Disclaimer: I do not own wowp.

Acknowledgments: All lyrics used are from the amazing fanmix made by the amazing fictionalfemme. The link for art and mix is in my profile. Thanks so much!

A BIG thank you also goes to Baku Babe for beta-ing this huge fic. Thank you! :)

Warning: Character death. Well, unless you count the epilogue :P

Prologue

The end of the world. The words were on everyone's lips.

It had become such a hot topic for conversations over a steaming cup of coffee and debates in classrooms, offices and kitchens. People all over the world had been talking about it. There were so many theories- the Mayan prediction, sun storms, the experiments of the world's largest particle accelerator, volcanoes, change of earth's magnetic field, invasion of a hostile alien race, invasion of microorganisms from space- some misfired spell, wish gone wrong, or even an evil charm.

All of us take tomorrow for granted. But with the days progressing and the theories increasing, everyone had one question in their minds- Would the world really end? Would tomorrow be the same?

Justin Russo, like everyone else, had been reading about all these too; sometimes freaking out because some of it seemed logical, and sometimes laughing at how ridiculously unscientific people could be.

Never once had he thought that he would be the one to destroy the world. Or worse…

Part 1

January 2008

"It starts with a picture, and it sits in your frame.

And we part with a letter, and it ends in my name.

It starts with forever and it ends with a touch.

And I know that you're clever and I don't ask for much…"

It was like standing in the middle of a deserted road, with ruthless, angered people closing in on you, armed with daggers, spears, knives and all sorts of weapons that you knew would destroy your life. You know you are being sought, being scorned for your lack of morals, for the rules you broke, for the wrongs you did. At that helpless, hopeless moment, the only thing you can do- the only thing you can think of doing- is run.

And so, she was running away to a college in a far-off state, desperately hoping against hope that maybe someday she would be able to cure herself of this sickness, this twisted, disgusting feeling growing inside her with every breath, with every beat of her fragile heart. She was running away from him, from his memories, from everything that was holding her back, binding her to her tears and emptiness.

It was fair enough. After all, he had run away as well. He had abandoned her to deal with this thing all by herself, while he did the same in a far-away place. Maybe this was how life was supposed to be for them. Maybe they were destined to live in unfamiliar lifeless cities, separated by latitudes and longitudes, yet united by the same ever throbbing feeling in their hearts…

August 2011

"Maybe we forgot all the things we were when we were together.

Wake me up, wake me up. Stop my fall. Every time you go…"

"No, seriously, guys, aren't you going to talk?" Max asked in confusion, looking back and forth between his two siblings, seated either side of him in the cab.

"Umm, no?" Alex replied dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Are you two fighting again?" Max asked in alarm. "Cause I don't wanna sit between you two when you're mad. Mom says it's dangerous."

Shaking her head no, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was sitting stiff as a statue, resting his head on the closed window of the cab, staring at the busy streets of New York. His short jet black hair had grown, falling on his forehead, his beard rugged, unshaven. His leather jacket was old- probably a gift from their parents two years back- but clean, his trousers the same pair he wore every time he was traveling. There was a sapphire ring adorning his perfect slender finger in one of his hands- the ring which he considered his good luck charm, and a Captain Jim Bob wrist watch on the other. Everything about him was so average, so familiar, so normal. And yet, there was that glint of something strange in his eyes- some wild turmoil that he might have been going through at the very moment- something that she totally understood. Maybe he too was having this intense urge to reach over and touch, stop pretending, end this game?

She sighed. They were fighting, just not each other.

Being back home again was nice and scary at the same time. On one hand, she was glad to return to that old, familiar comfort of her childhood days, and on the other, she was scared, terrified of the feelings that would surely accompany, the way it would make her feel, the way it would make her wish her parents had never even met.

"I heard you're getting great grades?" he inquired casually, plopping down on her bed, grabbing her magazine and flipping through it.

"Uh-yeah." She replied uncertainly, caught off-guard by his sudden change in behavior. Where did that cold attitude go? What happened to his resolve to avoid her till death? Maybe he was falling into this again, just like she was?

He chuckled. "Really? Found someone who would do your assignments?"

"No." She shrugged, getting comfortable despite of the tension hanging between them. It was Justin after all, her Justin, her definition of safety and comfort. "I have just been working hard."

He let out a dry mocking laugh, clutching his stomach. "Oh, Alex, that's so funny! Stop it! My stomach hurts!"

She smacked him hard, glaring at him with fire in her eyes. He laughed genuinely this time, and pulled her close to him. No words said, they both knew exactly how the other felt.

"Why can't we give us a try?" she asked quietly in a pleading tone.

He shook his head sternly. "We've been through it, Alex… it's not right."

She pulled away from him, and shoved his chest hard with her hands, pushing him even farther away. Anger bursting through her eyes and her breath, she looked him straight in the eye. "Then why do you keep coming back?"

He sighed, and closed his eyes tightly. His fingertips gently kneaded the soft material of her bed-sheet, even as his jaw tensed and clenched together. "I have no control, Alex…"

This was a familiar pattern- this running away and coming together again. It had been going on since this thing started growing between them. However, it was going to come to an end after the wizard competition- she was sure. He was going to win, of course, and settle down in the wizard realm permanently. She was going to settle down somewhere-anywhere- and never ever come back home again.

Which was why she was savoring every moment with him, embedding it in her memories so that she would have some support to help her survive.

And he was aware about this as well, so he too was devouring every moment- every word, every breath, every touch, every kiss.

But somewhere along the way, wrong became right and disgusting left their vocabulary. Because when they gazed at each others' eyes, when they felt the texture of each others' lips, they knew they wanted nothing more than this- them. They were going to be together, come hell or high water.

A gentle thrum of fingers. "Justin?"

An inhale of hair. "Hmmm?"

A deep breath. "You know this is getting serious, right?"

A sigh. "Yeah, but… I'm not scared Alex, not anymore. I'm not gonna lose you again."

A happy smile. "Me neither..."

October 2011

"What happens from here?" their father asked them, uncomfortable because of the silence reigning in the room even since the Wizard Competition took place and two of his kids were stripped of magic. He wondered if they going to be alright, or shatter into broken fragments. "What are you guys planning to do?"

"Oh, I'm planning to catch a movie with Brett today." Max replied casually. "And then maybe go and buy some cupcakes."

Alex rolled her eyes at him.

Justin shook his head. "I'm going to be doing research on genetics, dad."

Her eyes landed on his face immediately. Suddenly it was all making sense. His decision to study genetics, to go away in a renowned college far away. Was it… was it possible that he wanted to give them a chance all this time, that he was doing his research for them all along?

"What about you, Alex?" their mother asked.

She blinked, as all eyes in the room landed on her, including his- especially his. He was looking at her like their lives depended on her answer, and honestly, it did.

She shrugged, grinning deviously. "I don't have a job right now. So I'm just gonna stick to my old job of annoying Justin. You know, move in with Justin and destroy all his research work. And since this job doesn't pay, he's gonna be taking care of all my bills, right Justin? Justin!"

A genuine smile spread on his lips, his eyes gleaming in gratitude, but he quickly forced a teasing smirk on his face. "Not so easy. I'm gonna use my powers to Alex-proof my research lab."

She chuckled. "Again? Sure. Why not. How worse can it get from creating a monster with hamster meat for brain? Hey, maybe you can bring one of your dolls to life this time and I can destroy it?"

His face turned serious at that, lips pursing tight, eyes closing stiffly. A low growl erupted from his throat. "Action figures."

12 December, 2011

"Can't you talk while unpacking the boxes?" she asked, bored and tired of watching him unpack her things and organize them neatly in the closet.

"Can't you build your own boyfriend?" he retorted.

"I'm not you, Mr. I'm-building-a-robot-friend. Couldn't you at least find a smaller apartment?" she snarled sarcastically, glaring at him and at the walls of the room.

