I actually started this chapter with intentions of it being a lot longer until I realized how important the ending of this chapter will be in the future. Next chapter is definitely one of my favorites to write as well, but I feel leaving off where I am going to on this one, is important. Anyway, thank you for the reviews and such on the last chapter, and I promise you will enjoy what is up next. I'm loving writing an excited but really nervous Austin and a much more adult like Ally. I know Ally is already very adult like in the show, but this one shows how she has gotten along since what we see on TV. And I can't help but make Dez a bit jealous in this chapter. ;) Hehe.

As for what is to come, there are only probably two more chapters, maybe three before we get to NYC. I know it seems like I'm dragging it, but it's the moments that lead up to NYC, which are really important later on. I mentioned this already, and you can see in this chapter too how much Austin and Ally have started to lean on each other for support. And Ally's crush on Austin, of course. Will Austin like her back? You'll have to wait and see.

Ally ushered the last of the party goers from her music store, sighing happily as the room finally settled back in its quiet. She leaned against the heavy metal frame, closing her eyes. After getting Austin to calm down, the party had been such a great time. Not only had Austin taken the stage at his own party and rocked it as usual, Trish had also proved she could sing her ass off, and had left the party an hour before with a blond of her very own.

"You look relieved," a voice chuckled.

She snapped open her eyes and smiled warmly at the birthday boy. "Just glad that my store is empty again. I loved having everyone here, but it's a lot to worry about. Someone could've gotten hurt, or someone could've hurt something in the store…"

"Oh, Ally, you worry too much," Austin muttered back, patting her on the shoulder. She made room for him at the door and they stood quietly for a moment together. "I had a great time. Thank you. I'm glad you got me to come."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Austin, great things are coming for you. I can promise you that."

He smirked at her, and she couldn't help but feel a bit in love. He was so perfect and he had no idea. "I think I'm just going to take it day by day now. Or at least try to. I might need some reminding," he joked.

"You can count on me." And she meant that.

The next morning, Ally prepared for her shift at Sonic Boom with a cup of tea, and her morning cloud watching. While she wasn't into it as much as she used to when she was younger, Ally often found herself sitting on the porch of her house, watching random clouds for her own entertainment.

It was going to be a beautiful day. The air was warm and the constant smell of salt was in the air. Ally looked down at her dress she picked out that morning, playing with a frayed edge. She knew she was meeting the others for lunch when she got off, and that was what kept her from whining about such an early morning shift at work.

Finishing her tea, she set off for the mall. It was already busy for a Sunday, and she found herself helping customers the moment she unlocked the door and set down her bag. Everyone needed something and had a million questions, so she didn't even notice when her friends came walking in, looking for her to leave for lunch.

She was frantically chasing after a little boy with a guitar in his hands, begging him to put it down when they walked over, laughing to themselves. Ally didn't have a mean bone in her body, so the boy was just laughing as he darted through the sections of the store, enjoying his game with the employee. Ally grew tired and threw her hands into the air, giving up. She walked up to the others, growing even more annoyed. "Just waiting for my shift to be relieved and then we can go," she told them with a slight laugh. "He's already ten minutes late."

They groaned, obviously annoyed with the newest employee of Sonic Boom. The boy was in his early twenties, and had a tendency to smell of pot. Constantly late, Ally had to wonder why she even hired him in the first place. But then, seconds before she was ready to lose it on the little boy who now another guitar, the employee walked in, mumbling about bad traffic. She doubted that, but nearly flung the keys at him and ran out of the door.

"Team Austin are now all eighteen!" Trish cheered as she took a sip of her soda. "This is great."

Ally giggled to herself and took a bite of her lunch. "So, how was the rest of your night, Trish?"

Trish's eyes fell. "Oh, you mean with that blond kid. It was alright. He was a bit of a bore."

"What blond boy?" Dez asked. Ally stared at him and couldn't help but notice he looked a bit jealous of there being another boy in Trish's life.

"He was nothing, Dez. He kept trying to get me to see a movie so I just agreed. He took me to a chick flick!" she complained, mostly to Ally. As much as Trish loved chick flicks, she knew the girl could withstand some of the most downright disgusting horror movies around and preferred a guy who could watch them with her. "He cried. Ally, he cried when the movie ended."

Ally snorted and looked at the two boys, who now seemed bored out of their own minds. "Oh, boys. So, what did you do after the party last night, Dez?"

"Went to bed," he said simply.

"We're such party animals," Austin said with a laugh of his own. He went to add something when his cell phone started to ring. He put one hand up, as if to say, hold that thought and answered the phone. "Hello? Oh, yes. This is Austin Moon. Oh… yes, yes! I remember you."

