A/N - Hey everyone. This is my second oneshot for WOWP. It's a sort of companion piece to 'His Weakness'. While that fic was in Justin's view, this one is in Alex's. You need not read the other fic to get this, since it can stand on it's own. But if you want, you can slip in those moments in between these. And if you do want to combine both, then I suggest you read that one first cos this fic deals with the aftermath. Also, for the benefit of this fic, in connection to the other, when Justin was going to leave for college, I assumed Alex was sixteen, and when he returned for his first break, I assumed she was seventeen.

Anyways, I do not own WOWP.

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When she was six, she had a doll named Caroline. She was pretty with long blonde curls, long dark lashes, and striking blue eyes. Her dress was made with the softest silk. Her shoes so shiny.

She cried when the dirty, stinky boys at kindergarden stole her precious Caroline. She had just fixed up her hair real nice. With shiny clips and everything. They didn't know how to brush her hair or fluff her dress.

Two days later, he brought her back. Her curls were no longer shiny, her dress no longer pink. She was dirty, and not pretty anymore. But she didn't care. She had Caroline back. He had dirt on his face and mud on his shoes. She hugged him anyway.. She knew he would get her back.

"Let go."

"You let go."

"It's mine, Alex."

"Says who, Justin?"

He stopped pulling at the book to glare at her. "You're not equipped to handle these sort of complicated spells."

She snorted, her fingers tightening around the object. "I can handle it just fine."

He raised his eyebrows at her, mocking her sarcastically. "And I suppose you want this book of spells to do good."

She faltered slightly. "If getting Sean to go out with me is doing good, then yeah. I'm doing tons of good."

"A love potion, Alex? Are you crazy? Have you learned nothing?" He pulled the book slightly towards him.

She pulled back. "I've learned tons. For instance, unless it's properly monitored, a love potion can backfire and.."

"With you casting it, it's bound to backfire."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Let go."

"No." He pulled the book. "I need it for research."

"What sort of lame research could you possibly need it for?"

"The kind of lame research that could very well put our family on a wizarding map."

She rolled her eyes. "We're anyway on a wizard map."

"Yeah." He said in an obvious tone. "Only as a family who's harbouring a future fugitive."

Somehow the way he looked at her was... She glared at him. "Cute."

He smirked. "I know."

"Fine. I'll let you have the book." She waited until he grinned victoriously. "But keep in mind that you getting this book leaves the forbidden spells untouched."

His grin fell as he tried to gage whether or not she was lying. Deciding that giving up this book was the lesser of two evils, he let go. "Okay. This book is yours. But you are forbidden from touching the book of forbidden spells. Again."

She snorted as she hugged the book to her chest. "Please. Do you actually think that I would listen to you?" Enjoying how his jaw locked in anger, she turned on her heel and practically skipped to her bedroom, unable to control her giggles.

When she was nine, her mother bought her a colouring book. It had numbers that told you which colour to put where. She never followed it. Green ended up as blue. Yellow as purple. Black was never used.

Justin tried to teach her how to do it right. But she never listened.

He was glaring at her. Okay, so she might have done that teensy weensy thing of going into his room (without his permission), pulling his stuff (without his permission), and ruining his project (again, without permission).

"Look. I'm sorry, alright? Just fix it."

"Just fix it?" He snapped as he held out his now broken robot. (Geez, like get a life). "I can't just fix it. Magic is forbidden, remember? And not to mention the project is due tomorrow."

"Psh! Dad forbade the magic. Not school." Come on. That was a loophole if she ever saw one.

He took a deep breath in an effort to calm down. "Maybe that's because school doesn't know about the existence of magic."

She winced. Boy, he was getting loud. She walked towards him and grabbed onto his shoulders. "Breathe with me."

He rolled his eyes. "Alex-"

"Shh. Now breathe in..." She waited until he took a deep breath reluctantly. "...now breath out.." He let out the breath, and she could feel his shoulders relax under her fingers. "Okay. So now, lets think. How long did it take for you do the project?"

