The anxiety for all the tasks I had to complete took the backseat for the rest of the night. Instead, all I felt was pain. An aching, wrenching feeling that stuck with me until I finally broke and cried myself to sleep. I realized in those weeks that I can't get myself out of everything, and heartbreak is no exception.

I woke up that morning feeling light-headed and sore, with my mom and Max eating silently in the kitchen. Or maybe that was only when I arrived.

"I made your favorite." Mom smiled sweetly at me, and placed a plate of waffles drenched in syrup towards the seat in which I sat.

I stared down at it, and for the first time in my life had no space in my stomach for mom's homemade waffles. Ironic, considering my stomach felt so hollow. "I'm not hungry," I told her honestly. "Maybe later, though."

She frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a sort of affectionate whisper, one only a mom could pull off.

About to refuse, a clinking sound came from Max's direction, and I looked over to see he had dropped his fork in frustration. He looked at me, annoyed. "Where did Justin and Dad go?" My mouth went dry, and he continued. "What happened? I never get to know the good stuff!"

Mom glared at him, "Max!" She hissed.

I sighed. In a way, I felt bad for leaving Max in the dust. But there was no way I was telling him. "If it's the good stuff you want Max, then this isn't it." Mom looked at me sadly. I shook my head, "I'm going back to bed."

"Rest up, honey." She told me, and I didn't know why she was being so nice to me. I was going to lose my powers because of some stupid mistake I should have never made, and I was bringing Justin down with me. Him and Dad were no where to be seen, and I was wallowing in my own self-pity. Why wasn't she punishing me?

I pushed the thought out of my head as I ascended the stairs back to my bedroom. I laid on my bed, face down, and cried as Nick storming out the night before replayed over and over again in my mind.

–

I'm selfish. I came to that conclusion a long time ago. But when do I stop accepting it, and actually do something about it?

An uproar of voices seemed to find there way into my bedroom, and of course, selfish me couldn't believe how mom would let that happen when her daughter was heartbroken and was attending to some much-needed rest. I stuffed my face into a pillow, making the voices muffled but not completely silenced. Frustrated, I forced myself out of bed to see what idiotic mishap Max had done now.

But I didn't hear Max's voice as I made my way downstairs. My heart pounding, I broke out into a run, my mind on sudden freeze mode and my legs on horse power.

"Justin!" I yelled, barging into my older brother with a hug so intense he was almost knocked off his feet.

Quickly letting go, the questions poured out of me without a second thought. "What happened? Are you okay? Did they take your powers? I'm sorry! It's my fault, I-"

"Alex." A warm hand was placed on my shoulders and I realized that my dad was also in the room. I braced myself for the punishment I was sure to receive from him. "Sit down."

I slowly sat down on the couch, and it was the first time I could say that I felt uncomfortable on it. Justin took the seat next to me.

I wanted nothing more then to explain myself, tell my dad everything and get this entire thing over with. But I sat silently, and decided to wait for either my father or my brother to speak.

"I didn't lose my powers." Justin said, a smile playing on his lips.

My heart leaped, and a huge relief swept over my body. "Thank God!" I exclaimed. "Justin, I'm sorry I put you through this, but I'm so happy you still have your powers!"

"But," He said, and his smile was suddenly gone. "I'm on a six-month probation period."

My heart sank. "A what?"

My dad spoke this time. "He can only use his powers during class time for six months." He shrugged. "It's kind of like regular probation. You know, with a curfew and all those restrictions and stuff."

Justin shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "Not really, Dad." He looked over at me, and I must have had a pitiful expression on my face, because he said "Don't worry, Alex. Dad doesn't allow us to use magic in the house, anyways."

"How can you all be so okay with this?" I asked, amazed. "Why aren't I punished? Why aren't you mad?" It wasn't as though I wanted my Dad to yell at me, but I knew better. There had to be a catch.

Justin and my Dad exchanged a glance. Dad sighed, "We know about your hearing."

"But-" I froze for an instance. "How?"

"Well, Mr. Lowell came -"

"Jeff?" I asked, my eyebrows coming together in confusion. My mind wandered. Why were they with Jeff? I thought he said there was nothing he could do?

My Dad eyed me, but did not scold me. "Yes, Mr. Lowell showed up at the court before Justin even had his hearing."

"He did?" I asked, now even more confused.

"Yeah, I owe him a lot." Justin said, nodding his head in appreciation.

I shook my head as if trying to shake off my thoughts, "Wait a minute." I said, sticking both hands out in front of me. "Jeff went to the courts and vouched for Justin?"

