"Congratulations."
There was a moment of deafening silence before the Magic Lair exploded in pandemonium. All four teens fell into each others' arms in one massive group hug while Jerry and Theresa looked on. Jerry wrapped one arm around his wife.
"Not exactly the end you were hoping for was it?"
She shook her head. "You know I've never liked magic. But you see them all so happy, well, it's better like this. Really it is. It s who they are, including Juliet."
"Yes it is, but I hope for more from them. I don't think any of them are going to be Kelbo, just flitting from place to place depending solely on his magic. We'll see but I believe we raised them better than that."
Amazingly life seemed to settle back to normal in short order. School went on, lessons continued and everyone worked at the Sub Station. Juliet and Alex continued to keep their relationship under wraps, not because they were embarrassed but because revealing they were much more than cousins would lead to questions about Jerry and Theresa being Juliet's legal guardians. Even Alex had learned circumspection by now.
The school year drew to a close. Shortly before graduation Justin disappeared one Saturday. He was gone all day, not coming home until night had fallen. He looked very tired and very satisfied.
"Where have you been?" asked Theresa, with everyone else in the family nodding to show they wanted to know also
Justin slumped into a chair, yawned and looked around the kitchen. "Taking, and passing, my wizard exam. I am now a full wizard."
"What in the world?... When did this happen?... Why didn't you tell anyone?" A babble of voices broke out. Justin raised his hands in surrender.
"One at a time please. I got a notice from the Wizards Council the other day. I didn't tell anyone because, well," he looked embarrassed, "I was afraid that I might not pass."
Alex snorted. "As if that would happen." She got up and hugged her brother. "Justin, you need to have a little faith in yourself."
"So how was it?" asked Max. "After all, Alex and I and I guess Juliet too will be going through the exam sooner or later."
"Probably a lot later in your case Max," teased Alex. "But yes Justin. Tell us."
"The Council told me it will be different for all of us but I think the general format will be the same. There were questions about magic and its use and I had to demonstrate my ability to cast a number of different spells. Both the spells demonstrated and the questions I answered tended towards my role in our trio. So that will be different for each of us." He smiled and touched his chest. "The Head, the Heart," he looked at his sister, "And the Will," he nodded at Max."
"And Juliet, you were mentioned too. I have the feeling that your exam is going to be a more straightforward one, dealing with magical theory, responsibilities and then showing your command of magic. But I think that will be next year for you girls."
If the news of Justin's magic exam was a surprise an even greater one was delivered by the oldest Russo sibling a week later when he announced he had been accepted at the American university in Washington, DC to study at the School of International Studies there.
"Why go to college?" asked a puzzled Alex. "You can have everything you want with your magic, especially now."
"Because I want more than magic alone can bring me. Dad is right. As much fun as he is I don't want to be Uncle Kelbo. I want to learn about other places in the world and maybe help people who need it." He grinned. "And magic will play a part too. After all, where do you think I came up with the money to afford to do this?"
"Think about it Alex. Wouldn't you like to study Art somewhere? Somewhere new and different? What do you plan on doing with your life besides spending it with Juliet? And what does she want to do?"
Alex sighed. "I hate it when you make so much sense."
"You've got one more year of high school. Think about it and talk it over with Juliet."
Alex and Juliet did talk it over. They talked it over all summer and into the following school year. It felt strange having Justin away. Even before all the events of the past year Alex had always depended on her older brother to bail her out of the fixes she got herself into. She just hadn't let him know how much she depended on him. Strangely, now that he was in a different state she felt closer to him.
When Alex brought home her first report card her parents were floored.
"Alex, we're used to Juliet getting grades like this but my goodness. All A's and B's!" Her mother marveled.
"What's going on?" her Father demanded.
"I'm such a good influence on her," Juliet put in with a straight face.
"Yes you are," Alex gave her girlfriend a look that promised a LOT for later on before she answered her parents. "I've decided that I want to go to college. I want to study Art."
Jerry and Theresa looked as though they were both sandbagged. At the same time huge smiles spread across their faces.
"That's wonderful Alex," said her dad. "We're very proud of you."
"Yes we are," added Theresa. She turned her attention to their other girl. "What about you Juliet?"
"I'd love to go too, if I can afford it. I haven't decided on a course of study yet though."
