Synopsis: Alex and Justin have never gotten along. Even as step-brother and sister. Now what will happen when Justin has to stay with them for the entire year?

Title: Lips Like Morphine

Chapter Three: Justin Russo

The sound of the shattering of the plates seemed to amplify throughout the restaurant, with practically every person, place and thing within a five metre radius able to hear the coherent shattering of the ceramic tableware. Alex froze amicably in her spot, taking a second or two to look around the over-crowded room. Well, this was…awkward. It seemed everybody had nothing better to do with their lives other than to stare at her. She quickly looked back towards the front of the restaurant. He wasn't there. He was gone. And so was the tramp that was with him. Was I…hallucinating?. Taking note of this, she then looked back towards the crowd and a quick, mischievous smile dawned on her face. At this point she had to make up something to cover for her inane accident. Fast.

'Oh, don't mind me, everyone -' she brushed off in a jaunty, reassuring tone, '- my family and I -'she added, gesturing between herself and Jerry and Theresa, '-We're…Greek, you see, so, you know, the whole "dropping the plates" thing - it's really a family custom'.

To further support this claim, she wormed herself through a nearby couple, grabbed a clean, about-to-be-used plate from a closely occupied table and promptly dropped it in the same spot as her previous accident. 'See?' she said eagerly, gesturing vigorously towards the plates 'Oh-pa!'. Excellent, they're buying it! Or should I say, Excellente. No, wait a minute…that's not Greek…

As everyone eventually resumed their previous activities, having lost interest in her, Alex smiled at her own creative genius before turning back towards her parents with a wide, satisfied grin (yes, if it hadn't already been figured out up until this point, she accepted Jerry as her "father figure". She always had, to be honest - but that wasn't to say she had any intention of ever telling him - she did have a reputation to uphold, after all), who she saw weren't exactly impressed (furious, actually, seemed a better way of articulating it - but hey, they couldn't do anything to her yet, they were tied to making "classy" sandwiches and working the "formidable" cash register) with her little "stunt" - oh well, they were never really the type of people to appreciate pure genius when it stared them right in the face, anyway.

She looked over towards Harper and caught her eye with a shifty grin, wiggling her eye brows for extra measure at her misdemeanour. In return however, she was given a reluctant, if not, timid smile (Harper was still was mentally preoccupied with their previous conversation). What? - Not even a look of disapproval? That's weird.

As she then leant down to lethargically pick up the shattered pieces of ceramic - some of which were fairly large (and the other, smaller pieces of which she would later on collect with a small duster and collector), one of three mysterious and irrevocably strange things occurred. The first, was the sudden and abrupt disappearance of the (shattered) plates. She blinked once. Okay, now that wasn't right. It definitely wasn't right. But then again, maybe this all had to do with the whole "exhaustion thing" she had been thinking about beforehand. Maybe it really was creeping up on her - someone could have arguably already picked up the pieces without her noticing (and this was why thinking too hard was not her forte).

And to add to that, she had had a tough day at school today (there was Mr. Laritate: 'Miss Russo, this is the fourth time I have caught you skipping our morning announcements - in my office, now! Oh, and by the way, I really need to thank you for persuading the students of the Happy Helpers Club into letting me call them my "posse", you did a great job - ', Harper: 'Alex! There you are! - Guess what? - Josh from science just asked me out on a date, how exciting is that! Ooh, I need you to help me plan my outfit! You see, I was thinking of sewing up a dress with actual "dates" on it, although -', and even her friend, Dean: 'Hey, Russo, you wanna catch a movie with me this weekend? - I hear that Eclipse movie is pre-tty good'). Not in the slightest, Dean. They had already gone down that road.

She blinked twice. Yep, they were definitely gone, alright. She looked back towards her parents, who she saw were busily making/handing out orders without a second to spare, and
up towards Harper, who was now working around the front of the restaurant clearing out randomly scattered dishes; a look of deep contemplation sketched on her face. Alright, so it wasn't any of them. Maybe…Max? Alex scoffed at the mere thought of that. Oh, I crack myself up sometimes. Since when did her younger brother ever engage in any form of physical labour? - Aside from disastrous sandwich attempts, that was? (One of which even once featured week-old chicken bones, plum jam, honey, brussels sprouts and a hefty amount of Australian vegemite). Alex shuddered at the disturbing recollection. Okay, so it definitely wasn't Max. So who was it, then?

