DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AUSTIN & ALLY!
Ally's POV:
"I'm just an illusion!(1)" Austin sang the final line of the song.
We were currently sitting in the practice room rehearsing the song that he was going to sing for the Miami Music Mini Bash this Saturday.
It's been eight days since I got the letter from the FAIU and I still haven't told them that it's in New York yet. I've never kept a secret for this long before, especially one like this. I hate not telling my friends that I'm moving to New York and I wont be seeing them in a long time.
I really do love them all, but I just can't bring myself to practically destroy their happiness. Attending this school has been my dream since I could play a C-scale on the piano, so for about twelve years.
"Alls? Earth to Ally!"
I was shaken out of my thoughts by Austin waving his hand in front of my face. "Huh- what?" I asked, oblivious as to what was going on at the moment.
He chuckled a little. "You were spaced out." Then his smile dropped and his face grew serious. "Is there something wrong?" He asked, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
I slumped my shoulders a little bit and looked up at him from the piano keys. "It's just I-" I completely forgot what I was going to say; I had just noticed that his face was only a few inches from mine and I could make out every little detail in his kind hazel eyes...Not again!
I closed my eyes and shook my head, turning back to the piano. I shrugged. "Nothing, just thinking about what we could do to the song to improve it." I said, playing around with the keys and hoped that he would buy it.
His finger curl under my chin and lift up my head so I was facing him. "Ally, the song's amazing. Nothing needs to be changed." He whispered.
His eyes had millions of gold flecks in them, kind of like a firework show. There was a dark green swivel circulating around his pupil that I found myself tracing.
His hot, jagged breath collided on my face. Like a magnet, I found myself drawn to him.
I leaned in and tilted my head partly to the right. I'm not really an expert on kissing, but I've read enough about it to know what you're supposed to do(2). Call me crazy- crazy- but he started leaning in too.
Are we going to kiss? Does he want to kiss me? Well, duh, that's why he's leaning in too! What if he thinks that this is a 'spur of the moment' thing? What would happen next? Oh crap, he's closing his eyes, that's your cue! Kiss him!
Before I could do anything, Trish and Dez burst through the doors. "Hey, that sounded gr- are we interrupting something?" Trish said, smiling.
Austin and I jumped to opposites of the piano bench away from each other. Well, I was on the piano bench still, Austin fell on the floor.
"N-no." I stuttered. Great...might as well have a big neon sign that says 'I'm in love with Austin Moon!' why don't ya? Wait...LOVE? I meant like! Yeah, I'm in like with him. That sounded stupid...Cry me a river...
"Where's my gingerbread house?!" Dez yelled. It was more of a demand than a question. He searched frantically through the fridge next to us.
"I ate it." Trish said casually, shrugging it off like it was nothing. "Oh, and Ally," she ran up to me and sat in Austin's spot, before he fell off. "I wanted to know more about FAIU, how close it is to us?" She asked. She propped her elbow on the top of the piano and stared at me inventively.
I sighed and bit my bottom lip. "Well..." I said in a high-pitched voice. "it's-"
Austin stood up and dusted off his jeans. "Isn't it just like 30 miles from here?" He interrupted.
"That's right! And it'll be way easier because that way she can still work at the Sonic Boom and still be able to see us!" Trish squealed. She jumped up off of the piano bench and over to Austin and Dez.
The three started blurting off things like how we're still going to be able to see each other a lot, and how we're still going to be strong- maybe stronger than ever- about Austin's career.
I have to tell them now. "Guys..." I said slowly. I debated how this was going to happen: A, they could completely forget and replace me, leaving me alone in New York. Or B, they're convinced that I didn't want to go to the school and they think that I called the board and told them that I wouldn't be attending. A means that they were never really true friends, and B means that they're being selfish. Let's just hope that none of those things were going to happen.
Apparently they didn't hear me because now they were talking about how they were going to be touring all over the world. "Oh, we have to go to San Francisco sometime; I wanna see the Golden Gate Bridge(3)!" Trish exclaimed, bouncing a couple of times on her toes.
"Guys..." I tried again. No luck...
Austin chirped in, not noticing what I was trying to say like the others. "And the best apart about it is that we're going to be in this together, as four best friends." He said solemnly as he placed a hand over his heart, looking out into his 'dreamland'.
I have to do it now. "Guys!" That grabbed their attention because they stopped talking and looked at me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I opened them and realized that it was now or never. I was doing this. "The music school...is in New York." I said with slow and sadness defined in my tone.
