Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:42:25 -0400
From: mpseagle16@gmail.com
Subject: The Boys of Waverly Place (chapter 2)

AN: Wowwww, first of all... THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone that emailed me with
a review of my first chapter. Like I was soo excited I was literally dancing
around the living room. I've never published anything before cause I've
always been really self conscious of my writing and you guys just made me
feel so good!_! Thanks to RobGnVA80, G A, Luis Gadier, Pablo Nuno, Lili
Maji, No Nono, ryan.martinez, Jen Smith, Cody Kramer, and everyone else that
commented! Thanks rob for the pics of Justin :))

To answer several basic questions; Yes, the relationship between Max and
Justin is going to build a little slowly, HOWEVER, thanks to the suggestion
of Pablo I am going to through in a little yummy goodness towel worthy stuff
here and there. Don't get me wrong, I love it when Max and Justin jump right
into the hot stuff, but I'm trying to write a story that has a little merit
beyond just the hot sex.

Speaking of hot sex... I am also going to take Pablo's vers. suggestion. I had
that in mind pretty much from the beginning. I get sick of seeing the same
character on top and the same character on bottom all the time. Plus, if you
couldn't tell already, I'm definitely giving Max a lot of power in this
story so you'll definitely get to see how that plays out in the future :)

BONUS!!! Because the feedback was soooo staggering, I was up all night and
decided to drop two chappies. I love you guys. ENJOY...



Ch. 2

Justin's body felt warm and tingly. He was floating on a fluffy white
billowing cloud and the sun was basking him in its radiant golden light.
Eternal bliss washed over his entire body and he felt completely contented
and renewed. Justin hoped that the feeling would never end, and that he
would simply float on into oblivion when he was suddenly jerked out of his
trance and found himself lying back on the carpet in Max's room.

Gone was the warm sun soaking through his skin illuminating the world around
him and was now replaced by his little brother's cool dark room. The soft
fluffy cloud that he had so vividly been borne upon was once more Max's
rough carpeted floor. Justin blinked his eyes several times adjusting
himself back to reality.

*Shit, so that's how a healing spell works. FUCK, how long was I out? What
did Max tell Mom?*

* *

Justin jumped up from the floor with the grace of a martial arts fighter.
The room spun about him momentarily as his equilibrium caught up with him..
He was still trying to get used to the side effects from the healing spell.
His body was still tingling and it really bothered him that he had no idea
of how long he had been out. On the bright side the pain that he had endured
from Max was completely gone as if he had never been attacked. It did
nothing however to heal the emotional pain he was going through from the
anger that his brother had shown towards him. Sure he knew that Max was
angry about something, but the attack was entirely too personal and Justin
was determined to find out what had been eating away at his little brother.

He quickly strode out of the room and descended down the spiral stair case
completely unsure about what kind of a reception he was going to receive
once he reached the second floor living area of his family's apartment. As
he hit the landing he immediately headed over to the kitchen where his mom
was washing dishes in the sink.

*That's odd. Have they just finished eating dinner? Have I really been out
that long?*

* *

Justin approached his mother with trepidation and sat down wearily at one of
the bar stools in front of her. Theresa Russo looked up sensing Justin's
presence and smiled sympathetically.

*Here it comes.*

* *

"Are you doing okay honey?" She put down the plate she had been cleaning and
shut off the faucet. Then she made her way around the granite island over to
her eldest son. "I heard a lot of yelling and I was worried but I wanted to
give you boys some space to work out whatever you needed."

Justin returned a bewildered look. Was his mother serious? He was
unconscious for several hours and she wasn't even concerned about where he
had been the whole time?

"When Max ran down a minute ago I was really worried, but Alex took him down
to the lair to talk. You know how she has a way with him." She looked down
at the polished counter dejectedly. "He didn't want to talk to me or your
father, but I know Alex will take care of him."

Justin was happy at least that Alex was calming Max down...

*Wait... WHAT THE HELL? `Max ran down a minute ago'!?*

Justin knew he had to have been out longer than that. His sun bathing on the
fluffy cloud of peace and tranquility had lasted hours at the very least.

"Justin?"

"Hmm?" He looked up into his mother's warm brown eyes.

"Are you okay? Is everything between you and Maxie okay?"

Justin didn't know how to answer her.

*Of course everything is not okay!*

* *

He thought back again to the pain and emotional agony Max had put him
through. Then, shortly after, the hurt and shock and shame that Max had
displayed after he had realized what he had done to Justin.

