Three day weekend. How 'bout an update? Sound good? Alright. I decided to make this a double feature. Instead of doing this as two separate chapters, it's gonna be one big one. Cause I don't think I could handling making you guys wait for too long. Especially when a...well you'll have to wait. Plus, in the show, they said Ally's birthday was in February and before it ends...oops. I've said too much already.

I just wanted to thank you guys for the 300+ reviews! This is the most I've gotten on a single fanfic before and I couldn't love you guys enough for it!

I own nothing.

Chapter Fourteen-

Last time...

"Happy New Year, Ally." He breathed out.

I smiled into the phone. "Happy New Year, Austin."

And for the first time since coming on, I'm completely happy. It was weird. Home. How I could wish for it for so long, only to come back and find it gone. To be here, in my technical house, and disover that home is now somplace different.

But that wasn't quite right either.

I missed Paris, but it's not home. It was more like...I missed this. This warmth over the telephone. Was it possible for home to be a person and not a place? Dani used to be home to me. Maybe Austin was my new home.

I mulled over this as our voices grew tired and we stopped talking. We just keep each other company. My breath. His breath. My breath. His breath.

I could never tell him, but it was true.

This is home. The two of us.

~Oh, Paris!~

It kinda saddened me how much I was relieved to be back on a plane to Paris. The whole ride was long and really quiet. It was my first flight alone and by the time the plane lands at Charles de Gaulle, I was anxious to get back to the school, even it meant navigating the metro by myself. I felt like I was almost not afraid of riding it anymore.

That couldn't be possible. Can it?

But the train ride back to the Latin Quarter was surprisingly smooth and easy, and before I knew it, I was unlocking my door and unpacking my suitcase. The hall rumbled pleasantly with the sound of other students arriving. I peeked through my curtains at the restaurant across the street. No opera singer, but it was barely the afternoon. She'll be back by tonight. She's always there. The thought made me smile.

I called Austin. He said he arrived last night. The weather was unusually warm for the season, and he and Dez were taking advantage of it. He said they were hanging out at the steps of the Pantheon, and he said that I should join them. And that's exactly what I'll do.

I couldn't explain it, but as I strolled down the street, I was suddenly attacked by my nerves. Why was I shaking? It had only been two weeks, but they weren't just your ordinary two weeks. Ausitn had morphed from this confusing thing into my best friend. And he felt the same way. I didn't have to ask him; I knew it like I knew my own reflection.

I stalled and took the long way to the building. The city was as beautiful as ever. The gorgeous Austin Moon appeared, and I thought about his mom packing picinic lunches and drawing the pigeons. I tried to picture him racing around here in a young kid's school uniform, shorts and scabby knees, but I couldn't. All I saw was the person I knew-calm and confident, hands in his pockets, admiring every single detail of everything around him. The kind of person who glowed with a natural magnetic field, who everyone is unknowingly drawn to, who everyone is dazzled by.

The January sun peeked out and warmed by cheeks. Two men who carried what can only be described as man purses stopped to admire the sky. A trim woman in stilettos halted in wonder. I smiled and moved passed them. And then I tured another corner, and my chest constricted tightly, so painfully, that it felt like I could no longer breathe.

Because there he was.

He was engrossed on strumming his guitar, hunched over it and completely absorbed in the chords that played. A breeze ruffled his blonde hair, and he bit his nails. Dez was a few feet away, film camera in hand and scanning the area for something worty to capture. Several other people were taking in the rare sunshine, but they're quickly forgotten as they had been registered. Because of him.

I gripped the edge of the table of a sidewalk cafe to refrain from falling. The diners stared at me, shocked, but I could've cared less. I was reeling, and I gasped desperately for air.

How could I have been no blind and stupid?

How could I have ever, for a single moment, believed that I wasn't in love with him?

~Oh, Paris!~

I studied him. He bit his left pinkie nail, so his train of thought must have had a good tune to it. Pinkie meant excited or happy, thumb meant thinking or worried. I was surprised I knew the meaning of these gestures. How closely had I been paying attention to him?

He bobbed his head to his strumming. Music meant everything to him. Anyone could tell.

