Lie? Or Anti? Part 1
A/N:
-I do NOT own Wizards of Waverly Place or anything related to it. I also don't own Nintendo or any other product mentioned here.
-This story took me a long while to complete, mostly because it centers on Alex. I wrote it for my younger cousin (mostly to annoy her...jk) who also is a writer here on fanfiction. I didn't realize how long it is, so I split it into two parts
-For the sake of the story, Alex is single and this is after Harper knows about Alex being a Wizard.
-Please read and review. If there is any criticism, please keep it constructive. And of course, enjoy!
The atmosphere in the wizard liar was filled with indifference towards the new lesson. Not even Justin, the eager learner, was motivated to learn. He had happened to get his hands on a rare limited edition comic book the other day. His anticipation was saved for comic book, not the lesson. Alex sat legs-crossed reading a magazine in the armchair next to Justin. Max was on the edge of the couch across from Justin intensely engaged playing the Nintendo DS. Max quickly jumped up in excitement.
"Yes! Just beat the level. Oh yeah, one more level and I'll beat Justin's high score." Justin looked up at max with a smirk.
"Fat chance buddy, because that high score is 100% unbeatable, yeah that's right." Remarked Justin with an air of confidence. Max rebutted back.
"Ha, I bet I can beat that score before…"
"Justin! Max! Can you stop with your nerd talk; I'm reading something important here." Alex interrupted. Justin looked at Alex with a look of disbelief.
"What's so important about your dumb teen magazine?" Justin asked.
"Does it matter? Anything is more important than your GS." Alex commented.
"That's DS Einstein, and for your information, you're not the only one that has something important to do. I'm reviewing today's lesson in this wizard book I fount. Once I finish I won't have to stay here for dad's lesson and I can get back to my limited edition of Dr. Electron and the Extraordinary League." Alex gave Justin her own look of disbelief and shook her head derision as she replied back to him.
"Ok, I take back what I said from earlier. After that comment, your ES just got upgraded to 'not nerdy'." Alex smiled at her remark.
"Once again, that's D-S. And Dr. Electron and the Extraordinary League is not dumb!" Justin commented. Alex nonchalantly replied with a "whatever". At that moment, their father, Jerry, walked into the wizard lair. Justin turned his head to check who it was and jumped to his feet when he saw it was his dad. He confronted his dad about the lesson.
"Dad, I just finished reading about today's lesson and read it over five times so I think I can be exempt from today's lesson. Really can't stay, I've got pressing issues to attend to." Justin stated. Jerry looked at Justin with a confused look, and then looked to Alex with suspicion.
"Alex, what'd you do to your brother?" Jerry questioned. Alex sighed in disbelief.
"I didn't do anything." Alex replied. She stood up and folded her arms in contempt. "I mean, no amount of magic could make Justin geekier. Besides why do you always assume I did something?" Alex continued.
"Might I remind you of last week, movie night with the neighbors? Justin acting mysteriously like a maid…a French one to be exact?" Jerry raised his eyebrow as he posed his question to Alex. Alex smiled and chuckled at the remembrance of the situation.
"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny." Alex then looked at her dad who had an upset visage about his face. Alex stopped her smile and proceeded to feebly defend her action. "What? It was more entertaining then the movie." Jerry shook his head and turned his attention back to Justin.
"Look Justin, I admire your motivation to learn the lesson early but today's lesson is too important to miss. So go back and take a seat." Jerry patted Justin on the back and directed him back to the couch. Justin rolled his eyes as he let out a sigh and went back to sit next to Max. Jerry continued with the lesson.
"Ok today's lesson is very important." At that moment Max excitedly raised his hand.
"Yes Max?" His dad asked.
"Is it about how to make a sandwich?!" Max asked enthusiastically.
"How-…what.-…Max why would that even be important?" Jerry rebutted.
"Because I'm hungry?" There was a long silence in the room. Max slowly reclined back into the sofa as he tried to avoid his dad's glare. Jerry continued.
"Anyways, the lesson is about special magic users called anti-casters." Before Jerry could continue, Justin interrupted.
"Uh, anti-casters? I thought today's lesson was about levitation?"
"Yeah, see Justin, that's why it's important to stay for the lessons each time. By the way, that wizard book is out of date, which is why I don't teach from it anymore. Now before I continue, are there any more random questions?" Jerry looked around at his kids, each shaking their head "no". Jerry again continued with the lesson.
