"Lights out girls!" Mrs. Walker's shrill voice rang down the hallways, finding its' way through every door on the fourth floor of the Wilshire Dorm Building.

Harper yawned, shutting off her light before pulling her comforter up around her neck and nestling her head against her pillow. Just as she was closing her eyes, her ears picked up the sound of ancient floorboards creaking under someone's weight and then the single window in the room protesting as it was slowly opened.

Sighing deeply, she threw the covers off of herself and sat up, running an absent hand through her long golden-brown hair. Turning her head to the window, she frowned at the sight of her roommate struggling to pull the window all the way open.

"How many times do I have to tell you Alex? It's like ripping a band-aid off, just pull the window open in one fluid motion," she jerked upwards with both her hands for emphasis. "It's way less noisy and really the only way the thing opens all the way."

"I know, I know, sorry Harper," Alex said, turning and flashing her roommate a disarming smile. Harper wasn't sure how many times that smile had gotten her friend out of trouble but she was willing to bet that it was more times than either one of them could count. "It just feels like it'll make more noise if I do it that way and you know how proud I am of my immaculate record."

Harper shook her head and lay back down. "Immaculate is a little bit generous, don't you think?" She turned so that she was facing the window and propped her head up with one hand, silently watching her best friend continue to struggle with the window.

This was the nightly ritual of room 413. As Harper and every other sane human being in the pacific time zone was turning in for the night, Alex's night was just beginning. Ever since she had discovered how "easy" it was to climb onto the tree outside their window and slide down without getting caught she had been leaving every night, always returning by the time Harper awoke in the morning. She spent her days sleeping in class, which Alex said would have happened anyways so really, according to her, nothing was lost.

Harper fought a constant battle within herself, going between admiring her best friend and wanting to kill her for all of the stupid things she did. By nature, Alex Russo was a risk-taker. She didn't seem to be afraid of anything or anyone and had a veracious appetite for trouble. What this meant for Harper was that a lot of her time was spent bailing her mischievous friend out of said trouble and since Alex had yet to be expelled, she considered it to be one of her more successful hobbies.

Sometimes Harper had a hard time believing that she had only known Alex for a few years, because it felt like they had known each other since forever. But Alex had only transferred to Millbury Academy three years ago. Harper remembered not knowing what to think of her at first.

She was beautiful, of course, with her naturally tanned skin, layers of long, dark hair that rippled down her back and large almond shaped eyes. And she just came off so…cool, treating everything with a nonchalance that suggested she had already seen and done everything worth doing.

Harper remembered wishing she could have been roommates with anyone else and living the first week of school terrified of the way this superior girl must be judging her. But for reasons that still evaded her to this day, Alex took a liking to Harper, slowly revealing herself to be a kind, funny and caring individual, the kind of person that Harper couldn't help but befriend.

Sometimes Harper wondered what it would be like to have a best friend that was more like her, someone who followed the rules and could be perfectly entertained by spending an evening making a fashionable skirt out of fruit roll-ups. But at the end of the day, even if she was seriously annoyed from cleaning up another one of Alex's messes, Harper knew her life would be dreadfully boring without the girl.

"Yes!" Alex cheered quietly as she managed to prop the window up all the way. With one leg outside, she turned to Harper. "Don't wait up," she said, a devilish glint sparkling in her brown eyes.

"Be careful," Harper said. "One of these days you're gonna fall and break your neck."

"Please Harper," Alex scoffed, "my reflexes are practically super-human."

"Sure, whatever you say, just don't come crying to me when you wind up with two broken legs and an expulsion to show for your idiocy. I hope what's-her-name is worth all this."

"What's-her-name is always worth all this." Alex smiled and Harper could tell from the look in her eyes that she had it bad for this girl, whoever she was.

"Poor girl has no idea what she's in for," Harper muttered under her breath. Turning over once more, she pulled the covers over her head and shut her eyes.

With a few strategic maneuvers out of the window, Alex found herself free of her room and steadily climbing down the big oak tree that stood in front of the Wilshire Dorms. Landing gracefully upon the ground, Alex stared up at the tree for a moment, congratulating herself on getting away with it once more. Harper really had nothing to worry about, though Alex appreciated that her friend cared enough about her to do so.

