Hi... I'm not gonna think up some long excuse about why we haven't updated for like, almost a month. Just gonna apologize. So yeah, sorry. ;[ Please read the Author's Note at the bottom.

Disclaimer – I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place.

Chapter 12

"So, we've not actually talked about it," Justin said after school the next day, going to the kitchen counter and picking up a pizza place leaflet. He began to briefly scan his eyes over the various items on the menu.

Neither of them had eaten lunch that day at school; Alex had had Art class, and Justin had had yet another Alien Language League meeting.

Alex through the front door after him, closing the door behind her. "Talked about what?" she asked, before glancing at the leaflet in her brother's hand. She raised her eyebrows and smiled playfully. "About which pizza topping to get?"

Justin smirked, but then straightened his face and looked into his sister's dark brown eyes. He hoisted himself onto the counter, as did she. For a few moments, the two of them were silent. Alex could see that Justin had something to say, and was going to say it, even if it wasn't at that exact second.

Under normal circumstances, she would have told him to hurry the hell up and say it, or even just forget it and leave him. But considering how their current circumstance was… Anything apart from normal, she gave him time. After a while, he finally spoke.

"Why doyou like me, Alex?"

Alex processed the question, and then looked down at her hands. She'd been dreading the time when Justin would finally ask this question. Not because she didn't have an answer, but…

She had no idea how to explain.

Talking about liking a boy, to a boy, was awkward.

Talking about liking a boy, to a boy, who happened to be the boy you liked, was awkward, and scary.

But talking about liking a boy, who was your brother, who happened to be the boy you liked, so also your brother, was awkward, scary, and just unimaginably messed up.

She closed her eyes and began to think.

What did she like about Justin?

Well…

She loved the way he would run a hand through his straight dark hair when he was nervous. She loved the way his eyes would gaze at her with such love and kindness. She loved how he's wear a suit to school, because as Student Body President, he had to look 'professional.' She loved how stressed he would get if thought he'd done something wrong. She loved how intelligent he was, even if she didn't always act like she loved it, and how he wanted a good education. She loved how he would show so much genuine care to the people around him, like his friends, family, and even quite a few of the teachers. She loved how he was ambitious and dedicated; how he loved to be the best at things. She just loved…

She smiled, though with her head still down. "You."

Justin raised his eyebrows. "You like me because… Me?" It was quirky, the way his eyebrows were positioned when he was confused – one was slightly higher than the other. Right, another thing that Alex would add to that never-ending list of why she loved Justin.

"No!" Alex said, jokingly punching his arm. "I like you because you'reyou. I love you because you're you." She turned her head to see Justin smiling at her, and her cheeks quickly flushed a light shade of pink.

"You know what, Alex? I would answer that in the exact same way." He grinned, before sitting up straight. Alex noticed that he looked like he'd remembered something.

"But, I just realised that this is the pizza place" he said, waving the leaflet in his hand, "doesn't open on Fridays anymore. Looks like there's no double stuffed crust or spicy peperoni for us."

Alex chuckled. Sense of humour… Well, even if it was only on rare occasions, like this. Another reason to love him.

"So, since we have nothing better to do, why don't I just list everything out, that I love about you?"

Alex blushed again, and brought her hands to her face. He seemed to be a lot more comfortable with the whole 'Why I Love My Brother (or sister, in his case)' conversation than she had been.

"Justin…" she said, not wanting him start, already starting to cringe.

Though, he ignored her, and cleared his throat in a very professional manor. It was as if he was about to explain how to build a submarine, Alex though, than list the reasons for why he loved his 'girlfriend'. He started reciting his list.

"Well, you love yourself, first of all," he said, making her giggle shyly. "Except for right now; you're being shy because you know I've got a list." He grinned cheekily at his sister, before continuing.

"And you speak your mind - you don't care where takes it you. You wanna live life in the fast lane. If you think something's right, you'll stand up for it. You talk back at teachers like there's no tomorrow. You a fearless rebel, girl" he said in an African American accent, "and you won't let nobody tell you otherwise." Alex laughed, feeling her cheeks cool down slightly. Not only was his… 'Accent' hilarious, but he was right. She was a fearless rebel.

"And don't even get me started about the way you look…"

Alex clung to her brother's arm and buried her face into his neck, feeling her cheeks heat up again. She was cringing even more than when she'd first found out that Justin had seen her notebook.

"Your hair, it's so nice and soft," he said, attempting a British accent. "It's a marvellous dark brown waterfall, that gently cascades around your elegant cheekbones."

"Shut, up Justin…" Alex cringed. "And 'cascades around my elegant cheekbones'? I'm no Englishorian, but I'm pretty sure that isn't even possible…"

Justin 'shushed' her, playfully rolling his eyes. "And also, you're not overly tanned, or overly pale. You never wear the ridiculous orange coating on your skin, or try out the 'Edward Cullen' blusher. You just seem to have this… beautiful glow that usually only Californian girls have." Alex giggled at that, which smoothly led Justin on to his next point.

