DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN WOWP OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

Chapter 4-The Truth Is Hiding In Your Eyes

May, 2012:

"Excuse me," comes a breathless voice behind him. He whips around, surprised, and finds himself face-to-face with one of the most gorgeous women he has ever laid eyes on. She's dressed in a simple black skirt and white blouse (and has stocking-clad legs that seem to go on forever.) Her eyes are a captivating shade of blue, with little flecks and swirls of green. Her hair cascades down her shoulders in two straight, silky sheets of gold. She's got a flawless complexion and a breathtaking smile, which she flashes at him sweetly and says,

"I just wanted to tell you, I found your seminar wonderful and enlightening. You seem to have such a way with words." She tilts her head slightly in an adorable manner and gazes up at him earnestly with big, blue eyes. He's pretty much rendered speechless for a moment or two, until he gets a hold of himself and realizes that he should probably say something.

"Oh, why, um, thank you. Thank you very much. Always a pleasure to be here." He speaks quickly, and smiles back at her, struggling to play it cool, subtly wiping a sweaty palm on the back of his pants.

"I can see that." She laughs gently, and the sound is almost musical. "I can tell that you're very dedicated to your work, Professor Russo."

"Please, call me Justin." He hastens to inform her, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Alright, Justin." She smiles again, and this time, there's a hint of playfulness in it. "Well, I have to go now, but it was very nice talking to you." She makes as if to leave and he feels a jolt of panic, for some reason.

"Wait!"

"Yes?" She turns around, looking at him curiously.

"I…uh, that is to say, there's going to…I mean, there might be another talk by me this Saturday. So, if you want, um, mayb-"

"I'll be sure to catch it." There's a twinkle in her eye and he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her lips, which are curved ever so slightly, and painted a taunting shade of red.

"Great! I, uh, look forward to it." He swallows and tries to straighten his expression, wanting to look professional.

"…Likewise." She whispers back, turning away quickly to conceal a full-fledged grin, and the faint blush that has appeared on her cheeks.

He stares after her, wearing the dazed expression of one who has suffered a recent blow to the head. It isn't until after quite a while that realization strikes;

"Damn! I forgot to ask her name…"

July 2012:

It appears to be the cruel, twisted law of the universe that the more you desire to avoid someone, the more they are constantly thrown in your path. Even their parents seem to be unconsciously plotting against them, by forcing them to do chores together, seeing as they're both home for the summer and should be spending quality 'brother-sister' time together.

Justin, for his part, honestly hasn't been able to even meet his sister's eyes for longer than three seconds ever since…that. Seeing as he isn't very adept at concealing his emotions, the extent of his discomfiture around his sibling is painfully obvious, despite his best efforts. Alex on the other hand, is skilled in the art of deception; which is good because it prevents further suspicion from arising, but at the same time, is not so good because he can't tell how she's actually feeling about all this-assuming she's even capable of feeling anything apart from inappropriately timed hunger and a pathological need to ruin his life-behind her mask of indifference. For him, it's frustrating and confusing and seems to haunt his every waking (and lately, sleeping) moment. Coupled with the fact that things have just started going great with Cami, he can't afford to have this perpetually eating away at his brain. And while unlike Alex, he prefers upfront and honest confrontation, for some reason, he still can't seem to muster up the courage to actually bring it up in front of her without getting all tongue-tied about it. Not to mention, the only time they can discuss it, is when they're alone in either of their rooms, and if history is any indication, that seems to be a very risky plan of action, given the uncertainty in the state of mind of his reckless, unpredictable and highly unstable sibling. However, it's been long enough and he's starting to get tired of the awkwardness and the unsettling feeling of being left in the dark about whatever the hell is going on. Besides, considering the fact that it's Alex, her nonchalance could very well be genuine, therefore implying that there truly is nothing going on, which, now that he thinks about it, has got to be the most probable and plausible scenario.

(It's not like she could possibly be having feelings for him.)

