Meeeerrryyyy late Christmas everyone! Although, I have to admit, it didn't quite feel like Christmas this year. Maybe it was the lack of snow (In the Netherlands, it was the warmest Christmas ever: 15 degrees) or the fact that I'm just getting older. Either way, I'm glad those Christmas songs disappeared from the radio at last. I honestly can only stand so much of those.

Anyway, this will be my last update of 2015. It's been one heck of a year, certainly some ups and downs. Best part is, that my BIRTHDAY is coming up and I'll be spending it in Spain. You may not know, but it's the 31st of December, I know, weird birthday huh. I can't believe I'm turning 18, that's practically adulthood. Gonna have my own bank account and everything, I dunno if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility. Next update will also reveal if I won any of the contests. I sure hope so, I haven't really checked lately.

Last time I forgot a few things. Major shout out to teenagebowtie for being the 50th review! Also a major shout out to tumblr user auslly-loves for sending me a lovely message telling me she loved my story Roles Of A Lifetime and complimenting my other stories as well. You really made my day sweetheart!

I personally reallyreally love this chapter. The first part, because I got to write a bit in Dan's perspective and that was a super new and interesting first. Second, I loved to write Ally in her specific situation and how Austin dealt with it. It's a pretty long one as well, making up for the shorty of last time.

My apologies for author notes in my last chapter. I felt super down and shouldn't have brought it into the chapter side notes like that.

There was an easy atmosphere in Austin and Ally's dorm room. Austin was reading a book for his class as Ally was happily paging through a magazine while humming along with the song playing from Austin's Ipod. The quiet environment got disrupted, though, as two muffled voices, one yelling and one sussing, pounded through the thin walls, quickly followed by a slam of a door. After exchanging a curious and at the same time worried glance, Austin closes his book and sits up straight. They don't have time to discuss what just happened as they hear a soft knock on their door. Austin gets up from the bed to reveal a broken girl standing in the hallway.

''Is Ally there?'' Hannah stutters with her breath caught in her throat, the mascara still running down her cheeks in thick, black tears. Austin looks at her with wide eyes as no words can escape his throat. He hears Ally stand up behind him and Hannah lets herself in without an invitation before running into her open arms. Austin looks at the two girls silently as he uncomfortably runs a hand through his hair.

''Should I...?'' he stammers awkwardly which results in two pairs of eyes sending a clear message his way. Gripping for the door handle, he backs up slowly. ''I-I'll leave you two alone for a bit.''

As he steps out of the room, the girls start whispering while Ally rubs Hannah's back. Closing the door silently, he looks around. He knew Ian and Lib were crashing some frat party in another building so the only one present was the cause of Hannah's disconcert, as far as he knew. If there was one thing Austin didn't like, it was drama that he didn't know everything of so maybe it wasn't a bad idea to hear Dan's side of the story.

After knocking on the door that was just slammed shut a minute ago he opens it on crack, just enough to show his face. In the room, Dan is sitting on the desk chair as he slowly spins it in half circles while playing with a pen, his chin supported by one hand. His tired eyes were staring into space with his hair, that he normally paid most attention to, now pushed up in a quiff as a result of stressfully running through it too much. When the British boy finally notices Austin's presence, he fakes an assuring smile.

''Hey, Austin,'' he greets him, giving Austin permission to enter the room. Pointing over his shoulder, Austin nods to the wall connecting their rooms.

''Hannah is in our room,'' he tells him carefully. ''She's pretty upset.''

Dan sighs as he once again runs a hand through his hair. ''I should go to her.''

''I don't think that's a good idea,'' Dan stops himself from getting up as Austin holds up both his hands. He doesn't like getting involved in other's relationship problems, but if he has a chance to stop a disaster, he uses it. ''If I've learned one thing about girls, it's that, if they're upset about something involving you, they need space.''

''Maybe you're right. I've been dating Hannah for quite a while, but I still feel like I'm new to this,'' Dan laughs nervously, his smile quickly dropping like he remembers the situation again. Gesturing to another chair, he invites Austin to take a seat, which he thankfully accepts. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he looks down at his hands as he twists his fingers tensed. Without meaning to, he starts talking to him. ''She heard some girls that she knows are interested in me gossip about her.''

Austin is silent for a few seconds as he doesn't know if he wants him to respond. He takes a deep breath before speaking up. ''I don't want to interfere or anything, but if you need anyone to share it with, I've been told I'm a good listener.''

Dan shows him a small smile as he looks up to him. ''Thanks, lad,'' he sighs once, like he's debating where to start before starting to tell the story.

