A/N: I'm sorry for the late update!

Thankfully old Friends reruns and the song 'Nothing' by The Script playing on an endless loop was able to help me get off my uninspired butt long enough to type something out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally. I don't own 'Not a love song' either.


Have you ever felt really dizzy?

Not tipsy dizzy like you're laughing your behind off, going around doing things you'll regret later because you're so drunk.

Not lovesick dizzy either, not the kind you get when Prince Charming confesses to you in the sweetest most romantic way possible. The ones that usually cause you to experience trouble in the most basic of human activities, activities such as walking in a straight line. You know, because you're just so ecstatic.

But tipsy as in your whole mind is in a weird haze. Like you can't remember what the last emotion you felt was and you're not exactly sure what you should feel now.

Well, that's exactly what Ally was going through at the moment.

Through the sound of her own heart beating erratically through her eardrums, she sent Austin the best glare she could possibly muster (which was considerably difficult as she was still flushing with shock and embarrassment).

"Seriously?" She hisses. She does a quick take over his shoulder to his family and sure enough, they were all watching. Most of them with very amused expressions.

She turns her attention back to him, noticeably steaming. The smirk playing so cheekily on Austin's face alone was enough to push her over the edge.

"You were playing a very dangerous game, Ms. Dawson," He answers, shrugging casually. He pauses slightly, his smile never fading. "And I complied."

And that was when she snapped.

Without any need for explanation, or any conscious thought either, against her wobbly knees and shaky hands, Ally Dawson latched herself onto him in a tight, limb breaking embrace. She's got nothing left to lose she figures.

She feels his sharp intake of breath at the sudden action. And momentarily she forgets all about the situation she's in, her thoughts are consumed with victory and pride.

She's not thinking of what his family is wondering or how confused Austin probably is, she's just not thinking at all. Just being a bit impulsive if you will.

And that was fine, because it was okay to be impulsive sometimes, she reasons.

The action only seems to faze Austin slightly, since the next minute his arms were securely around her, returning her hug. He pulled her even closer to him.

That was when things started getting hazy again. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that her heartbeat was once again audible to herself, sounding both heavy and abnormal.

Maybe it would have helped if she didn't feel his breath on her neck, or if she wasn't able to inhale his scent, and she would probably be a lot better off if he wasn't so damn warm.

Because for some odd reason, she didn't want to let go.

And even though she had been the one to make the move and he had reciprocated accordingly, it didn't stop her from needing to mentally will herself to breathe as the air entered her lungs.

All the while she is inhaling and exhaling, her desire to chew on her hair returns and Ally curses the timing because it could not be more inconvenient.

For a moment Austin stiffens in the embrace and she thinks he felt it too. That he was just as new to the sensation as she was, that he could feel the world somehow come to a halt around them, feel the air shift, feel all the pieces just click into place at the contact.

But then he pulls away, and she is too quickly consumed by the cold air. An expression foreign on his face. A look she's never seen before, one she couldn't quite place.

Then the next second the friendly smile is back on his face. Although this time it seems a bit distanced and almost distracted.

"I've gotta give you props."

And she knows at that instant what was happening. She had, without realizing it, passed the fine line that kept their friendship stable. She was landing onto forbidden territory. Somewhere she can't be. And through his words, she feels a small part of herself crumble.

She returns his smile graciously, her eyes sparkling with suppressed sadness.

"Thank you."

/

The next few hours, Austin's mom takes them both shopping on the cruise. She and Austin hold hands, just like they always do when his family is present and Mimi Moon makes the usual remarks of how cute they are and how Austin better treat Ally right, because she wanted grand kids. As always, they blushed while Austin nervously defended himself, stuttering gracefully as he does so.

When the shopping spree was over Austin's mother had her hands full with shopping bags, most containing clothing. Austin himself bought a light blue guitar with the cruise logo in the small music shop they came across. And Ally picked out a swimsuit, one which Mrs. Moon convinced her to try on after great amount of pestering. She decided to get the swimsuit after seeing Austin's initial jaw drop (which he unsuccessfully tried to cover up after).

Mrs. Moon later bid goodbye to the two after asking if they wanted to join Edna and Joseph in a game of ping pong. They had declined politely as they didn't see the need in watching middle aged folks sweat over a netted table. And so they departed with the older woman after promising to be on time to dinner at the ship's entertainment lounge.


OoOoOoO


"So…we still haven't decided as to who gets the bed." Austin reminds her the very minute they step foot into their shared room. He puts his new guitar by the bed as she tosses the swimsuit to her suitcase. She's too lazy to actually unzip the suitcase, so she just leaves it on a pile of clothing. He walks up behind her, his hands in his pockets. "'Cause, you know, I'm pretty sure I'm leading."

