Disclaimer: Austin and Ally is not mine. And Austin Moon belongs to Ally Dawson.

A/N: This is a short-ish chapter which is why I'm updating kind of quickly but I hope you guys enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and followed so far. I really love your feedback and it's awesome to hear what you like (or don't like). Or tell me on Twitter (same handle)!


When Austin arrives at her house the next afternoon, she has a mini panic attack on the other side of the door—her heart starts beating wildly and her breathing becomes erratic. She takes a few deep breaths, flinching as he knocks a second time, but manages to compose herself enough to answer. Her palms are sweaty as she opens the door and she looks down at his shoes before hesitantly bringing her eyes up to his.

His hair is a little wet, like he just got out of the shower, and she can smell the bitter-clean scent of his soap and it's all she can do not to just stare at him. He looks at her silently for a few seconds, and then he steps forward and his hand is in her hair and her eyes drift shut as he presses his lips to hers.

The position is kind of uncomfortable with their height difference and she's standing on her tiptoes but she wouldn't change it for the world. He kisses her once, twice, three times before slowly pulling away and it takes her a second to open her eyes. She lowers her feet back to the ground and exhales heavily and then she looks up at him.

His hair is a little messy and eyes are dark and wild, pupils dilated, and she feels warmth pooling in the pit of her stomach as her pulse quickens.

"I um…um…oh, how was your flight?" she stammers, and then berates herself for asking such an inane question.

He blinks down at her, confused, and then he steps back, dropping his hands to his sides and she has to physically stop herself from gravitating toward him by digging her bare toes into the floor.

He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a breath. "Oh. Uh, it was fine, I guess."

She lets out a short, nervous laugh, eyes landing on the still open front door. "That's good. I, oh, um…you should maybe come in?"

She steps around him to shut the door and he pauses like he's deciding whether or not to do anything before walking past her into the living room. She follows him in, watching as he sits on the couch. Usually, under normal circumstances, she'd sit next to him, but she's freaking out and so decides to take the furthest possible seat from him, an armchair that's across the room, next to her piano.

He raises an eyebrow as he watches her walk to the chair, and she cringes as she trips over the corner of the rug.

"Ally."

She pauses, almost to the chair. She turns to him guiltily, feeling as if he's caught her doing something she's not supposed to be doing.

"Did you hear anything back?"

She blinks.

"From the record company guy?"

Oh. Okay, so they weren't going to talk about…what just happened.

It takes her a second to remember what he's talking about and then she can't believe she forgot. She raises her eyebrows in shock. "Oh my god, I don't know. I haven't looked since this morning!"

She turns sharply and bolts past him into her bedroom, grabbing her laptop and opening it as she runs back out. She forgets about sitting in the chair and instead sits down heavily next to him, bumping her shoulder with his. She opens her e-mail, scanning through the sale ads and notifications and then she sees it. It's a reply from the record executive, from about an hour ago, and she's suddenly paralyzed, unable to open the message.

Austin spots it a second after she does and turns to her excitedly, his face dropping when he sees her expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Don't be nervous, there's no way he didn't love it," he says.

She shakes her head. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Can you…" she hands the laptop to him, unable to look herself.

He takes it from her and gives her a sideways glance before clicking the message. He scans it quickly and then hands the computer back to her, his face giving nothing away. "Read it."

She looks at him before turning to the screen but his expression is blank. She reads it once, twice, three times, not quite believing what she's seeing. There, in black and white, are words saying that he had loved the songs, loved her voice, and that he was prepared to offer her a record deal, once they negotiated terms and conditions and oh god, she has a recording contract. She says the words aloud, the words sounding foreign to her ears.

He laughs and takes the laptop from her, putting it on the coffee table before wrapping his arms around her in a hug so tight she can't breathe for a second. "I'm so, so proud of you, Ally," he mumbles, and she feels tears coming to her eyes.

Her dream, what she had strived toward for so many years, is materializing in front of her and she can't believe how quickly things are changing. She hugs him back just as tightly and buries her face in his neck.

When they pull apart, she wipes her eyes with her hand, waving away his concern when he sees that she's crying. "I'm happy. I'm happy, don't worry," she reassures him.

His face relaxes as he grins at her. She gives him a watery smile back before breaking into a teary laugh, unable to hold it together. "I can't…I can't even believe…I'm going to have an album! That people can…people can buy! In a store!"

She pauses. "Actually, most people will buy it online, right? Or download it illegally! But my face is going to be on it! Oh god, my face—my face—is going to be on an album! We have to start writing! And what if there's a tour?"

She looks at him, eyes wide, and tightly grasps his shoulders, shaking him. "A tour, Austin!"

Her eyes widen further. "But what if nobody buys tickets? Or what if they want me to dance? You know I can't dance! And—" she trails off as he brings his hands to her forearms, gently prying her hands from their death grip on his shoulders.

"Calm down, Ally," he says, laughing. "Nothing's even happened yet and you're freaking out about months from now."

She opens her mouth to argue and then shuts it, realizing how absurd she must have sounded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

He gestures to the laptop. "Email him back. You have to set up a time to meet with him. We'll handle this one step at a time, okay? So don't freak out."

