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Chapter Text

"You're breaking up with me?" 

Henry Hart knows better than to let his voice travel, but he can't help it. He's upset, shocked, and even angry with the fact that his girlfriend of three years is breaking up with him. And for what? Because of some loser she met during winter break with her friends? What a load of bullshit. 

"Yes," Joss Moss, his now ex-girlfriend says as she flips a few loose curls over her shoulder. She's frowning and looks as if she's going to cry, even her voice is softer than usual. From an outside perspective, you would think that she's hurt by this, which would make sense. Ending a three year relationship isn't easy, the same way it isn't easy to keep a relationship for that long. Any normal person would be upset by it, they would even shed a few tears. However, Joss isn't a normal teenaged girl like others. Her outside does not reflect the inside, and Henry can see-- feel how she's not sorry. That none of this is hurting her. The feeling alone makes his heart ache and Henry worries that he'll be the one sobbing. "And it's not because of you, it's because of me and my heart. See, Hen... I met someone. This guy and he just... made my heart flutter in such a new way that it caught me off guard. Do you know that feeling?" 

Unfortunately, he does. He's felt it for Joss when the two of them first started dating. Though, he doesn't say anything, doesn't want to reveal that it's her who made his heart flutter before, not wanting to give her that satisfaction. But the same way he knows her, Joss knows Henry like the back of her hand. She doesn't need him to confirm it, she too can feel it radiating off of him. "We just started talking and spending time together and he just... made me so happy. I felt reborn as a woman. I couldn't let him go--" 

"But you can let me go?" Henry asks. 

Joss pauses, lips twisting in an awkward way, all for show of course. She can't outright say yes, obviously she has to let him go in order to be with "the one". He wants to laugh, but he's terrified that he'll break out into a sob. "Henry... I'm sorry, you know that right?" 

"I don't know, Joss, do I?" He counters before looking away. "I just... can't believe you're doing this to me. To us. I thought... I don't know, I thought we were going to be together forever." 

He had it planned out in his head, that the two of them were going to be that disgusting high school couple that would marry in the future. Others thought so, his parents hoped so (though, that's only because Joss is rich and if their son marries her, then they'll be rich), and even their friends believed it. Even Henry and Joss have talked about it, the two of them getting married, moving out of their hometown and going somewhere bigger and better than all of this. He still remembers it, the night the two of them sat inside of the trunk of his car, staring up at the stars and just... imagining their future together. It was a moment that made his heart flutter and a moment that made him realize how much he loves Joss. 

Joss stares at him and Henry wonders if she's remembering it, their shared memories together, their love for each other. That it'll make her regret even wanting to break up with him, make her realize that it's Henry that she needs and not the loser that she met during her skiing trip. However, his expectations crumble to dust as Joss' lips slowly twist upwards into that familiar smile that always filled him with dread. "Wait... you really thought that the two of us would...?" Then she laughs, a short and quiet one, as if he whispered a joke into her ear during a lesson. It shatters a part of him that he's not sure if he'll ever be able to fix. "Oh, Hen! You're so cute to think we'll be together forever." Her phone then dings, taking Joss attention away from him. "I gotta run. I have to meet my science teacher about something." She stands up, wipes away the "tears" in her eyes, and clicks her phone off. She gives Henry a final look and a final smile. "Aw, Hen, don't look so upset," Joss says. "We had fun, yeah?" 

Fun. That's what their relationship meant to her, something fun. "Whatever, Joss." 

Joss doesn't say anything nor does she take his words to heart. She just walks off, staring down at her phone and heading off to her minions who wait for her across the quad. The same minions who mostly knew about this and were watching their breakup from afar. ... Just like the rest of the school. Henry finally takes in their surroundings and how it feels like the entire student body is watching him, leaning in close to hear the breakup between Henry Hart and Joss Moss. Though, with their breakup scene over with and Henry aware of his surroundings, his peers all swiftly turn away or run off, acting as if they weren't spying on the former couple.

I need to get out of here, Henry thinks as he picks up his bookbag and heads for the main building. 

. . .

"Come on, Henry, don't beat yourself up. She's just some girl, move on and find someone else to hook up with." 

"Dude, Joss isn't like other girls. She's on a completely different level, a level that no one here can beat." 

"Yeah, I know that, I'm trying to make the guy feel better. Which you're not helping with." 

Henry doesn't give the duo the time of day, he barely listens to their Calculus who goes on and on about some dumb lesson. Instead, he's scrolling through his photo album of Joss, clicking each photo and remembering when they were taken. Half of the pictures were solo shots that Joss forced him to take, telling him that the lighting and composition has to be perfect. The other half were pictures that he took when she wasn't paying attention. Of her laying on top of him, of her laughing at a Twitter post, of her having a good time on their dates. Each picture breaks his heart at every passing second, but also makes him wonder if Joss really did lov-- no, like him. Was any of it real or was it all an act? 

A hand swoops in, snatching Henry's phone away from him. He bites back a loud 'hey' so that Mr. Calloway doesn't say anything to the trio. It's Victor Hunter who has his phone, one of his best buds of many years. "Scrolling through pictures of Joss? Wow, you're really hurting man." 

The words that spill from Victor's mouth seem kind, but the way he says and his demeanor says otherwise. It feels like he's making fun of Henry for his breakup and that does nothing to make him feel better. He attempts to reach for his phone back, but Victor pulls it away, scrolling the album himself. "Man, I still can't believe it," he says. "You and Joss are over with. How did you fumble someone like that?" 

