Disclaimer: I don't own WOWP, but if I did I doubt they would allow it on Disney channel.
Chapter Ten: I Think We're Alone Now.
Justin Russo was definitely not in a good mood. His visit to Dr. Bradley's office had been a major waste of time and now he was in danger of losing even more time and patience. He had obediently gone in like his mother had wanted, bit back his annoyance at every question the nurses had asked him about his symptoms, and grudgingly endured the poking and prodding of the physical examination. He had done all this for one reason only. For the satisfaction of being told that absolutely nothing was wrong with him. Then his mother would leave him alone. Or at least that had been the plan.
So imagine his surprise when they brought his mother into the room and all three of them sat down to discuss his general health. Theresa had clutched her son's arm nervously as the doctor looked up from his chart self importantly.
"Well Mrs. Russo we can't find anything physically wrong with your son." Dr. Bradley said seriously pausing for dramatic effect.
Justin had sprung up in the air pumping his fist enthusiastically with triumph. "Great! Let's go!" Grabbing his mom's wrist he had been ready to drag her out of there until the doctor had opened his mouth freezing his mother on the spot and completely stopping his progress out the door.
"However," the he said stringing out his words as if they were the most important and relevant words ever spoken. "Sometimes a problem can't be seen through physical symptoms. Now, Justin I understand you have been having problems sleeping. This could be a sign of several psychological problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression."
As soon as the Doctor paused in his speech Justin rushed in his face scrunched up in a mixture of frustration and disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me! I had trouble sleeping one night that I drank too much coffee and now you are ready to diagnose me with some mental ailment! Look you are already getting our money for this doctor's visit. Why don't you throw some expensive prescription on top of that so you can get a nice fat kick back from the pharmaceutical companies and let us be on our way?" he said then rolled his eyes mumbling under his breath "What a quack."
Theresa had turned as red as an apple at Justin's rude words immediately apologizing. "I'm sorry Dr. Bradley! You know Justin. He doesn't usually act this way. He has always been such a respectful young man."
Dr. Bradley had just smiled at her words as if they confirmed everything. "Exactly, Mrs. Russo these severe mood changes are signs of a deeper problem. As for the insomnia that could have been going on for quite a while before anyone of you even noticed the effects."
"What are you talking about?" Justin interrupted again. "I told you I just had trouble sleeping one night! That is not insomnia! I don't have any deeper problem unless the problem you are talking about is having to sit here and listen to you." He said moodily. A part of him realized by losing his temper he was only fueling the fire but he couldn't help getting angry at the doctor's ridiculous diagnosis. What was this guy really trying to achieve?
Dr. Bradley just ignored him and continued on as if he hadn't heard a thing. "Now, I understand teenage life can be very stressful and crazy especially for a senior so what I am recommending is therapy. With the chance to unburden some of your problems to someone impartial you'll be amazed at how much it can help. I know a very good psychiatrist and I want you to make an appointment with her." He scribbled down the name, address, and phone number on a pad and handed it to Theresa.
Justin leaned in to look down at the slip of paper and silently read it. The first line was as far as he got. 'Dr. Elizabeth Bradley' Well that definitely answered his question. The good Doctor was trying to milk them for as much money as he could get by sending them to his wife.
The entire ride home Justin had tried to convince his mother that Dr. Bradley was trying to scam them but she refused to listen. As soon as they walked into the sub station she snatched up the phone on the counter and dialed the number. She set up an appointment for Saturday at noon 'so he wouldn't miss school.'
Presently he was sulking in the lair while flipping through the Encyclopedia of Wizardry hoping to stumble across the answer to all of his problems. His mind wandered as he went through the book. He could just imagine himself lying on a couch with some lady sitting close by nodding and saying, "Yes. Yes, and how does that make you feel?"
Imaginary Justin sat up on his imaginary sofa and spoke. "Well Dr. Elizabeth Bradley, What I feel is… I feel I want to fuck my sister." This statement caused the doctor to jump up to her feet with dollar signs in her eyes. She ran over to the door and opened it up where her husband stood listening, dollar signs also in his eyes. They then proceeded to dance around the room dollar signs bouncing around them happily.
