Okay! I have some news..After spring break for me is over..I'm grounded from the laptop. I have to try really hard to focus on my HW and finish it early, so that I can still use the laptop. I can still use it; but I can only use it at earlier times on the weekdays. And the laptop is where I save all my projects: stories, pictures, music I downloaded, videos I'm working on for YouTube, and even photo shop stuff. So yeah..and I'm really sorry guys! PM me if you're wondering why I'm being grounded from it. Don't wanna say it here.

Oh and Rose's name is gonna be changed to Caitlyn. Got it? Okay.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, or anything else besides the plot!

New character(s):

Maria C. Barrera – Theresa Russo {yes, she still lives here. She leaves the house later on in the story.}

David Deluise – Jerry Russo

Caitlyn Geller – Alyson Stoner

Chapter 4:Questions Only Lead to More Tears

She wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts;

She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers;

Dreamin' 'bout the day, when you wake up and find that what you're-

lookin' for has been here the whole time.

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If you could see that I'm the one who understands you,

Been here all along, so why can't you-

see?; you belong with me..

You belong with me.


It was another typical day as Alex woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked through her window, and could see Nate's room—empty. He spent the night at Miley's house. After the moment where Alex spent a whole two hours and a half crying her heart out; she finally picked herself up and walked away. She skateboarded home; and some tears still spilled down softly from her eyes—from her heart.

She quickly got up and washed her face and took care of all the hygienic cleaning she always did in the morning. She walked into her room and slipped on some jeans; a shirt, and some converse. She brushed her messy hair, and slipped on a hippy band—she could rock anything. Then she applied some mascara, eyeliner, and dark eyeshadow. Once she was satisfied, she looked at herself in the mirror.

The makeup was making her itchy, but she wanted to try something different for a change. But just like Mitchie and Shane had implied and said; she subconsciously was trying something new for Nate.

--------------------

She picked up her backpack and rushed downstairs, making a 'thump' and 'woosh' sound every time she stepped on one of the platforms of the stairs. She picked up a banana and an apple, and kissed her mom's cheek. "Bye Mom. Love ya. I'm gonna take Max to school, okay?"
"Mmkay, Alex. Take care." and with that, she walked upstairs, not bothering to wait for Alex to close their door. Alex and her mom weren't very close. Most of the time, Theresa pretty much annoyed the crap out of Alex. But she still loved her.

Alex walked over to her little brother and kissed him on the forehead, and hugged him tight. She rested her chin on his head and said, "C'mon Maxie. We should go now. They're going through one of their tantrums again." Alex said, and paused for a moment to listen to their parents yelling at each other, slamming doors, and glass breaking. Don't be worried, the Russo parents weren't crazy. And you're probably thinking right now that Jerry was, ahem, abusing Theresa with the glass. No, he wasn't. He never does. The glass breaking is usually glass being thrown randomly on the ground or at the wall, to release some anger. And usually Jerry locked Theresa out of their bedroom, then Theresa would sleep in the guest room. That was the slamming door part.

Alex shuddered, and a tiny tear dropped on Max's head of smooth hair. "Let's go, Max. Let's go now." Alex said, with fear and emphasis.

--------------------

They grabbed their skateboards and skated for fifteen minutes until a building with the letters Lights Heights Junior High came into view. The two siblings stopped, and Alex gave one last kiss to Max on his cheek before ruffling his hair and saying "See ya Maxie. Take care. Love ya."

"You take care too, Alex. Love you too." Max called back. Alex watched as he skateboarded a little closer to his group of friends. The group all walked into their school entrance, and the students were all out of sight.

Alex sped up on her skateboard once again and started accelerating in the direction of her school. She began tearing up—so many things were going through her mind.

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First, there was Max. All she could do was worry about him. She wasn't overprotective of him, it's just that she always prayed to God every day that he'd come back safe and sound, and that she'd be safe and sound as well just so she could still be there for him. If he was gone, she'd lose someone she held dearly to her heart. And if she'd gone, phew, there's no telling how long everyone would be crying.

Second, there were her parents. It's like all they were capable of doing when around each other, was fighting—whether it was verbal, or physical..kind of. It was like their immediate bad habit. Anywhere, they'd fight:at a restaurant, at a movie theater, at an airport, in the car...and they didn't know it crushed her and Max.

And then there was Nate. Nate was her everything. Nate was Alex's savior, and he kept Alex happy. Even if that meant she'd have to pretend she was. But he knew just how to cheer her up. And there were times where Alex felt like she should just rise, rise, up into heaven. But Nate kept her away from that. He made her feel loved.

