I still had two days left before Austin would go to New York. And I was planning on using them well.

Because I didn't really have a lot to write about.

Or nothing interesting, at least.

I saw on Twitter that Austin had moved his concert in Miami to next week. His fans didn't seem too upset about it. Most just seemed really happy for him, that he was going to play The Night Before Christmas.

Yes, that's what it's called. Apparently it's an annual thing, and loads of people watch it.

I walked into the hotel lobby, expecting it to be just like any other day.

But it wasn't.

"Oh Ally, there you are! Please tell me you've seen Austin!" Mimi was on the edge of hysteria.

"What, no? Why?"

Dez ran up to me.

"Has she seen him?"

"No," Mimi sighed. "We can't find him, dear. He wasn't in his room this morning. We can't find him anywhere." She looked like she could start crying at any moment.

I could tell that nobody was taking charge. So naturally, I decided to take that on me.

"Okay. First things first, did you call him?"

Dez nodded. "He isn't answering."

"Which probably means he doesn't want to be found. Dez, what are his favourite places? The ones he goes when he wants to think?"

Dez had to think about that for a while.

"Maybe the playground? Or he could've gone to the beach. Either." I nodded.

I knew Mimi wasn't going to be any help. She couldn't think rationally right now.

"Dez, you go to the beach. Look for him there. I'll take the playground. Mimi, you stay here in case he comes back. Got it?"

Both of them nodded. Dez stormed of and Mimi sat down in the hotel lobby, her head in her hands. She was really upset.

I could murder Austin for scaring his mother like that.

But I had to find him first.

I spotted him from quite far away. He was the only one on the playground. I didn't walk up to him immediately. First, I texted Dez and Mimi to tell them I found him.

I couldn't leave them worried any longer.

I walked up to him slowly. I reckoned I would be one of the last people he wanted to see, but he couldn't stay here forever so he didn't really have another choice.

"Austin?"

He looked up. He was sitting on one of the swings, and he looked upset, and I felt my heart drop.

I don't know why it hurt me so much to see him upset. But I just wanted to wrap him in my arms and make everything better.

Wait, what?

I decided it was just my natural urge to help people. It had nothing to do with Austin himself. I didn't even necessarily like Austin.

Did I?

I sat on the other swing. I didn't say anything. I knew he would start talking if he wanted to.

He did.

"Is my mom really upset?" he asked softly.

"Yes."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Another silence. And then, his voice again. Shaking.

"I feel so guilty, Ally."

"For what?" I furrowed my brows.

"For letting everyone down." He handed me his phone. "Look."

His Twitter was open. I scrolled through the page he had opened.

Oh dear. The trend he had clicked on was #MiamiWantsTheirConcertAustin!

And the people using it weren't happy. They were saying he was choosing fame over his fans. Saying he was changing. Saying he didn't care about them.

I knew that wasn't true. There was a lot you could say about Austin Moon. But he definitely cared about his fans.

Maybe even a little too much.

"Austin, this is just one trend," I said softly. "Not everybody feels like that."

"Well, it's the only trend that is actually trending worldwide," he snapped. I sighed. He sighed too.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just… I always said I would put my fans above anything. And now I'm not."

I closed Twitter and gave him his phone back.

"You know what? They're not real fans. Real fans, the ones that actually give a damn about you, they are proud of you."

Oh dear, I was cursing. I was definitely spending too much time outside the shop.

Austin gave me a small smile. I could tell he didn't believe me. He looked up at the sky.

"That one kind of looks like a bunny." He pointed to a cloud. I giggled.

If he wanted to change the subject, I would go with it. Everything to stop him from looking so sad.

"A bunny, really? That's so not true. If anything, it's a guinea pig." He laughed.

I noticed how his entire face lit up when he laughed. His eyes twinkled and he just looked so happy.

He started talking, words coming out like a waterfall.

"I know you think it's silly that a 24 year old guy likes to go to a playground and play on the swings. But I love the peace it brings me. I usually just swing and watch the clouds. If you go high enough and you focus on the sky, it almost seems like you're flying."

"That's highly unlikely. You can't possibly go high enough to get the impression of flight," I answered sceptically.

Austin shook his head. "Wow, you must be fun at parties, Ally." Then, he stepped of his swing.

