So. We've reached the final chapter. I'm going to be honest with you guys. This is the only chapter that I had trouble with and while I don't think it completely resembles the tail end of a donkey, I'm not one hundred percent happy with it.

I know you guys want to get on to the chapter so you've probably already skipped all this. But on the off chance that you're still here, I wanted to take a moment to thank you all once again for your continued support. I had a lot of fun writing this fic—the most fun in ages, to be truthful—and I really didn't expect such an awesome response to it. But, like with my previous fics, you all continue to be amazing and so, so wonderful with your feedback.

This is, sadly, the end of Christmas Things. But I still want to mess around with these versions of Austin and Ally for a little while longer, because I'm selfish that way, and I was thinking about something like a bonus chapter involving a Q&A. Basically, if you guys have any silly or fun—or even serious—questions pertaining to the alternate universe I set up in Christmas Things, I'll answer them in character as Austin and Ally in an interview-y Q&A of sorts. So send them my way! Hopefully, I'll have enough to come up with something decent, haha.

Anyway, it's been quite the ride, and without further ado, the final chapter, gentle readers.

Ally finishes with the last curl of her hair and stares at herself, dissatisfied, in the mirror. With an exasperated smile and nonchalant shrug, she runs her fingers through her hair, and decides Eh, good enough.

She rolls her eyes and steps out of her bathroom when she hears a knock at the door. She hurries to answer it, grabs her purse along the way, and calls out, "Hang on, hang on!"

She opens the door to find Austin standing with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently. It doesn't surprise her that he looks good in a white dress shirt and red, fitted blazer. It does, however, annoy her.

"Hey," he grins. Ally returns the greeting sullenly and he laughs. "You look nice," he compliments softly, taking in her simple cream-colored sweater and black skinny jeans.

"Thanks," she says with a shy smile. "And, um, so do you," she coughs as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, keeping her eyes trained on her shoes, a nice pair of black ankle boots.

"Thank you." He gives her cocky grin, clearly pleased with himself. "Ready?"

"Not really," she shoots back, just to be difficult. She steps out and closes the door behind her, doubling checking to make sure she locked it before facing him with a resigned stare. "Let's get this over with."

Austin raises a bemused eyebrow at her. "Your enthusiasm never ceases to amaze me."

She flashes him a tight-lipped, forced smile of annoyance in response.

"There it is. There's that lovely smile," he coos sarcastically, booping her on the nose.

Ally finally breaks and gives him a genuine laugh. "Let's just go," she says with a smile and a playful elbow to his side.

They've long since entered the hotel and Austin leads the way to the ballroom rented out for the occasion while Ally follows dutifully behind.

They're about to round a corner when he suddenly halts and spins around in his tracks. "Wait, hold on," he orders as he holds up a hand.

She blinks rapidly and stumbles, having nearly crashed into him due to his abrupt stop. "What? What is it?" she asks, notes of curiosity and annoyance ringing in her question.

"What should we tell people?" he asks.

Her eyebrows knit together out of confusion. "What do you mean?"

Austin rolls his eyes and gestures impatiently between them. "About us. Like, what's our story?"

Her confusion merely grows. She can't help but think that their 'story' happens to be pretty straight forward. "We're friendly neighbors. And you were nice enough to invite me to your work party," she replies slowly and carefully, like her answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "You know, the truth?"

He blinks at her. "That's it?" He sounds disappointed, as if he was expecting more.

She frowns at him. "What did you have in mind...?" she asks suspiciously.

"We're just friends? On a friend-date? Or are we on a real date?" he rattles on, ticking off the different options on his fingers. His eyes narrow thoughtfully at her. "... Girlfriend/Boyfriend?" he tests carefully, gauging her reaction.

Her cheeks start to heat up and she runs a hand over her face. "Does it—does it really matter?" she hisses at him embarrassingly.

"I work with these people!" he points out. "We have to pick a story and stick with it!"

Ally rolls her eyes. "It's not like we're trying to come up with an airtight alibi!" she snaps with a glare. "Just tell everyone we're friends," she points out.

He hesitates and shifts his weight back and forth uncomfortably. "But what if somebody tries to hit on you?" he mumbles sullenly under his breath. His cheeks turn pink at his confession and he quickly averts his eyes.

She gives a loud, incredulous laugh. "Because that's a serious concern," she snorts sarcastically.

Austin scowls in annoyance. "Have you seen you?" he shoots back with a roll of his eyes, gesturing up and down the length of her body.

Ally frowns and looks down at her modest, but definitely tight-fitting, sweater and black jeans. Her eyebrows furrow at her simple, classy outfit and she looks back up to meet his pointed glare. "What?" she asks, sounding absolutely clueless.

He pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation and groans. "Oh, never mind!" he snaps at her after he throws his head back dramatically.

She inhales sharply, trying to regain her patience. "Look, if somebody tries to hit on me, I'll just tell them that I'm here with you, okay? As your—your—" she breaks off waveringly and red colors her cheeks as uncertainty quickly takes over.

All traces of annoyance slips away from Austin's expression, and a slyness takes over. "My what?" he asks tauntingly, his familiar smirk starting to creep back across his lips.

"You know what!" she cries, gesturing vaguely with her hands.

"My what?" he repeats in the same taunting manner, but this time, a hand comes up to cup an ear and he leans in toward her.

Her mouth works silently as she takes in his giddy delight. Her cheeks flare up even more and she bites the inside of her cheek for a second before exhaling. "Date, okay?" she finally bites out. "I'll just tell them I'm here as your date, alright?!"

A pleased smirk lights up his face. "I couldn't have asked for a lovelier date."

She rolls her eyes and gestures painfully toward Austin. "Can we—can we just go to the party now?" she cries exasperatedly, cheeks still stained with red.

His smirk widens at her. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed," he teases.

"Austin! Party!" she barks impatiently, pointing ahead of them. Her eyes are narrowed but the danger from them is diminished thanks to her sudden resemblance to a tomato.

He holds up his hands in mock surrender and turns away from her. "I'm going, I'm going," he sighs delicately as he leads the way again.

She follows a safe distance behind, her cool palms pressed against her heated cheeks.

Minutes later, they walk through the open doors of the rented ballroom. Austin tells her to wait a moment so he can clear them off the guest list, along with handing over their things to the coat check. She nods absent-mindedly, letting him take her purse, as her eyes widen in awe as they sweep around the room.

She takes in the giant ballroom, decorated accordingly for the celebration. An enormous tree resides in a corner of the room, decked out with grand ornaments and carefully arranged lights that glowed beautifully. There are two tables in the back, every inch covered and piled high with all sorts of food and refreshments, with smaller, round tables set out to sit down and eat. But while that's where the majority of the food is, there are waiters walking around offering appetizers and alcoholic beverages, as well. There's also a live band playing on a stage with a handful of couples taking up a space cleared to be a makeshift dance floor, not too far from the sitting area.

"This is quite the party, isn't it?"

