A Fair Warning: An Introduction

So, despite having only one other fanfic to my name (And a brief document answering questions), it was such a success that I decided to do another one. Now I wouldn't enter into writing a fanfic without a very good idea, and fortunately I think this is one of the best I've had! Though to tell you why would spoil the ending – you'll have to read and find out for yourself.

There are a few things I will say, however. This story will be a bit heavier in tone, and also have more incest. Those of you who remember my story Switch and Bait will know that although there were hints of Jalex, the only overt mention of such was one sentence at the end – a sentence which was purposely grammatically incorrect so that you could read it one way or another. Technically, it didn't have to be Jalex.

Now the difference between that story and this one is that while Switch and Bait could have been an actual episode (provided you edit out the more obvious incestuous references) while this one is more serious.

If you don't like Jalex, you may not like this story. In fact, you probably won't. However, if you like Jalex tales except for the fact that they are siblings and prefer alternate universe stories where they aren't related, I would like to ask you to give a few stories a chance, this one included. I believe that by dealing with the topic of the abhorrence of it along with their struggles, given that they do love one another, presents a sad and tragic tale. I have read a number of times that in some folklore, lovers are reborn as siblings. I believe that you could gain a greater appreciation for the despair and tragedy when they are related. Of course, not all fanfictions deal with this topic fully. I hope this turns out to be one of those that do. I cannot force you to read it, however, and furthermore if you find that you still don't like it even if you do give it a chance, then that is fine. If you do give it a chance though, even if you end up not liking it, I applaud you for keeping an open mind!

"Family Secrets" sounds like a pretty bland and generic title, and probably it has been used before. But it is an excellent title for my story. Indeed, there are secrets, not the least of which is the whole Justin and Alex relationship! Although it plays out in the subtext at first, I think that the readers will find this adequate and possibly even endearing. Their relationship grows, though now I've said too much! Still, this story does warrant the "Eventual Jalex" tag.

It also deserves the T rating. Alex and Justin will have, in this story, a bit dirtier of a vocabulary than they could have on the show. I usually don't do this, but honestly it is more realistic. Of course they won't swear extremely frequently and the words will be kept to a PG-13 standard. (And I believe Alex will be just a bit more of a potty mouth than Justin.)

Now, I have this story outlined already. It has a definitive beginning, middle, and end. Suggestions are welcome, but I'm not planning on deviating too much from the model I have already laid out. Nevertheless, I tend to write sequentially (for the most part), so I will probably be releasing the chapters as they are written. This story is quite different from my previous in that I intend for it to be very structured, and constructed very carefully. Not only is the story as a whole outlined, but I am going to outline each chapter before I begin to write it.

There are surprises in store, mostly when the secret is revealed. I think you'll like it.

In defense of Jalex:

Imagine being Justin or Alex. Imagine teasing your sibling your whole life, yet when it really counts, being there for them. Imagine loving them more than any other family member, possibly more than any other person! Now, realizing that I have so far not even given anything that is not actually canon to Wizards of Waverly Place (You cannot deny that most of the episodes seem to be based on Alex and Justin, not the mention the movie!), extend that. When does the teasing become flirting? When does the love stray from familial to romantic? I would say during a time of great duress. How can one love one's sibling in that manner? I don't know, as I am not Justin or Alex. However, I can attempt to guess. Through this story I hope to find a glimpse of their psyche, a portion of their soul that drives them to incestuous thoughts and behaviors. Of course, I provide just one possible notion of why that is.

You know the people in stories who profess to hate one another and are always ragging on each other, but then they end up together? I've always seen Justin and Alex's relationship as pretty much exactly like that. I think Alex summed it up perfectly when she said "I taunt you and I tease you, but you love me anyway" (I paraphrase here for the important parts, of course.) Or as Justin said once, family hating someone isn't like normal hate. In fact, family hate is a form of love, though in the case of these two wizards it is more like romantic love.

