Ally wasn't going to lie, she was scared. Her body was trembling and if she wasn't trying to break the habit she would have been chewing her hair by now. Her body was pressed up against Austin's, who had his arm wrapped comfortingly around her shoulders, keeping her warm since she refused to put the stolen jacket back on.

They had come off of the interstate twenty minutes ago and were now traveling down a road which in Ally's opinion could hardly be considered a road as it was more dirt than anything else. The long, overgrown branches which stretched out from the hedges on either side of the 'road' scratched nosily against the car windows, creating a sound resembling that of nails against a chalk board.

Ally daren't ask where they were going, through fear that Trish might kill her with yet another dirty look, something Ally had been earning herself frequently on this trip due to her constant panicking and questioning.

It was nearing on four in the morning, and all Ally could see were the dark shapes of the plants at the side of the road, until suddenly she couldn't see anything but darkness. Dez had pulled off of the road and into a field.

"Dez what are you doing?" Ally whispered though she didn't know why.

Dez didn't reply, he merely turned to Trish as if to ask for his next task. The Latina nodded and climbed out of the car, Dez following suit. Austin turned to look down at Ally, silently asking what she thought they should do. Sighing Ally reluctantly unclipped her seatbelt and slid across the backseat to climb out.

Outside of the car it was cold and Ally suddenly missed the hot sun she often complained about when they visited the beach.

"Guys, what's the plan?" Austin asked, his voice startling Ally as he was so loud in comparison to the silence that surrounded them. She could hardly make out his face, just the main features like his nose, ears and hair.

""Dez, you doofus. You forgot to turn the lights on," Trish complained clipping Dez across the back of his head with hand as she moved around to the trunk of the car.

Ally pulled her phone out of her pocket, the tiny 'No Service' in the top left hand corner making her shudder uncomfortably. Turning the brightness up as high as possible Ally turned the cell phone to use as a torch to show her what Trish was doing.

Trish was leant over the trunk of the car, looking for whatever she and Dez had bought from Mal-Mart not too long ago. "Austin, here take this."

Austin, due to the dark, fumbled the catch and whatever Trish had tossed him landed on the floor and rolled slightly allowing Ally to see what it was. "Spray paint? What's this for?" Austin asked as he picked the canister up and shook it.

"We're going to disguise the car," Trish answered simply as she handed Dez a canister also.

"Trish we can't spray paint Mrs Moon's car," Ally hissed, her voice still quiet for reasons unknown. It was as though she were afraid of being overheard. "That's vandalism. How many crimes are we going to commit today, huh? Well I for one am not going to take part in this." The brunette folded her arms across her chest and held her head up high, internally hoping that her friends would soon realize the error of their ways and follow her lead. There had to be a far more logical, much less illegal way of working this out.

"We didn't expected you to."

"You didn't."

"No," Trish shook her head. "This is for you."

Ally frowned as she was handed a roll of duct tape. "Tape? What's this for?"

"Look, Ally, before we do this you need to know this is for your own good," Trish explained as she handed another roll of tape to Dez. The pair moved towards Ally, who subconsciously began moving backwards.

"Do what?" Ally laughed nervously. "What are you guys talking about?"

She could see Austin watching on from her right. He looked just as confused as she felt. What are Trish and Dez playing at?

Ally yelped in surprise as she was leapt on by Dez, who lifted her effortlessly from the ground. Her body shook furiously as she tried to escape his grasp, but she was prevented by Trish who had snatched the duct tape which Ally had dropped on the ground and began wrapping it around Ally's active legs.

"It's for your own good Ally," Trish said as she wrapped the tape firmly around Ally's arms. "Austin, grab the beach chair from the trunk."

Ally's eyes swiveled to look in Austin's direction, pleading him to ignore Trish's instruction and instead help her. The blond seemed torn, but in the end chose to oblige Trish's request. One trip to the trunk later and Austin was back holding out the colourful beach chair and handing it to Trish.

Deciding Ally was firmly wrapped up, Trish released the girl and left her to be kept held up by Dez who was mumbling his apologies to the small girl in his arms. Once the beach chair was opened and on the ground, Dez did his best to place her gently on the chair without harming her, not that there was anything Ally could do to help she was wrapped up so tight that her body now resembled that of an Egyptian mummy.

Ally didn't say anything as she watched the remaining members of Team Austin spray paint Mrs Moon's car. She didn't even listen to their hushed conversations after a while; she just looked up at the night sky, deciphering different constellations.

"Hey Ally."

The brunette turned her head away from the sky and caught sight of Austin walking towards her. Not impressed that he had helped Trish not her she scowled at him before looking back up at the stars. She knew he was getting closer to her, and she wondered if he was going to untie her. No such luck. Austin took a seat beside her on the floor, making the long grass move as he did and graze against a bare strip of leg that Trish had missed when taping Ally up.

