The sound of Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" woke me up at two in the morning. I groaned as I rolled over and grabbed my cell phone before it could wake anyone else up. The ring was specific to one person. Craig Manning.

"Hello," I said, still half asleep.

"Ellie," Craig yelled in to the phone, causing me to jerk it away from my ear.

"Craig, are you drunk?" I asked, annoyed and worried.

"No," He giggled into the phone. "Okay maybe just a little. I miss you El. When are you going to come and see me?"

"We've already had this discussion. I told you I'm not coming to Vancouver." I answered.

Craig sighed on the other end of the line before he replied, "Well then I guess I'll have to come home and see you."

"Except I'm not at home, remember? I'm at the beach with Alex and Jay." I explained. I felt like I was talking to a toddler. I wasn't liking this side of Craig very much.

"Oh yeah, the beach, I forgot. Then I'll come there and see you." He continued.

"Yeah, I don't think that's a great idea." I replied.

"Why not," He whined. His words slurred slightly in his drunken state. "Alex likes me she won't care."

I rolled my eyes. This conversation was going nowhere and I was too tired to keep arguing, "No, but Jay might have a problem with it."

There was silence for a few seconds before Craig finally spoke, "So? Since when do you care what Jay thinks?"

"Since it's his house and he was nice enough to let me tag along. Look, Craig its two o'clock in the morning. I'm tired and you're drunk. Why don't we both get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow?" I suggested, hoping once he slept off the alcohol he wouldn't be so hard to talk to.

"Whatever. Bye, El," was the only response I got before the dial tone was ringing in my ear.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to stop the headache that was beginning to form. I couldn't help but wonder if rock stardom had gone to Craig's head. Why would he call me while he was drunk? Like dealing with an alcoholic mother wasn't bad enough.

The next time I woke up it was a little more pleasant. The smell of bacon wafted up the stairs and right in to my bedroom. It reminded me of a time when life was a lot simpler, when my Dad was around and my mom wasn't tipping the bottle. It reminded me of Saturday morning breakfast with the whole family.

I smiled my eyes still shut as I pictured a happy family moment that had long ago been replaced by the smell of vomit and Vodka. I threw the covers off and made my way downstairs. I stopped on the bottom step to watch the scene in front of me. Jay and Alex in the kitchen fixing breakfast, for a moment I thought I was still dreaming. Then Jay spotted me and smiled, "Morning, El. I hope you're hungry."

"Starving," I replied as I continued my way towards the kitchen. I sat down in one of the bar stools before jokingly asking, "Is it safe to eat?"

"Funny," Alex replied sarcastically as she sat a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me.

"Whatever you do, don't call her Betty Crocker." Jay offered in a low voice.

"I heard that." Alex shot back.

I laughed at the utter absurdity of the situation before taking a small bit. It was delicious, which shouldn't have shocked me so much. Alex and Jay were like me, they'd had to grow up and take care of theirselves way before they should have. We'd all learned at a young age that if we were hungry we'd have to feed ourselves or starve.

"This is great." I offered.

"Jay did most of it. I just didn't burn the toast." Alex explained.

"Who knew Jay could cook?" I teased, offering Jay a friendly smile.

"Very few. Let's keep it that way." Jay replied as he shoveled a fork full of eggs into his mouth.

I laughed as I took a bite of the bacon. It was crispy just like I liked it. I couldn't help but think how strange it was that I hadn't realized how much in common I had with Jay and Alex.

"So El, Marco tells me you passed up the opportunity to be Manning's groupie. What's up with that?" Alex asked from where she was perched on top the counter.

"I don't particularly care for his other groupies." I answered. "A week with Emma and Manny is right up there with a root canal."

"Aw, El, they can't help they're annoyingly perfect." Alex replied laughing.

"Annoying, yes, perfect, I'm not so sure about that." I answered. "Did you see the Degrassi Girl's Gone Wild video?"

"What?" Jay asked, perking to attention at the thought of Girl's Gone Wild. "How did I not know about this?"

"Because you don't go to Degrassi anymore, moron," Alex replied, tossing her balled up napkin at him.

"It was a school wide email of Manny flashing a camera." I explained.

"Why do I always miss the good crap?" Jay said under his breath.

"Perv," I teased.

"I taken it Craig was your two o'clock phone call?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I apologized.

Alex simply shrugged her shoulders, "No big deal. I'm used to late night phone calls."

"He was drunk." I explained.

"Those are the best ones." Alex added, shooting Jay a deathly glare.

I chuckled but nodded in agreement, "So what are the plans for today?"

"I thought we'd hit the boardwalk." Jay offered as he sat his empty plate in the sink. "Unless you two can think of a better suggestion."

"Sounds fine to me," I answered, taking the last bite of my breakfast.

"Great. I'm going to go get a shower." Jay added, before heading towards his domain.

I rinsed off the dirty dishes before placing them in the dishwasher while Alex finished her food. When she was done she scooted off the counter and said, "You know if you want to spend some time with Craig you should invite him to visit."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a great idea. He doesn't exactly like Jay and Jay doesn't exactly like him." I explained.

"Jay's trying not to be such a jerk. Why don't you just ask him?" Alex suggested. "I'm going to go get a shower too."

