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Fic: Don't You Forget About Me (Wizards Of Waverly Place, Justin/Alex)
Title: Don't You Forget About Me
Fandom: Wizards Of Waverly Place
Pairing(s): Justin/Alex
Word Count: 7005
Rating: PG-13
Summary: All Alex wanted to do was to make Justin forget. (In which case, the spell could be called a success, but ... maybe not so much.) In which magic is used without permission, Justin gets amnesia, and Alex is definitely not his girlfriend.
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
summerstorm in the Fall Fandom Free-For-All.
"So," Harper says, and Alex slams her locker door shut, then freezes. She isn't even sure what Harper's wearing today, except that if she's about to ask Alex what she thinks, Alex is probably going to have to bust out the story she's been saving about the time she accidentally turned Justin's clothes invisible. (It's not something she likes to think about a lot, and she likes thinking about Harper's probable reaction even less, but desperate times call for desperate measures.) "What did you write for your history report?"
Oh, thank god. Harper's just talking about school.
"What history report?" she asks, and stops walking a few steps later, when she realises Harper isn't beside her any more.
"The history report that's due this period," Harper says, and there's something in her voice that tells Alex this is supposed to be a big deal. "The one that's worth forty percent of our grade?"
Okay, so she's kind of failing math, but forty percent sounds like a lot.
"Is that a lot?" she asks. Better to be safe than sorry.
"If you don't turn it in, you're going to fail the class," Harper says, and, okay, that's something Alex understands. "Which means -"
Which means she'll have to repeat, or take summer classes, which is so not happening. In general, she's all for putting in as little effort as possible, but when that means she's just going to have to put in even more effort later, sometimes it's worth making the sacrifice.
"Maybe I can get an extension?" she says, but Harper's lips draw into a thin line, and she shakes her head.
"Today was the extension," she says.
Oh. So, that's not good.
"Maybe ..." Alex says, and tries to think quickly. If she can come up with something before they get to class -
Which, okay, they're standing outside right now. So thinking really fast would probably come in handy.
"Alex Russo," their teacher says, and Alex tries not to glare as Harper walks in ahead of her without being accosted. "Do you have a report to hand in?"
And she's pretty sure nobody could think this quickly, so instead, she does what she always does. (And it's always worked out for her in the past, so this time probably won't be any different, right?)
She pulls out her wand.
"Bygones are past and the past is gone, let my history report be done."
The teacher blinks for a moment, and then she smiles, like she's surprised, and looks down at the piece of paper in her hand that wasn't there a minute ago.
"Thank you," she says, still sounding a little dazed, but Alex is sure it's only a temporary side effect. "Nice work, Alex."
"Not a problem," Alex says, and slips into the classroom to sit beside Harper.
She wonders if it's too much to hope that her magical coursework is worth at least a 'C.'
-
In the end, it's close enough.
"You got a 'C' minus on your history report?" Justin asks, like she just announced that she was giving up magic to become a nun or something. Which, okay, so she never studies, but it's possible that she could, right?
Theoretically. Maybe.
"Good work, Alex," their dad says, like he's more than a little bit surprised himself, and if Alex actually cared, it'd be enough to give her a complex. "See, I knew you could do it."
"You did?" she asks, but, okay, whatever. Her dad's misplaced faith in her is his own business.
"We're both proud of you," their mom says. "So, what was the report about?"
So. Yeah. This could be a problem.
"Um," Alex says. "History."
"What else, sweetie?"
Geez. Why does their mom have to be ... supportive all the time?
"Historical ... history," she says, and honestly, if she knew this stuff, she wouldn't have had to use magic to finish the assignment. "In report form."
For a minute, their mom doesn't say anything, and then she just smiles, and says, "Okay."
Okay. That was almost a close one.
Their parents move on to Max after that, but when Alex glances over, Justin's staring at her, like he knows something's up. Which, okay, isn't that hard to figure out, and it's a safe bet most of the time, anyway.
So she tries to ignore him.
And fails.
"What?" she hisses, after dinner, lingering over her plate until it's too late to offer to help with the dishes. Justin opens his mouth, like he's going to say something, but eventually he just shakes his head.
Whatever. If he wants to act all weird, that's his problem.
-
"Okay," Alex says, as soon as they've escaped the horrors of math. "So, what are we doing tonight?"
"It's a school night," Harper points out, and, duh, she totally knows that.
"Yeah," she says. "So, what are we doing?"
"I don't know what you're doing," Harper says, "but I'm studying for our science test."
Okay, she's pretty sure Harper is saying words, but none of them make any sense.
"Maybe we could study together."
Yeah, she definitely isn't making any sense.
"Harper," Alex says. "Come on. I bet we could sneak in to see the Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster prequel, 'Day of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster.'"
"Alex," Harper says. "I have to study for this test. I don't want Jeremy from science to think I'm an idiot."
"Jeremy from science -" she starts, and then gives up. Fine, whatever. "I'm sure Jeremy from science doesn't think you're an idiot."
"Yeah," Harper says. "Because I study."
"So you're seriously not going to sneak into the movies with me?" Alex asks, and Harper shakes her head.
"And anyway," Harper adds, and Alex braces herself. "I'm not speaking to you, because you used -"
She leans in closer.
"- Magic to cheat on your assignment."
Fine. Alex will just have to come up with another excuse not to study on her own.
-
"Are you studying?" Justin asks, and Alex looks up from the book on her lap.
"No."
"Really," he says, and takes a step further into her room. "Because it looks like you're studying."
She sighs. She's not studying, okay, she's looking for ways to use magic to help her get out of her science test tomorrow. Obviously.
"If you're not studying," he says, "then what are you reading?"
Oh. Crap.
"Fine," she says, angling the book so it isn't facing Justin. "I'm studying."
For a minute, he just looks at her, and then he laughs. "No, seriously. What were you doing?"
"I was studying," she says. Seriously, what is his deal? First he accuses her of studying, and now he doesn't believe her. Freak. "See? Book."
She waves the book at him, yanking it away again as he reaches for it, and then puts it down on the bed. And covers it with a pillow, for good measure.
"Alex," Justin says, and before she can react, he's diving onto the bed, pulling the book out from where it was - okay, maybe not very cleverly - hidden. He looks at it for a moment, and then back at her. "Magic?"
"What?" she asks. "I said I was studying. I didn't say what I was studying."
"You're not supposed to take these books out of the lair," he says. "Dad doesn't even want you looking at this stuff."
Yeah. Which is why she's reading alone in her room.
"It's no big deal," she says.
"No big deal?" Justin asks, and flips through the first few pages of the book. Which is slightly further than Alex managed to get. "These are memory spells."
"It's just ..." she says, and okay, she doesn't actually have an explanation for this that sounds good. "Whatever, why do you care?"
"I care," he says, "because you're using forbidden magic without permission. Why are you even -"
And then it seems to it him.
"Alex," he hisses. "I knew you didn't get a 'C' minus all by yourself."
Yeah, well, duh.
"You're using magic to cheat at school."
"No," she says, and then, "fine, yes, whatever."
For a while, he doesn't say anything, just stands there staring at her, and then he shakes his head. "I don't know whether to be mad that you're cheating, or impressed that you actually care that much about your school work."
"Care?" Alex repeats, like, hello? She does not care about her school work. "I don't care. I just don't want to fail."
"Did you ever think to try actually studying?" he asks, and she snorts.
"Studying. Yeah. Good one."
"Alex," he says. "This isn't funny. You could get in big trouble for this."
"How would I get in trouble?" she asks. "No-one even knows I cheated."
And then she looks up at him, and, oh, no.
"You wouldn't," she says.
"I would."
Yeah, okay, he so would.
"You can't," she says, instead. "Justin, dad will kill me."
"Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you cheated," he says.
Yeah, like she thinks about everything she does before doing it.
"Justin," she says. "Please."
That seems to catch him off guard, at least; not enough to stop him, maybe, but enough to delay him. Which is all she needs, really; given enough time, she's sure she can talk him out of this.
"Why shouldn't I?" he asks, finally. "Alex, you get away with everything."
"Except this, apparently," she mutters. And she expects him to ignore her, but instead, he sits down beside her on the bed.
"You probably wouldn't have been able to do it, anyway," he says. "What were you going to do, cast a spell to make you remember stuff you never learned?"
Actually, the plan was to make her science teacher forget they were supposed to have a test. But now that he mentions it, Justin's way sounds even better.
