A/N: You guys really are AMAZING! Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews. I just want to let everyone know that on the Wizards forums on this site the Forbidden Awards are now open for voting! So vote for your favorite stories over there!
Also want to wish you all a HAPPY & SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON! Even if you already celebrated your holiday, I wish the best for you!
Enjoy! =)
Mason nodded happily as he smiled widely at Alex, outstretching his arms towards her. However, Alex didn't move.
"What are you doing here?" She blurted out, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, wondering if she was just going crazy or something.
Mason's arms deflated. "Well, I was picturing a much more heartwarming welcome," He mumbled, and took a seat down next to Alex on the bench, who was following his movements with wide eyes as if he was a ghost. "Why are you crying, my love?" He asked, and wiped away a lone tear from her cheek.
The familiarity of Mason's hand was comforting, but it wasn't the hand she wanted comforting her. She shied from his touch, which he frowned slightly at. "How did you find me?"She asked lowly.
"Well I went to the substation, but didn't see you. So, I decided that while I waited for your return that I should take a walk in the park, since that always relaxed me. Then, I suddenly picked up your scent and followed it until I saw you," He explained to her. She nodded vaguely as she gazed longingly down the path, still hoping Justin would appear. "Are you not happy to see me, Alex?" She heard him faintly ask, his British accent thick.
"Of course I'm happy to see you," Alex said, finally looking over at him, and she was, just not the way she probably would have been before Justin and her started things. She had thought Mason was the second best thing, considering she could never have Justin, but once she learned she could have Justin, any of the love she had held for Mason romantically seemed to vanish.
"What's the matter?" He questioned earnestly. "My Alex doesn't cry unless she's really upset," He added, giving her a small grin. He put his one arm around her, trying to comfort her with a side-hug.
His arm was around her shoulders, and she used to love when he did that. It used to feel right. But now, now it felt all wrong. She quickly got up from her spot on the bench. "I-I have to go," She stuttered, and began to run her way home, never stopping or looking back to see if Mason was following her or not.
She stormed through the substation doors, and her mother's head immediately shot her a stern look, but it instantly softened as she saw her daughter's dried up tears.
"Where's Justin?" Alex asked desperately. She was hoping that maybe he accidentally had fallen asleep or something else had happened so that it would explain for his absence at the park.
"He's not here, Mija," Her mother told her. "He took the dog out for a walk around 11 o'clock, and said afterwards that when he got back that he was immediately going to go out again." Theresa saw her daughter's face fall, and it made her want to wrap her arms around Alex in a motherly hug.
"When did he leave the second time?" Alex asked. Her voice was tight, and it seemed as if she was fighting back more tears.
"He-I don't actually remember him coming back," Theresa admitted, starting to grow worried herself.
Alex immediately fled up the stairs only to come back moments later, horror plastered on her face. "Rocky isn't here either…"She quietly informed.
…
It was five hours after Justin and Alex's date was supposed to start. They were supposed to be doing something romantic that was incredibly cheesy and cliché. Tonight was the night she'd been dreaming about ever since she'd developed these feelings for Justin. But instead, Alex, Jerry, Theresa, and Max were all huddled in one of the sub shop's booths, trying to patiently wait for Justin to walk through the doors.
Alex's parents decided to close the sub shop early just in case Justin was actually missing, but they were all hoping that this situation wouldn't end up like that.
Alex couldn't think straight. She was worried beyond belief. She was constantly wringing her hands together and twirling her hair around her fingers nervously. She bit her lip as she looked out the window for the nth time, and sighed when, again, there was no sign of Justin.
Suddenly, the doors to the substation opened and all eyes turned to it at once.
It was Mason.
He looked around at the disserted food joint in confusion, but made eye contact with Alex. Everyone, especially Alex, deflated in hope. However, Alex was the only one who wasn't surprised to see Mason.
Of course Max was the one who leaped up to greet the werewolf enthusiastically, while her parents got up to see him as well. Alex stayed in the background as everyone else poured questions out in-front of him to answer.
"I would really just want to have a word with Alex," He stated. Alex looked up at him from the surprise of hearing her name, but didn't he get the picture that she didn't want to talk. Was her running away from him not obvious?
Her parents nodded their heads in understanding, practically pushing her out the door with him, when all she wanted was to stay cooped up in the substation like the rest of them, waiting for Justin's return. But here she was, going through the substation doors with Mason right behind her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, taking her hand gently, rubbing soft circles with his thumb. "You left in quite a rush earlier, so I thought maybe you just needed some time to digest my return."
She quickly tore her hand free from his grasp. She turned slightly away from him, wrapping her arms round herself.
