three: follow-ups & fans

Bzzzz. Bzz. Bzzzzz.

Ally woke up the next morning to a buzz coming from underneath her stomach. She opened her eyes and discovered she had fallen asleep on her phone. Vision still blurry, she dug her phone out and answered with a groggy voice.

"Hello?"

"Ally! Hey, it's me," She heard Trish's surprisingly chipper voice on the other end of the line.

"Trish, why are you calling me? It's so early..."

"What are you talking about? It's 10:00 am! I just got a message from Jimmy; they made a decision and they're going to call back in a half an hour. Get your butt down here!"

Ally glanced at her alarm clock and gulped. I don't get it, she thought. I never oversleep.

"I'll be right there." She hung up, threw on yesterday's clothes, which were still lying on the floor, and rushed out the door without bothering to grab anything for breakfast.

Meanwhile at Sonic Boom, Trish, Austin, and Dez were preparing for the follow-up call.

"Well, this is weird," Austin said, glancing at the clock. "It's not like Ally to be late like this. She's usually on time."

Trish nodded. "Not usually, always. She's always on time."

"Maybe she got eaten by zombies," Dez said, looking genuinely worried. "Or run over by alpacas. I mean, it's Miami. Anything can happen!" He started chewing his fingernails.

Austin's eyes widened. "You're right. What if something happened to her?"

Trish rolled her eyes. "Nothing happened to her, Austin. Calm down."

"But how do you know?" Austin whimpered.

"Cut it out, Dez," Trish demanded. She turned to Austin. "Austin, I assure you, Ally is completely fine. I talked to her a few minutes ago—She was probably just up late working on a song or something."

fifteen minutes later

Just as Trish was about ready to pummel Dez for worrying Austin by claiming she had been eaten or run over by various types of creatures (real or mythical), Ally ran into the store, with unbrushed hair and teeth and rosy red cheeks. "Sorry I'm late guys. I don't know what happened! I never oversleep!" Austin ran toward his girlfriend and embraced her in a big hug.

"My little goose pickle is okay!"

Ally narrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah, of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Trish sighed. "Dez has been worrying Austin sick for the past twenty minutes. He kept suggesting that stuff happened to you, and Austin believed him."

"He said that you might have gotten run over by zebras. Thank goodness those aren't real, huh?" Austin said with a dismissive laugh, pulling Ally in tighter.

"But zebras are real," she said, then paused. "I'm getting déjà vu here— I swear we've had this conversation before."

Austin nodded. "Yeah, we have. But I still don't believe you." They both smiled, and Trish grinned slightly.

"As much fun as I'm having listening to this discussion, you guys have a video call in three minutes and Ally's hair isn't brushed," She grabbed her bag, pulled out a travel brush, and handed it to Ally. "It's for your own good."

Ally rolled her eyes and went upstairs to the bathroom to brush her hair while the other three logged onto the computer and set up the video chat. It started ringing just as she came back to the main room and sat down.

Austin answered the call, his voice wavering. "H-hey, Jimmy. How've you been...since yesterday?"

"Pretty good, thanks. Yourself?" Jimmy answered. He seemed to be only half-listening as he gathered some papers and stacked them together, then put them all together in a manilla folder.

"We've been good," Ally blurted before Austin could say anything. "A little on edge, but good." She smiled, trying not to make it obvious that both of them had been nervous wrecks for the last twenty-four hours.

Jimmy just nodded. "Well, Ronnie should be here any minute, and I want to wait for him before we start talking about anything," he started, and at that moment, Ronnie joined the call. Austin and Ally greeted him with smiles and waves, both dying to know what they had decided.

"Okay, well, we might as well get started," Jimmy said. "Austin, I heard about what happened at your show last night, mainly because I was backstage..."

"Oh, no," Austin whispered to Ally, squeezing her hand, "here it comes."

"And needless to say, I'm not very happy about it. Talked to Ronnie, and he said we should let you become a duo anyway, but I'm still not convinced that's a good idea."

Ally leaned into Austin, groaning. "Ugh, I knew this would happen."

"I'm sorry, guys," Ronnie butted in. "I tried to tell him, but"—

"It's fine, Ronnie," Ally replied. "Thanks for trying." She looked up at Trish and Dez, who were both behind the laptop, wearing grim expressions.

"So," Austin said after a few moments of silence, "does this mean I'm not with Starr Records anymore?"