They looked at me like I was crazy. "That's impossible, FAIU is in Florida, not New York. Doesn't FAIU stand for Florida Arts Institute University?" Trish asked, her eyebrows pushed together.
I shook my head. "It stands for Fine Arts Institute University, not Florida Arts Institute University. There is one here in Florida, but I wasn't accepted into that one. I earned my scholarship at the FAIU in New York." I said, raising my hands halfway as if it would calm down.
Dez shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his bright and colorful sneakers. He rocked back and forth on his heels, not daring to meet my gaze.
Austin looked up and the ceiling, wiped the imaginary sweat on his face with his hands, and walked past me to the other side of the room.
Trish walked over to the window and looked out over the mid-day city. She stared off into the big blue sky and watched how the birds flew together in groups to reach their destinations.
I couldn't stand to see my best friends like this. They thought this entire time that we would be able to stay together. They thought that I was still going to be able to see them everyday like they had imagined it to be. "I don't have to go to the university; I could call them and have them revoke my scholarship." I suddenly blurted out. I mean, yeah, it was worth a shot, but this is the best music college next to Julliard(4).
"Don't do that Ally, this means too much to you." Austin replied, still staring at the door.
"Austin, I don't have to go to the universi-"
"You have to go Ally!" He shouted, turning to me. He took a deep breath and said, "This is your dream, you have to chase it." He sat down on the piano bench next to me and looked me dead in the eyes. "This is your dream, Alls. Your dream has been going to this college since you learned how to play piano; can't let us just stop you from that. You never gave up on us with our dreams, and we have proof. Dez is finally a film maker, Trish can finally boss people around for no reason, and I'm an internet sensation. Those were our dreams, and because of you they became true." He stood up and placed my hands in his. "Your dream is this school, you can't just abandon that dream because of us. It isn't fair if we live your dreams and you don't(5)."
Trish and Dez appeared next to me and Austin. Trish put a hand on my shoulder and put his hand on my back. I didn't notice any of it though, because all I could comprehend was the boy in front of me who stole my heart in a matter of seconds.
"He's right, you've done so much for us, you deserve this more than any of us." Trish said, stealing my attention.
Why are they being so supportive of this? It is really nice that they're encouraging me to chase my dream, but it's almost like they want me to leave. They're not showing any emotion, does that mean that they don't care if I leave?
Maybe the only reason that they're sad is because they won't have a fourth of Team Austin with them anymore. They did say that I did do most of the important work.
"Are...are you s-sure?" I asked. I squeezed Austin's hands again and looked at both Trish and Dez, who were meeting my eye line.
Austin closed his eyes and slumped a little before regaining his posture and looking my dead in the eyes. "Positive." He looked down.
Austin's POV:
How could she not tell us that the university was in New York? She seemed so excited when she got the letter. I couldn't just let her give up on her dream for us, she always made sure that our dreams came true, so she should be able to do the same.
I couldn't show her that it was killing me on the inside to know that she was really leaving, because she would decline her full scholarship on the spot.
She had to go after this opportunity, this is a once in a lifetime thing, she can't just say no.
I didn't realize how much it was going to affect me until we almost kissed. I know she's my best friend, but I really wanted to kiss her.
"Positive." I replied, looking down.
You idiot! Don't just push her away! Now she's going to think that you don't want her here in Miami! You need to tell her somehow that she should take the offer without coming off as if you want to get rid of her!
That annoying little voice in my head that sounds like Dez is right. Ally does deserve this, and we can't hold her back, but if we hold her back, she's going to leave. If she leaves, then we won't be able to see her in a few years except for holiday breaks.
I can't imagine a life without walking to the Sonic Boom every morning to see her writing in her songbook behind the counter. The adorable way she taps the pencil on her chin would become a memory. The way she can't dance and I would be there to teach her would become something to remember from pictures. The way she tells people to follow the rules constantly would become a flash memory in the back of your head. The way she comes up with lyrics for a hit song instantly would become something that couldn't be replaced, no matter how hard someone tried(6).
Ally can't leave, but it's for her dream. And like I said before, if we were able to live out our dreams, she should be able to too.
I took my hands out of Ally's and pushed past her. "I...I have to go." I knew that if I stayed any longer, then I would break down and cry. I couldn't let Ally see me cry, she would've stayed.
I ran out of the store and outside of the mall. People that passed me were giving me weird looks. I couldn't blame them, it's not everyday you see Austin Moon cry.
Once I reached the local park, I sat on a bench and moped. Lucky for me it was in a private area that nobody goes to, so no one saw my sulking-session.
