Chapter Three

Justin was ignoring Alex and it was driving her up the wall.

After the basement incident she supposed he would act kind of awkward but not like this. She was ultimate master at the silent treatment – not him. She knew she could drive Jerry and Teresa nuts if she avoiding speaking to him for a maximum of three days but when Justin did it – it drove her insane. But then there was Justin – he would do this thing where he would talk to everyone briefly, his voice passive, and avoid Alex at all costs. When she would pluck up the courage to speak to him over dinner, he would avoid her question and ask Max to pass him more potatoes. Not once did Alex ever cry, she just felt like doing it sometimes in secret.

Justin was smart enough to know what he was doing. He knew he was upsetting Alex but truthfully, he had no idea how to act around her anymore. He convinced himself by letting the 'logical Justin' ramble on inside his head; while he watched on as Alex grew tired of his games day after day. He couldn't help but marvel in the fact that she'd been playing this game since they were ten, and only a handful of times he had done it to her and she looked like she was on the verge of screaming.

Justin would ignore her at breakfast. He would purposely take the blueberry jam (her favourite) and spread it across his toast and hand it to Max instead of Alex even after she asked him. Alex sighed and asked Max, who, obliviously, would hand it back to her.

They would catch the subway to school. Harper would be talking about her new pineapple dress and Justin and Alex would sit across from her. He wouldn't look at her or at Harper as she spoke. He looked down at his shoes or spoke to Max or read the local newspaper.

As their lockers were only a simple hallway away, they avoiding each other and it was easy to do so. Lunch was no different – Alex sat with Harper and Justin went and found his friends. Alex saw a girl approach Justin's table but left before he could see her staring.

She hoped it wasn't anything she would care about for long.

This just happened to be the same day the new Goth girl, Miranda Hampsen, gave Justin her cell number.

Alex saw the exchange in the hallway. She masked her sadness behind her taunting of Justin; but more so, she felt upset that he would talk to her at all about it, or even reply to her when she insulted either of them.

Alex genuinely wondered if they would make a good couple.

She thinks they won't last.

By the end of the day, Alex was ready to go home. On the subway, Harper got off at her stop and Alex was sat across from Justin yet again who was talking to Max about something Alex didn't care about. Then she noticed that he was clutching a piece of paper in his hand. Alex narrowed her eyes, crossed her legs over and stared up at him.

"What's that?" She asked in a low, slightly cold voice.

Justin looked at her and blinked. Finally. "What?"

Alex nodded to his hand. "That piece of paper you're holding in your hand. What else?"

Justin looked down, as if realising it was there for the first time. "Just a cell phone number." He replied casually, before putting it in his jeans pocket.

"Who's number?"

"Why do you care?"

Alex fell silent. He said that kind of…harshly. Alex sat back in her seat, crossed her arms and shrugged. The conversation ended. They got off at their stop and walked through the sub shop. Jerry asked Justin and Alex to do their shift together. Justin asked to take the late night shift, despite having homework, he just wanted to be away from her as much as possible.

And Alex had to admit to herself that yeah, it hurt…a little.

Alex gets a phone call from Dean Moriarty asking her out on a date. This happened in front of everyone over dinner. She shrieks in joy and then quickly calls Harper, who equally shares as much happiness that's fuming through her face, right now. Max makes a comment and turns back to his pasta, while Jerry stares at his daughter, realising that she's growing up, and Teresa notices her eldest son looking somewhat frustrated, if not irritated, by the idea of Dean Moriarty being interested in his little sister.

When Alex puts the phone back down, she joins the table and finishes eating in a very good mood. Jerry asks the typical dad-questions about Dean while Teresa is happy for her daughter. Max burps and everyone recoils in minor disgust. Justin remains passive.

After dinner, Max goes upstairs to finish creating his tower of sugar cubes in his room while Jerry and Teresa do the washing up. Justin goes into the living room to do homework while Alex, being herself, decided that she would stay behind and finish the rest of the chocolate chip cookies as an after-dessert-dessert. She helped herself to the plate, and turned back around to find both her parents retiring to their bedroom, while Justin was sat on the couch scribbling the last of his algebra down. She approached him carefully and stood by one side of the couch. She took a bite out of the cookie.

Justin hadn't seem to have noticed her. She would change that, though – as she threw herself onto the couch beside him.

Justin went unnervingly still and sighed heavily, almost rudely, before turning back to his last column of algebraic equations.

"Jeez Justin, I'm fine, thanks for asking." Alex tried grinning at him, but alas, it did not work and he continued to act as if she wasn't there.

Alex's face fell instantly. She then crossed her arms and moved a little further away from him. "Are you going to keep on avoiding me like this until we graduate from high school, or what?"

Still nothing.

"Hey dork, I know you're not mute. Say something."

Still nothing.

Alex then looked around the room to see if there was something she could use to grab his attention – a personal favourite she had developed in her early childhood – something that was bound to attract Justin's attention. She got up from the couch and swiftly moved towards the back of the room. Justin's eyebrows furrowed as he tried not to look over her shoulder and see what she was doing. A few minutes later, he heard Alex return. He suspected the worst, and turned to find her holding him limited edition Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood T shirt that he had saved up two months' worth of allowance to get. He had to double-take and look again once realising that Alex was holding the T shirt in one hand…and a cup of blackcurrant juice in the other.

