I got this idea when I noticed that whenever Justin gets a new girlfriend or crush, Alex never seems to approve. And the word jealous is normally used. So I started thinking about what would happen if Justin got very serious about a girl and Alex ends up in denial. This is the result. :)

That word. That one tiny little word. That seven letter, two syllable word.

Jealous.

How many times did she have to hear that word roll off someone's tongue? She was surprised she hadn't slapped someone by now. Although she did feel the urge to multiple times.

Whenever he got a new girlfriend, that word was always directed at her. Always. Each and every time, someone would say it.

What would she be jealous of? Of him having someone special to him? Of him having late night phone calls talking about absolutely nothing? Of him waking up every morning with a smile on his face because he knows that today, someone's thinking of him? Please. Big whoop. She didn't need a boyfriend. She was perfectly happy flirting with a bunch of random guys at a bunch of random parties.

In fact, him having a girlfriend was one of the best things that could happen to her. He was no longer around all the time to make some snarky comment at her or bore her with knowledge no one actually cared about or constantly pester her about finishing her homework and trying better in school. Not to mention, with him gone a lot of the time, she was able to pull pranks without worrying about him seeing right through her. He knew better than anyone when she was up to no good. She was his open book. Now, she could pull multiple pranks and just almost get away with them.

So, her point would be, she's not jealous. Not in the slightest.

As she was lying in bed one evening, hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for him to get back from his date, she began running this word through her head, thinking it through, wondering if everyone was right. Maybe she was jealous. But maybe it wasn't him she was jealous of. Maybe, just maybe, it was his girlfriend where she felt the real envy.

This idea raced through her mind and she shuddered at the thoughts that immediately flooded her head. There was no way she was attracted to him. Sure, he was a good-looking guy. Anyone could see that. But attracted to him? She shuddered again.

So what was it? She knew she wasn't jealous of him because being single was the only thing she was enjoying about her life so far. So it had to be her. She had to be jealous of her. But why?

She groaned, grabbed a pillow near her, and shoved it onto her head, screaming into it. This was all way too frustrating.

Instead of risking her sanity by continuing to think this over, she removed the pillow from her face and turned over, looking at her bedside table. She had a mess of junk on it. But the only things that caught her attention were the two pictures she had there.

One was her and Harper, arms around each others' shoulders, smiling brightly. It was the summer before senior year, the last carefree summer they'd have. She smiled sadly. She missed her best friend.

She looked at the other picture. It was a picture of her and the boy currently driving her insane. It had been from the beginning of the summer, the night he came home from college. It was very late and the adrenaline from the small party they'd had had died down, with everyone just chatting out on the terrace. They'd been sitting on the lounge chair together, side by side, heads turned towards each other as they talked quietly. Considering the chair wasn't designed for two people, he had to lay on his side, propping himself up on his elbow as he rested his head in his hand, looking down at her as they talked. They were different since the beginning of high school. They got along much better than they had before. And the idea of them sitting together and having a normal conversation was no longer something everyone else found strange. It was simply just who they were now.

Noticing the digital camera sitting abandoned on the table, he'd reached forward and grabbed it, saying that he wanted something to bring with him back to college in the fall so he wouldn't miss her as much. She'd smiled at that. So he did miss her as much as she missed him.

He'd held the camera up above them and she lifted herself up so she could press her cheek to his as he took the picture. They printed off two copies of the picture the next morning and found frames to put them in.

She smiled fondly at the memory. She remembered the two of them staying down in the living room the rest of the night after everyone else had gone to bed. They watched movies, ate popcorn, and told each other more goofy stories about what happened while he'd been away. They fell asleep at nearly four in the morning with her head on his shoulder, the blankets wrapped tightly around them, and the bowl of half-eaten popcorn forgotten on the floor.

When she remembered all the insane times they've spent together, she realized that he'd really become her best friend. Not that she'd admit it to anybody. They'd grown up with him as the main target for anything humiliating. But between all the pranks, all the jokes, all the messed up situations she'd gotten him into, he'd become the person she was closest to in her life. And slowly everything was starting to fit together.

She remembered the night a year ago when he came home from a high school graduation party at a friend's house with a bright smile on his face. She'd been sitting on the couch, watching TV while everyone else was in bed. She looked at him in confusion and asked him what he was smiling about. He just continued to smile, kissed the top of her head, and said, "Tell ya tomorrow. Goodnight."