"I didn't fumble her," Henry says, trying to reach again, only to fail again. He sighs, giving up and just leaning back in his chair. "I did nothing wrong to fumble her." 

"Well, looks like you didn't do anything right to keep her," Victor says. Oh Victor, never a guy to mince his words, not even when his friend is dealing with a fresh breakup. 

"Not cool, Vic," says Sam Vuong, giving him a stern look. Victor is the one to tell Henry how it is, while Sam is the softer of the two. He's the one with more empathy than others, though, is that really saying much when he too joins in on Victor's teasing at times. "The wound is still fresh, give the guy a break." He then stares forward, not really giving the teacher any attention. "I mean, his replacement is a literal rockstar. Of course he lost Joss." 

"Whoa, what?" Henry says, looking at Sam. "You've seen the guy?" 

Sam glances at Henry, blinking at his friend in confusion. "Yeah, haven't you?" Before Henry could answer, Sam pulls out his phone and opens up Instagram. There, he shows Henry's Joss Moss' Instagram Story, and that's when the pit in Henry's stomach drops. 

Posted only an hour ago, Joss Moss posted a picture of her and some guy-- no, not just some guy, the guy. Jack Swagger, a literal celebrity who is kissing Henry's ex-girlfriend on the cheek. It must've been a picture that was taken during her skiing trip... in someone's room. What the fuck! 

"Damn," Victor says, looking at the story with the two. "Didn't she just break up with you?" 

"Yeah, like two hours ago." And what a way for Joss to announce that the two of them are over, by posting picture of her with a new guy. Unbelievable. "How the hell did she even meet Jack Swagger?" 

Sam shrugs. "You're asking the wrong people, you would have to ask the girls about that." 

Aka Joss' minions, Bianca and Chloe. The three of them have been best friends since the day Joss Moss officially moved to town five years ago. Thick as thieves, you rarely saw Joss without either of the girls. Which means that they're best people to hit up about Joss and her new "boytoy" (Henry refuses to call the guy Joss' boyfriend, it would hurt too much to do that). "I'll ask Bianca when we get out of here." 

"You should ask her if Joss is going to bring Jack Swagger to prom." Victor chimes in. "Since the two of you aren't together, I guess that means that she's going to go with him." Then a light bulb turns on in his friend's head. "Wait... this means you guys aren't going to run for Prom King and Queen together." 

Shit, Henry forgot about that. It was Joss' idea that the two of them run for Prom King and Queen together, it was always her high school plan, winning included. And because of her social status, becoming Prom Queen was going to be easy. The same for Henry. The most popular girl and the most popular boy, the two of them would've had it in the bag. Now Henry doesn't know what to do. Should he drop out or should he force himself to still run with his ex-girlfriend, that is, if she even wants to run with him. Maybe she'll do what Victor said, maybe she'll find a way for Jack Swagger to run with her. She has the money and influence to make it happen. "I don't even know," Henry says, shaking himself from his thoughts. "And I don't even want to think about that right now." 

"That's valid bro, I mean, if you guys ran with other people, you'll obviously lose," Victor says, leaning into his chair. 

Now that makes Henry mad, the blond glaring at his friend. "What makes you think I'll obviously lose against Joss and Jack Swagger?" 

"Dude, come on. You may be popular, but it would be just you. No other girl can compare to Joss in both looks and personality." Victor shrugs with a smirk. "Just accept it dude, she's going to win." 

Man, Henry hates to admit it, but Victor is right. There's no other girl here who's on Joss' level, which means she'll get the easy win. She'll get the crown and the celebrity, and what will Henry get? A shattered heart and his dream girl with someone else. Though, the thing is with Henry, he's stubborn and refuses to give in. He's never the type to accept defeat, even against Joss Moss. "No, you're wrong," he says. "I know for a fact that there's a chick here who can beat Joss Moss." 

"No way." Victor is looking at him, smirk still there, but in utter disbelief. Even Sam is staring at Henry, waiting to hear what he has to say about all of this. "No chick here is on Joss' level, even if you fix them up, she still wouldn't compare." 

"I know for a fact that she can," Henry says, crossing his arms. "All I need to do is work my Hart magic on her and you'll see a Joss Moss 2.0." 

That's when Victor's eyes twinkle mischievously. "Wanna bet on it?" 

Now, Henry knows better than to make a bet with Victor, but he's heartbroken and running on wild emotions for Joss and stupid Jack Swagger. He's not thinking straight, well, when has he ever? "Yeah, I do." 

Sam hits Henry's arm, forcing an "ow" from his friend. The noise makes their teacher look in their direction, which the three teens flash smiles back. He doesn't say anything else, just shakes his head and goes back to his lesson. With the coast clear, Sam narrows his eyes at Henry. "Henry, don't do it. It's not worth making a bet with Vic." 

Sam is right, it's not worth it, but again, he's not thinking straight. "Don't worry," Henry says. "This is gonna be a bet that I'll win." 

This makes Victor laugh. "Maybe in your dreams."

Sam shakes his head, giving up. "You know what? Whatever, you guys do what you want." 

He doesn't need to tell them twice. 

"Prize?" Henry asks. 

"Loser does whatever the winner wants him to do." 

"Sounds good to me." 