*And the pain I dealt to Max when he wouldn't stop fighting...*

He wanted to tell his mom all of this. At the very least so that he could
get it all off of his chest. His eyes began to water up and he ground his
teeth together. Justin felt that if he told his mother too much however, he
would somehow be betraying the little bit of trust he had left with Max.
Especially since his brother had initiated all of the attacks. Justin's big
brother instincts kicked in and he felt the need to protect Max even though
the boy had seriously tried to hurt him.

Justin cleared his voice in an attempt to hide the emotions coursing through
him.

"I'm doing alright. I still don't know why Max is so angry... but I think were
making some progress." He added as an afterthought, running a hand through
his soft spiked hair. "He's definitely starting to open up more..."

*That's for sure.*

* *

The worry and concern in Theresa's face dissipated slightly and she smiled
again.

"*You* know you can talk to me about anything right?" She still seemed put
off about Max wanting to talk to Alex over her.

Justin surprised his mother with a hug.

"Don't I always talk to you?"

*I may be independent but I'm still a momma's boy.*

* *

"Oh me corazon." She fixed Justin's hair where he had just messed it up and
then cupped his cheek affectionately. "You're such a good boy. Max and Alex
are lucky to have such a caring brother."

Justin was really glad now that he hadn't told her about everything that had
happened upstairs.

Theresa patted his cheek, appraising Justin one more time attempting to
search out any more hidden emotional wounds in need of bandaging, but
eventually decided that he was okay.

"Dinner is in an hour sweetie."

Justin watched his mother fondly as she went back to washing dishes. The
guilt as well as the shame and sadness he had been feeling from earlier was
still causing his stomach to rumble, (but that could also have been due to
the fact that he hadn't eaten all day) but talking to his mom, even if for a
moment, had helped him considerably. He pushed himself away from the island
and smiled at Theresa who winked back at him as he turned to leave the
kitchen.

Justin walked into the living room and plopped down onto one of the comfy
auburn couches. He picked up one of Alex's People magazine's and began to
aimlessly flip through the pages. He had difficulty focusing on any one
thing between the numerous pages. His mind, ultimately, kept falling back on
Max. He could very easily picture the young man Max had grown into over the
last year. He was care free and comically hysterical. He reveled in playing
jokes on people and making a fool of himself, and he could always get away
with it, with Justin's help or not. He had always been cute as a kid and a
young teenager, but now at 16, Justin had to admit, Max had become... well...
more than cute.

His waist had narrowed and his shoulders and chest had broadened and
developed. Justin was always amazed to see that Max's thin arms and chicken
legs had become toned and defined, and he liked the way that his little
brother had decided to let his hair grow out to its slightly shaggy length.
Max had attained some nice light natural highlights in his chestnut hair
from being outside all the time; skating, running, and surfing. The latter
had done the most for Max's tan, Justin mussed. Max's deep seemingly full
bodied tan rivaled only their mother's dark Latin one. All of the outdoor
physical activity Max had been engaging in besides accenting his tan had
also done a number on his flat stomach.

Justin felt a strange sensation erupt in him when his attention focused on
the muscles that now rippled through Max's abs. He was cut, and Justin had
had far too many opportunities to be witness to this as Max had become more
than cavalier about walking around shirtless since his upper body had filled
out. Justin still had a vivid mental image from only three days ago when Max
had come in from skating outside on a particularly hot New York day.

He had come pounding up the stairs into the living room with his skateboard
under his arm and a t-shirt draped over his shoulder. Parts of his hair
clung damp around his face and a trail of sweat lead down between the middle
of his pecs and his light abs pooling in a damp spot in the waistband of his
grey boxer-briefs riding just above his dark blue jeans.

Justin and Alex had both been sitting in the living room arguing about a new
spell when a sound had erupted from Alex's throat and a deep blush had shot
up her cheeks alerting Justin to Max's presence. Justin had felt a light
blush slowly creep its way into his own cheeks, and he averted his eyes as
strange thoughts that he would never have associated with his brother had
begun to enter his mind.

*"Put a shirt on me amor!" Their mother's voice had cut across from the
other side of the living room as Max walked by. "And take a shower you're
sweaty."*

Strangely Justin hadn't minded Max's sweaty body at all. He had smelt musky
and oddly... good, and Justin hadn't been able to keep from tilting his head
and gazing at Max's backside as his jeans and underwear had been riding a
bit low exposing the subtle curves of Max's round firm ass and the sexy
small of his back.

Justin remembered Alex jabbing him sharply in the side with her elbow and
having to shake his head attempting to clear his mind and eradicate his
brain of the strangely persistent thoughts now plaguing him. Alex had thrown
him a piercing searching look full of confusion and curiosity.

