Silence

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Disclaimer: Like all the rest... Don't own WoWP, etc, yadda, yadda, yadda... here we go...

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Chapter 1

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Justin could feel he wind whipping through his hair as he looked up at the night sky. It seemed that it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. The way the stars twinkled above him, shining their meager light for all the world to see, and he wondered for a second how many of them were still there... how many had 'died', exploded in a brilliant supernova, but were too far away for the light from that catastrophic event to have yet reached Earth. He wondered how many of them out there were just like him... still shining for all the world to see but had long since passed... just a remnant of their former selves.

It had been three days since he made the biggest mistake of his life, three days since he ignored that screaming in his mind... It had been three days since he had mistakenly kissed his sister, Alex.

He didn't intend for it to happen. He was fully prepared to deal with these feelings he had for her since he was fifteen... he was willing to ignore them and get on with his life but then, when she messed something up, she ran to him like she always did, and when it was over, she hugged him.

That was all it took to bring his feelings to the surface. He'd fought them back so many times before, but this time was different. This time, when she pulled back and looked up at him, whispering a sincere 'thank you', he couldn't resist anymore and his lips came crashing down onto hers.

He could hear the voice in his head sreaming at him to stop, begging him not to do it, but he didn't listen, not this time. He'd been listening to this voice all of his life, yelling at him to look away when it caught him staring, yelling at him to let go when he held her for too long. It seemed like screaming was all he could hear anymore.

Now he felt weightless... free... like soon, all of this pain would come to an end... soon, all of the screaming would be silenced.

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Three days ago...

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"Justin," Alex said in a panic, "I need your help!" He could tell she was in trouble, she usually was, and he knew that even if he tried to resist, he would give in, he always did.

"What did you do now?" he said, annoyance seething through his voice. He looked up at her from the couch, away from the book he'd been reading, and saw the worry in her eyes.

"I, uh, I don't really know..." she started, unsure of what she had just done... unleashed. She couldn't find the right words to describe it. It was something she'd never seen before, so she did what she always did... she ran to to one person she knew would have the answer.

His annoyance was building, and even though he may have been in love with her, she was still his little sister, and prone to getting on his nerves. "What do mean you don't know? God, Alex, you're so-" he was suddenly cut off when she ran up to him, grabbed his wrist tightly, and pulled him off of the couch. "Oh, would you just come on!" she huffed. She knew what he would've said if she let him continue... 'you're so irresponsible, you're so immature, so naive... she's heard it countless times.

He could feel the heat of her hand on his wrist where she had grabbed him, when the screaming started again. Pull away! Make her let you go! Don't lose control of yourself! Think of the consequences! He was tired. Tired of feeling hopeless, tired of feeling like there was nothing he could do... tired of the screaming. He pushed it, as best he could, to the back of his mind as he allowed himself to be dragged down the stairs of his family's loft, through the small diner, and toward the Lair.

The door was closed, but he could hear something inside smashing into the eclectic wizard artifacts, relics passed down through the generations, and random junk that littered the seat of the Russo family's powers.

"Alex!" he shouted, pointing at the door, "What did you do? What's in there!"

"That's the thing, Justin. I really don't know!" she pleaded. "I had the portal door open again and this... this... thing just sort of flew in!" He wanted to scold her, and remind her of what happened the last time she carelessly left the door open, turning their father into some giant grotesque insect. But her eyes were begging him to believe her and he could see the truth behind them, so he decided it was best to let it go.

He closed his eyes for a moment to calm his thoughs and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Fine, I'll go. Just wait-" "NO!" Alex interrupted. He furrowed his brow and looked quizically at her. "I don't want you to... I mean, It's just that..." "I know, Alex" he interjected softly. "I'll be fine."

She offered him a weak smile and grabbed his bicep. "I'm coming with you!" She said it so firmly that he didn't bother to argue... he knew it wouldn't make a difference. She cared about him, no matter what she told people, and he knew this. He knew that she was afraid of losing him, afraid of him leaving her, worried that she wouldn't have anyone to watch her back anymore. He shot her an understanding smile that she rolled her eyes at... she "hated" that he knew how much she needed him.

When he opened the door and stepped through, his eyes went wide at the destruction laid out before him and, instinctively, he pushed Alex further behind him to keep her safe. She gently squeezed his arm 'thank you'.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw... something... something small, the size of a baseball, glowing a brilliant red. Immediately, his eyes snapped to the shining orb. Ribbons of stunning crimson swirled around it, like the twisting magnetic field lines of the sun, humming with energy.

The orb seemed to sense the sibling's presence and hurled itself at them. Closer and closer it came, barely missing them as Justin whirled around, forcing himself and Alex to the ground. "Shit!" Justin rarely cursed so even through her fear, Alex giggled, causing Justin to shake his head in disbelief.

"Ok. I think I've... got... a... uh... plan."

"You're just filling me with confidence here, Justin." she retorted flatly.