Ignoring the improbability and borderline paranormal-related doing of her situation, she looked onto the second strange occurrence, which, by the way - on any other given occasion, she wouldn't have noticed in a million years; the ground floor at the Sub Station restaurant - previously a creamy sky-blue colour - had suddenly turned a luminous pearl-white shade. Alex stared at it strangely. It was even…sparkling, somewhat. Okay…now that's just weird. What, had their ground floor secretly been bitten by a vampire?

The third occurrence, happened as the restaurant suddenly - out of nowhere - pin pointedly turned deathly silent. No gossiping. No aimless chitter chatter. Not even an unproductive sigh. It was as if someone in the universe who owned a universal remote that controlled all living organisms in existence had randomly pressed the mute button. Alex glanced up. As she glimpsed up and looked around the restaurant, she unexpectedly saw with her very own eyes that everyone in the over-crowded room had not only gone deathly silent - they had in fact frozen in their respective spots; Jerry (one hand on the lettuce, and the other on a slice of dark wholemeal bread), Theresa (grinning whimsically at an middle-aged customer; one hand on the cash register, and the other holding out a $20 note), Harper (who had her back facing her) - everyone. It was like looking upon random wax figures in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Alex felt a faint shiver run down her spine. Okay, now someone was seriously messing with her head.

'Harper…?' said Alex desperately in the direction of her best friend, half-expecting her to come back to "life". To her great disappointment, she didn't.

'I believe these are yours' came a familiar voice from behind her.

It was him.

A small gasp escaped from Alex at the sudden outburst, and she quickly whipped her body around to find herself in the direct presence of Justin Vincenzo Pepe Russo himself. Justin Russo, that was, who was standing coolly before her holding a stack of seven clean, previously shattered alabaster-coloured plates in his hands; a warm, welcoming smile etched on his handsome face.


Oh…My…God…

Almost instinctively, Alex took a step back (paying close attention not to bump into an unfortunately sized man to her right) and inhaled sharply. That was it - she was officially not "exhausted". Involuntary goosebumps formed on her arms (it was a bit chilly in the restaurant, after all). Her stomach flipped over (indigestion, it was). And million thoughts and feelings rushed throughout her entire system (…she could come up with some justification for that later). This was…way too sudden for her liking. And as if to add insult to injury, much to her chagrin, she gulped loudly, and felt a slight pink hue taint her olive cheeks.

There he was…standing right before her.

And she honestly hadn't been lying when she said he'd changed. No longer was the nerdy - geeky- dorky pretence that was her…stepbrother standing before her. Although to Alex's recollection Justin had always been a pretty tall guy, his height now was just plain ridiculous. Man, was he tall. He practically towered over her - and in her defence she wasn't all that short, either. Also, it was obvious he had paid a well-needed visit to the hairdressers; his hair - still as dark and raven as the day she had met him, now sported a short, chopped fringe (AN: His hairdo in Season 3) that suited his bone structure nicely - not that she would ever admit to that, though. She would rather burn at the stake. She also noticed that his physique had changed a heck of a lot as well. Alex could see through his "dork-wear" (probably the one thing that he hadn't changed - oh well, she really couldn't imagine him in any other get-up. Once a dork - always a dork, even if he tried changing otherwise) that he was actually well toned.

Unwittingly poking out from Justin's back jean pocket, Alex caught a small glimpse of his all-too-familiar thin, pointed wand. She scowled at the sight of the thing.

Of course, she should have known. Magic. This was all the doing of magic.

Luckily, she managed to pull herself together. Calm and collected was her signature - after ALL.