The bell rings, signaling the end of class and the day. The three teens pick up their belongings and head out, the bet on their mind. "Okay, now it's time to decide who will become your little project." Victor scans the various teenaged girls, all people they've known for years or some who they still don't know. What they do know is that none of these girls really shine and sparkle like Joss Moss. It makes Henry regret taking up the bet, but he's too stubborn to admit that. He just needs to find someone decent, someone who's normal, and who an shine like a diamond. A true diamond in the rough. "How about her? Buck Teeth Julie?" 

The three look over at the girl in question. "Buck Teeth Julie", a junior with the biggest front teeth in the entire city. Not only that, her glasses frames are huge and thick. Henry has only heard her talk once during a school assembly where she spit on everyone in the front row. It was both hilarious and disgusting. "I don't know," Henry says, looking elsewhere for someone else. "What about her? The one with the green hair?" 

Victor shakes his head. "Nah," he says. "She's already hot, just goth. Not really a challenge."  

"Fair enough," Henry says with a shrug. 

For five minutes straight, Henry and Victor would point out different girls, laughing and making comments of who to "choose". Henry would point out the most normal candidates, while Victor would choose the worst ones. Sam mostly kept quiet, but would make little comments here and there about their choices. It's only when the three walk out of their high school that Victor stops them, pointing in the direction of two familiar figures walking to the parking lot. He starts to chuckle, his eyes lighting up at the sight. "Oh, dudes, I found the perfect candidate." 

Henry focuses in on the candidate and his stomach churns at the girl. Carrying not only her gigantic book, but also five buckets as she hurls judgement at the guy walking beside her (also with several buckets in hand), is Charlotte Page. Charlotte Page is the smartest kid in their grade, always has been. Top student, future valedictorian, and their almost class president. Had not it been for Joss Moss winning, Charlotte would've been leading the class of 2025 throughout their entire social activities. She was supposed to be VP, but said that she refuses to work under Joss and have the other teen boss her around. The two of them never really saw eye to eye, and because of that, Henry never got along with Charlotte. 

However, it's not just that makes Charlotte unappealing. It's her eccentric and bright outfits that defy the status quo, it's her obvious disdain for anyone who isn't apart of her nerd herd, and her extremely weird job at some junk store. Not even a college thrift store, just a place that sells random junk, how uncool is that? Charlotte Page may be Joss Moss enemy, and can easily get under Henry's ex-girlfriend's skin, but she's a nobody. No one would vote her, no one would care to turn against Joss for her, heck, people rarely want to hear what Charlotte has to say. If Henry goes for her, then there's no way he'll beat Joss or win the bet against Victor. 

"No way, man," Henry says, shaking his head. "You want me to use the bucket girl?" 

"Technically, she's not the bucket girl. It's her friend who's the bucket boy." Sam interjects, not helping Henry's case. 

"Same difference." 

Victor continues to smile, stopping to really take in Charlotte and her bucket friend Jackson Dunlop. "She's perfect, isn't she?" 

Far from it, Henry thinks. "Pick someone else." 

Victor then looks at him, that shit eating grin never leaving his shitty face. "Hey, you said you can work your magic on any girl. 'Any girl' includes Charlotte Page." 

Not good, not good. Henry turns to Sam, eyes pleading for his friend to help him. However, Sam shares that same shit eating grin as he holds his hands up. "Sorry man, I tried to stop you, but you didn't want to listen to me." He gestures to the two bucket friends. "Go get your bucket girl." 

Okay, so, now Henry is really starting to regret this bet. "Fuck you guys," he says, looking in the direction of Charlotte and Jackson. The two were standing in front of a deep red car, still arguing about whatever. He might as well go over there now while they're still on school grounds. "Here goes nothing." 

He leaves behind Sam and Victor, walking briskly over to the other two. He does his best to ignore the stares and whispers, his peers mostly likely talking about his breakup with Joss and her new boytoy. While he can easily ignore what they're saying, the pain of losing Joss is overwhelming, especially as he nears Charlotte and Jackson. He wonders how Joss will react to this when word gets around about his encounter with Charlotte. Well, he knows for a fact that she won't be happy about it, but upset... he'll just have to wait and see. 

As he nears the pair, their conversation becomes more clear as they stop in front of their car. "-- I'm telling you, Char, this bucket is worth more than your Harvard tuition!"

Charlotte scoffs, setting the buckets on the ground. "Yeah right," she says. "I'm sure that someone is messing with you." 

Jackson shakes his head. "No way, dude! It's the truth and I have the facts to back it up!" 

Bucket talk. Of course. 

Henry stops a few feet behind them, close enough to hear them and close enough for the pair that he's talking to them. "Uh, hey?" He says, the words coming out as a question than an actual greeting. Jackson and Charlotte pause before turning to look at Henry, Jackson with wide eyes and Charlotte with a glare. Okay, he's starting off strong! "Charlotte and Jackson right? I saw you guys carrying those buckets and just needed to know... what are they for?" 

Jackson's eyes lit up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oh! These are mine and we're--"

Before he could say anything else, Charlotte stepped forward, still glaring deep into Henry's soul. "His name isn't Jackson." 

"What?" Henry asks, eyes flickering between her and her bucket friend, who's name isn't Jackson. 

"His name. It's Jasper, not Jackson." She pulls out her car keys and presses a button to unlock the car doors. "But you would know that if you actually cared to get to know him."

