AUTHORS NOTE: Set immediately after Season 2: "Parents & Punishment'. Also, if you haven't heard 'One More Night' by Maroon 5 you need to download/buy/youtube it now and listen. It sets the mood for this entire story and it, along with Ross Lynch's everyday yummy-ness, inspired me to write this story.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. Nor do I own or profit from the use of 'One More Time' by Maroon 5. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

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Chapter One: NOT an overnight bag…

Ally sighed to herself as she moved from table to table in the mall food court, cleaning up flyers and miscellaneous trash left behind from the fundraiser. She was still somewhat mad at herself for not speaking up and letting the music teacher know the money was a way to pay for her 'donated' instruments, but the look on the kids' faces had beaten her back fierce. There was no way she would be able to ask for the money back now. She, of all people, understood how important the music program was to that elementary school. The kids deserved it.

As she walked her handful of garbage over to the trash bin something caught her eye. Sitting in the corner, propped up by the juice bar was Austin's guitar. Instantly a wave of guilt washed over her at the sight of it. She had received a text message from Dez not too long ago informing her that Austin had, in fact, been caught for sneaking out and was now grounded as a result. And it was all her fault. If she hadn't made the even sound like such a failure on the phone when he called he wouldn't have taken the risk of leaving his house, or at least she's pretty sure he wouldn't have. He knew what the consequences would be if he was caught and he had taken the chance anyway, to help her. At the very least she would have hoped that his parents would understand why he had done it and give him a break, just this once, but so far that hadn't happened.

And on top of his punishment he had forgotten his guitar. Too busy trying to get home before his parents, he had left one of his most prized possessions behind, and risked some crazed fan girl or just anybody walking off with it. She imagined him now, sitting in his room, grounded with nothing fun to do. He couldn't even dabble with his song writing.

Ally walked over to the stringed instrument and picked it up, gazing at the front of it. She'd have to find a way to get it back to him without getting him in more trouble. Then at least he'd have a way to entertain himself in that room all weekend. There was only so much studying a person of even her scholarly enthusiasm could take before they needed a distraction, let alone someone like Austin.

Just then her phone buzzed in her pocket and she reached in to see who the message was from. Well, well, speak of the devil…

Austin:

busted. wont be around

this weekend. sorry ally

Her heart sank a little. It was exactly as she thought. He was being forced to stay in and study all weekend long.

She was so… smitten by what he had done for her tonight. Here he was, this up and coming star, fighting his way to the top and working hard to set up paying gigs and create an image for himself, and he gave up his Friday night to play a free acoustic concert to raise money so she wouldn't be in trouble with her dad. He was a sweetheart, and deserved better than what he had. She wanted to give him all of his favorite things as a giant Thank You for everything he'd done for her. But how would she get it to him now when he could really use them the most?

It was then that a plan formulated in her head. Smiling to herself she closed out his text message and quickly finished cleaning up the mall commons, eager to get back to the store and get a hold of her father…

Ally bit her lip nervously. She had never lied to her dad before. She never really had a reason to. He pretty much gave her whatever she wanted, which wasn't much, and she was a self admitted good-girl. Tonight, however, there was an exception.

Sure, he was probably still really mad about the store being wiped clean of its product without a dime to show for it, but he wouldn't tell her no when she asked if she could sleep over Trish's house. He'd rather have the house to himself anyway so he could walk around in his underwear and listen to his polka records and eat all the junk food he wanted. She would help him think of a good punishment for her actions anyway, and nothing so cliché as not seeing her friends.

"Um, dad?" she asked as she rounded the corner into the management office of Sonic Boom.

"Yeah, honey?" he asked, not looking up from his stack of order forms under the desk light.

"I know you're still mad, and I'm really, really sorry, but would it be alright if I slept over Trish's house tonight? That way we could get our girl time in before our next shipment comes in and I can spend the rest of the week helping you re-stock the store…?" She hoped the mention of 'girl-time' would help her seal the deal. Without her mother around, her father pretty much relied on Ally's friends and other relatives to help him out with those topics that could make it awkward between a father and daughter.

Lester Dawson let out a long sigh and looked up from his paperwork, pulling his glasses off of his face and staring at his daughter.

Ally's smile faltered for a moment. Yep, still mad. She smiled sheepishly at him and fidgeted her hands under his stare.

