A/N: Thanks for the comments, here's a little more insight on the kiss from Ally's POV and a little bit of Austin jealousy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: T

looking for the one tonight

chapter 3: #1 Crush

"Remember that thing you said about things blowing over soon?" Trish asked wryly as she tossed the latest issue of Cheetah Beat onto the counter. A giant heart with Austin's face in its center adorned the cover.

"The Search for Austin Moon's Mystery Masked Maiden. Good use of alliteration, I guess?" Ally replied, pushing the magazine back towards Trish.

"This is getting out of hand," Trish stated, hopping up to seat herself on the counter.

"Oh, you have no idea. There have been girls coming into the store claiming to be the mystery girl all week. I didn't think this would end up being that big of a deal."

Boy, had Ally been wrong. After Austin and Dez posted their latest podcast about his mystery girl, the video had gone viral within days, and the boys had been flooded with hundreds of phone numbers and messages from desperate girls (and a few guys) claiming to be his Juliet. It had been over two weeks and there was no sign of the fervor dying down at all. This was so typical, theme of her life.

"Hey guys." Austin casually strolled into Sonic Boom and rested his elbows on the counter across from Ally. He leaned towards her and flashed her a devastating smirk. Flustered, she flailed her arm out and knocked over a jar holding pens, hastily picking up the pens and jamming them back inside haphazardly. Austin gave her a suspicious glance as Trish cleared her throat.

"Hey, Austin. How goes the search?" Trish asked, her eyes firmly planted on Ally.

"Well, I met up with a bunch of girls over the past few days, and no luck yet."

"Oh, don't sound so tortured, Austin," Ally pointed out. "I'm sure you're loving it." He stuck his tongue at her, and she mimed him. Trish rolled her eyes, but both teens remained oblivious to her.

"How are you figuring this out anyway, are you kissing all of them?" Trish asked before scooting away from him.

"No, Trish, you think I'm that big of a manwhore?" he asked with mock hurt. She shrugged and got a playful push from her blonde friend. "I ask each girl to describe the mask she was wearing that night."

"What was it?" she implored, still staring directly at Ally.

"I'm not telling anyone that detail, that way I'll be able to tell if she's the real Juliet or not. It was pretty unique, I haven't seen anything like it before. No one's gotten it right yet."

"Good call, Austin," Ally stated, her eyes firmly focused on the ground.

"Trish, that reminds me, I know you were working at the costume shop last week, are you sure you don't remember anyone coming in and renting that costume? Or returning it? I checked some of the other stores around and none of them have anything like it."

"Nope, and unfortunately there were no records of the rental of that costume either," Trish covered smoothly as Ally cowered down.

Thank goodness Trish was terrible at her job and forgot to log their names or else Ally's little secret would have been revealed.

Austin shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll keep looking. She's bound to turn up somewhere."

"Sometimes the one we're looking for is often closer than you think," Trish offered sagely. Ally gave her a closed-lipped smile and shook her head.

"Hopefully, I'm sort of getting tired of all these girls calling. I mean, I never thought I'd say that, but I mean it. It's kind of exhausting," he sighed. "Well, I gotta go meet up with Dez. Just wanted to check in and see what's up, I'll see you guys later."

Once Austin was out of earshot, Ally started to scold her friend, "Trish…"

"This is your own fault, you know. He's going to come to the conclusion on his own."

"Well, if the past is any indicator, it may take him a few years, so I think I'm safe."

Always playing it safe, Trish thought disdainfully. She wished her friend could see herself the way others knew Austin saw her. Then maybe she would believe she was good enough for Austin. Trish didn't know what was going to do it, but she knew it would probably take a miracle to get these two together. Because if she knew her best friend, and she definitely did, she knew Ally was going to deal with her feelings the best way she knew how…by avoiding them, and avoiding the source.

Ally sat in the food court, her legs stretched out, journaling in her book. She closed her eyes and basked in the sun. Things had been so crazy lately with the hoopla surrounding Austin, it was starting to wear on her. She hadn't been doing it on purpose, but she had been avoiding him lately. She did not need the constant reminder of that night. It was replayed on loop in her mind anyway. She didn't need to be confronted with the whole masquerade business, it was terrible how everyone was so obsessed with it.

She was trying to forget it, but no one would let her.

The humid Miami night hung like a blanket over her shoulders. She was starting to regret wearing the stupid Juliet costume, it was so heavy and hot. Plus her mask smelled musty and was choking her. All because she wanted to surprise Austin, and see the look on his face when he saw her Juliet, matched to his Romeo. She snaked her way through the gyrating bodies, but didn't see him anywhere. This was hopeless, she would never find him in the sea of people that swarmed around her.

She felt something hit her from behind, knocking the wind out of her. She winced and looked up at the offender, gleaming in a halo of moonlight. Her Romeo. Her lips curled into a wide smile as his face stared back at hers. His licked his full lips as he breathed her name, "Juliet."

The cloak of night enveloped the two of them, and everything else seemed to blur around her. The shadows somehow cast their darkness on everything else but his shining face, revealing his beautiful features to only her. It struck her that she had never held his hand before and was surprised at how strong and big his palm was. She barely brushed the thought from her mind before it escalated to darker places, sending a blush to her cheeks. She stood on her tiptoes to reach around him, feeling the little hairs stand up on the nape of his neck. Her body fit to his like a missing puzzle piece to its match. His hands curled in her hair, roaming down her back, making her feel as if she were falling, weightless.