"Something like that," she says, and instead of lecturing her, he laughs.
"Yeah, right," he says. "There's no way you could pull off a spell like that."
"What?" she asks. "Yes, I could."
"Alex, that's really advanced magic," he says. "Maybe you should wait until you've mastered basic spells first."
And maybe Justin should manage basic hygiene first. Seriously, baths cannot be sanitary.
"I could do this spell," she insists.
"No," he says. "You couldn't."
And, okay, she may not know that exact spell, but she did come across another interesting one when she was trying to avoid studying.
"Fine," she says, and stands up, drawing out her wand. "I'll prove it. Don't worry, don't fret, relax, forget."
She waits, wand still pointed, and after a minute, Justin blinks.
"I told you that you couldn't do it," he says.
Well, that's just great.
"Fine," she says, a little more bitterly than she meant to. "You were right. Happy?"
Justin just looks at her, and then he stands up, resting a hand on her arm. "Alex," he says. "I'm not going to tell dad about you cheating."
"You're not?" she asks. She's still waiting for the catch; things never work out this easily.
"I'm not," he says. "But you have to promise you'll actually study. And not use magic again."
"I promise," she says easily.
"And then you have to do it."
Oh.
"Fine," she says, eventually, because it's not like she really has any other option. "I won't cheat."
And maybe, she thinks, it will be that easy after all.
-
"Alex," her mom calls, and Alex grabs her bag and shuts the door behind her. She isn't running that late. Almost. Anyway, there's probably no reason to shout.
"I'm coming," she yells back, and when she gets downstairs, her mom is standing in the kitchen, holding lunches for Justin and Max, and five dollars for her. Perfect.
"Where's your brother?" her mom asks. "He's going to be late."
"Max?" Alex asks, and looks around. She can't smell him, so he's probably not here; she could have sworn he left already.
"Not Max," her mom says, looking concerned. "Justin."
And suddenly Alex understands the worried look. It's definitely not like Justin to be late for anything, least of all for school.
But if it means Alex is going to be late, too, she can't exactly say that she minds.
"Maybe I'll just wait for him," she says, and she expects her mom to argue, not for her eyes to light up like she just had an idea.
"Great," her mom says. "You go get Justin and make sure he's ready for school. I have get downstairs to the sub station. You know how your dad gets when he has to serve customers in the morning."
Or ever, Alex thinks, but by the time she can think to make a sarcastic comment, her mom's already gone.
Well, whatever. She's just pretty much been given permission to go in Justin's room, and if it turns out he left for school early and isn't there, well. Maybe she'll just have to look around a little. Just to make completely sure.
And, really, it's not like she expects Justin to still be in his room. Which is why she's a little surprised when she opens his door to find him standing right in the middle of it.
"Justin," she says. Damn. Well, she'll just have to come back and steal his stuff later. "Why are you still in your pyjamas?"
"What?" he asks, and seriously, what's up with him? He sounds like she does most mornings. "What are you -"
"Come on," she says, and sighs. As much as she'd love to be late for school - and to be able to blame it on someone else - if she and Justin don't leave soon, their mom's just probably going to come and get them, and she's pretty sure that somehow it's all going to end up being her fault. "We don't have time for this. Take those off and get dressed, we're supposed to have left for school already."
"Who are you?" he asks, and she rolls her eyes.
"Ha ha," she says. "Very funny, Alex wants to get to school early. Fine. Take your time. See if I care."
She was already planning on ditching the first couple of periods, anyway. She still has her science test this morning, and, well. She studied. A little. Enough to fulfill her promise to Justin, anyway.
Not enough to actually help her pass the test.
And with any luck, if she comes late, her teacher will mark her down as absent and let her retake the test. After she's studied or learned that stupid spell, whichever seems easier.
But Justin's still just staring at her, and, okay, she doesn't care about being late for school, but she does care that he's being way creepy.
"Justin," she says, finally. "What?"
He shakes his head. "Who are you?"
Yeah, he did this joke already, and it wasn't funny the first time.
"Justin -"
"Where the hell am I?"
And he's joking, he has to be joking. Except, well. He doesn't look like he's joking. At all. And Justin's poker face has never been that good.
And then, her stomach sinking, Alex remembers the spell. Which didn't work, except Justin's standing there, his face blank, and maybe -
Maybe it did work. Maybe it just needed a little time to kick in.
"Oh, no," she says. "No, no, no, no. Justin -"
This is not going to happen. Alex isn't going to let it happen.
"Justin," she says. "You remember. You have to remember."
And, okay, maybe she just needs to jog his memory a little. She can do that.
"Justin," she says. "Your name is Justin, and this is your room."
She looks around a little, searching for anything that might help, and picks up his Captain Jim Bob Sherwood honorary superhero wall plaque. Which she was planning on adding to her collection of Justin's favourite things from his room, but maybe this is more important.
"See?" she asks. "This is Captain Jim Bob Sherwood. And he's totally lame, but you love him, and you have an action figure, and a lunch box, and -"
She turns around again.
"- And robots! You like robots, and I have no idea why, but Justin, seriously, you have to remember me. And I'm sorry, okay, I used a spell that accidentally - sort of - made you forget. And if you were yourself right now, you'd be saying 'I told you so,' and you'd also probably know how to fix it, because you know how to fix everything, which is really annoying, but it also comes in really handy at times like these. Except you don't know anything, which means you can't help me, which means I'm going to have to fix this myself, only we can't let anyone see you like this because they'll all blame me and I've already been yelled at enough for one week. So."
And Justin's still looking at her, in a way that she has absolutely no idea what it means, and she just wants him to speak, to say anything. Even if he totally freaks out, because, okay, that was probably a lot of information to process.
"You're kind of a crazy person, you know that?" he asks.
Only he's kind of smiling when he says it, so, okay. They're probably okay.
And then he reaches up to pull his pyjama shirt off over his head, and that is no not okay.
"Justin," she says, before he can do something crazy like take his pants off, too. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting dressed," he says, like undressing in front of his sister is the most normal thing in the world. "We're late for school, right?"
Seriously, that's what he got out of all that?
"Right," she says.
"So ... didn't you want me to get dressed?"
Okay, yes, she did want that, but, like - he could at least turn around, or something.
And they should probably hurry up, because if their mom has to come up here to get them things are going to get a lot worse. Mostly for her.
So she turns around, instead, and she keeps her gaze firmly focused on Justin's desk until she hears him say, "Um."
And then she turns to face him, which. Was probably a mistake.
(She tries to ignore the warm flush creeping up her cheeks. It's just - it's been a weird day, okay?)
"I don't ..." he says, and gestures around the room.
Right. Clothes.
Sometimes, she has to admit, Justin being a complete dork comes in handy. Like now, when she swings the door shut and finds and entire outfit hanging on the hook behind it.
For his sake, she thinks she'll try to forget that part later.
"Here," she says, and hands him the clothes. And, like, it's not like she's actually looking at him, there just aren't a lot of other places to look. "Put these on. And hurry up."
-
"Alex," their dad says when they get downstairs, and Alex moves so she's standing in between him and Justin. Not that it's going to a lot of good, but it probably can't hurt, either. "I thought you guys left for school already."
"We're just leaving," she says, and before Justin can say anything, she takes his hand, and leads him hurriedly out of the sub station. For a second, their dad kind of stares after them, but then a customer says something and he turns around to deal with that, instead.
So, good. Okay. They managed to get out of the house. Which maybe isn't going to help them much if she can't reverse the spell before they get back, but at least it will buy her some time.
"Was that my dad?" Justin asks, once they're outside. He doesn't let go of her hand, but maybe that's for the best; the last thing she needs is for him to get lost somewhere in New York and to have to look for him all by herself.
"Yeah," she says. She tries not to say it in a way that implies he's stupid for not knowing that, because, okay, that's probably as much her fault as it is his.
Justin nods, like it's another puzzle piece or whatever he's putting together, which. Trust Justin to be a dork, even when he can't remember anything.
"Okay," he says. "So, where do we go to school?"
And Alex has to stop for a second, because, seriously, he thinks they're going straight to school?
Boy, does he have a lot to learn.
"Not so fast," she says, and she could swear that Justin's hand tightens around hers for a second, like there's still some part of him in there that instinctively rejects the thought of skipping school.
But he doesn't come right out and say it, so she can work with that.
