Lie? Or Anti? Part 2

A/N

-Not much to say besides this is the second part. Again I don't own wizards of waverly place or anything related to it.

-Please Read and Review. Keep criticism constructive. Enjoy!

No words could describe what Alex was feeling at the moment. The night was warm and the sky clear with the stars sparkling like diamonds above them. Holding hands with Joey while strolling down the Waverly Place alley was something magical for her. No possible spell could possibly make her feel like she did now; a feeling so real and genuine. The two stopped outside the Waverly sub station underneath the soft lighting from the lamps hanging above the door. However, unbeknownst to them, Justin was spying in a window above the door, waiting to exact his revenge on Alex. He peered out of the window curtains down below.

"Thanks so much Joey for tonight. I had a pretty good time. It was especially funny after that guy dove for a crowd surf. I mean who would have thought no one was going to catch him." Alex said. The two laughed at that moment from the concert.

"Well, thanks for going with me. You really made the night quite…"he stopped and pondered for the right word.

"Magical?" Alex said finishing his sentence. "Yes, exactly what I was thinking." Joey continued.

As the two conversed, Justin made his move.

"Alright Alex, you lose my prized comic, you lose your new friend." He muttered quietly. He took the wand from his back pocket and held it out as he cast his spell.

"Revenge is a slippery road, but make this fool sound like a toad."

Justin cast the spell and waved the wand towards his sister down below. After casting, he smirked and peered outside to see his revenge in action. He waited, and waited. Seconds were going by but nothing was happening. He looked down again at the two, who were still conversing to each other as if nothing had happened. Justin mentally checked if he had said everything right; if the wand was pointing the right way; if perhaps he'd have to cast another spell. He opened his mouth to mutter out his frustration.

ribbit

Justin turned around in shock, looking around the room to see if someone else was there.

ribbit

No one was around, and this time, he had realized where the sound was coming from. It was coming from him. Justin couldn't believe it. He had pride himself on being dead on with his spells, but this was an embarrassment. "How could this have happened?" he pondered. Once again he peeked out the window to check on the two: nothing. He realized that somehow, by some force unknown to him, his spell had backfired. Justin sat there beneath the window, trying to explain in his mind how this could have happened. But below, the two still talked.

"You know, I don't think I've ever met someone quite like you. I know it sounds crazy, but it's just, you're funny, sweet, and well, there's just something about you that I like. Some quality I can't quite explain." Joey confessed.

"Really? Because I feel the same way too. Like there's just…something…" Alex voice had trailed off, becoming quieter after each word as the two moved closer to each other.

It felt forbidden, being outside with her parents just inside, yet it was exciting for her. Her heart beating faster as his lips moved closer to hers. Each second seeming like minutes, like time had slowed, and Alex's anticipation was building. It would have been the perfect way to top Alex's night, only had it actually happen. Only centimeters away from each other, the door next to them suddenly opened, the light from inside all to glaring.

"Alex, so nice you got home on time." Her father reprimanded. He stood at the door arms folded.

"Dad!" Alex yelled. She let out a noticeable sigh as she crossed her arms.

"Hello Joseph. Goodbye Joseph. Alex Russo, inside now." Jerry firmly demanded. He moved aside to let Alex through the door. Despite Alex's attempts to reason, Jerry ignored and continued to usher her in. Eventually Alex gave up and grudge along inside. As she walked in, she turned around and waved and smiled back at Joey, in which he smiled and waved goodbye. Jerry had seen enough and he let out a gruff 'ahem'. This was signal enough for Joey.

"Um, well I should get going. Night Alex…Mr. Russo." Jerry only nodded instead of saying goodbye. As Joey walked away, Jerry went in and closed the door behind him. Alex quickly darted for the stairs to avoid a dreaded lecture. But her Dad stopped her and gave her his lecture. Justin on the other hand had his own issues to deal with.

Justin stood outside his door baffled. He couldn't explain what had happened just moments ago. Thoughts raced through his mind: did he cast the wrong spell? Did Alex cast something back? Or perhaps was there something more sinister at work. Whatever the case, Justin planned to get to the bottom of this, and he'd start with questioning Alex. He stood in the hallway waiting for Alex. After a few minutes of waiting, Alex came trudging through the hallway.

"Alex, I have to talk to you."

"Please, not now Justin, I already got an earful from dad. He's about as mad about this as that time I spilt soda on his favorite armchair." Alex said.

