New York City. September
Phone calls, Skype dates and texts were not the real thing. After missing Ally in Miami in July, Austin was back on a plane to Los Angeles and then to London and then to Paris and back to Los Angeles once more before here. New York City. The same city she worked and lived in; and yet, he hadn't raced across town and banged down her door to see the moment he got there. Why? Because their last phone call was not the best. In fact, if was kind of the worst.
It was them going back and forth with each other, trying to get together somewhere. Anywhere, really. He told her to take a few days off, she told him the same. The moment they made plans, they were always cancelled and mostly by him. It wasn't entirely his fault, it was his label's. He did have an album to promote though and he thought she understood that. This last argument was heated and loud and he was thankful that he had been in a soundproof booth inside the studio so no one else could hear the words they were saying to each other. He never wanted to say those things. Not to her. Not ever.
The separation was getting to them and they were arguing more than talking. At first it was just the little things - the joking fights about how pancakes were still better than French Toast and how pizza with pineapples was something that she loved, while he hated. Those were the fights he was okay with because it ended with him always kissing his phone, pretending she was right next to him. But these fights were bigger, more than just their flirty fights. He wanted her to come to him for a weekend, she wanted him to come to her. It was the distance and not seeing each other for almost seven months now. It was getting to him and he knew it was getting to her.
Wishing away the light throbbing in his temple, Austin leaned back in the chair in his dressing room and tried to concentrate on his performance coming up, all while listening to his manager who, even at five a.m. in the morning was on the phone and talking a mile a minute. Scott was a good manager - so good in fact, that he hadn't needed an actual publicist in years. At the moment, he was on the phone with someone in London, re-confirming a promo event for next week that had had to be rescheduled.
In just a few hours, he'd be in Central Park and playing his next single on a grand piano and he wanted to do it; he was contractually obligated to do it, but he also wanted to sprint across town to the Italian Consulate. He'd be pulling out all the stops for a cliche movie scene. He'd speak the Italian he knew, go to every floor on the building and call out her name like he was dying and when he would find her, Austin would do as every movie hunk does, and sweep Ally up into his arms and kiss her on the spot, not caring who was watching or their reactions. He'd twirl her around and kidnap her away from her job for the next month, if he had his way.
"How much time do I have between this and London, Scott?" Austin asked, interrupting Scott's current phone call with his eyes still closed.
"Six days," he quickly answered. "Don't get any ideas."Austin slipped open one eye and smirked at him.
"When you gonna learn man? I have a lot of ideas."And this idea, was a good one. He just hoped it would work.
Reaching for his phone that was on the counter top beside him, Austin clicked on Ally's name and let out a huff as he glanced at the last text she sent him. He was ignoring it for a reason and wasn't going to acknowledge he even got it. Breaking up with her was not an option. Ever.
Watch Good Morning America today.
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"I have my keys, purse, heels," Ally double checked her bag one more time and ran her hand through her hair once more. She was in a frazzle this morning and running late and if she didn't run out the door now, she would not make her train and she would miss the meeting she had been working on for three weeks. It was the meeting she needed to be there for because no one else knew what said meeting was about or why they were even having it.
"Ally, you have everything, go," Trish told her for the fifth time, pulling her along to the door for her own good.
Ally had been going back and forth on all the things she would need for today, trying to push thoughts about the night before out of her mind and concentrate on the meeting this morning. But who was she kidding? Her mind was still on the fight she had with Austin. They hadn't seen each other in seven months. Seven long damn months and as much as the love was still there, she needed to see him, needed to feel him, something. Something other than just Skype dates and long phone calls and flirty texts. Those were good and all, but there was nothing like seeing someone right there in front of you and she needed that. His reasons were valid - he was promoting a record, and she thought hers were too. This was a brand new job the consulate had created just for her. There was no way in hell she was screwing anything up at work so they could get rid of her.
But he was also right. She did have some time in her bank, she could take a few days off and go and see him...but she didn't. In her mind, she wanted to save it all up so she could surprise him on a random trip to Los Angeles. Dez, who had become the middle man between them sometimes and had turned into a good friend of hers, would be in on that surprise. Last night's conversation was all about missing each other and him putting off seeing her for another day. He was in New York and he was still postponing seeing her and she was livid at that. Was it something she did or said that he didn't want to see her? Ally had even tried to find out what hotel he was at, but neither him, nor Dez was telling her and it was frustrating her to no end.