Two elderly women in fur coats and matching hats shuffled past. One of them paused and turned back around. She asked me a question in French. I couldn't quite make out what she said exactly, but I knew that she was concerned if I was okay. I smiled and nodded a thank you. She flashed me another look of unease but moved on.

I couldn't walk. What was I supposed to say? Figures. Fourteen consecutive days of telephone conversations and now that he's here in person, I doubt that I can even say a decent hello. One of the diners at the cafe stood up to help me. I let go of hte round table and stumbled across the street. I felt my knees start to go weak. The closer I got, the more overwhelming it got. The Pantheon was huge. The steps seemed so far.

He looked up.

Our eyes locked, and he broke into a slow smile. My heart beated faster and faster. Almost there. He set down his guitar and stood. And this-the moment he called my name-was the real moment everything had changed.

He was no longer Austin, everyone's pal, everyone's friend.

He was Austin. Austin, like the night we met. He was Austin; he was my friend.

He was so much more.

Austin. His name coated my tongue like melting chocolate. He was so beautiful, so perfect.

Reality set back in and I heard my breath hitch when he opened his arms and wrapped them around me in a hug. My heart pounded furiously, and I became embarassed, because I knew he felt it. We broke apart, and I staggered backwards. He caught me before I fell down the stairs.

"Whoa." He said. But I didn't think he meant me falling.

I blushed and blamed the clumsiness, "Oh god, that could've been bad."

Phew. A steady voice.

His eyes were dazed. "You okay?"

I realized that his hands were still on my shoulders, and my entire body stiffened underneath his touch. "Yeah. Great. Super! Aha ha!"

"Hey, Ally! How was your break?"

Dez. I forgot that he was there. Austin let go of me carefully as I acknowledged Dez, but the whole time we were chatting, I wish he went back to filming and left us alone. After a minute, his gaze switched and his eyes went to me-then to where Austin was standing-and a funny expression appeared on his face. His speech trailed off, and he buried himself in his camera again. I looked back, but all Austin's face had was a blank look.

We sat on the steps together. I hadn't been this nervou s around him since the first week of school. My whole mindset was completely tangled, my tongue tied, my stomach in knots. "Well," He said, after an excruciating minute. "Did we use up all of our conversatoin over the break?"

The pressure inside of me eased enough to speak. "Guess I'll go back to the dorm." I pretended to stand, and he laughed.

"I have something for you." He pulled me back down with my sleeve. "Consider it a late Christmas present."

"For me? That's not fair! I didn't get you anything!"

He reached inside a coat pocket and brought out his hand in a fist. It was small enough, I'm guessing, for him to close it. "It's not much, so don't go all emotional on me."

"Ooo, what is it?"

"I saw it when I was out with Mom, and it made me think of you-"

"Austin! Come on!"

He blinked at the way I said his name. My face turned red, and I'm filled with the ovrewhelming sensation that he knows exactly what I was thinking. His expression turned into amazement as he said, "Close your eyes and hold out your hand."

Probably still blushing, I did as I was instructed. His fingers brushed against the palm of my hand, and my hand jerked back as if he were electrified. Something went flying and landed with a faint clink behind us. I opened my eyes. He was staring at me, equally shocked.

"Whoops," I said.

He tilted his head at me.

"I think...it may have landed back there," I scrambled to my feet, but I didn't even know exactly what I was looking for. I never felt what he placed in my hands. I only felt him. "I don't see anything! Just pebbles and pigeon droppings." I added, trying to act normal. Failure.

Where was it? What was it?

"Here." He plucked something tiny and yellow from the steps above him. I fumbled back and held out my hand again, bracing myself for the contact. Austin paused and then dropped it from a few inches about my hand. As if he's avoiding touching me, too.

It's a necklace. With an alligator pendant.

He cleared his throat. "I know you said Dani and...Dallas were the only one who could call you 'Gator', but Mom was feeling better last weekend, so I took her to her favorite antique store. I saw that and thought of you. I hope you don't mind someone else adding to your collection. Especially what happened with you, Dani, and...Dallas." He kept hesitating on saying his name, as if he was worried that I would get upset. But I didn't.

I gently touched the small figure. "Thank you."

"Mom wondered why I wanted it." He chuckled.