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Alex quickly brushed her tears away with her arm when she saw Nate and Miley approaching her.

"Hey guys.." she said. She attached her skateboard to her backpack. [IDK how they do it, but some guys I know do have backpacks like that, that can hold your skateboard for you. Pretty cool.]

"Hi Alex!" Miley said, cheerfully. She then giggled a little and continued speaking. "Alex, can you please come to the cheerleading practice today? Please, please, please? I'd like your opinion on our cheers." she said.

Alex was starting to get a little irritated by Miley. Nate didn't even notice. He used to know what Alex was feeling inside, and could even tell when Alex was lying, but that was a long time ago. When did that start to change? When did it all go downhill? Alex thought. But she was polite, and replied back.

"Um, sure. I'd be up for that. Though the football practice might catch my eye. It kind of seems interesting, and I kind of want to try it out." Alex said.

"But why? I mean, football can be fun, I guess. But it's so, like, boring, and dirty and dangerous, and-" she babbled.

"-I'll just meet you there, Miley." she said, not wanting to hear Miley rant on. She smiled at Miley quickly and started to walk away.

But Nate spoke up."Oh, well, actually, I'm coming too."

"Not a surprise.." Alex mumbled-Nate didn't hear it. Alex had gotten really good about hiding things from Nate when it came to how she felt or what she noticed about him. She spoke louder again. "Okay, then I'll meet you both there." she said.

Alex started to walk away quickly—she didn't want to be around Niley right now. She kind of wanted to be alone, just to think.

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"I'll see ya later, babe." Nate said to Miley, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey, Alex! Wait up!" Nate called.

Alex groaned a little, thinking that Nate wanted to talk about Miley or something. That's all they ever talked about was Miley nowadays. Okay, maybe they did talk about other things, but it was something that only Miley and him knew about. Apparently, Nate always "forgot" to tell Alex. We used to tell each other everything..what happened to that? Alex shook her head to shake the thoughts away.

Alex, stop grieving. Maybe this is your payback. You're hiding something from him too. You've been hiding it for 5 years now.

Nate caught up to Alex once more.

"Hey..." she said. She was frowning, and everyone around them could tell. They stared at her. Everyone knew Alex as an upbeat, happy person. Boy, do people change. But people can change because of other people. And sometimes people can even change because other people change.

[Ahem, thank you, Miley! And Nate had to change in a stupid way, and Alex is changing just by how she feels. Poor Allie.]

Nate was so oblivious to Alex. He still smiled at her even if Alex was frowning. He was so different. He was a little more sophisticated, instead of free. He was..more serious. More mature. Things were definitely different. Usually, with Alex, Nate was just as immature and upbeat as her. Not anymore. Only once in a while was he like that. And that was a rare moment nowadays to Alex.

"So...what's up?" Nate said, trying to start a conversation. The two were walking the long front lawn of the school slowly, not picking up the pace. Five minutes had already passed, and neither of them said a thing. Alex sat down at a pond by the school building, and dropped her body right by it. She sat down cross-legged, picking at the grass, silent. She started looking into the water.

Alex looked up slowly. "Nothing, really.." she said, and dropped her head back down to stare at the water. She could somehow see her reflection in it. It was her, but it didn't feel like it. Because of heartbreak and pain from a certain someone sitting right beside her, the true Alex wasn't brought out anymore. Only that certain someone could really do that.

Nate nodded his head and looked directly forward as he sat down cross-legged as well.

"How's Max doing?" Nate asked. Alex felt a little hurt that he'd even have to ask that. A small wave of reality washed over her as she realized that Nate hadn't visited in a while. 6 months, to be exact.

"Um..he's fine. He's staying out of trouble."She said, and smiled a tiny, tiny bit afterwards.

"Good, that's good. So, what about the 'rents?" he asked.

Alex started to grimace. She felt as if they were talking like adults, or friends who hadn't known each other long, or friends who'd been apart for like, sixteen years. And she also grimaced because Nate had brought up the subject.

"Uh..." she said, and started to look down and pick some grass that was sitting in the open area in front of her.

Nate waited patiently, and watched her actions.

"Uh..well," she started to say. She struggled on what to say. She didn't really feel comfortable about talking with Nate about personal stuff anymore, and that was awkward. They were drifting apart. Alex knew she couldn't really tell Nate anymore. She'd need him if she did tell him, but she knew for sure that he didn't need her anymore.

"I guess..the same. And worse..I-I don't know."she answered, trying to look as honest as she could.

