Hello my lovely readers! I know I made you guys wait for this chapter, and I'm sorry! But I hope you guys enjoy this! Please leave feedback and let me know what you thought!

I don't own Austin & Ally, unfortunately :/

Ally's POV

Ever since Austin told me about his father, all I ever want to do is just hug him, every time I see him. This happened a month ago, and ever since then, Austin and I have been hanging out almost everyday. There is no way in hell I am letting him stay around his father, so every chance I get, I tell him to come over. Don't think I forgot about how we almost kissed, because I didn't. To be honest, it's all I ever think about lately; Austin's all I ever think about: at school, at home, when I'm with him, and just all the time. I don't know why this is, but I don't know… I kind of like this feeling and hate it at the same time. I like it because I've never actually had a boy I was close with, and it was a nice feeling. Hate it because I feel like if I get to close, he'll leave, and that's the last thing I want.

I was sitting on the couch, finishing up my homework, when I heard the doorbell ring. I got up from the couch, walked to the door, and opened it: There was Austin. He was bundled up in a heavy jacket and his cheeks were red. It was really cold outside, I mean, it is December and all.

"Hey Austin, come in," I said, gesturing for him to come inside. I rubbed his hands together and walked in, and then I shut the door behind him.

"It's cold out there," He said, still rubbing his hands together. I put my hands on top of his and held them. His hands were freezing, unlike mine. "You're hands are so warm,"

"Well, I mean, I've been in the house ever since you dropped me off from school, so…" I said sarcastically, and he just smiled at me. I couldn't help myself, so I smiled back. I let go of his hands and gestured for him to follow me into the living room. "Take your jacket off, make yourself at home." And with that, he did. He sat on the couch and kicked off his shoes.

"I hope you don't mind that I came over here unannounced and stuff…" He said quietly, and I just stared at him like he was crazy.

"Do I ever mind, Austin? I tell you all the time, you're welcome here whenever," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Thanks, Ally," He said, grabbing my hand. His hands were still really cold. "You're the best," He gave my hand a squeeze.

"What can I say? I try," I said in a mock bragging tone. He raised his eyebrows and laughed at me.

"So…" He said, letting go of my hand, and then looking around the living room. My mom had decorated our living room like a winter wonderland since Christmas was only a few weeks away. "You really go all out for Christmas, huh?"

"My mom does," I said, looking at the pretend snow on the shelf above the fireplace. "She asked me to decorate the tree today while she's at work, and it completely slipped my mind… so, thank you for bringing that up," I said, getting up from the couch and grabbing the bin from next to the tree that had all of the Christmas ornaments in it.

"Can I help?" He asked.

"You really want to?" I asked, hopefully. Every single year, I have to decorate the tree by myself because my parents always worked, so it's kind of nice to have someone help me.

"Yeah," He said, getting up from the couch and walking over to me. He pulled the lid off of the bin, looked at the ornaments, and then at me and smiled. "This will be fun. I don't really get to do this kind of stuff since my dad, and… yeah…" He said. I could tell he was starting to get himself upset, so I rubbed his back.

"Don't be sad, okay?" I said softly. "You have me, and I promised I'll always be here for you. You believe me, right?"

He nodded his head and smiled at me, "I believe you."

"Good, now let's get started," I said, pulling out a pile of ornaments.

Austin's POV

While we decorated the tree, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Ally really is. Her hair was down and a little messy, she had already changed out of her clothes that she was wearing at school today: she was now wearing a red and black plaid shirt which was about two sizes too big for her, a white tank top under that, and a pair of black sweatpants; and the make up she was wearing was no longer on her face, and in my honest opinion, she doesn't even need make up because right here, right now, I have never seen her look more beautiful. It's clear as day to everyone that I have a crush on Ally, and for the people that don't know it are clearly blind.

We spent about an hour and a half decorating the tree, and it was honestly the most fun I've had during the holiday season in a while. Ally put ornaments on the bottom of the tree while I put ornaments at the top, since she was too short to reach. The both of us decorated the middle part of the tree, and we helped each other with wrapping the lights around the tree. After we finished, Ally plugged the lights into the wall, and we both stared at the tree.

"Wow…" I said, looking at the lights blink on the tree. Ally nodded her head and crossed her arms.

"We did good," She said, looking up at me and smiling. "Thanks for helping me. I usually do it alone since my parents are always at work most of the time."

"No… Thank you," I said, smiling back at her. "I never get to do this kind of thing, and I'm just… I'm really glad you let me help you,"

For a moment, we just stared at each other. We didn't say a word, and the room was completely silent. I didn't know whether to lean in and see if maybe we'll finally have that kiss, or to just stay put. As I started to lean in a little, we heard the front door open, and we both jumped.

"Ally?" A voice called from the hallway.

"W… we're in here, mom," Ally said, looking at me, biting her lip a little.

