"Huh?" Ally looked baffled, "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am, Ally," Austin confirmed, "We will prove your innocence!"

"But how?" she asked, still not trusting herself to comment.

"We are journalists, Ally," Austin reassured, "There's absolutely nothing we can't find."

"But-" Ally started, but was interrupted by her blonde companion, "Trust me, girl, we can do this."

"Austin, be logical," Ally argued, "We are not investigative journalists and the police are involved as well."

"I know," he started, "We can't lose hope. I may be a music critic or music gossip section incharge and you may be...wait a second, what do you do in the magazine?"

Ally grimaced under the weight of another one of his unanswerable questions.

"I can't tell you," Ally said and on seeing Austin about to interrupt, she continued, "I trust you, yes, but I am bound by the work contract to keep it secret."

"Is it illegal?" Austin asked, raising his eyebrow suspiciously.

"What? No! Oh my gosh, Austin, do I look like that kind of a person?" she asked, shaking her head.

Their on-going conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the engaged couple.

"So, who was on the phone, Carrie?" Ally asked as the blonde comfortably sat on the couch, along with her fiance.

"Oh. It was one of Didi's informants," the blonde answered sadly, "I'm sorry guys, you both have lost your jobs."

Hearing that Ally gasped, "We lost our jobs?"

She couldn't breathe. Everything seemed to suffocate her. The one thing she had passion for, the one thing she worked years to achieve, all gone.

She looked at Austin, feeling horrible about herself.

"Austin, I'm so sorry," she started, "I know how much this job meant to you. Ever since I've come into your life, I've brought nothing but trouble and I'm sorry. It's all my fault!"

"Ally, it's not your fault!" he exclaimed, increasingly frustrated, "I'm telling you, I chose to get myself involved!"

"See where I've got you? Now you are supposedly my partner in crime and Didi, Dez, Carrie will all be accused of hiding the culprit. And I hate how I end up dragging down anyone who tries to help me!" she cried out, looking anywhere but at Austin.

"Ally," Austin called out grabbing her shoulders, "Listen to me. Look at me. We are her because someone framed you for the murder of your dad, I helped you escape and now we are being chased. It sucks, I know. There is no one else who knows the feeling of being chased or trapped or letting down people who you care about, better than me. That is how most of my life has been."

Brown eyes met brown eyes and slowly the guilt in the brunette's eyes started to fade.

"Why don't you two, take it to the balcony. You both need fresh air," Dez commented.

Wordlessly, Austin got up and dragged Ally up the stairs to the open space. The distraught girl spread her arms and took in the fresh air, inviting all her emotions to pass through her. For the first time in years, she felt free.

She leaned against the metal railing, looking out at the purple sky. Soon, she felt another presence copy her posture.

"Ally," the blonde called out, as if beckoning a child to come closer, "You have a lot of frustration left in you, you know, it's not good for you."

"What do you mean?" Ally questioned. Though her wordings seemed to display harshness, she said it in a gentle tone, masking her sadness.

"When I first moved in with the Wades, I had issues. Nightmares, repulsion from touch, fear of everything. It was horrible. Luckily, Donna had a friend who was a child psychologist and for about three years, I talked to her about everything, every emotion I felt or every problem I faced. WhatI'm telling you is, talking helps. It helps you heal," he said, finally daring to meet her eyes.

Ally looked at him for a second, before squeezing his hand in comfort.

"I'm not telling you to talk to me. It could be anyone you trust, Carrie, Dez, Trish, anyone," he continued, with an underlying tone of loneliness.

"It could be you, as well," Ally finally responded, "At the moment, there is no one else I trust more than you, So what do you recommend we do?"

Austin smiled at the brunette, before saying, "20 Questions: The Personal Version!"

Ally agreed almost immediately, "But we can lie about somethings, I'm not entirely willing to open up, OK?"

"Sure," Austin grinned, "So, what is your biggest flaw?"

"I have a million flaws, but the worst of all is that I'm insecure," Ally opened up, "I used to be this super optimistic happy kid and that one day, the day my mom left, she left dad and I to pick up the pieces. She left me so broken. Apart from being bullied and abandoned, it all just left me insecure."

Austin sympathised with her, "We are on the same boat, I guess. I'm insecure too, though it's not my biggest flaw. But abandonment and loneliness does things to you."

"You know," Ally laughed, "Before all that, I used to think I could dance very well. I was so confident that I gave my name for the talent's day competition and actually went on stage and danced." She stepped slightly away from Austin and demonstrated, flailing her hands and legs like a maniac. Then she started to fling her fingers to the right and then to the left, while calling out dance instructions, "Was the windows."

Austin leaned on the railing and watched Ally let loose for the first time he had known her and laughed heartily, "Wow! Doing things the Ally way, huh? Tell me you got a prize."

"Actually I did," Ally said smugly, while Austin looked appalled, opening his mouth.

"For this crap?" he asked, confused, "Man! That judge must be blind."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, genuinely offended, "I'm not that bad. Thank you very much. I won for the singing section though."

"Ah that makes sense!" he replied in understanding, "So, you sing?"

"Umm, no, not anymore," she replied quickly, leaving no room for further questions, "Oh what about you? Biggest flaw?"

"Ah! Despite being insecure, I'm pretty short-tempered," he started.

"Oh I know. I was on the receiving end for years," Ally sighed dramatically.

"Haha," he deadpanned, "I played pranks on you but never snapped at you till two days ago. Anyways, when I get angry, I do things on impulse."

