Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was another regular day for Justin Russo. He was in the Waverly Sub Station sitting down in the back booth for some alone time. He was reading his favorite book in peace when suddenly he heard Harper and her boyfriend enter the Sub Station arguing loudly. 

“Chad, you are always doing this. Canceling at the last minute. This is the fifth date in a row!” he heard Harper yell. Justin mentaly face palmed himself, ‘I thought the doors to the station were supposed to be locked!’ he exclaimed in his head. He rolled his eyes, and kept his eyes glued to his book; attempting to focus on what he was reading. 

“Harper, I told you, it’s work. I can’t do anything about that” Harper’s boyfriend, Chad, argued back. Harper got even more annoyed with her boyfriend, and she raised her voice even higher “That’s what you say every time! Once, I get it, but for the FIFTH TIME! It’s outrageous” 

“Are they really doing this here? Now?” Was all Justin could ask himself as he kept pretending to read his book. He was trying so hard not to pay attention to their conversation, but their tone was making it rather difficult not to.

Chad scuffed, and raised his hands defensively and let out a dry chuckle “Fine, Harper, you win! I’m leaving! Don’t bother calling me tonight !” and walked out the station leaving Harper behind. “Wowsers” was all Justin could think to himself. Harper stood there in disbelief and crossed her arms, and let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe that just happened” she muttered under her breath. 

She looked around the station and noticed that there was someone all the way in the back who was reading a book. “Oh, great,” she thought to herself. The last thing she wanted was for someone to hear that chaos. The frustration she felt started turning into embarrassment, and as that embarrassment grew, she started feeling the need to go up to that person and explain herself. 

As Justin was using his book to hide his face, he heard Harper walking towards him. His breath hitched “Oh no, please don’t come my way” he begged in his mind. He knows how Harper overexplains herself and honestly, he really doesn’t want to hear that any more than how he wanted to hear that argument play out before him. He does not want to deal with this today.

 “Excuse me, I am so sorry you had to hear that. I apologize if I have disturbed you in any way” Harper said scenserly and confidently at the same time. Justin let his head fall down and let out a deep sigh. He just wanted some alone time, that’s all. He brought down his book and looked up at Harper, whose eyes went wide at the sight of who it was. “It’s fine Harper, I don’t care.” Justin said rather bluntly. But Before Harper could respond back, Justin got up from his seat and started walking away. Harper went from feeling shocked to wishing the ground would swallow her whole. Harper was feeling even more embarrassed, now. “Justin, wait, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you, I swear. I mean we were arguing really loudly, and you heard all of that, and I feel really embarrassed-” she followed behind him, not being able to help that urge of having to explain herself constantly. 

Justin noticed that Harper was following him and he let out a frustrated groan “Is she for real right now?” he muttered under his breath. He rolled his eyes, and sharply turned around to cut Harper off “Harper, why are you even here?” Justin looked directly into Harper's eyes, his eyes were dead cold. Justin was very annoyed at this point. He just wanted to have some alone time and not be bothered by anyone, but obviously that wasn’t happening. Harper instantly quieted down and stopped dead in her tracks. The way Justin was looking at her made her feel intimidated. Her face got even more red than it already was. “I- I- I came here to see Alex, but then with the argument, and the embarrassment-  I totally forgot my whole reason for why I came here” Harper said the last part softly. 

Justin let out a huff, and motioned his pointer finger back and forth hinting at Harper to follow him. He led Harper to The Russo Lair and pulled out his wand and opened it “Alex should be in there studying, but I’m pretty sure she is not, so… there you go” Justin said, holding the door open for Harper, waiting for her to step in so he could close it shut. Harper looked down and said quietly “Thanks, Justin” and stepped inside. Once Harper stepped inside, Justin let the door shut behind her, and walked back to the booth he was sitting at in the first place to continue reading and enjoying his time alone. 

Justin had known Harper his entire life. She was his sister's weird best friend, and the girl who used to have an obsession with him. Justin really doesn’t know how to talk to her, every encounter he ever had with her was weird. She would always say something random and make the tension between them awkward. Especially when Harper would give him gifts that were kind of odd. But after Harper found out that Justin was dating a girl named Juliet, she convinced herself to move on. 

Justin started seeing less of Harper after that, because two months later, Harper got her first boyfriend named Chad. The only time Justin see’s Harper now is when she’s hanging out with Alex. Which lately has been really often, and after the argument that he witnessed today, Justin could see why.  

Harper walked further into the room and saw Alex laying down on the couch with some earphones on. Alex was tapping her feet to the beat of the music when she noticed Harper coming in. Alex’s mood went from relaxed to excited when she saw her best friend “Oh, HEY HARPER”  

Harper just gave a small wave and took a seat on the couch next to her. Alex noticed the mood her best friend was in, and instantly scrambled over to Harper. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Alex asked, taking a seat next to her “You ran out of pink paper clips again?” Alex softly joked attempting to make her best friend feel better, but Harper just shook her head.

“No, Chad canceled on another date with me” 

Alex furrowed her eyebrows together “Again?” Alex scuffed, “ What was his lame excuse this time?” Harper replied back sadly “Work... again” Alex rolled her eyes and crossed her arms ``That guy is pathetic, Harper” Harper just shrugged, not really having the energy to defend her boyfriend. Alex shook her head, “What do you even see in him, anyway?” 

Harper looked down at the table in front of them and thought to herself for a few seconds before speaking, “He’s handsome, and polite, and treats me well. It’s just that lately, I don’t know why things haven’t been good between us.” Harper breathed out, “ It’s not only the dates, but also that everytime we talk now, it just leads to an argument.” Harper said, starting to feel a bit empty inside as she explained things. “And when I bring up the fact that we aren’t having good communication, he gets more mad and starts accusing me of egging on a fight” Harper let out another deep sigh. 

“And then to add to the horrible feeling of arguing with my boyfriend. Justin overheard the argument and when I tried apologizing for the disturbance, Justin was being kinda mean to me” Harper said just letting it all out. Alex rolled her eyes even harder at the mention of her brother “Ugh, forget Justin. He’s just a stick in the mud because he’s still not over Juliet dumping him” which was true in a way. 

After a couple months of dating, Juliet left Justin for someone else. While he was head over heels for Juliet, she had been talking to someone else from the beginning of their relationship. It was heartbreaking for Justin. He doesn’t view romance the same anymore, and he himself isn't the same anymore. 

Alex reached her arm over Harper’s shoulder, not really knowing how else to comfort her and brought her into a warm hug. A couple of seconds passed by before Alex pulled away and suggested to Harper, “Let’s go to the arcade, yeah? ” Harper looked up at Alex and gave a soft smile and nodded her head “sure” 

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It was around 7 P.M in the afternoon when Justin was laying down on the living room couch watching Star Trek.

"Oh, hi Justin" Alex said entering the loft with cotton candy in her hand, which was obviously from the arcade. Justin, without looking away from his program said “Oh, hey, Alex.” There was a small uncomfortable silence between them as Alex stepped in and adjusted herself in the house. Justin, feeling kind of awkward around his sister, decided to ask a further question “Where were you?” 

“Nunya” Alex said smugley. 

Justin looked over at Alex and gave her a “seriously?’ look written all over his face. Alex giggled, and answered, “You’re no fun anymore, but if you must know, I was with Harper at the arcade” Alex walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Justin's interest quickly went away at the mention of Harper and decided to put his attention back to his show. 

 “Poor thing, tho. She’s getting her heart broken in that relationship. What does she even see in Chad anyway?” Alex commented, twisting the cap off and taking a sip from her water bottle. 

Justin still not finding interest about what Alex was talking about, just shrugged and mumbled out a “I don’t know” Alex rolled her eyes and walked over to the couch Justin was laying at and pated his leg as a gesture for him to sit up so she could take a seat “Chad is just so ew and his personality is just dumb. I guess Harper is quirky, and that would be a good match, but she could definitely do better than that” she said, taking another sip from her water. 

“Mmmh”  was all Justin could say in return. Alex looked over at Justin, who couldn’t even be bothered to look away from the T.V, and glared at him. “Are you even listening to me? ” Justin nodded “Yeah, I am. I just don’t really care about what you are saying” he said bluntly, not bothering to look away from the T.V screen. Alex, taken aback from the coldness of her brother, said  “That’s harsh to say, even for me ” 

Justin simply responded back “Yeah, well, what happens between them is between them. I don’t really see why I would care?” Justin scoffed. Alex couldn’t believe how harsh her brother was being.“Well, yeah, I get that, but I’m talking to you. Don’t you think you could be at least a bit more sensitive to me about what I’m talking about ”

Justin, finally looking away from the TV, shook his head and answered back “No, why should I?” and focused back on the TV. Alex started feeling frustrated with her brother, “Does he really not hear himself?” she thought to herself. Alex, still glaring at Justin, responded back “I don't know, maybe since I’m your sister?,” Alex crossed her arms “Yeah, I don’t expect you to be totally interested in what I’m talking about, but you don’t have to be so cold to me about it. '' Alex looked dead at her brother who was still looking at the TV. 