"Come on," she says. "I'll show you my usual morning routine."
And - it's kind of a weird thought, but when Justin isn't being all ... well, Justin, it's kind of nice having him around.
-
They get to school just as her science class is letting out, and Alex breathes a sigh of relief. At least one thing is going well for her today.
"Alex," Harper says, coming out of the classroom, and Alex squeezes Justin's hand briefly before letting go. "Where were you? You missed our science test."
"Harper -"
"Anyway," Harper says, speaking over her. "I'm still not talking to you."
Right. The whole magic thing. She'd almost forgotten.
"Harper, wait," she says, and Harper doesn't leave, but she does cross her arm and tap her foot impatiently. "You have to be talking to me. I need you."
"You do?" Harper asks. Her voice sounds the same, but Alex thinks her expression may have softened, a little.
"I do," she says, and leans closer, hopefully just out of Justin's hearing. "Look, I accidentally used magic to erase Justin's memory, and I need help, okay?"
For a minute, Harper's face is blank, and then she almost smiles, in the way that Alex knows means she's messed up again and Harper's only humouring her, but whatever, she'll take it.
"Oh, Alex," she says. "I knew there was a reason I was still friends with you."
Which - is not good, maybe. But she'll have to save that for later.
"Life is never boring being your friend," Harper says, more thoughtfully. "So, wait, Justin doesn't remember anything?"
"Nothing," she says.
And then Harper looks from Alex to Justin, and she gets a look on her face that can't be good.
"Really?" she asks, and, yeah. Alex does not like that tone.
"Harper," she says, trying to shock her friend back into reality. This is so not the time to be taking advantage of Justin.
Or Alex would have done it already.
"Right," Harper says. "So -"
Then she stops suddenly, looking over Alex's shoulder, and Alex turns around.
Great. This is just what they need.
"Zeke," she says loudly, and moves up beside Justin again. "Hi, Justin's best friend Zeke."
"Hi, Alex," Zeke says, sounding a little confused, but Justin looks at her in a way like he's almost grateful. And, well, she's doing what she can. For her own sake, of course.
And then, before Zeke can start talking in some stupid alien language that Justin doesn't know any more, Alex turns back to Harper.
"You need to help me," she says. "I can't let Justin go to class like this."
Harper's expression shifts again, and Alex thinks she likes this one even less.
"Are you worried about Justin?" she asks.
"No," Alex says immediately. Because, just - no. As if she'd be worried about Justin. Even memory-wiped Justin. She just can't risk getting caught, is all. "Look, Harper, he doesn't know anything. And if anyone finds out -"
She's screwed, basically.
"You could just go home," Harper suggests. "Alex, maybe you should let your parents help you with this."
Yeah, because that not going to result in her being grounded for, oh, roughly forever. What she need is -
"Wait," she says. "Isn't there some big pep rally or something this morning?"
"But you hate those things," Harper says, looking a little nervous. Which is totally unnecessary; as much fun as messing with something like that sounds, Alex thinks she's probably in enough trouble already.
"Yeah," she agrees. "But I need to do something with Justin, and I can't just take him to class with me. Besides, we can sit there and make fun of the cheerleaders. What do you say?"
Except by the time she's finished, Harper's already gone, which. Fine. If Harper didn't want to help her mock people, she could have just said so.
And Alex starts to think that maybe she isn't that desperate, after all. But then she glances over at Justin and Zeke, and see's Justin's panicked stare as Zeke babbles some nonsense words at him, obviously expecting a response.
So, okay, she's totally that desperate.
"Come on," she says, and grabs Justin, pulling him away before things can get any worse. "We have a pep rally to go to."
Seriously, someone kill her now.
-
"Move it," Alex grumbles, making her way past a group of freshmen to find a seat on the bleachers. Justin trails behind her, his hand in hers, and she squeezes a little tighter, half afraid that if she lets go they'll both be caught in the crush.
Seriously, it's like people are actually excited to be here. And her parents wonder why she doesn't hang out with more people from school.
Finally, she finds a spot that's mostly empty, and sits down before anyone else can claim it. Really, she'd rather be sitting somewhere further in the back - like, where nobody is likely to see her - but right now, she's just glad she isn't surrounded by people any more.
"So," Justin says. "Pep rally."
"Yep," she says.
"Do ... do we usually go to pep rallies?"
And Alex has to laugh for a second, because, seriously. Even with amnesia, she can't believe Justin just asked her that.
"No," she says, finally. "This is a first."
"It's kind of ..."
If he says it's nice, she's going to have to kill him.
"Crowded."
"Yeah," she says. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
But then everyone around them abruptly sits down as something that's probably supposed to be music starts to play, and if they had a hard time getting in, Alex thinks it might be nearly impossible to get back out again.
So, whatever, they'll just wait it out. It can't be that bad, can it?
Less than a minute later, she has her answer.
"Wow," she says leaning closer to Justin to make sure he can hear her over all the yelling. "I'm pretty sure I'm in hell."
And he should probably give her a stern look or something, tell her that it isn't a crime to have school spirit and maybe she should stop being so judgemental, but instead, he laughs.
"At least I know the name of our school now," he says.
Yeah, but probably not how to spell it. Alex is pretty sure there's a cheerleader missing or something, because there's a gaping hole on one side of the routine, and when they used their bodies to spell out the name of the school, it came out as 'Tribea Prep.' Which even Alex is pretty sure isn't right.
Still, it makes them even easier to mock, so it's not all bad.
And it's not all bad, either, being here with Justin. It's kind of weird, like, he's still Justin, which pretty much means she should hate being forced to hang out with him. Except, when he isn't spending all his time being perfect and self-righteous and pointing out every single thing she does wrong, he's almost bearable to be around. And she doesn't even mind that they're kind of squished together on the bleachers, his thigh pressed against hers, even though there aren't that many people on either side of them.
And, okay, it's not like she's actually glad he has amnesia, or anything, because she kind of misses him, too. Like, not in a way where she actually likes him, just - she likes fighting with him, or whatever. It's normal, and she misses that.
She just sort of wishes ... well, whatever. It wouldn't suck if they got along sometimes, too, but she's going to find a way to fix the spell, so it really doesn't matter.
Anyway, she's probably missing valuable cheerleader-mocking time.
"Do you think -" she says, but she stops when somebody sits down on her other side. She turns, already preparing to tell them to move it or lose it, and reconsiders - barely - when she sees Max.
"Alex," Max says, and Alex drops Justin's hand hurriedly. Which, it's not like she actually liked holding his hand or anything she just - kind of forgot she was doing it. With the number of sweaty people packed into the gym, it was hard to tell the difference.
And it's not like it's a big deal, either way, but Max might think it's a little weird, so.
"Max," she says, hopefully loud enough for Justin to hear. "Hey, look, it's our brother Max."
Unlike Zeke, Max doesn't even blink at the overly detailed introduction. If anything, she thinks he looks kind of happy that she remembered.
But then she turns back to Justin, and he's sitting upright, almost frozen, staring at her.
And, okay, it's possible that having Max here might give them away. But - well, it's Max. So it's not exactly likely.
After a minute, Justin moves a little closer.
"What?" he asks. "It's really loud in here, I didn't hear you."
"I said -" she starts, but she's interrupted by Max elbowing her in the side. And right now, Max is annoying her more, so maybe she'll deal with him first. "What?"
"Hey," he says, and he looks ... almost thoughtful, for Max. "How come there's no ball? And why are all of the players wearing skirts?"
"Max," she says. "This isn't a game. It's a pep rally."
He still looks confused.
"It's -" She takes a breath, and reconsiders. "You know what? Never mind. Why don't you go get yourself a snack or something?"
"Okay," he says. "Can I have some money?"
"Sure," she says. "But I'm going to have to give it to you later."
"That's cool," he says.
"And I'm going to need you to pay me back in advance."
He sighs, but he hands over five dollars, and Alex pockets it before he can actually think about what he just did. Which maybe isn't a huge risk, but it's still better to be safe than sorry.
"Okay," he says. "But I'm getting two ice creams."
Okay, so, the extra precaution was probably unnecessary.
"Fine," she says. "Can yet me something, too?"
"After you gave me all that money?" he asks. "Of course."
She really loves her brother, sometimes.
And then she remembers Justin, mostly because he's tapping her on the shoulder.
"Who was that?" he asks, and she has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. If she's going to have to keep explaining things to Justin all day, this is going to get really tiring.
