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: Sorry about the late update. I was in Toronto the past couple days, and for some reason kind of completely forgot about uploading this today until, well, now, so...yeah. Here's chapter four! Hope you guys like it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or 1989 by Taylor Swift.
Out of the Woods:
"They loved each other recklessly."
- Taylor Swift
Austin officially asks her out the next time they see each other.
They meet up at the coffee shop again, but instead of staying there they decide to explore the city a bit, Ally acting as a sort of tour guide for Austin. They weren't even out for an hour when he asked the question.
"You wanna go out with me this Friday?"
Ally stops in her tracks, not sure she heard him right.
"What?" she asks with a laugh.
"Do you wanna go out with me? Friday night?" he repeats.
"Like – like on a date?"
He nods, laughing. "Well, yeah, that was kinda my intention."
"Oh," she mumbles, looking down. She kicks at a loose pebble on the sidewalk, unsure of how to respond. They've only spoken to each other for a few hours total, but even in those hours she knows she feels something different for him. But at the same time, does she want to risk what could be a great friendship for a relationship that has the possibility to fail just like the last one? Not to mention, with her album coming out in a week, the public will be paying close attention to her for a while.
She sighs. "Are you sure you want to?" she asks.
"Positive," he says immediately.
"Even with all the publicity?"
"Even then."
She smiles. This one feels different. Maybe this one will be easier, too.
She nods. "I would love to go out with you on Friday, Austin."
Their first date isn't quite as grand as Times Square on New Years Eve, but it's still amazing. When he picks her up at six to take her out to dinner, she's surprised when he stops by the Stardust Diner.
Pointing to the building, Ally says, "You know this place?"
Austin nods. "Yeah, I came here on my first night in New York. It's incredible." He looks at her. "Why? Have you been here before?"
"It's only like my favourite restaurant of all time," she replies.
He chuckles. "Well, I'm glad to know one thing will be fine tonight."
She laughs, and they walk inside together. He pulls her chair out for her, something she wasn't expecting, giving this date an even better start. After they order, the conversation begins, and it doesn't stop even once their food arrives, half the time neglecting it completely to pay attention to what the other is saying. It starts with music – the songs being sung around them, as well as their own favourites – but it quickly changes, and then they're going from school and interests to family and stories from their childhood. Once they finally finish their food, they head out again. Austin leads them to Central Park.
Outside, the bright sky is slowly fading as the sun sets. Summer is coming, but with it being the beginning of May, it's a little windy out. As they quietly walk through the park, Ally feels something lightly bump the back of her hand, and then Austin is grasping it with his, intertwining their fingers together. She smiles to herself at this.
As they walk past a pond, he speaks up.
"Do you remember me well? From school?" he asks.
She looks up at him, then shrugs. "A little."
"Really?"
She nods. "Yeah," she replies. "I didn't at first, but after finding out you were on the basketball team, some things came back to me. I don't think we had any classes together, but I did see you in the hallways quite a few times. You had a lot of friends."
He just shrugs. "I guess so. I don't talk to many of them now. Just Dez."
"Dez?"
"Tall, red-headed? He always wore those bright and colourful clothes?" he explains.
She thinks for a second. "I might've seen him a couple times, yeah."
"Yeah, he stands out," he replies, and she laughs.
"I wonder why."
He chuckles. After a moment, he says, "I remember you. From school."
"Really."
"Mm-hm," he says with a nod. "I think we discussed the whole 'observing you while you played music' thing before?"
She laughs. "I think I remember that coming up."
He laughs with her. "Yeah. I saw you around, too. We never did share any classes, no, but I saw you a lot. Our lockers were usually close. And you sometimes performed at school assemblies. It's no surprise you got so famous."
She smiles. "Thanks," she says.
"It's just the truth," he replies. "I never got the chance to talk to you in school. But I'm glad I ran into you here, in New York. I really like you."
"But we've only known each other for a week," she says.
"And we've only actually talked for about three days of that week. But that doesn't change anything."