Justin nodded once again, his face covered in a smug smile this time. "Yes, and he had some pretty good things to say about me." His chest seemed to puff out a bit, and I inwardly rolled my eyes. "Said I was the best wizard of my age."

Resisting any urge I had to make a nerd joke about him, I smiled. "Everyone knows that." I rolled my eyes, this time outwardly. "But why give you probation at all? They should have just let you off with a warning!"

Dad sighed. "This was a big misdemeanor, not one of your small offenses, Alex. Your brother got really lucky."

"I'm sorry." I blurted. I truly felt horrible for what had happened. I forgot how much of a hassle having a conscience was.

Justin grinned and swung his arm around me, hugging me tightly. "I'm your big brother, I'm always going to help you out."

I felt a small smile form on my lips, but it suddenly dropped when I remembered what Dad mentioned only a few moments before. "So, you know about my hearing." My palms started to clam up. I knew what was coming. "What does that have to do with me not getting punished?"

"Alex.." Dad said affectionately, his voice dripping with sympathy. Justin pulled his arm off of me and clasped his hands together, staring down at the floor.

I took a deep breath. "Oh, I get it." They both stared at me. "I'm going to lose my powers, so you think that's punishment enough?" I masked my hurt with a light chuckle, as they continued to stare at me, stunned. "I'm not stupid. I know what's coming."

"We're going to do everything we can, Alex." Justin said confidently, but I could still sense the uncertainty in his voice.

I shook my head violently. "No way. You've done enough for me."

It was completely and utterly the truth. No matter how much I tormented Justin, no matter how much I complained of how embarrassing my father was, they were always there for me. It just took me a while to realize it, but at that moment, I did. And I was finally done with being selfish.

–

School was miserable. I had three days left before my hearing, which is what I should have been focusing on, but it was kind of hard when I got bombarded with questions about my alleged break-up with superstar Nick Jonas.

It was bad enough dealing with the consequences of my actions on my own, but for the entire world to know honestly just sucks. I take back all the times I said I wanted to be famous.

"Finally got bored of you, huh, Russo?" Gigi sneered, laughing that high-pitched giggle that drove me mad.

I held back all my mite not to just attack her right on the spot. In some weird, twisted, "I'm-totally-in-denial-way", I blame this entire situation on her. Taking a deep breath, I did to her what I do best. Manipulation. "Never believe the tabloids, Gigi. You'd know that if you were somewhat relevant."

Her nostrils flared, but she stood her ground. "You're not fooling me, Russo." She crossed her arms across her chest and raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow. "Their bus left this morning, meaning Nick probably won't be back in New York anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already found a new girl in a new city."

Feeling as if she had accomplishment something great, Gigi smirked, turned on her heel, and left me standing there. My knees felt wobbly and my mouth became very dry. He left. He was gone. He didn't care about me. He never did. If he did, he certainly wouldn't have taken off without so much as a good-bye.

I didn't cry. I was over crying. It got you no where, and I'd done enough of it as of late.

So I spent the rest of the day ignoring my feelings and trying my best to be, well.. Alex Russo. It was all going really well, and I was finally starting to feel like myself again. But then came Harper.

"Alex!" She shouted, swerving her way through various other classmates until she reached my locker. Looking anxious and out of breath, she asked "Is it true?"

I raised my eyebrows, slowly shutting my locker door. "Is what true?"

She bit her lip and looked almost fearful. "About, you know.. Nick." She whispered his name, as if just the sound of it would cause me to fall to the ground in a convulsion.

In some way, though, it did. Only I didn't fall to the ground and my body stayed perfectly still. The craziness was just going on in my head. "Oh, that." I replied lamely.

She said nothing, and I continued. "Harper, I was gonna tell you. I just.."

"That jerk!" She interrupted, wrapping me up in huge hug. "You deserve better! See if I ever go to one of their concerts again!"

I was relieved that she didn't ask for details, but yet again I didn't expect that from her. Main reason why me and Harper were best friends: We weren't into gossip. I was grateful she was there for me, though. I've been so consumed with the mess I created that I forgot how much I needed a friend.

We talked (not about Nick, thankfully) and laughed all the way back to the sub shop that day, and I felt a surge of happiness. One I hadn't felt in a while.

I didn't think about the hearing, Nick, or the fact that in three days times I would no longer have any powers. It was also the first peaceful sleep I've gotten in a week.

–

Kind of a lame chapter, but it's necessary. You know, for transitioning :)

I hoped you enjoyed it anyways!

- Steph