Smiling, I sat in the alcove hidden behind the school. I was waiting and anticipating the arrival of my brother's best friend. I knew keeping this a secret was wrong. My brother would bitch me out, not to mention kill Alex for messing around with his baby sister, but I couldn't help it.

I've known Alex my whole life. Him and Jack have been best friends since they were two, since before I was born. Both of the boys had always looked out for me, because I was Jack's precious baby sister and anyone that dared to even speak to me without his permission was screwed. I had always hated the two of them for it. Don't get me wrong, its nice to know someone is looking out for you, but it wasn't so nice never being able to talk to a boy without the boy being interrogated, and eventually scared away.

If I wanted to go anywhere, even if our mom gave me permission, Jack wouldn't let me go unless he accompanied me, usually bringing Alex along with him. Consequentially, I spent a lot of time with the two boys. We became the closest of friends. It became the Jack, Elena, & Alex Show. Not that I really had a choice. I didn't have many other friends aside from the boys. In reality, I only had one other friend.

Marla had been my best friend since the third grade. She had been the new kid in school, and me being the outgoing, chatterbox that I am, pretty much harassed her until we became inseparable. We did everything together. As we got older she came to realize that I couldn't go anywhere without big brother following. She didn't mind in the slightest, seeing as how she had a major crush on said brother. I thought this was completely disgusting, I kind of still do; I mean he is my brother. Eww.

Speaking of crushes. I had developed one on Alex. How could I help it when we did practically everything together? I tried my best to hide it though. Jack would not welcome the fact. Marla though, I couldn't hide it from. She knew me inside and out and picked up on my dreamy eyes when he was around. She had badgered me constantly until I finally stopped denying it. When I did confess my crush to my best friend, she made it her mission to get the two of us together. Her idea was that she'd distract Jack-I didn't want to know how- so I could be free to flirt with his best friend.

Personally, I never thought it would work for two reasons. One: I didn't think her and Jack would become an item, or that even if they did that he'd be distracted enough to take his watchful eye off of me. Two: even if she did complete task number one, I didn't think Alex would feel the same way; that we'd actually become something.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, Marla's plan actually worked. Things had started slow. Marla and Jack became close, spending more and more time with each other, alone. Curious as to why Jack had suddenly, after fifteen years of never taking his eyes off of me, allowed me a bit of freedom, I listened in to one of his and Alex's conversations. The boys were in the basement playing video games while Marla and I were having our weekly girl time-hanging out with the boys all the time was fun, but we were girls and needed to pamper ourselves and have some girl talk every once in a while. Marla knew about my curiosity towards Jack's sudden disinterest in everything Elena related. She encouraged me to eavesdrop on the boys' conversation.

I snuck down the basement stairs as quietly as possible and took a seat on the last step that wasn't visible from the couch where the boys were lounging. I had to sit there for a good ten minutes before they began talking about anything remotely interesting to me. They chatted about the school dance coming up that Friday, a show they wanted to see that Saturday, and some girl Jack wanted Alex to ask out. I frowned at the last one but forgot about it as soon as I heard the next sentence out of my brother's mouth. He had set down the Xbox controller he was using to beat his best friend at their favorite game and faced Alex.

"I wanted to ask you a favor," Jack was saying. My ears perked up, listening intently.

"Sure, what's up?" Alex asked sounding slightly intrigued by his friend's tone.

"You know I've been spending more time with Marla lately." There was a pause as I pictured Alex rolling his eyes. "Well, I haven't been able to really keep an eye on Elena-"

"And you want me to spy on her for you?" Alex finished for my brother.

"I wouldn't put it like that," countered Jack, sounding unsure that his best friend would do this one favor.

"However you put it, you know she can't do anything without you finding out about it. I'm sure she would like some privacy. Or at least be able to have friends other than us and Marla." I nodded to myself, agreeing wholeheartedly to Alex's statement. It sort of surprised me that Alex would voice these concerns for me, as I had never had the heart to tell Jack myself. He was my brother and I loved him dearly, I didn't want to cause a rift between us by asking him to leave me alone. Therefore I was extremely pleased someone else was doing it for me.

"I'm not that bad, and you know it," Jack tried to rebut, and then softer he added, "You know she's all I have. Please just keep an eye out for her? I couldn't stand anything or anyone hurting her."

"Okay," Alex relented in a semi-serious tone before resuming the game displayed on the television in front of the two.

I was surprised, not only by the fact that Alex agreed, but by Jack's reasoning for never turning his back on me. Sure, I knew that Jack and I only really had each other-our father left us just after I was born, and our mother was a drunk who didn't really pay much attention to her children-but I'd never equated those facts with the reasoning behind Jack's overprotective actions.

Nevertheless, I was ecstatic. Marla's plan had actually worked. And unknowingly, Jack had assisted me in my efforts to be alone with Alex. I knew Alex would keep his word and watch me to the death if he had to; he was nothing if not loyal. This meant plenty of one-on-one time with the boy.

After that day, Alex and I spent a lot of time together. Nothing more than usual, the only difference being Jack and Marla's absence. We kept to our normal routine. Hanging out in my basement after school, watching movies and playing Xbox. Walking downtown, people watching and fooling around on the pier. On the weekends we still went to shows at the local club and we still went to parties on Saturday nights.

Nothing had really changed, but everything felt new. It was as if I was doing all of these activities for the first time. It was like I had never been in the same room as Alex, as if we had never been this close. And I supposed that was true. We had never really been in the same room alone, for more than a few minutes. We had never been this close because Jack and Alex had always been one pair while Marla and I had been another. Now the tables had turned. The pairs had changed. Marla and Jack had been dating for the past six months, a fact that I was still trying to digest, and Alex and I had spent the past six months becoming closer. I'd even venture as far as to say he was becoming not just my crush but also my new best friend.