200 reviews! Yay! You guys are the best! I literally love you all. I feel really bad for that 3 month wait though…. But hey! I uploaded faster this time! ahaha

Okay, I have big news at the bottom, so stay tuned. It's concerning one of my previous stories, so you may be interested if you have read it and it's sequel ;)

This one is a long one! :D hope it makes up for the long waits.

Chapter ten-

Last time…

"But he's dating Cassidy." Which was a perfectly good reason why I can't think of Austin in that way right now. He had her, and he needed his friends to be there for him.

Suddenly, I felt a feeling of missing Dallas. I missed his green eyes, those late nights where we'd hang out in my dad's store and we'd laugh our butts off. I missed Dani too. One more month until Christmas. One more until I'm back in sunny Miami.

I could be seeing them next week, but my dad wouldn't let me. He said it was a better way to save money because I would get to spend more time during Christmas than during Thanksgiving. So I'm gonna be alone for Thanksgiving….well not anymore.

On a bright side of Austin not being able to go home, he had to stay here. While everyone else, even his girlfriend, traveled back to the States. A four day weekend with Austin. Alone.

The thought replayed through my mind over and over again.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you! Happy Thanksgiving to youuu! Happy Thanksgiving, Aus-tiiiinnnn-"

Austin rapidly opened his door. He was still in his pajamas. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with truck printed pj pants. "Ally," He groaned. "Stop singing."

"I thought you liked my singing?" I asked pretending to be offended.

"Well, when you sing like that, no." He yawned. I rolled my eyes and let myself in his room.

"Nice pajamas, by the way." I chuckled as he turned a shade of pink. I looked around his room. It was messier than last time. Dirty clothes sprawled out everywhere. Garbage in piles near the trash can. Mostly water bottles, wrappers and song sheets. I sniffed hesitantly and his room smelled…dank. "Love what you've done with the place. Very…creative. A great deal of college-vibe."

"If you're just here to criticize my decorating styles, you can leave the way you came in," He hopped onto his bed and buried his head into a pillow.

"Oh no. It's not criticism. I feel they're more….observations." I joked slightly. He sighed with a suffering tone. I carefully removed the stack of books from his desk and chair, but a few song pages came out. I looked them over.

"It's been fourteen minutes, since I dropped you off and my mind is still racing."

"Never thought I'd think about you."

"Two weeks and counting, since I saw you standing. Fairfax and fountain."

"I need to know."

"Did you write these?" I asked him. "These are incredible! We could use it for the song for Dubois's class!"

Silence.

Receiving no further sound, I placed the papers back inside the binder carefully so they wouldn't get wrinkled.

"So, we're gonna celebrate today. And you're the only other person I know in Paris so…" I turned back to him.

Nothing but a grunt. "Not many restaurants are serving turkey today."

"So? Thanksgiving isn't just about the turkey. You just need to acknowledge the fact that today is important and you need to give thanks for what you've got." I gestured to the window. "No one out there has a clue about it."

"Ally-" He gripped his covers.

"Please. You and I are from America. We need to be apart of this!"

"Humph."

"Pretty please?" I didn't think I had to resolve to begging, but my plan pretty much when down hill already.

Silence.

"C'mon, Austin. I need to do something fun and you need to get out of this room."

Silence.

I groaned as my frustration grew by the second. "Okay, listen. Today sucks for the both of us. FYI, you aren't the only one stuck here. I'd rather be home right now as much as you would."

Silence.

"Fine." I breathed out. "You wanna know why? I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you. Hell, this is the most we've talked in weeks, Austin. It sucks what happened. But what sucks more for us, is that we can't do or say anything about it. The fact that there is nothing I can do, completely pisses me off. I hate seeing you like this, Austin." I walked over by the window. "I know for a fact that your mom wouldn't want you like this. Beating yourself up over something that is out of your control. She wouldn't want you to give up just like that. And I think she'd want to hear a lot of good things when you go home next month-"

"IF I go home next month-" He said.