"That was Max," she says. "You know, our brother?"
And then he does that weird thing again where he gets all stiff and just kind of stares at her.
"Our brother," he says. "You mean, like, my brother, and your brother?"
"Yeah," she says. "That's kind of how these things work."
And she expects a blank look, maybe, or even some kind of recognition.
She doesn't expect Justin to stand up and leave.
And as much as it is kind of fun to see a bunch of girls in stupid outfits embarrass themselves in front of most of the school, Alex thinks she should maybe deal with that, so after a second, she gets up to follow him.
-
She catches up to Justin in the hallway, but even after she calls out to him, she has to tug at his arm before he'll stop.
"Justin," she says, and when he turns around, he looks - weird. She's not sure how, exactly, except there's something in his expression that definitely wasn't there before, and he's looking at her like ... well, she's not quite sure what it's like, but it's enough to freak her out, all the same.
Plus, there's the fact that he just stormed out of the pep rally without any warning, and she doesn't think it was because the cheerleaders couldn't spell.
"Justin," she says again, like maybe she's hoping that if she says his name enough times, it will snap him out of whatever's bugging him. "What's wrong?"
Not that, you know, she's worried about him or anything. He's just acting really weird, and she wants to know why.
But Justin just laughs, and not in a way like he thinks anything is actually funny.
And, okay, they're in the middle of the hallway, and maybe this conversation - whatever it is - isn't one they should be having in public. So she grabs his arm again, and pulls him into the nearest empty room she can find.
Which happens to be the girls' bathroom, and Justin looks around, looking even more panicked than before.
"Alex," he says, and -
Okay, she has to admit, she's a little relieved. Because he left so suddenly, and at least she knows it's not because he forgot everything all over again.
"This is the girls' bathroom."
"Yeah," she says, like, duh, she noticed. "Justin, relax."
"I'm not supposed to be in here."
"Whatever," she says. "It's private, okay?"
He doesn't say anything, but he glares at her in a way that's so familiar it almost hurts.
"What happened back there?" she asks, and she almost wishes she hadn't. He stops glaring, and his expression goes back to being all weird again.
"What happened?" he asks, like it should be obvious, but if it is, she's definitely missing something. "Alex -"
She waits. Almost patiently.
"We're brother and sister," he says, finally. Like it's some big revelation or something.
"Yeah," she says. "I know."
"I -"
She's still waiting for him to go on when, instead, he slides his arms around her waist.
And kisses her.
And -
Okay, so, maybe she kisses him back. Just, like, for a second, and mostly because he caught her by surprise. But then she steps back, pushing him away, and his arms drop to his sides hurriedly.
"Sorry," he says. Quietly, though the words sound louder bouncing off the tiled walls. He runs a hand through his hair, looking everywhere but at her, and Alex wraps her arms around herself a little, even though it isn't really cold in here.
"Justin," she says. And she's really not sure what to say after that, because, well. This is so not what she expected to happen today. "What -"
"I just ..." He swallows, and looks at her, finally. "I don't know what I'm doing, okay? I'm sorry. You just, you don't feel like ..."
And after a minute, she understands what he's trying to say. She doesn't feel like his sister.
Yeah, she gets that.
"Justin," she says, but before she can say anything else, he leaves, his hand barely grazing hers as he brushes past her, and the door swings after him.
-
Alex finds Justin after school, sitting on the steps, and he gets up when he sees her, his hands bunched into tight fists by his side.
"I didn't -" he says, and he isn't even looking at her, which hurts more than it probably should. "I didn't think I should go home without you."
And that's something, maybe.
"Besides," he continues, "I wasn't sure I could find my way back on my own."
Oh. Or maybe not.
"That's okay," she says, and it's the last thing either of them says before they get back home.
This time, she doesn't take his hand.
-
Their parents aren't there to greet them when they get to the sub station, which is a small blessing. Justin still hasn't looked at Alex since they were in the bathroom, and she tries not to mind, tells herself it's not like she wants him to look at her, anyway.
Mostly, she just wants things to go back to the way they were yesterday, to take back the stupid spell and this entire horrible day. Even if it means getting caught cheating on her assignment and being grounded and kicked out of school and spending the rest of her life working in the sandwich shop.
As unappealing as all of that sounds, it can't be any worse than this.
"I'm just -" she says, and, okay, it's not like she can really look at Justin, either. "I'm going to fix this."
She hopes.
"Just ... go to your room or something, okay? And try not to talk to anyone."
Justin doesn't say anything, just starts up the stairs, and when he pauses halfway, she says, "It's the one at the end of the hall."
So. Fixing it. Is what she's going to do.
She breezes past her dad in the kitchen with a muttered 'hello,' and shuts the door to the lair behind her with a sigh. She's not even sure where to start looking, exactly, so she picks a book more or less at random, takes a deep breath, and starts looking.
An hour later, she isn't any closer to finding a solution, and she picks up the next book.
It takes her four books and the better part of the afternoon before she finds something, and when she does, she sits up a little straighter, and then sags back down again in defeat.
She was looking for an answer, and she found one. Just not the one she was hoping for.
Still, it's better than not knowing, and she's halfway to the door when it opens on its own, and Justin comes in.
"Justin," she says, and glances at him briefly before looking away again. "I was just coming to get you. The spell -"
"Has to wear off on its own," he says, and it takes her a few seconds to realise she should be surprised.
"Yeah," she says slowly. "How did you -"
Then Justin looks at her, and -
"Because it wore off."
Oh. So that's good, right? She can't even really tell, any more; her stomach is churning, her lips tingling, and it's mostly difficult to sort any one emotion out of the huge, tangled mess.
Still, she's pretty sure she's relieved.
"Good," she says, and almost manages to sound like she means it. "So -"
"Alex, I -"
She stops at the same time he does, and when she looks up at him, he's almost smiling.
"You go first," she says.
"Okay," he says. And then he doesn't say anything.
Fine, she'll go first.
"I'm ..." she says, and really, it shouldn't be so hard to say this. She's apologised before, right?
But, okay, maybe she'll start with something easier.
"I didn't mean it," she says. "To get us into this mess, I mean. It was -"
"It wasn't your fault," he interrupts her, and, really? That's news to her. "I mean, it was your fault, but I don't blame you -"
"I didn't think it would work like that. I just thought -"
"- kind of goaded you into it -"
"- wasn't trying to -"
"- thanks for helping me -"
"- I should have explained that -"
"I'm sorry I kissed you," he says, and that's enough to shut her up. He's looking at her kind of wide-eyed, like maybe he didn't mean to bring it up, but she's glad he did, almost; not that it's exactly a fun topic of conversation, but just having it out in the open makes her feel like it's a little easier to breathe.
"Don't apologise," she says. "It was my fault -"
And, okay, the first one was her fault. Kind of. Because she probably should have explained the whole being related thing before she accidentally blurted it out, and maybe if she hadn't tried to be nice to him and just treated him the way she always did, it wouldn't have happened.
But then he kisses her again, and this time, it definitely isn't her fault.
Only, well. She thinks 'fault' might be the wrong word, because it doesn't exactly suck. Like, it's definitely weird, but so was the first time, and she kissed him back that time, too, so -
She's just begun to relax into it, to unclench her fists and grab onto Justin instead, when he pulls away.
For a minute, he just kind of looks at her, like he's trying to gauge her reaction, and then he says, like it's an explanation, "I didn't want things to be weird between us."
"Yeah," she says, and it's ridiculous, but she kind of has to concentrate to stop herself from smiling. "Because this isn't weird."
But, okay, it's probably no weirder than anything else that's happened today.
So she kisses him again.
And then stops, and Justin looks hurt and confused for about half a second before she says, "You aren't going to tell mom and dad about this, are you?"
"About what?" he asks, and then gestures between them. "This?"
"No," she says, maybe a little too quickly. "Not that."
And, okay, that too, but she doesn't think even Justin would be stupid enough to tell their parents that part.
"I mean, about the whole amnesia thing," she says. "And the 'using magic to cheat on my report' thing."
"Alex -"
"Justin," she says, and moves forward a little - as far as the limited space between them allows her to - and runs a hand down his arm. "Please promise me you'll forget about it?"
For a minute, he just looks at her, but instead of lecturing her about how of course he's going to tell their parents, and how she shouldn't be using magic without permission, anyway, he says, "Are you going to make me?"
