A/N: What's this? An update? I hope you guys enjoy it, and hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than a year from now.

Chapter Two: Sometimes It's Just Wet Dirt

It had been two weeks since Alex staged her little fiasco, and, just as Justin had predicted, she'd escaped without so much as a scratch to her social life. Dad hadn't even grounded her for a week. It was utterly ridiculous. In fact, it was so incredibly distracting that Justin had to put the book he was reading down on the bed next to him and cover his face with a pillow to keep from exploding.

Alex had a decidedly different view. She was currently down in the Sub Station relaying the tale of her "romantic escapade" to Harper, who was listening with the same rapt attention that she had the first five times Alex had told it.

"There I was, hanging out the window, clinging to the makeshift rope for dear life. I was a good thirty feet off the terrace, and I knew that if I didn't fall in just the right way my body would be nothing more than a crumpled up mess of bones and flesh on the concrete." Harper sighed, ever more impressed with Alex's heroic feats. If only she was that daring.

Theresa sighed too, but it was definitely more out of annoyance than adoration. Every time her daughter told that story the window got higher and higher up, the rope got shorter and shorter, and her athleticism became more and more superhuman. The girl lived one floor above the terrace, for goodness sake. The window couldn't be more than fifteen feet away. Add in the rope, and it was a fall that Alex could walk away from completely unscathed.

Theresa also couldn't believe that Mason had eaten the entire pie after everyone had gone to bed. Sure, better him than Jerry, but still! She never said anything to him about it, because the boy had always had good manners as far as she was concerned. She was just so shocked when Jerry came back to bed, telling her with cherry-scented breath that Alex was back in her room and that Mason had eaten the pie. It was just so – cherry-scented breath?

"JERRY!"

"Uh-oh," Jerry said aloud. He wondered what he'd done this time. Maybe Theresa figured out where the pie had really gone two weeks ago? Nah, he'd covered that pretty well with the story about Mason. Besides, it's not like there was any evidence to incriminate him. However, if Theresa was calling his name like that then he was definitely in trouble. Deciding to pretend like he didn't hear her (how could he not?) Jerry turned up the volume on the radio and continued slicing lunchmeat for the sandwiches.

Max, who was sitting at the counter and watching his father work, had a sudden urge to get up and leave. Strange how he got that urge whenever dad tuned into the oldies station. Whatever, Max had more important things to do. First, he had to go check on that new variety of mold that seemed to be growing under his bed. It was purple and it moved, sort of like it was breathing. It was nothing at all like the other types of mold he had growing in his room, and he was excited to poke it with different things and see what happened.

When he got up to his room, however, he could still hear Dad's obnoxiously loud music. There was no way he could concentrate on his mold with that assaulting his ears. Max hooked his mp3 player up to a pair of speakers he had gotten for Christmas and cranked up the volume, easing into the familiar sounds and setting to work on turning his mattress over.

Justin almost screamed. He had been trying to return to his book when a strange mixture of guttural sounds, whistles, and animal noises came screeching from the wall that divided his and his brother's bedrooms. Fearing that his IQ might actually suffer from long-term exposure to the nonsensicle "music," Justin burst out of the room and stomped down the hall. He flew down the stairs into the Sub Station and made for the door, stopping only to grab his hat, scarf, and coat.

It was a blisteringly cold March day, but Justin was glad for the fresh air. All he had wanted to do was spend his Saturday reading a good book, but his annoying siblings had managed to nearly suffocate him with their obnoxious ways.

Not wishing to waste his time away by thinking about them, Justin banished his thoughts and decided to get some coffee. He really didn't like coffee; it was bitter, too strong, and it always seemed to be hotter than necessary. If he waited for it to cool, it got too cold and tasted like wet dirt. Then again, this was New York. It probably was wet dirt.

At the very least, it would take his mind off of Alex and Max. Feeling his cheeks beginning to tinge in reaction to the cold, Justin hurried his steps until he was outside his favorite coffee shop. It was family-owned, and very cozy. It was built to look like one of those town-homes in the older part of the city, the ones that were all built right next to each other with big windows and little gardens in the front, enclosed in wrought iron fences.

His favorite parts were the windows, which were seated above raised platforms covered in pillows and blankets. They made excellent reading spots, and the owners had basically reserved one solely for him because of the frequency of his visits.

Justin knew that the owner's daughter had a crush on him, but he'd never had the guts to act on it. She was a pretty brunette with a sharp wit and a kind heart, and every time she spoke to him he would freeze up. She thought it was cute; he thought it was terrifying, and thoroughly wished she would stop doing that.

Today was no different. He was curled up against the window, his coffee in one hand, his book in the other, when she nudged his feet, trying to get him to move a little so that she could sit next to him.

"I don't want to be rude, but not right now, OK? I'm almost at the end of this chapter, and things have really started to get interesting."

"Alright, I can wait." Well, her voice had gotten deeper.

Justin looked up to see the smiling face of none other than "Mason! What are you doing here?"

The boy smiled. "It's really cold outside. I thought a cup of coffee might defrost my insides." He shifted on his feet. "May I sit down?"

Justin suddenly felt embarrassed and he pulled his feet to the side. "Yeah, sure! I'm sorry, I thought you were –"

"The waitress? Yeah, I can tell she's got her eye on you." He elbowed Justin in the ribs softly. "You know, she is pretty cute."

