A/N...
Wowza! My very first story in a long, long time. I really hope everyone loves it, because I won't leave this one hanging, I promise!
Disclaimer; I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place...at all.
No one ever knew why, but rain had always been her favorite type of perennial weather. She had been told time after time in science class and by people with actual brains on their heads how rain was made, but the idea of 'god crying' caught her attention and was overall, way more interesting. And whenever it came around? She was ready. No matter how pissy and irritating the messy stack of shit appropriately called 'life' got, the rain always seemed to soothe her mind. She and Harper used to kick off their shoes and play in it. You know, whenever she wasn't being irritating. Whatever was going on with her, the rain seemed to signify a certain change. It was extraordinary…
Almost like magic.
She walks the streets at night, searching for something; something she doesn't know she's looking for until she finds it. The street lights take effect, not the overbear the fluorescent moonlight serving as a spotlight over her. Her feet pounded against the concrete, each click-clack making her more excited for her next steps. Her camera slung around her neck, in hand, she had a feeling. The night's stars sung to her, almost as if to send a sign from the heavens, that the moonlight was right, the time was right. There was something special about the nighttime. Alex often called it (in her head, anyways) the 'hour of Alex'. It was where she shined, where she found inspiration for her most coveted artworks. Every night she walked the streets of Humbolt Park, her buzzing New-York neighborhood, scouring the streets for inspiration.
Alexandra Russo had certainly matured over the past few years. No longer a picky fifteen year old girl who tried to keep up with Lady Gaga's latest style, she'd allowed her thick, dark hair top grow long, not cutting it for several years. It was now swung past her past her breasts, acquiring it's own glossy bounce.
Slowly and suddenly, drops of rain began to fall from the night's sky. "Shit." She spat, covering her camera underneath her jacket. She quickly scampered into the nearest open establishment, which, coincidentally, was her favorite nighttime spot. The Coffee Shop on 35th had had many names over the past couple months. Today, it was called 'The Waverley Café' The name sparked a certain emptiness inside her. Growing up on the lower east side, her family had owned a restaurant of the same name. Now Alexandra wasn't superstitious, if anything, but the name brought her back to a darker place in her life, she hoped she'd forget. Of course, she'd had some good times back there, but before that fateful day, when she was sixteen. Be easy, she told herself. Alexandra was a different person now, and wouldn't let bad memories stop her from living her life.
She pushed the door open, only to be greeted by a small chime. Despite the constant name changes, her favorite spot kept the same style. The Waverley Café was used to having handfuls of tourists passing through for cheap, decent food. But tonight, she was the only customer, except for a shadow that sat at the table in the far end of the room, reading a newspaper.
"Just the person I wanted to see." Someone said. "My favorite night straggler." Daniel, the twenty-something cashier smiled a crooked smile at Alexandra, laughing. "Rough evening?" He pointed to her wet clothes and the camera hiding underneath her shirt. Alexandra waltzed up to the counter, hands in the pockets of her boyfriend jeans with her back slightly hunched. She balanced herself, lifting up onto the counter, next to the register. Her legs dangled over the side. She took off her wet jacket, wringing it out the best way she could. Daniel laughed half heartedly, poking her playfully in her side.
"Hey, I meant to ask, maybe you could close for me tonight? I'm Djing at this party Laura's throwing in the basement." Daniel gave the raven haired girl in front of him a playful punch in the shoulder, silently begging for her to say yes. For a moment, Alexandra wanted to be a smartass and say, "What, I'm not invited?" It was the basement of HER apartment, after all. All tenants should be invited. But she decided to leave it alone. They knew she never partied. She knew she didn't, too. She shrugged her shoulders, almost as if to say, "Why not?" Daniel pumped his fist in the air, untying his green and silver apron and tossing it at Alexandra. She poked her head through. "Before you go, make me a frappucino, will you? Can't close on an empty stomach-"
Daniel slid a freshly made drink across the counter. He probably knew Alex would say yes and made her a drink in advance, heavy on the whipped cream. He then preceded to hurriedly slide his arms into a leather jacket. "Have fun, Alex." He jogged up to her while patting his pocket for his keys and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You are seriously like, the best friend ever." Alexandra began to ponder on when she would learn to say no. "Hey," She called out to Daniel who was on his way out the door. "Is this place really called Waverly Café?" She sprung down from the counter with a less-than-perfect landing.
"Yup." He kept walking, not having time for conversation. "You know, their used to be a sub station over on fourteenth; Waverly Sub Station. Me and my brother used to hang out there all the time. Closed a couple years back, though. One of the owners died a while ago."
"Yeah, I…I heard." Alexandra hung her head, trying not to think of them. "I knew her."
"'S closed, now." For a moment he shook his head in reminiscence, then went his way out the door. "See you at home, Alex."
On her ring finger, Alex always wore a silver band, engraved with only a 'J'. She never knew exactly whom had given it to her, but it was the only thing she had that reminded her of the life she had with her family, the happy one. Most likely, it was her father. His name was 'Jerry', so it only made sense. She'd hoped it wasn't him, with what he'd done to her. Memories burned her mind, every time she'd tried to figure it out. Alexandra couldn't tell herself why she kept it on. But something, …a feeling, maybe, stayed in the back of her head that her father hadn't given it to her.
Being the good friend she'd been said to be, Alexandra went back to cleaning tables and sweeping the floor. She'd never worked at the café, but would take a shift once in a while for a friend. She didn't really mind at all. After all, she'd had experience working in the restaurant business. Hard work made her forget all her troubles. All the bad memories that haunted her, they were pushed further back. She was grateful, even though it was for a little while. Alex heard the rustling of a newspaper when the mysterious straggler in the back of the café got up, so that she could sweep underneath the table.
"How did you know her?" His strong, husky voice broke the silence. The man's voice had startled her, but the raven haired beauty continued to sweep. When she didn't answer, he spoke again. "The owner? Of Waverly Sub Station. The woman who died. How did you know her?"
"What's it to you?" She placed one hand on her hip, the broom in the other. "You don't know anything about her."
Catching her quick attitude, the man, put down his newspapaer and laid it on the counter she had just scrubbed. In the corner of her eye she caught a quick look at him. His shaggy black hair fell over his face just enough that you could see his eyes. Those eyes, if I might add, were the type of blue that you could drown in. He was tall, and couldn't have been more than twenty five at the most. "I guess you could say I knew Theresa very, very well. I loved her very much."
Alexandra didn't turn around. She continued to sweep underneath the table. Theresa? Daniel hadn't said anything about her name, had he? By now, Alexandra would've showed him to the door, but decided to allow the mentally insane stranger entertain her. "Really?"
The stranger threw the newspaper into a nearby recycle bin, and huffed in a breath like the topic was difficult to talk about. "She was my mother." Alex chuckled, almost laughed. "Listen, egghead." For the first time that night, Alexandra Russo allowed the stranger to look her in the face. She turned to face him, wiping the matted sweaty hair out of her eyes. "Is that so? And I guess I'm the queen of-" Alex stopped mid-sentence, confused by his pale expression. He looked at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
"…Alex?"
Comments/Reviews are greatly appreciated.
GREATLY. C'mon. I wanna know what you think.