Right now, that sounds like an excellent idea.
Fandom: Wizards Of Waverly Place
Pairing(s): Justin/Alex
Word Count: 7005
Rating: PG-13
Summary: All Alex wanted to do was to make Justin forget. (In which case, the spell could be called a success, but ... maybe not so much.) In which magic is used without permission, Justin gets amnesia, and Alex is definitely not his girlfriend.
Notes: Written for
summerstorm in the Fall Fandom Free-For-All."So," Harper says, and Alex slams her locker door shut, then freezes. She isn't even sure what Harper's wearing today, except that if she's about to ask Alex what she thinks, Alex is probably going to have to bust out the story she's been saving about the time she accidentally turned Justin's clothes invisible. (It's not something she likes to think about a lot, and she likes thinking about Harper's probable reaction even less, but desperate times call for desperate measures.) "What did you write for your history report?"
Oh, thank god. Harper's just talking about school.
"What history report?" she asks, and stops walking a few steps later, when she realises Harper isn't beside her any more.
"The history report that's due this period," Harper says, and there's something in her voice that tells Alex this is supposed to be a big deal. "The one that's worth forty percent of our grade?"
Okay, so she's kind of failing math, but forty percent sounds like a lot.
"Is that a lot?" she asks. Better to be safe than sorry.
"If you don't turn it in, you're going to fail the class," Harper says, and, okay, that's something Alex understands. "Which means -"
Which means she'll have to repeat, or take summer classes, which is so not happening. In general, she's all for putting in as little effort as possible, but when that means she's just going to have to put in even more effort later, sometimes it's worth making the sacrifice.
"Maybe I can get an extension?" she says, but Harper's lips draw into a thin line, and she shakes her head.
"Today was the extension," she says.
Oh. So, that's not good.
"Maybe ..." Alex says, and tries to think quickly. If she can come up with something before they get to class -
Which, okay, they're standing outside right now. So thinking really fast would probably come in handy.
"Alex Russo," their teacher says, and Alex tries not to glare as Harper walks in ahead of her without being accosted. "Do you have a report to hand in?"
And she's pretty sure nobody could think this quickly, so instead, she does what she always does. (And it's always worked out for her in the past, so this time probably won't be any different, right?)
She pulls out her wand.
"Bygones are past and the past is gone, let my history report be done."
The teacher blinks for a moment, and then she smiles, like she's surprised, and looks down at the piece of paper in her hand that wasn't there a minute ago.
"Thank you," she says, still sounding a little dazed, but Alex is sure it's only a temporary side effect. "Nice work, Alex."
"Not a problem," Alex says, and slips into the classroom to sit beside Harper.
She wonders if it's too much to hope that her magical coursework is worth at least a 'C.'
-
In the end, it's close enough.
"You got a 'C' minus on your history report?" Justin asks, like she just announced that she was giving up magic to become a nun or something. Which, okay, so she never studies, but it's possible that she could, right?
Theoretically. Maybe.
"Good work, Alex," their dad says, like he's more than a little bit surprised himself, and if Alex actually cared, it'd be enough to give her a complex. "See, I knew you could do it."
"You did?" she asks, but, okay, whatever. Her dad's misplaced faith in her is his own business.
"We're both proud of you," their mom says. "So, what was the report about?"
So. Yeah. This could be a problem.
"Um," Alex says. "History."
"What else, sweetie?"
Geez. Why does their mom have to be ... supportive all the time?
"Historical ... history," she says, and honestly, if she knew this stuff, she wouldn't have had to use magic to finish the assignment. "In report form."
For a minute, their mom doesn't say anything, and then she just smiles, and says, "Okay."
Okay. That was almost a close one.
Their parents move on to Max after that, but when Alex glances over, Justin's staring at her, like he knows something's up. Which, okay, isn't that hard to figure out, and it's a safe bet most of the time, anyway.
So she tries to ignore him.
And fails.
"What?" she hisses, after dinner, lingering over her plate until it's too late to offer to help with the dishes. Justin opens his mouth, like he's going to say something, but eventually he just shakes his head.
Whatever. If he wants to act all weird, that's his problem.
-
"Okay," Alex says, as soon as they've escaped the horrors of math. "So, what are we doing tonight?"
"It's a school night," Harper points out, and, duh, she totally knows that.
"Yeah," she says. "So, what are we doing?"
"I don't know what you're doing," Harper says, "but I'm studying for our science test."
Okay, she's pretty sure Harper is saying words, but none of them make any sense.
"Maybe we could study together."
Yeah, she definitely isn't making any sense.
"Harper," Alex says. "Come on. I bet we could sneak in to see the Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster prequel, 'Day of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster.'"
"Alex," Harper says. "I have to study for this test. I don't want Jeremy from science to think I'm an idiot."
"Jeremy from science -" she starts, and then gives up. Fine, whatever. "I'm sure Jeremy from science doesn't think you're an idiot."
"Yeah," Harper says. "Because I study."
"So you're seriously not going to sneak into the movies with me?" Alex asks, and Harper shakes her head.
"And anyway," Harper adds, and Alex braces herself. "I'm not speaking to you, because you used -"
She leans in closer.
"- Magic to cheat on your assignment."
Fine. Alex will just have to come up with another excuse not to study on her own.
-
"Are you studying?" Justin asks, and Alex looks up from the book on her lap.
"No."
"Really," he says, and takes a step further into her room. "Because it looks like you're studying."
She sighs. She's not studying, okay, she's looking for ways to use magic to help her get out of her science test tomorrow. Obviously.
"If you're not studying," he says, "then what are you reading?"
Oh. Crap.
"Fine," she says, angling the book so it isn't facing Justin. "I'm studying."
For a minute, he just looks at her, and then he laughs. "No, seriously. What were you doing?"
"I was studying," she says. Seriously, what is his deal? First he accuses her of studying, and now he doesn't believe her. Freak. "See? Book."
She waves the book at him, yanking it away again as he reaches for it, and then puts it down on the bed. And covers it with a pillow, for good measure.
"Alex," Justin says, and before she can react, he's diving onto the bed, pulling the book out from where it was - okay, maybe not very cleverly - hidden. He looks at it for a moment, and then back at her. "Magic?"
"What?" she asks. "I said I was studying. I didn't say what I was studying."
"You're not supposed to take these books out of the lair," he says. "Dad doesn't even want you looking at this stuff."
Yeah. Which is why she's reading alone in her room.
"It's no big deal," she says.
"No big deal?" Justin asks, and flips through the first few pages of the book. Which is slightly further than Alex managed to get. "These are memory spells."
"It's just ..." she says, and okay, she doesn't actually have an explanation for this that sounds good. "Whatever, why do you care?"
"I care," he says, "because you're using forbidden magic without permission. Why are you even -"
And then it seems to it him.
"Alex," he hisses. "I knew you didn't get a 'C' minus all by yourself."
Yeah, well, duh.
"You're using magic to cheat at school."
"No," she says, and then, "fine, yes, whatever."
For a while, he doesn't say anything, just stands there staring at her, and then he shakes his head. "I don't know whether to be mad that you're cheating, or impressed that you actually care that much about your school work."
"Care?" Alex repeats, like, hello? She does not care about her school work. "I don't care. I just don't want to fail."
"Did you ever think to try actually studying?" he asks, and she snorts.
"Studying. Yeah. Good one."
"Alex," he says. "This isn't funny. You could get in big trouble for this."
"How would I get in trouble?" she asks. "No-one even knows I cheated."
And then she looks up at him, and, oh, no.
"You wouldn't," she says.
"I would."
Yeah, okay, he so would.
"You can't," she says, instead. "Justin, dad will kill me."
"Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you cheated," he says.
Yeah, like she thinks about everything she does before doing it.
"Justin," she says. "Please."
That seems to catch him off guard, at least; not enough to stop him, maybe, but enough to delay him. Which is all she needs, really; given enough time, she's sure she can talk him out of this.
"Why shouldn't I?" he asks, finally. "Alex, you get away with everything."
"Except this, apparently," she mutters. And she expects him to ignore her, but instead, he sits down beside her on the bed.
"You probably wouldn't have been able to do it, anyway," he says. "What were you going to do, cast a spell to make you remember stuff you never learned?"
Actually, the plan was to make her science teacher forget they were supposed to have a test. But now that he mentions it, Justin's way sounds even better.