"Maybe that thing just wants out?" he said, noticing that the portal door was closed. "I'll go open it and maybe it'll just leave..." his voice was unsteady, unsure if the object in the room was really just trapped there, looking for away out or... he shook his head, he didn't want to think about what else it could want.

Alex didn't think that was one of his more brilliant ideas but with him still pressed protectively on top of her, she was in no position to argue. Before she could protest, Justin pushed himself up and darted toward the portal. Alex watched in horror as he started running, making it only three steps before the glowing orb hit him sqarely in the back, sending him crashing into the wall, and crumpling to the floor.

"JUSTIN!" She quickly crawled to his limp and unconscious body, shaking him violently, trying to wake him. "Justin, please... please wake up!" She kept shaking him, desperately hoping he wasn't... "No! NO! Justin!..." She could feel the tears coming down her face as she pounded her fists into his chest.

Waking from his daze, he heard the the cries of his sister, felt the pounding on his chest, and the soreness in his body from his tumble into the wall. He gasped for breath, coughing, trying to fill his lungs with air. "Justin! You're alright! Thank God!" she cried out, wiping her eyes, "I was so worried that... that..." She couldn't finish that sentence, she just couldn't. She grasped Justin's shirt in a white knuckled grip and buried her face into his neck, still sniffling as he wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm fine, Alex" Justin choked out, "Let's just finish this." She nodded against him, clinging tighter.

Luckily, the wall the orb knocked him into was the one closest to the portal door. All he had to do was find the strength to stand and move the few remaining steps it would take to get the door open.

"Where is it?" It was a fair question considering the trauma he'd just suffered. But was even more distracting to him, was the closeness of Alex. The way she felt pressed against him, her warm breath on his neck, sent shivers down his spine.

He couldn't focus on that now... there were more important things to deal with. Steeling himself, he gently rolled her over, and the position he found himself in was one he'd relentlessly dreamed of... Focus, Justin. Do what needs to be done! Get that damn thing out of here! Keep her safe! The voice in his mind screeched at him. Shaking his head free from this, his eyes darted around the room to try and locate the red orb. He saw it, glowing even more intensely, silently hovering only ten feet away, seemingly awating his next move.

He knew he had to be fast, he may not have another shot at this. He looked back down at Alex, who had followed his eyes and was focused on the intruder. Slowly she shifted her gaze to meet his, and when they met, he nodded; a silent message of what he intended to do. She shook her head furiously, her deep brown irises begging him not to try again... not to leave her. "I have to, Alex. We don't have much of a choice." She stared at him for a moment, uncertainty washing over her, but decided he was right, he was Justin, he usually was, she swallowed hard and meekly nodded her response.

He turned his gaze back to the glowing sphere, then to the door, and back. It seemed to know what he was going to do, like it could read his thoughts, and as Justin got up to make his sprint, the orb began its own as well.

The portal door was no more that eight feet away but if seemed like miles. He moved his legs as fas as they would carry him, but it felt like slow motion. He could feel the heat emanating from the sphere as it closed in on him, like it was moving in for the kill. One final step and Justin lunged toward the door, leaping with all his might, grabbing the handle, nearly pulling it from its foundation, yanking the door open as he crashed to the floor.

He closed his eyes, awating the second impact... but it never came. The red orb had simply left, fled the scene, with distruction in its wake. Slowly, Justin opened his left eye, not quite certain enough to open both, and flinched when he saw Alex slam the portal door shut, jam a broom into it, and place her back against it... just in case.

Heavy panting filled the air. Neither spoke, listening intently to make sure they were safe. When their breathing calmed, Alex looked down at Justin, who was just beginning to open his right eye and couldn't help the laughter that overtook her. It's funny how a potentially near-death experience seems to work. Fear of dying... relief from surviving... and then laughter... it doesn't make much sense. It's like the mind's way of releasing the tension to keep a person from seizing up... When Justin heard his little sister giggling uncontrollably, he finally let his guard down and joined in, and made he way back to his feet.

Alex reached out a hand to Justin to help him up and when he extended his own, grasping her wrist, he felt the sparks shoot through him. Once on his feet, she wrapped her delicate arms around his back and squeezed tight, and as he slid his own around her, gently rubbing her back, he could feel himself losing control. "Are you ok?" he asked softly, his laughter subsiding. He felt her nod against his chest before slowly pulling back to look into his eyes. "Thank you, Justin."

The greatful and loving look in her piercing brown eyes, the softness of her body pressed against his, the heavenly scent of her perfume, were too much for him to bear any longer. Even with the symphonies of 'no', 'stop', 'sister', 'future', playing a dark melody in his head, he leaned down and connected his lips to hers, trying to make her feel, trying to make her understand what he felt...

He knew it was wrong, he knew it was a mistake, he knew he should've listened to those voices in his head, but he was so tired of the screaming...

And when she wretched away from him, when he saw the hurt and betrayal in her eyes, when he felt the stinging slap of her hand across his cheek, he knew this was the beginning of the end... he knew she would never feel the sme way... he knew this was to be his undoing...

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A/N: chapter 1 is done, chapter 2 coming shortly...