This chapter isn't incredibly essential to the plot, I just tried to give the second episode of Season 4 a little more depth. I added some extra scenes and insight into what Austin and Ally felt about the start of the music factory. Let me know if you have any ideas on what I should write about for any of the later season 4 episodes! I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be posted but hopefully sometime soon :)

(Mattress Stores & Music Factories S4- Timestamp 10:15)

"Oh, Morgan! I forgot I had another lesson. Listen, is there any way we can reschedule? I have so much to do and I am so tired-" Ally began, flustered. The lesson had totally slipped her mind after two long days of lessons, fan meetings, radio interviews, etc. with very little sleep. Austin stopped her.

"Hey, maybe I could give the lesson." He cut in, and she could see a spark of excitement in his eyes.

"Really Austin? Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Yeah, no problem. Sounds kinda fun actually. Come on dude, let's rock."

"Thanks Austin!"

Just like that he was up the stairs with her student, and Ally felt amazed that she hadn't thought of him teaching at the Sonic Boom before. He'd been trying out new things with Dez all week, but everything he'd reported back to her did not sound promising- especially their latest endeavor, fencing. She normally thought he looked good in anything, but the fencing uniform was a stretch.

"If I hurry now I can still catch my bus." She announced in her exhausted delirium. She clutched the puffy penguin pillow that Austin brought her from Moon's Mattress Kingdom and ran off into the mall, remembering after a few seconds to go to her car, not the bus. All she could think of was the two songs she needed to write, and sleeping. She planned to text Austin that night to get an update on him, but right then she had too much of her own trouble to think about. She'd been feeling that way a lot lately while simultaneously being worried for him.

(3 hours later- texts on Ally's phone, 7:30 PM)

Ally: hey I meant to text earlier but I accidentally fell asleep... do u have time to call or meet up? thank u so much for helping with the lesson 3

Austin: yeah for sure, your house?

Ally: sounds good, I just want to get caught up with you. this week has been a lot :l

Austin: me too. not so easy to talk all the time when we're not on tour :(

Ally: ugh, yes. see you soon

Austin: yup I'll be there in 15

Ally set down her phone and collapsed onto her living room couch, fingers aching from gripping her pencil for a couple hours. She and her dad's small house sat in a busy neighborhood just a few miles from the mall. Other than his paintings, Lester's decorating wasn't exactly charming- now that he and her mom were divorced he'd restricted the living room to shades of brown, simple furniture, and a few of his paintings hung above the couch and TV. Ally rarely spent much time at her house; most of her life was spent at the mall, in Sonic Boom, at school, and all the places that she and Austin's music took them. She'd taken an accidental nap for an hour that only made her feel more drowsy, but luckily she had completed rough drafts of lyrics for two songs before then. All that was left for her to think about that day was Austin, which wasn't a bad thing. She rose from the couch like a zombie- still in her nice dress, heels, and makeup from the day- to answer the door for him 15 minutes later.

"Hey Ally." He greeted her after she swung the door open, looking her up and down seeming slightly amused.

"I know, I know, this is clearly a sweatshirt and ponytail type of day but I missed the memo. Why am I still wearing heels right now? Couldn't tell you." He walked in and gave her a side hug as he scoffed.

"You look exhausted… you took that nap in heels didn't you." He remarked, and she just nodded slowly, starting to laugh.

"You need a good night's sleep. Maybe two." He said, laughing with her.

"Agreed."

They made their way to the couch and she sat chatting with him about her music and reminiscing about her tour, finally letting herself unwind. Her dad was still out at the mall so it was a good opportunity for an uninterrupted talk.

"I can't believe I let you touch my hair so much."

She could never resist running a hand through his beachy blonde locks as she sat next to him, her legs resting across his.

"You're like a baby chick."

"So I've heard."

"Don't act annoyed, you like it."

He cracked a smile as a way of admitting it.

"You're the only one allowed to mess it up like this."

She was purposefully ruffling up his hair style now.

"Look, it's way better now." She held up her phone for him to see his reflection.

"If I was going for warthog, yes."

They laughed and she leaned into him, apologetically trying to smash his hair back down. He just slapped her hand away and they laughed some more.

