Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally.

What was so great about this guy? He liked crafts? And carried a glue gun around with him in his pocket? (Which, by the way, seemed pretty dangerous, in Austin's opinion.)

Austin watched from a table in the mall's food court, furiously sipping his drink through a straw as he watched Ally and Elliot laughing at the counter of Mini's. He hadn't noticed but his gaze was so intense it probably could've made Elliot spontaneously burst into flames.

Why was Ally laughing like that? And smiling like that? And was she blushing? He's never seen her act this way before. Even when she'd had that crush on Dallas, she didn't act like this. Ally had constantly embarrassed herself and acted so awkward she could hardly hold a conversation with him. But now? She was catching up with Elliot like they were old friends (which they were).

Elliot. What kind of dumb name was Elliot?

Austin continued to suck on his straw even though there was only ice left rattling inside of his cup. For the past ten minutes he'd been glaring like there was no tomorrow, and nothing had diverted his attention. Not even his own girlfriend, who was sitting across the table from him.

"Austin? Hello? Austin?" Kira waved a hand in front of his face, trying to snap him out of his angry glare. Finally, after several frantic waves, he blinked and Kira's face came into focus.

"What?"

Kira leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I've been trying to talk to you and you've been spaced out this whole time. Actually, this whole week you haven't been acting like yourself."

Austin set his cup on the table and sighed "Sorry, Kira. I've just been really distracted lately," he said, combing his fingers through his unruly blond hair. "It's like my mind has been somewhere else."

She gave him a worried look. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

He shrugged, thinking back on the past week. "No, nothing's changed…" His schedule for the week had been as normal as ever: school, homework, Team Austin meetings, performances at the mall, etc. So what was it that was throwing him off so suddenly?

Hearing laughter coming from the counter of Mini's again, he glanced back toward Ally and Elliot (just thinking his name made him irritated). They were still laughing and talking, except now they were playfully bumping shoulders with each other. Austin narrowed his eyes as their shoulders touched, and then he realized what had changed. Elliot had arrived exactly a week ago. Ally had insisted on showing him around Miami, so Austin-and-Ally time had been cut back for the past week. He knew there was a reason why he didn't like that kid.

"Actually," he started, not dropping his gaze from the pair, "I haven't been doing any songwriting lately. Ally's been kind of busy." He was caught off guard by how bitter his voice sounded.

"Oh," Kira turned her head and followed Austin's line of vision, catching a glimpse of Ally throwing her head back and giggling at something Elliot had said. Austin's eyes narrowed even further. "They look like they're having a good time," she mentioned lightly, "I bet you guys could work on your music a little later."

He wasn't about to admit it, but Austin didn't want to wait until later, and he especially didn't want to wait for Ally while she was hanging out with Elliot. His lips morphed into a pout as the thought crossed his mind. It had never occurred to him before, but Austin had never really shared Ally with anyone else before. Sure she was friends with Trish and Dez too, but this was different. Now, Austin had to share Ally with some other, non-mutual friend. Not just that, but a non-mutual friend that also happened to be a guy. And from the looks of it, Elliot didn't want to just stay friends.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. He subconsciously started to pat at the pockets of his jeans before he realized it wasn't his phone that was ringing.

"Hello?" Kira spoke into her cell phone. After saying "yes" several times into the receiver, she hung up before rising from her seat.

Finally, Austin's attention was completely pulled away from Ally and Elliot.

"Are you leaving?" he asked, getting up too.

Kira shouldered her purse, slipping her phone into the pocket of her jacket. "Yeah, that was one of my friends. I forgot to mention that I have to go work on a project today. Sorry."

Austin shrugged his shoulders. "It's cool."

"How about we hang out tomorrow after school?"

For the first time since he sat down, Austin gave a genuine smile. "Yeah, definitely."

"Great." Kira leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before waving goodbye and walking out of the food court.

Austin watched her retreating figure, when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Elliot leaning over closer to Ally and whispering something into her ear. He also watched as Ally's cheeks flushed slightly before she playfully whacked him on the shoulder and began grinning again.

He pushed down the sudden boiling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Seriously, what was so special about this guy? He wasn't even that good looking. Did he have hair that flopped just the right way? Did he have kind eyes? Did he have the same name as a city in Texas? No, no, and a big fat no. Not to mention he also wasn't her internet-sensation-turned-popstar-and-songwriting-partner-best-friend. Nope.

As Austin made a mental checklist of all the things that was wrong with Elliot (An orange T-shirt? Why would anyone want to wear orange?), not once did it cross his mind that he might possibly be even a little bit jealous. Austin Moon? Jealous? Of some random guy that wears orange? That's ridiculous! Impossible! At least that's what he tried to convince himself. Besides, there was nothing to be jealous about.

Not the fact that Ally and Elliot were sitting so close together, or the fact that they were totally at ease making conversation with each other without any awkwardness, or the fact that they kept on laughing together, or the fact that he just pushed a lock of hair behind Ally's ear, or-

Nope, nothing to be jealous of at all.

Straightening his collar and running his fingers through his hair one more time, Austin made his way over to Mini's. It was time to officially introduce himself to Elliot.

AN: Hello Austin & Ally fandom! I'm usually over in the Books section writing Percy Jackson fics, but this show has quickly become a guilty pleasure of mine and I couldn't resist writing something about it.

Something you guys should keep in mind: when I was writing this, the character stories for Elliot and Kira are what I found while digging through tumblr and the internet, so they will be characters in the show eventually (apparently, Elliot will be introduced in the episode Campers & Complications). So, in case any of you were severely confused while reading, this is just a heads up.

On another note, I really like this show! I still have a few other ideas, so this won't be the last you see of me writing for Austin & Ally. Tell me what you guys think!

I hope you liked it! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!

xoxo Cherie