In real life of course, sibling incest is abhorrent and for a good reason – the genetic risks involved are immense if you breed. And while that is the only actual risk, we are biologically inclined to not find our siblings attractive. Nevertheless, there is something enticing, even erotic about certain sibling relationships in fiction. For my part, the only sibling relationships I really sympathize with are Justin and Alex and Ryan and Sharpay from High School Musical. But their case is one of twins, which is another situation entirely. Probably the most common form of sibling incest in fiction is that of twins.

But I digress. Justin and Alex are not twins, and in fact their relationship is the better for it. Justin always plays the role of the elder brother, always there to get his sister out of a bind. He is the responsible one, the savior and protector. It's no accident that he is the male and older, because even in a familial relationship the male usually plays that role, even to a sister. However in the show the roles are exaggerated so much that they seem to verge on something more. The show would be entirely different, and I feel not generate as much incestuous fanfiction, were there any other combination of character traits and ages (for example, if Alex were the older one, or if Alex were the responsible one, or even if Alex were older and responsible, because then she wouldn't be in the male role). These are deeply ingrained biological roles for us so it's no wonder we see them the way we do.

David and Selena also have a great chemistry and it is in part their interaction that produces so much fanfiction based on their characters' relationship. However I personally believe that the writing itself is enough to produce a good portion of it, at least once someone points out all the plot points that revolve around Justin and Alex.

Of course the sum is greater than the whole – because of both of these we see more Jalex fanfics than if either had been true alone. The way Selena and David look at one another, the way they touch, the way they hug, as well as the writing of how Justin bails out Alex and how Alex helps out Justin, too (sometimes). It's a wonderful and beautiful combination.


Chapter 1

There was a phone call one afternoon. It was a normal day, mid-September but not too cool yet. It wasn't even light jacket weather, which Alex found unfortunate because she had just found a particularly cute one at an outlet. And unfortunately for Justin, the day was overcast and he couldn't test out his newest robot, which was a solar-powered vacuuming robot (the oversight was lost on him). Max, on the other hand, had found the perfect thing to do, although no one asked him why he kept getting bubble wrap delivered to the house. (He claimed it was to see what they packed it in.)

The call was from Kelbo's wand phone, yet Theresa was somehow not surprised at the call, despite the fact that he usually just popped in unannounced. (Literally popping in, too, of course. Well, the sound was more of a slight sucking and then a pop, accompanied with plenty of smoke, which always managed to set off the Russo family smoke detectors.) It wasn't around the normal time of year he visited, either, and he didn't often call just to call. After all, when he's a wizard visiting occasionally is just as easy as calling occasionally, and Kelbo adored his niece and nephews. He also got along with his brother fairly well, despite Jerry's insistence that he was a bad influence on the kids' magic lessons. Kelbo did look up to and respect his brother, however, acknowledging him as the better wizard. He was, of course, extremely thankful over getting Jerry's powers even though Jerry had won the family competition. Even though Megan, Jerry and Kelbo's estranged sister, knew Jerry's reasoning for choosing Kelbo, she still hasn't forgiven either of them.

But all that was in the past. On this normal day, when Theresa picked up the phone after seeing who it was on the caller ID, Alex was at the kitchen table not doing homework. She glanced up at her mother, but didn't pay too much attention.

"You'd like to come visit?" her mother was saying in a tone indicating that it sounded like the other party had made up his mind already and was asking permission. "Let me get Jerry," she continued, walking off with the phone to find her husband.

Meanwhile, Justin had walked downstairs. He looked at his sister at the table, and then walked over to it. He looked over her shoulder to see what homework she was working on, only to find, and not to his surprise, that she wasn't focusing on the schoolwork she was supposed to be doing.

"Alex, Aristotle's three appeals aren't a picture of a kitten playing with yarn," he said, smirking as he did so.

"Oh who cares what some dead guy said about rhetorical persuasion," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ha! You know they're about rhetoric and persuasion!" Justin said, triumphantly. "You do care."

"Justin, it says right here – 'Rhetoric – Persuasion'. I may not pay much attention in school but I can still read."

