"It's alright, just wait and see

Your string of lights is still bright to me

Oh, who you are is not where you've been.

You're still an innocent."

Ally's fingers halted when she heard the sound of creaking.

The yellow haired boy held his breath, but before he could dash down the hall, Ally had turned to see him. He grimaced slightly.

Her hands fell to her lap. "Austin." she said, softly. Even in the dark she would know that hair anywhere.

He nodded his head. "Yeah." he replied, stepping further into the room. "You're still up."

"So are you." Ally replied, the left corner of her lips tugged upwards but a smile didn't quite make it there. He nodded his head and brushed his finger tips on the top of the piano, rubbing it gently.

"Was that new?" he questioned.

Ally cleared her throat and nodding, grabbing the paper that sat on the music rack. "Yeah, but I've only got the chorus so far and most of the melody." she replied.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

Ally shook her head and scooted over as he dropped down next to her. She expected him to start playing, but he never did. His hands stayed placed in his lap as he started expressionlessly at the keys. There was a silence that felt rough around its edges.

"How expensive do you think this hotel is?" Ally questioned, breaking the silence.

Austin glanced over at her and then looked around the music room. He laughed slightly and shook his head. "I don't know. What do you think?"

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "I don't know."

There was another silence, though this one only lasted for three heartbeats.

"I'm sorry." Austin blurted, tapping a key with his index finger.

Ally frowned. "What?"

"I'm sorry." he repeated, but chose not to elaborate, or look at her.

She looked at him and then back to the piano keys. "You have nothing to apologize for."

He shook his head. "No, no, I do." he replied, "I shouldn't have pushed you. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I just..." he swallowed, "I didn't want you to see him. I didn't want anyone to see him. I should have treated you better, but my mind was racing so fast." he sighed, "You were just trying to get me onto stage and I yelled at you."

"I'm not accepting an apology where there doesn't have to be one." Ally replied. "You don't have to explain yourself, either. I get it. I do. I understand."

There was a silence drifting again. It was a little tiring. Ally placed her hands on the piano keys and played a light tune. It was slightly comforting, and hey, at least it filled the silence.

"You don't understand, Ally." Austin argued gently.

She frowned in confusion.

But he wasn't even talking about his Dad anymore.

"Austin, I do. My Mom was the exact same way. You know...One version was sober, the other version was drunk. Never knowing what version you're going to get when you call, or come home. That was my entire life as a kid. So I do get it." she convinced.

Austin got caught inside a pause.

"You looked scared." he finally stated. "When I pushed you, you looked scared. I scared you." His tone was caught in between the lines of regret, shame, and disbelief.

Ally shook her head, "No, Austin, you didn't. I was alarmed, yes, but not scared." She smiled gently, hoping that maybe the curl of her lips would help him feel better.

"Yes, you were." Austin said. "It was all over your face. You wouldn't even look at me."

Ally didn't remember feeling scared, but she remembered the inability to look into his eyes. They were so black, so not Austin.

"Please, don't tell me I don't have to apologize, because I do." Austin said, "I'm apologizing because I don't ever want to make you feel like that again. I don't want to see that again."

"Austin, I wasn't scared." Ally said, looking up at him. "I was alarmed and surprised, but not scared. It was a little weird seeing you as, well, not you. But you didn't scare me, okay?"

"Fine." Austin said, hitting a couple keys.

"If you can apologize to me, you can apologize to Trish. She was worried." Ally said.

"I already did." Austin said. "When I looked at her in the mirror before I got on stage. She knew I was sorry and I knew she was, too."

Ally nodded her head. She focused on her hands to start playing again when she suddenly felt two fingers on her chin and then she felt lips.

She felt lips.

And they were on her lips.

Her eye brows arched high and her orbs swirled surprised before her eye lashes lapped over each other, her eyes closed in contentment.

She was kissing him.

He was kissing her.

Austin Moon was kissing Ally Dawson.

And he wasn't drunk this time.

He pulled away quickly and avoided eye contact. "I'm sorry."

Her hand sat on his shoulder. "No." she said, softly. A shade of crimson fell lightly on the ridges of her cheek bones. Thank God, it was dark so he didn't have to see. "Do it again."

His heart didn't trip, it ran full speed without stopping or burping or hiccupping. He grabbed her face and kissed her again. Her lips curled upwards and her hand must've slipped inside his ribcage, because his heart was gone and it was all hers now. Whether he wanted it to be or not.

He felt her hand lift from his shoulder and stroke his hair gently. They parted slightly, but their lips stayed close, their breaths hitting one another's. "I hope you remember / today is never too late to be brand new." she sang, gently.

He nodded. "That sounds good." he whispered.

"I thought it might." she replied.

He kissed her. For the third time.

x

It was different.

