Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Why are so many of your boxes labeled 'Trophies'?" Alex asked from where she was sprawled out on the couch, a small bowl of pickles resting on her abdomen.

Justin glared at her while he wiped the sweat from his forehead. They were finally moving into the loft, so there he was carrying box after box up the stairs in the dead of summer in NYC with barely any air conditioning. It was miserable, but of course, Alex wouldn't know that, since she was too busy lounging around to be any help whatsoever. Jerry and Theresa left to go finish up some errands before the wedding, leaving the teenagers to complete the task.

Well, it wasn't all bad. At least Max was helping.

The door opened and the box that Max was carrying fell from his grip, a loud shattering crash sounding from within it as it hit the ground.

Scratch that... Max was trying to help.

Justin put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath before answering her. "Because unlike someone I actually compete, participate, and achieve instead of doing absolutely nothing all day."

Alex shrugged, turning her attention back to the television.

"That's overrated."

"Hey Alex, are you ready to go to..."

All three heads turned towards the door at the new voice. Alex's best friend, Harper, walked through the door, only to go into a trance at the sight of the glistening, muscular stranger standing in the living room.

Justin frowned at the catatonic girl before looking over at Alex who was just as confused.

"Uhh... Harper?" she said, getting up to put her bowl on the counter before approaching her friend, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Is she all right? She looks like she's drooling," Justin said.

"Harper!" she shouted, snapping.

Harper jumped, yelling "Dibs!" before blushing profusely when she realized she actually vocalized that thought.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked as her friend then gasped loudly, covering her mouth with her hands as she finally came back to the real world.

"Alex! What are you doing? What would Riley say?"

"About what?"

"About the smoking hot guy you're spending time with!"

Justin overheard that last part and felt a strange mix of flattery and awkwardness, but that quickly dissolved into annoyance when Alex responded with "What smoking hot guy?"

Really, his soon to be stepsister was such a peach.

Shaking his head, he headed back down the stairs to get more boxes.

"That guy!" Harper said, pointing to where Justin disappeared.

"Oh, that's just Justin, Theresa's son."

"Your new brother?"

"He will not be my brother, but that's the one. I get to deal with that all the time now."

Yay her...

Harper grinned stupidly, twirling her hair around her fingers. "I wouldn't mind dealing with him."

"Oh don't even think about it, Harper. The guy is crazy. He wears suits, he's a perfectionist neat freak, he speaks like he's British, is a complete know it all, and-"

"And even you can't deny that he is gorgeous."

Her body tensed and, for once, words failed her, so she just scrunched her face up into what she hoped look like an expression of disgust.

Sure, Justin Stohler was good looking in a certain way. Even with the suits, one could see that he was incredibly fit and toned. The color of his eyes seemed to change with the light and what he was wearing, and when he wasn't scowling at her he was actually quite handsome, but too bad that handsome package came wrapped in mountains and mountains of boring, uptight, frustrating do-gooder-ness.

That was a word... look it up.

"All right, that's the last of it," Justin said as he came back into the room and gently set the last box on the pile, raising his arm to swipe the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.

Only this time, Alex actually paid attention to the action, seeing the curve of his toned bicep stretch the sleeve of his t-shirt, the way his sweat glistened on his skin.

"What?" he asked when he noticed Alex glaring at him.

She snapped out of it and rolled her eyes.

"Hi," he said then to her friend. "I'm Justin."

"I know," Harper breathed, stepping towards him, moving closer until she was almost pressed up against him.

"And you are...?"

"Anything you want me to be," Harper whispered, walking her fingers up his chest, making Justin rear back.

"And I'm going to be sick," Alex said as she pulled her friend off of him. "Come on."

Justin remained frozen as he watched the girls go up the stairs.

"That's Harper, Alex's best friend. She's... a little strange."

"You think?" Justin replied to Max, shaking his head before sorting his mother's boxes and carrying them to the master bedroom.

"So uh, what do you plan on doing today?" Max asked, trailing after him.

"Organizing my new room."

"I see," he paused. "Want some help?"

Justin straightened and turned towards him, confused.

"Wouldn't you rather go hang out with your friends?"

