Chapter 13: A Fair To Remember.

"Wow, it's a lot bigger than I thought."

Harvey spoke as he killed the engine of his red 2010 Honda VFR1200F. Kicking out the bike's kickstand, he dismounted his motorcycle and removed his helmet. After ensuring his helmet was locked securely in the helmet lock, Harvey unzipped his brown leather jacket and looked at the fairgrounds.

It encompassed the ample open space provided by the school's soccer field; various tents held food stands and games. There were even a few small rides and even a Ferris wheel as well. It appeared that the school wasn't holding back.

"Is that a small jail cell?"

Harvey squinted his eyes deeper into the fair; it was a small holding cell. Shaking his head, Harvey started to walk away from his bike and pulled out his phone. He was about to call Luke when he was almost run over by a larger man who began jogging forward; the man wore a blue button-up shirt and had light brown hair. The man turned his head and yelled something over his shoulder.

"I can do both!"

"Wow, there!"

Harvey expertly spun around the man, dodging the collision. The man stopped in his tracks and looked at him apologetically. Behind his back, he heard someone yell out the name Cam.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" The larger man said. "I should have been looking where I was going! Nice dodge, by the way. Do you play football?"

"Cam! Be more careful!" A man with ginger hair and a beard spoke to the large man, and a small girl holding an arm full of stuffed animals followed behind him.

"Football? No, I don't play any sports. Wait a minute... You're coach Tucker, Right? I almost didn't recognize you."

Harvey said to Cameron Tucker. Cameron nodded his head and then quickly shook it. "I'm sorry for almost running into you, but I'm in a hurry. Mitchell! Can you handle this? Thanks, Love you!"

"CAM! Get back here! Ugh, I can't believe you." Mitchell yelled at Cameron, who was quickly jogging away. He then turned to look at Harvey and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about that. He has some... Important things he has to say to his team. I'm Mitchell, his fiancé."

"Ah, no worries. I'm Harvey. Nice to meet you." Harvey smiled at Mitchell and looked down at the child staring up at him. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Lily, our daughter. Lily, don't forget your manners."

"Okay... Hello."

Lily said in an uninterested tone, clearly bored already. Harvey smiled and nodded at her. "It's nice to meet you, Lily."

"I have to go meet some friends now; it was nice meeting you all."

Mitchell nodded and placed a hand behind Lily's back. "It was nice meeting you too. Have fun!"

Harvey smiled and nodded. He then waved at them and started to walk off; sliding his hand into his pocket, he took out his phone and dialed Luke. After waiting a minute, the call was picked up.

"Harvey! Are you here yet?"

"Yeah, Just got here. Where are you all?"

"Well, Manny isn't here yet. He's in some cake-baking contest. So it'll probably be a while until we can get him to go do things together."

"I see. So where are you? Is Alex with you?"

Harvey asked as he scanned the crowds for any sight of his friends. After a minute of searching, he found Alex. She was standing next to a game stand and was on her phone.

"Alex? I don't know where she's at. But listen! I need some advice! There's this girl I like, and I'm trying to ask her out!" Luke said in an excited voice. "You're older, so you have to have some tips!"

"I see, I see. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any experience in that." Harvey told Luke as he made his way to Alex. "Have you tried...I don't know. Just asking her. The worst she can say is no, right?"

"I can't just ask her! No, is the worst thing she can say!" Luke yelled. "Gah! I'll just ask Alex if she has any advice. I wish Haley was here. Huh, never thought I'd say that."

"Sorry, I couldn't be much help, Luke. I can try and be your wingman if that helps."

"That can work! Wait- I think I see you! I'll make my way over there. See you in a bit."

Harvey nodded and put his phone away after Luke hung up on him. Alex was now in arms reach. Seeing her so focused on her phone, he decided to surprise her a little.

"Boo."

"AAH!"

Harvey chuckled as Alex jumped up in surprise. All he did was poke her back; She turned around with wide-open eyes. Her eyes broadened even more, and her cheeks colored slightly once she saw him. She then smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Why did you do that?! You scared me half to death!"

Alex said with narrowed eyes. Harvey only chuckled at her, causing her cheeks to redden more. He bends down and grabs her phone, which she dropped in his prank. Standing back up, he dusted the phone and returned it to her.