She was weirded out and confused. Weirded out because his lips hadn't come anywhere near her since she was five and he'd had to kiss her skinned knee after she fell off her bike. It was the only way to get her to stop crying. Confused because she hadn't seen him that happy in a long time. And she wanted to know what was up.

He'd explained the next morning at breakfast that at the party, he'd met the most amazing girl ever. Her name was Danielle, Dani for short. They'd talked for awhile before exchanging phone numbers, wanting to hang out again soon. He continued to gush about her all through breakfast. When she'd made a snarky comment, he didn't even bother saying anything back. He'd just rolled his eyes and continued talking. It didn't register then what would come out of this.

The first time she'd met Danielle, she was quite surprised to find out he wasn't kidding when he said she was gorgeous. She had long, blonde hair, beautiful green eyes, a beautiful friendly face, full, pink lips, and one of those cute little button noses everyone always freaks out about. She was a little over five foot and she was wearing a jeans mini skirt, pink flats, and a pink baby doll tee. She seemed perfect.

She had dinner with them and her personality matched her appearance. She was kind, respectful, funny, and everything a guy could hope for. And now she didn't just seem perfect. She was perfect.

They'd been dating for almost a year now and she was realizing something. Ever since they'd started dating, he was coming home late at night, after she'd gone to her room for the night. He was hardly around during the day since they were always together. And then he left for college and she never saw him at all. They never got to hang out like they used to. No more late night movie marathons. No more random, "Get your shoes. I've got the keys. We're going for ice cream". No more sneaking into his room when a thunder storm scared her and arguing with him for twenty minutes until he finally caved and let her snuggled up beside him and talk until she fell asleep. None of that happened anymore. And she missed it.

Before she could draw a final conclusion, she heard the door downstairs open and his voice echo through the house as he greeted their parents.

She hopped off her bed, raced to her door, and cracked it a little so she could hear what they were saying downstairs.

"Hey, son. How was your date?" her father asked.

"Awesome. Dani loved the show. But, um, where's Alex? I need to ask her something," he said.

"She's in her room," their mom replied.

Alex quickly yet quietly shut her door before hustling back to her bed, resuming her previous position just as her bedroom door opened and he stuck his head inside. "Hey. Can I come in?" he questioned.

"You already are in, aren't you?" She smiled and he smiled back, pushing the door open and walking over to her bed, sitting on the edge as she sat up.

"How was tonight?" She scooted closer to him and he kicked his shoes off before pulling his legs up onto the bed, sitting Indian style in front of her. She mimicked him, their knees pressed against each others.

"It was great. Dani loved it. Thanks so much for helping me out," he said.

She'd been the one to suggest mixing it up a little and taking her to a Broadway show. He couldn't stop thanking her when Danielle told him how excited she was. "How many times do I have to tell you? Stop thanking me! I love you, dude. I wanted to make sure you and Dani have fun on your dates," she stated.

He smiled brightly. "You have no idea how much that means to me," he admitted before leaning forward and pressing his forehead to hers. "You are the best little sister ever."

As he pulled back, Alex flicked her tongue out and licked his nose. He made a face and wiped his nose as she burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Come on. I call you the best sister ever and you thank me by licking my nose? Not cool, Alex," he complained.

Still laughing, Alex choked out, "I'm sorry but that was just too easy."

He smirked and poked her in the stomach, earning an expected yelp from her.

"Don't do that! You know I'm ticklish there!" she cried.

"Don't lick me and I won't poke you," he negotiated.

She playfully glared at him. He smirked back.

"So, what was your reason for coming in here? Or did you just wanna chill in my room all night?" she asked, playing with her pajama bottoms.

"Oh right. I wanted to ask you something," he said.

"Ok. Shoot."

"Well…" His playful attitude vanished and was replaced with a very nervous, very anxious one. He fidgeted a bit and ran his hand through his hair a few times.

"Would you just spit it out? What's got you so nervous?" she questioned, reaching forward and tapping the tip of his nose.

A small smile broke out on his face before he took a deep breath and replied, "What do you think of me…um…asking Dani…to, um…"

"For God's sake! Spit it out already!" Alex snapped, growing impatient.