"Okay, sorry, Jackson. It was a simple mistake--" 

"How? We've known each other since elementary school," Charlotte says, rolling her eyes. She picks up the buckets and gestures for Jasper, not Jackson, to open the car door. "But if you, I don't know, took the time to learn of the 'little people' around you, then you would've known that. Though, I'm asking for a lot from Joss Moss' boyfriend." She then pauses, turning to look back at him with this glint in her eyes that makes Henry's skin crawl. "Sorry, ex-boyfriend." 

Of course, even Charlotte Page has heard of his breakup. "Like I said, it was a mistake. Jasper doesn't seem bothered by it." 

He looks at Jasper, hoping that the other would have his back, but Charlotte doesn't give her friend the chance to say anything. "How would you know? You didn't even know his name!" 

Henry groans. At this point, he's ready to say fuck it and let Victor win this bet. Just if it means he gets to avoid Charlotte and this conversation. Luckily for him, Charlotte feels the same way. She puts the last bucket inside alongside with Jasper, the pair ready to leave the school's ground. This could be it, the moment he just lets her go and says goodbye to this stupid plan. However... he knows that he can't. Not only does he not want Victor to win, but he also wants to get back at Joss. And the only way he can really get under his ex-girlfriend's skin is to use the one person she hates the most in this world. 

Shit. 

Charlotte opens her car door and slips inside, not even caring to say bye to Henry. Though, he doesn't give her a chance to close the door or drive away as he grabs the door. She glares up at him as Henry just musters up his best smile. "Look...  I didn't mean it, okay? I just wanted to chat with you guys, what's wrong with that? It's senior year, I want to make some memories with some... new friends." 

That makes Charlotte scoff. "Well... maybe you should make some friends with someone else? Oh, but remember this. Make sure to learn their names before you try talking to them," she says. "Now let go of my car before I hit the gas and send you flying." 

Henry swallows hard, but does as he's told. Stepping back, he lets Charlotte close her door and put the car in drive. She doesn't spare him a second glance as she speeds off, but he does catch Jasper waving bye and screaming his name. Even after messing up the guy's name, he was still kind to Henry. It makes him smile. 

Seconds later, Victor and Sam showed up behind him, both grinning and laughing at the show. "So," Victor says. "Did you ask her yet?" 

Henry shakes his head. "Not yet, but don't worry, I have time." Because like he said. He's stubborn and needs Charlotte, even if she doesn't need him. 

Chapter Text

Charlotte Page is so over this and it's only 6:45 PM. 

"Kid! Watch out!" 

The warning is appreciated, as it helps Charlotte avoid a punch that comes her way. With her back to the goons as she attempts to hack into their computer system, Charlotte can't really watch her own back and avoid attacks that come her way. It's actually supposed to be Ray's job, her boss and Captain Man himself, to keep all goons away from her. He was the one to tell her to hack into the system and leave the fighting to him. However, as Charlotte turns to see what's going on, she sees that Ray is struggling to fight on his own. Which isn't really a problem because Ray can take a punch, but she can still see how overwhelmed he is with the sheer amount of goons that keep coming and coming. With having to protect himself and Charlotte... it's impossible, even for Captain Man. 

But it's not impossible with Kid Danger at his side. 

The goon that tried to attack her is still behind her and ready to strike again. As he sends a second punch her way, Charlotte focuses on the guy, quick to use her power of telekinesis to throw the goon and knock him into some of his buddies. It catches him off guard and the goon struggles, trying to find a way out-- but there's no way out unless someone hits Charlotte. And she's gotten better at making sure no one messes with her while she's using her superpower. Two years of superpower training will turn anyone into a pro. 

Ray has a guy in a headlock when he watches Charlotte take down the goons, a smile spreading across his features. "Nice one, Kid!" He shouts as he gives a nice little squeeze to his captured goon, knocking the guy out completely. Instead of dropping the guy, Ray throws his body at some incoming goons, knocking three of them down. 

"Impressive as it was, my job is to hack, remember?" Charlotte shouts, sending a kick into a goon's chest and another kick at a different goon's groin. That one groans in pain, sliding to the ground and clutching his most sensitive area. "What happened to you protecting me?" 

"I'm trying over here!" Ray punches a goon of his own, turning to fully look at Charlotte with furrowed eyebrows. "It's not my fault that these guys keep popping out of nowhere." To prove his point, without turning around, his fist collids with a goon's face that tries to sneak up on Ray. Too bad for him, Ray is no stranger to a sneak attack. 

"Well, do better," Charlotte says, using this time to run back to the computer and continue with her own assault. "Schwoz," she says, pressing the button on her earpiece. "I'm back, how are things looking on your end?" 

"Not good." Responds her second boss and the tech wiz Schwoz, who stays back in the Mancave with her best friend Jasper. While Captain Man and Kid Danger work on the field, Schwoz and Jasper provide backup by tampering with cameras, computers, and the such. Without the two of them-- well, mostly Schwoz since Jasper is mostly there for moral support and to work at Junk N' Stuff--, Captain Man and her would've failed their missions or ended up dead. "No matter what I do, I can't break in. Whoever created this security system is one impressive jerkface." 

"I agree." Charlotte has been trying to help from her end, hoping that she could bypass the computer's system, even with Schwoz's help. If she's being really honest with herself, she would use a stronger word than jerkface to describe the person who made the security system. 

"Kid Danger! Look out!" 

