A/N: So here's when things get started. I wrote 3k+ on this chapter so I'm kind of proud. Don't worry guys, I have a lot of things planned for this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

You asked, and I answered

II. Different isn't bad

Austin opened the door to a tallish sandy haired blonde, looking concerned. "Everything okay? I heard a shout. I thought it was just my brother shooting another weird cinematic video for his class, but he already left."

It was Cassidy Wade, the girl who resided with her older brother down the hall from him.

Austin looked at his hand where Ally looked back and then held his hand up, gesturing for Cassidy's attention. Someone else could see how crazy this was.

Cassidy looked at his hand confused, and back at him. "What? Your hand broken?"

"No. You can't see? There's a tiny girl." Austin held his hand up again. Ally simply smiled and put her hands behind her back, straightening up.

This time, Cassidy made a skeptical smile. "Did you hit your head or something? I mean, that's a clean looking palm, if that's what you're showing."

She glanced back at his empty palm and back at him. Except it wasn't empty, and it occurred to Austin that he couldn't show that. Ally was invisible to her.

A hand went up to his hair. If he's having hallucinations now… "Definitely the leftovers." He muttered to himself. A giggle came from Ally.

"Oh-kay…" Cassidy broke his distraction, putting both her hands up. "If everything is fine, I'll just head back now. I'm Cassidy by the way." She looked over his shoulder. "You could clean up a bit though." She smiled, showing no harm and turned to leave. "Nice bed hair by the way." She strolled down the hallway, leaving Austin to actually feel slightly conscious of his appearance for the first time in a while, his hand brushing over the tousled mess.

When he closed the door again, Ally spoke up. "She was sweet to check on you."

"Yeah, I don't talk to her much. Or my other neighbors." Austin replied. His eyes shot back at her. "Others can't see you. Can they?" He concluded wearily. The being shook her head. Austin let out an exhale. So he was right. "Alright, Ally. So how are you to help me?"

She jumped up. "Well, for starters. Your residence." She returned his challenging tone. Her hands held to his thumb as she scanned the living room.

"What about it?" Austin felt almost defensive for some reason, even though his decorations weren't something he was proud of.

"You sweep. That's good. But it doesn't look that homey." Ally examined the wooden tile. "I like that couch. And that lamp. This could be a great living room." Her eyes were practically sparkling. He wouldn't be surprised if they could.

"It doesn't need to be. Why is this important?" He walked to said couch, sitting on it.

"Because! Because is why it is important!" Ally hopped and skipped off his hand onto the cushion, running over to the couch pillow and repositioned it. "This is the place you come home to, the place you are supposed to relax, where you can settle down in after a long day." She spun around to him, hopping in small bursts of energy.

It was bewildering and invigorating at the same time to him that he found the corner of his lips twitching. "That so?" He leaned down on his forearm to look at the guiding angel. "I thought you were my angel, not my new home improvement manager."

Ally marched up to him so she was in front of his face. "You're not getting the point." Her brown eyes were warm and then she started spinning her hands in a circle. Before Austin could question it, a light sparkle and light glowed from the center of her hands, before it suddenly expanded, light hitting the walls of the room in a second. The breath was knocked out from Austin temporarily in shock as he reeled back and then yelped again as he felt himself shift to the side. His hands clung to the couch as the couch moved on its own to the center of the room instead of its position against the wall.

"Ally!" He shouted. Not sure what for, whether for help or scolding.

"Take a look."

He did, and the new arrangement immediately made the living room look more inviting and… cozy.

He stared at the lamp that positioned itself by the wall and a wave of nostalgia washed over him.

It wasn't plain walls anymore, but olive green and copious picture frames of a family hung over the wall. Christmas music was playing, filling the atmosphere with a warm feeling and his mom was scolding his dad for watching the sports channel instead of her favorite dance show before they ended up laughing at the coffee his dad clumsily spilled on his shirt. The memory faded away just as fast as it came.

Someone was calling his name before he snapped out of it, blinking at the plain empty room again. He knew Ally was looking at him from beside him, but he couldn't help but slump over.

He could still hear their laughter and them telling him to join them for family bonding time. His heart was pounding, and his breathing started to become uneven.

That was her lamp. His mom's.

Austin's head was in his hands, the flashback making him reel back into a whirlwind of grief.

Something light touched his leg and he lifted his head. Ally was staring up at him with a melancholy expression, but this time, he wasn't entirely calmed down as before. He returned her look with wide wet eyes. "Just… stop." He ordered weakly, getting up and slammed the bedroom door when he got in.

He leaned his back against the wall, his eyes searching his bedroom that was the same as before. That was too real.

He's going to change his clothes and wash up. And when he comes back out, the "angel" will be gone and his living room will be back the way it was.

In the washroom, he lifted the water in his hands to splash his face. He didn't need help.

