"Here's my list," Trish declared. I rolled my eyes, making sure I was comfortable with the pillows I was lying on. This was going to be long, I just knew it. After all, Trish had a tendency to make lists for everything. The irony of it all was that she never actually fulfilled or found anything on her lists.

This is why I don't make lists.

"Why do I even bother sleeping at your house?" I groaned, covering my head with a pillow.

"Because," she replied with a cheeky grin splayed onto her face, "I'm your best friend and deep down somewhere in your toes, you love my lists!"

"Of course," I said, dripping with sarcasm. She cleared her throat.

"My Dream Guy," she began to read. I removed the pillow from my head, curious. What can I say, I love love! "One, he has to be funny. Two, he has to be cute. Three, he has to be athletic. Four, he has to be romantic. Five-"

"Trish, why would you even make a list of things you want to find in your dream guy? Love should fall into place, not be based off a list," I declared, hugging the pillow to my chest. She smacked me with her own. "Ow!"

"Yeah, says the girl who has never had any love experience," she replied. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

"Try what?" I asked. She sighed, then handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

"Try making a list," she said. I stared down at the paper and pen, now in my lap, and bit my lip. Was she right? Was this really the reason I had yet to find love? Because I didn't have my priorities of what I looked for in a guy neatly categorized and numbered? I took a breath and picked up the pen, uncapping it.

What have I got to lose?

My eyes woke up to blurred shapes and squinty sunlight. I adjusted to the bright light streaming through her curtains, attempting to blink the sleep out of my eyes. I looked around the room for Trish. Last night had turned into a list making catastrophe, as Trish had stated that my list was too detailed. I searched for the paper until I found it, lying on the floor slightly crumpled. I picked it up and silently read it in my mind.

My Dream Guy:

1. To give me a really nice silver or gold necklace as a gift

2. To have a picnic in the park, just looking up at the stars

3. For him to never break his promises

4. For him to be my only kiss

5. To never get into fights

6. To have a sturdy and stable relationship

I tapped my fingers against the paper, smoothing it out.

Six things.

Only six things that I looked for in my dream guy. I had actually expected it to be longer, at least ten items, but when you put it down on my paper, your mind thinks differently. My brain couldn't help but think of specific things that I really looked for not only in a guy, but in a relationship as well. The door squeaked open and I jumped.

Trish walked towards me with two plates: eggs. She smiled. "Still reading that list, huh?" she asked.

I nodded. "I can't believe I actually wrote this last night," I laughed, shaking my head. I took the plate of eggs from her and began to dig in.

Trish shrugged her shoulders. "It's worth a shot, right? You never know, maybe once you meet the right guy, you can use the list to check things off and make sure he's the one."

"Maybe," I murmured.

"First day of school!" I squealed.

"First day of school," Trish repeated in a more monotonous tone. I looked over at her, my smile fading.

"Oh c'mon, Trish, lighten up! This is our last year of high school. Let's make it count," I pointed out, tightening the straps of my back pack. She sighed, then smiled.

"You're right. Okay, let's go before we're late," she said.

"Trish, I set your watch thirty minutes ahead so that we wouldn't be late," I smirked.

"So that's why my mom stared at me weird this morning..." she murmured. We walked in, only to be bombarded by a crowd of girls surrounding someone.

"What's going on?" I asked, standing on my tippy toes to try and get a good look at what was causing the unusual chaos.

"I have no idea," she replied, jumping up and down since she was a lot shorter than me. She began to push her way through the crowd, dragging me with her. Trish was quite persistent when necessary. "Coming through, move it people!"

I rolled my eyes and had no other choice but to go along with it. Soon we stopped a couple feet away from a boy. A blonde boy. A very cute blonde boy. A very cute blonde boy with brown eyes and-

"Hi," the boy suddenly said to me, and I didn't realize that I had been staring and that we'd made eye contact. I felt my cheeks turn a bright pink and dragged Trish's arm away from the scene.

"Holy unlimited texting, now he is cute!" Trish exclaimed. I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Shh!" I hissed. "Do you want him to hear us? Besides, clearly he's new, and he's already made it to the highest anarchy. Come on, let's go to class."

"Do you still have your list?" she asked as we walked toward our lockers. I laughed, taking it out of my pocket and waving it in front of her face.

"Yeah, why?"

A mischievous smile grew on her face. "You should try it on him," she giggled. I snorted at the thought, but I couldn't help turning around to see if he was still there in that same spot, surrounded by that sea of attentive drooling girls. He was.