Max shrugged. "I don't really have friends. People at school think I'm too gross or stupid or whatever."

Justin frowned. Sure, Max had a rather unique approach to hygiene, and he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was a good kid.

"I'd love for you to help," he said, smiling. "Just... try not to break anything."

Max scoffed. "Yeah, you don't even have to worry about it."

Justin was unconvinced, but went along with it anyway. At least he could get along with one of the Russo teens.

"So when are they getting married?" Harper asked, sitting on Alex's bed.

"Tomorrow."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, but they're just going to the courthouse. They don't want to deal with all the wedding stuff. They've been through it all once before and look how that turned out."

"Do you know why Theresa and her ex divorced?"

Alex shrugged, looking uninterested as she flipped through a magazine.

"Well, I think that this is going to be good for your family. Ever since your mom left, you guys have seemed kind of... empty. I think the Stohlers about going to make everything better."

"It's just all really awkward right now. Theresa doesn't know if she wants to be my mom or a friend, my dad is walking on eggshells with everyone, Max is as useless as ever, and Justin is... sometimes he acts like this is all beneath him," she said with just a touch of bitterness in her voice.

"I'm sure he'd just adjusting. The neighborhood that he came from is sort of known for it's snobbiness. Maybe that's just his defense mechanism like how you use snark and apathy."

Again, Alex shrugged.

"I just wish Riley would get back from his vacation. I miss my boyfriend."

"Awww," Harper cooed. "I love it when you show that you have a heart."

"Ugh, I'm so tired of this emotional crap. Let's go shopping."

Alex hopped off of her bed and grabbed her purse before leaving her room with Harper following.

"Be quiet. You know if Max hears us, he'll want to tag along," she whispered as she headed down the stairs.

They could hear the sound of his video game being played on the television in the living room, only as they approached the bottom, they heard two voices.

"Bow down to your master!" Max cheered, standing on the couch cushion as he pointed down at Justin who was sitting beside him. "God, you really suck at this game."

"I'm just getting used to the controls. I'll be kicking your butt soon enough."

Justin's boxes remained stacked around the living room, which shocked Alex who thought the anal retentive nerd would have his stuff alphabetized and color coded by now.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked, moving over the stand next to the couch.

"Max is showing me how to play his video games."

"More like showing you how to get your ass kicked."

Justin merely rolled his eyes.

"I would have thought that video games were too juvenile for you, that your time would be better spent reading the dictionary or whatever it is that stuck up smart people do."

"Yeah, well, shockingly enough Alex, you don't know everything about me," he replied sharply. "And while education is definitely one of my highest priorities, spending quality time with my new brother trumps it... even if that quality time means watching my virtual character blow up every two minutes."

"Ha! More like every minute," Max said before turning to his sister. "See, Justin doesn't mind hanging out with me. He doesn't throw stuff at me and tell me to get out of his room."

"You throw stuff at him?" Justin asked.

"Hey! You've known him for a week! Talk to me after living with him for fourteen years."

Justin scowled but turned back to the television. "So where are you going?"

"Why do you want to know?" she shot back.

"In case our parents come back and ask me," he challenged back.

"Well, don't worry about it. Just play your little video game and have your stupid brother bonding time," she snapped, snatching her bag again and storming out of the loft, Harper hurrying after her.

"What was that about?" Justin asked Max, who shrugged.

"I rarely know."

"Alex... Alex! Hold up!"

Alex forced herself to come to a stop before turning around to face her friend, her arms crossing over her chest.

"What?!"

"What was all that about? They're just playing video games."

"It's not about the game! Max is my brother, not his! I should be the one playing video games."

"But you hate video games."

"That's not the point! He hasn't even been in the house a day and Max is fawning all over him, and do you know what my dad told me the other day? He said that he thinks that I should try being more like Justin from now on, that I should follow his lead!"

"I'm sure your dad didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, he did. Justin is a parent's dream kid. He follows the rules, he's smart, he's polite. I was here first, but I just know that everyone is going to start telling me to be more like him. School is going to be horrible with him there. My life is going to be horrible with him."

"It's not his fault."