"But this is important…wait that was you?!" Justin said surprised.

"Uh…no…I don't know what you're talking about." She said with a tone of uncertainty. The two Russo kids stood at a distance, an awkward silence ensuing. Alex arms folded looking at the wall, and Justin giving a cold stare.

"Just never mind about that now, look, we got problems. I think there's something fishy going on around here. And it has to do with your boyfriend."

"Justin, if this is part or your revenge plan then just forget it ok. I can't believe you'd stoop so low as to try to accuse Joey of something." Alex reprimanded. She moved past Justin after she had made her statement. But Justin grabbed her by the arm to get her attention.

"Alex, I'm serious. When you two were out there, I cast a toad spell in which you were supposed to croak into embarrassment, but no, it backfired and it was cast on me! Which could only mean one thing…" Justin stood closer to Alex as if to tell a secret. "Anti-caster." Justin ominously whispered. A silence enveloped the hallway and both Justin and Alex stood in the middle of it. Alex gave Justin an incredulous glare in contrast to Justin's stern face.

"An anti-caster? You have got to be kidding me." A frustrated Alex retorted. "And you we're spying on me?"

"Uh what?...no, I don't know what you're talking about." Justin responded with the same ere of uncertainty as Alex had responded earlier. He continued, "That's beside the point. The point is that your new hubby, is an anti-caster, that's right."

As the two continued to argue, Max moseyed up to them, however with no intention of getting involved. The two teens were standing in front of the bathroom door and that was Max's destination.

"Excuse me, can you two move? Unless one of you is gonna use it." He said in a less than caring tone. "Just a second Max." Justin quickly responded, not really caring or paying attention to his question. The two teens however bickered some more.

"I know that you're just doing this because I lost your dumb book." Alex asserted.

"As much as I love to get my revenge, I seriously think something is up with him. You can't trust him." Justin responded. At this point, Max was getting annoyed. He held his legs together and started to squirm about. He tried again to get their attention.

"Seriously guys, I don't think I can hold it any longer." He exasperated. "Hold on a second Max!" Alex replied with the same indifference as Justin.

"If you don't trust me, then how about you ask your boyfriend about it. Since you two are already swapping spit, you can swap secrets too!" Justin remarked. Alex let out a loud gasp.

"How dare you!? And for your information, we didn't kiss because Dad interrupted!"

"Good then! In fact, I bet Dad would be thrilled to know that your new boyfriend is an anti-caster." Justin responded.

"Guys…" Max uttered out to no avail.

"You tell dad and I'll make you suffer. You don't even know for sure!" Alex replied back, ignoring Max.

"Guys…" Max uttered again

"I'm a man of my word, and I know that what happened back there was not a mistake. He anti-cast and I know it!"

"I gotta go pee!" Max yelled as he pushed both them aside and ran into the bathroom. He quickly shut the door behind him. The two teens stood there still seething at each other. Both gave each other cold stares and walked to their own rooms. The conversation was over, but the argument would continue.

Even by the following Monday, tempers were still apparent. Now whenever Alex would think of Joey, she'd think of Justin's accusation. And it made her even more upset; upset that Justin had tainted her thoughts. She stood at her locker taking out the books she needed. She then closed her locker only to be surprised by Justin standing behind the locker door. Seeing Justin startled her a bit, even more so since he had a night vision goggle contraption on his head.

"Justin! What do you think you're doing? And what is that on your head?" She said in a hushed tone as to not draw attention.

"Look Alex, since you won't believe me, I decided to take it upon myself to reveal the truth. It's what Dr. Electron would do!" Justin held his arms akimbo in a heroic pose as he looked off in space.

"And that thing on your head?" Alex asked again.

"This is specially designed goggles to scientifically identify anti-casters."

"That's what we have magic for." She replied condescendingly.

"No. It's not the Dr. Electron way." Justin said in his attempted heroic tone. Alex looked at him and shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay, whatever, just…I better not find you spying on him or us. Got it Dr. whacko?"

"Oh please. You won't ever notice me, because I can become unnoticeable just like Dr. Electron." Justin said confidently. She looked up and down at him, from his white shoes to his completely obvious and ridiculous contraption on his head. She looked at him with complete disdain and disbelief. "Sure." Alex said curtly.

Justin ignored her scorn and went off on his way, slowly creeping around corners. Alex could only shake her head and chuckle.