"Couldn't you find a job and your own place?" he snarled back, standing on the chair with the family photo in his hands.

"Hey! I'll start looking!" she snapped, then shrugged. "Well, some forty years later when you'd be old and I'd want to get rid of you… Put it over there. A little to the left… no, right… upper… ugh! Why don't you just hang it using magic?"

He shrugged. "Hmm…I don't know. Maybe because you're hiding my wand?"

She gasped. "How did you know that I'm hiding your wand?"

"I know you Alex." he replied, with a faint hint of smile on his lips. "I know you really well."

Part 2

"I am in love, with what we are, not what we should be.
And I am, I am star struck, with every part, of this whole story…"

14 December, 2011

He stuck the off-limits sign in front of his lab, writing the words in bold, red letters, with double underline for emphasis.

She scoffed. "As if that would stop me. Please."

"I'm serious Alex." he spoke sternly. "That room will have all sorts of untested cells, chemicals, and magical ingredients. It's way too dangerous. Whatever you do, don't go in there without my permission, okay?"

"Okay." She replied quickly, not seeing any point in this useless argument. Justin was being paranoid about safety and blah, and she was going to not listen to him again. Big deal!

(It was a big deal. If only she realized it before it was too late…)

Painting the walls together, picking the perfect furniture, curtains, utensils, getting a proper kitchen- this was the best experience of her life. They were turning their house into their dream home- together, side by side. From splashing paint in each other's face to fighting over the color of their room- every moment was imperfectly perfect, absolutely memorable.

27 December, 2011

"It is impossible for any man to live with you!" Justin yelled, scrubbing angrily at the dirty dishes.

"And you've only been living with me for what…. my whole life?" Alex retorted dryly. "Oh wait, you said men can't live with me! You're not a man!"

Justin groaned in exasperation, throwing the soap and wash cloth on the sink. "Why can't you just give me a hand?"

"In breaking the dishes? Sure." She chirped happily.

He lost it- like he always did. She knew exactly how to push his buttons. "I don't like doing all the work in here while you sit around and do nothing!" he yelled.

"Fine!" she yelled back, getting up, stomping her feet. "But one of these days, I may not be there 'sitting around and doing nothing'." She used air-quotes around the words, making faces, and stormed off into their room, slamming the door.

Within two minutes, he was there, sitting down on the bed in front of her, and fidgeting with his hands. "I'm sorry Alex. I didn't mean it that way."

"Yeah, I know." She waved him off. "I guess I over-reacted."

He gasped, narrowing his eyes. "Are you trying to apologize Alex?"

"Oh my goodness can we please stop talking about it! You get the point." She scoffed, smacking his arm.

"Say it." He ordered.

She stuck out her tongue at him. "In your dreams. Loser."

He inched closer to her, making her breath hitch. "Say it."

And now she was torn between saying sorry and not getting the kiss. "UGH! JUSTIN! I CAN'T STAND YOU!"

29 December, 2011

"You're paying." She reminded him while walking up to the restaurant.

"I know." He held his hands up in the air. "Do you think I'm so cruel that I'll make a jobless lady pay?"

She glared at him, stopping in her tracks, placing her hands on her hips. "You know, normally I'd be insulted that you called me jobless, but I'm kind of more mad that you called me a lady. How dare you! Do I look like a lady to you?"

He chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her walk again. "I know… I wouldn't have it any other way."

She shrugged, standing on the line behind another couple. They didn't have to wait long though. The waiter came and asked them to take their seats.

"But we came here first!" the other couple protested.

"That's right." Justin affirmed. "It's okay… they can go ahead, we can wait."

"No we can't!" Alex snapped. "Ugh, Justin! Would you just stop being Johnny Honest?"

She turned on her heels and started walking inside, but Justin grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "No, Alex, you don't understand… this is racism." He whispered.

She bit her lip and blinked. "Huh?"

He looked at her in disbelief. "Racism means... oh, never mind! He let us in first because those guys are black. It's not right Alex. We are not eating here. People need to understand that everyone is equal. If we keep on dividing between ourselves, we are not going to go anywhere in the future. Can you imagine what will happen if aliens land here tomorrow? Zeke says that no one is going to help others, and the whole human civilization will crumble and then…."

Once she understood what he meant, she dismissed his boring lecture with a wave of a hand. He didn't get the hint though, he continued babbling. She rolled her eyes and started towards the waiter.

Only when he paused to breath did he notice that she wasn't beside him anymore. "Alex! No!" he yelled in panic, trying to stop her from starting trouble.

But it was no use. She was already inside, grabbing a bowl of chocolate ice-cream and pouring it on the waiter's head, making it trickle down his face. "Now you're black." She chuckled, snapping a picture on her cell-phone and promising to upload it to the internet.

Justin looked at her in amusement when she came back to him.

"What?" she winced.

He smiled-the proud smile he gave her when he wanted to say 'I'm so glad to have you in my life', and took her hand in his. "You know, sometimes you almost seem like a nice person."

"Hey! Take that back!" she protested, shoving his chest and pushing him out of the restaurant. "I was just trying to prove I am not a lady!"

"Excuse me." The couple called behind them.

"Yeah?" Justin asked politely.

"Thanks about that." The man smiled at them.

Alex shrugged. "I take cash or clothes too."

"Alex!" Justin scolded, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry about that… she's just always like this."

The man laughed uncomfortably. "Oh, that's okay…. Jenny and I just wanted to say that we're really sorry for ruining your date."

"You should be." Alex mumbled.

"Alex." Justin warned in a low tone, before smiling sweetly at the couple. "Don't worry, that's okay… I'm sure we can think of something else…. Hi I'm Justin."

"Conner." The man introduced himself as they shook each other's hands.

"Don't you wanna know my name, Alex?" the woman asked.

"What is your name, Jenny?" Alex mocked. "Sorry, I don't do girl-friendship-stuff."

"I'm a scientist." Justin quickly interrupted, before this turned into an unwanted fight. "I am working on genetics."

"My God so am I!" Conner exclaimed. "Maybe we can hang out together sometime and discuss our projects!"

"I would love to!" Justin replied politely, even though the excitement showed in his eyes.

"Okay, people, can we please stop this boring conversation and get back to our own dates?" Alex whined.

"Yeah, Conner. Lets' go." Jenny pleaded, tugging at his arms.

"So... where do you wanna go now?" Justin asked Alex softly, hoping she'd say something that would let them double date. There were some things that he wanted to check out with Conner.

"Home."

He looked at her in confusion. "But I thought you wanted to finish our date…"

"Oh, I already thought of something better to do." She smiled, winking suggestively.

Justin blushed the brightest shade of beet red. "Umm, I'll see you guys later then…"

Love. Love. Love…. That was all that existed in their lives at that moment. They had always been close to each other, just not this close. They found something about this sudden intimacy really adorable.

She was falling hard for him, she knew it. Everything he did- from his goofy grin to his dorky speech- attracted her, made her fall more and more into him. If she was the devious venomous snake, he was surely the snake-charmer, hypnotizing her with his moves, his kind loving words spellbinding music to her ears.

There was nothing in the world that she loved more than just being in his arms, feeling his heart beat against hers.

"I think I might've inhaled you, I could feel you behind my eyes
You've gotten into my bloodstream, I could feel you floating in me…"

3 January, 2012

"Hey." She suddenly sat up in the bed, blinking at the clock that read 5 a.m. If love made people morning freaks, then she would have been happier if she did not fall in love.

He placed an arm around her waist and pulled her back down. "Morning." He mumbled, kissing her neck.

She giggled, closing her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

"Sleep well?" he whispered, grinning and wriggling his eyebrows flirtatiously.

She snorted. "Not with you snoring all night."