It had only been a week into the new school year and I already had so much to do. I had to work at the library and organize books. Then on Fridays I had to give music lessons to some kid Nelson at Sonic Boom, the legendary family business that my dad so eagerly wanted me to jump into. And while I didn't mind doing that, my heart was set on bigger goals: being on stage, performing in front of a crowd, feeling the spotlight for once. Of course, this was practically impossible because of my utterly horrible stage fright...

Besides, there was no time for dreaming, anyway. I still had an essay due a month from now that I wanted to get a head start on.

"Woohoo!" Trish suddenly exclaimed, snapping me out of my thoughts. I'd forgotten it was lunch, and we sat at our usual table... near the back.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Do your thoughts include the new guy?" she asked me, winking. I felt my stomach churn at the mention of him. My eyes scanned the cafeteria until they settled on his face. Of course he was surrounded by the athletics, the cheerleaders, and some red head... Dez, I believe?

"No, they do not," I snapped. "I don't have time for that kind of stuff, Trish, this year is crucial."

"Oh please," she replied, waving her hand in the air as if to dismiss my thoughts. "Sure you do. That's why you made the list, right?"

"Well..." I said, taking out the list from my pocket. It was beginning to wrinkle... I should probably get it laminated... "Maybe I did make this list to find the right guy. But let's face it: finding your soul mate in high school is a one in a million chance."

"Just like your singing career?"

I blushed. "Trish..."

"Look Ally, I'm not going to let you miss out on love just like you're missing out on your dream."

"My dream isn't reasonable. There's a one in a million chance that I'd make it. One in a million, Trish. Plus you know that I have stage fright," I reminded her. "I need to focus on something reasonable."

"Reasonable is what's holding you back," she stated. This thought pondered my head for the rest of the day. I had been reasonable my whole life, had always followed the rules and done the do's instead of don'ts. To step out of my comfort zone now seemed a little too late, not to mention foreign territory. This box I had placed myself in had safe walls. That way I wouldn't have to worry about falling.

"A... A..." I mumbled to myself as I ran my finger along the spines of the rows of books on the shelves. Mrs. Lindum had told me to reset the books by alphabetical order, which seemed fairly fine by me. I finally found an empty space that should have occupied an A book. I peered through, only to suddenly find a single brown eye staring back at me. I squeaked and slid to the floor. The person from the other side of the shelf came rushing towards me.

"Oh man, I'm sorry about that!" the stranger exclaimed, lending me a helping hand. I gladly took it, brushing the hair out of my face.

"It's alright..." My words trailed off as my tongue seemingly detached itself from my mouth. It was the boy. The very cute blonde boy with really brown eyes. I cleared my throat. "I'm okay." Realizing that he was still holding my hand, I quickly let go. I could feel the list in my back pocket burning a hole through my jeans and I tried to remove the thought of it from my mind.

"Do you work here?" he asked, taking the book from my hands and placing it into the empty spot for me.

"Sort of," I replied. He cocked his head to the side. "I mean, I just come here to organize the books and stuff like that."

"Oh. Well, that's cool," he said. An awkward silence settled over us. Way to go, Ally, I thought, and racked my brain for clever things to say.

"So you're new here, right?" I asked. I began weaving my way through the shelves to ease my nerves. He followed.

"Yeah, my parents decided to move somewhere sunnier than Atlanta. It's pretty cold up there," he explained. I nodded my head. "You know, I think I've seen you around campus."

My head snapped up. "Really?"

"Yup, with your curly haired friend," he chuckled.

I blushed. "Trish. She's my best friend," I said.

"I can tell," he said, grinning. People like him should not be allowed to grin like that, I thought. He's going to break a million hearts just by smiling.

"So what are you here for?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I needed a change of scenery," he answered.

"Oh right, because the whole athletic party scene isn't your type," I teased, surprising myself as to how easy it was to be sarcastic with him.

He laughed. "Actually yes, it's not."

I blinked. "It's not?"

"Nope. I'm more of the library quiet guy type."

I gaped at him. "Seriously?"

"Nah, I really am the athletic party type," he said, putting air quotes around my words. I giggled. "So how about you? Are you the cute library girl type?"

I tried to not turn red from his remark. Cute. He thinks I'm cute? I thought. "I guess," I said nonchalantly. "Trish has been telling me that I should break away from this scene though, maybe try something new."

He leaned against a shelf, folding his arms. "Hey, trying something new won't kill you, right?"

