Hey beautiful people! So it's officially been a few weeks since graduation and I actually have been working on the next few chapters and working everything out, so yay! I really think this story will actually be done by the end of summer (shocker).

Disclaimer: All my money's gone so take it slow, check my wallet and then you will know... I literally can't own anything but the tissues to blot my own tears...

recap:

Austin sighed and pulled her up on top of him, resting her head over his chest.

"Hear that, Alls? I'm telling the truth." He stroked her hair, letting her catch onto the calm, steady beat of his heart. "I'm gonna be there even when you don't want me."

"Kinda like how I loved you when you didn't love me,"

Austin paused, looking down at her. "What?"

"Oh, please, Austin. You don't expect me to believe you didn't forget me after you left, do you? I mean, you left and it's not that hard-"

"Ally, don't you doubt for just one second that I never forgot you. I came back, didn't I? If I didn't love you, if I didn't care, I would never have come back to protect you."

He tilted her head up and looked her right in the eye. Ally shrugged and put her head back down on his chest.

"Yeah, well, when things never really go in your favor, it's kinda hard to believe they could."

"You better start believing, then, Alls."

He kissed her temple, and Ally decided she didn't really mind the nice queasy feeling it gave her.

Chapter 20- All Time Low

I've been trying to fix my pride
But that shit's broken, that shit's broken
Lie (lie, lie), lie, l-lie, I try to hide
But now you know it

That I'm at an all time...

-"All Time Low" Jon Bellion

She woke up crying. She hated him, absolutely hated him. With tears streaming down her face, she ungracefully shoved his arm off of her and jumped out of bed, curling up in the empty bed by the window. Groggily dazed and confused, Austin lifted his head to see her huddled in a ball in the other bed, watching him with hateful, teary eyes. He pushed the blankets off himself, carefully making his way over to her.

Ally shrunk back, away from his touch with a whimper. Austin reached for her arm, watching as she withered away at the feel of his fingers against her skin.

"Alls, what's wrong?" he asked, but she just shut her eyes and turned away from him.

Gently, he grabbed her chin and turned her to face him, coaxing her to open her eyes. Austin was met with brown terror and bewilderment, eyes of pure fear with traces of resentment. She whimpered when he touched her.

Austin sighed. He hated her nightmares. He brought out his arm once again and drew her close, resting her head on his chest. He could feel the tears slipping through the fabric of his shirt, and his other arm wrapped soundly around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head, assuring her of his sincerity, and waited.

He waited for her body to relax, her tears to stop, and her arms to unravel from herself and accept his as their own.

He pressed kisses to her head; first her forehead and temple, then the tear stains on her cheeks. The tip of her nose, the light handprints on her neck, the pink lines on her wrists. Even the faded green bruises in her sides. He rubbed the scar tissue on her inner left thigh, circling his arms around her and pulling his shirt over her shivering body.

She was his, nobody else's. He'd claimed her as his own, and no one was going to touch her ever again without a scar worse than any of hers.

"I don't know, man. How long can I possibly pretend we're okay? She's losing it already."

"Already? Now? I thought we'd have a few more weeks."

"So did I." Austin sighed and ran his hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair. "How am I supposed to handle keeping her in line and fending them off at the same time?"

"Kid, I'm here for a reason."

"I know, but there's still a risk-"

"One I'm sure you can handle. Whatever you need, I'm a step away."

Austin nodded, but he wasn't convinced. "Then help me. What's our next move."

Dallas leaned forward, crossing his arms over the table. "I heard they're coming, but so is Val herself. She's going to have some sort of hand-off at the Tiffany gala in two weeks. My bet is, it's the syringes. If we can get in there and intercept them-"

"Dallas, I can't just leave Ally alone at night."

"Then bring her. She'll be safe as long as we have some sort of backup," Dallas reasoned.

"It's not worth the risk."

"I know," the brunette stood up from his chair, throwing cash down on the table. He started for the door. "It's worth the reward."

Halfway through the movie, Ally placed her head in Austin's lap. He glanced down at her and flashed a smile, his hands going to her hair. It felt almost normal, like they were back in Miami on a typical Saturday night.

Ally ignored the sad grumbly feeling in her stomach. For the first time, she felt nothing but pure homesickness.

"Austin?" She asked, pulling her knees up beside him.

"Hm?"

"Do you ever… miss home?"

"I used to."

"How'd you stop?"

Austin walked his gaze away from the tv to her face. He stood up abruptly, hauling her up and cocooning her in his arms on top of the bed. "I've got you now, don't I?"

Ally played with the string on his sleeve. "I remind you of home?"

Austin chuckled and shook his head. Ally turned her head so that her ear rested against his heartbeat- slow and steady. His leg worked its way between hers, tangling with them.