"Alex…" Justin began gravely; slowly rising from the couch and turning around, "Put the blackcurrant juice down and step away from the T shirt."

As he took a step closer, Alex took another step backwards. "First, tell me why you're not talking to me."

"I'm not avoiding you." He said almost instantly.

Alex frowned. "I said 'talking' not 'avoiding' therefore you've just confirmed what you're doing to me. So tell me, dear brother, why are you avoiding me? Is it because of the whole remote thing? Or is it because of that girl?"

"Girl? What girl?" Justin spiked up.

Alex froze. Uh oh. That wasn't meant to come out. She wasn't supposed to mention Miranda Hampsen. That was the last thing she wanted to mention in front of Justin.

Justin's face magnified. He took another step forward and this time, Alex didn't move a muscle. "Are you…jealous?" Justin inquired, taking another step forward.

"What? No! why would I be jealous of Miranda Hampsen…the new goth girl? Really, Justin?" Alex mentally slapped herself because every word she spoke sounded more and more like a lie.

Justin narrowed his eyes at her. "Then why'd you bring her up? Let's see…I'm obviously avoiding you – we've recognised that. And how'd you know it was Miranda Hampsen? Face it Alex, you're jealous."

"Why would I be jealous? I'm your sister!"

The silence in the room after that was unbearable.

Justin turned back to the couch.

Alex's face went red. "You haven't answered my question – why are you avoiding me?" Alex blurted out.

He turned back to face her. "I have nothing to say to you."

Alex's face hardened at his harsh words. "Fine then," She began, and as Justin turned to leave, she raised the glass of blackcurrant juice over the T shirt but hesitated to throw it over – she just wanted to see his reaction and nothing more. She didn't want to tarnish his T shirt.

Justin realised what she was doing and turned back just in time. He leapt forward and tried to snatch the T shirt from her. "Alex, no! What are you doing?!" He demanded, trying to grab it from her, Alex tugged back on the T shirt as hard as she could when he grabbed hold of it, ultimately ripping it right down the middle. As the last of the cotton tore, Alex stumbled backwards, the back of her feet hitting the staircase, throwing the cup of blackcurrant juice in the air so it splashed against the T shirt and ultimately drenched her sweatshirt and face.

She fell against the small steps with a loud thump, the glass cup shattering against the floor. She sat up, wiping the blackcurrant juice from her cheek.

Her eyes travelled downwards and up to find Justin clutching his priceless T shirt in one hand, and staring down her in complete disbelief. He wanted to scream at her. To throw the T shirt at her but…well, he just couldn't. So he did the only thing he could do.

"I hate you." He said simply, his voice low, harsh and cold. It hurt Alex more than anything possibly could. They had fought before; but neither had professed hating the other because they didn't. Until now, that is.

Alex stood to her feet and blinked at Justin. "Huh?" She said confusedly like a small child.

"You heard me," Justin snapped at her. "I hate you. Now get out of my sight."

The last line was something she'd expect from their mother – not her brother. The disgust in his voice was inconceivable and a million emotions raked through Alex's body. Firstly, her eyes watered. Secondly, she then tried moving forward to grab Justin or to say something else but he moved away from her as quickly as possible.

Ouch.

Alex knew she could fix the T shirt with magic but she stopped to think maybe, for once, she didn't have to ruin something that belonged to Justin and had to fix it by magic. There was always something she messed up that belonged to him – and she could now see why he hated her.

"Justin – " Alex began as he moved away.

He didn't even look at her. "Just go, Alex. Please." He said, his voice now weak.

Alex stared at him as he sat back down on the couch, refusing to look at her, clutching the stained and soaked T shirt.

He heard her sob as she ran upstairs, the memories of their childhood returning to him in a wave of guilt.

The thunderstorms started that night.

They were loud and frightening. A streak of lightning struck through the sky, illuminating Justin's window as he slept. Alex, down the end of the hall, was having the hardest time trying to fall back asleep – after all, thunder and lightning scared her a lot as a small child. She never knew why, because she was always brave in the scariest of places but when it came to that cannon-sounding rip through the sky, it drove her under the duvet covers into a sea of tears.

Alex left her bedroom as fast as she could. She grabbed her pillow, dressed in her shorts and vest top and hurried through the hallway, careful not to make any noise to wake anyone up – and stood before Justin's bedroom door. She did not open it; she simply stood before it, her fingers grazing the door handle lightly. She didn't want to go in for him to tell her to go back to her own room. It had been over five years since she last stayed in Justin's room – she had usually gone downstairs to watch TV as a distraction until the thunder was over but she just wanted to sleep.

Alex promised herself that in the morning she would fix Justin's T shirt, or use all her pocket money to buy him a new one of his own. She just didn't want him to be upset with her anymore.

Alex opened the bedroom door and stepped inside. She walked to the end of Justin's bed and found him sleeping there, up to his torso covered in duvet. She carefully walked to his bedside, opened the covers a little, and slid one leg in after the other, carefully putting the pillow on her side, she laid the duvet over her waist and turned to face him – his features were relaxed, his breathing still.

Alex put her head beside his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

"Alex?" She heard Justin's voice, thick with sleep and tiredness, speak from beside her.

"Yeah?" She said, opening her eyes slightly.

"I forgive you." He whispered quietly to her side.

Alex gave a sheepish nod, saying nothing else, as she continued to pull the duvet covers up to her shoulders and nestled herself beside her brother.

Well, at least he didn't hate her anymore.