First off: I apologize for not updating in what seems like forever and probably is like forever! School has started once again. The first week of senior year can honestly be summed up in three not so great words: hungry, cranky, tired. I don't know what it is! Guess I'm just stressed about applying for colleges and the SATs and stuff. However I am actually taking AP Psychology (like Ally) and we have this Sleep/Dream Project right now where we're basically supposed to write down what we dream about every night until October. That should be interesting, right? Also, I went to one of my best friend's birthday parties yesterday, so that was fun since I really needed some de-stressing time. But anywho, I just want to thank you guys SO MUCH for making this reach over 400 reviews! It is absolutely amazing, and your guys' dedication to reviewing and just reading in general is what inspires and drives me to continue this story. A lot of questions are answered in this chapter, you'll see what I mean! OH YEAH, AND WHO HAS SEEN THE PASS ME BY MUSIC VIDEO, I CAN'T EVEN. Okay, continuing...

"He said what?" Trish hissed during AP Psychology. My eyes widened at how loud that "hiss" actually was by the fact that half the students in the classroom were staring at us incredulously. I leaned in closer to her.

"He said that he's over Kira," I whispered, biting my lip guiltily.

"Ally, this is great! Isn't this what you've been waiting for?" she asked eagerly, her face radiating.

I felt my shoulders shrug, then slump. "I guess, but... I don't know, Trish. It doesn't feel right."

I sighed, tapping my pen against our notebook, which was now in fact chalk full with quite a lot of information on platonic friendships. Our first presentation of analysis was coming up, so we had been practicing what to say during the class period. Lately, though, it'd been hard to focus.

Sure, this was the moment that I'd been waiting for ever since I was a little girl. The moment when Austin would finally open his eyes and realize that I had been in front of him all along. The moment when I would suddenly become his perfect girl, when I would become the kind of girl he wanted to be with.

But a lot of things have changed since then.

Not only has the New Ally somewhat gotten over her stage fright, but she's also changed as a person itself. I'm not the same girl anymore. Somewhere along the way of getting a new hair style and trying new things, something inside me has changed. And maybe it's something cheesy like my spirit, or maybe it's just my perspective on life in general, but I've realized that...

I want to be loved for me, exactly the way I am, quirks and all. And I'm not about to conform and become something entirely different because of one single boy, no matter how special he may be to my heart.

"If he's jealous, then he's willing to work for it," Trish stated. "Simple as that."

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt," I mumbled. "Especially Kira."

Trish snorted, rolling her eyes. "Why not? Friendly reminder: she hasn't exactly been the bestest friend towards you."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I should do the same to her. I just wish things would fall into place, but now it seems like all the puzzle pieces are trying too hard to fit into one another."

She shot me an odd look. "Your analogies confuse me," she chuckled. "But I see where you're coming from." She pondered my words for a moment, and then I immediately saw the light bulb above her head go off. "Here's an analogy for you: if you want to eat candy, go on a diet."

I blinked. "What?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm saying: if Austin tries to rush things, then don't oblige or give in. You're a different person now, Ally, don't think I haven't noticed. Make him work things out on his own, fight the urge to drop subtle hints here and there. Plus you're right, he needs to break up with Kira first if he really wants to be with you. Jumping from girl to girl is never a good thing, and you don't want to be the rebound."

I nodded. "What would I do without you?" I laughed.

She giggled. "Probably jump off the ship and give up."

I blatantly stared at her for a solid minute before replying. "You really need to work on your analogies."

I had been searching for him all day, which is really something coming from the fact that our campus isn't all that ginormous. Every corner I turned, I hoped he'd be there so that I could ask him, so that I could explain to him and seek advice. There was one last place to go that seemed reasonable enough.

The theater was empty, but the stage was illuminated by a single spot, strictly on him. He sat near the edge like he usually did, frowning and staring down at his hands. I slowly walked towards him, then carefully hopped up onto the stage and took a seat next to him.

When he didn't move, I opened my mouth.

"Elliot," I breathed. He looked up at me, sending me a smile that told me he'd been waiting. I sighed in relief. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Why?" he scoffed. I gulped, fiddling with the hem of my dress.

"I need to ask you something," I sighed. He looked up at me in alarm. "How did you know?"

He blinked many times. "How did I know what?" he asked, feigning innocence. I rolled my eyes, punching him in the arm.

"How did you know that Austin liked me this whole time?" I demanded. His jaw dropped to the floor and I raised my eyebrows triumphantly. "Ha! So it's true! He really has! I can't believe you kept this from me, do you know how many times I've-"

He covered my mouth with his hand to keep me from exploding. He gave me a knowing look and I slumped my shoulders. "That's why. Ally, it was so obvious that he had feelings for you. So I decided to do my part and try to help you..."

"...by making him jealous," I said, filling in the blanks. Elliot nodded. "So you never really liked me?"

