And here's the last chapter.

I'm hoping that this is a satisfying end to the story for you guys and that it doesn't suck. Personally, I like it, but I'm a little biased...

To the guest that asked what song was featured in the last chapter, that was "Hey Princess" by Allstar Weekend.

Fifth Day (You're Mine, and I'm Yours)

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or any of the songs I use

"Hold on, make it last

Hold on, never turn back

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you believe it?

We're gonna make it now

I can see it

I can see it now."

-"Mine" by Taylor Swift

She rolls her eyes. "Austin, please."

He laughs, putting down the old picture of her with her braces and glasses on. He notices that she doesn't have all that many pictures of her alone, but he knows her well enough to know why. She thinks it's vain to have pictures of yourself plastered on your walls.

But, really, he would have appreciated more pictures of her beautiful self doing normal things. Then, that way, he could steal some of the better (though, they would all be good) ones from her.

He takes down a few more pictures, putting them into a box she designated for the pictures on this wall. "You know, for a nerd, you have a lot of friends," he notes.

She bats him, playfully. "Oh, shut up. I do not."

He glances back at her. "I've counted, like, five."

Her smile turns dry as soon as he says that. "Really? You're really going to go there, Moon?"

He smirks. "I am, Dawson." Then he returns to packing up her pictures.

She rolls her eyes before continuing to pack her clothes. She's had to put her old clothes in a bag to donate to a shelter, and she also has a lot of new clothes to pack thanks to Austin, so she's been doing this for awhile.

The only thing she's really worried about is where she'll be sleeping. Austin is denying her pleas to bring her bed, so she has no idea where she'll be sleeping. But, hopefully, they won't have to, ahem, share the bed... She coughs. Oh, God, that's awkward.

"Wonder what your parents will think," she says, absently, as she tapes a box full of her clothes. Okay, almost done...

He pauses for just a moment. "They can think whatever they want," he says, resuming his task. "You're moving in, and if they have a problem with that, they should just-"

She clears her throat, shooting a warning glance over at him. She knows how that sentence is going to end, and it's not nice. "Austin..."

"Ally..."

They both laugh, remembering that day in the pizza shop. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he chuckles, dropping the subject. She smiles, feeling triumphant. It's not often that she wins an argument against him.

It's about four in the morning by now, and her dad is nowhere to be seen, which is good, since he's trying to sneak her out. She's changed into a t-shirt and shorts since the dress was getting uncomfortable, and she seems fully awake now. Guess what he said about her not being able to tolerate staying up late was wrong.

She finishes packing up her clothes and starts digging out her boxes upon boxes of photos. She stacks the smaller ones on top of the larger ones until she comes across the smallest of them all, marked by a single crudely drawn butterfly. She smiles fondly and opens it up, taking out the wrinkled black and white photos she took with an old Polaroid camera back when she was a little five-year old girl with pigtails and the widest smile you would ever see.

The photos are clear for photos taken by a hyper girl. They're mostly of the simpler things in life, like trees and flowers, with the occasional house or animal. A couple are of her parents or even her, and these are the ones she treasures the most.

She plants a gentle kiss on one of all three of them smiling before putting the small stack back into the box. She puts it on top of another box, and then walks over to her closet to dig out her old junk.

Austin's absolutely absorbed in taking the pictures off of her walls, so he doesn't even see the doll coming.

An old Barbie doll nails him right in the head, and as he yelps, he can hear muffled laughter coming from the thrower of the doll. "Sorry."

He glares at her before picking up the plastic doll. "Did you actually play with this?" He snorts, incredulously. To him, the whole franchise seems utterly ridiculous, but maybe that's because a little girl once told him that he could be Barbie's husband. Uh-huh, yeah, no.

She shakes her head. "No, I didn't. The only reason why I had one was because I got it for free as a toy in one of my little kiddie meals."

He chuckles, tossing it in the pile that she's going to throw away. "You need to get rid of it."

She shrugs. "I agree. I had no idea that I still had it."

He laughs, turning back to the wall. This is the last one he needs to take the pictures off of, and by now, he's really tired of peeling the pictures off of her walls. Seriously, how many pictures does she have?