"Hey! I don't- where's your necklace Alex?" he asked suddenly, noticing that it was missing from her neck.

She shrugged sleepily. "Don't ask me. You're the one who took it off last night."

"Sorry if it kept getting in my way." he growled softly, getting up, and started searching for it.

She watched him move, his eyes gleaming with determination, his forehead wrinkled in concentration and concern as he searched for her favorite necklace, and noticed the effect it had on her heart, the way it was making her feel like she would explode with all the happiness in the world. Was she really in love with him?

After five minutes of frantic search, he finally found it. Giving it back to her, he groaned, slumping back down, pulling the covers back over his head.

"I think we need to have a conversation about where this relationship is going." She blurted out suddenly in one breath.

He peeked his head out of the covers, sleep out of the window, and looked at her incredulously. "You want to…. talk? You- want to talk? …. Really?"

She nodded, looking at her hands. "Yeah, I mean… I think I'm falling in love with you Justin."

He rubbed his eyes, sitting up quickly. "You love me?" He blinked, disbelief written all over his face.

She shrugged. "I think so… did I freak you out?"

He shook his head, smiling. "No…. I… I love you too Alex… I just thought I would tell you somewhere special and not like this." He pointed distastefully at the mess she had created all over their room- the piles of clothes, socks and boots, magazines. "I wanted it to be perfect."

"Everything doesn't need to be perfect all the time." She snapped. "Besides, I think this moment is pretty perfect, Justin." She smiled, capturing his lips in a heated kiss.

He had to agree. This was pretty damn perfect!

9 January, 2012

"Justin, let go." She protested, squirming, trying to yank her wrists out of his grasp.

He grinned, shaking his head, holding her with both hands. "First say I'm stronger than you."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "In your dreams."

He put one hand down, and held her hands with just one hand. Yet, she could not break free from him. "Now say you're weaker than me?"

She smiled sweetly at him, batting her eyelashes. "You're such a weakling, Justin."

"That's it!" he let go of her wrists and stood up, amused, confused, frustrated. "I'm giving up! It's impossible to make you say something you don't wanna say! I've been holding you for three hours!"

She shrugged, skipping happily, grinning smugly, mimicking him. "What can I say? That's the way I am.. Pretty amazing, huh?"

He shook his head; feeling tired himself, and took a sip of water.

"I like it when you're like that." She whispered slowly, face flushing red with embarrassment, "I like it when you are trying to be dominant."

He spit out the water he was drinking, panic bells ringing in his eyes. Looking at her in alarm, he shook his head. "Don't even think about it. We're not doing that."

Part 3

January 2012

She crossed her arms in front of her, glaring at him. "I want a child."

He shook his head firmly. "You know the risks Alex. do you want me to go over them again?"

Her gaze intensified. "I want a child."

He shook his head. "And what do we tell mom and dad?"

"It's our life, not theirs!" she yelled, losing it. "Why should they care about what we do?"

"Because it's wrong! Don't you care about the risk?"

"NO I don't! I just… I just want to have a life like the other couples Justin. Is that too much to ask for?" she stared at him with tear-streaked eyes that melted his heart.

He didn't answer, looked down at the ground instead.

"Tell me, Justin! Answer me!" she demanded furiously.

"Fine. We can have a child!" he couldn't believe he was giving in. "But- only after I find a cure for genetic recessive disease."

She didn't know what else to say. "Deal. Just make it quick."

It had become the aim of his life to find a cure for recessive genetic disease. Or maybe a prevention? Even something to remove the recessive trait altogether from the family's genes. Anything would do. Anything that would let him and Alex be together without any fear, worries or risks. After all, they could mess up their lives as much as they wanted to, but they had no right to mess up the life of an innocent little child.

Every day he was getting more and more paranoid, spending more and more hours in his laboratory, eating less, sleeping even lesser. A mixture of determination and fear was giving him this demonic energy- What if he couldn't find anything? What if his research was fully futile? Where would they be if he couldn't find any cure in time?

He was living in genes and chromosomes, books and research, spells and potions, theories and notebooks. He rarely talked, and even when he did, it was mostly about the groceries they needed to buy, or how their family was doing, and things like that. The romantic element was missing from their relationship- that spark was gone, buried by his anxious research. As for money, he was conjuring up all the things they needed with magic. He had won the Wizard Competition, and it wasn't illegal anymore, after all.

He was desperate. It didn't matter how or at what cost. He was going to find a way to deal with recessive genetic disease. Period.

She was alone- really, really alone. Every day he was becoming more and more distant from her, and getting more and more dissolved in his work. She basically thrived on his memories, or on the glimpses of him that she would catch throughout the day, a touch or kiss here and there- the rare nights he spent with her. Her days were spent by talking to her mother on the phone for hours and creating trouble for strangers on the street. Her favorite victim was no longer available for messing with, and that alone was enough to shake her entire system. She no longer had him to hold her when she was crying, to scold her when she was wrong, to hug her, to tell her everything was fine. This wasn't what she wanted! She wanted her Justin back, no questions asked.

6 February, 2012

"Justin, you've got to relax." She scolded, massaging his forehead. "You're over-straining yourself! You need to chill."

He shook his head. "No, Alex. This is important."

"Ever heard of mad scientists?" she asked sarcastically.

He opened his eyes and looked at her meaningfully. "I'm doing this so that we can be together."

She shook her head. At what cost? Was it alright to throw away something important in life in greed for something greater?"When was the last time we went on a date, Justin?" she asked quietly.

"Alex-"

"You're always away." She complained, sounding like a scared little child hugging a teddy bear to her chest. "It's like you're not even yourself anymore."

"Alex-"

"-Look at yourself!" she continued her ranting. "You have dark circles around your eyes all the time, Justin. Your hair is longer than Rapunzel. You rarely sleep for more than 3 hours. You don't eat properly! You can't live like this!"

He sighed, not knowing what to say. She did have a valid point for once in her life, but he had his own reasons too, and they weren't pointless either.

"Just take it easy, okay?" she whispered softly, gently threaded her hands through his hair. "It's all gonna work out, I know it."

"I hope so." He whispered, shutting his heavy eyelids against his weary eyes.

7 February, 2012

"Justin?" she knocked at his closed lab door, calling out his name. "Justin, dinner's ready!"

"I'm busy!" he shouted from the other end, followed by sounds of metals crashing and something drilling into wood. "Just leave it on the table."

She glared at the door, annoyed. From her previous experience with him, she knew it very well that when she would wake up the next morning- all alone- the food would still be there, cold, untouched. "Fine! If you don't want any food, I don't want any either!" she yelled, storming off into their room and locking the door behind her.

Sometimes she really wished that life wasn't this messed up for them, that they could live like any other normal couple, laughing and smiling, fighting and arguing- just like they used to, before all of this research insanity started.

"Alex…" he knocked on the door five minutes later. "Come on! You know I'm sorry…"

She sighed, leaning her head against the headrest of the bed. She wasn't going to give in so easily….. Right?

"Maybe we can eat together tonight?" he offered. "And watch a movie after that?"

Alex paused to think. It had been a really long time since they last did anything together. Getting up from the bed, she dragged her feet to the door and opened it with a thud. Greeting him with a glare, she went straight to the kitchen table and started serving the food.

"Hmm… smells great." Justin complimented. "I have to say… you're making great improvements, Alex."

"It's home delivery." She replied bluntly. "I don't like cooking just for myself."

He sighed, grabbing her arm to make her stop, turning her around, and making her face him. "Look, Alex, you need to understand… whatever I'm doing, it's for us."

"I know, but…" she looked away, biting her lip. "I need you with me more… I only see you once or twice a day… this is not what we wanted, Justin. I don't know Justin, but I... There's this bad feeling in me sometimes... like something bad is about to happen... like I'm going away somewhere..."

