Goodbye Alex
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A/N: Some yahoo posted a crappy quality video of Wizard of the Year on YouTube and I couldn't stop myself from watching... This is simply my irritation about how WoWP has been treating the character of Justin Russo told on behalf of Justin... more or less. admittedly, this will sound like the ravings of a crazy person but someone had to take Justin's side... might as well be me... lastly this shouldn't be taken too seriously... it's mostly just venting... Warning (again): Contains spoilers for Wizard of the Year.
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Disclaimer: Like all the rest... Don't own WoWP, characters, etc, yadda yadda yadda... Here we go...
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Alex Russo was devistated when she returned from from the awards ceremony naming her Wizard of the Year. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life but her jealous boyfriend, Mason had ruined it for her. His jealousy caused him to attack her newest 'crush', Chase, the Beast Tamer, and make a mess of the entire award hall leading her to dump Mason. Unbeknownst to Alex, Justin found this highly hypocritical since she was one of most jealous people he knew...
And to top things off, her older brother, Justin, was angry with her because she won the award instead of him AND that she was back in her family's wizard competition. She was surprised, to say the least, when Chancelor Tootietootie flashed into their home and made the announcement... something she couldn't resist rubbing in Justin's face... but she hasn't seen him in a couple of days and he was never one to hold a grudge for this long and now, she was beginning to grow worried.
"Hey, mom, dad, where's Justin?" Alex asked, coming down the spiral staircase in her families loft.
Theresa and Jerry shot each other nervous glances and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Well?" Alex asked again, moving to stand in front of her parents, crossing her arms.
"Alex, honey," Jerry said, standing up and putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Justin's moving out."
"What?" Alex screamed before realizing how panicky and needy it sounded and collected herself. "What, he couldn't take it that I won an award for something he didn't? Pfft, what a self absorbed-"
"Alex." her mother interrupted, "It's not just that..." she said, her voice trailing off.
"Whatever. He'll get over it." Alex stated with a wave of her hand. "Now, where is he?"
Jerry furrowed his brow in concern, "We're not real sure. He, uh... he said he had something to take care of before he moved out and just kind of left..."
Alex groaned in irritation, "Nevermind, I'll go find him." Geez, what a drama queen, Alex thought to herself as she left the living room and stomped her way upstairs to his room.
Alex flung open the door to his room to try to find a clue as to where he may be, but stopped in her tracks. His room was nearly empty... it was devoid of all of the action figures, stupid dolls, posters of his favorite bands and supermodels, academic trophies and medals, geek-chievments, and even his clothes, nerd-wear.
He's really going to leave? He can't leave... he promised he wouldn't... Surely he can't be this mad, right? Not when I've done so much worse. Alex thought to herself as she looked through the meager remains of his once cluttered, but neatly organized, room. She looked for several minutes, finding nothing, even digging through the small duffle bag propped up against the wall next to his door... the only thing that seemed to be left.
Now she was growing genuinely nervous at the prospect of him leaving, but not finding anything, she sighed in defeat, grabbed the duffle bag and flopped down on his bed, deciding to just wait until he came back.
She doesn't remember falling asleep. The last thing she does recall is laying down on the sheetless bed, clutching the small bag to her chest, and worrying...
She woke up a few hours later and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and the first thing she noticed was his missing bag. Damn it! I didn't even feel him take it. Wait! Am I too late? Did- She could've sworn she heard the front door close and jumped from his bed, sprinting downstairs. She didn't see him so she opened their front door and entered into the hallway, again finding nothing. No, no, no. She ran down the hallway and descended the stairs of the apartment complex and found him, his hand on the door to Waverly Place, the duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
"Justin!" she yelled, running up to him, breathing so heavily she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath, holding up a finger, "One minute..."
He turned to her, set down his bag, and crossed his arms, waiting for her to catch her breath. Once she did, she nearly exploded at him, "What the hell, Justin? It's just a stupid award!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, spitting out venom laced words, "Is this how you deal with this shit... by running away? Did you even bother to-"
"Wizard of the Year?" he interrupted, "You think that this is only about that fucking award?" he said, irritation in his tone. Alex flinched, having never heard her brother swear before.
"Well, what else would it be about, Justin?" she scowled at him. "I heard you in that holographic video. I know that-"
"It's about EVERYTHING, Alex. That stupid award and you being back in the competition were just the breaking point!" he nearly screamed. He started pacing back and forth in the narrow hallway, running his hands through his hair before speaking in a more modulated tone. "You've always gotten almost everything you've ever wanted and what about me? What do I get more times that not?" he paused, casting a questioning look at his siter. "That's right!" he said sarcastically before she could speak, "Fucked over, ignored, and forgotten about!"
"Justin, you know that's not true..." she replied, slightly frightened by the tone in his voice.