“Just because you’re my sister doesn’t mean anything,” Justin said back, plainly. 

With that, Alex quickly got up from her seat and exclaimed at Justin “That’s it, why are you acting like such a JERK!?” 

Justin, hearing the accusation that was being thrown at him, quickly turned his head to face a very upset Alex who was glaring at him. “A jerk? How am I being a Jerk?” Justin argued to his sister. 

“Because you are being insensitive!” Alex exclaimed, crossing her arms. 

Justin, feeling annoyed by her reasoning, rolled his eyes and stood up to face his sister “Just because I don’t care about what you're telling me about Harper?” He asked, as if he couldn’t believe that was a good reason to be mad at him. 

Alex, not having it with her brother, argued back “ No, it’s not just that. Harper told me how you treated her earlier today! What is wrong with you!? To treat my friends like that!? Especially when they are already feeling bad” Alex raised her voice. 

Justin crossed his arms and started shaking his head, and rolled his eyes once more. “Look, I don’t owe anything to anybody. Not to you, and definitely not Harper” That last point was enough to make Alex’s blood boil “Justin, this isn’t just about Harper! This is also about how you have been treating everybody! Lately, you have been mean and rude to everybody!  Mom, Dad, Max, Me, and even your best friend Zeke! And now apparently, to my Best Friend!” 

Justin getting even more upset just raised his hands defensively “Well I’m sorry if I get tired of everyones stupidity from time to time!” Justin defended himself. Alex, already at her limit, said without thinking “What did Juliet do to you that turned you into a complete jerk!?”

Justin looked dead at Alex. Everything went silent for a second, before Justin asked in disbelief and anger, “What did you just say?” he asked quietly. A tear rolled down Alex’s face, obviously the impact of what she just  said was impacting her, and without hesitation said it again “What did Juliet do that turned you into such a Jerk?” her voice cracked at the end. 

Justin began to feel his blood boil. He clenched his jaw, and curled his fingers into a fist and without being able to stop himself, stormed up to Alex and pointed his finger directly at her face and exclaimed with all the anger he had stored in him “You have no right to say that to me!” and stormed past her leaving her alone in the living room. Alex stood there for a second in disbelief before the emotions started overwhelming her. She sat down and cried into her hands. 

Justin stormed up to his room and slammed the door behind him shut. He grabbed his headphones and Ipod,  and threw himself onto his bed. He put on his earbuds and looked through his playlist and played the first song that was from ‘Tears Of Blood’. He stared off at his ceiling angrily, “Who’s Alex to say anything about me?” Justin thought to himself.  “I don't owe anything to anybody,” Justin continued ranting in his mind.  “Just because she’s my sister, doesn’t mean I have to pretend to enjoy something I don’t care about. Who am I to care about what was going on in Harper's relationship? And who was Alex to make that comment about Juliet!?” Justin clenched his jaw still staring at the ceiling. “ What happened between Juliet and I is between Juliet and I. Alex had no right making that last comment t” Justin thought to himself as he muttered angrily under his breath. 

As Justin was thinking about everything that Alex did wrong, his mind started to wander off into distant memories that Justin has been trying to push away.  He stared at the ceiling, the music flushing out all outside noise. He remembered when he would bring Juliet up to his room and they would cuddle on his bed. Justin still remembers how it felt like to have Juliet wrapped around his arms as they laid down. The fond memory of Justin stroking Juliet’s hair and saying sweet things like how beautiful she was. He remembers how Juliet would giggle at his sweet little compliments. He remembers giving her kisses on her forehead, and the feeling of Juliet giving him a small squeeze every time he did. He really loved her. 

Justin remembers those small moments so vividly, but sadly he also remembers the day his heart was torn apart. He was in his bedroom, and Juliet had left to use the restroom. Juliet made one fatal mistake, though, she forgot to take her phone with her. She left it right next to Justin who was sitting on his bed waiting for Juliet so they could leave on their date. Justin was just on his phone, minding his own business, waiting for Juliet to come back, when Juliet’s phone buzzed. Justin looked over at Juliet's phone and without really thinking about it, checked to see what it was and read a text message reading  “Hey, baby, can’t wait to see you tonight for our date <3” 

Justin felt his heart twitch at the memory. He started feeling that void that he had been trying to forget about for months now. Just also started to remember when he confronted her about it. He waited for her to come back in his room and when she opened the door, Justin was holding up her phone for her to see what he saw. Juliet's face was washed with guilt, and without saying anything, she grabbed the phone from Justin's hand and grabbed her bag from the bed and walked out and left. 

Justin remembers when his parents came into his room and asked him if everything was alright, they were worried when they saw Juliet leave in such a rush. Justin couldn’t find it in himself to say what really happened, so all he said was “Juliet broke up with me” Justin tried masking his emotions. He told everyone that, while yes it was Juliet who did walk out, she just left him…but he never really explained why. 

Justin played it off, he hid it all underneath. As weeks passed by, Justin’s heart got colder by the day. When he would see couples holding hands it would make his stomach twist and turn and would make him want to vomit. Justin has also noticed that he has shut himself away from people. He no longer hangs out with his nerd groups, and his relationship with his family hasn’t been the same. They weren’t close anymore, and Alex…he can’t even remember when was the last time he was able to even have a conversation with her without them ending like this.

Alex doesn’t know what really happened. She just knows what Justin tells her. “Juliet broke up with me because her parents didn’t want her with me”. Alex isn’t really satisfied with that. Alex knows her older brother well. Alex knows there’s something that Justin isn’t telling her, but she doesn’t push it. If only Alex knew, she wouldn’t have said what she said. 

As Justin was thinking of all these things, he felt his eyelids get droopy, and without taking off his headphones, he dozed off to sleep. 

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Chapter Text

“Ughhh, what time is it?” Justin said, leaning up from his bed, and rubbing his eyes awake. He stretched out his arms and let out a yawn. He looked over to the other side of his bed and saw his earphones and his ipod next to him. “I guess they must’ve fallen out while I was sleeping” he thought to himself.

‘Knock, Knock”

The sudden knock at his bedroom door startled him “Justin, honey. It’s your mom” Justin looked over at his door and before he could answer, his mother was already entering his room. “Honey, the whole family is down stairs eating breakfast, aren’t you coming down?” Theresa asked her oldest son. Justin, still feeling a bit bitter from last night, just shrugged his shoulders “I don’t know, mom. I’m not really feeling hungry” Justin said as he moved himself to sit on the edge of his bed.

Theresa walked over to her son, and took a seat next to him “You know…Alex told me what happened last night” she placed a hand on Justin's lap. Justin sighed out and pitched the bridge of his nose “It’s fine, mom. It really doesn’t matter” Theresa shook her head and spoke softly with concern “No, Justin, it does. I want to know what happened from your perspective” Justin just shook his head “Nothing happened, I just got annoyed with Alex, that’s all” Theresa, not believing her own son, gave Justin a stern look. Justin looked at his mom’s eyes, and seeing how he knew his mother would just keep on insisting, sighed out “Alex and I got into a discussion because she didn’t agree on my points of view. And then I got mad at Alex because she made a comment regarding something about Juliet” Theresa looked at her son and shook her head “and how do you feel now?“ Justin hid his true emotions deep down, and answered back “Fine” he gave a fake small smile.

“Okay, then” Theresa mumbled under her breath. She squeezed her son’s lap as a way for comfort. “Do you want your dad to take you to school, or do you want to take the bus?” Justin looked away from his mom and looked at the floor “I think I’m gonna walk” Theresa slowly nodded her head ”Okay, I’ll let your father know. Start getting dressed for school, because by the looks of it, I don't think you’ll have time for breakfast” and with that being said, Theresa got up from his bed and walked out Justin’s bedroom.

Justin didn’t move. He did not want to go to school. Having to deal with teachers and putting up with crowded hallways, and having to be around a bunch of horny driven teenagers, made him want to throw himself out a window. The only thing that keeps him grounded when he’s at school is his studies. He may not have Juliet anymore, but he still has one thing, his intelligence. After a few minutes of just sitting down on his bed looking at the floor and thinking about a million different places he would rather go, he got up from his bed and walked up to his closet and pulled out a towel.

He walked over to the bathroom and turned on the faucet from the shower and began to undress himself. Usually he would shower at night, but after the events of yesterday, he didn’t really feel like it. He waited for the water to heat up and for the mirror to turn foggy before he stepped in.

