Wow, I'm sorry for the wait of this. The holidays got to me. I was so busy and had no time to myself and I wish I could have updated this so much sooner. Please understand that life can be a pain in the butt sometimes and I can't always write. I've been trying, I promise. This is a short chapter, but I figure it's kind of perfect because it finally reveals something that everyone else seems to know. Hehe. As for the song in the chapter, if you're an R5 fan, you should know it. ;)

Thank you for the reviews.

Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Ally spent rest of the day at the shelter, staring worriedly at her young friend. He hadn't said much since they got back, and had instead sat in his room, staring at the ceiling. She sighed, stepping away from the room finally. It was all she could take to see him like this. To her surprise Rocky was standing there when she turned around, his eyes focused on the sad looking blond boy.

"Did it go that badly?" he asked with a deep voice.

"Not exactly," Ally replied. "There wasn't much of a court date. It got moved to another court and rescheduled. It was afterwards… Jimmy walked up to Austin and tried to get him riled up. It worked. He said some things, he replied. A fight."

"Is he okay?"

Ally shrugged. "I'm not sure. He doesn't want to talk though and I don't know what to say, anyway."

Rocky followed her down the hallway. "I'd like to get my hands on that man."

"Wouldn't we all?"

He laughed a bit; almost emotionlessly as they sat down on the living room couch. His eyes were dark again, but it wasn't directed at her, so that was all that mattered. "Again, Ally you wouldn't really understand. You'd like to maybe hit him, slap him or something. I know the anger that he feels behind it, and the helplessness."

"I couldn't imagine," she agreed.

His smile twisted into a painful grimace. "Everyday, I wonder what it would be like to stand up to my father and tell him what I really thought of him." He paused, staring at his guitar to the right. "I've even wondered what it would be like to give it back to him… to hurt him like he hurt me. And then when I really think about it, I'm sure he's glad I'm gone. He never came looking for me, did he? At least, not hard enough to find me. I didn't want to be found regardless, but it makes me wonder. Like I said to Austin, he shouldn't break this chance he has. He doesn't have to spend his life wondering… he can know how it feels."

Ally listened with a sad smile of her own, knowing that even as Rocky said this, their situation was still different. Jimmy wasn't Austin's father. Rocky had to deal with knowing his actual father abused him every day and then didn't even care when he finally left. Once Jimmy was out of the picture, Austin could move on. Who was to say how long it would take Rocky to?

"Rocky… I don't know what to say. I'm not going to pretend I do."

He nodded.

"I'm sorry," she added. "For everything you've had to go through. I'm glad you made it here."

He looked up, his hair falling in his face. "Me too."

A few hours passed and Rocky crept away into his own room, dark, menacing guitar riffs floating through the air. She bit her lip at this, figuring it was his way of doing whatever he could do deal with the pain. Now alone again, Ally pondered what to do. There wasn't much else she could do, after all. Her volunteer hours weren't up for another few, and Trish had already explained that she would be in her office with paperwork for a while.

Ally finally decided Riker had ignored her for long enough and paced toward his room. The door was open, not to her surprise and she let herself in, smiling at the boy who was hunched over his notebook and guitar, the song from a few weeks ago sitting in front of him. He closed the book when she entered.

"I hope its okay that I'm in here."

He shrugged.

"I've missed you a lot," she admitted.

This put a smile on his face. I've missed you too, he wrote after opening a new page in his book. I'm sorry that I asked you to leave the other night. I needed my space… I just wish others would realize that.

Ally sighed. She didn't feel like bringing up Austin right now. Instead, she sat down next to her friend and leaned her head on his shoulder. He again smiled at this.

"So, how is the band thing going? Anything good?"

Rocky wants to write a song with me. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked. "You're a great songwriter."

I'm not sure how I feel about writing with Rocky. He's… well, he's not the easiest person to get along with, now is he?

Ally laughed. "Well, you've just got to know how he ticks."

He shot her a look at that.

I guess so, but I mean, do you hear what he's playing right now? Our musical styles are so different. He's so loud. Riker laughed breathlessly. I'm… obviously not.

Ally laughed again. "Maybe you'll clash in a good way then. I wouldn't count him out. You're a great songwriter, like I said. Rocky's got the riffs and probably some ideas, too."

I guess so, he repeated. But I'd much rather write a song with you.

"We still can," she agreed. "Maybe we could even use it for the band."

I'll let Rocky know about that.

"Sounds good to me," she laughed. "Just don't promise him anything else. Soon enough, he'll hear that, Rydel will start pushing him to get me to sing, and then I'll have to never show my face here again."

Riker smiled but it was obvious he didn't feel the same way about her joke. You have a good voice… you should use it.

"I'd rather not."

I'd do anything to sing again… just one time.

Ally felt bad when she read this and smiled sadly at him. "Maybe someday, but not right now. Besides, it's your bad, not mine. I'm happy to watch and enjoy." She patted his arm. "You might not have the voice anymore, Riker but you have the best guitar skills I've seen in a long time. Music isn't my focus anymore, but I can still see it. You know I've been listening to you guys play. You shine bright on that bass of yours. Don't forget that."