After she's done stacking up the boxes filled with her pictures (she counted two big boxes, three small boxes, and one tiny box that only fit about five pictures, which were all of her and her friend Trish), she finishes cleaning out her closet. She then moves on to packing up her many books that she owns while being careful to set aside her library books.

They debate about taking her piano, and he decides to just drop it off at his parents' house. He lets her bring her keyboard and guitar, and when she freaks out when she realizes that she left her songbook at his parents' house, he tells her he'll get it when he takes her piano over.

After they have everything packed up, they start driving back and forth between her house and his apartment (with one stop at his parents' house to drop off her piano and grab her songbook, which she hugged tightly). She can only manage one box at a time, while he can manage two big boxes. She laughs when he shifts them to one arm to flex his muscles at her (when they stopped at his parents' house, he changed into a t-shirt and a different pair of jeans), but panics when he almost drops the boxes. When he recovers, he flashes her a sheepish smile before hurrying along.

At seven in the morning (they're fast workers), they're sprawled out on the floor of his, or, rather, their, apartment, eyes closed in exhaustion. Her boxes surround them on all sides, and as Ally slowly looks around, she mutters, "I think that I'm going to need more than that one drawer you promised me." And he did indeed promise her one drawer of his own storing space because he could spare one for his favorite girl.

Austin laughs in agreement.

She agrees to leave most of her precious pictures at his parents' guarded storage warehouse. When he comes back from dropping them off, he finds her finishing the job of putting her clothes into her dresser. "I put some of my old knicknacks and thingamabobs in that drawer you gave me," she says, absently, pointing in the general direction of his dresser. "Oh, and some of the pictures I kept."

Curious, he peeks into her drawer. Pictures of her and her curly-haired friend are in there, along with one of her whole family together and all of the pictures they've taken together so far. Those are the only unframed ones she kept here. Other than that, a beat up pair of headphones, a few rubber bands, her dorky glasses, what looks to be a crumpled report on wolves, and a few other things are crammed in there, filling up the space.

"Why did you have to do a report on wolves, and why did you keep it?" He asks, craning his neck to try and read the paper.

She shrugs, putting a framed picture of her and Trish, one of her and her parents, and one of her and Austin on top of her dresser. The one of her and Austin is the one of them sitting on that old dirty couch in the middle of nowhere. She smiles at the picture before turning around to answer him. "I like wolves," she says, simply.

He feels a smirk pull at his lips. "So you like me, then?" He asks, cockily. She rolls her eyes, knowing exactly what he's talking about.

"Well, Mr. Lone Wolf, I don't know," she says, wryly. "I meant real wolves, who howl and prowl."

He considers that for a moment. Then, suddenly, he throws his head back and howls, imitating a wolf, winking at his new roommate, whose hand flies up to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughs.

"Austin!" Ally giggles, coming up to him so that she can swat him playfully. "That's cute, but not what I was looking for." He grins down at her.

"You sure?" He asks, mock-hurt. "Because I worked really hard on my howl." She laughs at him because, if she's being honest here, he's cute. She likes the way he strives to please her (secretly, of course), though she won't accept it (most of the time). But, yes, he is quite adorable (and cute), in his own... special way.

He smiles down at her, thoughtfully. "I've never seen you do something silly. Or rebellious." Then his smile widens as he gets one of those crazy ideas of his. "I dare you to jump in the lake near here, fully clothed."

Her eyes widen, and her jaw drops in shock. "Are you crazy?" She asks in disbelief. "Jump in a lake?"

"Yeah! It's totally stupid! It's perfect! If you do this, then you'll prove to me that you're not the deadbeat nerd you presented yourself to be!" He exclaims, like it's the best plan he's ever come up with (and, to him, it is).

Her eyes flare with that familiar fire. When he really pisses her off, she gets this stone hard, fiery look in her eyes. He used to see it when he teased her in school, but she never acted upon that feeling. She would just take it without so much as a retort to defend herself.

"Why do I need to prove myself to you?" She fires back, a complete opposite of her previous nerdy self. "Haven't I already?"

