Heather knocked on the door to Alejandro's parent's house. They were doing the last bit of their project at his house because he was over there for the weekend. They had been working together for nearly three weeks, and although Heather hated to admit it, he was starting to grow on her a little.

She heard yelling from behind the door before someone opened it. "Hola, you must be Heather." She nodded. "Great. Alejandro's in the living room. I'm José, Al's older brother, by the way. And I'm single."

"Ok," she replied, unamused.

His face fell. "...Come on in." He stepped back, and she walked into the house. The first thing she noticed was the candles around the hickory sofa table and the chandelier hanging right above it. There was a picture of the family aligned with the fireplace.

"Wow, impressive decor," Heather complimented.

"I know. Our mom is very precise when it comes to house decorations."

"I'm sure you were being very hospitable, José," Alejandro got up from the couch, subtlety glaring at his brother. "But she's here to work with me."

"I'm aware, Al. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the store to get some things for dinner. Mom will be so proud that I fixed tonight's meal." He went and grabbed his wallet.

Alejandro growled under his breath. Heather noticed and remembered back a couple of weeks ago when he told her not to call him Al. This must be why, she figured. "It doesn't matter what mom thinks. Shouldn't you be fixing dinner just to help and not expect any praise in return?"

"I know you'd do the same thing, Hermano," José smirked before leaving the house.

"Ugh, he is the bane of my existence."

"I can tell," Heather snickered.

"Don't laugh," he groaned. "He seriously makes me want to jump off a bridge! Or better yet: push HIM off a bridge!"

"I don't think I've ever seen you this mad, Alejandro."

"José makes me furious! He always has to win! And he calls me Al just because I hate it!! And I've told him a bunch of times not to, but he never listens!"

"Siblings suck," Heather said. "My older sisters used to call me fat and poke at my stomach. I got revenge on them by always buying them junk food. Now they're way heavier than me."

"As if you were ever fat," he chuckled.

She laughed awkwardly. "I think we should start working. We're literally on our last day, and our presentation is going to make the others worship me."

"You have quite the god complex, chica," Alejandro smirked.

"Because I am a god. Or goddess. That's what I believe."

"And yet the most powerful being can't write a good song."

"Are you ever going to let that go?! And it wasn't even a full song!"

"I'll never let that go. You deserve it for being so cute when you're angry.

"Ugh...w-what did I say about compliments?!" Her cheeks were bright red.

"By your flushed appearance, it looks like you love them, señorita."

"Well, it's scorching in here!"

"Mhm," he smirked.

"Just shut up so we can start on the project."

He got his laptop out, suppressing a laugh. They started working and continued for the next half hour until Heather got on her phone. "I need a break."

Alejandro looked at her flatly. "Seriously? We have one more slide left."

"Yeah, seriously."

He sighed, annoyed. "As long as we finish before José comes back."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because he'll find some way to distract me and keep me from making this project the best. He can't stand to see me triumph in anything."

Heather pursed her lips in thought, then smirked. "What color does he hate?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "...What are you getting at?"

"Just answer the question!"

"I don't know. Probably like pink or something?"

"We're going to the hair salon store." She got off the couch.

"Qué?! Chica, are you well?"

"Yes," she rolled her eyes. "We put bleach in his shampoo and pink hair dye in his conditioner."

He blinked, surprised yet impressed. "Tell me you did not just come up with that genius plan."

"I know exactly how to get revenge on people and humiliate them. I've done it so many times. By now, it just comes naturally."

"Huh. I guess the project can wait then."

"Let's go get revenge," Heather smirked. He reciprocated her expression, excitement bubbling up in him.

Heather grabbed the bleach mix and the brightest pink color she could find at the store. "How permanent is this, exactly?" Alejandro cringed.

"The best we can do are pink highlights. It will last about six months unless he wants to pay to get it re-dyed." She put the products in her shopping basket.

"Wow. You're..."

"What?"

"An evil genius."

"I try," she replied teasingly.

"That was hardly trying," Alejandro laughed.

