The first thing that I register is that I am in a car. I still don't have the strength to open my eyes, so I use my other senses to figure out what's going on. First I listen. Silence; the radio is off. This is the first sign that I'm not in Richard's car; he always has music quietly playing. Then I feel. I can't move my fingers, but I can tell that the seat I'm in is very comfortable, and I can feel the seat belt against my neck. Then I smell. It smells like… new car and… is that coffee?

As if just the smell gave me an instant caffeine boost, I'm able to slowly open my eyes. All I can see is the blur of street lights flashing by outside the window. I try to turn my head, but my neck is very sore from my previous position, making me groan loudly.

The car suddenly comes to an abrupt stop, making the seatbelt dig into my neck to stop me from flying forward.

"Oh fu- I- Sorry-" The driver stammers.

Thanks to a sudden spike of adrenaline, I can turn my head. In the driver's seat is a very flustered Austin Moon.

"Wh-wh" I'm so shocked I can't get my thoughts straight enough to make coherent sentences. I look around. I'm sitting in the nicest car I've ever been in. We're on a two lane road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I shake my head, hoping this nonsense is just a dream.

"I'm sorry. You scared me." Austin says sheepishly.

All I can do is stare at him with wide eyes. What the hell is going on here?

"What?" Is all I manage to say.

Austin lets out a little sigh and moves the car to the side of the road, putting it in park.

"I just wasn't sure when you were going to wake up. You scared me when you groaned."

I blink. "I meant what the hell is going on?"

He bites the inside of his cheek. "Oh,um. Yeah."

I wait. He doesn't say anything more. "Will you just please tell me what's going on!?"

He flinches. "It seems really creepy, now that I actually think about it."

I huff. "It's even creepier that you won't tell me where we are or what's going on!"

He puts his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. Fair enough."

He takes a breath before he starts. "Ok so after meet and greets, everyone-the security guards, the managers- usually leave within a half an hour. They don't care what I do after that, so I usually just stick around because I like how quite everything is. So tonight I was walking around and I heard you sobbing and you sounded like you were dying so I did what any good Samaritan would do and I went to check on you and possibly call 911. I got worried because I was calling your name but you weren't responding so I picked you up to take you to the hospital but as soon as I picked you up you started snoring, so I figured that maybe you were just having sleep terrors so I decided to take you home but I figured I'd drive around until you woke up so you could walk in yourself. So… yeah."

I'm shocked. "Oh….um… thank you? What time is it? How long have we been driving around?"

He looks at the watch on his wrist. "It's five in the morning. I guess that means I've been driving for about three hours now."

"Three hours! Why didn't you just drop me at the hotel?"

"I don't really know. You just seemed so tired. You look like you haven't slept in months."

"Pretty much…" I mumble. I watch as a car speeds by. I'm confused. This isn't the same Austin Moon that I first spoke to a few months ago, the one who practically threatened to fire me. "You can take me home now."

"Oh, yeah, ok." He turns the car back on and makes a U-turn. The car speeds down the road, the expensive motor humming.

"You didn't fire me," I blurt out.

He glances at me sideways, confused. "What?"

"My first show. You told me that if I didn't get better and kept getting distracted you'd have to let me go."

"Oh. Well, you've definitely gotten much better."

I nod. This is just all too surreal. We haven't spoken since that very first time three months ago, and suddenly I'm in his car?

After driving for about 45 minutes, I start to recognize some buildings again. I realize that we are about two blocks away from the Buzz. The Buzz! I'm supposed to be there in a few minutes. I start to think of ways to get Austin to leave me there without him knowing what I'm really up to. I know for sure it says in my contract that I can't have another job, and I think no matter how much better I've gotten Austin would definitely consider this a "distraction".

"Hey, you can drop me off at the coffee shop that's up here on the right."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you straight home?"

"No it's fine. This is my favorite coffee shop and I'm pretty hungry." I lie.

"Ok," he says pulling over.

When I start to get out he tries to give me a twenty dollar bill and says, "I'll wait here. Get your food to go and I'll take you home."

"Oh…Um… No I'm fine, really. You've done enough. I just want to eat and hang out here for a while."

He smirks. "How are you going to get food if you have no money?"

