Thank you so much to those who reviewed! You guys are so sweet. I kinda wanted to hold out posting the next chapter a little longer to drive you all crazy ;)... but I couldn't wait anymore! Anyway, this chapter is more angsty, but I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of Waverly place or anything else copyrighted!

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Night fell, and Justin had passed out on the living room couch with the TV on.

After playing at the park, the Russo family went to see a movie, sans Alex. Justin knew that their parents were tired, so he volunteered to wait up for her that night. He was groggily waking up from his nap, and he noted the time; it was now 11:15. She had still not returned from her date with Dean, and her curfew time at 10pm had come and gone.

Justin immediately started to feel riled up. His fingers began tapping on every surface, knees bouncing restlessly. Before he knew it, his heart was pounding with distress, and he faltered between anger and anxiety with every passing second.

What the hell does she think she's doing?! he thought to himself angrily. She KNOWS how much trouble she'll be in…and then I'll have to be the one who restores peace in the house...

Justin began pacing in front of the door, checking his phone constantly.

He tried to text her every few minutes, and found that she wasn't responding. Ugh, either she is doing something she shouldn't be doing, or something is seriously wrong. I knew I didn't like this Dean kid. Maybe I should borrow the magic carpet and look for her...

Justin was about to grab the keys from the key rack, when sure enough, Alex suddenly burst through the door.

"Hey," she muttered, not pausing or making eye contact. She tried to push past him and head for her room. Justin was completely startled, but remained on task. He grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Where the hell have you been?! Do you have any idea how worried I was? I've been sitting here waiting for you all night!! Alex, look at me! Where were—"

Justin stopped scolding her immediately upon seeing her tear-streaked face, mascara running down her cheeks. He got a better look at her and noticed that she was holding her jacket closed because the zipper appeared to be broken, and nearly all of the buttons on the shirt she had underneath were ripped off.

"Jesus Christ, Alex, are you OK?? What happened to you?!" he asked, in shock.

"Nothing," Alex said weakly. "I'm fine, just going to bed now..." She tried to turn around sharply, but again found herself pulled back by Justin.

"What?? Are you kidding me? You fly in here looking like that, and you expect me to just let you walk away? Tell me what happened right now!"

"Justin…h-he…" Alex stammered, her voice beginning to falter.

Justin waited for her to answer, seeing the tears begin to well up in her eyes. Next thing he knew, Alex burst into tears as her knees weakened and she nearly crumpled to the ground. He caught her and pulled her back to her feet, and she let herself collapse into his arms. He held Alex tightly, stroking her hair and her back reassuringly as she bawled on his shoulder. He already knew that no matter what had happened to her, he was definitely going to kill Dean for returning her in this condition.

"Alex… Alex, tell me what happened. It's OK now, you're safe… I'm here."

Alex's sobbing calmed down, turned to soft weeping, and finally she looked up at Justin. "He…Dean tried to rape me."

"HE WHAT?!" Justin exclaimed, "HE…EXCUSE ME??"

"Justin, please quiet down… you'll wake up Mom and Dad!"

"What, wh…who even gives a shit about that right now?? I'm going out right now to kill that fucker!" Justin tried to turn around and leave that very moment, but found Alex gripping him to the spot.

"Alex, let go of me! What are you doing?"

"Justin—please. Please don't leave me right now. I'm begging you… I need you."

Justin had to do a double-take when he saw the desperation in his sister's eyes. She had never admitted that she needed anyone. He had never seen her plead with anyone, much less himself. It was the total opposite of the way she normally acted- constantly keeping her feelings walled in, acting strong and never expressing her feelings. The look Alex had on her face immediately softened him, and he halted his murderous rampage to be there for her. Justin took Alex's hand, walked her to the couch, and sat with her.

"OK. I won't leave you, Alex... I won't go anywhere."

He didn't ask her to tell him anything more that evening, and she wouldn't volunteer any details yet. He simply held her gingerly as she cried. Internally, they both reveled at how wonderful it felt to openly hold each other, enjoying each other's warmth and comfort without feeling forced to shy away from it or feign disgust. They did not even try to ignore the feelings or their accompanying thoughts.

As Alex's weeping died down, Justin cheered her up by turning on cartoons for her and making her sandwiches. He stayed as close to her as possible, keeping at least one arm around her at all times. They both felt completely comfortable with the abnormal amount of affection between them that evening, and while Justin was the one doing the comforting, Alex had no idea how mutual the feeling was for him.

Eventually, she fell asleep in his arms. After a while, Justin took her upstairs to her room and tucked her into her bed. He then went to bed himself, feeling a mixture of anger at Dean and bewilderment, tinged on the edge with the joy of being able to be so close to his sister. He did not get much sleep, and though he loved school, it was the first time he could recall ever feeling thankful that he didn't have that to worry about in the morning.

Dun Dun DUNNNN!... Review please :)