I love Harper. She's awesome. :) This really wasn't how I wanted it to come out, but...
Enjoy?
Harper Finkle was an odd girl. Smart, but odd.
She had A's in all her classes, but she was always assumed she failed every test she's taken.
("Maybe Alex put a spell on me so I'd pass!")
She could do anything she put her mind to, but always doubted herself.
She could fall in love, but feared no one would love her back.
Harper was interested in the shy, quiet type. So it hit her completely off guard when she fell for Dean.
Dean! Of all people, she falls for a freakin' bad boy. The ones her mama warned her about all her life, the ones her dad threatened when he saw them even near his daughter. The ones who dated her best friend.
Yeah, best friend, as if she can even call herself that anymore. How could she like Dean? After Alex had just broken up with him. She saw him a day after their split, and he looked horrible. Heart broken. Maybe that's why she liked him so much, because he did, unlike many other guys, have a sensitive side.
Whenever Dean came up in conversation, for any reason, Harper would tense up, but no one would notice.
Always, she wondered what it'd be like to be with Dean, a bad boy. What people would think; Alex, Justin, her parents. She'd lusted after Justin for long, that it was...weird liking someone new. Someone different.
They all grow a year older, and Harper's just beginning to go back into her Justin phase when he decides to visit, and it all goes to hell and she's swooning to herself over his leather vest and tight jeans and perfectly messy hair. Fantastic, she thinks bitterly to herself, watching Dean walk up to the counter, where Alex stood.
Oh, he's just hungry. Oh, he's just passing through town. Oh, Alex, I remember her.
Yeah, okay. Harper doesn't believe of word he's saying. She stands near a table by the doors, arms crossed, watching him make a fool of himself. He's stuttering out his complicated, long order, and she knows exactly why. He just wants a reason to stare at Alex without being questioned.
Because he loves her. He always has. Never, ever, did he feel a thing for Alex's friend, the weird girl, "Finkle."
Never.
Alex says a mere, "You're order will be right out," gives him a hard stare, and walks into the kitchen. Dean sighs, running a hand through his hair, looking through the restaurant. And, oh no, she realizes too late that he's looking over and;
"Finkle." He says, smiling, turning her knees to the goo she's used to. "It's been a while."
"Yup." She pops the P awkwardly, looking elsewhere.
"How ya been?"
"Fine." She doesn't ask him the same, but he answers regardless.
"Uh, yeah, me too."
And it's silent, as usual. They're not friends, not even acquaintenses. They just know of each other.
She makes the mistake of looking into his zoned out, dull brown eyes for a moment. He doesn't realize, not right away, and she takes the time to stare. He has nice eyes, one must admit, and they used to be full of life, but now..
"Finkle?" She jumps, blinking.
"Huh?"
"Whatcha lookin' at?" He asks, grinning. She blushes, fumbling over her words as he laughs. "Same old Finkle." Her heart swells with false hope at the nickname only he called her, and she smiled, shrugging.
"I'd say the same to you, but.." His smile falters as he sighs.
"Yeah, I know." He looks into her eyes. "It's been hard lately."
"Oh." She says quietly, dropping her gaze, not wanting to get lost again. "Been there, done that." And it's quiet again.
"Hey, Finkle?"
"What?"
"Is Alex...doing okay?" He shifts uncomfortably. Her heart shatters.
"She's fine." She answers, voice cracking slightly. She clears her throat, faking cheer. "She's great! She's got this new boyfriend, an artist, you know. He's really cute, too." She's smirking, watching his pain. Suffer, her mind says coldly, suffer like I had to. Who would of guessed sweet ol' Harper Finkle had a mean side.
"That's.." He coughs, forcing a smile. "Great. Really great."
"Dean?" She blurts out.
"Yeah?" He's frowning, staring into space.
"I like you." She said before her mind could stop her. Her mouth continued, although her brain screamed the exact opposite of what she said. "A lot. I have for years and it's really, really annoying that you always talk about Alex." She sighed, shaking her head. Dean stares, mouth agape, watching in shock. She nods, taking a few steps back.
"Harper-" It hurts to hear her real name with his voice.
"It's Finkle." She grins, turning on her heel, fleeing from the scene. She calls back to him before she's gone, the first thing that comes to mind, "See ya in P.E!"
I hate one-sided couples. They make me sad~ *sigh* Review?