"Austin, I can't just drop everything and move to California with you!" Ally cried exasperatedly.

"Why not?" Austin asked, equally frustrated. "It would be such an awesome opportunity for both of us! California, Als! This could be huge!"

This had to be at least the twentieth argument the pair had had in a month. It had all started ever since Austin had been offered that record deal in California. He'd been discovered on the internet only a month ago, singing 'A Billion Hits', a song written by his partner, Ally. Austin had jumped at the chance to sign with the record deal, and it was the perfect opportunity for him as well, considering his parents were divorced and his dad lived in California. He hadn't signed yet though – he refused to sign until Ally agreed to come with him. Hence, the reason they were arguing.

"Austin, I can't go. Even if I did go, where would I stay? What about Trish and Dez? And what about my dad, and the store? I could never leave all this behind," she protested. She was trying to come up with as many reasons as to why they shouldn't go, without revealing her true reason for rejecting the idea. But she was running out of reasons now. She'd been repeating herself for the last month, and she knew she was frustrating Austin as he raked a hand through his hair.

"Ally, you keep saying that!" he huffed. "I've already told you you'd be staying with me and my dad, and Trish and Dez can come with us too! Your dad and the store will be fine, you know that! Come on, it's not like I could do any of this without them. And there's no way I can do any of this without you; in fact, you're the reason I even have this record deal! You write the songs, I perform them, remember? Now and forever."

`Flashback – about four or five months ago

Ally sighed, flopping onto the sofa. "Austin, can we please take a break? I am never going to figure out these lyrics right now!"

The pair were up in the practise room writing a new song. It was nine o'clock in the evening, and Ally could already feel sleepiness setting in. The room was scattered with paper balls, instruments, pizza boxes and Chinese takeout boxes.

"Come on, Ally, I know we can do this," Austin said from the piano seat, not turning around but keeping his eyes fixed on the lyrics in front of him. So far, they had the chorus, but writing the lyrics for the verses was proving to be difficult. However, it was essential that they got this new song done before tomorrow, so they were pulling an all-nighter to get it done. There was a contest on the beach tomorrow afternoon, and Austin needed a new original song to perform.

This wasn't like Ally, though. Austin spun around on the seat when she didn't reply, and saw she was simply staring out the window, twirling a lock of hair around her finger absently.

"Als?" he questioned, getting up and sitting next to her. "What's wrong? Are you tired? You can sleep if you want; I'll carry on writing."

Ally eyed him doubtfully, saying nothing. They both knew he wouldn't be able to write lyrics without her. He was just being nice.

"Okay, maybe I won't carry on writing," he amended hastily.

"I'm not tired," she sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Tell me," Austin said. "Maybe I can help."

"It's fine, Austin, don't worry about me," Ally assured him, standing up. "Let's just get back to writing that song."

"Hey," he gently curled his hand around her wrist and tugged her back down to the sofa. "You're not going to be able to focus until you get whatever it is off your mind. You can tell me anything, you know that."

Ally exhaled and leaned back against the sofa. "It's nothing major; I just got into a fight with Dallas, that's all," she shrugged. Ally gave him a small, tired smile before resting her head on his shoulder. The movement sent sparks tingling up Austin's spine, which he decided to ignore with confusion. Stop being a little girl, he scolded himself. This is Ally.

"What did you and Dallas fight about?" he asked tentatively. Dallas and Ally had started dating a few weeks ago. Austin had been genuinely happy for Ally at the time - she had been crushing on him since forever, and dating him had made her so happy. Austin loved seeing her happy. However, whenever they fought, it tore Ally's heart just a little every time, and it was Austin who was there to comfort her.

Ally removed her head from Austin's shoulder, before shaking it. "Nothing," she mumbled. "It's nothing."

Since when did Ally keep secrets from him? She always told Austin about their fights – why should this time be any different?

"Ally, what did you fight about?" Austin enquired, his tone gentle as he stared at her with those beautiful, brown eyes. Ally immediately felt a little better after staring at his eyes. Somehow, although she would never admit it out loud, he made her feel safe with just one glance. Just one look at her with those eyes and she felt as if all of her worries just disappeared. It was ridiculous, but true. And what bugged her the most was that no matter how long she and Dallas were together for, he could never make her feel like that.

Ally sighed, giving up. "He asked me to go out tonight, and I said no, because I wanted to stay up with you and write the song. I guess he got jealous, and he said some stuff about you, so I defended you. He accused me of cheating, and called me some stuff I know he regrets...then he just left."

Austin immediately felt terrible. "Ally, I'm so sorry – I had no idea; I would have never asked you if I'd known –"

Ally cut him off by pressing a finger against his lips. "Hey. I am not blaming you. You asked me first, and this was my decision. I wanted to write this song with you; I love music more than I love anything, and I love..." she froze when she realised what she was about to say. Austin stared down at her. Her finger was still on his lips. Ally's eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, and she let her hand fall before looking away hastily.

"And I love writing songs," she said lamely to cover up her mistake.

Austin sighed. "I don't care what he says about me, but if I ever hear him saying something to you, I'll punch him in the face."

Ally chuckled, relieved that he wasn't acting on her blunder. "Thanks, Austin."