His eyes narrowed, his shoulders tensing again. "The whole summer. I created that thing from scratch, Alex. Every knut and bolt was screwed in. If you knew how much of work I put in.."

"Shhh." She pushed against his shoulders, walking him backwards towards the couch. "Now lets breathe again and relax." She said in a soothing tone, and was happy to feel her brother listening to her. She pushed him gently making him sit on the couch. Unfortunately, he was still tense, sitting on edge, his eyes never leaving his broken project. Rolling her eyes, she slipped in behind him, her fingers moving around in soothing circular motions over his shoulders, neck and back. "Now.." She began again, copying the tone she's seen on many yoga informercials. "Why did Dad not want you to use magic?"

He sighed. "Because the project was assigned by school, not Wiztech. And since everyone else wouldn't be using magic, it would be unfair if I did." He sighed again, his shoulders tensing.

"Okay. So then, did you use magic?"

"No." He leaned into her slightly, allowing her fingers to gently brushed down his arms. "Since I spent all summer working on this stupid project which was near perfection and was definitely going to get me an A if it wasn't for my insensitive sist-"

"Okay." She interrupted pressing at a particular sharp knot between his shoulder blades. "Let's concentrate on good thoughts." She waited until he relaxed again. "So in other words.." She leaned into his back, her hands lightly running over his collarbone. "Dad wanted you do the project without magic. And you did the project without magic. I mistakenly broke it.." She ignored his snort as she leaned in, her lips practically brushing against his ear. "So then.." She whispered. "What's wrong with using magic to fix something that was created without magic? You did what Dad said. It's not your fault he didn't tell you what to do in case it broke after it was completed." She smirked as she pictured his thoughts at that moment. She lightly ran her hands back over his shoulders and back. "Think about it. You're not doing anything wrong."

He stayed silent for a bit. "You're evil, you know that?" He muttered, his voice low.

She shrugged, her shoulder digging against him. "I think it's a talent."

He relaxed even more against her. "I guess I did do what Dad asked me to do." He mumbled thoughtfully.

She nodded, her hands still moving against him. "Uh huh."

"And it was your fault. And when something is your fault, he expects me to use magic to fix whatever predicament you get yourself into."

Her eyes narrowed. "Easy there, fella." She wasn't that bad.

"Still... this doesn't feel right." Sighing, he grabbed her hands which were now across his chest and pushed them away. Standing up, he turned to face her incredulous features. "I'm going to tell Dad what happened. If he thinks it's okay to use magic, then it is." With a forlorn expression, he picked up the remnants of his project and headed to the lair.

Alex looked on dumbfounded. Was it just her? Or was it really hard to convert Justin to the dark side?

When she was eleven, she fell off a pony during a birthday party. Her knees and her elbows hurt. There was blood everywhere. Her older brother rushed to her side and held her. The pain left as he kissed her forehead.

Later, she knew. He healed her.

"This has to be one of the worst things you've ever done."

Her eyes found the floor. She didn't want to admit it, but the way her father looked at her (hurt/disappointed/sad) made her feel awful. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She felt like a little girl. She probably sounded like it too.

"It wasn't completely her fault." She looked up at her brother who looked resolutely ahead. His expression somber. "I helped."

She couldn't let him take the fall for this. "But-"

He quickly narrowed his eyes at her before facing his father again. "I should have been the one in charge. But I left Alex alone. I never should have."

"Justi-"

"She didn't know what she was doing." He interrupted, his back stiff as if he was waiting for judgement day.

Their father looked at her, then at him. He knew they were lying, but he probably didn't want to handle it. "Okay then. Your mother and I will discuss it and tell you what we decide." They stayed silent. Justin looking above his father's head, and Alex looking at her brother. Sometimes, she just didn't understand him. "Go to your rooms." Without a backward glance, Justin left. With a hopeful smile at her father, she followed.

She found him in his disastrous bedroom, picking up the once sealed action figures from the cluttered floor. "You shouldn't have done that. Dad won't be happy that you lied."

He kept his back to her. "I didn't lie." He picked up a brown leather-ed spell book, his fingers running over the faded golden emboss. "I should have been here."