''You know, those girls have been so lovely to me since I set foot on this campus. Extremely lovely. And, I don't know, to a guy who never got that much attention in his hometown, that's nice,'' he shrugs unknowingly. Then, a smile creeps onto his face paired with a slight blush. ''But I've fancied Hannah ever since I laid eyes on her,'' Austin copies his smile as he recognizes the sincere love in his voice. ''She was the first girl who didn't seem swooned by my foreign accent and habits. She saw me as a normal student and that was exactly what made her so interesting. Only later I realized she had fancied me that whole time,'' Dan shakes his head with a laugh filled with disbelief as he runs another hand through his hair, this time to hide the permanent shy blush on his cheeks.

''Hannah is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and I would never even glance in another girl's direction if it would upset her. Those girls may have given her the impression that she's exchangeable, but she's more special than they will ever be,'' the smile together with the blush has disappeared, remembering the way Hannah had yelled at him. ''And I love her.''

''That's the most romantic thing I have ever heard,'' Dan hadn't seen the two girls standing in the doorway as his back was turned towards it. The tears on her cheeks had dried up, now replaced with a wild blush and her eyes filled with happiness. His eyes widen when hearing her voice and he stands up, immediately greeted with her lips on his. ''I love you too.''

''You know that I love you, Han,'' he whispers before pressing a kiss on her hair. Austin had quickly risen from his chair as soon as Hannah had entered the room and was now watching the couple with Ally by his side. A faint sob makes him look down at her. Hiding her mouth between one hand, she uses the other to quickly wipe a tear away before it can run down her cheek.

''Are you crying?'' he asks her with a loving giggle.

''Shut up,'' her trembling voice gives her emotions away, pushing his shoulder as she can't hide the bubbly laugh. Austin joins her as he uses both arms to pull her against him.

Ally usually rose quietly, leaving the curtains closed to let Austin sleep a few more hours, figuring he needed them. So, obviously, he was quite surprised to wake up to her kicking around clothes that were scattered around the room whilst yelling at him.

''Were you raised by fucking wolves?'' she complains, throwing a shirt she picked up from the desk chair in his face, just as he opens his eyes. They take a moment to adjust to the sudden light he finds entering the room as he notices she opened the curtains. ''Have you ever heard of drawers?''

''You've met my mum, I would rather compare her to a house cat,'' he grins at his own joke, but shuts up when he sees the annoyed look on Ally's face. ''It's just a few shirts, you never told me you minded,'' he stretches before rubbing his eyes. Moving up to lean against the wall, he tries to read what's up with his girlfriend.

''Well, I do mind,'' she snaps at him before throwing another article of clothing in his direction, which he catches just before it hits him in the face again. She kicks a few objects that lay around her while releasing some swear words that even Austin had never heard her use. ''This whole morning seems to be against me.''

''Alls, come here. You need a hug,'' he pats the space on the bed next to him before spreading his arms for her to crawl between. Ally looks at him hesitating before turning her back towards him resolutely.

''You don't know what I need,'' she responds sassily while grabbing her book bag. ''Besides, I'm already late.

''You're ten minutes early, just like every morning,'' Austin had moved to the edge of the bed and wraps his arms around her waist to pull her on his lap. He hadn't missed the tears that welled up in the corners of her eyes when she fell out to him and refused to snuggle with him. The confirmation appears quickly as she starts sobbing in his chest. Holding her as close as possible, he strokes her hair while whispering comforting words. ''Now, tell me what's bothering you.''

''It's nothing, nothing important anyway. I don't want to bother you with it,'' she shakes her head, using Austin's sleep shirt to wipe the tears from under her eyes. He smiles at the black stain it leaves behind.

''Isn't that one of the tings I signed up for when I asked you out, to be bothered with your problems?'' she shows a knowing smile as he nudges her shoulder. ''C'mon, there's nothing I can't handle.''

''Fine, but you'll probably be grossed out or something,'' sighing, she looks at their tangled legs. ''I'm on my period. Normally it doesn't affect me that much, but sometimes it makes me extra snappy. Like today. I'm sorry.''

''Grossed out? You're kidding me right?'' he hugs her even tighter while pressing a kiss on her temple. ''Babe, there's nothing to be sorry about. I've lived with three women in one house, I'm familiar with the concept,'' Ally giggles relieved before getting out of his grip.

