Hey, guys! So it's 3 am and She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is telling me to update cause life. I'm really tired so none of this will make sense but LET'S SEE HOW THIS GOES! Um... First off... I am in 25th place for most reviews. In the entire Austin & Ally archive. Um... what? Like, how am I this cool? Like, if you go into the archive and sort it by reviews I'm ON THE FIRST PAGE! Granted, I'm at the bottom of the first page... But FIRST PAGE, MAN! HOW?! YOU GUYS ROCK AND I LOVE YOU. Um, on another note, if any of you follow that one-shot series I do (doubt it) I am really sorry tbh it's been so long I forgot about it... I'll probs do one for Eggs & Extraterrestrials idk. Alright, you guys aren't here for that, you're here for When You Force a Friendship! Except those couple people who think the disclaimers rock too... Speaking of, DISCLAIMER TIME! So, this one's from pen names are for the weak (PLEASE CHANGE YOUR PEN NAME I LOVE YOU BUT IT TAKES SO LONG TO TYPE OUT AND YOU KNOW HOW LAZY I AM) and it is: Ell trips and breaks his nose and the only way for it to heal is if he does the disclaimer.

Maddie's Fancy Disclaimers: Part XXII

*Me and Ratliff are taking a lil stroll while the Lynches are out of town and we're bored*

Me: Ahhhh this is nice.

Ratliff: Yes, yes it-OMG A CAT! *Runs over to it*

Me: *Chuckles, follows him*

Ratliff: *picks up the cat and holds it* Awww! Maddie, get a picture!

Me: Okay, okay. *takes picture*

Ratliff: *Sets the cat down* Alright. Now, we must get ICE CREAM! *starts skipping to an ice cream place* *trips on pebble* *falls on face* OW!

Me: *runs over* Are you okay?!

Ratliff: *sits up, nose is bent at a weird angle* OW! I DON'T KNOW!

Me: Yeah...No...Your nose is broken.

Ratliff: You have powers! Fix it!

Me: I will! If...

To Be Continued

Everyone Hates Me

I walk into school on a mission. I had a lot of time on the drive over here to think about what to do about the whole Ally situation, considering I was driving alone. That's right, folks. I am once again driving to and from school without the company of Miss Ally Dawson. Am I surprised? No. Do I blame her? Not really. Did it still hurt to know she wasn't sitting next to me, thinking up new melodies and lyrics and whatever else goes on in that pretty little head of hers? Gee, what do you think? I'm only in love with her.

Speaking of which, I'm kind of freaking out right now, and have been since yesterday. Why? Well, I made possibly the biggest realization of my entire life! I mean, I'm in love. Wait, hold on there. Can we just take a moment to realize how big that is by itself? I, Austin Monica Moon, am in love. As in, I'm in love with someone. Something I didn't even believe was possible up until yesterday during that kiss. A kiss which I must move on from thinking about before I trip and fall on my face because holy creeping crap and pickle juice, just wow.

Anyway, so, we've come to an understanding that just me being in love is completely insane and pretty much impossible, yes? Well, it gets even more insane from there. The girl I'm in love with is Ally Dawson. The girl I used to hate more than I hate school. Though I still don't understand why I ever hated her because she's perfect. Right, we aren't talking about Ally, just the fact that I'm in love with her. Again, how? Yeah, we're best friends and I liked her-a lot-but all I can think about is our past and how this shouldn't be happening. But it is.

And nothing has ever felt more right.

Anyway, back to the current goings on at Marino High School.

Goings on? It's official. You're going completely insane.

Can you blame me?

Before I can start talking to myself, therefore proving just how deep my insanity goes, I walk into first period and take my seat behind Kelly. She turns around.

"Sorry about making you mad yesterday," she says. "You know we all love you."

"Yeah," I say, my heart pounding at the word 'love'.

"Is everything okay? Rydel came in fuming after she talked to you."

"She didn't tell you?"

"It was a private conversation, and none of us wanted to try to engage in conversation with an angry Rydel. You know how she is," Kelly says with a shrug. I nod.

"Well, everything's fine," I lie. "I just wanted to ask her about some special date Rocky took her on. It was on Sunday-the day we usually hang out-and she got home too late to talk to me about it. I wanted to make sure it was good enough to blow me off for."

"Was it?"

"Mmhm," I say with a nod.

Before Kelly can ask any more questions, the teacher starts teaching. For the first time, I'm thankful for it.

All morning, there's been no sign of Ally. Not that I expected there to be. I never see her in the morning anyway, but she's also probably avoiding me. Wow, my life sucks.

I walk to C-38 to eat my lunch because I really don't feel like dealing with the football team. I already had to deal with them in woodshop, and I've had way more than my daily dose of their obnoxiousness.

Shocker, Ally's in there.

"Why aren't you eating with your real friends, the populars?" she asks angrily, standing up from where she was sitting at a desk.

"Because I wasn't lying when I said I hated them," I answer calmly, because I know I have no reason to be mad at her. And because at this point I really can't get mad at her.

Cue the mental freak-out session.

"Just like you weren't lying when you first said you wanted to be friends?" she says, snapping me back to reality.

"No, because, like I said, I didn't mean it at first. But after three days, I really did wanna be friends. And do you know how I realized that?" She rolls her eyes.

"Enlighten me."

