Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

As I have been proclaiming my love for chapter 11 for a while now; wait no more as it is here! I think you guys are really going to love this chapter. I mean, I really love it. I hope you guys do too!

Enjoy! I own nothing!

and now i'm back at your place

"... Austin."

The groggy noise of his voice filled his ears, yet it sounded muffled at the same time. Austin was beginning to feel his surroundings, coming out of the dark world of unconsciousness.

Austin turned over, wincing as something burned on the inside. It hurt. He struggled to open his eyes.

"Austin."

Austin was aware now, of someone shaking him gently. He groaned in pain. His head just registered the pain. His headache throbbed, making him screw his eyes shut again, not wanting to wake up. His limbs were screaming in pain, and his mind was just telling him to go back to sleep.

"Austin."

Austin blinked tentatively. His eyes were blurry at first, but then came into focus. Where the hell was he? Austin glanced around the room. It was dark expect for a little bit of light streaming through curtained windows. He squinted again and blinked. His eyes landed on someone looming over him.

Ally.

She had a worried look on her face. Her eyes had a sad glint in them and she was frowning at him. When she realized he was awake, her frown disappeared, breaking into a relieved smile.

"Oh my god!" She squealed, her hands cupping his face. She collapsed on top of him, effectively making his body go rigid. He relaxed again, however. She buried her face into the crook of his aching neck, sighing with relief. Austin tried hard not to groan in pain.

"Sorry!" She squeaked as he finally let out the moan he was holding due to her weight crushing his body. He nodded his head as she quickly sat up. Austin tried to get up too, but couldn't move his arms and legs. They burned with the effort he was putting them under to sit up.

"Don't," Ally warned. She just pushed him back down gently and looked at him with a sad expression. He mirrored her expression.

"...Why are you looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy?" He rasped. Austin cleared his throat and shut his eyes as his head throbbed a little. He regained consciousness as Ally spoke.

"Because you got pushed off of a fucking roof and just woke up?" She retorted a little incredulously. Austin gave her a little smile in which she just huffed.

"...You're cute when you're worried," he mumbled quietly. Ally just gave him a disbelieving smile and rolled her eyes a little. He could tell she was pleased, however. It was because of the wave of energy coming off of her. Austin sighed and slumped his head to the side. Maybe he could go back to sleep when this was done, he was feeling so tired...

"No, Austin. You've got to stay awake," Ally told him. Her hands were on his face again, gently patting his cheeks to get him to stay awake. He groaned and opened his eyes again. She was smiling at him, amused. He just stuck his tongue out at her. What's so funny about wanting to get some shut-eye?

"But I want to sleep," he whined. Ally giggled. He just sighed and looked around the room again. The bed was huge, probably a king sized. He glanced past Ally to look at the empty walls. They were a plain peach colour, with nothing on them. He looked at the dresser to his right. It was a vanity stand with makeup and hairbrushes. He returned his gaze to Ally.

"My room," she told him. Austin nodded. He figured that out already. Austin frowned, wondering how he got here.

"Dez was taking you home, b-but I wanted to. So he gave me a ten minute lecture not to do anything to you," she mumbled. Austin smiled a little bit. Typical Dez. What surprised him was that Ally wanted to help him out.

"Y-you wanted to take me home?" He asked incredulously. Ally nodded shyly, looking away. Austin felt a crazy grin creep onto his face as she turned back to face him. Ally just rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah..." She mumbled. He could tell there was a smile on her face as well. She turned to look at him again.

"Why'd you do it?" Ally asked in a soft tone. Her eyes looked like pools of enchanted liquid. She blinked at him. Her face was framed by a mass of soft curls, making her features seem lighter than they really were. He realized this was the first time he had seen her without her smoky eyes and edgy lipstick.

"Do what?" He asked, genuinely confused. Ally looked at him with her soft eyes. She fiddled with her sweater sleeves. It was a fleecy sweater that looked extra comfortable. Soft and comfortable.

"Why'd you provoke Gavin?" She asked. Austin blinked a few times before he answered. It was easy.