He tightened his hold on her at her words and nodded, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry… I've just been…"

"Either you spend more time with me, or one day you'll just see that I've gone away." She threatened, yanking free from his grasp and sitting down on her chair.

He laughed nervously. "You're not serious, right?... Alex?"

She gave him a stern look. "You bet I am."

He gulped. "Okay… fine, I'll…. How about I take you out for a spa tomorrow?"

She stared at him like he grew two heads. "Spa? Me? Seriously?"

He shrugged. "I thought you'd like to make fun of the workers while you were there…"

"That sounds great, but…" she shook her head. "I want some 'us-time' Justin, just the two of us."

He reached out and took her hand in his. "Fine… your choice."

8 February, 2012

Never in her life had Alex Russo imagined that she'd be making a list, but desperate circumstances call for desperate measures, so she sat down and made a list of all the things she wanted to do, and a routine stating the hours during which Justin was allowed into his lab.

"Alex! I can't do my work in just 5 hours every day!" he protested.

She shrugged. "Maybe you should give me your car keys then. I can't just walk back home."

He shot her a look of panic, before it changed to distaste. "You'll just keep on blackmailing me throughout your life, wouldn't you?"

She shrugged. "Hey, it works every time… I can of course look for new techniques, but you know me, once I think of something I don't keep looking for something else."

He sighed in defeat and re-read the list, trying to point out the more dangerous items. "Why horror movies?"

"Uh, because you're scared of ghosts." She explained. "I love to see you scream like a little girl."

He frowned, glaring at her. "I want thick crust on my pizza."

"Make your own pizza then." She snarled.

"I would, if you hadn't blown the microwave." He snarled back.

"See. This is what you get for making me cook dinner." She shrugged, non-committal.

He groaned, burying his head in his hands. "Can I at least get my action figures back?"

She shook her head sternly. "Not till you buy me that laptop I wanted."

"I am not going to use magic to conjure the money for-"

"-Or I can just melt them." She offered, eyes twinkling with devious mischief.

He sighed. "I think I now understand why normal people don't date their sisters."

"Huh?" she asked, smiling, amused. "Because of the lifelong torture?"

He shrugged, grinning. They were so not going to talk about the serious things all the time. Wrong, sin, illegal, taboo- they've been through that way too many times. For now, they were just going to relish in this moment, make the best of every second offered their way. All their problems, worries and tensions could wait for some other time.

This was how life was supposed to be- movie dates, dinner dates, cooking together, watching movies on the couch- this was all they ever wanted.

17 February, 2012

"So…." She trailed, trying to look as disinterested as possible, because let's face it- if Justin got the slightest hint that she was interested in his research, he would drone on and on about all the things that nobody cared about. "What exactly have you been working on?"

"Uh…" he shrugged. "I've been trying to…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You know… just experiments with cells and genes… and a few magic potions here and there… why?"

"Uh, nothing. I was just curious." She assured.

He nodded. He didn't believe her- Alex would never talk about something she hated unless she had something on her mind- but decided not to push it. The more they talked about this, the more questions she would shoot in his direction. And this was definitely something he never wanted to discuss with her. And not just because she was a slacker and wouldn't understand any of it- he just wasn't sure how she would react to the fact that he trying to mix cells with chemicals to create a living gas that could multiply like human cells and destroy the recessive genes. It sounded so ridiculous and so frightening even in his own head. He never thought it was possible, but the way his research was progressing, impossible might soon become an abstract concept.

18 February 2012

"Conner called today." She informed, rubbing his back lightly as he ate. "He said he wants to hang out tomorrow."

He swallowed the food in his mouth, turning his head to look at her properly. "What did you say?"

She shrugged. "I said you'd be there."

He narrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "Are you trying to get rid of me or something Alex?"

"What! No! Why would I want that?" she pouted sadly, batting her eyelashes.

He wasn't convinced, but he let it go. At least she couldn't destroy the apartment anymore- he wouldn't have to walk in and see a giant black hole sucking up the living room.

19 February 2012

"Don't enter the lab, Alex." he warned before he left the house.

She shrugged, smiling sweetly, while pushing him out of the door. "Have fun with your geek friend, bye."

When he was gone, she was going back to her room to crank call some random people and have some fun.

But then, she noticed Justin's key hanging from his lab door. He forgot to lock it!

Should I enter the lab? I mean, this could be my only chance.

But Justin told me not to… he said it's too dangerous.

Oh please! Justin thinks singing in the shower is dangerous. I'm SO gonna open that door.

With that thought in mind, she slowly unlocked the door, turned the doorknob, and entered.

She was greeted by a room covered with thick, dark, purple layer of smoke. It immediately sent shivers down her spine. The walls were a dull, scary shade of dark red, unlike the other rooms which were bright and cheerful. There was only a dim yellow light that barely illuminated the room. Bottles of chemicals and potions were scattered all over the table, emitting a foul yet mesmerizing smell. In some containers, she could see roots of different plants growing. One container had something that was moving- probably some sort of living being, and it made her yelp in fear. What was Justin doing? Was he creating life in lab or something?

Determined to find out, she gathered her courage and crossed the distance to that particular container. Observing carefully, she noticed that it was a piece of flesh, joined with brain, and containing one eye. Another shiver ran down her spine. Why did this look so cruel, so violent?

Alex backed away, and started observing the room again. Everything about the room was so spooky, so paranormal. She had that feeling that any second a hand may shoot out from anywhere and grab her. She had to wonder how Justin, of all people, worked at a place like this.

Her eyes darted around the room, and she noticed one pot where some red liquid was boiling. On close observation, she realized that it was blood!

What in the world was going on?

A voice in the back of her head was telling her to get out of the room before it was too late, telling her that something bad was going to happen, but she just couldn't. She had to find out what was going on. What if Justin was in some kind of trouble? What if it was dangerous to him too? She took two steps back, holding her breath, trying to calm herself, trying to-

BHAM!

Alex jumped up in panic at the sound and turned around. She noticed that she had accidentally bumped on the table and made some of the test tubes fall. They had broken, and the different liquids had oozed out and mixed.

Okay, now that was bad. If Justin found out, he was going to be so mad at her!

Alex quickly sat down and started cleaning the mess on the floor. The liquids were all evaporating, mixing with the air and going outside the room through the open door. She inhaled some of it and made a face. It smelt so…. gross!

"Alex?" she panicked when she heard Justin's voice outside and quickened up her pace. Why did life have to be like the movies- why did he have to be back so quickly, and that too just when she was trespassing, so that he could catch her red-handed?

"Damn. Where's magic when you need it?" she snarled to herself.

"Alex are you in- WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he screamed, running up to where she was sitting on the floor.

She cringed at his tone. Opting for the puppy dog eyes and cute pout, she stood up and looked at him. "Hey, Justin, so… how was your day? Why did you come back?"

"I forgot my keys… I told you not to enter my lab!" he yelled, not falling for her innocent act. "You just can't listen to me, can you?"

She kept quiet, looking down at the ground and fighting back the fake tears, hoping that would calm him down.

"Why do you always have to disobey me?" he demanded, frustrated.

"Hey, I was just trying to figure out what the heck you do here all day!" she said, trying to defend herself. She was never someone to just take the blame. "Maybe you should have been more careful to lock the door!"

"This isn't my fault!" he yelled in his typical squeaky tone. "Stop making it sound like it is! You shouldn't have-" He looked down at the ground and his eyes caught sight of the mess. He gasped, looking at her in alarm. "Oh. My. Gosh. Please tell me you did not touch them."

She bit her lip. "I did not touch them, Justin?"

He groaned. "Alex! Those are untested! I don't know what they can do! Anything can happen! Anything! Do you understand the danger?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. Pfft. As if you can invent a poison thingy. Dork."

He glared at her, roughly tugging at her arm and pulling her towards his chair, forcing her to sit down. "Sit down. I need to run tests on you."

