The next day

"And here, is the Doppler. We have 6 computers hooked up to this baby."

"Wow, this place sure is...wow." Alex said mesmerized, looking around the large laboratory with a high ceiling and two floors. People in jeans and T-shirts walked around, thinking about the papers in their hands. Others in lab coats ran past and into doorways that she wasn't sure where they led. She had been there all day, and was having an awesome time.

"So, come with me, and I'll so you your office." Said Rick, the 25 year old looking guy with jeans on and a Dave Matthew's Band T-shirt on, with round glasses and dirty blonde hair. He had been showing her around all day.

"I have an office?" Alexandria could almost not believe this. It seemed too good to be true.

"Well, don't get all excited. It's not like a CEO's or something. But, its a room, has a door and a window and a desk and chair, so, its better than nothing." He shrugged walking out of the lab part of the building down a long hallway. He turned a few times down other hallways, and Alex prayed she wouldn't get lost when she came back. He came to a door and turned the knob, flicked on the lights and showed her HER office.

"This is so cool." She gushed, running her hands over the fake wooden desk.

"Yeah, we will probably have a computer hooked up for you tomorrow."

She looked at the guy who was about her height. "Thank you guys so much for doing this for me. This...This is my dream."

Rick just smiled. "Well, we are glad to have you a part of the team here. Come on, let's go and meet some of your co-workers. We got some real characters in this place." He giggled.

Alex gave a last look at her office before following Rick out of the office. "I think I'm going to like it here."

---------

(Two days later, Saturday)

"So, Lexy, are you still going to be able to baby-sit me?" Jon asked, clutching on her hand tighter, and bringing his ice cream cone to his mouth with his other.

"Of course Jon, I'll be working at the lab on Friday nights and all day Saturday. I'll still be with ya after school." She smiled and looked over at Jen who was sipping on her slushy they had got from the food court in the mall.

"Well, good." HE said, smiling at her with ice cream stuck around his mouth and on his lips. Alex giggled.

"Hey, do you want to go in Express?" Jen piped up.

Alex wasn't really in the mood for shopping, she just was there because Jen wanted to shop and she was baby-sitting Jon. "Whatever."

They walked in the store being greeted by the saleslady. Jon hid behind Alex, clutching on her hand when they were in the store. She brought him over to where the couches and chairs were and sat down with him clutching to her, in her lap. "What's wrong Jon?"

He just twisted her shirt and buried his head in her shoulder.

"Do you not want to look around?" Jen asked, already having a piece of clothing draped over her arm.

"Nah, you go on, we will just wait." Alex said, rubbing Jon's back comfortingly. Jen gave her a curious look before shrugging and walking off to shop some more.

"Jon, what is wrong?" She pulled him away from her to look in his face.

He pouted and sniffed. "All these girls are around."

"So?"

"They are in clothes that the girls that hurt Justin wear." He leaned his head on her shoulder and breathed into her neck.

"Jon, these girls aren't going to hurt your brother. How can they hurt him? He isn't even here."

"But they hurt him anyway. They scream at him and cry and yell. It hurts him. It makes him cry and that makes me cry."

Alexandria was just silent for a moment as she took in this information. She finally got it registered in her brain. "He cries over his fame." She spoke quietly.

"I don't know why they yell at him and grab him. He doesn't like it though. I heard him tell mommy that he use to, but it got worse or something. I don't know. But I don't like it." He took a strand of her hair and twirled it in his hand. "That's why he likes you. Because you don't scream and grab at him. And he likes you a lot."

Alexandria smiled slightly and rested her forehead against his. "Just between you and me..." She stopped and whispered, "...I like you're brother a lot too."

Jon smiled brightly and turned into a fit of giggles. Alex found herself tickling the young boy, who was desperately trying to get away from her fingertips. He pushed himself off of the bright red couch and ran around the small table in-between the couches. He laughed and caught his breath as Alex, narrowed her eyes and pretended to pounce on him.

He backed away and looked down at the table in front of him and picked up one of the many magazines that was there. His laughing fit immediately coming to an end and he walked over and sat beside Alex, his legs swinging off the edge of the couch and hitting it below with his heels.

"Look, Lexy. It's Britney." He pointed to the cover and Alex plastered on a fake smile as she looked at the magazine. She read the words beside the picture, 'Britney on fame, friends, and how she keeps a boyfriend.'

"I see Jon. I see." Alexandria just studied the cover.

She had never been in the position that she was before. She felt guilty and sorry for the feelings she had towards Justin because of Britney. And there wasn't much she could do about it. Justin wasn't technically "cheating" on Britney with Alexandria. But still, the feelings were there. They both knew it. And they had finally got it through both of their thick skulls that those feelings were shared. But now what?

Were they to forget their feelings and attraction? Were they to go on like nothing ever happened? Were they to just go for it and not care about anyone else? Were they to tell everyone? Were they to keep it a secret? Were they to just bottle all their love for each other up inside until one day it exploded?

Alexandria had gotten her feelings straightened out. She knew what she wanted and needed. But how were they going to make it work? How on earth were they to make this work?

