…It's about the nights we spent locked up inside your room…

Austin cringed, oblivious to anything but his T.V. screen. She stifled a yawn, for his sake. He was too caught up in the ending of "The Notebook" to care. Ally gave a sleepy grin and plopped herself on his bed.

"Should I be concerned you're more into this movie than me?" she said, hunching an eyebrow at the now teary-eyed Austin. His eyes never lost contact with the screen, but he flipped his hair and folded his arms. "What do you mean by that?" he said, focus still on the movie. She could've sworn she saw a small tear in his eyes, but dismissed the thought. Credits seemed to break him of his focus and he turned back to Ally, only to find her fast asleep on the bed in front of him. A small smile played at his lips, it was almost too tempting, but he pulled out the sleeping bag. Not exactly the sleeping arrangements he had hoped for, but he knew he wouldn't be able to explain it if she woke up in his arms the next morning. He pulled the sleeping bag over his body, accepting defeat. He'd be able to have her in his dreams, anyway.

…It's about the morning breaking always just a bit too soon…

She repeated the melody on the piano, increasing in speed every time. He folded back the page of her book she had been writing on, before adding the vocals to the next measure. She smiled softly, echoing his vocals slightly, in a much softer tone.

He clapped, hopping up from the piano bench. "We did it! The song's finished!" he said, jumping around the practice room. Ally rolled her eyes and stretched. "Yeah, it only took us all night." She looked out the curtains, the bright, Miami sun donning on her eyes. She shuddered.

"That's funny, it didn't feel like all night," he said, grabbing a pancake from the fridge. It was cold, but he didn't care. Pancakes were pancakes. They both heard a distinct whistling and pitter of footsteps downstairs. Lester. She pulled her hair into a quick pony tail and closed the piano. "I have work today, so I'll see you later?"

He hopped over the chair and landed right beside her, completely popping her imaginary bubble. "I'll come with," he said, a bright grin on his face. She shrugged, before realizing how close they were. Their bodies were just slightly brushing against each other, hands so close to being intertwined..

"Honey, are you ready to start your shift?"

…It's about the way you're scared, baby, just maybe I'm aware, this is what you need…

She flinched, hearing the crowd of people in the background. It was entirely all too real. She couldn't believe she had agreed to take Austin's spot in this. It wasn't her fault he lost his voice, why should she have to suffer? Peeking her head out the curtains, she saw an immensely large crowd. She pulled her head back inside, tripping over the uncollected instruments backstage, straight into the chest of her favorite pop star. He shot her a warm smile, and she felt herself ease a little bit.

"Don't worry, Ally, it'll be okay," he said, voice a little too raspy to be believable. Her smile was a lot less warm, almost too small to be visible. He squeezed her hand for a minute, before pushing aside the knots in his stomach and planting a kiss to her cheek. He let his lips linger a little bit too long for the appropriate "best friends" rule, but he didn't care. Neither did she. Ally gripped the neck of her guitar, walking out. In less than a minute, he could hear the acoustic version of "Not A Love Song" playing from beyond the curtains, her confident voice accompanying it. Dez walked beside Austin, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I can't believe she really did it!" Dez said. Austin chuckled.

"Believe it, Dez," he said, voice perfectly fine.

…Every time you walk in the room, can't help myself I wanna be with you, hit the mic, quick check one two - singing out my lungs just to reach you…

This was it. His first awards show. Well, first awards show he was nominated for, anyway. Austin fidgeted with his tie, triple-checking the knot was tight enough to not come off on stage. Just in case. The tiny click of high heels bounced against the wooden stairs, causing him to spin around. Ally had been in the bathroom close to an hour now, and he really needed to know what took her so long. He found out.

She walked out, hair slightly curled at the bottom, in a skin-tight red cocktail dress. He knew she was beautiful - he had always known that - but she looked purely angelic tonight, almost too perfect for words. She gave him a slight smile and he simply nodded in compliance. She was, really, too perfect for words. He couldn't find anything to say, so he downed the water bottle closest to him. Ally giggled slightly, and Austin looked up, still downing the water.

"That's Dez's spit, Austin," she said, and he spewed the contents in his mouth on the ground, wiping his mouth off with a towel. Throwing up water on your crush is unpleasant - he made sure the water hit the ground and not her, like any gentleman would do. His smile faltered, realizing she was still laughing at him. "It's not funny!"

She stopped laughing, a smirk still on her face. "Are you ready?"

He ran a hand through his hair, checking himself in the mirror. "We're ready," he said.

"We? This is your award," she said.

"I couldn't do any of this without you. The performances, the songs, everything, Als," he said, giving her a soft smile. She grinned and checked her watch. "We better go," she said, hopping out the door.

He checked the mirror again, one last time. When he made sure she was out of earshot, he mumbled to himself.

"I couldn't do it without you, I do it for you."

…I'm alive, and I keep my cool one more time, and you just keep on walking by…

He had pretty much given up on Ally. She was a challenge far too great for him. Kira offered the perfect distraction - she was pretty, she loved music, and it didn't hurt him score with Jimmy. He wasn't stupid - he was pretty sure the whine in his voice was evident when he quickly shot down Kira's claim that he and Ally liked each other. It wasn't a total lie - their romance was one-sided, according to Austin. Their overall successful date was a miracle in disguise, although the thought of Ally still lingered in his head.

Ally held the tiny card in her hand that he had got her, feeling the edges of the leaves on the flowers he'd also given her. "There's no way I could do it without you," she read aloud, knowing there was no one else in the store. She felt a tear stream down her cheeks, and she wiped it off. She was happy for him, really.

She just wished it was her.

…You just keep on walking by…