"Alex," He started, "what's wrong? I thought me coming back would make you happy. I thought you loved me…" He said, trailing off towards the end, so that it ended almost in a whisper.
Her heart tore at that. She did love Mason. Did. And even when she did she still managed to secretly love Justin more. He deserved closure.
"I-I just-It's just been so long, Mason. I've moved on," She told him, and turned back around so she was facing him. His face had scrunched into a look of distress.
"No, no, no," He said, walking up to her slowly, taking both of her hands into his, but she immediately shook them off. It just didn't feel right anymore. Maybe she fooled herself into thinking it ever did. He frowned at her actions, but continued to look at her in desperation. "Just go out on one date with me again. Things will be just like they were, you'll see," He said, but Alex looked at him hard and shook her head.
"Please, Alex," He pleaded, and the boy literally got on his knees and begged.
"What if I still don't won't to be with you after a date?" She asked. "Will you leave me alone?" She persisted.
He nodded his head fervently. "Of course, of course," he promised. A smile started to spread across his face slowly. Damn British charm!
Alex looked down the streets of Waverly Place for any sign of Justin, but once again there was no sign of the dark haired wizard anywhere. She sighed. She really didn't want to go out on a date with Mason, but if it was the only thing that was going to stop him from following her around like a lost dog, which yeah, he is a dog so it makes sense, but still, she had to do it.
"Fine," She gave in. "One date."
Mason jumped to his feet in excitement. "One date," he confirmed.
Justin would understand. She can't obviously say she has a boyfriend because then Mason would be asking who he was, and telling Mason that Justin was her boyfriend didn't sound like it would go over very well…
"Great," He smiled widely. "How bout I pick you up tomorrow around 3?" Alex nodded reluctantly. Mason walked over to give her a hug, but her hands stayed at her side. "Come on, Alex, even friends hug," he told her, still hugging her. She rolled her eyes, but listlessly lifted her arms to hug him back weakly.
Suddenly, a bark erupted from behind Alex.
She quickly torn herself away from Mason's embrace and turned around to find Rocky wagging his tail at her. She smirked at the dog; always had impeccable timing, which she usually hated, but now she couldn't help but love him more for it.
She got on her knees and hugged the dog lovingly. But if Rocky was here, did that mean Justin wasn't far behind? Alex quickly looked up from the direction Rocky had come from, but there was no Justin in sight. She looked down at the dog sadly, but smiled slightly when the dog shortly licked her on the cheek.
Rocky then went up to Mason, barking violently at him. Alex had to pull him back with his collar. "Calm down boy," She told him, petting him soothingly on the top of his head, but it wasn't very successful.
Mason glared down at the dog. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" He snarled at the animal.
"You can understand him?" Alex questioned. Mason nodded his head. "What is he saying? Does he know where Justin is?" Alex asked him frantically. Rocky kept barking.
"Justin?" Mason questioned, "No he isn't saying anything about Justin. Just calling me a bunch of unflattering names," He scowled. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alex," he said in a rushing manner, and then walked away just as quickly.
Alex frowned. She wished she had some idea as to where Justin was.
She entered the substation with Rocky, and her family jumped up and had a mini celebration, until they realized Justin still wasn't back.
The mood immediately soured again.
Alex sighed and looked at her family sadly. "I'm going to lie down," She told them, heading towards the spiral staircase. "Let me know if he comes back." Her family nodded forlornly back at her, trying to sport an optimistic smile.
She walked up to her room slowly, hoping that with ever step she took her family would suddenly be beckoning her downstairs for Justin's arrival, but ever step led to more and more disappointment. She eventually made her way to her room, Rocky following her trail loyally.
She sat down on her bed, gazing at her walls in a blank daze. So many situations were running through her head. Was he kidnapped or lost? Did he run away? Was he…dead? She let out a cry, and quickly jumped up from her spot on the bed, and tried to find something to distract her from that line of thinking.
Subconsciously she found herself going to Justin's room. She didn't know why she was there, but her legs seemed to want to gravitate there. For what, she doesn't know, but being there only seemed saddened her mood ten-fold.
She walked over to his neatly made bed. The bed they were cuddling in just a short time ago. That morning felt like years ago, however. How could someone be there one minute and then the next completely gone?
She reached for his pillow, and hugged it close to her chest, smashing her face into the fabric. She finally let the tears she'd been holding back fall.
She trudged to her room again, the pillow still wrapped in her grip. She slipped into the covers of her bed, and held the pillow to her as if it really was Justin. She was a fool to try, but just the ability to smell his clean boyish scent made her feel slightly better. Slightly.
