Alex was curled up on the living room couch, an art magazine splayed out on her lap. However, she couldn't seem to concentrate on the pictures like she usually did.
It had been two days now since she had that ice-cream outing with Justin, and so far he had kept his word. Besides the customary acknowledgment, he rarely spoke to Harper; just like before. And even though it seemed that Alex's mess might have finally been resolved without anyone finding out, she couldn't help but still feel guilty. She deceived two of the most important people in her life; lied right to their faces all this time.
"Hey, Alex, pass me the remote?" Alex heard from the opposite side of the couch. She looked over and saw her younger brother stretching his hand out for the remote. Robotically she grabbed the device and handed it over to him. She watched him turn the TV on to some cartoon, throwing his legs up on the table in relaxation.
"Max," She started, "Can I talk to you?"
Max laughed. "Aren't you already talking to me? Silly Alex."
Alex smiled to herself; Max was so Max, and she was so glad that out of all the mayhem she's been through lately, that something seemed to stay the same. She scooted over to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
Max stilled at the sudden action. "Are you alright?" Max asked, and suddenly his voice was not so light in humor as it usually was. Alex rarely seemed this vulnerable and he instantly thought back to when she came to the tent that night over the weekend. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and rubbed them like he saw Justin do once for her when she was upset.
Alex shook her head, a few tears falling from her eyes. "No…" She whispered.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," He assured her.
She shook her head inside the crook of his neck. "No, it won't be fine. I'm sick, so freakin' sick!"
"Well, if you're sick, I'll go get Mom," He said, starting to get up, but Alex urged him back down.
"I'm not sick, meaning I have a fever or something, I'm sick mentally in the head…" And her own bursts of tears cut her off. Max was bewildered on what to do, so he settled for just rubbing her back soothingly, just like he saw his Dad do for his Mom when it was 'that time of the month'. Whatever that meant.
"Do you remember the night when I came to you in your tent last weekend?" She asked Max, lifting her head to look at him. He nodded his head. He was just thinking of the similarities of now and then. He had been curious as to what was going on that night, but knew not to pressure Alex when she so upset. "I did something really bad, Max. That's why I couldn't go home that night. It was just too much," She confessed.
"Did-did you kill someone?" Max questioned with horror. Alex couldn't help but giggle at her brother, but she quickly shook her head no.
After a long paused moment she opened her mouth to speak."I-I kissed Justin," She admitted, "by accident of course!" She added in quickly. And just saying those words out loud felt like a huge weight was lifted. She then hesitantly looked at Max and his face was blank. She decided to continue. "Harper had this plan to turn into Juliet so Justin would finally be able to get over her, but at last minute she bailed and I filled in. Justin then ended up kissing me off guard, not knowing it was me…"
Max nodded his head to let her know he was listening. After he took a moment to digest what his sister had just told him, he turned to her. "It's not that bad, Alex. I mean you were just trying to help Justin…"
Alex bit her lip and closed her eyes tight shut, while shaking her head. "I liked it, Max. I loved it. I tried to fix my wrongs, but Justin kept going after Harper and then he kissed me again as Harper…" Max's head spun from the new information, but Alex could tell that there were no traces of disgust anywhere evident on his face.
"I finally convinced Justin to stop chasing after Harper, but this feeling I have for him is still here and I don't know what to do…" She confessed further and began to cry again into Max's shoulder. "I'm in love with my brother! How freakin' messed up am I?"
He resumed rubbing her back soothingly. "I may not be the smartest guy," Max admitted, "but to me, love is love, no matter who it is. It's okay," Max told her. Alex couldn't describe the warmth that washed through her from Max's acceptance.
"Thank-you for understanding," She softly told him. He gave her a tight smile. Seeing his usually confident, self-assured sister suddenly broken like this tore at his heart.
"Watch some cartoons," He advised, raising the volume on the TV. "They always cheer me up."
And soon enough, she began laughing at the idiocy of Family Guy.
Moments later however, Max heard someone come up the spiral stairs, and when he tilted his head to look at the person, it was Justin. Justin was staring at the two of them in confusion. He looked at Alex and instantly could tell that she was upset. Max quickly glanced over at Alex, but she was still oblivious to the fact Justin was present, and Max didn't think her seeing Justin right now would be appropriate; she was just getting out of her funk and loosing up again.
Max pleaded with his eyes for Justin to remain quiet and unaware. He looked pained and conflicted to oblige as he saw Alex curled up into a cocoon next to Max. Max knew all Justin wanted to do was comfort her because he always did, but Max knew he couldn't in this situation.