"Now, come on," he stood and pulled her up with him. "We're gonna finish off the pizza, and the Chinese food, we're gonna turn on the radio and chill. We're taking a break, Als."

She smiled in relief. "That sounds awesome."

The pair sang along to all their favourite songs on the radio, while eating the pizza and noodles. The songs were usually fast and upbeat, so once they'd finished their food, they were dancing around the practise room together, singing the songs at the top of their lungs. Every now and then, Ally would suddenly cry out triumphantly, run to the piano and scribble lyrics furiously in her book. Austin would then help her sort them to fit the song, re-order them or change some words. Eventually, a slow song played on the radio. Breathing heavily from their recent fast dancing, Austin smiled at Ally and offered her his hand.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

Ally smiled at him and took his outstretched hand. "Of course."

He pulled her closer, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. His hands gently found her waist, and she felt the pit of her stomach roar to life as he touched her. Brushing off those feelings, she kept her gaze locked with his as he began to sway her gently to the music.

Whenever I'm weary
From the battles that raged in my head.
You made sense of madness.
When my sanity hangs by a thread
I lose my way, but still you
Seem to understand.
Now and Forever,
I will be your man

"There was more," she commented as they danced, resting her head on his chest.

"More?" he questioned.

"There was one other thing bothering me," she explained. "It's just, my dad keeps talking to me about applying to Harvard, and I'm not even a senior yet! Heck, I'm only 15 years old! I don't even want to go to Harvard."

"Well, tell him that," Austin suggested, resting his cheek on her hair. "Tell him you want to do something different with your life."

"I want to study at a music programme after I leave school. That's all I've ever wanted, and I tried telling him that, but he said music isn't a reliable future choice, and it won't get me far. But I don't care, you know? I just want to be around music," Ally sighed.

Austin spun Ally around, pulling her closer so her back was pressed up against his chest while his arms were wrapped around her.

Sometimes I just hold you
Too caught up in me to see
I'm holding a fortune
That Heaven has given to me.
I'll try to show you
Each and every way I can
Now and Forever,
I will be your man

Austin leaned down so his lips were by her ear. "Well, as long as you stick with me, I can assure you that you'll always be around music."

He flipped her around so she was facing him, pulling her even closer, if that were possible. The only way to seal the gap between them was if he kissed her, but that would never happen. They were stuck firmly in the friend zone; nothing could ever happen between them.

Now I can rest my worries
And always be sure
That I won't be alone, anymore
If I'd only known you were there
All the time,
All this time.

Until the day the ocean
Doesn't touch the sand
Now and Forever
I will be your man

She smiled up at him. "You're the reason I'm surrounded by music, Austin. You always say I'm the reason you get to do what you do, but you're also the reason I get to do what I love."

Austin smiled back, his brown eyes smoldering as he sang the last lines of the song to her softly. "Now and forever, I will be your man."

Flashback Over

Ally snapped back to the present, and her eyes met Austin's. She knew in that moment that they were both remembering that evening. Ever since then, they promised they were partners and best friends now and forever, and that song was now their song. Even after dating Dallas for so long, the pair of them still didn't have a song.

Ally sighed. She knew the real reason she was rejecting this opportunity was coming closer and closer to the surface.

"Ally, please," he begged. "I need you. I only ever want to sing songs that Ally Dawson writes."

"Austin, I..." she struggled for the right words to say. "I can't leave. I just can't."

Hurt flashed across his face. "You can't? Or you don't want to?"

"I..." she sighed. "What about my future? What about my plans? Did you ever think that maybe I don't want to spend my future in California?"

"They have music schools in California, Ally," Austin told her. "You can study there after graduation!"

"Austin, I don't want to go to any old music school..." Ally explained. "I want to go to the music school. I want to go to Julliard in New York after graduation."

Austin said nothing, pursing his lips and raking his hands through his hair again, before pacing the store agitatedly. Ally knew he was desperately trying to come up with a plan in his head, but it would never work. None of this would work out.

"What about your stage fright?" he asked tonelessly, not facing her.

"I – I'm planning on overcoming it before I go," she said. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, Austin, and I'm going to try my best to overcome my stage fright. For too long it's kept me from my dreams. I'm not going to let it stop me from going to Julliard in three years."

"This is it, right?" he realised. "This is the main reason you don't want to go; the reason you've been trying to hide from me."

"Yes," Ally whispered.

Austin exhaled. "You're my partner, Ally. I can't do any of this without you – we said now and forever!"

"Austin..." Ally said quietly. "Austin, you knew we wouldn't always be partners. You knew this wouldn't last forever."

Her words literally broke his heart, and he took a step back from her as if she had slapped him in the face.

"Austin..." she began, already regretting her choice of words.

"We promised! Don't you remember?" he shouted.

Ally felt tears well in her eyes. "I took a reality check."

Austin took another step back, nodding; his voice flat. "Right. I get it, Ally. I have to go," he turned and began to walk away.

"No, wait, Austin, please don't go!" she begged, feeling her tears spill over.

"I can't do this anymore, Ally," Austin told her emotionlessly, pausing by the door. "I'm going to California."

A/N: Review? Feedback? Please? I know, it was kind of depressing, but it's just a starter chapter, and there's more to come! Hope you enjoyed it, though :)