Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.
Author's Note: So sorry for taking so long to update! School has been HELL! So! Now I have three weeks of vacation time. Let's see if I can create some damage. And because I don't want to lose any more fans (coz I think a few readers got too tired of waiting for me), I'm going to keep the chapters short but ongoing. Meaning that everytime I finish a complete moment in the story, it is getting uploaded right away so that none of you have to wait too long for an update. With this mind, also recognize that I will be editing at a minimum, just so that we can speed things along. Are you ready?
Let's read on!
A Familiar Pattern 19
By genielou
Harper groaned loudly at the assault of the alarming bedside clock. Reaching out, she pressed the snooze button firmly and immediately sighed with relief as the loud beeping halted. With intent to retreat her hand to the warmth of her blanket, she moved to place it onto her stomach, only to be reminded of another presence nearby as her hand rested on a large arm instead. She turned to her side and smiled at the sleeping figure that lay besides her, breathing slowly and steadily with his arm still draped onto her mid-section.
What a long and strange journey it has been this past year, as both she and her best friend's eldest brother ascended from mere childhood friends to almost lovers. Almost, she thought with haste. It was very important to her that she made that part of their relationship clear. The past year had been nothing but sheer bliss and Justin had been a complete gentleman for the entirety of it; so much of a gentleman, in fact, that he was extensively careful of how they proceeded with each other. With Zeke, Harper had thought herself so happily in love that she welcomed the rushed physical advancement of their relationship; and so she thought herself ready and experienced enough to do the same with Justin. But alas, Justin wanted to take steps slower than her.
"I just don't want to mess this up," he had said that one time they had come very close to becoming physical beings. "When it happens, I want to make sure that it's special. Very, very special."
Harper had formed her own theories about this, with the help of her over-imaginative best friend. The most logical theory would be that Justin really did want to make their first time with each other to be very special. The more complicated theory would be that Justin may want their first time with each other to come competitively close to their actual first times. Or, more specifically, to herfirst time. Of course Justin would know that Zeke was her first. He was, after all, Zeke's former best friend. He must have been the first person that Zeke turned to after that faithful night. Whoever Justin's first was not really Harper's concern, but she did think that maybe Justin desired to be her first instead; and because he wasn't, he at least wanted his first time with her to be better than her actual first time. Or, at least that's what the theory is.
As a compromise with the equal desire to spend more time with each other at very close proximity, Harper and Justin had resorted to literally sleeping together. Nothing more, nothing less. Just sleep, and she was, to a certain extent, content that they had at least gotten so comfortable with each other that being in the same bed for hours whilst respecting each other was enough for her. Almost every night, Justin would flash into her basement room underneath the Russo's restaurant and sleep on her bed. Sometimes, she would fall asleep before he does this and she would awake with slight surprise at the sleeping figure next to her. More than twice had she expressed how ridiculous it was that he would sleep in the basement of his own home instead of his own dormitory, also without letting his family know of his presence. "It must be tiring to flash back and forth almost every day," she had expressed. And at this, his reply is always the same. "Yeah, but it's worth it."
She turns toward her bedside clock.
5:30 am
She should wake him. Today is a very special day for the entire Russo family and Justin must take extra care at preparing for it. He had been so anxious the previous night that he had trouble sleeping. She, too, was nervous, but she had faith that Justin, Alex, and Max will all come out somewhat victorious in the competition to determine the Russo family wizard. Onlyone,she reminded herself. Butthey'llbeokay.They'llbeokay.The tension within the family had been thick so early on. The realization of the Wizard competition had suddenly become very realistic when Max finally became eighteen years old, the legal age for the competition to proceed. Even during his birthday celebration, their interactions had been so awkward. And from then on, when the date had been set, all of them had tried to ignore what will soon happen. But they knew. They all knew. This fated day can either heightened the Russo pride or destroy their ties completely. The three siblings had promised numerously that they would not let the competition get in the way of their familiality; but, really, who truly knows if they can fulfill this promise?
The plan for today has been very tightly timed. Justin is to leave his dormitory at around 7:00 a.m., and his arrival time should be at around 10:00 a.m., give or take depending on the traffic (flashing, even for this important day, has been forbidden by his mother). He, along with his siblings, has been prepped for the competition weeks in advance, so Justin is expected to be more than ready as soon as he arrives. But, for sympathy's sake, he will be allowed an hour of rest time before the Wizarding council will come to fetch the Russo family. Harper, due to the supposed fact that she should be ignorant of the Wizarding World, will have to stay behind to man the SubStation, along with Zeke's volunteered services. So from noon until however many hours it would take for the competition to finish, Harper must control her anxiety by making sandwiches for strangers.
