Sorry for the week long wait for a new chapter, I've been super busy and I just could not find any inspiration for what to happen in this chapter. Anyway, thank you guys for all the awesome feedback on the story, as long as you keep reading and reviewing, I'll keep writing. Enjoy!

"Just let me read it." Ally demanded, standing quickly and, after realizing that Austin was going to honor her request to read it, she opened it. Austin put his face in his hands shook it slightly, waiting for the response that he knew would come from the letter. After a moment, Ally let her eyes lift from the page and, with a tear threatening to escape, managed to say;

"You kept it."

xxx

Ally let her fingers fiddle with the edges of the worn note, a tear threatening to roll out from the back of her eye.

"Sometimes," Austin started, lifting his head from his hands. "I read it when I miss you." That statement broke the dam and Ally felt her cheeks becoming wet. She dried them with her sleeve, over and over again, but she couldn't stop and she honestly didn't know why. She tried to collect herself enough to speak, but ended up sitting down in the chair closest to her and sighed, feeling the pain in her chest and the water in her eyes subside.

"Why?"

"What do you mean. 'why'?" Austin replied, surprised by his monotonous voice, because he surely felt the weight of the situation in his heart.

"Why would you keep this?" Ally felt her voice crack, but didn't care.

"Because...," Austin stood up and moved to the small space unoccupied in the chair she was in, "it was the only thing I had left of you." She laid her head on his shoulder. "But, I want you to know something." Ally lifted her head and met his eyes.

"What?"

"I was never going to go to L.A., at least not until I woke up and found this," he grabbed the letter and turned it over in his hands, letting his finger line the faded lipstick. "The ticket, it was a bribe, from Jimmy Starr, he was hoping that I would let go of whatever was keeping me in New York when I got it, and I guess I did."

"Or I did for you," Ally thought.

"But why didn't you throw it out, weren't you mad at me?" Ally asked, slowly feeling her resolve return.

"Ally, I could never be mad at you," Austin replied, taking her hand in his own and slowly massaging it.

"I'm sorry," she couldn't think of any other reply and hoped that her words could somehow portray everything she wanted to say, although she knew they never could.

"Ally, I never stopped having feelings for you. Why would I?" Austin's voice became more heated, more passionate, "It took everything in me to turn down that movie when they offered it to me, but I thought I had something even better... with you," Austin looked down at his hands, he had started pacing, "obviously you didn't feel the same, though, because you left me with nothing but that! That note! That was all you gave me!" Austin felt his voice rising and tried to keep himself from choking.

"Austin! I'm so SO sorry!" Ally cried, standing and trying to stop him from pacing, but he felt like everything that had been bottled up for so many tears was coming out in his speech.

"Do you want to know, Ally, how I felt that morning? When I woke up and you weren't there, after we had just... y'know... and we had both said that we loved each other, then you just left." Austin let Ally sit him down on the couch and she just let him breathe.

"I wanna know," Ally said, "I've always wondered what happened when I left, please tell me."

"I'm not sure you want to know," Austin sighed.

"I do, I really really do."

"Okay," Austin took a few breaths and set the stage.

xxx

*Beep*Beep*

Austin slammed his hand on the snooze button on his alarm clock which knocked a few papers off of his nightstand, he took no notice and turned back, expecting his arm to wrap around the girl whom he had confessed his love and had the feeling returned just last night. Instead, he was met by a crinkling of paper.

"Ally?" Austin ran his hand up and down the bed, searching in vain for the girl of his dreams. "Ally! Ally!" He threw the blanket off himself and looked around, ran into the kitchen, looked in the bathroom, then returned to the bedroom and sat down on the opposite side of the bed. Finally, he noticed the paper that he had touched earlier, there was a perfect kiss shape and the shadow of the writing on the other side. Slowly, he picked it up and traced the lipstick, then unfolded it and read under his breath, letting a salty tear fall from his eye and to his lips.

"Perhaps we'll meet again on some street corner in some other city one day. Love... love... love, Ally," He re-read the note, over and over, then laid back on his bed and held it tight, tears rolling down his face and staining his cheeks.

Austin stood up and slipped on a couple of papers on the floor of his room, he stooped down and picked up the ticket, letting it sink in that Ally wanted him to go. He really wasn't sure why she had left, but he knew how much he loved her, and that he didn't want to leave her behind. Finally, he stood and folded the note back to how it was and walked to his bookcase, and started putting them in the same box that they had been in. Dumping them in and rushing to be ready to leave at 5 o'clock this afternoon. Austin stopped when he came across the book that had brought him to the realization of his feelings for this girl and decided that that was where he wanted to keep this note, in her honor. He placed it on one of his favorite pages, almost as a bookmark, and threw it in the box.

At 4:00, Trent had come home and helped Austin finish packing, he was ready and dropped off most of the boxes at the postal service, then made Trent promise to mail the rest soon. He had called his record company earlier, confirming that he would be going to L.A., and was climbing back into Trent's car and taking out his phone again, checking to see if Ally had called him.

"Just call her, man. Tell her that you're going," Trent said, watching this ritual for the fifth time in just the past few hours.

"No, she knows, she's the one who told me to go. Let's just get to the airport," Austin finally mumbled, putting his phone in his pocket and breathing deeply.

Austin looked out the window of the plane bound for Los Angeles, wondering - no hoping - that Ally was watching for his plane from her window. He leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes, just to be opened a few seconds later by a girl plopping down next to him.

"Hi, I'm Cassidy."

"I'm Austin."

xxx

"Cassidy?" Ally asked, scanning Austin for any reaction to his story. "You met Cassidy, because of me? Because I told you to go."

"Uh huh, and now she's my girlfriend and I really care about her," Austin said, in all seriousness, locking eyes with Ally.

"Oh- okay...," Ally started, but she couldn't find the right words to continue so just let the silence speak for itself.

"But not as much as I care about you," Austin whispered. Ally heard and slipped her hand under his chin, leaning his head toward hers and feeling very awkward. Austin took control, turning himself and putting his hand on her cheek, closing their lips and melting into their kiss. That is, until they heard the door open.

"Austin, you forgot to give me back my phone when you borrowed it-" Cassidy squeaked and lost every word from her lips and every thought from her mind.

Do I even need to say it? Well I will, OOO drama! Anyways... Couples & Careers 3 It's such a good episode!

Also, I'd love to hear you favorite parts of the chapter and OF COURSE any suggestions you have, constructive criticism is also appreciated.