"When you admitted you liked me, I found myself thinking that I didn't want that because I was afraid it would mess up our friendship. I was scared, but then I realized that friendship with you wouldn't be so bad. And from then on, it was all real."

"Mmhm, sure. How can you expect me to believe you?!"

"I can't," I say with a shrug. Ally looks surprised at my lack of argument. "You have every reason not to. But here I am, trying to get you to believe me anyway. I already told you last time you were mad at me: I can't live without you."

"Yeah, cause then you'd have no target," she fires.

"No, because I wouldn't have my best friend." She scoffs. I sigh. "Ally, look. I'm not gonna deny the fact that I faked it at the beginning, because I did. But as we hung out, I really did become genuine about our friendship. Within a week you became my best friend. Remember the amusement park? Our first kiss? By then I was terrified that kissing you would ruin our friendship."

"So you did it again at the park and again at the cove. Your facts are really adding up here, Moon," she says, her eyes narrowed. "I'm not stupid."

"You know the stories behind both of those, Ally. I promise I'm telling you the truth. I have been since three days after we became friends. Please believe me."

"If you think that'll convince me, you don't know me at all."

"Didn't think it would," I reply. "But think about it, Als."

"Don't call me that." I sigh.

"Think about it, Ally. If I really was faking the friendship, why would I rescue you and Trish from the populars? Why would I stand up for you?"

"Because the populars are in on it," she replies.

"They're not. If you think this is some ultimate end-of-year prank, you're wrong."

"Yeah, and I'm gonna believe you." She starts walking towards the door.

"So this is it then? You're never gonna forgive me? You're never gonna give the slightest bit of consideration to the fact that maybe I'm telling the truth and this whole thing is breaking my heart in half?"

Suddenly, she spins and stomps back over to be, her eyes blazing with anger and hurt.

"You think you can say that to me?!" she exclaims, using crazy hand gestures. "You think you can tell me about having a broken heart over all this?! I was in love with you, Austin! A concept you've made it clear time and time again you can't possibly understand!" I swallow the lump in my throat at that. "So you say your heart's broken, but you don't even know the half of it! Besides, you don't even have a heart to break."

With that, she storms out of the room, chocolate locks flying behind her.

Well, that didn't work. But this conversation did give me some useful information. One, she is ticked. Two, she's hurt beyond belief. Three, I have to do something big if I want her to believe me, and even then I'll have to be praying to all my lucky stars.

Then again, I already knew all this, but now my suspicions are confirmed. What I'm gonna do now is a mystery, though.

The bell rings and I sigh, walking out of the classroom. I realize I didn't get to eat, but I'm not really hungry anyway.

I walk down the hall to C-33, and I see a crowd of people gathering in front of the wall. Curious, I stop to see what all the fuss is about. A few girls see me and split to make a path. The rest of the crowd follows. Why do these people still worship the ground I walk on?

I walk towards the wall and see a purple poster with a Sharpie dangling from a hook on a string. I look closer and see it's a poster for the school's talent show.

One thing you must know about the Marino High semi-annual talent show, it's huge. The entire school goes to it, even the populars. Of course, they only go to make fun of the acts. I shrug and go to walk away, but then I stop.

Talent show. A show where people display talents such as magic, dance, singing… The whole school will be there. If anyone wanted to confess something to the entire school, that would be the place to do it.

An impossibly simple yet incredibly terrifying idea forms in my mind. I walk back over to the poster and pick up the Sharpie.

I have no idea what the populars will think of this. They don't believe in this kind of stuff. But then again, isn't that exactly why I'm signing up in the first place? To tell the entire school who I really am? I put the Sharpie to the poster and sign Austin Moon. Then, I recap it and walk away, leaving the crowd of people shocked.

I open the door to C-33 and see an interesting sight. Rydel looks furious, and everyone else looks surprised, but I can see their features slowly turning angry. And then there's Ally, who looks like a kicked puppy that wants to punch its owner in the neck. I let the door shut and everyone whips their heads to face me, now looking just as furious as Rydel.

"Um, hello," I say, dropping my backpack. Silence. "Anyone wanna fill me in?" More silence. I can almost feel everyone's eyes shooting lasers through my brain. "Wow, feeling the love." Rydel's face turns angrier, and there's still silence. "So, either the ghost of Hitler is behind me, or you guys are all caught up to speed about what happened at the beginning of my friendship with Ally." Everyone's glares turn colder and harder. Still nothing. "So, are you guys gonna yell at me, or…"

"You're not worth the time," Kelly spits angrily.

"Ouch," I say. "Look, I get that I'm a heartless, soulless creature who should just go dig myself a hole and die, but I really do feel bad for faking it. I wish it had been real from the start, honest. But I can't change the past. I can only try to make my future go where I want it to."

"Where's that? Your stupid record deal?" Riker asks. I don't say anything. It doesn't sound as great as it used to.

"Exactly," Rocky says.

"Dez," I say, begging with my eyes. He can't be mad at me, right?

"I always knew you'd fall for her, but I also knew she deserved so much better. That day at the arcade when you couldn't stop talking about her, I watched how your entire demeanor lit up when you spoke her name, and I thought maybe, just maybe, you might be worthy of her. But now I know you're even less deserving of her than I thought," he says. No one's even surprised that he said something intelligent-he does that when we're in tense situations.