"I'm only with you for your hair." She announced. They were probably too slap happy to have a serious discussion, but it was the only good time for it. Once they'd settled down Ally asked Austin how his first day working with his parents went.

"It wasn't great, I can't lie. A guy bought a mattress because he felt bad for me. He asked me if I 'used to be Austin Moon'... like I'm someone else now. He's not totally wrong, but still. Not the best feeling." He sighed, and Ally removed her hand from his head to look at him better.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure that hurt. Maybe it will get better as you go?" She tried to console him but it felt insincere. Ally knew music was the only thing that could fill the void eating at him.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm trying to stay positive. I know my future doesn't have to just be mattresses, that's just where I'm stuck now. Working with my parents every day is going to get old fast though." He pouted.

"I get it, sometimes having my dad around the store 24/7 drives me crazy- mostly because I had to watch him do things like gather all the packing peanuts from new instrument shipments into bags so that he could resell them- but also because he's my dad, and it's just nice to have a break from adults who are obsessed with you."

"I'm with you on that, and my parents are definitely obsessed with me. I'm sure you get that though, you're an only child too."

"Yeah, you never get an easy break from them. I'm glad they love you so much but they can't seriously expect you to make mattresses your career, especially knowing your true passion, right?" Ally posed the hypothetical question feeling that what she said had to be true, but Austin's face showed otherwise.

"Yeahhh, they definitely think I'm destined to make mattresses my career. They don't really get me, but they mean well. I just know I'll need a way out sooner or later and I don't want to upset them." He explained, looking concerned.

"I wonder how you could do that… I'll try to help you think of some ideas. Oh, also, I'm sorry to ask again, but could you give 2 more lessons tomorrow morning? I got a lot done on my songs today but I'm nowhere near finished so it would be great to have the morning to work. It's totally okay if not-"

Ally's sentence trailed off and a grin grew on her face as she noticed Austin becoming excited.

"Yes! Anytime. I loved giving that lesson. Seeing a kid learning to love music is something special. It reminded me of when I first picked up a guitar and how big of a moment that was for me." Austin glowed. Ally sat up straighter, removed her legs from his, and hugged him.

"Thank you so much. I'm so happy you love it. It's giving me some ideas." She said, and when they parted he looked happier than she'd seen him all week. It made her realize how much he hadn't been himself since they'd returned to Miami.

"Me too. I'll call my mom and tell her I'm coming in late to work." Austin replied, just as Ally felt her phone buzz. It was her dad texting that he'd be home in a few minutes.

"Sounds good… my dad just texted that he's close, you should probably head out. Sorry to kick you out so quickly." She explained apologetically.

"It's totally fine, I'm glad we got to talk. Now I need to get home fast before anyone sees my hair like this." Austin panicked playfully as he rose from the couch and she followed him to the door.

"Oh boy." Ally muttered, smiling at him as they leaned in for a quick kiss at the door frame.

"Goodnight, have fun with your songs tomorrow!" He shouted on the way out to his car. She told him to have fun with the lessons, feeling very good about that new development. She wished he wasn't leaving. As she watched him drive off from her front door, she realized that maybe music could still be a big part of his life- just not in the way any of them would have expected.

(The Next Day- Mattress Stores & Music Factories: Timestamp 10:50)

"Keep working on your scales Lindsay, I'll see you next week!"

Austin had just given his third music lesson for Ally, dressed for work at the Mattress Store, the day after they'd talked at her house.

"Hey guys!" He called out as he sauntered down the stairs and met Ally with a hug.

"Austin, thanks so much for helping out with all these lessons." She said, admiring the energy he was giving off.

"Are you kidding? I'm having a blast. I love working with these kids." He declared.

"I totally get how you feel. Except for the working part. And the kids part." Trish joined in, and they all looked puzzled. Something was occurring to Ally as she witnessed his attitude.

"You know what? I think giving lessons was the hobby you were looking for this whole time."