Her smile grows, and she looks down as they continue walking. He slows down to a stop when they reach a tall lamppost in the middle of the park, and stands in front of her.
"So," he starts, "I know this is only our first date and we're not exactly at the gift-giving stage yet, but I was walking past this jewelry store a few days ago and I saw this in the window and it reminded me of you, so I just had to buy it." He pulls a small box out of his pocket, slowly handing it to Ally.
She takes it carefully, then lifts the lid. She gasps, for inside lies a small silver music note hanging on a thin chain. She pulls it out of the box to admire it up close.
"Austin," she says, "you really didn't have to do this for me. I... Wow." She meets his gaze. "Thank you."
He shrugs. "It was nothing," he says. "Here, why don't I help you put it on?"
She opens her mouth to protest, but lets him take the necklace out of her hand and open the clasp, then slowly wraps it around her neck and clips it together. She watches quietly as his hands slowly trail along the chain of the necklace, coming to a stop on the music note.
"There. Perfect," he says quietly.
She smiles, then looks up, meeting his gaze. He smiles back, but it fades quickly, and his eyes flicker to her lips before he begins to lean down, his hand going under her chin as he tilts her head up. Her eyes flutter to a close and then his lips meet hers and it's slow and gentle and she feels like a teen being kissed for the first time as she places her hands on his waist. He smiles into the kiss, and she laughs a little. But then he's pulling back and her eyes open and all she can do is beam at him and think about how she might finally be out of the woods and in the clear to start a new and better relationship with Austin Moon.
Problems arise after her album is released and she's doing signings and interviews nearly every day and his music program is getting tougher. Only after four weeks of being together, they have their first fight in her kitchen about making time for each other.
"How busy are you next Thursday night?" Austin asks her from the couch, flipping through channels on the TV. He would've asked about the four days before that, but she has as interview on Sunday and Monday, and from Monday to Wednesday he's packed with work for his program.
In the kitchen, Ally is looking in her fridge for something to drink. She says, "I think I'm doing a performance that night."
"Okay. Friday?" he asks.
"Another interview."
"What about Saturday? I won't have any classes."
Finding nothing, she stands and walks over to her coffee pot in the corner and plugs it in. Adding some water to it, she shakes her head. "No. I have a meeting in the morning, and then I'm doing an interview and a performance that evening."
"What about in between that? In the afternoon?"
"I don't think I'll have any time in between that."
"Oh." He falls silent again, and she thinks the conversation might be over until he says, "So, we don't have any time to go out at all next week?"
She just shrugs. "I know," she says. "It's okay, though. We can just go out the week after." She turns around to grab her mug from the cupboard.
"Why are you so okay with this?" he asks, and his sudden change in tone makes her turn around again to look at him.
"I don't understand," she says slowly.
He stands from the couch and walks into the kitchen, stopping in front of her.
"I mean, why are you fine with us having no time to spend together next week? Why aren't you trying harder to make room?" He pauses. "Why aren't either of us trying hard enough?"
She gapes at him. "Excuse me, I'll have you know I am trying! I can't help it that I'm swamped with meetings and interviews all day no more than you can help this program! We're both busy right now! We won't be busy forever."
"And what if we are? What if you go on tour after this? What if I'm accepted to Juilliard and I'm still busy with school? We can't put this off, Ally! We have to make time for each other if we want this to work! I know I do. Do you?"
"I – Of course I do!" she shouts. "I'm just –"
"– busy. I know."
She glares at him, but something in his eyes causes her to drop this look. He's angry, yes, but he's frustrated and worried, too. He cares about her more than she expected him to, and in that moment she realizes just how much she feels the same way.
She sighs. "I'm sorry, Austin," she says. "I don't mean to make you think I don't care. It's just that..." She pauses to take a deep breath, "my last relationship was a lot like this. We were too busy to hang out, and after two months, we ended it."
"You didn't think all relationships were like that, did you?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I thought mine would be, with my sudden fame and all." She pauses. "I just wanna make this work," she adds quietly.
