"Hey, Ally?" Austin asks as he comes to the front counter, or rather coming up to Ally.

"Yeah, Austin?" she asks turning around to face him.

"How are girl's lips never cracked?"

"Um? What?" she asks confused at the random, and awkward, question. It's awkward because this is not a usual conversation topic for best friends to use. Even more if the best friends are opposite genders.

"Your lips," he starts, hand pointing towards her mouth and eyes gluing themselves in a stare at them, "they always look so soft…and supple…and," he tilts his head slightly to the side without moving his eyes, "kissable…"

"Oh. Um," she coughs, trying to not let the awkwardness of this conversation get to her, "I guess using lip stick, lip gloss, lip stain—"

"—lip stain?"

"Yeah, lip stain—"

"—What's that?"

"Oh, um, it's a lip product that, um, stains…your…lips," she tries to explain. She realizes this is a terrible explanation and starts again, "With lip stick or lip gloss, the color comes off, but with lip stain," she runs a finger across her lip purposely and then faces it towards him, "nothing."

After tearing his eyes away from her lips and looking at her finger, he realizes something, "Then why is your finger shiny?"

"Because, added to the lip stain, I wear lip gloss over top, as many girls do. Except mine is clear,"

"Why?"

"Uhh…" this conversation is getting weirder and weirder. He keeps asking questions that focus on her lips or questions that she never thought of, or both. Most of the time both, "I guess so that you get the color and the shine. To make it more," she awkwardly coughs, "appealing."

"Oh," he cuts his sentence off after the first syllable. If he hadn't, it probably would've been pretty embarrassing because the full of it was 'Oh boy, does it work'. Yeah, no, that would've been really embarrassing. Heck, the only way it wouldn't have been embarrassing was if she had been doing it so he thought that. But he doubted it. Highly doubted it.

"Um, how are guy lips not cracked?" she uses, trying to change the subject uncomfortably.

"Oh," he states surprised at the change in his idea. Not necessarily a bad change (it might even be better. Well, only if she acted as he did.), just an unsuspected one. "Um, I guess we just lick our lips. Though, you've told me that only makes your lips drier. So, I guess, lip balm...?"

"You put on lip balm every day?" she raises eyebrow at him and the confusion of his routine.

"Well, no," he starts, raising an arm to the back of his neck, "I guess just when you're gonna kiss someone that day. So, you know, the kiss isn't…terrible," he finishes nervously because, well, it's awkward to reveal his process.

"So who are you planning on kissing?" she asks, surprising blunt for her.

"Huh?" he asks scared, panicked, and nervous all at the same time.

"You're wearing lip balm," she states like it's completely obvious. Which it was, but Austin was hoping it wasn't.

"What m-makes y-you think that?"

"Well, I've seen my own lips and I know that without anything on them they're all dull but when you put on lip balm, they get a shine. A dull shine, but, still, a shine," she tells him as she walks over to put something by the stairs.

"Oh," he simply puts as he watches her, his back now towards the counter.

"Yeah. So, who were you planning on kissing today?" she asks excitedly, walking over to him. She loves love (1).

"Well, it wasn't so much as planning but if the moment came up."

"OK. Well who were you hoping to kiss today," she ends with a smile.

"Uhh…I can't say…" he starts, careful of his wording to not hurt her feelings.

"Why not," she tilts her head to the side.

"Because it would be embarrassing"

"But, Austin, if you're embarrassed to tell who it is, how are you going to have a relationship with her? Do you even want a relationship with her?" she asks disappointed. She might love love a little too much that she made it all up.

"No! Of course I want a relationship with her!" he panics.

"Then why can't you tell me?" she questions hurt. Wouldn't you be too if your best friend who tells you all their secrets, just, one day, decided to not tell you one?

"Because I can't," he looks down at her helplessly. He really can't tell her. He's so scared that he can't even make the words come out of his mouth. He's got this whole spiel of feelings and plethora of words to tell the girl he's fallen helplessly in love with how he feels, but he can't even get the words out to tell Ally what he has in store.

"Well, can you show me?" she asks with the last hope she has.

"Welllll…" he rubs that back of his neck, nervously.