He might have been offended if he didn't already have another plan. "No, you have. You just haven't proven that you're reckless enough to jump in a lake."

She frowns, disapprovingly. "Austin..."

"Ally..."

She rolls her eyes in exasperation. "Fine! Fine, I will prove to you that I can be rebellious! Where's the lake?"

He grins, triumphantly. "C'mon. I'll show you."

"And you're absolutely sure about this?"

He groans, rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time. "Ally! Would you please just trust me?"

She looks up at him, her wide doe eyes filled with fear. "I trust you. I just don't... I've always been careful."

He gently takes her hand, intertwining their fingers. He brings their hands up to his lips and kisses her fingers while looking into her eyes. She blushes. "Hey. You'll be fine. You trust me, right?" She nods, slowly. "Then trust me when I say that you'll be fine."

She pauses before hugging him tightly. She breaks away after a second, rips her hand free, and sprints for the glittering blue lake. As soon as her feet leave the dock, she squeals. There's a huge splash when she cannonballs into the lake.

He runs over to the edge of the dock and peers into the water. The glare blocks his vision for the most part, though, so he can't see her.

Suddenly, her head resurfaces, and she gasps for breath, shaking the water out of her hair. He grins before jumping in beside her, making her scream. "Austin!" She cries, still trying to clear her vision. Luckily for her, her contacts haven't slipped out... yet.

He grabs her from underwater, making her scream again. He pops up next to her, arm still wrapped around her waist. He laughs, swiping the water out of his eyes with his other hand. "See? Was that so bad?"

She finally manages to clear her vision and looks at him. His hair is flat against his head and dripping wet, but somehow, he still looks good. Dammit, that's infuriating. "I guess not," she admits, reluctantly.

He beams. "I told you so! Now, let's get out of here. I heard rumors that the Loch Ness Monster lives here."

She opens her mouth to tell him that that's just a myth, but when she sees that he's already getting out, decides against it. Besides, she doesn't see the point in trying to convince him that it's a myth when he already seems so convinced that it's real. Sometimes, she wonders about his intelligence...

He helps her out of the water, lifting her with ease. She rolls her eyes when he flexes his muscles at her for the second time that day.

As they start to walk around the lake, she's suddenly glad for the Miami sun. It's really hot out now, even though it's not even noon yet, so she should dry off pretty quickly.

Austin hesitantly wraps his arm around her. She doesn't seem surprised at all; she just smiles up at him before snuggling into his side. He smiles too because he was afraid of her reaction. He's not blind; he's noticed the shift in their relationship and in his feelings. He was afraid that putting his arm around her would be pushing it.

They walk around the lake, getting to know each other better. After all, they've only been friends for a few days, even though it feels like it's been forever.

Around noon, after they're dried off, he drives them back to their apartment (seems weird to call it 'their'). She makes them sandwiches for lunch, and while she makes them, he sits by and chatters on and on about some video game that she didn't catch the name of. At one point, he glances at her as she puts the cheese on the sandwiches.

"Swiss cheese doesn't actually come from Switzerland, does it?"

She rolls her eyes.

She sighs, setting his plate in front of him. "Your Highness," she says, dryly. Her eyes flick over to their attractive headgear from last night resting on the coffee table before focusing on him again.

He grins toothily at her. "Thanks, Princess." She laughs, sitting down across from him.

They eat while resuming their conversation from earlier. They learn more things about each other, and they're both surprised by some of the things coming out of their roommate's mouth and even theirs. Austin learns that Ally doesn't really like performing on stage because of all of the attention, and Ally learns that Austin used to want to be an overnight internet sensation.

"What happened?" They ask at the exact same moment. They stare at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Okay!" Austin laughs, pointing to Ally. "You first!"

"No!" She giggles. "You first!"

He shakes his head, and they argue playfully for a couple more minutes before Ally falls victim to his stubborness and agrees to go first. He fist-pumps triumphantly and then gestures for her to tell him.