"What did you tell her?"

"That it was for you, duh." He smiled genuinely.

I beamed. Austin then took it from my hold again, our hands slightly brushing, and he walked behind me.

Suddenly, I see the necklace desending in front of me and I moved my hair out of the way. It landed softly around my neck. The necklace was so lightweight I could hardly feel it, except the chain left a cold sensation on my skin. Speaking of cold...

I shivered. "Has the temperature dropped? Or is it just me?"

"Here." Austin took off his jacket and handed it to me. I took it, gratefully, and slipped myself into it. It was a lot bigger than I was, so it hang loosely from my shoulders. It was warm from his body heat and it smelled like him.

"Your hair looks nice," He said, smiling. "You dyed it again."

I lifted the back portion out of the jacket and let it flow down. "Mom helped me."

"That breeze is gonna kill me, I'm going for coffee." Dez shut his camera and placed it in his backpack. I'd forgotten he was here again. "You coming?"

Austin looked at me, waiting to see how I would answer.

Coffee! I was dying for a real cup. I smiled at Dez. "Sounds perfect."

And then I was heading down the steps of the Pantheon, cool and white and clittering, in the most beautiful city in the world. I'm with two attractive, funny, intelligent boys, and I'm grinning from ear to ear. If Danielle could see me now.

I mean, who needed Dallas when Austin Moon is in the world?

But as soon as I thought of Dallas, I got the same stomach churning I always did when I thought about him now. Shame that I ever thought he might wait. That I wasted so much time on him. Ahead of me, Austin laughed at something Dez said. And the sound, practically music to my ears, sent me spiraling into panic as the information hit me again and again and again like a ton of bricks.

What am I going to do? I'm in love with my new best friend.

~Oh, Paris!~

It's like I was physically sick. Austin. How much I loved him.

I love Austin.

I loved it when he cocked an eyebrow whenever I said something he found clever, amusing, or just dorky, knowing myself. I loved listening to his sneakers clomp across my bedroom ceiling. I loved that little Miami accent he had, which he tried to hide as much as I did with mine.

I love that.

I loved sitting beside him in Music. Brushing against him during labs in Chemistry. His messy handwriting on our worksheets. I loved handing him backpack when class was over, because then my fingers smell like him for the next ten minutes. And when Brooke said somehting lame, and he seeked me out to share an eye roll-I loved that, too. I loved his boyish laugh and his wrinkled shirts and his ridiculously worn out sneakers. I loved his mesmerizing hazel eyes, and the way his mouth curved when a smile appeared. And I loved his hair so much I could die.

There was only one thing I didn't love about him. Her.

If I didn't like Cassidy before, it's nothing compared to now. It didn't matter that I could count how many times we've met on one hand. It's that first image, that's what I couldn't shake. Under the streetlamp. Her fingers in his hair. Anytime I was aone, my mind wandered back to that night. I took it further. She touched his chest. I took it further. His bedroom. He slipped off her dress, their lips locked, bodies pressed, and-oh my God-my temperature rose, and my stomach turned upside down.

I fantasized about their breakup, too. How he could hurt her, and she could hurt him, and all of the ways I could hurt her back. I wanted to grab her Parisian-styled dirty blonde hair and yank it so hard it rips from her own skull. I wanted to sink my claws into her eyeballs and scrape.

I'm such a nice person now, aren't I? Turned out that betrayal takes it toll on it's victims hard.

Austin and I rarely talked about her before, but she was completely taboo now. Which killed me, because since we've gotten back from winter holiday, they seemed to be having problems again. Like an obsessed fangirl, I tallied the evenings he spent with me versus the evenings he has spent with her. Let's just say that Team Ally is going for the gold.

So why wouldn't he just call it quits? Why? I didn't know.

It tormented me until I caved, until the pressure inside was so unbearable that I had to talk to someone or risk exploding. I chose Trish. The way I saw it, she was probably obsessing over the situation as much as I was. I mean, she practically tackled me when she came to my room last week and asked me what went on with me and him over break. We were in her bedroom, and she was helping me write an essay about my guinea pig for French class. She was wearing her animal print top and her casual jeans. She lied on her stomach and flipped through a magazine on her bed, while I wiggled in her vanity dressor chair.