"Now where was I, oh yes, anti-casters are specially trained magic users. However, they aren't like wizards, they're a much more brooding class, and they can be quite dangerous especially to young training wizards such as you. Anti-casters can reverse wizard spells and even cancel them. I remember when my brother and I confronted an anti-caster…" The Russo kids groaned as they could sense that a boring story was going to be told. As Jerry recalled his story, he paced around the wizard lair.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. Yeah, my brother and I were quite a rambunctious and daring bunch." Jerry chuckled at his remembrance as he continued his lackadaisical pacing." It was my senior year and the news around the wizard world was that anti-casters were causing a ruckus near our town. Being the brave kids we were, we decided to confront them. To make a long story short we both ended up with boils on our feet and bad breath for weeks. Not very pleasant."
"Yeah, just like this story." Alex muttered under her breath.
"Now luckily, we manage to get away with minor ailments, but let me remind you: anti-casters are very dangerous. What makes them so dangerous is that they can cast spells inside their head. Unsuspecting wizards won't know what hit them until it's too late. The best course of action is to avoid them completely. As always, you should never use magic in public and always keep your wizardry a closely guarded secret. Using magic in public can garner attention from anti-casters."
"No problem dad, with my superior wizard skills, I think I handle them if they ever cross my way." Justin added.
"No Justin, absolutely not. I forbid any action against anti-casters. Just keep your magic on the down low. Understand?" Alex stood up to her feet and began to walk towards the door.
"Yeah sure dad, anti-casters, bad people, got it, great lesson. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some undoing to do myself, like this extreme boredom I've had." Alex waved bye to her dad and left through the door. She walked quickly up the stairs to their loft.
As Alex closed the loft door behind her, she turned around to see her mom placing a box onto the kitchen counter. As Theresa finished, she noticed Alex and called over to her.
"Alex, thank goodness you're here. I need your help with something. I'm taking these boxes to the local charity, and I need someone to help me carry them to the car and then to the center."
"Why can't you just get Justin to do that?" Alex questioned.
"Because, you're the only one here in the loft." Theresa walked around the counter and to her daughter. She placed her arm around Alex. "Besides, I think helping out with a charity is good for you."
"Right, because nothing teaches life lessons better than carrying heavy boxes." Alex muttered sarcastically. Her mom patted her on the back in reassurance. "Don't worry honey, it'll be good for you. Now there's one more box that Justin filled. I think its still in his room. Can you go and grab it sweetie?" Alex indignant, twirled around to her mom.
"So it's Justin's box, in Justin's room…again, why am I getting it?" Theresa placed her arms akimbo as she shot Alex a stern glare. "Alex?" She said firmly. Her tone of voice was enough for Alex to comply. She sighed heavily and plodded towards Justin's room.
Alex opened Justin's door and stood at the doorway. She took a moment before stepping into his room. Justin's room was the last place she wanted to enter. Arms folded, she entered his room and slowly paced around it searching for the box. She eyed it over on the floor next to his desk. She strolled over to the box and stood over it looking at the contents.
"Gee, what do we have here? Books and more books. Just a box full of fun." Commented Alex sarcastically. She bent over to pick up the box. As she lifted the box up to her waist, she soon realized the full weight of it. Lifting it further, she quickly placed it onto Justin's desk. She leaned on the box and took a moment to rest.
"Wow, who knew information weighed so much." Alex remarked. She stared at the box contemplating her next move. The corner of a photo underneath the box caught her eye. She dug her hand underneath the box to tip it in order to remove the photo. Alex held the tipped box in place with one hand as she looked at the photo. It was a picture of Justin in a robot costume with his robotics team. Alex smirked.
"This is so going to be blackmail." She jested. As she chuckled at the picture she accidentally tipped the box too far causing the contents to spill onto the desk. The books and magazines mixed with the items on Justin's desk, including his limited edition comic. Alex quickly conjured up an excuse.
"Oh my goodness, just look at this mess that Justin made. He'll have to clean this up. I guess I can't take this box then." Alex feignedly justified. She looked at the spilled contents and shrugged. Before she could leave the room, her mom stopped at the doorway.
"Oh my goodness, what happened to the box?" Theresa questioned.
"Oh, yeah, I think Justin didn't finish packing the box, I guess we can't take it." Alex lied.
"Alex Russo, that box was filled and finished. Now go clean it up and let's go." Her mom reprimanded. Alex grumbled as she turned around and trudged towards the desk. She placed the box upright and began filling it with the spilled contents on the desk. Unknowingly she threw Justin's rare comic into the box. Alex then began to lift the box only to set it back down.
