Disclaimer: Camp Rock and Wizards of Waverly Place are not owned by me, sadly.

Justin ran back and forth across his room nervously, from his dresser to his closet. He was wearing nothing but his boxers, frantically trying to figure out something to wear for his first day of homeschooling. He wanted to look sophisticated, but not like he was trying too hard. The hard part (the interview), was over, so now he just had to prove himself. But how could he do that in his normal simple t-shirt and jeans?

"This is hopeless!" Justin wailed, filing through his closet of color coordinated shirts and pants.

"Justin, what are you doing?" Alex exclaimed, slamming his door open and stomping into the room.

"Alex!" Justin squealed, his hands flailing to try to cover his body.

"Ew! My eyes! I can't unsee that!" the girl shielded her eyes with her hands. "Put some clothes on!"

Justin scrambled to pull his pajama bottoms, which had been discarded neatly on his bead, back on, falling over himself in the process. He then thrust his arms through the sleeves of his pajama shirt and buttoned it as fast as he could, missing a few buttons as he went.

"Okay, you can look now," the embarrassed boy grumbled.

Alex peeked from behind her hands to make sure he brother was clothed, then dropped them to her sides. "And you were naked because…?"

"I was trying to find something to wear for my first day," he answered, then checked the clock on his bedside table. It was only roughly 7:30. He still had plenty of time. "And you're awake because…?" he asked, mocking his sister a bit by making his voice high pitched to sound like hers.

Alex was never one to wake up early if she didn't have to. Noon to her was like two a.m. to a normal person. She was nocturnal. Justin examined his younger sister. She had on an old t-shirt and a pair of boxers, her normal sleepwear, and her hair was a curly mess. She'd obviously just woken up.

"I'm awake because some idiot was groaning and running across his room in the middle of the night!" Alex glared at Justin.

"It's morning," he corrected, crossing his arms over his chest and nodded towards the window, where a few rays of light were seeping into the room past his curtains.

"Maybe for you!" Alex yawned. "Could you be a little more considerate? I'm sleeping and my room is right next to yours, you know!"

"Well, Alex, maybe if you slept at the same time as normal humans do, you wouldn't have this problem," Justin replied with fake sweetness.

"You? Normal?" She snorted. "Yeah, that's laughable."

"Ooh, laughable. Big word. Very good, Alex." Justin clapped his hands together and gave his sister a mocking grin.

Alex glared at her brother for a few moments before barking, "Keep it down!" She then turned on her heel, making her way towards the door. On her way out, she paused to swat one of Justin's many trophies off his dresser. It hit the ground with a clang. Satisfied, the sixteen-year old smirked and slammed her brother's bedroom door behind her.

It wasn't until she was in the hall that she remembered she needed his help.

"Shoot!" she muttered to herself before turning around and sticking her head back into the bedroom. "Hey, Justin?" she asked in her sweetest voice possible.

Justin was busy placing his trophy back on top of his dresser in its exact previous position. He didn't even look at his sister, his too mind preoccupied. "Hmm?"

"Don't forget to ask the Torreses about you tutoring me and Mitchie at the same time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Justin said, still not focused on his sister.

"Thanks. Well, goodnight." Alex quickly pulled her head out of the room and closed the door before Justin could change his mind.

When he heard the door close, Justin was pulled out of his trance. He went over the brief conversation in his head. "Oh crap! I can't believe I am doing this for her!"

Alex returned to her room and fell into her bed with a satisfied sigh, ready to sleep away the rest of the day.

At promptly nine a.m. sharp, Justin knocked on the door of apartment 4B. He'd decided on a classic white button down shirt, a slender black tie hanging loosely from his neck, jeans, and a plain pair of sneakers. He anxiously ran a hand through his once again gelled-to-stick-up brown hair while waiting for someone to answer his knock. Connie Torres opened the door, a surprised look making its way to her face when she saw her daughter's new home school teacher standing there.

"Justin, what are you doing here?' she confusedly asked.

Justin's smile wavered as panic began to overtake him. Had he gotten the times mixed up? "You said nine a.m., right?"

"Yes." Connie nodded slowly.