And then there they were, his lips. Millimeters from her face. Slightly parted, barely quivering. Then somehow they were connected, the warmth from her own tongue spreading to his. It was a tingling fire that engulfed more and more of her every second that passed. He tasted a little bit like whisky, a little bit like cherry jolly rancher, and all like Austin.

Every muscle in her body contracted, every nerve ending was sparked. The beating of her heart played in time with his, until her lungs fought her mind and won. Their breaths both ragged, their eyes both crazed with lust. His hand reached up to reveal her, but she caught him, sending another shiver down both their spines.

She wasn't quite sure what passed from her lips, the words that left did not feel like her own. And they weren't. Because she was brand new. The kiss changed everything.

His warm, imploring eyes searched hers for answers. If he had been sober, he would have seen the worry and despair in hers. A thousand thoughts of rejection, disgust, loneliness and emptiness filled her mind as the only possible outcomes that would come from this. It was crippling to her, the fear of losing him. And that's why he could never know.

A shadow fell over her and she slowly opened her eyes. Austin looked down at her, his smiling face a bittersweet distraction. "Hey."

"Hi, what are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked, noting that she looked less than enthused to see him. He wondered if he had done something wrong. Lately, he'd noticed that she would conveniently find something to do while he was around or not talk to him at all. He was sure she thought he wouldn't notice, but he definitely did. He supposed he had been busy with all of this other stuff going on in his life, and maybe he had been neglecting her a little bit? Maybe that's what she was mad. They had barely spoke two sentences to each other since he last saw her and Trish at Sonic Boom a week before.

"Just enjoying the day and catching up on some writing. I'm meeting my chemistry partner here in a little, I'm going to help him study for our test next week."

Austin's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?" He pulled the chair opposite hers out and plopped down. "I feel like I haven't seen you much lately."

"Oh yeah? Well you've been busy with the search and all," she tossed, casually.

His brow crinkled. "We need to set some time to write a new song. I've been kicking something around, but I'm going to need some help."

"Awesome, can't wait to hear it. How about tomorrow?" she offered to placate him. His dark brown eyes lingered over her book, and she shut it before he could make out any of the script. She was so damn protective of that book. Sometimes he wished he could just read it so he could figure her out. She was such a mystery sometimes. She didn't act like other girls he knew, she was serious and smart and careful and sensitive, without being dramatic and insecure. She was just Ally. And right now, she was frustrating the hell out of him.

"Yeah, that sounds good. So, what else is new with you?"

"Not much, just working in the store." They both looked at each other silently, their passive game of mental chess moving forward. Austin hated this. It was as if she had nothing to say to him, and that he was fighting to make conversation. "What are you up to today?"

"I'm meeting Dez here in a little bit."

"Oh, cool."

Ally's lab partner, Elliott, walked up to the pair with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey, Ally, Austin. Ally, we were supposed to meet now, right?"

"Yeah, Austin was just keeping me company until you came. He was just leaving. See ya, Austin." She looked up with the other boy with a bright smile and Austin felt a little twinge of envy towards the guy who took his seat.

"See you tomorrow. I'll text you before I come over." She barely nodded at him as her attention was focused on Elliott.

He watched as the two pulled out their books and Elliott scooted his chair closer to Ally's. He was practically laying on her, he was so close. Okay, maybe not, but Austin felt the jealousy seep into his veins as Ally tossed her head and laughed at something Elliott said. That guy wasn't even funny.

"Hey, Austin," Dez walked up to him. "Who's that guy with Ally?"

"Hey." He continued to sneak looks at Ally as Dez prattled on about something.

"Austin, are you okay? You look bummed." Dez followed Austin's line of vision to Ally, and suddenly things clicked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What were you saying?" Austin replied tersely.

"Who's with Ally?"

"Her lab partner, Elliott."

"Isn't that the captain of the water polo team?"

"No," he retorted.

"The senior who was voted most likely to become a model?" Dez poked, knowing his friend was in full out jealous mode.

"NO! He's just some guy in her chemistry class. He's no one special."

Dez nodded slowly, "Oh, I see what this is."

"What, what is?" Austin asked testily. Dez couldn't master his times tables and he was suddenly so in tune to the emotions of others?

"You're jealous of that guy because he gets to spend time with her. Alone."

Austin rebuffed, "I get to spend more time with her than anyone else."

"But not lately. You miss her."

"I don't miss her. She's like a hundred feet away from us. I see her all the time," he insisted.

"But you don't get her to yourself," the redhead argued.

Austin laughed it off while his blood slowly boiled. "You're being ridiculous Dez." He stalked off towards Mini's, leaving Dez to shake his head at his best friend.

Dez may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could see how clueless Austin was about his feelings for Ally. And it was a shame, he thought they'd make a great couple, like a love story out of a movie or something.

A/N: Even Dez can see it, sort of, how long do you think it will take Austin? Review and let me know how it's going, or if his denseness is just starting to frustrate you :)