"Oh there will be money somewhere for you both," promised Jerry.
College catalogs began to fill the girls' room. Juliet vacillated from one course of study to another, depending on what struck her interest at any moment. Then one lazy spring afternoon she said "Look at this one, Alex."
Alex only had to slightly shift position as the pair was sitting together in their armchair.
"The Savannah College of Art and Design," Alex read as Juliet handed her the catalog to flip through. "Nice, but why this one?"
"Look where it is, right in the heart of a restored Victorian district. It's not too large or too small a school. And this degree program," Juliet turned the pages, "Looks just like what I've been looking for."
"Let's go down and visit the college and the city," Alex proposed. Juliet agreed. They got up and Alex stuck her head out into the Sub Station. "Mom, we're going to go look at a college."
"That's nice. If you are going to be out after dark please call."
The girls clasped hands and recited the Transportium spell together, visualizing their destination. They materialized under the shade of a huge Live Oak tree in a flower covered square. It was busy enough that no one noticed them.
"Wow, this is lovely," admitted Alex.
The girls strolled around the area. They found the main building and obtained application forms. The school sprawled along blocks and blocks of the downtown area but they visited the bookstore, several classroom areas and a couple of galleries that showed works by the students and faculty. They also strolled around the area, discovered several student hangouts and looked into a couple of interesting apartments.
"This is great," enthused Juliet. Alex agreed and they headed back to the square where they had arrived.
"Hi there," came a voice as they settled on one of the benches to look through the application forms. They looked up to see a nice looking guy smiling at them along with a group of obvious college students.
"Hello," said Juliet.
"I'm Nick. Are you two new students?"
"Well, we're hoping to be," replied the teen ex-vampire. "I'm Juliet and this is Alex."
"It's very nice to meet you both," Nick smiled and shook hands with both girls.
"Nice Nick, as always, but I'm afraid you're wasting your charm, at least if you hope to be dating one of these girls anytime soon. I can tell they're both taken." A soft soprano voice came from a dark-haired girl in the group.
Far from being embarrassed the young man threw back his head and laughed. "The story of my life. Regardless, would the two of you like to join us for a cookout on the beach? I promise you that everyone will behave."
Alex looked past the young man at the girl that had spoken up, who smiled and nodded. She heard Juliet mumbling softly the words of a spell. She looked at her girlfriend who also smiled, indicating that she had found no evil intent among the group.
"We'd love to. Just give us a moment to call home." The duo stepped aside as Alex pulled out her cell phone. After a quick conversation with Jerry Theresa gave her okay as long as they were home by midnight. The girl who had spoken up offered them a ride with her and her roommate out to the beach and the girls accepted.
"How did you know that both of us were involved with someone?" Alex inquired of the dark-haired girl whose name turned out to be Kimberly.
The other girl laughed. "The same way I know that you two are involved with each other. You exchanged the same looks, the same touches that my roommate Nora and I do." Seeing the flustered looks Alex and Juliet gave each other Kimberly hastily reassured them. "Don't worry if you are not 'out'. No one but someone in your situation would have noticed it."
"Well, we haven't been public, except for our families," admitted Alex. "But we might change that if and when we come here."
"Nora and I are pretty subdued about our relationship too. We're not exactly committed to each other but we do have strong feelings and enjoy each other's company, in and out of bed. We're just not ready to settle down with anyone at all right now, girl or guy."
It took about twenty minutes to drive to the beach from the area of the city they were in. They got to meet Nora and found both girls to be people who were obviously going to be great friends the next year. The current students also assured the visitors that the guys that would be at the cookout would of course make passes at them but would stop at a "No".
The cookout was great. Nick proved to be able to grill hamburgers and hot dogs with the best of them. There was a little discreet beer and wine available but no one said a thing when Juliet and Alex opted for soft drinks. A CD player provided background music for eating and louder music for dancing later on in the evening. Once again, no one commented when Juliet and Alex chose to dance with each other.
There was a lot of talk, to which the girls listened eagerly. The current students filled them in on their life at the college; which courses to take, which professors to avoid, what were some of the many activities available to them. Nora turned out to be majoring in what Juliet was interested in and the other girl enthusiastically told her about the many opportunities for hands-on work, both in the city and elsewhere.