"W-why?" she asked in confusion. Even though she was trying to act brave, the nervousness still showed in her voice.

He sighed, turned around, and cupped her cheeks, stroking it with his thumb in the most loving manner, his eyes softening with love. "I don't want to lose you, Alex."

She firmly placed her hand over his. "Justin, relax, I'm fine… Your stupid chemicals didn't kill me."

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I know… I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I'll protect you.. "

He quickly snapped out of romantic mode and returned to the tests again. He scanned her with his scanner and his magic scanner, and fortunately, detected no change.

"See, told you I'm fine." She shrugged happily, getting up from her chair, relieved to get out of this scary place, and mentally vowing to herself that she would never come back here again. So much for testing out the curiosity killed the cat theory!

He frowned. "But you still ruined my experiment."

She shrugged again. "See. This is what you get for forgetting your keys at home and letting me enter your lab. You should be ashamed of yourself, Justin. Now clean this up… I'm gonna go make some coffee."

"So what did I destroy this time?" she asked casually.

He shrugged, pursing his lips. "I don't know. I was still working on them."

"Not to be rude or something," she said, which made him raise an eyebrow. She smacked him, and continued. "That lab is way too freaky, dude."

"Freaky?" he inquired.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "It kind of gave me the creeps… it's not exactly a Justin place."

"Justin place?" he asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, you know…" she laughed too, rolling her eyes. "All books and robots and geek stuff… it was just so dark and… manly."

"Hey!" he protested, "I am manly."

"Yeah, right." She scoffed. "And I got an A in Math."

He sighed, shaking his head, taking a sip of his coffee. She sighed too, leaning on to him.

"You don't know how scared I was today." He admitted.

"I was scared too." She confessed. "I mean I knew nothing would happen to me but…I don't know… I… I just felt like I don't want to die, Justin. Not without you."

He looked at her and noticed tears welling up in her eyes. "Hey, hey, relax. It's alright…. I've got you…"

She nodded, licking her lips. "I know… we'll always be together."

"Always. In life and in death."

"Oh no, this couldn't be more unexpected, and I can tell I've been moving in so slow
Don't let it throw you off too far, cause I'll be running right behind you…"

May 2012

Three months had passed after that incident, three months during which nothing had happened to signal the chemicals were affecting something. But Justin was Justin, and being Justin, he would always be over-thinking, over-worrying, and over-analyzing, being extra-careful about everything. He was on guard every day, keeping track of things happening all over the world, just to make sure everything was alright.

So far, everything seemed great…. So far.

Justin sat on the couch, cuddled with a whining Alex, watching the news intensely.

"Dude, would you just relax now?" she asked impatiently, reaching for the remote. Normal couples watched movies together, not the news!

"Shhh!" He reprimanded, slapping her hand away, returning his attention to the news and increasing the volume.

She glared at him. "It's been three months. Nothing happened."

He shrugged. "I just want to make sure."

"Hmmm…" she hummed, strumming her fingers across his chest.

"Alex, stop." He scolded.

"You want me to stop?" she asked in a seductive tone, gently pinching his nipple.

He groaned, throwing the remote away, and giving her his full attention. "How do you manage to do this to me?" he wondered aloud, pulling her gently by her hair and placing a teasing surface kiss on her lips.

"Justin." She whined, rolling her tongue over her lips. "Please…"

He looked at her. Eyes glazed with lust, hair messy, lips full and wetter than ever, cheeks flushed, body temperature rising- she was completely irresistible.

And honestly? He didn't want to resist her either. He never did.

"This is our last chance, Give me your hands.
'Cause our world is spinning at the speed of light.
The night is fading, heart is racing.
Now just come and love me like we're gonna die…"

"Good morning, Alex." Justin greeted, shaking her gently. "I've got coffee."

"Ugh." She groaned, burying her face in the pillows. "Go away."

"It's morning." He reminded, tugging the pillows away. "Wake up!"

She turned around and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down with her. "It's really your fault that I couldn't sleep last night."

"I didn't sleep either." He pointed out.

She snorted. "Yeah, but, you'd still be the perfect young man and get up before the sun gets up. Normal people like to sleep in, Justin…. At least I do."

He sighed, shaking his head, giving up, knowing it was a lost cause trying to wake up Alex. Even if he succeeded, he would fall prey to her grouchy mood and short temper throughout the day, and that was definitely one thing he never looked forward to.

Placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he got up, took his cup of coffee with him, and headed to the balcony to read the newspaper in peace.

He flipped through the pages, casually reading the headlines, until a particular news caught his attention.

"Unknown gas detected in air:

Environmentalists have detected an unknown compound in the air in and around New Jersey. They have named this compound MUTEWP12. This compound was not present in the air there when the test was conducted three years ago. When asked about the nature of the compound, they stated that nothing could be confirmed at this stage. However, a unique characteristic of this MUTEWP12 is that it can multiply like living cells. This gas is said to have been spreading in this way. According to reports, similar compounds have been found in other parts of USA as well. Tests are being conducted to analyze if the change is causing any harm to human or other living species."

Justin panicked. What if this was the compound that was accidentally released from his lab? What if it was something harmful?

He quickly ran to his room, and tried to wake up Alex again. "Alex, get up!"

"Justin, please." She whined sleepily.

"I think the chemical is spreading."

That caught her attention. She sat up at once, looking at him fearfully. "W-what?"

"There have been reports of an unknown compound in different places." He explained. "Look."

She read the news quickly- well, ran her eyes over it, that's reading for Alex. "Yeah, but how do you know it's the one we released?" she reasoned. "It can be anything, Justin."

"You released it." He corrected, sighed, looking down guiltily. "I don't know…. I'm just…. scared…I was just trying to do something good… I don't want it to go wrong. I don't want it to have horrible consequences."

She took his hand in hers and smiled at him in a reassuring manner. "Justin… it's okay."

When she said it was okay, he'd believe it, even if the world was ending at that moment.

"All that I know is I'm breathing.
All I can do is keep breathing.
All we can do is keep breathing now…"

There was that strange sense of panic in his heart, the kind of feeling you get when you know something is terribly wrong yet can't figure out what is. You search everywhere frantically, keeping your eyes and ears open, but nothing.

Something was happening to this world. Something horrible. He could sense it in his heart. And he could sense that something horrible was going to happen to his life, and that scared him.

June 2012

"You look pale", Alex observed, glancing at his untouched plate. "Is something wrong with the food?"

"Oh, no, it's great." Justin assured. "I've just been… thinking."

She groaned. "Justin, no, please… not again!"

"Maybe I should go and get an air sample from that area?" he insisted.

"Hey! What do you mean I? What about me? Didn't we agree we'd always help each other?" she accused. "Why won't you take me with you then?"

He paused, pretending to think. "Hmmm… let's see. Maybe because you don't know how to hold a test tube without breaking it, or how to take an air sample?"

She dropped her fork, crossed her arms in front of her chest, glared at him, eyes screaming 'I hate you even though I love you'. Suddenly, she burst out into laughter.

He joined in- who wouldn't? She was just so beautiful when she laughed like that- even though he was confused. "What's so funny?"

She smiled. "Isn't it funny how we snark at each other even in the face of imminent danger?"

"Imminent?" He teased, though he was not too surprised to see she had picked up a word he frequently used. He smiled too, sighing dreamily. "Caribbean vacation, huh?"

"You still remember it?"

"Do I remember sinking in quicksand? Yes." he chuckled, reminiscing.

Just when he was about to open his mouth again, she interrupted. "Not the memory lane! We were talking about the world-ending thing."

He scoffed nervously. "It's not going to end the world… come on. It was just an untested cellular experiment."

The smile faded from her face. She didn't know much of science, but she knew enough to comprehend the significance of what he had said. "Cellular experiment?"

