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: It's already September and we're already on to chapter eleven. Wow. Everything is going by so quickly now. But anyways.

Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or 1989 by Taylor Swift.


This Love:
"Timing is a funny thing."
- Taylor Swift


"...and now he wants to get back together with me," Ally finishes an hour later. Trish and Cassidy came back only a few minutes after Austin had left to find Ally crying silently on the couch, and immediately asked to know what happened. It took a while, but she managed to get through the whole story and calm down at the same time as her friends listened patiently. Now, they sit on either side of her, quiet, Cassidy wearing an expression of sorrow and Trish an expression of anger.

"You've been doing so well for the past few weeks and now he comes back?" Trish practically shouts, breaking the silence. She stands.

"Trish," Cassidy mutters. "Calm down. Ally's upset."

"Yeah, I know that, but it's because of that jerk that she is in the first place! So, no, I will not calm down. Not when he hurt my best friend," she replies.

"He didn't hurt me, Trish," Ally says. "He just..." She trails off.

"He reopened a wound in you that you've been doing so well to keep closed," Trish retorts. "He hurt you. Again."

Ally sighs, not bothering to argue with her. Laying her head in her hands, she says, "I just don't know what to do. What am I supposed to tell him? I said I'd think about it, but I can hardly form any decent thoughts ever since he left. I'm stuck."

"Tell him you're done and to screw off," Trish suggests unkindly.

This time, it's both Ally and Cassidy that say, "Trish!" who just looks at them like she doesn't understand what their problem is.

Cassidy says, "Maybe you could tell him that you want to be friends? For the time being, at least."

"But I don't want to lead him on or give him any false hope," Ally replies. "I want him to know the truth, but I don't know what the truth is anymore."

"Well, are you still in love with him? You told us you weren't, so tell him that," Cassidy suggests.

Ally takes a deep breath. "I wasn't in love with him anymore, no. But when I saw him again and he said the things he did, I...I'm not so sure that's true anymore," she admits.

Now her friends exchange a glance, like they're conveying secrets in front of her without letting her in on them.

"What are you guys thinking?" Ally asks.

They face her again, forgetting she was in the room with them, too. Cassidy breaks the silence first.

"It's just...you've been doing so well these past few weeks."

"But we also know that you're still not completely over him," Trish adds.

"And we were just thinking..."

"It's just an idea, it might not be true."

"That maybe seeing him again brought back all your feelings for who you guys used to be. That you're in love with the idea of you two, but not necessarily Austin himself," Cassidy finishes. Trish nods in agreement.

They stay quiet, and Ally thinks over this for a minute. Is it possible that she just misses who they used to be, and not Austin? She was in love with him once, and now the person she thinks she loves is really just a memory? It would make sense, but it would also complicate a lot of things. Because if that really is the truth, and she really isn't in love with him anymore, then how is she supposed to tell him that they can't get back together without hurting him all over again?

She looks up at her two best friends and, meeting their gazes, she knows they understand exactly what she wants to tell them.


A week later, she stands outside the infamous coffee shop from so long ago, waiting. He agreed to meet her here for lunch, but she decided to leave a little early, wanting to have a chance to gather her thoughts before having to face him again.

It's not easy knowing you're about to tell your ex-boyfriend – who still happens to be in love with you – that, though you want to fix things, you don't want to get back together with him.

Five minutes before they agreed to meet, she sees him down the street before he sees her, and raises her hand a little to catch his attention. He smiles when he sees her, then picks up his speed and reaches her in front of the doors.

"Shall we go in?" he asks her. She nods, then lets him open the door for her and steps inside, walking to the back corner of the shop to find a seat and sits down. He gets in line to order their coffees, giving her a chance to watch him closely without worrying so much that he might see her.

He's changed a lot in the last six months since they'd been apart. He's a little taller, despite the fact he's now twenty-years-old and should've stopped growing a long time ago. His hair is also a bit longer, too, like he hasn't bothered to get it cut while he was in LA. Surprisingly, it doesn't bother her, though she misses the way it used to look.

The biggest change, she notices, is in his eyes. While she sees him with a smile often, it never quite reaches his eyes anymore, and they don't shine like they used to. Whenever she met his gaze when he spoke to her last week, he looked hollow, like something has been taken from him and he can't figure out how to get it back. She can't help but think she's the one that caused this look, and she's afraid of what might happen to him after their conversation today. But then he's paying for their drinks and walking over to their table, and so she drops the thought and takes her coffee quietly, letting silence fall between them as he sits down.

"So," Austin finally says, breaking the silence, "what did you want to talk about?"

She taps her coffee cup in thought. She doesn't know how to start this. It feels like she's breaking up with him all over again, yet she wasn't the one that did so in the first place and they're not even together now.

"Um. So, I thought about what you said," she starts. "About me and...us."

He nods. "That's good, that you thought about it. I was afraid you might just drop the whole thing."

She ignores this comment and continues, "The thing is...I don't know how to say this."

Now he looks worried. "Say what?" he asks slowly.

She sighs. "I agree with what you told me, for the most part," she replies. "I miss you, too, and I wouldn't mind fixing things between us." She pauses.

When it looks to Austin as though she won't continue, he says, "Go on."

She sighs again. "I want to fix things," she repeats, "but I'd rather do so as...as friends."

"Oh," he mutters. He pauses, mulling over her confession, his expression unreadable.

When he finally does speak again, it's to say, "So, you wanna be friends."

She nods. "Yeah," she replies quietly.

"Just friends."

"Yeah."

Silence. Then, "Okay."

She looks up. "You're okay with that?"

He shrugs. "It beats not having you in my life at all, I guess. I was just hoping you felt the same way. But I'll be fine."

She smiles a little. "You will. I know you will."

He returns the smile. "Thanks. I hope so."

After a moment, he asks, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why just friends?"

She sighs. She figured he'd ask this.

"Because, Austin. I'm not ready to jump into another relationship again, much less with the person I thought I was over. I wanted to move on from you, and I have been. I'm not saying I don't still care about you, but I'm not saying I'm still in love with you, either." She pauses. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm in a place in my life right now where having a boyfriend would just complicate things. So... I'm sorry."

He nods. "No, I get it," he says.

"Plus, your timing sucks," she adds.

He looks up quickly at her tone, and actually laughs. "What?" he asks.

"Your first album comes out next month? You go on tour in the fall? Trying to juggle a career while in a new relationship is not easy, trust me on that," she explains.

He chuckles at her comment, causing her to laugh, and then they're both laughing loudly, not caring about the fact that they're two rising pop stars in the middle of a busy coffee shop in New York City. It makes her happy knowing that she can share a laugh with someone she thought she had lost forever, and she doesn't want to stop. Maybe things will get better from here. Maybe they can be better. This love may have came back to her for something more, but right now, in this moment, she thinks maybe they'll both be alright. She only hopes they can be, together.


- axswiftxa13: I feel like I totally just tore down your theory and for that I'm sorry :(. But I did think it was really interesting! Especially with the lyrics; I never thought about that.
Also, don't worry about the last chapter! I've twisted the code in a way that I'm sure everyone will be happy with (at least, I hope everyone will be happy with it. I really like it, but then again I wrote it, so...we'll see).

Not quite the happiest of endings for this chapter, and I realize it's short, but don't worry. I'm sure the next chapter will make up for both of those things.

Thanks for reading! Tell me your thoughts in the reviews? :)