I look at Ally, pleading with her to believe me. She glares back.

"Remember that door and key thing?" Ratliff asks. I nod. "I was wrong. There wasn't even a door to begin with."

"I-"

"Austin, maybe you should just go," Kelly says coldly.

"C'mon, guys. My friendship is real now, I swear."

"Being friends with you since kindergarten has taught all of us something," Rocky says.

"If you're even willing to call us 'friends'," Dez pipes up.

"Never believe a word that comes out of your mouth," Riker finishes.

"Why? Why're you all pushing me away now?" I ask.

"Maybe because you hurt Ally even more than you ever did when she was your target, and we're not sure if you ever considered any of us actual friends, or if you only hang out with us because of me," Rydel says.

"So are you guys just not friends with me anymore? I still don't understand why you're doing this," I say.

"Maybe that's just what happens when you force a friendship," Ally finally snaps, her voice dripping with venom. And it stings. Bad. I purse my lips, grab my backpack, and walk out of the room.

So while I used to have seven good, close friends, now I have zero. Zilch. Nada. But I know that when Ally believes me, they will, too. They're only mad in spite of Ally.

The thing is, they know I sit with the populars at the talent show. They know we're always yelling rude things, and they already hate me. So at this point, I'm not sure if they'll even go. But, then again, they all love the talent show. And I don't blame them. We really do have some talented kids at this school. So maybe the only one who won't go is Ally.

I know it's a stretch, but I go to probably the only person who could get her to go at this point. I walk to the same empty classroom Rydel dragged me to when Ally left our friend group the first time she was mad at me.

"I know, it's insane and you hate him, but if you saw the way he looks at her…" I hear Trish's voice trail off. "He says he doesn't believe in love, but I think he loves her."

I open the door and walk in the room. Jordan immediately glares at me, and Trish looks like she's studying me.

"What're you doing here, Moon? Where's Ally?" Jordan asks.

"That's actually what I need to talk to Trish about. Alone," I say.

"Yeah, right," Jordan says, crossing his arms.

"It's fine, Jordan. I'm curious about this," Trish says. Jordan rolls his eyes, but he leaves the room.

"Alright, listen," I say, sitting down on top of a desk.

"Listening," Trish replies, doing the same.

"You have to promise not to be not at me and to listen to my whole story." Trish gives me a look.

"Okay…"

"Okay. So, early November, my real friends-not the populars-got mad at me for being so terrible to Ally because she's innocent and never did anything wrong. So they told me I had to become friends with her, or they wouldn't be friends with me. So, they basically forced me to make friends with her.

"The thing is, I still didn't like her, so for the first few days of our friendship, I was faking everything." Trish's eyes narrow. "But that's the thing," I say quickly. "It became real. By the end of the week she was my best friend. The day it became real, we all found out she liked me. I realized that I didn't want that."

"You want every girl to like you," Trish says doubtfully.

"Exactly. And she was the only one who didn't. But then when she finally did, I got scared it would ruin our friendship. And that's when I knew it was real."

"And eventually you fell for her," Trish finishes the story. I nod.

"Yeah. But here's the thing, I never told Ally I was faking it in the beginning. I didn't see a point, y'know? Like, why dwell on the fake past when I could live in the present where we were about this close to being a couple?" I put my thumb and index finger close together. "But yesterday, I realized something huge and went to talk to Rydel-my sister, the one you met-about it, and I let slip that I was faking the friendship at first-I never told anyone-and Ally overheard. So now she hates me, Rydel hates me, and since she told all of my friends, they hate me, too."

"You realized you love her, didn't you?" Trish says, looking me in the eyes.

"I-"

"Don't deny it. I can see it in your eyes." I purse my lips, but nod slowly.

"Yeah, I did," I say quietly, not too comfortable telling Trish I'm in love with her best friend. But I know if I want her to help me, I need to be honest.

"Well, as much as it goes against my entire being, I don't hate you, Moon. You can't go from hating someone to liking someone like that." She snaps her fingers. "I mean, I would know. It's hard to get used to not hating you." A relieved smile forms on my face.

"Thank you."

"So, I know there's a point in you telling me this, and I feel like it has something to do with getting Ally to believe you're being genuine now and forgive you. What's your plan?"

"You know the talent show?" I question.

"Duh. You and the populars always-"

"I signed up for it," I interrupt. "I dunno if you know, but I'm, like, really into music. I'm in AP music with Ally, and the only reason I hang with the populars is because I feel like high school popularity will help me get a record deal."

"Well, that's-"

"Stupid, I know. Anyway, I'm gonna write a couple songs and sing them."

"And they're gonna be about her," Trish says, nodding.

"Yeah. And I'm gonna tell my story to the whole school, from the reason I hang with the populars, to the fact that I'm in love with Ally."

"That's a big plan you got there, Moon. Bold. I like it. And Ally will, too."

"And that's what I need you for. You need to make sure Ally comes to the talent show and actually listens to what I'm saying."

"Deal. On one condition." I raise my eyebrows. "You ask her to be your girlfriend on stage in front of everyone." I chuckle a bit.

"That was part of the plan, so deal." Trish grins.

"You know, Moon, I'm not really one for surprises. But this one may not be so bad." I smile at her and she walks out of the room to join Jordan.