"Ally, you are it."

"Were you looking forward to prom?"

Ally looked up at him. "What?"

"I mean, it's senior year. Were you looking forward to prom?"

"I mean, I guess. Maybe if I got a date."

Austin turned a bit to face her. "I'm sure you would've gotten one. Maybe Dallas Marshal or Jace-"

"He's dating Trish."

"Who I'm sure would've made you go with her anyway."

Ally turned over on her stomach so her chin and torso laid across his broad chest. "Why are you asking me this?"

Austin shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking about how you'd ask me?" She teased, writing the word Prom out on his chest with her index finger.

"Maybe," Austin replied cheekily.

"What happened to not tangoing with 'what ifs'?"

"Fine, I guess I won't ask you, then."

Ally laughed as she sat up. "You're such a child."

Austin snorted and watched as she got up, stumbling over to the dresser to get changed. A small smile made its way onto his lips as she peeled off his white t-shirt and placed in her drawer, with her own designated pajamas.

She pulled on a pair of leggings, and jumped as two arms snaked around her waist. Austin leaned his chin on her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. "Als, will you go to prom with me?"

A smile made its way onto her lips. "I don't know, maybe."

Austin pouted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Ally began, twisting around in his embrace, "is that your big ask?"

Austin rolled his eyes and pulled away, sliding his hands down her arms until he was grasping her hands and kneeling on one knee. "Ally, will you please go to prom with me?"

"Hm, well, prom is still quite a few weeks away…"

Austin groaned.

Ally smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "But I guess you'd be an ok date."

"Just ok?"

Ally tuned back to the dresser as he stood up. "Don't push your luck, prettyboy."

"I'll push whatever I want, Sweetheart."

"Okay, just try not to break anything."

He grinned and ruffled her hair as he breezed past. "No promises."

Ally stuck her tongue out at his turned back childishly.

"Sweetheart, please. I can see you. You're lucky you're cute."

Trish hadn't called in weeks. Ally had begun to think she'd forgotten about her. Austin was out on another one of his frequent runs, and he'd left his phone on the counter in the bathroom.

Housekeeping hadn't shown up once since they'd moved in- she guessed Austin had requested it. If it were possible to clean the place past sparkling, Ally probably would've. It seemed to be the only thing to do other than watch TV.

She flopped down on one of the beds and groaned of boredom. She'd been locked in the room for so long, she couldn't remember what point she'd given up on pants entirely, or when she seemed to have assumed her signature style as Austin's oversized t-shirts.

The buzzing in the bathroom sent her into a slight panic, fumbling off the bed and into the bathroom, catching the pay-as-you-go phone before its vibrations caused it to fall off the counter.

Trish MHS

tap

"Moon, I fucking swear if you don't put Ally on the phone right this minute-"

"Trish?"

"Ally! Where does he have you hidden? Tell me, I'll come to you. Has he hurt you? Has he touched you?"

"Trish, calm down. I'm okay. I'm not hidden. I'm not locked up. I'm fine, don't look for me. He hasn't hurt me, I'm safe."

"Is he making you read a script? Is he telling you what to do?!"

"No, he's not here. I'm alone."

"Good. Ally, you need to leave. Get away from him. Come home."

"Trish, I can't."

"Ally, he kidnapped you!"

"Trish, it's not kidnap if it's not against my will."

"Girl, he's messing with your head. He took you. He's using you. He will hurt you. Leave now while you can."

"Trish, cut it out. He's safe. He's protective of me. He wouldn't try to hurt me."

"Ally. He already has."

"That wasn't his fault! He was young-"

"Says who? Ally he left you, without warning. He hit you right where it hurt. He broke a promise. I mean, he left for eleven years and as soon as he comes back, you just suddenly start trusting him again? He took you, against your will or not, because you're naïve. Gullible. Easy. Ally, you'd be so incredibly easy to fool for him. I mean, where are you? Do you even know? Has he given you permission to leave freely?"

"I mean no, but-"

"But my ass. The boy shows up eleven years late and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, you're across the fucking country or something! He had a million friends at that school. But he chose to take you, a basket case-"

"Trish, do you think I don't know? I know- I know. He brought me along for a reason, but who are you to say it's a bad reason? To say he's going to hurt me?"

"Then someone else is. Someone is using him against you. To hurt you. Just get out of there, Ally."

"No, Trish!" Ally tugged her hair harshly in frustration. "Stop! Stop this! Stop making things up, stop assuming! I don't blame you for worrying about me, but you have no reason to! I made him do it. I made him take me away. I needed to get away from Miami. It was killing me. I asked him after Homecoming- I begged him to take me away. Anywhere. Just… Away. And he did. Just… Get off my back about it. Please."