"What do you think of me asking Dani to marry me?"

It came out so fast, it was all a blur. Alex sat there for a minute, running what he just said through her head. He seriously wanted to propose to Danielle. He was serious about her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

And then it hit her. She was jealous. And it was Danielle she was jealous of.

"Um…" She didn't know what to say. With everything suddenly crashing down on her, her mind was such a jumbled mess that she couldn't figure out what was the right thing to say in this situation.

"Your opinion means a lot to me, Alex. You're my best friend. I wanna know what you think. Honestly," he said, his hopeful eyes boring into hers.

"Well, that's just…wow! Marry. Um…don't you think you're a bit young?" she questioned, considering that was the first thing that came to mind.

He shrugged. "Kinda. I mean I don't plan to ask her for a few months. And I'm sure we'll wait awhile after that to actually get married. But I just wanted to ask you now what you thought. Cause I really am considering it," he explained.

Nodding, Alex leaned back against her pillows. "Marry…" That word didn't even seem like it could be associated with him. It still felt like they were kids whose only goal in life was to get in as much trouble as possible and have him bail her out before their parents found out. That's what they spent their whole lives doing. And now he wanted to get married? That wasn't even a concept she could consider at the moment.

"If you don't want me to, I won't do it."

The meaning of those words didn't register for a few seconds. All she knew was that he'd said them. When she finally understood it, she sprang forward and nearly bonked heads with him. "You'd pick me over her!?" she cried.

"In a second," he replied immediately and she, once again, fell back into her pillows. "Alex, you mean everything to me. You're my little sister. I've spent my entire life making sure you're ok. And I'll continue to spend my life doing the same thing. Because you're my sister and I love you."

Alex ran her hands through her hair before crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't believe that he'd actually pick her over the girl of his dreams. "You're insane, you know that, right?" she teased and he laughed. "Seriously, I'm just your sister. I'll always be around. But girls like Dani don't come around that often. If you really love her, forget about what everyone else thinks. If you wanna marry her, God damn it, marry her!" she cried.

He burst out laughing, throwing his head back. "You know that might be the best advice anyone has ever given me," he said, still chuckling.

Alex shrugged. "I was bound to give you good advice eventually," she joked.

"So you're really ok with this?" he questioned.

She sighed and leaned forward again. "Does it matter?"

Justin smiled almost sadly. "I guess not."

Alex bit her lip. "I just don't wanna lose you," she whispered.

He quickly wrapped his arms around her, practically dragging her into his lap as he held her close. "You won't. I promise you, nothing will ever come between us," he swore.

She pulled out of the hug and looked up at him. "Promise to tell me when you're actually gonna propose?" she questioned.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course. And you'll be the first I call with her answer," he said.

"And you gotta let me help you pick out the ring," she added.

He chuckled. "Well I'm definitely going to need opinions so why not?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Movie marathon?" she suggested.

He smiled brightly. "You bet. Just let me change."

After he changed, the two raced downstairs and practically ordered their parents out of the room. And as he made the popcorn and she searched for different movies to watch, she glanced over at him. He was dancing along to the quiet music they had playing, which was something they'd started doing while they got everything ready. She giggled at him and he smiled.

So, in the end, she was jealous. But it wasn't because she wanted a boyfriend or because she felt attracted to him or even because he was happy. She was simply jealous of Danielle. Because Danielle was now the one he spent all his time with and stayed up late with and had random ice cream breaks with. She was jealous because Danielle was stealing her best friend away.

But, in all honesty, she loved Danielle. She'd become almost like a sister to her. She didn't know if she was ready for her to actually become her sister but what did her opinion matter? She'd never seen her brother so happy in all her life. And as they sat on the couch, huddled together under the blanket with the popcorn balancing on both their knees, she knew that he held a special place for her in his heart. A place that not even the girl of his dreams could replace.

"Justin?"

"Hmm?"

"You're my best friend."

"And you're my best friend."

And that was enough for her.

Sooooooo incredibly cheesy! :P But I wanted to take a crack at some sibling love instead of all the incest I've got going right now. ;) I think it's cute. And I really liked how Justin and Alex's conversation in her room turned out. I guess it's a little OOC but they're older so they're more mature. So it's not that bad, right? :P