As mad as he was at her, she had never really done anything wrong before, and despite his store being completely empty with no profit to show for it, she had done what she had done because of her big heart. He couldn't stay mad at her for that. He could only be proud…

"Alright, but I want you home tomorrow evening. No exceptions. We're going to take this opportunity to wipe down every nook and cranny of this store while it's empty, maybe even re-arrange a few things before the new stuff gets delivered Monday morning."

Ally smiled and jogged over to her seated dad, wrapping her arms around him from the side. "Oh, thank you daddy! I promise I'll come home in the early afternoon and I won't see anybody for the rest of the weekend until I get this place fixed."

Lester patted her arm as she hugged him and looked up into her eyes when she stood straight again. "Do you need a ride over there?"

Ally shook her head and her cheeks flushed a little. "No thanks, it's nice out. We're going to meet at the grocery store and walk. Thanks anyway…"

He nodded and gazed at her warmly. "Have fun, sweetie."

Ally smiled and shuffled out of the office of the store up to her practice room and grabbed her bag and Austin's guitar, whizzing by the office door again quickly on her way out so her father wouldn't see the instrument. "Bye, dad!" she called over her shoulder.

"Be careful! Text me when you get there!" she heard him yell as she pushed her way through Sonic Boom's glass doors and out into the warm Miami night. She had just two quick stops to make before she headed toward her destination,

Austin stepped out of the shower and rubbed his head with the towel, sopping as much moisture from his platinum hair as possible before taking the towel and wrapping it around his midsection. A shower was definitely needed after all the sprinting and jumping and dodging he'd done earlier to get home.

He sighed to himself as he opened the wall mirror and pulled out his hair product, squeezing the littlest bit into his hand before rubbing them together and running his fingers carelessly through the soft locks. He was a little disappointed Ally hadn't responded to his text message earlier. He though she would at least send him a frown-y face or something that indicated she'd received the message. His smart phone indicated she had in fact read the message but that was beside the point…

Deciding his hair was tousled enough for the night he put away the small tube of gel and closed the mirror, looking at himself for a brief moment before slipping back across the hall into his bedroom. A warm breeze floated in through his still open window and he smiled. Perfect night for a workout, he thought to himself.

Austin arched his neck from side to side, loosening his muscles and twisting his shoulder blades a bit as he walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of loose fitting sweat pants, not bothering with any undergarments for the time being. It was more comfortable that way, anyway.

He looked into the mirror above his dresser and grabbed his guitar pick necklace, dropping it down over his head and relishing the cold from the piece of metal and plastic as it touched his heated bare skin. He liked the way it felt against him.

After tossing the dampened towel into the laundry chute he rubbed his hands together and suddenly dropped down to the floor, catching himself in an instant push-up position. Taking a deep breath through his nose he immediately started lifting himself up and down, up and down, letting out grunts of air ever few seconds.

His nightly work out routine was a way of calming himself after all of the different activities that occurred during the day. Considering the utter disappointment that was his day today he definitely needed a way of burning off some excess stress. School work and studying all weekend was going to be torture. The idea of it was already driving him wild and he had only been grounded an hour ago.

He shifted his arms slightly around and began doing more pushups, working the muscles in his forearms as well as his biceps and triceps…

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Ally came to stand below his bedroom window, her bag tossed over one shoulder and Austin's guitar in the other. She had been quiet when coming around the side of the house… she could see Mister and Misses Moon's silhouettes through the living room shears. Words could not describe how embarrassed she would be if they caught her trying to sneak into their home.

She took a deep breath in through her nose and looked around at the scene in front of her. She could see his window was open, thank god, and the slight breeze pulled his curtain out of the window to flow in the wind. The light was on so she assumed he would be up there studying or playing on his cell phone or something…

Or something…

For all she knew he was already in bed… but with the light on? Just because he was in bed didn't mean he was sleeping. He could be doing other things…

Ally made herself blush at the image that had just flashed before her eyes. No way would Austin be doing that right now…

Taking a deep breath she reached up and grabbed the lattice that held on to the side of the house, being careful not to crush the flowers that bloomed on the vines spiraling upward toward his window, and hoisted herself up. She was instantly grateful she'd stopped at home and changed into her most comfortable yoga pants and zip up hoodie. Climbing through the vines with her wedge sandals and sun dress would have been a tad troublesome. Though her cozy moccasins probably weren't the best footwear for climbing…

"Ouch!" she cursed under her breath as a lone thorn caught her palm and ripped through her delicate layers of soft skin. She examined the wound for a brief moment before wiping the small bead of blood on a leaf.