From out of nowhere Alex popped up behind his imaginary sofa and looked at him strangely. "Wow Justin, that is really messed up. I'm glad I heard it though, now I can tell mom and dad. They'll kick you out and we can knock down the wall between our two rooms so I'll have twice the space. Then we can all begin forgetting you ever existed!"
Justin snapped himself out of his imaginings. His eyes stung slightly at the thought of how easily imaginary Alex had discarded him. He needed to stop thinking about it. It would never happen. He would never let it happen and no one would ever know.
"No one will ever know." he said it out loud just so he could hear it. Confirm it. Reassure himself. He almost choked on his next breath when he heard Max's voice reply.
"No one will ever know what?"
The voice had come from behind him and he quickly looked around to see Alex and Max standing there. The sight was a bit weird because Alex had her arm around Max and he was actually leaning on her. His eyes focused in on them and he noticed they both looked a bit pale. Then he realized the head band around Max's head was in fact a bandage.
"Where is mom?" Alex asked as she began walking towards the lair's exit pushing Max along with her.
Max finally protested Alex's touch pushing himself away from her and walking the rest of the way to the door. "Stop treating me like a baby Alex. I can walk by myself."
Justin's eyes widened taking in the scene. "She's in the sub station. Wait what is going on?"
"Oh nothing," Max replied looking very annoyed with his sister's constant attention. She reached out to grab him again as if she were afraid he would fall over. "I'm just spending some quality time with my sister Alex. It's a lot of fun but I think my time is about up." He slyly reached into Alex's pocket, when she wrapped her arm around him, and pulled out a slip of paper. Before either of them realized what Max was up to he shoved Alex away and stepped through the door. As he was closing it he shouted out. "I think it's your turn now Justin." A loud scraping noise came from the lock that could only be the sound of the key turning. "Sorry guys but this sweet and caring Alex is kind of giving me the creeps. You two will just have to wait here until someone lets you out." The sound of Max's footstep slowly faded into nothing as Alex and Justin stood dumbfounded.
Alex was the first one to regain her senses. She began banging on the door and yelling obscenities along with Max's name. However amusing the sight was Justin decided to stop her. He reached out and pulled her away from the door. "Alex, trying to break the door down isn't really helping." when she reached for her wand desperately Justin's stopped her once again. "You know the door is magic proof. It's there to keep anything that seeps through from the magic realm from reaching the mortal world."
Alex shoved her wand back in her boot and turned to glare at Justin. "Okay Justin and why are you so calm about all of this anyway? Max just locked us in here for who knows how long. You should be just as mad as I am." she said aloud but inside she was screaming that she couldn't be alone with Justin. Not right now! She had never gotten her time to think. Her time to shove all thoughts of loving Justin out of her brain.
"Alex, being locked in this room with you while being extremely unpleasant is still the least of my problems right now. Besides dad went out shopping that means he will be back soon and when he gets here he will come into the lair to hide his secret stash of ho-hos. So you will be free soon but until then just try to be quiet so I can find what I am looking for." Justin said in his know it all tone. Despite his calm demeanor he was still a little weary of being alone with Alex, but he reasoned that he had enough self control to sit in a room alone with his sister for an hour or two. He would just work diligently at finding a solution to his problems and time would pass like nothing.
Alex just stood there and stared at Justin with a sour expression on her face. He was sitting down with a book on his lap reading quietly. She was the least of his problems huh? She took offense at basically being called annoying yet unimportant but she didn't say a word. She just stared at him and stared at him.
It only took about ninety seconds and then he was slamming his book shut and jerking up in his chair. "Okay, Alex! Stop it! Stop it right now!" Justin yelled out. He could feel her glare burning into his skin and it was making it impossible for him to concentrate.
Alex smiled beautifully at her brother before opening her mouth to say, "What are you talking about Justin? I'm not doing anything." Her smile widened and she walked over to the sofa to sit down across from him never letting her eyes leave him.
Justin threw his book down on the table and sat looking back at Alex over the coffee table. "Okay. What is it you want Alex? Just tell me so I can get on with my research." he said in a resigned tone.
