She woke up that morning to the pleasant sun shining in her eyes, feeling warm and safe. She relished it for all of two seconds before she realized something. She was holding onto something- or rather someone- and that someone was snoring. LOUDLY. There was only one person she knew who snored like that. She also knew that since she was hearing it right next to her ear that she must be cuddling the stuffing out of that person. She then realized it was Justin and directly after that she realized she was sleeping in the same bed as Justin. The only thing that kept her from screaming in utter embarrassment was the fact that she was fully clothed. Justin, however, was lacking a very important article of clothing. She blushed heavily as she pushed away from his bare chest, ignoring the guilt she felt when he let out a soft mumble of complaint. She carefully pried herself away from his grasp, desperately praying he wouldn't wake up, and crawled off of the bed. It took all of her self control to not run right out the door.

We haven't done anything wrong. She thought to herself. There's no reason to be embarrassed.

Oh but there was, according to her anyway. She distinctly remembered what had happened last night. She cringed and immediately wished she could forget. She had been so weak that she almost gagged at the thought. At the memory of gagging, however, she groaned and held her hands over her stomach. Great. She remembered that too. Was there anything else?! She thought for a moment and sighed. Nothing noteworthy, thank goodness. She was okay with the fact that she had opened up to Justin. That was nothing new. What she was not okay with was how vulnerable she felt. She could take care of herself! She didn't need his help! She didn't need ANYONE'S help! Little did she know how much she did. She pushed those thoughts away, knowing that dwelling on them would only make them worse. She walked back across the hall and into her room, changing into a pair of more comfortable clothes.

These are probably the smallest clothes Juliet owned. She thought, grimacing at herself in the mirror.

First of all, they were tight on her, so she could only imagine how the blond had walked around in these skinny jeans. The shirt she wore was less tight but still slightly constricted her chest. She had to admit that it did accentuate her curves. Plus, red was her favorite color. She giggled and spun slightly, watching the ends of the shirt fan out from her body like a dress might. It was sleeveless, too, displaying her flawless, creamy shoulders. Unfortunately she had to go barefoot because her feet were at least a size smaller than Juliet's. She was not deterred by this, however, and decided to doll herself up a bit… What? She was still a girl! She wanted to look nice. She didn't necessarily know why but that didn't really matter. She fixed her atrocious make-up, which had been smeared by her tears (again). Her hair needed minimal fixing and she added a slight curl to it. She smiled. She was feeling better already! She knew that drying her nails would take the longest time, so she found a comfortable place to sit (the edge of her bed) and got to work.

An hour later, her toenails were painted a pretty red to match the shirt and her fingernails were painted a dark purple. Also one of her favorite colors. She giggled again. She was doing that a lot today. Nevertheless, she was satisfied with her look and walked out of her room. As she closed the door behind her, she was slightly surprised to see that Justin's door was open. Her mood instantly dropped again. Great. He was probably going to make fun of her for what happened last night. She sighed. Better to get this over with than to drag it out. She took a quick peek in his room to see if he was still there, chuckling and shaking her head at how pristine the bed looked.

"A dork AND a clean freak." She said to herself with a smile.

She turned quickly and went downstairs, hearing glasses clink against each other in the kitchen. She glanced at the clock.

7:55 AM

She knew his job started at 8:30. He would probably be leaving pretty quickly after breakfast. She snorted.

Good. She thought. Less trouble for me.

She turned around and walked into the living room, turning on the television and flipping through the channels. After several minutes of finding nothing interesting to watch, she sighed and turned it off.

"Alex!" He yelled from the kitchen.

She didn't respond.

"Are you awake? I thought I heard the television!"

She stayed silent, a small smirk on her face. Silence greeted her for a moment as well before she heard footsteps and the kitchen door opening. She quickly lay down on the couch.

"Alex?" He started looking around.

She tried desperately to stifle her laugh. She didn't stay hidden for long, though, because Justin immediately saw her when he came around the couch. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her but it was clear he was amused.

"Alex, what are you doing in here?"

"Hiding from you!" She said playfully, sticking her tongue out at him.

He chuckled.

"What are you, eight?"

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nope. I'm 21."

"Well you sure aren't acting like it."

"You're one to talk Mr. Still-Plays-With-Dolls!"

"They're action figures!"