There goes that smile again. "It might," I replied, sending him a grin of my own.

Austin. His name was Austin. The things I've learned about him from the past two months:

He loves pancakes.

He has a secret stuffed dolphin.

His middle name is Monica.

His best friend is Dez.

He likes helping me organize books at the library because it clears his brain.

He owes me a lot of money for breaking some instruments at Sonic Boom, but he promises to pay me back once he gets rich and famous, a statement that made me roll my eyes.

He likes cheerleaders.

He owns a coloring book.

He doesn't match anything on my list.

Trish likes Austin but hates Dez.

"Why does he have to hang out with us?" she asks one afternoon while I'm behind the counter at Sonic Boom. Austin and Dez are up in the practice room, messing around with the piano.

"Because, he's Austin's best friend," I replied.

She groaned. "Fine, but I'm only doing this because I think you and Austin look cute together."

My eyes grew wide. "Don't say that kind of stuff when he's literally just upstairs! Besides, he doesn't match my list, so he's not the one."

She frowned. "Really? He doesn't match your list? Well that's a waste," she sighed. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's okay," I reassured her, smiling. She was more upset about this then I was. "I can wait for Prince Charming."

From upstairs, I heard Dez shouting. "Hey, what's this book?!" he yells. I panic and begin to run upstairs.

"DON'T TOUCH MY BOOK!"

"Ally, why didn't you tell me you wrote songs?" Austin asks, pouting. I've grown used to his deep brown eyes, so this puppy dog face can't get past me.

"Well you never asked," I said.

"How was I supposed to ask if I never knew?" he replies, throwing his hands up in the air, exasperated. He sits down on the piano bench next to me. I try to ignore the fact that our legs are touching. Leg touching is normal. I touch legs with my mom, with my dad, with Trish, with the librarian-

"So can you sing me one?" he asks, shooting me his famous grin.

I narrow my eyes at him, getting up from the bench. "Oh no you don't, Austin Monica Moon. That smile may work on cheerleaders but not on me!"

"Ally, wait," he says, grabbing onto my wrist and gently pulling me back down on the bench. "Okay, sorry. I should've known that wouldn't have worked on you. You're not like most girls."

I blushed. The things he says sometimes... I looked up at him, biting my lip. "Do you really want to hear one?" I asked timidly. His face lit up as he nodded.

I placed my fingers onto the piano and opened my mouth to take a breath.

"Happy birthday, Ally!" Austin sang in front of the entire cafeteria, along with Dez and Trish, who were actually sort of getting along, to my surprise. I threw my head back and laughed. Austin handed me a cupcake with a fake candle on it. "If you blow it, the light will go out. It's electronic."

I raised my eyebrows at him, astonished that he would go to all this trouble just to find me an electronic candle. I didn't even know electronic candles existed.

"Don't forget to make a wish," Trish reminded me.

"Can you wish for the new Zaliens movie to come out tomorrow?" Dez pleaded. I chuckled, then squeezed my eyes shut.

I wish to find my dream guy. The light went out. I looked up at Austin, who was sheepishly holding a small, thin box. I smiled.

"You got me something?" I asked. He nodded.

"You're my best friend, of course I got you something," he replied. My heart warmed at the sound of his words. "Here." He handed me the box. I caught the look Trish was giving me and shot her one of my own: shut-up-and-don't-say-a-word. I slowly opened it and my heart jumped.

"Bruno Mars tickets!" I shouted, holding the four pink slips up in the air. "Thank you so much, Austin, I don't know what to say!" I leaped into him for a hug, realizing it was our first one. I wondered if he might be weirded out, but before I could pull away he wrapped his arms around me.

"Anything for you," he mumbled. It wasn't a silver or gold necklace.

But I wish it had been.

"We're going to the beeeeeach, we're going to the beeeeeach!" Dez shouted out the window. Trish smacked him on the arm to stop and he cried out in pain. Austin and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"Remind me why we're going to the one place I don't like?" I asked him.

"Because I just got my license and I want to take us all out somewhere. And we live in Miami," he said, stating the obvious. I sighed, rolling down my window to let the warm breeze in.

Austin gave a sudden shout that made me jump. "What was that for?" I asked in concern.

He laughed. "Nothing! Haven't you ever just wanted to shout at the top of your lungs for no reason?" he asked. I shook my head. "Well you should try it. It's the best feeling in the world."

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. He rolled down all the windows as I screamed my loudest.