If so, he muses, he should easily be able to sort this out, and put an end to this madness. After all, what happened, was just a momentary thing, and taking into account Alex's general disposition, could easily be attributed to temporary (or hitherto unrevealed) insanity. It never happened since, and it most likely never will again. So, there's really no reason to worry, is there? It's nothing, absolutely nothing.

(Only, it never is, is it?)

"I dunno what you're talking about." She shrugs coolly, upping the volume on her stereo.

He opens his mouth to retort, and then pauses. It occurs to him that he could simply take her word for it and leave it at that, and forget about this whole mess; walk away, unscathed. Only-

"You kissed me, Alex. That's what I'm talking about."

(-he's never really been good at the 'let's pretend it never happened' game.)

Her eyebrows rise just a fraction of an inch, and the change in her demeanor, if any, is imperceptible to the non-Justin eye ('cause damn, she's good-but not good enough.)

"Uh huh." She tosses out, carefully non-committal.

"Alex…" There's a note of warning in his tone.

She ignores him and ups the volume again, drowning out his voice. Irritated, he strides over and turns it off, ignoring her glares, and sits down on the edge of the bed. He inhales deeply and looks straight at her, determined to make things right. She's starting to look wary, and a tad bit pissed.

"Alex. Talk to me, please. We need to attain some closure about this, 'cause frankly, I'm losing my mind over here, alright?!" There's a hint of desperation in his voice, "I mean, I understand that in your own weird way, you're kinda protective of me or something and that maybe deep down, on some level, you don't like the idea of losing your big brother, but you have to know tha-"

"It's always about you, huh?" Her words cut across his own and pierce through his chest, like a steely knife. She snorts-but it's bitter and not at all humorous-and crosses her arms across her chest. "Why am I not even surprised?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Justin gapes at her, feeling a surge of indignation.

"Nothing." She mumbles quickly, eyes dropping, "It doesn't matter, anyway."

"No, it does, Alex!" He reaches out and touches her arm, silently imploring her to listen to him with his eyes. She freezes at the unexpected contact and stares at him, hesitating. He takes it as a good sign that she hasn't pushed him off (yet) or cringed at his touch and says, "Just tell me what it is, and I'll fix it."

(Something snaps.)

Her eyes widen for a second and a feral growl issues from her throat as she shoves him backwards and leaps off her bed.

"No, Justin, you cannot just go ahead and fix every-frikkin'-thing! So just stop it, okay? Stop trying to do that! There is nothing to fix, and even if there was, it's not your job to do it, okay? For God's sake, you don't always have to play the goddamn hero."

He's too stunned to speak for a moment, and just stares at her blankly, trying to process all that she's said. She's looking at a corner of the wall, deliberately avoiding his eyes, and her face looks flushed. He scrambles to his feet and cautiously sits down on the bed again, never taking his eyes off her. Then he sighs and decides to try again,

"I'm not trying to be a…hero. I just want to understand what's going on with us, okay? Because, this? This is not normal sibling behavior. And I just wanna clear things up with you, alright?"

"I don't want you to be with her."

"…"

"Please?" He gives her a half smile, still a little rattled from her previous outburst. Suddenly, an odd look colors her face and she slowly walks around the bed and comes to stand in front of him. She's smirking slightly, a dangerous glint in her eyes;

"You know, bro, you're not completely faultless here either."

"What are you talking about?" He frowns, dimly registering her sudden proximity.

She leans in so close that their noses are touching, and whispers,

"I may have kissed you…but you kissed me back."

(Looks like he can now officially kiss his 'normal life' goodbye.)

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the long wait! Like I said, college preparations have really been swallowing up my time. However, I promised to take some time to work on this despite my busy schedule and here it is!

I would like to take a moment to thank my guest reviewers, seeing as I can't reply to their reviews. Thank you all so much! Your reviews are lovely and they really keep me going. I finally feel like the story is gaining momentum and (hopefully) heading in the direction I want it to.

Well, I really gotta go now. Stay tuned for the next update, people! Adios!