''Anyway, I should be okay, I'm just easily irritated and very emotional. Thanks for understanding,'' removing the leftover mascara from her cheeks, she grabs her bag again. ''If you just leave me at peace, I'll try not to get in your way,'' she exits the room just as an idea starts forming in Austin's head.

It had been a long day and neither the professors nor the study material had been kind to her. She had failed the pop quiz, resulting the professor to give her an extra assignment to catch up with the rest and, to make matters worse, she lost her wallet, which forced her to go on a surprise quest around campus that took about one and a half hour, only to find it in the pocket of her jacket after searching everywhere. Needless to say, she just wanted to go to bed and escape from the world. Unfortunately, she didn't think the professors would find 'lady problems' a valid excuse to fail more pop quizzes she would encounter the next day.

It was only eight PM, but she had never felt more exhausted and, honestly, craving human contact. But she knew Austin had some kind of late night tennis date with Ian, Dan and Lib, and he would be home around midnight. At least she couldn't bother him with her grumpiness, she figured. But when she opened the door, she found the light already on.

''Austin? What the-,'' he was sitting on his bed, surrounded by snacks and comfy pillows.

''I cancelled,'' he admits, hinting at the tennis game and nodding at his surroundings shyly. ''I figured there was someone who needed some company tonight.''

''What's all this?'' she gasps as, the longer she looks, the more things she spots that she loves.

''I read online that most girls feel like chocolate helps, but, since I know you're not a sweet tooth, I brought your favourite snack,'' he holds up four bags of salty popcorn. ''And some of your favourite thrillers, we're taking a break from studying tonight,'' as Ally approaches the bed, she indeed sees the movies she loves most. ''Also, I couldn't help but notice you were almost out of pads, so I bought some for you.''

''Austin-,'' she's interrupted again by the doubtful boy.

''Is it okay?,'' Austin asks quickly while looking at her with a blush. ''I mean, if you're tired, I totally understand.''

''It's perfect. Everything is amazing,'' the cramps that had ruined her mood for the past few hours seemed to be replaced by butterflies, like she felt them on the day she fell in love with him. His eyes light up when he sees that all the effort was worth every bit of it. Quickly throwing her jacket and bag on her own bed, she crawls on the bed next to him to give him a heartfelt kiss. ''You're amazing.''

With the laptop on Austin's lap and a blanket wrapped around them, they had created the perfect movie night setting. They had finished the first two bags of popcorn and were now making quite a progress on the third. After the rather scary thriller 'Hide and Seek', where Ally had gladly used Austin's chest to lay on and his neck to snuggle in when it got too horrifying for her to handle, they were now almost at the end of a thriller that was just as scary, if not scarier; 'The Black Swan'. It wasn't hard to see why Ally loved these kinds of thrillers, these two had a clear similarity. The thing she liked to do while watching it, was apply her knowledge of psychology on the psycho characters. She happily did during 'Hide and Seek' and she was already talking to Austin about the mental disease Nina, the main character, was suffering from.

''You see, Nina's hallucinations and delusions are a clear sign of schizophrenia, however she could also be suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder because of the White Swan and Black Swan persona. One innocent and fragile, the other violent which results into even harming herself,'' she explains shortly as they see Nina figuring out she stabbed herself instead of killing the competing girl for the lead role. ''The fact that she also struggles with anxiety and an eating disorder makes it even more clear that she's slipping into a psychological illness. The film really did a great job portraying that. The ending is my favourite part, look.''

''Hey, Alls,'' Austin enjoyed hearing Ally talking about something she loved so much and using her love for the course she was following. When she gives him a questioning 'hmm', he grabs the big cup filled with coke and two straws and holds it up for her to drink. When she notices the straw in the corner of her eye, she follows it with her mouth, keeping her attention on the laptop that was now showing the final dance of the white swan as the blood of the deep wound was spreading over the snow white costume.

Grinning, Austin keeps moving the cup so it's constantly just out of reach and she keeps unconsciously following it with her lips parted until she is close enough to his face. He quickly lowers the cup and captures her lips with her own in a surprise attack. Giggling, she touches his jaw as she kisses him back, forgetting about the favourite part of the film showing in front of them. After a minute, Austin pecks Ally's lips a final time. ''I love it when you talk Psychology to me.''

''Great, now I missed the ending,'' she nudges him as she points at the credits appearing on the screen after she stopped laughing.

''It's not like you haven't already seen it a thousand times,'' Austin mocks her in which Ally shrugs in confirmation. Moving everything off his bed, he gets up while pulling Ally with. ''C'mon, it's already late.''

After quickly cleaning the food and changing into their pyjamas, they meet in the bathroom to brush their teeth.