Alex burst out laughing and fell back on the couch. He was absolutely still the dork she knew and loved. Oh yeah. Right. She almost immediately stopped laughing, but not for the reason Justin assumed.

"Whatever. So what are you doing sitting in here?"

She shrugged.

"I planned to watch some TV but there's nothing good on."

"Is there ever?"

She smiled. He had a point.

"I suppose not."

There was a slightly awkward silence between them for a moment. Neither wanted to speak about what had happened last night.

"So…I have to go to work."

Justin said suddenly, jerking his thumb towards the exit. Alex frowned slightly and nodded.

"Breakfast is in the oven. Maybe we can talk later when I get back. I'll see you later."

Alex nodded again, hardly paying attention. She was snapped back to reality, however, as Justin started leaning towards her. Her heartbeat quickened and her eyes widened. What was he doing? It looked like he was moving in for a kiss…Now Alex had a few options. She could sit there and do nothing, letting him do whatever it was he was doing. She could tilt her head just that much and meet him half way. Or she could scream and slap him. The last two didn't seem so appealing, so she elected to sit still. She was glad she did because all Justin had planned to do was kiss her on the top of her head, like he had done earlier to comfort her. She failed to stifle the sigh that escaped her and she was surprised to feel disappointment. Why was she disappointed? Had she wanted him to kiss her? Of course not! That would just be weird! That's what she told herself, anyway.

"Be good while I'm gone." He said teasingly, ruffling her hair with his hand.

"Hey, be careful! I spent an HOUR curling that!"

He shrugged helplessly and walked away, grabbing his keys and leaving the house. Alex didn't move until she heard the engine start and saw his car take off down the road. She leaned back against the couch and put her hand on her chest. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute. She moved her hand to her head. Her temperature felt normal, so what was wrong with her? She didn't feel sick.

That's because you've never been lovesick before.

The truth of the thought caught her off guard. Lovesick? Did that mean that what she felt for Justin was more than just friendship? No. No, that couldn't be true. It just couldn't. It was impossible.

Is it really?

She ground her teeth and covered her ears in a vain attempt to stop herself from hearing her own thoughts.

You know what you want, Alex. Why don't you take it? It won't be hard. After all, he WANTS you.

She shook her head violently.

"No, no, no. That isn't true!"

You love him, Alex. And he loves you.

"We're basically family! It's wrong!"

Doesn't he make you happy? Happier than you've ever been?

She couldn't bring herself to answer.

Exactly. He would do ANYTHING for you. You know he would.

"Shut up!"

Come now, Alex…

Her eyes popped open. It was a different voice in her head this time. One she could never refuse.

Don't be like that! I love you!

The tears started up again and she rocked back and forth, shaking her head.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" Over and over again she pleaded.

Don't you want me, Alex? Don't you know how much I CARE about you?

"Stop it! You're ruining my life!"

Things would be so much better if we were together. Think about it! You wouldn't have to be sad anymore.

She stopped rocking. She stopped crying. She sat up straight and took her hands away from her ears. She stared coldly at the space in front of her, as if she could clearly see her antagonists.

"Justin and I will always be best friends. There is nothing you can do to change that. I may be afraid to tell him. I may be afraid to tell myself. I know I am afraid that our relationship would no longer be the same. But I will NOT lose him as my best friend!"

Silence. It almost seemed oppressive to her. Too quiet. She needed someone to talk to. Preferably Justin. She scowled and shook her head. She didn't need him! She could handle this herself! She COULD! She stood up and angrily stomped to the kitchen. She ripped open the oven. The split second before she flung the beautifully made dish across the room, she paused. The aroma was absolutely amazing. It looked exquisite! Her mouth began to water as she continued to stare at it, her anger forgotten, replaced by hunger.

Well…maybe it isn't so bad to have his help sometimes.

She was willing to admit that much to herself. So it was with an earsplitting grin that she served herself a giant slice of the breakfast casserole Justin had prepared. She took one bite and moaned in contentment. It was delicious! She proceeded to eat three whole plates after that, eventually settling into her seat and falling into a food coma. Later when she awoke, she would recall that she had certain thoughts before taking her nap. What might have happened if she had been brave enough to tilt her head up just that much? She smiled in her sleep, unaware of the joy that was brought to her by the kiss that never happened.