A/N: I'm overwhelmed by all the reviews for the last chapter, thanks for the positive comments, maybe I can get to 100 with this chapter? The moment you've all been waiting for is upon us, Austin finally gets it, hopefully you all like the way he finds out. Only two more chapters after this one, I think, thanks for reading, and happy Austin and Ally day!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: T

looking for the one tonight

chapter seven: little star

He watched as Ally flitted around, adjusting the decorations, refilling the refreshments and chatting with the guests. Her hair fell over her shoulders upon a simple green and black striped dress that hugged her petite body perfectly. Her eyes shone brighter than ever. Austin had never seen her so happy. He watched as she did her best impression of a Tazmanian devil, running all over the place to make sure everything was running smoothly. She was trying so hard to make everything perfect for her mom, so he had to be perfect for her.

"Hey, slow down, Ally, enjoy the party." He grabbed her arm and felt her shiver. He stopped her in her place and put both of his hands on her arms, moving them up and down to create some friction. Goosebumps appeared on her skin and she broke from his grip. "You should put a jacket on, you look cold."

"Hi, Austin," she said breathlessly. "So much to do. No time. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, hope your mom likes it. I think this is our best song yet, Ally."

"Of course, she will love it. I'll go let her know that you're ready."

Austin headed backstage to warm up before his performance. He jumped up and down to get his blood flowing and his heart pumping. He tried to get all the jitters out. He was more nervous than usual. He had a restless night thinking of all the stuff Trish had said about Ally and Brooke. He thought of kind, giving Ally. His sweet friend who hid her feelings about his girlfriend because she thought he was happy. He thought about how truly unhappy he was being with Brooke. Mystery girl or not, she wasn't the one for him. He just wasn't feeling it.

He'd had the preemptive break up talk with Brooke earlier, and immediately felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. She had not been pleased, to say the least, and he would bet that she wouldn't give up without a fight, but he didn't owe her any explanation. He didn't owe her anything. And now he felt free, lighter, ready to take on anything.

He played with his wishbone necklace anxiously, sliding the charm back and forth a little too aggressively as it snapped from the chain and slid out of his hands. He crouched down on the floor, feeling the ground for it. He heard two female voices nearing as his hands clasped around the piece of metal.

"Are you sure you don't want to introduce Austin?" Penny asked her daughter as they approached. He waited with slow deep breaths, even though he had no idea why he was hiding himself from them.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Mom, stage fright, hell-o."

"Well, I just figured you'd want to, you two would look so cute together on stage."

"Mom!" Ally shouted with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"What? You two are adorable together. You like him, and he clearly adores you. Own it. Besides, he just looks so handsome tonight, I know you think so," Ms. Dawson suggested with a sly wink.

"Oh my god, I can't even right now. Can you just go out and introduce him and be a normal person?" she pleaded, her cheeks on fire.

Penny hugged her daughter and smoothed her hand across her back. "Okay, I won't embarrass you, sweetie."

Austin's pulse quickened and his breath hastened as he crouched down in his hiding spot. Did Ally like him? His stomach fluttered a little bit with the realization affecting him more than he thought it should. He hoped she thought he was cute. But why did that matter? Of course he adored her, she was his best friend. They hung out all the time. Did that really translate to people as him having feelings for her?

He guessed he kind of did have feelings for her. Hadn't he wished that she were his Juliet? Didn't that subconsciously mean that he wanted to kiss her or date her or something? He was more confused than ever, and this wasn't going to help him get through this performance.

He stomped his feet loudly as he emerged from his hiding spot, to alert Ally's mom of his presence.

"Austin?" Ms. Dawson called out.

"Yeah! Hey Ms. Dawson!" he greeted with a nervous hug.

Her brow wrinkled with a slight hint of concern. Moms, they always knew when something was up. She stated deliberately, "I'm going to introduce you now…ready?"

"Yeah, of course, born ready."

"Okay. Break a leg, I'm sure you're going to do great!" she enthused, stepping out on stage.

He heard the audience cheer as the curtain opened, and he stepped out into the spotlight. This was typically the most invigorating moment of every performance, when he looked out at the crowd right before he started to play. Tonight, as he looked at Trish, Dez, Ally's parents, Megan, Nelson, and others who waited for him to begin, he realized that actually, the most invigorating, energizing moment of every show, how it had always been, was the moment his locked eyes with Ally. It was his pre-performance ritual to look at her for her sign of acknowledgement. That's when everything felt right.

"Thanks for coming out and supporting Ms. Penny Dawson tonight everyone! Let's hear it for her and her book, it's awesome!"

The music was cued as her face shined up towards him, her foot tapping along with the beat. He started to strum, his fingers moving automatically. He didn't see anyone else in the crowd as he couldn't take his eyes off hers. It was a miracle he could even remember the lyrics to his own song, but somehow he opened his mouth and the words flowed out seamlessly.

Looking for the one tonight, but I can't see you

Cause I'm blinded by all the lights

I can never get it right, I need a breakthrough

Why are you so hard to find?

I've been searching every city, never giving up

Til I find my angel, diamond in the rough

Looking for a signal

Baby turn it up tonight

Come on, get loud, loud

Let it out

Shout it out from the rooftops

Come on, get loud

Til they shut us down

Come on, get loud, loud

Let it out

Show me everything that you've got

Come on, get loud, loud

I need you now

Baby, let me hear it loud

She mimed along with all the words, a silent encouragement to him. He jumped from one side of the stage to the other, dancing and working the crowd, their arms waving in the air as he sang out his heart. Somehow, his gaze never wavered from the girl sitting in the first row, and it felt like they were the only two people in existence. He felt that every little blush that caressed her face, every curl of her lips was just for him.

