A/N: Okay, so I know it's been a month since I last updated this story, and I'm really sorry. I feel bad that I've been slacking, but if you guys are following my other story Hate At First Sight, you would have seen my author's note on the latest chapter. In a nutshell, I've just been incredibly overwhelmed with school, my job, and other commitments that come before this. I wrote this chapter at two in the morning last night because I felt so bad that you guys have waited so long. I know some of you are getting impatient, and I really wish it was possible for me to update a lot, but I just don't have the time right now. Junior year is quickly catching up to me, and it's only been one month of it. Nine more to go. I hope you guys understand.

And to the people who reviewed anonymously defending me, thank you so much! It means a lot :)

Disclaimer: don't own A&A but I own all other characters associated with it.

Ally POV

"He's still being an ass about the whole Jesse thing. Do you know how long ago that was?" I was hanging off the side of my bed with the phone pressed to my ear.

"I think he's just being paranoid now," Trish said through the line.

"There's nothing to be paranoid about; I don't know how many times I've told Austin that!"

"Where is he now?"

"Outside playing with Pancakes in the backyard. He hasn't said a word to me since we got back from the tattoo shop," I replied. "Which was three hours ago."

When we got home, Austin had said hi to Leah and stormed off to somewhere in the depths of the house. I had to apologize to Leah for his stupid behaviour before sending her off. Maci was currently sleeping.

"Speaking of tattoo shops, how did everything go?" Trish asked.

"Austin's tattoo looks amazing and my piercing didn't hurt, surprisingly. It looks cute!"

"That's good! I can't wait to see them. So, back to the Austin thing. Just, like, smack him or something. Maybe throw in a punch just for good measure," she said.

"Why on earth would I hit him?" I exclaimed.

"Because he's being an ass? Your words, not mine."

"I'm not going to hit him." I paused as I heard the door and then footsteps a moment later. "Shit, he's coming, gotta go!" I hung up the phone and threw it against the pillows just as Austin walked in the door.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, uh, what's going on?" I asked like I wasn't just raging about him on the phone to Trish.

"I wanted to apologize for snapping at you earlier. It was rude of me and I'm sorry," he said.

"Austin, I just really wish you would stop worrying about Jesse and me."

"It's not an easy thing to just drop."

"Well, please try."

He walked over to the bed and sat beside me, wincing as he did.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"It's just the tattoo," he said. "It's gonna be sore for a while."

"Be careful with your shoulder when you're performing."

"I'll be fine," he said. He threw his other arm around me and pulled me into his side. "I'm sorry. I love you."

I kissed his neck and said, "Love you too. Let's finally put it all behind us, okay? I don't like the tension it causes in our relationship."

"Deal," he replied. "Maci still sleeping?"

I nodded. "She should be up soon."

"Perfect. I'll make supper tonight."

"Isn't that nice of you?" I smiled, standing up.

"We can have a family night tonight. I want to spend time with you both before the tour."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"Ally, where's my guitar?" Austin asked.

I shrugged in response. "I haven't seen it. Did you check the basement?"

"Yeah, it's not there."

"What about our room?"

"Well, yeah, I checked there first," he said. "I could have sworn I left it in the music room."

"Check there again," I said. "You usually miss seeing something the first time. You have man eyes."

"Man eyes?"

"Yep. Man eyes."

"Well, I know for a fact that it's not in there. I double checked. Maybe I-" He paused and turned to look at me. "Where did you hide my guitar, Ally?"

"I don't have it!"

"Ally."

I groaned and walked over to the hallway closet. I opened the door and pulled out his red guitar, grudgingly handing it to him.

"Thank you," he said.

"I don't want you to go," I pouted.

It was Austin's first day of the tour, and he played his first show that night. And Maci and I weren't going. As you could tell, I was clearly upset. He had already said bye to my parents and his parents, as well as Jesse.

"I know you don't, but I have to," he said gently. "Hiding my things on me won't help, either."

I sighed. "I can try, can't I?"

He grinned and kissed my head. "You can try. Where's Maci?"

"Quinn and Leah took her and Sheridan to the park. Why are you getting ready now?"

"Uh, because I leave in less than an hour," he said. I followed him into the living room and flopped onto the couch, crawling into his lap.

"Excited for tonight?" I asked him.

He stroked my hair. "I'm stoked."

"I'll bet. I'm really happy for you, Austin."

"I know you are," he replied like it was obvious. He glanced down at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, burying my face in his shoulder.

"Hey, hey," he said gently. He put his hands on my arms. "Ally, look at me. Please."

I slowly lifted my head to meet his gorgeous brown eyes that I came to love so much over the years. "I'll see you and Maci in a month."

"Exactly. A month! 31 days!"

"What do you want me to do Ally?" He said exasperatedly. "We agreed on this arrangement."

"I know, I know," I said. I drew circles on his chest with my finger. "I just don't like being away from you, that's all. You, Trish, and Dez are going to be having a blast while I'm left behind again. Missing most of your first tour was bad enough."

"If Maci was older, it would have been different."

I took a deep breath. "We'll be okay. My parents and your parents are here to help, same with Quinn's family and Jesse."

"See? That's the spirit. Feel better now?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, a little."

He wrapped his arms around me. "That's my girl."

There was a knock at the door before I heard Leah call, "We're back!"

I got off of Austin's lap and he followed me into the hallway where everyone was.

"Hey Mace!" Austin said, picking her small form up into his arms. It was cool outside so Sheridan and Maci were both bundled in warmer clothing. Quinn had a black coat on with black combat boots and a beanie with red mitts. Leah was wearing a green jacket with brown uggs and little black mitts.

"All of your cheeks are red," I commented. "Cold?"

"It's definitely not warm, that's for sure," Quinn said.

"Mommy! Can I stay here and play?" Sheridan asked, tugging on Quinn's pant leg.

"No, honey, we have to go home. Maybe some other time, okay?"

"But why?" She said sadly.

"Uncle Austin and Auntie Ally are really busy today," Quinn said, bending down to Sheridan's height. "Maci will play with you soon."

"Alright," Sher sighed.

Leah grinned. "Come on, squirt, let's get you in your stroller."

While Leah helped Sheridan, Quinn turned to Austin and me. "What time are you gone?"

"I leave soon, actually," Austin replied. "Trish and Dez are meeting me here and we'll all go on one of the buses up to San Diego."

She nodded. "Well, I know you'll have a great time." She reached up to hug him. "Good luck, dude."

"Thanks," he smiled as he hugged her back with one arm since the other one was holding our daughter.

"Have fun, Austin!" Leah exclaimed as she hugged him as well.

"I will!" He laughed. "I'll miss you guys the whole time."

"Awe, nonsense, we'll come see you," Quinn said, grabbing Sheridan's stroller. "But we better get home, Mom's expecting us. I'll call you later, Ally."

We all said our goodbyes before they left.

"Well, Maci, should we go help daddy get the rest of his things ready?" I asked, gently brushing a piece of her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Okay, mommy," she said. Austin grabbed her pacifier and popped it in her mouth as we went back into the main part of the house to get the rest of his things. He set Maci down and took off her outside clothes before she started playing with Pancakes.

"I just need to grab my bags from the bedroom. Can you go grab my acoustic? It's in the den," Austin told me. "And don't hide it on me this time."

I nodded and went off to the den where his acoustic guitar was sitting in the corner on the couch.

I grabbed the case for it and something fell out. I bent and scooped it up, seeing that it was a picture of me and Maci from Maci's first birthday.

I smiled and hugged the picture to my chest before sliding it back in the pocket, this time zipping it up so he wouldn't lose it. I put the guitar in its case and carried it out to the hallway with the rest of the equipment.

"Okay, I'm all set," Austin said coming back down the staircase, dragging his bags behind him. Maci came toddling in behind him, grabbing his leg for balance. She was still so small, only barely coming up to his knee in height.

"Jeez, how much clothes do you need? You pack like a girl!" I commented at the load of bags.

"I'll take that as a compliment. A guy's gotta look his best at all times," Austin said. "Well, this guy does, anyway."

I rolled my eyes just as Pancakes walked in.

"I'll see you when I get back, girl," Austin said, petting her. She whimpered and nudged his hand. "I'll miss you too," he said.

I heard a car pull up. "That'll be Trish and Dez." I bent to pick up Maci as I opened the door and walked outside, Austin right behind me.

"There's my favourite niece!" Trish exclaimed happily as she slid her sunglasses onto her head of curls. I set Maci down and she shrieked at the sight of her uncle and auntie. "Come here, sweet cheeks!"

Dez and Austin did their handshake thing before Dez said, "Pumped, dude? I've already got my gorilla onesie ready to go."

"You have a gorilla onesie?" I asked.

"Oh, he's not kidding. It's hideous," Trish said while she held Maci, making funny faces at her.

Dez glared. "It is not. It's so cool! It has gorilla feet and it even has a gorilla mask to wear with it! It's all furry and-"

I put up a hand. "Don't even think about wearing that around my daughter."

"Dez, who buys a onesie?" Austin asked.

"I got you a unicorn one."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Austin screamed. "Show me, show me, show me!" He stopped as we stared at him. "I mean...Cool, man, you know, uh, unicorns are alright. Psh, whatever."

I smirked.

"Let's see your ear and your tattoo!" Trish said to Austin and me. I pulled my hair back to show her while I pushed Austin's shirt up to reveal his left shoulder.

"That looks so pretty," Trish said in awe at Austin's tattoo. "Your piercing makes you look way more badass then you actually are," she added to me.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I told her.

"When are the buses coming again?" she asked.

"You're the manager. You should know," Austin said.

"No need to worry. There they are," Dez said. He was right; they were all pulling up to the curb of the street. He gasped. "They're so big! They'll be able to fit all of my onesies!"

"How many did you bring?" I asked.

He looked at me seriously. "Not enough, Ally...just not enough."

"That's all he brought for pyjamas. He has like thirty," Trish told me quietly so that only I could hear.

"What the hell?" I whispered back. She nodded in agreement.

Austin's crew greeted us before they started loading things on the bus. We all helped carry everything except for Trish; she wanted to watch Maci. Probably because she didn't want to help.

Every time something new went in the bus, I got even sadder. By the time everything was loaded, I was ready to crumble into a pile of Ally ashes.

"We'll see you in a month, Ally," Trish said as she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "I'll text you every day! It will go by really fast."

I smiled. "Sounds good, T."

She waved and peppered Maci with kisses. "Bye, angel cake. See you soon; I'll buy you a bunch of clothes so your mom can get mad at me."

I rolled my eyes and grinned as she got on the bus. Dez hugged me. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

"Did you?"

"No," he said, bursting into tears.

"Awe, Dez, don't cry!" I said. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll buy you a onesie while we're gone."

"You do that," I smiled.

"One more thing," he said. I nodded for him to continue. "Why does Trish call Maci food names?"

I laughed. "I don't know, Dez."

"I mean, Maci isn't food. She doesn't even look remotely appetizing. That's cannibalism!"

"Okay, Dez, you better get on the bus before you hurt yourself," Austin cut in.

Dez bent to hug Maci and kiss her on the cheek before climbing on the bus after Trish.

That left me, Austin, and Maci.

I took a deep breath. "Well...I guess this is goodbye."

Austin stepped towards me and enveloped me in a big hug, setting his cheek on my head. I threw my arms around him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," I said, my eyes stinging with tears.

Austin pulled back and wiped my eyes. "Don't cry, Als. It's not that long."

"A month is a long time," I whispered.

"I'll miss seeing your face every day," he said. He bent to pick up Maci. "And of course I'll miss you, princess."

"Daddy?" Maci said. "What's wrong, daddy?"

"I'm just a little sad, baby," Austin told her. He closed his eyes as he hugged Maci close to him and a tear escaped. "Daddy loves you so so so much, Mace." He pulled me into the hug. "I love both of you to death."

"You're going to have a great show tonight," I smiled through my own tears. "I know you will."

"Thanks, Als." He kissed Maci's head and both of her cheeks before handing her to me. He wiped his eyes. "I, uh..." He sniffed. "I better go."

I nodded sadly and he bent down to kiss me slowly. It tasted like salty tears. "I'll see you soon," he whispered when we broke apart.

I smiled and rubbed his arm as he grabbed his bag and opened the bus door. He glanced back at Maci and I with his eyes still glistening.

"Daddy!" Maci said, starting to cry with her arms stretched out towards him.

"Maci, daddy will see you soon," I told her, trying to calm her down.

"Maci, stay with your mom, okay? I love you!"

"But daddy!" She was full on wailing now.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I've got to go, I can't see her like this," Austin said, starting to get emotional. We looked each other for a second before I nodded and he quickly closed the tour bus door. The buses pulled away shortly after and before I knew it, they were gone.

"Maci, it's okay, I'm right here," I soothed, walking up the driveway. "Mommy's here."

A/N: Hope you liked it! :) Next update will be as soon as I can, same with Hate at First Sight.

Joelle xx

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