"Who's we?" Her mom said, walking into the living room, and when she saw it was me she smiled. "Hi, Austin. How are you sweetie?"

"I'm great, Mrs. Dawson. How are you?" I asked, being the polite guy that I am.

"How many times have I told you to call me Penny?" She said, smiling. "But, I'm good, just really tired from work. Will you be staying for dinner?"

I looked down at Ally to see if she wanted me to stay, and she smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, I am," I said.

"Okay, great! I'm making spaghetti. It should be ready in about an hour," She said, starting to make her way out of the living room, but before she left, she looked at the radio, and then to us in the Christmas wonderland filled room. "Let's put on some Christmas music. I just love it," And with that, she turned the dial to the radio, and walked out of the room. I looked down at Ally and she was shaking her head.

"Sorry about her," She said quietly. "She just really loves the holidays."

"No! It's fine. I like your mom, she's really nice." I said, and that was the truth.

"She likes you, too," Ally said, and that instantly put a smile on my face. I'm glad that her mother liked me, because when I first met her, I wasn't sure if I made a good impression or not.

"Good," I said, and Ally smiled.

I was about to say something else, but then my favorite Christmas song came on: Nat 'King' Cole's, The Christmas Song. I loved this song because my mother used to sing it to me all the time when I was younger around this time of year. It was a slow song, and very soothing at that. It always calmed me down when I was upset for some reason. I looked down at Ally, and bit my lip. I wanted to ask her to dance, but I was kind of nervous, so I just started blabbing.

"I love this song," I said.

"Yeah? Me too," She said, and then I just did it. I took her by the hand, and she looked up at me confused.

"Dance with me?" I said softly, and she looked hesitant.

"I'm not much of a dancer," She said, and I laughed a little because she was being silly. I grabbed her other hand and placed both of her hands around my neck. I placed my hands on her waist, and looked down at her.

"Slow dancing is really easy… Just sway, okay?" She nodded her head and bit her lip. And with that, we started to sway slowly. The song was halfway over when we started dancing, but that didn't matter.

He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh

And every mother's child is gonna spy

To see if reindeer really know how to fly

And so I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two

Although it's been said many times

Many ways, Merry Christmas to you

[instrumental part]

"See? Is this so hard?" I said, pulling her in closer to me, and our bodies were now fully touching. She shook her head no, and then rested her head on my chest as we continued to sway.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two

Although it's been said many times

Many ways, Merry Christmas to you

As the song was coming to an end, we both looked at each other. Our faces were so close that I could feel her breathing. I didn't let go of her, even when the song completely finished, and she didn't let go of me either. This was it… this is the right time. I started moving my head down a little, getting closer to her lips, and to my surprise, she was slowly moving in closer to me. Our foreheads were now touching, and even our noses were. I moved my lips closer to hers, and just as we were about to kiss, her mom walked in. We both jumped out of each other's embrace, and I started rubbing the back of my neck roughly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mrs. Daw… I mean, Penny, said, looking from me and then to Ally. "Austin, I just wanted to see if you liked meatballs." I nodded my head yes, because honestly, I couldn't even speak right now. "Okay," She said looking from me and then to Ally again. Ally was biting her lip, looking at the floor, and I automatically smiled. I couldn't help it. Penny walked out of the room, and Ally and I just stood there silently. I was kicking an invisible piece of dust and looking around the room. Eventually, I looked at Ally again, and she was still biting her lip.

"So…" I said awkwardly. She nodded her head and looked at the floor once more.

"So…" She said, just as awkwardly as I did. I didn't even know what to say.

"Christmas is great, isn't it?" I said. What the hell am I thinking right now? Why did I just say that!? Stupid Austin! I thought to myself.

"Just lovely," She said.

And with that, the rest of our night was awkward up until I left. I didn't want it to be, but it was. At dinner, her mom was staring us both down. She wasn't angry, she was far from that, but I think she felt bad that she interrupted our… almost kiss, but she shouldn't feel bad because she didn't know what was happening.

After dinner, I decide I should leave, and Ally walked me to the door.

"Thanks for having me over," I said, and she smiled at me. Maybe no more awkwardness?

"Like I said… you're always welcomed here, handsome," She said, and now I was smiling. I love it when she calls me that, I don't know why, but I just do. She pulled me into a hug, and she was holding me tight. I wrapped my arms around her and just held her. We stood in the doorway, hugging, for about a minute; until she ended up letting go. "If there's any problems with you're dad, you call me, okay?"

"Okay," I said softly, and she got on her tip toes and placed a kiss on my cheek. I smiled, and she was biting her lip.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," She said, and I nodded.

"Bright and early," I said, and with that, I was on my way back to my house.

So… you guys probably hate me since Austin & Ally still haven't kissed yet… but they will! I know exactly when and how their kiss will happen, and I promise… it's coming soon.