I finished loading the dishwasher as I thought about what Alex had said. Sure, I wanted to see Craig more than just about anything, but did I really want the stress of wanting him but not being able to have him?

With the dishwasher started, I headed towards the stairs but made a little turn and ended up outside of Jay's bedroom door. I turned the door knob and walked in without knocking. Big mistake, Jay was standing by the bed wearing only a towel.

"Sorry!" I said turning around quickly so that my back was to him. I could feel my face turning bright red in embarrassment.

"About what?" Jay asked from behind me. I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to get rid of the image of him, half naked, dripping wet from just stepping out of the shower. "For not knocking, I'm…I'm just going to go." I said turning around and rushing up the stairs.

I shut and locked myself safely in my own bedroom. The image still burned into my brain. I cringed as I thought about how good he looked. I was definitely losing my mind. I shook all thoughts of Jay from my head as I grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom.

Back downstairs I avoided Jay's eyes at all cost as we waited for Alex. I had never been so relieved when she finally joined us and we all made our way towards the car. I volunteered for the backseat so I wouldn't have to be close to Jay but then I made the mistake of meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror. That c0cky smile flashed acrossed his face making my chicks turn red again. I silently cursed him as I turned my attention out the window.

"So did you ask him?" Alex asked as me walked down the boardwalk a short distance behind Jay.

"No," I replied tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I kind of got distracted."

She looked at me questioningly. When I didn't offer an explanations she asked, "Distracted?"

I shook my head yes, "I kind of walked in on Jay in a towel." Alex snickered and I playfully shoved her, "It's not funny! It was embarrassing!"

"Why? It's not like he was naked. Do you have a thing for Jay?" Alex asked.

I hoped she was joking but I didn't think she was, "Don't be disgusting."

"You're the one avoiding asking Jay if Craig can come for a week and obsessing over walking in on him in a towel." Alex added.

I rolled my eyes. Alex was completely crazy. There was no chance in hell I'd ever have a thing for Jay. He was a class one jerk ninety percent of the time and the other ten percent he was sarcastic and annoying. Just because he looked good in a towel didn't mean I was going to fall head over heels in love with him. I was in love with Craig.

After a lunch of hot dogs and boardwalk fries, we wondered into a little vintage record store. It was dark and rustic and just my style. Jay flirted with the girl behind the counter, blonde with black highlights, green eyes surrounded by dark eyeliner, anyone could tell she wasn't interested but it didn't stop Jay from trying. Alex and I browsed the selection laughing as the poor girl continued to shoot Jay down. My eyes caught a sign by the register. Help Wanted.

"Hey Alex didn't you say you wanted to get a job while you were here?" I asked pointing to the sign. "This place would be perfect for you. Besides, that girl looks like she could use a little help."

Alex laughed as we made our way over toward Jay and the girl he was annoying. A look of relief crossed her face as she saw us, "Hi, can I help you?" She asked with a giant smile.

I looked at Jay and rolled my eyes as Alex explained that she was interested in filling out an application. The girl's face lit up and it hit me why she wasn't the least bit interested in Jay. I smiled as I realized the girl was checking out Alex.

"What?" Jay asked in a low voice.

"Nothing," I replied, before ducking out of the store.

"What?" Jay asked again, following me out into the bright sun.

"I just don't think you were that girl's type." I answered.

Jay looked confused as he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I think she's a little more into your ex girlfriend then she's into you." I explained watching Alex and the record store girl flirt through the window.

"Figures," Jay muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry, Jay. I'm sure there's a nice bimbo around here somewhere willing to let you woo her." I joked.

"Funny Red. Real funny." Jay replied, kicking a rock as he headed to a bench a few feet away.

I watched as he slumped down on the bench. He flipped his sunglasses down over his eyes and turned his head away from me. I felt a little twinge of guilt as I made my way towards him.

"I was just joking," I explained, sitting down beside him.

"Whatever." He replied with a sigh.

We sat quietly for a few minutes. I didn't understand him and I was pretty sure I never would. He was complicated. He hid behind his biting sarcasm the same way I did. I felt bad that whatever I had said had offended him.

"Sorry," I said in a low voice, breaking the silence.

He nodded and I figured that was his way of accepting it. We waited for Alex to finish flirting or interviewing or whatever it was she was doing. I watched the people walking by. I'd always been a people watcher despite the fact I could rarely read them. I found myself wondering what their lives were like. Did they have the same kind of problems as I did or were there lives problem free?

I was completely lost in thought when Jay suddenly stood up and started heading back towards the car. I looked over at the store and saw Alex coming towards me, her attention on Jay.

"What's his problem?" She asked, shoving her hands in to her pockets.

"I think I ticked him off." I replied. "Did you get the job?"

"Yeah," She said as we started to follow Jay.

"And the girl," I probed.

"What about her?" Alex asked illusively.

"Oh, come on Alex. She was checking you out and the two of you were flirting." I added.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alex answered but the little smile turning up the corners of her mouth gave her away.

I smiled as my eyes traveled up the boardwalk to where Jay was walking alone. He still had feelings for Alex even if he didn't want to admit it. I'd been in his shoes back when I was in love with Marco. It wasn't a fun place to be.