Alex couldn't wait until class to talk to Joey. She didn't want Justin to get to him first and give him the wrong impression about her family. It was lunchtime and Alex searched around the school for Joey. She walked quickly down the hall and upon turning the corner, bumped right into Joey. Besides the fact she had ran right into him, she was glad to find him.

"Joey, so nice to see you. I've actually been looking for you." She said adjusting herself.

"Really, that's weird because I was looking for you. I wanted to talk about…well about last Friday." He said sounding like he had something to confess.

"Oh, is that so…" Alex said quietly, unsure of whether or not she wanted to know. What if it was about Justin's spell? Whatever it was, Joey didn't sound too happy about it.

"But, first, maybe we should find somewhere to sit." Joey suggested. Alex nodded and followed next to him. All the wonderful feeling she had felt last Friday was gone. Now she couldn't even look at him, feeling as though he might be what Justin had suggested. Inside, she was torn with ambivalence. Joey was everything an anti-caster wasn't, or at least as her dad had described them. Alex still kept a glimmer of hope, that maybe it'd be something different.

The two found a round table that was apart from the other tables in the cafeteria. Enough space that no one around them could listen in. The two sat apart from each other, sitting on opposite ends. It was a stark contrast to Friday where they were so close. Joey spoke first.

"Sorry for not really being specific about this, its just that…after Friday, I just felt, something." Alex grew more anxious, so much so that she expected him to flat out admit he knew about Justin's spell.

"Something?" Alex said in a hushed uncertain tone. Joey serious face suddenly turned into a smile. Although just a smile, Alex felt a bit more relieved, that perhaps the issue wasn't as serious as she thought. She eased up a bit more.

"Well maybe something isn't the best word. What I mean is, that I felt a connection. I haven't felt like this with any girl before. And well, its just that, I really really like you." He confessed. Alex sighed inwardly. She was glad it had not been about anti-casting or magic. All it was about, was perhaps something she had been overlooking because of the whole magic incident; that something being a feeling incomparable to anything she had felt before. And one she couldn't believe she had temporarily forgotten. She smiled demurely at him and suddenly her anxiousness was lifted.

"Really, because I feel the same way. Like, there was a unique connection. Especially during that…kiss." As she said the last word, Joey erupted in a chuckle. Alex felt even more so at ease.

"Right, the kiss…the one where you're dad interrupted. Heh, that was quite embarrassing." He said light heartedly.

"Yeah, I know. Even more so for me, because I had to deal with my dad." Alex replied. The two laughed a bit at their misfortune that Friday night. Whatever anxiety Alex had left had quickly dissipated.

"I'm glad that's what you meant." Alex blurted out without thinking. Joey looked at her oddly, with a half smile and half confused look.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Alex quickly realized that perhaps she had said too much. Amidst her 'ums' and 'uhs' she searched for someway to change the subject. Looking at Joey, she saw the medallion he wore around his neck. She quickly made a comment.

"Uh, that's a pretty cool medallion you got there…yah…" she blurted quickly. But it had worked as Joey looked down at his medallion and held it out more clearly.

"Oh, this? Yeah, my uncle gave it to me. He travels abroad a lot. Just the other day, I got an email from him. He's in South Africa actually. Anyways, whenever he comes back here, he brings back gifts from his travels. And this medallion here is a recent gift. It's quite nifty." The medallion was bronze with engravings on it. On one side was an engraving of a coin of some sorts. On the opposite side was supposed to be blank, yet there was something etched in it. Something Alex didn't notice before when she saw the medallion last Friday. From where she sat, she couldn't quite make out what it said.

"Supposedly, this here is a trinket, a treasure of sorts. My uncle said that medallions like these were engraved with things of importance. In the case, this one has a coin on it, meaning money. Anyways, the saying goes, 'who or what is most important to you, is closest to your heart.' So by wearing it, the thing you value is literally close to your heart, but metaphorically…well you get the point. Seems a little silly I guess. I mean, trinkets, old traditions, magic, just seems too farfetched."

"You'd be surprised." Alex replied back while giving him a sly smirk.

Joey shifted the medallion in his hand. Alex tried to focus on it, trying to discern the writing on the back. She decided it'd just be best to ask to see it.

"Can I see?" she asked. Joey took the medallion off and extended his hand to give it to her. He was about to drop it off onto her hands until something stopped him. A younger girl with black hair dark brown eyes, much like Joeys, walked up to the table.

