Hello lovelies, thank you for being so patient with the updates! I just finished studying for an Anatomy test I have tomorrow, so it's all good and I finally have free time. I've been itching to write cute Auslly scenes, I'm dead serious. And it really just hit me that in a few weeks we'll be seeing the unblocked Auslly kiss... like... their lips will be touching... and... I'm gonna die. ANYHOO. I really, really, REALLY cannot thank you all enough for just always taking the time to read this story! It really means the absolute world to me, each and every one of you are amazing people. Thanks for always reviewing, favoriting and following- all that jazz, it makes me happy! Okay. Here we go, new chapter, let's begin... Warning: the beginning of this chapter includes Math, bear with me, you don't have to understand it. For those of you who do know pre-cal, then you got this.

"So for (f+g)(3), all that means is f(3) = 2(3) - 5, which will give you 1. You just have to plug in the numbers with the equations that they give you," I explained, tapping my pencil lightly to each step on the page. Austin slowly nodded, a smile forming on his face as his eyes lit up in recognition.

"I get it now!" he happily exclaimed, so overjoyed that he grabbed the pencil out of my hand and began to do the next problem. "So for (fg)(-1) all you have to do is f(-1) = 2(-1) - 5, and you get -7?"

"Exactly!" I replied, making the mistake of looking up into those big brown eyes of his. The air grows still and his eyes flicker down to my lips as he starts to lean in. I clear my throat and quickly move my head back down to the page. "Austin..."

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm still getting used to this."

I sighed. "I know."

"Have you been thinking?" he asked hopefully. I fought the urge to chew on a chunk of my hair.

"Yeah, I have."

He leaned in closer. "Is there any way to speed up your thinking process?" he asked teasingly. I glared at him. "I'm kidding."

"Austin," I said, getting up from the table and walking over to the fridge. "I have been thinking a lot." I took out a carton of orange juice and began to pour myself a glass. I looked over at him and found him staring at me with eager eyes. I bit my lip. How adorable. "But I still think we should take our time with this."

How I could talk about this so calmly and nonchalantly, I was still unsure of. For a majority of my life, I had been in love with Austin. Then for a small portion, I had tried to get over him, which turned out to be a complete and utter failure, not to mention a giant emotional train wreck for me. And to top it all off, exactly two days ago, he had kissed me.

My best friend that I have been in love- and currently am in love with- kissed me.

Maybe it was the reassuring words of my mother.

...Okay no, that wasn't really it.

The point of it all was, now that the moment had finally arrived for Austin and I to actually be together, it all seemed to be coming too fast. What if this ruined our friendship? Then I would lose my best friend. What if college ended up driving us apart? Then I'd lose my boyfriend and my best friend.

I guess you could say that as of this moment I'm a little bit of a teenage mess.

"Ally," he said, rising from his chair and walking over to me. He squeezed both of my hands. I gulped.

I'm also trying to adjust to his now extremely romantic gestures towards me. And let me tell you, the struggle is real.

"I. Want. To. Be. With. You," he declared, emphasizing every single word and annunciation. The words rang crystal clear, yet I still felt my heart clench in fear. "Just you. Only you. Not anybody else, not Kira, Cassidy, not even Selena Gomez."

My eyebrows rose in amusement. "But you love Selena Gomez."

A small smile played on his lips as his eyes moved back and forth, observing my face. I suddenly felt my cheeks growing warm. "What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I am the stupidest guy on Earth," he sighed.

I blinked. "Austin, you're going to ace your Math test tomorrow, don't worry."

He stared at me for a moment before laughing and wrapping me into a long hug. "That's not what I meant," he murmured, hugging me tighter.

I shifted my feet uncomfortably around the stage, still trying to adjust to these shoes that Ariel had to wear. I looked across the stage at Elliot, who winked at me. I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"People, people, people!" Miss Lu screamed, and I snapped to attention. "The back drop needs more color. Where is Andy?!"

Andy, our head of props, raced onto the stage, his glasses hanging off the bridge of his nose. He looked at me and I motioned for him to fix it. He turned a shade of red and adjusted them.

"Yes?" he asked. Andy was a bit of a nervous fidgeter. Like now, his foot was tapping against the floor at an unsteady beat, I might add.