She let out a frustrated noise. "You weren't supposed to be here."

He turned towards her. "Yes I was, Alex." His tone worried her. "Whenever you mess up, I have to be there to fix it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So you think I'm not capable of looking after myself."

"I never said that." He said calmly.

"You didn't have to." She snapped. "Thanks a lot for having faith in me, Justin." Before he could say anything else, she left. Slamming the door shut behind her.

When she was thirteen, a boy said that she was cute and asked her out. Justin said no 'on behalf of her' before he cursed the boy with multi-coloured pants.

It took her weeks to forgive him.

"Seriously? Is this how we're doing this?"

She stayed silent, turning the pages of her magazine as loudly as possible. Maybe the lack of noise from her might hint to him that she was so resolutely stubborn, her silent treatment was going to last some time.

"Fine. Be like that." He huffed as he grabbed the remote and settled onto the couch. After a few minutes, he switched off the tv in frustration and glared at her. "I don't get why you're upset with me. I didn't do anything." She sighed as if bored and turned the page. He watched her incredulously. "Okay. I tried." Standing up quickly, he tossed the remote onto her lap and left.

She glared at the offending instrument which could have easily hit her face taking into account Justin's lack of aim.

"Just so you know.." She rolled her eyes as her brother came back, guns a-blazing. "I was just trying to help." She kept her head down. "You're seriously not talking to me? Fine. Lets see how you handle the silent treatment." He stormed off. Okay, so she kind of felt bad for not talking to him for so long. Still, he deserved this.

"By the way..." He returned, and she hid her head lower, her eyes straining on the new fall shoes. Wouldn't he just leave already? "Happy birthday." She looked up just as he tossed a wrapped box onto the couch. She watched him march off. Turning, she eyed the package critically. If it was Max, she would have suspected a stink bomb. But since it's Justin... She removed the wrapping suspiciously to find the necklace she had been hinting at him (not so subtly) to get her for her birthday ever since they saw it at the mall four weeks ago. Smiling slightly, she decided that maybe today was the end of the silent treatment. It could be her treat for her birthday. Grabbing the delicate thing, she headed to his bedroom.

"So I'm guessing a thank you is in order." She breezed in, her eyes falling on his silent figure hunched over his desk. "You know the word thank you, right? It's Albanian, meaning.. You. There. Give. Me. Gift." She chuckled to herself. That was kind of funny. When he stayed silent, her eyes narrowed as she made her way to his side. He turned away from her, making her see red. Seriously? Is this how her brother was going to get back at her? What was he? Four? "Let me guess, you're giving me the silent treatment." His eyes squinted at the book filled with useless science like information. "Not that I'm complaining or anything..." She shrugged casually as she started walking around his room, hands behind her back just like how she used to do it as a kid. "...It's a rare occasion when you're not spouting out things like how Fahrenheit is two thirds the heat of Celsius..." She quickly glanced at him, noticing how his back stiffened and his jaw stayed firmly shut. "...or how humans are homos or something..." His fists tightened. "...or how the mathematical equation to gravity is equal to that of... what did our science teacher say?" She shrugged. "I think it had something to do with pie." She swirled around to observe her brother amused. Three... Two... One...

He jumped out of his seat to face her. "For your information, you do not call the levels of Fahrenheit and Celsius, heat, or homosapians homos or..." He stopped as he eyed her barely concealed grin. "You did this on purpose."

"Um... may-be." She batted her eyelashes at him. No one could turn that down.

Sighing, he rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "Why do I always fall for this?"

She shrugged. "Maybe you're adopted." He glared and she giggled. "Or maybe you're just not that great at the silent treatment like me and mom."

He let out a low breath. "Yeah. It's not like Max or Dad can stay mad either."

"Which is why you're my brother." She grinned as she pushed the chain against his chest. Surprised, Justin eyed the chain as he ran it lightly through his fingers. In response to his unasked question, she turned around and raised her hair above the nape of her neck. Their eyes met in the mirror. "You planning on helping me with this or what?"