"Hi Joey." She said cheerfully. Joey slowly took his hand away.

"You. What do you want?" He said with some disdain.

"Oh, just here to bother you, like usual." She sarcastically replied. She then looked at Alex and greeted her, "Hi." The girl said with the same cheerful disposition as before. Alex smiled back and said hi herself. Joey usurped himself into the greeting.

"Uh Alex, this is my sis Cammie; Cammie, who really should be going now…" Joey glared at her as Cammie returned a glare of her own, but all in jest. "…this is Alex."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a sister." Alex remarked.

"Of course he didn't mention me, because he's just mean like that." Cammie joked. Joey rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval.

"Seriously, what you here for?" Joey asked.

"Remember that creepy guy from earlier today? The one with that dumb thing on his head?"

"What? Why? Was he following you?" Joey asked in a more serious tone.

"Well, was…and still is." She replied as she discreetly pointed across the cafeteria. The three looked across over to a kid wearing a goggle contraption on his head who was sitting at a table. As soon as the kid noticed they were looking at him, he quickly pretended to look out the window. Alex, suddenly became infuriated, and stood up.

"Justin!" She shouted.

"Justin? You know him?" Joey asked her.

"Uh…yeah, he is…the…local school…whacko…yea that's it." Alex slowly conjured up trying to pretend as if she didn't know him.

"You know what, I'll deal with him. I mean he's been following me and Cam." Joey asserted as he got up. Alex promptly stood in front of Joey to stop him.

"No! Um…you know what, I'll talk to him." Alex reassured.

"He could be dangerous, I'll talk to him." He replied back to her. Alex shook her head "no" in response.

"I'll take care of this. Trust me, I've had experience dealing with this weirdo, lots of experience. Besides, it's almost time for class, and you two should probably go."

"You sure?" Joey asked her.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. He's practically harmless." She said nonchalantly. "Alright then. See you in class." He replied back.

"Yeah, see you too." The two stood at a distance exchanging smiles and waves goodbye. Perhaps a bit longer than needed as Cammie got annoyed and took Joey by the hand and tugged him to go. He reluctantly went, but not without turning around and waving again back at Alex. Alex stood there still smiling, waiting until the two left the cafeteria. As soon as they did, her cheerful smiling face turned into an angry visage. She hurriedly walked across the cafeteria over to Justin, who saw her coming. Justin quickly took his drink and started sipping pretending to ignore Alex. He jumped a bit when Alex slammed her hands down on the table.

"Justin! What do you think you're doing!?" She said in irate hushed tone.

"Saving your butt, that's what." He replied back in a hushed tone as well.

"Saving me!? You mean spying and being all creepy, especially on a 9th grade girl!" Alex reprimanded. Justin stood up and started to defend his actions using concise gestures.

"Look! Don't be fooled by that cute smiling face. Beneath it is a cold cruel bloodthirsty killer waiting to destroy any wizard at a moments notice." Justin poignantly asserted. Alex gave him a look of disbelief.

"You serious? She's in 9th grade. Spilt milk is probably more dangerous." Alex retorted.

"I'm not kidding ok. Those two are anti-casters and I know it. And if what dad said is true then they'll all be too eager to reveal you and me." Justin replied back.

"Justin, just give it up. Ok fine, you win, your revenge has been had. There, you happy now? Just leave him and his sister alone! You have no proof that they're anti-casters, get it?" Alex ardently remarked. Justin sighed a bit and took his goggles off. He went around the table to stand closer to Alex, his face turning more serious.

"Alright, fine, look. Stupid gadgets, and super heroes aside, I really do think something is up. That night, my spell backfired, a spell which could not possibly backfire. I mean shouldn't me going out of my way to protect you and making a complete fool of myself account for something? Shouldn't just me being concerned for your safety be proof enough." Alex, who had her arms folded stood there unable to conjure up something to say. She looked at Justin who still held a serious face, then to the floor. Perhaps Justin had a point. Alex didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't deny Justin's actions. Justin placed his hand on Alex's shoulder to reassure her.

"Just think about it." He let out. He then walked towards the cafeteria doors. Alex watched him walk out. She hated what this did to her. One side her felt and knew that Joey was innocent. But on another, more curious side, she felt that perhaps Justin had some point. And it's this split that she hated. She hated not feeling like she could trust Joey fully. Justin had his way of finding out, but Alex decided to do it her way: the Alex Russo way; which was to use magic that was clearly restricted to use at school.

