Disclaimer: Austin and Ally isn't mine.

A/N: Sorry for how long it took to update but I kind of can't promise it'll be much faster. :/

"There was something about her, Dez," Austin sighs, dramatically throwing his arm over his face as he sprawls out on the couch. "I can't even explain it."

Dez nods thoughtfully from his position on the chair across from him. "Tell the Love Whisperer everything, buddy."

"For the thousandth time, no one calls you that," he says flatly.

"Everyone calls me that."

Austin rolls his eyes but humors his best friend anyway. "Her name's Ally. She owns Sonic Boom. She's so pretty, and she has these eyes and she's tiny and—" he cuts himself off, reddening a little after seeing the amused look on Dez's face. He clears his throat. "And funny, and I can tell she loves music."

Dez nods. "Why didn't you ask her out then? You're not usually shy around girls."

He hesitates. "I got this vibe from her. From her eyes. I don't know how to describe it. Like…like she was sad?"

"Sad?"

Austin nods and stares blankly at the ceiling. "Sad."

On Christmas day, Ally stays curled up in bed all morning because the images of opening presents from Santa and playing with new toys, and the tree brightly lit up in the corner of the living room are too much to bear. She doesn't cry like she had the past two Christmases, but she feels numb, her mind empty, and she stares off into space until her cell phone rings at one o'clock in the afternoon.

"Hello?" she says, clearing her throat.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie," her dad says softly. "Are you still going to come over this afternoon?"

She takes a deep breath. "Hi Dad, Merry Christmas. Uh, yeah, I'll be there. Three o'clock, right?"

"Right." He pauses. "You okay, Ally?"

She suddenly feels her eyes prickle at the concerned tone of her father's voice but manages to keep herself calm long enough to answer, "Yeah, dad, I'll see you soon."

As soon as she hangs up, she tightly presses her palms to her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. This is the first Christmas since the accident that she's not spending alone and she had promised her dad that she'd have dinner with him.

She gets ready almost robotically, trying to keep her mind from drifting to thoughts of the past. But trying not to think about it inevitably makes her think about it more and she finds herself blinking back tears as she drives to her father's house.

She sits for a moment in the driveway, her head in her hands, and then she shakes her head and puts a smile on her face for her dad.

"Merry Christmas, Ally!"

Ally steps forward and hugs him, lingering a little longer than usual in his arms.

"Merry Christmas, Dad," she mumbles.

He smiles warmly at her when she pulls back. "Before you sit down, could you do me a favor? I ran out of sugar, of all things, and I need it to finish the pie. That little grocery store by the beach is open, I think."

She nods. At least it'll be a distraction. "Sure, no problem. Be back in a few."

"Whoa, I'm sor—Ally?"

She looks up in surprise at the person who ran into her. "Oh, hi, uh…Austin, right?"

He grins and nods. "I promise I'm not usually this klutzy," he says. "And oh, Merry Christmas!"

She smiles at him and he decides right then and there that his goal is to keep that smile on her face for the rest of his life. Because he's not exactly sure what it is about this girl, but he knows that there's something that's drawing him to her and all he wants to do is find out exactly what it is.

"So what are you doing here on Christmas, anyway?"

"My mom ran out of flour. How about you?"

"Dad ran out of sugar," she says, laughing a little. "Well, I guess I'll see you around?"

Ally starts to turn away and he says it before he can stop himself. "Do you want to maybe get coffee sometime?" he blurts out.

He watches as she freezes, as her eyes widen in surprise and she visibly swallows. She shakes her head. "I…I can't," she says after a moment, and her breath hitches a bit. "I…you're really nice, but I just…can't."

Austin nods even as he feels his heart sink. "Hey, it's okay," he says softly, because she looks upset and the last thing he wants is to ruin her Christmas. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I just thought…since you like music and I like music, we could maybe be…friends?"

Her eyes dart up to meet his. "Friends?" she mumbles.

He smiles. "Friends."

She hesitates. "That'd…that'd maybe be okay. It's just that I'm—"

"You don't have to explain anything," he interrupts. "Can I see your phone?"

She hands it to him and he programs in his number and he totally ignores the sparks he feels when their fingers brush when he gives it back to her. "There," he says quietly. "This way, you can call me. It's up to you, okay? No pressure."