"Well..." he laughed. "I didn't in the beginning, but then... I don't know, I got to know you more and you actually turned out to be beautiful on the inside just as much as you were on the outside." I felt my face turning red. "Cupid just happened to hit me."

I ran my fingers strenuously through my hair. "I'm so lost," I admitted. He chuckled.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I wanted Austin to figure it out on his own. That's why I tried getting it out of him at the amusement park."

I snapped my fingers in realization. "Right, you guys were talking about me and he was about to say something but then Kira interrupted."

Elliot looked at me bluntly. "You were eavesdropping?"

I felt the tips of my ears heat up. "It's a bad habit," I said, biting my lip. "But what about in the recording studio? What did he say to you then?"

Elliot took a deep breath. "All he said was that he didn't want some douchebag dating you and-"

"He called you a douchebag?" I giggled. Elliot glared and I cleared my throat. "Sorry, continue."

"And then I said, 'That's why she's not dating you.'"

My eyes widened. "You said that to him?!"

He nodded. "I almost expected another fight to break out right then and there, but I think that's when it hit him."

"When what hit him?" I asked.

Elliot sighed, shaking his head. "That he was in love with you, silly."

I nervously laughed. "Oh... right."

Silence surrounded us for a moment before Elliot read my mind.

"It's not a lie, Ally. I know you're expecting him to just change his mind and go back to Kira, but he's in too deep to turn back now. He's not going anywhere."

"Maybe I want him to go away!" I exclaimed, folding my arms. "Maybe I don't even like him anymore! Maybe I like you!"

Elliot smiled. "But you and I both know that none of those things are true." He took both my hands in his, and I felt my throat closing in and my eyes welling up. "You don't want him to leave you, in fact, him leaving may just be one of your biggest fears. And I know that even though you've been trying so hard to get over him, he's always going to be a part of your heart."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it when I couldn't find the words.

"And as much as it sorta hurts that you're the first girl I've actually had pretty solid feelings for..." Elliot trailed off, sighing, "I know that I can never replace Austin because... well, he's Austin."

I laughed at the irony of it all because every single thing he had just said was the absolute truth. I'd been fooling myself, trying to create another illusion, a trick of light.

But I guess you can't always run away from love, no matter how hard you try.

"I'm sorry that I can't like you back," I mumbled, squeezing his hands. He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

"It's okay," he replied, smiling. "You're a special girl, Ally. But you're not mine."

"I don't know what to do anymore," I gulped.

"How about you stop figuring out what to do and let him try for a change. He has a brain, you know."

I threw my head back, laughing. "That's not what I meant!"

"Come on," he said, jumping off the stage and lending me a hand. "We need to go over the script."

"Mini's?" I asked, smiling.

He nodded in agreement. "Mini's it is."

I was at my locker the next day when I heard someone say it.

"They broke up."

Three words, a small whisper, yet my ears managed to pick up the sound somehow. I continued to search my locker for my Economics notebook while listening carefully to the conversation.

"Really? Why?"

"I heard it was because he cheated on her."

"You're talking about Austin Moon, right? He's way too nice to cheat. I heard it was because he likes someone else now."

"But did you hear that he just got signed to Starr Records? Do you think her dad is going to revoke that now that they've broken up?"

"Good point... I have no idea..."

That was when I decided to tune out. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I quickly scrambled to get it.

To: Ally
From: Austin
1:30 p.m.
We need to talk. Meet me behind the cafeteria.

I gulped, my thumbs shaking as they typed back a reply.

To: Austin
From: Ally
1:31 p.m.
Okay, see you soon.

I shut my locker door and made my way through the groups of students. My heart was pounding. Is this what it felt like when confrontation with the boy you loved was about to happen? I was nearly there when my feet stopped walking.

I needed to breathe. I needed to ask myself...

Is this what I wanted? Is this how I wanted it to happen? I shook my head, stomping towards the back area and there he stood.

That messy mop of blonde hair, that stupid coral blue T-shirt, that look he got on his face when he felt nervous and excited at the same time. He opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it.

"Don't," I said, holding up my hand. His mouth shut immediately in surprise. "Don't say anything if you don't mean it. I'm not the rebound, Austin, and I don't want to be the rebound. So I want you to think, think for a really long time about everything that's happened between us since summer, since the school year began, and I just want you to think this through because I don't think I can handle another-"

He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. My eyes squeezed shut as I tried to register what was happening. He was kissing me.

Austin was kissing me.

His lips were on my lips and they felt warm and safe and a little needy. His hands cupped themselves around my face, and they felt a little rough, probably from sports. I could feel the callus on his palm, and suddenly my face felt very small as he cradled it, his lips moving against mine over and over. I gently pulled away in shock. My whole body was humming, buzzing, tingling. Every part of me felt alive and I wanted to replay it again and again, I wanted to write a million songs about it, I wanted to jump onto clouds in the sky. He gulped, his eyes turning a light shade of brown as he tried searching into mine.

