saving. you.

part four

Hey, so I'm finally back. I haven't been able to discover my Jalex inspiration for some time now, but it's finally back and I thought I would write another chapter of this because it makes me happy. After Part Four there will be about two more parts; I already have them planned out in my head but, knowing me, they'll end up totally different. I hope you enjoy! :)


The fourth time he saved her he wished he wasn't such a good guy.

They were studying for the only class they had together on the couch - well, he was studying and pretending not to notice that she was peeking over his shoulder and copying his notes - and for once the atmosphere of the living room was silent save the rustle of paper and the scratch of pencils.

"Who even cares who wrote The Road Not Taken?" Alex grumbled. She swatted lazily at a fly buzzing above her head.

Justin sighed, "Robert Frost was and still is a renowned poet, Alex. Of course people care."

Alex swatted at the fly again, this time a bit more vigorously. "Let me guess," she said, "you figured out a statistic on Wikipedia."

"No," said Justin, flipping a page in his book. He chuckled at her lack of awareness. "People like Bud the Ditch Digger write supposed facts on Wikipedia."

"Maybe you aren't as dorky as I thought," Alex muttered to herself. "For once you're actually not -"

"So that's why I looked it up on one of his personal fanbases," Justin cut her off with one of those incredibly nerdy smiles of his that made her heart lighten just a little bit. "Nearly nineteen thousand people alone liked one of his quotes. One."

She couldn't help but snort, unsure as to whether she was more amused that he bothered looking up statistics or that he found them on one of those freakish fanbases. "Seriously, Justin?" The fly landed on her cheek and Alex tried to smack it into a bloody mass with the palm of her hand; she hissed as she missed, watching the fly zoom in spirals towards the ceiling.

"Would you like me to put the fly swatting spell on you?" Justin asked, chuckling once more. He certainly was in a good mood, laughing so much and offering to do a spell outside of wizard lessons.

Alex met his eyes, and she'd never realized just how gray they were. Like stormclouds, she mused.

"Sure," she replied at last, smiling at him as she lowered her defenses just a little bit. He was playing nice, after all.

His laughter made a mask snap back onto her face instantly. She should have known it was too good to be true.

"You actually thought I would break the rules," Justin said between bursts of laughter, "even for you?"

She shouldn't have been bothered by his comment, because that's just how dorky her brother was, but something about the way he said it bothered her. Even for you, he'd said. That meant something, which meant he was playing mind games, which was totally not fair because she was already studying and her brain was about to explode on her. Hello, he should know this by now.

"Look, I'm too tired to decipher one of your riddles," Alex mumbled, stretching her arms up in the air as she released a yawn. Summer was fast approaching and lying on the itchy grass out behind their apartment complex sounded extremely appealing right now.

Justin cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"

The doorbell chimed, breaking them from a disconcerting staring contest about...well, neither of them was totally sure.

"Get it," Alex ordered, rubbing her eyes as her eyelids sagged threateningly. She could really go for a strawberry smoothie right now, she thought.

"Why can't you get it?" Justin snapped, and look, they were already breaking back into the old quarrels.

He'd missed the sour tang of animosity with his sister, Justin could admit to himself, although he'd never tell her that. She'd probably scream "off with his head" or something and pull off one of her many pranks. He never had gotten the scent of mustard out of his toothpaste cap.

Alex gave him a look. "Because I'm too lazy to get up," she said dryly, "and you're all too eager to please anyone in sight, even me." She smirked irritatingly, but he knew she knew she had him.

A long, drawn out sigh. The clenching of his jaw. And then -

"Fine, I'll get it." Justin gave in with a huff and rose to answer the door.

Needless to say, he wasn't pleased with what he saw: a dozen red roses held together by a satin bow trimmed with lace, a teddy bear carrying a box of chocolates and a note that read I'm Sorry. And there, standing next to the gifts, was a very familiar face, one that Justin had hoped never to see again.

"Who's there?" Alex called out from inside.

Justin's fingers tightened around the door, he looked back at his sister and the still fresh softness in her eyes, and sighed as he realized what he had to do.

"It's just the trash-man," Justin said with one of his nervous smiles. "I have to discuss the monthly payments and specifications with him really quick."