Looking for the light to shine, to start a fire

Girl I'll be the first in line

Baby when ours stars align, we can get no higher

Just give me a sign

Looking for the one tonight…

The crowd erupted in applause as he took his bow and waved to his adoring fans. He jumped off the stage and made a beeline for Ally, giving her a big hug, rocking her back and forth. He buried his head into Ally's hair, inhaling her into him. Trish beamed so hard she felt her jaw was about to unhinge. Megan furiously snapped pictures of the two, but they were oblivious.

When she broke from the embrace, she was giddy. "Thanks, Austin. That was perfect. The song sounds so good!"

"Again, thanks to you. You deserve all the credit," he mused, brushing a hair from her eyes.

With his arms lazily draped over her shoulder, he felt very calm and complete in that moment. Like he didn't need anything else. This is what contentment felt like, he thought. He smiled into her eyes, the stars in hers reflecting in his. They stared at each other for a beat too long, and they both felt the air change between them. Her face grew a little serious, the little vertical wrinkles appearing on her forehead.

His breath was slow and steady as he murmured, "Ally, I-"

"Austin-" she started.

The color flushed both their cheeks. He searched her eyes, finding feelings mirroring his own. He felt something heavy in his chest when he gazed into her depths, and he knew she felt it, too.

"Austin, I've got something to tell you," she began tentatively.

He felt a tap on his back and turned around, about to unleash on the person standing there, to find a person ready to unleash on him.

Brooke stood before him, her eyes red, her mascara caked around dried tears. She looked awful. He couldn't have been less attracted to her at that point if she tried.

"Austin-" she whined. He raised his hand to stop her from speaking. It was crazy how his name could sound so different spoken from her lips as opposed to from Ally's. How everything could sound so different, have such different meanings. He'd never noticed the difference before, but knew that he would notice it from this point on.

"Stop, Brooke. I don't want to hear it. It's not going to work out. I told you this earlier, there's nothing else left to say." He tone was firm and unyielding, he really didn't have time to mess around with this when Ally was about to say something important.

"But-"

"What do you want me to say Brooke? I don't want to be with you. You were right, maybe I had feelings for Ally all this time. You were right. Well, I'm not going to ignore my feelings anymore. Sorry if I was a jerk or if I wasn't honest with you, but I don't think I was even honest to myself."

She blinked as she tried to keep up with his train of thought. "Aus-"

"Were you even Juliet?" he asked dejectedly, already knowing the answer.

She sniffed a sob back, but shook her head no.

"Sorry, we're done here." He whipped around, awaiting a response to his declaration, but he found no one there. Where had Ally gone?

Brooke still stood, dumbfounded, stuck to her spot in front of him. Before she could open her mouth to protest, he quickly ran into Sonic Boom and up to the practice room. He burst into the room, not finding Ally, but her mother instead.

"Hey, Ms. Dawson, I was just looking for Ally. Have you seen her?" he asked expectantly.

"Oh no, I haven't. I thought she would be with you after that performance. You were fantastic, by the way. Thank you for performing."

"Oh, thanks. No problem, anything for you and Ally," he stated, sheepishly blushing as her mother raised her eyebrows.

She encouraged, "You guys make a great team."

"I know, there's no way I couldn't do it without her," he added, meaning every word.

Penny bit her lip, and replied, "Well, I know she thinks the world of you, Austin."

"I think more than the world of her, you have no idea, your daughter means everything to me," he confessed.

"Well, I just want to thank you. I know that my being away was really hard on her, and I'm glad that she had such good friends to support her and keep her company. I know her Dad did a great job, but I know that having someone like you around was invaluable. She really sees you as a great friend and supporter, Austin."

"I think of her as my best friend, too. There's no one I'd rather be around, really." He realized how much he loved the way that sounded. How had he been such an idiot this whole time?

Her mother smiled a very knowing mom smile. She set some things into a box and started to pick it up.

He stopped her. "Hey, I can get that box for you." He lifted the box easily into his arms and looked down at its contents.

A golden, feathered mask rested on top of a few copies of her book.

There was no mistaking that he'd seen that mask before. That was Juliet's mask! What the hell? He looked at the mask, then he looked at Ms. Dawson. Then he looked back at the mask. Eww. He knocked the disturbing Mrs. Robinson thought out of his head. Please let there be another explanation, he prayed.

He stammered trying to keep his cool, "Uhh, Ms. Dawson? What's this? It's really cool." He set down the box and gingerly picked up the delicate mask, the texture taking him back to that moonlit Miami night, transporting him to the moment where he tried to lift the mask and reveal the identity of his Juliet.

"Oh, that's a tribal mask I sent Ally from Africa a few months back. I wanted to set it out as a decoration tonight, but for some reason, she didn't want to, probably thought it was too precious or something," she stated plainly.

Austin felt like he was going to throw up. A million feelings raced through his body: confusion, anger, excitement, queasiness, insecurity. He didn't know what he felt, he was feeling so much. He walked down the stairs in a daze, his mind trying to piece everything together. What did it all mean? Ally was his Juliet? Why hadn't she told him? Did she regret it? Questions buzzed in his mind like aimless moths to a flame. He stood, surveying the partygoers down below, searching for that familiar face. There was only one person who could give him some answers, and unfortunately for him, she was nowhere to be found.

So, review and let me know how you're all feeling?