Next chapter is in Justin's POV, happening shortly after this one.

Rio. :) COMMENT!!!

Alex

"The truth Comes out…"

It was the way he could move though a room unannounced that made me shiver; even more how he'd pop up out of nowhere and exchange some kind of face with me. Whatever it was, I was always finding either fun or annoyance in its quality before I spoke or before he spoke, given the situation. Now it was just me being ashamed and tortured whenever he'd take a glance in my direction, and he saw right to it, wanting to make me feel better with sugar-coated words that meant what they echoed.

Dean never did that.

I always knocked that thought out cold when it came to me. Like a prized fighter who never earned their trophy. It didn't make me feel any better--didn't change things. Huh, Dean is no longer here.

We still fought, threw knife-sharp insults and words of wit back and forth, but only where he had to argue back were he ever harsh. He still saw me at my best, my worst; saw right to me.

Just like the time he smacked against the glass doorway out to the terrace on my 13th birthday.

The text message I was looking at flew out of the window as I covered my mouth, laughing behind my fingers.

"What's so funny?" An electric current bumped me from my thoughts, forced my neck up towards the voice that came out of the blue.

"Wha--oh." The snake in the room revealed itself to be a helpless bunny. What was worse, a helpless bunny reading a book. Yeah—gag me. As if the wings fluttering around my stupid heart weren't distracting already.

There, in the orange-cushioned armchair opposite of me, was Justin. He was eyeing me questioningly, the book resting on the ankle that sat on his right knee. My eyes then shifted over to a heavy stack that was settled on the stony table in-between us. The thumb and pointer finger of his right hand fiddled with the edge of the book's bundle of pages while his head leaned on the other. My stomach curdled as his mouth slowly curled into a grin, despite his confused face.

A bone-white ran through my face, discoloring it. My look then changed into an angry one, realizing it was only Justin, and the color drained back along with it.

"What are you looking at??" I grunted, throwing piercing, aggressive eyes in his direction. He glared and then faced downward; back to the microscopic words on the pages of that stone tablet he called a book.

"I just wanted to know what you were giggling to yourself about. No need to get hostile, Alex." He always puts that livid edge on my name when he said it like that. Remembering all of the times I'd ignored it....it was an instant surprise to find that it actually made me feel...bad.

My lips cringed down into a frown. In a split second I noticed the pain of my mouth muscles tightening up; it hurt. I shook it off like a shawl over me; I was so happy he didn't' see because I would've showed weakness, trouble—the two things that fueled a fire in him.

Psh, I'm invincible, as far as all of you know. But invincibility doesn't make up for open-mindedness, especially when your feelings have you're trapped in a room two times smaller than your average bathroom.

"You..." It spoke itself, introducing a smaller side of me, "—You remember that time when you..." I giggled again as I stared across at Justin, picturing the memory exactly. "You ran headfirst into the glass door to the terrace on my 13th birthday?"

He laughed immediately, then looked up at me with a smile. His pearly-whites showing through his parted lips split my focus in just enough time to snap a pencil.

"That—that was something," He chuckled, "I had this enormous knot kneaded into my forehead for, like, 2 days."

"Yeah, you were--"--I covered my mouth and chuckled into it for a moment, then took it away—"—You were trying to get outside before the birthday song was finished. Mom said you wanted that cake so bad!"

"OH YEAH!" He exclaimed, eyes twinkling with the memory. "It was that special one that had, like, five flavors! Oh, that was so good...it was worth it!!"

I snickered still, cheesing, while he shook his head, eyes aimed at another spot of the room as if he was reminiscing.

More memories floated back into my head; but they had this one fatal quality about themselves...their weight was so unbearable. Each one piled on my back like I was cheap, greasy pack mule. I nearly teared up, although I kept telling myself not to.

My iPhone started its own mini-earthquake, shaking and vibrating on the table.

Then the room grew silent once again. Justin was leaned over in his seat now, elbows balanced on the tops of his knees, aimlessly twiddling his fingers together. An emotion took me over, I didn't know what it was, but...but my tears actually started pouring without my permission. They were tears of joy turned into tears of misery. Of want. Of an unsatisfied need.