I head to the music room to get to work.

After fifth period ends, I trudge off to Calculus with my brain almost mush from trying to write a song. I have the chorus, which is good, I guess. But I only have until Friday, and it's Tuesday today.

The second I walk in, I see Ally talking to Jordan. She isn't flirting with him, but I still get a pit in my stomach and an ache in my chest. I sigh and sit down, but I don't miss Ally's cold look over Jordan's shoulder.

A couple minutes later, the bell rings and Ally walks over to sit in her seat next to me. I take out my notebook and start thinking of more lyrics and melodies for the songs, tuning out the lesson that I probably already know.

"Mr. Moon," Mr. Jones says, "you seem to be taking a lot of notes when we're just discussing last night's homework." I look up and blink.

"Everyone knows these aren't Calculus notes, Mr. Jones. No need to act as though you believe I might be paying attention," I say, sounding very irritable. Wonder why.

"Then what are you writing?"

"Nothing," I say.

"Mr. Moon," he starts.

"Mr. Jones," I reply. He gives me a look. "Alright, if you must know, I'm…writing down my feelings. See, I tend to yell at people if I'm frustrated or irritated or in a crappy mood, and that usually makes everything worse. But if I write my feelings in nice big, capital letters, I won't be as likely to make things worse for myself in certain situations that kinda really suck. Though, in some cases, I'm not sure how much worse it could get."

"You could get expelled instead of detentions," he says.

"Detention isn't exactly the worst thing in my life right now, Mr. Jones," I say.

"No, your future is probably worse," he says. I blink as the rest of the class snickers.

"Yes, Mr. Jones, my future is probably worse." Everyone shuts up at my agreement. "Not because of my grades-I have straight A's and you know it. And I'm an honors student. No, my future is messed up because my support system sucks. Everyone who could ever truly care about me hates me because of a stupid thing I did that I can't take back and can't fix. I have no one to support me, no one to care about me, and I have no one to blame but myself. So yeah, going into the future knowing I'm on my own is worse than detention." With that, I stand up and storm out of the classroom.

I can't believe he could just say that to me. He doesn't know me. He doesn't know what I've gone through. He doesn't know anything other than I don't pay attention in class or do my homework, but still pass his tests. So he has no right to tell me that my future is going to just keep getting worse. Teachers are supposed to encourage students. Well, I'm feeling really encouraged now. Encouraged to just give up because apparently I won't amount to anything anyway.

I pace the hallway for the rest of the period, mainly because I don't know what else to do. I don't know whether I'm upset or irritated or hurt or angry or anything else. When the bell rings, I start towards the classroom again to get my stuff.

That's when Ally shoves all of it into my hands. I look from my backpack and papers to her blankly.

"Thanks," I say dully.

"Yeah," she says. "Way to throw us under the bus, by the way," she says coldly. "'My support system sucks.' Well, maybe if you had supported me, you wouldn't be in this mess." I lean my face close to hers.

"I did," I hiss quietly. "I still do. And it sucks to know you don't believe a word I say because I took three days to realize who you really are, and that I wanted to be friends with you." I lean away. "Not that you believe any of that, though. Of course, if I really was faking the entire thing, I wouldn't have kissed you. I wouldn't have stood up for you. I wouldn't have gone through all that to get you to forgive me, and once again, I wouldn't have kissed you. And if I was faking it, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I wouldn't be feeling like I'm tearing my own heart to shreds when I look at you because I know you have every reason to hate me and there's nothing I can do about it. I wouldn't wish I could lose every memory of you so the pain could go away. And I wouldn't want to punch myself for feeling so selfish, because I wouldn't realize that I deserve it." I walk away before I can continue remind myself of how much this hurts.

I tend to walk away from my problems a lot.

I know I'm being totally selfish about this. She has a right and a reason to hate my guts-all my friends do. But at the same time, that hurts. And I can't help it if I wish she'd just get over it. Though I know I shouldn't be wishing for that because I deserve it. My actions have consequences, and I understand that. Knowing Ally has made me realize it, and this time around, I'm trying my best not to overreact. But I think that speech I just made to her was overreacting on my part. Once again, I'm being selfish, and I should be happy she'll even talk to me.

I know we're just gonna end up seeing her again in music, but at this point I can only see her in small doses if I want to avoid a total mental and emotional breakdown. Even just a few minutes away is good for me. I need to cool down, remember that things will get better, even if I have to find a way to cope without Ally in my life.

Okay, if that happens, maybe things won't get better…

But I have a plan. I have a plan that Ally's best friend approved. I have a plan that I'm getting help with. I'm not alone anymore. Trish and I may not exactly be friends, but I'll take whatever support I can get. I still don't exactly get why she doesn't hate me, but I won't complain. She's the last person I'd think would forgive me for faking my friendship with Ally, but she ended up being the only person who did. That confuses me.

Maybe she's the only one who truly believes I love Ally. Of course, Rydel's the only other person who knows, but I'm not sure if she believes me now. I know all Trish wants is for Ally to be happy, and that's why she wasn't happy with our friendship and didn't trust me. That being said, she must firmly believe I made Ally happy, and could still do so if she forgives me.

I walk into music and sit down. Yesterday, Ally pretended I didn't exist after she found out I was faking it. I'm not sure what'll happen today after I kinda blew up at her. Hopefully she'll at least acknowledge my existence today.