"I forgot this was heavy. Hmm…let's see, what spell can I use here." Alex tapped her finger on her cheek as she thought of a spell to help her. After some contemplation she snapped her fingers as she got an idea. She looked up and down the desk searching for a wand. Alex spotted one on the top shelf. She reached up and grabbed it and then pointed it towards the box.
"I hope this works: I helped clean up this mess, now make this box weigh much less." Alex inspected the box to check if her magic worked. She grabbed the handle on one side and picked it up with ease. She nodded in satisfaction and took the box downstairs.
Alex and her mom arrived at the center. Theresa opened the trunk and the two started to unload the boxes. Theresa struggled to carry her boxes while Alex picked up hers with ease.
"Alex, I'm surprised. Have you been working out?" Her mom noted. Alex quickly played along.
"Um yeah mom, you know. Three times every week." Alex faked a smile trying to convince her mom. At that moment, her phone beeped. Without thinking, she held the box from the bottom with one hand as she grabbed her phone from her pocket. It was a message from her dad.
"Oh mom, dad wants you to buy milk on the way home." Alex said. Her mom looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Alex suddenly realized that she had been holding the box with one hand.
"Ahem?" her mom let out. Alex quickly tried to cover. "Oh it's just all that weight training that I've been doing…yeah." She quickly slipped her phone into her pocket and grabbed the box with two hands.
"You mean magic? Alexandra Margarita Russo! I told you not to use magic."
"Mom can't we talk about this later? This box is so heavy." Alex exaggerated. She pretended to stumble a bit, playing to her lie. Her mom shook her head and turned around and the two headed into the center. They were greeted by a worker there who prompted them to place the boxes down on certain tables. Still trying to convince her mom, Alex pretended to struggle with carrying the box. Unfortunately, her plan went sour as her foot caught a leg of the table. She felt herself stumbling forward with the box in front of her. Instead of falling on the ground however, something had stopped her. Alex looked up to check what had stopped her fall, only to find herself looking at a cute face. A boy had grabbed the box before she could fall down. Their eyes met and there was an instant attraction. Alex held still, gazing at his dark brown eyes. She felt dumbfounded and like a deer caught in the headlights. Everything else around her became seemingly irrelevant as all she could focus on was him smiling at her.
"You ok there?" He smiled waiting for her response. Alex could only respond with a giggle and coy smile. The boy looked back at her with an unsure face. Alex finally managed to speak, but not before stumbling a bit with her words.
"I'm um…you know uh…I'm okay, yeah." Alex managed to get out. She nodded her head a bit as she continued to smile. Usually talkative, Alex could only stop and gaze at his brown eyes. Something about him appealed to Alex, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. A long lull ensued and the two stood there. The boy, who was gazing back at Alex, shifted his eyes elsewhere as he finally broke the silence.
"So, you need help with carrying this box?" He asked. Alex still in a daze, uttered out in awkwardness.
"Box? What box?" The boy let out a smirk. "This box that you're holding." He lifted the box a bit for emphasis. Alex came to and, completely embarrassed, blushed and gave out a giggle.
"Oh yeah this box. I mean what other box is there?" She said smiling some more, beaming from ear to ear. The boy let out a half chuckle at Alex's mistake. Unseen, but surely felt, was a unique attraction between the two. Neither two could quite definitively describe it, but they each knew there was an attraction.
The two stood in silence until the boy took the initiative and shifted the box towards him. Alex came to and noticed him taking the box. She nodded in acknowledgement and let him take the box. Holding the box in his hands, the boy looked puzzled.
"Hmm, seems a lot lighter than it looks." He commented while inspecting the box. Alex quickly answered back.
"Oh well, I guess your just so much more stronger than I am." Alex coyly complemented. Her tone of voice was less genuine, more flirting. An unexpected demure show from Alex, but something about the boy brought the quality out of her. Theresa, who stood at a distance, picked up on Alex's feigning show. Arms akimbo, she shook her head in disbelief. If there was anything to motivate Alex to do work, it was a cute boy.
The boy set the box down on the table and turned back to Alex. "So…" He let out breaking the silence. "You come down here to help out?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. I'm quite the helpful girl. I just love working at charities. Especially this place. Yeah, here at…" Alex quickly surveyed around searching for the name of the place.