"Well, that's up to you," Jimmy responded. "You have a few choices: either stay with Starr Records as a solo recording artist or leave Starr Records and be a duo with Ally." Austin froze. "Ronnie could sign you if he wants, but that's his choice," Jimmy continued. He looked at Ronnie through the computer screen, whose expression seemed unreadable. Austin's mind immediately flashed back to when Jimmy made him choose between music and Ally; it took him a matter of seconds to realize that was happening again. He gulped, his stomach churning itself into knots. He knew what he had to do.

"Well..." he started, looking from the computer screen to Trish and Dez, then back to Ally, "I'm afraid I'm no longer a Starr Records recording artist, then. It was fun while it lasted, but...I'm not letting her go again." Austin reached forward and shut the computer screen as Ally's jaw dropped. He thought he saw a tear slide down her cheek.

"A-Austin, you just...you just broke off your contract with Jimmy," she whispered. "You didn't have to do that!" she sighed. "I feel like this is all my fault."

"Ally don't be ridiculous," He cupped her cheek and turned her face toward him. "A good friend once told me, 'Without love, what's the point of any of this'?"

"Hey," Dez piped up, "that was me!"

Trish glared at him. "Shhhh! They're having a moment!"

Ally let out a laugh and Austin pulled her into a hug as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Hey," he said, lowering his voice, "We're gonna figure this out. Okay?"

Ally leaned into him, taking in the scent that she had missed so much. She closed her eyes and muttered, "Okay..." letting out a small sigh. She sat up again suddenly. "Wait... what about Ronnie? He never said it was out of the question to sign us both."

Trish paused before speaking up again. "You technically could contact Ronnie to ask if he'd sign you both. It seemed like he was never against the idea in the first place." She bit her lip. "But... who's to say that Jimmy couldn't press charges? He's got a lot of money and a lot of authority in the music business. I'm not sure if the two of you pursuing a contract with Ronnie is the best idea."

Austin sighed. "This just... it sucks. All of it. I mean, why'd they have to make it so complicated?" He flopped back on the sofa, exasperated. "All I want to do is make music with my girlfriend, and they're making it so dramatic." Ally nodded, laying her head back down on Austin's shoulder. The two of them were so engrossed in the moment that they didn't notice their friends leave the music factory.

"Yeah. It's too bad." Austin glanced down at her, beaming.

"You tired or something?" he asked sarcastically. Ally glared at him.

"Yeah," she muttered. "I was up late last night worrying about the video call."

"Me, too."

The two of them sat on the couch, with Austin's arm around Ally until it started to go numb. If I stay in this position any longer, my arm will fall off, he thought. Probably.

"Is your arm uncomfortable?"

"Very much so, yeah." Ally giggled and lifted her head up, stretching and yawning. She looked around the factory, frowning. "Where'd Dez and Trish go?"

"I...don't know," he replied. "We should go find them so we can talk about...everything." Ally nodded and the two of them made their way to the food court.

After about ten minutes, the couple arrived at the area next to Mini's where they used to hang out in high school. They found Dez picking minuscule fries out of a container that was way too small for the price.

"Hey, Dez." Austin grabbed a chair across from Dez and Ally sat down on his lap. Dez rolled his eyes.

"Ally." He nodded curtly. "Romeo," he teased, referring to Austin. "What are you guys up to?" Dez took the container and held it upside down above his mouth, frowning when nothing came out.

"Not much," Austin responded. "Just trying to come to terms with everything that happened this morning."

Dez nodded. "Where'd Trish run off to?"

Austin shrugged. "I don't know. Probably working on the tour schedule some more." He sighed. "Although, I'm not sure we're going to need it now that I know Jimmy won't sign Ally to his label. I'm worried, Dez. What if this means the end of our careers?"

"It won't be, buddy," said Dez. "You're Austin and Ally. You'll find a way to keep making music, I promise."

"You really think so?" Ally asked. Austin could see the concern in her eyes and he immediately felt bad. Though it wasn't his fault that Jimmy had refused to sign the two of them together, he still felt that he was somehow responsible for this mess they'd gotten themselves into. After all, he was the one who'd brought up the idea of touring together back on the Helen Show.

"We should go find Trish," Austin suggested, "she'll know what we should do next." Ally agreed and the three of them searched all around the mall until they found her at the nail salon, getting a mani pedi.

