Hey guys! I'm so sorry for not updating- blame my computer -_- It decided to crash on me and I couldn't post anything. But it should be fixed now…so enjoy the chapter!

"Do you guys want to go to the mall?" Maxine asked her two parents.

Alex nodded, "Sure, why not? I have nothing better to do. It's always fun hiding in clothes racks and scaring people.

"Okay, number one- stop hiding in clothes racks, Alex! And number two, I should prepare for tomorrow's tutoring lesson. I think I'll have to pass, Maxine." Justin replied.

Maxine frowned- she expected both of her parents to come. "Come on, Justin! Come with us!"

Alex grabbed her purse and headed for the door, "Don't worry, Maxine. Justin will be a party pooper if he comes."

Maxine ignored her mother's statement and pleaded, "Justin, please? Don't you have things you need to get?"

Justin thought for a second and then nodded, "Actually, yes. I really need to get a new pair of sneakers. Mine are getting old."

Alex yelled, "So are you coming or not? I'm getting older every second I wait."

Justin rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket. "Alright, let's go."

Maxine smiled in satisfaction. This was part of one of her many plans to get them back together. Ever since she realized they weren't together, she had her mind set on hooking them up. But of course, it was really hard because they don't really "like" each other and their brother/sister relationship is always in the way. Regardless, she tried to get them to spend as much time together as possible.

The three of them finally arrived at the mall. It took an hour for Justin to find his pair of shoes, which bored Alex to the core. Once he finally paid for the shoes, Alex was ready to sprint off.

Maxine exclaimed, "Alex? Where are you going?"

"Anywhere without you two! You guys are so boring!"

Maxine protested, "But we should all stick together, right?"

"Maxine, I mean Max…don't you recall our outings together as a trio? We always split up." Alex explained.

Justin nodded, "Yeah, Max...we always go our separate ways at the mall."

"But…but…"

Alex sighed, "Why are you so concerned about us being together?"

Maxine made a compromise, "Fine…you guys can do whatever you like, but can we go to the candy shop first?"

Both Justin and Alex's expressions dropped. Justin complained, "Really, Max? Do we have to accompany you to that place? You always go by yourself."

Maxine resisted, "They won't let a little girl like me buy stuff….I need adult supervision!"

"Fine." Justin sighed and gave in.

Maxine added, "Also, can you guys stop calling me Max? It's probably confusing for people to hear that name since I'm a little girl now…and plus, it's getting me confused!"

Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed Maxine's hand, "Let's get going then, Maxine!"

Maxine smiled mischievously- she was forcing them to stay together. At the candy shop, Maxine picked out all her favorites and so did Alex. Justin said he never ate candy until Halloween. Maxine knew better though- back in the future, he ate a candy bar almost every day.

Maxine held her bag of candy in her hand. It was full of blue, yellow, and red jellybean, and chocolate covered gummy bears. "These are all my favorites!"

Justin made a face, "That's disgusting. First off, I can't believe you can even eat that much candy and second, who likes chocolate covered gummy bears?"

Alex added, "Wait…Maxine, you like chocolate covered gummy bears? You hate those! No one in the family eats them, but me. And you chose the same jellybeans that I did! This is my special combination of candy from this shop….don't you usually get licorice? I know for sure that I hate licorice and you love it."

Maxine stuttered, "Uhh…sure…ummm I guess these are my other favorites too. Maybe it's just a coincidence we got the same candy."

Alex sighed, "Whatever, Maxine."

Maxine knew the reason why they got the same combination of treats. It was because she learned it from her mother. She, too, hated licorice, but loved chocolate gummy bears. Whenever they went to the candy shop together, this was the combination they would get. Maxine wished she could tell her mother that…but yet again, that would probably put the future at risk.

"Okay, so do you two food junkies have enough?" Justin said impatiently.

Alex nodded, "Yup. Can we have twenty bucks?"

Justin shook his head, "Of course not! I'm not paying for your candy!"

Alex pleaded, "Come on, Justin!"

"No! I'm sick of your always getting your way. Pay for it yourself!"

Alex retorted, "I didn't bring my wallet!"

"You did that on purpose! You're just trying to get my money." Justin glared at her and paid for the candy since no one else could.

Justin remarked, "I don't know why you're so irresponsible, Alex!"

Alex chewed on a few gummy bears and snorted, "What did you expect?"

Justin glared again, "Will you just grow up?"

Alex stopped walking and replied, "Will you just chill?"

Justin raised his voice, "Well I'm getting tired of your childish and stupid ways!"