"Something like that," she says, and instead of lecturing her, he laughs.
"Yeah, right," he says. "There's no way you could pull off a spell like that."
"What?" she asks. "Yes, I could."
"Alex, that's really advanced magic," he says. "Maybe you should wait until you've mastered basic spells first."
And maybe Justin should manage basic hygiene first. Seriously, baths cannot be sanitary.
"I could do this spell," she insists.
"No," he says. "You couldn't."
And, okay, she may not know that exact spell, but she did come across another interesting one when she was trying to avoid studying.
"Fine," she says, and stands up, drawing out her wand. "I'll prove it. Don't worry, don't fret, relax, forget."
She waits, wand still pointed, and after a minute, Justin blinks.
"I told you that you couldn't do it," he says.
Well, that's just great.
"Fine," she says, a little more bitterly than she meant to. "You were right. Happy?"
Justin just looks at her, and then he stands up, resting a hand on her arm. "Alex," he says. "I'm not going to tell dad about you cheating."
"You're not?" she asks. She's still waiting for the catch; things never work out this easily.
"I'm not," he says. "But you have to promise you'll actually study. And not use magic again."
"I promise," she says easily.
"And then you have to do it."
Oh.
"Fine," she says, eventually, because it's not like she really has any other option. "I won't cheat."
And maybe, she thinks, it will be that easy after all.
-
"Alex," her mom calls, and Alex grabs her bag and shuts the door behind her. She isn't running that late. Almost. Anyway, there's probably no reason to shout.
"I'm coming," she yells back, and when she gets downstairs, her mom is standing in the kitchen, holding lunches for Justin and Max, and five dollars for her. Perfect.
"Where's your brother?" her mom asks. "He's going to be late."
"Max?" Alex asks, and looks around. She can't smell him, so he's probably not here; she could have sworn he left already.
"Not Max," her mom says, looking concerned. "Justin."
And suddenly Alex understands the worried look. It's definitely not like Justin to be late for anything, least of all for school.
But if it means Alex is going to be late, too, she can't exactly say that she minds.
"Maybe I'll just wait for him," she says, and she expects her mom to argue, not for her eyes to light up like she just had an idea.
"Great," her mom says. "You go get Justin and make sure he's ready for school. I have get downstairs to the sub station. You know how your dad gets when he has to serve customers in the morning."
Or ever, Alex thinks, but by the time she can think to make a sarcastic comment, her mom's already gone.
Well, whatever. She's just pretty much been given permission to go in Justin's room, and if it turns out he left for school early and isn't there, well. Maybe she'll just have to look around a little. Just to make completely sure.
And, really, it's not like she expects Justin to still be in his room. Which is why she's a little surprised when she opens his door to find him standing right in the middle of it.
"Justin," she says. Damn. Well, she'll just have to come back and steal his stuff later. "Why are you still in your pyjamas?"
"What?" he asks, and seriously, what's up with him? He sounds like she does most mornings. "What are you -"
"Come on," she says, and sighs. As much as she'd love to be late for school - and to be able to blame it on someone else - if she and Justin don't leave soon, their mom's just probably going to come and get them, and she's pretty sure that somehow it's all going to end up being her fault. "We don't have time for this. Take those off and get dressed, we're supposed to have left for school already."
"Who are you?" he asks, and she rolls her eyes.
"Ha ha," she says. "Very funny, Alex wants to get to school early. Fine. Take your time. See if I care."
She was already planning on ditching the first couple of periods, anyway. She still has her science test this morning, and, well. She studied. A little. Enough to fulfill her promise to Justin, anyway.
Not enough to actually help her pass the test.
And with any luck, if she comes late, her teacher will mark her down as absent and let her retake the test. After she's studied or learned that stupid spell, whichever seems easier.
But Justin's still just staring at her, and, okay, she doesn't care about being late for school, but she does care that he's being way creepy.
"Justin," she says, finally. "What?"
He shakes his head. "Who are you?"
Yeah, he did this joke already, and it wasn't funny the first time.
"Justin -"
"Where the hell am I?"
And he's joking, he has to be joking. Except, well. He doesn't look like he's joking. At all. And Justin's poker face has never been that good.
And then, her stomach sinking, Alex remembers the spell. Which didn't work, except Justin's standing there, his face blank, and maybe -
Maybe it did work. Maybe it just needed a little time to kick in.
"Oh, no," she says. "No, no, no, no. Justin -"
This is not going to happen. Alex isn't going to let it happen.
"Justin," she says. "You remember. You have to remember."
And, okay, maybe she just needs to jog his memory a little. She can do that.
"Justin," she says. "Your name is Justin, and this is your room."
She looks around a little, searching for anything that might help, and picks up his Captain Jim Bob Sherwood honorary superhero wall plaque. Which she was planning on adding to her collection of Justin's favourite things from his room, but maybe this is more important.
"See?" she asks. "This is Captain Jim Bob Sherwood. And he's totally lame, but you love him, and you have an action figure, and a lunch box, and -"
She turns around again.
"- And robots! You like robots, and I have no idea why, but Justin, seriously, you have to remember me. And I'm sorry, okay, I used a spell that accidentally - sort of - made you forget. And if you were yourself right now, you'd be saying 'I told you so,' and you'd also probably know how to fix it, because you know how to fix everything, which is really annoying, but it also comes in really handy at times like these. Except you don't know anything, which means you can't help me, which means I'm going to have to fix this myself, only we can't let anyone see you like this because they'll all blame me and I've already been yelled at enough for one week. So."
And Justin's still looking at her, in a way that she has absolutely no idea what it means, and she just wants him to speak, to say anything. Even if he totally freaks out, because, okay, that was probably a lot of information to process.
"You're kind of a crazy person, you know that?" he asks.
Only he's kind of smiling when he says it, so, okay. They're probably okay.
And then he reaches up to pull his pyjama shirt off over his head, and that is no not okay.
"Justin," she says, before he can do something crazy like take his pants off, too. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting dressed," he says, like undressing in front of his sister is the most normal thing in the world. "We're late for school, right?"
Seriously, that's what he got out of all that?
"Right," she says.
"So ... didn't you want me to get dressed?"
Okay, yes, she did want that, but, like - he could at least turn around, or something.
And they should probably hurry up, because if their mom has to come up here to get them things are going to get a lot worse. Mostly for her.
So she turns around, instead, and she keeps her gaze firmly focused on Justin's desk until she hears him say, "Um."
And then she turns to face him, which. Was probably a mistake.
(She tries to ignore the warm flush creeping up her cheeks. It's just - it's been a weird day, okay?)
"I don't ..." he says, and gestures around the room.
Right. Clothes.
Sometimes, she has to admit, Justin being a complete dork comes in handy. Like now, when she swings the door shut and finds and entire outfit hanging on the hook behind it.
For his sake, she thinks she'll try to forget that part later.
"Here," she says, and hands him the clothes. And, like, it's not like she's actually looking at him, there just aren't a lot of other places to look. "Put these on. And hurry up."
-
"Alex," their dad says when they get downstairs, and Alex moves so she's standing in between him and Justin. Not that it's going to a lot of good, but it probably can't hurt, either. "I thought you guys left for school already."
"We're just leaving," she says, and before Justin can say anything, she takes his hand, and leads him hurriedly out of the sub station. For a second, their dad kind of stares after them, but then a customer says something and he turns around to deal with that, instead.
So, good. Okay. They managed to get out of the house. Which maybe isn't going to help them much if she can't reverse the spell before they get back, but at least it will buy her some time.
"Was that my dad?" Justin asks, once they're outside. He doesn't let go of her hand, but maybe that's for the best; the last thing she needs is for him to get lost somewhere in New York and to have to look for him all by herself.
"Yeah," she says. She tries not to say it in a way that implies he's stupid for not knowing that, because, okay, that's probably as much her fault as it is his.
Justin nods, like it's another puzzle piece or whatever he's putting together, which. Trust Justin to be a dork, even when he can't remember anything.
"Okay," he says. "So, where do we go to school?"
And Alex has to stop for a second, because, seriously, he thinks they're going straight to school?
Boy, does he have a lot to learn.
"Not so fast," she says, and she could swear that Justin's hand tightens around hers for a second, like there's still some part of him in there that instinctively rejects the thought of skipping school.
But he doesn't come right out and say it, so she can work with that.
"Come on," she says. "I'll show you my usual morning routine."
