A/N: Thanks for the continued support of this story, love reading all the reviews and seeing all the follows/favorites. So I wasn't going to post my Raura story, but after seeing the pictures from the event yesterday, I can't like not. They've compelled me to do it, so watch out for it, if you're into that kind of thing—it's called Everlong. And sorry for the events in this chapter ahead of time, tell me how you feel about it in a review ;).

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: T to M for language

looking for the one tonight

5: local god

Ally watched from behind the counter as Megan, the young reporter from Cheetah Beat, snapped picture after picture of Austin in ridiculous poses for the next issue's cover. He had been front-page news for weeks now. People were eating this whole mystery girl thing up, and Austin was milking it for what it was worth. This news story had even spread beyond Miami, seemingly every woman in America who read the story of Romeo looking for his Juliet collectively swooned at the sensitive, caring crooner. Ally bet Jimmy Starr was just loving all the free publicity.

She on the other hand was not. All anyone wanted to talk about was Austin. If not Cheetah Beat, it was local reporters or South Beach Sound swarming around Sonic Boom all the time looking for a new angle on the story. Those new angles usually revolved around them interviewing her for her take on the story. She was always played up as the dowdy, plain songwriting partner which was annoying but at least it afforded her the opportunity to stay hidden in the shadows. However, she just knew that with a little digging, someone was going to out her, or that she or Trish would slip up and reveal the true identity of Juliet.

She was just within earshot to hear the conversation between Austin and the young blogger. Well, everyone in the store was within earshot, Megan had a voice that carried. "Let's say this girl is a Cheetah Beat reader, what would you like to say to her?"

Austin gave his best sensitive boy face to the young girl, batting his eyelashes at her and making her fidget. "Well, Juliet, if you're out there, please let me know, give me a sign or something. If you're embarrassed, I get it, but I want to make sure I'm not wasting my time here."

Megan's face fell. "Why would you think the girl would be embarrassed?"

"Well, unless this girl lives under a rock, I'm assuming she's seen my videos by now, and she knows I'm looking for her. She knew who I was that night. So I'm guessing the reason she hasn't responded is that she is embarrassed she kissed me…or it was a terrible kiss…but I don't think that was the case," he playfully added, his eyelashes fluttering.

God, he was charming, a public relations dream, Ally thought. Megan was just eating it up. The little girl was biting her lip, her eyes wide and shining up at him. She was hanging on every syllable he uttered. Ally would have thought it ridiculous if she didn't feel the same way, too. This was her personal hell.

He continued, "Anyway, I just need to know that I wasn't alone in what I felt. There was this spark and I need to know if she felt it, too."

Megan exhaled deeply. "Aww, I'm sure that's not the case. No girl would turn Austin Moon down."

Austin's phone buzzed and he politely excused himself from the girl who had her chin in her hands gazing up dreamily at him. She sighed and looked around to see if anyone had noticed her daydreaming on the job. Her eyes met with Ally's across the room and she came bounding over.

"Ally!" Megan shouted, her high pitch making Ally wince. Megan grabbed her hand and pulled her over to within feet of Austin, who was busy talking to someone on the phone in hushed tones.

"Oh, hi Megan, how are you?" Ally asked as enthusiastically as could muster.

"I'm totes fabulous! Isn't Austin's search the cutest thing ever?" Megan gushed.

"It's totes cute," the elder girl replied with a wry smile.

"Can I get some quotes from you to use in my article?"

She hesitated, "Umm, sure, but why would you want to quote me?"

"Well, you're Austin's best friend and you know him best. Who better to comment on the whole situation?" Megan declared, with a silent 'Duh.' "You have to think like a journalist, Ally."

"Okay…well then shoot."

"So why do you think the girl hasn't come forward yet?" the little girl asked.

"How would I know?" she retorted a bit too sharply. She softened a bit and gave a weak smile. "I mean, maybe she's just shy or something?"

She mentally fact checked so that she didn't reveal too much to the writer. Megan may be young, but she was cunning and could be super manipulative. She didn't even want to know what Megan would be like when she actually hit her teens.