"Al-"

tap. Call ended.

With a sigh, Ally's legs gave out from under her and she landed on the edge of the toilet bowl. The phone in her hand buzzed once, and she looked to see that the screen was lit with a new message.

Trish MHS:

Are you in love with him?

Ally groaned and shut the phone. No, no she wasn't in love with him. She wasn't in love with him. Only she could be right about who she was in love with. Who even said she'd been right in the first place? Who said she even knew what being in love was? Not her.

Besides, what if there was some truth to what Trish said? The girl had to have some sort of logic behind her words.

The front door creaked open, and Ally scrambled to delete the message.

"Austin?"

"Hey, Alls."

She let out a breath of relief and walked out of the bathroom, greeting Austin with a smile. He leaned forward to give her a kiss, but she dodged it and thrusted his phone into his chest.

"Um, you, uh... Left that here. I just... Yeah."

"Oh, uh, yeah, ok. Thanks," Austin stuttered, puzzled by her sudden awkwardness. "Did anyone call or...?"

"Uh, no. I don't think so," Ally shrugged casually.

"Well, thanks again," Austin said, eyeing her in confusion and shrugging off his jacket. "Alls, is something wrong?"

The brunette scratched her elbow. "Ah, no. No, I, um, actually am fine." She paused for a moment in thought. "I just think that maybe I'm going a little crazy inside because I haven't left this room in a while."

Austin furrowed his brow and took her by the shoulders. "Well, is there something you need? Something you want me to get?"

"No, no. I just... Think I need some fresh air. Do you think we could go for a walk or something?"

The blonde slid his hands down her arms. "Alls, I don't know. It's really late and cold out. Maybe tomorrow?"

Ally scratched the side of her nose. "Yeah...yeah that's fine."

Austin hesitated as he stepped out of his shoes. "Alls-"

"No! No, Austin, it's fine. I can tell you're tired. Just rest."

He looked her over with a doubtful expression, peeling off his shirt. "Okay, you wanna sleep too?"

Ally's eyes flickered down to his chest and up to the right. "No, I think I'll stay up for a while. I'll just sleep in the other bed so I don't wake you."

Austin stepped into his sweatpants and tied the waist. "Alls, are you sure you're OK? You're acting all strange and distant."

Ally smiled weakly and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm OK. Just not tired yet."

Austin nodded and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright. Don't stay up too late. Goodnight." He kissed her forehead.

"Night."

He gave her one last squeeze and headed off to his bed, placing his phone on the nightstand. Ally crossed her arms and stood there for a moment, before retreating to the front room and curling up on the couch.

She wondered if that flip phone sent read receipts.

Two more hours of wondering passed, and the sound of nothing but the occasional opening and closing of doors from the hotel hallway had slowly begun to lull her to sleep. As if in a dream, two arms wrapped around her small body and lifted her. She snuggled into the chest with that familiar warm scent, and let it take her away to oblivion.

Soft tendrils of hair tickled her face as the sound of deep breathing blew in her ear. Two arms tightened themselves around her.

Ally opened her eyes to the scent of a fresh summer breeze and the sight of a bare, muscular chest. Her eyes trailed up the body, past the broad shoulders, strong throat, and sharp jawline. Dark eyelashes fluttered as dreaming eyes shifted behind closed lids. Soft lips quivered in sleepy dialogue. Lips that held the key to a deep, rough morning voice. Lips she wanted on hers at the moment.

But no- no she wasn't in love with him. She was just a young, teenage girl with an attractive boy at arm's length. It was just transference, she told herself. It meant nothing.

Austin pulled her up, taking her closer and burying his face in her neck. His lips skimmed her throat with every breath, his breathing fanning out over her skin. Ally squirmed. If he were to wake up and start talking, she'd be done for. Quickly, she untucked herself from him and hurried over to the shower. Some nice warm water could clear her mind.

She climbed in and stripped down, just letting the water run over her for a while. She began to massage shampoo into her scalp when there was a knock on the shower door.

"Ally?" There it was- the rough voice. "Are you okay in there?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Are you sure? You're still not completely healed. Do you need me to come in there?"

Ally froze, her eyes widening. "No, no. I'm fine."

"What if you slip and fall? I'm coming in there."

"No! No, Austin, I'm naked."

"Ally, if you get hurt-"

"I can manage. I won't get hurt. Promise."

She could almost see him scratching the back of his head. "OK, but if you need me, I'll be right on the bed beside the shower."

Ally sighed with relief.

Yup, definitely transference.

She'd get over him... she hoped.