"Really?" he retorted dryly. "Let's start this then. And I won't even bother mentioning how many times I've had to bail you out or gotten screwed in the past... instead, why don't we focus on the major irritations of the past couple of years..." He said with a callous chuckle.
"I was willing to give up my powers for you years ago when when Crumbs threatened to take your powers away, remember? Well, I was forced to do it again when you refused to let Harper tell Zeke we were wizards... or even do it yourself! Alex, if anyone found out that I told Zeke, I would be the one blamed, I would be the one whose powers were stripped... because of you... because you got bored!"
Justin growled out in frustration and puched the door frame. He just wanted to leave without a confrontation, but Alex just had to find out he was leaving.
"Me? Because of me?" Alex said indignantly. "Yes, Alex, you. And you know what pisses me off the most? You didn't even bother to thank me this time... you didn't even acknowledge what I did for you... again."
Alex was stunned. She knew that didn't thank him, the didn't even think of the consequences involved if Zeke told anyone. "Justin, I'm-" she started to apologize before Justin cut her off.
"Don't bother, Alex. It's too late for that now." He didn't want to hear it anymore and continued his frantic pacing. "It's also too late for me and Juliet... also thanks to you."
He looked at the confused and hurt expression on his sister's face before he continued. "If you had just waited! I could have saved her... but no! You just had to get that god damned necklace, didn't you? It could have waited, Alex, just five more minutes, until I got the fight broken up between Mason and Juliet, but you just had to throw my wand to get that fucking necklace!"
Justin stopped to take a deep breath to calm himself down and stopped pacing in front of Alex, leaning down with a scowl on his face. "And then what happened, Alex? After it was over... you remember?" Alex nodded, suddenly not trusting her words. "That's right, you got Mason back... and what did I get, Alex, hmm? You guessed it. Nothing! I got fucked again!... just a series of random girls I had no long term interest in."
Alex squirmed under his intense stare watching as he shot back upright and started talking before she could speak. "And speaking getting f-... screwed, I told two people, just two, that I was a wizard... only that I was, and nobody else."
Justin brought his hand up to scratch his head out of frustration. "I thought I was saving the world from an alien invasion, which, looking back at it, was stupid, I won't deny that, but what you did..." He looked at the ceiling and grunted, barely able to control his irritation. "... Alex, you told the whole world that ALL of us were wizards."
Justin let out a hollow laugh as he looked back down at Alex, "What if Crumbs hadn't set the entire thing up? With all of the xenophobes and bigots out there... Alex, we, all wizards, could've all been hunted to extinction... punished just for being different. But of course, you didn't think about that. And I know that you were trying to help, but really, you would have probably ended up getting us all killed." Justin just shook his head and sighed, "At least with only the government knowing, we could've lived normal lives once they determined we weren't a threat..."
"And speaking of threats and punishments..." he quickly added, seeing that Alex was about to speak. "Why was I demoted back to a level one in the competition? Why was I demoted FOUR LEVELS for telling two people, Lambwood and Scientist One, while you, on the other hand, were only dropped down two levels for telling the world? How is that fair?"
"Justin... please." Alex said trying to cut in.
"Admittedly, we both messed up, but why was I punished so much more severely?"
"I don't know, Justin." Alex said softly.
Justin sighed heavily and shook his head, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I don't either... Alex, do you have any idea how hard I've worked to be the best I can possibly be? I strive to better myself every day, in every aspect of my life... and what do I get for my hard work?... Nothing!"
Frustrated again, he resumed his pacing. "I even had to take on a bunch of idiot delinquents and try to teach them the proper uses of magic in order to improve my standings in the competition."
He clenched his jaw and hissed at his sister, "And what do you do? Nothing... you sit on the couch watching TV, you sit around talking to Harper, or you sit around flipping through a magazine, sit in my class, undermining me at every chance you get... and avoid doing anything at all costs... and what do you get in return... Everything!"
Justin stopped and glared at his sister. "Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? How it feels when I bust my ass day in and day out and get nothing and then see you do nothing and get everything?"
"Justin," Alex stated angrily, "that's not true and you know it! I know I don't work as hard as you, but it's not my fault that things seem to work out in my favor, so stop blaming me!"
"Besides, Justin," she said to squinting eyes aimed in her direction, "I did save the world, which is why I got that damn award and was reinstated in the competition in the first place!" she fumed at him. "I think that makes up for anything else!"
Justin laughed at her statement. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You? Saved the world?" Alex nodded confidently. "Fine, let's talk about that for a minute... What did you actually do? Again, I say, nothing... Tina showed up in the Dark Realm, by herself, and, might I add, did a pretty good job of fighting evil by herself... after you told her to 'scram'..."
