"Jay, man," Sean called to the boy standing at the entrance to his apartment building, "how's it going?"

The slamming of the car door behind him made Alice awake with a start. She quickly wiped away the puddle of drool she felt at the corner of her mouth, and looked around, disoriented. Looking out her window at all the large buildings, she quickly realized they had made it to Toronto. Her body, suddenly overcome with excitement, fumbled to remove her seatbelt.

The two long-time friends shared a quick hug once they met on the sidewalk. Once catching a glimpse of her brother's best friend, she decided to quickly freshen up as best she could in the passenger seat of a car. She pulled the visor down from above her and slid the mirror open, examining her makeup. Luckily, sleep had not wrecked her mascara. She flattened her hair a little, then took in a deep breath, exhaling sharply, before opening the door as she heard her brother begin to introduce her to the mysterious guy.

"Jay, this is my sister, Alice," he started, just as her head popped up from the other side of the vehicle. "Al, this is Jay."

Her eyes darted from the ground, to meet the unknown boy's. At first glance of this 'Jay' guy, she couldn't believe her eyes. He was the most attractive man she had ever seen – Sean had mentioned he failed once or twice, and she could tell. The boy clearly looked a couple of years older than her brother.

"Hey," he said simply, sounding somewhat disinterested. She suddenly felt ridiculous when she realized her eyes were practically the size of bowling balls at the sheer sight of such a beautiful person. Luckily, it appeared that the guys were too interested in caching up to even notice.

"You coming?" Sean's voice brought Alice's attention to the two of them as they were headed into the apartment complex. The two of them had already emptied the vehicle of all their luggage.

"Uh, yeah," she cleared her throat as she started towards them.

Jay spoke directly to her now as she walked by him, "you okay there, Lil Cam?"

She paused for a moment, Lil Cam? She raised a brow at him before continuing.

"Yeah," she shook her head, "still a little tired from my nap."

Jay seemed to shrug it off as he led the siblings into the building.

"Lil Cam?" She whispered to Sean as he caught up to her.

Sean chuckled, "just ignore him. He loves to give people nicknames." He paused, recalling the past, "Emma was 'Greenpeace'."

A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth as the images of Emma played over in his head once more. The sly look on Alice's face brought him back to the present and caused his face to harden as he turned to head into the building.

"It's nothing special," Jay prefaced as the keys clanged against the door, "but I do have a spare bedroom and a pretty comfy couch."

"Casa Hogart," he announced as the door opened, revealing a quaint, textbook bachelor pad. A single couch sat across from the television that was stationed next to the door. The furniture was sparse, but Alice could appreciate the effort he had put in to cleaning the place for the two of them.

"Sean, I figured you wouldn't mind staying on the couch and allowing the lady to have the room."

Sean had already set his things down on the couch as Jay spoke.

"As for you," he turned to Alice, "follow me."

Alice followed the strange boy down the hallway and into the bedroom at the end of the hall on the right. The room had only a single bed and a side table.

"Here it is," he held his arm out as if to show it off, "again, it's nothing-"

"Jay," she scoffed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, "we grew up in a trailer park. The simple fact that there aren't old people passed out on the couch is a huge improvement."

Jay chuckled softly. Sadly.

"I figured you could have the bathroom across the hall to yourself, too," he changed the subject, "there's one off the kitchen we can use."

Alice's stared softened, she spoke graciously, "that's really sweet. Thank you."

She paused, "for everything."

Jay shrugged, "don't worry about it."

He stayed in his spot, learned against the doorframe, for a few more moments, until he pushed himself up. Uncrossing his arms, he scratched the back of his neck, "I'll leave you to it."

As he turned to walk away, he peeked his head back into the room briefly, "Sean and I were talking about cruising around shortly. Feel free to join us if you'd like."

Alice nodded silently, biting her lip as he disappeared back down the hallway. Upon first impression, she was pleasantly surprised. Sean had warned her extensively about how vulgar, cruel, and plain dick-ish his best friend could be. But she wasn't buying it. She knew deep down, that he was much more than that; much more than just a pretty face, too. The smile on her face from their conversation remained on her face as she sat there replaying it in her mind.

A knock suddenly rang at the door, making her jumps slightly. It was Sean this time, "hey, we're headed out right away. You coming with?"

She nodded, "yeah, just give me five."

She shot up from the bed and turned to her reflection. Luckily, the room did have a mirror in the corner. Remarkably, her hair and makeup still looked fresh, but the weather had warmed up substantially since they left for Toronto in the morning. The hoodie and sweats she wore proved to be too much for the summer heat that still lingered in September. She headed for her bag next to the door that Jay had graciously brought to the bedroom for her. Unzipping it, she immediately found her favourite outfit: a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and a black Avril Lavigne t-shirt that hugged her curves just so. She ran a quick brush through her hair and tied it into a quick ponytail, before joining the boys back in the living room.

"Ready to go, Al?" Sean asked, tying his long curly hair into a low ponytail.

Her eyes darted between the two boys, catching Jay sneak a few looks her way. She bit her lip subtly, out of Jay and her brother's sight. Her heart raced a bit at the attention she was receiving from the so-called asshole himself, Jay Hogart.

She shrugged, "I guess."

Sean headed for the door first, followed by Alice, and Jay last to lock up. As they headed toward the orange car out front, Alice felt her stomach growl.

"Could we grab some ice cream or something?"

Jay and Sean laughed simultaneously, the latter boy rolling his eyes as he ducked into the passenger seat. She pouted in response to them, crossing her arms over her chest as she sunk into the backseat behind her brother. Jay shut the driver's side door and glanced up at the rearview mirror, where he locked eyes with the youngest Cameron sibling. He smirked at her fake anger and spoke up, "of course we can stop for some ice cream for you, Princess."

She felt her cheeks burn at the fact that he called her Princess – even if it was just him poking fun at her expense. By the look he shot her through the mirror, she figured he knew it was getting under her skin - and he was loving it.

"Yeah," Sean interrupted the little moment they shared – unbeknownst to him, "I could go for a milkshake or something."

Jay breathed a laugh, starting the car, "I know just the place."

Alice immediately lowered her window for some cool air that she desperately needed following the intense moment she had just shared with her brother's best friend. As the car excelled, the cool autumn air hit her face and she felt as if she was finally able to breathe. She twirled the hair at the end of her ponytail around her index finger as she got lost in the sight of the large buildings that engulfed her view, and suddenly found herself tuning out the mindless conversations the boys were having in the front seat. Her blinks grew slower until her eyes shut and her mind shut off.

"So," Jay started, peeking into the backseat. He continued at the sight of Alice's sleeping face, "what brings you back to Toronto, anyway?"

Sean scratched the back of his neck and sighed as Jay pulled into the parking lot of the ice cream stand.

"Just more opportunities in the big city, you know?" He shrugged, opening his door and being the first one out of the car.

Jay didn't seem convinced, and followed his friend out of the car.

"Man, do you think I'm dumb?" He came around the car and stood next to Sean now.

"Don't try to sell me on that bull-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice that came from behind them.

"Sean?"