He isn't surprised how little he slept last night. All he could do was think about how badly he screwed up. Still, that doesn't make him any less tired when he finally decides to get up.

He rubs his eyes and looks over at Coco's hammock, where he expects to see the tiny monkey sleepy soundly like he always does.

But the hammock is empty.

A worried knot forms in his stomach and he looks over at his open window, chewing on his lower lip. He assumed Coco would come home sometime last night while he was asleep. But that didn't happen, and now he's probably out in the wild, so domesticated now that he probably won't be able to survive.

Austin grabs his phone and calls Dez.

"Hey, buddy. What're you doing up so early?" Dez asks.

"Have you seen Coco?"

"He's not with you?"

"I kinda yelled at him last night," Austin admits.

"Why?"

"He – well, I brought him to my date with Ally because I was nervous, but then he didn't listen to me and he kinda ruined it," he says.

"You realize he's a monkey and he can't actually understand what you say?"

"Usually – "

"He's an animal, Austin."

The blond sighs. "Point is, I thought he'd come home sometime last night, but…he didn't. I'm worried about him."

"I can ask around," Dez says. "I'm sure someone will have seen him."

"I hope so," Austin says.

"It'll be fine, buddy. I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"Thanks, Dez. Bye."

The two hang up, and Austin looks around his room to make sure Coco really isn't there. Then, he calls Jace and asks if he's heard anything, but unfortunately he's about as helpful as Dez.

He gets ready and leaves the house, looking around for where the little monkey might be. He checks the diner, but he doesn't have any luck. He walks up and down the beach, examines all the trees he can find as best he can, and he even loops back around to his house to see if maybe Coco came back while he was gone. But he can't find him anywhere.

The pit in his stomach is getting bigger and bigger as he keeps coming up short looking for Coco. He knows this is all his fault, and if anything happens to Coco because of their fight, he doesn't know how he'll be able to live with himself.

He suddenly stops, remembering the last time Coco ran away. He runs a hand through his hair and walks to Ally's house.

He knocks on the door, taking a deep breath and trying to swallow his pride as he prepares for her inevitable coldness and probable yelling.

It swings open a few seconds later, and there she is, in a pair of short shorts and a tank top, with the tiny monkey sitting on her shoulder as he nibbles on a strawberry.

She crosses her arms, staring at him wordlessly.

"I…" he starts, unsure how to start.

She raises her eyebrows, and he swallows. He glances at Coco, who seems to finally realize he's there as he looks up from his strawberry. He looks a little afraid, and he inches closer to Ally's neck, as if he's trying to hide himself in her hair.

"About last night – " Austin tries.

"I just don't get you, Austin," she interrupts with a tired sigh. "I mean, you beg me for a date, and then…and then you treat it like a joke and bring Coco when you knew – "

"You weren't supposed to know he was there," he says.

"He was still there."

"It was because I was nervous, okay?"

"What?"

"I was nervous. You knew that. I didn't wanna screw things up, and…Coco being there helped calm my nerves. Well, until he ruined it…"

She presses her lips together in a line.

"A – and you must not hate him that much, considering…" He trails off and gestures to where Coco is sitting on her shoulder.

She glances at him, almost as if she forgot he was there, and then she looks at Austin again. Her cheeks tint pink.

"I felt bad for him. Because he had to deal with you."

"I'm sorry – "

"Just take him," Ally says, lifting Coco off her shoulder and holding him out to Austin.

The blond sighs and reaches for the monkey, but he shrinks away, his nose twitching and his tail curling up.

"He's…scared of you," Ally notes, knitting her eyebrows together. "What did you say to him?"

"I just – I yelled at him, I guess. I was mad."

"So was I."

He ignores her, focusing his attention on Coco instead. "Hey, buddy," he says softly, holding out his hand for the monkey. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"He doesn't understand you," Ally deadpans.

Austin continues to ignore her. "I was worried about you," he tells Coco. "Can you forgive me?"

The monkey sets the stem of his strawberry down in Ally's hand, seeming to contemplate whether or not to go back to Austin.

"I'll make you a fruit salad," he tries.

Coco perks up at those words, and Austin smiles slightly. The monkey understands some things.

Coco leaps from Ally's hand to Austin's, and Austin sighs in relief as the monkey climbs up his arm to perch on his shoulder. He nuzzles his cheek against Coco's and the monkey chatters happily, barring his teeth in his own version of a smile.