Jasper's voice rings loudly in her ear, his yelling not acting as a warning, but as a distraction. Thus making her unable to dodge a goon that grabs a fistfull of Charlotte's curly hair, pulling her head back before slamming her face onto the keyboard. The action causes her to scream and flail around, trying to get the goon off her hair and stop his violent attack. However, it's futile as her faces crashes onto the keyboard, pressing hard onto the keys and ruining whatever progressed she had done. Fuck, Charlotte thinks, head reeling from the impact and unable to detect the next move. 

The same goon grabs Charlotte again, but this time puts her in a headlock. He squeezes tight, using all his strength as if he's holding down a hero the size of Captain Man. He doesn't care that the hero is just a teenaged girl, not once caring to go easy on her or to loosen his grip. While Charlotte apprecicates the fact that the goon doesn't descriminate, it doesn't mean she wants to be kept in a chokehold. She tries to kick and shove him off, but none of it works as he just tightens his grip. 

It's in that moment that Charlotte remembers that she can use her telekinesis to pry the guy off her, that no matter how strong a person is, they can't beat her superpower. However, just as she's going to use it, she catches another goon running to the giant computer, typing away at the keyboard. Fuck! With both Captain Man and Kid Danger distracted, the goons have gone ahead to stop their hacking operation. Because even if the two break free, there's nothing they can do if it destroys all of their hacking progress. 

Shit, shit, shit! Charlotte mentally screams, reaching out towards the other goon, hoping to stop him. If she's being honest, this entire thing would be easy to handle. It's just the order of throwing goons at each other to free both herself and the computer. But the problem is that the chokehold is really starting to mess with her, making it difficult for Charlotte to think or do anything else. Her vision is becoming spotty and it's getting harder and harder to breathe. 

Should she save her own life, using her ability to pry the guy off, but let the goon destroy all of their team's progress? Or should Charlotte use the little bit of energy she has to stop the computer goon, but pass out and leave Ray alone? What's more important: her own life or the life of everyone in her city? 
Whatever she decides on, she needs to make a move and do it quickly. 

"Kid!" Ray shouts, bringing Charlotte back to reality and what's around them. 

Without a second thought, Charlotte uses her ability on the goon that has her in a chokehold. It takes her longer than usual to get him off, but once she's freed, Charlotte sends the man flying into the wall, causing him to groan in pain. Without him on her, Charlotte gasps for air, thankful to have the ability to breathe again. However, she doesn't cheer for long as she looks up at the computer goon who's still swiftly typing away. With a loud scream, Charlotte dashes towards the goon and lands a kick on the middle of the man's back. 

His face crashes into the computer screen, stunned for a few seconds at the attack. Charlotte doesn't give the goon a chance to recover as she uses her ability again to send him flying, this time towards some goons behind her. The four of them fall with a grunt. 

Turning back to the computer, Charlotte goes back to typing, hoping to turn back whatever the goon did. Though, she realizes that it's futile. That no matter what she or Schwoz does, nothing will change. Whatever this goon did, it deleted everything. All information that their team was looking for, all wiped from the computer and any database that they could find. "Shit!" Charlotte shouts, not caring to hide her own frustration from their enemies. "Captain Man, it's a bust. We need to get out of here." 

And now that she's fully looking at Ray, she realizes that yeah, it is time to go. Goons are piled ontop of Ray, trying to keep him down because they know that one of them wouldn't be able to hold him. It looks like her boss is struggling to deal with the goons, though, Charlotte knows that he'll never admit it. Because Captain Man doesn't need help nor does Captain Man struggle, even if it looks like he is. 

Using her ability, Charlotte lifted a few of the goons off of Ray and to the side, giving her boss the chance to get the rest off of himself. She runs over to him, hands on her hips with a faux disappointed look on her face. "Stop messing around so we can go." 

"Right!" Ray says, jumping to his feet and brushing any dust and dirt off his suit. "I could've gotten them off, you know. I was just testing you." 

"Sure you were." 

Then they're off. It doesn't take them long to find their way out of the base, mostly because the two don't have to remain hidden and sneak throughout the building. Neither care about the amount of noise that they're making or the damage that they're causing-- the two just need to get out and regroup with the others to come up with a new plan. 
Finally outside, Charlotte and Ray sprint towards the Man Van, Ray's dingy old van that Charlotte has told him to get rid of and get something new. Ray is closest to the van and hops in first, Charlotte running around the front to get in the other side. However, she stops, turning to look back at the goons that still try to follow them. It wouldn't be good if these guys follow them back to Junk N Stuff, not only would it blow their cover, but it'll also kill their business. 

"Kid," Ray says. "What are you doing? Get in!" 

"Give me a minute." 

She turns to look at the goons and what's around them. Street lights, scattered cars and vans, and a few benches. The perfect obstacles and way to block the guys. With her hands out, Charlotte puts all of her focus and energy into stopping the goons. 

At first, the cars only move an inch and the street lights vibrate. It's only when she uses a little more force and energy than usual that things start to move. Cars and vans start rolling, blocking and hitting some of the goons. One of the goons even went flying after a truck crashed into him, a perfect play by Charlotte. Two benches start flying and knock the wind out of some of the goons as if Charlotte is swatting at some flies. The street lights come next as her final attack. 

Most of the lights bend at the bottom, dropping down to land on the goons that run underneath them. It's with the two lights close to the Man Van that Charlotte actually lifts them, pulling the lights out of the ground to use as baseball bats. It strains her to do this, but it's the only thing she can do to stop these guys from chasing their van. Her left temple throbs and she can feel something wet dribble down her nose-- blood, for sure. 