"I just think it's totes ridic that she would leave Austin hanging like this. I mean, he just seems so sad."

"Well, she doesn't know what she's missing. Austin is a terrific guy. A really great guy," she stated diplomatically.

"If you were the girl, wouldn't you want to date him?" Megan asked innocently.

Ally bit her lip, "Well, Austin's my best friend, so that's kind of a hard question to answer, Megan. You see, it's a little compli-"

Austin interrupted their conversation, grabbing Ally by the shoulders, his lips moving a mile a minute.

Ally held out her hand to stop him. "Wait what? Austin, slow down, I can't understand you."

His face glowed with excitement, "Dez thinks he found the girl!"

Ally's jaw dropped, "What?" Megan jumped up and down, clapping her hands. She was going to get the scoop and she had a front row seat to see Austin's love story unfold.

"This girl contacted us today via the website and described the mask pretty damn well. I think we found her, Als!" He swept her up in a big hug, practically picking her up off the ground. When he let her go, he looked into her eyes and for one second, he thought he saw a flicker of sadness.

But her eyes shined and she barely whispered, "That's so great, Austin. Congrats."

"I gotta go, I'm meeting her in a few hours. Wish me luck, Ally."

"Luck," she wished, but he was already gone.

Ally backed up and held onto the counter for balance. What. The. Fuck?

"Ally, you look a little pale, are you okay?" Megan looked up at her, a frown line etched on her forehead.

She blinked, forgetting that the girl was still there. "Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking of something that I need to order for the store, no big deal. So, this should make an even more exciting exclusive for you, right? Austin finding his girl?"

"I know, I am fah-reak-ing. My editors are going to love this. I gotta go follow Austin." She scurried off to follow Austin as Ally retreated to her spot behind the counter.

How could it be? She didn't even know what to make of the situation.

Trish blew in through the doors, speaking rapidly in Spanish.

Ally sighed, setting her chin in her hands. "Trish, you're doing it again."

"Lo siento. I mean, sorry. What is this all about, Ally?" She showed her the text from Dez alerting her to the discovery of the mystery girl. Ally just shrugged.

"I don't know Trish. Apparently this girl knows enough details to convince Dez and Austin that she's Juliet."

"How is that possible?" The shorter girl paced about, making Ally even more uneasy.

"I don't know, camera phones?" she deadpanned. She suddenly felt very tired, her stomach twisting with an uneasy feeling. She felt a little clammy, lightheaded, and generally unwell. This is why Ally Dawson rarely lied, her guilt always manifested itself into a conversion disorder.

"Well you have to do something!" Trish said through gritted teeth.

"Do something about what?" Ally asked.

"You can't let him go out with a girl crazy enough to stalk him and take pictures of him at this party then use the information to trick him into going out with her!"

"Well the alternative is revealing that it was me, so which one is the less awkward?" She may have felt guilty, but she was much more frightened of how Austin would react to the revelation that she was his mystery girl. He'd hate her. Or even worse, he'd laugh at the thought of it.

"Oh my god, Ally." Trish threw her hands up in the air, pacing around. She was starting to get really pissed at her best friend. She wanted to shake her. How could she just let this happen. She was so effing passive.

"Maybe this will all work out and she and Austin will live happily ever after."

"Have you even read Romeo & Juliet? It's a tragedy, which is exactly what this is going to end up as." She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Don't be dramatic, Trish." Ally rolled her eyes.

Her eyes bugged out even more, scaring Ally a little bit. "Are you serious? This girl could be a serial killer."

"Or she could be a stalker, with a mask on, who secretly kisses her best friend in disguise. Oh wait, that's me," Ally noted flippantly, her tone making Trish want to scream.

"That's different," she insisted.

"How so? It'll be fine. He'll either realize she's not the one or he'll fall madly in love with her." Ally calmly walked up the stairs to the practice room as Trish fought herself from ripping out her own hair. This was only going to end poorly, Trish knew it.