"Hey, Austin," Mrs. Adagio says, looking confused at my unhappy face. "You okay?" Yesterday, I faked normal, but I don't even care anymore.

"Yeah, just peachy. Why?"

"Because you look like you just lost your puppy."

"Oh," I say. Then I shrug. "Ally and I are kind of fighting again, I guess."

"Aw, I'm sorry," Mrs. Adagio says.

"It's whatever. I messed up, so I'm gonna fix it. Or, try to fix it."

"Well, good for you," she says, nodding in approval. I chuckle a little and tap my fingers on my desk.

Ally runs in right as the bell rings.

"Sorry I'm late!" she says breathlessly to Mrs. Adagio. "I was-I-um-I was…" she trails off, not-so-subtly glancing at me.

"It's okay," Mrs. Adagio says. "Technically, you aren't even late. Take a seat." Ally nods and sits down next to me.

"Alright," Mrs. Adagio says, getting into her teaching voice, "so, we all know that love isn't easy." I open my mouth, but Mrs. Adagio speaks before I can. "Please, enough with the comments, Austin. We have to do this unit, and we'd get through it so much faster if you'd just stop talking about how you don't think it's real. You can believe what you want, but once again, I'm asking you to pretend it's real, just for this class."

"Actually," I say, "I was going to say that your statement goes without saying, Mrs. Adagio." Mrs. Adagio looks at me in shock, and even Ally can't help but give me a look of confusion. "I decided that you're right, and there's no point in saying it isn't real when I'll end up having to pretend it is, anyway."

"Wow, um, thank you, Austin," Mrs. Adagio says, still surprised. "Anyway, what kinds of struggles and problems could arise when dealing with love?" She uncaps a marker and goes over to the white board.

"Trust issues, cheating, not actually being in love, faking an entire relationship…" Ally lists casually. I cough.

"False assumptions, overreactions," I say. "Of course, I'm not saying the situation I know Ally's referencing was an overreaction. Partly a false assumption, though." Ally rolls her eyes.

"Sure it was."

"And of course, there's always that big problem of the person you love loving you back or not."

"Like you'd know," Ally mutters.

"Alright, we have a pretty good list here," Mrs. Adagio says. "Now, we are going to use this list to discuss how couples overcome each of these struggles. Then, you're gonna write a chorus to a song about one of them. Together."

Both of us look at her like she's insane. I told her we weren't on good terms right now, and she's making us do something together? I thought she was the only teacher on my side!

"So, first on the list is trust issues. How could a couple get over that?" Mrs. Adagio asks.

"By the one who made the mistake proving he-or she-can actually be trusted.

"And what's an example of how that person could go about doing that?" Mrs. Adagio continues. "Ally?" She's silent for a moment.

"It depends," she replies. "If it was a minor thing, then just not doing it again or doing just the opposite of what they did should be fine. But if it was major, then it would take a lot more to gain the other person's trust back." Mrs. Adagio nods.

"Interesting. Okay, next topic: cheating. How would a couple overcome that?" says Mrs. Adagio.

"Well, the person who cheated would definitely have to prove that he or she really only wants the person they're dating. It would probably require them breaking up for a while until the person in the wrong sets it right," Ally says. I nod in agreement.

"Yeah. What she said," I say. Ally rolls her eyes.

"Alright. Not actually being in love. How could a couple overcome that?" Mrs. Adagio asks.

"Well," I start, "if they aren't actually in love, they either need to try to wait it out until they do fall in love, or maybe they just aren't meant to be."

"Yeah," Ally says quietly, as though she doesn't want to be agreeing with me.

"Well, what if it's more complicated than that? What if one person's in love and the other isn't?" Mrs. Adagio says.

Ally and I don't say anything.

"Anyone? Austin, I've never seen you so quiet. What's your opinion?"

"Um…" I say. "Well, I think maybe they should wait it out, see how it goes. I mean, they're halfway there, right? I mean, it depends on the relationship, but…" I shrug. "I feel like the couple would be happier if they waited it out instead of breaking up." Ally bites her lip and nods again.

"Maybe…maybe the other person could end up falling in love." I freeze. She can't possibly know. If she knew, she wouldn't be mad at me. "Unless of course, they never even liked the other person to begin with." Nope. No idea.

"And I think that brings us to our next topic," Mrs. Adagio says. "It's oddly specific, but faking an entire relationship." Uh-oh. Ally takes a deep breath.

"If a couple, or even just friends for that matter, were to ever get over this-and there would probably be a slim chance of that-the person who faked it would need to do something big. This is assuming they even care at all, which, if they were faking it, they don't," Ally says.

"But what if they only faked it for a few days at the beginning of the friendship?" I ask. "Here's how I see it: yes, the one who found out the other was faking has a right to be mad, especially if the other person never told them. But if the one who faked it turned out to be genuine eventually, even if it took a couple days of faking to realize that this friendship or relationship wasn't so bad, then they should be forgiven at some point."

"Austin, we're talking about an entire relationship," Mrs. Adagio reminds me.

"Right," I say. "But let's be honest here. Who would go through all the trouble of a relationship or friendship-all the hanging out, paying for stuff, getting to know a person, letting them in on stories that maybe no one else knows, et cetera-if they were faking it?"

