Synopsis: Alex steps through an enchanted mirror and enters a universe where she and Justin can be together. But what starts out as a dream come true soon becomes a nightmare she might not wake up from...

Please review. I'm thinking of writing a series of stories with the main concept of What Dreams May Come as their premise. Sort of like my own WOWP universe. What do you think?

It was a typical day at the Waverly Sub Station. Customers came in and ordered their sandwiches... and Alex sat at one of the tables while her family did all of the work. Jerry was away with his friend Ponyboy,over at Jones Beach with metal detectors,searching for cool stuff. That meant that everyone had to pull a double shift...and Alex was at a table, reading her art magazine while absently playing with the sugar dispenser.

Theresa was on shift, while Justin and Zeke were hosting a collection day for old electronics people didn't want anymore, or an "e-waste drive." No one had seen Max in about a month. Theresa didn't notice; Alex used the mind-erasing spell whenever she got suspicious and made up an excuse for his absence. Still smarting from his latest prank, Alex had turned him tiny, and he was now living in a mouse hole in her room, trying desperately to avoid the phantom cat she had conjured to keep him there.

"Thanks," Zeke told the boy who had just handed him an old motherboard, with most of its circuity still intact. "Your recycled electronics will help us defend ourselves when the robots takes over!"

The boy grabbed his motherboard and ran, presumably to stockpile his own electronic arsenal in preparation for the Robot Revolution.

Justin stared at his friend in exasperation. "You know, things would go a lot easier if you would stop bringing up the impending Robot Revolution to everyone!"

Alex shook her head as she tuned out of the rest of the conversation. She still had no idea how she could've fallen in love with such a dork.

As she looked back at them, she couldn't help but smile as they argued over what they would name their robot sidekick. Justin might be a dork, but he was her dork.

Just then Harper came in, with a wad of cash in her hand.

"I did it Alex!" she said, smiling proudly. "I've finally done enough fund raisers to pay for my spot on the annual trip to Europe! And you laughed at my clown car wash!"

"It was a clown car wash," Alex told her. "I thought I was supposed to laugh." Harper thought about for a moment, then nodded, conceding the point.

Theresa came over and enveloped Harper in a bear-hug. "I'm so proud of you, mija!"

Harper blushed.

"You're going to have a lot of fun in Europe, Harper," Zeke said.

Justin came over to stand by Alex. "Getting to go to Europe is what separates those who work hard from those who hardly work!" he exclaimed.

As he said it, he subtly rubbed Alex's shoulder, letting her know he meant nothing by it.

Alex fought back another smile. She loved that Harper was living with them now, but the new addition to the household made it all the more difficult to keep their secret, and forced them back to their old routines. Imagine her surprise when Justin's barbs and insults actually started to sting.

While they still spent their nights together thanks to their mind link, there were times Alex wished they could be more, and she had come to really appreciate the little moments, like the one that had just passed.

She realized eventually that Harper was still talking, something about Paris and French fries.

She laughed at the appropriate moment, then showed Harper her crowning achievement, which she had kept hidden under a bedsheet.

"A vending machine!" Theresa asked, obviously outraged, though Alex didn't know why. She'd been thinking about her problem, which was how to get money for the trip, and came up with a solution that was both innovative and could eventually pay for itself. She'd done something smart. Wasn't that her parents wanted her to do?

"And just where did you get the money for this?" Theresa asked.

Ah, Alex thought. There lies the rub. There lies the rub? Where did that come from? I can't tell her where I got the money, but I don't want to lie either. What's a good euphemism? Euphemism?

I hate Justin.

"I took a start up grant from a local, family-owned business," she said.

"You took money from our cash register!"

Now she knew where Justin got his brains from, because, and she loves her dad when she thinks this, it certainly didn't come from Jerry.

"Well, if you want to use the ugly words, then yes."

"You are grounded, young lady!"

Ah, more ugly words.

Alex was in the lair, bored out of her mind and looking for something to do.

Then she saw the mirror. There was a sign taped to it. She took the sign and looked at it.

It read, "For Friday's lesson." And right underneath that,, in all capital letters, it read, "DON'T TOUCH IT ALEX!"

But Alex has a short attention span. She no longer remembered where the sign had been, and therefore didn't know what she was supposed to stay away from.

She approached the mirror, thinking to herself that the vending machine had been a great idea, and wondering why no one agreed with her. So she took money from the cash register. With the money she earned from the machine, she could've paid that back.

"Oh well," Alex said to her mirror self,. "At least I know you'll always agree with me." She placed her hand on the mirror's surface, only to find that it went through the glass. She did it again, with the same result.

Weird...which, in Alex's mind translated to awesome. So she went through the mirror...to find herself in the lair again.

"What a gyp!" Alex exclaimed. Then she noticed that everything was opposite, on different sides of the room.

Huh.

Harper enters the lair, saying that Theresa wanted to see her.

"Does everything seem backwards to you?" Alex asked.

"Just your shirt," Harper said. Before Alex could comment, her best friend grabbed her by the hand and dragged her back to the sub-station, where her mother congratulated her on her vending machine idea, and Justin called her brilliant.

Wait. What?

After a mini-freakout after having everyone agree with her, Justin explained that after she stepped through the mirror, she'd entered a universe that was all about her. An "all about You-niverse," as he'd called it.

Alex let that sink in for a moment. Weighed it potential benefits against its potential cons. She couldn't think of any cons.

Suddenly a thought struck her, and she had to test it.

She walked right up to Justin and kissed him. When it ended, no one objected. Justin kissed her back.

A million thoughts were running through Alex's head. She'd lost count of the times she'd wish that she and Justin could be more, that their relationship could be more than just a dream, that it could be real.

And here, it could be.

What could go wrong?