Justin felt the warm water hit his skin and it made him relax his tense muscles. He leaned his head back and let the water wash over his face. He grabbed the shampoo that was in the rack next to him and squirted some on the palm of his hand. He waited for his hair to get a bit more damp before lathering the soap into his hair. He lathered it around, and around, not leaving one spot of his scalp unnoticed.

After he was done with that, he rinsed off the shampoo from his hair and grabbed the body bar soap that he had and started lathering the soap around his body. He lathered it around his stomach, chest, legs, and areas that need special cleaning. Following the same steps with the shampoo, he let the water rinse off the soap from his body.

Justin felt the water run down his now clean body. Usually when he was done he would just step out, but not today. Justin felt empty. The fight from last night was still in his mind. “What did Juliet do to you that turned you into such a jerk” Justin knows he has been acting cold and harsh, but he doesn’t know how else to act. Call him dramatic, call him sensitive, but that was the first real relationship Justin ever had, and she was playing him from the beginning.

A week after Juliet walked out on Justin, he received a letter from her. It read,

‘Justin, I am so sorry. I know I hurt you, and I know I should've told you, but I didn’t know how. I saw how much you loved me and I couldn’t bear telling you that I simply didn’t feel the same. You saved me and helped me when I needed it- and that did make me attracted to you. It just wasn’t enough to make me fall in love with you. When you asked me out, I knew I didn’t like you like that, but I saw the bracelet you got me, and I saw how your eyes were full of hope and admiration; how could I say no? I hate to say it was all a lie. I started dating the guy, who’s message you read, two month after we got together. I met him at a library. We landed eyes on each other and just knew I wanted him. He took my breath away. He’s handsome, funny, strong, and intelligent. He's everything I want. You are intelligent, and cute, but that just wasn’t enough for me. I’m not telling you this to tourtue you, because I know I will have to pay for my actions. But I’m telling you this because you deserve the truth. You were faithful to me and stayed by my side, and took care of me and treated me right. Again. I am so sorry. I never loved you. I’m sorry.

-Juliet Your Princess“

“So what didn’t Juliet do to me” Justin thought to himself. Justin stared at the wall in front of him and just stood there letting the water fall over him. “ After all she just confessed,” Justin let out a dry chuckle “she still had the audacity to call herself ‘ My Princess ’ “ She had him like a fool.

He turned off the nozzle from the shower and stepped out. He patted himself dry and wrapped the towel around his waist and walked back to his room. He headed to his closet and pulled out a black shirt, black pants and his black sneakers. He got himself dressed and checked himself out in the mirror.
His hair was messy, and he looked like he had been overworked. Justin had dark eyebags, and his face looked thin. He looked like, and felt like hell. Figuring that was the best he was going to look, he grabbed his backpack that was next to the door and exited out.

He was walking down the stairs where he immediately cringed when he saw his whole family at the kitchen table obviously waiting for him. “Hey, Justin, what have you been doing up there? We have been waiting for you so I can drop you guys off at school'' Jerry Russo, his father, said as he saw his son coming down from the stairs. Justin immediately, not wanting to socialize, just shook his head no and continued to walk past them without stopping. Justin’s father, surprised at his sons’ reaction, stopped him dead in his tracks “Justin wait!” Jerry exclaimed. Justin sighed out and dropped his head. He turned around to face his father who was walking up to him “Don’t we at least get a goodbye?” Jerry questioned, placing his hands on his hips. Justin forced a fake smile on his face just like the one he had faked for his mom in the morning, and looked over to his family, being especially careful not to make eye contact with Alex, and said flatly “Goodbye” Justin turned around and continued to walk out the loft, leaving his family feeling shocked and hurt.

As Justin was walking to school, he kept his eyes stuck to the pavement. Every step he took, he thought about how closer he was getting to the school ground. It’s not that Justin disliked school all together. In fact, the only thing that Justin has been resolving to do was studying, reading and doing work. He likes that part. Justin has always been excelent when it came to the educational part. His intelligence was the only thing that Juliet couldn’t ruin or take away from him.

Justin disliked the part where he had to be around other people. The sight of other people made him feel off. He would rather be alone in his room, reading books after books, practicing spells and doing homework, than sit in a crowded cafeteria. Justin doesn’t even sit with his old friends anymore, he left them. He never told them why, he just stopped talking to them. Justin gave his everything to Juliet, but he should’ve known. When you give too much of yourself, you will be left with missing pieces when they leave. Justin lost that part of himself.

So now here he is, walking to school, looking at the pavement , avoiding the people around him. He couldn’t take the bus because that would be even worse than accepting a car ride from his dad. Walking to school was the closest thing he would get to some alone time. Justin walked and walked, bumping into a few people on the way, when he came to a stop at the school’s entrance. Justin let out a disappointed sigh, as if he was hoping the path he was taking would’ve taken him somewhere else . “ Let’s get this over with’’ he whispered to himself and walked into the school.

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Harper Finkle was sound asleep before the sound of her alarm woke her up.

“Beep, Beep, Beep”

Harper fluttered her eyes open. “Five more minutes” she muttered to herself sleepily. She looked over to her clock and it read ‘7:00 AM’. “Ugh” she slammed the pillow on top of her face. She leaned up from her bed and stretched out her arms and let out a big yawn, “Gosh, I’m really tired”. Harper stayed up last night, past her bedtime. She usually goes to bed at nine, but she stayed up till twelve hoping she would get a call from Chad. Harper looked around her room and thought to herself “Well, he did say he wasn’t going to call” she let out a disappointed sigh.

Harper sat up on the edge of her bed and slipped on her slippers and walked out of her room to make her way to the kitchen. Elaine Finkle, Harper’s mother, was making sunny-side-up eggs with bacon and toast when she heard soft footsteps behind her approaching the kitchen.

“Oh, goodmorning my dear, how did you sleep last night?” Elaine Finkle asked her daughter, who looked as if she was dragging herself from the bed down to the kitchen. Harper shot a disappointed look at her mother and sighed out “Horrible” she pouted. She pulled one of the chairs that was nicely tucked under the table and took a seat. Harper, feeling tears start to build up, crossed her arms and leaned her head back and looked up to keep her tears from spilling out.

Elaine, feeling concerned for her daughter, furrowed her brows and got a plate from the top cabinet, and served her a plate of food. She then grabbed a cup and filled it with fresh squeezed orange juice and placed it right in front of her, and said “Here, eat up” Harper looked up to her mother and gave her an appreciative smile “Thanks, Mom.”

Elaine turned off the stove and washed her hands and sat in front of her daughter. “So, tell me, what’s wrong?” Harper lifted up a piece of bacon and took a small bite. “Well, you see…Chad and I have been getting into arguments lately and well… yesterday we had one - and I mean a big one - and Chad hasn't messaged me or called me” Harper said, looking down at her plate of food. She brought the slice of bacon she had on her hand, up to her mouth, and took another bite.

Elaine, listening to her daughter, got up to get a glass for herself to pour some orange juice. ‘’What were you guys arguing about?’' Harper pouted her lip, and looked at her mom “Because he canceled on another date with me. This is the fifth time.” Harper took another bite of the slice of bacon “but it’s not even just that. Lately he has been giving me the vibe that he doesn’t really want to be with me anymore”

Elaine looked closely at her daughter and saw deep distress written all over her face “Well, honey, talk to him” Harper rolled her eyes and took another bite of her almost gone bacon slice, and said sadly “I've already tried mom, but he just wants to avoid it” Harper ate the last part of the bacon “And when I try to insist a bit more about it, he just gets mad and shuts me out”

Elaine didn’t look away from her daughter, “Harper, dear… if this is really bothering you this much , why put up with it?” Harper leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms and let out a frustrated sigh, “Because I really like him, mom. I do. He’s such a gentleman and he always says the most beautiful things to me, but it’s just that -ugh- it’s just that lately he hasn’t been acting how he used to when we first started going out’

Harper looked away from her mother and stared down at the ground. Harper bit the corner of her lip as she felt a tear drop roll down her cheek “I don't know, mom. I guess it’s also because I haven’t really liked anybody since I first liked Justin,” Harper wiped the tear away.

“Mmh? And why did you stop liking Justin”

Harper looked back at her mom and answered “ When he started dating Juliet, it became really clear to me… it was nothing but a fantasy. Justin and I were never going to date, he would never like me like that. He would make that pretty clear. Chad was immediately drawn to me, and when he started talking to me, I started catching feelings for him as well, ” Harper confessed. At this point she really couldn’t control the tears that were coming out, and just looked down.