Whilst rolling her eyes, she starts. "Well, when I was around fourteen, I was going to try out for this prestigious music school in New York. They had sent a scout down to a music store here and were holding auditions. After I saw how the scout treated the girl before me, which was terrible considering the fact that she was really good, I freaked out. He told me this could make or break my music career and not to blow it. Of course, that just added to my nervousness. I ended up embarrassing myself in front of everyone because I had this hallucination that the piano's keys were actually teeth that would chomp my fingers off. Unfortunately, there are no do-overs, unless I try to reapply or something. But after what happened last time," she sighs, "I won't be auditioning anytime soon."

He blinks, shocked. Did that really happen? "Oh, wow... I'm really sorry, Ally. If it helps, I'm sure you would have made it in," he offers.

She rolls her eyes a bit, giving him a wry smile. "Thanks, but you've never heard me play. How would you know that?"

He doesn't even falter; he just grins, saying, "Because you rock at everything you do."

She feels a blush coming on, so she ducks her head in embarrassment. "...Thanks," she mumbles.

His grin widens, and secretly, he's pleased. "So, my turn?" He asks, lifting her chin. She rolls her eyes a bit at his actions before nodding and taking her chin off of his two fingers. "Well, it's simple, really. When I was a kid, I had always dreamed of being a rockstar. I loved music, and I still do, but my parents want me to-" here, he groans "-go into business with them. So, basically, I won't ever get my dream."

She frowns, reaching across the table to take one of his hands. He sighs, curling his fingers around hers. "Hey, you never know," she shrugs. "Maybe you'll still be able to be a rockstar. Just not yet."

He manages a smile for her. "Yeah, maybe."

She squeezes his hand, affectionately, while flashing him a brilliant smile. "Don't give up on your dreams, okay? Even though I'm too afraid to pursue my dreams, I never give up on them. You shouldn't either."

He seems to consider the words before smiling. "Okay, Alls. I won't."

"Good."

"Well, smash it in!"

"What? No!"

"The damned thing doesn't fit! You gotta make it!"

"I'm not smashing it!"

"Fine, then I will!"

"Hey!"

She latches onto his arms and quickly backtracks, trying to drag him with her. He struggles against her, but because she's determined, she's surprisingly strong.

"Ally!"

"I'm not letting you!" She whines, tugging harder. He gives a strong jerk, and she yelps, falling onto her backside. "Ow!"

He whips around, eyes wide. "Shit, are you okay?" He panics, quite obviously freaking out. She mutters a curse as he drops down beside her, and she shoots him a glare when he peers at her worriedly.

"Yeah, fine," she grinds out through gritted teeth. She starts to get up on her own, but he insists on helping her up the rest of the way. "Okay, okay!" She shakes him off, still a little irritated. "Will you agree with me now?"

He looks her over again, making sure she's okay, before sighing and nodding. "Fine. But how are we going to fit that thing in there?" He slips his hand into hers as an apology while giving her his infamous puppy dog eyes. She sighs, eyeing him flatly.

"Okay. You're forgiven," she mutters, reluctantly. He beams at her, and she gives him a small smile in return. "And we'll just..." She trails off, glancing over at the object that dragged them into this ridiculous argument in the first place.

A simple book.

It's a paperback copy of an old classic, and he wants to crush its fragile pages to make it fit. She, however, is against hitting her book (which wouldn't work anyway), so she's trying to stop him.

The book is supposed to go in the drawer he gave her, but it doesn't quite fit, which is why he's trying to stuff it in.

With a sigh, she takes the book out and places it back into one of her boxes of books. He wouldn't let her bring her bookshelves (said something about them not belonging in an apartment like his), so now they have to find a place to cram her books.

"What if we just left the books in their boxes for now?" She suggests, looking up at him. He shrugs in response.

"Sure. Just put them over there or something," he says, waving a dismissive hand towards a corner of his room. She drags one box over with some difficultly, and he brings the other.

"What now?" She asks, curiously. Her books were the last things that needed to be put away, and since that didn't happen, they're, apparently, done. It's around seven in the evening now, and they're both running low on energy, so she's hoping that he doesn't have anymore crazy ideas today.

