A/N: Hello, hello! We meet again. Thank you so much to the lovely people who have left reviews on the first chapter. You guys are wonderful and they've made my days.

To hotXbun who asked if Ally was living with the Moons, she is not. In this chapter you'll get a little inside look on things but not entirely and to everyone else who reviewed, thank you so much! You guys are awesome.

Anyways, I'm sorry for the late update, I did plan on having this up back in March but voting for the Kids Choice Awards happened and I have the attention span of a squirrel… Can you believe we won all three categories?! INSANE. Power to all of us.

Special thanks to Frida, who I asked to look over this. I've been moving a lot of things around and had been really unsure about this chapter but she immediately told me to post it the moment she read it. Bless her.

And without further ado, here is the next chapter! Don't forget to read & review and/or follow & favourite! I appreciate it loads ;)

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything except the idea.

Chapter 2: Different

Lying in his childhood bedroom seemed so foreign to him now.

Granted, there were still Zaliens posters plastered on the wall and a Jackson Lowe signed guitar that he had mounted up against the blue wallpaper but even so, everything just seemed so different.

His parents had rearranged his whole bedroom while he was gone, there weren't many things left. Signed baseballs and random knick knacks had all found a home in a box and were situated in the back of his closet and for some reason the carpet had been ripped out from his room and there was a black rug by his bed, draped over the hardwood floors.

His desk seemed so empty without the piles of books and papers and unused song lyrics from back in the day and there were only a few photos on his dresser. And even the sheets didn't even smell like the laundry detergent his mother used back when he was in high school, she had changed brands and all he could smell was lavender (ick) instead of spring breeze.

Everything felt the same but it was different, which was exactly how he felt earlier when he had dinner with his parents and Ally.

When his dad came home, Mike had been surprised but welcomed him home with opened arms. He had greeted his wife with a kiss and Ally with a strong hug like her presence in the Moon household wasn't anything new. His parents had adored Ally and his friends throughout high school and they were sad when they had broken up even though they knew it was for the best.

Yet, he didn't really understand why his former best friend, ex-girlfriend, and kind of, maybe the love of his life was at his parents' house; the last time he had seen her was before he left for tour that early August. She was headed to New York on a full ride scholarship to MUNY later on in the month. He had felt a bit guilty during dinner because he hadn't spoken to her much since he moved out to California, or at all really. He had only kept in touch with Dez who had moved out to Los Angeles, Kira because her father was once his boss, and Jace who had gone to San Francisco for school so it was easy to call him up and meet up once in a while, but regardless she had made him felt so welcome in his own home and he really did want to catch up with her while he was there for the time being.

Dinner had been cut short when she got a call from her mom, telling her to come home. Ally didn't even get reprimanded by his parents who always had a general rule of no phones at the table no matter who you were, instead they hugged her, told her thanks for coming to dinner and that they would see her tomorrow.

He exhaled sharply as he looked up at his ceiling, it sucked feeling like a stranger towards someone you used to be so close with and he had so many questions when it came to the petite brunette. Why wasn't she in New York? Why was she at his house? Was this a daily occurrence? It seemed to be considering how his parents had easily accommodated Ally into his childhood home with ease.

"Austin?"

He sat up as the door opened and his mother popped her head into his bedroom, "Hey, sweetie. Your father and I are headed out for a bit with some friends. Did you want to come with?" she wondered and Austin shook his head,"No, it's okay. I'm kind of jetlagged and I'm exhausted but thanks."

Mimi grinned and walked over to him, pressing her lips to his head, "Of course, Little Prince. Your father and I are going to take the next couple off days off because we've missed you so much. We're so glad you're home."

He smiled softly, "You know I would've came home, right? If you asked…"

Mimi nodded, "I know that, sweetheart. But you were so busy, your father and I are so proud of you we didn't want to take you away from your work. We didn't mind coming to you," she fixed his hair and placed her hands on his shoulders. "But you're here now and we have what, a couple of weeks until you have to go back? We're going to make the best of it."

Cracking another smile he grabbed her hands and squeezed them, "Love you, Mom."

"I love you too," she said back and kissed his head again, "If you need us to bring something home for you let us know, okay?"

"I will," Austin replied as Mimi squeezed his hands and let go, making her way out of the room, not before Austin called her out again.

"Hey Mom?"

The blonde woman turned around looked at her son. Austin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Why isn't Ally in New York?"

Mimi's face faltered a bit as she gave her son a sad smile, "That's something you need to talk to her about, sweetie."