"And you wanted me to start today?" Justin pointed to the floor, trying to emphasize 'today.'

"Yes." Connie nodded again. "I just don't understand why you're here so early."

Justin checked his watch. Yes, it was nine o'clock on the dot. "Oh, you mustn't have set your clocks or watches to the new time!" He said, thinking he'd figured out the confusion. "Where are you originally from?"

"Texas," Connie said, taking a step back to let the boy in. "Come on in."

"Thank you." He entered the apartment, Mrs. Torres shutting the door behind him. "That's it, then. New York is an hour ahead of Texas. You must think it's only eight."

Justin smiled and waved to Mitchie, who was busy organizing her new school books on the table. She gave him a slight smile and waved back, then continued to shuffle the texts around.

"No," Connie said, getting Justin's attention again. "I know that it's nine. I just didn't expect you to be here exactly on time."

"Why wouldn't I be on time?" Justin asked, confused once again.

"Not many people are." Connie shrugged. She exited the kitchen area and crossed through the living room to a doorway that led to a small hallway. "Steve, Justin's here!" she called towards the master bedroom.

The sound of a door opening could be heard from the kitchen of the small apartment, followed by hurried footsteps.

Steve Torres entered the living room, still trying to tie his tie. "Hi, Justin," he said, not looking up from the tangled mess around his neck. "How the heck do you tie these things again?" he muttered to himself. Owning a hardware store never required him to dress up much, so tying a tie wasn't something he was used to. His father had tried to teach him time and time again how to do it, he'd just never caught on. In fact, the last time he'd worn a tie was for his father's funeral. Luckily, Mitchie's grandfather had taught her the skill, so she was able to tie her father's tie that day. And today, Steve's only hope was his sixteen-year-old daughter. He sighed and put his hands on his hips in defeat. "Mitchie, can you help your old man out?"

Mitchie smiled and rolled her eyes a little, amused at her father's ineptness with clothing. "Of course." She got up from the table and went over to her father, immediately setting to work on undoing the knot he'd created.

"Big day, Mr. Torres?" Justin asked, trying to make conversation.

"That it is, Justin," he answered, keeping his chin up while Mitchie worked with the garment around his neck. "Today is my first day as general manager of the local Home Depot," he said proudly. "Eleven years of experience owning a hardware store does not go unnoticed when you go to interview for a management position of a chain of hardware stores." Mitchie finished with his tie and Steve straightened it out, pulling it to the tightness he needed. "Remember that," he told Justin seriously, as if the boy would ever use the information.

"Yes, sir," Justin said, nodding quickly out of respect.

"Well, I just wanted to wait until Justin got here before I left for work," Mr. Torres went on, grabbing his brief case off the couch. "I'll be going now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Daddy." Mitchie smiled sweetly and hugged her father around the waist.

"Thanks, Pumpkin." He kissed his daughter atop her head before leaning over and giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. "Bye, Sweetheart."

"Bye." Connie smiled, opening the door for her husband.

"Oh, before you go, Mr. Torres, there was something I needed to talk to you about," Justin said quickly, remembering the unpleasant question he had to ask of this family that was so nice to give him a chance.

Mrs. Torres, sensing this was serious, shut the door again. "Yes, Justin, what is it?"

"I don't know how to put this, so I'm just going to say it." He took a deep breath. "My sister wanted me to ask you if it would be okay if I taught her and Mitchie at the same time."

"The same time meaning…?" Connie trailed off, waiting for Justin to clarify.

"Here, together," he said. "They're in the same grade, if that helps."

"Why?" Mr. Torres wanted to know. "Couldn't you take her at a later time?"

Justin shook his head. "This is my day job. At night I have a…." he thought quickly, "job with the police. I capture dangerous…creatures…"He cleared his throat, hoping it wasn't obvious that he wasn't telling them the full truth. Yes, he was catching dangerous creatures, but they probably thought he meant criminals. He really meant monsters. But he couldn't tell them that. Then he'd be exposing himself as a wizard.

"Is there anyone else to teach your sister?" Connie asked, not liking the idea of another child getting in the way of Mitchie's education.