'Well, if it isn't Merlin's apprentice -' said Alex in a snarky tone, crossing her arms in an authoritative manner. She inwardly applauded herself on the ability to pull insults out of the bag so quickly. She had to hand it to herself - she really had a gift. '- I should have known'
Let's see you act all nice now…

For the second time that day, however, to her great disappointment, Justin's smile never faltered. 'Gee, it's good to see you too, Alex' he replied coolly, watching as her expression gradually changed from childishly smug to pivotally annoyed. (AN: In this story, I'm not going to give Justin's POV. I really want his inner thoughts to remain "mysterious") 'It's been what - three years, or so, now?'

Alex's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had just acknowledged her - and without even trying, too. This wasn't the dork she'd remembered from three years ago. The dork she remembered wouldn't have acknowledged her - he would have easily walked straight past her without even a preliminary: "Hello" or a customary: "How's it going?" and would have gone straight up to his bedroom (AKA the guest room) where he would have engaged in pathetic nerdy/geeky/dorky activities without further ado for the rest of his entire visit. Well, unless of course, she pranked him. And to add to that - they hadn't exactly parted on good terms, either (after all, she had destroyed his favourite and undeniably invaluable comic book out of pure spite). What was his game, exactly? - Why was he acting all…nice and…normal and…cool?

Had three years really changed him that much?

'Well, I can't really say the same for myself, dork' she retorted contemptuously, rolling her eyes at him 'I've been dreading this day for the past three years - this whole, having to see you again' she added lazily, pointing a finger around aimlessly in his direction.

Justin stared at her somewhat sceptically. 'And I see you haven't changed. At all' he deadpanned, unimpressed with her troublesome attitude.

x0x

Flashback:

'-Yeah, Maxie's a good kid, he's just...a little strange. I mean that in the nicest possible way, though' said Justin sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

'Hmm, he sounds interesting' said Juliet coolly, smiling sweetly.

'You say that now…' muttered Justin to himself comically, tilting his head to the side a little 'Alright, so that leaves one last person'.

'Oh yeah, who's that?' said Juliet, now resting her chin on her best friend's shoulder.

Although they were only just friends, she and Justin shared a close and special friendship with another - a seemingly unconventional friendship, and one that had its fair share of misunderstandings, especially when it came to the spectators on the outside. People on the streets often mistook them as a couple, and she didn't blame them - not with the way they way they acted around one another, and it didn't bother her one bit, because she knew what she and Justin had, and although she knew they shared something special, she was already irrevocably in love with a certain werewolf she hadn't seen in well over a century now (she was immortal, after all - she was a Vampire), but that wasn't to say she was giving up on him. She knew he would come back for her one day. And was glad that Justin understood. More importantly, she was glad he felt the same way. But what she was even more glad about, was the fact that she was still important enough to him for him to invite her to meet his family. Well, his father's side, that was.

'Alex' deadpanned Justin, groaning miserably

'Oh - the one you met at the wedding, and...' said Juliet brightly '...and had a little quarrel with' she added flatly

'Argument, Juliet' corrected Justin 'We had an argument'.

'Really, Justin?' said Juliet sceptically, throwing him an incredulous look. Was this really the time to be correcting her?

'Hey - she started it - ' justified Justin boisterously (completely missing her point) 'She was the one who insulted my action figures, brushed off my confession to her that I was a wizard, and then - '. Justin stopped mid-sentence and looked downcast towards his feet; his face now as red as a tomato. Juliet frowned at this, although wisely held her tongue and waited patiently for her best-friend to continue:

'I honestly don't know what her "problem" is; I try and I try to be nice to her but she's...she's a nightmare' he finally confided in an exasperated tone, running a frigid hand through his thick hair.

'Justin, calm down - ' said Juliet reassuringly, patting him on his other shoulder ' - there's probably a logical explanation for this, I'm sure'.

'Oh, I don't think so ' said Justin in a dull tone, sighing 'Not when it comes to her. Did I ever mention to you the last time I visited Waverly Place she sabotaged my room with hidden fart bombs while I went downstairs to make me a sandwich? - And not only was it that - it was on the very day grandma came and stayed with us! - She had to sleep in my room. After that, she wouldn't look at me for a week'.

'You've mentioned it four times, now, Justin' said Juliet coolly with an amused smile on her face. Justin sighed at his best friend's cool and relaxed demeanour, although allowed himself a small grin.