She didn't feel all too well walking to class. She had a makeshift plan, but just going ahead with it meant she didn't trust Joey. Feeling uneasy, she walked in the room and sat next to Harper. Across the classroom was Joey who was talking to someone else. He looked back at Alex and waved. She waved back, but this time with an uneasy smile. Harper began talking to her, but all the words just bounced off Alex as she wasn't listening to Harper. All she could think of was what she was going to do next. She looked around to check how many people were in the classroom. A couple kids were near them and some others spread out across the room. She couldn't cast a spell with them near her. She then turned to Harper who was still talking.

"Harper, I need you to help me." She interrupted.

"Wait, you weren't even listening to me talk about my aunt's albino gecko collection?"

"What? No, never mind, tell me later. Just right now I have to cast a spell but there's people around." Alex responded to her.

"A spell? But isn't that forbidden here at school?" Harper worriedly asked.

"Harper, you should know by now that for me, forbidden means nothing. Now just distract these kids over there as I cast the spell." Alex reassured her.

"Uh, but what do I say?"

"I don't know?! Anything, talk about…your aunts lizards or whatever." She quickly responded to her. Harper shook her head and stood up from her desk.

"Uh, hey everybody, my aunt's got an awesome albino gecko collection." She shouted loud enough for everyone to look at her. Alex sighed and gave herself a face palm. She tugged on Harper to talk to her.

"Harper! You're supposed to distract them over there! Not here next to me." Alex hushed.

"Oh right, sorry." She apologized. Harper walked over to the group of students and started her gecko conversation. This was the perfect opportunity for Alex. She pulled her wand out of her backpack and discreetly pointed it towards Joey.

"Beneath the smiles, beneath the laughs, reveal any magic powers you may have." Alex waited a bit before she would go up to Joey. She began to put her wand away when some force unknown to her stopped her. Before she knew it she whipped around and cast a spell. It created a stack of pancakes on the teacher's desk in front of the class. Unfortunately, others saw the pancake appear.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" A student clamored. Soon everyone began discussing.

"How'd that happened?" Another student added. Alex began to panic.

"Hey, I saw Alex wave that thing in her hand. I must say, that was a nifty magic trick." A student pointed out. It had gotten worse for Alex, she was in trouble now. She hid the wand behind her back.

"What? No, I uh…I don't know what you're talking about. This is just a…cheerleader baton." Alex said with apprehension. Student began to crowd her asking her all sorts of question. It was getting out of hand and Alex rushed to think of a plan. But she couldn't think straight with people asking her questions. She looked around and saw Harper behind the crowd worried. On the other side of the crowd, she saw Joey who looked both confused and concerned. It got worse as the teacher walked in from another door on the opposite side of the room.

"What is going on in here!" The teacher yelled over the clamor around Alex. The crowd looked behind to the teacher who now stood behind the desk. He in turn held his arms akimbo and sternly looked at all the faces. Then he looked down at the pancakes on the desk, only to do a double take.

"And why is there a stack of pancakes on my desk?" He asked. There was a lull before someone spoke.

"It was a magic trick Alex did." Some student admitted. Soon the whole class began talking again. "Yeah Alex, show us another trick." Someone else suggested. Other's soon joined in on the suggestion. Alex didn't know what to do. She couldn't think straight with everyone talking. But again something forced her to cast another spell against her will. This time she took her wand and pointed it towards the teacher.

"You're mean and unfair, turn you now into a grizzly bear." She rattled off quickly. Alex closed her eyes not wanting to see the result. The silence that followed was deafening. She slowly opened her eyes to still find the teacher sternly looking at her. Soon the class erupted with laughter.

"Alex Russo! I will not take this kind of disrespect and nonsense in my classroom. Take your stuff and head down to the principle's office!" The teacher angrily reprimanded. Alex sighed a bit relieved that nothing had happened. She quickly tucked away her wand in her bag and headed towards the door. She looked back to see Joey's reaction, but he wasn't looking at her. Unlike the students around him, he wasn't laughing. Alex turned around and walked to the office.

