I was a wreck.

A complete wreck.

It was the day of the big show. No, not the day; the moment.

Right now. Early people were already coming in. I'd already seen my dad.

Backstage, people were frantically running around, fixing make-up and getting dressed.

Trish was yelling at Dez to do things for her.

Kira was in a corner, reading through her lines one last time.

I was looking around, wanting to help but not doing anything because I couldn't do anything else but stress.

Because Austin wasn't here.

This show was supposed to start in only one hour. One hour. And where was our leading man?

Well, if only anybody knew!

I had called him a hundred times, asked everybody, but nobody knew. I hadn't seen him all day, but I had figured I would see him tonight.

Tonight, which was now. And he wasn't here. Why wasn't he here?

I tried to call him again. When his voicemail started playing, which by now, was all too familiar, I had to resist the temptation to smash my phone against the wall.

"Ally have you found Austin? He has to start putting his costume on!" Trish yelled.

"No I haven't found him, but if I do, I'll kill him!"

I sounded hysterical, I was aware of that, but I didn't care. I was on the verge of crying, that was how bad it was.

I would kill him. How dare he do this to me.

Without him, there was no show.

The show I had worked so hard on. The show that had turned out to be something I was really proud of.

I sat down, resting my head in my hands, half of me planning Austins death and the other half trying to hold back my tears.

Tinglinglingling.

I grabbed my phone with the speed of lightning. I seriously wasn't aware it was even possible to be this fast.

"Austin?"

"Ally!"

"I'm so happy you called," I said, relieved. "You scared me for a moment, I thought you wouldn't make it!"

"I won't."

"And then I was trying to figure out what to do and…. Wait, what?"

When I realised what he had just said, I felt all the blood drain from my face.

"You won't… Make it?"

"I'm really sorry Ally," he said softly.

"But why?" I cried out. Maybe he was stuck in traffic. We could start a little later. We could just say we were experiencing technical difficulties and…

"I'm grounded."

Well, that wasn't going to be an option than.

"You.. are grounded? Are you kidding?" I snickered.

He had to be kidding. Right?

"Nope, sorry. I went out with Kira last night and got home late, so my parents grounded me. I'm not allowed out at all." He was silent for a second. "I'm really sorry Als. I tried to talk to them, but…"

He went out with Kira and got home late. Well, that was it then.

Dreams crushed. Show cancelled. I would be made fun of for the rest of my life.

Because Austin went out with Kira and got home late.

"I understand if you're angry," Austin said softly.

I couldn't even be angry with him.

"I'm not," I said. My voice was thick and I couldn't be sure that I wouldn't cry. "I just… I wished… You know, never mind, Austin. I hope your night with Kira was worth it."

My voice broke and I hang up the phone.

"Was that Austin?" Kira was suddenly standing next to me.

I couldn't deal with her right now.

"Yeah, and he's not coming." I didn't explain anything else, and I didn't have to, because Kira didn't ask.

"Oh," she just said. "So I can go home then?"

I nodded, sitting down on the floor, just staring at my hands.

Yeah, she could go home. There was not going to be a show anyway.

Kira left, but I couldn't bring myself to go and tell everyone it was over.

Everyone had worked so hard to get here, and now it was just done.

So I just sat there, staring, and I felt a single tear stream down my cheek.

"Ally?" Trish walked up to me, Dez following closely behind.

"Ally? Are you crying?" She sat down next to me and put her arm around me.

"He's not coming," I said, and that's all it took for me to fall apart in her arms. I rested my head on her shoulder and cried.

Cried for the show, for everyone that had put so much hard work into this.

Cried with disappointment. Because I really didn't think Austin would let me down.

I just sat there, for what felt like an eternity. Everybody around us was still running, not knowing that everything they were doing would be lost.


"Finally, there you are!" I heard Mrs Drew say, and I looked up, wiping the tears away.

At first, I couldn't really see anything, but then I saw a blond mop of hair.

One that I would recognize everywhere.

"Austin?" I brought out.

"Ally!" He started walking towards me.

I leaped up and ran. I didn't know what came over me, but I ran, launching myself into his arms.

He caught me and pulled me into him. Right before I buried my face in his neck, I saw the confused look on his face.

I wrapped my arms around his body and continued crying. I wanted to stop, I really did, but I simply couldn't.

"I thought you wouldn't come," I sniffed.

His arms tightened around me, his hand going up to my head and pushing my face even further into his neck.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so so sorry, Als. You have to forgive me. Please forgive me."

"I…. hate you….so much."

He giggled. Through my tears, I smiled. He was really here. Nothing was lost yet.

"I know you do. I deserve it. Just don't hate me forever, okay?"

I shook my head. "I want to, but I don't think I can."

Then, I pulled away. His t-shirt was wet with my tears.

"Sorry about that," I muttered, embarrassed.

"Sfine. Where's the costume?"

I suddenly realised that a lot had happened between when I talked to him on the phone 20 minutes ago and now.

"Wait, what about you being grounded?" I asked.

"I snuck out," he said, already taking of his shirt. Trish handed him another, the one he was supposed to wear and that didn't have mascara stains on it.

"I couldn't bare the disappointment in your voice." He turned to me and took my hand.

"I wasn't going to let you down, Als. I'll never let you down, I promise."

I stared into his eyes. He was looking at me so sincere, with so much... Love, almost.

Or maybe I was just imagining that.

He let go of my hand and put on the other shirt.

I wanted to hug him again, but didn't, for fear of more mascara stains and also because he might've had enough physical affection from me for the time being.

Then I suddenly realised something.

Something important.

"Wait," I said. "Wait!"

Everybody stopped, including Dez and Trish.

"Kira already left. She can't be back in time. What are we going to do?" I groaned.

I could feel my eyes tear up again, but bit my lip and tried to hold them back.

Trish cursed and Dez made a weird noise. I sat down on the floor again, ready to give up.

"No, no, no! Please don't cry!" Austin sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him again.

"Please don't cry again, Als, I can't stand to see you cry. We'll make it work, I promise."

"You can't, Austin. You can't make it work. Nobody knows Kira's lines. Nobody can replace her and we can hardly do it without a Lily."

He seemed to think for a second. Then he turned to me.

"You know her lines."

Thinking he was joking, I let out a cynical laugh.

"Yeah, why don't I go out there and belt out a couple songs?"

He took my hands in his, positioning himself in front of me, so close that I had no other choice but to look him straight in the eyes.

"I know this is asking a lot, but this is all I can think of. This is the way to continue the show. You have to do it, Als, you have to!"

"No!" I practically yelled. "Did you not listen to a word I told you? Stage fright. Vomiting. Fainting."

"I know, but I also know you can do it. You can. I believe in you."

I stared into his brown eyes, which were so sure, so full of believe in me.

"Besides, you don't have to do it alone, right? Just pretend it's just me. You just keep your eyes on me and forget about all the other people, yeah? We can do it, Ally, together, because we're a good team."

I sighed. Maybe he was right. Maybe I could do it, if he was there for me.

"Okay," I whispered, so softly I could almost not hear myself say it.

Austin smiled, leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

"You won't regret it, Als. I promise."