Carefully she maneuvered her way around until she could grab the ledge under his window, sliding the guitar ahead of her so she could use both hands to pull herself up. As soon as she was on the ledge she let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and shook the stray hair out of her face. She smiled to herself. Though her hand still stung, the hardest part was over.

Or so she thought…

When she stood tall enough to get a clear view into his bedroom the sight in front of her made her freeze in place and her mouth salivate uncontrollably.

Austin was doing push ups… shirtless… in the middle of his bedroom… with his back side facing her.

She was instantly mesmerized by his movements. His arm muscles flexed and quaked under his perfectly tan skin. She had recently put a lot of thought, maybe too much thought, into what he had been doing to become so incredibly fit. It was as if he had developed so much in one short year of knowing him. He went from a semi-scrawny pale teenaged boy to a tall, muscular… man. And the summer sun was kind to his skin, giving him a bit of a natural glow that only he could make look so incredibly good.

Wait, what am I saying? This is my best guy friend I'm talking about. Am I… checking him out? She blushed to herself and coyly looked around to make sure no one had spotted her up on that roof hitch watching him, but her eyes were soon drawn back to him. The muscles in his back rippling each time he would lift his weight up again from the floor. Who was she kidding, really. He was gorgeous and she knew it. He always had been…

The tips of her fingers tingled with the itch to feel his muscles move under that soft skin.

Suddenly from below her she heard the Moons' screen door open and voices coming out onto the front porch. Panicked, she quickly swung her legs over the window ledge and scooted into Austin's bedroom, landing with a huff on the window bench.

Austin heard the voice from behind him and quickly looked over his shoulder, stunned, to say the least at the sight before him. He jumped up quickly, wide eyed, and faced the flustered brunette in front of him.

"Ally?!"

"Shhhhh!" She quickly moved away from the window, shushing him as she rushed him and put her small hand over his mouth. The last thing she wanted was his parents to hear him through the open window and get caught. She looked over her shoulder and listened to make sure she could still hear the voices outside. She did and she relaxed somewhat.

Austin caught on to what she was trying to prevent and he gently moved her hand off of his mouth, scooting around her to look out the window briefly before closing and latching the glass panels before closing his curtains.

"Ally! What are you doing here?" he asked with a shocked smile plastered to his face.

She breathed heavily, slightly winded from her hasty entrance and smiled at him. "Something crazy risky, apparently."

He chuckled. "Well, yeah…"

She set her bag down on his bed and outstretched her arm that was holding the guitar. "You left this at the mall earlier. I didn't want anything to happen to it."

Austin moved in and took the instrument from her, sliding his fingers down the strings for a brief moment before setting it down against the wall in its usual spot. "Why didn't you just put it in the practice room?"

Ally swallowed and pulled her hair off her neck, fanning herself to try and calm herself down. "I talked to Dez before you texted me and I felt really bad you got grounded. I didn't want you to be without it all weekend."

Austin knew he had asked her the question, but he had completely tuned out the response when he saw her expose her neck while fanning herself. The skin there looked so soft, and the rise and fall of her chest as she caught her breath was making it very hard for him to concentrate on anything other that the fact that Ally Dawson just snuck into his bedroom window. He was… speechless.

She eyed him up and down, seeing he was a little spaced out and smirked, letting her hair back down and flipping a piece out of her eye, noticing her cut hand again. Funny, in all the yummy goodness that was his little push-up show she forgot all about the sting in her hand. "Ouch…"

Hearing her say ouch snapped Austin out of his trance and he quickly moved over to her, taking her hand and eyeing her palm. "Rose thorn?" he asked knowingly. He did, after all, have a bit of experience with those rose bushes on the lattice.

"Yeah. It didn't go deep but it did draw blood."

Austin pulled her gently by her wounded hand over to his desk and pulled a tissue from the box and dabbed away the drops of blood that had already started to dry, causing her to wince just the slightest.

Ally watched his face as he tended to her hand, swooning inside a little bit at the tender loving care he was showing her. She found herself admiring the way his platinum locks fell in front of his eyes as he looked down at her hand, and the way his mouth hung open as he gently swiped his tissue covered thumb over her tiny wound. He was… sweet. "You know, I never really got the chance to say thank you for what you did for me tonight. It means so much that you came…"

Austin shifted his eyes to hers for a brief moment before smiling and looking back down at her hand, smoothing his bare thumb over the now closed wound. "You thanked me when I showed up there, remember?"