The question makes her jump and pull her eyes away from a young couple dancing on the floor.

The man that had just spoken to her seems to notice her jumpiness and he sends her a sheepish look. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," he apologizes.

He looks a bit older, but still in his twenties, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, but they're icy and sharp, not full of the warmth she prefers. He's much taller than her, but still shorter than Austin. He's dressed well enough, in khaki pants and a navy blue sweater. Admittedly, he's not bad-looking, but he probably wouldn't turn many heads.

A shy smile settles on her lips and she shakes her head lightly. "Oh no, it's fine. I was just taking a moment to look at everything," she says.

He grins and points at a corner. "Did you see the tree?"

Ally laughs politely and she finds herself wishing for Austin to hurry up. "Kind of difficult to miss."

"True, true," he laughs. And then he tilts his head to the side, studying her closely. He takes a step forward and Ally shrinks away a bit. "You know... I don't think we've met..."

She opens her mouth, ready to rattle off her name and the fact that she's here with Austin, when a heavy arm suddenly drapes itself around her shoulders.

"Hey, Jackson," a smooth, familiar voice cuts in. "So you've met my date, Ally, huh?"

She looks up, sees Austin's cool stare aimed at this Jackson character, and her shoulders sag from the weight of his arm, coupled with a sense of relief. She fits herself more comfortably against his side and shoots the new guy a forced smile. "I'm here with Austin!" she declares, wincing at how overly bright and chipper her voice comes out. A hand flies to his chest to complete the image of a dating couple.

"Oh." Jackson frowns, all traces of happiness and politeness disappearing within seconds as he eyes the good-looking pair. And then he grunts in displeasure and gestures limply with a finger over his shoulder. "Well, uh, I guess I better get going," he mutters. He doesn't even wait for them to say anything before he abruptly turns around to walk away.

She exhales deeply and fully relaxes at his departure. The hand resting on his chest falls away and she takes a step away from Austin, but his fingers clamp down on her shoulder and he pulls her into his side again. "Oof!" she utters as she stumbles a bit.

He cranes his neck to meet her irritated glare with a blank expression. "Two minutes. I leave you alone for two minutes and Jackson shows up out of nowhere, trying to hit on you," he states tonelessly.

"You don't know that!" she protests weakly. His eyebrow raises itself at her. She shifts her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably.

Austin rolls his eyes and he moves his hand from her shoulder to rest gently on the small of her back. "Let's just find a table to hang out at," he mutters as he starts to lead her through the crowd. She doesn't say anything and focuses on not bumping into anyone.

They make their way to a table and Austin pulls out a chair for her. As he pushes her chair in for her and she looks up at him over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips.

He grins down at her. "You're admiring how chivalrous I am, aren't you?" he says haughtily.

"I might have been," she admits with a wry smile. "But now I'm just thinking up ways on how to deflate your alarmingly huge ego."

The blond laughs and finally takes a step back. "I'll be right back. I'll get us some drinks."

She nods understandingly and her fingers start to drum out a light rhythm on the table as she waits patiently. She mindlessly watches the crowd, making sure not to let her eyes linger too long on any one person in particular; she makes a point to not be creepy or accidentally maintain awkward eye contact.

Ally is suddenly startled when a glass of champagne appears out of nowhere in front of her face. She blinks, wide-eyed, at the offered drink. She relaxes, rolls her eyes. "Very funny, you know I don't drink," she mutters.

"Oh. Well, this makes things awkward," a voice that was decidedly not Austin's says.

She freezes and moves her head to the side, so that the glass is no longer blocking her view. From a few feet away, she spies Austin with two drinks in hand, talking to an elderly man. He looks bored, a fake smile in place, as he nods every so often to be polite, clearly feigning interest.

She gasps and her head snaps up to meet the stranger's green-eyed gaze. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she blurts apologetically, with wide eyes. Her cheeks are colored pink from her embarrassing mistake.

He shrugs and shakes his black hair out of his eyes. "It's okay," he grins.

"I, uh, I thought you were my date," she admits with a sheepish smile. The words still leave a funny taste in her mouth.

"Your date?" The smile falters and he raises an eyebrow when she nods at him. "I don't see anyone around," he scoffs as he makes a show of scanning the area. "Did he just abandon a pretty thing like you?" he adds as he eyes her in a salacious manner.

She blinks rapidly. She quickly recovers and brushes the compliment off, since it came off more creepy than sincere thanks to his leering. "No," she replies with a shake of her head. "He's over there. It looks like somebody's coerced him into a conversation," she says with a chuckle as she points in Austin's direction. He looks irritated, the smile having been dropped and it seems like he's stopped nodding all together. She giggles slightly at his pained expression as he listens to the old man drone on and on.

Her company turns and follows her finger, eyes landing on the blond. He turns back to look at her, surprise written all over his face. "You're here with Austin Moon?" he asks incredulously.

Her brown eyes flick away from Austin and reach up to meet greens eyes again. "What's wrong with that?" she wonders out loud, not happy with the man's tone of voice.

"And how do you know Austin?" he demands instead, completely side-stepping her question.

She frowns and realizes that she really, really doesn't like this guy. "He's my neighbor and he invited me. I didn't have anything better to do, so I decided to go," she answers slowly.

So that's the abridged version, but she highly doubts this stranger would want to hear all the extra details about how Austin finally managed to get her to agree to go.

He raises an eyebrow. "So is he your neighbor or your date?" he asks pointedly.

Her mouth opens to answer but she relaxes when she sees Austin coming up behind the man in her line of perception.

"Her date, Dickhole. I'm her date," Austin growls as he comes to a stop.

The dark-haired male turns around and glares at the blond. "Austin," he says coldly.

"Dickhole," the blond shoots back with an overly charming smile.

Green eyes narrow in annoyance. "It's Richard," he grinds out through a clenched jaw.

"And your last name is Whole. Well, 'Dick' happens to be a popular nickname for Richard, correct? So that's Dick Whole. And then... Dickhole." Austin seems more than happy to explain his nickname for Richard, if his smirk is anything to go by.

Ally fights back a giggle at the truly unfortunate name.

Dickhole frowns and shoots Ally a look over his shoulder. He mutters something like 'Not worth it' and stalks off.

Austin's eye twitches but Ally leans over, nearly falling out of her seat, to grab a hold of his wrist, effectively stopping him from taking a step. "Do not do something stupid, like defending my honor," she pleads quickly as she tugs on his wrist to get him to sit down.

He looks down at her with a frown, but takes a seat, much to her relief. He settles into his chair and places a glass of ice water in front of her. He takes a long drink from his before placing that down as well. He eyes her with a flat, even stare.

She takes a tentative sip of her water, but he continues his stare. She fidgets nervously and weaves her fingers together before breaking them apart. "What?" she questions.

Austin rolls his eyes. "We've been here—" he breaks off and looks down at his watch "—for barely twenty minutes and two jerks have already hit on you."

Ally deflates in her seat, her cheeks start to heat up embarrassingly. "I'm not trying to attract attention..." she promises with a wince.