A frown reached his face, "Does she hate me for not keeping in touch?" he asked as he looked up at her.

Walking back into his room, Mimi sat on the edge of his bed and shook her head, "Of course not, sweetie. You were busy with touring once you graduated and then school and Ramone Records. You know she could never hate you."

"Everything's the same but it feels so different," Austin spoke, "It was nice seeing her but a lot has changed in three years. I'm not the same person I was back then."

"And she's not the same person she was back then either, Austin," Mimi stated seriously, "A lot happened when you left. You're not wrong, Ally is supposed to be in New York but she isn't. She didn't go."

He gnawed on his lower lip in deep thought before nodding his head, taking in her words, "Okay," he said, "Thanks mom."

"Dude! Why didn't you tell me you were home?!"

"Dez," Austin rolled his eyes in amusement, "We were supposed to go home together last week, remember? But some things came up at Ramone Records and you had to go without me."

"Oh," the redhead said as silence overcame the two best friends, "Right. I forgot."

"Yeah," Austin chuckled, "I was supposed to arrive later on this week but I couldn't help it. I missed my parents."

"Did you see Ally?"

"She had dinner with me and my parents earlier," The former rockstar furrowed his eyebrows, "Did you know she was in Miami this whole time?"

"Of course I did. Carrie talks to Piper who talks to Ally. I also talk to Jace who talks to Trish who talks to Ally. And also Kira who talks to Ally. And Dallas who talks to Cassidy who talks to Ally."

Austin laid back down on his bed and huffed, "Am I the only one who didn't know Ally didn't go to New York?"

Dez sat silent on the other line and if Austin didn't know any better he would've thought his best friend had hung up on him.

"She didn't want to tell you." Was all he said. "Look, Austin. There was a lot of shit that went down when you left for your tour just before we all headed to college and it's not in anyone's place but Ally to tell you."

"My mom said the exact same thing," the blonde murmured and Dez hummed on the other line in agreement, "She's not wrong, dude," he said, "And you… stopped calling us after a few weeks of being on tour, remember? It was like we never existed to you anymore."

"Dez-"

"And it's fine," Dez interrupted, "We understood because you were chasing your dream and then Kira told us you had ended your contract with Jimmy- which came as a shock to us all and then that's when you called me up, remember?"

He could remember that day clearly, it was like the weight had been lifted off his shoulders the moment he ended his career with Starr Records. But he couldn't help but feel quite lonely and the realization that he didn't really have anyone aside from Kira to talk to.

How did he get so invested into his work that he had no time for the people who mattered most to him? He would hear little updates from Kira here and there but she had her own life as well. She had been going back and forth between Miami, Atlanta, and helping her father out on her breaks, seeing Austin on/off while he was touring.

Kira had never once mentioned Ally in New York, only saying that yes, she still spoke with the brunette and that she was good and tired and that she missed him.

So after his contract was over and realizing he had no one to talk to, he rung up Dez knowing that regardless of everything, he had him.

They'd been inseparable, yet again, since.

"Yeah…" he said softly, regret still clouding his thoughts. He sighed loudly and ran a tired hand over his face before sitting up in bed. "I'm still sorry about that."

"It's fine, buddy. It's not like you meant to. Anyways, I have to go. Carrie bought our new turtle a pet monkey and I have to go feed it. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Austin let out a laugh and nodded his best friend's behavior nothing new. He loved his craziness, "Sure dude. See you tomorrow."

With a click, he brought the phone down from his ear and sighed again, his eyes drifting to his bedside table.

A black and white picture frame sat on top of it and he sat on the edge of his bed to inspect it even more.

He had never seen it before.

With a curious mind he took it into his calloused hand and a smile graced his face when he saw it.

Graduation day.

Him and Ally.

Austin stared at it a little longer, the memories coming back to him, back when things seemed so carefree and he didn't have to worry about the real world. The Ally in the photo was so much different than the Ally he had seen hours prior.

The Ally from a few hours ago seemed more tired.

The Ally from a few hours ago seemed more quiet.

The Ally from a few hours ago seemed to have lost her smile the last three years.

The Ally from a few hours ago was still his Ally but she was different all together.

His heart felt heavy as he kept looking at the photo.

"What on earth happened to you, Als?" he murmured before placing it back on the bedside table.

With another sigh he stood up and grabbed his jacket, feeling very suffocated in the confinements of his bedroom. He needed to get out, he needed some fresh air.

Everything was different and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

So he headed to the one place he knew would always stay the same and was always a place where he sought refuge when he was a teen.

The practice room.