(I think the most common thought and objection I've gathered concerning "The Good, The Bad and the Alex" is "Why in the world would Alex act this way?". It DOES seem strange that Alex, a well-known rebel who never met a rule she didn't want to break would turn on a friend in order to maintain the status quo.)
(Stevie Who?)
Alex Russo sighed. She had been doing a lot of that lately it seemed. Thanks to Mister Laritate she had accepted back into the student body, well, at least as much as she wanted to be accepted anyway. She admitted that it had stung to be ignored but being whom she was she was liable to ignore other people anyway. Sometimes she thought there was really something wrong with her.
That troubled her. Yes, she had told the truth but even then it had been selective. She really didn't think all those people she had insulted were really as bad as the words that had come out had painted them. Oh well, yes, maybe the "Woo Girls" were but golly.
Of course she was NOT going to forgive Justin any time soon for not taking off the truth spell before she had made her award acceptance speech. And she might never, EVER forgive him for her blurting out one last truth; the truth that she kept people at arm's length to avoid getting hurt.
But look what lowering her defenses and allowing people in did. There was Mason. She could close her eyes even now and feel the rain falling on her as she snuggled against him.
"One more thing," she had said. "Kiss me". He had and her whole body and spirit had thrilled when he did. Thinking about it now made her realize how much she had been hurt by his blurted admission he loved Juliet. Then he HAD to go and prove he really DID love her and be snatched away from her.
And Justin, though he usually managed to hide it, was still in a lot pain over losing Juliet. And losing her twice no less. She understood. Losing Mason still troubled her although, being Alex, she was much more able to shove those thoughts into a corner of her mind and ignore them than her brother could.
Also in her case again there had been... Who had there been? Something tickled at the edge of her consciousness. Not someone she had loved but someone she had become very close to as a friend in a short period of time and then...
Then what? Alex searched her memory and shrugged. She didn't have friends. Well, Harper of course but Harper was more like her sister than a friend. And speaking of Harper there she was. With some guy in tow.
"Hey Alex, guess what? Jeremy has finally asked me out!"
Alex offered some really insincere congratulations to Harper and the boy with her whom she vaguely recalled was in Science class with them. She acknowledged that she probably would know him better if she bothered to actually GO to that class.
The comments she made flew right over Harper's head as always, the other girl accepting them at face value. But Alex was surprised to see a look appear on Jeremy's face. There was surprise but something flashing in his eyes seemed much deeper and even darker. It was a mixture of surprise and, of all things, anger, an anger so strong that Alex nearly took a step back. Then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared and the usual placid and distracted look she had come to associate with him, like other Science nerds, returned.
Alex enjoyed teasing people. She knew it. She teased her brothers, her parents, her teachers and most of all the other students. But she didn't intend for the teasing to be mean. Not really. She left that up to Gigi and the Wanna-be's. Her sarcasm was more intended to deflate people rather than be hurtful. So she made a promise that she wouldn't speak like that when Jeremy was around. Obviously he HAD caught the meaning behind her words and it had bothered him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Besides, if he made Harper happy who was she to try to bug him she reminded herself.
BY the time she had finished those thoughts she had exchanged the usual smiles one did on parting with acquaintances and Jeremy had left. She had gone ahead and hugged Harper, a bit belatedly but sincerely and watched her best friend scamper after her latest crush. Unable to think of anything else she really wanted to do she shrugged again and went on to class.
After school she reported to detention as usual and took her normal after school nap. Harper was waiting when Mr. Laritate let her go and the two girls walked home together. Harper, of course, was bubbling over with the day's events. Of course her conversation kept returning to the new boy on her life.
"He's just the cutest thing Alex," Harper sighed happily. "We're going to be lab partners and everything together. And I can hardly wait for Saturday night. He really IS going to take me out."
Alex nodded along with Harper's breathless recital. She firmly reminded herself of her promise and made no comments other than "Oh really?" and "That sounds great!" as her friend continued to prattle on. The best part about listening to Harper was that mostly she didn't have to listen.
"One funny thing though," her friend frowned.
"What's that?"
"More than once Jeremy asked me about someone I don't know. But he asked like I should have known that someone, that she should have been quite familiar to me. And to you too. He mentioned you a time or two when he was asking about her."
"Who in the world was he talking about?"
This time it was Harper s turn to shrug. "The thing is I really have no idea. Or at least I don't THINK I do. It all seems a bit muddled. Does the name 'Stevie' mean anything to you?"
For a second a shock ran through Alex's body and she broke stride and staggered. A rush of images flooded her mind but she couldn't pick any single one out and focus on it. There WAS something there, something familiar and at the same time something she shied away from in... In fear? In surprise? In shame? Then as fast as the images had come they disappeared and she searched her memory in vain.
"Alex are you alright?"
The wizard girl found that she must have closed her eyes because she had to open them to see Harper's anxious gaze. She looked down at where Harper's hand was gripping her arm and realized that was all that had kept her from probably falling down. What was going on?
"I'm, I'm fine Harper. Thanks." In fact she was anything but alright but she didn't want to worry her friend. She managed to reassure the other girl and they finished their walk home.
That night after everyone was a sleep Alex tossed and turned restlessly. What was going on? Why had the name "Stevie" upset her so much? There was no doubt that it had, that it had called to something that she couldn't bring to mind. And what did Jeremy have to do with all of this? Alex knew that somehow he was connected.
At the same time that Alex was cudgeling her memory the young man had thought of was stretched out on his own bed. His eyes were open but they weren't focused on the ceiling of his bedroom.
"Becky, I've made contact with Harper," he astrally advised his cell leader. "We're teaming up as science lab partners and going out on a date. We've already started to hang around a bit so I've been able to ask a casual question or two."
"Anything surprising? Did they buy your story about what had happened to you?"
"That's one of the surprising things Becky. I didn't need to tell it. There didn't seem to be any surprise on anyone's part about seeing me. You would have thought Harper and Russo too had never seen me fall in that hole."
"That's strange."
"It gets stranger. When I mentioned I hadn't seen her friend Stevie around Harper seemed to have absolutely no idea who I was talking about. She just looked at me with a blank expression and asked 'Who?'."
"Do you think she's bluffing?"
"I don't think so. What would be the point of that? I wondered if Russo had used a forget spell on her but once again, why?"
"Have you had a chance to talk directly with Russo?"
"No. I'll have to be very careful about that. Other than Harper we have absolutely nothing in common."
"Unless," the female conspirator said thoughtfully without finishing her sentence.
"Unless what?"
"I need to take this up with the Inner Circle but I have an idea. We'll see." She smiled. "Anyway, good job even if some of this, heck all of it, is rather startling. Contact me again if you learn anything new."
"Will do." The young man shivered slightly and his attention returned to his room. He rolled onto his side, close his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Since he was asleep Jeremy never saw the shadow that had lingered in a corner of his room since he had first projected to give his report finally move across the wall. Before it disappeared there was a barely audible sound.
"Curiouser and curiouser."
(To Be Continued)
(I'm sure everyone noticed that after "The Good, the Bad and the Alex" any mention of Stevie and what went on simply disappeared from the show never to be heard from again. So I'm using that and why that happened as part of my plotline.)