Standing in front of him, fixing the collar of his signature leather jacket. She assumed after kissing him and not knowing what to expect from it, that it would have made the air awkward but it didn't. Everything was just...good.

He grabbed her wrists. "I think it's fine." Austin said, amused.

Ally blushed slightly when she realized that she had been fiddling with his collar for longer than she intended. He let go of her wrists and they fell by her sides.

Neither of them had swapped a word about what happened and Ally intended to keep it that way. She was his assistant, there was no way that they were even allowed to do this. Anything that falls into the boss/employee relationship category is always against all rules, everywhere.

"You need to go. The press is waiting." Ally informed him.

Austin nodded his head. He hesitantly kissed her cheek and hurried off the platform. He flashed her a glance before he left the room completely.

Ally wondered if this was what it was going to be from now on: Cherishing feelings that could never go anywhere. Kissing lips and cheeks, but never being able to hold hands. Being able to sit in the same rooms, but never on the same couches.

Would she ever even be given the chance to say the words Austin and Mine in the same sentence? She had to shrug her shoulders. This was life now. It was getting complicated. She was working full-time for a famous musician, times were going to be rough and she was going to have to suck on her teeth and deal with it. Even if it meant admiring the beautiful boy from a distance that wasn't so distant, even if it meant touching but never holding.

Her thoughts were all over the place. Trish was the one to bring her out of it with a coffee. Ally drank it fast, not minding that it burnt her tongue. Trish stared oddly, but Ally never noticed. If she couldn't help herself, she hoped the caffeine would.

Trish nudged her and whispered, "What are you thinking so deeply about?"

"What?" Ally said, a little too loud. She grimaced as a few heads turned to look at her with scowling faces. She lifted her index finger in apology.

Trish laughed slightly and lifted an eye brow. "You've been chewing your lip so hard some of your lipstick rubbed off."

Ally touched her bottom lip and a rosy color shaded them, because all she could see was herself on a piano bench in the dark with him. She hated what the memory brought her: happiness, eagerness, excitement, thrill.

The emotions of love.

It was sickening, really.

But sweet, too.

Okay. Ally didn't know what it was.

Ally cleared her throat and murmured, "So, you two are good now?"

Trish smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. We still haven't talked much, but he's not ignoring me anymore. I think I kind of missed him, but don't tell him that."

Ally laughed gently, "I won't."

"Has anything changed?" Trish questioned, hesitantly. When Ally stared at her confused, she shrugged. "It's just a question. Last week was...interesting."

Ally knew she meant the bittersweet concert. The day his father had showed up. Of course, she'd promised Austin not to tell anyone. But then, she suddenly remembered grabbing his hand. It was calloused from years of guitar playing, but she won't forget how nice it felt on her fingers. She could hold it forever. The thought picked at her heart. Maybe it could only be a dream.

"He seemed off, didn't he?" Ally replied, though her voice drifted into the distance.

"Did something happen?" Trish questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Ally wondered, but anxiety clenched her gut.

"I'm curious." Trish cleared his throat. "You grabbed his hand."

"Is that bad?" Ally said, hoping her voice stayed level.

"I don't know. It depends on what it meant." Trish said. Ally hadn't replied. "I saw the way he looked at you, just before getting backstage."

"He didn't look at me." Ally shook her head, but she remembered it, too. Those eyes that held a greater depth than the ocean ever could. Those eyes that held puzzle pieces, scattered everywhere and she was desperate to discover the picture it created.

"Hm," she glanced at her sideways, "Interesting. You looked right at him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two had a moment." The corner of Trish's mouth twitched, but she dared herself not to smirk.

Ally shuddered in her shoes. Her eyes were wide with innocence. "Nope. There wasn't a moment."

"Do you like him, Ally?" Trish asked. It was so sudden, Ally felt like the floor had been yanked from beneath her feet. She didn't know how to reply, so she decided not to reply at all. She sipped her coffee. "You spend a lot of time with him, being his assistant and all, and I know Austin is an attractive man. Have you ever...harbored feelings for him?"

"We should focus on the conference." Ally said, clearing her throat.

Quietly, Trish said, "I won't tell him."

Ally looked at Trish. Then, she focused on the conference. It was best that she didn't say anything at all.

x

so...it's looking like trish isn't so against "auslly" at all.

yeah, i'm apologizing for my lack of updates. but school and school and school. that's my excuse. but i posted another chapter because you guys deserved it and you say nice things to me. i love how you guys encourage me, it makes me feel warm and happy. please, keep reading this.

and yes, the auslly has begun. it's chapter 18. about time. i don't know if their kiss seemed rushed at all, but i just felt like it was never going to happen if i continued to drag it on because i never expected it to take as long as it did, so i just did it. it's done and done.

things are going to start looking uuuuup now! :D

oh and guess what,

there just miiiight be another story coming soon, but it's not for sure yet. stay on the lookout.