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: Man, some of you guys are mean, wanting Ally to be all heartbroken and upset about Austin. I'm just kidding! I get it, haha. But don't worry, there's still plenty of chapters left for Ally to try and figure out what to do about Austin. I'll warn you, it's quite the roller coaster, but I think it's worth the ride in the end. So, here's the next chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or 1989 by Taylor Swift.
I Wish You Would:
"He drove past her street at night."
- Taylor Swift
He comes back to New York a week later.
Her song has hardly been out for a full week when the media announces Austin Moon's return to New York after officially completing his debut album.
"We already have a single picked out and ready to release soon," one article quotes him saying as he boarded his plane at LAX. "Now I'm heading home for what I think is a well-deserved break before things starts to get really crazy for me."
She wishes she didn't think he was coming home to her. Coming home to fix things. But instead she hears he's staying in an apartment near Juilliard for the time being. He's back in the same town as her, and he's making no show of wanting to mend things between them. Like he's already forgotten about them. Like he's moved on without her.
"Stop reading that stuff," Cassidy says to her one day at lunch. They're sitting in a diner downtown, trying to enjoy a meal of cheeseburgers and fries. Instead, Ally is browsing the Internet again for any more news on Austin's arrival.
She sighs, then shuts her phone off and puts it down. "I'm sorry. I just can't help it. I hate knowing he's back in town and not seeing him."
"You seem to be seeing quite a bit of him on your phone," Cassidy points out.
Ally glares, but doesn't comment on this. She says, "I mean in person. We had plans, Cass. He was gonna come back to our place when he finished recording. We were gonna try and work out a way for us to be together while he was on tour. He believed in us, and I tore it all down in one night."
Cassidy sighs, an expression of sympathy on her face. "I know you think that, Ally, but it's not your fault," she starts. "He was the one that ended it, remember?"
"Yes, but –"
"I know you think you started it, but you guys were bound to have a breakup at some point. No couple goes without at least a few breakups in their relationship," she explains. "Look at Carter and I. We've been together for almost two years now, but we haven't gone without a breakup or two. They happen sometimes."
"If you're trying to tell me that we'll be back together by next month, I have a feeling you're wrong about that."
Cassidy thinks for a moment, then says, "I think – and I know you don't want to hear this – but I really think it's time you move on, Ally. Because I don't think you'll be back together next month. I don't think you'll ever be back together."
Ally sits up straight. "What makes you think that?" she asks.
"I mean, look at you two! You're both rising pop stars whose lives are on opposite sides of the country! You broke up because of your professions, and I know neither one of you would give up your career for the other just to make things work. It's not worth it." She takes a deep breath. "You guys had a good run, but it's time to let go. It's been three months. He's back and he's not showing any signs of wanting to make contact. I really think that's it for you two."
Ally looks down at her lunch, now cold from her ignoring it this whole time. Not looking up, she says, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am just over thinking this whole thing. He's here and he's not talking, so... What more can there be left to do than to say goodbye?"
"Now we're talking," Cassidy says. "It's time to move on from this jerk that broke your heart. We're gonna start by getting rid of everything that reminds you of him. Photos, jewelry, clothes –"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," Ally cuts in. "What do you mean, get rid of everything?"
"We've gotta cleanse your place of him! He lived with you, he must've left some things behind. And of course, he probably gave you things, too." Cassidy pauses when she sees the sullen look on Ally's face. "You wanna move on from him, don't you?"
Ally sighs. "I guess so," she mutters, but her hand reaches up to the small music note hanging around her neck, and she tucks it inside her shirt. Maybe some things can stay, at least for a while.
A few days later, Ally places a box on her kitchen table.
"Is that everything?" Cassidy asks, peering inside. She picks up a red t-shirt and examines it, then places it back on the pile.
Ally nods. "I think so," she replies, rifling through the pile herself. "We've got a few shirts, a sweater, a bracelet, his whistle necklace – which I'm surprised he left behind – a few notebooks, and a guitar pick."
"What about all the things he gave to you?" Cassidy asks. "You did grab those, too, right?"
"Yes, Cassidy," she says, exasperated. "Jewelry, a few vinyls and CD's, the movie Letters to Juliet, a dress, hat, and scarf, and...yeah."
And his favourite book (If I Stay by Gayle Forman(1)) and her music note necklace, but Cassidy doesn't need to know about those.
"Okay," Cassidy says, taking the box in her hands. "Then I guess I'll take this out of your hands and go deal with it. And when I come back, maybe we can talk about finding you a new guy."
Ally stays quiet, watching as Cassidy walks out of the apartment and down to her own. Alone for a few minutes, she sits down at the kitchen table and pulls the necklace out from under her shirt, admiring it. As much as she wants to move on and let go of Austin, she still feels attached to him somehow, like their story isn't over just yet. She's not ready to move on to the next chapter in her life, no matter how many people keep telling her to flip the page. She's still stuck staring at the last words they spoke to each other, and she can't help but wish she could go back and rewrite them.
She's not thinking about the path she's taking home the next day from the studio until she sees the familiar sign of the coffee shop they met by, and she slows down.
She's been making sure to walk a different route ever since they broke up three months back. Passing it was a constant reminder of what she lost, and after a while it just became a part of her normal routine. So why is she passing it by today of all days when she's been doing so well recently?
As she looks through the windows inside, she sees why.