Could this really be the end for Team Austin? We can't do anything of this without her, so it must be.
There's no way I can make it without you, do it without you, be here without you. It's no fun when you're doing it solo, with you it's like whoa. Yeah, and I know that I own this dream, cause I've got you with me. There's no way I can make it without you, do it without you, be here without you.
That was the second song that Ally and I wrote together. It was the first day we were officially music partners and I couldn't be any happier. We knew that this was going to be the perfect plan: she can write songs, but can't preform. I can preform, but I can't write songs. We were the perfect match, period.
She can't know that we're going to be practically miserable without her here. Now I know what it's like for a parent to see their kid moving out of their house. It sucks.
It's going to be hard, because for a few months now I've taking a special liking to her. It affected me even more than it did with Cassidy. Because with Cassidy, those feelings went away right after she told me she was moving to L.A. The way I feel about Ally has grown stronger and stronger each and every day. Cassidy gave me butterflies whenever she talked to me, but Ally gave me freaking eagles. Cassidy gave me a tingly feeling whenever she touched me, but Ally gave me lightning bolts instead. With Cassidy I felt the need to wrap my arms around her, but with Ally all I wanna do is push her up against the first wall I see and kiss her senselessly. With Cassidy I only felt like I was a shadow in her eyesight, but with Ally she makes sure I get a taste of the limelight. Cassidy only focuses on what's going on in her life, but Ally is very selfless, so she makes it top priority that others are happy before she wonders about what she should wear that morning(7).
So yeah, I've got it pretty bad if you ask me.
But what if Ally leaves and never comes back? She's amazingly talented, she's bound to end up writing songs for Katy Perry one day. She could forget me- and Trish and Dez.
What if she belongs in New York? With all of the Broadway plays and the amazing music. She could get over her stage fright, and then she would be an amazing singer/songwriter. She could be the one playing at Time Squares on New Years Eve.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, it wasn't meant to be. But if it does, then it was yours to keep.
I know what I have to do now: set Ally free and let her go to FAIU. If she stays, then that's where she belongs. If she comes back, then this is where she belongs.
A/N: Wow...that was a really special chapter. You know something's up when Austin is using all of his willpower not to do something very Auslly-like to our dear Ally. Raise your hand if you knew I was going to tease you guys with that almost-kiss? *raises hand* And let's give a round-of-applause to the consciouses to our very own love birds in denial! *runs around clapping and screaming WOOOOOOOO!*
What we use to count how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop:
1- A little sneak peak of the song Austin sings in a future chapter and in the actual episode!
2- Leave it to Ally to only know about how to kiss from reading...
3- I DON'T OWN IT! *raises hands in surrender*
4- THE most prestigious music school known to homophones
5- Think about it, it's true...
6- A list of all of Ally's little antics that Austin finds absolutely adorkable. You can see it in his eyes during filming! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP !
7- You know that it's real when he compares her to his co-worker crush and finds Ally like twenty-million times better
Responses To All of You All's Amazing reviews:
Braveatheart1996- I know right? It's like at first (of they aren't OOC and AU of course) that in the beginning they sort of have the same personality, then they completely forget it by the end of the second chapter!
.54- Thanks so much! It means a lot knowing that I have readers in Portugal!
MelodyMashUp- Ditto! Except my name would be like Sarah or Cheyenne, cause my friends say I look like it! And scheming with Trish would be so much fun!
cantloginsorry- SIX! I pulled that prank on one of my friends before I could even say the 'T'!
Question of the Chapter:If you had to sing one song in the world right after you finish sucking the helium out of a balloon, what song would it be and who would you sing it to? For me it was Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jespen to my little cousin :)
That One Moment In Life:When you're having a legit conversation with your two-year-old cousin. This is how mine went (One of the MANY times):
Me- So how was your day at school today?
Micheal- It was good.
Me- What did you do?
Micheal- We watched Handy Mandy and I got to get the snacks with Mrs. Sandy.
Me- Did you see your brother in the halls?
Micheal- Yeah, he was walking with his teacher. He said hi to me.
Me- So when we get home, what do you wanna do?
Micheal- I wanna play transformers with Karsten! (his brother)
Me- Oh, what kind of Transformers do you have?
Micheal- Actomas Prime, Actomas Primal, and Bumblebee!
Me- Do you also want to play Cars?
Micheal- Yeah! *names ALL of the cars, NO JOKE!*
Me- *laughs* I love you, you know that, right?
Micheal- I love you too.
FREAKING AMAZING! YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN HIM WHEN HE DISCOVERED THE EASY BUTTON!
BYE!