"Charlotte!" Jasper cries in her ear. "You need to leave!" 

With one final toss and push, Charlotte sends back any last bit of goons with the two street lights and cars, stopping them from following the Man Van. It works, she did it! 
She smiles and takes a step back, admiring her handiwork, before she quickly shuffles to her side of the van and gets inside. As soon as she's in, Ray pushes down on the gas and speeds out of the parking lot to the Mancave. The goons and their base grows smaller and smaller the further they drive, settling the anxiety that was bubbling within Charlotte. 

"Kid! What were you thinking?" Ray asks, his leather covered fingers tight on the steering wheel. 

Charlotte wipes her nose with the sleeve of her supersuit, not caring if it stains or not. "I was thinking we had to lose those guys." 

"Yeah, well, it was reckless and could've cost you your life. Do you understand how worried I was while watching you?" 

She tries to listen to him, she really does, but the throbbing continues to bother her and her eyes grow heavy with each passing second. Not a good sign and Charlotte knows that she shouldn't fall asleep, not after doing something like that. But she's low on energy and can't stop herself from drifting off. Not even Ray's shouting and the other guys in her earpiece stop her from slipping into the darkness. 

. . . 

"What would I've told your mom if something happened to you?" 

"Oh! You could tell her that the giant dinosaur head fell on Charlotte and she passed out from being crushed by it." 

"No--" 

"Or, that Charlotte was trying to move the grandfather clock, but then it tipped over and bonked her on the head." 

"Jasper, seriously--" 

"Or, or!" Jasper shouts, clapping his hands and jumping on the ball of his heels. "That Charlotte tripped off a secret trapdoor and it released a gazillion barrels on top of her that crushed--" 

"What is with your stories and Charlotte getting crushed?" Ray shouts, not being able to take anymore of Jasper and his wild lies. As a response, Jasper just shrugs, which makes Ray sigh in exhaustation. "On a more serious note." His attention is back on Charlotte. "Had something bad happened to you, I wouldn't know what to tell your mom. She trusts me to watch and care over you while you're working here, and I plan on keeping her trust." 

A little difficult-- and too late if Charlotte really thinks about it-- for Ray to keep that promise when he brought her on as his sidekick. Since her first day on the job, Charlotte has found herself going home with new bruises and cuts that she has been hiding from her mother for years. Honestly, Ray has been keeping his promise, it's not like Charlotte has gone home severly injured. Oh, well, until tonight that is. 

To be fair, it's not like Ray is at fault for her decision, she wanted to do it, so it was on her. And it was just a simple headache (that she's still dealing with) and a bleeding nose (which has stopped, thankfully). When the duo finally arrived back at the Mancave and Charlotte opened her eyes, Ray, Schwoz, and Jasper were all hovering above her with worried expressions. She could even spot the tears that were ready to spring free from Ray's eyes (and the ones that were already streaming down Jasper's face). She was awake and they were happy to see that, but that didn't stop them from nagging at her for her rash decision. 

Charlotte simply rolls her eyes as Schwoz continues his medical checkup on her. While she told them that she's fine now, the three refused to believe her and demanded that she sits through a checkup from Schwoz. She didn't fight it, just let it happen because she wants nothing more than to leave and go home to rest. However, it might be while until she can leave since Ray has to lecture her. 

"I'm fine," Charlotte says for the thousand time. "Look, I'm awake aren't I?" 

"That's not enough." Ray stands behind Schwoz, watching his best friend closely before he asks, "So... is she fine?" 

Schwoz put down his stethoscope and turns Charlotte's head once to the left and once to the right. To look at what, she doesn't know. "She's fine," he says. "No injuries, heart sounds fine, and no more bleeding." 

"See? I told you!" Charlotte exclaims as Ray rolls his eyes. 

"Yes, you're fine, but Ray's right. You could've gotten hurt." 

"Ah ha! I told you!" Ray exclaims in a childish manner. 

"I would advise you to refrain from using your ability for the next few days, or at least, don't move anything large like a street light." 

She gives the older man a weak smile. "No promises." 

Schwoz gives her his own little smile before booping her nose. "But no matter what, I am impressed. Who would've thought you could move something like that!" 

"That's what I was thinking!" Comes Jasper, pushing through so he can be seen and heard. "I always knew you were strong, Char, but I didn't know how strong. You're like our town's Magneto!" 

His comparison makes Ray roll his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. "Her ability is telekineis, not metalkinesis."

"Okay, but how do we know that? She moved the street lights and cars and guess what, those are made out of metal. Which she means that Charlotte is just like Magneto."

 
Schwoz looks at her best friend with a puzzled expression. "But she can move more than just metal. She can lift people too." Ray gestures towards Schwoz in agreement. 

Jasper blinks, letting the information sink before he slowly nods. "Oh yeah... I forgot." 

Ray rolls his eyes as Charlotte holds back a little giggle. It always amazes her that Ray hasn't wiped Jasper's memory or fired her best friend, especially when Jasper stresses her boss out on a daily basis. Though, she knows that Ray would never because without Jasper, there wouldn't be anyone to run Junk N Stuff while Captain Man and Kid Danger are out fighting crime. 

"Okay, since I'm fine and you've lectured me." Charlotte stands up, hands on her hips and a small smile on her face. "I think it's time for me to leave. I'm exhausted. Come on, Jasp." 