"It's just candy for God's sake!"

Maxine hated watching them fight, "Guys, calm down…it's okay."

Justin retorted, "You need to get a grip of your life, Alex. When are you going to start taking care of yourself?"

"I do take care of myself!"

"Then why am I always saving you!"

Alex rolled her eyes, "You know what? Let's get out of here and go home. I don't want to have to deal with you, so just shut up." She rushed off towards the car.

They eventually went home and the heated siblings stayed away from each other. Maxine realized her plan failed once again….just like all her other plans. She would be successful in getting them to hang out, but it always ended in some stupid fight. She was ready to give up, but then quickly decided she might have one more chance…


After a few days of nagging, Maxine convinced Justin and Alex to let her watch their tutoring class. She claimed it was "just for fun," but in reality, Maxine needed an excuse to get her parents together. Naturally, it wasn't easy. She watched her parents closely, but could never find a way to get together. Her father's tutoring class was really busy though because they were just notified about doing some wand drill together. Maxine saw this as an opportunity for her parents to work together, but then a certain someone just had to ruin everything.

"Excuse me, is this Justin Russo's class?" A young, beautiful girl walked in through their wizard portal, immediately catching the attention of Justin. She introduced, "I'm Rosie…your new student."

Maxine watched as her father's eyes widened and focused completely on her, "Alright, everyone, let's drop everything and get to know Rosie."

Maxine was getting a bit anxious for her father and what he was thinking, but then she looked over towards her mother, who just rolled her eyes in "disgust." Maxine thought she was just another new student, but she seemed to have a greater affect on the class. As days passed, Maxine became upset by Rosie's sudden appearance and how it threatened her parent's relationship. It was hard enough to get her parents to even talk to each out without insults…Rosie made things much worse. It made Maxine sick to see that her father was so smitten by Rosie. The only thing that kept her "content" was the fact that her mother seemed a bit bothered by the new student. She was agitated and always on the edge, especially during the tutoring class.

Maxine contemplated these thoughts for days. Her parents were supposed to be in love at this moment in their lives. According to the current date, she would be born in a year. Odds were against her...what would happen to her if they never got together?

A few nights later, Maxine headed towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. Unexpectedly, her father and mother were also in the kitchen. Her father was sitting on the bar stool, holding a piece of string and a rock in his hand while her mother stood over him- as if they were arguing…well, what a surprise.

Maxine noticed how silent it got the moment she arrived and how little distance her parents were from each other. She became a bit suspicious and inquired, "Uhh….what are you two doing here?"

"Uhhh…." They both stuttered before looking at each other with glares.

Alex muttered, "Nothing."

Maxine decided not to ask any more questions due to the awkwardness of the situation. She kept quiet and did what she did best. She walked off innocently, but since they were clearly lying, she eavesdropped on their continuing conversation.

"You have to kick her out!"

"Kick her out?" Justin sounded astonished.

Alex nodded and began to explain, "We're never going to pass this wand drill if she's in it! You're so gaga over her that you can't see she's bringing us down. Give her the bootsky!"

Justin stood up, "I'm not giving her the bootsky! All she needs is a little one on one help…alright? I'll work with her."

Alex retorted, "And who's going to work with us?"

Justin stared at his sister, finally realizing the point she was making. He nod, "I see what's going on…Alex, is she bothering you?"

Alex brought her voice down to a hush before replying, "What do you think, Justin!"

Justin snickered, "Look, you have nothing to worry about. She's a new student, that's all."

"And you're totally into her!" Alex whispered harshly.

Justin replied, "Exactly! That's the idea!"

Alex raised an eyebrow, "What are you saying?"

Justin brought his voice lower in volume, almost to the point where Maxine could barely hear what he said. "I'm doing this for us!"

Maxine understood pretty much everything her parents were arguing about until now. She was suddenly lost…what did he mean by that?"

Alex's voice also dropped in tone, "You think this will save us? Come on, Justin! We both know this won't work."

"How can u say that? It'll keep everyone distracted. It'll be good for us." Justin explained.

Alex shook her head, "No! I can already predict you'll fall for her! She's pretty and charming and absolutely flawless! Like Juliet all over again!"

Maxine wondered what that meant...

Justin looked her straight in the eye and murmured, "But you know she's not the girl I love."

Justin reached out, ready to place his hand hold on top of hers, but Alex jolted away.

She shook her head, "You're going to throw everything away that we've been working so hard on to get back in the competition for some girl you barely even know!"

Justin realized Alex was sidetracking from the main conversation so he panicked and replied, "I know her!"