Ally stares at him for a moment, biting her lip, wide eyed and maybe a little bit confused at his forwardness, but she gives him a small smile after a moment. He smiles back. "I'll see you, Ally," he says, turning to walk away.

He's almost out of earshot when he hears a faint, "Merry Christmas, Austin," from behind him and he grins so widely and so suddenly the old lady in front of him gives him a startled look.

Austin forgets the flour.

Ally thinks about Austin occasionally for a couple of weeks, but aside from occasionally seeing Austin Moon at the top of her contacts list, she's too busy with the store as people either purchase new instruments to fulfill their new year's resolutions or return unwanted Christmas presents to do anything further.

She's been asked out a couple of times since the accident but she's managed to brush off the attempts fairly easily. But she can't really recall a time when someone asked her to be friends and she's thrown off by it.

She's staring at his name, trying to figure out what to make of Austin Moon when her phone suddenly rings, a picture of her best friend lighting up the screen.

"Hi Trish!" she greets, any tension between them long since diffused since her visit.

"Hey, Ally. I just wanted to see how you were."

She sighs. "Busy, you know how it is at the start of the year. How about you?"

"Work is a little crazy, but nothing too terrible. Anything new going on?"

She hesitates, unsure whether or not to tell Trish about Austin. "Um…I might have made a…friend?" she says.

"A friend?" Trish asks, her voice confused. "Who is she?"

"It's a he," Ally corrects. "His name is Austin and he came into the store a few weeks ago and ruined my drum display. And then I ran into him on Christmas and he asked me out, I think, and I said no but then he asked if I wanted to be his friend."

"Do you like him?" Trish asks carefully.

"He's really nice," Ally says neutrally. "And he likes music."

"But do you like him, Ally?"

"Yeah, I think so," she whispers after a long moment. "He seems…different. But not like that. I'm…I'm allowed to feel lonely, right?"

"Oh, Ally," Trish sighs. "You are allowed to feel lonely and you are allowed to do something about it. Do you have his number?"

"But I don't want to give him the wrong idea," Ally says worriedly. "And yeah, he gave it to me. He doesn't have mine, though. He said that way I could call him without any pressure."

"If he already did that, I don't think he has the wrong idea, Ally," Trish says. "You're awesome, why wouldn't he want to be your friend?"

She laughs a little. "Thanks, Trish."

"Call him, Ally," she encourages. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could turn out to be a serial killer, or he could hate pickles or—"

"Ally," she interrupts. "Take a chance."

'And break down the walls,' she thinks, before she can even stop herself. Lyrics.

She grabs her songbook from underneath the counter and scribbles it down. "Okay, Trish," she says, staring thoughtfully at the first words she's written in her book in over two years. "Okay."

He's half asleep when his phone rings, one leg dangling off the couch and his arms folded behind his head. He had been in the middle of attempting to write a song but the lack of inspiration in addition to the softness of his couch had made that task slightly difficult.

He fumbles around for the vibrating object on the coffee table before hauling himself up to a seated position, looking confusedly at the unknown ID.

"Hello?" he answers.

"Um…is this Austin?" The voice is soft, feminine, and he immediately perks up.

"Speaking."

"This is Ally? From Sonic Boom? And from um, Christmas?"

He grins so widely his jaw hurts for a second. "Hi, Ally," he replies. "How are you?"

"Good," she answers. "I…I don't know if this is weird, but you said that we could maybe be friends?" she asks, her voice hesitant. "I guess I haven't really made a new friend in a long time." She laughs a little.

"I'd still like that," he answers. "And it's okay if it's a little weird."

She laughs again and he feels himself fall just a little bit further. "So…I don't really like coffee, but what are your thoughts on ice cream?"

"I love ice cream." He pauses. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I hate coffee."

"Then why'd you ask if I wanted to get some?"

He shrugs before he remembers that she can't see him. "Most women like it."

He hears her suck in a breath. "I'm…I'm not really like most women."

Austin has a feeling she's talking about something deeper but this isn't the time to find out. "Well, of course you're not," he replies cheekily. "You hate coffee. So how about tomorrow?"

She breathes a laugh and agrees to meet him at the ice cream shop at the mall once she's done with work.

"I'm really glad you called, Ally," he says quickly. "See you tomorrow."

There's a pause. "Me too," she whispers finally. "Bye, Austin."

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