Summary: Ally Dawson's story begins after she is accepted to her dream school in New York. When her talent is quickly recognized and fame is thrust upon her, she thinks she has it all together – until she meets Austin Moon, who turns her world upside down. / Based off 1989 by Taylor Swift. Multi-Chapter.

A/N: Onto chapter three. Thanks to those who've been following along so far! To everyone who asked when Austin was (finally) going to show up...here's your answer. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or 1989 by Taylor Swift.

Style:
"Her heart belonged to someone who couldn't stay."
- Taylor Swift

Ally's relationship with Dallas lasted two months.

The problem wasn't that they didn't like each other as much as they originally thought, or that they fought, or he cheated on her, or anything like that. They just didn't have enough time for each other. With Ally in the middle of working on her debut album, she was in the recording studio whenever she wasn't at school. And Dallas had a part-time job on weekends at the tech shop downtown. As often as they tried to schedule time for dates or to just catch up, things kept popping up and they would have to reschedule. But they did their best and stuck with it until finally one day they caught each other in the morning before school and ended it. They knew for now it was better this way, and maybe, if they still felt the same way later, they could try again.

As optimistic as Ally wants to be about Dallas, she's having trouble being optimistic about any chance at a relationship again. It's finally June, and for most people that means the end of the school year. But for Ally, it also means the release of her debut album. After working tirelessly on it for months on end, pulling all-nighters and even missing a couple classes, she finished it, and in just a couple weeks, it'll be out, and life as she knows it might be changed forever.

Now, however, Ally is heading home from a talk with her producers at the studio. She's readjusting her bag on her shoulder as she turns the corner and passes a coffee shop when she remembers she forgot her cell phone at the studio. But just as she turns around to go back, she bumps into someone hard, causing the person to shout in shock and drop their coffee cup on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ally exclaims to the stranger. "I wasn't watching where I was going, I didn't mean to make you drop your coffee! Here, why don't I –"

The stranger laughs, causing her to finally look up at them. He's quite tall, with messy blonde hair and brown eyes and a wide grin that catches her by surprise, especially considering she just made him drop his coffee.

"It's alright," he says, bending down to pick up the now useless cup and tossing it in a nearby garbage can. "It's just coffee, it happens."

"Oh," Ally mutters. "Still, it wouldn't hurt for me to buy you a new one."

"You don't have to. I can get one later. If anything, you did me a favour. I've been drinking coffee by the gallon these days, and I just can't seem to bring myself to cut back," he replies.

Ally laughs. "Still."

The stranger shakes his head. "It's really nothing." Then he holds out his hand. "I'm Austin, by the way. Austin Moon."

Ally slowly takes Austin's hand and shakes it. "I'm Ally. Ally Dawson."

Suddenly, a flash of recognition shows in Austin's eyes.

"I thought you looked familiar," he says. "I heard your song on the radio a while ago and couldn't get it out of my head. You're really talented."

Ally smiles. "Thank you. I still can't believe how many people enjoyed it."

"Oh, but it's incredible!" he says. "Are you putting out anything new sometime soon?"

Ally nods. "Yeah, my album actually comes out in two weeks. I'm really excited for it."

Austin smiles. "I'll make sure to check it out," he replies. "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Ally."

"You, too," she says, then starts to walk around him. Just as she gets to the corner, however, she hears someone run up to her and looks to see Austin walking beside her.

"Did you forget something?" she asks with a laugh.

He chuckles. "Not exactly," he says. "I just remembered I was supposed to be heading this way and thought I'd walk with you."

"Ohh, that's it," she replies. "You sure you just didn't want to walk with me to wherever it is I'm going?"

"That – that might be a small part of it, too," he says.

She laughs, but doesn't push him away. This Austin guy seems really interesting, and for the first time since Dallas, she wouldn't mind getting to know him a little more.

And she definitely does. They talk all the way to the studio and back to the coffee shop, where they manage to find a vacant seat at the back (she also manages to buy him that coffee) and talk for a while. She learns that he's also from Miami – they apparently went to the same high school but never ran into each other – his parents own the mattress store in town, and he's staying in New York for the summer to attend a music program a few blocks down the street. Then he brings up his days when he thought he might be an incredible basketball player and something clicks.

"Wait a minute. Were you on the school basketball team?" she interrupts.

Austin nods. "Yeah, for two years. Why?"

She opens her mouth to respond, but quickly shuts. Could it really be him?

"Ally?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing, it's just – one of my friends told me a guy on the basketball team watched me play piano after school and...well, the name I remember kinda rhymes with yours," she admits.

"Oh," Austin says after a moment, then looks down at his empty coffee mug in his hand. "Right."

"Right? Right what?"

He laughs before looking up. "I'm just surprised you actually remembered that, is all."

"So it was you, then?" she asks.

"Depends. Would you think I'm weird if it was?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "No," she replies. "I'd think that was kinda cute, actually. But you could've said something if you wanted to. I don't bite."

Austin laughs again. "I know. I just didn't want to interrupt something so incredible. The music you made then sounded so amazing, and it reminded me of how much I loved playing. I had to keep quiet about it, though, because my parents never believed it would go anywhere." He pauses. "But hearing you play, I thought it wasn't such a long shot. So I gave up basketball at the end of the year and spent the rest of high school trying to make it somewhere with music. My parents weren't too thrilled, but when they realized I wasn't going to give up again, they let it go."

Ally's at a loss for words after this. The part where he said she basically gave him the hope to start playing again keeps ringing in her ears, and she's having trouble believing they never ran into each other once all through high school. She wonders what their lives might've been like if they had.

Finally, she drops her gaze and clears her throat.

"So, where do you go to school, then?" she asks.

"Nowhere yet," he admits. "I took the year off to work so I could make enough money for college. The music program is my chance to try and get into one of the bigger music schools."

"Like where?"

He pauses. "Juilliard," he admits. "If I do well enough at this program, I could get a scholarship to Juilliard. But that's crazy talk, right? Only insanely talented people get into Juilliard," he adds.

But Ally shakes her head. "That's not crazy at all," she says. "I think that's an incredible idea, actually. I also think you'll get in."

He looks up in shock. "You've never even heard me play."

She shrugs. "I know," she says. "But your passion for music doesn't seem like it'd belong to someone who can't even play. I'm sure you're a great musician."

Austin smiles. "Thanks, Ally," he says. "That means a lot."

Ally smiles back. "You're welcome."

Silence falls between them, and she takes this time to look around the coffee shop for a moment. She takes notice of how vacant the place seems, and how dark it looks outside the front doors. Her eyes land on the clock, and she jumps.

Austin's gaze follows hers to clock, wondering what caused her to jump. Reading the time, he says, "Whoa, is it really that late?"

Ally nods. "I should really be getting home, like, now," she says.

"Me, too," Austin replies, and together they walk quickly out of the coffee shop and down the street. Once they reach the corner, they slow down.

"My, uh, my dorm is down this street, so..." Austin says slowly.

"Oh," Ally replies. "Okay. I guess I'll see you later, then?"

Austin nods. "I guess." He only takes a couple steps away when he quickly turns around again and says, "I kind of need your number if we plan on hanging out again."

"Oh. Oh, right!" Ally says. "Right." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and trades it for his, both of them typing their numbers in, then trading back.

"Now I'll see you later," Austin says.

Ally smiles. "I hope so," she replies, but it's too quiet and he's too far away to hear this, so she continues her walk down the street back to her own apartment. Maybe this one will be different. Maybe this one will be better. Maybe this one will never go out of style.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or leave it in a review. Or just review, cause that's cool, too.