It was times like this when Ally really wished she and Austin didn't have to share a room.

The only reply the brunette had energy to produce was something similar to a muffled groan. She sits herself in one of the lounge chairs as she stares despondently at the boy in front of her. Austin senses she's angry and immediately raises both his hands in defense.

Putting his hands back down, he gathers enough courage to voice his poorly received thoughts again. "Hey, I think I deserve it after that kiss." he immaturely pipes. "And all you've delivered was that bone crushing hug."

Another groan was released from her.

Ally grabs a cushion from the vacant lounge chair and tosses it at him. He catches the cushion very easily with one hand, not even flinching as he throws the cushion off to the bed. She eyes the cushion as it scrapes across the bed and ultimately lands itself on the floor.

She barely has time to curse his reflex and athletic abilities before he speaks again.

"Alright, how's about this? we forget the bed for now and what do you say we go exploring the ship?" Austin asks, clapping his hands together. His dark eyes are shining gleefully and she forces herself to look away.

She doesn't trust herself going on adventures with him. They would probably either end up somehow falling off the ship and getting shipwrecked on some island, get wound up in something illegal and have to deal with the boat's security guards, or it would involve some kind of activity in which intimacy was required. And she was going to stay as far away from that as possible.

So really, she's left herself with very limited choices.

"I don't think so," Ally states with a slight shake of her head. "We'll be meeting up with your mom, dad, aunt and uncle later, we should rest up." She gets up from the lounge chair, walks right past Austin and sprawls herself out on the bed with the ocean view.

She casually picks up the fallen cushion and throws it to the other bed. She silently congratulates herself on the fact that she just lessened the maid's work. Her eyes scan back across the room before they rest on Austin again. She catches his look.

"Technically the bed is still mine from last night." She defends as she props herself up on her elbows. He takes a step towards her, crossing his arms.

"Okay, well you rest up." He says in a mocking voice before he narrows his eyes, his voice changing as he does so, "Because by tonight I will be the one sleeping in that bed."

Ally makes a disdainful face at him. "The days not over yet, how do you know I won't make my comeback at dinner?" She argues. She's pretty sure she won't make her comeback and the fact that she'll probably lose a lot more than her preferred bed if the bet continues, but for some reason she doesn't drop the facade.

Austin clicks his tongue disbelievingly. If she had been within reach, he most likely would have ruffled her hair too. "Yeah right," he affectionately mutters, before turning his heel and walking off to the direction of the mini fridge. He stops and kneels in front of the fridge and turns his head back to her, "How are you gonna do that by the way? Actually kiss me?" he teases.

He pulls the fridge open, all the while still laughing to himself.

Ally sits up, cursing his very existence. Her mind now consumed with thoughts they shouldn't be consumed with. Quietly fuming to herself, she grabs her songbook from underneath the mattress and opens the book to an unspecific page.

She reaches for a pen on the bedside counter before returning her attention to the beloved book.

"Want a drink?" he asks, his hand resting on the handle. Ally barely looks up from where she's sitting. Her songbook is now sprawled on her lap. The pen is skillfully balanced between her two fingers as she thinks of what to write.

A sigh escapes her lips as he looks through the mini fridge. She breaks the little goal she created just seconds ago of trying not to talk to him.

"Do you know how overpriced those snacks in the fridge are?" Her condescending tone sets in, her pen tapping lightly against her chin as she speaks.

Austin gently shrugs, grabbing a soda anyway. He closes the fridge door before walking over to her.

"Watcha writing about?" he asks, ignoring her previous question. He takes a seat next to her on the bed. His eyes are curiously gliding along her neat, careful handwriting (she did go to calligraphy camp after all).

"Is it a sad song again?"

She doesn't answer. Instead she props up her knees and tilts the book away from him so he can no longer see the contents. Austin scoffs, shaking his head a little, but he's smiling.

"That personal?" His voice is critical, but understanding to some level. And After sneaking a peek at her song writing book slash journal himself, he doesn't blame her for being so protective. Also, in his defense it's not every day you have a boy named after a city in Texas, let alone two.

It was really quite misleading.

"That personal." She answers back confidently.

He stifles a laugh and her eyes automatically narrow at him.

"What's so funny?"

He simply shakes his head at her. He places his soda on the counter while she raises an eyebrow at him, her gaze darting from her book to the boy sitting in front of her.

"How you never run out of pages in that book I'll never know." He teases. His shoulder gently grazes against hers as he slightly leans back.

Ally snaps her head down to focus on her song book immediately. A blush was in serious danger of creeping across her face.

"If I do run out of pages one day, you'll be the one to blame, since half the songs here are written for you." She says pointedly as she flips the page.