Austin looks at Ally again, and he notices a small smile on her face. But when she catches him looking at her, she quickly wipes it off her face.

"Ally – " he starts.

"You have your rat back, so you can go home."

"Please give me another chance – " he begs.

"I already gave you a chance."

"I know it was stupid, but it was just because I was nervous! Coco will stay home next time, I swear – "

"Austin, maybe we just weren't meant to be. I leave soon anyway, remember?"

"Ally, please."

"No."

And then she shuts the door in his face before he can say anything else.

He exhales in frustration and walks home, trying not to feel too heartbroken. He knows it's his fault that his chance with her was ruined. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

Because it does.

A lot.

"Any ideas, buddy?" he asks Coco.

Coco doesn't reply, and Austin gets the feeling that even if he could talk, he'd just tell him that this is his problem to solve.

He wonders how many fish he's killing with all the rocks he's throwing into the ocean as he sits on the Cliff. But he doesn't really care. He sighs and lays backwards, staring up at the starry sky.

He closes his eyes, trying to forget everything that's happened. Maybe if he puts in enough effort, he can just force himself to get over her.

Which would be great, except that he doesn't want to get over her.

He knows they'd last, even with the distance. He imagines himself going to college near her, imagines them together years from now, laughing at how silly this argument was.

But in order for that to happen, they have to get through it.

He hears someone walk over and sit next to him, so he takes a deep breath and sits up, opening his eyes.

"This place really is good for thinking, huh?" she says.

He shrugs, watching her warily. "What're you doing here?"

"Same as you. Thinking."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed pretty clear about what you wanted earlier. And it wasn't me."

"It would be pretty stupid to throw everything away just because you brought your pet along to a date to calm your nerves."

He bites his lower lip. "Your words, not mine."

She looks over at him, a small smile on her face.

"Does…does this mean you're giving me another chance?"

"I guess."

He smiles a bit, and so does she. He leans toward her and kisses her softly, brushing his fingertips against her cheek and closing his eyes. She responds immediately, and he can feel her smile against his lips. The kiss is short and sweet, a promise of a second chance.

He pulls away slowly and opens his eyes to look at her, smiling in admiration. He strokes his thumb along her cheek lightly.

"You're so pretty, Ally," he whispers.

"I knew there had to be a reason you seem to like me so much," she teases softly.

He chuckles quietly and presses another kiss to her lips.

She pulls away first this time, meeting his eyes.

"I think we're gonna last. If you don't screw up."

He smiles. "I think so too."

Their second date goes a lot better than the first. Austin takes Ally surfing for the first time, and Coco stays at home. Ally's terrified at first, refusing to let go of Austin's hand as she practices standing up on the board, but she ends up being a natural once she stops being so caught up in her fear.

"I could beat any of you in those stupid surfing contests you do," she boasts as they walk along the beach after a couple hours of surfing.

"I bet you could," he says, draping the arm that isn't holding his surfboard around her shoulders.

She smiles up at him and he kisses her temple, finally feeling like everything is right in the world.

"Hey, Austin!" a voice calls from behind them. They stop and turn to see Dez jogging towards them. "Jace and I were gonna go surfing. Wanna come?"

"Sorry, buddy. Ally and I just went."

Dez seems to finally realize Ally is there, and he shifts his eyes between them a couple times. "I thought Coco ruined your chances with her," he says to Austin.

He shakes his head. "Nope, we're finally dating." He tightens his arm around Ally, smiling.

"Well, congrats," Dez replies with a smile. Then he knits his eyebrows together. "Wait, you guys went surfing? I thought Ally's dad – "

"He doesn't have to know," Austin interrupts.

"Sneaky," Dez says, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I think I hear Jace calling you," Ally tells him.

Dez frowns. "I don't."

"No…I hear him too," Austin says.

"Oh. Guess I'll catch you guys later, then. Bye!" The redhead waves and runs off, and the couple keeps walking.

"Today was fun," Ally says. "I like surfing."

"I'm glad," Austin replies. "Are you gonna keep it up when you get back home?"

"Let's not talk about me going home."

Austin sighs and kisses the top of her head, trying to push the thought of her leaving so soon out of his mind.

wow only one chapter left...but it's okay because i'm SUPER pumped for my next fic! I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reading!