Oops. He realized he had let more information slip in than he intended, but it was too late- Alex would never let go of the topic until she got hold of the full truth.

"Justin!" she scolded.

"It was a human cell drenched in a mixture of 10 ml pululphur-amagonide under a pressure of 1000 atmospheres and at a temperature of minus 300 degrees attained artificially under the effect of the freezing potion mentioned in the Forbidden Book of Spells generated by the family wand." He blurted out in one breath, cracking under pressure.

She blinked, staring blankly at him.

He sighed. "It was a modified human cell Alex…my cell… I was experimenting... I wanted it to multiply and destroy traits from genes… I… I'm not sure what can happen."

She shrugged. "That sounded like your usual geek speak. So I'm guessing nothing would happen."

For once in his life, he really hoped she was right. But he had to make sure. He had to get that air sample. "I need to check it out."

She glared at him. "I'm coming with you. End of discussions."

"Well I'm afraid I'm not qualified to do any of these things for you
Well I'm afraid I'm not gonna give you back any of those kilojoules
Late nights and weekends our hearts only walk slowly on the local track
So I've arranged for your phobias to be performed by a string quartet…"

"I hate boring flights." She complained, tugging at his arm. "Make it interesting. Please."

He shook his head sternly, glaring at her. "We'd be thrown out for public indecency."

"I wasn't talking about that." She smacked his arm. "You boys! But you know, now that you bring that up.…"

"Alex." he hissed in a pleading, panicky tone.

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder, and relaxed.

Maybe he had unintentionally caused some trouble, but as long as she was with him, there was nothing in the world that he couldn't do.

Late June 2012

"It's my chemical." Justin confirmed fearfully, after testing the air sample in his lab. "I can't believe it got released untested! I should have known better than leaving my keys at home! See! This is why I should have never let you near my lab!"

"So you're admitting that this is kind of your fault?" she asked, smiling.

He pulled at his hair in frustration, sitting in the chair. "I don't know what's going to happen now."

She shrugged, sitting on the armrest of the chair, rubbing his arm comfortingly. "Look on the bright side, nothing bad has happened. I'm sure your invention is useless."

He looked into her eyes, asking her a million questions that neither of them knew the answer to.

"We'll figure it out, Justin." She assured confidently.

"H-How do you know?"

She flashed him her brightest smug grin. "Because it's you and I… how can we not?"

He smiled too, grateful to have her by his side through thick and thin. "I can go to Conner's… Maybe he can help me figure it out." He suggested.

She shrugged. "That's not a bad idea I guess… let me go get a jacket."

"No, no, no." He pulled her back down. "You're not going anywhere."

"But I-"

"-You are staying here." He cut her off firmly.

By the tone of his voice, she knew better than to protest.

Justin rang the doorbell and stood outside the door, shifting his weight from one leg to another, sweating nervously.

The door opened, revealing Jenny.

"Oh, hey Jenny, is Conner home?"

Jenny hesitated, her face turning pale. "He's… uh…"

A sudden roar was heard from the back of the room, and Justin walked inside, uninvited.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. There, right in front of his eyes, was a 6 feet tall animal, with the body of a human being covered with fur, red bulging eyes, sharp claws, sharp canine teeth. On first thought, he thought this was a werewolf, but on closer observation, he noticed just how different it was. What was this thing?

"Justin…" the creature screeched out in a dreadful voice.

"C-Conner…?" Justin stuttered, taking a step back.

Jenny ran to Conner's side immediately, wrapping her arms around him protectively. "He didn't do it. He didn't do anything… I promise. This just happened to him… We don't know what's happening!"

Conner looked up at Justin with pleading eyes, growling. "Help me!"

A surge of panic shot through him. What was happening? Why was this happening? "I'll… I'll try to help." Justin assured, rushing out of the apartment. One more second there, and he might have passed out.

"You're back." Alex threw herself on him as soon as she opened the door. "Oh God!"

"Are you alright?" Justin asked, hugging her back tightly. Seeing Jenny so helpless had shaken him to the core. What would happen to him if something happened to his Alex?

"No." she shook her head. "I missed you." She bit her lip. There was some sense of panic working in her mind, but she didn't want to alarm him even more.

He laughed, relieved. "What! I was just gone for an hour or so…"

"Mmm", she hummed, nuzzling his neck. "I don't know Justin… I… I love you."

He groaned, pushing her away. "I love you too…. But we need to talk right now."

"Yeah?"

"Conner."

"Oh, right, what happened?"

The graveness of the situation returned to him again, and he swallowed hard. "He's turned into some kind of freak."

"Freak?"

He nodded, sighing. "I think it's my chemical... What have I done Alex?"

"Whoa! Hang on." She held up her hands. "How do you know that? He's a scientist too. It could have been anything."

He leaned on to the wall for support, looking up at the ceiling. "Instinct."

And finally they found out just how harmful the thing was. Yes, Justin had succeeded in modifying it, but he hadn't succeeded in making it useful. Because this cull-turned-gas mixed with air was deadly, depleting oxygen and existing in its place, and when people inhaled it, it did change their genes, but in such a way that it destroyed their lives.

It was spreading faster than he had imagined, faster than the scientists had estimated, engulfing the world, polluting the air, eating up the oxygen- affecting the people that inhaled the air, choking their lungs, changing their cellular structures, altering their genes- ultimately killing them. Everyone was asked to wear masks everywhere, even though they knew that it could be their turn any day- death was knocking at people's door every day, and they were helplessly submitting to the calls of the inevitable.

If this kept on spreading at this rate, it wouldn't be too long before the whole world fell prey to it. The scientists had already started calculating. 21st December 2012 was declared as the ultimate day. If a remedy could not be found soon, all the oxygen in this world would be used up, all living beings would die, and this world would end.

Things like these happened in books and movies, or in nightmares for some people. But when this was actually happening, this was actually real, the world wasn't ready to deal with it. How would it be, if people are constantly engaged in their own selfish pursuits, if people are living in their own self-centered world, not giving a damn about what went on around them? How could the world ever be ready to deal with a real evil, when evils like racism, politics, religious supremacy, terrorism, war, illiteracy and hunger were steadily holding their sway?

The good thing was that when the world is united by such a fatal cause, the leaders do rise about their narrow selfishness. For once, they all forgot about their differences and came together to help the people. The political organizations organized rallies and meetings every day, trying to create awareness about what was going on, the social organizations too lending a helping hand in this. The different religious organizations were blaming this all on sin that mankind committed every day, asking people to surrender to the almighty and pray, ask for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, police and detective agencies were already investigating on the cause of this change, trying to find out who had released the chemical in the first place, while scientists were trying to find anything that might help reverse the effect.

The wizard world was playing its own part as well. Every full wizard was ordered to assemble at Wiztech and look for some potion or spell that might stop this mutating chemical. The human world and the wizard world had joined hands in this battle to save the human race.

Justin too was carrying out his research frantically. This was his fault- he had begun all this. He had to end this mess. But he had to leave for Wiztech, he had to leave behind Alex, and that was killing him.

Everyone was trying their best. But so far, unfortunately, no one had been successful.

"It's horrible." Alex whispered to herself, staring at the TV screen in absolute fear, disgust and disbelief and watching the news that she had gotten used to watching every day.

It was chaos. Complete chaos.

Every day, more and more people were dying. Sounds of tears and wailing and empty screams echoed throughout the world, followed by announcements on loudspeakers, urging the people to stay strong, calm and united, followed by cries, and more cries. Images of people dying and suffering filled her TV screen, and she stared at it, hypnotized by morbid horror.

The entire world, during this time, was in a state of hopeless mess. Governments all over the world had declared red alerts. People of all colors, all race, all caste, all creed came together, joining hands in prayer, hoping that someone would find a way to be safe. She would curl up in her couch and pray to God as well, ask for forgiveness.

