Alex Ramirez. Of those who had heard her name, none of them had a single positive thing to say about her. According to everyone- even her own parents- she was a complete and utter failure. Well, except one person… She sighed. She wasn't sure which was worse: staying out here on the street, in the rain and cold, alone, or crawling back to him… AGAIN. She frowned. It was embarrassing to say the least. She and Justin had been friends for years. Best friends, in fact. She had no doubt that he would have sympathy on her and take her in. That's what bothered her, he was too… perfect. She sighed again. He didn't deserve to have her constantly trailing after him like a lost puppy. He had a job. He had a future. He had a life! She told herself it was the rain running down her cheeks instead of her own warm, salty tears. That's right. Rain. No one who could see her would be able to tell the difference anyway…

The wind suddenly picked up, causing her to shiver violently and the rain to pelt her face with a vicious sting. It almost felt as though the raindrops were tiny shards of ice, pricking all over her skin. Her teeth began to chatter and she wrapped her arms around herself in a vain attempt to stay warm. It didn't work. She needed to get inside. There was only one place she could go. She sighed for the third and final time. Anything was better than staying out here… She smiled ruefully as she started walking towards her destination, wondering if she actually believed that.

knock, knock, knock

Three times. Loudly. No answer. She tried again.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

This was starting to hurt her hand. Just as she was starting to consider turning around and never coming back again, she heard the door open and a sliver of light filtered through the crack.

"Who's there?" A voice asked tiredly, the door blocked from being opened due to the chain lock.

She smiled nervously and brushed her waterlogged hair out of her face.

"It's me, dork. I'm back…again."

She said it so quietly that she wasn't sure he could hear her over the sound of the pouring rain. There was a moment of silence and the door closed abruptly. In the split second before she heard him fiddling with the lock, her heart had dropped to her feet. It leapt back up into her throat and she smiled tearfully as he opened the door. It was almost like a dream, seeing him framed in the doorway by the light of an unseen lamp. The tears were flowing unabated now. She didn't care.

"Alex?!"

His voice broke through the fog that was her conscience and she launched herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a desperate hug. Neither of them said anything. She cried into his chest for what seemed like hours but in reality was only a few minutes. They were both properly soaked now. Alex didn't seem to notice. Justin, however, did.

"Let's get cleaned up."

She nodded, her tears finally coming to a stop… for the moment at least.

"First things first: we need to get you out of those clothes."

She smiled and chuckled despite her situation. Justin's face grew red as his words caught up with him.

"You know what I meant."

And just like that, she was smiling again. He always managed to cheer her up, no matter what. She wondered how he did it. She shook her head. Who cares how he did it? She was just happy to be- well, happy, again. She followed him to his bedroom and stood in the doorway, smirking at him as he dug through his drawers.

"Don't say it."

She rolled her eyes. She was about to make a snide comment about 'First my clothes and now you're taking me to bed? You DO move fast' but of course he had anticipated that response. She decided to spare him… for now. She would get back at him later. She always did. It was a sort of habit they had developed. Alex usually came out on top in those situations. However, this was different. She was nowhere near the top. In fact, she was pretty sure she had hit rock bottom. That's why she had come here in the first place. And he KNEW that. So it was with no small amount of restraint that she kept her mouth shut. She received a pair of Jason's ex Juliet's clothes (which she wasn't happy about at all) and he ushered her towards the shower.

"When you're done I'll have some soup waiting."

Before she even had a chance to complain, he was gone. She shook her head with a small smile as she heard him banging around in the kitchen. He never was very coordinated. She stripped out of her soaked clothing and stepped into the shower, instantly turning on the hot water. She sighed in contentment. This was soooooooooooo refreshing! Twenty five minutes later, she had finished with her shower, dried herself off, and tried on her- hopefully- temporary clothes. They were a little loose on her. After all, Juliet had been about as tall as Justin whereas she was a couple inches shorter, much to her chagrin. Nevertheless, they fit well enough. Another fifteen minutes passed as she fixed up her hair a little and redid her makeup. She briefly wondered why Justin still had lipstick and rouge in his bathroom cabinet. The thought of him entertaining another lady friend while she was here was pushed out of her mind rather vehemently. She was a bit…possessive when it came to Justin. Not that she would ever admit it. Often times when people saw them together, they thought she and him were a couple. She would always scoff and tell them he was like a brother to her. She had almost started believing her own lie. Almost. Until a month ago, that is.

(Flashback)

"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend!"

Julianna let out a cry of joy and instantly hugged her daughter. Edward was a little more reserved. He simply smiled and nodded.

"Honey, I'm so happy for you!" Her mother squealed.

Alex laughed right along with her before she realized something.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce you guys! This is Mason."

The somewhat shaggy haired boy smiled and waved nervously. The mother squealed once more and wrapped him in a bear hug, obviously one that he was not expecting. After his wife was done almost choking the life out of Mason, Edward walked up with a serious face and shook his hand firmly.