"At Assumption Church?" The boy supplemented, finishing her sentence.
"Yeah, that's the name. Just must be forgetting because of all the charities I work at." Alex exaggerated. The boy extended his hand as he introduced himself.
"The name's Joey by the way." Alex smiled and shook his hand. "I'm Alex." She coyly responded.
"Well Alex, I'm glad you're here to help. Most people our age usually aren't involved in volunteering. It's great that you're here." Joey complemented her. Alex giggled a bit before replying.
"I think it's great that you think it's great." Alex paused a moment to mentally check if her sentence made sense. After some thought, she continued. "So, you help out here too?"
"Yup, I help out here every so often. I make it a habit to be involved in a lot of places, much like you." He lightheartedly remarked as he let out a smirk. Alex couldn't help but giggle and smirk back.
"What you trying to say? That I don't actually volunteer as much as I claim?" Alex playfully insinuated.
"Well, it does become questionable when a pretty girl like you has a copy of Dr. Electron." Joey replied as he picked up the comic from Alex's box.
"Oh that's not my box, that's my nerdy brother's stuff. But anyways, back to something important…So you think I'm pretty?" Alex held her arms akimbo as she waited for Joey's response. Not expecting Alex's question, Joey stood and smirked as he formulated a good response in his head. Fortunately for him, Theresa interjected, much to Alex's displeasure.
"Alex honey, let's go. I've got lots to do at home and the sub shop. Come on." Alex groaned noticeably at her mom's interruption. Remembering that Joey was there next to her, she quickly tried to keep her composure.
"Mother, why hello. So nice of you to…interrupt." Alex replied with her teeth clenched. Theresa looked from Alex's face to Joey's and instant cued in.
"Alex, you didn't introduce me to your friend here. Hi, I'm Alex's mother." Theresa extended her hand to shake. Joey shook her hand and introduced himself. Unable to bear the embarrassment, Alex quickly stepped in.
"You know, on second thought, we do have much to do at home mom. So why don't we just go. Like now." An irritated Alex suggested. She knew she couldn't keep up her composure much more. Picking up on this, Theresa decided to sustain it a bit longer.
"Alex, please, don't be so rude-"
"Mom!" Alex yelled. She took her mom by the hand and tugged on her to go. After a few pulls her mom gave in. Theresa waved goodbye to Joey and walked towards the door. Making sure her mom was on her way, Alex turned and gave her own special wave to Joey. She coupled it with a beaming smile. A smile that would show her interest in him yet not too over affectionate. It seemed to work as he returned a wave and smile of his own.
Justin pulled the sheets of his bed, then lifted his mattress in desperation. He looked high and low, searching every corner of his room checking and rechecking again. The comic book was something special to him, and he could bear to lose it, especially at the price he paid for it. He sat down at his desk trying to recollect his thoughts, thinking where he could have placed it last. At that moment he heard the front door open. Justin raced to check if perhaps his mom knew where it was.
Theresa closed the door behind her after Alex walked in. She turned around to see a frantic Justin.
"Mom, mom! You have to help me."
"You need more help than mom can give you." Alex jested. Justin slowly turned his head to Alex and gave her a cold stare.
"I don't have time for your witty remarks." Justin made air quotes as his said 'witty'. Alex rolled her eyes in response and plopped down onto the couch.
"Justin honey, what's the problem?" His mom asked.
"Have you seen my comic, you know, Dr. Electron special mint edition?" Theresa shook her head. "Sorry honey, I haven't seen it. After helping you pack the box, I haven't been in your room." Alex, who was barely listening as it was, instantly remembered that the comic was in the box she had brought. It was the one Joey had pointed out. At that moment, she forgot about the comic and just focused on Joey. There was something unique about him that Alex couldn't quite explain, but she liked that. Something interrupted her thought though, and it was Justin calling her name.
"Alex?" Justin snapped his fingers in front of her to get her attention. After some snaps she looked at Justin.
"Alex, did you happen to see my comic?"
"No, please, I wouldn't go in your room."
"Uh, mom said you went in there to get the box."
"Yeah, and that's all. I didn't see your stupid comic. Sheesh, like everything has to be my fault." Alex jumped up from the couch and started towards her room to avoid more of Justin's questions. But Justin continued to hound her.
"You know where it is. You were the only one in that room."