"Because you looked like you wanted out of that right away," he said. "A-and I heard that Gavin and Trent were making a bet to see who could get to you first at Kira's party," he said. Ally looked at him with such a sad expression, he wasn't sure who was in pain anymore.

"And it's just not right," he went on. No stopping him now. "Girls aren't meant to be possessed or prizes to be won. You have feelings too. And it's just, cruel to play someone like that." He huffed. That took a lot out of him. The room was silent for a bit. He was aware that they were both staring into each other's eyes. He was getting lost in them. It was like falling over and over again.

And he was falling hard.

Austin should know; he fell off a roof.

"I wanted to protect you," he whispered suddenly. It was true. That was all he was trying to do. Because he promised that he wouldn't hurt her.

Ally blinked at him. "...Really?" She whispered. Austin nodded his head. Or nodded his head as manageable as possible with a sore neck. Austin watched as she took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"D-do you," she swallowed, "Do you want to know wh-why I'm like this?" She whispered. Austin shook his head, not wanting to force this out of her now. Not when she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Only, only if you want to," he whispered back. Ally nodded and looked at him. He saw the little teardrops on the edge of her eyes, waiting to be shed. She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand before she started.

"I-it happened the summer before junior year. My family, we had a barbeque with all of our neighbours," she started quietly, her words already shaky. "My dad was working the grill while my mom went inside to get the pickles out. And then our neighbours started showing up. And my mom wasn't out of the house yet. So I went looking for her; orders from dad of course."

"A-and even before this, I knew something was up between them. They were constantly fighting subtly and shit," she mumbled. He nodded slowly. "And over the stupidest things too."

"So I went inside of my house," she gestured around her, "This house," corrected herself. "And walked into the living room. What do I see? My own mother getting it on with our next door neighbour," she sighed sadly. Austin watched as she let the tear slip from her eyes.

"And he was all like, 'What about Lester?' And mother goes, 'I don't care.'" Ally looked up at him through her gritted teeth. "I don't fucking care."

"I didn't say anything. I was so disgusted," she murmured. "They broke up a few weeks later with a lot of screaming, and throwing things around. I still remember the walls shaking, and their angry voices echoing through the paper-thin walls." Ally shook her head sadly. Austin watched her with half-lidded eyes, feeling a little drowsy, but at the same time, shocked out of his mind.

"And I was so hurt. I was so hurt that they didn't tell me anything until it was done. Mom moved away to Africa or some other shit. Dad likes to go out and 'have fun,' all the time. Comes home drunk every morning. Sometimes not even for a week."

"School was rolling around, and I prominently just gave up after that. I stopped believing in love. If that's what love is, I never want to go through that." Ally was clenching her bed sheets with her little hands. Tears were streaming down her face. Austin thought she had never looked more beautiful. So was so vulnerable, so manipulative, and yet, she was the one who manipulated everyone.

"I-I..." She hiccupped. "I needed a way to numb the pain," she said quietly. At first, Austin thought she meant cutting, but she just shook her head.

"I just, went for it and never looked back. And it made me forget about it in such a good way. But I never got attached to anyone for too long; that was the danger zone. I didn't want to get hurt and left, just like my dad. I didn't want to end up in a heap of nothing more than an angry heap of wasted love," she mumbled. The bed was wet with tears now. Austin wanted so badly to hold her and never let her go. She needed such a big hug right now.

"What really bothers me, is when people think they can 'figure me out.' And when all they do is try to get close so they can expose my darkest secrets," she sighed. "What's the fun in exposing a broken girl with a twisted family?" Ally was now clutching her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth on her bottom. Austin watched as she returned her glassy eyes to him.

"Have you ever been in love? I mean, before you gave up on it?" He asked her after a while of silence. Ally whipped around a looked at him in confusion, she sniffed.

"Love is overrated."

"How would you know what someone in love is going through if you've never been in love. Your parents must've been through and rough time, and you're just assuming that one of them was doing something wrong," he told her. Ally stayed silent. Austin watched as her tears began to dry up, she wiped at her red, tired eyes.

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked quietly. Austin turned to look at her. He shook his head indicating a no.

"But..."

"But?"