She kind of wished that she had thought this through a little more because he looked annoyed enough that he might actually give her whatever she asked for just to get her to leave him alone. "Twenty bucks?" she said holding out her hand. Apparently she had read him wrong because he just laughed.
"Yeah, Alex and if I did give you twenty dollars what would you do with it locked up in here?" he picked up his book and began flipping through it again. He really needed to stop being so sensitive or Alex would drive him crazy before they both got out of here. He tried very hard not to be distracted by her eyes locked on to him but in the end he failed. He looked up at her over the book in his hands.
"What are you looking for?" she asked doing her best to pretend that she didn't care.
Justin left the book open and set it in his lap and spoke "I don't really know exactly. Maybe a memory erase spell or a spell that could make me act completely boringly normal. Whatever I can find that will solve my problems."
Alex giggled before saying "You don't need a spell for that second one. That's one less thing for you to worry about." then her face turned serious as she asked, "What kind of problems are you talking about?"
"Well," Justin began, smiling at his sister. She really did care about him and she had just accidentally shown it. "Mom and dad don't really have the money to send me to college. I have a scholarship but that only covers about half. Then there is that fact that after my doctor's appointment today mom is determined to send me to therapy. Oh… and then the other problem… I don't think I can really explain that one." Justin sighed. He hadn't really thought about the first problem since he had been bombarded with the second and third but he figured that the threat of him not leaving would take precedence over everything else he had said. He knew Alex couldn't wait for him to leave.
Alex sat there for a moment absorbing what Justin said before she replied. "I know how to fix those first two problems easy. You wouldn't even have to use magic." she looked at him smugly as his eyes widened and a look of hope passed over his face.
"Then tell me how." he said eagerly. As he watched the smirk curve onto her face and that gleam enter her eyes he realized she wanted something. He wouldn't get his information until she got what she wanted.
"Alright Justin. I'll tell you but first I want to know what the third problem you mentioned was about." she hoped it was juicy. There was nothing sweeter then black mail.
Justin played with his hands nervously. He thought about making up some random lie but then what if she could think of some way to help him. He thought for a moment how he would phrase things before opening his mouth. "Well, you see I saw something that I wasn't supposed to see and now I find that I really, really want it. The only thing is that I can't have it but now I can't stop thinking about it." he said very carefully making sure to be completely vague.
"What do you mean you can't have it? Does it belong to someone else?" Alex asked her face scrunching up cutely with confusion.
Justin took a breath and shook his head negatively. "No. No sh- I mean it doesn't belong to anyone. It's just kind of a forbidden fruit type of situation. If I could just forget about it I would be fine." he had almost slipped. He searched Alex face for any hint that she had caught his mistake but found nothing.
Alex looked at Justin as if he was speaking a foreign language. "I don't get it. Forbidden fruit? I thought all fruit was good for you." she said looking up at him waiting for an explanation.
"Alex you know. The bible story. Adam and Eve had everything in the world. Anything they could ever want. They lived in a perfect paradise but the only thing they weren't allowed was the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They couldn't resist it though and after they ate it god banished them from paradise." Justin explained to her. He had expected to see some form of understanding on her face but her expression hadn't changed.
"Yeah I never really got that story. Who would give up everything for a piece of fruit anyway?" she said lackadaisically. "I mean that is just unrealistic."
Justin didn't know why but for some reason he just felt he had to make her understand. He stood up grabbing a cupcake off of the coffee table and walked around it until he was standing in front of her. He held the cupcake up in front of his face and began to speak. "Okay Alex imagine that you have a table and every food you could possibly imagine was laying out on it. Now you could eat from this table for the rest of your life and every thing would be fresh and delicious. At the very center of that table elevated above all the other foods is a single cupcake. That is the only thing you can't have. If you eat this cupcake every other food in the world will taste like ashes and you will constantly feel hunger."
Alex looked up at him skeptically then looked at the cupcake. "I don't know Justin. I think I could resist a day old vanilla cupcake that has started to go stale. It doesn't really seem like a problem to me."