"Well that's a start," Justin said as Theresa came back into the room. She had hung up the phone and was proceeding to put it back on the hook.

"Hey kids," she said. "Your uncle Kelbo is coming to visit!"

"Really?" Justin asked, excited to see his favorite (and, admittedly, only) uncle. "When?"

"Right now!" said a voice from outside the door. It opened, and in the hall stood uncle Kelbo. Alex and Justin ran over to him, while Theresa called Max downstairs. Jerry was coming upstairs from down in the lair at the same time.

"Uncle Kelbo!" Alex, Justin, and now Max exclaimed as they greeted him.

"Hey, my favorite niece and nephews!" Kelbo said, but his voice wasn't as enthusiastic as they were used to. It was low and somewhat hoarse, as though he had a cold. Examining him, Alex could swear his eyes were somewhat puffy. Either Kelbo had recently developed a meth addiction or he had been crying. Alex didn't know why he would do either one of those and the thought bothered her, but she put it out of her head for now. It wasn't her place to question it. Still, this could have to do with why he called before visiting, and in fact, why he was visiting in the first place. She would have to file this away to discuss with her brothers later. (Well OK, to discuss with Justin – Max wasn't any help.)

She smiled warmly, in that disarming manner only she could. "It's such a pleasure to see you, Uncle Kelbo!"

"You too, kid," Kelbo said as he walked into the loft and sat on the couch. "And what would an uncle's visit be without presents!" He dug into his pockets and pulled out three small brown packages, handing one to each of the kids. They opened them without questioning it.

"Oh, cute!" Alex said as she unwrapped a pair of earrings with a blue gemstone set in them. "I didn't know you had good taste in jewelry, Uncle Kelbo."

"I don't, but... someone else I know does," he explained. "Now those aren't just any earrings. They're listening earrings. They're enchanted with the ear of a bat spell. Makes eavesdropping easier without the unsightly bat ears."

"Best earrings ever!" Alex said as she held them up to her ears. Jerry and Theresa exchanged nervous glances.

Meanwhile, Max unwrapped his gift.

"Oh cool, a super bouncy ball!" Max cried. "Is it enchanted to bounce really high?"

"No, watch," Kelbo said, pulling out his wand. He tapped the ball and it started floating. "Zero gravity bouncy ball! Perfect for Wizard Squash."

"Thanks!" Max said, hitting the ball. It zoomed around the room and everyone ducked. It ended up hitting the lamp, knocking it over and breaking it.

"Ay, my lamp!" Theresa cried. So far Kelbo was two for two in troublesome gifts.

Justin took his time opening his gift. He carefully undid the tape and unfolded the crinkled brown paper.

"What are you, saving a lunch bag?" Alex said with mock disgust.

"I like to savor opening it," Justin said as he looked what was inside. There was nothing there.

"Haha, you're Uncle Kelbo's least liked!" Alex taunted.

"Is this what I think it is?" Justin said with awe. Kelbo nodded sagely.

"It was...a friend of mine's," he said.

"What? You guys are getting this emotional over an empty package?" Alex said, confused.

"Alex, if you'd paid attention in class, you'd know that this is an invisible gemstone. It's a magical stone cut in a manner that makes almost all light go right through it, almost." Justin held it up, and if Alex squinted she could just barely make out the shape of a cut gem shimmering in the air.

"Whatever, my gift is still way better," she said.

Justin shrugged. He didn't agree with her, but whatever made his little sister happy was fine with him.

"Can I get you anything, Kelbo?" Theresa said.

"Yes, a glass of water if you wouldn't mind," he replied.

Theresa went over to the sink and got him a tall glass of water. Meanwhile, Jerry sat on the chair that was perpendicular to the couch.

"How have you been doing, Kelbo?" he asked.

"Oh, all right, all right. You know how it goes," he said, glancing at his niece and nephews as he said so. "I'll tell you all about it later, you know."

