Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from writing this fiction.
Author's Note: …. I got nothing. Thank you for the reviews and please please Please keep supporting this story. ^_^
A Familiar Pattern 5
By genielou
Justin stepped aside, and Harper let herself in. She paced around the room slowly, nodding her head as she admired the different trinkets that decorated the tiny bedroom.
"Wow, I haven't been in this room for so long," she wondered outloud. "How nostalgic."
Justin smiled, then found himself thinking if he had ever invited Harper into his room at all. Pushing the thought aside, he took a long sip of his drink and swallowed with a deep, satisfying sigh. He took another long sip before endulging into her company.
"Thanks for the icee," he said, holding up his cup. "Where did you get one at this time of night?"
"From Alex's room." Justin made a face at her. "Next time you're in her room, look inside her dresser drawer. You'd be very surprised."
Justin nodded. He made his way towards the window and leaned against the sill. They remained silent for awhile longer, with him sipping his drink and Harper looking at anywhere else but him.
"So," Justin finally broke in. "Harper, I heard about your new school. How are you liking it?"
"It's okay," Harper replied with her back still to him, shrugging her shoulders. Somehow, the gesture reminded Justin of someone else.
He jumped slightly when she suddenly turned around to face him.
"Justin," she started. "The Super Hero Convention is next weekend. Are you attending this year?"
Justin's eyes widened. "The convention," he repeated. "I can't believe I forgot about that."
Harper grinned. "I've only gone that one time two years ago, and I was thinking of going again this year." She started pacing the room again, touching various trophies and medals as she passed by them. "You'll be attending this year, won't you?"
It sounded more like a confirmation than it did a question.
"Maybe. Yeah, sure," Justin said without even considering his schedule. "I'll be there."
Harper beamed. "Cool."
Harper picked up a watch from the bedside table and eyed it, all the while silently sipping her icee. Justin watched her from his perch, not knowing what to say to her.
"Well," she exaggerated. She replaced the watch where it had sat and turned to him suddenly. "See ya."
Justin quickly stood and watched her make her way across the room towards the door. "Oh," he said. "Okay."
Justin stayed still long after she had disappeared into the hallway, frowning.
"What just happened here?" he said outloud.
The next day passed by very slowly. Justin again lingered through his time, hoping to find Harper and have a more normal conversation with her, more for redemption than it was for assurance. He was quite aware of how ridiculous he was being in her presence and felt it of utter importance that he correct it.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," he confided in Max as they closed the restaurant for the night. "Everytime she pops up, I get tongue-tied."
"That's weird. I mean, it's just Harper, you know," Max replied, with a hint of a smirk in his feature. "The only reason I would ever get like that in front of a girl is if I was crushing on her."
Justin froze. "What?" he asked as he turned to his younger brother, chuckling nervously with a chair held upside down in his hands. "What did you just say?"
"Which part? The weird, the Harper, the you know, the reason, the get like that, or the crush?"
"Wha- -? The- - what?" Justin exasperated. "Do you realize that you just repeated everything but broke it down so that it didn't make sense?"
Max shrugged. "Made sense to me. So which part do you want?"
Justin shook his head at him. "Just repeat the whole thing in a way that I would understand it."
Max placed a chair upside down on a table, took a deep breath, and faced Justin. "I said: that's weird. I mean, it's just Harper, you know. The only reason I would ever get like that in front of a girl is if I was crushing on her."
Justin thought it over, but shook his head again. "That's a ridiculous. It's Harper. I'd crush on a fish before I'd crush on her."
"But you already did crush on a fish. Remember that mermaid you dated during your sophomore year?" Max said. "So if you get a crush on Harper, it would totally be valid."
Max was about to explain his logic further, but a dirty towel to his head stopped him.
Although the suggestion seemed absurd to Justin, it did, nonetheless, lingered in his mind. A crush on Harper, he thought. There's just no way.
But the notion bothered him so much that he actually avoided the living room that night. He knew she was there. He was very sure of that from the television noise that he heard through his door. So despite the overwhelming heat that threatened to roast him alive, he kept his door closed, afraid that the sight of her would ignite Max's haunting words in his head into a full-grown paranoia. He lay awake until very early into the next morning, fanning himself with the latest issue of TechnoFreaks magazine.