"And your laugh is hilarious;" he said, chuckling. "It makes me laugh when you laugh, even if I don't know what you found funny. And, Alex, I love your eyes. They're so pretty; they're beautiful, they're mesmerizing." Justin moved back slightly, and tilted Alex's chin up to get a proper look at her eyes. And surprisingly, Alex's cheeks didn't feel the need to increase in temperature. "Your eyes are deep enough to get lost in them… And not want to come back."

Justin leaned forward pecked her lips, but felt Alex quickly pull back from their embrace. He watched as a tear slid down her cheek, and she jumped down from the counter. Justin slid off too, standing before her.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously. "Was it something I said? Oh no, I said something wrong didn't I?"

Despite her mood, Alex felt a tiny smile tug on her lips. Oh, he was so insecure. "No, Justin, you didn't say anything wrong." she said sighing, and began running her fingers through her hair.

Justin still looked at her, obviously wanting and explanation for her sudden change of moods.

"It's just that, us saying all that… I didn't really realise how close we've become now."

"You don't like it?"

"No, I do, Justin; I love it. But, I figured I should tell you something else as well now too."

Justin nodded at his sister. "What is it?"

"Well, I wouldn't have told you before, but now that we're… You know…" she gestured towards Justin and herself, "Like this… I think I should."

"Alright." Justin looked at his sister, seeing her nervously avert her eyes.

Justin was amazed! She might her moved her eyes fast, but he had still seen them! The glint in them, it showed… That Alex seemed to feel bad about something. He was surprised that his sister even remotely displayed regret. She's felt bad about the things she'd done the day before, telling Justin she hated him and stuff, but… He couldn't quite put his finger on it. How she looked now seemed… Deeper than that. Though he couldn't be sure.

He sighed. "What did you do?" He looked to the ceiling, waiting for her usual, "Why does it always have to be me?" and "What if you've done it for once?" However, he was replied to by the unusual silence. All he could hear was the dripping of the tap, and Alex's soft breathing.

What if she had actually done something bad? Like, really bad? Justin racked his brain too try and remember anything that his sister could have done recently, that she could have gotten caught for.

Stealing that art magazine from the store at the corner… Filling the dodge balls with jelly at school a couple of weeks ago… Could the Wizards Council have found out about that two-headed dog…? The list was quite possibly endless.

Although, what if it actually wassomething he'd done for once? Him and Alex… What if the reason she 'liked him' was just a scheme; she hated him so much that she did this so she could turn the situation around on him, and get him sent away to a lifetime of unbearable prison in the Wizards World?

"Alex?" Justin asked, now slightly nervous. "Tell me… What you want to say."

She sighed, parting her lips to speak, though still staring straight at the tiled kitchen floor.

"You know a weeks ago, when you and Juliet went out on a date, to Stonewood Garden, that magical beings' park?

"Yeah..?" he replied, unsure of what was coming next. Then he thought for a moment. "Wait, what? How do you know that we went to-"

Alex sighed again, and suddenly decided that she should just come right out and say it. What was the point of breaking it up into short, but stretching parts?

"Justin, I was spying on you." She didn't dare look up to see her brother's face. "I was just feeling jealous of you with her, so I used a mirror in the lair and cast the eye of the spy spell, and spied on you and Juliet."

When Justin had listed out the reason why he loved Alex, he did have a lot of other stuff stored up there as well.

Things he… Well not hated, but found annoying about her. Her sarcasm, her teasing, and well, up to a few weeks ago, her constant attempts at trying to pick a fight with him.

And a few memories too, good and bad. Like a few years ago, when Alex had convinced him, and his brother Max, to go and find their Aunt Megan so that their family wouldn't lose their wizards powers. Although, just a few months before that, Alex had tried to sneak into a horror film premiere, and ended up being put inside the film, and Justin had had to go into it too, to help her.

Alex did have a lot tucked up her sleeve. And she could change, from being sneaky to being down right open about her plans at any time. But Justin had realised that. He had come to live with her constant changes. And by now, having lived with her for over sixteen years of his life, he'd been sure that he knew absolutely every stunt that Alex would pull next.

But, turns out that he was wrong.

Because boy, he had not been expecting that.

Can I tell you guys something? I am getting mega, mega bored with this story. We both are. And… I dunno, it seems like it's being reflected in our writing. We know where this story is headed, and we know what will happened at the end, but… We are not bothered to write it.

Hoping some of you guys have heard of Victorious? Nickelodeon, yeah? I love that show. Seriously. And I really want to write a fanfiction on that. I've already planned out the first chapter, but I don't want to start it properly, let alone upload it, until I've finished this one.

To be honest, there's only two reasons why I'm still writing this. 1) I don't want to look back in a few years and think, "Shit, that was my first ever story and I didn't even finish it." 2) Some of you guys like it, I hope? I want to let you guys see it 'till the end.

So, I'm gonna try finish this story as soon as possible. Not update-wise (homework can affect the outcomes on that, lol) but chapter-wise. I'm gonna finish the story a lot quicker than originally planned. Less than 20 chapters, I'd say...

Hope you understand, hehe. BTW, thank you to you guys who have added alerts and favourites. Please also review, just so other people can see this story is "okay" too? From now on, I'll reply to reviewers on a PM. :]

S t e l l a . x x

P.S. - I have changed my username! It is now " FlorMorada "