Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this story! Obviously, this is just how I've chosen to interpret the characters and they may not necessarily match up completely with those in the TV show.

This is a work in progress, so any feedback, comments and suggestions would be entirely welcome, as well as any suggestions for how you'd like to see the story progress. I will add chapters as often as I can, hopefully one every couple of days at least.

Things went a little haywire for Auslly in the last chapter; let's see if Austin can win back her heart in this one…

Slight spoiler but also important: This chapter contains scenes detailing violence and assault. If this is something that triggers or upsets you, you may want to skip parts of this chapter.

Obviously, I do not own Austin & Ally in any way, shape or form.

So without further ado, here's the story! I hope you enjoy…

Chapter Six
Breaks and Bruises

It was Wednesday, 3 days since the whole Austin-Carrie incident. Ally had been avoiding Austin since. She still felt like an idiot for believing that she could ever be with Austin and that he could ever really like her. She hated him for leading her on and was trying desperately to get him out of her head and move on.

'This is why I've never been in a relationship before.' She kept constantly thinking to herself. So then why did she still for some reason long for his touch, his beautiful face, hair, eyes and his big muscular arms wrapping her in a tight hug? Ultimately she knew deep down that she still liked him. Maybe even loved him…

'No, Ally, snap out of it!' She thought to herself. 'He completely broke your heart, how could you be so stupid as to want to give him another chance?' Her constant self-conflict and thinking was also starting to impact on her work. She spent half her day leaning on the counter, depressed, thinking about Austin and feeling sorry for herself.

When Lester first realised she wasn't herself, he got worried. "Ally, you okay?" He asked her from time to time. Every time she just nodded, not saying a word. It was just after lunch on Wednesday, and Ally was hunched over the counter again, daydreaming.

"You okay, honey?" Lester asked getting more and more concerned as Ally never seemed to improve. She just nodded again. "Okay. You tell me if you want to talk, okay?" She nodded again, knowing full well she would never tell her Dad about what had happened. He made the mistake of casually asking "So. How's everything with Austin? Wrote any more songs yet?"

At the mention of his name Ally started bawling again, running out from behind the counter and into the back room, locking the door. She walked over and sat at the piano, still crying. She found herself playing the song she and Austin had wrote a few days before. All the memories came flooding back to her. How beautiful the song was, especially when he sang it, the way he looked at her during it, the moment he leaned in for the kiss… and she stopped playing as it all became too much, getting up and sitting in a corner of the room crying for the rest of the day.

She felt like an idiot, and she felt stupid for being so sad about it. Why did she care this much? It's not like he was the first person she'd ever had a crush on. She also felt stupid because she knew that Austin wouldn't care and that he would be perfectly happy with Carrier.

Little did she know.

Austin had hit rock bottom. He had barely left his apartment all week, only really when he was forced to be at work in the studio. Austin's boss Jimmy, the head of Starr Records, was not your typical boss, though. He was more like a friend than an employer, and he could tell something was wrong with Austin. "Austin, you've been acting odd for three days now. Why don't you tell me what's going on?" He asked Austin gently on Wednesday afternoon when he'd forced himself to come into work.

"I just feel so stupid. I'm in love with this girl but I really messed up." Austin replied, sitting on the floor with his knees up, looking at his shoes.

"What happened?" Jimmy persuaded, not wanting to come across as too forceful.

"Listen, Jimmy, I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Austin, trust me. I've had my share of rough experienced, and I can tell you for a fact that the best thing you can do right now is talk about it."

Austin sighed heavily before telling Jimmy what had happened. "I invited over this girl. You know, the one I really like. There's a knock at the door and I answer it, expecting to see her. But instead, it's this other girl from downstairs who walks straight into my apartment. Before I know it, she's kissing me and running her hands through my hair. I tried to get her to stop but she wouldn't. There's another knock at the door and I go to answer it, glad to get away from her. I look like a mess. I open the door, and there's the girl I like. I can instantly tell she's hurt and confused seeing me like I am. I try to explain but she runs off crying." Austin finished, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, Austin. I'm so sorry." Jimmy says after a few seconds of silence. "I know this is hard for you, but you need to remember that none of this is your fault. Okay?"

"No, I know it's not all my fault, but it's not okay. I miss her."

"Of course you do. And it'll all come right in the end, I'm sure. But for now, you just need to keep your head up, stay strong and wait. You'll know when the time's right to talk to her about it." He walked over and rubbed Austin's back, encouragingly.

"Thanks Jimmy."

"No problem." There were a few more seconds of silence. "So, Austin. Your music." Austin still hadn't released or even recorded a single song yet. "I hate to have to hurry you, buddy, but we're gonna need a demo by the end of the week, or else we may have to drop your contract."

