A/N: Thanks again for the reviews and for sticking with me through the frustrating parts of this story. Not to worry though, I think Austin is going to be catching on to things pretty soon. If you haven't checked it out, I have another story called Everlong, which is a bit of a departure thematically, so you should read it if you're into the Raura stuff. Keep the reviews coming, I love hearing your frustrations about Austin's lack of insight.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Rating: T for mild language

looking for the one tonight

6: everybody's free

Austin rushed into the store, seeing Dez up on a ladder hanging up a banner that said, "WELCOME HOME, MOM!"

"Austin! You're late, she's almost here," Ally said breathlessly. She was dressed head to toe in all of the souvenirs her mother had sent her over the past few months. She was frazzled, her hair askew and her cheeks rosy. To everyone else she probably looked ridiculous, but Austin thought she looked adorable. She had been so excited for her mom to arrive, and he was glad it was finally upon them. It made her happy and what made her happy made him feel the same.

"Sorry, Brooke and I-" he started apologizing profusely. Lately, he had been doing this a lot. He hated it when people ditched their friends when they got into a new relationship, but his new girlfriend, Brooke, was a little demanding and a lot high maintenance. She usurped most of his energy and time, not leaving very much for Trish, Dez and especially Ally. He actually felt pretty horribly about it, since her mom's homecoming was so important to her. He wanted to be there to help her with anything and everything, but instead he'd barely seen her at all in the past few weeks.

He conveniently left out the part on why he was late. He and Brooke had gotten into a fight over him performing for Ally's mom at the party, saying that he was too invested in Ally and would do anything for her, but nothing for Brooke. They'd argued for an hour before he just drove off. She'd already sent him a dozen angry texts that he had ignored. Where was the sweet, shy girl who had kissed him under the starlight?

Ally cut him off. "Forget about it, we have so much to do!" She ran about, rearranging things and setting a big vase of flowers out on the counter. She looked like a nervous wreck, he was surprised she wasn't eating her hair by the mouthfuls.

He walked over to Dez and Trish, holding out his hands to hold the ladder steady. "Hey guys, sorry I wasn't here to help earlier. I'll get there extra early tomorrow to help Ally set up for the party."

"Why are you late? Where have you been?" Trish interrogated, a grim line on her face. For some reason, over the past few weeks, Trish had totally been a bitch to him. Out of nowhere. And uncharacteristically, she wasn't saying much about it, so he had no idea what the deal was. It was awful to be on Trish de la Rosa's bad side; he felt like he had to sleep with one eye open at all times.

"Sorry, I had to drop Brooke at her hair place so she could get it cut for tomorrow."

"Oh, you're bringing her?" Dez asked dejectedly. Even Dez had made it pretty clear that he wasn't the new girlfriend's biggest fan, which was completely out of character for him. He typically supported Austin's every endeavor. It was saying a lot that he couldn't get behind Austin's new relationship.

Austin huffed, "Well, she's my girlfriend, so yes, I'm bringing her to a party where I'm performing."

Dez shared a look with Trish. They did not like Brooke. Actually, they couldn't tolerate her…at all. Trish, because she knew she was a dirty imposter, and Dez because he thought she was a crazy bitch. The girl had blown into their lives, and now practically owned all of Austin's time. She had thrown a big chink in the Team Austin machine. She was demanding, petulant and insanely clingy. Not what anyone had expected from Austin's perfect Juliet at all.

And even though they'd kissed on multiple occasions, Austin hadn't been able to appreciate the spark like he had before. It didn't feel any different than kissing any other girl, which to him, any opportunity to do that was great, but she was supposed to be the one with whom he shared that special spark. He was more than a little let down. She was really hot, but it just felt strange. She used a little too much tongue and was like super aggressive. Maybe he had to be drunk or something. That was kind of depressing to think about. He had to be drunk to enjoy kissing his girlfriend.

Dez and Trish went back to helping Ally set up as Austin milled around aimlessly. He watched enviously as the three laughed at some inside joke that he wasn't apart of. He felt disconnected to his friends ever since he started dating Brooke. In all honesty, he wasn't feeling it at all, but he had made such a big deal out of it that he couldn't just dump her after this whole big search. He hadn't been the only one with expectations, it felt like the whole world did. Everyone wanted their Romeo & Juliet love story to last.

The worst was that he felt she was driving a wedge between him and Ally, she was so jealous all the time of their songwriting partnership and the time they spent alone. She talked shit about Ally incessantly, her insecurity manifesting itself in the ugliest of ways. She insisted on crashing all of their songwriting sessions, which meant they couldn't get anything done because she was a huge distraction. Ally couldn't write under pressure, and he couldn't enjoy himself while Brooke yammered on about whatever inane thing she wanted to yammer on about.

Ally shrieked, "MOM!" She ran into her mother's open arms, hugging her tightly. Her friends collectively "awww"-ed in the background. "I'm so happy you're home."

"It's so good to see you, honey. I missed you so much." The two broke and Mrs. Dawson noticed the three expectant faces waiting to be acknowledged. "Hi guys."

"Welcome home, Mom!" They all shouted in unison as Ms. Dawson clasped her hands to her chest.

"Well, I know you," she said walking over to Trish and giving her a hug. "But who are these two guys?"

"Mom, this is Austin and Dez," Ally introduced. She gave them both quick hugs.