Ally frowned a bit. Who was he talking to?

"Come down to the studio later today? Yeah, I could do that. I don't have anymore music samples that are recorded, but I definitely could sing whatever you want me to. I'd be honored, man. Of course. Okay, let me just get a piece of paper and I'll write down the address. Yeah, thanks. Okay, yup. Sounds great. Thank you so much. See you in a few hours."

Austin hung up the phone and Ally was sure that the sun had competition for the brightest thing in Miami that day. Austin's smile was bigger than she had ever seen before and she didn't have to ask who was on the phone because from the second he looked at her, she knew. Ally was up before anyone else and she ran over to hug him, telling him she knew the person would call. They stared at each other for a moment, both mentally reminded of the chat in his room last night, and the chat on the beach.

"They want me to come downtown to hear me live at four," he finally said, looking to all his friends. "If the boss likes what he hears, they want to sign me. He liked what he heard on the tape, but said something about live music being different from what is recorded. This is unbelievable!"

Team Austin all jumped up, talking at once. Trish and Ally were discussing the possibilities of Austin being signed to a label, while Dez was asking he'd still be able to record his videos once his was famous.

Ally stopped talking and really looked at Austin. It was the first time in a while that she could really see he believed that he could do something. Sure, he felt on top of the world at the concert too, but there was something different about the Austin standing in front of her. She couldn't be more proud of him and momentarily got lost in her own thoughts.

"Ally?"

Reality slapped her back.

"I was asking you something," Austin chuckled.

"Oh. Sorry. What's up?"

"I wanted to know if you'd like to come with me later." A brief second of worry crossed his confident expression. "I'd be nice to have someone in my corner."

"I'm busy," Trish explained. "And Dez has to… I don't know what he just told me. Something about a new jam recipe."

Dez smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, of course," she agreed, not thinking about it for a second. Ally couldn't wait to see Austin perform what would be ironically, the smallest yet most important concert of his internet famed, but soon to be much larger career. "I'd love to."

He grinned back at her, almost wildly and then jumped into the air. "This is the greatest day of my life!"

Trying to keep Austin occupied until four that afternoon was proving difficult for Ally. He wanted nothing more than to ride downtown and start singing his heart out, but she knew if he showed up early, something wouldn't go right. So, until they needed to leave, she had convinced him to get some ice cream with her, and watch some clouds.

"I told you this a long time ago, Ally, but I am not a cloud watcher," he complained as he licked some of the ice cream off his cone. "You can enjoy it. But I won't."

"It'll calm you down," she insisted, pulling him along. "Just lay back and relax."

They were sitting in a park near the mall, under a large maple tree that had enough openings between leaves that made it so you could see the sky. She was leaning on the tree itself, making Austin sit and enjoy what was above him. He handed her his ice cream and sighed, lying down. He stared at the sky for a few minutes and when Ally was going to ask if it was really "that bad", she noticed he seemed to actually be into it.

He wasn't saying anything of course, but he seemed at ease. She knew he was nervous but excited and needed something to bring him to that Austin that came onto the stage at shows. This was perfect. And he thought cloud watching was stupid!

"I think you should lie down next to me," Austin said suddenly and she felt her cheeks redden a bit. She looked at the ice cream in her hands and went to make an excuse, but noticed the way he was looking at her. After putting the ice cream in the nearest garbage can, she sat next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Can you promise me something, Ally?"

This was not what she expected. His eyes and the way he kept staring at her was making it really hard to not show how much she really loved him.

Ally stared back into his eyes and finally nodded. "Of course."

"Promise me that if this all works out, and I get the deal, that you'll never leave me. That you'll do this with me and we'll always be a team. I don't want to become anyone if it's not with you. Walking into Sonic Boom was one of the best decisions I ever made in life. It brought me my best friend and gave me my career. It gave me the chance to do what I wanted to do. It gave me friends and if this all works out, I don't want to be the rockstar that gets famous and forgets everyone who helped him on the way up. I want us to be on the way up. Not just me."

He was being so sincere, she couldn't help but feel her heart jump into her throat. "Austin, I think you're over thinking this." That was not what she wanted to say, but what she felt was best. Because if she said what she was really feeling, Austin might run away screaming and that would ruin everything they had worked for.

"Ally, I know it seems a bit ridiculous to say right now. But I want to know you won't leave. That we'll always be a team. Promise me that."

"Austin…"

"Ally, promise me."

She looked at the innocent boy in front of her and couldn't help but smile. He was so perfect. "I promise, Austin. It'll always be you and me."