At that moment I realize that I don't have anything; my bag must still be at the theater. I huff, getting frustrated.

Biting the insides of my cheeks, I grab the money out of his hand and storm out of the car. When I enter the Buzz, a few regular audience members greet me. I smile and nod at them. I get in the line of customers waiting to order. I know that Austin is watching my every move, which makes me clench my teeth in annoyance.

Jim spots me in line. Don't come up to me, don't come up to me, don't-

"Ally! What are you doing? If you want something just come back here and get it!"

"Heyyyy Jim," I say, trying not to turn my head so Austin can't see me talking. "Sorry about last night, I was… sick."

"Oh that's fine! Some people were a little disappointed, but that's ok. You've been so amazing, coming here twice a day for the past two months."

"Yeah, it's no big deal." I say through clenched teeth. "Listen, I don't think I can play today either. I'm… still not feeling well."

"Oh no! Well, I hope you feel better! Can I get you anything to take home?"

"Yeah I'll have a bagel sandwich and a small coffee, please."

Jim nods and heads behind the counter. When he comes back with my food, I hand him the twenty Austin gave me.

"What's this? You know I'd never charge you!" He hands the money back to me, laughing.

"Seriously Jim, just take the money, please." My words are strained as they come out of my clenched teeth and tight smile.

He gives me a very concerned look. "Ummmm…ok… let me go get you change."

But I'm already out the door, scurrying back to Austin's car, which I notice is midnight black. I plop back into the seat and try not to look at Austin, whose brow is raised in question.

"Where's my change?"

"There is none."

He looks down at my bagel and coffee. "That's one expensive coffee shop."

"Uh, yeah." He still hasn't started the car.

"How come that guy served you when you were in the back of the line?" He presses.

"I don't know! Maybe he saw the car that I got out of," I snap.

"Fair enough," he says, starting the car.

"Oh, one more thing, can we stop by the theater really fast so I can grab my stuff?"

He nods and turns his turn signal on. We arrive at the theater a few minutes later. It's absolutely abandoned backstage. I weave through the corridors until I get to the makeup station. After digging around, I find my bag. I pull out my phone and see that I have eight missed calls from my dad and three from Trish. I sigh and put my phone back in my bag. I sit on the makeup chair and put my head in my hands. Why can't I call them back? Am I ashamed of what I'm doing? I don't know.

"Not again." Austin groans from behind me.

I pick my head up and look at him in the mirror. "I'm fine, just thinking."

Austin comes and sits in the makeup chair to my right. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"What?"

"Delaney told me that you don't get home until three in the morning, and then you leave before six every morning."

"Oh. I don't know. I guess I just still haven't adjusted to everything."

"But you've been here for a few months."

"I guess I just don't need that much sleep."

"If that was true we wouldn't be sitting here right now."

I sigh and start to get up. "I'll start sleeping more."

He reaches out and grabs my wrist. "Hey. You better mean that. The show takes a lot of energy. We need you to be at your best."

Of course. It's all about the show. "Yeah, of course."

"Give me your phone."

This takes me aback. "Why?"

"I'm going to put my number in it. If you ever have a problem, need a ride home, whatever, call me."

I reluctantly hand him my phone. "Isn't that what Richard's for?"

"Sometimes you just need a friend."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh, so we're friends now, is that right?"

He gives me a megawatt smile, "Ally, as of right now we're the bestest of friends, got that? I'm here for you."

"Okayyyyy…"

A&A

It's ten in the morning the next day, meaning it's the longest I've slept in two months, and I feel so refreshed.

After taking a shower and putting on a skirt and top, I head downstairs. The penthouse is completely silent since I'm the only one here. Delaney jetted off to Milan, Evie is in New York with her family, and Pandora is on a trip to the Bahamas with her new boyfriend.

For a split second I think about going home, but I quickly push it away. I know I'm being selfish by not calling Trish or my dad back, but I just feel like I deserve an escape from my old life. I've never done something this spontaneous; leaving Dallas and joining a Vegas show. I know that it won't last, but I figure that I should enjoy it while I can and deal with the consequences later.

An image of Trish all alone at Sonic Boom flashes across my mind, making me feel guilty, so I quickly text Trish.

