She'd never really said it.
In all the time that she'd longed for him...pursued him...obsessed over him, she'd never actually used that one particular word.
That was because, even though she was a child and didn't fully understand her feelings, she knew that one word was special.
So even though all her friends and classmates knew that Harper was utterly smitten with Justin, her best friend's older brother, they never heard her say the word 'love' directly to him.
Not that anyone ever gave it any thought. It was obvious how she felt. Just as it was obvious that those feelings were one-sided. What did it really matter anyway? They were just kids...and it was a silly childhood crush. It would go away with time...to be replaced with another childhood crush. That was the way such things worked.
Years passed. Children became teenagers.
Harper's crush remained just as strong as ever. Her only crush.
Yet she still never said the word. Not directly. Not to Justin.
Then, Justin met Juliet...and Harper was jealous. Just as she'd been jealous of Miranda, and the other girls that had come into his life over the years.
Except this was different.
For this time, it didn't take long for Harper to notice something in Justin's eyes that she'd never seen before.
Something was different about his smile when he looked at Juliet.
And just like that, she wasn't jealous at all. Because despite all the years of longing and pursuing and wanting, seeing him like this was just so...wonderful.
She was happy for him. No, she was overjoyed for him...because Juliet was wonderful too.
So after all those years, the pursuing and the obsessing ended overnight. Quickly, quietly and entirely free of drama.
Then, just as quickly, once her one and only childhood crush had finally come to an end, she saw someone else. Someone who'd been right there for years himself. Zeke.
He was pretty wonderful too.
With him it was different. Indeed, it was almost easy. She didn't pursue him, and he didn't pursue her. They just came comfortably together, at their own pace.
Harper had no problem at all saying 'love' with Zeke. She said it, and she meant it, and now she was old enough to truly understand what it meant.
Everything was great.
Except...
There was just a tiny, niggling trace of...something that stayed nestled in her mind and her heart. Some unfinished business.
It's not that she wanted Justin anymore. She was with Zeke and she was happy. Justin was with Juliet, and Harper was happy for them.
But he still meant something to her. He meant quite a lot. She wouldn't have been so happy for him otherwise.
Yet she never told him that. Perhaps because even though her heart belonged to another, there was still a sliver of fear that if she told Justin how important he was to her...she'd discover that their relationship was still as one-sided as ever.
Things could very well have stayed that way forever, if they'd been normal people.
Of course, nobody would ever apply the word 'normal' to anyone in Justin's family.
Magic...monsters...other dimensions...Harper had grown quite accustomed to it all over the years. One of the reasons she'd been able to take it all in stride was her total faith and trust in her best friend Alex. Just like her brother, Alex was an extraordinarily powerful wizard... and she'd do anything to protect Harper.
Of course, back when they were kids, sometimes Alex had found herself in situations that even her magic couldn't deal with...but those were the occasions when Justin would arrive and bail her out. For just as Alex would do anything to protect Harper...Justin would do anything to protect Alex.
Because they were family and they loved each other.
Eventually though, the day came when Alex and Harper found themselves threatened by monsters and demons and supernatural creatures once more...yet things were different. Alex's power had grown far beyond the point where she needed her brother's protection, but even so, she couldn't be everywhere at once. So when the chaos and confusion of battle had separated the two friends, Harper had been left with no choice but to run for her life.
She'd found herself cornered, with a trio of demons ready to rip her apart. As the fiercest of the three lunged for her, she didn't have time to be scared. Her only reaction was to worry about how Alex would blame herself for this.
And then...Justin was there. Arriving with fire and fury and raining destruction down on the demons' heads. Harper had seen him like this in the past, at times when he'd fought to protect Alex.
Yet that wasn't who he was protecting now.
It was all a blur after that. Monsters were banished or destroyed. Order was restored. Alex checked to see that Harper was safe, and then made one more sweep of the area, just in case they'd missed some creatures that were still hiding.
Thus, Harper and Justin found themselves alone.
"Thank you," she said, trying not sound overly emotional, and failing miserably.
"You don't need to thank me," he replied as he faced her.
"Yes, I do."
She wanted to say more than that, but still she hesitated.
Justin did not.
"Harper," he said as he looked into her eyes. "You know I would never let-"
She raised a finger to his lips to silence him. The rest of the sentence was unnecessary. The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice had already given her all she'd needed.
"I love you too."
She said it. She meant it. She knew he felt the same.
They smiled. They hugged. Alex rejoined them. They went home.
Justin's heart belonged to Juliet. Harper's belonged to Zeke. Everything remained the same...except somehow slightly better.
Because after all these years, finally...nothing was left unsaid.
The End.
author's notes: This is my third story spotlighting the relationship between Harper and an individual Russo. I don't think it quite lives up to my earlier efforts...but you can judge for yourself by checking them out. Two Times that Harper Cried and Translated Literally. Please review.