'Yeah, well that should be more than enough evidence to properly conclude that she hates me' he said with a tone of finality, loosening his tense shoulders.

'Well, it's not like she remembers what happened at the wedding, or anything?' said Juliet offhandedly, quirking her mouth to one side.

'She shouldn't' said Justin distractedly in a matter-of-fact tone 'I mean, she knows I'm a "Wizard" and all - they all do, but after the "incident, there were special OP wizards called in. Every mortal had their memory wiped - including hers, there were no exceptions'.

x0x

'Why would I?' scoffed Alex, throwing him an incredulous look 'Sorry, I think you have me mistaken for someone who actually gives a damn about what others think of me. Followers change -' she added firmly, giving him a pointed nod ' - not me. I make my own decisions'.

'Is that so?'

To her surprise, Justin grinned in what she presumed was his own, sick and revoltingly twisted form of amusement. 'I wonder if that's a good, or a bad thing, then' he mused out loud, shrugging his shoulders 'I mean, let's face it - if you haven't changed, which you have just clarified to me that you haven't, then you're probably still that lazy, apathetic of a slacker I have to call my step-sister'.

Unwittingly, Alex froze at the mention of the unmentionable word. Stepsister. That's right, she was his Stepsister. It seemed over the years she had almost forgotten what she actually was to him. She noticed that Justin seemed to tense up at the mention of it too, cleverly shifting his gaze uncomfortably towards the plates in his hands. Perhaps he had sensed her discomfort…?

'I am not lazy' she finally denied lazily, blatantly ignoring the irony of her articulation.

'Right, and I'm the Pope' scoffed Justin with a sarcastic roll of the eyes, looking back up towards her with a mischievous glint in his eye 'You could've fooled me with that one, sis' he added cunningly, smirking in his ever-so-ostentatious amusement.

Alex's left eye twitched in irritation. Did he just…? Yes, he did. Oh, he was asking for it, alright. He was practically begging for a death sentence. 'Sis…?' she reiterated in a deadly tone, raising an eyebrow up at him, her arms now unfolding and landing gracefully on her slender hips 'You think…I'm your: "sis?"'.

He nodded mock-innocently. She however seemed to be on the verge of an cataclysmic explosion.

'I wouldn't dream of having you as my brother!' she snarled, sniffing angrily 'You dork! - you…you…I can't believe - you're a headache for me to even think about!' she added in a bluster of vivid hatred and contempt and all these other emotions she couldn't pinpoint at that moment. She mentally cursed herself for her sudden onset of word salad. Geez, of all times…

Justin stood his ground coolly, and seemed unfazed by her disastrous proclamation of hatred. In fact, he seemed rather indifferent to it, instead studying her with the slightest of curiosities and interest. Is he…analysing me?

'Naww' he interjected in a mock-like tone, cocking his head to the side a little 'How sweet' he added, allowing his smirk to widen 'She thinks of me'.

Alex's eyes widened comically at the unexpected response and she coughed heftily on her own saliva. Okay, now he had definitely caught her off guard with that one. She honestly hadn't seen that coming. And it was quite obvious too, as:

'I do not!' she practically shrieked, having now - officially - lost her cool. Good going, Alex, she thought to herself in an unusually berating, reprimanding fashion. Fall straight into his trap, why don't ya.

She may not have been book smart like some people (or nerdy/geeky/dorky, for that matter - she was just saying), but she was definitely street smart, and she knew that right about now:

'Denial is not another river in Egypt, Alex' said Justin smugly, raising his eyebrows in his devious amusement (the plates still stacked in his hands).

She had fallen straight into his palm. And there it was. The comeback that was meant to be hers.

It was funny how after six years of ignoring/fighting/ignoring/fighting with one another, how easily they managed to fall into a flow of easy conversation…

Alex sniffed angrily. Who knew in three year's time the dork could acquire a sense of wit? That was her area of expertise. Not his.

'You're still just as pathetic as the day I met you' she snapped frustratingly, wrinkling her nose at him 'Dork'.