"WHEN you go home, she'll want to see you happy."

"Happy?" He was mad now. "How can I-"

"Okay, maybe not gung-ho happy," I quickly said. "But I don't think this," I pointed to himself. "would be any better. You have to be her bright side of all of this. She can't know that you've just dropped all of this. That you've just stopped trying. Austin, you're one year away from graduating. You can't just blow all of that away, Austin."

Silence. Nothing.

I sighed deeply. I shouldn't be angry with him, but I just was. "Fine. Be a lump. Drop out. Give up everything you have worked for. Have a great day in bed." I scoffed. I headed towards his door. "You know, I never expected you to be that kind of person. I thought you'd be better than that."

"And what would that person be like?" A cold reply.

"The kind of person, with no matter how crappy a situation is, will get out of bed. The kind of person that would have the decency to call his mother and tell her 'Happy Thanksgiving', other than the one who is a chicken to even pick up his phone and speak with her just because of what he thinks she might say. More importantly, the kind of guy that wouldn't just let the pathetic excuse of a father he has, win. But I guess I was wrong. This-" I motioned around his room, even though he wasn't facing me. "must be like living in Beverly Hills for you. You're really living the life. Happy holidays. I'm going out and gonna at least try to have fun."

I closed the door with a click when I heard it. "Wait-"

Austin opened it again, just a crack. His body was still limp. "Ally, I-I don't know what to say."

"So, don't say anything. Take a shower, a real one, put on warm, washed clothes, and come find me. I'll be in my room."

Nice work, Dawson.

He knocked on my door twenty minutes later, with a huge weight lifting from my shoulders. His hair was wet. He finally bathed.

"Here," I let him inside. He sat down on the corner of my bed as I grabbed a towel to rub his hair dry. "You're gonna catch a cold or something."

"You know that's not true, right?" Yet, he still didn't stop me. After about two minutes, I stopped and he spoke. "So, what's the plan?" His hair was still a little damp.

"You, my friend, have some great hair." I fought the urge to use my fingers to comb it.

He smirked.

"I'm serous! It's like really good hair."

I couldn't see his facial expression, but he went quiet. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." I replied. "And I'm not entirely sure of the plan. I hadn't really thought it through. I thought maybe we could wing it…and see where it leads."

"So, you're not even sure on where we're going? No minute-by-minute schedule?" He asked. I whacked him on the back of his head.

"Easy now, superstar. I could go make one right now." I cautioned.

"Oh, please no! Anything but that." I assumed he was serious, but he had that grin on his face that made me second guess. All in all, I was just relieved that he was at least somewhat smiling that I could probably cry.

Ally, concentrate. "Okay, shoes. I need shoes." I laced up my boots and threw on my coat and gloves. "Where's your hat?"

He squinted his eyes. "Trish? Is that you? But, mommy, I don't want to!"

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Freeze to death. See if I care." But he pulled on his beanie out of his coat and placed it over his head. Only this time, he was smiling. No. It was more than that. He was absolutely dazzling. And it caught me off guard and my heart nearly stopped.

He noticed me and sent me a questioning look.

My voice suddenly grew quiet. "Let's go."

~Oh, Paris!~

"Ah, here we are. This is my plan."

Austin followed my gaze towards the gigantic dome. The way the sun and the sky blended in together to create that typical Paris look, thus taking away that golden glow. But I didn't really care.

"The Pantheon?" He questioned.

I nodded. "I've been here for three months, and I still have no idea what it is." I skipped onto the sidewalk towards it.

He only shrugged. "it's a pantheon."

I turned to him and glared. Austin pushed my gently forward so the blue tour bus wouldn't run me flat. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed it. Silly me." I said sarcastically.

He smiled and gave me a sideways glace. "You do realize that a pantheon means it's a place for tombs for famous and important people of the nation, right?"

