As the bus pulled away, Ally waited with glistening eyes. She didn't want to stay behind. But Ronnie was right. So was Trish. She had to think about her own career now.

She really wanted to be with Austin on that bus. She wanted to sit there and debate with Dez as to how he legitimately scored 2% higher than her on the science exam and wanted to discuss miniscule things such as concert outfits. She wanted to write and produce songs with Austin and Jimmy.

She wanted to keep her place in Team Austin.

She knew in her heart that when they returned in 3 months – 94 days, to be exact – she could resume her role in their group. She knew that they'd never forget her or replace.

But maybe they would.

The only thing she was really sure of is that she really wanted Austin to tell her he loved her moments ago. Maybe she would have called Ronnie and told him she could wait to pursue her career. Jimmy had offered her a record deal anyway. Perhaps she could have taken it.

But he didn't say it. He left her with a card and a sad smile and tears in his eyes, but those words never left his lips.

She held on to the card with dear life, but she didn't open it. Not yet.

Austin trembled at the idea that he's leaving for 94 days to chase a dream that was only made possible by Ally – the only member of Team Austin that wasn't there with him on that tour bus. He wasn't crying exactly, but he wasn't happy. He already missed her. The bus just hit the main street.

Dez was inconsolable. He was afraid that if he broke down, he would be, too. Trish just lied on the couch-bed, staring straight ahead, no emotion. She curled up in herself.

Austin looked from his friends to his hands – both fidgeting in his lap – and sighed shakily. He pulls his guitar out from the front part of the bus and resumes his position, crossed-legged on the bed. He strums a few notes mindlessly, the tune suddenly turning in to You Can Come To Me, the second song he ever sang with Ally. He smiled, tears brewing and blurring his vision.

"When you're on your own, drowning alone, and you need a rope that can pull you in, someone will throw it..." he sings.

Ally, back in the practise room at Sonic Boom, starts – with shaky hands – to play the piano Austin had bought her last year, only days after they first met. She played You Can Come To Me then, not really realizing she was singing until she instinctively paused at Austin's part in the duet.

She then remembered that he wasn't there to sing it.

Slightly reluctant, she continued the song and sang his parts. Her heart broke, and so did her voice. The keys suddenly seemed harder to press and the off-tune noises slurred together messily. She sighed heavily, giving up. The last notes rang through her head painfully. She sniffled and was startled by the tear drop that fell on one of the keys in front of her.

She quickly tried to wipe it away, but they were only followed by a thousand more. She hung her head in her hands and sobbed. She didn't cry, but she balled. She had never cried so hard before. She felt selfish. She should have waited.

Her cheeks grew hot and salty from the tears and she prayed she wasn't as noisy as she felt. She let herself slip from the bench and lied on her back on the ground, staring at the blinding lights on the ceiling. She covered her eyes, deciding that she didn't deserve to sleep in the comfort of a bed.

She almost falls asleep, but then remembers the card Austin gave her.

She sits up in the centre of the practise room and pulls it out.

Thinking of you... it said in beautiful italics on the cover.

She took a deep breath and opened it up. She smiled at all of the words and was immediately thankful she learned to read Austin's chicken scratch this last year. His messiness was cute, but does no good.

She starts from the very top of the card, squinting a little, because the writing was tiny in order to fit his message.

Dear Ally,

I was hoping I didn't have to give this to you. I hoped you'd come with me and we'd take the ride together. But all the same, I'm glad you're focusing on your own career.

This isn't goodbye. Only 94 days and I'll see you again. Maybe even sooner. Maybe Ronnie will do great things for you and I'll see you doing an interview, announcing your first record. I promise I'll be the first one to buy it, like you were the first one to buy mine. Because you're Ally and I'm Austin.

I write and you rock.

But this time, you're rocking out to your own words.

I hope you don't miss me too much. I can't promise I won't miss you.

Thank you for opening my tour for me.

Thank you for being my songwriter.

But most of all, thank you for being my best friend.

I love you. Always.

Love, Austin.

Ally felt the tears rush back and pour from her eyes before she could stop them.

Austin pulls the covers over his head that night, wanting so desperately to fall asleep and forget the last 3 hours. He didn't want to remember saying goodbye.

He wanted to hold her in his arms.

He wanted to tease her about her science grade.

He wanted to kiss her one last time.

Tears pricked his eyes for the dozenth time that night as he begins to drift to sleep.

An incoming text jolts him awake.

From: Ally.

I love you too.

And that's all he needed to keep him going for the next 94 days.