'And you're still just as annoying and troublesome as the day I met you - ' retorted Justin in his own merciless amusement ' - but let's try and get along, shall we? - for family's sake' he added, trying to remain in good grace.

'Not. Likely' Alex gritted through clenched teeth. That was it, this conversation was now officially over. From this day forward, she was going to make his life pure and utter hell. '- And give me that - 'she added brusquely, snatching the plates from his firm grasps '- those were perfectly fine until you showed up'.

Justin cocked his head to the side in question. 'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked innocently, trying to keep a straight face. It was undeniable. Even after three years of absence from her life - he still knew how to push her buttons right to the very deepest of cores. And he isn't even aware he's the only one who can do it!

Alex glared venomously at him.

'It means...' she blustered, trying to think of a cover-up lie '…nothing' she clarified resolutely, raising her eyebrows to further emphasise her point 'Now, if you don't mind' she added impatiently, motioning for him to clear up the spell he had imposed on the restaurant and everyone inside of it.

Justin stared graciously at her for a second or two, before:

'Alright, fine then' he agreed, pulling out his long, pointed wand from his back jean pocket. He promptly cleared his voice, taking a second or two longer than he needed and smiled innocently at Alex (who in her defence was glaring deadly daggers at him) before waving his wand carelessly in the air and coolly chanting:

'Do as Alex Russo commands, which is as it was, before it got out of hand'.

And just like that, everything resumed as it was before. Sights, sounds, smells. Plates. Alex boisterously looked down towards her hands to find seven perfect alabaster-coloured plates still within her ever-so-welcoming grasps. She grinned widely. It was as if the she'd never dropped them in the first place.

'Right about now, I think you owe me a thank-you'

AN: Aha! The tables have turned! lol Well, that was Chapter Three of Lips like Morphine. I sure hope everyone liked it! I'm probably going to edit it like a gazillion times from the time I post it (like I mentioned up top and like I've done for the previous two chapters - for people have already read the first two chapters, I would probably suggest you re-read them, because I tend to change details. A lot.), because I pretty much rushed through this chapter, but that's the general gist of it. You can tell I sorta favour Justin, right? lol

Random Notes: Man, writing and editing is hard work. I honestly don't know how some people on this site can update so fast - they're literally like, superheros to me =/. Also, I'm thinking of doing a cross-over with Sonny with a Chance! OMG, man - I'm a big Sonny x Chad fan right now, and ever since I watched the 'Falling for the Falls Part One' episode last night, yup, I'm officially addicted! So Sonny's goanna feature! =]

To the Reviewers:

Dontcallmesweetie - Uhh, well at this point I think one of the reasons Alex dislikes Justin is because she's confused (and I mean REAL confused) and a little in denial about how she truly feels about him (there's another reason too, which is hinted in the first two chapters, but I'll reveal that later on). In my original plan for the story, I was going to have Alex come to terms with her feelings for Justin early on, but I sorta re-wrote the first chapter because I thought I could relate to her more with the whole "I think I hate him but really I'm sorta in love with him" kind of thing. Oh, and about the whole "kiss" thing - haha, there's more to that flashback to come, so it's not entirely over. I'm really glad you liked my second chapter btw, cause I personally didn't really like it very much, so THANK YOU. Your review really made my day, hun! X0

iheartdisney128 - Yeah, I kind of figured they would be weird together. But I REALLY think they would be cute together! Thank you for your reviews btw, OH - and I'm really liking your story "Baby, It's Fact". OMG - it's fantastical. X0

Not Just A Nerd - Wow, I feel so honoured by you saying you actually like my story,
(haha yeah, I know, I'm so lame, but I personally really enjoyed reading "Dollhouse", I think it's one of the best of the Jalex batch). I know the second chapter didn't have much Jalex in it, but I guess it was a transitional chapter, or whatever they call them - it had to be done, dude. Anyways, thank you for your constructive criticism and reviews, tis' most appreciated! X0

Zaria Z - Naww, THANK YOU, hun! I really felt on top of the world by your review. You are truly too kind. I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter (fingers crossed! Lol). X0

Mysterygirl123 - Thanks for your review! X0

Wiki, xoxo