"Do you want to leave? I want you to have fun, not fight off guys with a stick all night." The comment is supposed to be sarcastic, but they both hear the slight edge to his voice.

She placates him by gently resting a hand on his forearm. "No, no! We're already here so we may as well stay," she says softly. She hesitates briefly, as if she isn't sure whether she wants to say her next thought. "But, um, thanks, for stepping in with Richard... he was starting to make me uncomfortable," she adds quietly in a sincere and relieved voice.

His eyes soften with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for that. He's such a scummy asshole." He rolls his eyes. "I would've been there sooner but one of the higher-ups wanted to chit-chat," he grumbles.

She snickers as Austin's painfully bored expression comes to mind. "Your conversation with him looked riveting."

"I wanted to rip out my eyeballs and drop them into his drink."

"Oh man," she says with a wince.

Austin shrugs and looks at her with an arched brow. "You clearly had a way worse conversation with Dickhole."

"I cannot believe you actually call him that," she says with a small snort of incredulous laughter.

He scowls and rolls his eyes at her. "You've met him! You've talked to him! He clearly deserves it."

She shakes her head. "The fact that two guys have approached me this evening is much too bizarre," she murmurs.

"Three, if you count the window-licker back at the apartments," Austin slips in casually.

She laughs at that. "Three guys coming up to me and the fact that I'm on a date? This is the most action I've got in years!" she comments jokingly, still laughing.

Austin looks at her with a wry smile. "It's only because you don't put yourself out there," he says pointedly. "I'm willing to bet that you use work and being tired as an excuse, don't you?" He pauses and studies her, her uncomfortable silence answering his question. "But if you actually went out and stepped outside of your comfort zone, I'm pretty sure there would be a line of guys outside your apartment," he murmurs as he fixes her with steady gaze.

Ally falters at his earnest words. She stares in shock, not sure what to do or say.

"I'd jump in that line..." he whispers, leaning in toward her.

Her brown eyes widen further and she actually forgets how to breathe for a moment. She's very aware of the pounding in her chest and the flurry of butterflies in her stomach.

"... if I wasn't doing anything that night," he finishes with a teasing smirk. He laughs at the myriad of expressions that pass through her face as his comment sinks in.

"Oh my God," she breathes, shoulders relaxing in disappointment and relief. "Don't scare me like that!" she huffs, smacking him on the arm.

Austin continues laughing at her and says, "Oh man, your reaction was priceless!"

"Hey, you actually do have a line of women lined up outside your apartment practically every night, so I don't know why you're making fun of me," she points out with a raised brow.

The laughing stops. He winces from the reminder. "I wouldn't call it a 'line of women', alright?"

"It may not be an orderly line, but you definitely have some semblance of a fanclub back home," she says dryly.

"It's not like I asked for it," he whines.

She bites her bottom lip, but snickers when he slumps over onto the table, burrowing his face into his folded arms in a pathetic fashion. A mournful noise erupts from the back of his throat. She lays a gentle hand on his bicep, about to tease him further when a booming voice fills the air around them.

"Austin Moon, my party is not that bad, you drama queen!"

Ally jumps and she snatches her hand away from him. Austin's head whips up to find his boss staring down at him with crossed arms and mock-serious look on his face.

"Hey, Jimmy," he greets as he starts to straighten up. "I showed up. I brought a lovely date. We're here. The party's nice. Can we go?" he rattles off tonelessly as he looks at his boss with a blank stare.

Jimmy laughs and moves to sit down next to Austin. "The party's barely started!"

Austin snorts. "It already feels like it's been too long," he grumbles under his breath, before taking a long drink of his water.

"You are not a very good friend," Jimmy states in a hurt tone.

"Jimmy, you know I love ya, but you throw a party practically once a month!" Austin scoffs. "Besides, Ally and I were gonna spend the day together," he says as he gives his boss a pointed look.

Jimmy blinks. "Ally?" His eyes dart to the brunette. She gives him a small wave and a shy smile, which he kindly returns. A look of realization dawns on the record label owner's face. "Ohhh... you were the one that picked up Austin's phone, huh?" he asks, a suggestive lilt to his voice as he smirks at the two.

"Yep, she was," Austin says with a wicked smirk.

"And you two were spending the whole day together, huh?"

"Baking cookies!" Ally jumps in with an embarrassed squeak. "We baked cookies and drank eggnog and decorated a Christmas tree!" she clarifies before his boss can assume anything too embarrassing from Austin's vague words. "That's all we did, promise."

Austin snickers and looks back to his boss. "Ally has a Christmas tradition that she likes to follow every year," he explains with a soft smile.

"Ah." Jimmy laughs and shakes his head. "Sorry for interrupting your tradition, then," he apologizes, and he actually sounds sincere. He gives them a toothy smile. "But I am glad to see you guys here!"

Ally beams at him. "It was nice of Austin to have invited me."

"You didn't even want to go at first," he reminds her. Since he's tactless, the question is loud enough for his boss to hear and he raises an eyebrow at the pair.

She elbows him harshly in the side and says sweetly, "This is a lovely party, Jimmy." She looks over to Austin expectantly.

"Lovely," he echoes with a loud grunt. His hand comes up to rub the area that's already bruising.

His boss gives a boisterous laugh as he claps a hand on Austin's shoulder. "I like her," he approves as he nods at Ally.

Ally shoots them a shy smile before she stares demurely into her lap, fingers fiddling together self-consciously. Austin laughs fondly, eyes focused solely on the brunette.

"Me, too, boss," he murmurs.

Ally's eyes widen at his words and her eyes snap up to meet his, but his attention is already back on his boss.

"Well, I've got to go mingle some more." Jimmy moves to stand up. "You two kids have fun."

"Nice meeting you!" Ally says genuinely with a wave.

"You go satisfy those mingle tingles," Austin calls playfully with a head nod.

And with a parting wave, the older man disappears into the crowd.

She turns to Austin with an excited smile. "I can't believe I just met Jimmy Starr! And he's so nice!"

He nods and gives her a toothy grin. "Jimmy's awesome. I love working for him."

She regards him curiously. "Your co-workers are a different story, aren't they?"

He rolls his eyes. "They just hate me because Jimmy and I are so tight and it's his record label. He usually asks for my opinion for anything before he asks anyone else." She looks at him patiently, clearly waiting for him to continue. "When I started out, a lot of people saw me as this dumb kid but when I was moving up faster than them, they kind of resented me. They're nice to my face because they don't want to upset Jimmy."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "They sound jealous," she summarizes.

"They just want to get close to him so he'll set them up on dates with models and actresses and pop stars," Austin snorts with another roll of his eyes.

Ally freezes at his words. "Does... does Jimmy set you up with women like that?" she asks quietly.

It suddenly makes sense, she realizes with a rapidly depleting heart, why he hasn't gone out with any of the girls back at the apartments; they clearly had nothing on famous celebrities.