Elaine nodded her head slowly. She put down her glass of orange juice, and got up, and walked over to her daughter. She bent down to Harper's height and gave her a warm hug “Don’t worry, darling. These things will work out. Destiny will pull you to the one you belong to. Just hang in there” Elaine comforted. Harper, needing that hug from her mother, embraced it. After a couple of seconds, Elaine pulled back from the hug “Now, when you get to school, I want you to pay attention to all your classes. When school ends, I want you to go up to Chad and tell him exactly what’s on your mind” Elaine cupped her daughter’s face and wiped her tears away. “Now, finish your breakfast so you can go get dressed for school”

After Harper got finished with breakfast she went back into her room and pulled out the outfit she had planned the night before. She didn’t need to shower because she took one last night, but she did go to the restroom to brush her teeth. She went back into her room, and put on her black dress with the blueberry pattern, and grabbed her black tom fords, and clipped on some blueberry earrings. She put her hair up in a bun and put on some blueberry flavored lip gloss on. Leave it to Harper to always be matching.

She grabbed her blush and dab a little bit onto her cheeks, giving her cheeks a fuller look. She then put a light coat of mascara on, checked herself out on her vanity mirror, and complimented herself “Dang, I look good” Harper said, blowing herself a kiss and a wink. Harper may not be feeling up to par, but at least she still knew her worth.

Harper walked back to the kitchen where she saw her mom and dad eating breakfast. “I’m gonna go now, guys,” Harper smiled. “Bye, sweetie” both her parents said at the same time. As Harper started walking to the living room, Harper heard from behind her “Don’t forget what I told you. YOU got this, sweety” Harper smiled and exclaimed back “ I won’t, mom. I’ll see you when I’m back from school” Harper walked over to the couch, where she left her school bag, grabbed it and walked out of her home.

As Harper was walking to the bus stop, she started thinking about the conversation she had with her mother. “Is it really even worth putting up with Chad? I mean, he doesn’t want to communicate with me, and he has been rather distant and everytime we talk, we just argue” Harper thought to herself as she walked on the sidewalk. “I mean, Chad is rather handsome and very intelligent, and he can be charming…would I really want to give that up?” Harper noticed a pebble on the sidewalk and kicked it forward “No… I don’t want to give up on Chad. I really like him” When she reached the pebble, she kicked it again “I don’t want to give up on him, I know we can fix this. It’s just going to take a bit of work, that's all.” Harper reached the pebble again and kicked it ,only this time it didn’t go forward, it went to the side. “A whole lotta work…” she mumbled to herself. She walked past the pebble no longer interested in it, as it no longer was in her path.

She made it to the bus stop and took a seat at the bench. She checked her watch and saw that the bus would be there in 10 minutes. “ Well, anytime now” Harper muttered to herself under her breath. Harper looked at her feet and swung them back and forth “Why is being in a relationship so difficult?” Harper chewed the inside of her cheek “I really like Chad. I’ve liked him since the first time I laid eyes on him. ” Harper let out a sigh at the memory.

Harper was at her locker, putting her books away, when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She looked back to see who it was, and came face to face with a handsome fellow. “Hi,” the guy she didn’t know said. Harper, noticing how handsome this fellow was, blushed at the sight of him and said “Hi” back softly. “My name is Chad. Chad Duell.” he extended his hand out. Harper smiled and her eyes twinkled “Harper. Harper Finkle” she extended her hand out as well, which he gently grabbed “May I?’ Chad asked her. Harper, not really knowing what he was asking for just said “yes’’. Chad grabbed her hand and gently brought it up to his lips and gently laid a kiss on top of her hand. Harper was blushing mad. “ I brought you a little something,” Chad said. Harper was so amazed by the handsome fellow in front of her, that she failed to notice he was hiding something behind his back. He pulled out a bouquet of red roses and it had a bracelet wrapped around the stems. “ I wanted to ask you, if you would do me the honor of going out on a date with me?”

Harper smiled at the memory “It seems like forever since he last has given me a gift. It seems like forever since we last went on a date” she thought to herself, but quickly pushed it away not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer. “I’ll just have to talk to him after school”

Harper sat there waiting for the bus, until finally, it arrived. “Time to face another day” she said out loud and stepped into the bus.

Chapter Text

“C’mon! Can’t this period go any faster?” Justin thought to himself as he stared at the classroom clock that was hanging just above the board. His day has been rather slow, and Justin was at the brink of losing his patience. Luckily for him, he only needed one more minute before the school bell rang.

His day had gone like any other, except this one was dreadfully more annoying. As soon as Justin walked into the school building, Principal Leritate instantly pulled him into his office. “Justin, this year’s team isn’t doing that well. Ever since you left, our chances of going to the school district championship haven't been looking very good. I want you to re-join the robotics team again”, the principal pleaded. All Justin could care to say was, “How’s that my problem?”

After 30 minutes of having to deal with Principal Leritate rambling on about why the team needed him and begging for him to come back, he was reluctantly dismissed. However, as a result of being held up in the principal's office, Justin was late to his first period class. That didn’t make Justin feel any better about how his morning was starting. He had to walk into his classroom, where all eyes were instantly on him as he walked to his seat, and had to explain to his teacher why he was late. To add more to that annoying experience, his first period teacher went on into a big lecture about why being on time was important; being very specific on pointing Justin out.

And if that wasn’t enough, he had to deal with his ‘’used-to-be’’ bestfriend following him throughout the school campus in between classes. “JUSTIN, JUSTIN, JUSTIN!,'' Zeke squeaked behind him. “Leave me alone, Zeke. I’ve told you for the 50th millionth time, go away!”Justin would respond back, not looking back at Zeke. “Common man, I want to talk to you. It’s been a while. We need you in the robotics team! ” Zeke continued to press on Justin. Justin just shook his head and continued to walk forward, not bothering to look back even once. He just wanted to get to his class as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better during lunch time. While he was sitting alone at his usual table (isolating himself as far away from people as he could), a random group of people, who he didn’t even know, came to sit where he was sitting. It wasn’t a small group of just four or five, but a group of ten. They just sat there filling all the seats around him, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence. He cleared his throat to make his presence aware, but only one girl turned to face him (who was clearly very annoyed by Justin), and asked bitterly “What’s your deal?’’. Justin shot her a glare and said coldly “Get off of my table”. The girl simply rolled her eyes and ignored him, and scuffed “Whatever, loser”

Justin felt his anger rise and wanted to say something in return, but instead of wanting to waste his time, he slowly rose up from his seat and walked away. As he was walking away, he pulled out his wand from his pocket, kept it low, pointed at the table, and muttered out a faint spell,‘‘Objecto Heatus’’. He quickly put his wand back, and continued walking forward, not bothering to look back. A smirk creeped on Justin’s face when he heard the same girl who called him a ‘’loser’’ ask, “Why’s it getting hot?''.

Justin began to count down in his head “1, 2, …3”, and on the final count he heard the group scramble off the table panicking. “Dude, the table is burning up!'’ one of the guys exclaimed. Another girl could be heard, ‘’ I-i-it b-b-burned me! '' she said shakily; her forearms were completely red. That same girl who had called Justin a loser exclaimed out, “Look at the back of my thighs!!”. The girl happened to be wearing shorts, and the skin on the back of her thighs was becoming cracked and a few pieces were peeling off. The group quickly scrambled out of the cafeteria with a scared look written all over their faces. Justin smiled, feeling completely satisfied with himself. He pointed his wand back to the table and muttered out a counter spell, “Temperus Reversus''. He waited 3 seconds before walking back to sit on his table.

Justin had a big smile on his face, but it quickly faded when he noticed his sister looking dead at him from across the cafeteria. She was sitting with Harper (who wasn’t paying attention), and was glaring at him. “Great”, Justin muttered to himself. He looked away and pulled out a book from his backpack, and tried his best to ignore the stare coming from his sister.

The rest of the day unfortunately kept the same pace; not even the school subjects were enough to keep him entertained during class hours. The last minute remaining of school, however, was almost done with. He stared at the clock, and counted down with it.

“1…,” he sighed out.
“2…,” he flicked his pencil back and forth between his fingers.
“3”. the bell rang loudly.

Justin quickly closed his book shut, put his stuff away in his backpack, and before the teacher could even protest, he walked out of the classroom. As soon as he walked out, the hallways got packed with other students who were also exiting out their classes. While some students walked out of the campus, others walked to the cafeteria to hang out, but Justin -along with a few other students - walked over to the lockers. Justin unzipped his bag, opened up his locker, and started taking out a few books and placing them in his bag.