I was about to hop of mine too, but I froze when I felt his hands in my back.

"Austin?"

"Yeah?" He started pushing me. My feet left the ground.

"What're you doing?" He didn't answer. I noticed I was going higher and higher.

This really was not a good idea.

But I didn't stop him.

"Do it. Look at the sky."

And so I did. And I smiled. The wind flew through my hair, and I could feel it on my face. And suddenly, I understood what he meant.

It really did feel like I was flying. Or at least as if the worries of the world were disappearing, flying away.

But I had known this was not a good idea.

I felt myself slip, but I couldn't stop myself anymore. My head seemed to move forward faster than the swing and my hands let go of the rope.

Suddenly, I was really flying.

Or falling. It's just what you prefer calling it.

I could hear Austin calling my name in the distance, when I hit the ground. I fell, obviously, flat on my face. Luckily, the ground was sand and not concrete, but it still really hurt. I felt a familiar sting.

I laid there for a couple seconds, before I slowly sat up. Austin ran to me.

"Oh my god Ally, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Careful!" He helped me up.

I noticed his face was really close to mine.

Or perhaps I'd just hit my head too hard and I was suffering from a concussion.

"Ohh…auw…" I groaned.

"Oh god… Ally you're bleeding!" Austin put his hand on my cheek.

My cheek was burning. But I wasn't sure if it was because of the cut or because of Austin's hand.

I was however fairly sure I had a concussion. It was the only sensible explanation as to why I suddenly felt the need to lean forward and…

"Ally? Do I need to call an ambulance? You're not responding." I finally fell back into reality.

"Uhm, no, I'm okay, I think. I just need a… a bandage…"

"Let's get you back to the hotel." Austin grabbed my arm and slowly helped me up. We walked to his car. I didn't let go of his arm, for fear of falling.

I did feel a little dizzy.

He helped me in the car.

When I sat down, he let me go. The place where his hand had been was burning, too. The absence of his hand left a cold spot, and I shuddered.

He got in and started the car. He was driving way too fast, but I didn't say anything about it.

I figured I was the reason for his driving behaviour.

"You really are clumsy, aren't you?" Austin asked after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence in the car.

I looked over at him. He smirked back at me.

I don't know if it was the concussion or something else, but I laughed.

"At least now you know for certain I didn't break your guitar on purpose." We both laughed, and then it was silent again.

Mimi was waiting for us at the hotel.

"Austin, if you ever do that again…" She didn't finish her sentence, but hugged him. He hugged her back for a while before cautiously pushing her away. She then turned to me.

"Oh dear, what have you done! There's blood everywhere!" Her eyes were as big as saucers.

"It looks worse than it is," I said weakly.

Although it did hurt.

I felt a hand on my lower back. I turned, to see Austin standing behind me.

"We're going to clean you up," he said, softly pushing me towards the elevator.

"But Austin, we're never going to be on time for the interview and…" Mimi began, but he interrupted her.

"Cancel it. Tell them I'm sick or something."

He pushed me into the elevator and muttered something. I couldn't be sure, but I thought it was "They all hate me anyway."

I figured that that probably was exactly what he'd said.

"They don't hate you, Austin," I said softly. He didn't answer, and I didn't press it. I knew there wasn't anything I could say anyway.

He took me to his hotel room.

"Sit!" He pointed towards the little kitchen counter he had. I hopped on it. Normally, I would have cleaned it myself, but he had a certain expression that told me cooperating was the only option I had right now.

He came walking out of the bathroom with a wet cloth and a bandage. He walked close to me and put the cloth on my cheek.

Once again, I realized how close he was. Almost on kissing distance.

For God's sake Ally, what's wrong with you? I scolded at myself. I needed to get a grip.

"Does it hurt?" Austin whispered.

"I'm okay," I whispered back.

"Why are we whispering?" he whispered. We both started laughing.

"This might hurt a little bit, but I have to get the blood of your cheek." He started moving the cloth. I whimpered, but tried to hold still.

He was right after all, I could hardly walk around with a bloody cheek all day.

"Ally?" Austin's voice was shaky and I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

He paused, just looking at me, as if he was debating whether or not to continue with his question.

And then he did.

"Will you come to New York with me?"