"Good, but that was present tense," she said. "You aren't feeding Captain Jack carrot sticks right now."

"Oh. Right." I jotted something down, but I wasn't focusing on verbs. I was trying how to casually bring Austin up so she didn't announce it to the whole dorm building.

"Read it again. Ooo, and do your funny voice! That faux-French one!" My bad French accent wasn't on purpose, but I jumped on the opening. "You know, there's something, uh, I've been wondering." I was conscious of the illuminated sign above my head righ tnow, flashing the obvious-I! LOVE! AUSTIN!- but pushed it away. "Why are he and Cassidy still together? I mean, they hardly see each other anymore. Right?"

Trish stopped, mid-page flip, and...busted. She knew I loved Austin.

But then I saw her struggling to reply, and I realized she was trapped in the drama as much as I was now. I knew she had been close to Cassidy before, but I could see that some part of her wanted her and Austin to...just call it quits. "Yeah." She closed the magazine. "But it's not that simple, Ally. They've been together forever. They're practically an old married couple. And besides, they're both really...cautious I guess you could say."

"Cautious?"

"Yeah. You know. Austin doesn't rock the boat. And neither does Cassidy. It took her ages to pick a university, and then she still picked one that was only a few blocks agay. I mean Parsons is a prestigious school and all, but she chose it because it was familiar. And now with Austin's mom, I think he's afraid to lose anyone else. Meanwhile, she's not gonna break up with him, not while his mom has cancer. Even if it isn't a healthy relationship anymore."

I clicked the clicky button on top of my pen. Clickclickclickclick. "So you think they're unhappy?"

She sighed. "Not unhappy, but...not happy either. Happy enough, I guess. Does that make sense?"

And it did. Which I hated. Clickclickclickclick.

It meant I couldn't say anything to him, because I'd be putting our friendship at a risk. I'd have to keep acting like nothing has changed, that I didn't feel anything more for him than I did withe Dez. Who, the next day, was ignoring our history lecture for the billionth time in a row. He had his tablet in his lap, watching some documentary, but having it on mute. He was taking notes, but not about the storming of Bastille.

After class, we made plans to go to the movies. Me, Austin, Dez and Trish. Libby had an essay due in the morning and Vee got sick and Austin told her to stay and rest.

Austin and I waited outside Dez's room on the first floor, and he grew impatient so he pressed his ear against his door but then shot back like it was on fire.

"What's up?"

"They're having...uh...a moment. I'd rather not interrupt." We decided to just head out without them.

I was glad he was ahead of me, so he couldn't see my face. It's not like I was ready to sleep with anyone-and I'm not-but it was this stupid wall between us. I was always aware of it. And now I was thinking about Austin and Cassidy again. His fingertips stroking her bare shoulder. Her lips parted against his naked throat. Stop thinking about it, Ally.

Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT.

I switched the conversation to his mother. She finished her treatments, but we wouldn't know if the disease was gone until late March. The doctors had to wait until the radiation left her stystem befor they could test her. Austin was always trapped between worry and hope, so I steered him towards hope whenever possible.

She was feeling better today and so was he. He told me something about her medication, but my attention wavered as I studied his profile. I was jolted back to Thanksgiving. Those same eyelashes, that same nose, silhouetted against the darkness in my bedroom.

God, he was beautiful.

We walked to our favorite cinema, the one we had dubbed the "Mom and Pop Basset Hound Theater." It was only a few blocks away and the man behind the counter smiled.

I smiled back. I had been practicing my French with him, and he had been practicing his English. He remembered I'm from Miami, Florida, and we had another brief chat about the weather. The movie that afternoon was Roman Holidaym and the rest of the theater was empty. Austin stretched his legs and relaxed back into his seat. "Tap on my window, knock on my door I..."

"Wanna make you feel beautiful."

"Yes!" His eyes sparkled. This was one of our favorite games, where one of us created the beginnings of a cliche lyric from a song and the other finishes it.

"You only miss the sun when it starts to snow..."

His gaze turned towards me and our eyes locked. "You only know you love her, when you let her go."

Austin shifted his position and I must have been making a weird face because he covered his mouth. "Stop staring."