"Oh. Okay. Well, do you want to talk?" he asked.

Alex faced him and said, "What is there to talk about?" she looked upset, and she was. But she said it without thinking. She closed her mouth and turned her face to the pond again. Her face still looked upset.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I-It's nothing." she asked. Her voice was starting to crack. She cleared her throat to prevent it from getting worse.

"Okay." he said softly. She could tell he sounded kind of confused. But not hurt. He usually would be hurt if Alex was acting like this—like she was hiding something from him.

"Well.." he began to say. "Why are you so upset? Did I do anything wrong?" he asked.

You're seriously asking that question, Nate? she thought. Her throat ached to let out those words, but something in her just wouldn't let her. She didn't want to fight with him right now. She would wait for the right time to tell him what she felt—about everything.

Alex tried her best to reply softer and calmer this time. "It's nothing, Nate." she said. She turned to face him again and said "I swear."

"Good." he said. He grabbed her hand. " 'Cause if there was, I'd have to beat up the person responsible for making you PMS." he joked.

She gasped. "I am not PMS-ing, thank you very much." she chuckled.

Another awkward, yet comforting silence filled the air for a moment.

"You know, I miss this..." Alex admitted.

"Yeah, I do too.."he said.

Dude, it's effin' YOUR fault why we miss this! Alex thought.

"Now, can you tell me what's bugging you? Now that we have the time?"he begged. He gripped Alex's hand tighter. Alex faced him and found him using his famous puppy-dog face on her, and she giggled.

She sighed. If only I could tell you..but not now. I officially swear to myself that I'll tell you I love you, Nate. I will one day, when the time is right. She thought. She closed her eyes and inhaled. "My parents..their fights, they're getting worse..Mom's sleeping in another room now, Nate.

And...well, Nate I hate to say it. But..we're just, we're drifting apart. I don't hate Miley or blame her or anything, but..Nate, I miss you. Bud, I love you, but..then I feel like I hate you at the same time. And we don't have anything to talk about that's..un-awkward for the both of us. I mean, we can't talk about anything going on in my life, because you don't really understand. You haven't been there when I needed you the most.." she said, and her eyes began tearing up.

"Alex, I can't always be here to help you. I mean, it's not like we're dating." he said. Alex felt that he was just making it worse for her. He was so oblivious that that one sentence that he just spoke out..well, it hurt her. It hurt her like hell.

"Nate..it's just...forget it."she snapped.

"No, tell me." he demanded. Alex looked at him, a little hurt.

"okay, fine. It's just..Nate, you don't know what's going on, okay? The fights have gotten so much worse, that...I-I actually thought about what would happen if I never existed. And what would happen if I were to disappear one day. I had thoughts about committing suicide, and cutting myself. And..I-I even wrote in my diary!" by now, Alex was sobbing. " I haven't written in my diary ever since seventh grade!" She looked at Nate, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared at her without emotion. She stared at the pond and thought, Stupid me! You shouldn't have told him, Alex. He doesn't need you. He can't comfort you. He's right, he can't always be there for you. But then she felt Nate's strong arms around her, embracing her. He pulled her up onto his lap, and she stayed staring ahead, letting the tears pour out. He turned her so that she laid her head on his chest, and he still held her close. He held her, and rocked her back and forth.

"Shh, Lexie. Everything will be alright. As long as I'm here, you'll be safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. And, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Alex. I'm sorry for being such a horrible best friend for not getting updates on what's going on with you. And I'm sorry I said that I can't be there to help you."

Alex looked up at him. "Y-You mean it?"

"Yes, Allie. You're my best friend. I love you. I can't live without you." he said.

"Good. 'Cause I love you too. Just don't ever forget that. And please don't ever leave me, Nate. Don't hurt me. You promise?" she asked, looked up at him, and held out her pinky.

"I promise, Al. And I'm not ever going to forget that." he said, hooked his pinky with hers, and pecked her on the lips.

[[Aww! So cute! :D]]

Alex sat sluggishly in her desk chair..staring at the clock. She was dreading the time she'd have to meet up with Nate and Miley..well, "Niley." Because she would be walking directly into pain. Yeah, it definitely would've been easier if she just said no. But no..she was a friend to Miley, and Nate's best friend. It would make them hurt, and then Miley would annoyingly nag her, and Nate would worriedly and constantly question her on why she'd ditched. But then the time came that the bell rang. Alex groaned, and dropped her head onto her crossed arms. She so hopefully wished that something would come up that she somehow, just possibly, she wouldn't have to go to the practice. She sighed heavily and angrily, picked up her backpack over her shoulder, and walked out of her 6th period class.