Sensing the stares, Max had turned back to look at his siblings and soaked
in their embarrassment. He had smirked broadly his eyes lighting up
brightly; a seldom occurrence lately.

The last one Justin had been privy to. He had felt like he could lose
himself in his brother's captivating hazel eyes. Max had smiled more broadly
and stuck the tip of his tongue out between his light pink swollen lips
throwing Justin a playful set of middle fingers. Then he had spun around and
jogged over to the second story shower where Justin had clearly heard the
sound of Max unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, and Justin had briefly
caught a glimpse of the waistband of Max's jeans hitting the ground exposing
the contours of his tight ass hugged by his damp grey boxer briefs.

Justin shook his head vigorously eradicating his thought of the disturbing
memory. Why had he felt so invigorated by his brother? Thoughts he could
only relate to girls he had dated in the past.

*Wait...*

* *

He was so NOT comparing Max, his little brother, to girls. That was just
sick... wrong... not to mention demented. Justin shook his head as a shiver ran
down his spine. What the fuck was wrong with him. He had never gone beyond
thinking his brother was reasonably attractive, in a completely platonic
sense. Not that his thoughts were venturing out of that realm. Obviously his
hormones were just playing tricks on him. It was simply that he hadn't had
sex with his girlfriend Juliette in over a month and his hand simply
couldn't compare.

Obviously the healing potion had some bizarre fall out after effects that
were fucking with his mind. The last time he had seen Max shirtless and
sweaty, for whatever reason, he had been aroused... no, mildly turned on...

*Fuck that, that's so not right! Try embarrassed.*

Yes, he had been embarrassed. That sounded much better.

*Alex had been too?*

* *

Justin reaffirmed, attempting to build his sanity back up, remembering
Alex's reaction when Max had first entered the living room. So they both had
been embarrassed... who fucking cares.

Justin felt much better after his little self pep talk. His mind shifted
back to Alex however. She had always seemed to have a very good, very close
relationship with their slightly younger zany brother. Justin wondered what
they were talking about right now. From the way his mother had presented the
situation it would seem that Alex was currently consoling Max, or at the
very least attempting to get into his brain and trying to figure out how he
ticked and what was making him so upset lately.

Justin remembered how often Alex would affectionately throw her arms around
Max's neck in a sideways hug, and how Max would smile brightly or roll his
eyes although obviously enjoying the attention. Why was Max so much more
comfortable around Alex than him? Justin was the one that used to hold Max
all the time when he was a baby. They had always had a very close bond,
playing together, and getting into trouble all the time. Not to mention Max
allowing Justin to experiment with new spells on him.

*So what's changed? Why the FUCK* *does he hate me so much now?*

* *

Justin ground his teeth together in frustration slamming the People magazine
back down onto the coffee table.

"You probably shouldn't do that."

Justin jerked his head over to the left to see Alex leaning against the
dining room table a coy look plastered on her face. He narrowed his eyes at
her.

"Grinding your teeth together you know." She went on. "You've been doing it
whenever you get frustrated for almost as long as I can remember. It always
gives you headaches afterwards."

Justin wouldn't admit it but Alex was right.

She walked over to the couch and sat down next to him with an air of the
utmost elegance.

It amazed Justin how quickly Alex could switch from being a total devious
manipulative wretch to a kind caring sensitive sister. And she always turned
into nice Alex at the last second. People who didn't know her could easily
surmise that she was an evil bitch. Justin knew, however, that this was
simply not... entirely true. Alex definitely had her moments of amazingness;
especially when the fantastical pranks she pulled didn't involve Max or
Justin.

The eldest dark haired Russo thought back to when the entire family had
taken their Caribbean vacation they had taken only a year ago. Alex had had
the opportunity to become the family wizard, stripping her brothers of their
powers and exponentially increasing her own. Instead she had decided to
return everything to as it had been before she had made that terrible wish
that day. One of her better moments Justin mussed. She and her brothers had
shared in a very intimate group hug. That was the closest they had been in a
long time. Justin felt slightly dejected at the thought, but Alex was at
least being serious with him now. That was a start.

"What's wrong? You're awfully grumpy today. What, did you lose all your text
books?" She laughed praising her own joke.

*So much for seriousness.*

Justin sighed slumping over to focus on the carpet, his arms resting on his
thighs. He looked up at Alex and then immediately back down at the ground.
Justin chewed on his lip attempting to compose the many thoughts racing
through his mind. How much should he tell Alex? *Should* he tell Alex for
that matter? More importantly how much had Max told Alex?

"I..." he began unsure of himself. "I don't know what to do."  Justin looked
up at Alex and she peered deeply into Justin searching.