''If I faiw mowe pop quizzes tommowow, I'm holding you wesponsibwe,'' Ally tells him, her words slurred by the toothpaste and toothbrush between her teeth.

''I have no iwea what you'we tawking about,'' he imitates her and plays innocent at the same time, earning him a prick in the side, making him yelp. ''Tew them it was my fauwt, they probabwy wove me.''

''They dow't evew kwow you!'' she giggle.

''They shouwd, I'm the guy that's keepiwg you focussed,'' totally convinced by his own statement, he wipes imaginary dust of his shoulder in arrogance. ''Apawt fwom this evewiwg, though.''

''You'we howwibwe,'' they laugh at the way they managed to keep the toothpaste burden up in the whole conversation. Austin couldn't help but notice, though, that she's been holding her stomach with one arm the whole time and the furrowing of her eyebrows scream that she's in pain. He doesn't know if it's the bathroom lighting, but she's looking pale as her smile is far from genuine.

''Cramps?'' he asks her once he's spat out the toothpaste, making his speech understandable again. One nod and a tired look is enough as he goes to stand behind her and covers her stomach with his own arm while pressing a comforting kiss on her cheek. ''I bought you a warm water bottle for your stomach at night.''

It was midnight and Austin was extremely tired, yet he could not fall asleep for one reason only; he could hear Ally tossing and turning, sighing because of the pain in her stomach. When he hears the first sob, he jumps out of bed and right into hers, holding her close.

''Are you okay?'' he whispers, trying to think of ways to sooth the pain.

''What do you think?'' she says, feeling Austin brush her hair out of her neck to get her in the most comfortable position possible. Laying in a big spoon, he lays his arm over her waist to rub her stomach. ''Sorry, I just can't sleep. It really hurts.''

''I know,'' pressing a kiss on her shoulder, he sees a thankful smile on her lips. ''What can I do to help?''

''Just,'' by rolling on her other side, she faces him before exchanging her pillow for his chest and entangling their legs. ''Stay.''

''That's easy, I'm good at that,'' she shows him an honest smile as she snuggles even closer, loving the way he wraps his arms around her.

''Thanks for tonight, for making me forget for just a few hours.''

''Glad I could help, I hate seeing you in pain,'' with one more content sigh, he hears her breathing lowing down until her body is completely relaxed. A few minutes go by as he makes sure he doesn't move too much in order not to wake her up. He had never heard her talk in her sleep, but he's sure he hears her mumble something all of a sudden.

''Austin,'' she murmurs, her lips captured in the fabric of his sleep shirt. ''Austin!''

''What? What's wrong, babe? I'm right here,'' he laughs and shushes her before she yells so loud she might wake up the rooms next to them.

''No, you're not!'' she furrows her eyebrows in worry and frustration as she lightly tucks on his shirt, clearly seeing some kind of nightmare behind her closed eyelids.

''Yes, I am. Look, right here,'' lowering his voice, he acts like he's talking to a toddler and kisses her forehead to prove that he really is here.

''Oh,'' she just answers and seems to go back to her peaceful dream.

''Go back to sleep, Alls,'' Austin whispers while closing his eyes as well. She doesn't answer anymore, already flying off to never-never land.

''I love you, Aus,'' she mumbles, raising the question whether she's still asleep or awake. The sleep deprived girl could've been sleep talking, the most logic explanation, but what was the thing with always telling the truth in your sleep?

I hope you're starting to see a pattern here. Ally has told Austin she loves him multiple times, but not in the most common ways. Usually when she's rushing or half asleep. As someone who's never had a serious relationship before, Austin is not sure how to handle it.

Just in case you're having a hard time following the teeth brushing conversation, replace the w's with either R's, L's or N's. I just made up a whole new language.

An early Happy New Year to all you guys!

sicklscaler chapter 8

Things are going good and then I'm am worried about Austin seems to be struggling. Good to see a chapter though. Keep them coming. Happy Holidays - You saw that right, Austin has a hard time keeping up. Hope you stick with me to see the storyline developing! Happy Holidays to you too!

sicklscaler chapter 7

What happened to Austin's shoulder? Is he ok? Sorry I didn't review I missed this chapter and just now read it. - I'm sorry, forgot to answer this one. He had a mild injury from the football game, but he's okay!

missmia10 chapter 8

THAT WAS SO FRICKIN CUTE. poor Austin tho:( - Thank you, I try ;) Tell me about it, I know what it's like to see everyone succeeding in school and you're just struggling to keep up