I'm doing great. Really busy. I'm staying here for a while. Love you.

I know it's a lot less than I owe her, but it's all I can bring myself to write. Some best friend I am.

I walk over to the window and look down at the city. I've been here three months and I still haven't even really experienced Vegas. Today I'm going to change that.

I dial Richard and within five minutes I'm in the car.

"Where to, Miss Ally?"

I think for a moment. "That garden you showed me a few months ago was pretty cool. Know any more cool places?"

He grins at me in the mirror. "Of course."

I watch out the window as places flash by. I make a mental list of all the places I want to visit this week.

M&M Factory, Hershey's Factory, Fremont Street, The Venetian, Excalibur…

So many places that I've only driven by. I know they're all cheesy touristy places, but I just really want to experience it all.

The car comes to a stop. I look up and realize that we're at the base of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel. Richard comes around and opens my door, a sly grin on his face.

He leads me under the base and says something to a person standing next to a door. The person nods and opens the door. Richard ushers me in. I look back at him as I enter.

"Have fun!" He says, still grinning.

I follow the person down a hall until we reach an elevator. We step inside and the person presses a button.

After a minute the door opens and I almost forget how to breathe.

"No way." I whisper.

We're at the top of the tower, which is a large circular room with walls of glass and curved benches lining the circumference.

I step out of the elevator and look around. There's nobody in here, and when the elevator closes I'm completely alone.

"Richard, you've outdone yourself." I mutter. I walk over to the window and sit down at the plush white bench. From up here I can see all of Vegas and beyond. I watch as the people below scurry about. For the first time in the last few months, I'm genuinely happy. I pull out my note book and scribble down a few words. I haven't been able to write any songs without my songbook because I feel like I'd be betraying it if I wrote a song in any other book. So my new notebook is full of words and phrases waiting to be strung together.

I lean against the arm of the bench and contently hum to myself as I watch the happenings of Vegas below. I'm so lost in a happy daze that I don't hear the elevator open.

"Hey! This area is off limits!" A loud voice says behind me.

I jump up and hurriedly shove my things in my bag, back to the elevator.

"I'm so sorry! No one told me-" I start to stammer.

"Ally?" I freeze mid shove and whip around. Austin is standing in front of the elevator with his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" We say at the same time.

"This is my spot." He says, crossing the room. "I didn't think anyone else knew about it."

"I had no idea this was here, Richard brought me here."

"Ah. That explains it. I told him about it."

"How did you find out about it?" I ask. He comes and sits next to me on the bench.

"I don't really know. Last year I was just roaming around and I asked if I could go up to the top. I wasn't actually being serious-I didn't think that there was anything up here-but surprisingly they let me up here."

"They just let you up here because you asked?"

"They don't let just anyone up here. I'm famous so of course they let me up."

"Ah." I say, looking down at the bench. It's weird to think about, that I'm talking to a "famous" person and that I'm in a show with said person. Does that mean I'm famous, too? No. I'm just an assistant, not the star of the show.

"Why aren't you in Miami?" He asks, startling me. He remembers that I'm from Miami. I told him that three months ago.

I sigh. "If I went home I don't think I'd be able to come back."

"Why?" He gently presses.

"Because this isn't who I am," I say, gesturing vaguely to myself and Vegas below. "Back home I'd never do this. I think if I went home I'd get sucked back into my old life."

"And because your ex-boyfriend is there?"

"You remember that?" I blurt out.

A look of confusion passes over his face. "Why wouldn't I?"

I bite my lip. "I told you that stuff like three months ago."

He looks out the window. "Oh. I guess I just have a good memory."

There's a long pause.

"Why are you still in Vegas?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Why wouldn't I be in Vegas?"

"It's just- I guess I thought that you'd be jetting off to some foreign country, like Delaney."

He laughs. "That's not really my style."

"Or what about visiting your family? Where do they live?"

A dark cloud passes over his face, but it's faster than it appeared. "They're… near…"

Knowing that I've pressed too far I try to backtrack. "Do you come up here often?"

"Yeah, whenever I get some free time. I like how peaceful it is up here."

I smile. "Yeah, I think it's pretty cool."

