Justin spent time with his brother on the beach. But though he was there physically his mind was else where. His eyes kept wandering over to her lying back on the blanket. Every now and then her position would change and a leg would bend upwards or she would stretch her arms. But she stayed on her back. Staring up at the sky.

"Hey Jon?"

"Yeah." Jon asked, trying to sneak up on a seagull. It flew away before he even got 10 feet from it.

"Do you want to go see what Alex is doing?"

"I guess." The little boy shrugged and skipped towards the blanket, with Justin slowly sauntering up to them.

Jon had already laid down perpendicular to her. His head using her stomach as a pillow.

"What's that one right there?" Jon pointed to the feathery cloud that looked like it was high in the sky.

"That's a cirrus-" She moved the sunglasses to her forehead and squinted at the sky. "Yeah, that's a cirrus fibratus."

"How do you know all that?" Justin spoke from his position standing above them.

"Well, I've always had a thing for weather. Call it my hobby or passion." She smiled and moved her sunglasses back down over her eyes.

Justin smiled and lay down on the blanket and rested beside his brother using her thighs as a headrest.

"Do I look like a pillow or something?" She mumbled.

"Yeah, kinda." Justin giggled and sighed, turning his attention to the sky.

"Lexy?" Jon asked.

She turned her head to the side tiredly. "Yeah babe?"

"Why do you always like to be alone?" Jon asked full of curiosity.

Alex sat up causing Justin and Jon to do the same. "What makes you think I'm alone?"

"I don't know, I've heard momma talk about it a few times." Justin gave Jon a look that said 'shut up'.

"Oh. Well...just because I don't have a lot of friends doesn't mean that I'm lonely." She was glad she had on sunglasses so the two guys couldn't see her eyes water.

"Hey Jon, come here." Justin started whispering something to his brother and Jon giggled and ran off.

Alex gave a him a curious grin. "What was THAT all about?"

"You'll find out." Justin grinned evilly and moved his body so he was lying down next to her.

"Whatever, Timberlake." She sighed and rested back down on the blanket.

After a few minutes of silence Justin cleared his throat. "So, do you normally lie to my brother?"

"Excuse me?" What WAS he talking about?

"It's obvious Lexia. You are lonely."

She sat up and looked down at him. She snapped. "You don't know me. How can you say something about me when you have known me for a maximum of a week? I could say that you are a player but I don't know you enough to say that."

"Oh you BETTER explain." He propped himself up on his elbows and raised an eyebrow at her.

"All the little winks and stares you have been passing my way. And the whole 'I want a kiss and hug, too' thing when you guys came over and helped me clean. And don't MAKE me start on the whole tickling escapade this morning. If you didn't realize it, you DO have a girlfriend. I think her name starts with a Brit- and ends with -ney."

He rolled his eyes and plopped back down on the blanket. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Believe me, I wasn't." She scoffed and picked up an apple lying in the cooler and stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked her as if he was her father.

She looked down at him and shook her head. "If you MUST know, I'm going to go take a walk to calm my temper. Next time you think your celebrity ass can try to dissect me, think again. I'm not a little teenybopper Justin Timberlake. I don't give a damn what you do with your life. But don't you DARE treat me like a child. And don't you DARE try and figure out what I'm about, because you couldn't POSSIBLY understand." She turned and began walking off.

Alex looked over her shoulder quickly, "And make sure you watch YOUR brother so he doesn't do something stupid like drown."

She turned sharply and walked rapidly down the beach, occasionally biting into the apple.

Justin just stared at her. What gave her the right to yell at him like that? He looked over at his brother and saw him still doing the job he asked him to of picking shells. He plopped down on the blanket in frustration.

She had been right.

He didn't understand her. And he shouldn't have tried to figure her out. And he definitely shouldn't have been flirting with her. But he couldn't help himself. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her. His family practically had adopted her. She was so different and complex compared to anyone he had ever met. Yet he still felt the same as her at times and saw her as so simple.