* I wish she would stop doing that.*

Justin's eyes glazed over for the second time that day as he recanted much
of what had happened earlier on, from his frustration with Max's silent
treatment and strange behavior to his brother's attack on him and having to
use a healing spell afterward. Justin felt ashamed revealing all of this for
the first time to another person but he knew he would be better off for
doing so in the end.

Surprisingly Alex made no sarcastic comments. Her face remained completely
passive, minus the compassionate shine in her eyes.

"I know."

Justin shot her a bewildered and worried look.

"Max told me." She explained. Then she lowered her voice slightly "He cried
for a while when he talked about beating you up." Alex's voice cracked as
she said this, her eyes shining with unspoken mirth.

Justin cut her a serious look and she straightened up.

"Sorry, inappropriate. You have to know Justin that he is so sorry." She put
a hand on the back of Justin's neck. "Try to understand that he is going
through some really tough shit right now, and while the attack and a lot of
his angst is directed at you, he still loves you."

Justin's eyes narrowed. How could he be a major cause of his little
brother's sadness? He had done nothing wrong right?

"Well he has a funny way of showing it." Justin spat out more bitterly than
he had initially intended. "Why the hell doesn't he talk to me? I mean he
used to come to me about everything."

"He does want to talk to you."

Justin doubted that.

"He's just not ready yet."

"What the hell?" Justin felt really confused. Only a year ago they had been
inseparable, playing jokes on each other, going on campouts... He told Alex
this.

"I know, I know. Look," Her voice dropped barely above a whisper. "He told
me something tonight that completely explains... sort of... his animosity
towards you."

Justin opened his mouth to comment but Alex cut him off before he had the
chance.

"I can't tell you though, he made me swear."

Justin's jaw dropped in dejected outrage.

"And I wouldn't anyway because Maxie trusts me, but I think he'll talk to
you eventually. He really wants to." She went on. "He just... he's afraid of
how you'll react."

"But he told you..."

"Because I'm only indirectly involved and... for other reasons which I can't
tell you." Alex smiled deeply, reveling in the fact that she knew something
Justin didn't.

"So not cool." He mumbled under his breath. Obviously Alex knew something
important but she wasn't going to tell him. At least not easily. "Look
Alex..." Justin switched into his charming mode which always worked wonders
with his teachers and parents.

"Ha ha," Alex laughed, putting a hand on Justin's knee. "Really? If you're
going to try to schmooze me with that cute puppy look, it won't work. It's
never worked."

Justin guffawed.

"I only ever let you think it did so then I could manipulate you and end up
getting whatever it was I had wanted in the first place." She stuck her
tongue out at her brother petulantly. "Chill out bro. I'm just messing with
you, but seriously." Alex put a finger on Justin's chin closing his mouth.
"Max really trusts me." She laughed sarcastically. "Ahhh... Such a naïve boy...
Anyway, you're going to have to talk to him if you want to know more. And
trust me he will open up to you... eventually."

Justin felt a mild sense of dread and doubt. Would Max really want to talk
to him? And when he did decide to, what was he going say. What had caused
Max to freak out on him? Sure Justin had resulted to drastic measures in
order to get into Max's room, but his brother had seemed to harbor so much
animosity towards him long before that. He sighed resignedly.

"Alright... I just hate all this." Justin's eyes were a dull cobalt as he
stared into Alex's own for confirmation towards his feelings of anguish.

"I know, but you'll be okay. Max is doing a lot better at least."

If nothing else, this gave Justin confidence.

As if he knew they were talking about him, Max suddenly ascended the spiral
stair case from the wizarding layer. He froze when he saw Alex sitting in
the living room. His handsome face twisted into a look of shock and his eyes
burned into Alex asking an unspoken question.

Alex shook her head and Max immediately relaxed. His lips twisted into the
faintest of smiles and he glanced at Justin for a moment, his old slightly
jovial face slowly coming to life. He looked back to their sister.

"Alex," Max's sexy raspy voice, somewhere in between tenor and baritone,
broke the silence.

*Sexy?*

* *

"I found this bottle in dad's magical chest." He brandished a light blue
plastic bottle of Evian water. "It looks like a water bottle and tastes like
water, but it can't be water because it was in dad's magical chests."

Alex shot Justin a maniacal look. "Oh Max! You drank that!? Do you feel
okay?"

Max took a step backwards a worried grimace growing across his face. "I
think so, what's wrong?" He held the bottle as far away from him as
possible. "I thought I'd check if it was really water!"

"Oh no, you're turning pale, I can't believe you drank that. It's a
pregnancy inducing potion!"