Glaring at her, probably for good measure, he unhooked the silver thread and placed it around her. She watched him as he carefully placed it along her neck, his level of concentration fascinating her. She studied his features, so unlike hers. They had the same eyes, the same hair. Yet, she always thought of him as a different entity compared to the rest of her family. Even the way his eyes met hers in the mirror, his fingers still holding on to her, she thought that maybe, he felt it to. "There." He let her go, and she felt like she... kinda sorta.. missed the contact.

Turning to face him, she absentmindedly fingered the aquamarine stone pendent. "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome." A.K.A in Justin speak - All's forgiven.

When she was fifteen, Justin caught her red handed, answers in hand, ready to cheat on her history exam.

He tried to stop her. Hindered all of her efforts. But he never snitched on her.

It was.. awkward. He avoided her, she avoided him, and the family was none the wiser (sort of). It was like she couldn't bear him looking at her, which is ridiculous since the whole reason for her flashy clothes is to get attention.

"Justin."

He squeaked as he turned around slowly. Probably dreading talking to her or something. She rolled her eyes. What a dork. "Alex." He said curtly before making the move to walk around her.

She blocked him. "This is not working for me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He tried moving again, and she blocked him. Again.

"Psh! Yeah. Sure. And I'm a straight A student." He raised his eyebrow at her. "Oh you get my point." Taking a deep breath, she met his eyes. "We need to talk about this."

"Er.. no. We don't." He sounded panicky. "The last thing I need to talk about is how my little sister saw me..." He trailed off, his blush increasing.

Fine. So she might be blushing just a little bit too. "But what I saw is completely normal..."

He held his hand up. "Alex.."

"...and if you think about it... it's not like other people don't do it.."

He looked really uncomfortable now. His breathing was jerky, sweat covered his brow. "Alex..." Shaking his head, he pushed her to the side, and started moving towards the nearest exit. "We shouldn't talk about this."

"I do it." He stopped in his tracks. She felt the blush creep further up her body as he eyed her incredulously. "You... do it?" Why did she tell him this again? Oh yeah, the shock factor.

She shrugged in an effort to look casual. "Sometimes... Yeah. It's no big deal."

He looked like a deer caught in headlights. He had no idea what to do with this information. "I...um... you..." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't..." He still wasn't looking at her.

Rolling her eyes, she marched up to him. "Would you relax? Everyone does it."

He squeaked again. Did she mention that he was such a dork? "Okay then." He said slowly. "We never speak of this again. Agreed?"

She crossed her arms and eyed him. "I don't know... what do you think Harper would say if I told her-"

"Alex!"

She sighed. "Fine. I won't tell anyone. Happy?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Also swear that you will not text, email, sign, write or billboard what we talked about."

How did he know? "But Justin.." She whined. He glared at her. "Fine. I swear I won't text, email, sign, write or billboard what we talked about." She deadpanned.

"And sky writing is out too."

"Seriously?" He glared again. "Fine." She snapped. With a satisfied nod, he started walking away. "But Harper is going to be insanely disappointed when I don't tell her." She yelled after him.

When she was sixteen.... she kissed her brother.

She groaned. There has to be a remedy for awful headaches. Wait. Magic. House full of wizards. Oh yeah. She grinned into her pillow, suddenly remembering the perks of her life. Groaning again, she lifted her head reluctantly and turned over. Sighing, she opened her eyes, then froze. This...was not...her room. Fully awake, she shot up in bed and looked around. Justin's room? She was in Justin's room? Why? Then, just like one of those horror films where you suddenly realize who has been trying to kill you all along (lets face it, it's always the good guy) it all came back to her. She had gone out with some friends (acquaintances) who had dared her into trying out this new beer (totally rad, Russo. Try it) and she came home and... Her eyes widened. She didn't! Did she? Her memory says that she totally did, but... her own mind is never reliable. Groaning, she fell back onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow. "Please don't let it be true."

