ALLY'S POV

"No, No, and NO!" Trish yells once again, storming into the Sonic Boom as I try to convince her to agree to this date.

"Look Trish I know things didn't work out well last time you dated one of my backup dancers, but Roger's a really cool guy," Austin steps in. See Austin and I have noticed that Trish has been feeling lonely recently and have been trying to make her feel better. Though when Roger admitted he likes Trish, we encouraged him to ask her out, however that didn't turn out so well.

"Trent was a cool guy to at first," Trish counters, leaving Austin for a loss of words.

"Are you going to say that about every guy you meet?" I ask her, and feel glad that I did when I can tell she's beginning to give in.

"Look I don't even want to go to this party," she says, trying to avoid answering the question, leaving Austin and I looking shocked. Trish loves her parties.

"Trish this masquerade is for my album release and you're my manager so you have to go. Plus you love parties." Wow, Austin can read my mind. Trish thinks for a minute before looking down at the ground, nervously.

"Do I need a date?" she mumbles, just loud enough for Austin and me to hear.

"No," I answer. "I mean do you see me and Austin with dates for the masquerade?" She looks at me, and eventually sighs in defeat.

"I'll go to the masquerade but I'm not agreeing be Roger's date," she says, and then sits on the piano bench, dropping her head so she's looking at her fumbling fingers. I feel sorry for her, struggling to trust anyone now. She seemed fine for months after Trent used her to become Austin's back up dancer, but then no one else has asked her out until now, which is probably what's gotten her so freaked out.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I notice Austin sitting next to Trish and pulling her in for a hug and she returns it. Suddenly I feel a presence next to me, and I turn to see its Dez.

"How's Roger," I whisper to him, hoping Trish wouldn't hear me, but then I was never good at whispering. Her head shoots up, waiting for Dez's answer. I knew she liked him!

"He's fine, he understands and doesn't want to push Trish into being his date," Dez explains. "So now that that's taken care of..." he pauses two masks out of his bag, "which one should I wear?" One is a pink kangaroo mask and the other is a teenage mutant ninja turtles mask. You could guess what our answer would be.

"Neither," Austin, Trish and I all say at the same time. Dez just frowns.

"Why not?" he pouts. Really; one minute he's serious and the next he's his usual goofy self.

"Because doofus it's a masquerade not a kids costume party," Trish answers. Good to see she's back. I glance between her and Austin, when I suddenly notice that they both looked shocked. Turning around I see why.

"Cassidy," Austin says, walking over to hug her. "Thought you were in LA," he tells her as he pulls away.

"Band got moved back here," she tells us.

"So you gonna get your job you're job back at the melody diner?" I ask her.

"Already did. It's gonna be so fun working with you again Trish," she answers, and Austin, Dez and I use all our effort to hold back the suppressing giggles. "Anyways since it's lunch time I wanted to see if someone remembered our agreement, she says turning to Austin, who's looking back and forth between Cassidy and Dez.

"You mean our date. Sounds great, let's go," he says, grabbing her wrist and rushing out of the store. Well that was weird; he told me he got over Cassidy. Maybe his feelings have returned now she's back.

AUSTIN'S POV

Looking back and forth between Cassidy and Dez, I noticed they seemed to be smiling at each other. No way; they like each other! Hoping to find out if my theory is right, I take Cassidy to mini's. As we wait for our order, I can tell she's day dreaming about something.

"Since when were you into red heads?" I ask her, going straight to the point, more or less.

"I'm not," she tries and fails to convince me.

"Come on Cassidy, I saw the way you were looking at him," I say, hoping she'll admit her feelings. She looks nervous but finally sighs in defeat.

"Fine, yes I think he's cute," she admits. "And I loved those masks he had with him." Wow, this girl is perfect for Dez! "What should I do?" she asks me and before I can answer, I notice Dez staring at us behind the surf boards on display.

"Hold that thought," I tell Cassidy before rushing over to Dez. "You like her to right?" I say. Like he cannot admit it now.

"She's cute, sure," he says, trying to act nonchalant about it.

"Cute," I repeat and he quickly responds.

"OK fine she's gorgeous. What should I do?" he says quickly. I could only just understand what he said.

"Ask her out," I tell him like it's the only answer. He looks behind me towards her and lifts head up high in pride before walking over to her. Deciding not to be weird, I walk back to Sonic Boom to see Ally and Trish.

ALLY'S POV

"I still can't believe it, I thought Austin was over Cassidy," I tell Trish as she 'helps' me tidy the store since no customers are around right now.

"You saw the way he dragged her out of store," she responds, flipping over to the next page of her magazine.

"Well maybe seeing her again has brought back the feelings," I conclude as I finish wiping down the counter. Just then Austin walks back in with a giant grin on his face.

"Looks like my little buddy Dez is growing up," he tells us. We just look back at him confused, so he rolls his eyes and continues. "He's asking Cassidy out."

"Wait, WHAT?!" We both shout at him.

"We thought you liked Cassidy," I tell him.

"As a friend, but I saw them looking dreamingly at each other, so dragged Cassidy away to find out if my suspicions were true," he explains to us and we both nod in understanding. We all turn to look at the Sonic Boom entrance when we hear a "woohoo". What has Dez done now?

"Guys, Cassidy's going to be my date for the masquerade. Aaaaand she said she liked my kangaroo mask," he tells us, with whatever breath he has left in him. So that's where Dez went off to.

"Congrats man," Austin congratulates him before they both do their 'what' up' handshake. I look down at my watch and notice the time.

"Speaking of the masquerade, we need to start getting ready," I tell the four of them and Dez and Austin leave. After locking up, Trish and I head upstairs, and start getting ready. As we start though, I look out the window to see Cassidy looking through some dresses. Deciding to be a good friend, I walk out of the store with Trish behind me and greet Cassidy.