His golden brown eyes narrow in thought as he thinks of something for them to do. While he's doing that, she plops onto his bed, leaning back on her elbows.

He crosses his arms, still thinking. What can they do? For once, he's out of good ideas for things to do. "Well..." He begins, voice hesitant, "we could..." He groans, annoyance flickering across his face. "I actually have no idea what to do. Got any suggestions?"

She sighs, eyes filling with boredom. She shakes her head, semi-sadly. "No." Ah, just great. They're both out of ideas. What now?

His gaze shifts to the pictures in his room. There are the ones she brought, and the ones he already had, which were all mostly of him and his parents with the occasional picture of him and a friend. He stops on a picture of Ally and him sitting on that dirty old couch. He smiles at it before looking over more of the pictures. His eyes freeze and then hone in on a certain strip of pictures of them in a photo booth.

And then he gets an idea.

"I've got it!" He exclaims triumphantly, grinning widely. She jumps in surprise, staring at him like he's crazy. He darts forward and grabs her hand before dragging her off towards the door. "Come on!"

She makes small noises of protest as he pulls her along, but he ignores her. His mind is too focused on getting them to a place she doesn't seem too fond of.

Back to where it started.

These are the words echoing in his mind as he smiles widely, looking back at a laughing Ally. Her curls are flying free in the wind generated by them running, and her caramel brown eyes are bright with happiness.

No one could deny that she's absolutely beautiful.

So, maybe this isn't where it started, per se. It actually started back in the park, but he considers this place to be the spot where he truly started to notice her. She stopped being the nerd who he picked to be his fake girlfriend (in retrospect, it wasn't his best idea, but he's glad he had that idea because he got something good out of it- and he's not talking about getting his mom and dad to stop setting him up with girls he couldn't care less about), and started being a beautiful girl who was gracious enough to forgive him, trusting enough to trust him (she shouldn't have; he doesn't deserve it), and kind enough to be a real and good friend to him, of all people. He's never had many of those, and he would never have expected her to be one of them. He used to always tease her in school, and he still can't believe that she let him in after all that.

She ducks under his arm, and he likes the way she fits into him. She looks up, flashing her pearly whites at him. He gives her his most charming smile in return, and she blushes, shyly nudging him with her shoulder, which makes him chuckle.

He's a lucky guy to have her.

Yet, at the same time, he doesn't really have her. To him, it's just the tiniest bit disappointing, but he tries to not let it get to him.

They arrive at the empty photo booth they took those pictures in four days ago. With only a secretive smile exchanged between them, they slip into the booth.

They do two strips this time, and because it's them, it's almost guaranteed that they'll turn out humorously weird.

And they do.

The first strip is moderately silly. The first picture is of Austin and Ally sticking their tongues out at each other, and the second is of Ally rolling her eyes at Austin as he rubs the back of his head, which had just been banged against the wall of the booth. The third one is a bit confusing, considering the fact that Austin is on his back on the floor and Ally is pointing at him while laughing. The fourth one is of him getting payback at her by smothering her in a tight hug. The last one is of Ally patting Austin's shoulder sympathetically as he pouts.

For the second strip's first picture, Ally is laughing while trying to dodge Austin's tickling hands. "Haven't we done this before?" She laughs, ducking.

He shrugs, still pursuing her. "Who cares?" Then he dives for her again.

The second one is of Ally somehow getting the upper hand and sitting on a rather surprised Austin's back.

"Okay, okay, truce!" Ally pleads, having trouble dodging him. He complies, wrapping an arm around her shoulder while smiling innocently at the camera.

The third one is all innocent smiles, wrapped arms, and flushed cheeks.

Austin looks down at Ally, breathing in her sweet scent of strawberries. She looks up at him, noting the way his eyes seem to have shining golden flecks in them. He observes her flushed face from him chasing her, and he knows that he must look similar.

The fourth one is of them staring at each other.

They search each other's faces for some sort of permission. She nods almost imperceptibly, telling him that it's okay. She knows what the risks are, and she's okay with the fact that there are risks.

It's rebellious of her to do this and that's okay. She proved to him that she can be rebellious, didn't she?