Deciding it was time to get out of her brother's bed, and his bedroom, she shakily stood up. The combination of her headache and the memories from last night putting a damper on her mood. The question of 'where is Justin?' lightly flashed before she was insanely happy not to see him this morning. Who knows? Maybe there's a chance she didn't kiss him last night, and it was all a dream. A bitter, twisted dream.

She tiptoed out of his room, mentally forgetting that she wasn't prone to waking anyone who is not currently in the same room. She opened the door slightly and looked both ways. The coast was clear. Biting her bottom lip in concentration, she opened the door fully and stepped out, closing the door behind her. It took her one second, just one second to turn around and come face to face with... "Justin."

He stood, frozen. "Alex."

She looked down. Maybe it didn't happen. Breathing deeply, she looked up again, and was rewarded by seeing him suddenly looking away as his arms wrapped around his chest a tad bit defensively (come on. Who where's such a tight t-shit to bed?). Yeah. He looked uncomfortable.

"So I better..." She gestured. Pointed. Maybe a peace sign was thrown in there.

"Yeah. You better.."

She nodded. He nodded. And yet...neither moved. Her eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm going." She took a few steps forward and noticed him stiffen. Slowly, she moved towards him, but he kept blocking her way, his eyes staring at anything but her face. "Justin."

"What?" He asked suddenly, as if startled. "Yeah. Sorry." He moved to the side.

With a quick glance towards him, she practically rushed to her bedroom and locked herself in. From the way he looked at her, she knew. She kissed her brother. She kissed Justin. Falling onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling. There has to be some spell that can undo this. There has to be.

When she was seventeen... she kissed her brother. Again.

It hurt. It physically hurt to breathe. She tried to control the sobs. She tried, but the stupid tears just wouldn't stop. It was like something was twisting inside her and she couldn't grasp the breath she needed to breathe. She just needed to breathe.

When the front door opened, she looked up startled. Her reflexes were quick as she stood up from the floor and ran towards the staircase. She couldn't look at him. Not now. Not after what they just did. She thought he had left. She hoped he had left. But he stopped her, his hand grabbing onto her. "Alex-"

"Let me go." She tried to fight him, but he pulled her into a hug, his grip like an iron vice. She continued to struggle. "Let me go." She whispered, the sobs choking out of her.

He buried her head against him, his hands moving in soothing circles across her back. "I'm sorry." He whispered against her hair, his voice cracking. "I'm so so sorry."

She couldn't breathe. She grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer, burying her face against his neck. He let her cry, his warm embrace just making her feel worse. Wasn't this what she was fighting against all those months? That gnawing feeling that something had shifted between them, something big. She felt his lips moving against her neck and shoulder as he apologised over and over again. But she knew it wasn't him.

This was all her fault.

When she was eighteen... she grew up.

He was at the door, and she couldn't help but smile. He was such a stickler for punctuality. "Hey."

"Hey." He looked down the hallway of her apartment building, nervously. "Your roommate left?"

She shrugged as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door, this dance familiar to her. "Yeah. Her lecture is at three, remember?"

He nodded to himself as he glanced down the hallway again. "Yeah. I remember." She rolled her eyes. This need to discuss things in the hallway? She didn't get it. "I just.." He looked at her then, and suddenly he was no longer iffy or unsure. "Can I come in?"

Nodding, she moved aside. He walked in, barely glancing in her direction. She closed the apartment door behind him, her fingers attaching the locks she had installed because of these visits. Within seconds, he pulled her to him, kissing her enthusiastically. She held onto him, her fingers twisting in his hair, her own lips responding earnestly. They hadn't seen each other in four days. The longest time apart since the beginning of the school year. His hands easily slipped under her top, as his lips traced a trail along her jaw line and down to her neck. He bit her lightly, earning a groan from her as she arched into him. She had missed this. She had missed how her fingers could roam across his toned arms. How her palm could just feel his heart beating against his chest. Her hands moved lower, and she grinned into the kiss when she felt his breath hitch when she lightly brushed her fingers against him as she tried to unbuckle his belt. 'Tried' being the operative word.

"Alex.." He breathed out as he pulled her hands away from him. "We discussed this."