"Trish, there you are!" Ally exclaimed. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"

Trish frowned and took the cucumbers off her eyes. "Oh, it's you."

Ally rolled her eyes. "It's good to see you, too. Austin and I were wondering what our next step should be now that Jimmy won't sign us both." Trish groaned.

"Can't you see that I'm busy?" she asked.

"We know that you're busy," Austin said. "But we could really use your advice. We have no idea what to do next." Trish sighed.

"Alright, here's the deal. Before the video call, I contacted a couple of other record companies—including Ronnie's— to inform them that you would be needing a label to perform under, since I had a gut feeling Jimmy would say no. They agreed to meet with you if needed, and if you're interested, I can set it up."

"That's amazing, Trish! Thank you!" Ally went in for a hug and Trish flinched as she tried to move her fingers out of the way so the fresh fingernail polish wouldn't be smudged.

"You're welcome. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have a mani pedi to finish."

"Right, sorry," Ally mumbled, turning around. She stopped and turned on her heel again. "Oh, do you have the numbers of those record producers?"

Trish nodded. "You'll find them in the tour notebook. It's on the table in the music factory lobby."

Ally grinned as she, Austin, and Dez exited the salon. "Thanks, Trish! You're the best!"

Back at the music factory, Austin and Ally sat on the couch, staring at the three numbers Trish had written down. Austin sighed.

"I guess we should call them, right?"

"Yep," Ally replied with a grin. But neither of them moved from their positions on the couch. Ally shook her head slightly and looked up at her boyfriend. "Um, does this feel weird to you? Like, there's a part of me that's saying, 'don't do it, just go independent!'"

Austin nodded. "Yeah. It does." he sighed again, leaning back on the couch and running a hand through his hair. "I'm just so sick of all the record label drama, you know? Like, first Jimmy wouldn't let me play basketball. Then, he kept us from being together and made me choose between you and music. And now, he won't even give you a chance." He paused. "I feel like it would be worth the risk to just ditch record companies altogether." Ally leaned up against his arm and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Yeah, me too."

"So... what do you want to do, then?" he asked, his voice low and serious. Ally stared into his eyes, swallowing hard.

"I want to go independent."

"Me, too." A smile fought its way onto Ally's face.

"So, are we doing this then? Just...going out on our own and making our music the way we want to?"

Austin chuckled. "That sounds like a great idea." Ally pulled him into a hug and he grinned, pulling her in closer. When they broke apart Ally was grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe we're doing this!" she exclaimed. "We should call Trish and tell her the good news!" Austin nodded.

"Great idea."

fifteen minutes later

Trish stormed into the music factory, frowning. She looked Austin and Ally dead in the eyes. "Seriously?"

"What?" Ally asked. "You're not really mad that we're going independent, are you?"

Trish sighed, sitting down across from them. "Of course, I'm not mad. I'm just surprised. Not many independent artists get the chance to make it big. You're risking all that you've worked for!"

"That doesn't matter," Austin argued. "We're different from other independent artists. We've already had so much experience in the business and people know who we are. I have no doubt that we'll be able to keep doing what we love." Trish nodded.

"I get where you guys are coming from. I really do. I just wanted to make sure you weren't making any rash decisions without asking me first. You know I support you no matter what you do, right?"

"Of course, Trish," Ally said, standing up and pulling Trish into a hug. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"Eh, it's what I do," Trish replied. "Anyway, I think it's about time that we get the news out to your fans, huh? Dez can record you guys talking about your dynamic new musical duo and post it on your social media pages!"

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Ally exclaimed. She turned to Austin, beaming. "I can't believe we're about to do this," she whispered.

Austin shrugged. "I'm not worried. I can do anything with you by my side." He pulled her into a hug and they stayed in that position for a few seconds until Trish tapped them on the shoulder and cleared her throat.

"I must say, you guys are adorable. But don't you have an announcement to make?"

"Hey, guys! It's Austin," Austin greeted after Dez had given him the thumbs-up, signaling that he'd started recording.

"And Ally," his girlfriend finished. "And we have some super exciting news to share with you all!"

"I'm sure you guys have heard lots about the two of us becoming a duo from the Helen show the other night, and we are here to confirm that we are, in fact, an official duo!" Austin gripped Ally's hand, and she smiled, looking from him to the camera.

"We're super excited about this partnership, and we hope that you guys will be, too. We're currently in the midst of planning our first tour in the United States!"