And - it's kind of a weird thought, but when Justin isn't being all ... well, Justin, it's kind of nice having him around.
-
They get to school just as her science class is letting out, and Alex breathes a sigh of relief. At least one thing is going well for her today.
"Alex," Harper says, coming out of the classroom, and Alex squeezes Justin's hand briefly before letting go. "Where were you? You missed our science test."
"Harper -"
"Anyway," Harper says, speaking over her. "I'm still not talking to you."
Right. The whole magic thing. She'd almost forgotten.
"Harper, wait," she says, and Harper doesn't leave, but she does cross her arm and tap her foot impatiently. "You have to be talking to me. I need you."
"You do?" Harper asks. Her voice sounds the same, but Alex thinks her expression may have softened, a little.
"I do," she says, and leans closer, hopefully just out of Justin's hearing. "Look, I accidentally used magic to erase Justin's memory, and I need help, okay?"
For a minute, Harper's face is blank, and then she almost smiles, in the way that Alex knows means she's messed up again and Harper's only humouring her, but whatever, she'll take it.
"Oh, Alex," she says. "I knew there was a reason I was still friends with you."
Which - is not good, maybe. But she'll have to save that for later.
"Life is never boring being your friend," Harper says, more thoughtfully. "So, wait, Justin doesn't remember anything?"
"Nothing," she says.
And then Harper looks from Alex to Justin, and she gets a look on her face that can't be good.
"Really?" she asks, and, yeah. Alex does not like that tone.
"Harper," she says, trying to shock her friend back into reality. This is so not the time to be taking advantage of Justin.
Or Alex would have done it already.
"Right," Harper says. "So -"
Then she stops suddenly, looking over Alex's shoulder, and Alex turns around.
Great. This is just what they need.
"Zeke," she says loudly, and moves up beside Justin again. "Hi, Justin's best friend Zeke."
"Hi, Alex," Zeke says, sounding a little confused, but Justin looks at her in a way like he's almost grateful. And, well, she's doing what she can. For her own sake, of course.
And then, before Zeke can start talking in some stupid alien language that Justin doesn't know any more, Alex turns back to Harper.
"You need to help me," she says. "I can't let Justin go to class like this."
Harper's expression shifts again, and Alex thinks she likes this one even less.
"Are you worried about Justin?" she asks.
"No," Alex says immediately. Because, just - no. As if she'd be worried about Justin. Even memory-wiped Justin. She just can't risk getting caught, is all. "Look, Harper, he doesn't know anything. And if anyone finds out -"
She's screwed, basically.
"You could just go home," Harper suggests. "Alex, maybe you should let your parents help you with this."
Yeah, because that not going to result in her being grounded for, oh, roughly forever. What she need is -
"Wait," she says. "Isn't there some big pep rally or something this morning?"
"But you hate those things," Harper says, looking a little nervous. Which is totally unnecessary; as much fun as messing with something like that sounds, Alex thinks she's probably in enough trouble already.
"Yeah," she agrees. "But I need to do something with Justin, and I can't just take him to class with me. Besides, we can sit there and make fun of the cheerleaders. What do you say?"
Except by the time she's finished, Harper's already gone, which. Fine. If Harper didn't want to help her mock people, she could have just said so.
And Alex starts to think that maybe she isn't that desperate, after all. But then she glances over at Justin and Zeke, and see's Justin's panicked stare as Zeke babbles some nonsense words at him, obviously expecting a response.
So, okay, she's totally that desperate.
"Come on," she says, and grabs Justin, pulling him away before things can get any worse. "We have a pep rally to go to."
Seriously, someone kill her now.
-
"Move it," Alex grumbles, making her way past a group of freshmen to find a seat on the bleachers. Justin trails behind her, his hand in hers, and she squeezes a little tighter, half afraid that if she lets go they'll both be caught in the crush.
Seriously, it's like people are actually excited to be here. And her parents wonder why she doesn't hang out with more people from school.
Finally, she finds a spot that's mostly empty, and sits down before anyone else can claim it. Really, she'd rather be sitting somewhere further in the back - like, where nobody is likely to see her - but right now, she's just glad she isn't surrounded by people any more.
"So," Justin says. "Pep rally."
"Yep," she says.
"Do ... do we usually go to pep rallies?"
And Alex has to laugh for a second, because, seriously. Even with amnesia, she can't believe Justin just asked her that.
"No," she says, finally. "This is a first."
"It's kind of ..."
If he says it's nice, she's going to have to kill him.
"Crowded."
"Yeah," she says. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
But then everyone around them abruptly sits down as something that's probably supposed to be music starts to play, and if they had a hard time getting in, Alex thinks it might be nearly impossible to get back out again.
So, whatever, they'll just wait it out. It can't be that bad, can it?
Less than a minute later, she has her answer.
"Wow," she says leaning closer to Justin to make sure he can hear her over all the yelling. "I'm pretty sure I'm in hell."
And he should probably give her a stern look or something, tell her that it isn't a crime to have school spirit and maybe she should stop being so judgemental, but instead, he laughs.
"At least I know the name of our school now," he says.
Yeah, but probably not how to spell it. Alex is pretty sure there's a cheerleader missing or something, because there's a gaping hole on one side of the routine, and when they used their bodies to spell out the name of the school, it came out as 'Tribea Prep.' Which even Alex is pretty sure isn't right.
Still, it makes them even easier to mock, so it's not all bad.
And it's not all bad, either, being here with Justin. It's kind of weird, like, he's still Justin, which pretty much means she should hate being forced to hang out with him. Except, when he isn't spending all his time being perfect and self-righteous and pointing out every single thing she does wrong, he's almost bearable to be around. And she doesn't even mind that they're kind of squished together on the bleachers, his thigh pressed against hers, even though there aren't that many people on either side of them.
And, okay, it's not like she's actually glad he has amnesia, or anything, because she kind of misses him, too. Like, not in a way where she actually likes him, just - she likes fighting with him, or whatever. It's normal, and she misses that.
She just sort of wishes ... well, whatever. It wouldn't suck if they got along sometimes, too, but she's going to find a way to fix the spell, so it really doesn't matter.
Anyway, she's probably missing valuable cheerleader-mocking time.
"Do you think -" she says, but she stops when somebody sits down on her other side. She turns, already preparing to tell them to move it or lose it, and reconsiders - barely - when she sees Max.
"Alex," Max says, and Alex drops Justin's hand hurriedly. Which, it's not like she actually liked holding his hand or anything she just - kind of forgot she was doing it. With the number of sweaty people packed into the gym, it was hard to tell the difference.
And it's not like it's a big deal, either way, but Max might think it's a little weird, so.
"Max," she says, hopefully loud enough for Justin to hear. "Hey, look, it's our brother Max."
Unlike Zeke, Max doesn't even blink at the overly detailed introduction. If anything, she thinks he looks kind of happy that she remembered.
But then she turns back to Justin, and he's sitting upright, almost frozen, staring at her.
And, okay, it's possible that having Max here might give them away. But - well, it's Max. So it's not exactly likely.
After a minute, Justin moves a little closer.
"What?" he asks. "It's really loud in here, I didn't hear you."
"I said -" she starts, but she's interrupted by Max elbowing her in the side. And right now, Max is annoying her more, so maybe she'll deal with him first. "What?"
"Hey," he says, and he looks ... almost thoughtful, for Max. "How come there's no ball? And why are all of the players wearing skirts?"
"Max," she says. "This isn't a game. It's a pep rally."
He still looks confused.
"It's -" She takes a breath, and reconsiders. "You know what? Never mind. Why don't you go get yourself a snack or something?"
"Okay," he says. "Can I have some money?"
"Sure," she says. "But I'm going to have to give it to you later."
"That's cool," he says.
"And I'm going to need you to pay me back in advance."
He sighs, but he hands over five dollars, and Alex pockets it before he can actually think about what he just did. Which maybe isn't a huge risk, but it's still better to be safe than sorry.
"Okay," he says. "But I'm getting two ice creams."
Okay, so, the extra precaution was probably unnecessary.
"Fine," she says. "Can yet me something, too?"
"After you gave me all that money?" he asks. "Of course."
She really loves her brother, sometimes.
And then she remembers Justin, mostly because he's tapping her on the shoulder.
"Who was that?" he asks, and she has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. If she's going to have to keep explaining things to Justin all day, this is going to get really tiring.