"Say something," he said. I blinked.

"I don't know what to say," I heard myself speak. I felt like I was having an out of body experience, hearing someone else speak these words and commit these actions.

"We broke up," he mumbled.

"I heard," I replied.

"And... she wasn't mad."

That caught me by surprise. "She wasn't?"

"She said that she understood, that it only made sense."

"That it only... made sense..." I repeated numbly.

I felt a pinky lace through mine and I looked down as he slowly intertwined his fingers through mine. I observed him as he did this, as he gulped, as his cheeks turned pink, as his eyes softened and a small smile grew on his face. I had dreamed about what this would feel like.

This. Him wanting to hold my hand, him wanting to kiss me, him wanting me.

"I need to think," I admitted. He nodded.

"Take all the time you need."

"I don't even know... I don't know if we should do this," I said. His face fell.

"I understand," he said softly.

"I just..." I looked into his eyes and found a million emotions running through them. He was scared, happy, nervous, sad...

He was everything I had been for the past thirteen years. He was in my shoes, he was on my page.

"I need to think about everything," I mumbled as he tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "Before you explain, I just need to think."

I had a lot of thinking to do tonight.

The teapot kettle whistled and Mom took it off the stove, handing me my steaming cup of hot coffee. She sat down at the table across from me, her eyes shining as she softly smiled at me. We were both wrapped up in our comfortable robes and pajamas. Crickets were quietly chirping outside, and only a small slice of the moon could be seen tonight.

"So he kissed you?" she asked. I looked up in surprise.

"How did you know?" Could I really be that easily read?

"Honey, it's all over your face," she chuckled, taking a sip of coffee from her own mug. "That's exactly how I looked like after I got my first kiss."

I snorted. "What makes you think that was my first kiss?"

She blinked. "Was it not?"

"Nope," I said. Her eyebrows rose in alarm. "Don't worry, Mom, I haven't been kissing every boy in sight or anything drastic like that."

She sighed in relief. "What was it like?"

I felt my face grow warm and couldn't stop myself from cracking a small smile. "It definitely wasn't how I expected it to be. But... that's what made it perfect." I took a small sip from my cup. "Is that weird?"

"Sometimes it's the imperfections that can create something special," she reminded me. I nodded. "Ally, do you know what I see when I look at you?"

I shook my head. She sighed, settling her cup down onto the table.

"I see my beautiful, intelligent, kind daughter who has a big, forgiving heart," she said. I felt tears slipping down my cheeks and I wasn't quite sure why. "Alls, I know you're scared. Love is... it's a scary thing. But it's always worth the risk."

"What if I get hurt? What if it's not real?" I asked, using my sleeves to swipe at my cheeks.

"It's not going to be easy. But your relationship with Austin... it's stronger than you think. You both have been best friends for such a long time. It's not going to be the smoothest transition, but you have to at least give it a chance. If he hurts you, then just remember that I was in the wild for many years and I have picked up instant killing tactics."

I laughed. "But then you would go to jail," I replied. She smiled.

"You're worth the risk," she said, walking over to give me another one of her gigantic and long motherly hugs. She kissed the top of my head.

"You always know just what to say," I whispered.

"I'm supposed to, I'm your mother."

That night, as I lie in bed, staring up at the ceiling once again, my phone vibrates. I reach over, grabbing it from my desk, and open up the text.

To: Ally
From: Kira9:57 p.m.

At first, I'm scared to read it. What if she says horrible, mean things? Then I won't be able to get any sleep and I'll feel really crappy, more than I already do feel at the moment. I force myself to look down at the glowing screen.

Now is that someday. Take it. I'm okay.

I stared at these eight words, three sentences, for a long time. I overanalyzed it, I dissected it, I deciphered it, and then I smiled. Because maybe she was right.

That someday was finally within my reach, it had finally arrived. Maybe if I let it, maybe if I had a little faith...

Everything would be okay.

OH SNAP CRACKLE POP RICE KRISPIES he kissed her! I really wanted to write the kiss scene, so I thought: Why not just put it in this chapter already? So I did! Hopefully I did it some justice, I don't know, I'm hoping. I really wanted Ally to feel shocked and confused afterwards because she was going to give him a piece of her mind and then he just shut her up by kissing her. I don't know about you (but I'm feeling 22, no I'm only kidding), but I'd feel pretty shocked and confused, too. You know the drill: Leave a review if you want letting me know how I'm doing and what your guys' lovely opinions are, or Tweet me, this option is also available! My Twitter username can be located on my profile page so just go there if you need it or PM me. I love you guys WITH a FIERY IRREPLACEABLE BURNING PASSION. *p.s. I will be updating most likely on the weekends now since during the weekdays I am swamped in homework, so just bear with me!*