5:45 am
Ishouldwakehimup, she thought, but as she laid her eyes on him again, her heart melted at the thought of disturbing the peacefulness on his sleeping form. Harper could still remember how, only hours before, the frown that Justin wore was so intense that she feared it would create permanent lines on his forehead. He was so anxious, and there really was nothing she could do about it, other than sit there and hold his hand as he mulled over his tactical plans. A part of her wished that he could just sleep on her bed forever, and not have to worry about anything.
A low beeping sound suddenly began and slowly increased in volume. Harper groaned out loud as she reached for the bedside clock again and pressed firmly to stop its assault. With a huge sigh, she accepted the inevitable and moved to wake the other occupant of her bed. She propped herself up with one elbow and held a hand to Justin's face. She stroked his cheek with her thumb, very softly and slowly, while cooing his name in a low whisper.
"Justin?" she said as her fingers began to play with his hair. "Justin, it's time to wake up."
A low moan escaped his lips. She smiled as she traced the side of his face with her fingers.
"Justin, sweetie, wake up."
His lips pursed slightly in disapproval. "Do I have to?" he whispered in a hoarse voice without opening his eyes.
Harper smiled and responded with a kiss to his forehead. His chest rose in a deep sigh and his lips curled upwards. "One more and I'll get up."
She giggled (and oh how he loved that sound). Harper leaned in once more and planted a tiny kiss on his forehead. She moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "now, please wake up."
He opened one eye and kept the other closed. He assessed her as she grinned at him. Harper was clearly much too awake and alert to allow him to catch a few more minutes of sleep. With a sigh of defeat, he opened both eyes and proceeded to sit himself up. He scratched the back of his head roughly as he turned to confirm the time. Harper could tell that the day's upcoming event was already swimming around his head, making his brows furrow and almost meet. She reached out to his hand, grasped it, and squeezed it to convey the reassurance that she herself was not so sure to truly believe. But for this moment, just for now, she wanted to be strong and confident for him. He smiled at her in return.
"Is it too much to ask if you can be the first one I see when I arrive?" he asked, almost guiltily at his childlike request.
She nodded. "I'll make sure to be outside for when your taxi arrives."
Justin's grin was infectious. He leaned over to her, placed a hand behind her neck, and pulled her towards himself. Harper closed her eyes instinctively whilst relaxing her mouth. When their lips met with a soft touch, the stresses that once filled their minds seemed to momentarily disappear. Both exhaled appreciatively at the exchange. It could have lasted longer but, in a mere moment's time, Justin began to release a low chuckle. Harper pulled away and frowned in confusion.
He grinned at her. "Morning breath," he said simply.
Harper's eyes widened at the realization. How could she have forgotten this very simple fact? She had always avoided kissing Justin first thing in the morning just for this very reason. She quickly covered her mouth with both hands as her face reddened in embarrassment.
The humor in Justin's gaze, however, remained uniform. With another low chuckle, he pulled her hands away from her mouth, cupped both sides of her face with his hands, and looked at her with a bright expression. Before she could protest, he leaned over and took her mouth again, hungrier this time, and more passionate. Her breath caught at the sudden display of affection, and felt her heart skip a beat. When he finally released her, she involuntarily let out a huge sigh of satisfaction.
Justin smiled smugly at her. "Finally," he said. "I've been trying to do that for months."
Harper stared at him incredulously. "What? Kiss me?" she asked, confused.
"Yeah, kiss you in the morning," he replied. "Morning kiss."
Her cheeks reddened. So he did noticed… she thought to herself as she instantly thought of the many ways she had avoided kissing him in the morning in fear of the teasing her morning breath would cause. She now realized, however, that this morning kiss might not be something she'd mind too much, even if there were to be teasing afterwards.
His gaze softened again as he took her hands in his. "I'll be back in a few hours," he declared.
She merely nodded. Her eyes followed his movements closely as he stood from the bed to put his clothes on, first with his jeans and then his shirt. He bent over to pick up his wand from the floor and held it at its proper angle. Finally, he gave her a big smile before flicking his wrist. With an intense flash of bright white light, he disappeared from his spot close to her bed; and just as soon as he had gone, so did Harper's smile disappear from her face. It was replaced with a very worrisome expression. Suddenly, it was she whose brows could almost meet on her forehead.