A/N: Sorry for the length of time between updates, but this is almost the end and I had some bad writer's block with it. Hopefully you like it. Thank you all so much for the feedback and the encouragement to update, loved reading all the comments. I have my other story, Everlong, which I should be updating sometime this weekend, and I'll probably be starting another story soon too, so watch out for it. Thanks again and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially not Taylor Swift's Love Story, which just provided me a lot of inspiration.

Rating: T

looking for the one tonight

chapter eight: you and me song

Ally sat on her bed writing random, incongruous lyrics in her songbook. Her mind was frazzled and what was normally an easy task for her became more like a chore. It seemed as if she couldn't connect two thoughts together. Her phone buzzed for the millionth time since she'd left her party, but she ignored it. Trish would have to wait until the morning for Ally to acknowledge the drama that had unfolded. And if it was Austin texting, well, she didn't even know what to say to him, so that conversation would have to wait, too. Maybe she could just avoid him forever, that would solve her problems.

She couldn't stop thinking about that moment with Austin during his performance. She had felt as if he were singing only to her, and for a brief flicker in time, they were the only two people left in the world. It was a confirmation of everything she felt. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. Everyone could feel it. It was finally real and not just in her head.

And it felt like he was about to confess something to her, maybe the fact that he shared some of her feelings? It was probably wishful thinking on her part, but that's all she had to go on. But then Brooke had shown up and Ally had run, avoidant and passive as ever. She couldn't see the happy couple together, knowing the truth about his phony girlfriend and all the lies she had been feeding him. Lies he had eaten up like they were pancakes. It hurt her more that he could actually be a victim of her deception, that he couldn't see through her and how awful she was to his friends. Truthfully, he probably believed the lies because he cared more about a stranger than he did about her, his songwriting partner. It was too disheartening for her to bear, so it was just easier for her to run and hide like the scared little kitten she was.

She shouldn't pass judgment on Brooke though, it's not like she was any better. Hadn't she done the same thing by lying to him? What was wrong with her? If she had just confessed to him that she was the mystery girl, things could be so different. Maybe they would be dating, maybe they wouldn't be. Either way, at least she would have done something about her feelings rather than sit on the sidelines and watch her destiny spin out of control.

When she had emerged from hiding, Austin was already gone, along with the moment that had passed between them. This was her life, all missed opportunities. It was completely her fault, but still, she wallowed in her cowardliness.

She let her imagination run wild. Austin was probably with Brooke somewhere celebrating, on a perfect date, enjoying the perfect starlit Miami night, and she was sitting in her bedroom alone. Story of her life.

Maybe this was all a sign. It was time to refocus her life and not make it about him so much. Nothing was going to happen on that front, so it was time to concentrate on other things. Her mom was back, she felt her confidence peaking. Maybe it was time to focus on Ally and get over her crippling stage fright. Oh, who was she kidding? She couldn't pour out her heart to her best friend, the boy she loved, how could she hope to share her feelings and connect with an audience? A girl could dream though. She and Austin could perform together, travel the world together, and continue writing songs together. They were better together, weren't those words they'd written about each other? Or were those all just frivolous thoughts that would never come to fruition?

A cool breeze blew through her open French doors and she jumped up to shut them. She stood for a moment, the allure of the full moon drawing her eye. She stepped out onto the small balcony. She leaned on the concrete railing, admiring the way the moonlight kissed the top of the trees in her backyard. She sighed thinking of her perfect moonlit kiss. It all came back to that moment, always perfectly recreated in her memory. At least she had that. She could not ever forget the way it felt to kiss Austin and she hoped she never would. She felt bad for all the future kisses she'd have because they'd all be compared to that one. She shivered a bit and turned to go back inside when she heard a rustling from down below.

She leaned over the balcony, almost shouting for her dad before she saw a familiar blonde-haired figure emerge from the shadows behind the rosebushes that lined the side path next to their house. It was long past midnight, and it couldn't be. Or it shouldn't be him.

"Austin?" she whispered, wondering what he was doing creeping around her backyard so late. It re-shattered her heart just to see him in his leather jacket, plain white t-shirt and jeans. He had no idea what he did to her. And he never would.

He wordlessly walked up to her balcony, looking up at her, judging the distance between them. He then disappeared back around her house towards the front. She craned her neck to see where he'd gone. He returned a few seconds later, carrying a ladder in his arms. What the hell? Was he like sleepwalking or something?

"Austin, what do you think you're doing?" she hissed. He propped up the ladder to her balcony with a sharp clank and she looked around worriedly, afraid her father would hear. She would have a very tough time explaining why Austin was climbing into her room at midnight.

He hopped over the railing in one fell swoop, his sneakers making a loud thud on the cement. He had an intense look in his eyes, one that both excited and frightened her. She suddenly became very aware that she was only wearing a tiny threadbare t-shirt and some thin sleep shorts. For the whole year they'd known each other, he'd never seen her like this, never had a reason to. Her arms instinctively covered her chest, hugging herself and keeping her closed off from him. She slowly moved backwards towards the safety and comfort of her room, but he kept walking towards her, still not saying anything.

"Austin, this is not a good idea for you to be here. If my dad finds out you're up here, I think this could end up very badly. He may not look like much, but he is like really into Tae Kwon Do."

"I'll take my chances, Ally." He spoke for the first time, his voice husky and low. Now she really felt subconscious.

"Shhh-What are you doing here?"

