heard some of your stuff and, well, it's good. Really good."

"Really? You think so?" he asked, grinning madly.

"I do. How would you like to fly out to LA in about a week's time? We'll book you a hotel, you can meet some of the big shots here, you and I can have a chat and if all goes well, you can move out here and start producing your first album." He said. Austin was speechless; he would never, ever, have expected something like this. Ever.

"Hello? Mr Moon? Are you still there?"

"Yeah! I mean, that all sounds great. I'll need to speak to my team, but I think that should be fine."

"Team?"

"Yeah, Team Austin. My manager, Trish, my video director, Dez, and my partner, Ally." He explained.

"Oh, well, I'm sure we can find you a new Team Austin. I mean, we have some of the best managers in the business employed here at Starr, and you can take your pick of directors…"

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr Starr, but if I can't bring my Team along, it's no deal." He said seriously. The principal frowned, listening to every word of the conversation through the other phone. Austin rolled his eyes discreetly.

"Really? You're really willing to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime for a few friends?" he asked, exasperated.

"Yeah, I am. I'm sorry Mr Starr, but I'm not leaving Team Austin behind."

"Oh, well, okay then."

"Thanks for the offer Mr Starr; I really appreciate it, but-"

"Then I guess we'll have to book a couple extra hotel rooms." Jimmy sighed. Austin's face lit up and it took everything he had not to jump up and down in triumph.

"Seriously? Thank you, Mr Starr, thank you so much!" he burst out. Jimmy chuckled.

"No, Austin, thank you. And please, call me Jimmy. I'll be calling you later, so make sure you pick up. I'm not the kind of man you let go to answerphone."

"Of course not, Mr-Jimmy. Speak to you later." He said, and then he hung up, handing the phone back to the principal and running out of the office excitedly.

Ally POV

I was sat in my French class, trying to concentrate on conjugating stupid verbs, when Austin burst in. I looked up in surprise, smiling at my best friend warmly, but confusedly. He grinned back, running over to me, and grabbing my hands to pull me to my feet. I glanced at Dallas automatically. He was glaring at us, but I didn't really care. It was mostly just instinct to look at him. If he was still going to be stupid about us, he was welcome to the heartache.

I giggled as he started dancing us around in a circle, squealing when he wrapped his arms around me and spun me around in the air.

"Mr Moon, Miss Dawson, would one of you care to tell me what in the world is going on here?" shouted Miss Dodd, glaring at us. Austin laughed loudly, putting me down and grinning at me.

"I just got off the phone with Jimmy Starr, from Starr Records. Ally, he offered me a record deal! We're flying out to LA in a week!" he shouted. I froze, unable to comprehend what he had just said.

"What?" I eventually managed to gasp out.

"We're going to be famous, Ally!" he shouted, and it finally hit me.

"Argh! Oh my God, we really are!" I screamed, throwing my arms around him and jumping to wrap my legs around his waist, the way we always hugged when something really great happened. He grabbed me, and then we were laughing and crying and people were coming over to ask questions and pat us on the back. Even Dallas smiled at me a little.

By the end of the day it was all over school that we were getting a record deal with Starr Records. People were asking for autographs, and guys were asking me out. We told Trish and Dez the whole story when we met up at the end of the day, since we hadn't seen them and they'd only heard bits and pieces from our excited peers.

"No fucking way! He actually called you? This is unbelievable!" Trish yelled. I winced slightly at the cuss, but I got over it. This was pretty huge news, after all.

"Does this mean we get to eat steak, like, whenever we want?" asked Dez, much calmer than everyone else. We all looked at him, confused. He groaned.

"I mean, when we're famous, will we have people that can bring us steak, like, whenever we want? Like Cody Simpson?"

"Erm, Dez, I'm pretty sure Cody Simpson doesn't have people that bring him steaks whenever he wants…"

"Sure he does. My magic meatball told me so."

"Erm, Dez? Your magic meatball gives yes or no answers…"

"So? I asked a lot of questions." He shrugged. Trish, Austin and I glanced at each other and then burst out laughing. Austin patted Dez on the back, grinning.

"Yeah, Dez, of course we can get people to bring you steak whenever you want."

"Ew, why would I want that? I don't even like steak…" he said, furrowing his brows. We all laughed even harder, and then we were all smiling and laughing as we walked down the street towards the mall, and Sonic Boom, to tell my dad the good news.

Austin POV

"Dad! Daddy, where are you?" Ally called as we walked through the glass doors into the music store. Lester walked out of the store room, smiling.

"I'm right here, Ally-gator. What's got you all so happy?" he asked, seeing the ecstatic looks on our faces. Ally ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck, jumping up and down.