"What?"

"My teeth. You're staring at my bottom teeth."

I laughed. "Like I have the right to make fun of anyone's teeth. I can shoot water incredible distances through my own teeth. Dani used to tease me about them all the ti-"I cut myself off, feeling suddenly ill. I still hadn't talked to Danielle.

Austin lowered his hand from his mouth. His expression was serious, maybe even defensive. "I like your smle."

I like yours, too.

But I didn't have enough strength and courage in me to say it aloud.

~Oh, Paris!~

The front-desk smiled when she saw me. "I 'ave package for you!"

Residance Lambert's door opened again, and my friends trooped in behind me. The girl handed over a large brown box, and I happily signed for it. "From your mom?" Libby asked. Her cheeks were pink from the cold.

"Yes!" Today was my birthday. And I knew exactly what was inside. I carried the box eagerly to the lobby sofas and dug for something to open it with. Dez pulled out his room key and sliced through the tape.

"AHHH!" He screamed.

Vee, Libby, Trish and Austin peeked inside, and I gloated triumphantly.

"No!" Trish said.

"Yes," I said.

Ausitn picked up a slender purple box. "Cookies?"

Dez snatched it from him. "Not just any old cookies, my fine fellow. Samoas." He turned to me. "Can I open this?"

"Of course!" Every year, my family celebrates my birthday with a feast of Girl Scout cookies instead of cake. The timing is actually perfect.

Libby pulled out a box of Thin Mints. "Your mom is the best."

"What's so special about...Tagalongs?" Austin said, inspecting another box.

"TAGALONGS?!" Trish ripped them from his hands.

"They're only the tastiest morsels on the entire planet," I explained to Austin. "They only sell them this time of year."

"Austin, I used to be a Girl Scout. We had tons of boxes at home. Haven't you ever had one Girl Scout cookie?" Vee asked her brother while munching down on a box of Lemon Chalet Cremes.

"Did some say Girl Scout cookies?"

I was surprised to find that Brooke had been peering over my shoulder. Her eyes bulged when she saw my stash.

"You have to give me a Thin Mint." She said.

"Um...sure." I said. Dez made a face, but I handed one over anyway. Brooke sank her teeth into the chocolate wafer and gripped Austin's arm. She groaned with pleasure. He tried ot pull away, but her grip was tight. She licked her lips. I was amazed she didn't have crumbs on her mouth. How did she do that?

"Have you ever tasted one of these?" She asked him.

"Yes." He lied.

Libby snorted.

There was a cough behind me, and I found nerdy Patrick from my French class staring anxiously at my box. I glared at Brooke, the Arm-Toucher, and pulled out an entire sleeve of Thin Mints. "Here you go, Pat."

He looked at me in surprise, but then again, that's how he always had looked. "Wow. Thanks, Ally." He took the box and lumbered towards the stairwell.

Dez gasped, horrified. "Whyareyougivingawaythecookies?"

"Seriously." Trish gave Brooke an irritated glance. "Let's go someplace private." She grabbed my package and carried it upstairs. Always prepared, she had fresh milk in her mini-fridge. They wished me happy birthday and we clicked glasses. And then we stuffed ourselves until bursting.

"Mmm." Austin moaned from the floor. "Tagalongs."

"Told you," Vee said, licking the chocolaty peanut butter from her rings.

"Sorry we didn't get you anything," Libby collapsed. "But thanks for sharing."

I smiled. "I'm happy to."

"Actually," Austin sat up. "I was planning to give you this at dinner, but I suppose now is as good a time as any." He reached into his backpack.

"But you hate birthdays!" I said.

"Don't thank me yet. And I don't hate them. I just don't celebrate my own. Sorry it isn't wrapped." He handed me a leather bound notebook.

I was confused. "Um...thanks."

"It still has an A on it like your old one," He explained while flipping it over. "Which, by the way, is almost filled with your notes, reviews, and song lyrics, so I thought I'd get you a new one."

No one ever remembers that I write song lyrics and reviews. A lump rose in my throat. "It's perfect."

"I know it's not much-"

"No. It's perfect. Thank you."

He bit his pinky nail, and we smiled at each other.