Her snapping at the end of their conversation was not something she wanted to do, but she did it anyhow. She was mad and sad all at once and she wanted to see him and sleep in his arms and hold him, like they had in Venice. God, she missed Venice. Not just because it was her favorite city on the entire planet, but because that was the place where she fully fell in love and she wanted that feeling back in her veins. Right now, that feeling was running out...and she didn't want it to run out.
Ally hopped onto the train, trying to brush all the feelings about him and their predicament out of her mind. She had to. Instead, she pulled out her notes for the meeting. The ones she would be giving and making sure everyone understood. The same meeting that would be providing a very much needed distraction from Austin Moon.
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Much like Ally had told her once about Austin not being a runner, Trish was not one either. In fact, if Trish had the option, she'd be having four hunky guys carry her from her office at Rockefeller Center to Park Avenue, complete with them being shirtless and a golden carriage on top of their shoulders. That was not the case though. She had taken a taxi up until East 65th Street which she was surprised and thankful about all at the same time. Traffic had stopped suddenly when they hit the marker and just as she let cash fly towards the driver, Trish was out the door and running down the block towards the two toned building with more than one Italian flag flying in the wind today.
Ally worked on the second floor, left building, fourth office in. That was twenty steps upwards, two full sprints across and keeling over right at her door. Trish de la Rosa was not a runner, Ally Dawson was. Ally Dawson had also tried to get Trish de la Rosa into running but, as you can tell, was not successful in any aspect of that. Sure, she went to the park with her to watch her run, but that was about it. Trish would be the one on the bench, timing her best friend and roommate all while watching the hot guys pass her by.
With Ally's phone still safely in her purse around her body, Trish slowed her step just before she reached her office and caught her in the board room still - with all her bosses and her assistant and so many important people that this could go one of three ways. Trish could a) bust into her meeting and kidnap her to go to Central Park, just across the street, not caring if Ally lost her job; b) she could bust in there still and make her watch the show, still not caring about if she lost her job; or c) she could let the meeting go on and watch her best friend be miserable. Yea, that last one was not going to happen.
"Trish, what are you doing here?" Ally stopped her presentation, staring back at the Latina banking manager.
"I know this meeting is really important to you and I apologize for breaking in, but I need to steal you and we need to go to Central Park."
"Now? Like, right now?" Ally raised her eyebrow. "Why?"
"Yes, right now and because the love of your life, who you couldn't stop crying over last night is performing and he wants you there."
"And you know this because..."
"Your phone," Trish pulled it out and handed it to her. "You left it at the apartment and I saw his text. Ally, we need to get you there now."
Trish didn't know how to read Ally's expression. It was just blank, almost like the only way to convince her to drop everything was to show her the text...or for Austin, who'd she never met or talked to for more than three syllables, to show up miraculously and sweep the girl off her feet. If he could do the latter, she'd greatly appreciate that.
"Ally!"
"I can't leave this meeting Trish," she shook her head, stepping around her and clearing her throat to start back on the meeting that was interrupted.
Ally wasn't listening and there was possibly only one way she would listen. Trish reached over the table and grabbed the remote for the streaming box that was hooked up to probably every television on the floor. Switching it to ABC, Trish smiled to herself seeing that Austin's name was just being announced and he stepped up on the stage, waving to the fans who showed up...and judging by the size of the Good Morning America's space and just how many heads she was looking at the back at, there were a lot of fans there.
"Trish!" Ally called and it made her run around the table to avoid Ally snatching the remote to take it away and turn off the program. "I'm running a meeting here!"
"At the same time your boyfriend is performing on GMA!" Trish stuffed the remote into her shirt and placed her hands on her hips. "You're watching this. You're all watching this, because these two," she gestured between Ally and the toe-head on the screen, "have this complicated but amazing love story that they're about to give up on but they shouldn't. Because even though it's been seven months, even though they haven't seen each other since they left Venice, they still love each other and I hear it every single day when he calls her. Every. Single. Day."
Trish stared back at Ally, who still stood at the front of the table and defeat was taking over her face.Trish watched Ally glance at her bosses, apologizing to them for her crazy friend, a title she would take and wear proudly. If she wasn't crazy like this, Ally would be missing out at her love story of a lifetime...and she would be missing out at being the fairy godmother in all of this.
From what Trish could understand, her bosses were okay with everything. They had meeting notes, they could pick it up later on and two of them even left, but the others stayed.She heard one of them say that she didn't even know Ally was dating, let alone dating Austin Moon. Ally quickly corrected her. It's not dating, if you never see the person. Trish, of course, rolled her eyes at this. She could argue it was because she could list at least ten times there were romantic dinners over Skype, flowers sent to their place monthly, even three page long emails that she found Ally still reading over and over and her being the ultimate girl and squealing over. Yes, it was dating.