"That's it?" I was a little disappointed at that point. I expected it to have a more…extravagant reason.

Austin raised his eyebrow.

"I mean, I've seen thousands of tombs and monuments around here. What's so special about this one?" We began to head up the steps.

"Dunno. I guess, nothing. It's a bit second rate."

"Second rate?" I repeated, disbelievingly. "You're kidding right?" This place was amazing. "Who's buried here?" "Uh, Rousseau, Marie Curie, Louis Braille, Victor Hugo-"

"Hold up. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame guy?"

"The very one. Voltaire. Dumas. Zola."

"That's incredible. How can you say it's not impressive?" I recalled all those names, even though maybe half I have no idea what they even did.

"I never said that." Austin took out his wallet and paid for our admission. I really protested because I was the one who decided to come here, but I lost this battle. "Happy Thanksgiving." He handed me ticket. "Let's go see some dead people."

As we entered, we were immediately surrounded by domes, columns and arches. Everything was round and placed with precision. Murals of angels, saints and warriors were all around. We strolled through the marble in awed silence, excluding when he pointed to one that was important like Joan of Arc or Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Apparently, she saved the whole city from famine.

"What's that?" I pointed to a swinging brass sphere that hung from the center of the dome.

Austin shrugged and looked around for a sign.

"I thought you were my Paris expert."

"Foucault's pendulum." He said reading off the sign. "It's a representation of the earth's rotation. The plane rotates the swing every hour. But it didn't have to be this big to actually prove the point."

"How French."

He chuckled. "Come on. Let's see the crypt."

I froze. "Crypt? Like, a crypt crypt?"

"Where'd you think the dead bodies were?"

I cleared my throat. "Right. Yeah. Crypt. Let's go."

"You know, unless you're scared."

"Puh-lease. I didn't have a problem with the cemetery, did I?" Oh crap. I saw Austin stiffen and I mentally stab myself. I can't believe I just brought that up. Hurry. Think of a distraction. "Race you!" Race you? What am I five?

Someone. Kill. Me. Now.

Just when I think I'm ahead of him, a flash of blonde shot past me. I laughed and picked up my speed. Austin and I were neck and neck, nearly there, when an angry guard prevented us from moving any further. I rammed into Austin trying to stop. He balanced me while the guard began to shout at us in French. I opened my mouth when Austin beat me to it. I felt my cheeks heat up. I saw the guard's face soften and let us go after a minute of gentle scolding.

"You get away with everything don't you?" I asked him as soon as the guard was way past us. It was just like Pere-Lachaise all over again.

He laughed, but didn't argue because that was the truth. The atmosphere completely changed as we reached the stairs. The only way to get to the crypt was using the narrow spiral staircase. I looked at Austin and he looked as he was going to be buried alive. I completely forgot about his fear of heights.

"Y-you know, I changed my mind. I don't want to go see the crypt." I said.

Austin shot me a look and I quickly shut my mouth in response. Determined, he gripped onto the stone wall and slowly moved downward. Step by step, we eventually got to the bottom, every now and then groups of tourists moved passed us and I tried apologizing. This was a stupid idea.

"It's bigger than I thought." He finally said. "The crypt." His voice was strained and rushed. He wouldn't look at me. He was still focused on the stairs. I

I needed a distraction. And I needed it now.

"You know," I spoke cautiously. "I just heard someone said that the crypt covers the entire area of the building underneath. I actually expected it to have an endless path of catacombs with a ton of bones, I guess not. But it's still pretty interesting."

"Not bad. No skulls or femurs, at least." A fake laugh.

Although it was well lit, it was still pretty cold down here. The place was pretty clean and white. It was almost a dungeon like.

"Hey! Isn't that Voltaire?"

There's a lot of empty and bare space here. We moved along the path and Austin relaxed again. We started to talk about little things like the test in Trig and the jacket that Tyler Carver had been wearing all week. Our conversation was ruined when a tourist came up around us.