He needed to apologize.

But first he needed to figure out his feelings.

--------

About an hour later when the sun was starting to dip down towards the ocean, and after a lot of tears and mental screaming, Alex walked back over to the blanket. She shouldn't have taking it out on him. Stress from school and work was taking her over the edge. And not to mention her confusion about Justin. She wanted to just be friendly towards him, but it was so hard. Especially with him lying back on the plaid blanket with a white T-shirt on and faded blue cargo pants. A tan bandanna over his head and sunglasses over his blue eyes. Jon was sitting beside him talking to him. They were smiling at each other. That gorgeous smile.

"Guys, are you ready to go?" She quietly said.

"Yeah, sure whenever you are." Justin tried not to look at her, but he did notice her red, puffy eyes.

They both silently picked up their belongings listening to Jon carry on about the play he was performing in 3 days. They finally made it back to the truck and got in. Alex started the car without speaking, Justin slouched in his seat and Jon looked back and forth between the two utterly confused.

The car ride was silent. Torture. Jon had fallen asleep and she thought Justin had, but every now and then he would shift positions or clear his throat.

Alex pulled into her apartment complex and parked the car. Justin got out and picked up his things in the back. Alex nudged Jon who was peacefully still in dreamland. He made no move to wake up so she picked him up, him straddling her front and brought him out of the car.

Justin put all their stuff in the trunk of his BMW and opened the door for her to put Jon in. She sat him down and put the seatbelt across him. She kissed his forehead sweetly and pulled away. Justin shut the car door as quietly as possible and Alex began to walk away.

He grabbed her wrist.

A sensation burned through his hand and in her wrist. She stared at where his was holding her as he spoke. "Listen, Lexia. I'm sorry about this afternoon."

"Yeah. Me too." She whispered and jerked her arm away. She turned around and picked her stuff out of her truck and walked into the apartment building.

Justin sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders. He walked to the driver's side of his car and sat down. He leaned his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes tiredly.

"You like her." Jon whispered. Justin looked over at his brother who was staring at a field beside the building where some kids were kicking a soccerball. HE was shocked by how his brother wasn't teasing him or saying it in an immature way. He seemed thoughtful and sure of the idea.

"You're right Jon. I do. I really do." Justin started the car and backed out of the parking space.

Alex had reached her apartment and opened the door. Her answering machine was blinking and she closed the door and walked over towards it.

"Message 1..." "Hey, Alex? This is Jen. I'm just making sure you are all right. It was kinda crazy there for a while. Anyways, talk to ya later. And if I don't, have a Merry Christmas."

She giggled, she bet Jen thought she was a lunatic.

"Message 2..." "Alexandria, this is your mother calling. You haven't called us about exams yet. Please do. And I need to know about all your flight stuff and what time you will be getting here. Scott is dying to see you. Anyways, I love you. Bye bye."

Alex smiled. She was glad she would get to see her family in a few days.

"Message 3..." "This is Anthony Ellis from the National Severe Storm Lab here in Orlando, I'm calling for a Alexandria Smith. If you could, would you please call me back at 876-2309 about your internship? Thank you."

Her groan was so loud she was afraid she would disturb her neighbors. She didn't need to have THAT on her mind too.

"Message 4..." "yo Sista. This is Uncle B. Call back chica. I need to know when you are going to work. We are all missin ya. Later gurl."

"Oh, crap. Will this day EVER end?"

"Message 5..." "It's me. Sexy Scott at your service. Mom and dad told me to call you and ask about New Years. Are you staying here? Anyways, call me back Al."

Alex finally smiled happily. She was grateful her brother would be near her in a matter of 5 days. She needed to talk to him.

Alex sighed and walked into her bathroom. She needed a shower. She needed to think.

Usually days at the beach were fun. But today had been a disaster. Why?

Her mind couldn't get off of Justin, and what he had said:

"Its obvious Lexia, you are lonely."