He frowns, apparently realizing that this advice is wasted on Ally. "I mean, don't freak out so much. Besides, you have a professional rock star to help you." He sits up straighter, giving her a pointed look.

She raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'd love to meet him," she says sarcastically, and laughs when he deflates a little.

"Very funny. But seriously, you know I've been through all of this stuff."

She smiles. "I know. Thanks, Austin."

They're silent for a second, and then she lets out a squeal, unable to hold in her emotions. "I have to tell everyone!"

She throws her arms around him once more in a quick hug and practically leaps off the couch to get her phone before he can do anything. She sends texts to Trish and Dez and calls her parents before heading into the kitchen, suddenly craving ice cream to celebrate.

She comes back out holding two spoons and a pint of fruity mint swirl to find Austin where she left him, and he smiles up at her. She sits cross-legged next to him. "I thought we could celebrate?"

Austin's eyes light up when she hands him a spoon and they dig in. He holds out his spoon to her in a toast, and she clinks his with hers, their eyes meeting. "Congratulations, Ally," he says quietly, and she swears her heart stops beating.

The words bring back a flood of memories all from two nights ago, the words he had said right before he kissed her for the very first time. They both freeze, eyes locked on each other, the ice cream starting to melt off their spoons. She blinks and looks down when she feels something cold drip on her bare leg and quickly brings the spoon to her mouth to avoid spilling more ice cream. That seems to break him out of his trance as he does the same, but then their spoons are clean and they're left looking at each other again.

One, two, three breaths pass before she slowly sets her spoon down and leans in to him, her eyes on his lips. She stops an inch away from his mouth and just breathes before she shuts her eyes and closes the distance between them. His is mouth is cold and his response is instantaneous as he pulls her closer and she suddenly finds herself sitting sideways on his lap with his arms around her waist.

Her hands are flat on his chest and she drags them slowly upward, clasping them loosely around his neck. She kisses him slowly, like she's memorizing the taste and feel of his mouth, as her fingers wind their way into his hair.

She feels his hands on her waist shift and then his hands inch under her shirt, rubbing lazy circles into the bare skin of her back, and she shivers at the sensation as he pulls her even closer. She breaks away from his mouth when she needs to breathe and lowers her head to press languid kisses to his neck.

She licks his collarbone experimentally and feels his groan vibrate through his chest. She does it again, feeling his fingers on her back clench, before bringing her mouth back up to his. He kisses her back feverishly, one hand moving from under her shirt to cup the back of her head, and she can feel his heart beating, rapid under her palm.

They're both out of breath when they break apart, their eyes locked as their breathing rates reach a more normal level.

He clears his throat, his eyes moving to her lips before he looks up at her again. "Um." He swallows. "We should talk."

She watches him watch her, then nods, suddenly extremely aware of her position on his lap. She slides off slowly and sits next to him sideways so her body is facing his.

"I…"

"We…"

They both speak at once and then fall silent, looking away from each other. His face is a little pink when he turns to face her and she can see his hands are trembling slightly. "You…the other night, on the phone, you said you weren't sorry that we…that we, you know."

She looks at him, eyes wide. "Of course I'm not, Austin. What just happened just now…" She gestures vaguely between them, "…didn't make that obvious?"

He lets out a breath. "So, you're okay. With…us?" He says the last word tentatively, looking past her.

She is a little confused at his hesitancy before she grasps that he's scared of what she's going to say despite the fact that she hasn't done anything to indicate that she's not more than okay with the recent turn of events. Austin is not the type to become insecure about anything, and she's never seen this side of him, afraid to put his heart on the line. He's usually impulsive, even when it comes to girls—and she's never seen him shy away from telling someone how he feels. For a second, she is floored, realizing just how much she must mean to him for him to be acting this way.

"Oh, Austin," she breathes. "You're so stupid."

He turns his head sharply to look at her, confusion on his face.

"I'm…" He trails off as she sits up on her knees and straddles him, her hair falling in a curtain around them as she takes his face in her hands. She kisses him softly, trying to show him that he has nothing to worry about, that she is as much his as he is hers.

She pulls away after only a few seconds and looks down at him, unable to keep the smile off her face, and he wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her neck, holding her tightly. He lets her go after a minute and she moves to a less suggestive position, her knees curled under her and pressed against the side of his thigh. She leans back into the cushions and turns her head to the side to look at him.

He turns too, so he's facing her, and leans the side of his head against the back of the couch. "So does this—" he gestures between them, "mean I have to take you out on dates now?"

She raises an eyebrow and reaches out one hand to shove him. He grins and catches her hand in his before she can and interlaces their fingers. She narrows her eyes at him. "Duh. And you're paying. You're the 'professional rock star,' after all." She makes air quotes with her free hand and smirks.

It's his turn to raise his eyebrows as he sits up straighter. "Oh, really? And who is it that negotiated her way into getting fifty percent of my song royalties again?"

She waves her hand. "Pssht. That's just because you're a huge sucker. And you'd be nowhere without me."

She expects him to protest again but instead his face is serious. "That's true," he says quietly.

She leans in. "Which part?" she whispers.

"I think you know," he whispers back, before leaning forward to kiss her.


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