I do not own any of these Wizards of Waverly Place characters. No, none of them are mine.

Until Then

Max's POV

I usually don't lose my wand but I did that day. I realized that I didn't have it when I reached for it to do a spell and it wasn't with me. I wanted to animate my army men so that I wouldn't have to move them myself because it makes my arms tired.

I asked Justin if he had seen it anywhere and he told me he hadn't so I asked him if he would be okay with me searching his room, you know, just to make sure it wasn't in his sock drawer or something but he slammed the door in my face.

Guess that meant no.

I went downstairs to ask mom if she knew where it was but when I saw her and dad doing stretches in front of the TV, I decided not to bother it about it. I didn't want to be a part of whatever was happening in there.

Alex was my last hope.

She told me not to bother her when Harper visited and never to bother her when her door was shut but this was an absolute emergency, so I knew she would understand if I broke the rules just this once. I mean, she does it all of the time.

I stood outside the entrance to her room for a moment to brace myself for her wrath. I put my ear close to the door and I could hear giggling. This seemed like a clear indication that she wasn't busy. I would have knocked but, thinking that she might turn me down like Justin, I decided that the best approach would be a forceful one so I barged in, ready to demand the whereabouts of my wand.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what I was seeing.

Harper was lying on her back in the bed with her shirt off and her legs open. Alex was on top of her, in between her legs, with one hand on Harper's breast and the other under Harper's skirt.

I'm not the smartest Russo in the family but it doesn't take a Justin to know what they were doing.

Alex's face went pale but Harper's turned the brightest shade of red. She scrambled for something to cover herself with as Alex snatched her hand from under Harper's skirt and hopped off of her.

"MAX YOU IDIOT!" she yelled. "Didn't I say NEVER to bother me when my door is shut!?!"

She had a crazed look in her eyes and I wasn't too sure if I was supposed to answer the question or not so I just backed away slowly with my hands in the air and fear in my heart. She kept coming towards me, making me very nervous. I tried to turn on my heels and escape but she grabbed me by my collar and hemmed me against the wall.

I had never realized how strong she is until that day. She was so close to my face, I could see her pupils enlarge. She started speaking with a voice that I'd never heard her use before; it was very low and laced with so much venom that I eventually had to shut my eyes because she was too unrecognizable and I was terrified of her. I even peed a little.

"You had better have a damn good reason for coming in here like this."

My eyes were closed and my lips were quivering.

"I ju-just wanted t-t-to know if, um…if you have…seen my wand…"

"What?"

"I said I was just—"

"I heard what you said!"

"So why'd you ask me—"

"Shut up, Max. Shut up and get out."

She let go of my shirt and shoved me out of her room but not before threatening to end me if I told anybody what I saw. Then she slammed the door in my face.

I stood there for a minute, trying to gather my thoughts. I slowly walked away from her bedroom, still a little shaken over what had just happened to me. I went downstairs, thinking that it was a safe distance away from Alex and that dad could protect me if she decided to end me before I got a chance to accidentally tell her secret.

Mom was still in front of the TV doing squats or something but dad was sitting on the couch looking exhausted and annoyed. I sat next to him and he casually turned towards me.

"Hey, Maxy. What's wrong?"

Before I could stop myself, I was babbling uncontrollably.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I didn't see what they were doing, I was just looking for my wand and—"

"What?"

"What?"

"Did you say you were looking for your wand?"

"Uh, yeah. That's what I said. Nothing else. Not one thing about Harper or Alex."

"Okay…Your wand's on the kitchen counter. You put it there when you were making your sandwich, before you went to play with your army men."

I couldn't believe it. I turned around and it was right there with mustard on its tip.

Once again, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I walked over to the counter and grabbed it, licked the mustard off of it, and went to my room.

Since that day, the vibe between me and my sister has been very unpleasant. When we're together, she just glares at me and I refuse to be left alone with her.

Harper still comes over frequently and she's still polite and giddy all of the time, except when I'm around.

I guess I make her as uncomfortable as Alex makes me.

I know it won't be like this forever. Eventually Alex and Harper will tell everybody what's going on between them and we'll look back on that moment and laugh until we cry but until that moment comes, I'm going to keep my distance and continue to animate my army men every night to guard my bedroom, just in case.