Accidentally in Love with the Best Friend

h.a.r.p.e.r.’.s....p.o.v.

“Harper?” I looked up from my cup of steaming hot chocolate to find my best friend trying to catch my attention. This wasn’t just anyone of my friends - this was the one I had practically grown up with. Justin Copeland, the most popular guy in school. It’s not that I didn’t have any friends that were girls, because I did. I just found Justin’s company more... comforting. It felt like home whenever he was near.

Looking closer at Justin, I noticed something off in his expression. Yes, he had his usual messy hair style all the girls love, but something was just... off.

“What is it Justin?” I asked, scanning his murky blue eyes for any sign of what’s bothering him.

“Just... are you doing anything this weekend?”

We often hung out over the weekends due to our busy schedules on the weekdays. I quickly thought through my calendar before supplying him with an answer. “Yeah, Toby and I are going to the movies Saturday for our three month anniversary. Why do you ask?” Toby Connors - aka my amazing boyfriend - had been with me for three months. So far, everything had been going great.

Justin’s expression dropped slightly before he masked it with a blank look. “Nothing. I’ll probably hang around with Casey.” Casey Stevenson, head cheerleader, had been dating Justin on and off for the past few years. A lot of girls wanted to be with him, but it has never really crossed my mind that much. He was just my friend, right?

He leaned back in his seat, sipping his coffee as his eyes wandered off in the distance. Justin had been doing this a lot lately. Something that came with growing up was that we spent less and less time together. We would never be able to meet up and coordinate events together anymore.

He leaned forward, seemingly deep in thought. “What if we met up on Friday night, what do you say? That way we have time to hang out.” I nodded. I remembered back when we were younger how Justin and I would hang out on Friday nights making forts out of pillows and watching movies. That was before we spread apart.

A sudden vibration in my pocket caused me to pull out and look at my phone. Toby had sent me a text, one that was covered in heart emojis.

Toby: Can’t wait for this weekend!

I smiled. He had offered to take me out on his family’s yacht to go water skiing. I had only seen the exterior, and even then it had been breathtaking. Looking back at Justin, he was still in thought. In one hand he held his steaming coffee, and in the other, he held is phone, which revealed a bunch of unread messages.

Strange. Typically, I couldn’t peel him away from the device. I decided to think nothing of it though. Suddenly, I heard a growl. A GROWL?!

I looked up to find Justin with an annoyed face, looking at me accusingly. “What were you smiling about?” His voice was much deeper than usual, and was that jealousy in his eyes?

My eyes widened. I had never seen him like this. He was one of the most laid back people I knew!

“Um... Toby texted...” Not really knowing what else to say, I trailed off, unsuccessfully trying to avoid eye contact. His eyes captivated me as they flashed between black and blue, his normal eye color, revealing his inner struggle.

Fear crawled up my neck. What was his problem? He had known about Toby and I as long as we had been together. He put his head in his hands, effectively breaking our tense eye contact.

“Of course you wouldn’t get it... after all you’re only...” I didn’t hear the rest because anger clouded my vision. Seriously, what was his problem?

“Justin, what has been up with you lately? You have a girlfriend, so what does it matter that I have a boyfriend? You’ve been so distant lately. It’s your fault we haven’t spoken in forever, you never talk!” I guess it was just the pent up anger from all the everything recently. Did I really want to go all out on him? No. But this was finally a way to release my feelings.

He grumbled something before standing and leaving. Really? That was how the most popular guy in school treated his friends? Two could play at that game.

I played with my fingers as I thought back to how we used to be, growing up. A smile formed on my face as I remembered how we had been inseparable - there was never one without the other.

When we Justin turned sixteen, though, things began to change. Suddenly, he wasn’t the kid I always hung out with anymore. He formed a new circle of friends, and although he still tried to keep our friendship strong, it eventually weakened.

It wasn’t a happy time for either of us, but things had gotten better in the past year. Well, until this. Justin had grown super protective over me ever since he heard of my relationship with Toby.

After all these years, I had never made much of a fuss over Justin having a different girlfriend every week. Now, though, when he had his own relationship to worry about, he was ruining mine? What kind of person even does that?!

I sighed, shaking my head, before dumping my hot chocolate into the trash can and leaving the building. Sometimes, he confused me so much, that it made me wonder if I even knew the real him.