let's talk, an austin & ally fanfic

You can take a picture of what you see

In the future, where will I be?

Could I climb a ladder, up to the sun?

Or sing a song, that nobody's sung?

She flipped through her songbook. It was full of songs, songs about him, songs about her, songs about them. None of them looking any better than the next.

She'd had this echoing thought in her head before, but she was usually better at being optimistic and pushing it out. Now, not so much. It was completely out of character for her to be this upset, and if she was in a novel, she'd fire the writer. But because this was far from a novel, where everyone has a fairytale ending, she did the only thing she knew how to.

Cause you don't know were you're going and you wanna talk

You feel like you're going where you've been before

Nothing's really making any sense at all

You tell anyone who'll listen but you feel ignored

"Ally?" Austin said as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, could you come over?" Ally asked. She flipped through another page of her songbook.

"Be there in 5," he said, and his voice was replaced by the dial tone.

She threw the phone on her bed and sighed. Where was she going? What was she doing?

The faint knock on her door to the melody of "double take" drew her from her thoughts. Ally fluffed up her hair slightly, double-checking it in the mirror, before opening the door to a soaking wet pop star.

"Hey," he breathed, coming in out of the rain. "What did you need to talk about?"

I can't, I can't get through

I've been trying hard to reach you cause I don't know what to do

Oh brother I can't believe it's true

I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you

"I'm so…confused."

"About what?"

"After playing at the Jungle Club, I thought I was over my stage fright...and I guess I am, but what's next? If I even try to go out on my own…would I make it?"

"Of course," Austin said. "Why would you even doubt that?"

"I'm not bold…or fun, or hot. I'm no Austin Moon. I don't even know if I want to be famous," she said. "And if I do, what about you? What about us, our partnership?"

He was silent for a minute.

"You're right. You're not Austin Moon," he said, and he heard her sigh. "You're Ally Dawson. And the Ally Dawson I know, the one behind the shy masquerade, is bold, fun, beautiful, and as famous as she needs to be."

She took in what he said. There was a distinct flush on her cheeks from him calling her beautiful.

"Austin, I'm impressed."

He grinned. "With my charm?"

"No, at the fact you know what masquerade is," Ally said, and he rolled his eyes.

He genuinely looked hurt by her comment. She drew back slightly, and tilted her head.

"Austin?"

"Mm?" he muttered, looking down at the pattern on her carpet.

"Did I…offend you?" she asked meekly, changing the tides of the conversation.

Are you lost or are you incomplete?

Do you feel like a puzzle, can't find your missing piece?

Tell me how you feel

I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak

And they're talking it to me

"I'm not the best at schooling," Austin said. "I may not be a straight A student like you…but I'm not stupid."

"Of course not," Ally said. "I never said you were stupid."

"You haven't," Austin said. "That doesn't mean my parents, Trish, even Dez haven't said it."

She went to say something, but he continued.

"Maybe I'm not the smartest at times…I try. I really do, in both my music and my school. You've seen that I can't write songs. I'm not good in English class. It's like..another language, one I don't understand. Everyone around me is speaking it, and I'm sitting here, confused."

She sat in silence for a moment like he had. Why hadn't he told her this?

"Austin…you're dyslexic, aren't you?"

He nodded his head, fidgeting with his hands.

"It goes away when I play. When I'm on stage, I don't have to worry about it. It's not fair that I have to try twice as hard just to be average. It even messes with my rhythms sometimes when I work on sheet music."

She sat her hand softly on his. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…I was embarrassed. I didn't want anyone to know. Not even Dez knows," he said. "You deserve a partner better than something as silly as dyslexia."

"No," she said, broadening the conversation further.

So you don't know were you're going, and you wanna talk

And you feel like you're going where you've been before

You tell anyone who'll listen but you feel ignored

Nothing's really making any sense at all

Let's talk, let's talk

"You can't help that, Austin. Even if you could, I wouldn't care," she said, breathing in the smell of moisture that had come into her room when she opened the window.

"You deserve a songwriter that's not shy, unpopular, or a total dork. More than just a silly sixteen year old girl," Ally finished.

"That's not true, Ally. You're awesome, and I love working with you."

"For now," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Austin questioned.

She drew back her head. Too deep in to back out now, she spilled.

"You're going to get a record deal. You're going to be famous, hire a team of amazing songwriters that can write way better than me, and I'm going to be left behind in the dirt, with no idea of what I'm going to do, or where I'm going to go."

She refused to let him speak as he pursed his lips to say something. "You're going to be famous worldwide, concerts every day, moving up and up the charts. And you're going to forget about me," she said, blinking back tears.

"Hey," he said, putting a hand up to her face and wiping a single tear. "What do you mean? I couldn't forget about you."

"If anything, you'll be into Harvard, or Yale, or Notre Dame, or whatever college you want, so far ahead and so smart that I'm the one that'll be left behind."

"I couldn't leave you behind," she whispered, brushing off the remaining tears with her floral printed sleeve.

In the future, in the past

Going nowhere... much too fast

When I go there, go with me

"Promise me, wherever we end up in the future, we'll be together?" Ally asked.

"Promise," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "As long as you promise not to rush off and leave me."

"Promise," she echoed.

"Is there anything else you need to say?" Austin asked her, whose hand he was now gripping tightly. "Anything else to get off your chest?"

She thought for a minute. Shaking her head, she tried to ignore the thoughts racing in her head of him. "Nope. You?"

"Actually…there is," he said. He clustered all of the confidence he had inside him, trying to push down the butterflies. "This whole ride we've been on together, the fame, the problems, the songs. I wouldn't change it. Not for anything. I'm not giving it up just yet, or if I'm ever going to give it up. And you know why?"

Her eyes grew big in response, as if begging him to finish the sentence.

"I-I…I think I love you, Ally."

Without waiting for her response, he used his left over courage to kiss her with everything he had, connecting their lips softly but strongly at the same time. She fluttered her eyelids closed, and every inch of doubt he had faded away as he felt her kissing back.

Let's talk

When I get there, you'll be with me