"That was Max," she says. "You know, our brother?"
And then he does that weird thing again where he gets all stiff and just kind of stares at her.
"Our brother," he says. "You mean, like, my brother, and your brother?"
"Yeah," she says. "That's kind of how these things work."
And she expects a blank look, maybe, or even some kind of recognition.
She doesn't expect Justin to stand up and leave.
And as much as it is kind of fun to see a bunch of girls in stupid outfits embarrass themselves in front of most of the school, Alex thinks she should maybe deal with that, so after a second, she gets up to follow him.
-
She catches up to Justin in the hallway, but even after she calls out to him, she has to tug at his arm before he'll stop.
"Justin," she says, and when he turns around, he looks - weird. She's not sure how, exactly, except there's something in his expression that definitely wasn't there before, and he's looking at her like ... well, she's not quite sure what it's like, but it's enough to freak her out, all the same.
Plus, there's the fact that he just stormed out of the pep rally without any warning, and she doesn't think it was because the cheerleaders couldn't spell.
"Justin," she says again, like maybe she's hoping that if she says his name enough times, it will snap him out of whatever's bugging him. "What's wrong?"
Not that, you know, she's worried about him or anything. He's just acting really weird, and she wants to know why.
But Justin just laughs, and not in a way like he thinks anything is actually funny.
And, okay, they're in the middle of the hallway, and maybe this conversation - whatever it is - isn't one they should be having in public. So she grabs his arm again, and pulls him into the nearest empty room she can find.
Which happens to be the girls' bathroom, and Justin looks around, looking even more panicked than before.
"Alex," he says, and -
Okay, she has to admit, she's a little relieved. Because he left so suddenly, and at least she knows it's not because he forgot everything all over again.
"This is the girls' bathroom."
"Yeah," she says, like, duh, she noticed. "Justin, relax."
"I'm not supposed to be in here."
"Whatever," she says. "It's private, okay?"
He doesn't say anything, but he glares at her in a way that's so familiar it almost hurts.
"What happened back there?" she asks, and she almost wishes she hadn't. He stops glaring, and his expression goes back to being all weird again.
"What happened?" he asks, like it should be obvious, but if it is, she's definitely missing something. "Alex -"
She waits. Almost patiently.
"We're brother and sister," he says, finally. Like it's some big revelation or something.
"Yeah," she says. "I know."
"I -"
She's still waiting for him to go on when, instead, he slides his arms around her waist.
And kisses her.
And -
Okay, so, maybe she kisses him back. Just, like, for a second, and mostly because he caught her by surprise. But then she steps back, pushing him away, and his arms drop to his sides hurriedly.
"Sorry," he says. Quietly, though the words sound louder bouncing off the tiled walls. He runs a hand through his hair, looking everywhere but at her, and Alex wraps her arms around herself a little, even though it isn't really cold in here.
"Justin," she says. And she's really not sure what to say after that, because, well. This is so not what she expected to happen today. "What -"
"I just ..." He swallows, and looks at her, finally. "I don't know what I'm doing, okay? I'm sorry. You just, you don't feel like ..."
And after a minute, she understands what he's trying to say. She doesn't feel like his sister.
Yeah, she gets that.
"Justin," she says, but before she can say anything else, he leaves, his hand barely grazing hers as he brushes past her, and the door swings after him.
-
Alex finds Justin after school, sitting on the steps, and he gets up when he sees her, his hands bunched into tight fists by his side.
"I didn't -" he says, and he isn't even looking at her, which hurts more than it probably should. "I didn't think I should go home without you."
And that's something, maybe.
"Besides," he continues, "I wasn't sure I could find my way back on my own."
Oh. Or maybe not.
"That's okay," she says, and it's the last thing either of them says before they get back home.
This time, she doesn't take his hand.
-
Their parents aren't there to greet them when they get to the sub station, which is a small blessing. Justin still hasn't looked at Alex since they were in the bathroom, and she tries not to mind, tells herself it's not like she wants him to look at her, anyway.
Mostly, she just wants things to go back to the way they were yesterday, to take back the stupid spell and this entire horrible day. Even if it means getting caught cheating on her assignment and being grounded and kicked out of school and spending the rest of her life working in the sandwich shop.
As unappealing as all of that sounds, it can't be any worse than this.
"I'm just -" she says, and, okay, it's not like she can really look at Justin, either. "I'm going to fix this."
She hopes.
"Just ... go to your room or something, okay? And try not to talk to anyone."
Justin doesn't say anything, just starts up the stairs, and when he pauses halfway, she says, "It's the one at the end of the hall."
So. Fixing it. Is what she's going to do.
She breezes past her dad in the kitchen with a muttered 'hello,' and shuts the door to the lair behind her with a sigh. She's not even sure where to start looking, exactly, so she picks a book more or less at random, takes a deep breath, and starts looking.
An hour later, she isn't any closer to finding a solution, and she picks up the next book.
It takes her four books and the better part of the afternoon before she finds something, and when she does, she sits up a little straighter, and then sags back down again in defeat.
She was looking for an answer, and she found one. Just not the one she was hoping for.
Still, it's better than not knowing, and she's halfway to the door when it opens on its own, and Justin comes in.
"Justin," she says, and glances at him briefly before looking away again. "I was just coming to get you. The spell -"
"Has to wear off on its own," he says, and it takes her a few seconds to realise she should be surprised.
"Yeah," she says slowly. "How did you -"
Then Justin looks at her, and -
"Because it wore off."
Oh. So that's good, right? She can't even really tell, any more; her stomach is churning, her lips tingling, and it's mostly difficult to sort any one emotion out of the huge, tangled mess.
Still, she's pretty sure she's relieved.
"Good," she says, and almost manages to sound like she means it. "So -"
"Alex, I -"
She stops at the same time he does, and when she looks up at him, he's almost smiling.
"You go first," she says.
"Okay," he says. And then he doesn't say anything.
Fine, she'll go first.
"I'm ..." she says, and really, it shouldn't be so hard to say this. She's apologised before, right?
But, okay, maybe she'll start with something easier.
"I didn't mean it," she says. "To get us into this mess, I mean. It was -"
"It wasn't your fault," he interrupts her, and, really? That's news to her. "I mean, it was your fault, but I don't blame you -"
"I didn't think it would work like that. I just thought -"
"- kind of goaded you into it -"
"- wasn't trying to -"
"- thanks for helping me -"
"- I should have explained that -"
"I'm sorry I kissed you," he says, and that's enough to shut her up. He's looking at her kind of wide-eyed, like maybe he didn't mean to bring it up, but she's glad he did, almost; not that it's exactly a fun topic of conversation, but just having it out in the open makes her feel like it's a little easier to breathe.
"Don't apologise," she says. "It was my fault -"
And, okay, the first one was her fault. Kind of. Because she probably should have explained the whole being related thing before she accidentally blurted it out, and maybe if she hadn't tried to be nice to him and just treated him the way she always did, it wouldn't have happened.
But then he kisses her again, and this time, it definitely isn't her fault.
Only, well. She thinks 'fault' might be the wrong word, because it doesn't exactly suck. Like, it's definitely weird, but so was the first time, and she kissed him back that time, too, so -
She's just begun to relax into it, to unclench her fists and grab onto Justin instead, when he pulls away.
For a minute, he just kind of looks at her, like he's trying to gauge her reaction, and then he says, like it's an explanation, "I didn't want things to be weird between us."
"Yeah," she says, and it's ridiculous, but she kind of has to concentrate to stop herself from smiling. "Because this isn't weird."
But, okay, it's probably no weirder than anything else that's happened today.
So she kisses him again.
And then stops, and Justin looks hurt and confused for about half a second before she says, "You aren't going to tell mom and dad about this, are you?"
"About what?" he asks, and then gestures between them. "This?"
"No," she says, maybe a little too quickly. "Not that."
And, okay, that too, but she doesn't think even Justin would be stupid enough to tell their parents that part.
"I mean, about the whole amnesia thing," she says. "And the 'using magic to cheat on my report' thing."
"Alex -"
"Justin," she says, and moves forward a little - as far as the limited space between them allows her to - and runs a hand down his arm. "Please promise me you'll forget about it?"
For a minute, he just looks at her, but instead of lecturing her about how of course he's going to tell their parents, and how she shouldn't be using magic without permission, anyway, he says, "Are you going to make me?"
Right now, that sounds like an excellent idea.