"Justin, I know you know that I don't know. I mean who knows really?" Alex quickly blurted. She mentally checked if her sentence made sense. Justin raised his eyebrow and tried to make sense of Alex's gibberish. Seeing Justin's confused face, Alex quickly scurried off to her room. She continued on even after Justin yelled her name.
"Alex!"
The next morning at school, Alex shuffled through her books in her locker, still thinking about Joey. Enough so that she was surprised when Harper tapped her on the shoulder. Alex turned around to meet Harper's usual cheery deposition.
"Hi Alex! Isn't just an absolutely beautiful morning?" Harper joyfully exclaimed. Alex put her hand to her faced and rubbed her temples.
"Well Harper, it was. That is, until you interrupted me. Can't you see I'm doing something important?" Harper looked Alex up and down and then to her locker.
"Uh, standing at your locker?" Harper questioned. Alex turned around to close her locker. She then twirled around and slumped against the locker as she began to regale about her yesterday to Harper.
"No Harper. Yesterday, I met this guy at the charity. He's just wow…he's funny, he's sweet, and he's…"
"Incredibly cute?" Harper interjected excitedly. Alex, flurried with emotions, could only shake her head in agreement as the two giggled afterwards. Fully intrigued, Harper continued.
"So does he have a cute smile, kind of like Justin's. You know, like when Justin wins something and then he gets that sly cute smirk on his face…" Harper words and coherency began to slow down as she thought more of Justin, her focus now into space. Her talking about Justin made Alex cringe.
"Harper! Ew! Just…eww! Can we please stop talking about Justin." Alex shuddered at Harpers description of her brother. Few things could make Alex completely disgusted. But this came close enough, even pushing the boundary.
"Oh sorry Alex, I just get so carried away when I talk about Justin. So what were you saying?"
"Like I was saying, his name is Joey and he's just….Harper I can't even describe it. I've only known him for like 5 minutes but I just felt an instant attraction to him. There's something unique about him. Harper, I don't think I've felt like this since…"
"Not like since Dean?" Harper finished. Alex nodded again which garnered an excited high pitched giggle from Harper.
"So you going to see him again?" Harper asked.
"That's the problem, I only know his name and where he volunteers at. I had to leave quick 'cuz my mom had to go and ruin everything. Then when I got home, Justin had to freak out on me."
"What'd you do now Alex?"
"I don't know, something about a comic book or something. Some geek thing. Now he's accusing me of losing it." Alex stated nonchalantly.
"Alex! You don't mean his mint edition of Dr. Electron?!" Harper reprimanded. Her voice elevated enough to surprise Alex as she jumped back a bit.
"Oh no Harper, not you too?" Alex exasperated. "Come on, it's just a dumb comic book, not like it's so important."
"Alex! That comic book is probably the rarest one of any comic book series! You got to do something." Before Alex responded, a voice came from behind her.
"Yea Alex, you should do something…like admit you lost it!" The two girls looked towards the person. It was Justin. He still had an upset facade on his face. Realizing it was Justin, Alex rolled her eyes and folded her arms, reading herself for his usual rant.
"Admit it Alex, I know you lost it, I just know. You were the only one who went into that room after I last saw it." Justin folded his arms as he stood next to Alex. He tried to stare down her, but Alex just avoided his deathly gaze.
"Justin, you need to get over it. I mean, there must be other comics out there. You're just acting silly, right Harper." Harper hesitated a bit. "Uh…um…sorry Alex, I have to agree with Justin here." Justin smirked at her agreement. Alex stood shocked, she gritted her teeth and reprimanded Harper. "Harper!"
"And Alex needs to admit she's wrong and tell me where my comic is, shouldn't she Harper?" Justin questioned.
Harper hesitated some more, stuck between an argument between the two siblings. She grew more uncomfortable as the two looked at her waiting for her response. The pressure got to her however and she quickly evaded the question and argument.
"Uh…hey look at the time; I guess I should get to class." She quickly said.
"Harper!" Alex yelled after her. She turned around to see Justin still upset at her.
"Face it Justin, I'm not going to tell you where it is, because I didn't lose it!"
"Alex, I know you lost it, and I'm going to find out!"
"What are you going to do? Cast a spell?" Alex quipped. She then let out a condescending laugh and walked away. All Justin could do was stand there in anger. Suddenly he thought of an idea and his frown turned into a maniacal grin.
"You know Alex, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I know it's forbidden, but for Dr. Electron, it needs to be done!" Justin said to himself. He waited a bit for the hallway to clear up, then seizing upon the opportunity he cast the truth spell on Alex who was still within distance.