"But, I've been studying people. And I could say that there are two types of lovers in the world," he began slowly. "There are the hopeless romantics and realists. A hopeless romantic is someone who is sure that they'll find their soul mate one day, being fed lies about how the word and love works; always waiting. And realists, well, they just bang with every pretty girl they see. And sometimes, I'm afraid, if someone doesn't fit into either two, what do they fit in?" He sighed.

Ally was looking at him with a certain intensity in her eyes.

"You sure know a lot about love, for someone who's never been in love," she said quietly. Austin shrugged.

"You, you fit in with the realists. You just go for it and never look back once. And when you're done, you find the next thing that amuses you and you go for it. There's no stopping someone like you." Ally smiled just a little bit at his oddly phrased kind words.

"I don't know where I fit in," he admitted. "I'm not a hopeless romantic or a realist." He watched as Ally leaned over him, almost closing the gap between their bodies. Her arms were on either side of his injured body. She looked at him right in the eye.

"I think, I know exactly where you fit in," she said softly. Her eyes were glassy with pain and emotion, but he saw a certain twinkle in them. "You fit in with the lovers known as the keepers," she mumbled quietly, though her eyes were sparkling. "You see things and know exactly what to do. Because you seek justice for love. And, however you show it is up to you. And people like that should be kept, and stick around for a long time," Ally finished. Austin stared at her, wondering how this tiny girl knew so much when all she did was live in her own little world.

The way they were both staring at each other made his insides flutter. He couldn't help it anymore. Austin prepared himself and then used all his might.

He abruptly sat up and captured her soft lips in a kiss. And he was sure he was doing this right, because she sat up too. Ally wrapped her tiny, pale arms around his neck, straightening her legs so she wrapped them around his body through the blanket.

Their tongues were already sliding along each others. His insides fluttered with nervousness and happiness, but his body felt heavy as lead. He kissed her harder, making sure she knew that she was loved.

The desperate kisses became more deep and passionate. He wanted to remember this moment. His eyes were closed, but he wanted this to be burned into his brain for a long time. Her touch. Her scent. Her.

Ally grabbed the hair at the base of his neck and pulled him down as they broke for air at the same time. The noises that their mouths were making were making him love her all the more. His arms found her back and pushed her against him.

Austin gently left her mouth, hearing her whimper in the process. He glided his nose along hers for a brief moment, rubbing it softly. Her skin was so soft. He let his nose travel down her cheek to her neck. He gently kissed the skin there, feeling a little bruise. He opened his eyes for a tentative peek when he remembered that Gavin put it there.

Austin gently moved his mouth lower until it reached her collarbone, placing light kisses as he went. He pushed Ally backwards until she was laying on her back against her king-sized bed. He moved his mouth to her other neck and kissed it softly. He heard the content sighs coming from Ally as she ran her hands up and down his back gently. She sent shivers going down his spine.

Austin finally found her mouth again. He placed a soft but passionate kiss on them. He had the sudden urge to go around again, but his body told him otherwise. He was growing tired from holding himself up. He pulled away, but not before placing a small peck on her nose.

Austin loomed over her, making sure he gave nothing away. Ally broke into a huge grin, giggling suddenly. Austin raised an eyebrow, wincing when it hurt. He touched it gently to find a cut placed right on top of his brow.

They stayed silent for awhile before Ally sat up and pulled him into a hug. And he hugged her back, so hard. He never wanted to let go. All he wanted to do was hold her until all her broken pieces were all back together, and she was one again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." She mumbled as she kissed his ear softly, moving down to his neck to bury her head in the crook.

end part eleven

How was that for a chapter huh? :)

Just to make a certain disclaimer clear, the thing about hopeless romantics and realists was from the movie Stuck in Love. It stars Lily Collins and Logan Lerman if you guys ever wanna check it out.

Once again, thank you for all the amazing reviews and support you've given to the story! I'm super happy you guys are enjoying it! One review in particular, made a pun regarding to the story; which I thought was funny. You know who you are. ;)

Alright, please leave a review and tell me what you think! Next chapter is also one of my favourites, personally... Just the way it turned out. :)