Austin sighs. "Me, too," he replies. "Look, I'm sorry for getting so mad at you, Ally. I wasn't trying to say that you didn't care about us. I was just...scared, I guess. I don't wanna lose you. And...I love you."
Very quickly, she looks up. "What?"
Louder, he repeats, "I love you." Realizing how much this might mean to her, he adds, "I mean, I know we've only been together for barely a month and we haven't seen each other a lot, but I know you and I know this, and –"
"I love you, too," she interrupts, and she surprises even herself when she realizes just how much she means this.
"– felt it was – what?"
She smiles. "I love you, too."
"Really?"
She doesn't hesitate in nodding a reply, and he quickly leans down and kisses her with a passion she's never received before and she kisses him back with the same intensity. Her back is pushing into the counter behind her, but then he wraps his arms around her waist to pick her up and sit her on it. She wraps her legs tight around his own waist, and his hands are trailing down her back and hers are tangled in his hair and she parts her mouth a little to deepen the kiss. His hands reach the hem of her shirt, and she doesn't stop him as he slowly pulls it up and over her head, tossing it onto the floor behind him. Just as he goes to resume kissing her again, she stops him.
"Maybe," she starts, out of breath, "maybe we should take this somewhere else."
He just nods in agreement, and then his mouth is on hers again and they manage to stumble their way into her bedroom and fall into her bed together. They don't say anything else to each other for the rest of the night, but they don't need to.
Things get easier after that. She visits him at his music program on weeknights when he's not busy and she has no meetings and is introduced to his roommate – the odd redhead named Dez Wade that he mentioned once before, who's trying to get a scholarship for film school – and he comes with her to her interviews and meetings at the studio on the weekends he's free. They find a way to make it work, and she thinks this is the happiest she's been in a while.
In the middle of July she's getting ready for bed when Austin walks out of the bathroom and up to her with a concerned expression on his face.
"What is it?" she asks, moving pillows and pulling back the covers.
"What happened at your meeting today?" he asks.
She stops in her actions, quiet. Then she shakes her head and stands straight. "What do you mean?"
He takes a step closer to her. "The meeting at the studio. When you called afterwards, you sounded upset about something." He pauses. "They didn't drop you, did they?"
Her eyes widen in shock. "No, no! They didn't drop me, Austin!" she exclaims. "I'm still signed, don't worry."
"Then why were you so upset?"
"I wasn't upset," she denies.
"You sounded like you were crying."
"I..." She trails off, sitting down on the edge of her bed. He sits next to her and places a hand over hers.
"What is it, Ally?" he asks quietly.
She sighs. "I wasn't upset. I was...I was nervous."
"Nervous? About what?"
"About us." She pauses. "I was nervous about us because they, uh...the producers were talking about finalizing tour dates." She looks up to meet Austin's gaze. "They want me to go on tour in the fall and I don't know how to tell them I don't want to because I don't want to lose you, Austin, and I know that might sound dumb, I mean, we've only been together for like two months and that's probably nothing to them, but it's about as long as most of my relationships have lasted and I love you and I can't – I just can't lose you, not yet, not now, not when things have been so good between us. I'm just – I'm so sorry I had to drag you into this mess, I'm so –"
She's cut off by her own choke on a sob and he puts his arm around her and hugs her close while she cries into his chest. She can hear him telling her they'll be okay and they'll figure it out, but it's muffled and she's afraid that they won't be able to sustain the separation while she's touring the country and he's in Juilliard and one of them will crack and she'll be lost again. She's fallen hard for him in these two months and she knows she'll fall harder in the next two. She thinks maybe fame isn't so worth it after all if you can't be with the person you love while doing what you love.
Her crying slows down and he pulls her up, his hands on her face as he wipes away the rest of her tears. She almost wants to start crying again just so he'll never let her go, but she holds it together.
