On her way out of school that day, Alex was stopped by Dean. He looked hot as ever with his chocolate coloured hair messed up just the right way.

He gave her a lopsided grin to which she replied with a seductive smile.

"You coming over tonight, Russo?" He asked hopefully.

She thought over her options quickly. Her new plan to break up Justin and this girl involved making him jealous, but she needed to kick it up a notch. Going over to Dean's definitely couldn't hurt, though.

She gave Dean a small nod. "I'll text you when I'm on my way." She whispered as she brushed by him quickly and out the school doors.

Justin was waiting for her outside the school so they could walk home together. She couldn't help but compare his crisp oxford shirt and perfectly arranged hair to Dean's baggy shirt and messy hair.

Dean's former hotness paled in the comparison.

Like always, Justin politely took her bag from her as they began walking. When he lifted it, he dramatically stumbled, grinning.

"Why is this thing so heavy? Usually all you have in here is extra makeup and backup scarves."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a book bag, duh."

"Exactly, book bag. So I repeat my question, what could you possibly have in here that's so heavy?" He asked her mockingly.

She punched his arm and he pretended that it hurt.

"Oh come on, I read..."

He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to prove it.

"Um, well there was that one time that I read that book... except it was a scrapbook. Do magazines count?" She asked thoughtfully.

He scoffed. "Seriously, you've got books in here?" He asked sceptically.

"Well, sort of..." She replied evasively.

He seemed genuinely curious now, exactly as she'd expected. He paused on the sidewalk and unzipped the bag, and she pretended to try to stop him.

Bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates fell out of the bag by the bunch. She pinched her cheeks when he wasn't looking, forming a perfectly flustered blush.

"This is sort of books, Alex?" He asked, and his voice shook a little bit. She was happy to see that she was already getting the reaction she wanted from him.

She shrugged innocently. "Well, it would be a waste to throw out the chocolates, and the flowers would die if I left them in my locker any longer, so I decided to bring it all home today."

"You mean you've been getting all of this stuff throughout the year? From who?" He demanded. His cheeks were turning red too now, but from anger and not fake embarrassment.

She shrugged for a second time, widening her eyes innocently. She knew she looked like freaking Bambi, and she knew Justin would fall for it completely.

"Some are anonymous, and some are from random guys; like Dean and Matt and Jeremy..." She continued to list a few more guys who had shown interest in her, watching in fascination as Justin's face grew redder.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly very frustrated. "But you never acknowledged all of these guys giving you gifts all the time? You just ignore them, right?" He asked.

She grinned slyly as they continued walking. "Well..."

"Well, what?" He demanded.

"Well, all those nights I got in after curfew... let's just say I wasn't studying at Harper's." She grinned and winked at him mischievously as they walked in to the substation, then hurried up to her room before he could say another word.

After she shut her door, she congratulated herself silently for such a perfect plan. It wasn't like she was lying, though. Just exaggerated a bit. Most of the gifts were from Dean, but there was one bouquet from Matt, and a couple had been from anonymous admirers.

Besides, she was Alex Russo. She never felt guilty.

Justin fumed throughout most of dinner; Alex even caught him glancing her way a few times. She put on her best innocent act and pretended she didn't notice his frustration/jealousy.

Everything was going great (for her, at least) until their mom asked him how his new girlfriend was. Alex's stomach dropped a million feet. So, this new "normal" girl was amazing enough for him to even have told mom about.

Justin's face lit up as he began talking about her.

"Emma's great mom, thanks for asking." He replied and then launched into some lame story about how "Emma" was coming to watch his chess match that weekend.

Alex scarfed down her lasagna and quickly excused herself from the table. When she got back up to her room, her phone started beeping noisily. She opened it up to find a text from Dean, asking when she would be coming over.

She replied that she would be there once her parents went to sleep.

She dressed in a cute skirt and top, accessorising with a scarf and curling her hair into perfect waves. She shot herself an approving grin in the mirror before sneaking out of her room quietly.

She could hear her dad's snoring coming from her parent's room and sighed in relief. She made it down the stairs without incident and was halfway across the living room when the couch shifted unexpectedly. Except for the fact that she was totally expecting it.

She jumped back in (fake) surprise as Justin's features appeared in the dim light. He looked her up and down quickly, and she could tell that his face would be red if it were light enough to see in that room.

"Are you training to become a tomato, because you've been doing a pretty good impression of one today." She was glad to see that her snarkiness was still in check.

He didn't even roll his eyes or grin at her though, he just kept staring at her intensely.

"Where are you going, Alex?" He demanded.

She shot him a mischievous grin. "To study at Harper's."

They both knew that was definitely not where she was going.

She tried to step around him, but he blocked her way again.

"Seriously, Alex. What did you mean before about coming in after curfew? Who have you been seeing, and what have you been doing when you see him?" His tone seemed to get angrier with each question.

"None of that is your business, Justin. Just get out of my way, I have plans."

Her attempt to step around him failed once again.

"It is my business, Alex. You're my little sister. Now tell me who you're going to see this late at night."

His hand was now gripping her wrist, not aggressively but firmly. She tried to ignore the tingles running up and down her arm, starting where his fingers met her skin.

She mumbled Dean's name quietly, hoping Justin wouldn't be able to hear, but of course, he did.

He slammed his fist against the couch in frustration. "Of course, I should have known." He muttered.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Okay, Officer Lame-o; now that I've been cross examined can you please let me get on with my night?"

He laughed humourlessly. "Yeah right, Alex, like I'm going to let you go over to Dean Moriarty's house in the middle of the night. I can't believe that I actually thought you had been studying with Harper all this time." He shook his head, disappointed in himself and her.

"It's not your choice to let me go or not, Justin. You are not my father and you sure as hell don't look like my mom." She replied venomously.

She congratulated herself silently for her amazing acting performance.

She placed a hand on Justin's chest and shoved him back, taking advantage of his surprised stumble to advance towards the door. Her hand was just reaching the doorknob, when suddenly her feet were no longer on the ground.

Justin carried her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and she punched his back as hard as she could. When they reached her room, he placed her on her bed and then backed up towards her doorway defensively.

She sat on her bed, looking at him for a few moments, until he decided she wasn't going to bolt.

He came closer and sat down at the end of her bed, looking her right in the eyes. He pulled off her cute silver ballet flats and placed them at the foot of the bed. Then, he lifted up her covers and tucked them around her, as she shifted into a sleeping position with a huff.

He kissed her forehead gently, then started to get up, but she pulled him back down.

"Justin?" She asked, her voice soft, desperate for the answer she was craving.

"Yeah?" His voice was somewhat gruff.

"Why do you care so much whether or not I go to Dean's?" She looked up into his eyes seriously.

He hesitated for a second, and then brushed some of her hair out of her eyes gently. He stood up.

"Go to sleep, Alex." He told her from the doorway.

She knew he would stay there until he was sure she was asleep and not planning to sneak out.

And that, in itself was answer and reassurance enough.

A/N This is the longest chapter so far, I hope you enjoy it. By the way, if you're confused at all, Alex planned the whole thing so that Justin would get jealous. Yes, she's very manipulative in this story.

Please Review!