"Hi Cassidy, did you want to get ready with me and Trish?" I ask her.

"I'd love to. Though I don't want to intrude," she answers so Trish interrupts her.

"Why would we ask if we didn't want you to intrude?" Trish counters, and Cassidy just smiles back. We help her pick out a dress, all agreeing on a beautiful turquoise gown with slits down either side. She pays for it and we all return to the practice room to get changed. Trish looks gorgeous in her violet dress that reaches her knees at the front but reaches her ankles at the back as the hem goes round, while I feel proud of my strapless scarlet dress that reaches mid-thigh.

Once we're dressed we put on our masks, careful not to ruin our makeup – which Trish insisted on even thought we didn't need it all – and take a picture. Cassidy found a simple white mask to buy with silver glitter patterns on it that match the silver patterns on her gown. Trish went with a blue and purple mask with a peacock feather on the side. Meanwhile I decided to be different and decorate my face with gold glitter that followed around my eyes, which the help of Trish and Cassidy. Thankfully with enough on, it worked well as a mask.

"Who's ready to party," Austin shouts from downstairs. We girls grab our purses and head downstairs. Both are wearing black suits, though Dez has a light pink shirt and a hot pink bow tie to match the kangaroo mask that Cassidy loves so much, while Austin is wearing a dark blue shirt with a faded yellow tie.

"For you." Dez offered Cassidy a simple white rose which she gladly takes. They both walk out hand-in-hand, followed by me, Trish and Austin and we all climb into the waiting limo. Once at the dance, Austin meets Jimmy by the stage before walking up into it and grabbing the mike.

"What's up everybody!" he shouts and everyone cheers. "Thank you all for coming here tonight to celebrate the album release. I had so much fun working on it with my friends and it's good to see that everyone loves their work as much as I do. So how about a song!" Everyone cheers again. That speech made me blush a little. I can never get over how sweet Austin is. We all clap along as he sings No Ordinary Day, and a couple of other songs from the album. During his performance, I notice Trish staring at Roger as he dances in the background. Soon enough Austin takes a break and walks back over to us.

"Forgot how well you can sing," Cassidy tells him.

"Well hopefully we'll get to hear you sing again at some point," Austin says. While everyone continues to talk, I look notice Roger walking towards Trish. I elbow Austin lightly in the arm, and he notices also, before everyone else does. Trish is oblivious to it for a minute, until he says her name, making her turn around.

"Care to dance?" he asks hopefully. She hesitates for a minute, but eventually accepts his hand. Dez and Cassidy soon go onto the dance floor, Cassidy laughing at Dez's strange dance moves. Knowing Austin will try to make me dance, I attempt to run away, but he's too quick and wraps his arms around me, pulling me back into a tight hug.

"Come on Ally, your dancing is improving," he says, as I continue to struggle from his grip. "Plus you have an awesome dance partner," he adds in. Always the cocky one. Eventually I give up and let him lead me to the dance floor. After the song finishes, we are both surprised when Cassidy grabs the mike on the stage.

"This song goes out to Austin who has done well with his career, without letting the fame get to his head... at least not completely," she jokes, making me giggle, earning a quick tickle from Austin who's standing behind me. "Congratulations Austin." She starts the song and Dez, Trish and Roger join in on a group dance with me and Austin. After Cassidy finishes her song, she joins the rest of us and we dance for a little bit longer. Eventually the dancing tires me out, so I go outside for some fresh air.

"You ok Als," Austin asks as he stands next to me, leaning back against the railing that I am resting my arms on.

"Yeah just needed some fresh air," I tell him, though it's not the complete truth. Dancing around the couples – since Trish agreed to be Roger's girlfriend – made me wish for my own relationship.

"Wanted to get away from couplesville for a bit?" What is it with him reading my mind?

"I love love, but it's not so romantic when you don't have it yourself," I admit, and he nods in agreement. Without realising it I find myself staring into his eyes as he is staring back. Without hesitation, he leans down and pecks my lips, but I immediately return the kiss and make it last longer. It starts out soft and gentle, but as I wrap my arms around his neck it becomes more heated. His hands grab my hips, and he gently pushes me against the railing that we were previously leaning on. His hands tighten slightly on my hips making me gasp, giving him the chance to slide his tongue into my mouth. I pull him closer to me as we continue to make out, our tongues dancing with one another.

Soon we both pull away slowly, breathing heavily. We stand there shocked, yet without pulling away from each other, as our foreheads are still touching. Once I get my breath back, I decide to break the silence.

"Austin, I –"

"No, Ally, I'm sorry," he interrupts me. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Don't forget I kissed you back," I remind him. Realising we're both still very close, we pull away slowly. "Be honest with me though, did you kiss me because you felt sorry for me?"

"No, I guess I just feel the same way you do about wanting love," he answers me. "I'm sorry I kissed you though, considering we're just friends."

"Don't worry about it," I reply. "It kind of felt good to let that frustration of being single out. Better to kiss someone you trust than some stranger right." He nods in agreement, finally relaxing a little. We stay silent for a minute, before Austin breaks it.

"You know, we've played matchmaker for our friends... how about for each other?" Austin suggests and I think about it for a minute. "I mean we both felt so lonely that we ended up kissing each other, so maybe we can help each other out by getting each other a date so we'll feel less, you know... lonely."

"You have anyone in mind for me?" I ask.

"Maybe," is his only reply. "Come on we can double date so it will be less awkward."

"Ok, well I guess I have someone in mind for you now that I think about it," I admit. There was a friend of mine who I think will suit Austin very well. Hopefully by doing this we can put our kiss behind us, as I don't want to ruin our friendship.

"Great, so it's settled. We're setting each other up," Austin concludes.

"I guess we are."