Not a lot of people have been reading lately; might end soon. A few more chapters maybe? I'll think more about it later. Thanks to those reading now. :)

I wake with a jolt. I almost fall out of Austin's arms, but he tightens his grip. I look at my surroundings and realize we're outside on my patio. I look at Austin. He looks absolutely horrified.

"What?" I ask, confused. I stand from his hold.

"Are you okay?" he asks. "You were mumbling and you sounded like you were in pain." He starts fidgeting.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I lie.

"You had that dream again, didn't you..." It was more of a statement rather than a question, but I still nod slowly in response. He sighs and gently takes my hand in his. "You're okay now, though?"

I simply nod again. I smile at him.

"Okay," he relaxes.

"Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you love me?"

He laughs. He laughs this loud and genuine and heartwarming laugh. He stands up and says, "I love you for so many reasons, Ally. You couldn't possibly know. Maybe I don't even know half of them. But I know that I do and that's what matters."

I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. "Yeah, but with so many reasons to love you, I can't think of any to love me. Like I know that I'm a good friend. In my heart I know that my friends are important and I'll be there if they need me. But why do you love me? What's different now than before all that happened?"

He smiles at me. He goes to close the door to my room all of the way before sitting gently on the swing with me.

AUSTIN'S POINT OF VIEW

When I sit down, I looked her square in the eye and told her. Told her everything.

"Ally, I guess because you're so genuine. You are this real person, with plans and goals and talents. You don't cover yourself in makeup. You wear a little bit of eyeliner and mascara. Some days you wear eyeshadow. You even put on blush to mask your real blush, but I can always see through it because you turn this rosy gold pink that compliments your face the way a sunset compliments the ocean. You have this wholesome smile and beautiful chocolate eyes and hair that Lady Godiva herself would envy.

"You had the opportunity to go to MUNY and you turned it down because you wanted to stay with us. We kind of pulled you back and I''m sorry we stopped you from going to your dream school. Ally, I really am. But I'm not sorry that you're still here with me... Erh, with us." I chuckle.

"You are an amazing friend. Even when I wouldn't be a great friend to you or I'd write stupid songs or I'd play instruments within instruments and eat in the store when you said not to, or when Dez makes childish remarks or goes from a child-like being to a philosopher in 2 seconds flat, or when Trish comes in to the store every day announcing her new job or tries to make every moment about her, you stay sane. You smile and nod your head at the right times and you really do care about others.

"You sing beautifully and you play beautifully and you're very forgiving and you're so small and you seem so fragile and I know in my heart that you're not. You're so, so strong. But it doesn't stop me from being protective and you're okay with it.

"You prioritize. You think things through. You're smart. You're all that many kids wish they were.

"And..." I stop for a moment to think. "And I don't think anything changed – like the way I feel for you. Maybe I've always felt this way. Maybe I just didn't realize how much I cared until I saw you, pale skin and blue lips, cold and comatose, on the verge of dying. Maybe I just didn't realize how much I've been avoiding feeling this way.

"Ally, when you were in the hospital the first time, I knew it. I felt something tear itself from within me when I saw you there, looking helpless and lifeless. When Trent got you, all I could think about was how I always neglect to tell you that I love you before it's too late. All I could think was, this isn't it, right?

"When I found you. When you looked at me with that desperate look and loving eyes and I took you in my arms, it took all the strength left in me to love you as much as you loved me in that moment. I knew that that was all you needed. You needed to feel loved after being hurt for so long...

"When I saw the caterpillar in the room with you, I was filled with this new sense of hope." By now the tears were falling down my face but my voice didn't crack. I spoke with such power and certainty. I hoped it was enough for her. "I don't know how to explain why a caterpillar had such control over me. But it kind of reminded me of you when you were in the hospital. I guess that since you came out from that situation okay, I knew that you'd come out okay for this, too. And even though it haunts you every night, even though everything did happen, and even though I can't express my feelings as well as I'd like to, I want – no... I need you to know that I love you."

And before she could react, I took my face in my hands and kissed her. We kissed so passionately I felt like we were literally turning in to a cheesy love story. Maybe that's what love is really like and all the overrated movies portray it perfectly. Maybe people don't like or appreciate it because not everyone has had the privilege of experiencing true love. I felt like I was sitting in a theatre watching this horrible movie and listening to the gut-wrenching sounds of girls – and Dez – crying out every tear in their bodies. Maybe I just envied that even fake characters could find love and I couldn't.

But here, with Ally, I know what love is. It's horrible and it's sappy and it's annoying and it's beautiful and it's perfect. It's the way I look at Ally and the way that she looks at me. It's how our lips are pressed together so she doesn't have to say anything in response to me. Because I know she's speechless. It's how her tears are combining in salty messes on our cheeks and we couldn't care less.

"I love you," I whisper on her lips.