"Now you had better be good to my daughter."

Mason swallowed and chuckled nervously, nodding. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Don't mind him," she said to Mason, referring to her father, "he always tries to act mean but he's a big softie at heart."

Her father crossed his arms as if to disprove her point but he quickly lost his composure and laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"See?" She looked at Mason reassuringly. "Nothing to worry about!"

He didn't seem convinced. The next few hours spent there, however, quickly changed his tune. Despite his initial nervousness to meet them, they were a very good group of people and a wonderful family. He found himself smiling at almost everything they said. Suddenly, the front door opened and a ring echoed around the shop. Everyone turned to see who had entered and this time Alex squealed with joy… Yes, squealed. She knew her mother wouldn't let her live that down for a LONG time. At that moment, though, she didn't care. Her best friend was here!

"Justin!"

She took a flying leap into his arms and his eyes widened. He caught her as carefully as he could and spun her around, both of them laughing loudly. They paused for a second as he set her down and they looked each other in the eyes. Mason frowned. He swore he saw something pass between them, whether they knew it or not. And he didn't like it.

"Justin, there's someone I want you to meet!"

She dragged him hurriedly across the shop, one of his hands in hers. Mason plastered a fake smile on his face as he met this so-called 'best friend'.

"Justin, this is my boyfriend Mason. Mason, this is my best friend Justin!"

They locked eyes and a silent challenge seemed to pass between them. After a tense moment of silence, however, they both smiled and shook hands as if nothing had happened. Alex was none the wiser.

Several weeks passed and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Justin and Mason were getting along, just as Alex had hoped. What she didn't know, however, was that they constantly fought whenever she wasn't around. Justin would argue that Mason wasn't right for Alex. Mason countered that would Justin pick himself instead? And so on. Eventually, Mason had had enough. One night, while they were out at her favorite restaurant, he decided to test Alex to see if she was really loyal to him.

"So Alex…what do you think about Justin?" He asked as casually as he could.

She seemed surprised. He never talked about Justin! Mistaking his question for one of good intentions, she answered enthusiastically.

"He's great!"

Mason instantly scowled as she continued.

"We've known each other since kindergarten. Of course, he's always been a nerd, so I would poke fun at him. Other bullies did that too, though, so I sort of stopped for a while. After we got to high school, the teasing started up again- this time it was worse than before. Justin would tell anyone who would listen about his dream of being a doctor. Of course, this only added fuel to the fire. Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore and just told them to go away…in much less nicer words. They did. I guess Justin didn't really expect me to stand up for him but…" She shrugged.

Mason was listening with growing rage, nearly bending his fork as he strained to keep his face neutral. He nodded to let her know he was still listening; intently, at that. She started speaking again without hesitation.

"From that day forward I guess we've understood each other better. He would help me out with my homework and I would help him out with the bullies. We insulted each other a lot but it was always in fun. We both knew that. In our senior year of high school, the teasing stopped. Nobody cared anymore. Well, that and there was a rumor going around that we were dating."

She let out a disbelieving chuckle but Mason wasn't laughing.

"What happened next?"

She didn't notice the ominous tone in his voice.

"We let sleeping dogs lie. Nobody asked to confirm so we never had to. Of course, we were-and still are- completely platonic. We kept that VERY clear to each other. Once we got to college, though, we had to drop the act. We still acted like best buds but that was it. If I had to sum up Justin in just a few words, I would say that he's the best friend a girl could have."

She ended with a smile that was almost dreamy. Mason suppressed the almost animal-like growl that was rising in his throat. He stood up suddenly, causing Alex to blink in surprise.

"Mason, what's wro-"

"You know what the worst part is, Alex?" He interrupted harshly.

The look in her eyes became fearful for a moment and he smirked in satisfaction.

"I almost thought I was in love with you."

He left without another word. His conscience was berating him all the way to the door and when he reached it, he had to look back. She looked absolutely CRUSHED. What had he done? He shook his head at himself and let the door swing shut behind him. He flipped up his collar as the slight drizzle turned into a downpour.

(End Flashback)

"Just like tonight."

She hadn't realized she had said it out loud until she blinked at her reflection in surprise. It was quickly replaced by a sour look.

"Of course, how could I forget?"

She wiped away the stray tears that had started to leak from her eyes as she made her way downstairs. She had just re-done her make-up, she didn't want to do it again. She walked into the familiar kitchen with the best smile she could muster. It must not have been very convincing because Justin immediately looked concerned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, sliding a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumpling soup across the table.

Her smile became slightly more genuine as she slid into the chair. He had remembered her favorite soup. She paused, remembering she still hadn't answered his question.

"Maybe later." She said eventually, blowing a puff of air against her soup to cool it down.

Justin simply nodded and poured a bowl for himself. They sat across from each other. Both silent. Both eating. A comfortable silence. It was nice, Alex realized with another, small hidden smile. Justin caught it and didn't do anything but form a smile of his own. She would come around. She always did. Just like tonight.