Another long pause. We're both looking out the window.

"So," Austin says. "Got any fun plans this week?"

"I think I'm just going to spend the week exploring Vegas, seeing the sights, you know, being a typical tourist."

"How are you a tourist if you've lived here for three months?" He laughs.

"I haven't really gotten out much at all. Pretty much all I've seen of Vegas I've seen from the car window."

Austin puts his hand over his heart in mock horror. "I can't believe you. You haven't done anything?"

I shake my head and laugh.

"The Coke Factory?"

"Nope."

"The Hershey Factory?"

"Nope."

"Freemont Street? Excalibur? New York New York?"

"Nope, nope, and nope."

"M&M Factory?" He practically squeals.

"Nope!"

I laugh as Austin clutches his heart and pretends to faint.

He sits back up and says, "Well lucky for you Miss Dawson, my whole week happens to be free, and as your new bestest friend it is my duty to make sure you have the full Las Vegas experience!"

I hesitate. Snippets of conversation flash through my head. Delaney telling me not to talk to him. My makeup artist telling me about him using girls and breaking Delaney's heart.

"I don't know. I'm fine by myself, really."

He rolls his eyes. "Trust me; you need an experienced resident with you to get the full experience."

His eyes look at me hopefully.

"Fine," I sigh. He pumps his fist in triumph, making me laugh let again.

"But," I interject, "you haven't earned bestest friend status yet. You've barely just reached friend status, so don't push it."

I try not to laugh at his puppy dog eyes.

A&A

Later that day, I'm sitting in Austin's car. He bought a sightseeing map and is studying it very intently.

"Where do we begin…" he mumbles.

"What if we start by going through all the hotels on the strip?" I suggest.

Austin shoves the map at me. "Excellent idea!"

He starts the car and starts zipping through traffic. I fold up the map and place it in my bag. Austin turns the radio up higher. A song from the top 40 is playing. He hums along for a minute and then reaches over and turns it down.

"These songs are nowhere near as good yours." He says. I'm taken aback.

"How did you know I write songs?"

"You wrote the songs for the show, duh."

"Oh. I didn't know you knew that."

He laughs. "It is my show. They pass everything by me."

"It doesn't seem like it's your show."

He shoots me a look. "What do you mean?"

I try to shrink back in my seat. Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?

"Well, it just seems like everyone else works on the show and you just kinda… show up."

His fingers tighten around the wheel, then he takes a breath and loosens his grip. "Look. I work really hard for every show; you just don't really see it. I don't practice with you girls because I'm always busy with the behind the scenes stuff, like approving set lists and lighting. And honestly, I don't practice the tricks as much as you guys do because I've spent years perfecting them."

Oh. Well now I feel like a big fat jerk. "How long ago did you get into magic?"

He smiles a little bit. "I guess it's been eighteen years now. My dad got me one of those cheesy magician kits for my seventh birthday. I was obsessed with it. I would bring it to school and do little shows for my friends at recess. By fifth grade it stopped being 'cool' and people started to bully me, but I kept at it at home."

"And look at you know," I say.

He smiles. "Yeah. I bet they regret it."

I laugh.

"So what about you, Miss Dawson?" He asks, throwing me a sideways grin.

"What about me?"

"When did you get into music?" He asks as he pulls into a parking space.

I make a noise that sounds like a game show timer. "Oh would you look at that, it seems we've run out of time."

He rolls his eyes playfully. "Fair enough. But we'll come back to that later."

I get out of the car and look around. We're parked in front of Circus Circus. I meet Austin at the back of the car as he opens the trunk.

"This is actually the very first place I went when I got to Vegas." I say, thinking of that first night.

"Oh really? Did you play any arcade games?" He asks as he digs around the trunk.

I laugh at my memory. "No. I just used a payphone to call my best friend in Miami to tell her what happened and then I left. So I guess I really just saw the lobby."

Austin produces a baseball cap, black hoodie, and sunglasses from the trunk.

"Are we robbing this place or something?" I ask jokingly.

He looks down at the items in his hands and laughs nervously. "No. I just wear this stuff so people don't recognize me."

"Oh. I didn't even think about that."