He stills at the innocent question and idly wonders why things suddenly got so awkward. "He tries," the blond admits gruffly, shifting in his seat. "I don't usually go for it."

She stares at him suspiciously. "Maybe you're gay," she comments lightly.

"You're accusing me of being gay because I'm not shallow enough to date women based on how hot or famous they are?" he asks, his face expressionless.

She pauses and thinks over his words. "Okay, when you put it like that... it just makes you sound like a better person..." she grumbles under her breath.

To her surprise, Austin ducks his head and laughs quietly to himself. "Ally," he calls quietly once the laughter subsides. His head snaps back up so he can meet her eyes. He reaches out to her hand resting on the table and he taps the back of her hand with a finger before gently resting his hand over hers. "I can assure you, that you are way more awesome than any of the 'hot' or 'famous' women I've met, okay?" he says softly. His lips stretch into a lazy, but genuine, grin and his eyes flit back and forth as they search through hers.

She swallows nervously as she stares back, wide-eyed and speechless. Her stomach is doing front flips, back flips—heck, at this point, it's doing an entire gymnastics routine fit for the Olympics.

Ally tries desperately not to over-think and over-analyze his words, especially since she can barely admit her own crush on the blond to herself.

His eyebrow starts to raise and his grin just barely falters. "Uh, Ally? You okay there?"

She squeaks and nods mechanically. "Just great!" she shoots back, just a little too loud and high-pitched to be considered normal and sane. She inwardly groans at how crazy this guy can make her.

Austin smirks and gives her hand a quick squeeze before letting go. He watches her fiddle nervously with her hair once her hand was free. She focuses very intently on the ends of her hair as she twirls a wavy lock around and around her finger, a blush on her cheeks.

"How about some food?" he suggests after a long while. Because as adorable as she is when she's shy and embarrassed, he much prefers her when she's sassy and fighting back.

She pauses from playing with her hair and looks up at him as her shoulders finally relax. "I am pretty hungry," she admits with a slow grin.

"Race ya to the buffet table!" he shouts childishly, already bolting out of his seat.

"Hey! No fair! Your legs are twice as long as mine!" she whines, trying to sprint after him.

Ally giggles into the back of her hand at another comment Austin makes about one of the people walking by.

"No, but really, his pants are pulled up so high, it looks like he's expecting a flood."

Her giggles turn into peals of laughter and he grins at her, pleased to know that he had caused that lovely sound. He watches her and finishes off his dinner with one last bite of mashed potatoes. Ally had been done with her plate for a while, but that was probably because Austin's plate held triple the amount of food on Ally's.

She calms down and shakes her head at him. "Okay, so the amount of ankle he's showing is pretty criminal, but look over there," she murmurs, pointing in the direction of an older woman that clearly had too much work done. "If she smiles, do you think her entire face would fall apart?" Ally whispers.

"That's probably why she gets so much work done, so she can keep rebuilding it when she does accidentally smile," he answers soberly. He watches the woman as she carries on a conversation with her tightly pulled back and scarily expressionless face. She held some comically high brows, making the upper half of her face look shocked while the rest remained eerily still. Even when she speaks, her overly plump lips barely part and her company seems to have trouble understand her. "I bet she drinks her water like this."

She turns her attention away from the woman and blinks at him, confused. "Like what?"

Austin carefully paints on a dull expression, lifts his eyebrows to appear surprised, and puckers his lips just ever so slightly in an uncannily accurate imitation of the overly done woman. He holds up his drink to his barely parted lips and tilts the cup into his mouth. When he pulls the cup away, the water dribbles from his mouth and back into the glass. It's really rather disgusting, but his expressionless face is what makes the whole thing absolutely hilarious.

A highly undignified snort leaves Ally's mouth as she doubles over in a roar of laughter. "That's disgusting!" she cries. Despite the complaint, she sounds thoroughly amused.

"What? What's so funny?" he mumbles through his closed, semi-puckered lips, still impersonating the woman.

Ally continues her laughing fit, a hand pressed to her mouth in a poor attempt to stifle the sound.

Austin drops the act and wipes the water from his mouth. "You okay?" he chuckles.

She shakes her head and she continues laughing as he watches her quietly. "Oh my God, I can't breathe," she rasps.

He laughs for a second and then looks thoughtfully into his glass. "I'm, uh, I'm going to get a new drink," he says with a wince.

She nods understandingly as he walks away with their plates and his drink in hand. When she has finally calmed down, she goes back to scanning the crowd for any more wacky characters worthy of commentary for Austin's return. But then something on the stage catches her eye and she turns to look at the singer calling for everybody's attention. Austin joins her with a new glass of water in hand as she eyes the stage curiously.

"What's going on?" she asks Austin as Jimmy walks up onto the stage.

Austin frowns and shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe an announcement or some kind of surprise?" He looks around as a crowd starts up front by the stage. "You want a closer look?"

She shrugs like Why not? and they both get out of their seats and move closer to the stage to listen to what Austin's boss has to say.

Jimmy grins once he has the audience's rapt attention. "How about we pass the mic around for a bit, huh? I know some of you talented folks are dying to show off your lovely voices."

The crowd continues to applaud, albeit awkwardly, but nobody steps forward.

Ally claps politely and looks around, wondering who would be brave enough to be the first on stage. She turns to the blond. He isn't clapping and there's a set frown in place of his usual smirk.

Jimmy clicks his tongue at the crowd. "Oh, c'mon! No volunteers? Nobody's brave enough to step up first?" He gives an incredulous laugh. "Surely one of you wants to get up here?"

Again, nobody steps forward.

Austin stills and turns to her. "Let's go sit down," he suddenly says with an edge to his voice. He reaches for her elbow, holds onto her with a firm and steady grasp.

She blinks, about to go along with him, when Jimmy's voice booms into the microphone again. "Nobody wants to step up? Fine, then I'd like to volunteer a good friend and co-worker of mine," he calls out.

Austin's eyes widen. "Oh, shit." He ducks and moves to hide behind Ally's slim shoulders despite the ridiculous height difference. And width difference.

Ally raises an eyebrow as she cranes her neck to look over her shoulder and up at him. "This looks like an excellent plan," she snorts sarcastically.

"So, without further ado, Austin Moon, if you could, please come on up to the stage!" he calls into the microphone as he smirks out into the audience.

His shoulders cock themselves from hearing his name called out. "That son of a bitch," Austin mumbles under his breath, glaring vehemently at his boss.

A round of applause starts up to encourage Austin to show himself and Ally can practically hear the sighs of relief from having somebody else get called to sing first.

Ally laughs excitedly as she joins in on the clapping. "You better get up there," she grins toothily, elbowing him in the side. "Can't deny your boss," she teases with a click of her tongue.

He gives her a pained look as the people next to him start nudging and pushing him forward. "Okay, okay!" he growls, stepping out of the crowd. He plasters a smile on his face and makes his way up to the stage, grabbing the microphone from Jimmy's hand. His boss slaps him on the back and Austin gives an exasperated laugh at having been called to the stage.