"I should agree on anger, I get angry easily. But, impulsive decisions get you in trouble. I tend to overthink things, you know, asking all the 'what ifs' and what not. The one time I decided not to think through things, I ended up as prime suspect for murder," Ally added, training her brown eyes at Austin.

"Well, not all impulsive decisions are bad. I get to know you better now. And I could never get myself to regret that," he said sincerely.

Ally smiled at the sentiment and hugged the blonde, catching him off guard, "Thanks Astin, for everything."

He smiled yet again. And this was followed by heavy silence.

"So who is your crush?" Ally asked, breaking the ice.

"I'm not telling you," he said, almost immediately.

"C'mon, be a sport," she encouraged, "Give me something. You can also lie if you like."

"OK. I will lie then," he said, "But I don't want to tell you."

"Fine, I'll start," Ally sighed, "My last crush was in high school. It was some black haired guy on the football team. He was kinda cute, but unlike others, genuinely nice. So I creeped him out by confessing to him in the boy's locker room and he never spoke to me again. The end!"

"Wow!" Austin laughed, "How did you end up there?"

"Funny story actually," the brunette began narrating, "I finally, gathered the courage to tell the guy how much I liked him and my friend, Trish, pushed me saying I may never be this brave again, so I followed him to the locker room by mistake and somehow ended up locked inside one of the lockers before gym class. Imagine his surprise when he opened his locker and out popped a sweaty brunette saying, 'Dallas, you are amazing, I have a major crush on you, please go out with me!' He looked at me weirdly and being the kind person he is, said, 'I'm sorry Ally, but I have to go now.' Please note that all this while, he was shirtless."

Austin laughed like he hadn't in years. Ally's failure in the love department somehow relieved Austin.

"OK, I'll tell you mine, Miss stalker," Austin relented, once he calmed down, "But I won't tell you about my first crush. This person is my second crush."

"Talk about being a player, Austin," Ally teased.

"I'm no player, Miss Dawson. You can call it multi-crushing," Austin retorted, causing the girl to laugh at his ridiculousness.

"Anyways, you know the column of our magazine with the anonymous writing pieces? The one where the writer imagines herself in someone else's shoes and states their experiences? Well, I have been crushing on Silver from the 'Silver Experiences' page of our magazine," he replied.

"Silver?" Ally asked, stunned, "You don't even know her. What if it's a guy?"

"So what if it's a guy?" Austin asked.

"I thought you were straight," Ally questioned.

"Of course, I am, but what's wrong with having same gender crushes?" the blonde argued.

"You are confusing me," she stated, emotionlessly.

"What, you jealous?" he teased.

"Yes. I'm jealous of a person you have never even seen, but has a crush on," Ally responded sarcastically.

"It's not about looks, you know. It's the words. The person uses such powerful words and emotions to express simple everyday experiences. It's refreshing. The person's words are what I have a crush on," Austin answered.

"Interesting," Ally squeaked, blushing heavily.

Austin didn't seem to notice as he hummed in response, "So, you didn't tell me about your job at the Starr magazine."

"I can't," Ally replied, "Contract bound."

"Ally, Ally, Ally," Austin singsonged, "If you remember correctly. We lost our jobs. We are no longer contract bound."

"You sure, you wanna know," Ally asked.

"Yes," came the reply.

"Are you a hundred percent sure? There's no take backs," she asked once again.

"YES!" he exclaimed, now, slightly irritated.

"Ok," the brunette paused, "I happen to work as an anonymous writer under the pseudonym Silver, who you apparently have a major second crush on."

"No way," Austin looked at her in disbelief as his eyes widened dramatically.

"Yes way," the brunette responded, amused by her companion's antics, "Page 32 of every magazine, the first issue was probably called 'The guy in the park' about a singer who never got the opportunity."

"I don't believe you," Austin sighed, trying to mask his embarrassment.

"OK, which is your favourite issue?" she asked, "I can't prove it to you, because I don't have the job anymore."

"My favourite is 'The guy behind the desk,' about the single person in the office that plays pranks and makes everyone smile, but has a horrible life," he replied, smiling slightly.

"Ya," Ally giggled, "That guy is you, if you didn't realize. I wrote it assuming what your life might be like. I know it's intrusive, but the whole purpose of the section is to stop people from being judgemental."

"Wait," Austin started, "I still can't believe it's you. But then again, you are the only one whose position is unknown. Wow! If that issue is about me, then your observations are spot on. Except I'm much happier than that!"

"Thank you, kind sir," Ally bowed dramatically.

"Anytime princess," Austin teased.

"Don't think I forgot about your mega crush on me. I'll bring it up, when you least expect it," Ally reminded, causing Austin to turn a wild shade of crimson.

"Anyways, one last question," Ally began, "Why did Dez and Carrie look at us weirdly, every time you laughed?"

"Well," Austin hesitated, "They have never seen me laugh. I usually have a frown all the time."

"But I've never seen you frown. There's either a smirk or laugh or a rare smile, but I've almost never seen you frown," Ally observed.

"It's complicated, Ally," Austin said, looking away, "You have this unusual ability to make people smile. Even if you are hurt, It's takes a very special person to bring out the best in another and somehow, you always seem to cheer me up," he smiled.

Ally beamed at his answer, blushing slightly, "I'm glad I could help."

Austin looked at the horizon, which was now dark and then at the girl, who was shivering beside him, "Let's continue the game later. We have a case to solve, Watson."

"Show me the way, Holmes," the girl played along, as determination swelled in her eyes.