"Sorry about that. You were so focused on your phone that I thought it was the perfect opportunity." Harvey said as he stood next to her. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings, though."

"Ugh... I know. I was trying to see where my friend was. We agreed to hang out a little today, but we can't seem to find each other." Alex said as she grabbed her arm.

"Whose your friend?"

"She's new to school. Her name is Sienna."

Harvey nodded and looked to his left; he saw Luke a couple of feet away. Alex then turned to look up at him and noticed a small bruise on his collarbone.

"How did you get that?"

Harvey looked confused and followed her line of sight; the small bruise on his collarbone could be seen from under his shirt.

"This? I accidentally dropped a weight on my chest."

Harvey lied. The bruise was actually from last night's escapades. Someone got lucky with a wild punch on him, fracturing his collarbone. Since it happened a few hours ago, it was still healing.

"Ah, I see. Are you okay?" Alex said in concern. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"I'm fine. It wasn't that heavy of a weight."

Alex looked torn; she looked like she was about to say something else when the voice of Luke broke through the crowd.

"Hey!" Luke spoke as he waved his arms. "There you are!"

Alex turned her head to look at her brother, a slight frown on her face. Harvey smiled at the sight. Siblings sure have a weird way of treating each other.

"Yeah. I'm not giving you any money." Alex told Luke in a deadpan tone.

"I don't need your money- I need advice," Luke said slowly, his eyes flicking at him for a second. "...About a girl."

"Gross, But I'm intrigued, so talk."

"Alex! Hey, Girlita!"

The Dunphy siblings and Harvey turned to a girl with long dark hair and a denim vest walking towards them. Harvey guessed that this must have been Sienna, The friend Alex was looking for earlier.

"Sienna! ...Girl!" Alex said excitedly.

Harvey lifted an eyebrow at the sight. Alex was acting odd; it wasn't like her. He turned to Luke to see if he saw it too but saw the boy look at Sienna with a deep want in his eyes. Harvey then connected the dots and realized that this must be the girl he had a crush on.

"I've been looking all over for you."

"Uh, this is my little brother, Luke. Oh, and this is Harvey! A friend of mine."

Luke waved at Sienna with a dumb smile on his face, too entranced to respond verbally.

"Hello there." Harvey said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you too!" Sienna responded with a smile. She took a small step forward. "I've seen you around the school. It's nice to finally put a name to the face."

"Uh, yeah."

"OH! Sienna! Now that you're here, you see, my brother could really use some advice on some crush he has!"

Alex told Sienna as she quickly stepped in front of Harvey. Harvey again needed clarification on Alex's actions. What was she doing? This was different from how she usually conducted herself. She was always quick-witted and firm during their tutoring sessions. She did relax a little outside of their sessions and had some fun. Is she trying to get something from Sienna?

"That's huge." Sienna said as she turned to Luke. "So Luke, who is this mystery woman?"

"Um... Just some girl." Luke said. "You don't know her, she's a sophomore."

"Oh, a sophomore. That could be challenging. Most girls don't like younger men."

"True, hey, I have an idea! How about we all go and look for her! I could use the help!" Luke told them all.

"That sounds great!" Sienna turned to look at him. "Alex? Harvey?"

"Uh, sure! Let's go!"

Alex said as she pumped her arm up. She turned to look at him with an odd smile. Harvey would ask her what was going on. Hopefully, it wasn't anything bad. He'll try and find a chance to talk to her in their 'search'.

"Let's get to it."

•••

"What's up with you?"

Alex turned her head to look at Harvey. They were currently waiting for Luke and Sienna to finish their game of whack a mole. Alex adjusted her glasses and raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Alex. You're not acting like yourself. You're talking in a way you never do; you act differently when Sienna is around. I don't understand."

Harvey told her with a frown. Alex started to feel nervous. Was she acting so out of character? She wanted to get Sienna to like her and cement their friendship before she realized just how different they were in social status. Was that so wrong? Suddenly, she felt herself become frustrated.

"What are you talking about? I'm acting just fine! Just another day." Alex said as she crossed her arms. "How are you gonna tell me how to be me?"