Sitting in one of the high tables near the back of the shop, she sees the back of an all-too familiar blonde head. He's looking away, thankfully, so he can't see her, but a part of her wants to stand here and wait until he turns around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him for the first time since he left. She even takes a step forward, considering going inside and 'accidentally' bumping into him. Though what she would say to him, she has no idea.
She lets out a deep breath, then looks away. There's no point. It's been three months, and he hasn't made a single sign of wanting to reconnect. If he's let go, so should she.
Not looking back (no matter how much she wants to), she continues her walk home, trying to push him out of her mind.
But a few hours after the arrives home, however, things get stranger.
She's been out on her balcony reading for an hour, then closes her book and decides to head inside. As she does, she just so happens to look over the railing and spot a familiar looking red car driving past. She would've paid little attention to it – he can't be the only person in all of New York to own a red car – if not for the fact that it was driving much slower than the speed limit. She can't help but imagine the driver inside looking up out of his window, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone standing outside of her apartment. So she stays there, watching the car's slow pace, until it reaches the end of the block and speeds up, driving out of sight.
"What do you think of Trent Rivers?" Cassidy asks her a day later, back in Ally's kitchen again. They'd been searching through a list of all of MUNY's male students for days now, and still haven't come up with anyone yet for Ally.
Ally shakes her head. "No. He seems too interested in fame. Not to mention, I heard he cheated on Kira."
Cassidy looks up in shock. "Did he really?"
Ally nods. "Yeah, that's why they broke up," she confirms. "I'm not surprised. They seem really different. Kira's sweet, and Trent's..."
"Sour?" Cassidy finishes for her. They laugh.
"Okay, next one."
Cassidy pauses to scroll through her phone. Then, "Ooh, what about Dallas? I know you guys went out for a bit last year. Maybe you could try rekindling the flame?"
Ally shakes her head again. "No. I'm not really interested in him anymore."
"If it's because of Austin, then –"
"It's not," Ally protests. At Cassidy's look, she says, "Okay, sort of. But can you blame me? I went from Dallas Lawrence to Austin Moon. One I had a small crush on, the other I'm in – I was in love with for over eight months. There's no comparison anymore."
Cassidy sighs. "Fine. No Dallas." She continues scrolling through her phone, looking for any other possible candidates for Ally's future boyfriend. When she finally finds one, she starts, "Oh, how about –" but is cut off by Ally's phone ringing.
Ally freezes.
Cassidy glances between her and the phone. "What's wrong?"
She'd know that ringtone anywhere. She's reminded of him every time she hears that song anywhere else.
She looks up. "It's him."
Cassidy meets her gaze with equal shock. "You're joking," she says.
Ally shakes her head, then picks up the phone but doesn't answer. Looking at Cassidy again, she says, "What do I do? Should I pick up, or –?"
Cassidy shakes her head frantically. "No, no, whatever you do, don't pick up!" she says. "We're trying to get you to move on, so you need to make him think you're over him. Hang up!"
Ally glances between her friend and the phone, unsure of which one to listen to. Her eyes fall onto the familiar name flashing on her screen as the phone continues to ring. Her thumb hovers over the answer button, almost too tempted to press it, wanting only to hear his voice one more time. But when she presses her thumb down, it's over the decline button, and the ringing comes to an abrupt end.
Cassidy breathes out a sigh of relief. "You did it!" she says. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna pick up."
Ally puts the phone down slowly, but her feelings are very much the opposite of Cassidy's.
"So did I," she mutters to herself. "So did I."
That night, she can't sleep, her mind consumed with thoughts of that phone call.
Because he called. Austin called. He reached out to her for the first time after three months of nothing. He called her, and all she did was hang up.
How could she have been so stupid? He reached out, and she probably just pushed him even further away than before! All he probably wanted to was talk, catch up, maybe even just say hello, and she hung up on him. He probably thinks she hates him now. He probably won't even bother trying to call her again. She'll never hear that ringtone play again, all because she hung up before even giving him a chance to say anything.
Sitting up, she reaches over to her bedside table and picks up her phone. She turns it on and goes into her contacts and hits his name. She could call him back. She should call him back. She could tell him her friend took her phone, or she didn't read the name, or something, anything but the truth. They could talk again, maybe even go back to normal. They could fix everything. All she'd have to do is call back.
She lowers the phone. Is there any point, though? He might not even pick up. And when she looks at the time, she's sure he's asleep, anyway. But if he was awake, would he do the same thing? Would he consider picking up before finally ending the call, realizing he actually doesn't want to speak to her again? Would he hang up out of spite for her hanging up on him before? Would he have given up on them, too?
She turns off the phone and puts it back on the table, then lies back down. She was so close to finally moving on, and this happens. First he moves back to New York, then he tries calling her. If that's not a sign, then she doesn't know what is. A sign that she was right. Their story is far from over, and she's not giving up on them. Not now, not ever. She will get him back. She knows she can.
(1) If I Stay by Gayle Forman is a real book, and it is absolutely incredible, so I recommend reading it if you haven't yet.
- axswiftxa13: haha, they were! I used Max's name on purpose, but Jack I only noticed after I'd used it. Nice catch! :P
So, that's chapter seven! Thanks for reading! Oh, and shoutout to everyone who's been reviewing every chapter so far. Obviously I'm not expecting everyone to do that, but it's really sweet seeing those familiar names in the reviews. Anyways. Thanks again! :)