"LEX, you HAVE to try this on, I do not care what you say. You ARE trying this on." Jen came over with clothes hanging off her small body. She struggled and finally held up a navy plain dress that was silk and crisscrossed in the back. To Alex it looked like a slip. But she decided to humor Jen and try it on.

"Ok..." Alex sighed. "All right, but watch Jon for me." She looked down at Jon who was looking at her with big eyes. "Be nice for Jen, I'll be right in there."

She took the dress and walked over to the dressing room, turning once more to look at them, before she shut the door to see Jen, putting all her garments on the couch beside her and Jon looking at her curiously.

"So, Jon, have you had fun at the mall?" Jen asked once she got situated. Jon just stared at her and nodded, chewing on his index finger.

Jen smiled and picked up the magazine Alex had set back on the table. "Ohh look. Does Justin and Britney spend a lot of time together?" She asked, honestly curious looking over the cover and flipping through the magazine.

"Not really. They go to award things together and she comes to his house sometimes. But they talk on the phone a whole lot." He said, picking at a string that had come loose in the cushion below him.

"I think he likes Lexy, but don't tell Alex or Justin I said that." She bent down to his level and winked. Jon finally gave in a smiled and then giggled.

"He told me he REALLY likes Lexy." Jon's eyes lit up when he said really and he continued in a hushed tone. "I like her too, but she's my baby-sitter. I love Lexy. So does Justin, I think."

Jen's eyes widened and she closed the open magazine in her lap back to look at the cover, then she looked at the young boy in front of her. She subconsciously fought with asking the question on her mind, but she meekly got it out anyway. "B-But what about Britney?"

He looked up from the cushion and scrunched his face up in confusion, "What about her?"

Before Jen had a chance to respond Alex's dressing room door opened and they both looked up and gasped. Jon began to clap and giggle and Jen just sat there staring at Alexandria stunned.

"So, I tried it on. What do you think?" Alexandria spoke in a bored tone, turning around.

Jon giggled and nodded his head. "I like it Lexy. You look purty."

Alex smiled at Jon's innocence and looked to Jen who was still staring at her. Finally she found words to speak. "That will knock him off his feet."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she wondered what Jen was talking about. "Who?"

Jen snapped out of her shock and glanced at Jon before looking at Alex. "Oh nobody." Jen smiled secretively. "Why don't you change out of that, cause I need to find me a dressing room. By the way, you ARE getting that dress."

Alexandria rolled her eyes and walked back into the dressing room. As she shut the door, she stared at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. The navy dress came to right above her knees. The neckline was low, but it was a stylish square design. The back was plain with two simple crisscrosses of fabric that stretched across her elegant back. She had to admit, with her hair and eyes, it looked beautiful. She didn't have many places to wear a thing like that. But Jen was right; she HAD to get that dress.

Maybe one day it would come in handy.

------

An hour later

Jon was whining about something and interrupting Alexandria and Jennifer's conversation. Finally Alex got fed up and sighed. "Jon, you sound like a 7 year old!"

"I AM a seven year old!" He retorted.

Jen just laughed at the statement and even though Alex was trying to seem stern, a chuckle escaped her. "Jon, just calm down, we are very close to home."

"Noooo! I've been trying to tell you, I'm not staying at Mommy's tonight." Alex stopped at the stop sign of the suborned area she was in and turned in her seat to look at Jon who was staring at her like she had done something wrong.

"What do you mean? Was I not supposed to take you home?"

"No, you are supposed to take me to Justin's." He looked at her with blue eyes that reminded her so much of Justin's and smiled brightly. A little too brightly for Alex's liking. She turned back around and sighed, making a U-turn in the middle of the street and heading towards his house which was a least 15 minutes away. It wasn't that big of a deal, she was 2 minutes from Lynn's, and had to head across town to go to Justin's. But she mainly just didn't want to see him. And then again, she couldn't wipe off the childish grin on her face for anything.

A few minutes later Jon's voice broke the silence. "Lexy, put in Justin's CD."

Alex groaned. She had gone all day without hearing Nsync, but she should have known better than to get out of a day without it, with Jon. "Jon, don't you want to listen to something else?"

"NOOOO!! I wanna listen to 'It's gonna be meeeeee'." He sang falling over the backseat in laughter.

"Jon, do you have you're seatbelt on?"

"Yes." He spoke quietly reaching behind him to pull the strap over him; he glanced up to see her sternly looking at him through the rearview mirror to make sure he put his belt on. He smiled at her in the mirror. "I wanna listen to my brother."

Alex groaned in defeat and reached behind her, into the seat flap on the back of her seat and pulling out a CD case. "Can you find what he wants?" She handed the case to Jen. Jen couldn't have worked any faster, and before Alexandria knew it, the sounds of her LEAST favorite song were blasting out of her stereo, with two of the three people in the car, dancing and singing.

Alex rested her elbow on the ledge of the window and leaned her cheek on her fist, as she drove with her right hand, and increased the speed of her Jeep. She needed to get there fast, REAL fast, so she didn't have to listen to the music very long.