While he was putting away his books, he felt someone tap his shoulder behind him. He quickly turned around to face who it was and came face-to-face with Zeke. “Oh, great” Justin groaned out, rolling his eyes at the sight of who it was. He turned back around to face his locker, but Zeke didn’t let that stop him. “Hey, Justin, can we talk?” Zeke asked, this time not as hyper as he was earlier in the day. He looked sad, but Justin couldn’t ever bother to care, he just wanted to get out of there. “Dude, no. Leave me alone, I’ve told you a million times” Justin said, closing his locker shut, feeling frustrated. “ I know, but c’mon, man… Can you please tell me why you just ghosted me out of nowhere? And why did you just drop out of all the clubs we were in?” Zeke asked, concern and hurt written all over his face. Justin simply rolled his eyes, and continued to ignore the emotions Zeke was obviously expressing.

“I just don’t want to hang out with you anymore,” Justin said coldly, not caring how his response would affect Zeke. Justin turned around to face him, and couldn’t help but notice the pathetic look Zeke had written all over his face “Forget about it Zeke, alright? We aren’t friends anymore, so… leave me alone” Justin sighed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. He stared at Zeke once more, and walked right past him, making sure to bump his shoulder into his. Zeke just looked down at the ground feeling hurt by the rejection of his best-friend.

“Leave him alone, Zeke. He's a cold-hearted jerk” Alex said, approaching the scene that had just taken place. Justin, who heard the comment his sister made, simply waved his hand in the air as a way to brush her off. Alex couldn’t do much but just roll her eyes and cross her arms. Alex was at her own locker minding her own business, when she couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Zeke and Justin. Alex felt bad for Zeke, she knows they have been friends since childhood. In a way, Alex understood how it felt to have a friendship cut off without really understanding why; seeing as her relationship with her brother has been cut off as well. Alex turned to face Zeke, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and muttered out, “Just go home, Zeke”. Zeke turned to look at Alex and gave her a sad smile, and turned back around to walk away into the cafeteria.

Alex, feeling the compassion for Zeke and the frustration of why Justin was acting in such a way, followed behind her brother who was almost at the entrance doors. She reached up to him and grabbed him by the arm. “You are suck a prick, you know that!” she grunted as she got a firm grip on her brother. Justin quickly turned around to face his sister, and gritted out between his teeth “Let go of me!” Justin roughly pulled back his arm to break the grip Alex had on him, which caused both of them to stumble back a few steps. Justin stared at his sister with an angry look written all over his face `What's wrong with you?!” he yelled. This caught the unwanted attention of students who were around them.

Alex looked around the people who were staring at them, but feeling her anger take over she lost all care. “ What’s wrong with you?! You treat everyone like crap and you expect us to just take it!” Alex yelled back at her brother. Before Justin could even respond back, Alex went on without stopping “You have been treating us like absolute trash for no reason, Justin. You close yourself off, and then you get in this bitchy mood and come after all of us. You don’t take into consideration how we feel whatsoever, you just walk all over us without a care! So what if Juliet left you, get over it, and stop being such a baby!” Alex ranted off, not really realizing what she was saying.

Justin just stood there, and processed the words his sister had just shot at him. Feeling the same blow he felt in the living room when he was arguing with his sister, Justin started feeling the same sadness in his heart. But before Justin allowed himself to react any other way, he marched up to his sister and came face to face with her. Alex looked up and gulped, but didn’t step down as she didn't want to make it obvious she felt intimidated. At this point everyone in the hallway was looking dead at them.

“You want to know what happened!? Huh, do you?!” Justin spat at his sister, his words taunting her “I was played, Alex.” he said loud and clear. “Since the beginning. She never loved me, in fact she was cheating on me since the beginning of the relationship. So, I don’t know, Alex. You tell me. Do you still think I’m a baby!” Justin said, keeping his voice firm and stern, making sure each word hit her like a brick.

All Alex could do was just stare at her brother. All the anger she felt towards him was fading away into worry and regret. She knew how much Justin adored Juliet. Her eyes softened at the vulnerability her brother had just shown her. She tried to reach up a comforting hand to touch his shoulder, but Justin moved back and pushed her hand away. He let out a dry chuckle, “Leave me alone, Alex. Stay away from me”, he said, turning around. He came to a halt when he finally realized just how many people were around him, and he also realized that he had just admitted what happened to him in front of a bunch of people “Whatever” he muttered out. He quickly stopped focusing on them and started pushing people out of his way, muttering underneath his breath ‘Get out my way " or "Move ".

Justin could hear Alex coming up behind him “Justin, wait!” but he kept walking. He just wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible where no one would bother him. He didn’t want to face Alex now, not after what he had just admitted to her. Justin has never told anyone, and he finally allowed Alex to see a side of him that he was hiding, but not out of care but out of spite…out of pettiness. Justin started feeling empty in his heart, he started feeling his anger come and change his perspective. He started feeling the depression hit him all at once, and all he wanted to do was just disappear.

Justin made it to the front door, and was about to push it open when all of a sudden he felt his hand freeze up. He looked down, all panicky , and saw that someone's hand came to touch his. He felt electricity run throughout his whole body, and felt sparks going off inside of his stomach. Justin felt as if he was feeling hot and cold all at the same time. His heart started beating fast as if he was running, and he felt his blood flow increase rapidly. The emptiness that was invading his heart had gone and was filling up with hope. The anger that came over him was turning into calmness. Justin looked up, shock written all over his face, and came face to face with Harper, who was staring right at him. She too, was holding her hand just as alarmed as he was, but before Justin could say anything, Harper ran off.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harper was in her last class of the day doodling on her notebook; the sound of the teacher talking being background noise for her. Usually, Harper is a bright student who is always attentive to what the teacher is saying, but today she has her mind elsewhere (Completely disregarding the advice her mother told her about listening in class). “What am I even supposed to say to him when I see him?” she bit her lip as she thought about the conversation that would take place in a few minutes. She drew a big heart in the middle of her class notes, and thought about the conversation with Chad this morning.

Harper walked into the school building feeling shy. The melancholy feeling that she felt while walking to the bus stop was still fresh, and was still taking effect. She walked over to her locker expecting not to see any sign of Chad. She sighed at the fact that her expectations were correct. She walked over to her locker and started taking out her stuff that she would need for the rest of the day. Harper let out another deep sigh thinking about old memories. Usually, Chad would be there waiting for her, but as these past few weeks have happened, she has gotten used to seeing Chad less and less in the mornings. In fact, she has gotten used to not seeing him at all.

As she was putting her stuff away she felt a tap on her shoulder and arms wrap around her. She immediately knew who it was by the touch of the person and the scent of cologne. “Hey, my love. How are you this morning?” Chad said as he hugged her from behind. He rested his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder. Harper melted at his embrace, but still couldn’t help feel that small emptiness in her heart. “I’m alright, I suppose,” Harper said, softly.

It was typical for Chad to get very upset in arguments, not talk to her, and move on as if it never happened. Harper couldn’t help but feel annoyed at his habit; instead of facing things, he would rather go around it. “Hey, Chad. Do you think we could talk later on today after school?” She asked, resting in his embrace. She felt foolish for leaning in, but at the same time she wanted to be so close. “Yeah, I suppose we could” Chad gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. Harper smiled sadly. The bell rang, and Chad immediately let go “We’ll, I’ll see you later, babe” Chad gave her one last kiss before walking away to his class. Harper closed the door to her locker, and walked to her first period class as well.

As Harper thought about the events that happened in the morning, she couldn’t help but ask herself “Does Chad even really love me?”. Harper stared blankly at the heart with Chad's name written in the middle. “I mean, he kisses me, hugs me, and showers me with love, but he is so hot and cold towards me. One minute I mean everything to him, and then the next he’s treating me like someone he used to know,” she thought to herself. “And why does he always avoid our problems? Why can’t he just talk to me about what’s wrong? Why does he go around it, like a kid?” Harper sighed out, resting her chin on her palm. “ Where is the Chad that I knew?” she muttered out softly, and sadly.

The first time Chad and Harper ever got into an argument was when Chad got a little too jealous of the cashier boy who was complimenting Harper on her sweater. “That guy was basically all over you,” Chad said to Harper as they got into his car. Harper, taken aback, smiled and laughed a little “What, what do you mean? He was just being friendly”. Harper didn’t take the boy's friendliness as anything else but that. Chad stared at her with annoyance, which caused Harper’s smile to fade away. “He was flirting with you Harper, or didn’t you realize?” He started raising his voice, “That guy obviously wanted something with you!,”. Harper, not really knowing what to say, as she has never seen her boyfriend upset, said “Chad, I really don’t think that’s what happened” She tried to reason. Instead of hearing ‘‘reason’’, all Chad heard from Harper was that he was wrong. That made his annoyance go up and his rage go higher. “Harper, do you know him!? Huh!? Is there something you aren’t telling me?!” he yelled at Harper, spitting his accusations out like venom. Harper was shocked “Are you seriously accusing me of that? That guy wasn’t flirting with me! He doesn’t even know me, and I don’t know him! Think Chad!” she threw back at him, raising her voice as well.