Justin shook his head. "She was expelled from public school, and no private school in their right mind would take her." When the looks of alarm went to the Torres' faces, especially Mitchie's, he quickly added, "Okay, I know that sounds bad, but it's really not too bad. She was expelled for smoking." That seemed to calm the family a little until Justin said, "and accidentally setting the school on fire by doing so."

Mitchie's jaw dropped somewhat. "That school fire story on the news last night was caused by your sister?"

Justin's cheeks blushed furiously. He was embarrassed to be related to Alex sometimes. "Yeah. She's a bit misguided. And now my parents want to send her to military school."

"Maybe they should," Connie muttered, regretting it when she saw the look on Justin's face. She'd clearly hurt his feelings.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Torres, I know my sister. She wouldn't benefit from military school. It would ruin her." He couldn't believe he was sticking up for his sister. "Alex is so free-spirited and talented. She paints some of the most amazing works of art I've ever seen. She can't work with structure, which is all military school is. Discipline doesn't work with her. She acts out against it, and to be honest, it's my fault. All my life, I've excelled in everything I've done, except sports…And women, but that's not the point. The point is, Alex has lived in my shadow her entire life. And because people expect so much from her after seeing me, she has to do the opposite of what's expected. So she acts out and causes mischief because she doesn't think she's as smart as me, so she doesn't try. But I know she has the potential to brilliant, if someone would just take the time to show her that."

All three Torresses stared at him with blank expressions.

"I minored in childhood psychology," Justin explained, smiling smugly.

"I don't know," Connie said, shaking her head a bit. "This would be a risk. I don't want Mitchie getting distracted by…by…" she searched for the right word.

"A delinquent?" Justin offered.

"I was going to say someone who isn't as focused as her," Connie defended, not wanting to offend Justin again.

"Alex is just a kid that has made a few…dozen…bad choices." His eyes landed on Mitchie. "Kids make mistakes. It's what they do," he said, holding the girl's gaze.

Mitchie's cheeks turned a shade of pink as she looked away.

"I'm with my wife," Steve said. "I'm not sure if that would be a good idea…"

"It might be good for me," Mitchie said, still looking away from everyone, almost thoughtful. "After all, now that I'm not in public school and I'm in a new city where I don't know anyone, I don't have very many opportunities to make friends." She looked at her parents. "Allie might be my only chance at a social life."

"Alex," Justin corrected.

"Yeah, Alex," Mitchie said slowly. "I think he should do it, tutor us at the same time."

Her parents didn't know what had gotten into her. Mitchie had never showed any interest in interacting with trouble makers (with the exception of Shane Gray), yet here she was, suggesting to share her private teacher with one. But Mitchie had a good feeling about this girl, even though she'd never met her. She knew Justin was right. Kids make mistakes. Mitchie knew she wasn't exactly one to judge. Just look at her. She'd made one of the biggest mistakes of her life and she had major consequences. She moved to New York for a fresh start. Maybe that's all this Alex girl needed. A fresh start in a new environment. Who knew, maybe Mitchie could be a good influence on her.

Steve and Connie locked eyes. They really didn't want to take this big of a risk, but Mitchie seemed to have her mind made up. They knew that in a few short months, Mitchie would be making decisions not only for herself, but for another human life. So maybe they should let her make the call on this one. After all, how long could this Alex last before getting herself shipped off to military school anyway? Plus, their daughter had a point. She needed a social life. They knew what she was like. No social life whatsoever greatly brought down her self esteem, and that's not what she needed in her condition.

Connie sighed heavily. "I guess we could give it a shot."

Justin smiled widely. "Thank you, Mrs. Torres! You won't regret this."

"It's only a trial run for now, okay?" She held up her hands, motioning the boy to slow down and not get too excited. "If after a month we see it's not working out so well, I want you to go back to tutoring just Mitchie. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" Justin nodded his head so quickly he was sure his neck was going to be stiff in the morning.

"Mitchie has a list of all of her course work. There's also a list of books Alex is going to need." Connie went over to the couch and picked up her purse. "When I get back this afternoon, I'll find the number of the homeschooling program that Mitchie's under to get your sister registered. Actually, you're going to have to file your name with them as well, or Mitchie won't get credit for any of the work she does."