Max looked stunned. "I don't  actually know what inducing means but whatever
it is it sounds bad." His eyes flicked over to Justin for confirmation.

"What are you talking about Alex? Of course that's a regular bottle of
water. I was just drinking from it ..."

Alex nudged Justin sharply in the ribs, winking at him.

"Uh, I mean, yeah pregnancy..." he recovered intelligently.

*Not...*

* *

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I hope your hips are wide enough and you're ready to drop out of high
school. You're going to be a daddy... err mommy..." She cackled.

Max dropped the bottle of water backing away from Alex and Justin. "I don't
want to have a baby." He gasped desperately stumbling over a recliner. "What
will Jessica say? We've only been going out for three weeks. I can't have a
baby now! I need to find a potion to get this thing out of me!" Max pulled
out his wand and pointed it at his firm stomach. "Baby be gone! Fetus
reducto!" he shouted attempting to cast a spell as he ran out of the room.

Alex began to let out belly aching laughs occasional allowing a snort to
escape. Although it was a petty, far too easy joke aimed at Max's naivety,
not to mention stupidity (most jokes at his expense were like this), Justin
couldn't help but join in with Alex. He felt tears of mirth fill his eyes,
and he realized that this was the first time in a very long time that he had
laughed this hard, or laughed at all for that matter.

Eventually the two eldest Russo children settled down and Alex patted Justin
on his knee standing up.

"Well," she said with finality. "Looks like things are starting to go back
to normal. You did good today bro."

Justin simply shook his head, although he was unable to wipe the smile from
his face.

Alex stood there for another awkward moment before speaking.

"Well, that's about as much seriousness as I can handle for one day." She
turned on her heal, her mini skirt flaring, and abruptly left the living
room summoning the People magazine in front of Justin. "And that's mine."

As he watched Alex retreat past the kitchen Justin felt his heart
lightening. The tension in the apartment had seemed to lift considerably and
Justin noticed that it had become much easier for him to breathe. The
gripping feeling that had been growing over his heart and stomach had
finally loosened and he felt confident that things were going to start going
much smoother around Max. At least he hoped so.

*After all he did smile at me.*

Justin pushed himself up from the couch and stretched his limbs. He felt
exhausted from the long trying afternoon but the extra blood flow to his
muscles was rejuvenating. He felt light headed as he relaxed his arms back
at his side, but the sudden awareness of a wonderful scent traveling from
the oven cleared his mind of all other thoughts. Justin walked into the
kitchen to investigate which wondrous concoction his mother had decided to
cook up for the evening. He opened the heavy glass Whirlpool door and a
blast of heat nearly singed his eyebrows. Inside the black oven a casserole
dish of lasagna bubbled away and the marvelous aromas of basil, rosemary,
and thyme wafted over his senses.

"Smells good corazon?"

Surprised, Justin slammed the oven shut spinning around to face his beaming
mother. She pulled the top of her apron up over her head and crumpled it
into a ball, then tossed it over her shoulder into the laundry room.

Justin smiled back raising an appreciative eyebrow and nodded.

Theresa Russo smiled graciously at her oldest son. "Good. I heard the three
of you talking. I'm glad you're working things out."

"Yeah..."

"Well, go get washed up, everything should be ready in a few minutes. Where
are your brother and sister?"

Justin beckoned his head towards the other side of the room in the direction
they had both disappeared.

"Alex... Max... lavar, rapido!" Theresa's brusque voice cut across the
apartment.

Justin heard sudden scraping noises and footsteps from a corridor across the
room.

"You too!" She smiled sternly at him.

Justin shook his head fondly making for the stairs to clean up in his
bathroom. His mother sure had personality. He slowly walked up the steps an
entirely different air about him compared to the mood he had been in
earlier. Justin was glad the day had turned around so abruptly and that Max
had been able to get out what ever demons he had been harboring for so long.
Justin pulled his wand out from his back pocket once more that evening as he
hit the landing at the top of the stairs.

"In my brother's anger destruction committed, repair the damage I
permitted." Justin waved his wand at Max's shattered door and the pieces
began to put themselves back together. He finally reached his bathroom and
quietly shut the door. Justin ran the water for a moment allowing the
temperature to warm until steam began to proliferate about the bowl.

He sighed submersing his hands under the hot water. Justin entertained the
symbolical idea of washing his hands of the dirt and grime from the intense
day. He had a feeling that a new beginning was on the rise and that things
were going to be very different for the Russo house in the best possible
way. At least he hoped...



Chapter 3 should be up as well :) Critiques and comments much appreciated.
mpseagle16@gmail.com