"Aw, Austin! That's sweet." Dez gushed.

Austin chucked on of Trish's pillows at his head.

"So you never explained it to me," Vee said. "What's with that? The reviews?"

"Oh," I tore my gaze from Austin. "It's just something I've always wanted to do. I like talking about music in movies. The scoring and composition, I mean. It's hard to get into the music business-so I listen to the music in every scene, just to get practice and insipiration for my own work."

"We've heard you sing! Why don't you audition for one of those talent shows on t.v.?" She asked. "Being a music critic is a little strange. Like when you told us you liked cold pizza."

"It's not strange." Austin said. "I think it's cool."

I shrugged. "I don't think I'm ready for that big step yet. Baby steps."

We all sat in comfortable silence before Libby started to talk again. "So what's the plan?"

"Huh?" I looked at all of them.

"Ally, it's your birthday." Vee laughed. I waited for someone to continue their point.

"We're not just going to sit here, doing nothing all night. Let's go out." Dez sat up.

I knew that he did not mean the movies. "I like staying in."

Trish's eyes shined. "Ally. Haven't you drunk before?"

"Of course." I lied. But the blush ruinded my cover. They all screamed.

"How can you have gone half a schol year without drinking?" Libby asked.

I squirmed. "I just...don't. It still feels illegal."

"You're in France." Vee said. "You should at least try it."

"Have you ever drunk before, Vee?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Once or twice. But that's besides the point!"

They were all jumping up and down. "Yes! Let's get Ally drunk!"

"Guys, I don't know-"

"Not drunk." Austin smiled. He was the only one still sitting. "Just...happy."

"Happy birthday drunk." Dez said.

"Happy," Austin repeated. "Come on, Ally. I know the perfect place to celebrate."

And because it was him, my mouth answered before my brain did. "Okay."

We agreed to meet later that night. What was I thinking? I'd rather much stay in and hold a Beatles party. I was ooky with nerves, and it took me forever to find something to wear. My wardrobe wasn't exactly stocked for barhopping. When I finally came down to the lobby, everyone was already there, even Austin. I was surprised that he was on time for once. His back was to me.

"All right." I said. "Let's get this party started.

At the sound of my voice, he turned around. And his head nearly snapped off.

I was in a short skirt. It was the first time I had ever worn one here, but my birthday felt like the appropriate occasion. "Woo, Ally!" Libby fake fanned herself. "Why do you hide those things?"

Austin started at my legs. I tucked my coat round myself self-consciously, and he startled and bumped into Vee.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I should wear skirts more often.

~Oh, Paris!~

The band in the club was rocking so hard, screaming guitars and furious drumming and shouting lyrics I could hardly hear myself think. All I knew was that I felt good. Really good. Why haven't I gotten drunk before? I was such an idiot-it wasn't a big deal. I totally understood why people drank now. I wasn't sure what I had been drinking, but I did know that it was something fruity. It started out disgusting, but the more I drank, the better it got. Or the less I noticed it. Something like that. Man, I felt weird. Powerful.

Where was Austin?

I scanned the dark room, through the thrashing bodies of disillusioned Parisian youth, getting their anger out with a healthy dose of French punk rock. I finally found him leaning against a wall, talking to some chick. Why was he talking to her? She laughed and tossed her curly hair. And then she touched his arm.

I didn't believe it. This random girl was an Arm-Toucher.

Before I knew it, my feet were propelling the rest of my body towards music thrummed through my veins. I stumbled over some guy's feet and he cursed at me in French. What was his problem?

Austin. I needed to talk to Austin.

"Hey." I shouted in his face, and he flinched.

"Jeez, you okay? How much have you had to drink?" The girl asked me. I waved my hand. Three fingers. Four. Five. Something like that.

"Dance with me." I said to Austin. He was surprised, but he handed the girl his beer. She fired a dirty look at me, but I couldn't have cared less. He was more my friend than hers. I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor. The song changed to something even rowdier, and I let it take over me. Austin followed my body wiht his eyes. He found the rhythm, and we moved together.

The room spun around us. His hair was sweaty. My hair was sweaty. I grabbed him closer, and he didn't protest. I writhed down his body to the beat. When I came up, his eyes were closed, his mouth slightly ajar.