"Don't walk behind him. We'll be stuck here all day."

Austin tensed.

"He shoulda stayed home if he was so scared of a few stairs."

I was about to tell him off, but Austin gripped my arm. "Don't. He's not even worth it." He led us into the next hallway, and I tried to read the name carved on the wall, but I was so mad that I was seeing spots. Austin was rigid. I had to do something.

I narrowed my eyes so that the name would become clearer. "Emily Zola. That's only the second woman I've woman I've seen down here. That's not right."

Before Austin had the chance to answer, that rude tourist spoke again. "It's Emile. Emile Zola is a man."

My face started to burn. I went to Austin to pull him back, but he was already gone. "Emile Zola was a man." He corrected him. "And you're an ass. Do us a favor and mind your own damn business and leave her alone!"

Leave her alone, alone, alone. His voice echoed through my mind and through the crypt. Everyone there, including the tourist and his wife, stood back in shock with their mouths open. Austin took my hand and dragged me to the stairs. Adrenaline kicked in and he caused us to go all the way up the spiral staircase. I was nervous the whole time because of what just happened.

But then, reality came into his mind and he stopped abruptly and started swaying backwards.

I steadied him from behind. "Whoa. It's okay. I'm right here."

His hand tightened around mine. I gently marched him upward until we got back under the domes and columns, the main floor. Austin let go of my hand and collapsed on the bench beside us. He hung his head, as if he was about to puke. I waited for him to speak.

He said nothing.

I took a seat next to him and we sat in silence.

"Okay," He finally said. "so how about that turkey dinner?"

~Oh, Paris!~

After hours of looking over menus, we actually found one restaurant that was serving an "American Thanksgiving Dinner". We both hollered out in joy and I did my famous "Ally Dance". Austin laughed at me before pulling me along with him inside.

The waitress delivered our food to us after about twenty minutes after taking our order.

"Awesome!" Austin smiled and raised his glass of sparkling juice. "To finally finding a restaurant that served a proper American Thanksgiving Dinner in Paris."

I raised mine as well. "To your mom."

His smile faltered, but was quickly replaced with a softer one. "To Mom."

Clink.

"So, um," I started before I could stop myself. "You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, but h-how is she doing?" The words just spilled out without any warning. "I mean, does the radiation therapy make her tired? Is she eating enough? I read that if you don't apply lotion every night, that you'd get burns, and I was just wondering…" I trailed off as I saw his fork stopped halfway to his mouth. "You know what? Never mind. I'm sorry. God, I'm so nosy, I'll just shut-"

"No!" Austin interrupted. "It's not that…it's just…how did you know that? You're the first person to know any of that."

"W-well, I was really worried. So I did a little research. So…you know, I'd…..know." I explained lamely.

Austin just stared at me. After a moment, he said, "Thank you."

I gazed down at the napkin on my lap. "It's nothing."

"No, it is something. A big something. I try talking to Cassidy about it, but she doesn't have a damn clue-" He stopped himself, probably knowing that he had said too much. "Anyways, thank you."

"You're welcome." I smiled at him. He stared at me at first before returning one. A real one. The kind that disappeared on me for a while.

The rest of dinner, we spent talking about his mom. And when we left the restaurant, we continued to talk about her. We walked along the Seine. The moon was full and the lamps were lit. Austin was talking as if he was an entire person lighter.

He paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

I sighed, taking in the smell of the river. "It's okay. I'm glad you did."

Right as we were about to turn towards the dorm, Austin blurted out, "Let's go see a movie. I really don't want to go back yet."

He didn't have to tell me twice. We found a movie theater showing a new release, a slacker comedy from the States and stayed for the double feature. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much, and Austin was laughing even harder than I was. It wasn't until two in the morning that we finally returned to the dorms. The front desk was empty, and Ellington's light was off.

"I think we're the only ones in the building." He said.