"Austin Moon!" Lara Spencer welcomed him back to the stage, giving him a short hug with the microphone still close to them as the squeals from the crowd went on...and on and on. "How are you?"
"I'm not doing too bad. Glad to be back here. Hey everyone," Austin waved and Trish took a seat next to Ally, making sure she was watching and not looking down at her notes for the meeting. Even if he was breaking up with her on the show, she needed to watch. Not that Trish thought he would. That was not Austin.
"We hear that you're going to play us your next new single today."
"I am," Austin slipped out his smile. "I'm going to play you that one and a new special track that if I know my fans, have found this secret song on the album."
"Wait, there's another bonus song?" Lara asked.
Austin nodded. "There is. This is hidden on the tail end of the last song and it's called 'Places In Your Heart'. It was written for someone very special to me."
Lara looks out to the crowd as they cheer. "Someone special...did you hear that Moonpies?" she greeted the crowd, calling them by his fandom name.
"Yea. I was horrible. This person and I, we have something that I can't even name and I miss her so much. The track, which I wrote in Venice, was written for her."
Trish looked over at Ally. "He wrote a song for you?"Ally shrugged her shoulders, and looked unaware about this...even though she'd been playing and replaying and replaying the entire record since it showed up at their door two months ago. Two months ahead of the record hitting shelves and digital retailers. She was one of the first people to hear it and while Trish liked it, it was getting a little tiresome.
Back on the screen, Austin sat behind the piano, his hands tickling the keys and singing into the microphone attached. The lyrics were beautiful, if Trish was honest. She honestly thought it was every girl's dream, to have a song written for her and not only that, but have a song written for her from a very, very good looking and very sought after pop star.
"Whatever it takes, to make you believe. From the depths of my soul, I want you to know, I would do anything," Austin sang over the television, his eyes closed shut as he concentrated on the song. "I will be here, just a whisper away. When you're ready to fly, I will be by your side. Forever and always..."
Trish looked over at Ally again, seeing the glassy-ness over her eyes, and clasped her hand. From her reaction, Ally knew this song and she knew it well. When Ally returned from Venice, she had told Trish all about her tenure there and couldn't stop telling her about how she fell in love. But this, this part was still a mystery to her. This song meant something and it meant something big. Trish was tempted to turn the program off now, but she didn't. She needed to see if there was something else Austin wanted to tell Ally. Ally needed it too.
The program cut to another segment inside the studios just as the song ended and Lara announced they would be back...giving Trish just enough time to actually find out what the song really meant.
"He was writing that the day after," Ally whispered because going into all the details. The night after the first ball, that was what he was writing. The first ball where Ally hoped something would happen and it didn't. The night she really wanted to start something with him. She remembered the words, but not the music.
Trish reached for a tissue for her as Good Morning America came back from the commercial break. She looked back at the television, now seeing Austin quickly snapping photos with fans before being pulled back on stage and grabbing a seat on a chair next to Lara for his interview.
"Now, let's talk about that secret song again. That was beautiful Austin."
"Thanks."
"Can we get you to tell us about this person who inspired it?"
Austin smiled, looking out into the audience. "Um...she's beautiful. She's so beautiful I have to pinch myself that I'm the lucky guy she chose," Austin paused and looked at the camera. "She helped me learn Italian and is the sole reason I know how to say things in the language. She looks amazing in workout clothes even though she runs like a mad woman. She just turned everything in my world right side up."
"Sounds like you've been bitten by the love bug," Lara laughed at her own joke.
"A million times over," Austin agreed. "Lately though, it's been hard since because of all this promo for the Three, I've been all over and we actually haven't seen each other since I left Venice. I need to let her know that I still love her and will be fighting for us until forever."
Lara stared back at Austin, just like Trish was right now. She was slightly stunned and very impressed. Austin just admitted on live television that he was boots over bonnets in love with her. Trish would die if anyone did that for her.
"I'm actually headed there after this and would love if she joined me. I'll be at the place where the view goes on forever and the buildings are falling apart.
Trish looked back at Ally, her expression still blank like she was trying to absorb it all. "You know where he's talking about?" she asked her and smiled as she nodded her head.
Looking at the other girls still in the board room, Trish quickly barked orders at them. She needed this to work and even if Ally was going to argue with her, which she was banking on, Trish would get her way.
Ally was going to Venice.