"Are you saying I don't have to try?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, a smile wide across his lips. Heather bit her lip hard to keep from blushing. Why the fuck am I blushing at that stupid smirk?! She clenched her jaw, regaining her focus on the task at hand.

"Of course, I don't have to try. It's about time you realized how good I am." She placed the hair products on the checkout counter.

"Believe me, I realized." Remember, Alejandro. Focus on what your intentions with her are. Do not think about her laugh, or the way she smiles, or the way she squints her beautiful grey eyes when she's angry, or-

"Alejandro!" Her sharp voice brought him out of his thoughts. "What are you waiting for? We're all checked out. If you're nervous, remember who this is revenge on."

"Qué-what? I'm not nervous. Not at all. I want him to suffer from that pink hair!"

"Then come on!" They both headed out to Heather's car and drove back.

Heather laughed menacingly as she mixed the dye and bleach with the hair wash. "One time, I did this to my older sister, except it was this ugly green color. She's still mad about it to this day, even though she pretends she's not."

"That is amazing. This is what he deserves for all those years of torturing me. He will pay!" And he will pay once he knows I slept with twenty girls in one year. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when-

"Done! Now, all we must do is convince him to shower when he gets back. I want to watch this all play out."

Ugh, I need to stop getting so lost in my thoughts! This is our last day working on our project, and you've made no progress with her! "I am glad you're staying," he replied smoothly. "This revenge plan on José? It means the world to me." She looked at him as if trying to study him. He could tell she was starting to have more trouble differentiating his fake comments from his real ones. Every positive word towards her is fake, he told himself. Right?

"When he gets out, we pretend we don't know what happened," she continued, ignoring his previous remark.

"Sounds like a great plan. You are brilliant, Heather."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "...I don't need you to tell me I'm smart. I already know."

"And of course, you know. As I've said before, I love a woman with confidence."

Heather was confused. Was he talking to me like that the whole day, and I just didn't notice? She could've sworn that he had dropped his flirtatious act when they were working on the project and at the store. I guess not. Jerk. "I'm confident that if you don't shut up, you will have one less working testicle."

He instinctively moved his hands over his groin area for a moment. "You wouldn't do that," he challenged.

"Yes, I would. Just ask Duncan."

"...Duncan? Why?"

"He flirted with me back in high school before he dated Courtney. To this day, he's scared of standing closer than five feet of me."

"Duncan flirted with you? No wonder you kicked him in the crotch. He probably didn't do it correctly."

"What do you mean 'correctly'?"

"Have you noticed any difference between the way I flirt with you and the way Duncan did?"

"Yeah. Disgustingly enough, Duncan was genuinely doing it."

"Well...not just that." Alejandro couldn't decide whether he had truly meant the things he said to
Heather or not. If he did, he wasn't about to admit it. "What was the nature of it? Was Duncan less subtle?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. But he's not a manipulative loser like you."

"My point exactly. Minus the loser part. 'Hey hottie, wanna go out later?' Is that what he sounded like?"

"Yeah, something like that," she laughed at the word 'hottie' coming out of his mouth.

"What's so funny?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Keep talking."

He gave her a look of suspicion. "Anyways, the key to flirtation is making someone's ears have an orgasm with your words."

"I-what?" Her face was red.

"An orgasm of the ears. Hola, Bonita. Would you like to accompany me tonight for a five-star dinner under the stars?"

Heather rolled her eyes but felt her heart rate quickly accelerate. "That did not affect me whatsoever," she lied.

"Only because we are talking about flirting. You knew what was coming."

"Or maybe it's because I would never go out with you. Ever think of that?"

Alejandro kept his cool but was getting frustrated. She thinks she's all that. She thinks she can resist me forever. "Now now, Heather. You know perfectly well I can give you so much more than any other man could ever dream of."

"Like what? A hickey and a ton of regrets the next morning?" She spat sarcastically.

"Who said you have to regret anything?"

"I'm never sleeping with you, got it?!"