"Hold it!" Ray says, stopping Charlotte and Jasper from even thinking about leaving the Mancave. God, what now? Ray steps forward to stand directly in front of Charlotte. Any other time, she would hate having him loom over her like this, especially whenever Ray is about to lecture her. Though, this time, it's different. While he may tower over her, his expression softens and his eyes hold more hurt than disappoint, his eyes glistening under the Mancave lights. She can feel her chest tightening at the sight. "I know that you're tired of me nagging and lecturing you, but understand that I just want what's best for you and for you to be safe, Char. I'm proud of you for everything that you do as Kid Danger, you've showed everyone what an amazing sidekick-- no, superhero you are. I'm happy to have you as my partner and want you to keep protecting Swellview with me in the future, but in order for that to happen, you'll need to stop and really think before you do."

 
The brief mention of the future makes Charlotte's stomach drop and her smile almost follows. In Ray's mind, him and Charlotte will continue working together as superheroes to protect Swellview, and that one day, Charlotte will take over as "Captain Man"-- or whatever superhero name she decides on. Something like in a TV show or movie, but this isn't fiction, this is Charlotte's life. A life that she has already planned out. 

This is her senior year of high school and Charlotte has already decided on moving out of Swellview and going to a top college to pursue a Chemistry degree. She's already made her decision and committed to said university, all that is left to do is tell Ray and Schwoz. Only now she's realizing how difficult that is. 

"Okay," Charlotte says, voice soft and quiet. Conversation about life after high school can wait, she doesn't want to break Ray's heart anymore tonight. "I'll be more careful. I promise." 

"Thank you." He pulls her into a hug, squeezing her tight and Charlotte returns it. Ray may be her boss, but he's like the father that she never had. It's always been her and her mom growing up, so having Ray in her life has been... life changing. She couldn't imagine a world without him. "I love you, Char." 
"I love you too." 

"Aw! I love you guys too!" Always the emotional and dramatic one, Jasper throws himself into the hug, squeezing Ray and Charlotte with all his little strength. The gesture makes Charlotte giggle while Ray groans (though, he doesn't push Jasper away. Maybe deep down he loves her best friend too). 

"Wait, don't forget me!" Schwoz even joins in, his own little arms wrapping around Jasper and Charlotte. "I love you guys too." 

While the hug reminds Charlotte of how much she loves these guys, and how much thy love her, it adds to her anxiety of having to break the news to them. Charlotte has spent a lot of her developing years here. Doing homework while watching the counter, having Schwoz help her study before a test, patrolling with Ray while watching reality TV shows on his phone, and listening to Jasper go on and on about the history of each bucket that he brings into Junk N Stuff. She'll forever hold onto the memories that she gained over the years and the relation that she has build with the guys. Let's hope that after she tells them the big news, they'll continue to love and support her. 

"Alright, alright, enough of this." Ray is the first to pull away, his smile gone, but his eyes shine brightly under the lights. His little tough guy act can only get him so far and Charlotte is waiting for the day that he just fully cracks. "Jasper, Charlotte, you guys can leave. Charlotte, you're on counter duty until Schwoz says it's okay for you to start working as Kid Danger again." 

Charlotte nods. It'll be nice for her to take some time off as Kid Danger, gives her the chance to study and prepare for her upcoming academic team meet. 

"Goodnight, kids. Get some rest." 

"You too," Charlotte says.

"Bye, Ray. Bye, Schwoz!" Jasper shouts. 

The two go up the elevator and out the front door, making sure to lock it before heading to Jasper's car. The walk isn't silent, Jasper asking Charlotte more questions about her ability and that when she's able to, for them to practice lifting some heavier items. Charlotte agrees and smiles at the endless compliments from her best friend. 
Once in the car, Jasper holds out his phone for Charlotte to take. "You can choose the music." 

"Thanks." She opens Spotify and immediately types in Beyonce's name. A nice little pick me up after tonight's failure of mission. 
Right, the mission. 

"I still can't believe that we failed," Charlotte says, Drunk in Love playing softly in the background as Jasper's pulls out the parking lot. "All that work and some random goon just... destroys it! Isn't that crazy?" 

Jasper nods in agreement. "Yeah, dude. I was watching Schwoz and the guy was sweating! No matter what he tried to do, he couldn't hack into the computer. Whoever originally created that thing is some cool dude." He pauses, head tilting to the side as he really thinks over what he said. "Well, not cool. They're evil, obviously. But cool in like a really smart and techy kind of way." 

"I get what you mean." Even she can admit that the unknown person is a genius. Which infuriates her even more. "I just feel bad. I could've done something to stop the guy..." 
"Char..." Her heart aches at Jasper's tone, already regreting her words. "Even if you had done something, like, throw the goon or whatever, someone else would've taken his spot. And it wasn't like Schwoz was making any progress, it was a bust since the beginning and you just have to... accept it. But don't worry. We'll plan the next mission and we'll finally put an end to the Moss family's deeds." 

The Moss family. Probably the most difficult and most annoying enemy that Charlotte has dealt with. Mostly because Joss Moss, the daughter of Rob Moss the Mob Boss, goes to the same high school as Jasper and Charlotte. And Joss has always been someone who has gotten on Charlotte's nerve every single day. To be evil, popular, and downright annoying? Diabolitcal and Charlotte is still trying to figure out how and why Henry Hart dated her. 