At this time, Dez pops his head up from behind the counter. Seeing enough of his best friend's feelings torture, he forcefully pushes Austin forward, which makes him run right into Ally. Luckily Austin catches himself and Ally before they go splattering on the Sonic Boom floor. Unluckily (or rather, luckily), in the process of the momentum and Austin protectively pulling Ally into him, their lips end-up touching. Both, momentarily shocked, become stiff. But, the millisecond it registers in Austin's head, he draws her even closer, closes his eyes, and kisses her as if his life depended on it. After all, she could kill him after this. Ally, even more shocked and for longer, takes a second to just stand there (or rather dangle) and become ridged before she kisses back. She's not sure if the reason is because she's been wanting to kiss him or if she was just trying to be polite. Either way, she tries to convince herself it's the second one. Austin, feeling her kiss back, readjusts himself so he's (more she's) more comfortable. They stay that way for a few more seconds until Ally pulls back. She was kinda forced to because there was no way Austin was breaking this perfect moment.

"Oh. So, i-it's m-me?"

Austin just nods dumbly. At a loss for words waiting for her reaction and as his own reaction to what just happened.

"Oh."

Austin nods again in understanding. If he was her shoes, first his feet would be cramped, second he would've reacted the same way. Unfortunately, he can't do that for what he's supposed to do in this situation because he's the one in the situation. You know how you have a flight or fight reaction in an uncomfortable situation? Yeah, well, that's turning less black-and-white and more blue-and-orange (2). He can't figure out what to do. His head, which contains his logic, reason, and fear, says to bolt the heck out of there. But his heart, which contains his feelings, desire, ambition, and, at this point, Ally, says to kiss the heck out of her. He's at a war between two very important (and vital) organs that have been adapted as symbolisms for your impulse and your reason. He already knows from personal experience acting on impulse can get you into some serious trouble. But when is he ever going to get this close to telling her ever again if he chickens out now?

While all this is going on inside Austin's head, Ally's questioning something a little different. The thing was, that kiss, it was bad. In fact, it was the best kiss she's ever had. But it came from her best friend. Even more, the one who freaked out because he thought she had a crush on him (3). But if he kissed her, did that change? Did he like her? That kiss wasn't an accidental, 'oops', kiss. It defiantly had feeling laced though it. Possibly, dare she think it, love? It couldn't be! It was absurd! They were best friends! They WERE NOT supposed to kiss. Bold, capital, underline, italics, period! But something occurred to her. A thought, possibly even a revelation, that should scare her, and it did at first, but the longer she thought about it, the more it made sense. Austin and her…wouldn't make a terrible couple. Sure, it would be weird, but he was a nice guy (nicer than some of the guys she's gone out with before). He was kind, thoughtful, smart (sort of (4)), cute, respectful, he was just an overall gentleman. Plus, he always by her side…no matter what. Then something occurred to her. He was always by her side! Always! No matter what! She finally saw those looks he gave her. All the gestures. All the meaning laying underneath his words. Then it hit her! This boy didn't just accidentally kiss her, oh no, it was much more than that, he didn't even like her, he loved her! When did she become so blind! She was always so observant to all other things, even the unimportant, but she couldn't even see the thing that had been staring at her in the face (literally)! With one final look up to his face, she saw everything she just discovered was true. That made up her mind.

Just as Austin was about to have a mental break down from being emotionally torn in half, she pulled herself up to his position always looming over her and connected their lips. Taken completely off guard, Austin went ridged. He was expecting her to slap him (or even punch him), so he figured that this was just another one of his dreams. His happy-for-a-moment-but-leaves-you-feeling-even-worse-than-before dreams. Then he realizes something, not even Dream Ally can kiss this good! With a swell of happiness, he kisses back with even more feeling then their first kiss as he pulls her to him.

Outside of Sonic Boom, watching the kissing couple was Trish and Dez.

"I hate to say this, Freckles, but your plan wasn't terrible," Trish tries not to praise as she still spys.

"Hey, sometimes you just need a little push (5)," Dez shrugs happily.

Things To Know:
(1) Reference to "Crybabies & Cologne". Season 2, episode 5.
(2) OK, so, I don't know if this makes sense here. Most people use this term to describe bad guys. Black-and-white is like you know what's bad and what's good. Blue-and-orange is like I know this guy has morals but I'm not quite sure what they are. But people also use black-and-white to show how things are very opposite and that there's a clean line dividing them. Blue-and-orange is, I guess, like it's a little blurry.
(3) I felt like I should address this. You know what episode this is in. And for those of you who don't, it's "Secrets & Songbooks", season 1, episode 3.
(4) I say this because Austin is smart but he does have his moments where his level drops down a notch.
(5) This is the point in the cheesy sitcom where the fake audience laughs and the instrumental version of the theme song plays.

Disclaimer:
I do not own Austin & Ally. Sorry!

JoeyJar99's Message:

Hey, hey, hey, all you ninjas out there (especially the ones reading this)! What did you think? I told you slightly awkward but floofy all the same! Tell me what you think! It's legal and low in calories!

Later. Over-and-Out. Live long and prosper.