Ally smirked and shrugged. "That wasn't enough, especially now that you've been grounded because of me. I feel awful."

Austin stood straight and faced her but never let go of her hand. He looked her in the eye and brought her hand to his mouth, gently kissing her palm in the place the cut had turned her skin pink. She blushed wildly. Austin liked it. "You know I would do anything for you, Ally. Being grounded is no big deal."

Ally swallowed hard and willed her heart to stop beating so wildly. It didn't work. She was certain he could hear it. "I know you would," she said in nothing more than a whisper.

Austin realized what he had been doing to her and gently dropped her hand. "Better?" he asked as he pointed to her hand with one finger, not bothering to lift his arm to do so.

Ally sucked a deep breath in and managed a small smile, still blushing. "Much," she said with a nod. She felt better when she saw the beginnings of a blush on Austin's cheeks as well. At least she wasn't alone in what she was feeling at the moment. She blinked rapidly and cleared her throat, dragging her eyes away from his, but that only backfired. She landed her gaze on his bare chest and her heart sped up once again. He was so smooth and taught and… oh god she was doing it again. What is it about tonight that I suddenly have no shame in checking him out while he's staring right at me?

Austin didn't miss her stare, and if he was completely honest with himself, he liked her staring at him. He wanted nothing more than to grab her by the hips and press his body against hers, feel her skin against his skin and make her eyes flutter closed in pleasure. He wanted to see the red in her cheeks again after he'd kissed her hand. He wanted his best friend to be crazy about him. He wanted… well, her.

He blinked a few times and tried to clear his thoughts. Where was this all coming from all of a sudden? It was Ally he was talking about… His best friend and partner, someone he had to see and talk to on a daily basis not only for friendship's sake, but for his careers. Anything crossing the line between friendship and… whatever it was he was thinking about… could potentially screw everything up. Everyone knew he was terrible at writing songs. His stardom would no doubt be over if he were to completely screw things up with Ally, and worse, what if something happened between them that caused her to simply hate him? What if she never wanted to see him again?

Then again… she did stare. Who was he to deny the pretty lady what she wanted? If she did in fact want it, that is. He cleared his throat when he realized she was looking everywhere but at him. Things were starting to get weird. "So…" he began as he tugged on the strap to her bag she had dropped on his bed when she came tumbling into the room. "What's in the ridiculously large purse you got, here?"

Ally settled a little and smiled, running her fingers through her hair and wrapping her arms around herself. "Some surprises for you. And it's not a purse, it's my overnight bag…"

Austin raised his eyebrows and suppressed a smirk. "Overnight bag? Planning a sleep over, are we?"

Ally immediately turned beet red, not thinking that statement through before saying it. "No, no I just meant it's not a purse, that I, you know, usually use it as an overnight bag when I stay overnight at Trish's or sometimes I stay overnight in the practice room. But today it's not an overnight bag. No. Today it's a- uhhhhh- a griddle, water bottle, and pancake mix holder! You know…" she swallowed hard in her embarrassment. "'Cause you like pancakes so much!" She slumped her shoulders. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

Austin smiled. He loved making her ramble on like that. It was too easy, and she was so cute when she turned all pink like that. "So… not an overnight bag?" he asked as he inched his way closer to her.

Ally shook her head and giggled, nervously. "No. Not a purse, and definitely not an overnight bag."

Austin nodded and pursed his lips, stopping just millimeters away from her, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off her body as she stared once again at his naked chest. He gave himself a mental high-five for getting her to stare twice in a matter of minutes.

Suddenly her eyes grew wide. "Actually it is an overnight bag… but not for here. I have… you know… things in there that are needed for an overnight stay but not here. They're for Trish's house. I'm supposed to go there after I leave here. To stay overnight… there."

"Hmm," he said as he stuffed his hands into his sweat pant pockets. He nodded and tilted his head slightly to the right, looking at her with sparkling eyes, raising one eyebrow. "That's too bad."

To Be Continued…

AUTHORS NOTE: Soooo what do you guys think? Should I continue? I'm hoping for this to be a medium length story if all goes well. Please send me your thoughts on this one… I know it's hard to tell how it's going to go with only the first chapter so I will try and get the second one up ASAP… and let me know if there's anything specific you would like to see happen in the story, I'm completely open to suggestions however I am warning you that this is going to be a very flirt heavy story and it is rated M for future chapters so please keep that in mind! Thanks for reading, guys and gals!

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