Everyone was celebrating every day with friends and family, enjoying life till the end. Foes were patching up, quarrels were ending. No one wanted to spend their last days in regret and guilt. They wanted to live life like there was no tomorrow, because no one was sure if there was actually any tomorrow for them. They could choke and die any moment. Tomorrow would just not be the same. And it hurt her to know that she was the cause of this.

At some places, however, the condition was horrible. When the world is in trouble, law succumbs to fate, order crumbles. She would gasp in panic when she saw helpless wild people running around in the streets like savages, hopelessly committing robbery, theft, murders. Banks were being robbed, people were being killed in the streets in broad daylight, modesty of women was being violated.

Young wizards and witches had run wild, vandalizing the streets, using their powers in the most carefree, disrespectful manner to harass other people. It shocked her to see that when the world was going to end, these sick, twisted people were having their share of thrill by hurting others! Every day, a bunch of these wizards were being hunted down by the wizard council as well as the police authorities. She wanted to go out there and personally slap them till they cried for their mommy.

However, nothing was going to stop this state of complete indiscipline. And she wished she could have done something about this.

She closed her eyes, letting the unrestricted tears flow. "What have I done!" she whispered to herself.

So this was where desperation took a person? So this was the consequence of wanting something that desperately? This was what insane desire did to people? If someone was focused on something without caring about anything else, about any of the possible consequences, this was what happened to their lives?

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get some comfort while Justin was away at Wiztech. The world seemed to slow down, his memories flooding her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. It was like she was waiting for her lover to come home from war, to return to her arms, where he'd be safe.

She was missing him more than ever, wondering how he was doing- was he okay? Was he freaking out? Was he blaming himself? Was he missing her too? Was he coming home soon? Would she be able to see him again?

Suddenly, her phone rang, and she answered it, fearing the worst. "Hello?"

"Alex, honey, are you okay?" her mother asked in panic.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine, don't worry." She assured. "Why? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah… we are fine." Her mother assured, sighing in relief. "I just had a bad dream about you, honey… I'm a mother. I'm worried about my little girl."

"Mom, I'm fine." She reassured, chuckling. "I mean, come on, people have been talking about the end of the world for so many years now. Why do you think I never paid attention to my studies? I knew it was useless! See! Who's the loser now?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and she could almost imagine the look of disbelief in her mother's eyes. "See what I just did there. It's called lightening the mood."

Her mother sighed. "Just be safe… okay?"

"I will…mom. You guys be safe too…Love you mom." she hung up, staring at her empty apartment. The tears had dropped from her eyes. Who would have ever guessed that life- or what was left of it- would ever be this way?

And why did she feel like her life was slowly slipping away?

August 2011

Home was no longer the safest place. Home had the poisoned air too. So she decided to go outside for a while. Staying locked in her room was not helping her, at all. Especially since Justin wasn't there. This would have been so much easier if they could go through it together. But he was forced to leave her when they needed each other the most. And that was the worst thing of all.

It got even worse when she stepped into the streets and saw beasts and freaks running amuck. More people were turning every day, and more of them were dying. She froze in her place when she saw the lawless condition of the street. The streets were flooding with blood and tears, a strange color of dark red. This was like living the worst possible nightmare. Cries, shouts, screams, sounds of blades, metals, animalistic growls, gasps, evil laughter….

She ran back to her apartment in horror. And she needed him back.

September 2011

"Justin!" she attacked him with a hug as soon as he came in through the wizard portal. "Oh my gosh Justin you're back! You're here for real. Oh God! Did you find a remedy?"

"No", he shook his head, hugging back just as tightly, resting his head on her shoulder, inhaling the scent of her hair. "They said I could do my research here…. Gosh, I missed you so much Alex." he pulled back, looking at her eyes, her face, her lips.

"I missed you too Justin… I was so scared without you!" she choked out through her tears. "Don't ever leave me again!" she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her body, and pressing a kiss to his lips.

People may be dying and the chemicals may be spreading, but nothing else mattered anymore, with Justin by her side, in her arms.

He was working all day and night, and she was sitting by his side all the time, supporting him in every move. They were together. They had to win.

... Right?

"The storm is coming but I don't mind.
People are dying, I close my blinds.
All that I know is I'm breathing now…"

Part 4

Late September 2011

"Alex!" he yelled, getting out of his lab. "Alex!"

She jumped up in alarm. "Justin, are you alright?"

He shook his head, hugging her in excitement. "I did it Alex! I've found an antidote! I've figured out how to purify the air! Now I can save everyone!"

"That's great!" she yelled in excitement, "I knew you could do it Justin."

He shrugged, pulling back from her. "We need to go." He announced, hurriedly grabbing his jacket.

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

He smiled at her. "I need to turn in the cure to the authorities. There isn't much time. Come on."

"Excellent!" the scientist said, observing Justin's antidote at work. "Well done, young man."

Justin smiled hopefully. "So you can save the world, right? It isn't too late?"

The scientist nodded. "I think so… we need to get to work now. Excuse me."

Justin sighed in relief. Everything wasn't messed up then. Things could still be saved. Everything was going to be okay….

"Thank you!" Jenny cried, throwing her arms around Justin.

Alex cleared her throat, grabbing hold of Justin possessively.

"Thank you so much!" Jenny repeated, "I don't know what I would have done without Conner! Thank you so much for saving him!"

Justin smiled, staring at Alex. "I know what you mean... I'm glad I could help."

The world was slowly returning to its normal state. The blood and tears were washed away by a new ray of hope, a new yearning for a new world. The lives were being rebuilt. True, the people who already died could not be saved, and he would never forgive himself for that, but the rest of the people were saved, and that was assurance enough.

November 2011

"Isn't life great?" Justin mused, "Everything's back to normal again. Looks like I saved the day…. I'm like a hero, right?"

She rolled her eyes, making a face at him.

He feigned hurt. "What? No 'thank you Justin, you saved us, you're my hero'?"

She didn't reply, didn't move an inch.

"Alex?" he asked, looking at her fearfully.

She breathed in deeply. Her throat had turned a deep shade of red. Suddenly, she felt like she was choking.

He jumped up in surprise. She was choking! Her genes were altering! How could he not be prepared for this? She was the one who had released the chemical. She was the one who had inhaled the most intense part of it!

"It's okay, I promise." he whispered, pulling her up. He quickly rushed her to the hospital. Every step was a burden, as if centuries long. She was taken to the examination room, while he sat at the hospital bench, alone, numb, motionless. "What have I done!" he whispered to himself. Why did he try to fight their fate? Why did he invent that stupid killer chemical? What if something happened to Alex? What if his one mistake cost him so much?

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked anxiously as soon as the doctor came out.

"Be strong, young man." The doctor said, placing an arm on his shoulder to comfort him. "She doesn't have much time left…"

The world shook underneath his feet, and he stumbled back. No. no. no. This wasn't happening! This- wasn't- happening- to- her. Not her! It couldn't happen to her! She was so young! "No, doctor, there has to be some mistake! She can't possibly be…. No!" he shook his head, holding it with his hands in frustration, not wanting to believe this was real. "Can't you do something to help her?"

The doctor sighed sadly. "I wish I could… But when it comes to matters of life and death, there isn't much doctors or any human can do…"

"I can't just let her… go away!" he yelled, shaking his head. "Maybe I can use magic to-"

"-It's useless." The doctor interrupted. "We already tried everything possible…. We are sorry Mr. Russo… be brave…"

He stumbled to the wall, unable to stand on his feet anymore, feeling like he would pass out and die any moment. He looked at her through the glass wall separating them, touching the cold material with his shaking hands, tears filling his eyes. She was resting in the bed peacefully, cheeks pale because of the pain, but a faint smile on her lips nevertheless. Didn't she know she was going to…..?

"Does she know?" he vaguely managed to ask the doctor.