As she nods, he feels a rush of relief, calming his racing heart just a bit. He has to stop himself from smiling like an idiot.

He slowly leans down, and as he does, there's only one thing running through his mind.

This one I'll try not to hurt.

That's a promise.

The fifth picture is of Ally's arms wrapped around his neck, and his arms wrapped around her waist as their lips finally connect.

Have you ever touched a piece of metal and gotten shocked? Imagine that feeling, but times it by a thousand. That's how Ally feels as she melts into the kiss and into him. It feels like high voltage electricity is running through her but that's okay; it's a good feeling.

Their lips are moving in perfect sync, and at some point, she ends up on his lap with her fingers entangled in his hair. She can't remember how she got here, but she never wants to leave.

Finally, they pull away for air. Ally looks into his warm brown eyes and smiles when she sees the sincerity in them. He winks at her, playfully.

"Been wanting to do that for a while," he whispers into her ear, making her shiver.

"Then why didn't you?" She murmurs.

He shrugs. "I guess I was afraid of chasing you away. I wasn't sure what you would do," he admits, quietly.

She tilts her head. It makes sense. Even she was afraid of her feelings.

She gives him a reassuring smile. "Well, you didn't chase me away. In fact, I'm content with staying right here."

He smiles widely, moving his arm to rest securely around her shoulders. "I guess I really can call you my girlfriend now." She lets a giggle slip out at that. He kisses the top of her head affectionately, and she rests her head against his chest. "So, what do you say? Want to go grab our pictures and go home?"

She smiles, softly, putting her chin on his chest so that she can look up at him. "Yeah. That sounds great."

He pulls her out of the booth with him, holding her hand even as he picks up the pictures. A huge grin breaks out on his face when he sees the fifth picture on the second strip.

Ally's eyes widen, and she leans in closer to get a better look. "Oh my God, do you think anyone saw?" She breathes, sounding mortified. He just laughs at her, kissing the side of her head.

"Does it matter?" He asks, amusement laced through his voice.

She stops freaking out and bites her lip to keep from smiling, glancing up at him with sparkling eyes. "No. No, it doesn't." His grin widens even though you wouldn't think that it could get any bigger.

He puts his arm around her (his now real girlfriend) and starts for the parking lot so that they can drive home.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Austin and Ally are cuddled up on the couch with a quart of ice cream in between them. They're watching an old movie Austin dug out of his closet, and for some reason, Austin insisted on sharing a spoon. Unfortunately, he's using it way more than her because he rarely relinquishes his control of it.

"Austin..."

"Ally..."

She eyes him flatly, and his hands fly up in surrender. "Fine! Fine, here." He finally gives her the spoon, and she pecks him on the cheek as a thank-you. Then she greedily shoves a heaping spoonful into her mouth. He raises an eyebrow at her, to which she shrugs.

He rolls his eyes at the brunette in exasperation.

After the movie finishes, they get ready for bed since it's been such a long day (or days). He's already in his sweatpants and faded blue shirt when she comes out in her white tank top and grey cotton shorts.

"You know, I realized something," he says, thoughtfully, from his position on one of the couch's arms. She arches a curious eyebrow, crossing the room to sit on the coffee table.

"What'd you realize?"

He smirks, mischievously, and she immediately becomes nervous because that's never a good sign. "You never sang for me."

Her brows furrow in confusion as she tries to recall when she told him she would sing for him. When had she... Oh. Oh. She had told him she would yesterday before she ran off with those drumsticks on a random impulse.

She blushes bright red and hides her face in her hands. "Do I... Do I have to?" She sighs, not daring to look up at her smirking... boyfriend. Oh, God. She hasn't used that word since... She can't even remember. Probably a long time ago.

"Yes, Ally, you do. You said you would," he points out, triumphantly. "You have that songbook of yours, so you can't say that you don't have a song to sing."

She lifts her face from her hands and casts him a grudging look. "Okay, fine. Hang on," she grumbles, crossly.

He grins widely, fist-pumping in triumph. She rolls her eyes, getting up and walking over to her dresser. She grabs her book and a pencil, opening to her unfinished song from yesterday. She has everything down except for the lyrics.