"Hey, look at me, Ally," he says quietly. "We're gonna be okay. Alright? We're gonna be okay. We'll figure it out. I knew getting into this relationship that things might be different, that you might have to leave for months at a time, but I did it, anyway. And I'm still here. Why? Because I love you. I'm so crazy in love with you, Ally, and I'm not gonna let something like a national tour get between us. Okay? We're gonna make it. I know we will."
She sniffles, but manages a smile.
"You gonna be okay?" he asks.
She nods.
He smiles. "Okay," he whispers, leaning up and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I love you. Don't you ever forget that."
"I know," she says. "I love you, too. And Austin?"
"Yeah?"
She pauses. "Thank you."
He smiles. "Anything for you, Ally."
Once again, he's filled her with the hope that nothing could go wrong between them, and they fall asleep quickly that night, both with a smile on their face.
The rest of July passes by quickly with minimal issues, and then it's August and Austin has his final exam at his music program during the first week, so the time they spend together is filled with studying. After the exam, the waiting comes.
A week later he shows up at her apartment with a letter in his hand, and immediately she knows what it is.
"Did you get in?" she asks excitedly.
He steps past her and straight to her living room, where he begins pacing.
Slowly shutting the door, she says, "Or you haven't opened it yet."
She walks up to him and he stops pacing in front of her.
"What if I didn't get in? I mean, I know I answered one question wrong, I checked after, but it's just one question, right? But what if it wasn't the only one? And then there was the presentation the next day and I'm sure I messed up a couple chords, I know they noticed something, I could tell when I left the room." He groans and sits on the couch. "What if I didn't get in, Ally? What do I do then?"
She sits down next to him. "If you didn't get in, I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out. But you won't be able to do anything until you open that letter."
He nods, then stares at the letter in his hand. After a second, he hands it to her. "You open it," he says.
She slowly takes it from him. "You sure you want to do that?"
He just nods again, then looks away.
Envelope in hand, she turns it over and pries it open, pulling out the letter. She reads it over once, then twice, then skims it a third time to make sure she read it correctly, leaving her face expressionless. After a minute, Austin speaks again.
"Well?" he asks.
She smiles, then turns the letter around for him to read and shouts, "You got in!"
"What?" Austin exclaims, grabbing the letter and standing up. He reads it for himself before saying, "I got in?"
Ally stands with him. "You got in! You're going to Juilliard!"
"I'm going to Juilliard?" He glances at the letter again, and finally a grin appears. "I'm going to Juilliard!" Then he wraps his arms around Ally in a tight hug.
"I'm so proud of you!" she says. "You did it! You really did it!"
Austin pulls back from the hug to stare at the letter again. "I can't believe this. I'm going to Juilliard. I'm actually going to Juilliard. And on a full scholarship, too! I can't believe this."
Ally laughs. "I know, it's a crazy feeling, huh? I couldn't believe it when I got into MUNY, much less managed to make it to where I am today."
Now Austin looks up from the letter. "I highly doubt that. You're too talented to have not gotten into MUNY. And I bet if I can get into Juilliard, you could, too." He pauses. "Why didn't you decide to go to Juilliard, anyway?"
Ally shrugs. "It wasn't what I was looking for. They're all about performing. MUNY is for me to study music," she explains. "But enough about me. This is your moment right now. We should celebrate – I'll pay."
Austin chuckles. "Alright. Stardust Diner?"
"Whatever you want," she replies. Grabbing her purse, Ally follows Austin out into the hallway and to the elevator, ready to embark on this new chapter in his musical journey now, and she can't wait to see where it brings them.
A guest reviewer asked me if this story was going to have an update schedule, to which I would say yes. I plan to update this story about every five days. I don't want to be the type to leave you guys hanging for a month or two, but I also don't want to update everyday, because then this story would begin and end in like two weeks. But yeah, about every five days I'll upload a new chapter.
Thanks for reading! I keep mentioning it, but leave any questions you have in the reviews or PM me, because I will answer them. You can also jut leave a review telling me what you think so far. Those always make me happy. But anyways. :)