"Yes it is! He's perfect, and he's so damn smug about it!"

"Alex... don't you think you're being a little hard on him?"

"No! And you're supposed to be my friend. Stop sticking up for him!" With that, she stormed away. Harper could only watch as her friend disappeared into the busy streets.

Hours passed.

Max and Justin finally got around to and finished organizing his bedroom. Theresa and Jerry came home and had everything ready for their big day. The family waited around, holding off on having their first family dinner in the loft until Alex came home.

But she never did.

The sun set and the family began to worry. Jerry tried calling the Finkle residence, but just got their answering machine. As the parents sat worriedly at the kitchen table, Justin pulled Max aside.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Max shrugged. "If she's not with Harper, sometimes she goes and paints underground."

"Do you know where?"

Max nodded and told him where.

"Okay, you stay here. I'm going to go see if I can find her."

Without a word to the parents, he slipped out the door.

It took him some time, but soon he was walking down the underground tunnel, finally seeing her, paintbrush in hand, her dark hair tied carelessly up on her head, completely focused on her work.

When his gaze turned to the wall, his eyebrows raised.

"Wow," he said, startling her.

Alex whipped around to glare at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Alex," he muttered, ignoring her angry tone and stepping closer to her and the wall. "This is amazing."

The urban scene she had created was unbelievable, the sharp angles and contrasting colors making it seem so gritty yet utopian, like it was straight out of a graphic novel.

"You didn't answer my question," she said, although with much less ice in her voice.

He finally tore his gaze from her masterpiece.

"It's late. We didn't know where you were, and you didn't answer your phone."

"What?" she asked as she pulled out her phone and seeing the time and missed calls. She groaned loudly, knowing that she was going to be so grounded for this.

"I had no idea you could paint like this," he said, still impressed.

"Yeah, well, shockingly enough you don't know everything about me," she replied, throwing his words back at her.

His gaze fell to the ground, feeling ashamed for how he spoke to her earlier.

"I'm sorry, and you're right. I don't know everything about you. In fact, I don't know anything about you. It's like now that our parents are getting married, they expect us to be this big happy family right away, but I don't know how to do that. My mom keeps pushing me and pushing me; it's like she completely forgot that people just don't like me, that I just can't connect with them. I try to be polite, and you just snap at me. I try to get along with Max, and you snap at me. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"It's not you," she muttered awkwardly, twirling the brush around her fingers.

"Really? Because you seem okay with my mom, but not with me."

"... Okay, maybe it is you. You just act like you're so above this, like our family isn't good enough for you."

He looked appalled. "I don't think that."

"Oh really, because the few times our families have spent time together, you're always standing on the sidelines staring at us like we're zoo animals."

"No. Do you know what I see when I watch you three? I see a happy family. Three people who love each other and can just be themselves around one another. I see a father that loves his kids, even though they're not perfect."

"And that's so wrong because we all can't be perfect like you!"

"No! Because I had to be perfect for my father to even acknowledge m,e and even then, when I gave everything I had, it still wasn't enough!" he snapped.

Alex's eyes narrowed even as she watched him cautiously, not having expected him to lose his cool so quickly.

Justin closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Feeling deflated, he walked over to sit on the steps nearby, resting his elbows on his knees and putting his head in his hands. Alex watched him for a long moment before moving to sit next to him.

He just looked so pathetic sitting there.

"Every minute of my life was planned out," he muttered, picking his head up, but just staring off into the darkness. "School, extracurriculars, music lessons, athletic training... All this stuff to do, and if I wasn't perfect I would get lecture after lecture about how much of a disappointment I was. Knowing how everything turned out, I wished I wouldn't have put so much time and effort into trying to make my father proud of me. I gave up having friends, having a normal childhood. I know my mother wishes I would act more like a teenager... as if I enjoy being like this, but it's is all I know. It's the only way for people to accept me. If I'm not perfect, what am I but nothing?"

"You know that's not true. Your mother would love you if you weren't perfect all the time."

"What if she doesn't?" he asked, his vulnerable gaze flickering over to hers. "I couldn't take it if she was disappointed in me."