"They could be trying to humiliate the victim," Ally says.

"All that trouble for a prank? Look, if I was in that situation-this is hypothetically speaking-and I was friends with a girl who maybe I didn't really like so much so I faked it, I wouldn't tell her anything more than she needed to know about me or my background. But say I started to enjoy the company of said girl. I'd start letting her in, tell her more about me and my childhood and my background and maybe a few secrets if I trusted her enough. Say I enjoyed the company of said girl so much I ended up developing feelings for her. Feelings are kinda hard to fake. Sure, someone can put on an act, but if people know each other well enough-say me and said girl did-they'd be able to see through acts. All I'm saying is that if it were me, I wouldn't be able to go through with all that just to humiliate someone. If the friendship or relationship lasted, I'd probably have turned genuine about it at some point, and if I told her I liked her, I probably meant it."

"Interesting point, Austin," Mrs. Adagio says.

"But-" Ally starts. I sigh.

"You really found something in that to argue with?" I ask. "I dunno about girls, but guys are way too lazy to do long-term work for a prank." Ally closes her mouth and looks away from me. Progress? Maybe. Forgiveness? Not even close.

"Okay, false assumptions," says Mrs. Adagio.

"Well, those are easily resolved," Ally says. "The person who the false assumptions were about just needs to prove that the other person's assumptions were, in fact, false."

"Ah, but sometimes going about that is a lot harder than you seem to think," I remind her. "Especially if the person with false assumptions has a pretty good reason to assume whatever he or she is assuming."

"Both are good points," Mrs. Adagio says. "I think overreactions can kinda go the same way. So, the person you love not loving you back."

"We kinda touched on this in the not being in love thing, right?" I say. Mrs. Adagio and Ally nod.

"Okay, so that covers everything. Now, you two pick a topic and write the chorus of a song using that topic," Mrs. Adagio tells us. She goes to sit at her seat and I turn to Ally.

"Temporary truce," I say. "For the next twenty minutes, then you can go back to hating me again, as you have a right to. Okay?" She takes a deep breath and nods slowly.

"Okay," she says quietly.

"Okay. So, which topic do you wanna write about?" I ask.

"Well, there's the obvious, but we won't get anything done. Whichever one is the least relatable to us would probably be best. We can distance ourselves from it and just get this over with so things can go back to normal."

"I-"

"We need to work. Save your empty apologies and fake hope that I'll forgive you for later." I sigh.

"Fine. But at least you know I'm not giving up. That's gotta count for something."

"You wanna see it through. If I learned nothing about you that's true from when I thought we were friends, I know for a fact that you don't give up, and that you see things through till the end. Including attempting to humiliate me." I sigh again.

"Alright. Well, what topic is least relatable?"

"Probably cheating," Ally says. I nod in agreement. "I mean, we were never in a relationship, so…no opportunity for you to humiliate me that way…" I sigh, but I know we have to finish this song.

"Okay. I think we should write it in a girl's perspective 'cause guys always make the mistakes." The tiniest hint of a smile appears on Ally's face.

"Yeah. So, she should be mad at him, obviously, and maybe be telling him how he shouldn't have done it 'cause now he's crawling back to her?" I nod.

"And maybe how he should've told her what happened instead of her finding out from someone else?" I suggest. Ally nods, too.

"Okay, let's start simple." She starts writing a few notes in her book. I grab my guitar and look at them. I start playing.

"Sounds good," I say when I finish. "What if we start with this?" I play a little intro, then sing, "Should've said no, should've gone home…"

"Should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go," Ally sings immediately after I stop. I smile a bit and stop playing. Ally writes down the lyrics. "Okay, sing that all again."

"Should've said no, should've gone home, should've thought twice for you let it all go," I sing, playing guitar.

"Should've known that word of what you did with her would get back to me…" she sings, writing as she does so.

"Get back to me," I echo.

"And I should've been there, in the back of your mind-"

"I shouldn't be asking myself why," I sing before she can continue.

"You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet…" she sings.

"Should've said no…" I add.

"Baby and you might still have me," she finishes. I stop playing.

"That's good. So, you sing and I'll play when we do it for Mrs. Adagio?" She nods.

"Yeah." I nod back. Then I frown.

"And then you can go back to hating me…" She takes a deep breath.

"I don't hate you. I'm mad at you beyond belief, but I'm more hurt than anything. I'm hurt and disappointed and I'm not letting you reel me back in for whatever you were planning. But no matter how much I want to, I've been through too much with you to hate you-even if you were faking everything," she tells me.

"I wasn't faking everything. Even if I was determined enough to prank you that I'd kiss you if I didn't even like you, it wouldn't have been like that. I know you felt it, Ally. You're scared of letting me back in, and you have a right to. But here I am, trying to prove that I'm being genuine, trying to prove that I'm not faking anymore. I'm trying to do the opposite of what I did at first, and that is to ask you to be my friend again, but completely genuine," I say, desperation in my voice.

"You know that saying? 'If you love someone, let them go. If-'"

"I know the saying," I say, cutting her off.

"Well, even though you don't love me, let me go." I swallow hard. "That shouldn't be hard for you, considering you never wanted me in the first place."

"I did. I do. Ally, please."

"Let me go," she says.