"Alright." Justin nodded again. "You said when you get back. Pardon my nosiness, but where are you going?"

"I'm going to a few job interviews for restaurants in the neighborhood," she said, going to stand by the door with her husband. "We could use the money."

"It's going to be just you and Mitchie today," Steve said. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, sir." Justin shook his head.

"Alright." Connie opened the apartment door. "Well, have fun. Get some learning done. And I'll be back some time after lunch."

"I'll be home later tonight," Steve said.

"Mom, Dad, you can leave. I'm a big girl. We'll be fine," Mitchie said, smiling a little.

"Love you," Steve said, walking out the door with a smirk, followed by his wife.

"Love you too," Mitchie called as the door closed.

Some people would think Connie and Steve were crazy for leaving their sixteen-year-old daughter home alone with a hormonal eighteen-year-old boy. But, these were special circumstances. They needed money, badly. So Steve had to work and Connie needed to find a job. Mitchie also needed to be taught, and Justin was her teacher. Plus, she was already pregnant, so that wasn't a factor. And something told them that even if she wasn't, Justin would have no earthly clue how to make even the slightest move. And if he did, in fact, have a clue, he seemed way to respective to do such a thing. No. They weren't worried. They had faith that their daughter was in very good hands.

"So, should we get started?" Justin asked, gesturing to the kitchen table, where Mitchie's school things were scattered about.

"Please," she said, taking a seat. Justin sat on the other side of her, scanning the books. "Can we start with math first?" Mitchie asked, grabbing the text and sliding it in front of her. "It's my least favorite, so I want to get it out of the way."

"No problem," Justin said, picking up a piece of paper. He examined it and discovered it was Mitchie's lesson plan for the day. Good, she was taking an algebra II course. This was going to be simple.

"So, tell me about Alex," Mitchie said when they'd stopped for a lunch break. She placed a sandwich down in front of Justin and one for herself.

"You really didn't have to make me a sandwich. I could have waited to eat until later," Justin said, avoiding the topic of his nuisance of a little sister. He was still questioning why he was so eager to help her and get her in on this tutoring gig. When he really thought about it, he suspected she'd placed him under a spell. But how could she? Their father had snapped her wand in half. So he must have just simply wanted to. Why…?

"It's no big deal," Mitchie said, shrugging. "It only took a minute. And plus, if you're hungry, you're going to be cranky, and I don't want a cranky teacher." She poured lemonade into two glasses, then put the pitcher back in the fridge. She sat down again, setting the drinks in front of them. "So, Alex?" she asked as Justin reached for his glass.

He stopped mid-lift. "What do you want to know?" he asked before taking a sip.

"What's her favorite color?" Mitchie asked, then took a bite of her sandwich.

Justin swallowed. "Really?"

She chewed and swallowed, smiling and shaking her head amusedly. "No, not really." Mitchie laughed. "What's she like?"

"Mean," Justin said. "Sarcastic, lazy, rude, obnoxious…"

"And why did you stick up for her again?" Mitchie raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was just asking myself the same thing." Justin sighed and took a bite of his sandwich. It was pretty good, he had to admit. Way better than the sandwiches he used to make when he worked in his family's sub shop.

"Is she friendly?"

Justin shook his head. "Not really. She only has one friend− Harper. They've been best friends for years. Ever since kindergarten."

"Does she have any good qualities, Justin?" Mitchie asked, wondering why she wanted to meet this girl in the first place.

"She's a great artist." He wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin. "And despite everything, she does have her moments. She can be mean and cruel, but if you really get to know her, she has a sweet side. She would never intentionally hurt someone…Except me, though. Or Max, our younger brother."

"So she can be nice, then?" Mitchie asked.

"Yeah." Justin nodded.

"Do you think she'd be nice to me?" Mitchie wondered, not really sure whether or not she wanted to know the answer.

Justin's face was stone still and he held a blank expression. "God, I hope so," he finally said, exhaling and shaking his head.

"Great," Mitchie muttered. What had she gotten herself into now?

I really didn't care for this chapter when I first wrote it, but after rereading it, I liked it a little more. It's one of those chapters that had to be written in order to clear things up and set up other things that need to happen.

Review.