Fortunately, Justin worked the later shift the next day, and the rush didn't seem as busy as it had been since his arrival. The crowd had noticeably lessened, although the amount of customers proved steady during the duration of the day.
As the afternoon progressed, Alex quickened her pace to clean as many tables as she could. Justin approached her as she cleared a table inside the subtrain room and handed her a clean rag.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked with a tint of suspicion in his tone; an unconscious habit that he'd developed when regarding his sister.
"I'm hungry," she answered without even glancing at him. "Plus, Harper will be here any minute now. We're eating together."
"Oh," Justin said. He picked up the tub of dirty dishes from the table. "Are you guys eating here?"
"Yup," she finally looks up at him. "After that, we're just gonna wing it. Unless Zeke comes over, and in that case, I'll need to find something else to entertain me." She looks at him sheepishly. "They get really mushy and gross when they're together."
Justin's mind momentarily escapes from him as the vision of Zeke leaning down to kiss Harper appeared in his head. The scene was making him feel strangely. He shook himself to try to get rid of it.
"Oh!" Alex exclaimed. "She's here."
Justin's gaze followed the direction that Alex pointed at and saw Harper. And boy, did he see her. She was even more unfamiliar than she had been the last two times that he saw her.
Her black shorts barely covered half of her thighs, making her legs look longer. Thin, red suspenders sprung up onto her shoulders, its purpose purely for looks than it was for function. She wore a simple white t-shirt that seemed to be too small for her, causing it to cling tightly onto her torso. His lips quirk at seeing the unicorn that glared at him from her shirt. Furthermore, Justin couldn't help but realize just how slim she had gotten when seeing her shape illuminated by her outfit.
Fingers snapped just inches from Justin's faces, waking him from his reverie. He looked at his sister who grinned at him knowingly.
The thin, high heels of Harper's black shoes clicked with each step as she approached them. Justin stiffened when she reached them.
"Hey, Justin," she greeted him shyly.
Alex nudged him when he didn't answer.
Harper shifted her weight nervously, causing Justin's eyes to turn towards her feet. His eyes seemed to work on their own as they surveyed her legs. "Uhm," he starts, his tone very high pitched. "Harper. Hey. You."
Harper noticed his gaze and smiled. This faded when she noticed her best friend flinging her arms about behind Justin. Alex made hand gestures here and there, and Harper frowned at her quizzically.
Alex held up her hands, her expression stricken, and made exaggerated movements as she inserted her hands into her front pockets. Harper's eyes widened with realization.
"So," she started, shifting her attention back to Justin. She put her hands inside her front pockets and straightened her arms. "Are you gonna join me and Alex for dinner?" The horizon that separated her shirt and shorts opened slightly, and reveals skin as her shorts are pushed down from the act.
Justin takes the bait and his eyes travel up to her stomach. The light color of her skin keeps him there.
"I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if you took a short lunch break." Harper's bulky bracelets jangled as she moved a hand up to fluff the fixed curls of her shoulder-length hair. This causes Justin's eyes to move up to her face. She couldn't help but blush as he stared at her.
Fingers snapped in front of Justin's face again. He looks to his side at his grinning sibling.
He clears his throat. "Uhm, well, I guess I could," he stammered. "Well, I mean, that is, if you don't mind extra company."
"I mind!" Alex suddenly declared. She moved to Harper's side and hooked an arm in hers. "Sorry, Justin. This is a strictly scheduled bonding time for us. Maybe next time."
Alex turned and pulled Harper along with her. They walk out onto the main room of the restaurant, and Justin couldn't help but watch them go, his eyes mainly focused on only one of them. He tilts his head to the side as he admired the view.
Suddenly a group of kids yelled loudly and ran pass him. They knock the tub of dishes from his hands and it fell with a loud clatter. He heard a yell of apologies and laughter as they ran out of the restaurant.
He looks up again just in time to see Alex and Harper reach the cashier counter where Max stood by. Harper leaned into the counter, causing her butt to lift up. Justin found himself admiring again, and blinked when he realized what he had been doing.
"What am I doing?" he asked himself. "It's Harper. What the hell is wrong with me?"