"Then no one will mind when I do this!" I jumped onto the desk and started parading back and fourth. Austin laughed and joined me by belting out a song and I dance to his voice. We bowed at each other once he had finished.

"Oh crap! Hurry!" He said.

"What?" I hopped off the desk. What's going on? Was Ellington here?

Austin ran to the staircase and opened the door and screamed. The echo made the both of us jump, and then we both screamed at the top of our lungs. It's the best feeling ever. He started chasing me to the elevator, and we took it to the rooftop. (1)

He hung his head back but he laughed anyways. We rode the elevator back to his floor.

"Well," He rubbed the back of his neck. This was the first time our conversation halted in hours.

I looked past him. "Um. Goodnight."

"See you tomorrow? Late breakfast at the creperie?"

"I'd love that."

"Unless-" He cut himself off.

Unless what? He was hesitating and changed his mind. The moment passed. I gave him a questioning look but he turned away.

"Okay." I tried my hardest to hide my disappointment. "See you in the morning." I decided to use the staircase to my floor since it was only one floor down. I looked back at him and waved one last time. I sighed and turned. Just forget about it, Ally.

The door suddenly opened.

My heart stopped.

Austin looked nervous. "It's been a good day. This was the first good day I've had in forever." He started walking towards me. "I don't want it to end. I don't want to be alone right now."

"Um." I couldn't breathe.

He stopped right in front of me, scanning my face. "W-would it be okay if I stayed with you? I-I don't want to make you uncomfortable-"

"No! I mean…" My head was spinning. I could barely think straight. "Y-Yeah. Of course, it's okay."

Austin stood frozen for a moment. Then he nodded.

I pulled off my key necklace and placed the key in the lock. He waited behind me as I opened the door. My hand was shaking.

~Oh, Paris!~

Austin sat on the floor and he tossed his sneakers across the room and it landed with a thud. It was the first sound that was made since coming in here.

"Sorry," He got up and rearranged them by the door.

"So I was thinking that we could work on that song for class. You know, the one in your room?" I suggested. He nodded and grabbed the guitar from the stand in the corner of my room.

It was only a few minutes into the session, when Austin spoke. "Cassidy thinks I should go back to Miami. Sure, I've almost bought the ticket a ton of times, but I knew that it wasn't what Mom would've wanted. If my dad didn't want it, my mom didn't either. It'd add to the stress of the situation."

I was shocked at the sudden outburst.

"Sometimes I wonder if she, Cassidy, if she, you know…" He grew quiet. "Wants me gone."

Austin never talked about his girlfriend. Well, at least to me. Why now? I hated this so much right now. I had to defend her. I looked back down at my songbook. "That's not true. She probably is just tired of seeing you so miserable. Like we all are." I added. 'I'm sure….I'm sure she's still as crazy about you as ever." That hurt.

"Hmmm." He watched me write words down. "What about you?" He asked after a minute.

"What about me?"

Austin strummed the guitar. "Justin Bieber. You're gonna see him next month."

Is he gonna do this? What was he trying to establish? The boundary line? That he's taken and I'm spoken for? When I'm not. Not really.

But I couldn't say that since he just brought up Cassidy. "Yeah, I can't wait to see him." I tried to sound excited. "He's a funny guy. You'd like him. I'm gonna see his band play at Christmas. Dallas is great. You'd like him. Wait, I already said that. But you would! He's really…funny."

Shut up, Ally. Shut up!

Austin unblucked and rebuckled and unbuckled his leather bracelet.

"I'm beat." I said, breaking the awkward. But it was the truth. Our conversation has exhausted me, like always. I crawled into my bed and wondered what he was going to do. Lie on the floor? Go back to his room? He placed his bracelet on my desk and climbed onto my bed. He slid up next to me. Austin was on top of the covers and I was underneath. We were still fully clothed, other than our shoes, and this whole thing was beyond awkward.

He hopped up. I was sure that he was about to leave, I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. But he flipped the light. My room turned pitch black. He shuffled back to my bed, but smacked right into it.