"We'll be sure to keep you guys updated about our upcoming events as they're planned. But for now, make sure to share this video with all your friends and family, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for all the updates about our music, tour dates and more."

"We appreciate each and every one of you so much!" Ally exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear.

"More details are coming soon, we promise," said Austin. "But for now, just stay tuned."

"Thanks for watching guys; you literally mean the world to us, and— say it with me," Ally nudged her boyfriend.

"There's no way we could make it without you."

Austin waved to the camera. "Bye, guys!"

"See you soon!" Both smiled until Dez put the phone down.

"Did you get all of that?" Ally asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Relax, Ally. You do realize I went to film school, right?" Dez asked.

"Answer the question."

"Yes, I got it," Dez huffed. "Geez, nobody around here trusts me anymore." The other three gave him a quizzical look, as if to say 'I wonder why that is?'

"Great, now let's post it!" She grabbed the phone out of Dez's hand and ran back over to Austin, who was still sitting on the couch.

Trish approached him, grinning. "You know, I've gotta admit, I wasn't initially onboard with Austin and Ally going independent. There's a lot of risk involved, and no guarantee of a steady income. But I'm glad they decided to do it. I don't think I've ever seen them this happy."

"Yeah," Dez agreed. "I wish I had what they had. They're so cute." He hung his head.

"Aren't you and Carrie still together?" she asked. "I thought things were going well."

"They were." Dez went over to the stairs and sat on the one second from the bottom. "But right before the Helen show a few days ago, she went back to LA for another modeling gig and I've been stuck here alone. Relationships are hard when you're not together all the time. Obviously, Austin and Ally don't have to deal with that."

Trish sat down next to him. "I get it. When Jace and I were in a long-distance relationship, it was unbearable. But, I've come to realize since then that we didn't really try hard enough. Sure, we'd video chat, text, and call, but we never planned times to see each other. And that was when the thought occurred to me that we might not be right for each other."

Dez's eyes widened. "You think me and Carrie aren't right for each other?"

"No, of course not. In fact, I think you're pretty right for each other— you both have a passion for goats, both your IQs are low—"

"Hey," Dez interrupted, looking hurt.

"Sorry, not sorry. All I'm saying is if you miss her, then reach out to her. Schedule a video call, or fly to LA. What's stopping you?" She made jokes about him often, but Dez was certain that Trish was being serious.

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely. I've seen you and Carrie when you're together, and you are each other's person! You're meant to be."

He smirked. "Because I'm the love whisperer."

"No one calls you that," Trish replied.

Dez glanced over at Austin and Ally, who were fully immersed in their phones, working on posting the video to all of their social media accounts. Austin had his arm around her and she was leaning on his shoulder. Trish snapped twice to get Dez's attention.

"Don't worry about them. Worry about yourself."

He smiled and placed a hand on Trish's shoulder. "Thanks, Trish."

She smiled back. "Any time." Dez stood up and went to the practice room to call Carrie, and Trish joined Austin and Ally on the couch.

"How's it going over here?" she asked, grabbing the notebook with all the tour dates in it and starting to jot something down.

"Great," Ally responded. "My tweeter page is blowing up; the fans are so excited that we're a duo!"

Austin nodded in agreement. "Mine is, too. I'm getting tons of questions about where we're going and when."

"Well, we'll have to wait to announce that until the tour dates are solidified," Trish said, looking up from the notebook. "So tell them that they'll just have to wait. But I'm so glad that they're as excited as we are! That was what we'd hoped for."

Ally nodded. "And it's all thanks to you, Trish," she hugged her friend, and Trish could sense that she was really appreciative.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, it's my job." She paused, then asked, "Hey, why don't we order some pizza and work on this schedule a little more?"

Austin and Ally agreed wholeheartedly, and Dez came bounding down the stairs at the mention of pizza. He informed them that he would be flying out to LA to surprise Carrie in a couple of days, and the rest of the friends said they would keep him updated about all things Austin and Ally until he got back. The 'fearsome foursome' ate their pizza happily and talked about the tour until past midnight, laughing and joking like they had in high school— it was as if no time had passed at all.

Yay! They're officially an official duo! :D Let me know what you guys think about Austin and Ally going independent! There may or may not be some drama in the future with Jimmy because of this, so keep a look out for that... (hint hint wink wink). Also make sure to review, favorite, or follow if you liked this chapter. More exciting stuff coming up soon, I promise!

-ej