"No." The doctor replied. "I think it's better if someone from her family tells her."

He looked at the doctor in alarm. "What! No! I can't tell her she's going to…d-die…die." He felt something stab at his heart when he spitted out the word. This had to be surreal.

The doctor patted his shoulder comfortingly, and entered the room.

He watched the scene through the glass door. He saw her look up at the doctor and ask him something. He saw the doctor point to the door- at him. He saw her turn her head to look at him, and their eyes met.

Her eyes were sparkling with a ray of hope at his sight, filled with all the love and longing of the world, calling him, asking him to come closer to her.

The doctor left the room. He entered, legs trembling, breath racing, heart beating in a rhythm of anxious terror, the silence between them almost tangible. He watched her with every breath she took, noticing the crests and troughs of her heartbeats being monitored on the screen next to her. Her life was being measured at that moment, and he- her big brother, her lover, her protector, a scientist, and a full wizard- couldn't do a damn thing about it. Never had he felt more helpless and useless in his life.

Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes so tightly that stars exploded behind his eyelids. Images of their childhood, teenage, and their days of love flashed in his mind. This was the girl who had come home as a two-day old new-born, wrapped in pink blankets. This was the baby who had grown up right in front of his eyes, saying her first words in front of him, taking her first step in front of him, teasing him, taunting him, mocking him, hurting him- helping him, supporting him, loving him, living with him. This was the woman associated with every moment of his life. And now she was going to die right in front of his eyes? He was just going to stand there and watch her go away to a far place?

He opened his eyes again, and came face to face with her eyes. There was a strange glazed over look in her eyes- a mixture of fear, anticipation, pain- and realization. "I'm… I'm not going to make it… am I, Justin?"

He swallowed, feeling like he was swallowing a dozen knives and not this wretched air. "Alex…" We were supposed to be together! In life, and in death.

"How-how long do I have?" she asked quietly, frozen in trepidation. I don't want to die Justin! I want to live with you!

He let out a sob of helplessness. "Not much…"

She gasped, tears slipping out of the corner of her eyes silently. Those were the teardrops that he grew up wiping dry. Were those teardrops going to run dry, fade away from his life?

"Alex…" he sank to the seat beside her, and took her hand in his, gently kissed her pale fingertips. "You're going to be okay..."

She shook her head, as if she was telling him not to cry, not to be sad, looking at his eyes, smiling. "I'm going to die Justin." She stated bluntly. I want to live. I guess I never appreciated life this much before, but now I do! I want to live with you!

He cringed. "No. Don't say that... don't…. you can't leave me here alone! I'm not gonna make it on my own without you!" I... Am I going to watch you die? Oh God no!

She cried, closing her eyes. For the first and last time in her life, she was letting her vulnerable side show. Her life was slowly being taken away from her, breath by breath, second by second. I have so much more to say, so much more to do, so much more love for you Justin... There was so much I had planned for our future; there were still so many days I wanted to spend with you, loving you every second! She bit on her lip. "I'm so sorry Justin… for everything…. I didn't want to make you miserable so much…"

"Alex, no, it wasn't your fault-"

"No, let me speak, please." She interrupted in a voice of urgency that he had never heard before, a voice only associated with those in their last moments, letting out a whimper. She could sense the dark veil of death slowly covering her; feel herself slowly slipping into the dark state of unconsciousness. She had to get this off her chest- she would never get the chance again. "I don't have much time… I need to tell you how much I love you… I never ever wanted to leave you Justin. Never... And don't you dare blame yourself for this! This was my fault! I was the one who wanted a child, that's how it all started. I am the one who released that thing. Not you."

"But I created it! This is my fault! I…" He cried, rubbing his cheek with her hand. "I love you too Alex… so much… God! I can't live without you!"

She let out a sad, dark laugh. "You know, normally, I wouldn't say this, but… you're the best brother in the world Justin… and the best boyfriend too… T-thank you…. these were the best days of my life."

With a shaking hand, she clumsily took off the necklace she was wearing- her favorite necklace- and wrapped it within his fist. "I'm always with you, Justin..."

And then she looked at him with her big brown eyes one last time. No matter what happens, no matter where I am, I will always be there by your side. She tightened her hold on his hand with the strength still left in his body, squeezing it tightly like she did when she was scared of falling down, as if not wanting to let go of him. She smiled at him one last time, letting him know that she'd be waiting for him at Hell.

And then, her world faded to darkness. Her breathing became shallow, slowly stopping all together, her hold on his hand relinquishing. For the last time, the little devil closed her eyes. I love you Justin…

He looked up at her in shock, her lifeless hand on his hand, still warm and comforting as it always used to be. "Alex?" he called out her name in absolute disbelief. "Alex… Stop scaring me! Talk to me! Alex!" he shook her, trying to wake her up. Her limbs moved with his shaking, but no response came. He pulled her closer to his chest, closing his eyes tightly. "ALEX!" his cries reverberated through the skies, rattling everything in the universe.

Tomorrow, the universe would be just the same, but his world wouldn't be. The sun would rise in that sky again, but she wouldn't be able to see it. The birds would sing, rain would pour, children would laugh, people would have fun. But tomorrow, there would be no Alex. Tomorrow, no one would lose her credit card and come running to him for help. Tomorrow, no one would hide his keys and refuse to return them unless he bought her that new pair of boots. Tomorrow, no one would call him a dork. Tomorrow, no one would hold his hand when he was about to break down. Tomorrow, no one would look at him like he was the world, and kiss his lips like he was the last drop of water.

Tomorrow, he would be breathing in the knowledge that he killed her. Tomorrow, she would be resting in her grave and he would be living dead.

…. Tomorrow would just not be same.

"Love of mine some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark.
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight…"

Epilogue

"That's the end of the story?" Alex asked incredulously.

"No, of course not! After that there's the part about how life has to go on no matter what, and how the hero still keeps living and pinning for his girlfriend-slash-sister."

"You killed her in the story?" Justin asked incredulously, blinking back the tears he had in his eyes.

"Come on, dad!" Ethan shrugged. "I'm not going to use your names for this story! I just had to use it now because mom refused to listen!"

"I should have stuck with that." Alex retorted darkly. "And that's your big first novel, huh? You spent your time on that instead of doing your homework? Fine, Justin, you can ground him now."

"What!" Ethan protested. "That was just a story!"

"A crappy story. The plot's over-used, the scientific facts made no sense, the theme was semi-handled. Room. Now." Justin ordered.

"Maybe you'll listen to me more now?" he snarled at Alex, pulling her close to him. "Damn, that boy scared me. See! He's just like you!"

"Hey!" Alex protested. "You were the one who suggested he should write a story about the end of the world! Couldn't you find something more constructive than fictional destruction of the world?"

"It is a very relevant topic!" Justin yelled, but sighed. "The story did seem like us. Damn he observes us carefully." he sniffled, shaking his head. "And he does know how to scare me."

Alex sighed, smiling at him. "It was just a stupid story. Stop crying!"

"It's my allergies!" He cried out, and hugged her tightly. "I love you... In life and in death..."

She hugged back. "I love you too. And boy that dialog is catchy."

"I know." Justin chuckled. "He totally stole it from an anime."

A/N: *fingers crossed* did you like it? I always wanted to write a real tragedy. I had to add in the epilogue because I just couldn't bring myself to kill Alex. Looking forward to your comments and thoughts! :)

Also, if this fic affected you even a little bit, if I could touch your heart even a little, PLEASE think twice before you do something that may have consequences. Please weigh the pros and cons first. And PLEASE stop looking down on people based on the color of their skin, religion, nation, language, etc. we HAVE TO be united, in case the world does face something in 2012. WE HAVE TO BE TOGETHER, PEOPLE! WAKE UP! ARE THESE SELFISH EMOTIONS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE?