Hey. This is it. The chapter I have been dying for since this story started. It's like a runner with a broken leg finally crossing the finish line. (weird analogy) I tried so hard to make this perfect. Enjoy!

Austin asked me to meet him at the park. I was skeptical about it because it sounded like bad news was about to be revealed. And it was.

He sat at one of the picnic tables, staring at the pavement. I walked faster because I didn't want to waste anymore of his time. I felt like a disappointment to most people, like I was unwanted. After all, it was the 20-day anniversary of my becoming an orphan.

"Hey." I said shyly. Our contact had somewhat broken off and had not been as strong as it used to be since my parents' deaths. In fact, this was the first time that we talked in person since then.

"Uh, hi. Ally, I am so sorry."

"About what?"

"You see, my parents went to some thing in California and they offered them a huge profit for their store. They can open up one there and you know how Californians are about their mattresses," I nodded, even though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We... have to move there.."

My eyes widened at those four words that are good, basic words to learn in the English language, but when they are put together, it's like being shot thousands of time. Bonnie and Clyde were shot about a hundred times, but even that overkill doesn't compare to this one. "What?" I wanted him to say it again because I didn't believe it.

"I have to move to California. But it's only for like four years."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Four years? Are you joking? Is someone going to pinch me and tell me that you are not moving and that my parents didn't die?"

He hesitated to say, "No."

"Why can't you just move in with a relative?"

"I don't know."

"Ask your parents."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

He was silent and finally said something. "They never listen to what I say. It's all about money and mattresses and... other stupid stuff."

I sighed and sat on his side of the table or bench or whatever this thing was. It was starting to appeal more as a bench. "Do you have to go?"

"I don't have a choice."

"I don't want to lose you."

"Ally, it's not about loss. It's about what you gain and you'll gain a lot by getting rid of me." This was the only thing in the history of things he had said to me that was wrong and had never ever happened. I didn't gain anything; I had lost more. I wonder if he had stayed would I have been okay through all of those years. I wonder if I had told him how much he really meant to me then would that have changed some things when he got back. I can add that to the list of unanswered questions.

Tears had started to flow down my cheeks. "You promise?" I said in a crackled whisper.

He just sighed. "Ally, I can't promise that. I can't tell the future."

"I wish you could. Then I could ask you if we ever see each other again."

"We will, if that's our true fate."

"Oh, forget fate! Fate isn't real. Was I destined since my birth to lose my parents and lose you?! To lose everything? Does God hate me? Is he even real?" At this point, I was shouting crazy things and some questions, that he never answered because, I suppose, he simply did not know the answer.

"Ally, calm down."

I only fussed at those words. His moving away was a whole lot better than Elliot's. Well, his hurt more, but he told me better, handled it better. Austin was better. He was always better. At everything. One more thing: He loved me, cared for me better.

"You have to stay." I whispered.

I knew he wanted to. It was as if at that moment, I knew everything he wanted. Me. "I can't control what happens. The future, my own fate, I can't control it!"

His eyes stared at me for what seemed like hours. Just hours, a staring match. "I know." I told him, breaking the silence. Our lips connected in a way that would make people at kissing booths take notes. In a way that made both of us want more. In a way that made it all a bittersweet goodbye.

"I'll be back. For you." he whispered in my ear. He left that Saturday and I had wanted to cry, but I couldn't. And I didn't. I loved him in a way that not even words could describe, but I would never get to tell him that. There were so many things I would never get to tell him.

He made all of the pain go away. He made everything better. Because he was better than any other creature I had ever come across.

The last words he said to me that echoed in my head for three years was: I'll see you again because we are meant to be. Had he stayed, had everything been okay like he said it would, I might have believed those words. And I might have heard his heart beat for me, even though we were thousands of miles apart, much sooner than I did.

I don't know why, but I felt some surge of power or energy go through me, like I was ready to get through this day. I was and I was most definitely sure of it. Part of me knew that today wasn't going to be awkward. It was going to be magical, more or less.

This morning, apparently, I wasn't the first one to awake. I didn't know what Austin was doing, but I didn't bother to go see. I sat and thought random thoughts until I heard Austin. "Uh, hey." I said, without looking at him. I knew he was there; I didn't need to look.

He looked as if he had been thinking. Something was on his mind, something that seemed to be important. I wanted to say that it had something to do with me, with what happened yesterday.

Mostly out of impulse, I went over to him and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. I wanted to be friendly, but I didn't want to make the first move. What if nothing worked out? Things would be worse than they were before. Of course, I was wrong.

"Ally-"

"No, it's... fine. It was stupid. I just... I don't know." I said, a blush on my face for no more than four seconds.

The fact that he wasn't freaking out was enough to keep me sane in the moment. "It wasn't stupid. It was..." he stopped. We both stared at each other. Our eyes met in the slowest way possible. It was as if our eyes were telling our minds... please. Do it. Do it. I knew I wasn't going to be the one to do something. I knew that I didn't have enough courage or belief in myself that I could. Do it, I kept telling myself.

His lips crashed onto mine, as if the world was about to end. If it was, I wouldn't mind spending my last few moments with him. I felt my stomach churning. I was nervous and definitely not an experienced kisser. I wrapped my arms around his neck, his around my waist. For once, it was as if things were looking up for... life. Never had things been in my favor until today. I wasn't in control, but I could decide. It was my choice. Our lips moved in sync, but the real question was if our hearts moved in sync, which made no sense when it first came to my mind. We both backed up, realizing that if we didn't soon, we both would die from lack of oxygen. To be honest, in a non-cliché way, he was all the oxygen that I needed. He was my sanity, the thing that kept me going.

I pressed my forehead against his. "Did that just happen? Or am I dreaming?" Leave it to me to say something like that after freaking amazing kiss.

"I think I have to ask myself that." he said softly, in a voice that I wouldn't have been able to hear if we weren't so close.

"Austin," I began. "Never let me go. In spite of all the stupid stuff I do, please. Never let me go. Okay?"

"Ally. I don't need to be told. I was never going to."

"Austin." I sighed his name before letting our lips meet again. It was like the one just minutes before, but only longer, sweeter, and if I listened closely enough, I could hear the beat of his heart, for me, louder than any drum in the whole entire world. And slowly, I started to realize that this beat, this song, had been recorded a long time ago, waiting to be touched. It was just up to me to press play. It's been touched, it's been heard, but it hasn't, and never will be, forgotten.

"I can't control what happens. The future, my own fate, I can't control it!" I wanted to forget these words so badly, but I couldn't. Because I keep pressing play until I believe it. I believed that the future was out of our control, but I didn't believe that something would isolate us again, since so much has already.

It was true.

I can't control what happens. The future, my own fate, I can't control it!

I can't control it!

Yay yay YAY! It happened, I did it. I have been waiting for this for SO longggg. I also have yet to experience my first real kiss so I may be way off on describing it. It didn't really turn out like I had envisioned, but it still seems okay. Oh and in this scenario, she means "go" as in "leave" (I don't know if I have to point that out) So... what do you think? Will Austin and Ally last or will Ally (or Austin, we never know, well, I do, but...) do something stupid to ruin it? I guess we shall see, but don't let your fear of Ally ruining it get in the way of your hope. : )