Chapter 7: Emergency Meeting
Justin slept in the next morning. He usually woke up no later than 6am, even on windy, cloudy, dreary Saturday mornings like this one, but he had slept so comfortably that he managed to shut off his alarm without being awake enough to even remember. His newfound relaxation was in part due to his secret being out. He had known for years that he was gay and hadn't told a soul. He felt like telling the whole world.
Well, everyone but Zeke. Justin feared his best friend might react unfavorably to the situation, especially if he knew Justin had been crushing on him for such a long time. He couldn't risk Zeke finding out, so he decided not to tell anyone else for the time being.
At 10:04 his phone beeped and a robotic voice repeatedly said "Blardin rog! Blardin rog!" – "New message!" in Alien.
Justin continued to slumber belly-up with one hand on his chest and the other under his pillow. The alert woke him, but he reacted slowly at first. With his eyes still closed, he shifted his body and reached for the cell phone resting atop his nightstand. He flipped it open and read the text.
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From: Zeke
hey, is Harper at your
house right now?
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Justin quickly replied without getting out of bed.
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To: Zeke
Probably. Do you want
me to go check?
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The wizard found it strange that Zeke was asking him about his girlfriend's whereabouts.
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From: Zeke
yea can you? birchok
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Justin smirked, noticing that Zeke had confused the Alien language word for please with the word for crap. As he had only woken up moments earlier, though, he did not care to respond in Alien (even Justin is a little slow on grey Saturday mornings), nor was he interested in correcting Zeke's humorous error.
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To: Zeke
Sure, hold on.
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Justin put the phone down and sat up on the bed. Every muscle on the front of his shirtless body contracted as he did so, exhibiting a sculpturally chiseled torso. He then got up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling as he let out a big yawn. His usually styled dark hair was mostly flat but stuck out in the back. He reached into his underwear and rearranged its 'contents', which had jumbled around during the night. The loose pajama pants he wore had slid down while he slept and sat well below his narrow waistline. He pulled the front of the pants up, but the back still sagged halfway down his ass. His light blue boxer briefs were wedged in between his buttocks and left little to the imagination. He left his room with his unlevel pants and no shirt.
He slowly walked down the steps to the basement and called out, "Harper! Harper, are you in here?"
[Clank]
"Aah! Birchok" Justin shouted, then muttered something under his breath. He had banged the side of his head on the water pipe that obstructively hung across the stairway space, which had been the cause of many a bumped head and countless expletive exclamations. It was placed so low that it forced everyone to get in the habit of crouching when using the staircase. Justin, however, miscalculated the height due to lack of practice; he had only been to the basement twice since Harper moved in.
He reached the bottom of the staircase as he rubbed his aching temple. "Harper!" he called out once more, and heard no answer. The bed looked like it had been slept in and hastily made, but there was no sign of her.
He walked back to the main floor of the loft and saw his mother standing out in the terrace, watering her plants. He opened the sliding glass door and felt the chilly air on his face. His chest and abs contracted with the cold, forcing him to cross his arms. His pink nipples quickly grew a shade purpler and stiffened.
"Mom, is Harper home?" His teeth clattered.
"No, honey, she and your sister went to the early bird sale at the mall."
"There's a sale today?" Justin asked, sleepily.
"Is there any other reason Alex would be up at this hour? Put a sweater on, m'ijo, you're gonna catch something.
"Okay, Mom. Thanks," he said as he walked back into the warmth of the kitchen.
"And some pajamas that fit you, Justin! No one wants to see your butt sticking out like that."
He pulled up his PJs with one hand and grabbed his phone with the other. He dialed Zeke's number.
He picked up on the first ring, "Hey, what's up?"
"Harper's not home. Went out shopping with Alex," Justin stated groggily.
"Oh, cool. Were you asleep? Sorry man, didn't mean to wake you."
"Yeah. It's okay dude, no worries."
"Good. So since Harper's not there, can I come over? I kinda need your advice on something."
"Sure, get your butt over here."
Zeke laughed. "Alright, my butt'll be over there in a few minutes."
Justin stepped out of the shower and entered his room. As he finished getting dressed, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" he yelled, running downstairs.
Zeke walked inside as soon as the door was opened. "Justin, I'm seriously freaking out." His hands were all over the place.
"Okay, calm down, what's going on?" Justin asked concernedly as they headed upstairs to his room.
A/N: My apologies for this short and somewhat uneventful update.
I've drafted the next chapter but it still needs a few edits – keep an eye out for it soon.
Thank you for reading, please review, I love reviews!
On another note, happy spring break! I hope all authors that have this week off from school/work take full advantage of it to finally start drafting that new idea, hastily put those final edits on near-finished pieces, and hurry up and publish/update before we have to climb back onto our hamster wheels for the most demanding part of the schoolyear!