Alex saw Harvey raise his eyebrows at her. Alex immediately realized how confrontational she came off as. What if he was right and Sienna could see right through her act? What if she just ruined her chances with Harvey because she couldn't handle confrontation and lashed out? Did she just scare him off!?

"You're right. I haven't known you too long to be able to talk to you like that. I'm sorry." Harvey said as he walked up to her and touched her shoulder. "But I do know that acting in a way that isn't you just to get someone else to like you isn't the way to make friends."

"If they can't accept you for the person you are, then it's their loss."

Harvey smiled at her as he squeezed her shoulder lightly. Alex's face slowly heated up. She then looked down at her feet. She smiled and realized he was right. What was she doing? She was dancing like a monkey just for the chance of getting someone like Sienna to like her. Did she really not have any self-worth?

"... you're right. It is their loss. If they don't like how I am every day, I don't need them. I like being me."

Alex looked up and smiled at Harvey. Harvey smiled back at her and nodded.

"Good. I like you for you." Harvey then gave her shoulder a final squeeze and waved at Luke and Sienna. It appears they finally finished their game. "So who won?"

Harvey approached the two, and Luke began talking about riding the Ferris wheel. Alex stood in her spot, unmoving. Slowly, she raised her hand and placed it on her chest. Her heart was beating fast, and she felt her face redden. Alex turned her head to look at Harvey and smiled. His final words to her caused her to close her eyes and sigh.

"...I like you too."

•••

"All right, young lady." A dark skinned man in a tanned blouse and police hat walked out from a golf car and placed hand cuffs on Alex. "You're under arrest."

"What?" Alex said, confused.

"Say what?" Harvey said as he turned to the right to look at the other officer in the golf cart. "Mr. Pritchett?"

"Harvey." Jay said as he tipped his hat in his direction.

"You have the right to remain silent." The blouse-wearing man said as he guided Alex to the back of the golf cart.

"Good luck with that." Luke spoke out loud.

"Grandpa!" Alex said in exasperation.

"Sorry, Honey. Part of the job." Jay said as he put away the piece of paper he was reading, he then shifted the golf car into drive and began moving. "Out of the way!"

"Harvey!"

Alex yelled as she looked at the three of them. Harvey was confused but quickly got over it. With a dash, he jumped up and sat next to Alex, surprising her and the officers. Harvey looked over to Jay and the man in the blouse and smiled.

"Proceed, gentleman. I'm Alex Dunphy's legal counsel."

This caused Jay and his partner to smile in amusement and continue driving, honking their little horn. Harvey looks over to Alex and laughs with her; he then turns to Luke and winks at him. Luke's eyes widen, and he nods back with a smile.

•••

"Luke's pretty crafty, isn't he?"

Harvey told Alex from within one of the carts on the Ferris wheel. It was nearing sun set, the orange golden sky stood brilliantly over the city. The now turned on lights from the fair changed the whole mood of the event. There were fewer people now as some took their younger children home. Harvey smiled and turned to look at Alex. She wanted to ride the Ferris wheel and spy on Luke and Sienna, curious about how Luke would mess it all up.

"He is a crafty little gnome." Alex smiled. "But it looks like this is as far as he get's."

Down below, Sienna splashed a cup of lemonade in Luke's face and walked away. Luke stood there and looked up; a look of disappointment was on his face. Harvey walked over to Alex's side to get a better look. Luke then kicked at the ground and walked away.

"Damn. So close, buddy." Harvey then sat down beside Alex and looked out to the city in the distance. "I wonder what he said."

"Knowing him, probably something stupid."

"Hm. Who knows."

A comfortable silence rested between them as they waited for the ride to finish. Alex was playing with her hands as she debated her next action; with a nod she slid closer to Harvey and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Alex?"

"...Thank you. For today. Whatever happens between Sienna and me after she realizes who I really am. I'll be okay. After all, I'll have you."

Alex then stood up from the bench they were on when the ride finally stopped; the car's doors opened for them to exit. Harvey sat there and stared at Alex; she stood there with her hands behind her back. A warm smile on her face. Harvey's face looked surprised, and a heavy feeling then rested in his chest. When was the last time someone looked at him like that? Did she trust him that much? His hands clenched into fists, only to relax a second later.

"Yeah. You will."