/

"I got sand in my shorts and I fell down on the surfboard and a jellyfish almost-"

"But...?" Austin interrupted, smiling at me. I sighed.

"But I have to admit, it was really fun," I replied, grinning in defeat. My hair had come undone from its usual structured curls and were now wavy from the salt water.

"See? What did I tell you? The beach is fun!" he exclaimed. "Oh, the sun's setting!" I looked over to where his finger pointed, at the horizon where the sky was beginning to burn. I leaned against the sand, watching the sun sink slowly, then looked over at Austin. I'd known him for a little over a year now. I'd spent time with those really brown eyes every day for the past fifteen months. I'd rode with him in his car to crazy spur of the moment destinations, like a midnight ride to the diner or a six a.m. drive to the ice cream shop.

Trish sat down next to me. "Not a picnic in the stars, huh?" she whispered, referring to my list, which was actually at home, folded into my song book. I nodded but smiled.

"It's okay. I don't mind."

"He promised," I murmured to Trish as she comforted me, rubbing her hand against my back. "He said he wouldn't tell. He knew how important this was to me."

"I know, Ally, but maybe... Maybe he just forgot. You know Austin, he's scatter brained sometimes," she reminded me. I sighed. A knock came at the practice room door. "I'll leave you two alone."

I sat at the piano bench sullenly, tinkering at random keys. A figure took a seat next to me.

"Hey," Austin said with a sigh. I didn't reply, instead continuing to play mindless melodies.

"Look, I'm sorry I accidentally told your Dad. It just slipped out," he said. My fingers continued to play. "I know how important this audition was to you."

My fingers halted but I stared numbly at the keys.

"You know I would never ruin your chances of singing on stage for the first time. You know I want you to live your dream just as much as you do," he said. I looked up at him and couldn't help but feel my heart putting itself back together at the sight of those really brown eyes.

"I know," I replied softly.

"I really am sorry," he said.

I sighed and managed a small smile, leaning in to hug him. "I know."

The sun went down as the volume went up. I tried covering my ears but it was no use. The beer cup in my hand was still full, I refused to drink it. Austin had disappeared somewhere in the midst of this wild and chaotic party. He'd come for a cheerleader, which was the excuse he had told me when he'd begged me to go to the party with him. I sighed, putting the cup down on a table and leaning my back against a wall.

"Hey there, gorgeous," a voice slurred. I looked up.

"Dallas?" I asked.

He smiled. Clearly, he was drunk. "You know my naaaame?" he asked, edging closer to me. I began to take subtle steps away from him.

"We're in the same Economics class, remember?" I asked. "Well you probably don't since your mind is occupied with alcohol right now..."

He stepped closer, trapping me against the wall and grabbing roughly at my waist. I squirmed, scanning the crowd for Austin but it was no use. "How about we go somewhere more quiet?" he asked, leaning in.

"Dallas-" I began, trying to push my hands against his chest and away from me, but his lips crashed against mine. I squeezed my eyes shut as they burned from the tears beginning to form. This wasn't how I wanted my first kiss to be, this wasn't how I'd ever imagined it in my seventeen years of life. Dallas was suddenly ripped away from me. My eyes flew open as I found Austin holding Dallas up by the shirt and throwing him onto the floor. Dallas attempted to get up and take a swing at Austin but he only ended up with a black eye. I screamed, my hands flying to my face in surprise.

Austin had punched Dallas.

Austin had punched Dallas for me. He turned to me, taking my face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. I nodded my head but my eyes told a different story as they began to rain. He pulled me into his arms and began to lead me out the door. "Let's go home."

"Why do you always have to be so uptight, Ally?" Austin asked me. I folded my arms, frowning at him. We were in his room and we had been working on our History project together until he exploded out of nowhere.

"Austin, I just want to get this done," I reasoned with him. "Don't be so grumpy."

"Well maybe I want to take a break!" he exclaimed, getting up off the floor and heading for the door.

"Austin, come on! This is due tomorrow! What is this really about?" I asked him. He froze.

"Nothing," he mumbled, his hand already on the doorknob. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the exit.

"You've been acting weird lately. What in the world is wrong with you?!" I asked.

"You really want to know what's wrong with me?" he replied. "Okay, fine! Why did you on the date with Elliot?"

I blinked. "Elliot? My friend from camp? Is this really why you're mad?"

He snorted. "Whatever. I knew you wouldn't care," he said, turning around to head back to the door.