"More paint!" she screeched. He ran off to God knows where, probably all the way to Hawaii to find the perfect shade of ocean blue for the back drop. Did I mention he's a perfectionist? Miss Lu was honestly driving us all nuts. I looked around at everyone. The atmosphere was tense, everyone's posture was rigid, and even I found myself gritting my teeth. "The show is on in two days. We have put sweat and tears into this play. Now come on, practice makes perfect! Scene three, Elliot, Ally, let's move it!"

But I found myself glued to the spot. It was hitting me real hard. The play was on in two days, and this auditorium would be filled to the brim with people expecting something good, something close to perfection. The only question left was:

Am I ready?

"I'm not ready," I panicked to Trish after school. She sat me down in a chair at Mini's, ordered us both burgers and milkshakes, then opened her mouth to speak.

"Ally, this is your moment to shine," she began. I deadpanned. "Okay, that was terrible. Let me try again." She sighed. "Ally, you've been cooped up your whole life, wondering what it feels like to be in the spotlight, to actually have a crowd cheering for you. So why are you running away?"

I buried my face into my hands. "Because I'm scared," I mumbled. "I'm scared of messing up, of losing it all."

There was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. "Are we still talking about the play?" she asked. I took a peek at her behind my hands and found her smiling knowingly. I groaned, unmasking myself.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, then thought some more. "No. ...Both. I don't know."

She chuckled sympathetically as our food arrived. "Ally, I know you've got a lot on your plate."

I looked down at the small one inch burger.

"Not that plate," she said. I giggled. "Listen, of course you're feeling stressed. You're about to face your biggest fear in two days and Austin is waiting for an answer. There are a lot of bridges to cross, but once you walk over, it's not so bad on the other side. I promise."

I smiled, taking a deep breath. "I know you're right, but... I just can't help thinking about everything all at once. It makes my brain hurt."

"Well then just... stop thinking!" she stated triumphantly. "There! Problem solved!"

"But then I have to remind myself to not think and that's still thinking about not thinking and-"

"Ally," she interrupted. "You're going to be okay."

I gulfed down my burger and downed my milkshake. "I hope so," I said nervously when a thought occurred to me. "By the way, you're getting better at your analogies."

Her face glowed. "I've been working on it," she smirked, popping the collar of her shirt. We fell into a fit of unescapable laughter.

By midnight I am still wide awake in bed, staring at the ceiling for what seems to be the millionth time. What is it about the ceiling? I observe it. Plain white. Flat. Simple. There are no answers for me to seek within this ceiling.

I need a new ceiling with answers.

I try to squeeze my eyes shut and hope the sleep will begin to kick in any moment now. Twenty moments pass by and I find myself still awake. I sigh and shift to my right side, adjusting my pillow. I try counting sheep. I try reciting Shakespeare in my head.

Tap!

I scream loudly and fall off my bed. Taking a hesitant step towards my window, I carefully look outside. At first I see nothing. Then I see a small light, and a familiar blonde head. I quickly open the window, peering down through the leaves of the tree.

"Do you always have to come at this time?" I whispered to him. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's kinda romantic, don't you think?" Austin replied. I found a trace of his smile in the dark and couldn't help but smile back. I leaned against the window sill.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He brought out something from behind his back. A basket. "I thought we'd have a little midnight snack."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the giggle that flew out of my mouth. "You're insane. My dad will kill me, then come after you."

"Your dad loves me," he snorted. "Come down."

"Austin..." I sighed, finding it strange how different this felt compared to all the other times he had visited late at night. I found myself doing that often.

Before, Austin would just look at me. Now, he stared.

Before, Austin would just smile. Now, he glowed.

Everything was changing, and I wasn't sure how to feel about all of it.

"Please?" he asked. "I brought pickles."

My body automatically perked up. "Pickles?" I asked excitedly. I managed to see him nod. I shut the window, quickly rummaging through my closet to grab my gray jacket. I slowly opened my door and crept down the stairs, praying none of the floorboards would creak. I heard Dad's snoring in one room and Mom's snoring in another, sighing in relief that at least they would get some sleep tonight.

I opened the door, only to find Austin standing there in jeans and a T-shirt, actually looking decent. I stared down at my red PJ's and white tank top, wrapping my jacket tighter around myself. I inched towards the door.

"Maybe I should go back and..."