"Yes, do so," Jerry said, nodding sagely. Alex cocked an eyebrow, but this act went unnoticed. Theresa came back with the water, and Kelbo drank it like he was dehydrated.

"Ah, that's good stuff right there," he said, smacking his lips and wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve.

"You came just in time, Kelbo," Theresa said. "I hadn't started dinner yet and now I know to make enough for six."

"Thank you Theresa. You know, I'd hate to be any trouble though."

"Nonsense. It'll be easy. It's just fried chicken."

"Oh, delicious," Kelbo said as Alex pinched Justin lightly.

"Ow!" Justin was saying until Alex shushed him. She motioned him and Max upstairs, out of earshot of the grownups. Her brothers followed her until she went into her room, at which point they stopped outside, awkwardly. They usually weren't allowed in her room except for very special circumstances, and they didn't know why right now would be such a case. After all, teenage girls loved their privacy and anything that broke their sanctum was something unwanted. They stood there, looking dumb and wondering what to do, until Alex called them from inside her room.

"Oh would you just get in here!" she cried. Justin and Max shrugged at each other and went in. "And close that door behind you," Alex added.

"What's up, Alex?" Justin said, while obediently closing the door.

"Something's wrong with Uncle Kelbo," she began, pacing her room. "His voice was hoarse. And did you see his eyes? They were all red and puffy, and I doubt he's on drugs, so he was probably crying. Why would he be crying?"

"Maybe he was swimming," Max chimed in.

"And the way he drank that water! All of that says to me that he was crying," Alex continued, ignoring Max.

"Well, that would also fit with the drugs theory," Justin said, also not helping.

"Bah!" Alex cried, throwing up her hands. "You're no help." She sat down violently on her bed, and then lied down as though exhausted.

Justin looked at his sister thoughtfully and chewed his bottom lip for a while. "It's really none of our business, you know," he said at last. "Uncle Kelbo is an adult, even if he doesn't act like it sometimes. You don't like it when we ask why you cry, the rare times you do." He flinched a bit, knowing he probably shouldn't have added that last bit.

"Well I'm a teenage girl, it's what we do! Uncle Kelbo is a grown man, they don't cry without a good reason."

"Maybe he was watching Field of Dreams," Max said, continuing to supply his theories.

Justin nodded. "That is a totally legitimate reason for a grown man to cry," he said, defending Max.

"Justin," Alex said, deciding to ignore her brothers yet again, but curious about something else, too. "What was so special about that invisible gem?"

"Well if you'd pay attention in class, you'd know that it's a high energy density storage medium, capable of magnifying magic power. Wizards in the old days used to put them on their magic staffs. They're actually pretty precious and rare."

"It figures you'd get that gift."

"Why, because Uncle Kelbo likes me the best?" Justin said, beaming.

"No, because you're the only one who would care. Nerd. Now, I have a plan to find out why Uncle Kelbo was crying, and you people," (she pointed to Justin and Max) "don't want to know. So shoo, shoo!" she said.

Max left first. Justin followed, glancing at Alex on the way out.

Justin and Max went downstairs to talk with Kelbo for a while. Alex stayed upstairs and thought about how she could uncover what was going on with her uncle. She actually didn't have a plan, yet, but she wasn't about to let her brothers know that. It was strange, to her, that she would be the only one who would be worried about him. It was unlike her to feel responsible, but when it came to people, she said she knew more than Justin or Max. And this was her family, too. Kelbo had to have been crying over something big. Something big enough that he would come to visit his brother over it. And why his brother, anyway? That would be like Max going to Justin for comfort... and it was strange to think of Max as ever being able to be sad! Heck, Kelbo was a lot like Max in a lot of ways, and it was strange to think of him as ever being sad, either. They were both so happy-go-lucky and, well, at times not very bright. It was as though they lived in an entirely different place, a place decidedly out of sync with the rest of society.

She decided to try on her earrings. She went over to her mirror to put them on, and noticed how they really made her eyes pop. They also improved her hearing, just as Kelbo had said they would. And that gave her an idea.