He ignored her question. "I learned something from your mom's book, you know. That I should stop thinking and act more on instinct," he said, his tone steady.

"How long have you been out there?" she hissed.

In fact, Austin had actually been in her garden for a little while, his legs having led him there after wandering around the deserted mall for a few hours. He hadn't known what to make of all the information he'd gleaned tonight. The mask, Ally, Juliet, it all made perfect sense, yet no sense at all. Why didn't she come clean? He'd been staring up at the window for a long time, with its light still strong, wondering if she was thinking of him. Was she thinking of them? Was there even a them? Because it didn't seem that she wanted that, the way she hid the truth from him.

He felt a little betrayed by her lie, but more hurt by the fact that she either regretted doing it or felt that she wasn't comfortable enough with him to tell the truth. But all those feelings turned to mush once he saw her emerge from her bedroom. She rested her chin on her palm so innocently, and let out a tiny sigh that melted his insides. With the curtains billowing around her from inside, an angelic glow was cast upon her. And so here he was.

He lifted a finger to her lips. "Shhh. I have to try something."

He reached up and cradled the back of her head in his hand, protecting it from the hard glass of her door. His other hand swept a stray hair behind her ear. "Austin-"

He leaned in, his breath hot on her cheek. Her chest rose and fell in rhythm with his, their breathing matched and bated. Her hands fell to his chest, not pushing him away, but almost daring him to break down their weak barrier to her. He gazed into those eyes, those eyes he'd looked into a million times, now seeing the eyes he had been searching for, for so long. She stood on her tiptoes to reach him, her body reacting to the proximity of his. Her reflexes took over, mirroring his, their bodies both knowing what to do next. Austin brushed his lips against hers ever so slightly, feeling her eyelashes flutter against the bridge of his nose as they closed softly.

Their tongues timidly danced, that familiar spark exciting every axon and dendrite in each of their bodies. His strong hand held her tiny waist firm, his hips holding hers firm against the wall as his their lips moved in concert, neither one wanting to be the first to break. He had only felt this feeling once before, and the connection was immediate and was all the confirmation he needed. His mind now knew what his heart had known all along, that Ally was his Juliet.

Ally's eyes were clenched shut. She didn't want this dream to ever end, and this was surely what it was, a dream. There could be no reality in which her best friend would scale her balcony and kiss her. It was like out of a movie or a play or something. Her fingers traced little circles along his back, memorizing every muscular indentation until her hand hit something feathered with a sharp corner sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans. Oh god.

His lips stopped moving and she felt the unbearable feeling of disconnectedness when his soft skin parted from hers.

After a beat, she finally opened her eyes, bracing herself for the worst. "Austin…where did you find this?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Why didn't you tell me? How could you let me go for so long without knowing?" he questioned, his tone hushed but firm. She closed her eyes and remained silent, like she was willing the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

And that's when he decided that all of this whole thing, none of it mattered. The mystery Juliet was the past and this was the present. What mattered most at this moment, was that there was no other girl he wanted to be with more than this girl on the balcony.

This girl who looked terrified of what he was going to say next.

"I was scared." Her eyes immediately moistened and she blinked multiple times to keep the threatening tears at bay.

"Of what?" he questioned.

"That the kiss would affect us and make it weird, and then our friendship would be over. It was just better if you didn't know about it, then our partnership wouldn't be compromised. But now you know and you hate me. And I'm sorry."

"Ally, I don't care about our friendship." The pain in her chest stabbed. She felt like she was hemorrhaging from an open flesh wound.

Her head hung down and she tried to push him away. "Ally, look at me. Why would you think that anything would change?" He tipped her chin up to meet his own glassy eyes.

"This is what I was afraid of, you'd find out, you'd be horrified, and I couldn't lose you. You mean too much to me, Austin."

"You really think that I'd just give up on you? I don't care about our friendship because this, me and you, is more than just friendship. It always has been. You and me transcend friendship, songwriting partnership, whatever. We're way more than friends, we're a part of each other."

A single tear escape from her eye and he wiped it away with his thumb. He leaned his forehead against hers, staring deeply into her eyes.

"You have no idea, Ally, what it was like being cut out of your life, wanting to call you, see you, make you laugh, it was killing me not being close to you."

She let out a deep breath that she'd been holding in for months. "I'm so sorry I wasn't honest with you. I promise I won't do that again, I-"

He cut her off, saving her from more self-blame. "I adore you, Ally Dawson. I am completely and utterly floored by you and everything about you makes me happy. And you had no clue how disappointed I was with each girl who came along because they weren't like you at all. They weren't you. I was the one who was too stupid to figure out that it was you all along."

Her breath hitched in her throat as a sob escaped. She sniffed back more tears as he pulled her in for another tight embrace.

He continued to whisper in her ear, "I wanted it to be you this whole time. I wanted so badly for it to be you. You have no idea."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling against his. "And if you even question how I feel about you? Every thing you feel, I feel times a million. You're the most interesting, beautiful, special, smart girl I've ever met, and if you think I'd just let go, I'm even more of a doof than you think I am."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, just holding herself to him as he buried his head into her hair, savoring the closeness. "Ally, you don't have to be afraid. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm never letting go."

"Even after I was such an idiot and made such a big mess of things?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter how we got here, just that it's you and me, together. It took a little while, but this is the way it's supposed to be. Ally, this is our kinda messed up love story, just say yes."

Review? Epilogue coming soon...