After 'It's Gonna Be Me', Jon requested 'Bring in tha Noise', and finally 'I'll Be Good For You'. Alexandria didn't mind that song very much. She had heard about a billion times that Justin had written it. And if she didn't have to listen to it every day of her life, she would probably really enjoy the song.

They were halfway through that song when they had finally reached Justin's house. The gate wasn't open.

"Jon do you know the code?" Alex asked, looking in her rearview mirror at the young boy in the backseat.

"It's his birthday."

She looked a Jen. "Man, I hope his fans don't know that." Jen nodded and giggled. "Well what's his birthday?" Alex inquired.

"January 31st." He shrugged.

Alex pressed in the numbers and it didn't take. "Was he born in 1981?"

Jon nodded, looking happily out the window to the large house in front of them. "I think so."

She finished pressing in the numbers and finally the gates opened. "Wow, this is a...BIG..house." Jen breathed, mesmerized by the house.

Before Alex had even put her car in park, Jon had jump out of the vehicle and ran to the door. He rang the doorbell and no one answered. As soon as Alex had walked up to him, he gasped and ran back down the steps of Justin's front porch, down the driveway, in front of the garage and back around somewhere in the house.

Alex looked at Jen, who was standing beside Alex's car and looked strangely at the short blonde who had just sprinted around the corner of the house. She shrugged before following in the direction that Jon had gone. "Come on Jen." She waved her over and Jen skeptically followed as Alexandria glided past the garage and rounded the corner of the house. She stepped a few feet and could hear Justin's laughter along with Jon's. She couldn't help but sigh at the beautiful sound it was.

Jen came up beside her and they walked at little further until they were in the back yard. They both gasped.

There he was with Jon clinging on his bareback, him attempting to play basketball. He shot for the ball and Jen watched as the ball surprisingly sunk into the net. Alex just stared at him, in a pair of gray sweatpants and tennis shoes, red bandanna around his head and nothing else. "Come on, Jon. I'm trying to play a game here bud."

The sounds of Nelly's "E.I." were blasting through the stereo, as Jon hopped off his back and Justin dribbled the ball a bit and passed it to his brother, who fought to catch the large ball in his small hands.

"I thought Lexia was bringing you." Justin spoke with evident disappointment in his tone.

"She did, I don't know where she is though." Jon shrugged and giggled, attempting to throw the ball in the air, but completely missing the hoop. "Andele Andele momma EI EI UHHHOHHHH" Jon sang and giggled.

Justin looked up from laughing at his younger brother and around his backyard. His vision finally rested upon two women. One was smiling brightly at him and waving happily. The other was just staring at him, her eyes, even in the distance he could see changing from their light blue to a dark aqua.

"Hey Jen, Lexia. How are things?" He said, patting Jon on the head and walking slowly over to the girls.

"Hey Justin. Nice House." Jen giggled at him. He smiled back at her, and then glanced at the taller girl. He noticed her gaze. It started at his shoulder, and her eyes were slowly traveling downwards.

"How are you Lexia?" Justin said in a low voice. Alex's eyes snapped up, from being enchanted by the small droplets of sweat, flowing and dripping off his body. Her face immediately reddened at his broad, cocky smile, and she looked down at the ground to avoid him. "I'm fine." She barely said.

"Well, that's for sure. UMH." He grunted and back away from her to check her out, being as obvious as possible.

Alexandria tried not to smile, but it came anyway. "We need to go though, I need to get Jen back." Her voice was softer than normal.

"No we don't." Jen whined.

Alex looked at Jen. "Well, you can stay, I got to go do my paper for Astrology."

"When is that due?" Her eyes went wide and for a moment Jen became utterly terrified.

"Next Monday."

"Ohhh crap." Jen made a disgusted face. "I guess we do need to go, I haven't even STARTED on that."

"Are you girls sure you don't want to stay?" He asked stretching his arms over his head making his arm and abdomen muscles contract. Alex whimpered slightly, being taking over by his presence. Both Justin and Jen looked at her strangely.

She gulped and her eyes widen when she realized there were other people around other than herself. "Y-Ye-Yeah, we're sure. Have fun with your brother tonight." She looked up into those dark blue pools that were staring intently at her.

"I will." He grinned at her and winked.

Alex bit the side of her lip and leaned to the side to look around Justin and to speak to his brother. "Jon, we are leaving." Alex called out to the boy, still attempting to make baskets and rapping to the song in the process.

"I drive fast, see call me Jeff Gordan, in the black SS with the navigation!" He dropped the ball and ran over to her as she squatted down to his level. "Bye Lexy!" He said hugging her tightly. She pulled away and kissed his forehead while she stood up, and watched as Jon said goodbye to Jen with a hug also.

"Bye guys." Alex said, walking away, waving along with Jen.

"Bye Jen. Bye Lexia." Justin called after them. Alexandria turned once more to smile at him and finally turned around.

Justin smiled at her retreating form until they were out of sight then turned back to his brother.

"So, did she talk about me?"

Jon rolled his eyes and stomped away to retreat the basketball. "I'm not telling." He teased.

"But JONNNNNN...." Now Justin was the one sounding like a 7-year-old.