It was 2 o'clock on Sunday.

She was mad at herself for skipping, actually sleeping through, church. She ALWAYS went to church.

But after she got back from Justin's the night before she couldn't go to sleep. Jon's tear-stained face, Justin's hurt expression, and then them holding each other. It made her mind at ease to see the two brothers' love each other so openly.

It reminded her of her brothers.

She had a younger brother, Scott and an older brother, Andrew. Well, she had HAD an older brother. Andrew had died when she was 10 of cancer. He had been 16 at the time. He had been her everything.

She started thinking of her younger brother, he was 16 now. The last time she talked to Scott he was being called the "lady-killer". She was sure he was, with his jet-black hair and big beautiful ice blue eyes. Just like Alex.

But anyways, because of all these thoughts, Alexandria was unable to sleep. She had been up for about an hour fiddling around her apartment. It was in desperate need of a good cleaning job.

She sat on her bay window and looked at her apartment. All of a sudden it got really large when she saw how much she really needed to clean. In front of door was where the small kitchenette was. There was a bar that separated the rest of the apartment. Then a dining area. The couch separated the eating area from the den. The couch faced the bay window. An entertainment enter was in the corner of the room, beside the window. A love seat was against the right wall, if you were facing the window.

On the wall opposite of the loveseat was a mini, REALLY mini, hallway. On one side the door opened to her actually spacious and big bedroom where her desk and computer was. On the other side was a door to the bathroom and shower.

She sighed and went to the small hall closet near the front door. She brought out the vacuum, endust, Windex, 409 and whatever else she would need. She pulled out a new pack of paper towels and sat everything on the counter. She picked up the endust bottle and shook her head. What was she thinking? She shouldn't do this without music.

Sauntering over to the entertainment center, Alex contemplating what good cleaning music would be. Peppy music. She searched her CD collection and came upon her CD she had made the other day on her burner. She turned to the number she was craving to hear. David Grey's "Babylon". Turning the volume dial up loudly she lightly danced around her apartment, spinning and twisting, smiling.

Smiling. Something she needed to do more of.

"Go with your heart, Go with your head...." She sang quietly.

She had put all her dirty dishes in the washing machine and started to wash them. She had cleaned off the counter and re-organized some papers scattered around the bar. She was just finishing up mopping the tile floor when the doorbell rang. Janet Jackson's "If" was blaring through the speakers and she didn't even bother turning it down, or changing from her sweats and sports bra.

She looked through the peephole and not expecting whom was standing there. She unlocked the door and swung the door open.

"Hey guys!" She greeted with a warm smile.

Jon ran into her apartment and went to go talk to her pet Amazon Gray, Chester that was caged beside the kitchen table.

Alex smiled at him.

"Ummm, I hope you don't mind us coming over. Jon wanted to see you and I, umm, wanted to, uhh thank you for last night." Justin stuttered scratching the back of his head.

She waved her hand for him to come in. "Come on in."

She swiveled her hips to the tune as she went to turn down the stereo. "Sorry about how filthy this place is, I'm in the process of cleaning." She picked up a wifebeater lying in a pile of clean laundry and pulled it nonchalantly over her head.

"Hey, Lexy can I get Chester out?" Jon asked her hopefully.

"Yeah, sure." She said taking some laundry into her room. She returned and walked up to Justin who was giving her apartment the look over.

"Nice."

"Well, its filthy right now."

"No, I like it. It's cozy, unique. I like the ceiling." Alex looked up to where Justin was staring. Her ceiling was painted to look like the sky. Over her bedroom and bathroom area it was a night sky. Around her kitchen were storm clouds, in her dining room and part of the den was cloudy and around the bay window was a clear sky. They all faded together to look like one big sky.

"Yeah, I have a thing for weather."

"It's really good. Are you an artist?"

"Who me? Nuh uh." She eyed Jon who had the rather large bird perched on his shoulder. "My mom did it when I moved in here."

"Oh, that's cool. Do they live in Orlando?"

"Alaska."

"Wow."

"Yeah." An awkward silence fell over them. They watched as Jon tried to get the bird to talk.