"Good luck!" Jimmy calls laughingly as he makes his exit.

The blond claps his hands together and sighs resignedly. "Uh, any requests?" he asks into the microphone, a wry smile in place.

A couple of songs are shouted from various audience members. Finally, he hones in on a fun suggestion.

"Wham's Last Christmas, it is!" he cheers, pointing in the direction of the small, Asian woman in the back who'd shouted it in a deafening cry. She whoops triumphantly from having her favorite Christmas song picked.

From the audience, Ally cheers and claps along with everyone else as she watches Austin up on stage.

Oh, this is too good...

Her grin grows impossibly wider and she can't wait to hear his rendition of the popular Christmas song.

"Sorry, folks, just a minute." Austin turns around and gestures for the band to hold on for a bit. He spins back to the front and smiles out into the crowd. "I'd like to call my lovely date, Ally Dawson, up to the stage."

The toothy grin is wiped clean off her lips and the color drains from her entire face. "Oh my God," she breathes, and suddenly, she feels very, very faint.

"Let's give Ally a round of applause, everybody!" Austin grins and walks over to an extra stand, grabbing a second microphone for her. "She happens to be a bit shy," he says sympathetically, eliciting a small Aww from everyone.

Ally gapes and gasps as a the people next to her grin and gesture to the stage encouragingly. A numb feeling of shock settles over her body as her legs slowly start to move toward the stage as enthusiastic clapping enters her ears. She makes her way up the tiny set of steps and meets Austin in the middle of the stage, looking absolutely terrified.

"What are you doing?" she hisses in panic as he casually passes a mic into her hand.

"Dragging you down with me," he whispers the familiar words into her ear. "You know how to sing, right?" he murmurs with a smirk.

Her fingers tighten around the mic in a death grip. "I do a bit of casual shower-singing, yeah," she confesses with a shaky nod.

"Awesome. You know the words to the song?"

She nods again and swallows thickly.

"Ready to start?" he asks, biting his lip in anticipation.

"No," she whispers to him. "Give me a moment." And then, into her mic, she says, "Hey, hey! Mr. Waiter-Guy? The one with the champagne? Could you please come up here for a second?" She nods when he looks around for a second before pointing uncertainly at himself. "Yep, I mean you, up front. Sorry for calling you out," she apologizes.

The bewildered waiter awkwardly makes his way to the front of the stage.

Ally walks up to the edge of the stage and smiles at him. "Sorry," she repeats as she kneels down to snatch a glass of the bubbly beverage with trembling fingers. She closes her eyes and downs the whole glass in one go, shocking the entire audience. It burns nicely on its way down her throat and she feels warmth and color come back to her cheeks. She gives a small hiss and shudders as she slams the empty glass down on the waiter's platter when she drains the last drop. "Okay, thanks," she says breathlessly as she gets up and shakes her hair out of her face.

The crowd quickly breaks out into a cheer as she moves to stand next to Austin once again.

"Ready," she says to him with a firm nod.

Austin looks at her, his eyes are shining bright with laughter and there's a very, very affectionate smile on his lips. "Thought you didn't drink?" he teases as his smile widens at her.

"I'm pretty sure this moment calls for an exception," she whispers back as she waves out to the crowd.

"Sorry for the hold up, guys! Ally needed some extra luck," he grins. He laughs and turns around to the band, giving them a nod to proceed with the music.

"But I'm all good now, ladies and gentlemen!" she cheers into her mic, still a wee bit nervous. The crowd lets out another roar of excitement for Ally and she chuckles at the sight.

The music starts up and Austin looks over to her and they lock gazes, identical smiles on their faces. He gives her a nod and she catches the cue, and when the timing's right, they both open their mouths to sing simultaneously.

"Last Christmas

I gave you my heart

But the very next day, you gave it away

This year

To save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special

Last Christmas

I gave you my heart

But the very next day, you gave it away

This year

To save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special."

Their voices blend together and Ally marvels at how well they sound. Somehow, it doesn't surprise her that he has knack for singing. She's willing to bet that all of his talents came naturally and effortlessly to him while growing up. He gives her an impressed smirk of surprise, as if to say he hadn't expected her to sing so well. She shrugs nonchalantly and smiles back, grateful for the small burst of courage from the champagne.

He gestures with a small head tilt for her to take the first verse and she nods understandingly. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a brief moment, before she fills the room with her soft, melodic voice.

"Once bitten and twice shy

I keep my distance

But you still catch my eye

Tell me, baby

Do you recognize me?

Well...

If it's been a year

It doesn't surprise me

'Merry Christmas'

I wrapped it up and sent it

With a note saying 'I love you'

I meant it

Now I know what a fool I've been

But if you kissed me now

I know you'd fool me again."

She takes a moment and looks over to Austin, only to find him staring at her in absolute adoration and complete awe. Her smile falters slightly and she gives him an expectant look. He shakes himself out of his stupor just in time for the refrain.

Their eyes lock as their voices harmonize perfectly like before. He pounds on his chest during 'heart' and spreads his arm out wide during the next line. She can't help but smile wider at his cheesy choreography. He moves toward her and she follows suit, her knees more than a little wobbly as his eyes never leave hers. They finish the refrain and she can't wait to hear him take over the next verse as he looks out into the mesmerized audience.

"A crowded room

Friends with tired eyes

I'm hiding from you

And your soul of ice

My God, I thought you were someone to rely on

Me?

I guess I was a shoulder to cry on

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart

A man under cover but you tore me apart

Oh oh

Now I've found a real love, you'll never fool me again."

She stares at him, wide-eyed as he finishes the verse. She's pretty sure he's just reduced all of the straight women in the crowd into oozing puddles of useless goo. He turns away from the swooning audience and smirks at her. Her heart feels like it's lodged itself in her throat as her eyes search through his illuminated ones.

It's time for the refrain one last time and she somehow manages to sing the words as he makes his way toward her again. She, however, stays rooted to the spot, unable to keep her eyes off his. They finish the last line and the words echo and bounce around the room as Austin comes to a stop in front of her in the middle of the stage, breathing rapidly as he looks down at her through thick, dark lashes. Her mouth drops a little from the heavy look he gives her and she swallows thickly.

They're both brought back to reality when two strong hands clap down on their shoulders, jolting them out of their cloudy daze. They both blink and look behind them to see Jimmy's toothy grin.

Ally awkwardly hands over her mic when Jimmy gestures for it politely. "Wow. Who's brave enough to go after that amazing act, huh?" he asks with a hearty laugh.

Ally blushes and a cocky grin appears on Austin's lips.

Jimmy grins down at them encouragingly. "You guys up for another song or two?" he asks.

The smirk on Austin's lips doesn't falter as he takes it all in, eyes scanning the crowd in front of them. He turns to Ally, still gaping in surprise at the ovation they've received. She's pretty sure she hears chanting for an encore.

"How about it, Ally? Wanna give them what they want?" he whispers breathlessly into her ear.