The bench outside of the principles office seemed so cold; the hallways so empty. Alex buried her face in her hands as she contemplated. 'How could she have done this?' she thought. All she could think of was Joey not looking at her as she walked out. She felt like she had made a fool out of herself. What she had hoped is that he wouldn't think less of her. Another thought that she dreaded to think of was that perhaps Justin was right. Her spells had failed and backfired. She tried to justify it in many ways but it always came back to one thing: anti-caster. Just repeating that in her head made her upset. Those thoughts faded as she heard footsteps. She looked up to see who was walking towards her. It was Joey.

"Joey!" She said surprised to see him.

"Hey Alex. Heh, that was a pretty crazy class." He lightly joked. This time, he smiled, and just that simple act made Alex feel a bit better.

"Yeah…" She lamented.

"Um, look, what happened back there was…well… I think we both have secrets we've kept back." He slowly confessed. Alex stood up from the bench and walked a bit closer to Joey.

"Joey, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but its just…wait…both of us?" She stopped herself. He shook his head 'yes' at her question.

"Alex, the truth is…is that I'm an anti-caster." He let out. There was a brief silence between the two before he began again. "I just couldn't tell you for obvious reasons. You know, wizards and anti-casters aren't exactly best of friends. But I didn't care about that."

Alex felt like something had hit her in the stomach. Even worse she felt like all that she had hoped for was gone. Justin had been right. And she had been a fool for not believing him.

"So…the spells I cast back in the class room…you caused them to fail and backfire…?" She sadly asked.

"It was, and I'm so sorry, but it's just that, I was trained for so long to always dispel a wizard spell cast near or on you. But when I realized that it was you, I…well I couldn't let the others know you were a wizard. I couldn't let you reveal your powers…and for that perhaps, I'm in some serious trouble." Joey confessed sounding apologetic.

"Trouble…what trouble?" Alex looked at Joey who held a more serious visage now. He let out a sigh before he replied.

"According to anti-caster rules, it's forbidden to aid a wizard. Even though I had canceled your spell, in the end it didn't make you reveal your magic. The higher anti-casters out there can monitor most every magical thing we do…and I'm afraid it will be only a matter of time before they find out about this." Joey shook his head and tittered a bit realizing that he would be in trouble.

"But…why would you risk something like that…I thought anti-casters were supposed to hate wizards?" She asked. Joey chuckled a bit and smiled.

"Yeah, and I guess ogres are supposed to be blood thirsty killers. But those movies with that donkey and ogre seem to say otherwise." He lightly jested. It was enough for Alex to smile and wipe a tear from her eye. Joey walked closer to Alex and took her hand and held it in his. Only, before he could say something, Justin popped out from the corner behind Alex. He hurriedly walked towards Joey with his wand extended.

"Not so fast anti-caster. Get away from my sister!" He demanded. He quickly usurped himself in front of Alex lightly pushing her behind him.

"Justin!" She yelled. But Justin didn't listen.

"Not now Alex, just get out of here, I can deal with this." Justin reassured.

"Justin! Just stop now!" She pleaded again this time grabbing his arm. Justin tried to hold her back.

"Don't worry Alex, I can handle this." He again said.

"Justin, just stop. If it wasn't for him, everyone would have known about my powers." She sternly replied. Justin slowly turned around to look back at Alex who at this point was visibly upset. She continued.

"I'll deal with this ok? I can handle it, please, just let me handle this. Now its time for you to trust me." She pleaded. Justin looked at her face and knew she was being serious, so he gave in and took his wand back. He slowly backed up to let Alex talk to Joey.

"So I guess this 'whacko' is your brother." Joey jokingly remarked. Alex smiled.

"Yea, unfortunately." She jested back. "Why would you put yourself in this kind of trouble?" She asked again.

"Because…in the big scheme of things, you're more important than these dumb rules. Alex…all those things I said, I meant all of it. That Friday night, I just felt…some amazing attraction to you. Something, I just can't explain. Just, me meeting you like this seems fictional, but the feeling is all too real. And no amount of magic could make me feel this way." Joey took Alex by the hand again, this time with Justin standing aside not stopping them. "Alex, I really do like you very much. And I care about you too much for you to lose your powers just because of some stupid rule."

Alex was rushing with emotions. Everything that Joey had said was registering with her, but at the same time thoughts raced through her head. All the feelings of mistrust and betrayal before had faded. And now, she felt much more satisfied and at peace. All the silly rules and feelings and awkward moments just seemed trivial in light of what Joey had said. Even she herself felt a little dumb for worrying about it all. What had mattered was that she felt the same way about Joey as Joey feels for her. Alex's eyes began to well up.