Eventually, Justin tore himself away from the room and quietly climbed the staircase. Max sighed in relief.
…
As soon as Max reached the top step to the upstairs, he was grabbed from the side and forced into Justin's room. Justin quickly closed the door, locking it, and then turned around to face his brother.
"What's wrong with Alex? Is she alright?" He asked worryingly. "I could tell that she was upset. Did something happen at school? Did her and Harper get into a fight or something?" He was asking more and more questions by the second, not even letting Max answer any of them if he wanted to.
"Justin, Justin," Max said, placing both of his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Relax," He instructed, and Justin took a deep needed breath. "She's fine. She was just…having an emotional day."
"Why didn't she come to me? She always comes to me with her problems."
"I was just there so she decided to vent to me," Max told him. "But it's alright now, so don't worry about it. If she wants to fill you in, she'll tell you, but don't pressure her."
Justin nodded his head sadly. He felt useless. He felt that comforting Alex in her rough patches was his responsibility, and that he let his own sulking around prevent him from doing just that. He felt as if he let her down.
"She really is alright?" Justin asked, looking at his brother carefully.
"She's feels better," Max answered, knowing that she was, in fact, still torn, but she was feeling better after she talked to Max. So technically he wasn't lying.
...
"Happy Birthday, Harper!" Alex said, dangling a party decorated bag in-front of Harper. Harper squealed in delight as she tore the bag away from her best friend's grip. She gave her Alex a big hug before she could escape and then placed the bag next to all of her other presents.
It was now Saturday; Harper's birthday and Jerry and Theresa had allowed Harper to throw her birthday party at the substation. All the guests were already there, dancing and socializing with one another.
Justin stood by the counter watching the party by the sidelines. He was watching Harper greet all her guests with such enthusiasm and happiness that he couldn't help but smile. However, she was now dancing with Zeke and he'd be lying if it didn't break his heart a bit.
He sighed. Alex told him that Harper said she didn't like him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was wrong.
"Alex!" Justin heard his father call. Alex came bounding over to her father. She was ordered to go down the street to get some more snacks from the market. She groaned, but snatched the money out of her father's hands after he told her she could buy whatever she wanted with the change.
Justin chuckled at Alex being typical Alex.
At first Justin thought nothing of it, but soon the idea struck that Alex wasn't around. If he wanted to talk to Harper and get some answers, she couldn't stop him. He wasn't going to challenge Zeke or make a big scene, but he wanted to hear it from Harper herself that she didn't like him, and that she didn't feel anything when they were together.
Justin walked over to Harper at a fast pace. She was still dancing with Zeke, so he politely cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the couple. "Can I speak to Harper?" Justin asked.
Harper nodded. Justin then guided them to the kitchen area of the shop.
"What did you want, Justin?" She asked innocently.
"Harper, be honest with me," He started, "Did you honestly not feel anything when we kissed?" He looked at her desperately, biting his lip in anticipation.
However, Harper gave him a look of confusion. "Kiss?" She questioned. "Justin, what kiss? What are you talking about?"
Justin raised his one eyebrow at the ginger. "Harper we kissed, twice…we went out a few times…"Justin mentioned, trying to jog her memory since she seemed to not know what he was talking about. "You seemed to like me, but then you just ran off and I'm confused-"
"Justin," Harper said interrupting him, "I think I would remember if we kissed once, let alone twice. We never kissed."
A/N: So…how do you think Justin will react to this? Haha! PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me your thoughts. Did you like that I had Alex tell Max? I thought that he should know since he helped her in the very beginning. Can we try to get to 150 reviews? Note: There will probably only be a couple chapters left.
REVIEW REPLY:
Kitty with a chance: Glad you liked last chapter! I always was annoyed by the Jarper relationship. It was funny, I guess. However, Justin is kinda acting like how he was when cupid hit him. That's how I'm basing him off of. That's for reviewing!
Skyeblue221: Thanks for reviewing!
xCuckooBananas: Thanks for reviewing!
Mysterygirl123: Thanks for reviewing!
Ariana-Melina-Naomi-Pierce: I think you got your answer. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Baku babe: I loved writing the ice-cream scene. Glad you enjoyed last chapter. Thanks for reviewing too!
BG-13: She will ;) Thanks for reviewing!
Not Just a Nerd: Yeah, I was gonna have them do something stupid like a trivia off or something! XD Then I was like…ehhh no. haha! Thanks for reviewing!
TobiasFangor92: I know, I wanted ice-cream after writing it! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Superbatnerdxx: Thanks for reviewing!