She glances back at Austin, who flashes her a bright smile and a thumbs-up. She smiles back before turning back to her book.

Her mind starts to wander to these past few days. They've been filled with fun and excitement thanks to her blonde roommate. He got her to tell him things she never thought she would tell anyone, and he got her out of her house, which hasn't felt like home in a long time. She trusts him like no other person she knows.

And suddenly, she's writing.

She's finished with the song in record time and quickly grabs her guitar, making sure it's tuned.

"Got a song?" He asks, amused, as she scrambles to hurry up and get everything ready. Turning to him, she nods once before resuming her preparations.

She sits down on the bed and pats the spot next to her. He rolls his eyes in amusement before walking over and sitting next to her. She props her book open on her lap, smoothing down the pages. She doesn't really need her book, though, because even if she did only write the song a few minutes ago, she knows the lyrics by heart since they describe how she feels.

"I just wrote it, but this one's for you," she tells him, nervously. "I hope you like it."

He smiles at her encouragingly. "I'm sure I will." She smiles a bit, his words giving her enough courage to start strumming.

"Merrily we fall out of line, out of line

I'd fall anywhere with you

I'm by your side

Swinging in the rain, humming melodies

We're not going anywhere until we freeze

I'm not afraid anymore

I'm not afraid

Forever is a long time

But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side

Carefully we'll place for our destiny

You came and you took this heart

And set it free

Every word you write or sing is so warm to me,

So warm to me

I'm torn, I'm torn

To be right where you are

I'm not afraid anymore

I'm not afraid

Forever is a long time

But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side

Tell me every day I get to wake up to that smile

I wouldn't mind it at all

I wouldn't mind it at all

You so know me

Pinch me gently

I can hardly breathe

Forever is a long, long time

But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side

Tell me every day I get to wake up to that smile

I wouldn't mind it at all

I wouldn't mind it at all."

Once she's finished singing, she lowers her guitar and raises her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes quickly flick over his shocked face, and she sighs. "So, it was that bad, huh?" She mumbles in an embarrassed voice as her cheeks suddenly heat up. "Sor-"

"Are you kidding?" He interrupts abruptly, eyes wide. "That was awesome!"

Her eyes widen and dart up to his, searching for the truth. "Really? You mean that?" She asks in disbelief.

He grins, proudly. "Of course! I loved it!" And, though he won't admit it, he loves it because she wrote it for him.

She smiles, putting her guitar down on the floor and her songbook on her nearby dresser. As soon as her hands are free, Austin reaches across the bed and tugs her onto his lap. She giggles, burying her nose into his shoulder. He kisses the side of her head, wrapping his arms around her.

He lies down, bringing her with him. She snuggles into his side, and he rests his chin on top of her head.

"I'm going to promise you something," he whispers into her hair.

"What's that?" She mumbles against his chest.

He pulls back to look into her caramel brown doe eyes. She stares into his own eyes, curiously. "I'm going to promise you that I will try my best not to ever hurt you. Considering my background, I can't promise you that I will never hurt you, but I will promise to try. I know what you've been through, and you deserve the world after all that. And I will try to give you the life you've always dreamed of because, Ally, you deserve it. I promise to try-"

With her eyes pooling with tears (because she's always dreamed of someone saying this to her), she shushes him softly. He stops talking, frowning at her, but she just laughs, quietly, moving closer to him so that they're practically nose-to-nose. "Just shut up and kiss me," she whispers, her minty breath dancing across his face.

He's more than happy to comply.

When they pull away, she tucks her head under his chin.

"Promise?" She mumbles against his neck, referring to his earlier promises.

"Promise."

And that's a wrap.

That last song was "I Wouldn't Mind" by He Is We. I love that song.

It was so fun typing this story (even though I didn't like some parts of it), and I was thinking of making a sequel. What do you guys think?

Thank you to every single person who read/reviewed/favorited or followed this story. You guys are the awesome ones here.

Thanks again for all your support, and I guess I'll see you guys later.

~Hunter