"Ouch." He said.

"Hey, there's a bed there."

"Thanks for the warning." He replied sarcastically.

"Anytime."

"It's so cold in here. Do you have a fan or something?"

"It's the wind. My window won't shut all the way. I have a towel stuffed under it, but it's no help." I explained.

He patted his way around the bed and slid back in. "Ugh." He groaned.

"What?"

"My belt. Would it be weird…"

Thank the Lord that he couldn't see me blush. "Of course not." I listened to the slap of leather as he pulled it from the loops. He laid it gently on my floor.

"Um," He said again. "Would it be weird-"

"Yes."

"Oh, calm down. I'm not talking about my pants. I only want under the blankets. The breeze is gonna kill me." He slid underneath, and now we were lying side by side. In my narrow bed. Funny, but I never imagined my first sleepover with a guy being, well, a sleep over.

"All we need now are Sixteen Candles and a game of Truth or Dare."

He coughed. "W-what?"

"It's a movie, pervert. I was just thinking it's been a while since I've had a sleepover."

Silence. "Oh."

"…"

"…"

"Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Your elbow is murdering my back."

"Shit. Sorry." He shifted, and then shifted again. And again, until we were uncomfortable. One of his legs rested against mine. Despite the two layers of pants between us, I felt naked and vulnerable. He shifted again and now, my entire leg, calf to thigh, rested against his. I smelled his hair. Mmm.

NO!

I swallowed, and since it was quiet, it was the loudest thing ever. He coughed. I was trying not to squirm. After what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, his breath slowed and his body relaxed. I finally began to relax, too. I wanted to memorize his scent and the touch of his skin-one his arms, now against mine-and the solidness of his body. No matter what happened, I'll remember this for the was of my life.

I studied his profile. His lips, his nose, his eyelashes. He was so gorgeous.

The wind rattled the panes, and the lights buzzed softly in the hall. He slept soundly. How long had it been since he had a decent night's rest? There was another uncomfortable tub on my heart. Why do I care so much about him, and why do I wish I didn't? How can one person make me so confused all of the time?

What was that? Was it lust? Or something else altogether? And was it even possible for me to feel this way about him without these feelings popping up? He said that he liked me. And even though he was drunk, he wouldn't have said it if there wasn't at least some truth to it. Right?

I don't know.

Like every time I'm with him, I didn't know anything. He scotted closer to me in his sleep. His breath was warm against my neck. I didn't know anything. He's so beautiful, so perfect. I wonder if he…if I…

A ray of light glared into my eyes, and I squinted, disoriented. Daylight. The red numbers on my clock read 11:27. Huh. Did I mean to sleep in? What day was it? And then I saw the body in bed next to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

So it wasn't a dream.

His mouth was parted, and the sheets were kicked off. One of his hands rested on his stomach. His shirt was hiked up, and I could see his abdomen. My gaze was transfixed.

Holy shit. I just slept with Austin.

Naughty, naughty Ally. But don't deny it. You looooooved it!

See I told you that you'd love this. I loved writing this. I was squealing the whole time. This had so much Auslly. EEPP!

(1) I totally thought of LOUD here. lol

review for me please? REVIEW! I love reading what you guys thought of the chapter!

BIG NEWS! For those of you that have read Love Or Just A Cover Story and Fate Or Just Pure Coincidence, be prepared to follow Austin and Ally on their next challenge together. It's been 3 years now and Ally is getting married…but not to the person you think. Things happened and words were said. Austin is then faced with the decision that could either get Ally back or loose her forever. Will he realize on time that letting her go was the biggest mistake he's ever made? Find out in Marriage or Just A Big Mistake.

Does that sound interesting? The first chapter will be up as soon as possible! But be sure to read L.O.J.A.C.S. and F.O.J.P.C. first!

remember to review!

Happy 4th Of July to everyone in the US!

xoxo

~XxForeverDisneyxX~