I love you, Ally.

"I love you, too." She got up. "I'm going to see what Trish wants us to do for dinner. I'll see you later?"

He nodded.

Ally sighed. One thing was right, and then it seemed like at least a million others were wrong. Why did that always seem like it was her life? She laughed to herself. Of course it was her life.

A few days passed, and Ally finished her exams and was awaiting her grades to let her know how she did with her last semester of college. These grades were most important. It was hard to focus on this when Austin was still moody and casting himself alone, barely playing with the band, and giving Ally and the others short answers. She was desperate to do something, anything to get the boy smile. She had no idea how to do this though and even Rocky was out of ideas.

It was hard to make someone feel better when they didn't even know how to fix anything that had happened to them.

As Austin sat toward the corner of the room, Riker and Rocky were working on the song Rocky had mentioned. Riker even seemed to be enjoying himself, smirking at the lyrics the boy had written so far. He pushed him seconds later and erupted into silent giggles, his face contorting in such a happy way.

Ally smirked. Who knew they'd get along to write a song? Ellington was watching too, his expression oddly amused. Rydel was just grinning from her seat, playing her fingers off with the happiest of keys to fill the room with. A voice interrupted the jam session. "Austin?"

Ryland was standing in the doorway, holding into a few papers.

He peered up, but didn't move.

"Could you come with me, please?"

Austin didn't move.

"Austin…" Ally started carefully.

He got up in seconds and left the room, leaving all eyes on the empty space where he once was. It remained like this for a few moments and then everything seemed to resume.

"Check out the song, Ally!"

Rocky was grinning.

But Riker wouldn't allow him to show her. He held the notebook above his head, holding it just a few inches of where Rocky couldn't reach. The pout that took over his face was quite the laugh, but the giggles also escaping the boy's mouth made her wonder what was on the page.

"High heels, got a taste for fashion; converse and a fatal attraction!"

Riker plowed his band mate, tackling him to the floor. Rocky was still giggling though, trying to get the lyrics he wanted to sing from his lips.

"She's got that something I'm looking for!"

"Maybe she lives in the city. She may be smart, she may be pretty, she's got that something I'm looking for!"

Riker pushed him again, but he didn't stop.

"Whoever she is, she is out of this world. It's all about the girl that I'll meet on the bus or on the street . It's all about the girl in my mind. That I'll meet one day it's a matter of time. Oh! Hey! It's all about the girl one day I'll find."

Riker had since given up, but was scowling at the brunette in front of him, his arms crossed.

"Brown eyes or blue as an ocean. Don't know what sets an emotion. She'll have that something I'm looking for. I'll search in every direction until I make the connection. She'll have that something I'm looking for!"

Ally stood dumbfounded at what she had just witnessed, as did the two others in the room. Rocky threw his hands up in the air at the look on Ally's face and rolled his eyes. He pointed a finger at the blond boy next to him, shaking his head. "Sorry, bro."

"What?"

Riker sighed, shaking his head. "No," he mouthed.

Rocky glared back at him. "Don't tell me no, damn it!"

"Shut up," he mouthed, his eyes warning him to stop.

Ally stared at the two of them. "What is going on?"

"Really, Ally?"

She blinked. "Um… really."

Another voice from behind her added in, "Ally, I think Riker's trying to tell you something."

Austin stood behind the group, his eyes carefully staring into each member of the room's. His eyes met with Rocky's, who nodded though Ally didn't see. Austin visibly flinched much to no one's recognition and he returned his gaze to the young girl. Riker was looking ready to run at any second, his eyes darting between the other two boys staring at Ally. His lip was quivering and he wished his lips would allow him to say everything he could ever want to, but it would never be.

"I don't understand."

Rocky threw his hands up in the air again. "Ally, you're so damn blind it's not even funny!"

Riker shook his head in one last act of desperation and pleaded with the other two.

"Just tell her," Rocky argued.

Austin leaned back, watching the unspoken words between the two others. Ally stood there, something finally making sense to her. But it couldn't be! How could she not notice this? Maybe this was a trick and the boys thought they were being funny. Of course! Boys did stuff like this all the time… but how was Rocky keeping a smile off his face? It was a joke…

"Ally…"

He couldn't possibly…"

"Maybe you should talk to Riker alone," Ellington said before Rocky could continue. He grabbed both the other two and pushed them from the room, Rydel darting away as well. The rec room seemed way too quiet all the sudden and Riker looked as if he wanted to leave too. Ally stared at him with wide eyes, wondering if she had really missed something as simple as this.

"Is it true?" she asked softly.

His eyes were so wide, so scared and in that moment, she saw a part of Riker she hadn't seen in months and it depressed her. "Oh, Riker," she whispered as tears spilled from his eyes. He seemed ashamed as she looked back to him. "Is it true?"

It was a gentle nod, only one that Ally would pick up on.

Now hearing it, or seeing it from him, it all seemed to come together, the songs, the way he hid the lyrics from her, the way he always wanted to be with her and only her. Moments from the last few months became apparent. Everything made sense.

Ally didn't know what to say.