Ally blinks before turning to meet his soft, brown eyes. She gives him a timid smile and a casual shrug. "We're already up here, so why not?" she laughs cheekily, the sound echoing throughout the ballroom.

"Okay, okay! Let's have somebody else take the stage, alright?" Jimmy chuckles good-naturedly into the microphone. "But give it up one more time for their amazing duets!" he cheers, clapping and pointing to the pair.

"The lovely Ally Dawson, everybody!" Austin shouts, gesturing to her as she curtsies jokingly to the whooping and cheering crowd.

"And the always charming Austin Moon!" Ally laughs as she claps along with the audience while Austin takes a deeply exaggerated bow, complete with ridiculous hand flourishes. The sight makes her laugh even harder.

They've easily and effectively broken the ice, as a few hands have shot up for a go on stage as Jimmy turns back to the audience.

Austin waves out into the crowd. "C'mon," he murmurs into Ally's ear. "We better hurry off the stage before he changes his mind and talks us into another song." He quickly stalks down the steps, with her following close behind. He reaches the bottom first and extends a hand out to her.

She blinks at his hand, because while it's a nice gesture, she doesn't really need any extra support down the last two steps. She looks at the innocent, but expectant, expression on his face and gives a small, amused sigh as she tentatively places her own hand into his.

A wide grin breaks across his face while his grip tightens around her slender fingers and he watches her take the last two steps down until she meets even ground.

"Thanks," she says as she lets go, her hand flopping down to her side. She flexes her fingers subtly to try and rid her hand of the tingly sensation from Austin's touch. It doesn't work.

"You're welcome," he says politely. "You want to sit down for a while?"

She nods emphatically at his suggestion. "Definitely! I need a break after all that. And some water!"

He laughs and tells her to find a table so he can grab them new glasses of water. She agrees and finds a seat at an empty table. She has exactly four seconds to fan herself with a hand before she's suddenly surrounded by a group of gushing fans.

"You and Austin were simply fantastic!"

"Your voices were totally amazing."

"What a lovely performance."

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

"You two make a gorgeous couple, you know!"

Overwhelmed with the compliments, Ally can't do much more than thank them politely through her daze. But the last comment did manage to land a blush on her cheeks. She smiles and continues nodding and thanking them appreciatively while she waits for Austin.

They slowly start to slink away, once they've given the singer her deserved props, and Ally can finally breathe again when she's alone. Her eyes shift through the crowd as she idly wonders what's taking Austin so long. But then she sees that she wasn't the only one bombarded with compliments and praise, if Austin's confident smirk and occasional polite nod at passerby are anything to go by.

He finally makes it to the table and hands her her drink. She immediately starts gulping down her water while he promptly drains half of his as he takes a seat. He sets it on the table and lets out a satisfied sigh as he relaxes into the chair, throwing his head back against the top of the chair.

Ally sets down her drink and props her chin on the table, her cheek resting against her closed fist. "You alright?" she jokes with a grin.

His head lolls around to fix her with a curious smirk. "So. Where did you learn how to sing like that?" he asks, pointedly ignoring her question.

Her eyes widen from the unexpected question and her cheek slides off her tiny fist with a small jerk of her head. "Shower-singing," she squeaks, suddenly eying her glass of water determinedly.

He raises an eyebrow skeptically. "Shower-singing?" he echoes flatly. "You got that good from shower-singing?" he asks with disbelief.

She finally glances up to give him an exasperated look. "Oh, come off it. I'm not that good," she mutters embarrassingly.

Austin shakes his head vehemently. "No, you are. You really, really are," he says earnestly as he stares at her determinedly.

A bright red creeps up her neck, into her face, and spreads through her porcelain cheeks. "Thanks, Austin," she murmurs shyly as she slowly starts to smile at him.

A corner of his lips quirk upward into an adorable, lopsided smile and he shakes his head at her. "I can't believe you never told me you could sing." He gives her a cheeky look. "If I had known, I would have volunteered you when Jimmy was asking for people to come up on stage," he laughs.

The color drains from her face as abruptly as it had come. She shakes her head in mild terror. "Oh God, no. I could barely handle that with you up there with me," she admits with a wince. "Piano recitals, I can do. Orchestra concerts, I can do. But singing on stage? Yeah, that was definitely a first for me."

His jaw drops and he looks at her, flabbergasted. "Allison Veronica Dawson!"

She raises an eyebrow bemusedly. "Still not my middle name," she comments under her breath.

He ignores her. "You've been hiding your voice away from the world for twenty-three years?" he bellows, sounding outraged.

Her eyes widen and she moves to shush him. "I didn't even know I had a good voice until tonight!" she hisses defensively.

He shakes his head and snorts. "I swear, I'm taking you to a karaoke bar as soon as one opens up after Christmas," he vows under his breath.

Ally doesn't know how to respond so she just rolls her eyes at him. "Fine, whatever," she concedes irritably, knowing that he would just wear her down until she agreed anyway. It would just save energy on both ends if she agrees up front.

And she could always make excuses and bail later.

Austin raises an eyebrow at her. "C'mon, it'll be fun," he says, his eyes softening at her.

She hesitates and bites at the corner of her lip as she thinks it over. Singing and sharing the stage with Austin had been rather exhilarating, truth be told. Terrifying, but exhilarating. And well, where else would she get a chance to get back up on stage with him in that manner? Besides, did she really want to turn down an offer to hang out with him?

Her honest answer kind of scares her.

"I guess... it does sound like it could be fun," she says lightly with a small smile. "Okay, okay. The karaoke bar as soon as it opens after Christmas," she agrees, much more enthusiastically this time around.

"Good."

Ally shoots him an affectionately proud grin. "You were really good up there, too." She smirks at him. "And judging from the way you worked that stage and Jimmy calling you out, it clearly wasn't your first time singing for an audience."

He freezes and she catches the guilt in his eyes.

"So how come you tried to avoid going up on stage?" she asks as she tilts her head to the side.

Austin groans and a hand immediately shoots up to rub at the back of his neck. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of you," he mutters shyly.

She looks at him in disbelief. "So you thought it would be a better idea to pull me up there with you?"

He grins at her. "I figured that I'd rather have you up there laughing at the both of us instead of standing in the crowd, laughing at just me," he admits.

"I wouldn't have laughed at you," she says with a shake of her head. "You were amazing up there," she says sincerely. "I'm pretty sure you induced swooning."

"From you?" he asks with a smirk.

"Couldn't afford to swoon, being up on stage," she counters smoothly, smirking right back at him.

Austin laughs. "I'm glad you got up there with me."

"I'm glad we didn't suck," she whispers back with a wink.

He laughs again and shakes his head at her. "We make a pretty awesome team."

"We are going to own at the karaoke bar."

"Indeed, we are," he smirks promisingly, raising his glass to her.

They clink their glasses together and take a long drink.

She hides her smile behind the lip of her cup and they lapse into a comfortable silence. She watches him as he turns his attention toward the stage. A quiet smile plays at his lips as he listens to the band start another song. She moves to take another sip of water when Austin suddenly turns back to her, same smile in place.