There was another chime, and Austin froze. He looked around but he was empty in the bathroom. After a few seconds, he looked up at the ceiling.

What was he waiting for? A sign? Answer? He didn't pray. He hadn't asked anything from Him in a long time. But he waited anyway. Just for another few seconds before resuming to wash his face.

He slipped on a blue t shirt and jeans, brushing his hair out so it wasn't the mess it was from what Cassidy described.

Looking in the mirror, he straightened his shirt out. He examined himself shortly. His hazel eyes looked more awake, and while he didn't pay attention to his appearance that much, something about his reflection seemed more familiar to him. Like he was actually looking at himself, and not someone who was on his own for months.

Austin took a deep breath as he held the doorknob before opening it.

The living room was back to the way it was.

When he turned his head, he wasn't startled this time when he saw Ally sitting on the window sill, looking out. He walked towards her as she kept her hands on her white cotton clad lap, looking up at him. "I would like to apologize." Her voice resonated. "I should've waited for your permission. It had unseen circumstances, and for that, I would like to apologize to you." She stood up. "Please let me continue to help you."

Austin bent down, searching her eyes and over her soft looking porcelain skin. Hazel eyes flickered back to her brown ones. "This is real, isn't it?" His voice was a murmur even though he felt like he didn't need confirmation anymore. Ally gave a slow nod.

He straightened up slowly, closing his eyes as he breathed out. Without a word, he held his hand out until he felt her step on to it and brought it to his shoulder for her to stand on. Oh boy, an actual angel on his shoulder. Austin's really lost his mind now.

He got his house keys and made his way to the front door. "You're taking me to work." Ally acclaimed, a small pleased sound in her voice.

"Kind of."

It wasn't really work. He worked small jobs around town. Whether it was shoveling snow, walking dogs, or working behind a counter somewhere. He had a lot of money leftover from his parents and relatives who send him some, but he had to keep making some income to continue. And to busy him with something during the day.

Ally didn't say anything as she looked at the guitar in the coat closet when he opened it to grab a jacket. It looked dusty, like it hadn't been touched in months. It probably wasn't.

When they made it out of the apartment, Ally looked at one of the other apartment doors. "You should make friends with Cassidy. You look around the same age."

"I think she's a year younger."

"That doesn't matter. She has a good heart if she checked on you."

Austin just scoffed a little when they were in the elevator.

"Or her brother, I hear."

"I've seen him around a little. Never met him though."

"Do you know his name?"

"I think it's Ned or something. Or starts with a D."

Ally smiled big, looking up at the floors above them with a glint in her eye when they were in the lobby. Fortunately for her, this was missed by Austin as he went outside.

"So… angels. What you did before: you have powers?"

Austin had been walking for a while, and felt the need to break the silence.

"Only enough to help out." Ally answered, seeming to enjoy her ride on his shoulder as she gazed around the snow.

"So you could… use it to control people or something like that too?"

"No, Austin. People are souls too." She said gently. Her eyes laid on the fabric of his coat. "I can't do that. And they don't deserve it. They have a right to their own heart."

Austin nodded and stayed quiet the rest of the walk.

"Thank you, Austin. Happy Holidays." The lady nodded, handing him his paycheck in her front door. He just finished shoveling the old lady's front yard, with Ally keeping him company unseen, of course.

Austin nodded with a straight face, putting the envelope in his coat pocket before going down the freshly shoveled walkway.

Ally patted his shoulder in light happy rhythms. "Good job." She appraised for his work.

A small chuckle made it to his throat, but didn't answer. She began humming, and he wondered if Angels had specifics songs they listened to than human ones. He couldn't recognize this song, but it was melodic and calming.

"Do you enjoy the snow, compared to Miami winters?" She asked out of the blue. For a moment, he was astonished by how she knew he wasn't born in New England. But then he remembered she was an angel and must know a lot of things already above his awareness.

"Enjoy?" He repeated, knitting his eyebrows together. He looked at the blankets of snow around him, some perfectly smooth, and other stepped all over white planes. "I don't know. It's different."

"Different isn't bad."

Austin didn't say anything, focusing on the snow. Of all the driveways and yards he's shoveled, he never really gave thought to the feathery substance. Feathery, sometimes heavy, substance.

When he thinks about it, this is only the second or third time he's seen snow in his life.

The only times he has was when his parents vacationed in Colorado or in a lodge in the mountains one Christmas.

His eyes down casted to the sidewalk and he let Ally's rhythmic patting distract him the rest of the way.

"Can you cook?"

"Not like an expert, but I get by."

Austin entered a diner. He decided not to talk to Ally so it wouldn't seem like he was talking to himself. He took a seat at the counter and ordered a plate of eggs for his dinner.

Ally smiled curiously at the menu and looked at him. "Why didn't you get pancakes?"

He waved his hand dismissively without a thought.