Chad remained silent throughout the rest of the drive back to Harper’s house, but was obviously still upset since he was breaking the speed limit. When Chad pulled up to her house, he quietly stepped out of the car, walked over to her side, and held the car door open for her. Chad didn’t say anything but the intention was clear. Harper let out a chuckle of disbelief and stepped out of his car. Chad didn’t give a kiss goodbye or anything. He ignored her for 3 days after that. That was the first time she saw the arrogant side of Chad, and it wouldn’t be the last.

That same night, Harper gave Alex a call. Harper explained everything that happened, and not much to Harper's surprise, Alex told her to “Dump his stupid ass.” Harper was laying down on her bed staring up at the ceiling, tears coming down her eyes “I don’t know what happened! I thought everything was going alright between us. He didn’t say goodnight or anything” Harper vented, still shaken up. The rest of the night Harper couldn’t sleep, she had the fear that her relationship with Chad was over since he wasn’t responding to any of her calls or texts.

When 3 days passed of Chad not talking to her and Harper believing that they were broken up, he showed up at her locker holding a bouquet of roses. Harper stared at him, with anger and confusion, not knowing what to do. Harper, being so unclear of the status between them, assumed they were broken up since Chad had been completely ignoring her. Chad walked over to her and brought her into a warm embrace, whispering “I’m so sorry, my love, I bought these for you”. It made Harper think twice about how Chad treated her, and all her anger flushed away as she leaned into his embrace. “HE is nice, you see” she remembers telling Alex. That wouldn’t be the last argument that would be handled like that. Chad made it a habit, and not only that, Harper allowed herself to get used to it. “ I’m tired of that,” she thought to herself. “I’m no longer going to let him walk over me like that!” She scribbled out the big heart that she had drawn.

The school bell rang and being the good student that she was, she waited for the teacher to dismiss her. After being dismissed, she started walking to lockers, completely expecting Chad to be there. But much to her surprise he wasn’t. She looked around the hallway looking to see if maybe he was somewhere in the crowd, but as more people passed and passed by, there was still no sight of Chad. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed one of Chad's friends making his way to the lockers. “Okay, maybe he can tell me where he is?” Harper thought to herself. She awkwardly approached him and tapped him on his shoulder, ‘Hey, um, do you know where Chad is?’ she asked shyly. The guy looked over at Harper and just shrugged, “The cafeteria, maybe?” he answered, not really caring. “Thanks, I guess…” Harper muttered underneath her breath. She started heading for the cafeteria and started getting nervous. “I hope this conversation goes alright.” she mumbled underneath her breath.

She entered the cafeteria and noticed Chad leaning on the water fountain smiling from ear to ear while looking down at his phone. “He’s in a good mood, at least’ she comforted herself. She bravely walked up to him and waved at her boyfriend “Hey, babe! ” she said loud enough for him to hear her. Chad quickly looked up, and noticed Harper heading his way. He instantly tucked his phone into his pocket, and his smile faded to a serious look. “Hey, babe, what’s up?” he said, not so cheery.

Harper just stared at her boyfriend, taking notice of the quick mood change “We were going to talk remember?” Harper bit her lip anxiously. She’s not the one for confrontation. Chad rubbed the back of his neck and started getting the annoyed look Harper knew too well “Can’t we do this another day ? I have to be somewhere, right now..” Chad said coldly. Harper's bravery started fading away, “Oh, well, I mean, you did agree to talk to me after school. It’s important” Harper gently pushed. Chad just rolled his eyes and let out a exasperated sigh “Fine, but make it quick”

Harper felt defeated. “Why even try to fix something with someone when the other person doesn’t want to at least try? '' she asked herself. Either way, she ignored her inner self, and still tried “Look, Chad. I feel like we are growing distant. Well to be honest.. I feel like you are growing distant.” Harper said, bravely. Chad just stared at her for a few seconds, and let out a sarcastic chuckle “That’s what this is about? Look, Harper, I’ve told you. I’m busy. Forgive me if I have other things happening in my life that are not about you” Harper started to feel anxious at how mean Chad was being. But still, she pushed forward “I know I’m not the only thing happening in your life,” her voice started getting shaky. “The problem is that you don’t treat me like I'm even part of your life. I don’t want your attention 24/7 but I atleast want you to treat me like I am your girlfriend, and not someone who is off to the side”

Chad let out a sigh, and checked the time on his phone “Fine Harper, whatever you say, okay. I have to go now” Chad said with no emotion. He walked past Harper, not even caring that his coldness was hurting her. Harper stood there trying to understand what had just happened, but the loving conversation she had with her mother came back to mind. “If he won't hear me, then I’ll make him hear me.” she said to herself.

Chad was about to exit the cafeteria but before he could even take a step out, Harper ran up to him and grabbed him by the arm and turned him around “You don't get to do that to me anymore!!” Harper raised her voice to Chad. Chad was taken aback by the sudden dominance Harper was showing “When you date me, you treat me how I deserve to be treated. Not as a second thought, but as a first one. I don’t even ask much from you except that you treat me like you love me, but as I can see, that is too much for you.” Harper stopped, and realized what she was about to say next was going to determine her relationship. “We are done, Chad. You just lost me” Harper said slowly, not even believing herself that she just said that. She stared up at Chad and noticed that Chad was surprised. Chad wasn’t expecting to have been dumped by Harper.

She lowered her gaze, and started walking away from him. She just wanted to go home. She started feeling tears well up, and the realization of what she had just done hit her. She ran down the hall, and pushed past the crowd that was formed in the hallway. She was bumping into people left and right but she didn’t care, she just wanted to get out of there.“I can’t believe I just did that” She thought to herself as tears were falling down her face.

She got through the crowd and made it to the entrance door. She reached her hand out to push the door open but came in contact with something. Before she could look down to see what her hand had touched, she felt electricity flow rapidly throughout her whole body. Her heart started beating faster, her blood flow increased majorly. Her stomach started feeling as if there were butterflies moving around and blooming.. Her cheeks heated up, she felt her whole body relax. She felt the ache in her heart fill up with warmth, and the tears that were coming out stopped. She was no longer crying, but blushing. She couldn't help but smile at the sensation. It felt like heaven.

She looked down to see what it was that she had touched that made her feel the way, but froze when she looked down to see another hand underneath hers. She quickly looked up and got startled at who it was. It was Justin, and he was staring right at her, the same way she was looking at him. She quickly pulled her hand away, and pushed past the door, and ran out of the school building.

Chapter Text

“Mijo, you’re home!” Theresa greeted her oldest son as he walked into the Waverly sub station. Justin looked up to see his mother standing behind the counter booth wiping it clean with a wet rag. “Hey, mom,” he said softly. His mind was still at the school entrance, thinking about what happened to Harper and him. “How was school, darli-”, his mom continued saying, but was cut off by Justin, “Where’s dad?. Theresa looked at her son and furrowed her eyebrows “He’s in the lair”. Justin gave her a short nod and walked past her. As he was walking away from his mother he felt a sudden pain in his heart and his heart started beating fast. His mind started flowing with guilt and regret. He turned around to look at his mom, who was already occupied with wiping the chairs clean, and felt sorrowfulness in his soul. His mother was so kind to him yet he only repaid her by being distant. He reached over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek “Thanks, mom”. Theresa got startled, it’s been a long time since Justin had shown any affection to her. Justin continued to walk to the back room, leaving Theresa feeling happy and shocked while doing her chores.

Justin walked into the lair and saw his father sitting on the couch reading a book. “Something strange happened today,” Justin bluntly said . Jerry quickly averted his eyes from his book to his son “What happened?’’. Justin shrugged his shoulders, and let out a dry chuckle “ Dad, I don't even know how to explain it” He sighed out. Justin rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at his father trying to find the words to explain himself. “Something happened to me at school today, and I don’t know what it was.” Jerry closed his book shut and sat it down on the table in front of him. “What do you mean, Justin?”. Justin rolled his eyes “I mean that earlier today I ran into Harper and we touched hands, and this feeling of electricity started flowing throughout my whole body. As a matter of fact, I still feel it now”, Justin told his father. Jerry stared back at Justin not really understanding “W-w-what? You mean like she shocked you?”. Justin rolled his eyes “No,” he shook his head ,”I mean, something bigger happened between us” Justin cringed at his own words “Oh, hell, maybe she did shock me, I don’t know” Justin said fidgeting with his hands. He let himself slump down onto the couch that was next to him.