Eventually the talk died down and the music softened. Couples slipped away while a few remained in the dimming light of the fading fire. Juliet and Alex took the opportunity to walk down the beach hand in hand.
"This is beautiful," declared Juliet. Alex had to agree. The lights of the beach town were soft and they were shaded by the dunes thrown up between the buildings and the beach. A low half-moon swung so close they felt like they could reach out and touch it.
"Alex, I think we could be very happy here."
"I agree," the dark-haired wizard nodded. She stopped and drew Juliet into her arms. "Not just the city, or the college or even the people we have met. But everything rolled into one, with us together on top like a cherry on a sundae."
Lips met. The girls were all alone. The kiss became deep and passionate.
"Let's get off the beach." whispered Juliet.
"Into all that sand? I have a better idea."
There was a soft consultation and a giggled response. Four feet left the sand as the two girls carefully levitated into the air. They hung there, drifting into the shadows. Hands touched as eagerly as though they had been back in Alex's bed at home. Moans were barely stifled. Clothes were loosened and fingers touched nipples and more sensitive areas. Kisses never stopped as the two lovers floated away on the air as well as with each other.
What Alex and Juliet were never to find out, even when they became good friends with them over the next year, was that two pairs of eyes caught their ariel love-making. Kimberly and Nora had also slipped off to be by themselves. In the middle of their making out on a blanket hidden in the dunes they had lain silent and awestruck as the two wizard girls floated by over their heads.
"Think they could teach us how to do that?" whispered Kimberly after Alex and Juliet had disappeared.
"God I hope so."
The girls transported themselves home after thanking Nick and the rest of the group for a wonderful time and assuring them that they had a ride home. Neither noticed the amazed side-ways looks that Kimberly and Nora gave them.
Once they materialized in the Magic Lair the pair quietly crept upstairs, pausing only to gently wake up Alex's dad, who was fast asleep in a chair waiting for them. In the morning they sat down with the older Russos.
"Mom, Dad, we've come to a decision." Alex explained the visit to the college and the surrounding area. "Juliet is going to study Historic Preservation while I study Art."
"It's such a long way away," Theresa said wistfully. She shook herself. "But there will be holidays and vacations."
"And we always have the means to come home in a hurry if need be," Juliet reminded them. No longer did she or anyone else think of any place but the Russo household as "home".
"Juliet, you need to tell your parents."
"I will." she smiled. "It will be a bit of a relief. Dad keeps saying they want to move to Phoenix and this will give them an excuse."
The school year ended. Both girls took their exam and passed easily, being proclaimed full wizards. Professor Crumbs did take them aside and explain the advisability of using an invisibility spell if they were planning on floating through the air together again. Even Alex blushed.
The rest of the summer was spent getting ready for college. Both girls were accepted into their respective programs and a corner apartment was found in the same restored old building that Kimberly and Nora lived in. Justin had come home for the summer along with his girlfriend Nicole, a Filipino girl who had just won her family's wizard competition. They helped move furniture and set up the apartment.
Not surprisingly there was enough money to pay the girls' college fees, rent and give them an allowance. Jerry refused to say where it had come from. There was also enough to pay for a used car to take the girls South.
"After all, you can't teleport everywhere."
On a cool morning in the late summer the girls buckled their seatbelts and Alex started the car. They had already said their goodbyes inside, although moving curtains showed that the three remaining Russos were peeking out at them. Juliet looked over Waverly Place. Her gaze settled on the Sub Station and the house she had grown to call home.
"I'm going to miss this place," she said softly.
"I know sweetheart. So am I. But we'll be back often. And hey, think of the life we have ahead of us and the adventures yet to come." Alex leaned over and kissed her girlfriend.
Juliet smiled and lifted her hand, palm up. She conjured her ball of yellow light. In response Alex brought forth her ball of blue. Their fingers touched and the balls joined and shifted color, a reminder of their bond and their love.
"Life awaits us."
"Let's GO!"
(The End)
(Yes, this is the end, but only the end of this part of the story of Alex and Juliet. I have every intention of returning to them. In fact Tarantula has suggested a plot idea I really like and I plan to write of their college adventures. But other stories and characters are calling me so it's time to leave them together happy and looking forward to their future.)