•

They didn't go for much of a walk. He brought her down to the lobby and let her roam around for a while, taking in the art. It was a big open space with a ceiling as high as the roof. All the floors above were hallways that bordered the four sides of the building, and if you looked over the railing opposite your room, you could look right down into the lobby, with its brightly colored pieces hanging from the ceiling way above its curvy sofas.

When she got bored he took her out the back side of the building and across the way of outside tables to the skyscraper adjacent to theirs, to a little bakery that faced their hotel on the first floor. She got a hot chocolate and a warm muffin, but Austin had the baker sneak a few macaroons into the bag. They ate at the window on the high stools, but then headed right back up to the room.

Slightly upset her time outside was so limited, Austin treated her with the macaroons after lunch.

Ally retired back to her bed as Austin began his daily workout in the front room (where she may or may not have spied on him from time to time). After counting his seventy-fifth push-up, Ally rolled onto her back and dangled her head and arms off the foot of the bed.

"Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you ever just go to the gym?"

"I don't want to leave you here too much. I leave you alone enough as is."

"Then why don't you just bring me?" She wondered, placing her hands flat on the rough, carpeted floor. "I mean, you could go around and do all your big-guy-stuff, and I could like, go on the elliptical or something."

"I'll think about it. Maybe another day," Austin panted through a set of crunches.

Ally swung herself back up onto the bed and flopped onto her stomach, burying her face in a pillow. "Okaaay." She groaned, rolling onto her back as Austin walked into the room.

"Is that for me?" He cracked a grin, quirking an eyebrow.

Ally rolled her eyes. "You're a pig."

"A hot pig," he laughed, dabbing his t-shirt against his sweaty forehead.

She rolled her eyes again.

"Aw, c'mon, Alls," Austin pouted, climbing up and hovering over her. "Don't be like that."

"You smell," she stated, looking him in the eye.

"Alright, I'll shower in a minute." He leaned his forehead against hers. "But tell me something first."

"What?" Ally sighed.

"Are you mad at me for keeping you cooped up here?"

She laid a hand against his chest. "No, not really. I know you're just trying to protect me." Her hand slid up to his shoulder. "It's kinda like those princess games I played as a toddler. Y'know, the ones where the prince has to come rescue the damsel in distress from the tower?"

"Does that make me some kind of villain?"

"No," Ally giggled, bringing her hand to the base of his neck. "I guess it's like a reverse fairytale. You're keeping me in the tower to protect me from evil kidnappers."

"Now I just seem like Mother Gothel," Austin joked.

"How about a hot Flynn Rider? You called yourself that before, right?"

"That sounds better." he nodded.

"Good."

Austin leaned down, his lips ghosting hers. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

And suddenly his body was gone and the water in the shower was running. She wondered if it was the presence or absence of his body over hers that made her shiver more.

She rolled over and buried her face in a pillow. Ally officially despised the concept of transference.

A soft knocking seemed to come from the wall beside her, and she lifted her head. "Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Was that you?"

"Was what me?"

Ally pushed herself up in puzzlement. What was that?

Quietly, she got to her feet and made her way to the front room. A piece of folded notepad paper had been shoved between the door and its frame just above the lock.

"Ally?"

She quickly pressed herself against the door and looked through the peephole. A familiar broad-shouldered figure was making its way down the hall. "Nevermind, it's nothing."

The squeaking of the shower knob ensued, and Ally grabbed the note as the water stopped. She folded it into another quarter and stuffed it into her bra, just as Austin stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Did someone knock?"

"Ah, no, they were knocking on the neighbor's door. Forgot their key."

Austin nodded. "Oh, okay."

A sharp feeling bit at the pit of her stomach. "I, uh, gotta use the bathroom."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Alright." He ran his hand through his hair again and turned around, heading into the bedroom.

Ally hurried to the bathroom and took a seat on the toilet. She pulled the paper from her shirt and unfolded it. As soon as her eyes hit the ink, she knew she couldn't tell him that she'd found it.

She sharp feeling bit her again.

If lying to him felt like this, she'd rather be shot again.

A/N: bish don't get me started on the lies... haha

So, WHO ELSE IS SO PUMPED FOR STATUS UPDATE? MEEEEEEE. I'm literally so excited for this movie, and they just started filming.

Shoutouts: anonymously1889, Auslly0731, Dont-Stop-Believin, maddiegirl56, Unreal Zebra, axswiftxa13, SamBam420, daughter of athena 2000, tori281, Bumblebee93, aisham, and Auslly2geth4eva

If you guys want to follow my instagram fan account for vine edits or Status Update updates, I'm shors. airplane (no spaces)

See ya in a few days peeps!

Keep kool!

Bie!

-K8ie