Alex's nose scrunched with confusion, "I thought that was dad's job."

They both burst out laughing, because c'mon, the thought of their dad actually taking care of this was ridiculous.

"Be right back," Justin promised.

"Don't get mugged." Her voice floated to him with a hint of mirth and he smiled, realizing that he would miss that rampant joy she wore now.

The door clicked shut. Instantly Justin's face darkened and he crossed his arms as he blocked any entry to their home.

"What do you want?" he asked tightly.

Mason clutched the roses tighter to his chest and smiled sadly, "I've come to apologize. I shouldn't have broken up with Alex and I need her to know that I love her."

There were hundreds of thoughts shooting through Justin's head, but the most prominent was: does he mean it? There were far too many callous jerks out there who only apologized so they could take back their position of dominance. And once they did, they became as cruel and calculating as before.

"How do I know you mean it?" Justin growled. "You didn't see Alex the afternoon you broke up with her."

Mason's lips tightened and he looked as though he was struggling with something he couldn't express. Then, with shaking fingers, he held up the heart necklace that Alex had thrown at him after their breakup and slung it about his neck. Instantly it began to flicker and then burst forth in a rosy glow.

And just like that, Justin knew.

...

Alex was sitting in the same position on the couch as before when Justin stepped inside. This time, however, her cheeks were lit a flaming red and she was smiling softly to herself. The heart necklace rested around her collarbone and shown beautifully in the late afternoon light.

"So, I take it you and Mason are going out again," Justin said stiffly, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from her. In this state she might be easy to approach, but it made him uncomfortable; now he just didn't want to be around her.

Alex nodded slightly, then looked at her brother with wide brown eyes.

"Don't worry," she mumbled under her breath, chuckling to herself, "I'll carry a silver stake in my boot just in case."

Justin smiled at her efforts, "Just attach it to your wand, then you'll always have it with you."

"I like how you think," Alex said. She sat back, and swatted one last time at the same stupid fly who insisted on buzzing around her face.

Silence fell over them, and he felt a pressing force bottling in his chest; it wasn't a very comfortable feeling, and Justin shifted slightly.

"I wasn't going to let Mason in," Justin admitted.

Alex just stared at him.

"I just - I saw the look on your face the night he left you, and I couldn't let that happen again." He was losing it, his voice cracking and fading with this admission. His fingers fiddled with each other on his stomach. "But then, he put on the necklace, and I - I remembered how happy he made you."

More silence.

"You're such a nub," Alex said at last, but then she flung herself at him, her arms encircling around his waist. Her head burrowed into the crook of his neck and Justin realized for the nth time just how perfectly she fit against him.

He reclined back against the pillows until both of them were lying on the couch. She was just lying there on top of him, yawning ever minute or so, and it should have been awkward but it wasn't. And that was what scared him the most: it felt right, like he could do this forever.

"I thought I was Sir-Dorks-A-Lot," he joked at last, his voice weak.

She laughed, her lips vibrating against his skin. "You're that too." She yawned, muffling her mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. "Are you going to rest your head on mine or what?"

Justin half gasped half laughed at her bravado. "I should probably get up and finish studying," he said.

"Nu-uh," Alex said, shaking her head. Her hair tickled the base of his chin and he shivered a little. "I could use a nap, and am now far too comfortable to move. So man up and give in already."

"You're so contradictory," Justin said, but he was already resting his head against hers, cautiously of course.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she began to drift off.

"Thank you for letting him in." Her voice came in a mere whisper. "Maybe you're not a complete dork."

Justin couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face, "But you're still the same annoying little sister you always have been."

Her lips pressed softly against his throat and her grip around his waist slowly loosened as she fell into the clutches of sleep.

"What's happening to me?" Justin mused, holding her gently as she slept. A strange warmth was beginning to spread throughout his chest, his heart pulsing the warmth throughout every artery in his body. He wasn't foreign to the feeling, but that it had manifested itself in this moment was troubling to say the least. "This isn't normal."

That's when he spotted the words written on her wrist, and it felt as if his whole world had splintered. There, in wobbly cursive, was written: we're not normal people.

That was the fourth time he saved her.

_-tbc-_