"Well, Austin I have heard a lot about you from Ally. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's great to meet you too, Ms. Dawson." He noted how similar her mom was to her, down to the warm, dark eyes and gently curled hair.

"I'm so glad you're performing at my party tomorrow," she continued, giving Ally another squeeze. She smiled brightly down at her daughter, and he noted that their lips curled the same way, too.

"No problem, anything for Ally. I can't wait to premiere our new song at the party," he put his arm around his friend and pulled her in for a side hug, giving her waist a little squeeze. Her cheeks turned pink instantly, and this was not lost upon her mother.

Her mother flashed another big smile. "Can't wait to hear it. And Dez, Ally told me you were quite the dresser." Dez looked down at his rainbow colored pants and yellow sweater, grinning widely.

"Thanks, Ally," he stated bashfully, shuffling his feet back and forth.

Trish interjected, "Well, we'll leave you two to catch up, we'll see you later, Ally." The three teens left as Ally enveloped her mom in another big hug.

"I have so much to tell you, Mom," she gushed, pulling her mom into the store.

"Well, why don't you start with you and Austin." Her mother's eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Ha, what about me and Austin?" Ally asked, her voice slightly breaking.

"Ally, I study animal behavior. You don't think I would notice how you two look at each other?"

"H-How do we look at each other?" she stuttered.

"Like you're the only two people left on Earth."

"Mom…he has a girlfriend," she resisted futilely.

Her mother kissed her on the head, placating her for a second. "Okay, okay, we won't talk about it. But you do look cute together, and his eyes were twinkling pretty hard when he was looking at you." She smoothed Ally's little flyaway hairs on her head, thinking to herself how much her daughter had grown in the short time she had been abroad. It was only yesterday when they had been rehearsing The Butterfly Song together for the kindergarten pageant and now she was a young woman and they were talking about boys.

"Oh my gosh, Mom." Ally's cheeks were burning by this point.

"Really. I mean, he wasn't looking at Trish that way, and you weren't looking at Dez…" she trailed off.

"Eww, gross, Mom!"

"I'm just saying." Penny put her hands up in surrender.

Ally changed the subject, she would not be discussing the topic of Austin Moon, especially not with her mom. Everyone else was obsessed with him, she didn't need her to be, too.

The three teens watched as Ally and her mom shared an embrace through the windows of the storefront.

"Ally looks so happy," Austin thought out loud.

"Yeah, well she deserves it," Trish retorted with a snort of derision.

Austin stopped in his tracks and turned to face the shorter girl. "What is your problem, Trish?"

"My problem? My problem?" she asked incredulously. Dez stepped back, safe out of her fire zone.

"Yeah, you've been all bitchy towards me for like the past few weeks and I'm kind of getting tired of it."

"Well, I'm not the one who is dating some sort of psycho crazy girl who treats my friends like shit, Austin. You are right, Ally deserves to be happy, and how could she be when you're dating that horrible phony." Trish's jaw clenched shut before she could say anything else.

"What are you talking about?" Austin demanded, his tone sharp.

She recovered from her slip. "She is straight up unpleasant, Austin. She treats us like dirt, especially Ally. Ally hasn't done anything to her, she's been nothing but nice and understanding and sweet to her, and your Juliet has made her life pretty miserable."

He winced, the truth cutting him like a rusty knife. "Look, I know Brooke is demanding, and a little unpredictable with her words…"

"A little?" Dez quipped, getting a warning glance from Austin.

"But you all haven't had enough time to get to know her. She means really well."

"Have you? You jumped headfirst into this thing with the assumption that she was this incredible, magical girl you met at a party, but how well do you really know her? Do we really know if she's the girl?"

"She knew all the details, Trish," Dez answered dejectedly.

"Yeah, well, something doesn't add up. She's not the sweet girl you described her to be. And so what, you had one moment with her. Moments can be fleeting, Austin. There are lots of things that add up to make a relationship."

"Not if it's the perfect moment," he argued, still trying to justify his relationship. And that's what it was, his. Not Trish's, not Dez's, and not Ally's.

"If she were so perfect, if she were so fan-fucking-tastic, how come you look so utterly miserable whenever you're around her?" She stomped off, before he could even formulate a response. Which was good because he simply didn't have one.

"What about you, Dez? You want to add to that?" Austin questioned.

"Man, you're my best friend and I know you want to believe in this. But sometimes, you have to go with your gut. I know that you're not feeling this. Even if she was that girl, she's not the girl for you. She doesn't make you happy, and as your best friend, I just want you to be happy."

He walked off, leaving Austin alone. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he ignored it, yet again. His shoulders slumped as he plopped down on a bench outside of Sonic Boom. He looked back inside to see Ally animatedly gesturing as she no doubt was telling her mom all about the adventures she had been having. She was so full of joy, the sparkles in her eyes vibrant and dancing. Seeing her look so happy warmed his soul. He wanted to feel the way she looked.

She caught his eye through the window and waved enthusiastically, her face bright and smiley. His heart thudded in his hollow chest; it tugged so much it was almost painful.

He tried to ignore the question that persisted in his fretful mind. He tried to push the thoughts out, but he couldn't win the battle against his heart. With every beat it seemed to thump out the same query.

Why couldn't his Juliet have been Ally instead?