"Daddy, daddy you will never believe it! Austin got a record deal! With Jimmy Starr! We're all flying out to LA in a week, and if all goes well we can move there permanently!" she shouted, positively buzzing. She pulled back, expecting to see her dad grinning, as we all were, but he was frowning and shaking his head.

"Ally, dear, I'm sorry, but there's no way I can afford to send you to LA, not for a little while and certainly not to stay there." He said, looking apologetic. Ally frowned, so I butted in.

"Erm, Mr Dawson? I think Starr Records are dealing with all the costs…" I told him. He shook his head.

"Even so, I can't run the store alone, and I certainly can't afford to hire another employee…"

"But dad, if this record deal works out, we'll be rich!" Ally protested.

"Yes, Ally, but that's just an 'if'. I can't risk it, baby. If it doesn't work out, we'll be broke." He said. I could see that Ally was trying her best to fight back tears, and so was I.

"Mr Dawson, please…" I pleaded. He looked between the four of us, looking sorry, but shook his head again.

"I'm sorry. Even if I could keep the store going, I can't let my daughter go gallivanting around LA for God0knows-how-long. It's just not possible, Austin. But good luck to you, anyway, I hope you do well."

"Thanks, Mr Dawson, but it's not going to happen. There's no way I can do this without Ally. More than that, even if I could, I wouldn't do this without Ally. She's my partner. I can't go off and get famous without my partner." I shrugged. Ally's eyes widened and she shook her head. Wiping her eyes, she spoke to me.

"Austin, can I please talk to you in the practice room? Alone?" she asked. I nodded, a little confused. She headed up the stairs and I followed her, more than a little worried. She closed the door behind us and then hugged me tightly again.

"Ally? Ally what's wrong?"

"Austin, you can't turn this offer down because of me. I won't let you. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Just because I can't go with you, doesn't mean you shouldn't go. I'd rather see you get famous without me than not at all."

"But Ally, I don't want to go to LA without you! You're not just my partner, you're my best friend! You're my songwriter!" I protested, feeling tears begin sliding down my face but not even caring. She smiled sadly, crying again herself.

"You can find a new partner, a new songwriter. But I will always be your best friend, and you'll always be mine. I'll always be just a phone call away."

"But we'll be on opposite sides of the country, Ally! We'll never see each other, especially if I move there for good!"

"Austin, you'll still come back to visit your parents."

"There has to be something you can do, Ally. Your dad doesn't even pay you! Surely he can't legally make you stay here and keep working the store…"

"Austin, I'm still only seventeen. Legally, I have to do what my dad says for another nine months."

"Well, then, we can wait nine months."

"In nine months Jimmy Starr will have found a new recording artist to sign. This is your one and only chance, and you know it. I am not going to let you blow it." She said. He glared at her.

"You can't tell me what to do, Ally. Even my parents can't do that, now that I'm eighteen. This is completely, 100% my choice, and if I choose to turn it down, well, that's my decision," Just as I finished talking, my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, already having a pretty good idea of who it was, "Speak of the devil, here's Jimmy now…" I sighed. She frowned, looking from me to the phone, and then grabbed it. I gasped as she flipped the phone open.

"Mr Starr? No, he's in the bathroom. He wanted me to answer if it rang. I'm his partner Ally. Austin wants you to know that he's going to take your offer. Yeah, he's really excited. There is a slight change of plane though; I won't be joining him. He's going to need a new partner. Yeah, all I really do is write the songs and help produce the music. I'm not that important, he just calls me his partner to make me feel needed. He's my best friend, see. But I can't make it to LA, so he's going to have to do this without me. Trish and Dez will be there, though. Thanks Mr Starr. He'll speak to you later." She finished. I had been chasing her around the practice room since she started talking, but being small and quick she had managed to stay away from me.

After she hung up she handed me the phone, smiling sadly.

"I know, you can always call him up and say you changed your mind. But if you do, I will never speak to you again. I won't let you ruin your one chance at your dreams because of me, Austin. I love you too much for that." She said softly.

"Okay, Ally. Fine, you win. But I promise you, on the day of your eighteenth birthday, I will be back here. And you will come to LA with me. Promise me that you'll come with me and I'll do it." I said. Our eyes met and I saw so many different emotions in them. Sadness, pain, devastation were most prominent. But I could also see pride. She was proud of me. And happiness. Of course, only Ally could feel happy for me at a time like this.

"I promise." She whispered hoarsely.

Review for an update!

Part two is already written, but I won't upload it until I've had a few reviews...How much do you want it? :)