Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place or its supporting characters. I am simply borrowing them for my own enjoyment.

Chapter 3

"Mom‚ dad‚ Max… others…" I know his eyes land right onmewhen he says that. "…this is Tiffany." He locks eyes with me. "My date."

Without really thinking about it‚ I blurt out‚ "Date? What the hell is wrong with her?"

"Alex!" my dad reprimands me. I cringe. I usually try not to curse in front of my parents.

Justin seems unphased as he only smiles and walks toward us. "Yes‚ sister. Date. You know‚ the thing two people who like each other‚ do together?" I roll my eyes with a pointed glare. "And nothing is wrong with her." I can see his hand squeeze the bimbo's waist as he says that.

Said bimbo reaches her right hand out toward me. "Hi. It's so nice to meet you."

I look at her hand‚ then her face‚ and roll my eyes. I grab Mason's wrist and pull him along to sit next to me at the dining room table. "Come on Mason. It's too crowded over by my dork of a brother."

As we sit down next to Max‚ Harper‚ and Zeke‚ I hear my mother say‚ "I'm sorry about her. Teenagers." she chuckles and then shakes the girl's hand. "It's nice to meet you‚ Tiffany."

I roll my eyes once again and tune them out as I grab Mason's hand and link my fingers with his above the table.

As the time ticks by slowly‚ I get more and more enraged by the second. That girl‚ whatever her name is‚ won't stop looking at Justin. Everyone else seems happy‚ and Mason has made a perfect first impression‚ but I can't stop thinking about Justin with that–that whore.

I bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming as the dumb blond laughs at whatever nerdy things my brother says. He's not even that funny. Why the hell is she laughing?

Wait. I have an idea.

I grin as I turn to Mason and give his hand a little squeeze. "I'll be right back. Gotta grab something from the fridge."

"No problem‚ love‚" he says to me. Then surprises me with a light kiss on the cheek. "Hurry back."

I felt my face warm as I gave him a small nod and quickly left the table and went into the kitchen. I open the fridge and grab the pickle jar‚ just to pretend I'm doing something normal‚ then I look at everyone over at the table. None of them are paying any attention to me. Perfect.

Now‚ what was her name again? Right. I grin as I point my index finger at the girl‚ and whisper the spell‚ "Some are evil‚ some are kind‚ but now only Tiffany must speak her mind."

I smile to myself as I close the fridge door and walk back with my pickles in hand. I sit down next to Mason just in time to hear all hell break lose.

Tiffany abruptly says‚ "I'm not really Justin's date. He only asked me to be here to pretend to like him. I'm not even into guys." Then she looks at me‚ "Alex is more my type."

I put both hands over my mouth to cover the laughter that tries to poor out of me. Now that I know she isn't into my brother‚ I can admit she is pretty cute. I only ever had one girlfriend‚ and she ended up trying to take over the wizard world so‚ yeah. I'm too into my brother anyway.

No! I'm into Mason! Not Justin!

I'm brought back to the here and now just as Tiffany leaves and Justin turns to angrily look at me. My grin widens when I notice his cute twitch is back. I love making him angry.

I stand up from the table and walk over to where he is pacing back and forth not too far away from the door. I pop a pickle in my mouth as I lean against the back of the couch. Everyone's eyes are on us‚ but I don't care. This is just too amusing.

"What's the matter‚ big brother? Couldn't find a girl to like you‚ so you had to pretend? That's just sad."

My mother comes up beside me and I resist the urge to roll my eyes when she says‚ "Alex‚ don't be insensitive. Justin must have had a good reason. Didn't you‚ mijo?"

Justin stops pacing to look around the room before his eyes land on me. The look of hurt I see there makes my smile disappear and my heart break just a little. "Thanks a lot Alex. I know what you did."

He turns to leave‚ but I grab his arm to stop him. "Justin‚ wait."

He turns to glare at me‚ and it is so unlike him that I drop my hold of him quickly.

"Just… don't talk to me."

Then he's gone. Up the stairs and into his room‚ the sound of his door slamming echoing throughout the house. I look down at the floor as guilt threatens to overcome me.

Why am I acting like this?

I look over at everyone else in the room and it becomes clear to me how much I made a fool out both Justin as well as myself. I fake a small smile as I sit back down next to Mason and put another pickle in my mouth. "Well then. That was fun. Dinner is really good‚ mom."