Austin didn't say anything for a while, he just looked up at the stars with her and played with the empty canister of spray paint in his hands. "Do you ever think about us?"

Ally blinked. Did he just say what I think he just said?

"What?" Ally stammered out, having been thrown into a spin by the implication of his question.

Austin's jaw dropped as the realization of what he had just asked and what it implied dawned on him. "Oh, not like us in a 'you and me' kind of way….but you and me - in a how did you and me end up together – and when I say together – I don't mean 'together' together…. just here at the same time….partnered together…. Do you think that …'us' …'we' were incidental, accidental or intentional… you know placed….together? "

Then he continued his tone lower almost as an aside "Or maybe we were just meant to be together? Not that 'we' are 'together' together, but here we are now, here, together…." Austin sputtered to a stop after exhausting his internal dialogue; ending looking as if he'd just confused himself and talked himself in a circle, ending where began - with the very personal implication.

Ally simply stared at him, not really knowing what to say. His question had confused her, especially after the whole kissing incident the day before. "Um… As in musical partners?"

Austin nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's it. That's what I meant. Do you ever think about it?"

Ally shrugged and bit her lip. How could she word this? Of course she'd thought about them together, both as friends and more but she didn't know how to tell him without making it sound totally confusing or weird for them both. Austin didn't like her that much was obvious. Sure he'd kissed her but like he said, 'it meant nothing'. Plus she had Elliot, she didn't want Austin. Pfft! Okay, so maybe she did slightly, in the most tiny hardly noticeable way possible she might like him as more than a friend but he'd never like her. Ever. So why ruin something so good by taking a chance on something else which wasn't even there?

"I think about us," Ally said quietly, she refused to look at him instead deciding to turn her eyes back to the tiny twinkling dots in the sky. "I think about where we'll be in ten years and if we'll still be partners, friends… I wonder what will happen to Team Austin in the long run. Will we all stick together or will we go our separate ways? Will the only time I see you be when I turn on the TV and there you are smiling back at me in an interview or from a clip of your latest music video?" Ally went to move her hand to wipe her eyes which were beginning to brim with tears but was stopped by the unnecessary duct tape strapping her to the chair.

Austin however hadn't noticed her dilemma and was fidgeting with a strand of grass in his hand; the empty paint canister lay forgotten at his side. "It could be the other way around you know."

"What d'you mean?" Ally inquired hoping her voice would not give away the sadness this topic had brought up within her.

"you could be the famous one," Austin said making Ally laugh dryly. "Just hear me out on this one. Ally, you're talented. Beyond talented even. The things you can do when you're sat in front of a piano, it's… it's magical. I hate that you don't see what I see. You're amazing Ally, and one day the whole world is gonna know that. You just have to show them."

Ally smiled lopsidedly at Austin's small speech. "Thank Austin."

He shrugged. "You don't need to thank me, it's the truth. Besides, it's because of you that people know who I am, without you I'd still be sat in my bedroom singing bad songs about pancakes, LeBron James and cheerleaders."

Ally giggled and Austin turned to smile at her, his hair falling in his eyes just perfectly in Ally's opinion.

"I owe you everything Ally Dawson."

A small smirk appeared on Ally's face, something which was not a common appearance on her innocent features. "You owe me anything, huh?"

Austin nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"In which case, I'm cashing that in now."

"Huh?"

"Untie me," Ally wiggled around in her chair as much as she could as if to show Austin how desperate she was to be released.

"If Trish kills me I'm coming back to haunt you," He chuckled as he got up from the long grass and moved to start ripping the tape.

It didn't take Austin long to unwrap her, in fact he worked surprisingly quickly despite not being able to see very much.

"Thanks Austin," Ally smiled as she stretched her body and climbed out of the chair.

The blond opened his mouth to reply but was cut short by a loud screech a few metres away. "DEZ!"

Ally jumped startled at Trish's yelling, her foot caught on the bottom of the chair sending her falling forwards towards the ground. Luckily for Ally she happened to be standing right next to a boy with incredibly fast reflexes. Austin caught her in his arms, and from what Ally could see in the dark, blushed slightly at the situation.

"Thanks," She murmured looking up at him. She felt dazed by the position they were in the and the effect the moonlight was having as it lit up behind his head, creating the most surreal yet beautiful moments of Ally's short life. It felt as though she were in a movie.

However unlike the movies, the moment was brought to an abrupt stop as the sound of Trish yelling in Spanish at their red-headed friend drifted over to their ears, once again startling them both and causing Austin to lose his grip on Ally, sending her dropping to floor much like he had at Trish's Quincenera.

Maybe Ally would leave those kind of moments where they belonged, in the movies.