"Ally," he laughed, taking my hand in his. He really needed to stop doing that or else I might just die at seventeen. "You look perfect."

Fine. Okay.

Nope.

He had to use perfect.

"Where are we going?" I asked, gripping onto his hand as we weaved through what seemed to be a lot of grass and trees. The flashlight held a single strong stream of light.

"You'll see," he said.

"The fort?" I guessed.

"No."

"Your house?"

"No."

"Pancake Cen-"

He stopped walking and turned around to look at me. "If you keep talking, I'm going to kiss you."

I bit my lip and clamped my mouth shut, feeling my face grow pink. He smiled, tugging my hand and guiding us forward as we continued to walk. When we finally reached our destination, I was confused.

"Are we even in Miami anymore?" I gaped, letting go of his hand and walking towards the edge. It seemed like we were on a cliff of some sort. I peered down. Water. Looking ahead, I could make out a waterfall. Looking up, a million stars danced across the sky. I whirled around, grinning. "How did you find this place?"

He laughed. "I've been keeping it from everyone for awhile," he admitted, sitting at the edge. I hesitated, then sat down next to him, hoping I wouldn't go tumbling down into the dark water. "You're the first to see this. Well, after my dad. He took me here."

"Why?" I asked. "To go fishing?" Then I realized just how stupid that guess was since this water was way down below and there is no fishing rod in the world that's that long.

He laughed, shaking his head. "We sat down in this very spot at the edge. I was... thirteen, fourteen? He said, 'Austin, this is where I took your mom on our first date. When you grow up, this is where you should take Ally, too.'"

My mouth hung wide open in surprise. I shoved him on the shoulder. "Shut up. He did not say that!" I exclaimed.

"I swear to you on pancakes that he did!" he laughed, rubbing his shoulder. "And that actually hurt."

"Good," I teased. I peered down into the water once more. "What did you say to him when he told you that?"

Austin scratched the back of his head nervously. "Do you want me to lie or tell you the truth?"

"Truth."

"I said 'No way.'"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know, Austin, if this is supposed to be romantic then-"

"Let me finish," he interrupted. I folded my arms. "I said no way because I wanted to take you somewhere better, somewhere better than just this. Because you deserve so much more than this."

I felt his warm hand find its way to my own, lacing his fingers through mine.

"I didn't know that I loved you yet back then," he murmured, "but I still felt it somewhere in the back of my mind. And I don't know if I can give you that now, but I know that I can try to."

"I don't know about try's anymore, Austin..." I admitted. He squeezed my hand.

"If I try, then I know I can," he said. "You told me that when we were seven. So I'm taking your advice. I'm trying, right now."

The moment felt so surreal that even if it were magnified or enhanced or sharpened, the edges would still feel blurred to me. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat couldn't find the right words. I simply gave him a soft smile, my eyes moving towards the basket.

"How about those pickles?"

The walk back home was quiet, but the fact that we were holding hands seemed to be the only conversation necessary to fill in the blanks. I looked down at my watch. 2:30 am. We stopped in front of my door. I turned around to face him.

"Thanks for the midnight snack," I whispered.

He grinned. "You're welcome."

For a moment, I wanted him to.

I wanted him to kiss me.

But instead, his eyes softened and his hand found its way around my cheek as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to my forehead. I shut my eyes as warmth filled my entire body, reaching all the way up to my heart.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Night," I replied. As I floated through the door, up the stairs, and into my bedroom, I slid against my bed, my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

That might have been the sweetest and most genuine kiss I've ever gotten.

I'm sobbing because I wish this kind of stuff happened in real life. (I'm only exaggerating, I'm not really sobbing, just dying from feels.) They're on their way, guys! Austin is being quite the gentleman, and Ally is being cautious (smart) but loving every single inch of it (duh, I would too). I did steal the setting in the Pass Me By video when Ross holds his love interest's hand, that's exactly what I pictured during his and Ally's midnight snack. Sorry this was so short and if it was a little ehh or overboard sweetness, but I was really feeling the Auslly factor today. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know how I'm doing and what you thought of this chapter or even just this story as a whole. You can Tweet me as well, either one is fine by me! I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I HOPE SOMEDAY SOME GUY DOES THIS FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT. *P.S. In case this feels like a last chapter, it's not. There are probably going to be about 2-3 more left so don't fret! The journey's not over yet!*