Austin's heart stopped for a minute. Drop his contract? What would he do then? He had nothing to fall back on! "End of the week?" He stuttered, going a bit pale. His week just kept getting worse and worse and worse.

Jimmy hated having to tell him this, especially seeing as he was going through such a tough time. But business was business, and he couldn't afford to have Austin not making any progress. "Yes. I'm sorry. Have you had any song ideas yet?"

"Well, actually, I…" Austin stopped, remembering the song he'd written with Ally but then deciding not to mention it. Too late.

"Yes?" Jimmy prompted.

"I have written a song."

"Really?" Jimmy's eyes lit up.

"Well, half-wrote it. With this girl I'm talking about."

Jimmy realised it would be tough for Austin to play the song as it would cause him to think back to it. But he needed something. "Would you play it for me?"

Austin considered for a few seconds. "I don't know, Jimmy, I haven't played it since… well, you know."

"I understand Austin. But this might be exactly what you need, you can really pour out all of your emotions into the song."

Austin considered for a few more seconds, realising that it would help get his emotions out but also afraid he'd break down halfway through. "Okay." He eventually said, quietly. Jimmy just smiled gently at him. He got up and walked over to the piano, sitting down and putting his fingers over the notes. He began to play and quickly got into the song, completely getting lost in it and forgetting all his surroundings, in his own little world.

He gave his all in the final chorus, spilling out all his emotions and feelings into the lyrics. When he finished, he sat in silence for about a minute, just looking down at his hands resting on the piano keys. It felt good to be free of all those built up emotions, but it also made him realise exactly how much he missed Ally. He knew he missed her, but now it actually felt like he was only half a person.

Jimmy sat in his chair across the room, amazed by the song Austin had just sung, and giving him a moment to himself to collect his thoughts before speaking. "Wow, Austin. That was incredible. That song is beautiful. You said you wrote it with the girl?"

"Yes." Austin said quietly, still slightly dazed and still looking at his hands on the piano keys. "Yes, we wrote it on Saturday night."

"Well it's clear this friend of yours has a gift. You two seem to make a wonderful team." For the first time in a long time, Austin smiled.

"Yeah. I suppose we do." His face quickly dropped again, though. "Or at least, we did."

"How would you feel about recording a demo of this song? This could be your first single." Jimmy asked, hopefully.

Austin sat in silence for a minute, debating. Jimmy began to wonder if Austin had even heard what he'd said. "I don't know, Jimmy. I love the song, but I wouldn't feel right singing it, at least without her permission. It's every bit as much her song as it is mine."

"I understand. You think about it tonight, and get back to me with an answer tomorrow morning. If it's a yes, we can record the song straight away. If not, we'll have to come up with something, fast."

"Okay, Jimmy. I guess I'll see you in the morning." Austin got up and left, still in his own little world and thinking about how good it felt singing the song, how it made him realise how much he needed Ally, but worried about how he needed a song to be recorded by Friday. He got home and sat on his couch, but he didn't switch on the TV. He just sat there, in complete silence, for hours, thinking.

Meanwhile at Sonic Boom, Ally had stopped crying. But she stayed in the back room, embarrassed to see her Dad after having broken down in front of him earlier. She didn't know what time it was, her phone was in her purse behind the counter. But she didn't care, either.

At some point, though she heard a knock on the door, followed by Lester's voice. "Ally, sweetie? Can I come in?"

Ally realised she'd have to leave at some point, so she got up and went over to unlock the door. She opened it and immediately gave him a big hug. It was just what she needed to pour out a few more of her emotions. "What's going on, Ally? It breaks my heart to see you this way." He said comfortingly, rubbing her back.

Ally told him everything. She didn't really want to, but she thought it would feel good to get everything out in the open. She told him about the song and how much she loved it, the near-kiss (at which point he apologised, realising he'd kind of ruined a moment), the arrangement, how he had opened the door and how she'd ran away.

When she was done Lester just engulfed her in another hug, sensing that she needed it. He was right. "And you haven't spoken to him since?" He asked.

"No. He tried to call me repeatedly on the day it happened but I just ignored it."

"Well, honey, this is a big thing for you. It's your first big crush, so of course it's going to be difficult when things get tough. But what we have to do when these things happen is not let them get us down. We have to get up, dust ourselves off and face the world. Okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Dad." Ally said, feeling much better having spoken about it, but still desperately hurting inside.

"Alright Als. Remember, I love you loads."

"I love you too Dad." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"Anyway, it's 9:05 now, the shop's closed. Why don't you go home and have a nice relax?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Ally thinks to herself, brightening up as she pushed all thoughts of Austin to the back of her mind. "I'll see you in the morning Dad." She picked up her stuff and was about to leave.