Alex glared at him for a moment before he said, "Yes, Alex, she told me all about it... Anyway, after Rosie convinced you to finally help, what did you actually accomplish? You showed up on that rooftop, tried to talk me out of being a dark angel and failed... you tried to get the moral compass back and..." he started grinning, "... while you did put up a pretty good fight..." he said, the scowl returning to his face, "in the end, you failed!"
"Justin," Alex begged, moisture forming in her eyes, "please stop..."
"When you think about it," Justin said, ignoring his sister, "Rosie was the one who convinced me that I shouldn't be a Dark Angel, I was the one who turned the Moral Compass back to 'good' in the end. And you..." he said, shaking his head. "The only thing you did... was take the compass that I gave you back to the Guardian Angels... you just left, Alex... you were just a glorified courier."
Justin ignored the tears now slipping from his sister's eyes as he continued his rant. "I know I asked you to go but... What if something had happened to me? Alex, they were Angels of Darkness... I could have been killed. Did that thought even cross your mind when you said 'Kay', a little too excitedly, and scampered away?"
Justin massaged his temples to stave off the headache that was forming. "If anything, Rosie and I saved the world, Alex... not you... Once again, doing nothing, taking all of the credit, and being awarded one of the highest wizard honors."
"Then why did you say that it was me who saved you, and it was me who saved the world? The only reason I believed it was because you told me..." Alex whimpered.
"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, way to go, Alex! You failed miserably'" He said mockingly. But continued in a calmer tone. "I'm still your big brother, and I couldn't make you feel like shit for at least trying to do the right thing."
"Then please, Justin... please stop blaming me." Alex sobbed.
"That's the thing, Alex... I don't blame you... It would be easier for me if I did." He said reassuringly.
"Then why are you leaving?"
Justin sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Do you ever feel like you're not in control of your own fate?... Like you just going through life with someone else telling you where to go, what to do, and what to say?"
Alex shook her head, looking at him with confusion in her eyes as he continued. "Of course you don't... and that's because almost everything goes your way... there's no reason to notice..."
Justin sighed and sat down on the small table by the doorway. "I never used to feel this way, you know. I mean sure, you've always made fun of me and pranked me, but you always needed me..." Justin looked down at his shoes to hide his disappointment. "And now you don't."
"Justin, that's not true." Alex cut in.
"Yes it it, Alex. And it was both the proudest day and the worst day of my life when I realized that my little sister didn't need me anymore... especially after I'd given up a dream, my dream, of college because you wanted me to stay at home."
"I still do..." Alex said, her voice weak and cracking.
Justin placed his hands behind his head and interlocked his fingers taking a deep breath. "It's too much for me to take anymore... I can't have these things keep happening to me and to have everyone expect me to just be okay with it... that's why I need to go."
Alex sniffled, wiping her eyes, before asking him, "What about the wizard competion? Are you-" she stopped talking when he stood up and reached in his back pocket.
"Thanks for reminding me." he said, pulling out his wand. He held it in front of him, looking at it one last time. "I almost forgot." He looked to his side and tossed it the trashcan sitting nearby. "I quit this morning."
Alex couldn't stop the sobs that escaped her lips. "Do you hate me that much, Justin?"
"Alex, " Justin said softly, "I've already told you that I don't blame you for any of this, and I could never hate you."
"Then p-please stay... please don't leave... please don't make me say goodbye." she managed to choke out.
Justin sighed heavily. He never intended to make his sister upset. He just wanted to leave quietly and without incedent. "Alex, you don't have to." he said, stepping forward to embrace his crying sister.
Immediately, in his arms, she started to feel better, like maybe this was all for show. Maybe he just wanted some attention... someone to notice him finally. She felt her heart fill with hope and as her weeping tapered off, she finally smiled... but all of this was short lived. He pulled back from her and looked into her eyes. "But I do." And once again, she felt her heart being crushed.
"I have to make my own destiny, find my own path... I'm sorry."
He turned and reached down to pick up his bag, re-slinging it over his shoulder, and opened the door. He turned back around for the last time and looked upon his sister. Her head was down, her hands were pressed to her face, her tears spilling over them. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed... "Goodbye, Alex..."
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A/N: finally, justin stood up for himself and quit being a whining little bitch (OOC, duh). seriously though, he seems more like a stooge nowadays than anything else... thus my irritation.
i know that this will probably piss some of you off... kinda hard not to after that... but *sighs in relief* at least i got that the hell off of my chest. this is all about interpretation... so there's a good chance i got it wrong and you saw it differently than i did.
while many of you won't like the delivery, there will be some that agree with the message (most likely the older sibling) and some who disagree (most likely the younger sibling or only child) and that's fine by me. at least it's out of my head... but now it's in y'all's... HA!
Ok, that's it... Peace Out.