"... You're right! This is the thing I've been looking for. If I can't perform music, I can teach music!" Austin replied enthusiastically. That was when Dez butted in and reminded them all that he was still tied down to his job at the Mattress Store. In a moment of courage he announced that he would quit, and swiftly left the store to confront his parents at Moon's Mattress Kingdom before any of them could say a word. He felt like nothing could stop him- all of a sudden it felt like part of the hole that Jimmy Star had stabbed was healing. Music was not off of the table for him, and most importantly, mattresses didn't have to be his destiny.

(4 hours later- the night before the final scene of Mattress Stores & Music Factories)

After Trish, Dez, and Austin went through several hours of failed attempts to get Austin fired at Moon's Mattress Kingdom, the three of them and Ally found themselves cleaning up the remains of two popped mattresses with far too much excitement. They conceptualized endless different ideas for how they would set up their new music factory as they mopped, buzzing with anticipation to see it come to life. Austin had to have been the most excited out of all of them; all of a sudden music was being built back into his life, and it would be with his favorite people.

Once they finally went home to change out of their sopping wet clothes, he asked Ally on a date, intending for them to discuss the future of the music factory. She gladly accepted and they met at the Melody Diner nearby. After the evening specials were sung to them they ordered their food and marveled at the restaurant- they hadn't been there in three years.

"Man, I should have thought of this place to work. I'd be performing ALL the time. I'm sure somehow Jimmy would still show up and try to sue me for singing about soup and pot pie though. And besides, I'm way more excited about our music factory." Austin rambled. They sat across from each other at the booth they had once sat at with Dez and Trish years ago.

"You're probably right… But me too! How should we design it? I liked the idea of having a recording studio, dance studio, and small stage for performing downstairs. Upstairs could still be the practice room, just maybe revamped a little? That's where we could have general lessons."

"Yeah… let's put super comfy chairs in there and make it nicer! Then we can all hang out in there still." Austin proclaimed, and Ally couldn't help but imagine making some new memories with him in a new and improved practice room- not only of making music. She could tell his head had gone there too, but they just kept talking about how they might decorate.

"I already know Trish is going to want basically a whole bedroom for herself. She's already mentioned a private nap area to me multiple times and we just came up with the idea a few hours ago." Ally said incredulously, rolling her eyes.

"That doesn't surprise me… I mean if I could have it my way we'd put in a trampoline. We should meet up with Dez and Trish tomorrow and get this idea more organized, I'm feeling so good about it. I hope we'll be able to really show some kids why music is so special to us."

Austin said it with pure confidence and sincerity as he looked into her eyes, searching for that same attitude. It made her heart flutter.

"Let's definitely do that. We could potentially be a really important part of kids' journeys in music- and managing, and dancing, and film making- if we do this right. I believe in us. It will be great." Ally assured him. It was a perfect response. Austin beamed as they continued to fantasize about the future, enjoying their musical meal and trying to be quiet so that any word of the music factory- which they'd just decided should be called the A&A Music Factory- wouldn't get leaked out to the public too soon. They could never be too careful regarding their privacy when in public. But it was hard to stay quiet. As they walked out of the melody diner hand in hand that night they reflected on how far they'd come, and Ally took the opportunity to check in on Austin.

"It's crazy that we went from writing songs all night and viral videos, to being two rising pop stars, to being one ex-pop artist and his superstar girlfriend opening a music factory together with their best friends." Austin stated, running out of breath.

"Yeah, It's so wild how fast things changed in four years… and well said. I'll have to write that summary in my book." Ally remarked. Austin looked validated.

"How are you feeling? I mean I know you are excited about the factory, but you were pretty down occasionally about your career on tour. I just want to make sure you're alright mentally." Ally asked hesitantly, hoping it wouldn't upset him. She was relieved to see that his face just looked content in the moonlight.

"I feel good. Truly. I'm just trying to take life as it comes, and right now what I need is you, Dez, Trish, and making a difference with the factory. My parents are surprisingly supportive of everything. They're still sad that I won't be the next reigning Mattress King I'm sure, but I know they want me to be happy." He explained maturely.

"I'm so glad to hear that." Was all she said, squeezing his hand, but that was enough. They parted that night feeling incredible, ready to take on the future as soon as possible.