"Do you want to dance?"

She freezes at the question. She waits a beat before slowly lowering her glass. She holds up a hand and shakes her head at him. "Oh no, that's okay," she states politely. "I'd really rather not dance."

He gives her an offended look. "Ally! You can't turn down a dance."

Her eyebrows furrow. "I can't?"

He shakes his head. "Of course not! If we're at a party like this and there's dancing, it's only proper date etiquette for the gentleman—that would be me, if case you hadn't been taking notes—to ask his lovely lady—you, Ally, that's you; you're keeping up, yes?—to dance," he informs her in a scholarly tone.

"'Proper date etiquette'?" she repeats incredulously. "And thanks, by the way, for the reminders of our respective genders," she adds sarcastically.

"You're absolutely welcome."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm still not dancing, by the way," she repeats.

He masks his disappointment by quickly giving her a flat stare. "Ally, it's a slow song; there's not much dancing to a slow song." At her obvious hesitation, he rolls his eyes. "Fine, would you like to sway, then?"

"Sway?" she repeats skeptically with an arched eyebrow.

Austin nods with a slow smile. "C'mon. Come sway with me," he says enticingly. "Since you don't dance, apparently," he teases.

Ally blinks at his extended hand. She's about to decline for the third time—something about the third time being a charm, right?—but his eyes are glittering with determination and she knows that behind his carefree smirk, lies baiting remarks that will get under her skin until she gives in, anyway.

She deflates with a small sigh. "Oh, fine," she agrees at last. She reaches out and her fingertips graze across his waiting palm for a split second before their hands lock in a steady hold.

He leads her out onto the dance floor and he stops when he finds an empty space. He turns to her and places his free hand on the small of her back. She places a hand around the back of his shoulder and Austin's grip on her other hand tightens just enough to make her eyes dart to their joined hands and back up to meet his eyes.

He gives her a smirk and takes a half-step forward, eliminating what little space they had between them. Their bodies are flush together and she blushes from the contact. She tentatively leans her head against his upper chest.

"Now just... sway to my sway," he says simply. They move back and forth in time to the soft music and crooning singer.

About half-way through the song, he leans down and angles his lips close to her ear. "Well, would you look at that?" he mutters with a low chuckle. "You're quite the pro at this swaying thing," he says with a light smile.

She laughs softly at the teasing remark and pulls back to give him a slow smile. "Okay, this is pretty nice," she admits quietly. "Simple, but nice." He returns her smile and the warmth in his dark eyes makes her smile waver. With a nervous gulp, she quickly moves her head back to his chest so he won't see the blush adorning her cheeks.

"Yeah?"

She nods against his chest and closes her eyes. "But you know what would be even nicer?"

"What?" he asks.

"If you stayed quiet during the rest of the song."

The laughter that rumbles through his chest makes her smile.

"And stay quiet during the next song, too," she murmurs softly.

His laughter quiets. "I can do that," he whispers into her hair as his cheek rests gently against the top of her head.

And they stay, just like that, for a while longer.

After the second slow song ends, their swaying comes to a stop. They continue to stand, rooted to the spot, despite other couples wandering off the dance floor.

Ally doesn't make a move to step away and neither does Austin.

That, she supposes, is something. Mostly, she's just secretly happy that he doesn't seem to want to move, either.

"The music stopped," she observes bluntly.

A beat.

"I think the band's taking a water break," he murmurs in reply.

She thanks her mouth for ruining the moment. She going to have to staple it shut later as punishment.

"Ah," she manages weakly.

Ally tries not to feel too disappointed when Austin lifts his cheek away from her hair. She removes her head from his chest. They share a small smile before his hand falls from her back, her arm around his shoulder following suit.

She wonders if she's imagining the squeeze he gives her hand before letting go.

Despite her warm, cozy sweater and the perfectly balanced temperature of the ballroom, she's caught a sudden case of chills as she follows Austin back to their seats.

Surely, it can't be because she'd been wrapped up in Austin's tight embrace mere moments ago.

Surely, she isn't already missing the warmth and security of his arms.

Surely, somebody must have let in a draft.

"The party's slowing down," Ally says lightly when she takes a glance around room and notices that the guests have dwindled down significantly.

Austin's brown eyes narrow thoughtfully and he takes a minute to scan the ballroom. He sees Jimmy standing a few feet from the door, shaking hands with guests or hugging them good bye. "So it is," he nods.

Despite this being the perfect cue to leave, they continue sitting in their chairs at their table.

Yes, it's late, and yes, she's really rather tired, but no, she doesn't quite want to go home. At least, not yet. Going home meant the end to an awesome day. It meant the end to this date. It meant... well, it meant saying good bye to Austin for the night.

She realizes that's a tad ridiculous; she knows it's not like she'll never see him again. They were neighbors! What, with him being a few doors down from her own.

But still, she muses, she just wants to hold on to tonight for a little longer.

Austin turns to her with tired eyes. He fights back a yawn—she can tell from how his jaw twitches and he almost brings up a hand to his mouth—and she feels her heart drop.

He clearly wants to go home, she realizes as her heart continues its downward direction.

She doesn't let him ask; brings it up, herself, about going home. She uses the tired excuse so he doesn't have to put on a brave face for her.

He blinks. There's a pause and finally, he answers. "Alright," he says slowly. "If you want."

She's clearly more tired than she thought since she almost mistakes his tone for one of reluctance.

"Yeah," she murmurs, trying to sound cheerful. "I'm ready to go home." She sends him a weak smile. "You're tired, too, aren't you? Besides, there's no point in us staying here longer, right?"

He shifts in his seat, pauses longer than before. "No," he says roughly. "I guess not. The party's basically over," he finishes in a low voice. His fingers start drumming on the table as he appears thoughtful. "I'll be honest, though..." he starts, before trailing off. His fingers stop moving and his eyes jerk away from hers. Suddenly, he looks so shy. "I kind of don't want to leave," he coughs quietly.

She laughs, feeling lighter as her heart soars from his words. "Me, neither," she admits with a bite of her lip.

Austin quickly snaps back to look at her. "Yeah?" he asks hopefully.

She nods, a small smile starting to form. "Today's been the most fun I've had in ages," she says. "I'll be disappointed to see it end."

His shoulders relax and he grins at her. "Well, it's good that the feeling's mutual, I guess," he says. "I was kind of embarrassed because I thought it was only me," he tacks on with a relieved laugh.

She blushes. "Definitely not just you," she mutters, averting her gaze.

"So what's the plan?" he asks after a beat. "Sit here awkwardly until we're the last ones or leave and call it a night?

She wrinkles her nose. "Well, when you put it like that... maybe we should just head home?" He boos her and she rolls her eyes. "You want to stay here all night then?"

Austin gives his own sigh. "No, no. You're right. We should get going." He stretches with a yawn and gets up. He stands behind her and pulls out her chair.

