Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note: The feedback that I have gotten so far for this story has been very encouraging and very helpful. Thank you very very much for taking it easy on me. No flames on this so far, and I'm crossing my fingers that I won't have any haters any time soon.
And I apologize for the wrong usage of Spanish words. I really should have researched those words more before I used them. I'll probably just avoid them altogether from now on.
Also, I'd like to remind everyone that the spells that will be recited in this story will just be rhymes that I made up since I can't remember any of the spells from the show. The rhymes might suck too so I'm apologizing for that in advance.
Please keep supporting this story.
And now, enjoy!
A Familiar Pattern 2
By genielou
Justin opened the door of the bathroom and walked out with a towel wrapped into a turban around his head. He patted his chest with another towel that he held in his hands. His roommate looked up with an amused look in his face as Justin passed by his bed.
"Justin, buddy," he said as repositioned himself to sit up. "Why do you do that? You don't even have that much hair."
Justin threw his towel on a nearby chair, and began to undo the towel from his head. "I find that the dampness of the towel enables the follicles of my scalp to moisturize naturally instead of merely drying. That's how dandruff develops, don't you know," he announced knowingly. "You should try it, Jason. It helps keep your hair from getting too oily too."
"No thanks, dude." Jason stood up with a huff. He momentarily eyed the Green Lantern boxers that his best friend wore, then shook his head before walking towards him. "Anyway, I should be going. My mom is expecting me to be home by this afternoon."
Justin stretched out a hand. "I'll see you in a few months, man."
Jason took his hand and they performed their unique handshake. He nodded to him before picking up his backpack and suitcase from the floor, and headed out the door. Before the door to his dormitory room completely closed, Justin briefly saw the crowded hallway as students bustled around to get ready for the summer.
An entire school year had come and passed, and summer quickly snuck up. The time has come for Justin to take the short trek home to be with his family for an entire month before his summer studies started. He had already packed his suitcases, and was ready to leave soon. All that was left for him to do was fulfill his usual hygienic rituals and get dressed.
He walked his way towards the standing fan next to the mirror and turned it on. As he turned and twisted his body in different angles to air-dry the remaining dampness on his skin, the reflection of his half-naked self caught his attention.
"I. Am. A. Stud," he told himself as he admired the progress of the hard work that he has done. Justin had tried very hard to maintain his fitness despite the busy schedule that his college classes provided him.
He now twisted and turned while flexing and stretching to see his muscles better. After a few more poses, he stood erect and shook his head at himself.
"Stop being a dork, Justin," he told himself as he pointed a finger at his mirror. "Your family and friends will be seeing you in a few hours, and the last thing you want is for them to think that you're the same geek that you were back in high school. You're a grown man now. It's time to act like one."
The loud ringing of his cellphone suddenly interrupted his reverie. He turned the fan off and walked towards his desk on his side of the room. He unhooked his phone from his charger before sliding it open.
"Yeah-llo," he said gleefully to it.
"Yo, Justin!"
He frowned, not recognizing the voice on the other side of the line.
"Uh, hi. May I ask who's speaking?"
"Oh, Justin, you kidder," the deep voice said. "It's me. Max!"
Justin's eyes widened. "Max!," he exclaimed, suddenly picking up on slight similarities on the voice's tone to his little brother's. "Hey! What's up?"
"Nothing much, man," Max replied. "You're still coming over today, right?"
"You betcha," Justin said. He wedged his phone between his shoulder and cheek as he tried to put his pants on. "I told Dad I'd be over this afternoon."
"Afternoon? That's too far from now. Can't you be here right now?"
Justin smiled. He hadn't seen his family the entire school year, mainly due to his insistence on concentrating nonstop on his studies. Taking extra-curricular activities during the winter vacation had not gone over very well with his mother either.
"I've missed you too, Max," he said over the phone as he struggled to button his pants close. "But it's a few hours' drive to get there. I'll tell you what, I'm almost ready anyway so I'll try to leave as soon as I can so I can get there a bit earlier, okay?"
Max sighed before continuing with a suddenly unexpected optimism in his tone. "Hey, how many bags did you pack?"
Justin frowned. "Three. Two suitcases and a duffel bag."
"Where are they?"
"What?"
"Are they on the bed?"
Justin glanced towards his bags. "They're by the door," Justin said. "Why do you ask?"
He heard shuffling and grunting on the other line, then a faint "found it!"
Max came back on the line. "Hold your breath, Justin," he told him. "This distance between us is too much to bare- -"
Justin's eyes widened. "No, Max, wait- -"
"Three bags and a brother, get them pronto to the lair!"
Justin and his bags landed with a loud thud and an "oof!" in the middle of their wizards lair. He wheezed and coughed loudly. He should've held his breath.
"Justin!" He heard fairly audibly.