"Honey, you don't have to come in if you're not feeling up to it. I know things are difficult right now."

"Thanks Dad. I think I should be okay to come in but I'll text you in the morning if I don't feel up to it."

"No problem. Have a good night."

Ally walked out of the shop, feeling optimistic and started to walk home.

Meanwhile, in his apartment, Austin was feeling restless. He'd been sat on the couch all evening, and he was getting bored. He decided he needed to stretch his legs for a bit, so he got his coat and shoes on and left to go for a short walk. It was quite a cold evening, at least for Miami weather, so he was walking fairly briskly to keep himself warm.

The streets were virtually empty and it was dark, but he didn't mind as it gave him time to just be alone and think.

Ally was doing the same walking in the opposite direction, trying to get home as quickly as possible. As she was walking, she thought she could see Austin walking towards her in the distance, but he hadn't seen her. She instantly froze, not knowing whether she should be happy to see him and run up and embrace him, or turn in the other direction and run.

Before she could make her mind up, she felt a hand grab onto her arm and drag her into an alleyway. She found herself face to face with the same guy who had tried to hit on her in the café on Saturday. Before she could scream, he brought his hand up to her mouth and pinned her against the brick wall.

"Well well, look what we have here. Remember me, gorgeous? Where's your boyfriend now, huh?" He smirked, chuckling evilly before he removed his hand from her mouth only to instantly replace it with his lips. He tried to pry hers open but she refused, starting to cry and convincing herself that she was going to be raped and murdered. It also dawned on her that this was her very first kiss! Far from the romantic, perfect image she had in her mind, she was also convinced that it would be not only her first but also probably one of her last kisses.

He pulled away and she tried to scream, but as soon as she opened her mouth the man slapped her, making her wince in pain. "Shut up, idiot!" He threatened and slapped her again, before pressing his lips back onto hers. He started to shove one hand up her top, moving towards her boobs, whilst the other held her to the wall at her hips.

Ally tried to squirm out of his grasp, but there was no way he was letting go. She was really crying now, desperate for someone, anyone to save her. Then she remembered Austin, and opened her mouth to call his name, only to have him take the opportunity to stick his tongue down her throat. She instantly squealed as their tongues made contact, resulting in another slap in the face, but also a knee in the stomach, winding her badly.

She fell to the ground, wheezing severely trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of her. At this moment the man dove on top of her, reconnecting their lips. He used one hand to pin both hands above her head and with the other he started unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans. 'This is it' Ally thought to herself, 'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?' She was still crying hard and desperately writhing around trying to break free, but she knew that it was futile. "No, please!" She cried out, receiving in return the three hardest slaps so far, and a sharp pain in her wrist as she felt him crush his arm down on it extra hard. She wanted to scream out in pain, but his lips were against hers again so it was all just muffled. He would have his wicked way with her. He started to pull down her jeans…

Austin was walking along the street, deep in thought, when he thought he heard soft whimpering and sobbing. He initially just thought it was the wind and didn't give it a second thought, but as he continued walking they became louder. He knew something was definitely wrong and increased his pace.

He suddenly heard a familiar voice shout out "No, please!" followed shortly by a muffled scream. His heart completely stopped as he recognised the voice as Ally's. Adrenaline fired round his system faster and more forcefully than it ever had before and he ran towards the sound of her voice.

As he approached a small alleyway that he didn't even know existed, he was ready to take down whoever had dared so much as lay a finger on Ally. He stopped at the entrance to the alleyway and was horrified when he saw the small figure of Ally struggling around underneath the bigger body of a man who's face he couldn't see.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER!" Austin yelled, rage taking over him as he charged at him, tackling him off of Ally and turning him over so he could see his face. He instantly recognised it. "You again! How many times do I have to do this?" He said in between punches, as he thought about nothing but hitting this guy as hard as he could in the face repeatedly, until his knuckles hurt and he was sure the man was knocked out (but not dead, of course).

As he looked down at the guy he'd just beat up, he could still hear Ally crying softly just behind them. He instantly turned around and moved over to her, on the verge of tears just from seeing her this way. "Ally, are you okay?" He whispered gently as he zipped up and buttoned up her jeans, knowing that she'd want her modesty protected. She didn't respond, she was just crying her eyes out, embarrassed, ashamed and in pain.

He couldn't see her properly because it was dark and there were no lights in the alley, so he couldn't see the emerging bruises on her face and her swollen wrist from the violence. Austin picked her up in his arms and put her on her feet, immediately pulling her in close and hugging her like his life depended on it. "Ally I'm so sorry for everything, my life's been meaningless without you these past few days and I've missed you so much. Are you okay? Did he… you know?" He was trying to be sensitive.

