Each word Nate sang, his angelic voice hitting notes most teenage boys normally shouldn't hit, hypnotized Alex tremendously. She loved the way his face would scrunch up, and how his eyes would close and he would get lost in the music. Her eyes never left him, completely missing the fact that Shane was trying to impress her. When they finally ended the song with a short guitar solo from Jason, Alex and Harper were left amazed. Alex didn't talk; she just smiled and looked dreamily at Nate. Harper on the other hand jumped up and down excitedly, saying how awesome and perfect the song was. The boys filed out the door, each grinning their perfect teeth, (minus Nate, who used a close-lipped smile), happy the girls loved the song.

"-and your voices were so smooth, the way they blended together..." Harper continued to ramble.
"If I may interrupt for…just a second." Jason said politely. Harper nodded and closed her mouth. Jason continued. "We're glad you ladies like it. You're actually the first people to hear that song." Alex and Harper shared a look.
"Seriously?" Alex asked, shocked. From what she read, the articles in her magazines that were unfortunately Gray-related, they always consulted their parents with songs.. Shane nodded.
"Yeah. It's actually, well, an experience Jason here went through…." He drifted off. Jason bowed his head down, embarrassed Shane brought up the topic.
"Really? Wha-" Harper began but Alex cut her off by placing a hand on her shoulder. Harper got the hint. She didn't want to press for more information if Jason was uncomfortable with the topic.
"So…" Alex began, breaking the awkward silence. "Who's up for a movie?!" She said enthusiastically. Everyone's mood brightened up.
"We've got a lot of DVDs to choose from." Nate warned.
"Well then, we've got a lot of searching to do." Harper compromised. The five of them quickly scampered out of the room, and the girls followed the brothers to their media room.
xXx
By the time it was 9:30 PM, the group was on their second movie, and Alex and Shane were asleep. The big room consisted of a 60 inch plasma screen TV, sweet stereo system, DVD and CD collection, and two decent-sized leather couches. And, of course, a chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Alex sat between Harper and Nate, and Shane and Jason were on the other couch.
Nate glanced down at the sleeping Alex on his shoulder, and smiled to himself. He remembered the many times Hannah had done this to him…and suddenly the smile was gone. Nate ran his hand through his hair, upset at himself rather than Hannah. He needed to stop reminiscing in his mind, to let go of the past. If only it were that easy.
Suddenly Alex stirred, and she twisted her body to the point where her head was now up against the couch, and her body curled into a ball. Nate was slightly depressed that she had moved away from him, but at the same time relieved. Probably an hour passed by while he was stuck in that position. Right after the first movie…
The end credits for Pirates of the Caribbean were rolling while Shane picked out another movie to watch. Nate gave Alex directions to find the bathroom, and a few minutes later she returned. The beginning of the new movie was slightly boring, more boring than most, and Alex was getting sleepy. Without realizing it, she began to nod off, and her head rested on Nate's shoulder. She shot up, completely embarrassed..
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" She whispered. Nate chuckled.
"It's okay, you can put your head back if you want." He offered. Alex smiled and returned to her former position.
Before she dosed off once more, she whispered, "Your shoulder is really comfy." Making Nate smile.
Jason lowered the volume with the remote and said slightly above a whisper, "Who else agrees this movie is beyond boring?" Harper and Nate raised their hands, gladly taking their gaze off the TV. Jason got up off the couch, making sure not to wake Shane, and sat on the floor a few feet in between the couches. Harper and Nate followed Jason's lead, and they formed a triangle on the ground. By now Harper had gotten used to being around her favorite band, and realized they were indeed just like regular guys. Those magazines weren't lying.
"Lucky ducks." Harper said quietly, glancing from Alex to Shane. Jason smiled, nodding in agreement. Nate yawned and they both glared at him. He smiled uneasily.
"How come you're not out cold? I figured the jetlag would make you exhausted by now." Jason questioned. Harper shrugged.
"I guess 'cause my parents take me on so many trips, I'm used to it." There was a silence, each collecting their thoughts and wondering what to talk about. Not surprising anyone, Jason was the first to speak up.
"So who thinks Shane should get a tattoo across his forehead saying 'I like Alex'?" He said smugly. Nate scoffed and Harper let out a short laugh.
"He would need to get it removed by next week when he meets someone new." Nate replied. Don't get him wrong; Nate loved his brother. It was just a simple fact that Shane was known to chase after a lot of girls.