"Yes, she is. She also won't leave me alone." Justin said with a scoff. "I like to read here, but sometimes she makes it impossible to focus."

"And now I'm here distracting you," Mason teased.

"No, you're not!" Justin said quickly. "Well, yeah, I guess you kind of are. Don't take that the wrong way though! I really don't mind!"

"Don't get so flustered," Mason said with an easy smile, "you'll scare off your girlfriend over there."

Justin punched him in the arm.

"Look, I know you wanted to read, but after I grab a cup you wanna walk in the park? It's not that I don't love your family, it's just that they can be a little –"

"Suffocating?"

"Haha, yeah. I need some air, you know?"

Justin stood up, putting his book in his coat pocket. "You have no idea."

An hour and a half later the two boys walked into the Sub Station, noses and cheeks red from the cold. They had talked about their favorite books, the new art exhibit that was coming to the museum down the street, and how it would be nice if the temperature stopped dropping. All in all, it was a pleasant experience and a refreshing break from the chaos of Waverly Place.

"I'm gonna head upstairs and warm up. I'll see if your mom needs any help with dinner." Mason smiled at Justin, then hurried up the stairs into the warmth of the loft.

Justin took off his hat, coat, and scarf, and looked for his dad.

He found him in the kitchen, mumbling something to himself as he sliced sandwiches. "…overstayed his welcome…Alex thinks she can…behind my back…under my own roof!…got to go…"

"Dad!" Justin said, causing Jerry to jump and almost drop the knife on his foot.

"Oh my goodness, Justin, you gave me a scare. Why did you sneak up on me like that?" Jerry was trying to appear threatening, but his scowl was made much less terrifying by the bits of cheese that were stuck to the corners of his mouth. Apparently, he hadn't just been preparing sandwiches for the customers.

"You can't kick Mason out," Justin declared indignantly. "He needs our help right now."

"Justin, I'm not upset with him. It's just that Alex is making me more anxious with each passing day. It's like she's trying to test my patience."

"Dad, it's Alex. She's always trying to test your patience."

"That's true. But I would feel a lot more comfortable without her boyfriend sleeping in our living room."

"Dad, it's freezing outside! You can't throw him out there in weather like this! Please, just give him a week longer so he can find another place to stay. Please?"

Jerry studied his son carefully, wondering if he might have been hexed by Alex. Judging by the number of wizard homework assignments she'd actually turned in, however, Jerry doubted Alex actually knew any hexes. With a sigh, he said "OK."

Justin smiled victoriously. "Thanks Dad!"

"Yeah yeah, just help me with these sandwiches so we can close up and have dinner." Jerry turned around. "Justin?"

The eldest Russo child was already gone.

"Mason! Mason!" Justin called as he clomped up the stairs as fast as he could. "Mason, I…what are you doing?"

The other boy had a filled suitcase on the coffee table, and it looked like he was trying to close it but failing miserably.

"I'm packing Justin. I know that I've stayed far longer than I should have. I'm sorry." He grunted as he pushed hard on the suitcase, but still couldn't get it to close. "Hey, do you think you could give me a hand with this?"

"Wait! No, you haven't! Really, you don't have to go, Dad said it was alright."

"No, I really don't want to cause you guys anymore trouble. Now please, help me with this lousy suitcase."

"No," Justin said, suddenly very angry. "I will not. You don't need it, because you are staying here."

"I know," Mason said with a smirk.

"You – what?"

"I know. I heard you talking to your Dad downstairs. I heard you stick up for me. And I really appreciate it."

"But…but you – and the suitcase!"

"I was only teasing you." Mason said, giving him another smug grin.

"Hey! That's not fair! I was seriously concerned about you!"

"I know," Mason said, taking a step forward. He wrapped his arms around the raven-haired boy and pulled him close. "Thank you so much. You really are a great friend."

Justin was shocked, but pleasantly so. Lost in the moment, he suddenly realized that Mason was hugging him. He tentatively put his hands on Mason's back, but something snapped and his inhibitions melted away like the ice inside him after a warm cup of coffee. You know, one that wasn't just wet dirt. He returned the embrace wholeheartedly.

"Will you unpack for me?" Mason said, letting go and giving Justin a wink. Then he walked out to the terrace where Theresa was setting out the dinner plates.

The dinner table was rowdy and crowded, with Justin, Mason, Alex, Harper, Max, Theresa, and Jerry all gathered around it. There were plates of mashed potatoes, green beans, steamed carrots, boiled corn, and candied peaches strewn across the table. In the middle was a mouth-watering ham, glazed with Theresa's own secret recipe (which was really just a pinch of brown sugar and a little cherry soda, but hey, it tasted pretty darn good anyway). All hands were on the table, waiting to grab their helping before anybody else.

"Don't forget to say grace first," Theresa reminded with a slight hint of scolding in her voice.

Everyone bowed their heads and folded their hands. Jerry began, "We thank the lord for this food, that –"

"Amen!" Alex yelled, and everybody made a mad dash for the food.

Complete chaos broke loose in Waverly Place, and the Russo family, including wizards, a werewolf, and a Harper, wouldn't have had it any other way.

A/N: D'awwww, what a sappy ending. They all love each other so much!

And what's this? Is that camaraderie building between Justin and Mason? Gasp!