"Good!...Cause I have no idea who you are." Alex stared at him with a flash of fury lingering in her eyes. She quickly headed downstairs.

Justin was instantly shocked by her statement and went after her. He exclaimed, "Alex, wait!" He followed her downstairs and grabbed her am, "Alex, please…"

Alex backed off and sighed, "I just need some time to think, alright?"

Justin asked, "At least tell me where you're going."

Alex ignored him and left without another word. Justin went back up to their living room and sat on the couch. He rubbed his head as he felt a headache growing. He hated when Alex did this to him. It made him really guilty whenever she was mad at him. And this time, she left. He became anxious as each minute passed without him knowing where she was. It was late at night and anything could happen in New York City. Would she be safe?

Maxine was startled by the sudden commotion and without thinking, she stood by her father and questioned, "Where did Mom go?"

Justin's head jerked up, not noticing the little girl in front of him. "Max! Uhh...I mean Maxine. Wh..at...are you...Mom is upstairs sleeping...where else would she be?"

Maxine realized she accidentally asked for her mother...meaning Alex. She corrected herself, "Oh right...umm I mean, where's Alex? She's not upstairs."

"Uhh...she went out." Justin said quietly.

Maxine raised an eyebrow, "At this hour?"

"Uhh yeah! She likes to leave around now." Justin lied.

What a horrible liar. Maxine bluntly stated, "I know you're lying."

Justin sighed and gave up, "Fine. You got me."

"Where is she then?" Maxine continued to nag.

Justin stood up abruptly and exclaimed "I don't know! She just left!"

"Why?" Maxine questioned him further.

"We had a fight."

Maxine had watched them argue, but she didn't really know why. Alex wanted to kick Rosie out of the class, but Maxine knew it was more than that. She asked, "What was your fight about?"

"N..nothing. Something stupid. You wouldn't understand, Maxine." Justin tried to shake her off.

"Yes, I would." Maxine persisted.

"No, you wouldn't! None of you would understand what I have to go through each day! My life wasn't supposed to head in this direction! Get out of here, Maxine! And leave me alone." Justin stood up abruptly and yelled.

Maxine had never seen her father so mad and distressed. She was actually a bit scared and slowly backed away. Justin noticed the fear in this little girl's eyes. Her big brown eyes made her look a lot like Alex- which made him feel guilty all over again. He just sighed and calmly ordered, "Just go to bed, alright?"

Maxine respected her father's orders and silently headed to her room, realizing that their situation was a lot more complicated than she thought it would be.


The next day, Justin wasn't himself. He was a scatter brain- constantly worrying over Alex. He couldn't seem to do anything straight. Throughout the day, he was slower than usual and made silly mistakes. He barely made it through the day before sitting at one of the substation tables facing the door. He stared at it as if Captain Jim Bob Sherwood was to walk in at any moment. Maxine watched her father as he waited and waited….she, herself, felt her eyes closing, but suddenly, the doorknob turned and her mother appeared.

Justin almost tripped getting up and ran up to her. Color returned to his face as he sighed in relief, "Thank God…you're okay."

Alex didn't even look at him and coldly replied, "I was out…just thinking."

Silence hung in the air for a couple seconds before Justin sheepishly asked, "And?"

Alex threw her hands up in the air and stared at him in disbelief. "What else am I supposed to say, Justin?"

Justin stuttered, "Well, I…thought….I care a lot about you and you know that. Maybe you…"

Alex cut him off, "Save it, Justin. You won't have the same feelings as soon as Rosie becomes more involved in your life."

"I'm not going to make it that easy for her! I'm not letting my guard down!" Justin retorted, not really wanting to talk about Rosie.

Alex shook her head and walked away from him. Justin caught up to her and pulled her against him so close that their bodies were barely touching. He took one look at Maxine, not really caring if she was in the room or not.

Justin whispered in Alex's ear, so that Maxine wouldn't hear. "I love you, Alex. You know that, right?"

Alex laid her hand against his chest, slowly pushing him away. She sighed and simply replied, "Yeah, I know…."

Justin watched as she ran away, once again. He wished they could've talked longer; she left him hanging. He knew better than to allow Rosie take over his life. He wanted Alex. He needed Alex. So how could she even think that he would fall for someone else?

That would be nonsense.

I really hope you liked this chapter and like where the story is heading. I won't be able to update for a week because I'm going on a trip. I'm really sorry about that…and also for the fact that my computer died. -.-

Anyways, I still would appreciate it if you could review and leave your thoughts on my story Thanks!