----------

"Hey Alex!" Nate called out when he spotted her.

Alex turned around, when he called her name, and smiled to see he was sitting at the bench, alone..without Miley. She grinned.

"Hey." she said, as she dropped her backpack aimlessly, and sat down next to him comfortably. Miley caught sight of both of them, and waved back frantically, jumping up and down. Nate happily waved back, while Alex waved back softly, and a small smile. Really, she was kind of freaked out by how Miley was waving and smiling so much. She looks like she's about to piss her pants. Wait, no..her short short short short short..skirt. JEEZ! That thing is so short, anyone could see it without even trying. And it's so tight, it's like there's not even enough air for even just her legs to breathe! But seriously, Miley's way too preppy. I really think Nate has a bad choice in girls. No, I'm not being conceited, and what the heck? I'm talking to myself in my mind! Okay, shut up now Alex! GAH!

She shook her head to stop. Nate noticed, glanced at her for a quick second, "You okay, Lexie?" he asked. Alex grinned to see he actually cared again, and replied "yeah." she smiled

and then kept clapping and rooting for Miley. Alex glanced up at Nate, thinking he was kind of crazy. He was rooting for Miley. She was doing nothing but cheering, flopping herself into the air, and maybe doing splits, all that stuff with major flexibility. Alex looked intensely at Nate's eyes. Somehow, just by looking into his eyes deeply, she could kind of tell what he was thinking. Nate just kept staring, clapping, and cheering. Even when the cheerleaders were just standing there, talking. Alex furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Nate staring, he moved his eyes up and down as well, and it looked like they were sparkling. He was staring, in one spot. Alex glanced to Miley's head, and it didn't match to the position of where Nate had his eyes laid on. Then it hit her. As she slowly comprehended where Nate was staring, doing, and possibly thinking, her eyes widened. Without thinking, she smacked Nate's arm.

"Dude!"

"OW! What the heck was that for, Alex? Jeez, you even made a mark."

"Well, sorry it's just..." Alex got too lost in his eyes, but caught herself and spoke up again. "well, you know me. I didn't mean to smack you, I just didn't..think. It's kind of a, reflex?" She said and grinned.

"Okay? Well, yeah I know. You never think before smacking someone if you were really pissed, or shocked. But what the heck did I do?" he asked again.

"Well, um. Okay this is awkward. But...where you staring Miley's boobs?" she asked, kind of grossed out. But yet, somehow she needed, wanted, to know.

Nate blushed. "Well, maybe.."he looked up to Alex raising an eyebrow, not believing him. "Okay, yes! But I was also staring at her butt." he said.

Alex burst out laughing, and he flushed as red as a tomato. "It's not funny!" he said.

"Uh, yeah it is. Haha, I'm laughing at your blushing! And how you answered me.. haha, ' But I was also staring at her butt', you said it so serious, but then you were embarrassed too." she said. "But seriously, wow Nate. Just...wow." she said.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just..I didn't know you were like that! I didn't know my best friend turned into some perverted pig." she said, seeming innocent. But people change.

Then a tiny smile creeped up her face, to show that she wasn't judging him.

"Well, yeah. Miley kind of..changed that." he said, softly.

"Whoa! Okay, too much info, Nate. I don't want to know about your, ahem, more-than-love life, Nate." she said jokingly.

"Okay, okay."

"Hey, look, Miley's walking over. Maybe they're done practicing." Alex gestured to Miley walking over.

"Hey, Natey. So, what'd ya think?" Miley asked, towards Nate first.

Alex noticed Nate staring at Miley like she was an angel, and nudged him to say some thing. She loved him enough that she didn't want him to look like a fool, even if she'd love him whether he was one or not.

Nate just kept staring at Miley, but managed to say, "amazing..."

Alex started chuckling. Nate glared at her. "well, I do have to agree with him, Miley. That was a really fantastic routine. Probably the best one I've ever seen." she smiled.

"Aww, thanks Alex! Hey, would you like to try??" she asked.

Alex's eyes grew big. This time it was Nate's turn to laugh. "Sorry, Miley. Alex here wouldn't be caught cheerleading. She'd rather go skateboarding. Right, Al?" he smiled at her.

"Mmhmm. Ha, you know me so well!" she laughed jokingly, and pretended to wipe a fake tear away, as she placed her other hand on where her heart was.

The happy couple chuckled at her. Then they started talking to each other, about things that didn't concern Alex. She began to zone out, and before she knew it, they left her alone at the bench.

