Harper Finkle had finished Zeke's figurine a few days before, but her nerves had gotten the best of her every time she even considered presenting him with the gifts.

She wasn't worried about the mini-Justin. She knew it was exactly what Zeke had wanted it to be, and she was 100 percent sure the older males would be excited over it. But the surprise gift? That one made Harper's stomach twist into knots.

After all, it's not like they were dating. If they were dating it'd be perfectly okay to do something like that. Harper was afraid it would be considered creepy, or that Zeke would realize she had memorized the details of his face, right down to mixing the perfect paint color for his piercing eyes.

She got chills just thinking about it. Of course, the chills could have come from the water fountain she was leaning next to. It'd started shaking as it cooled the tap water down on schedule. She knew exactly when Zeke would stop at this water fountain – 15 minutes after classes let out for the day, after he'd met up with Justin, gotten his bag out of his locker and exchanged pleasantries with his favorite librarian.

This was just his Tuesday schedule. Harper knew the other days of the week, too, and they all included a stop at this water fountain. Usually Harper would hover near it, then if she happened to see Zeke she would say hello, ask how his day was, then offer a kind "see you later!" and rush off to replay the conversation over and over again.

Today, however, she was going to be bold. She was making it clear that she was waiting for him. Heck, all she needed was to hold a sign up with his name like people do at airports. (Alex, however, told her that wouldn't be the best idea, so she'd left the glittery masterpiece at home.)

Zeke turned down the hallway, approaching his favorite water fountain and last stop of the day before he had to tackle homework and hang out with Justin. It was his favorite part of the day because lately Harper's schedule had been colliding with his. He assumed it was the universe working in his favor, but, at the same time, it had gotten harder and harder to view her as simply a friend.

In fact, two days before he had decided to talk to Justin about it. Then he chickened out and decided to reschedule that talk. Maybe after Harper finished the project Justin would be in a better mood and he would approve of Zeke asking Harper out on a real date.

Or Justin would realize how amazing Harper was for painting the miniature, then his feelings would come back and they would get back together and Zeke would be alone.

Those thoughts flew out of Zeke's mind as fast as they had appeared when he saw Harper leaning next to the fountain. She had unveiled a new outfit today, he realized, ecstatic to peek a closer look and to compliment her on the creative endeavor.

When he reached the fountain, his lanky body bent over to take a sip, while his eyes scanned the materials used on her dress. The skirt, draping just above her knees, was fashioned with a collage of greeting card covers, from smiling children and happy animals to cartoons and painted pictures. The white bodice was made of the inside parts – the "thinking of you!" and "happy birthday!" sentiments pieced together to fit her curves. Red ribbons made spaghetti straps, almost blending in with her straightened hair.

Zeke didn't realize he'd been staring instead of swallowing until water started dribbling down his chin. He quickly stood up, wiping the water away and offering the biggest, cheesiest smile he could.

"I like the outfit," he said, watching as Harper's cheeks turned pink. "Greeting cards don't look good on many people but you really pull it off."

Harper smiled, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' before holding up her hands. She held a tiny gift box, a giant tag attached with Zeke's name scrawled on it. "I finished the gift," she declared proudly. "For Justin."

He quickly took the box, leading her over to a bench so they could sit down and open it. His eyes went directly to Justin's miniature. Picking it up with his jaw dropped as he studied the details and effort she put into it.

"Harper, this is amazing," he told her. "So much better than the store bought ones, too. Thank you for doing this." He carefully placed the item back in the box, only to notice the miniature he had missed at first glance. "What's this?"

Harper had to think about her answer. She easily could have spat out 'It's my way of telling you I have a major crush on you!' but it didn't seem very subtle or cool. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she made eye contact with him.

"I just figured Justin shouldn't be the only one with one," she answered, watching as he studied the tiny version of him.

He didn't know what to say. Any thoughts he had were turned to mush, any words that had formed were now caught in his throat, and his heart was pounding on his chest so loud he was sure Harper could hear it.

His eyes fell to her stomach, reaching a finger out and poking her gently. At first Harper was confused – what kind of response is that? Who pokes someone after they receive a present? But as she glanced down at his finger, she noticed his fingertip rested on a thank you card.

She had to laugh. It was so random and adorable, and soon he was laughing with her.

He wanted to hug her and never let go, but settled for placing an arm around her shoulder and giving her a gentle half-hug. "Thanks," he said between laughs. "Hey, do you want me to walk you home? We could stop for smoothies or something. My treat. As, you know, a thank you."

The words didn't register in Harper's mind at first. She was concentrating on turning her cheeks and the tips of her ears from pink to their normal color. It wasn't an easy task, of course, and she was pretty sure, despite all of her effort, that she had failed.

"That sounds…good," she answered, flashing him a smile and standing up. She pulled on her sweater and held tightly onto the straps of her backpack. "Are you sure you have time? Don't you have work or Justin time or Alien Language League?"

Usually, when Alex or Harper referenced ALL, it was with a mocking sort of tone. Of course, everything Alex said kind of had that tone, but even Harper joined in on teasing the older boys sometimes.

However, when Harper mentioned it now, Zeke noticed no teasing in her voice. It was just a pleasant question from a pretty girl.

"I have plenty of time for you," he promised. "No work, and the League is meeting tomorrow. And if I walk you home, I'll be at Justin's home so I'm exactly where I need to be. You know, this situation is very convenient for me."

Harper smiled. Right now she felt like she was exactly where she needed to be, and while she wanted to read more into his words, she saved it. No need to ruin a perfect moment with over-thinking, especially when a cute boy was offering to buy her a smoothie.