"Umm, you want something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He responded politely.

"Jon, you want something?"

"No thank you, we just got back from McDonalds."

"At 2?"

"We kinda slept in." Justin said sheepishly

"Oh I understand. Umm, where's Britney?"

"She had to catch a flight back to Louisiana around lunch time. Going to go spend time with her family." A hint of his southern accent hit her ears and made her at ease.

"Oh, that's cool. Well, umm, have a seat, make yourselves at home. If you don't mind me, I'm going to finish cleaning up a bit."

"That's OK, we were about to leave. Weren't we Jon?"

"Can we stay?" He asked hopefully, still intrigued by the bird.

"I thought you wanted to go over and see Joey."

"Let's stay and help Lexy clean up."

"You want to clean?" Alexandria and Justin said at the same time.

They looked at each other and Alex laughed loudly. She didn't notice Justin slightly blush.

"If you want to clean, by all means go at it. Do YOU want to clean?" She looked at Justin.

He shrugged. "I guess I can help out."

"OK, Jon you take the Windex and work on the windows. You want to vacuum?"

Justin sighed. "I think I can manage that."

"I'm sorry, you don't have to do this."

He shook his head. "No, I want to. As a thank you for last night, and dinner and well, for being so good with my brother."

That was one of the best compliments anyone could ever give her. "All right. Then troops, get to work."

Jon saluted her and Justin followed suit, she smiled and shook her head as the marched off to do their jobs.

-Don't miss judge people. You thought he was a prick and now here he is cleaning your house. -

"Hey Alex? Lexy? Alexandria!" She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Justin who was staring at her waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry. Bad habit."

"I was wondering, WE were wondering what you were doing this afternoon?"

"Cleaning."

"Besides that."

She thought but already knew the answer. "Nothing."

"Why don't you come with us. Mom and Paul get back tonight late and we were going to go over to one of my friend's house. What do ya say?"

"Nah, I got finals next week and I need to study." Excuses Excuses. She really could go out and do things with them. But she would feel like a 3rd wheel. She needed to be safe, in her shell.

"Come on Lexy, please." Jon came up to her pleading.

"Jon, I cant."

"Why not?"

She searched for a good excuse. "I-I- I have to study, OK?"

"OK, but, are you baby-sitting me next week?"

"I guess, I don't know." She really had no clue with Justin being home.

Justin ruffled his hair. "Buddy, I think I'm going to be with you next week."

Jon turned to Alex almost crying. "Oh, so when will I see you again?"

"Probably at the play."

"But that's a week away."

"Jon, it'll be all right."

He whispered. "What if I have a nightmare?"

"Then I'll be there, OK?" The child looked up at his older brother and sighed.

"I guess." Jon sniffed and looked over at the birdcage. Chester was outside on his playperch bobbing his head up and down. Jon laughed lightly.

Then the bird did something unexpected.

It flew. Right over to Justin.

The bird captured itself on Justin's chest and fluttered its wings. Justin looked scared and then sighed in relief as the bird calmly climbed to his shoulder.

"Well...." Justin sighed in relief.

"Hehe, Chester likes you." Jon giggled.

"Yeah, he likes tall perches. But let's put him up." Alexandria went up to Justin shoulder and smiled at the bird. She put her wrist up to him and he wouldn't get on. "Come on Chester."

The bird wouldn't budge. She gave it a funny look and sighed and looked at Justin.

Her funny look faded away when his dark eyes looked into her icy ones. They stared at each other, not knowing why.

He noticed that behind her glasses her ice blue eyes had a fire in them, a passion. Something that he knew was rare.

He smiled slightly, and she stood there still baffled at Justin Timberlake staring her in the eyes.

Chester broke her stare. He climbed down Justin's arm and hopped onto her shoulder. She looked at the bird and he pecked at her glasses. She finally smiled and walked back over to the birdcage.

As if nothing happened. Justin turned the vacuum on and vacuumed her carpet. Jon was busy cleaning her windows.

She shook her head and picked up paper towels and the endust can.

For the first time, in a LONG time she couldn't describe, read into, or think about what had just happened.

Her mind was....

Blank.