Austin laughs out loud this time. "And when that happens I'll be sure to make it up to you." He promises.

She sends him a quick but uncertain smile. They sit in silence for a while. The only noises heard were the scratching of her pen on the pages on her song book. She tries not to sneak too many glances at him while she writes.

"So…" Austin trails off, running his hands along the bed sheet. "You wanna talk about what's bugging you?"

The sound of writing stops right away. She looks up slowly at him, momentarily amazed by how easily he can tell something is wrong. But she then assures herself that it was probably written all over her face. She was never good at hiding her feelings. And she did make a scene with throwing a cushion at him. That doesn't mean she's willing on admitting something was bothering her, though.

Especially when what was bothering her was specifically linked to him.

Ally wills herself to look up at the expectant blond. His face is encouraging and ready to listen, albeit a little curious. She purses her lips in a tight frown before throwing her head back in exhaustion.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." She assures. He looks unconvinced but he doesn't press on the issue. Instead he hops off her bed and grabs the guitar he bought earlier today. The guitar that had been previously resting by his own bed.

He turns towards her, a mysterious smile playing upon his face. Ally simply raises an eyebrow in response. She's long learned not to question the boy.

Austin clears his throat as his fingers strum a few cords, testing the sound. He then beams up at her as if he just came up with the perfect solution to cheer her up.

She brushes a strand of her hair away before finally, she snaps her book shut and puts it beside her. Ally shakes her head, as if he could not be anymore impossible. She nonchalantly taps her fingers against her book cover.

"Let me guess, you're gonna play me a song."

He chuckles a bit, taking his seat next to her on the bed once again.

"No, I'm gonna play you our song." He corrects. A charming grin sweeping across as his face as he begins playing the instrument.

A thin smile cracks on her lips as the familiar melody reaches her ears. She gently nods along with the beat as he starts to sing, his voice low and soft. He skips a few lines, but that's okay with her.

"Let's not talk about it, drama we can live without it

Got your way with the world, there's a clock we'll ignore,

Find a way around it."

He smiles up at her, his eyes are tinkling with friendliness. His fingers strumming the cords automatically.

"Hey girl, I can tell there's something

Even when you say it's nothing,

When you're playing with your hair like you just don't care

It's a tell, you're bluffing."

She grins. (Not so voluntarily, but whatever.)

"Now please don't take this the wrong way," he speaks, cringing humorously while pausing for dramatic effect.

"I love the things you do

It's how you the things you love,

But it's not a love song,

Not a love song."

Austin nudges her shoulder gently, hinting for her to sing along. She obligates, but not before adding a slight roll of her eyes. Her voice blends perfectly into his and he seems to have noticed because his grin widens.

"I love the way you get me, not,

Correct me if I'm wrong

This is not a love song,

Not a love song."

They shake their heads for emphasis as they sing, laughing as he messes up on one of the cords. (It's funny because it doesn't happen very often.)

"I love the things you do,

It's how you do the things you love,

The way you sing it,

With me through it

I guess always knew it."

They sway their bodies to the music as they enter the last verse of the song. Her hands are quietly drumming themselves on her lap as they continue to sing.

"I love the way you get me, not,

Correct me if I'm wrong.

This is not a love song,

Not a love song."

They finish the song with a final strum from his guitar.

They remain seated as they smile stupidly at each other. It almost seems as if they have just accomplished some amazing feat. Ally throws her head back in laughter as he sets his guitar down by the foot of her bed.

And she's laughing because she knows it'll be okay.

The song was not just a pop single intended to waver the suspicions people had with their romantic relationship (even though that was a huge part of it). The song was evidence that no matter what their status, they cared for each other. They didn't need to have a label, they were already them. The song acted as a verification of their proud partnership and they both knew it.

"Feeling better?" he asks hopefully.

She nods truthfully, biting her lip.

She feels silly for ever doubting their bond. And honestly, she shouldn't be sitting here moping about her life or how she's feeling when she's got the most amazing best friend anyone could have sitting right next to her.

She would have time to sort out her feelings later. And she was sure sooner or later she'd be able to come up with title suitable to call her blond friend.

She smiles at him again. Her hands find her songbook and she quickly opens it up to a fresh new page. From beside her he laughs.

"Still?" Austin shakes his head as he feigns dejection. His grin gives him away in the end. She doesn't even look up as her pen hits the paper once again.

"It's going to be a happy song this time."


A/N: Oh, nothing like comforting your fake girlfriend with a platonic song about how you should just remain friends.

Once again, I'm sorry for not updating for so long. My schedule has been crazy lately, not to mention I'm fighting a horrible writer's block. I will try to update faster.

And I know this was more of a quiet chapter, but hopefully you guys don't mind.

Until next time!