"HEEY Moon man!" A voice boomed. Austin jumped, looking behind him as a hand clamped on his shoulder.

A jolt of panic surged through him before he could even register that it was Elliot Stevens, a frequent customer to one of the jobs Austin does behind counter at a sports store, who seems to consider himself buddies with Austin already for some reason.

Austin darts his eyes to the floor for where Ally could've fallen. She's on the tile by his stool, not looking injured, but instead looking up with such an innocent shocked expression that she was knocked off, that he honestly cannot help but burst out laughing.

The sound shocks everyone around him, including Elliot and the waiters. Because they've known Austin in town for a while, albeit the lack of conversation, and he rarely gives a real smile, but here he was, holding his stomach from laughing so hard, that they don't even question why on earth's sake he's laughing because his smiling contagious. They guess it's something Elliot did, and even Elliot assumes that, and they all can't help the smile they get from his display happiness.

Ally bites back a smile. Austin finally dies down and subtly shifts his foot so Ally can climb it, and turns to Elliot, wiping a tear from his eye. "Hi to you too, Elliot."

Elliot just grins and sits down next to him at the counter, ordering a stack of french toast and starts babbling on about something. Ally perched herself on Austin's lap, looking up with a happy smile at Austin actually listening to what Elliot was telling as his plate of eggs arrived before leaning her head back on his shirt.

"They must've thought I was crazy…"

"They didn't. Trust me, I know, I'm an angel." Ally said knowingly with a nod, back on his shoulder as he walked onto his apartment floor.

Austin just nods, giving the benefit of the doubt. "Did it hurt?"

The brunette shook her head. "I can't fall. I mean, physically I can, but I can't hit the floor. Or surface. I'll demonstrate it for you sometime."

Austin stops in front of his apartment door, getting out his keys. Ally stands up and taps the side of his neck. "She's home."

"Who?" He gives her a strange look.

"Cassidy." When he continues to give her the look, she continues. "You should thank her. For this morning, checking on you. The thought counts." She interjected before he could open his mouth to argue. He mulls it over, internally groaning he doesn't talk to his neighbors, and to talk to them out of nowhere might seem odd and off putting. He's against the idea, but she's giving him these big doe eyes that are practically glimmering again, and he can't say no.

He lets out the breath he was holding and nods, defeated. He turns to go down to Cassidy's door and knocks.

After the sound of a few footsteps and a questionable clatter behind the door, it swings open and instead of Cassidy, it's a tall redhead. Who looked somewhat frazzled, putting his hand on his hips. "Yes?" He huffed, almost impatiently but his voice cracked, making it hard to take it seriously.

"Um… is Cassidy here?"

"She's at her friend's house. I actually thought you were her for a moment but that wouldn't make sense because she wouldn't knock. Because if she did, she would've had to use our secret knock." He pointed out, nodding as if he just shared the secret knock with Austin. Austin blinked, and shook himself out of his puzzlement. Next to him, Ally giggled.

"So who are you?"

"I'm Austin. I, uh, live down there. I know I don't-" His hand went up to rub the back of his neck.

"Oh! Hi Austin." The redhead chirped, a grin popping onto his face. "I know you. The cool mysterious kind of standoffish blond who also freaked out this morning and made my sister have to go check on you." He said in an emphatic description, looking at the distance almost admiringly. Austin blinked in bafflement once more.

"Th… that's me." He humored.

The redhead looked back at him, his smile still wide on his face. "Right-o. I'm Dez." He held out his hand.

Austin looked at his hand and back at the ditzy redhead. He shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dez." He smiled a little.

"So whatcha doing here?"

"I came to say thank you to Cassidy. But seeing as she's not here, I was hoping you could tell her for me." Dez looked at him, his expression unreadable. Ally patted his shoulder lightly. "For… checking. She didn't have to. Especially since I barely talk to any of you." Austin added with a clear of a throat. He actually sounded a little sheepish at the end.

Dez observed him for a bit before smiling. "I'll be sure to tell her." He said sincerely.

Austin returned the smile genuinely. One that made Ally looked up at him. "Thanks. I'll uh, get going now." He rubbed his neck again and pointed toward his apartment.

Dez nodded. "Hey, if you ever want to be part of an awesome project for my video tech class, let me know." He called as Austin turned. "Right now, I'm doing a still by still frame where zaliens fall out of the sky. And when Cass is here, you can grab some lunch with us sometime! I make a mean pie." Dez gave a wicked smile that told Austin his cooking was anything but conventional. But Austin grinned a little anyway, chuckling.

He nodded. "Thanks."

Then with another wave, Dez closed the door and Austin walked back to his door. He didn't miss the second clatter and a muffled 'aw man' from behind it.

He shook his head wryly. "He's sure a character."

Ally continued smiling at him proudly as he entered his apartment.