He sighed in defeat. I guess I will have to find another girl at the university to make it twenty. "Got it."

"Now, if you would stop obsessing over getting in my pants, we could actually finish the project."

Alejandro now felt embarrassed. He didn't know why. He had never been embarrassed before. Why does she not want to sleep with me? Am I just not that attractive to her? Why am I even worrying about my looks?! I never worry about my looks! It's her problem that she doesn't want to sleep with me. Not mine. He kept repeating it to himself, but there was still a tiny voice questioning it.

They completed the project just before José came back. "I am shocked you two are still on the couch, Al. I thought you could get any girl into bed with you. I mean, isn't that what you told me before you left for college?"

Of course. Just when I was already feeling embarrassed enough. "I can," he growled. "I've already slept with four people in the past two months."

"That's all?" He laughed mockingly. "What a loser. No wonder she doesn't want to sleep with you."

"Actually, I'm a lesbian," Heather said.

"...Oh," José blinked.

Alejandro was speechless. Wait, is she?! No way, she would have told me already. Would she have? He saw the smirk at the corner of her lips and knew she was lying. "Yeah, José. You cannot just walk around assuming people's sexualities."

Jose's face turned pale. "I... that explains why she wasn't attracted to me at the door," he said to himself, walking into the kitchen with his head hung low.

"Ugh, disgusting," Heather fake gagged.

"Was that...?"

"Duh," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not into girls. Your brother is just a creep. And didn't I tell you I know how to humiliate people?"

"...Sí," he nodded slowly. Oh, she is good.

"Now we just need him to get in that shower."

"I have an idea. Just walk into the kitchen and hint at him that he needs one. He'll listen to you because you're a woman, and he can't stand to be seen as disgusting by women."

"Perfect. I'll be right back," she smirked playfully, getting up. She walked into the kitchen and saw José cutting some tomatoes. "Hey, where are you guys' water glasses?"

"Oh, right over here," he opened a drawer and grabbed one for her.

She grabbed it. "Thanks." She then scrunched up her nose. "Oh...something in here smells. Is that the trashcan?"

"Qué? No, we just dumped the trash out." José immediately looked at himself. "I was out all day. Maybe I need a shower. Dinner will have to wait. My body is much more important than anything." Heather smirked cunningly, watching him rush upstairs.

"Wow, even I'm not that self-important."

"He's pathetic." Alejandro felt more powerful now. He was so used to José calling him pathetic.

"Now, all we have to do is wait," she smiled.

"Hey, uh...thanks," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks for what?"

"For helping me get revenge." Alejandro was very good at getting revenge on many people. All except his brother. It seemed José was always one step ahead of him. But Heather completely blindsided him. He felt respect for her. One that he never felt for anyone else.

"Of course. I totally get the whole older sibling thing. I have two older sisters."

"Ooo," he cringed. "I have two older brothers, but Carlos is nice. José always told me I was adopted when we were little."

"Really? My sister Regina told me that too. That good for nothing bitch."

Alejandro laughed. "I love how you portray your anger towards them. It's adorable."

"Would you stop calling everything I do cute?!"

"I can't help it, chica. It is cute."

"Ugh, whatever." Heather's cheeks were slightly pink. Alejandro noticed and found himself smiling. I love seeing her flustered. Something about it is just so attractive.

There was suddenly a high-pitched scream from the shower. José came sprinting downstairs with new clothes on. He had pink dye stained on his neck. "WHAT IS THIS?!" Alejandro and Heather stifled laughs.

"I have no idea, Hermano."

"Yeah, that's so weird." Heather squinted.

"Wait a minute...AL, did you do this?!!"

"What?! No way!" Technically it's the truth.

"You better not be lying, or I SWEAR I will make your life miserable!"

"I didn't do it! Maybe it was Carlos?"

"Carlos wouldn't do such a thing! I WILL find out who did this to me! Ahhh!" José cried out. "My hair is ruined!! I will have to wear a wig for the next few months!"

Alejandro wanted to jump up and down with excitement. Finalmente.