She felt the bed dip down and saw Rocky make his way towards her, gently laying his head next to hers on the pillow. She was about to yell at Rocky to get down (he knew better and Justin would be livid if he found out) but she found the dog comforting, and that was obviously what the dog was trying to do.
…
She doesn't know when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes again the sun was shining through her windows. Rocky was constantly nudging her side, but all she wanted was to go back to sleep, at least in her dreams Justin was with her.
Annoyed, Alex sat up in the bed and looked at the dog sternly. He then nudged his nose to a piece of paper that was on her bed. She raised her eyebrows at it, and quickly snatched it.
At first she thought maybe it was from their stalker, but it was from Justin.
Alex,
I'm terribly sorry, but I just can't seem to do this anymore. This is all just so overwhelming and wrong. I had to leave. I had to get away. I hope you can understand.
Justin
Alex sat in shock as she quickly read the letter. It just reminded her of why she hated reading. How could he do that to her? He couldn't just leave her.
Alex couldn't help but out-fully cry, soaking the letter that was loosely still in her grasp. Alex then looked up at Rocky who was growling profoundly. He then ripped the letter from her grasp.
"Rocky!" Alex shrieked, trying to pull the letter away from his teeth. "What has gotten into you?" She questioned, and was finally able to pull the letter free, but the damage was already done. There was nothing left to it. Just pieces of ripped paper.
The dog jumped off the bed and stuck his snout to the door. When Alex didn't make a motion to move, the dog pulled at her bottoms and then ran towards the door again.
"You want to go out?" Alex questioned, confused by his sudden change in mood.
Alex opened her door, and followed Rocky down the stairs to the kitchen. She put the leash on him, and they made their way outside. From here she didn't know what to do (Justin always did this), but Rocky started to walk in a certain direction and Alex gingerly followed.
A/N: So…what did you think about the little twist with the dog? Haha! There are still a few more twists to come. We only have a couple chapters left of this story left so PLEASE REVIEW let me know about what you think about this chapter as well as what you think will happen next.
Next Chapter: We find out who the assistant is…
** Just to let you guys know, I did update my story "Moving On" and I posted a One-Shot the other day called "You're Shattered". So check those out if you haven't already!
REVIEW REPLY:
xxBlueGemxx: We'll find out soon on where Justin is. Thanks for reviewing!
WishFlower: We'll find out a lot more next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
Burn Out Brighter: Sorry for making you wait on such a cliffhanger! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Msecretx: Glad you liked the last chapter and thanks for reviewing!
Angelagirl13: haha, well if you should know one thing about me, it is that I really don't like Mason. So don't feel that you have much to worry about with that. Thanks for reviewing!
Silverphoenix: Glad you're still reading though and thanks for reviewing!
Xxvannyazz: I love that he can just blackmail her like that and she does it. I feel like that would be a situation , but Alex would probably end up getting her way either way! lol! Thanks for reviewing!
Jalexfan1923910: I know, Mason = ewww haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Channyluv4eva: Justin didn't hurt himself, so don't worry with that. Thanks for reviewing too!
Meg Caley: Even though I'm not a fan of Mason I think you'll still see his role in this story as okay. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Baku Babe: HAHA, can't forget the condom! ;) Glad you really liked the last chapter and thanks for reviewing!
MistressVarda: You'll just have to keep reading to see how everything plays out! Thanks for reviewing!
Nerinia: Thanks for reviewing!
Deamon Dawg: haha, I so agree. The less Mason the better. Thanks for reviewing!
Clareandeliforever: Like I told you before, Justin didn't commit suicide. Lol! Thanks for reviewing!
Dontcallmesweetie: You caught me. I do like to throw you guys off course sometimes, but I do have many twists and turns. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
PLL-TwiSaga xoxo GG: Aww thanks! Thanks for reviewing too!
Prettylittleliar47: Then you were pretty smart knowing he would make an appearance! Haha! Glad you liked last chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
Alfabet00789: I felt that replying like this would encourage people to review more, but I like to reply to everyone, and love to see what people have to think. So you got me. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!
Karazorel: Glad you like the story, and you'll just have to keep reading to see if Mason really is involved in all this! Thanks for reviewing!
Ryuen: You'll find out soon on where Justin is. He really isn't too far ;) Thanks for reviewing!
1405Smiley0514: Sorry I had to make you wait a little longer. Thanks for reviewing!
Not Just a Nerd: Glad you liked the kiss from last chapter! Thanks for reviewing, buddy!
Sayuria: Thanks for reviewing!
Inthis4kicks: Glad you liked the last chapter! I love when Alex tells Justin he can be evil sometimes. Makes them seem not too different after all. Thanks for reviewing!