"She's your parent, Justin. They're supposed to be disappointed in you. We're teenagers. It's our job do screw up and be grounded. You said you were shocked that my dad loved us so much, but do you have any idea how many times I get in trouble? How many times I've disappointed my dad? I'll give you a hint, it's a lot. But that doesn't mean he loves me less. In fact, I think she'd love you more if she saw that you were human and not this tightly wound robot with no absolutely sense of fun."

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. "How is it that your pep talks always have to involve you insulting me?"

She laughed quietly. "It's all part of my charm."

His gaze softened as he smiled at her.

"I was jealous," she blurted out, wincing slightly, but he had just opened up to her about everything. Why couldn't she get this off her chest?

"Jealous? Of what?"

"You... My dad suggested that I should be more like you, my brother obviously already thinks you walk on water, Harper is convinced you're her soul mate, and... I don't know. I just feel like I'm the Woody to your Buzz Lightyear."

He frowned, confused.

"Really? Toy Story reference just flew right over your head? Wow. You really didn't have a childhood."

"Sorry," he muttered with a shrug.

But she shook her head and got back to what she was saying, "How am I supposed to compete with this new kid who is smart and has manners, who doesn't get in trouble all of the time? I screw everything up, all the time."

"Are you kidding me? Alex, you're amazing. You're not afraid to be yourself, you just walk into the room and are immediately at ease. You're witty and sarcastic, and funny. You pick up a brush and can create something so awe inspiring like that," he said, pointing to her painting. "How can you not see it?"

"You really think it's good?" she questioned, not just talking about her painting.

"Absolutely."

Clearing her throat, she dipped her head down.

"I've never shown anyone my work before."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he rushed to say, "I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you've seen it. I think maybe... we both needed you to see it."

"Yeah... maybe we did."

"Justin," she murmured, resting her shoulder to his as she stared up at him. She waited until he turned his head meet her gaze. "I don't know what's going to happen with our families. What if everything goes wrong?"

As he looked into her dark eyes, he felt a sense of peace and protectiveness settle inside of him, easing away the burdens from his own mind. He may be a neurotic mess about himself, but with her looking up at him, needing him to tell her the answers, he felt like he finally found his place in the family. He finally found a role he could play.

"It won't," he said with total sincerity.

"How do you know?"

"Because its you and I," he said, nudging her arm with his. "Between your deviousness and street smarts and my attentiveness and book smarts, there's no way we could fail. We just have to stick together."

She smiled before playfully pouting. "But what if I want to tease and prank you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

Sighing, he rolled his eyes, but his lips remained locked in a small smile.

"Fine, we'll stick together only when it counts."

"Sounds like a plan," she said, resting her head against his shoulder.

Justin glanced at his watch, nearly having a heart attack when he saw what time it was.

"Alex, we have to go now!"

"God, Justin, we just got done talking about how it will be okay if you bend the rules a bit."

"It's 11:30 and we're both missing."

"Oh well. We're grounded anyway, so why hurry?"

Justin, of course, was not so nonchalant about it. He hurriedly grabbed her supplies and took hold of her arm, dragging her after him.

When they finally got home and walked through the door, both parents were so relieved to see them.

For about ten seconds.

Then the scolding started.

Alex should be sorry for leaving them to worry about her for hours on end, what possessed her to ignore her phone, how could she be so inconsiderate?

Justin should have came to them first, he shouldn't have run off into the night, how could he not call the second he found her?

Alex barely paid attention while Justin looked like he was on the verge of crawling on hands and knees to beg for forgiveness.

Eventually, their sentence was served. They were grounded for a week.

Jerry and Theresa marched out of the room, leaving Alex to smile at the short punishment while Justin felt like he was going to puke and pass out at the same time.

"I've never been grounded before," he breathed.

"You'll live," she said, but paused when she saw how weak and pale he looked. "... Probably."

"I haven't even been under the same roof as you for twenty-four hours and I'm already grounded," he whispered, his gaze finding hers. "What have you done to me?"

Alex laughed, going over to pull a shocked Justin into a tight hug.

"Isn't this fun? We're going to be together forever."

Oh God... what has he done?

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'd love to read more! Suggestions, complaints, anything!