"But you'll never come back," I say, my voice thick. She looks me in the eyes.

"Then I was never yours to begin with."

"But-but what about the practice date? You-we-we were so good together!" I'm getting more desperate by the minute. I glance at Mrs. Adagio, who is listening to music again. She always does that when we write so she hears the whole thing together, and not us practicing.

"But you said that you still didn't wanna date me because you knew you were gonna mess up again, and you didn't wanna deal with that on top of a breakup. Well, you messed up again. And either way, I know now that you didn't mean it."

"I did mean it! Ally, I'll do anything. Please believe me."

"There's nothing you can do that'll fix this, Austin. Your friends forced you to become friends with me, but they expected you to do it when you were ready to be genuine. You faked the whole thing, and that's not something I can just forgive you for. Especially when I know that you probably set something up to humiliate me."

"I didn't! I would've never been ready to be genuine without getting to know you a little! C'mon, Ally, you weren't completely genuine from the start either, were you?"

"You know, I was," Ally says, sounding more hurt than before. "Remember what I told you? 'Every good girl that befriends a bad boy does so with the hopes that she can change him.' Well, I thought you had changed enough for me to do the rest. But turns out, you haven't changed at all. Congrats on your acting, Austin. Maybe you should pursue that instead of music."

"Ally, it doesn't add up!" I exclaim, sounding more desperate still. "If what I told you isn't true, if I was no different than them, why would I be in AP music? Why would I be so passionate about it? Why would I be hanging out with the others? I've known them since kindergarten-Riker and Rocky even said it. If I was really one of the populars, why wouldn't I have ditched them?"

"I can't expect to understand what goes on in your head, but nothing about this 'adds up.'"

"Ally, I worded it wrong when I was talking to Rydel! I was distracted, okay?"

"With what, your plans to humiliate me?!" I open my mouth to scream at her what I was actually distracted with, but I realize that'll make everything worse. I close my mouth and take a deep breath.

"No."

"Then what?! Tell me!" she says, getting caught up in the moment.

"I can't," I say calmly. "It'll make everything worse."

"'Cause I'm right," she says quietly. I close my eyes.

"You're so wrong I can't even describe how much I want to scream the truth. But you'd never believe me."

"Try me."

"You won't. I don't want to make things worse."

Ally opens her mouth to speak, but Mrs. Adagio stands up and takes her headphones out before she gets the chance. "Alright, are you guys finished?" We nod. "Great. So, come up here and sing it." We silently go to the front of the class.

"Okay, we did cheating," I explain. "This is called Should've Said No." I play a little intro and Ally starts singing.

You should've said "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've known that word, with what you did with her,
Get back to me (get back to me).
And I should've been there in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet...
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me

Ally finishes singing and I stop playing right as the bell rings.

"Good job," Mrs. Adagio says. "I'm putting in a bunch of grades tonight; be sure to check those out. See you two tomorrow."

"Bye," I say. Ally says nothing and I follow her out the door. "Ally," I say, trying to get her to stop and talk to me. She doesn't. "Ally, wait." I grab her wrist and turn her around to face me. "Please, just think about this. You're a logical person."

"Yeah, and the logical thing to do is not trust you." She jerks her hand away from me and walks away.

I sigh and trudge off to English.

When I get there and sit next to Riker, he doesn't so much as glance at me. Not that I'd expect him to. He's one of the many new members of the 'We Hate Austin' club.

Mr. Pate talks about a bunch of boring literature stuff and grammar and blah, blah, blah. I decide to take out a notebook and continue writing for the talent show.

The class goes by quickly, considering all I'm focusing on is writing the songs, and by the time it's over I've already finished one. I'm going to perform two songs, so I only need to write one more.

When the bell rings, I make my lonely journey to my car, and take my lonely drive home. As I drive, I tap my fingers against the steering wheel as a new melody forms in my mind.

I arrive home quickly, and I immediately strip down to my pajamas (boxers) and run up to my room. Hey, don't judge me. Pants are uncomfortable, and I shouldn't be forced to wear them in the privacy of my own home.

Anyway, I shut the door and sit at my desk to start the second song. I reach to the side and grab my guitar before playing the melody in my head and writing the notes.

I do this for a total of four hours, twenty-three minutes, and thirty-seven seconds before someone opens my bedroom door.

"I thought you hated me," I say, expecting it to be Rydel. I look up to face her, and I see someone I did not expect to see. "Mom?"

"Honey, why would I hate you?" she asks, walking into my room, though I feel like she's a stranger. I hardly remember what she looks like.

"I thought you were Rydel," I say, standing up in a state of shock. "What're you doing here?"

"I live here," she reminds me.

"Yeah, but you're only here at night when I'm sleeping. I haven't seen you in…I can't even remember how long!"

"I know, honey. I finally managed to take the afternoon off to spend time with you." She opens her arms, and as much as I want to be mad at her for neglecting Rydel and me, I'm so desperate for someone to show that they care about me all my anger diminishes and I run into her arms like I'm a little kid again.

"I miss you, Mommy," I say. Yeah, I sound like a four-year-old, but if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of going through an emotional phase-discovering love is real and falling in it and having everyone hate me and feeling alone. The usual.

"Aw, I miss you too, honey," she says, petting my hair. "Are you feeling okay? You're not usually this affectionate." I pull away from the hug.