Justin tapped his foot aggravatedly and pulled out his wand zapping the cupcake. "Alright Alex this is not a stale vanilla cupcake. This is a moist fudge cupcake, with strawberry cream cheese icing, drizzled with chocolate strawberry ganache, and topped with a ripe juicy strawberry that has been dipped in white chocolate. Now you have tasted absolutely everything else at the table at least ten times over. The only thing you haven't had is this cupcake. You want it so bad that when you try to think of something else it sneaks up in your brain and takes over all of your thoughts. It's obviously not the only morsel of food in the world but to you it feels like it is." he shook the cupcake for emphasis then stood in place looking at her.
'Wow he really wants this cupcake!' Alex thought to herself. She took a moment to think it over then snapped into action.
Justin waited as Alex processed every thing he had told her watching the emotions cross over her face. He was pretty sure he would have to explain it again some other way. He began to take a step back when Alex shot up in the chair. She reached out with one hand sliding it over his. Stretching up on her toes her face began moving closer and closer to him. He stared at her lips as they parted and her tongue darted out to moisten them. He was pretty sure he was close to hyperventilating when Alex took a slight detour from his face and bit into the cupcake he was holding in front of his chin. A dollop of frosting clung to her top lip as she chewed and swallowed the treat.
"I would eat it. What would be the point of having everything else in the world if the one thing you really wanted was always out of reach? I would taste it, savor it, and it would be worth it. Even if I could never have it again." she said wiping the crumbs from her chin.
Justin stared mesmerized by the movement of her lips and the creamy pink frosting sticking to them. What he wanted most right now was to suck her top lip into his mouth and nibble on it. The words "Taste it. Savor it." echoed through his brain as he begun to lean down.
Every thought flew out of Alex's brain. She was sure Justin was about to kiss her but that couldn't be right. What had they been talking about? She couldn't remember but did it really matter? Her brain told her no. That she should stop trying to think. Thinking was bad for her. Her heart pounded out an agreement then told her to shut up if she knew what was good for her. As her eyed drifted shut her breath hitched, her lips softened and parted slightly. In seconds Justin's lips would be on hers. She waited but was instead startled by a loud beeping noise.
When she opened he eyes Justin was half way across the room with his back turned away from her. Damn. There had to be something in that cupcake because she just had a hallucination. Shaking her head to clear her brain she reached into her pocket for her cell. Pulling it out she hit the receive button.
"Hello?" Alex called out licking her lips and tasting the frosting there.
"Oh Alex sweetie. I've been trying to call you and Justin at the sub shop but no one answered. After Max told me what happened at school I was so worried I took him to the hospital immediately. I just thought I should call you and tell you that the doctor's say that Max should be fine. They don't think the bump is serious but they are running some tests to make sure." Theresa paused for a moment to catch her breath then continued. "Has your father gotten home yet?"
Alex's attitude snapped in at that question. "Well I wouldn't know because our dear little Max locked both me and Justin in the lair." Alex expected some type of reaction from her mother but she didn't get much of one.
"Well you can't really be mad at him mija. He just had a head injury. He's mixed up." her mother defended.
Alex snorted into the phone. "Yeah well that's not really an excuse for him. When has Max ever not been mixed up?" she pointed out.
Theresa just ignored her statement. "Look, I have to go. The doctor's are coming. I'll be back as soon as I can to let you guys out. I'm sure you will be fine until then."
Alex shoved the phone back in her pocket and looked around the room. Justin was now sitting on the sofa reading his book like nothing had happened. Well she guessed nothing had really happened. Except maybe her imaging that her brother might kiss her. She was a crazy person. She sat next to him feeling the need to be close to him. Justin looked up at her.
"So what going on with Max?" he inquired.
"Well Gigi tried to dent in his head by slamming it against a locker but I don't know exactly what he is telling people." she told him.
A shocked look crossed over Justin's face. "It's strange but since she came back she seems so irrational and angry. She was always a bitch but now it's different. It's like all her negative attributes have magnified plus she is unstable. You never know when she is going to blow." Justin said softly.
"Well me and Max are going to pay her back. I can let go the fact that she always picks on me but… It really scared me what she did to max. She needs to pay for it." she told Justin her face going pale when she mentioned their little brother's name.