"I think the real question is if Alex can make it any more obvious she likes Natey over here." Harper joked. Nate's cheeks flushed a shade of pink, though it wasn't visible due to the only light coming from the TV.
"Man, Harper's right. She was all over you, Nate." Jason said, grinning at his younger brother. Did he say pink? He meant his cheeks were now red.
"Wh-what? Seriously?" Nate stuttered.
"Uh, yeah." Harper stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It actually sort of was.
"And it seems like you are crushing back, my friend." Jason said. Nate felt his heart beat quicken and thought he was in a sauna from the sudden heat on his face. "You should ask her out, man!" Jason patted his brother on the shoulder. Harper nodded encouragingly.
"Alex hasn't had a boyfriend since Riley, and it turned out he was a total jerk!" She added. Nate thought for a moment.
"Well, what about Shane? He likes her too, and that breaks the guy code." Nate argued. Jason scoffed.
"He'll get over it. And besides, you said so yourself, he's going to end up liking another girl by next week."
"Well, y-yeah, but…oh fine. I'll ask her out." Nate said quietly.
"Yay!" Harper squealed, then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Alex stirred, but remained sleeping. The three turned their heads to look over at Shane, who was slowly waking up.
"Quick, pretend you're asleep!" Nate whispered. They all squirmed around to lying-down positions, shutting their eyes and Jason faked a snore.
"Uhm, guys?" Shane spoke up. They peeked their eyes open a smidge. "Seriously, I know you're awake." All three sighed and sat up. Shane stopped the movie. "Well, I guess it's time to hit the hay."
"Should we wake her up?" Nate said, pointing at Alex. Harper shook her head furiously.
"Unless you want all your hair cut off, I would recommend not bothering her when she's sleeping." She warned.
"Well, night guys." Shane said and exited the room. Everyone was left puzzled. What was up with Shane?
"Uhm…anyways, how about you carry her up Nate?" Jason suggested. Nate stared at Jason.
"Dude, are you serious?" He asked.
"Oh c'mon. Look how skinny she is. All you have to do is bring her upstairs and put her on her bed. We've slept in jeans before, it wasn't that uncomfortable." Nate sighed.
"Fine.. Night guys." He gave Jason a high-five and Harper a quick hug. They disappeared upstairs, leaving Nate with Alex. He sighed once more, then bent down and picked her up bridal style. Wow, she is light. He thought. Or maybe it was all the muscle he'd built from playing guitar. Either way, it wasn't that hard to carry her up the stairs. Once Nate reached Alex's room, he gently laid her down on the bed. His hand found its way to her face, brushing a strand of hair back to reveal more of her beauty. With the moonlight shining in from the sliding glass door, it illuminated the room and made Alex's face the most gorgeous thing Nate had ever seen.
"Goodnight Alex.." He whispered. As he got up to leave, he turned around, leaned down, and kissed her cheek. Then he quickly walked out of her room, leaving a smiling, sleeping Alex.
xXx
A loud bang, followed by a, "Crap!" woke Alex up. She looked around and realized she was in her guest room, still in her clothes from yesterday. Light was just starting to shine into the room, and Alex frantically checked her pockets for her phone. She groaned once she came up empty. Getting off her bed, she sluggishly moved to open her door. She could hear people talking downstairs. Ugh I am so tired. Whatever, I'm going back to sleep. Alex thought before stepping back into her room.
"Crap!" Shane yelled. He looked at the pot on the floor that had just almost knocked him unconscious. "Talk about a booby trap." He mumbled. Jason walked up next to him and joined Shane in staring at the pot.
"Well, are you going to pick it?" He asked. "It doesn't bite." He joked. Shane shot him a glare and picked up the black dish and placed it on the counter.
"Dude, what the heck are you doing?" Nate asked as he walked into the large kitchen.
"Well, I was going tohelp Jason make breakfast, but I don't want to risk any more injuries." Shane answered, taking a seat on a stool. Jason rolled his eyes as he turned on the stove and pulled a pan out of the cabinet. As Jason made breakfast, Nate and Shane sat half-asleep, Nate's head resting on the counter top.
"Do you guys want to go wake up Harper and Alex?" He suggested as he flipped a pancake. They shrugged and started walking towards the stairs.
"Hey Nate," Nate turned his head to look at his brother. "I uh, heard what you said last night. About Alex." Nate opened his mouth to answer, but Shane continued to talk. "You're right. I will probably find some other girl in a matter of days, and I bet you like Alex more than I do."
