"Plans"

Disclaimer: Even though I would love to, I really do not own Wizards Of Waverly Place. If I did, I would have gotten Justin and Harper together!

Justin was sitting at one of the unoccupied tables in his dad's Sub Station. He was eyeing a pretty girl from the corner of his eyes. Oh snap, he thought she's beautiful. Hmmm...I wonder if I have a shot with her. Maybe I should go and talk to her. Yes. Yes. Im going to go and talk to her. After all, who can resist my charm. Well, that's a load of crap. But...I should try. Ever since Juliet got all wrinkly, I havent dated anyone. Its time to move on.Gathering his courage, he was just about to move from his table, when the door to the Sub Station opened - to reveal a very sad looking Harper. The mascara had been smeared from her eyes. Her nose looked red, and eyes bleary. Normally, Justin wouldnt have given much thought to Harper's entrance, but since Harper was (almost) a friend, and Justin was a gentleman, he approached her, and asked, "What happened, Harper? Are you ok?"

"Yes...well, no...um...do you know where Alex is? I really need to talk to her.", Harper replied, a little haphazardly.

"Im sorry, Harper. Alex has gone to the bowling alley with Mason. But, you know, if you really need someone to talk to, Im..." Justin cast a glance at the pretty girl, who had finished eating, and was getting up to pay. With a sigh of resignation, he completed his sentence, saying, "...listening."

Harper cast a doubtful look over Justin, but when Justin nodded in encouragement, she walked to the nearest table, and threw herself heavily over the chair. Justin walked over to her tentatively, and took the chair across from her. Harper looked at him, and said, in a voice crackling with emotion, "Zeke...Zeke and I...we broke up." She had hardly finished the sentence when she dissolved into tears.

Justin panicked. Harper was bowling at the top of her lungs, and he had no idea what to do. Harper began talking again, "We were...going to go to the school dance together tomorrow! We were gonna attend the same college! We were..going to get married! And...and have lots of kids!" She paused to blow her nose, before continuing, "And now, its all over! Just like that! Z..Z...Z...Z...Z..ZZZZZZ...ZEKE..this is just so typically my life, its always this wa-" Not able to take it any longer, Justin leaned closer to the table and said, a little urgently (her screeching was REALLY loud), "Harper, stop. Look, if Zeke broke up with you, he's the world's biggest idiot! Why are you crying so much? Just..pull yourself together. I know its hard, right now, like its the end of the world, but it will get better. I promise."

"But, what about our plans? Theyre all ruined", Harper said.

"Plans? Come on Harper. You dated Zeke for three months, and you had already planned your whole life? I mean, isnt that a bit too fast?" Justin asked incredulously.

At hearing this, Harper blushed a little. Ignoring her embarassment, she shot back, "He is my first boyfriend, ok? I mean, I guess he was. Whatever. I just, like to move ahead, alright? Dont tell me youve never done that. I mean, you had planned which college you wanted to go to when you were 7."

"I know. But, I was wrong. We cant plan our lives. We can just...live it, and go with the flow. I planned way into my future with Juliet..." he flinched a little when he said her name, like it was still hurting him, and continued, "..and look where it got me. Sometimes I think if I had just, enjoyed the feeling of living in the moment more, I would not have felt so much hurt when we went our separate ways, and I couldve formed better memories of the time I spent with her."

Justin looked up at Harper,a and saw that she was looking at him with a mixture of concern and pity. He said, hastily, "I am fine now. Really. And that is why I know you will be fine too." He gave Harper a small smile. Harper's face showed a moment's doubt, before it cleared.

"Youre right, Justin. OF course, I still hate him for dumping me. Humph. I am a catch. He has no idea what he missed out on." Just as she was saying these words, she got up from the table, somehow got off-balanced, and fell on the floor with a loud thud. "You know, apart from the bad coordination, I am a catch."

Justin and Harper looked at each other, and burst out laughing. They laughed and laughed and laughed, till they got a stitch in their stomach. Harper stood up from the floor to sit again, still chuckling.

"Harper, you are a weirdo. In a good way.", he added. Harper looked at him and said, while flicking her hair, "I know. I rock!"

Justin waved his hand, brushing off her self praise, and asked, timidly, "Hey. Um, can I ask you something? Answer only if you feel comfortable doing so."

"Go ahead! The Great Harper is not afraid to answer questions!", Harper said.

"Why...why did Zeke...you know...broke up with you? I mean, you guys looked like everything was fine. What happened?"

Harper's face turned serious, and she said, "Ummm...I dont mind answering that question, but...ahhhh. Just leave it. It would make things awkward."

Justin's curiosity increased at Harper's coy tone, and, abandoning all pretense, said, "Why would things get awkward? C'mon Harper. You cant just...say this kind of thing and then leave it at that. Just..tell me. We are friends!"

Harper smiled a little at his genuine interest, and said, "Fine. If you really wanna know, it was because...because...ah, what the hell, it was because he thought that there is something going on between us. I mean, he knows that I didnt cheat on him, of course, but he thinks that we have some kind of connection we havent realised till now, and he wanted to end things before he falls for me too hard and I realize the existence of our connection. He said that that would hurt him too much."

After talking, Harper met Justin's eyes. Justin had gone rigid. "Justin, Justin, are you ok?", Harper asked.

"Uh...yeah. Im just thinking though. How stupid is Zeke! Us..having a "connection"...we dont have a connection.", he said, self - assuredly, before adding, in a panicked tone, "Do we?"

"O...of course not. I mean, I admit I had a CRAZY crush on you, but its all a thing of the past. Isnt it?", she questioned, surveying his face carefully, as if looking for an answer.

Justin looked at her and thought, We dont think of each other romantically. I mean I dont. Or do I? Oh, shut up, Justin. I dont. I DO NOT. Yeah. I do not. "Yeah, it is. Look, Zeke is my best friend and everything, but, I gotta admit, he can be pretty dense sometimes. Lets just, forget what he said. Deal?"

Harper looked at him and smiled. "Deal", she said. She got up from her chair and said, "I am glad we sorted stuff out. Thanks Justin. Talking to you helped a lot. You are amazing! I better go and lock up my room before Alex comes and destroys it."

Justin nodded at her and watched her go. There is no way that I would have even the remotest amount of feelings for my ex-stalker. Clean up your head, Justin. He shook his head, and with one last look in Harper'sa direction, heaved himself up from his chair and walked out of the Sub Shop.