"Alex you need to be careful. That girl has it out for you. She probably attacked Max because of you somehow. Anything bad that happens to her she will probably blame you whether she has proof or not. I ran into her yesterday and it was almost like she was obsessed with you the way she talked." Justin spoke with concern.
Alex nodded at him. "I promise to be careful." then she swiftly changed the subject. "So you held up your part of the deal. Don't you want to know the answer to your problems?"
Justin looked at her guilt surging through him. He had almost lost his head and kissed her. He had been extremely lucky that their mom called. Judging by the way Alex was acting now she hadn't noticed what had almost happened. He had to keep his guard up until he came up with a solution. "Okay Alex what do you suggest?" he asked. He felt a bit silly getting advice from his little sister but it really wasn't anything new. Alex was always giving him bad advice.
"Alright, for the therapy all you have to do is pretend you are Max" Alex smiled up at him as if that were the perfect solution.
Justin just looked at her as if she were crazy. "How is that going to help me? If I do that they will probably lock me away for the rest of my life!" he was starting to think maybe that was her goal. To have him committed.
"Justin! Even if you act perfect they will still find something wrong with you. Think about it! All those times mom and dad went somewhere with Max and said it was the movies or for ice cream and never invited us! They have been trying to take him to a psychiatrist for years. He even told me he liked going but the doctors always ended up dismissing him and canceling his appointments. He drives them so crazy they just don't want to deal with him! It's perfect." Alex explained
Justin thought it over for a few seconds. "That might actually work… Okay I'll consider it. Now what about my college tuition?" If Alex could come up with such a decent suggestion she might even be able to figure out his financial situation.
"Just don't go." she told him carelessly.
"What? Why? So I can end up a bum living on the streets and you can come every day to laugh at me and poke me with a stick?" Justin asked sarcastically rolling his eyes.
Alex rolled her eyes back. "No Justin. You don't have to go to college. It isn't like your life will be over if you miss it. We could just go with our back up plan and tour as Alabaster Carnation. Or we could make our own comic book. Hell if you want to you could even make robots and I could come up with cool designs and functions. But if you have your heart really set on being a bum I guess that's okay too. I'll even come and visit you as long as you bathe often enough not to smell." Alex laughed softly at the last thing she said. Reaching out with her finger she poked him in the neck.
Justin sat there stunned for a second. "But I thought you wanted me to go? I thought you wanted to get rid of me." He stared at her with a questioning look in his eyes waiting for her to say something.
Alex's face screwed up into a frown at what she was hearing. "Why would you think that?"
"Well I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you are constantly playing tricks on me and insulting me." he said to her as if she were an infant.
"You don't get it? Justin Russo you definitely are no genius." Justin frowned at Alex's insult but she continued before he could interject. "I like playing pranks on people Justin. I could pick on Max and Harper and totally get away with it. I could probably even pull it off with mom and dad at least seventy percent of the time. But you, you never really let me get away with it. The reason I pick on you so much is because you are the best. You are my favorite. And I was kind of hoping you would never go away." Alex looked off into the distance embarrassed at what she had said. All the walls that she had within her holding back her feelings for her brother had collapsed today and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to build them back up. Earlier when she had thought for those few seconds that he was going to kiss her she had known without a doubt that she loved him. There was no going back. She moved her hand blindly setting it on top of Justin's in the space between them on the couch.
Justin looked down at his sister's hand lying on top of his. She usually held up a tough front but deep down she was really sweet. She wanted him to be around and he wanted to be there for her. He just needed to bury the ugliness inside him so it would never touch her. He wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed it. "You're my favorite too, Alex." she turned her head towards his with a flushed happy face "But I'm still going to college." he added turning her smile into a pout.
Author's Note: I'm going to try to update at least once a week in an effort to finish up quickly. I want to get started on my next story. I have a few different ideas that I've been thinking about. I hope you guys like this chapter. Somehow it got really stretched out. I thought about making it two chapters instead of one but i couldn't find the right spot to split it. I want to thank everyone who has left comments. It has been really encouraging. Thanks for reading and have a great day!