Justin looked up from the floor at me and his neutral look changed in an instant to a confused one. His eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed halfway as he examined my breakdown.

"What's wrong, Alex?" His concern showed like a heart on his sleeve.

The words hurt to get out of my throat, "N-Nothing. I'm just—happy."

He grunted, puzzled. Eyelids tightening in a suspicious squint, he responded saying, "That's odd. I considered your terms of 'happy'"—his air quotes made me chuckle to myself—"—would be laughing at some poor, innocent student after you pushed him down a stairwell."

I straightened up and wiped my tears with my bare arm, pointing a finger in defense, "He asked for it!"

"Tch," Scoffed Justin, "Right. Not letting you copy off of his History quiz is a federal crime."

"Good," I said, swiveling my legs around to graze out on the couch. Everyone calls this my "nap-while-class-is-going-on" position. "You understand, then. You get some cuffs, I get a siren, and we're in business...how's that sound??"

His chest moved with a silent hum of laughter at my joke, which was referring to us as a team. I knew he didn't find that weird. Me countering his sarcasm blatantly just proved that I was joking.

I was always joking. I was Alex—just little baby sister Alex. That was my only title. Well, that, and "Sheriff McSneaky" by Mr. Laritate on numerous occasions when I'd stop by his office for a coffee break—A break from sliding down the stairwell rail, or roaming the halls unattended. He was pretty generous about the stuff, too.

A fully stretched leer was aimed at me by Justin; could feel it etching a blur of pink on my cheeks as I stared at the ceiling.

"You have no idea how fearless you are, Alex," he said. The words rang with the envy of a compliment more than an insult. Suddenly, it seemed that quality wasn't childish in his eyes. That was why I didn't understand it. It was like trying to find a like to one of those tacky, overdone runway dresses that looked like future Halloween costumes...they always say "it has a meaning", but you can never find it. It's useless, really. "To live without rules and to not be condemned if you get caught is not the way to go...but it means you've got guts. That's so foreign to me, you know? Just thinking about any of the schemes you get yourself into makes my tongue dry out..."

A bouncy giggle slid through my lips. "Your—your tongue?"

"Never mind. But...whether you're some corporate big-shot—don't count on it in this life..."--He noticed my bigger grin, and added that in that bit with his own smile—"...Or a high-school drop out who's arrested and sent to prison...you'll always be my sister. And I'm proud of whatever you become, or whatever you persue..."

Whatever...I persue?? What about Who-ever?

The smile I offered was as soft as a cloud, its gentle touch as genuine. A ball of warmth bubbled up in the pit of my stomach. Indigestion? Psh, no. This feeling was more than that, no pain was involved...

Huh?? Just wait, you'll get gaggy when you figure out what's going on...

"Me too." I said meaningfully, then added, "I meant me, of course, blockhead."

He rolled his eyes, but his smile was still there.

Closure.

Just Closure...along with sickness and sadness and regret and pain. Love dosnt define all of those things, does it?

If you're ever up for checking the dictionary...let me know, 'kay?

"Ha, even though I bet I could execute some of those plans more cleanly than you..." he gathered. I passed him an evil glare and he froze a little bit, "...that doesn't necessarily mean I'd have the guts to see them through. I commend you for that—But don't do anything that'll destroy public property in the near future, okay?"

I laughed, My face softened in features and the corners of my mouth turned back up.

"Okay, Justin, okay..." I agreed nodding.

"Good." The corner of his lip turned up as he relaxed.

Our visions connected now; we saw eye to eye. He grabbed his book and settled back into his reading, but still I gazed at him. I bit my lip when I realized something.

It's quiet...All you can hear is that really weird clock that dad bought at that garage sale ticking on the wall!! Don't you think now would be the best time to...you know, tell him??

All of the blood seeped to my face as I readied myself.

"Hmm, you haven't spoken in a..." Then he looked up at me from his reading. "What...? Why are you smiling...?" I felt the suspicion brimming the edge of that question from all the way where I sat.

"Nothing...I just...I love you, Justin..." I said simply, unconsciously taking a deep breath.