"Actually, no. Not really. Um, can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, anything, honey." I nod and lead her over to sit on my bed.

"I'm in a bit of a…situation," I tell her. She nods.

"Care to elaborate on your situation?" I chuckle.

"Oh, um, right. See, there's this girl, and-"

"Aw, my baby likes a girl! What's her name?!" she exclaims.

"Um, it's more complicated than that. And her name's Ally. Ally Dawson. Anyway, I used to be really mean to her 'cause I was the bad boy and she was my target 'cause I wanna get a record deal and being popular in high school will help me achieve that. So-"

"Austin, honey, being popular in high school has nothing to do with a record deal. It's about talent." I swallow.

"Anyway," I continue, "Rydel and the others got mad at me and made me become friends with her but I hated her so I faked it. But then she thought it was real, obviously, and she started to like me after a few days, but I realized I didn't want her to like me because I didn't want it to ruin our friendship and then I realized that I wasn't faking it anymore.

"And so everything was fine but then we kissed-well, actually we had kissed twice before the time I'm talking about, but at one point we were hanging out and we ended up kissing and then she got mad at me 'cause she was scared she was falling in love with me-"

"I thought you didn't believe in love?" my mom asks.

"I didn't. I'm getting there. So, she was afraid of that 'cause she kept liking me more and more so she got mad at me for kissing her and I realized I liked her but we got in a fight and then when we made up she told me she loved me and so it was fine 'cause I didn't believe in it so I didn't really care and then I ended up telling her I liked her but we decided to stay friends until we knew we were ready for a relationship but then we kissed again after talking about a bunch of stuff about love and I was afraid I was in love with her so I went to talk to Rydel about how it was impossible for me to love her because I used to hate her and then Rydel got mad and Ally overheard so she got mad and then Rydel told the others so they got mad and the point is, I'm in love with Ally and the only person who doesn't hate me is her scary best friend who should hate me." My mom doesn't speak for a moment, trying to take it all in.

"Well, have you told her that?" she asks.

"I told her the part about me not faking it, but she thinks I was faking the whole thing and she doesn't believe me. And I know from past experience that it's gonna be hard to gain her trust back."

"Have you told her you love her?" I stand up from the bed.

"Are you insane?! If she doesn't believe I'm genuine in my friendship, she'll never believe I love her!"

"Yeah, that could be a problem," my mom says. I sigh and sit down on the bed.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Are you and Dad actually in love?" My mom sighs.

"Sometimes, as you get older, you…forget that you're in love. But every once in a while come the little reminders that you are. Yes, your father and I are in love. We argue sometimes about work and sometimes you kids, but we do love each other. And you two. Why do you ask?"

"I…I thought…" I trail off, surprised and almost relieved. I can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes that there's at least a sliver of love for my dad in there, and that's more than I ever thought. "Um, where is dad, anyway?"

"He's still working," my mom replies.

"Ah. Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course."

"Do you think Ally will ever forgive me? Be honest."

"Well, it's not gonna be easy. It sounds like she's pretty mad." I nod. "But, in all honesty, I think she'll come around eventually." My mom smiles.

"Really?"

"Really." I smile and hug my mom again. I've always tried to hide it, but I really do miss her.

"Thank you," I say. She pats my back.

"You're welcome, honey."

My mom has never been a dishonest person. She's never been the kind to tell you what you want to hear, even if it isn't what you need to hear. And she's usually right. About everything. So if she's truthfully telling me that she thinks Ally will forgive me, then maybe, just maybe, things will turn out alright.

Alrighty! 'Tis the end of chapter 26! Um, before I say anything, can we just take a moment to appreciate Ellington Lee Ratliff's voice? Like, his singing is like angels. Like, I don't even know. His voice like calms me. It's raw and real and idk just really nice to listen to. And I feel like he doesn't like singing or doesn't think he's as good as the others but he is and he gets so into it when he sings and he tries to cover it up with weird dances but he gets really into it and I've been getting a lot of Ellington feels lately guys and I don't know what to do. Okay, ANYWAY, we met Austin's mom in this chapter and I hope some things surprised you guys. Um...yeah. QTTA, maybe?

1. Is Trish really on Austin's side, or is she planning revenge?

2. How's Austin's plan for the talent show going to work out?

3. Will Austin's friends ever forgive him?

4. Will Ally ever forgive him?

5. Will Austin accidentally blurt that he loves Ally before the talent show?

Yup. Only five for tonight. I really need to feed my unicorn and go to sleep so I can be ready for my date with Peter Pan tomorrow, so I better hurry up and get outta here. XD Alright, so if you liked the chapter, put TALENT SHOW in a review! If you thought it was okay, put NO in a review, and if you hated it, put MOM in a review! Thanks for reading and please review! I love you people more than I love Ellington!

~Maddie :)

Maddie's Fancy Disclaimers: Part XXII

Ratliff: Seriously?! My nose is broken and you're making me do a disclaimer?!

Me: Yes.

Ratliff: *rolls eyes* Whatever. Maddie doesn't own Austin & Ally, Should've Said No, or anything else you recognize. There.

Me: Thanks, Ell! *snaps fingers and fixes his nose*

Ratliff: Yeah, yeah. Thanks for fixing my nose.

Me: You're welcome!

The End