Luckily for me‚ the awkwardness slowly gets better as we all try and pretend none of that even happened. I continue to flirt with Mason‚ speak to everyone as if everything is fine‚ and count down the minutes until I can leave.

Because step two needs to happen‚ and soon.

But first‚ I have to apologize to my brother.

Damn it.

I wait until everyone is asleep before I take a deep breath in and nod resolutely to myself. I am standing just on the other side of Justin's bedroom wall in my own room‚ my wand in hand as I try and convince myself to do it.

Alright Alex. It's no big deal. Just go in‚ apologize‚ then get to the lair to find a spell to change my unnatural feelings for my brother.

God, I'm so messed up.

I shake my head of my thoughts‚ and nod once more before waving my wand and saying‚ "Gothrough Mothrough‚" then I walk through my wall and into his room.

I look at him‚ laying on his side in his bed‚ softly breathing. The soft brightness of his nightlight silhouetteing his handsome features‚ making my heart beat just a little faster.

I take a deep breath in before I sneak over and sit on the side of his bed. "Justin?"

I watch as his eyes slowly open‚ and then when he notices it's me‚ he quickly sits up in bed with a guarded look on his face. My heart shatters just a little bit more‚ guilt nearly destroying me.

"What do you want‚ Alex? Didn't you embarrass me enough‚ already?"

I slip my wand back into my boot as I look at anything except his face. I hate to see the look of hurt he is wearing at the moment.

"Look Justin…" I sigh as I feel myself blush. "This is really hard for me to say. I don't say it all that much so…" I look him in his eyes and breathe out the words‚ "I'm sorry."

There is a long moment of awkward silence before he finally speaks‚ "What game are you playing‚ Alex?"

I shake my head as I try to hold back my tears. "No games. No lies. I just… I'm really sorry. I… I went too far."

I'm still not looking at him‚ but I can feel him moving around. Then I felt as his right arm wraps around my shoulders‚ giving me permission to rest my head against him as the tears begin to silently fall.

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you." This has to be the most I've ever said sorry in my entire life. I just hate the way he looked so hurt. It doesn't satisfy me the way it used to to mess with him like that.

He sighs softly‚ his breath tickling my cheek‚ making me hold back the shiver that wants to go through me.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have been so stupid as to have a fake girlfriend anyway."

I lift my head to look into his eyes‚ the darkness in the room making him appear as more of a shadow‚ but the nightlight helping me to make out his perfect features.

"Why did you do it?" I ask curiously‚ my voice wavering slightly.

Justin looks away from me before he sighs and then looks back‚ his arm tightening around me. "I… I was jealous‚ I guess."

I stare at him for a moment‚ my heart rate escalating. "Jealous of what?" I try not to let my nervousness show.

He uses his free hand to exasperatedly rub his face. "Look Alex‚ I'm really tired. I need to go to sleep‚ and you do too. We'll talk about this some other time‚ alright?"

I swallow back the argument I can feel at the tip of my tongue‚ not wanting to do anything to upset him further‚ and nod my head. "Alright."

I push away my nervousness before I wrap my arms around him and lean up to lightly graze his cheek with my lips. "You're the best big brother ever‚ you know that?"

His eyes meet mine and I swear I can see something burning within them‚ but then it's gone in a split second. He grins at me before saying‚ "Are you feeling guilty enough to let me have that in writing as well as a recording?"

I laugh‚ a real laugh‚ as I pull away from his embrace and slap him on the chest playfully. "Shut up. I said it once‚ I am not saying it again."

He shrugs his shoulders‚ his smile genuine. "Oh well. I would have thought you were a fake Alex or something if you actually did that for me."

I shake my head in amusement as I finally stand up and away from the warmth of his arms. I begin to back away slowly as I say‚ "Don't worry‚ dork. I'm still gonna make fun of you like I always do."

"I wouldn't have it any other way‚" he says to me with a smile on his face.

I grin back before grabbing my wand from my boot‚ reciting the spell once again‚ and then I walk back through the wall and into my room. I smile to myself as I put my right hand to my chest‚ feeling how hard and fast my heart is racing.

After a few minutes go by and my heart is back under control‚ I wave my wand over my head and then I flash into the lair just a split second later.

Now to find the right spell…