"So you did that for me?" She asked amid her sniffles. He nodded. Alex smiled again even as some tears ran down her face. She smiled because she couldn't believe that it had come to this. The two stepped closer and embraced each other. Alex buried her face in his chest; Just having his arms around her made Alex feel at ease. She felt like all the problems were gone. If she could had have it her way, she would love to just stand there embracing him forever. But she knew it couldn't be like this. Joey backed up a bit to talk to Alex, his hands still on her shoulders.

"I can't stay much longer. Me being here has probably put you two in jeopardy. I'm afraid I…have to leave." He confessed to her.

"But you can't. We can go to my dad, he can figure out something." She feebly tried to reassure. But she knew and Joey knew what the right course of action was.

"I'm sorry Alex, but I think I've caused you enough trouble. The higher anti-casters council will know soon enough, and probably will send people soon." He calmly said to her.

"There has to be a way…" Alex said.

"I wish there was but…I can't put you in harms way." Joey smiled and nodded in reassurance. He then slowly backed away, still wanting to be with Alex. They waved to each other and he turned to walk away. Justin came up next to Alex and placed his arm around her to comfort her. Initially distrustful of Joey, he quickly came to understand the levity of the situation.

"Wait. Is there anyway I can still talk to you?" She asked stopping him. He turned around and much to her displeasure, he shook his head "no".

"It'd be too dangerous." He replied. He saw the sad look on her face as he said it and thought of something. He walked over to her again as Justin gave them space. This time, he took off his medallion.

"I want you to have this; to remember me by." Joey said to her.

"But, your uncle gave this to you, its important to you…" She responded. He took her hand and placed the medallion on her hand and held her hand between his.

"It's ok. Besides…what's most important to me…" He guided her hand towards her as he continued. "…will always be closest to your heart." Joey let go of her hands as Alex held the medallion close to her. There was a calm silence as the two looked at each other, Alex still sniffling. Justin who stood near them decided to input something.

"Aww. This is more touching than when Dr. Electron had to leave Miss Spark on Planet 9 because he had to go-"

"Justin!" Alex shouted at him.

"Oh…right; sorry; moment thing, got it." He apologized while backing away a bit.

Joey and Alex smiled and chuckled a bit at Justin's interruption.

"Well, I guess I should get going then. Gotta go find my sister and break to her the bad news." Joey remarked. He started to walk backwards again before saying something again, but this time to Justin.

"Oh. I think I have something of yours by the way." He snapped his fingers and something appeared in his hands. It was Justin's rare comic. He tossed it to an all too eager Justin. At the sight of it he became ecstatic.

"It's my limited edition of Dr. Electron! Dude, thanks!" He said excitedly, then he shifted his tone, "I mean…ahem…Dr. Electron would be proud of your actions." Justin said in his faux heroic tone. Alex shook her head in disgust.

"No prob." Joey replied. He let out a sigh and looked to Alex again. They each waved goodbye to each other one more time. He smiled to her the same way she remembered it the first time at the charity. But this time it was a goodbye. Joey snapped his fingers again and faded away until he disappeared. Alex felt as if the hallway was completely empty again. There she stood, in the middle of the hallway, clutching the medallion close to her still looking at the place where Joey had stood. Justin went up to comfort her again. She leaned on him as he eventually put his arms around her.

"So he's gone then." She said.

"I guess so. But at least you'll always have the memories." Justin reassured her. He let go of her and let her back up a bit. She wiped a tear from her eyes with her sleeve.

"Thanks by the way." Alex said to him.

"For what?" He said quizzically.

"For trying to protect me and all. You were right I guess." Justin smiled from the complement Alex gave him. "Well, I guess this time, being right didn't matter. Just doing my job." He said back to Alex. The two smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Come on, we should get home." Justin patted her on the back and started walking down the hallway. Alex began to turn to go, but looked at where Joey had stood one more time. She then looked down to the medallion she was holding. Finally, she could make out what had been etched on the back of the medallion. She figured it had been recently etched in as she didn't recall seeing it last Friday. In fact, seeing it made her remember even more minute details. Joey always adjusted the medallion to keep the etched side in the back and the coin always visible. Remembering this made her smile and instantly her emptiness that she had just earlier felt, all but seceded. And once more, she felt as though Joey was there with her again. She looked down at the letters etched on medallion again and smiled; for what had been inscribed there were 4 letters, 1 name: "Alex".

The End.