He gave me the hugest grin in return. His eyes, stones of gray, smoothed out and deepened into a liquid before me, like a floor of rock under the surface of a shallow, light pond.

Aw, great...You hit that one spot that gets him all emotional. Well done...now let's just hope this doesn't get all sappy...

"Aww, come here..." He cooed. I got settled into a sitting position and got up to move around the table. I took a few steps and he returned them until we met in the middle. His arms wrapped around me in a yielding hold. I stood there, eyes shut, as he rocked me back and forth and leaned his cheek against the crown of my head. I was like a doll there. Little did he know I was breaking down, wasting away before him.

"I love you, too, Alex..." The cutesy tone in his voice sounded fraternal and too sweet, something a gushy father would lather on to her daughter to ensure that she'd always be safe. I wanted so much to puke, but not fully in ways I expected. Half of me wished to puke out of disgust of the fluff-fest, the other half purely from the explosion of crushing warmth throwing a party in my gut, and the crushing hug (he did always hug a little too tight).

He tore from me quicker than I could anticipate, headed for the door to the sub shop. His exit would bring back the cold full-circle if I didn't say it now. The little phrases that would encourage me were simply the worst multiple-choice question on the most dangerous test rattling in my head, with such a short time, at that. Gosh, I didn't even have time to take a nap! Oh, wait a second, I hardly sleep anymore. I was lucky to still have hair; each day I've wanted to rip every last strand of it out.

The question was the hardest to decide on, and I couldn't skip it and come back to it or I'd be hurt again.

THE TURNOUT

He'll understand, I promise.

It'll all boil over, you'll see

Just say it and get it over with.

Right; some encouragement. Hey, I got rid of two answers, didn't I? My sneaky conscience didn't persuade me all that much, anyway. Let me get this over with, before I'm bald and Looney.

"No, Justin, I..."

A desire tore under my skin, my revolting secret a hummingbird bouncing around and chirping in my chest to be set free. He turned to me; I rushed up to meet him at the closest point possible before I burst at the seams. He stood there, waiting.

"What?"

"Justin..." My head fell. Ugh, shame and karma go on my list.... "I'm...I'm in love with you..."

I braced myself for the impact and closed my eyes enough that I could squint.

Justin's face fell in astonishment for a second, eyes widening as his chest rose and fell with one deep gust.

Oh no...Here it comes.

A booming laughter shook my eardrums. Justin snapped the atmosphere in two, curling over in laughter as I opened my eyes.

"HAHAHA! Okay---heheh, Alex...you are officially the funniest person I know; Hilarious stuff."

He spun his back to me and began for the door, shaking his head and snickering under his breath. It was a joke? Really, now? was joking, little, baby sister Alex again, huh??

Little, Joking, Baby Sister Alex.

I wouldn't mind if those two words were eliminated from any relation to me in Justin's eyes. That'd take a wish, and look where that scenario got me. It earned me a place in a hell even I couldn't see as wimpy and uninteresting. There was irony here—it bit me on the butt.

"No! I'm not kidding!" I shouted desperately at his back. "Justin--"

"Oh, I know what you're doing..." His voice interrupted in a low one as he kicked his leg out, spun with the other and set it down to face me again. He now stood before me with crossed arms and a finger to the air. "You're bending our little moment so you can freak me out"—His arms started waving about and his attention drifted away from me, as if he was talking to open air (more like himself) speculating like the spaz he was—"You're—You're trying to make this horrible so I'll get distracted and YOU CAN WIN THE COMPETITION!" He snapped his fingers hastily, yelling, "THAT'S IT!"

I could care less about the competition at a time like this. I was pretty sure I was gonna win anyhow. Of all of the things Justin was, inconsiderate was not one of them. Paranoid...YES.

I slumped my head back with a groan and rolled my eyes as he applauded himself. "Score one for the J-Man! Next time you try and trick me, do yourself a favor and acknowledge that I'm not that easy, Alex!"

"Justin, this has nothing to do with the competition!" I argued. He stood there, smirking with pride, like he had me all figured out.

Not in this lifetime.

"That's what you'd want me to believe, Alex." He considered. My jaw fell in disbelief.

"No...Justin, I..." The thoughts only confused me; they had no agreement to meet up at the starting line. Even behind skin-tight, shut eyelids and a red-hot, fiery blast of determination I couldn't find the words to speak. They were being chucked at me and thrown at me without my cue, and I was being battered. Hard.

I was led back to the couch, hands trapped in my shoulder length hair and fingers clawing the roots as tears poured out of their drainage systems. My leg strength wore down and I slouched weakly into the cushion on the couch. This was when Justin became more alert to the truth, focus occupied completely by me. The air grew chilled; the only sound the clatter and jangle of the four shifting bangles I wore around my trembling wrists.

I gazed up at him. His neutral face shifted, molding slightly, creasing with both a tense of sadness and a tense of horror. His soul left; it almost looked like. Was it my quivering lips pressed into the shape of an 'S'? The slight smudge of gray from my makeup around my eyes? The tears themselves?

"Justin, I have no idea how to explain it," I said, tearing, "It's like, when I'm around you there's this—this gushy warmness I'm not so used to but doesn't make me puke. Then, you're in my dreams and I don't want you to be, but you are, and I don't—."

"You...You have feelings for me?! HOW—WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" he shouted. The shame attacked my gut and made it crumple up like some food sitting out in the sun.

"I don't know! It was vacation, i guess. It was those stares beside the fire; I was caught in your eyes...something told me to let go so many times but I...I didn't want to look away..." I looked up at him. He was sitting back down in the armchair, bent forward and carefully massaging his temples. I could already see the wounded look across his face as he listened. "Your words...you words were so sweet; you cared about me a lot more than Dean had—"

He shot up to his feet in an instant. "Okay, first off," he seemed irritated; "Dean is the type of guy who uses girls like pairs of socks. He isn't the kind of guy to really exchange a sentimental relationship with. Second of all, you shouldn't be comparing some boy you've know--what, half a year?—to me, whose known you your entire life."

You know, he has a point. "That's true, but, that's exactly what I mean. I've always wanted the bad guy, never the hero. Dean doesn't always come to my rescue; much less make me feel any better if it's my doing."

He looked at me with a hardness pressed over his face, and anger aroused in his eyes. "Alex, I'm your older brother, not him. I constantly, "come to your rescue", because I have no choice. It's our responsibility, that's what we do; we keep our younger siblings safe. It's not rocket science."

"But, it's not that. You know I'm a bad seed, but that doesn't necessarily mean I deserve some guy just as bad," I yelled at him, "That used to be what I wanted, but now...now I want a relationship where I fall into someone's arms when I get hurt, not the ground..." I exclaimed.

"But, seriously, Alex, me of all people?!" He shouted.

"Let me finish!" I demanded

Justin simply stood there with an anxious look on his face, tension bridging under his solitude. "Then there was the competition. I knew how much I hurt you in the past. When--When I won, just seeing you with such rejection broke me to pieces, I didn't want to hurt you anymore....and you believed me when--"

"Why do I feel like this always comes back to me? Like I'm the one to blame?" he put out there.

"That's another thing I wanted to tell you" --I sniffed and wiped my arms across my watery lids— "I'm not going to blame any of this on you, Justin. You did what you thought was right, what was normal to you, and that was trying to make me feel like I wasn't the bad guy."

His head rolled back and he huffed annoyedly. "What did you expect me to do? Why would you even think I would leave you out there?"

"Would you stop cutting me off?!" I exploded in a croaky yell, deeply frustrated. I hated when he did that. He was startled at first, and then his facial features creased back into the mask of disgust that made my heart fall into the desolate pit of my stomach.

I hated that look even more.

"...Justin..." I tried building the words again as we stood in silence for a few seconds. "You believed me when I told you that you loved me no matter what...you believed every word of it..." His look of disgust faded as he looked at me like I was a confusing puzzle—eyebrows tucked over his eyes, eyes slim and focused, lips slightly pursed.

I continued. "I said all of those things not only because of how I messed everything up, but because of how much you did care for me still, despite the fact that you had no idea who I was..."

His eyes shut, and he swallowed a lump of anxiety down his throat. "I was confused then...and apparently you are now. Alex, This...isn't...right..." He said, lowly and prickly against the air like a gust of frost.

"I know about all of that, what am I, 10 years old? You have every right to be mad at me; these are my feelings, not yours! I just felt I needed to confess before I exploded."

I turned away from him. He put my body on pause as his voice split the brief silence in two. "This is the type of thing I'd much better like for you to keep to yourself."

My body reluctantly turned to him, as if he was attracting me like a metal. My mouth fell slightly wide and another tear fell as I stared at him. "And shut me out? I'm trying to be mature about this, Justin! Why are you being like this?!"

He was aware of the whimper in my throat, I knew it. Anyone could guess why the air in the room grew so cold. Justin's heart was always carried in this golden cage—it represented the kindness in him, the patience, and the tolerance. Choking on that biting air felt like I was slowly losing oxygen, because Justin's heart seemed no longer like a pretty golden cage.

It seemed more like a meat locker.

A meat lockerthat released its frosty mist inside him. And what it contained was now dead in my eyes...

"Alex," he sighed my name with sympathy, "You don't..."

"You seemed like you'd be proud when I got the Stone of Dreams back and fixed my two mistakes!" The pool of anger overflowed, "I thought you saw me differently, Justin...the vacation and the retest...YOU SAID I WAS DIFFERENT THAN AUNT MEGAN, THAT I COULD FORGIVE!!" My voice vibrated with cracks, announcing the excruciating pain I kept bottled inside. I could hardly keep the yell constant; my misery seemed to wash over like high tide.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He contradicted my statement.

"Forgive me for my mistake, maybe?" Nothing could stop the hostility ringing in my voice.

"I don't know whether or not I can forgive you, Alex," Justin admitted, "I'm aware of what you expect me to do, but since this whole thing just....just distorts everything out of proportion, don't hold your breath on me giving you a hug and telling you this is okay..."

Why wasn't this okay?

It's taboo. He's had an off-limits sign taped to his forehead, darn it! The thought's just been leering around in the shadows, trying to avoid up-front consideration.

Didn't I deserve something a little better than average??

Psh, why choose him of all people? He said it himself. You've got hardly anything in common, besides the derogatory factor of blood relations and your family. Karma's such a bitch, right?

Even if this whole situation was out of the question, and a very crazy trip down the lane of "Never Gonna Happen", it didn't mean I couldn't simply hope for a mutual relationship with Justin. Besides, I was never intended to hope anyhow, I only wanted to relieve the stress this gigantic cinderblock had hauled over my stability. Hope isn't my friend anyway, neither is Faith, apparently. Hope and Faith went hand-in-hand and ditched me at the ticket booth to the concert I waited an entire 3 to 4 months for. Some support system.

Hmm, who knew I was this deep?

"Is it wrong for me to want you to like me?"

"Of course." He answered. "I've always liked you, Alex, but not in the ways you think I might've intended. No brother and sister should have that intimate of a relationship!" His tone grew tense and bothered, frustration piling on, "We-we-we share the same younger brother, the same home, the same parents! Come ON, Alex, how could you not think this is wrong?!"

"Is it so wrong to want something you can't have...?" I whispered to him, taking a step forward.

"No, it's not..." He plainly stated. My eyes sent a shockwave of contradiction for his mind to process. His eyes then clamped shut to disrupt my stare, and his two front teeth dove--with frustration--into his bottom lip and pulled it in. "...I mean, yes, yes, it is! Stop doing that..." Justin reconsidered.

"I'm not trying to psyche you out, for the last time!" I declared, "Justin...when you're so vulnerable by someone you don't have half the mind to worry about that!"

"Right; because I've never fallen in love with my blood relative!" He countered. He shook his head and made his exit, but not completely before I could stop him.

I lightly pressed my hands onto Justin's forearms and trailed up, trying to abate his conscious. Surely it was being threatened with the inner battle of right and wrong boggling through his mind like a professional soccer game. He came back to the life with the touch of my fingertips to his skin and repelled my compassion, sharp, gray eyes re-interlocking chains around my misconduct.

"Stop...being a child." His voice was stern, strung in a blunt irritation. Rejection was only the fuel for me to keep trying until I was option less. Attempting to swat my arms away many time, I suddenly froze as he gripped onto my wrists, aggressively demanding them to stay still. Our faces inches apart, I saw a lifting quake of grey casting upon me, eyes unaffected by the tears running down my face and my quivering lips.

He held me stiffly, and with teeth clenched, he spoke, "Alex Russo, I've always been annoyed by you and that's a given...but never in my life have I ever been disgusted. You need to get a grip and let this go."

An angry flame was rekindling in my gut; I wanted so much to punch my brother dead in his face. He then turned away and rushed to the door, but not before I could scream my lungs out.

"FINE, BE MAD AT ME! RIP ME APART JUST BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO RISK TEARING MYSELF APART BECAUSE OF THIS...you—just..." My body shuddered with sorrow as I broke down into another cry, stamping my foot. My eyes squeezed shut and spurted tears and my lips continued to quiver uncontrollably. "You're not—Ugh..!" I whined childishly.

Maybe I was being a child.

He approached me quickly, "So, you risk tearing us apart...?" He asked, hand pointed to his chest. There was an extremely thin layer of tears in Justin's eyes when he spoke those words. He regained composure, blinking them back, shaking his head. The harp strings in my heart continued to snap and twinge.

"You don't see what I'm trying to say..." I told him.

"Oh, so now, I'm the one who doesn't understand?" He predicted, pointing to himself once again.

"Yes." I declared with more force, my teeth clenched.

"Really?" His eyes went slim and stabbing again.

"Yes."

He laughed as if I humored him. "Oh, right, so I'm not the one who establishes this as a completely unethical thing? You surely don't understand something this badly flawed, Alex. You've matured, but you've still got some serious growing up to do and get over this."

"Just keep pouring out your hateful words, Justin!" I shouted with full force, and he groaned and rolled his eyes, "Once again, and hopefully for the final time, you can blame this all on me. But YOU-CAN'T-STAND HERE" –My fist banged on our learning desk with every word—"And tell me it's not okay for only getting this off my chest!"

"Well, then, maybe I shouldn't be standing here..." He said, half-turned to the door. "I'm done, Alex!" He said in the opposite direction, making a walk for the door. "And don't start talking because I'm leaving whether you like it or not..." He traced a trail of ice in his wake, but I was quicker, I left a trail of fire.

In a few swift, faster steps, I shrugged past Justin and turned to face him, barricading his only exit.

"Alex..." He sighed, raising his right hand to his forehead, massaging his temples with his thumb and middle finger, "Get out of the way..."

"No," I challenged, arms crossed and standing like a rock.

"I'm trying to be patient with you...get—OUT—of the way..."

"Say the three magic words, and maybe I will..." I negotiated, tapping my foot, "Give me just three words, that's all I ask."

"Alright," He conformed, "How about, "I hate you."

My body shut down and I was then clothed in frost. It wasn't the three words he chose that drove me into mortification—that was one of the general phrases in our arguments. It wasn't that, no...it was the word in the middle, the inflection it rung. It was like Justin was Ice-Man and I was The Torch...with a simple brush of breath I was a glacier. Maybe that was why I didn't feel him move around me to leave The Lair.

Here's my question, if I ever snap out of this...

How did he get so cold....??

This was a very emotionally intense chapter; I hope all of my readers enjoyed it. The next chapter is going to be in Justin's P.O.V. and deals with the aftereffects of his altercation with Alex. The theme song pertaining to the chapter is the song "Ice" by LIGHTS. Look it up, along with the video I made on YouTube. Obviously you know what to key in to search for it right? While your there, check out my other videos, whydon'tcha?

One question: Do you think Alex and Justin were in character, Considering Justin was acting paranoid and extremely frustrated and angry that his sister is in love with him, and considering we've seen Alex's softer side in the WOWP movie?? Tell me what you think.

I NEED AT LEAST 10 COMMENTS TO UPDATE!!!

Later Days,

Rio :)