She moved back, surprised. "You discussed this. But I'm ready."

"You're not."

Her glare was deadly. "How do you know what I'm feeling?"

He sighed, frustrated from a topic that hadn't still quit. Grabbing the back of her neck, his eyes met hers. "If we do this, there's no going back. You get that, right?"

She mirrored his position, hoping to just get him to understand. "The fact that I want to do this, proves that I don't want to go back. You get that, right?"

"Alex-"

"Justin." She pulled him closer. "I know we don't talk about this or our family." He tried to look away, but she kept her eyes focused on his. "But I.." She looked down, watching as she played with a button on his shirt. "..I kind of like what we are, and..." She looked up at him again. "I want to move forward."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You have no idea how much I want to, but that's crossing a line."

"A bigger line than our daily visits?" He looked away again. "Look, I know that this is new territory, for both of us. But what's wrong in doing something that feels natural?"

His eyes held such pain, and she didn't like it. "That's the thing. It shouldn't."

"But it does." He tried to move away from her, but she held firm. "Please Justin." She moved her face towards his, her lips barely an inch away from his. "For once, give in."

His eyes fell to her lips before it met hers. "I can't. I've been giving into whatever this is for nearly a year. I can't do that to you, Alex."

This was not how she pictured this going. Feeling her throat close up, she stepped away from him. "Then leave."

The air seemed to have been punched out of him. "What?"

Crossing her arms protectively around her, she faced him, her expression as neutral as possible. "I'm not going to be part of something that's 'wrong'. And I know that you don't want to be either. So, leave."

He stood there, surprised, shocked, maybe hurt. "You're giving me an alternative." He didn't sound like he believed her.

Shrugging, she headed towards the door and placed her fingers on the lock. "I'm telling you what I want." He continued watching her in surprise as she unlocked the door and threw it open. "Well? Are you leaving?" Alex felt hope rise in her chest as he continued to stare at her. Maybe, just maybe, her brother would for once, take a leap of faith.

"Fine." He whispered softly, and Alex could swear her heart stopped. She watched in amazement as he started for the door, feeling the sting behind her eyes. Times like these, she was really close to slapping some sense into him. Actually, considering that he just basically said that they were done, a good ol' slap seemed just what the doctor ordered. But instead of walking out, Justin closed the door and faced her.

"So this means..." He didn't let her finish as he instantly grabbed her, kissing her roughly, his hands pulling her so close she felt crushed against him. She responded eagerly her own hands fisting in his shirt. Within seconds, he had gotten rid of her top, and she, his shirt. Without so much as removing his hands or lips from her body he moved her over to her single bed and dropped her down unceremoniously, falling on top of her. Their breathing was laboured, their movements hurried and far from gentle. But she didn't care. She kissed him savagely, her teeth pulling on his bottom lip occasionally, her legs moving against him. Pausing slightly, he met her eyes seriously.

"Are you sure about this?" The thing is, he shouldn't really be asking such questions while he lightly caresses her bare stomach.

She nodded, ready. "Yes." She breathed out before pulling him down for another searing kiss.

No one at college knew he was her brother anyway.

When she was five, she and Justin played wizards and aliens and he mistakenly knocked her over. She cried. She didn't like falling down. Justin knelt in front of her and stared. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." She hiccuped, pulling her legs closer. Putting his hand forward, he lightly touched her. "You know I could never hurt you, right?" She looked up at him curiously.

"You could never hurt me?" She sniffled.

He shook his head as he sat down next to her and pulled at her hair. "You're my sister. I'll always protect you, like Superman."

She smiled up at him. "Promise?"

He nodded as he handed her the toy wand she dropped. "Promise."

A/N - About this fic. I thought I'd add a bit of fun for the 'situation' that Alex caught Justin doing. Let your imagination run wild. Although I did have a specific thing in mind when I wrote it ;P.. Also, this is a new type of writing style I thought of trying. It's sort of how a connection between then and now. Anyways, please tell me what you think :) - And I'm so sorry this is so long (sheepish grin)