"Really?" Nate asked cautiously. Shane shook his head yes. "So…you're not mad?"
"Nope. Now, go get your girl." Shane winked as he headed toward Harper's room, leaving his little brother to go get Alex.
Nate took a deep breath and walked down the hall that led to Alex's room. He felt tingles shooting up in his insides, making the timidity he's experiencing even worse. Nate bit his lip, cursing himself a bit. He couldn't believe how nervous he's feeling. All he was doing was waking a girl up. It shouldn't be that hard—or nerve-racking.
Nate slowly twisted the doorknob open and entered the guest room, slowly walking towards the bed. Nate couldn't help but smile as Alex lay there, sleepily heavily yet peacefully. As he was about to gently shake her awake, Nate remembered what Harper said last night about how Alex hated when people woke her up. And something about hair loss. Nate patted his signature curls before staring down at Alex, scared, wondering how he should wake her up without…waking her up.
Nate leaned down next to her ear. "Alex," he whispered. He quickly ducked behind the bed just in case she actually did wake up and she caught a glimpse of him. Nate heard her stir and shift on top of the bed, groaning silently. Alex faced onto her side and cuddled deeper with the pillows that surrounded her.
Nate sighed and stood up straight. He scratched the back of his neck, wondering how he should do this without putting his precious hair in the danger zone. Nate carefully sat on top of the bed, next to Alex and began to rub her arm softly. "Alex, it's time to wake up." He whispered, though is voice sounded like a fearful squeak.
Alex groaned again. She turned to the other side and faced Nate. She unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him, thinking that he was one of her pillows. Nate stiffened. He could feel his heart rate increase dramatically as Alex nuzzled her face into his shirt, muttering incoherent things in her sleep. He managed to smile, thinking how unbelievably cute she looked while she slept.
Suddenly, Nate's stomach began to grumble loudly. He frowned and slapped his forehead once he saw Alex's eyes slowly flutter open. Why couldn't breakfast be later? He mentally complained.
Alex looked up sleepily at Nate. She yawned and continued to nuzzle into Nate's shirt, still thinking that it's a pillow. "Good morning, Nate," she muffled. Nate smirked, trying to hold in the laughter inside of him. It took seven seconds for Alex to realize what she was doing. "Oh my God, I am so sorry!" she squealed embarrassedly, immediately jumping off of the bed.
Nate laughed and slid down the bed, leaning against the wall. "No problem. Breakfast is ready." He smiled. He winked at Alex whom was blushing madly. Nate headed towards the door. He stopped and turned around. It's now or never. He thought. "But before we go down to breakfast, I need to ask you something." Alex looked at him, waiting for his question. "Wanna go out with me?" he asked.
Alex blinked, not knowing if those words actually came out of Nate's mouth. She almost asked him to repeat himself once that sentence processed into her mind. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "Nate Gray wants to go out with—me?" she asked, but really she was talking to herself, wondering if she was dreaming.
"I mean, if you don't want to then that's fine—"
"No, I want to!" Alex blurted out. Nate smiled again, causing Alex to feel mortified one more time.
"Great then…I guess I'll pick you up later in the afternoon?"
Alex smiled, feeling confident for the first time today. "Sure," Nate closed the door behind himself, leaving Alex to sigh dreamily and collapse onto her bed. She closed her eyes and smiled, feeling a wave of joyful emotions hit her. Her mornings have never been so pleasant.
"Are you Alex Russo?" a voice called. Alex instantly stood straight up. She curiously eyed her room before speaking up.
"Depends. What did Alex Russo do?" she asked into the air, wondering who the heck was contacting her and how. But did it scare her? Psh, no. Alex was used to all of the strange things to be scared.
Suddenly a man appeared in front of her with a wide and smug smirk on his face. "Well today is your lucky day because you are going to get your first wizard training from me, Benjamin Bartley. I was an old colleague of your father's and he asked me to train you while you stayed her in California." Alex rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Aw, why now? I didn't eat breakfast yet!" she whined. Benjamin rolled his eyes as well.
"Well too bad because you're going to be busy the whole day." He said, though his voice did not sound sympathetic whatsoever. Alex glared at him, already disliking him. She then widened his eyes once she realized what he said.
"Wait, the whole day?" she asked worriedly. Benjamin nodded, raising an eyebrow at her. "No, I have a date with Nate Gray!"