She thanks him and he shoots her the charming grin that makes her stomach flip. He gently places a hand to her back, murmurs, "This way," into her ear and they start toward the coat check.

Ally glances up and sees Austin smiling down at her. She forces one of her own and focuses on moving forward.

She's already feeling the beginnings of disappointment sweep through her.

They step out of the elevator and begin their way down the hall in a comfortable silence. When they come to a stop outside his door, the silence becomes less comfortable.

"I had a good time," Ally pipes up, trying to fill the silence."At the party, I mean." She smiles at him when he turns his attention to her. "It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be," she confesses.

Austin sends her a relieved smile. "So did I, but I owe you for that one, Ally. Trust me, the only difference between last year and this year was bringing you. Seriously."

She suddenly finds her old boots from two seasons ago absolutely fascinating. "And, um, thanks, for spending all of Christmas Eve with me," she adds after she takes a moment to clear her throat. "You didn't have to, but it was sweet of you to come by."

His eyes soften and a genuine smile plays across his lips. "I wanted to spend it with you," he says earnestly. "So thanks for not shutting the door in my face," he adds playfully.

They stand there for a second, identical smiles aimed at each other, before he finally snaps out of it and scratches the back of his neck.

"It's getting late," she observes after a beat.

"Yeah, it is."

Their eyes dart around the hallway, because all of a sudden, they can't quite meet each others' glances.

He clears his throat. "So, uh, do you want me to walk you to your door?"

Ally shakes her head and holds up her hand. "Austin, it's fine," she insists with a light laugh. "I can make it the few feet by myself," she promises with a grin. He hesitates and she points down the hall. "It's right there," she says with a small laugh. "It's fine. Really."

He finally relaxes and gives her a small nod. "Alright," he concedes.

So they stand there, an awkward silence blanketing over them. Ally rocks back and forth on the balls and heels of her feet. Austin roughly shoves a hand in his pocket and dangles his keys in the other one.

Eventually, Ally clears her throat and once she catches his eye, she looks at him with a soft smile. She jerks a thumb behind her and says, "Well, um, I better go."

He blinks at her and opens his mouth. For a split second, she thinks he's going to tell her something—anything—but instead, he nods mechanically and plasters on a smile. "Right. Well, uh, see ya," he mutters with a small wave of his hand, his keys jingling slightly.

She forces her smile to widen so she can hide the mild disappointment in her eyes. "Bye," she says and it nearly comes out as a sigh. She turns around and heads down the hall, squashing down her growing disappointment as she gets closer and closer to her apartment door.

She makes it all of eight steps before she hears a shout.

"Wait. Ally, wait up!"

The startled brunette whirls around in confusion, seeing Austin hurrying toward her. He makes it over to her in about half the steps and comes to an abrupt stop in front of her.

"Yes...?" she sounds bemused and lets an inquisitive look grace her features.

He doesn't say anything, doesn't even open his mouth. He stands there, staring at her intently with dark, dark eyes, as a coy smile plays at his lips.

Just as his silence starts to unnerve her, his hand reaches up and brushes some hair over her shoulder. Her eyelids flutter and her stomach flops from the barely-there touch. She meets his gaze with her doe eyes and she swallows nervously, feeling her heart about to pound out of her chest. "What—what are you—?" she trails off, her voice a hoarse whisper.

He gestures above them with a small jerk of his head and looks at her through half-lidded eyes. "You happen to be standing under some mistletoe," he answers with a smirk.

Her eyebrows furrow and she glances up, notices a fire sprinkler hanging above their heads, instead of the supposed mistletoe. "What are you talking about? Austin, that's not mist—"

"Yeah, I really don't care," he interrupts with a low murmur. His hands come to cup the sides of her face, fingers just barely curling into her soft brown hair.

And then, in one swift, swooping motion, he's kissing her.

She smothers a small gasp of surprise and her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before they close. Her hands run up and over his chest and shoulders, until they're resting at the back of his neck, fingers threading through his short blond hair. She takes a moment to appreciate how truly soft it is as she stands on her toes.

She's the one that parts her lips first. He tilts his head for better access and his tongue deftly enters her mouth, effectively deepening the kiss.

He leaves one hand cupping the side of her face, thumb caressing her cheek, as he slides the other hand down the side of her body, and then across the small of her waist, pulling her up and even closer to his incredibly toned, lean body. The grip from his fingers tighten around the side of her body, and a small moan escapes from her mouth. And likewise, one rips from his throat when her fingernails start scraping along his neck.

Finally, he tears himself away for some air, but not before gently sucking on her bottom lip for a second or two.

"Damn." The word comes out in a ragged breath and he almost needs a moment to regain his composure.

Ally gulps down some much needed air the second he pulls away. She swallows thickly and sighs as she slowly lowers her body down his, no longer standing on tip toe. Her hands slide down as well and they rest on his muscular chest.

She doesn't know what to say because her mind is still spinning from his dizzying kiss.

Austin rolls his eyes at her as he straightens his back. With a wince, he starts rolling and cracking his neck. "God, you're so short," he snickers. But his thumb is stroking her cheek affectionately and his eyes are even darker than before as he continues to study her.

If her cheeks weren't already heated before, then that comment did the trick. "And you're a moment ruiner," she intones as she stares up at him.

Austin smirks. "Romantic moment under some fake mistletoe, right, sorry," he chuckles.

She wraps her arms around his neck and throws an incredulous look above their heads. "I wish I could I say that I'm into you for your smarts, but that's clearly not the case here," she sighs forlornly.

Not that she plans on ever telling him, but she does find it kind of adorable that he had used a fire sprinkler as an excuse to kiss her.

He shifts the hand on her cheek so he can run his thumb over the bottom of her lip. "I should just kiss you again, huh?" he asks with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

A solemn nod. "You probably should, you know, before you say anything else that might ruin this night."

"Clearly, you're the smart one in this fake relationship," he shoots back teasingly.

Ally arches a brow at him. "You're still talking about a fake relationship after that very real kiss?"

"Oh, it won't be fake for too long," he promises with a smirk, angling his lips toward hers.

"Good," she whispers back with a smile, letting her eyes drift close once again.

She gets back up on tip toes and their lips meet about halfway—Austin actually has to lean down a bit further to close the distance between them.

Austin breaks off the kiss fairly quickly and moves his hands to her hips. His thumbs slip under her sweater to run across the skin above the waistband of her jeans. "Maybe we should take this somewhere else," he mutters breathlessly. "Somewhere... that's not in the middle of the hallway?" he suggests with an eyebrow raised high.

She bites her lip thoughtfully. "Your apartment or mine?" she asks curiously with an air of innocence, playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

"Mine's closer."

"Mine still smells like cookies."

Austin's eyebrows shoot up at the challenging look in her eyes and the smirk on her perfectly red lips. "Well, then," he mutters as he looks down at her. "Don't think I can beat that..." he trails off with a throaty chuckle.

"No, you probably can't."

"Lead the way, m'lady."