"Austin, of course I care!" I yelled. "How can you even say that to me? It's always been me dragging your ass back down to Earth when your head is in the clouds, and it's always me dragging your ass home when you want to go to another one of those stupid parties!"

"If you cared, then you wouldn't be so blind, Ally!" he shouted back.

I felt my insides bursting. "Maybe if you told me, I wouldn't be so blind!"

"Just forget it, Ally. Just go back to Elliot, he fits your perfect little list anyway."

I felt my breath hitch and my eyes began to water. Austin turned around quickly, his mouth hung open. "Shit... Ally..." he said.

"How...?" I managed to get out of my mouth, but my vocal chords could form nothing else.

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "You left it here a couple days ago when we were working on the project... It fell out of your pocket, I guess-"

"And you didn't even think about returning it to me?!" I screamed.

His anger returned. "You want your list? Fine! Here's your stupid list!" he yelled, throwing it at me as I watched it float in the air for a few moments, then sink slowly back down to the ground. I felt a tear splash onto the list as I quickly grabbed it and ran out of the room, just like my mind had run out of things to say.

We hadn't talked for a whole week. He had called and texted several times but I felt too numb to answer the phone. My head was spinning.

He knew about the list.

He had read the list.

And we both knew that he didn't fit any of the characteristics on the list.

But why did I not care? Why did my heart still ache and yearn and miss him, even though he wasn't the guy on the list? And when Elliot had called, asking me out on a second date, why had I turned him down, explaining that it wouldn't work out between us, that the farthest we could go was only friends from camp?

Why had I let this list conquer my mind set, making me believe that this list was what my heart wanted? I sighed, my brain tied into a million knots. I grabbed my song book, opening it to a new page. I needed to know why, I needed answers. I put my pen to the page and began to write.

/

"Ally, I got your text," Austin said, completely out of breath as he arrived to the practice room the next day. "Listen, I-"

"Don't say anything. Just sit," I told him. He opened his mouth, then hesitated and walked over to take a seat next to me at the piano bench.

"Ally-"

"Shut up," I told him. He looked at me with frightened eyes. "Just listen."

I placed my fingers onto the keys and began to sing.

We don't need silver or even gold

All I need is for you to hold me

And we don't need no shooting star

To let us know we've come so far

All I need is your arms, it's alright if you break a promise

For you to be my only kiss

And when we're losing a fight

I need you to run after me

We could be anything

If you promise not to leave me

All I need is your smile

To let me know we'll be alright

We don't need a bridge to climb across

Together we'll jump head first and fall

For you I'd give my all

We'll both stand tall

Just give me a call

It's me and you until the end

I let out a shaky breath when I finished and took out the list from my pocket. Austin was just staring at me. It was now or never.

"Austin, I know I went on that date with Elliot. And I know we've been best friends for a very long time now. And I know... I know I'm putting everything about us on the line right now, but this is me stepping out of my comfort zone, and this is me trying something new. And I know that you don't match my list at all, but I don't care because I-"

He kissed me. Right then and there. He just leaned in and kissed me. And the best part of it all was that he was sober and he didn't taste like alcohol and he wasn't pushing me against a wall and he was gentle and sweet. And his name wasn't Dallas. He pulled away and smiled.

"I didn't get to finish what I was going to say," I laughed.

He shrugged. "It's okay. I think I knew what you were going to say, anyway," he replied, grinning and leaning in for another kiss. I let the list in my hand fall to the floor and let my hands wrap themselves around Austin's neck as his own placed themselves around my face.

This is why I don't make lists.

This is quite the long one shot, isn't it? I apologize, but I had this idea in my head for the longest time and I just needed to let it all out. I hope you all enjoyed it, it took me awhile to get all the words right but I think it came out just fine. The story basically jumps around to scenes throughout the span of Austin and Ally's friendship. And the lyrics are actually my own, I promise, because I am very much like Ally with the song writing and having my own song book. The song is called Until The End, and it was written before I'd written this one shot. I was just leafing through my song book one day and I came across my song, and then I got the idea about "the list" from this quote I saw on Tumblr (BLESS YOU, TUMBLR) about a girl who had made a list containing characteristics that she looked for in a guy, but when she finally met the right guy he didn't match her list at all. So my brain started forming ideas and story plots and... well, you guys know the rest.

Thanks for always reviewing, favoriting, and for just READING in general. These stories I write are for your benefit, not mine, so whenever you guys review it's like a special little gift for me.

And remember: you can't help who you fall in love with.

Love Always,

Charlene