Harper waited outside with Alex, sitting on the front steps of his house. He wasn’t sure what to bring, if anything, so he’d grabbed the video camera he used to record storms and a pocketknife in the shape of Batman’s batarang.

“You really think this will work?” Harper asked, watching him as he flipped the blade in and out of the pocketknife.

“I don’t know,” Alex admitted. “But I don’t know what else to try. I’ve got to do something, and I’m running out of options.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Alex shrugged. “Sure.”

“Why do…” Harper tried to choose her words carefully. “You’re really passionate about finding Gemma, and I’m glad. It’s just … it’s a little strangely intense, since you and Gemma haven’t been together that long.”

“Is that your question?” Alex asked, looking over at her.

“Kinda. I just don’t fully understand why you care so much.”

“But I’ve known her practically my whole life,” Alex pointed out. “And it’s not like I suddenly started having feelings for her the day we started dating. I mean, I’ve liked her for…” He trailed off, as if realizing he’d admitted more than he wanted to.

“When did you start liking her?” Harper asked.

He shifted uneasily. “I don’t know the exact date.”

Harper had known that Alex and Gemma liked each other for a little while, possibly longer than the two of them knew themselves. Alex would be over watching a movie with Harper or doing homework with her, but as soon as Gemma came in the room, he could barely pay attention to the task at hand.

That eventually had put a strain on her friendship with Alex. She didn’t mind so much that he liked Gemma. It just weirded her out that they’d be hanging out in her room, and Gemma would be across the hall in hers, and Alex would suddenly get up and go hover in Gemma’s doorway. It was obnoxious, so Harper had stopped hanging out with him as much.

“I think I noticed it a few months ago,” Harper said. “You kept making eyes at her.”

“I did not,” he said quickly. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Harper said. “I’m just curious about how long you’ve had a crush on my sister.”

“I don’t know.” He sighed, and when he spoke, his voice got quieter. “Maybe years.”

“Years?” Harper asked loudly, thinking she must’ve heard wrong.