As she walked the familiar path she had been taking for a few months now, Alex couldn't help but shiver in anticipation. She had never felt this way about a girl before, not ever. Alex Russo didn't get emotionally involved with her women. At least, she didn't used to. But this damned girl seemed to be stealing pieces of her heart every freaking second and for the life of her, Alex couldn't figure out a way to make her stop.

She halted in front of a large, handsome house that sat facing the lake in the middle of the private school campus. Dean Torres' house. Alex laughed to herself quietly at the thought of divulging the past month's nightly activities to Harper. If only her best friend knew what she had gotten herself into now. She would probably shit a brick…more likely multiple bricks.

Bathed in moonlight, she stared up at the one window on the second floor that was still bright. Picking up a stone, she weighed the small rock in the palm of her hand, her brow creasing. She hated to be so cliché but there was really no other way to go about it.

Pulling back her arm, Alex threw the stone with deadly accuracy, hitting the lit window. And then she waited.

The light in the room went out and suddenly the window opened. A figure emerged from it, delicately stepping out and walking along the roof before beginning to climb down the tree that ran parallel to the grand house.

Alex waited patiently at the trunk of the tree and as the figure reached the last branch, she smirked and held out her arms playfully. "Don't be afraid, I promise I'll catch you."

The figure jumped down into Alex's arms causing her to lose her balance and send them both tumbling to the ground.

Alex chuckled quietly only to have a finger silence her lips. Her body was tingling now, a sensation that only one person seemed to be able to give. Looking up at the figure on top of her, Alex couldn't help but have her breath taken away and it wasn't because her chest had been crushed by the fall.

Bathed in moonlight, the girl looming above her looked like an angel. Her long light brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in beautiful waves and her brown eyes sparkled, even in the darkness. The girl's luscious lips spread into a wide smile as she looked down at Alex, her finger still pressed to her lips. "Hi" she whispered quietly.

"Hi." Alex said, pushing her hand aside. Without so much as another word she reached up and cupped the girl's face, pulling her down into a deep kiss. "Fuck" she hissed as the girl on top of her pulled away, smirking playfully. Damn her. Damn Mitchie Torres.

"So," Mitchie said, smiling as she idly wrapped her fingers around strands of Alex's dark hair. God, she really was beautiful. It was hard for Mitchie to look away but at the same time, the tanned girl's dark gaze was so intense. She blushed as Alex's eyes darkened beneath her with desire.

"So" Alex repeated. "What do you want to do tonight?"

Mitchie's eyes widened and Alex's words seem to set off a switch in her mind. "Oh, I totally forgot." She rolled off of her and sat up.

"What?" Alex sat up as well, her brow furrowing.

"I can't do anything tonight. I have to get up really early tomorrow for this family thing." Mitchie's eyes met Alex's. "I'm so sorry, I was going to text you but I completely forgot. And then you came and I was just so happy to see y-"

Alex cut her off with another kiss, pulling the girl to her and wrapping her arms around her warm, slight frame. Pulling back, she rested her head against Mitchie's shoulder for a moment. "Don't worry about it," she whispered softly into her ear. Alex let her lips linger there for a moment, grazing the lobe of Mitchie's ear lightly with her teeth and grinning as the girl shivered at the contact. "See you around then."

And with that she was up and walking briskly away. It was only once she was back at the Wilshire dorm building that Alex finally stopped. She let herself collapse against a nearby tree, sliding down the trunk. Her head looked up at the stars.

She was starting to really care about Mitchie and that scared her, a lot. Getting close to people wasn't a good thing. Alex knew that all too well and she promised herself she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. But…she just liked her so much.

Alex climbed back up the tree and slipped through the window, moving quietly so as not to wake Harper.

Pulling the covers over her head, Alex curled into a ball and begged sleep to come soon so that she didn't have to think about Mitchie or anything else for a while.

Just before drifting off Alex realized that she hadn't gotten to sleep while it was still dark in a very long time.