Chapter 2

She was sitting at her desk in her office, chewing her pen with her teeth, and trying to analyze what was wrong with her design. Something just didn't seem to fit right. Was it the color, or the curve near the waist, or the slashes near the wrists? Or was it just her being fearful? She groaned and tried to focus harder on her work.

That's when this feeling over-took her. This intense, strong, feeling of longing. She had always missed her family a lot, but never had the pain hurt her physically. It felt like a part of her flesh was calling to her, like blood was pulling her.

And then Justin walked in through the front door.

This has to be a dream!

Her heart stopped beating when she first saw him. Her pen slipped out of her grip without her even noticing. With thick rimmed glasses, a beard, and a blue suit on, with matching tie and matching boots, this was an older, more sophisticated version of Justin. She wondered if she was imagining things again.

But she knew this wasn't a hallucination when he didn't vanish into thin air. She knew this was real when her boss walked up to him and shook hands. "Can I have your attention please, people? This is Mr. Russell. Justin Russell. He's a statistician. He is going to be working with our unit from now on. Okay, now feel free to get back to your work."

She blinked a few times. This still felt like a dream, this was too good to be true. She held her breath as his eyes darted left and right, and waited for him to notice her.

He froze when his eyes met hers. She could see the instant look of recognition, she could see the disbelief and uncertainty; she could see the pain and sorrow, and then she saw the relief and the happiness wash through him. But it vanished almost instantly as it appeared. He was looking away the very next moment.

She expected him to walk up to her and talk to her right then. Her heart broke a little when he didn't. He went to his table and began working straight away. She tried to hide her disappointment and focus on her work again. She found that she hated the dress she was designing even more now, everything seemed to be off!

All day long she waited for him to talk to her, to acknowledge her presence. He didn't. And it scared it. Wasn't this her Justin then? Was the look he gave her in the morning just her imagination? Or was this Justin and he had forgotten her? She only hoped none of these was true. Hadn't she suffered enough in life already?

Their work shift ended together. They stepped into the elevator with each other, surrounded by five other workers, yet away from anyone else. She realized that this anticipation was making it difficult for her to breathe. She couldn't live like this, not knowing what was going on. She had to do something soon, if he didn't make his move, whatever he was planning to do. Her thoughts were disrupted when the door opened with a ding, snapping her back to reality.

Her heart was crumbling to pieces when she saw him walk to his car, without casting even a single glance backwards at her. No, no, no, no, you can't forget me! Please remember! I'm Alex! I tease you and I taunt you and I make your life miserable, but you love me anyway! I'm jealous of how smart you are, and how kind and how nice. You are everything I ever wanted (to be)! Please don't leave me here.

Her heart felt like it was being dragged down to the floor. But it jumped back into position and started fluttering in excitement and anticipation when she saw him open the door of the passenger seat. He kept it open, and got inside the driver's sit quietly. And he waited, with his face as hard and emotionless as steel, and his eyes fixed on the road.

She hesitated. Did he open the door for her? Or was he waiting for someone else? Was it alright if she got inside the car?

She laughed at herself when she realized she was thinking so much. This was her Justin. There was nothing to be scared of!

With that thought in mind, she took in a deep breath and gathered up all her courage. Eight years can shake a person's core; this was almost like seeing a ghost. Slowly, but steadily, she walked up to his car, got in, and shut the door behind her. She heart skipped beats, and her stomach clenched, as she waited for him to yell a "who the hell are you?" at her for trespassing into his property and throw her away. She finally relaxed when he started the engine.

So he did remember her! And he was going to talk to her!

The happiness was too much to contain. She clapped her hands and squealed, like a little girl. And then she burst into tears. This was actually happening! She had finally run into him at a place other than her dreams! Who would have ever thought that they could cross paths like this, and today?

The drive was silent. For some reason, Justin didn't speak a word, so she decided to keep quiet as well. Wherever he intended to take her, she knew he'd talk to her there. She didn't care where he was taking her, she still trusted him, more than she trusted anyone else.

The car stopped in front of a small house. She realized it was his home. She started examining the house carefully, scrutinizing its color, and the cliché white picket fence. This was totally the Justin she knew! Thank goodness he hadn't changed into someone else!

He got out of the car and held her door open. She got out, feeling a bit dizzy to be alone in his presence, to be so close to him after so long. His smell intoxicated her. She felt like she was in a trance, in a reverie, in a dream.

Her heart began beating faster again when he unlocked the front door and took a peak inside, as if to ensure that they were alone and it was safe. Justin and his over-paranoia, some things never change. Finally, he held the door open for her and invited her in. She stepped inside happily, examining the inside of his house. All she could see was piles and piles of books and lame comics. So, Justin was still a dork. She never thought that it could make her feel so relieved and so happy!

And then, before either had a chance to say a word, his lips were on hers, kissing her hungrily. All the longing and all the emotions ultimately came down to this- this secret hidden thing they always had for each other. Now it was surfacing, more dominant than ever. She found herself melting into the kiss, pouring all of her soul into it.

When they finally pulled back to breathe, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face, and he couldn't hold back his tears. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, staring into her eyes, as if trying to enter her soul. She raised her hand up and touched his face, feeling his skin under her fingertips. So this was real, this wasn't a dream. She kept telling herself. Her mind still refused to work properly, refused to believe that this was real, because if this ended up being a dream, her heart would be shattered into pieces that she could never glue together again.

He started feeling her all over. He began by stroking her hair, then her eyebrows, her eyes, her eyelashes, her nose, her cheeks, he traced his fingers on her lips, on her throat, feeling the pulse there and enjoying how it was on the over-drive, and trailed down to her collar-bone. That's how far he went. Some things about Justin never change. He rubbed her back then, pulling her closer to him, and ran his fingers up and down her arms, stopping at her hands, holding her right hand in his, and bringing her left hand up to kiss her fingertips. She let out a soft sigh of content and closed her eyes, ready to lose herself in this ocean of feelings surging through them.

He finally breathed out, as if shaken out from a state of hypnosis. "You've grown up so much…."

She chuckled. "Wait till you see Max then."

He chuckled back, bending forwards and making their foreheads touch. "How's mom?"

"She's okay. In good health and wealth." She shrugged, "What about dad?"

"He's good…. I guess…." He trailed off, but he didn't seem too sure. When she raised an eyebrow, he sighed. "Dad's taken to alcohol. He misses mom. That's all."

She nodded looking down at the ground. He followed her gaze. "I'm sorry about the…. I just couldn't control myself anymore."

She smiled, "I'm glad you didn't, Justin. I didn't wanna control myself anymore either."

He shook his head, breaking away from her. It hurt even to say this, to state this out loud. "But…. But you're still my sister. This is….. This isn't right."

She grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around, to meet her eyes. She snaked her hand up to his hair, tilted her head to a side, and gave him a sly smile. "I am Alex Monroe. I have only one brother and his name is Max."

From the way he smiled, she knew he was more than happy to give in. He wrapped his arms around her again. And now she felt home, now she felt safe, now she felt protected.

-The end

A/N: hope you enjoyed reading this. This was a different idea I was trying. I actually wanted to make this a chapter fic, but I wasn't sure if you'd like this, plus my lack of time, hence the two-shot. Please review and tell me what you think :) thanks!