The heavy door opened and a younger man with short brown hair ran in. His eyes fell on Justin and widened in recognition.
"Justin!" he exclaimed, running towards him and jumping on him. "You're home, man!"
"Gerroff!" Justin yelled as he pushed him off. "Hey, get off of me!"
Justin stood up as soon as he was free. He struggled to hold his pants up with him. His eyes focused on the man in front of him, and frowned as he barely recognized his little brother who now bore a rounder physique.
"Max?" he asked, looking over him once over again. "Is that you?"
Max grinned at him. "Don't let the thickness fool you, bro," he joked. "There's just more to love of me, that's all."
Justin smirked, and beckoned for his brother to come closer. He patted his back hard as Max engulfed him in a bear hug.
"Come on, buddy," Max said as he started to pull him towards the door. "Mom will be so happy to see ya."
"No, wait! Max, I can't go in there."
"Why not?"
Justin pointed at himself. Max looked him over, and only just then realized that his older brother was shirtless, with an unbuttoned pair of pants to boot.
"Riiiiggghhhtttt," Max said slowly. He unzipped the sweater he was wearing, took it off, and tossed it towards Justin. Max looked him over again as Justin put on the sweater. "Justin, you've been working out."
"Wha- -?" Justin said as his eyes followed the direction of Max's stare. He looked down on himself and saw the noticeable bulging of his stomach muscles. "Yeah, I figured a hot-nerd is better than a nerd-nerd, right?"
"That's right, man," Max agreed. "You should see your nerd friend then. He is totally ripped. Like, he-can-bench-press-an-elephant ripped."
Justin picked up his backpack and a suitcase while Max picked up the other suitcase. They both walked towards the door.
"Are you talking about Zeke?"
Max nodded. Justin frowned at this, not completely believing his brother. His mind automatically assumed that this must be one of Max's usual exaggerations.
Max opened the door and held it open for Justin to go through. Justin, in turn, opened the swinging door that led to the main restaurant room and held it open for Max. His eyes widened at the crowd that filled the room.
"Whoa," he said, his eyes zooming around trying to find his parents.
"Yup, the rush started a week ago. All college students," Max grinned. "I've gotten rejected only fifteen times. So far, so good."
"Where are mom and dad?"
Max started searching the room too, and then suddenly pointed towards the separate room that was designed to look like a typical New York sub-train. "There they are."
Justin strained his eyes to see his parents inside the train, each taking orders from different tables. His smile came automatically at the sight of them. Then his eyes travelled throughout the restaurant room again. He saw his sister Alex clearing a table by the windows. He smiled at seeing how much taller she had gotten.
And then, a couple standing by the steps leading to the entrance caught his attention.
"Oh my god," Justin exclaimed as he concentrated on the man's face. "That's Zeke!"
"Oh yeah," Max said. "I told ya he's ripped."
And indeed he was. Zeke had now built himself up and could be mistaken to be a body-builder. The tank top that he wore didn't hide this either.
Justin's eyes unknowingly switched to the young woman standing by him, with her back towards Justin. He couldn't help but admire the unique physique that she bore. She looked curvaceous, but still very thin. And the style that she displayed hinted her standard. She wore a light, pink, button-up shirt that highlighted the auburn highlights in her shoulder-length, straight hair. The huge black belt that she wore around her shirt matched the black, mini skirt that she wore underneath. And her exposed legs looked even longer and more toned with the high-heeled stiletto shoes that she stood on. Although her face had not yet been revealed to him, Justin's breath was already caught.
Max knew very well who Justin was staring at, but remained silent to grant his older brother more time to admire. The shock that will come after Justin realizes how much things had really changed in Waverly Place will be much worth it this way.
Justin stared on, then, as she turned her head slightly and he saw her right ear, something that didn't seem to fit her style caught his eye. Dangling from her ears were huge, metal earrings shaped like cupcakes. He realized that she was actually wearing a bracelet bearing several charms of the same shape.
"Max," he started. "Who's that girl?"
Max grinned, not completely ready to reveal that little fact just yet. "That's Zeke's girlfriend. And the inspiration to his new look."
Justin nodded. His eyes widened as Zeke leaned down and kissed the woman in question. "How did Zeke get a girl like that?"
Max had to put hand to his mouth to keep himself from laughing. "Oh, man. Wouldn't you like to know," he spat out.
Justin frowned as Zeke released her from their short kiss. He smiled down at her and waved as she walked away, and out of the restaurant. Zeke looked after her as she headed out, and then again as she headed left and appeared through the restaurant windows. She slowed momentarily to wave at Alex who stopped wiping her table to wave back at her. Justin's eyes almost popped out as he realized who he had been admiring.
There, waving at his little sister through the window was a slightly older and very different-looking Harper, more captivating than he had ever remembered her being. He lost the feelings to his fingers and dropped his bags to the floor. Max laughed out loud.
