So this chapter has taken a long time for me to write! I'm so, sincerely sorry. I've been caught up in stuff/stupid things. So please forgive me and read this...

Enjoy!

June 12

A few weeks had past, but no sign of anybody. Since New York was flooded, we'd been cooped up in the house with nothing to do. We probably could've tried to leave the apartment for a few hours, but we didn't take the chance. The electricity's been out since God knows when. I swear I hadn't had the privilege of cool air on me for three weeks. Since it's summer, we've all been sweating constantly. All the food in the fridge had been eaten beforehand, and so it was decided to just store random items that we couldn't fit anywhere else in there. You never realize how precious and valuable electricity is until you lose. Sure, we've had a few minor blackouts before, but those were nothing compared to this. No T.V., computer, microwave, freezer, fridge, lights, air conditioning, alarm clock (Justin has a watch, though), etc. Not that we could get through to anyone, but since all of the floods had knocked out all of the power lines, no cell phones either.

Max seemed to realize what was sincerely happening to the world and had decided that Justin and I weren't worth his time, so he'd been in his room, only coming down when our meals were served. Even then, he didn't even say a word to us. I had no idea what he was doing in his room besides mentally cursing the world. We all had. Not to mention cursing me.

Justin was trying the best he could at getting Max to come and socialize or communicate with us, but there was no such luck. Besides that, he'd actually been trying to plant a few fruits and vegetables outside on the terrace in case we ran out of anything. During his free time, he mainly read. I still noticed he got about only three hours of sleep each night; if even that.

Now I was completely bored out of my mind. I spent most my time down in the lair. The first time I peered out into the Wizard Portal, and not even the reassuring lightbulb was on. It was... dead. The rest of my time, I take out my wand and create that tiny little glow. It was fading away slowly.

June 13

9 a.m.

There was a knock at the door. You'd think with all of the windows boarded up, people would have a little common sense not to come.

Justin and I were in the lair and decided to just ignore it as usual.

The knock became more persistent. Justin got up from the couch but motioned me back as I mimicked him.

"Stay back," he warned. He didn't need to explain why. There had been plenty of people with weapons on them. Either for their own safety, or for their own advantage.

I didn't bother listening to him.

We both walked out into the substation. Now it sounded as if there was more than one person there. They seemed very eager to get in.

I grabbed Justin's arm in a tight hold.

He pushed me gently behind him. "Alex, I want you to go upstairs and -"

The strangers began to yell.

My eyes widened. I recognized the voice. "Justin! It's Harper and Zeke!" I screamed. I let go of his arm.

He let out a relieved sigh. I think he was holding his breathe. "We're coming, you guys!" he yelled.

He grabbed the wrench we kept beside door, and soon enough, the door was uncovered and easily able to get through.

Zeke was the first one through.

I ran straight toward him and engulfed him in a tight hug. "I missed you, Zeke!" He was soaked.

He hugged back and replied, "I missed you too, Alex."

We let go, and Justin and Zeke began to hug.

My eyes wandered to the girl on the other side of the door. As soon as I saw her, I began to cry.

She raced towards me and hugged me like she never had before. She was drenched also, but I didn't care.

"Alex? Why are you crying?" she asked in her amazingly, harmonic voice.

I pulled away and laughed. I wiped a few tears away from my eyes. "Because you're here, Harper. I'm happy." I smiled.

To the left, Justin and Zeke were beginning to speak in their foreign, alien language. I giggled at the reunion.

I sniffled. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

She furrowed her brows. "I'd never let that happen, Alex. You're my one and only best friend. Your last memory of me wouldn't be of Zeke and I leaving for a clogging competition. That's just sad." She then added, "And a little embarrassing also."

I giggled again and pulled her in for another hug. "I love you, Harper."

Harper whispered, "Same."

We let go, and Harper gave a quick hug to Justin also.

Zeke interrupted the moment by saying, "Alright, we all love each other here. Where's Max?"

Justin pulled away from Harper and answered, "He's been a little... mad at the world right now, I guess you could say."

"He's hiding in his room," I spoke.

"No, I'm not." Max came walking down the stairs.

I stared at him and crossed my arms. "Talking to us now?"

Justin interjected, "Alex..."

I rolled my eyes. "He's been ignoring us."

"Go ahead and talk. It's not like I'm here or anything." Max crossed his arms.

"You never are," I mumbled.

Max shot back, "Maybe I want to talk to some other people besides you two!"

Harper cut in, "You guys! We just got here, and you're fighting?"

"She started it," Max stated.

I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, yeah, real mature."

Harper looked at both of us and stated, "Max, I haven't seen you in awhile. Can I have a hug or something?"

He sneered at me and said, "Rather not." He raced towards the stairs.

"Max!" I yelled.

He had already made it all the way up, and we heard a door slam.

I tapped my foot and clenched my teeth. "I swear, he is getting on my very last nerve." I shook my head.

Justin spoke. "I'm sorry, you guys. They've been fighting for awhile, and I think we're all just stressed." I could see the worry in his eyes.

Harper spoke, "It's fine. We haven't really eaten since yesterday, so whatcha guys got?"

June 13

I had made tuna sandwhiches for lunch. The bread was stale since it was from the substation awhile back, but it was the best we had. We were saving the sugary stuff, so no dessert or anything. Although Harper and Zeke were reluctant to eat food I made, they didn't hesitate to scarf it down in a matter of minutes. Max had come down also but didn't make any conversation at all. Justin didn't want the other half of his sandwhich, so he gave it to me. I didn't complain.

After that, we had located a game in a closet next to the bathroom. Scategories. Justin and I had never played ironically, but once Zeke told us how, we killed an hour. We then found a few more games and wasted a lot more.

Around six, we had eaten dinner again. This time a chicken sandwhich. We didn't really have a wide variety.

After dinner, we had played some more of the games.

I was just about to roll the dice when Harper asked, "Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The guys shrugged.

"I guess." I followed her into the kitchen.

I grabbed a warm water bottle from fridge and began to open it. "You know, your style has toned down quite a bit in the last two months." She was wearing a black spaghetti-strap shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. "Theres no such pattern on -"

She interrupted, "How's Justin doing?"

I was confused. "He's fine. Why?"

Harper widened her eyes and stated sharply, "Well, first of all, he looks like hell. He has major baggage under his eyes, and he's barely eating anything at all."

I replied, "He hasn't been sleeping a lot. He'd make a big deal out of it if I questioned him, and it wouldn't even help." I continued, "If you haven't noticed, we're trying to cut down on food in case anything crazier would happen, which I find very hard to believe. But I don't see anything different with his eating habits apart from mine."

She looked at me with complete disgust. "I can't believe how selfish you're being right now, Alex."

I dropped my mouth. "Excuse me? Repeat that please, would ya?"

She glared. "He's been giving you and Max half of his servings every meal. With the amount you guys are eating now, he's eating nothing!"

I rolled my eyes and was about to reply how it wasn't true until I realized that it was. He was giving away a bunch of his food to us each meal. How stupid could I be? Harper was right, I was being selfish. How could I not realize this before? "I didn't... realize," I whispered.

Harper sighed. "Look, Alex. I'm sorry, I'm just worried about him. He thinks his strong, but he's not as strong as he thinks. If you really look at him, you'll see what I mean."

I turned around and noticed him staring back. I licked my lips and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Harper. I'll- I'll make sure he doesn't give me anything anymore. I'll talk to him. I promise."

She widened her eyes in skepticism. "Alright."

Please review!

I think this chapter was... okay... I guess. I don't, but you can tell me with a review! :D