"Hey, Alex." a voice called.

"Oh, hey.." she looked up. "Newt. And, um, I'm guessing this is Caitlyn?" she asked, when she saw a young girl with long, brown and blonde hair. She looked very fit, but looked so sweet.

"Yup. Caitlyn, meet Alex." he said.

"Hi, Caitlyn. Nice to meet you." she said, and smiled at her.

"You too." she replied.

Alex nodded—she felt awkward, and didn't know what to say. She returned to twirling her hair.

"So, how's it going with Nate?" Newt asked.

Alex looked up—she looked emotionless, yet hurt—and shrugged. Truthfully, Alex wasn't really so sure about her and Nate's relationship anymore. She trusted that Nate would keep his promise, yet he still had the will to break it if he wanted to. But she was happier. Her and Nate were at least talking together again, like nothing had happened, like they never drifted apart. But what really upset Alex, was how he'd left her for Miley in the middle of a conversation. And if he would continue it, he'd eventually want to hurt Alex, break their promise if he wanted Miley more.

"You guys are drifting apart now, aren't you??" Caitlyn asked.

Alex was kind of interested in what they had to say. "How'd you know??" she asked.

"Well, right now you're Caitlyn, and Nate's me. Ya know? I mean, the exact same thing happened to us too. I kept ignoring Caitlyn for....Jessica." Newt shivered a little at the end, but shrugged it off and waited for Alex's reply.

"Okay...no offense, but you guys are kinda creeping me out. You mean to tell me, that what happened to you guys, is what's happening to me and Nate? And eventually, I'll end up with him?" she asked, bewildered.

"Well, I guess..well, no. Sorry, Alex. We don't know. We don't have the power to determine that or make it happen. But for some reason, Newt here is pretty obsessed with getting involved with your love life. But I keep telling him it's wrong. He just doesn't listen.." she said, and giggled.

"yeah..." Alex said, kind of focused on something else.

"So, where's this Nate, anyways?" Caitlyn asked.

"Um, I honestly don't know.." she replied.

"Oh, there he is" Newt said.

Alex glanced over to Nate and Miley, kissing. Nate was holding Miley's waist, while Miley's legs were wrapped around his. She had her arms embraced around his neck. Alex felt her heart make a 'thump' sound again, wishing once more that that was her waist that Nate was holding and carrying. That it was her lips he was kissing. That she was all his, and that he was all hers.

Alex couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her backpack, her iPod, and listened to it. She stepped onto her skateboard, and began skating home. She took out her phone real quick and texted Nate that she left, because she needed to start on her homework. He wouldn't know why she'd left so sudden. He wouldn't, because he barely cared anymore, just as long as she was safe. Caitlyn and Newt glanced at each other, Newt felt guilty. Guilty that he was why Alex saw Nate and Miley, and she left. Caitlyn was upset at Newt for that, yet the two still felt so sad for Alex. She was probably the only one who really understood what Alex was going through.

As soon as Alex arrived home, she pulled out a notebook, and started writing in it. If you're thinking it's her diary, it's not. No, what Alex was writing something she was using to vent out her feelings, but not like a journal. No, this was much better than a diary entry. If she wanted to, she'd show it to Nate to make him realize she's the one for him. But, nah. How stupid would that be? She asked herself, mentally smacking herself, because she actually let the possibly run through her head. She couldn't bring herself to tell Nate how she felt. It was..stupid. Stupid, stupid. I can't believe I actually thought about telling him about this! No, this is for my eyes only. Wow, I'm pretty good at this. She thought as she glanced at the eighteen lines, one hundred twenty words she'd written down on one single piece of paper. It all just came to her naturally. But this is so stupid that I'm actually doing this. This is so stupid that I'm so hurt I'd come down to this. It's so stupid that I wanted to show and tell Nate this. How stupid would that be if I told him? And the answer to that, is that it's not stupid at all. I guess the right time to tell him is coming soon.


So what'd ya think?? And yeah, I know Jason and Alyson is an unusual/uncommon couple. And don't worry, you'll find out that last part, what Alex was writing, and what she's yelling at herself for. And what she's talking about. Yeah, you'll find out soon. Or you can guess it. Lol. XD

Well, tell me what you thought! And include ideas along the way, but only ones that won't drastically change my plot. Maybe just little moments and dialogue you had in mind for conversations with the characters in the story. Lol, idk...But I like putting in stuff that readers suggest..so yeah. =P

Well, R&R please!! :D

Increase the peace!!

--Shae Shae [xxthatswhatyougetxx]