Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made by releasing this fic.
Author's Note: Once again, Happy Holidays Everyone! Thank you soo soooo much for receiving the previous chapter so positively. I'm trying to write as much as I can before school starts again, which will be in two weeks' time. You know, I already know in my head what the lay out of this story will be, but putting it together feels like it's getting so harder and harder! I think this would be a lot easier if they already had a closer relationship in the show. But whatever. That's the challenge, right?
Anyway, this chapter will be considerably short. I felt that the events here deserved to be in one chapter only. Also, I think this will build up the tension very nicely. And then the next chapter will be like a continuing installment to this. Please bare with me.
Let's read on!
A Familiar Pattern 12
By genielou
Jerry and Theresa Russo were both very-well familiar with how the college semester works. They have had to keep an eye on it so that they would know when to expect their daughter, and their surrogate daughter, to come home. So when their eldest son walked through the double doors of the Waverly SubStation, they were more than suprised. They approached him with much curiosity and care but found his following behavior too strange to tolerate, even for someone like him. It became even stranger when he locked himself in his room and stayed there for hours, sometimes even days, while only coming out to use the bathroom. Max seemed to be in on whatever was happening in there because he was the one who provided Justin with his daily food; bringing a tray of whatever Max conjured together in the kitchen, of which sometimes looked inedible. Nevertheless, he always came out of the room with the plates and glasses emptied.
As the holidays came closer, the couple finally cornered Max and demanded why Justin wouldn't come out of his room, even just to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. Even Alex was beginning to worry. As Max expressed the importance of Justin's isolation, reiterating that it was "in the name of love," Jerry seemed to understand and left it at that, making sure to take his wife along with him. Although, on the week before Christmas eve, Jerry couldn't help but satisfy his inquisitiveness. So, very late on a snowy winter night, he took it upon himself to take a late night snack to Justin's room, using his spare key to open the door instead of knocking.
With great care, Jerry opened the door to Justin's room and was greeted by a low shade of light. He remained still and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The light seemed to be coming from the television that was perched on a crate from the corner of the room. Sitting very closely in front of that television was Justin's crouched form, covered from the shoulders with a blanket that reached to the floor.
Jerry squinted his eyes as he closed the door behind them. It took him a short while to notice that the room was unusually naked. All of the furniture had been removed, presumably through magic. Only the television and Justin seemed to be present in the entire space.
Jerry slowly stepped closer towards his son with a tray of cereal and milk in his hands.
"Son," he said. "I brought you a snack."
No answer. Jerry stepped closer and closer until he was right behind Justin. He looked to him, and then to the television, and he frowned at the view. There, on the television screen, were all three of his children and Harper at a much younger age. It looked as if none of them were older than ten years old.
It was a familiar scene in a familiar environment. Jerry definitely recognized the old décor of his living room, still on the same apartment that they resided in now, but smaller and less-organized. All four of the children sat around the old coffee table that they used to have in their that room, of which he already got rid of because it was damaged from when Justin realized his magical capabilities. In fact, Jerry believed that what was transpiring on the screen was when the coffee table had been damaged.
Jerry savored the nostalgia as he saw a younger, slimmer version of himself rushed into view as two of the coffee table legs suddenly disappeared, causing one side of the table to fall hard on the floor and the Monopoly board game on it to topple all over the place. An almost infant Max started gathering everyone's fake money bills and stuffed them into his overalls. Harper, with a giant strawberry plush-toy taped on top of her head with duct tape, started crying while Alex, uncharacteristically wearing a brightly-colored summer dress, hugged her as she tried to console her. And Justin, at ten years old with thick eyebrows and wild, bushy hair that looked untamed, just stared quietly at his hands.
"I just touched it," he kept repeating to himself in a small voice. "I just touched it."
The slimmer Jerry tried his best to control the situation but Harper's loud crying seemed to add to his frantic movements. Finally, he made a grab for Max and carried him away as a first step to controlling the panic; bits and pieces of the board game kept falling as they walked away. The young Justin turned towards the crying Harper and scooted closer to her. His eyes started tearing up when he saw the deep cut on her right ankle, seeming to have been done when one side of the table suddenly fell down. Justin just kept saying 'sorry' over and over again in between hiccups as he continued to cry.
The present Jerry jumped slightly when the Justin below him suddenly moved. A wand appeared from beneath his blanket. He pointed it squarely at the television and waved. The scene suddenly stopped, and a hazy copy of what had been frozen floated out of the television, traveling gracefully through the air and settling into a small wooden chest box that Jerry had just noticed to be sitting in front of Justin. Justin then pointed his wand to his throat and spoke allowed.
"The day Harper got a scar on her right ankle when my Wizards powers kicked in. Sorry."
Justin's words seemed to take form as he spoke and floated in mid-air for a short moment before they too reserved themselves into the wooden box. Once that was done with, the scene on the television started up again, resuming from when it had frozen still and continued on to what happened next.
Jerry just stared at him, unable to form his thoughts into words. But the feeling in his chest was strong and enlightening. He felt, to say the least, very proud of his son. It was the sort of feeling that one encounters when he knows his children had taken a leap into true adulthood.
Without another word, Jerry settled the tray of food next to Justin, patted him on the shoulder (wherein Justin finally realized his presence and frowned questioningly at him), kissed him on the forehead and gave him a strong nod of assurance. He quietly let himself out afterwards.