Austin closes the trunk. He puts on the cap and sunglasses as we start walking. "If I don't disguise myself things would just get way too crazy."

As we enter the building the air conditioning blasts down on us. The volume is incredibly louder than outside. All the slot machines, arcade games, and people seem to be competing to see who can be the loudest.

I follow Austin upstairs to the arcade games.

"What do you want to play?" Austin asks, leaning close to me so I can hear him. I look around at all the games until I spot my favorite game.

"Ski ball!" I squeal and hurry over to the machines.

"I love this game!" Austin says as he hands me some tokens.

"Me too! It's my favorite."

I insert tokens into the machine and Austin puts some in the machine to my right.

"I bet I'm better at than you are!" He says with a challenging smile.

I match his expression and cry, "You're on!"

I lean down and grab a ball, then focus on the targets. I roll the ball and it lands in the 50 point hole.

"Ha!" I cheer. I look over at Austin's machine just in time to see him land a ball in the 100 point hole. He looks over and sticks his tongue out.

I glare at him and keep going. After a few minutes we've both run out of balls. I look up at my score: 23,450. Ha! I doubt Austin can beat that!

I look over at his score and I immediately deflate. 25,000.

He looks at me smugly and sticks out his hand. "Good game."

I roll my eyes and slap his hand away.

An arcade attendee comes over to us. "Congratulations. 25,000 points gets you a small prize."

The lady gestures to the stuffed animals stuck to a board. Austin puts his hand on his chin, taking in his options.

"Which one should I get, Ally?" he asks. I look up at the board and see a cute little dolphin stuffed animal.

"Get the dolphin!" I say. Austin nods at the lady, who goes to retrieve the stuffed animal. She comes back and hands the dolphin to Austin. He turns around and holds the dolphin out to me.

"You can have him," he says. I smile graciously and take the dolphin. I give him a squeeze and then tuck him inside my bag.

"Alright. Circus Circus: check!" Austin announces. "On to the next!"

I follow Austin out of the hotel and onto the Strip. We trapeze through all of the hotels, walking around their lobbies and pools (Austin almost pushing me in every one of them), and watching all the people.

Finally, it's nearly two in the morning and we reach the Mandalay Bay at the end of the Strip.

"I love this place," Austin says as we enter the lobby. "Follow me!"

I follow him down a series of halls until we are in front of a sign that reads: Shark Reef.

"I've heard about this place." I say.

Austin nods. "It's so cool."

There's a velvet rope across the entrance with a "closed" sign hanging on it. Austin walks up to a lady at the desk to the right of the door, who starts nodding furiously, then gesturing to the entry way. Austin walks over to the ropes and motions me over with a nod of his head. We step over the ropes and I follow him down a dark hallway.

Suddenly, we emerge in the famous tunnel.

"Woah." I breathe. We're the only people in here. I walk to the middle and slowly turn as I look upwards.

Hundreds of sharks peacefully swim above me. There are all different kinds of sharks of all different sizes. When they swim over me I can see their teeth sticking out of their mouths.

I stand there for a long time, just observing. After a while I remember that Austin's here with me. When I shift my gaze downwards, I see that Austin is looking directly at me.

"It's amazing isn't it?" He asks.

I nod, looking back up, and then down again. My eyes lock with Austin's, and the sincerity in his eyes almost scares me.

"I want to spend a lot more time with you," he whispers.

And in that moment, I decide that I do too.

A&A

BEFORE YOU FREAK OUT: DO NOT WORRY, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WILL NOT MOVE TOO FAST (in case you are worried about it, since I know some of you may be and some of you might not really care).

Anyways, THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR LOVE ON THE LAST CHAPTER. All your reviews made me so freaking happy like I literally couldn't stop smiling. You all made my day. Seriously. I love you all so so so so much.

I know this chapter might seem kinda fluffy, but I'm trying to progress to all the good stuff. You have no idea what I have in store. *evil cackling* ;)

Since you guys are so awesome and got to 150 reviews so fast, I wanted to get this chapter to you just as fast to return the favor.

That being said, if we get to 180 reviews I can promise another chapter by this Friday, because remember: the more you guys review the more motivated I get to write :)

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|April|

PS: Let me know what you think is going to happen/what you want to happen.