They both remained silent, before Jerry questioned further “What exactly did you feel, Justin?” Justin stopped fidgeting with his hands and looked dead at his father. “I felt that everything that was bothering me disappeared. There has been a void in me, dad, for these past few months. When Harper and I touched hands, everything sort of started becoming alright. It’s really weird.” Justin said as he rubbed his hand over his face. Jerry looked dead at his son, computing his thoughts together, “I think I know what’s going on, I need to do some research first. For the meantime I need you to think about something very sad” Jerry said. Justin just nodded his head “Whatever I need to do to figure this out''. Jerry looked at his son in disbelief as it has been a while since Justin has obeyed him “Yeah, I really have to go do that research” Jerry said before exciting out the lair.

Justin sat on the couch thinking about a sad situation. “Easy” he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and imagined Juliet standing in front of him. Her hair was framing her face beautifully, her pale skin shimmered with the pink dress she had on, and her eyes desperately calling out to him. Justin felt a tingle in his heart. He looked at her face and observed her features. He looked deep into her beautiful brown eyes. His heart started to ache, he felt his heart drop. Then a light shined upon Juliet’s face and the image of Harper looking scared when she ran off filled his memory. “Come back, Harper '' he whispered to himself. He looked at Harper and he felt his heart start to mend. He felt his stomach heat up, he felt his heart start to beat fast. “How is she doing?” he thought to himself. “I’m such an idiot for not running after her!”. Justin jumped up from the couch exclaiming to himself, “What the hell is happening to me!? ''.He ran his fingers through his hair, but before Justin could think about it any more, Alex burst into the room exclaiming “Justin, I am so sorry! I didn’t know!”

Justin looked at Alex with a worried expression. He looked deep into his sister's eyes and felt his heart drop at the thought of how he had been treating her. Overcome by guilt, he slowly approached Alex and pulled her into a tight hug. Alex froze on the spot “Justin, are you okay?” she whispered. Justin pulled back and looked into her eyes “No, I don’t think I am”. Justin pulled back and took a seat once again. “Justin, look, I’m sorry about everything that I said about Juliet. I didn’t know, and if I did, I wouldn’t have been so hard on you” Alex said sincerely. Justin gave a sad smile “It’s alright, Alex” Alex looked at Justin perplexed “No, it’s not. You were cheated on, Justin!? Why didn’t you tell anyone?” She questioned her brother. Justin sighed out “I don't really know, I just kept it inside. I didn’t want to feel humiliated. I guess if I told people about it, in a way, I would admit to myself that it was over.” Justin frowned. He shook his head, “Look Alex, I’m sorry for how I have been treating you. I didn’t realize how much damage I have been causing you guys. ” Alex looked at her brother baffled “Justin, what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? I said I'm sorry.“ Justin looked up at her and furrowed his brow “What do you mean?” Alex rolled her eyes and groaned “Justin, why are you so mean? One minute you’re yelling at me at school and now you're all sappy and apologetic. Here I am trying to apologize for what I have done, and here you are mocking me. Are you kidding me!’’ Alex raised her voice.

“Woah, woah, woah! What's all this commotion about?“ Jerry said as he came back into the room holding a very large book. “Justin was making fun of me when all I wanted to do was apologize. He is such a prick!” Alex told her father. Justin looked over at his father “Dad, that’s not true. I’m trying to apologize-” but before Justin could finish his sentence Alex cut him off, “That’s not true. He's being the prick that he always is'’. Justin opened his mouth ready to defend himself but before he could get a word in, Jerry interrupted them. “Both of you stop, now! I think I know what’s happening to Justin''. He motioned to his kids to follow him. Jerry led them to the back table and placed the book at the center where everyone could see. “Spellbounds,“Justin read the title out loud.“Mmmh-mph,” Jerry agreed, “and If we turn to page 394 we are met with this thing called “Burning Heart”. Justin looked down at the page and saw a drawing of a wizard and human standing together with a heart in between them. Justin gulped at the image in front of him. He cleared his throat and continued to read along the page, “Burning heart or mostly known as “ardenti-corde” is a rare spell that happens between wizard and non-wizard. It happens when the non-wizard has raging love for the wizard, but it is unrequired.” Justin took a deep breath in, “That’s Harper, '' Justin whispered, understanding exactly where this was going. Jerry nodded “Keep reading”
“If both parties are going through immense emotional pain and they happen to touch, a small bond will grow. A bond that they cannot see but only feel, and it will lead them together so they can heal one another" Justin stared at the page with a blank expression. Alex asked quietly “Dad, what does this have to do with Justin?”

Jerry looked over at his son waiting for him to explain “Alex, after I walked out on you, I ran into Harper. We touched hands by accident. When we touched, I don’t remember what exactly happened but I felt this electric shock flow inside me- and even now I can still feel it” Alex looked at Justin like he was crazy. Jerry noticed the expression on his daughter’s face and saw that she was still confused, “Read forward, Alex“, Jerry motivated. Alex looked at her father and nodded her head, “Right after the bond is formed, the wizard will immediately begin to feel the effects of the spell starting to grow. The wizard will feel as if electricity is flowing throughout their entire body, they will feel immense remorse for their actions if they have been rude or cold, and they’ll start to act differently than how they used to because the Bond will start to heal what has been broken. The Non-wizard however will take a bit more time to feel it’s full effect ”

Jerry looked at his daughter “Justin apologizing wasn’t him trying to make fun of you, that was him being sincere” Alex looked over at Justin, who was looking down at the book. Alex felt bad all over again. “But dad, hear this”, Justin continued, ‘‘The spell gets stronger day by day. If the non-wizard is left alone once the bond has formed, the magic will drain that person as they are not strong enough to handle the stress’” Justin read outloud. “For this not to happen, it is up to the wizard to be by that person’s side so the magic between them can be balanced out. If the wizard fails to do so, the bond will break and put the Non-Wizard at risk. The non-Wizard will get tired and tired and simply fall asleep, never to wake up again” Justin let out an exhausted sigh “ Dad, so what does that mean, I have to stay by her side forever? I don't understand '' Alex looked at her father unsure as well, “ That's true dad, Harper doesn’t even like Justin anymore. She's head over heels for that guy named Chad”. Justin frowned “Harpers still with Chad?”

‘Look, I have many questions just as you two do, but for right now this is all we know.” Jerry reassured his kids, closing the book shut, “I recommend you get in touch with Harper to make sure she is okay” Alex agreed. “Go now, I have to talk to Justin alone” Alex looked over at Justin and gave him a comforting smile, “I’m sure you and dad will find a solution”. With that she turned on her heels and walked out.

“Okay, Justin, look, I know this all sounds crazy- I mean it is crazy- but if it is true, you have to be prepared for this” Justin looked at his father “Dad this is all bizarre to me. How do we know this is even true?” Justin rambled on. Jerry put a comforting hand on his son “Justin, be honest. Have you felt exactly what the book has described?”. Justin looked straight at his father. “ Ever since Harper touched me, I felt something change.” Justin shook his head in disbelief “But dad, how can this be true?”

Jerry looked at his son: he’s never seen his son look so confused, anxious, and worried as he is right now. “Fill me in from the beginning; What has been happening to you?” Justin stared into his fathers eyes, debating if he could trust his father with this secret. “Justin, please,” Jerry reached out. Justin sighed out, “Dad, remember Juliet?,” Jerry nodded his head, “Of course, I remember Juliet. How could I forget her! You absolutely loved that girl” Jerry crossed his arms. Justin frowned, “Yeah, I did, but I never really told you the full truth of what happened” “What do you mean , Justin?”. Justin stared blankly at his father, “I mean ,dad, that the reason me and Juliet split up wasn't because her parents didn’t like me; it was because she had been cheating on me since the beginning of our relationship.” Jerry’s eyes widened at his son’s confession “Why didn’t you tell me!”