"Some are evil, some are kind, but now Alex must speak her mind."
Quickly, he rushed after Alex.
"Hi Alex, how's it going?" He said with an ominous tone. Alex looked around a bit and then squinted her eyes in suspicion. "What is it now Justin?"
"Oh nothing, I was just wondering…did you lose my rare edition of Dr. Electron?" Alex was about to respond with a 'no' before something in her forced her to say otherwise.
"Yes Justin, I did" Alex was shocked at her response and quickly covered her mouth with her hands. She didn't understand quite what happened but knew Justin had something to do with it.
"Justin! What'd you do? You cast a spell didn't you?"
"Yes! And it was needed. Now, where is my comic?" He questioned again.
"I accidentally dropped in your box that I took to the charity." After Alex has said the truth she quickly covered her mouth again. Justin grinned again at the satisfaction of him winning.
"Aha! I knew it all along. You better hope its still there, otherwise you'll pay for it!" Justin glared at her a bit more to make his point then began to walk away. He turned his head to say one more thing. "And I don't just mean literally."
Still with her hands over her mouth, Alex went after Justin. She took one hand off to tap Justin on the shoulder, and then used it to point at him.
"Justin! Take this spell off right now!"
"Alright Alex, I will…after school that is." Justin feigned an evil laugh as he walked away. The bell rang which forced Alex to run to her class.
For most of the day, Alex held her hands over her mouth as much as possible. She kept silent as best she could, a feat most impossible for her. Fortunately, she only had two classes left. She walked into her next classroom and found Harper sitting at a desk already. Alex looked around cautiously and silently sat next to Harper.
"Alex? You ok?" Harper asked her. Alex only nodded as she kept her hands over her mouth. "You sure you're ok? I mean you're holding your hands over your mouth" Harper continued. Alex looked around a bit then leaned in closer to Harper.
"Justin cast a truth spell on me and only he can take it off. I'm just trying to keep myself from saying anything."
"Oh, ok, I understand."
"Thanks Harper…oh and by the way, your shirt looks ugly." Alex unconsciously stated. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth realizing her statement.
"Sorry Harper! It's this stupid spell!" Alex apologized.
"Uh, its ok…I think." Harper had a confused looked on her face as she turned towards the front. For Alex, this day was going by too slow, and she needed it to end. What she wished for was just to see Joey once more. But at the moment, she had more pressing issues to deal with.
The teacher walked in through the door. The movement of him walking through caught Alex's attention and she turned back to look at the door. The next moment she couldn't have ever even dreamed of happening. Walking through the door was a familiar face and a cute smile. It was Joey, and he was just as surprised to see Alex as Alex was to see him. Alex couldn't believe it. Time itself had slowed down and him walking through the door seemed like a dream. Only Alex knew that it wasn't and she was flurried with emotions. So much so, she could figure out what to do; wave or say hi? She opened her mouth to say hi, then stopped and instead just decided to wave. The two teens looked at each other, Alex from her seat, Joey sitting down across the room. Quickly, Alex nudged Harper.
"Harper, Harper! It's…it's…" She tried to mutter out quickly.
"What is it now Alex? My shoes aren't exactly to your liking." Harper asked sarcastically.
"No, no, that guy I was talking to you about earlier, it's him! Over there, he's here at our school in our class." Alex excitedly expressed. Alex looked over to where Joey was and Harper turned her head to look. They were met with Joey looking at Alex. He managed to wave and Alex waved back at him.
"Wow, Alex, you weren't kidding when you said he was really cute. Oh my gosh, what are you going to do?"
"That's the thing Harper, I'm afraid to go over there and talk to him, because of this stupid spell. I'm afraid I'll say something totally embarrassing." Alex said sounding frantic. "Don't worry Alex, we'll um, we'll figure something out." Harper reassured her.
Before the two girls could continue with their conversation, the teacher started the lesson.
"Alright students, we're going to do something a little different today. In order to digest the lesson better, I'm pairing up each of you and you and your partner will complete a worksheet before the end of class." The whole class grumbled, but despite it, the teacher continued. "Once I tell you your partner, take a sheet from up here."
Hearing the lesson plan, Alex felt a bit uneasy. In the pit of her stomach, she knew she was going to be unlucky enough to end up with Joey. Looking worried, she turned and whispered to Harper.