We matched each other thrust to thrust. The band launched into a new song. Louder and louder. The crowd was in a frenzy. Austin screamed the chorus with the rest of them. I didn't know the words-even if I spoke French, I doubted I could make out the lyrics over the roar. All I knew was this band was SO MUCH BETTER than Dallas' lame ass squable. HA!

We danced until we couldn't dance any longer. Until we were gasping for air and our clothes were soaked and we could hardly stand up. He led me to the bar, and I gripped onto it with everything left in me. He fell next to me. We started laughing. I was crying, I was laughing so hard.

A strange girl shouted at us in French.

"Pardon?" Austin turned around, and his eyes widened in shock when he sees her. THe girl had sleek hair and a hard face. She kept yelling, and I picked out a few swearwords. He replied back in French, and I could tell by his stance and tone of his voice that he was defending himself. The girl shouted again, gave him a final sneer, and spun away and pushed her way back through the pulsing mass.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Shit. Shit."

"Who was that? What happened?" I lifted my hair to get some air on my neck. I was hot. It was so hot in here.

Austin patted his pockets, panicked. "Fuck. Where's my phone?"

I fumbled in my purse and pulled out my cell. "USE MINE!" I shouted over the music.

He shook his head. "I can't use yours. She'll know. She'll fucking know." He pulled at his hair, and before I knew it, he was making his way for the door. I was on his heels. We burst through the club into the cold night.

Snowflakes were falling. I didn't believe it. It never snowed in Paris. And it was snowing on my birthday! I stuck out my tongue, but I didn't feel them hit. I stuck it out further. He was still searching frantically for his phone. Finally, he found it in his coat pocket. He called someone, but they must have not pick up, because he screamed.

I jumped backwards. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on. That girl in there, the one who wanted to kill me? That was Cassidy's roommate. And she saw us dancing, and she called her, and she told her all about it."

"So what? We were just dancing. Who cares?"

"Who cares? Cassidy is freaked out about you as it is! She hates it when we're together, and now she'll think something's going on-"

"She hates me?" I was confused. What did I do to her? I haven't seen her in months.

He screamed again and kicked the wall, then howled in pain. "FUCK!"

"Calm down! God, Austin, what's with you?"

He shook his head, and his expression went blank. "It wasn't supposed to end like this." He ran a hand through his damp hair.

What was supposed to end? Her or me?

"It's been falling apart for so long-"

Oh my God. Are they breaking up?

"But I'm just not ready for it." He finished.

My heart hardened into ice. Screw him. Seriously. SCREW HIM. "Why not, Austin? Why aren't you ready for it?"

He looked up at me when I said his name. Austin. Not my Austin. He was hurt, but I didn't care. He was just Austin again. Flirty, friends-with-everyone Austin. I HATE him. Before he could answer, I stumbled down the sidewalk. I couldn't look at him anymore. I had been so stupid. I was such an idiot.

It was Dallas, all over again.

He called after me, but I kept moving forward. One foot in front of the other. I was focused so hard on my steps that I bumped into a streetlamp. I cursed and kicked it. Again and again and again and suddenly, Austin was pulling me back, away from it, and I was kicking and screaming and I was so tired and I just wanted to go HOME.

"Ally. Ally!"

"What's happening?" someone asked. Trish, Libby, Dez, and Vee surrounded us. When did they get there? How long had they been watching us?

"It's fine," Austin said. "She's just a little drunk-"

"I am NOT DRUNK."

"Ally, you're drunk, and I'm drunk, and this is ridiculous. Let's just go home."

"I don't want to go home with you!"

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me? You've got a lot of nerce asking that." I staggered towards Trish. She steadied me while giving Dez an appalled look. "Just tell me one thing, Austin. I just want to know one thing."

He stared at me. Furious. Confused.

I paused to steady my voice. "Why are you still with her?"

Silence.

"Fine. Don't answer me. And you know what? Don't call me either. We're done. Bonne nuit."

I was already stomping away when he replied.

"Because I don't want to be alone right now." His voice echoed through the night.

I turned around to face him one last time. "You weren't alone, asshole."

Wow. Intense.

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~WritingWithReason~