Justin shrugged his shoulders “I don’t know dad, because I have pride? I still miss her a lot. But when Harper touched me it brought something back to life in me. I don’t know why dad, but it’s making me doubt my love for Juliet and I refuse to believe whatever-that-book is saying is the reason why! ” Justin groaned out in frustration. Jerry nodded his head “okay, yes, I know this is crazy, but Justin- you know the books that I have are nothing but reliable!” Jerry reasoned with his son. “I know, dad” Justin walked over to the couch and sat right back down. Jerry, following his son, took a seat next to him and placed his hand on his shoulders “Look, I’ll speak to Uncle Kablo about this. After that, I’ll reach out to the ordinances just to make sure”

Justin stared up at the ceiling, the pit of his stomach filled with uncertainty, not really believing what he was hearing. His father observed him and gently asked “But Justin, let's say it’s true, what are you going to do?” Justin shook his head, “well I don't think there’s much I can do” . Jerry continued to look at his son, “There would be an immense responsibility on you.” Justin looked over at his dad and said softly, “What am I supposed to do? I don’t even talk to Harper. She doesn't even like me. I avoid her for a reason. I avoided her when she liked me and I still avoid her now even when she doesn’t like me” , Justin panicked. Jerry walked over to comfort his son “I know, son, but right now we don’t have any other information to base ourselves on. We need to follow these rules just in case, at least until I can get this figured out for you .” Jerry said matter of factly as he placed a comforting hand on Justin's’ shoulder

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hell was that?” Harper thought to herself as she stormed into her room. She slammed the door shut behind her and tossed herself onto her bed “Ahhhhh!” she screamed into her pillow. She rolled over and stared blankly at the ceiling “I can’t believe I broke up with Chad”. “And good for you” she could already hear Alex telling her. Harper shook her head, “Now I have no boyfriend, and I doubt Chad would want to get back together with me after that”. Harper closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her face “I can’t believe I really did that”

“You look wonderful, babe,” Chad said as he saw Harper wearing a beautiful black sequin dress. Harper blushed at the compliment, “Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself” she giggled at the teen boy Infront of her. Chad leaned in and grabbed her by the hand. “May I?” he asked for permission, Harper shyly nodded. Chad brough her hand up and placed a gentle kiss on her hand, ‘’C’mon, I have something special planned for both of us tonight,”' Chad gently led her to his car. Harper sniffled as she started to reminisce about her first date with Chad.

“So, where are you taking me?” Harper said as soon as Chad entered his car “Just wait, it’s a surprise”. While in the car ride Harper couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts as she looked out the window. “What are you smiling about?” Chad’s voice brought her back to reality. Harper just laughed “I was just thinking about you, that’s all” Harper turned to look at Chad and couldn’t help but admire him "Thinking about me?” Chad smiled . “Why think about me when I am right here?” ’He chuckled, moving his hand over Harpers. Harper shook her head in disbelief, “I am the luckiest girl in this world to be going out with you” she said matter of factly. “NO, you’re wrong. I’m the most luckiest guy to be going out with you”

Harper thought about that moment in the car. Oh how they used to speak love to one another. Later on that night, Chad pulled up to a small park that had this beautiful river going down the middle and there was a bridge running over it. “Chad, this park is beautiful!” Harper exclaimed looking around at the beautiful details of the park. “I know, '' Chad said as he went behind his car trunk and pulled out a picnic basket and a speaker. “What's the speaker for?” Harper asked. “You'll see,” Chad winked at her. He led her behind to the other side of the bridge where there was a nice tree over them. He set up the blanket and invited Harper to sit down with him. He reached into the picnic basket and pulled out two sandwiches, sparkling water, and a big heart made out of chocolates. Harper looked at him in awe “Chad you didn’t have to do all of this!” Chad reached for her hand and landed a kiss on her hand once more, “You are beautiful! Of course I have to”

Harper closed her eyes and felt the tears roll down her face uncontrollably. As much as she didn’t want to think about him, she thought about how the rest of her night went with Chad “So , who exactly are you, Chad Duell?” Harper asked before taking a bite out of her sandwich. “Oh my gosh, this is really good!” she exclaimed. Chad chuckled “I’m glad you like the sandwich” He reached over to clean the crumbs on the edge of her mouth “Who am I? I’ll answer that until you tell me who you are first?”. Harper laughed “Well, Harper Finkle is someone who is loud and doesn’t mind being who she is. But I am also someone who feels on a deeper level. I also love crazy jewelry, and Crazy Hats” she blushed. Chad stared at her with admiration “Bold, you are, my love” Harper blushed “Oh, stop it. Now tell me, who is Chad Duell?” he laughed “Ah, yes, who is Chad Duell. “ He chuckled to himself and looked down at the grass, “ I come from a wealthy family, I’m a hopeless romantic,” he laughed at his own characteristic. “ and I also love fencing, and going out of my way for the girl that I like,” Chad said.

Harper thought about that last one “I Love going out of my way for the girl I like”. She blinked back tears, it’s obvious now he didn’t like her any more.

“Okay, get up now, there’s something I want to do. There's a reason why I wanted us to dress up! Come with me” Chad stood up and reached out a hand to Harper “Close your eyes, it’s a surprise” Harper did as she was told. He helped her up and led her next to the river alongside the bridge. Chad whispered to her “Open them” Harper opened her eyes and gasped “Chad, oh my gosh, you did this?” Chad smiled,” Yes, just for you”. Hanging across the bridge was in golden fairy lights the question “WIll you be my girlfriend?” Harper looked over at Chad and jumped on him exclaiming “Oh my gosh, Yes. I will be your girlfriend” Chad stumbled back a bit, but was able to catch himself and laughed alongside Harper.

Chad put down the speaker and connected his iPod and played “You’re beautiful” by James Blunt “May I have this dance, my dear lady” Chad asked, placing her down on the ground softly. Harper nodded. He took her hand in his and led her in their dance. Harper looked at Chad’s eyes and felt herself melt underneath his loving stare. She smiled ear to ear and leaned her head against his chest: They both lost themselves to one another as they danced and they both enjoyed the warmth of one another as they held each other close. ”Harper” Chad softly called at her. Harper slowly looked up and felt her heart stop. Chad leaned down and softly laid a kiss on her lips. She felt as if fireworks were exploding in her stomach. She gladly kissed back

Harper felt sick at the memory. She closed her eyes tightly, and wanted to disappear. Her whole life she just wanted her Prince Charming. She thought she finally had it with Chad. She felt that she was no longer just a shadow and that finally she was being seen. After constantly being next to Alex and seeing her getting lucky with guys while she was always getting ignored, she thought she finally had her moment. Harper stayed in the background and would watch other couples live their best, and all she could ask herself was “When will it be me?” But now here she was again. She had it for a small while, but now it’s gone again. She started sobbing uncontrollably “ I just want to be loved !” She screamed at herself. Even before Chad, she always failed at love. She had a hopeless crush on Justin for years that ended in tears once she found out he was with someone that wasn’t her.

Minutes passed by as the tears flowed down her face. Her mind was flooded with thoughts, memories, and what ifs. She shut her eyes in an attempt to close off her mind, but she couldn’t ménage to get a grip of herself. “Why, Why does this have to happen to me?” She sobbed into her arm. Harper rolled over and slapped her face with the pillow “ugh!!”.

There was a faint knock at the door “Harper, Sweetie, are you Okay?” Harper ignored the call from her mom. She heard the door open and a softly click behind her. The bed dipped and she felt her mother’s hand rub up and down her spine. “Mom, I just want to be alone right now,” Harper whimpered. Elaine softly whispered comfortingly “What happened ?” She Looked at her daughter with care. Harper looked over at her mother. Eliene “awed” at her daughter's teary eyed face. “ I listened to your advice and now I don’t have a boyfriend,” Harper said coldly. Eliene's jaw felt wide, “ I am so sorry”. She reached over to her daughter and helped her sit up on the bed “C’mon sit, Alex is on the phone. Tell her what’s going on”
Harper took a deep breath, wiping her tears. “I don’t want to talk to anyone,” she protested weakly. “Harper, you need to let it out,” Elaine encouraged gently.
With a reluctant sigh, Harper nodded. Elaine handed her the phone. “Alex is worried about you.”
“Hey, Harper,” Alex’s voice came through, laced with concern. “I'm just calling to see how you are doing? Are you okay?”
Harper hesitated, her throat tight. “Not really. I broke up with Chad, and now I feel... lost.”
“What? Why would you do that?” Alex asked, surprised.
“I just... I don’t know. It felt like the right thing at the moment, but now I regret it,” Harper admitted, her voice cracking.
Alex paused, then said softly, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I just wanted to feel loved, you know? I thought I had that with Chad, but now it’s gone,” Harper confessed, another wave of tears hitting her.
“Harper, you deserve to be happy. Maybe this is a chance for you to find someone who truly values you,” Alex suggested.
“Maybe. But it still hurts,” Harper replied, her heart aching.
“I’m here for you, no matter what. Just remember you’re not alone,” Alex reassured her.
“Thanks, Alex. I really appreciate it,” Harper said, her voice a little steadier.
“Do you want me to come over?” Alex offered.
“Yeah, maybe that would help,” Harper replied, a small glimmer of hope in her voice.
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. Hang in there, alright?” Alex said before ending the call.
Harper set down the phone and leaned against her mother, who wrapped an arm around her. “You’re going to get through this, sweetie. I promise,” Elaine whispered, holding her close as Harper let the tears flow.