"Harper, this is not good. I repeat, not good. What if I get paired with Joey?" Alex said panicky. Harper placed her hand on Alex's shoulder and tried to calm her down. "Don't worry Alex, it's not like the first names he calls out will be yours and Joey's."
"Alright, the first pair: Alex Russo and Joseph Brody." The teacher subsequently said. Alex slumped in her desk and put her head down. This day only got worse for her. Yet despite the circumstance, she felt ambivalent; happy to be with Joey, upset about the spell. There was nothing she could do about it. She'd have to come up with a plan and quick as the teacher had finished naming off groups. Alex quickly shuffled ideas in her head, shooting each one down, not being satisfied. Unfortunately it was too late as she heard someone say her name behind her.
"Alex? You okay?" The voice said. She put on a smile and turned around to Joey.
"Joey! Hi, of course, sit." She said succinctly trying to keep her talking to a minimum. Joey looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but shook his head and smiled. Seeing him smile made Alex a bit more relax even enough to forget about the spell.
"Joey, I was so surprised to see you. I didn't know you went to school." She responded.
"Well sure, it's a little thing I do when I'm not out saving villages from diseases." He playfully jested. Alex giggled at her previous statement. This prompted Joey to laugh too. Alex was having too much fun to stop her from blurting out her next statement.
"Yeah, I think you're really cute." Alex quickly cupped her mouth realizing what she had blurted out. Fortunately for her, Joey didn't catch it all. "What?" He asked. Now Alex was in a rut. She'd have to wing it.
"Uh…um…I said…I totally knew…that you went to school that is." Alex awkwardly replied. She looked at his face to pick up any cues on if he had heard what she said. But despite his initial unsure face, he smiled after. She felt relieved.
"Right, sure, I was just joking with you." He stated.
"So how come I've never seen you around here?" She quickly said. After she had said her sentence, she placed her hand over her mouth again. It garnered a hesitation from Joey.
"Uh, well, I just transferred here. So that's why, anyways, are you ok?" He asked again concerned about Alex's confusing actions. She panicked some more and quickened her talking.
"What? Me? Never better." This time instead of cupping her hands over her mouth, she made a big smile. Joey nodded his head a bit in agreement. "I have to say, I was glad to see you again." He continued.
"Really? Me?" She coyly remarked as she let out a demure smile. As she was still relishing in his response, he had reached down to grab his book from his bag.
"Well I have to say that, I want to kiss you." Alex unexpectedly stated. Surprised herself, she cupped her mouth. Fortune with her again, Joey didn't hear her.
"Hmm?" He prompted as he placed his book on his desk.
"Uh, I said that I'm glad to see you…too…um yea." She smiled big again to back up her the genuine of her statement. "Uh so, we should probably get started on this relationship…I mean! Started on this assignment." Alex said fumbling with her words again. She quickly turned around and pretended to shuffle things around in her backpack to avoid embarrassment. "Yea sure." Joey said behind her. She turned and plopped her book down, and slowly opened it. She then checked the clock: 12:40. Only 5 minutes had passed. It was going to be a long class for her. And this time, fortune wasn't with her as she felt awkward the rest of the class.
The bell had rung and Alex hadn't felt so relieved. They had worked on the assignment with little discussion. After fumbling with her words, Alex was all too cautious and didn't want to blurt out something embarrassing again. But she kept up her smiles and laughed at his jokes. She didn't want him to think she wasn't interested.
Alex began putting her books in back into her bag. Out of the corner of eye, she could see Joey getting up. At that point, she had thought she was off the hook. But she turned around to see Joey still standing there.
"Hey Alex, I know that we've only known each other for a while, but…" He stopped a bit to gather his words. "Seeing that you have such enthusiasm for charities…" Alex smiled and nodded at his statement. "…I was wondering if you were free this Friday, that you'd like to go to a benefit concert with me? All the best bands are playing in it."
"I'd love to go." Alex said quickly, perhaps too quickly as it made her seem eager. Then she had realized that she had said 'love'. This spell was creating havoc for her in ways she didn't realize.
"Great, I'll pick you up around 7 then."
"Ok, sure." She replied. Joey nodded and smiled as he walked out of the class. Harper, who stood at a distance quickly rushed to Alex, all giddy.
"Oh my gosh, so tell! Tell me what happened." She excitedly queried.
"Well, the spell was being stupid, but…he asked me out on a date." Alex said happily. The two giggled giddily.
The day had gone better than Alex had expected. Perhaps enough so that she'd forget about Justin's spell.