Ally was still sobbing, burying her face in his strong chest and squeezing onto him, feeling safe and secure in his arms. "Oh Austin. I'm so sorry I got mad at you, I've missed you so much too!" Her speech was all disjointed as she was still crying, and Austin could feel his t-shirt getting wet where she was crying into his chest.

"Come on, we'd better get out of here. He won't be happy when he wakes up." Austin moved away from the hug but kept an arm firmly around her waist, keeping them close together. Ally's bag had been thrown against the wall, and all the stuff was spilling out onto the floor. Austin gathered it all up and slung it over his shoulder, before returning his arm around her waist and guiding her out into the street.

They walked a couple of minutes back towards the apartment building and stopped in a small park area with benches and street lights. Austin guided her to a bench and they sat down. Only at this point did Austin look at her face properly and see the damage done by the slaps. "Oh my God Ally," he whispered, going pale. "are you okay?" He gently stroked his hand over the marks, taking care not to hurt her. "What happened? Tell me everything."

Ally was reluctant, but then she did, explaining the torture she'd gone through. "So he didn't actually…" Austin hesitated, worried.

"No, he didn't get that far. He would have done if you hadn't shown up and saved me though. Austin, that's twice now that you've saved me. You really are my hero." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, and he started to blush. She moved her hand to put it on top of his, but winced in pain when she moved her wrist.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Austin said worriedly, looking down and seeing her bruised, swollen wrist. "Oh my God Ally, this is really bad. We need to get you to the hospital, now!" She initially tried to protest, but Austin insisted. They got up and Austin put his arm back around Ally's waist. She felt so protected and safe when they were like that.

They walked quickly to the nearest hospital a couple of blocks away and waited to see a doctor. When they were seen, he of course asked what happened. Ally was very hesitant at first, but Austin took her hand and squeezed it, looking deep into her eyes and giving her a reassuring look as if to say "Don't worry, I'm here now. It will all be alright." So she started to explain everything, and the doctor nodded sympathetically, examining her wrist first of all but also her face because of the slaps and her stomach because of the winding.

"Well Ally," he finally said "you're very lucky this young man turned up to rescue you. We should all be thankful that he did, otherwise I fear things would have turned out far worse. Your face will be sore for a while but nothing serious, and same with your stomach. But we shall have to x-ray your wrist as it looks badly broken."

So they got the x-ray and it showed that the wrist was indeed broken, several bones being snapped completely in half. The doctor and nurses applied a cast to it, but told her that she would not need to wear a sling as it was only a wrist break. They then discharged her and told her to come back in a month's time to check on the development.

"Thank you very much doctor." Ally said as they got ready to leave.

"Don't thank me, thank your heroic boyfriend here." The doctor replied, indicating to Austin. Ally and Austin both blushed but neither could be bothered to correct him.

As they left the hospital to walk back to the apartment building, Ally decided she should call her Dad and tell him what had happened. Austin got it out of the bag and handed it to her. Her voice started to quake as soon as she started speaking. "Hi Dad… no, I'm fine, but I need to tell you something… I was just nearly raped… no Dad, I'm fine, Austin showed up just in time and saved me… yes, Austin… I know… yes, I'm fine, but my wrist is broken and my face is bruised… yes, I will… thanks, I think I could do with a day off after that… I'll call you in the morning Dad… love you." And then she hung up.

They got back to the apartment building and entered the lift. When they were stood waiting as the lift ascended, Ally found herself hugging Austin again, never wanting to let go. "Thank you again, Austin. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you." Those words stayed in Austin's head for a long time and he hugged her back, just wanting her to feel safe. Which she did.

"You want to stay at my place tonight?" He offered as they stepped out of the lift, his hand still around her waist.

"Are you sure?" Ally replied, nervously.

"Ally, you've just gone through a traumatic experience. I'd feel better if you stayed with me tonight, just so I know you're okay."

"Alright then." Ally replied, smiling at him.

She nipped into her apartment to get her pyjamas, and then headed over to Austin's. Once she was inside he locked the door and checked it several times. It was well past midnight and they were both tired, so they decided to go to bed. Ally changed in the bathroom and got into Austin's king-size bed. Austin then went into the bathroom to change and brush his teeth, and came out topless in just sweatpants. She was shocked but admired how muscular he was, with a full 6-pack, strong chest and muscular arms.

He climbed into bed next to her. He tried to get to sleep, but looking over at Ally he couldn't believe what she'd gone through. So, he scooted over and put his arm over her. Ally secretly smiled to herself before falling asleep, snugly in his arms.

Ally had flashbacks many times that night, remembering the horrible feelings she experienced. She woke up panting about 5 times, but every time immediately felt better when she realised she was safe in Austin's arms. She was glad she'd agreed to stay with him.