"Yeah, you're right." She looks out the window, watching the many stores and restaurants that they've spent their entire lives inside of pass by. It's wild to think that in just a few months, that she won't be able to walk down these same sidewalks with Jasper. Her stomach churns violently at the thought. "Everything will be fine in the end." 
"That's the spirit!" Jasper says, Charlotte can practically hear the smile on his face. "Okay, now onto some fun stuff," he says. "The guys want to play some D&D soon and wanted to know if you're interested. Oliver is going to DM and has this really cool story in mind..." 

She doesn't mean to tune Jasper out, it just happened as Charlotte gets stuck in her own thoughts regarding college and leaving her hometown. It's always been her dream to just leave and start somewhere new, meet new people, and to fully grow into who she's meant to be. However, now that her new life will be happening soon, she's starting to worry if she's really, well, ready for it. Ready to meet new people, ready to let them into her life, into her heart, and to say goodbye to the people that she has met here in Swellview. 

She also wonders if her peers feel the same. If any of them are nervous or excited to leave, and if they're scared to say goodbye to their home of almost eighteen years. Charlotte wonders that after college, if any of them will come back. People always say that they're ready to leave Swellview, to finally say goodbye to this place. Only for them to come back years later, settling down and becoming permenant members of the community. Would that be her? Would Charlotte go off to college, live her life in some big city for a few years, but then come back and settle down? Would she pick up as the town's new superhero, taking over for Ray and becoming the hero that she's destined to be?

Charlotte squeezes her eyes shut, banishing those thoughts from her mind. She hasn't even graduated yet, she can deal with the future and beyond when it officially becomes her present. For now, she just needs to focus on what's happening now and that's to go home and rest. 

Opening her eyes, Charlotte is ready to tune back to Jasper's D&D talk until she sees him. Their car comes to a stop at a red light, giving Charlotte the chance to really focus in on the ex-boyfriend of her enemy. Henry Hart stands at the street corner, laughing and talking with some basketball players from their high school. Despite the late hour and it being a school night, the group of teenaged boys stand outside the small convience store, not caring if they're in anyone's way. 

Seeing Henry twice today makes Charlotte wonder why he decided to approach her and Jasper. Did he want something from them, maybe for Charlotte to tutor him-- which lwouldn't make any sense with the school year coming to an end in a few months. Perhaps it was a set up, a prank waiting to happen. It's not the first time that the popular kids have tried to prank Charlotte and her friends. So it would make sense that Henry Hart was trying to do the same. 

Without warning, Henry looks up from his phone, his eyes meeting Charlotte's. Her heart skips a beat, caught off guard by the action. Neither of them look away, Charlotte out of stubbornness of not giving Henry this "win" and Henry because... well, she doesn't know. He then surprises her for a third time, he smiles in her direction. 

It's a smile that she's seen Henry throw at other people, mostly at Joss and any desperate girl that was crushing on him. It's that heartrob, boy next door type of smile. His eyes twinkle even in the darkness, baring deep into the soul of whoever he's looking at. And tonight, he's looking at Charlotte and it makes her uncomfortable. 
She doesn't get the chance to react (would she return the smile, flip him off, or turn away) as the light turns green and Jasper pulls off. 

Charlotte sighs in relief, taking this as her win of not looking away and not giving Henry Hart whatever he wanted. She doesn't know what he wants from her, but she does know that she won't be giving it to him. No matter how much he smiles and begs. 

Chapter Text

vic: the boys are taking over downtown, spread the word! 

It’s the first thing that Henry sees when he wakes up and it’s the only thing that gets him out of bed that late morning. His originally plan was to stay in bed, play some video games surrounded by his favorite snacks and greasy foods. Maybe even turn his phone off to stop himself from looking at old pictures of Joss or stalking her Instagram account (which he unfortunately did until late last night, though, no one needs to know that). Saturday was going to be a day to himself and he was ready for it. However, with Victor texting their trio group chat, and possibly other guys from their school, Henry decided it would be best for him to leave the house and be surrounded with friends. 

Anything that will get his mind off Joss Moss and her stupid boytoy Jack Swagger. 

He throws a blazer on as he rushes down the stairs, ready to head out and meet the guys early at their meeting point. He hears his parents talking from the kitchen and hopes that their conversation is more important than him leaving. He’s just not in the mood and stop and talk. “Mom, dad, I’m going out. I’ll be back tonight.” 

He’s almost out the door until his father calls out to him. “Henry, wait a minute.” Henry groans, he was so close! “Your mother and I were just talking about you.” 

With a deep sigh, Henry turns to his parents. On the tip of his tongue, he can practically hear the comment that wants to slip free. Oh, gee, I wonder why. Because the only time his parents ever want to talk to him, it’s either about Joss or basketball. Very rarely, or ever actually, do they ask him about his personal life or how he’s doing. It’s always about his (ex) girlfriend or basketball, basically anything that pertains to money appearing in their near future. His parents dream of an easy and cushy future for themselves, and the only way they can achieve that is through Henry’s decisions. Having a rich girlfriend is a plus and being an excellent basketball player that could lead him to a professional career, even better. 

“What’s up?” Henry asks, walking closer to his parents and further away from his chance of freedom from whatever they’re going to say. 

“We wanted to know if you heard back from any schools yet,” his mom says, shuffling through the pile of mail. “I haven’t seen or heard anything myself.” 

His stomach drops. Right. College. He’s a senior now and with that, he’s supposed to head off to some D1 college, become the star player, and get scouted for the NBA. That’s what everyone expects from him, what his parents want from him. “I’m still waiting,” he says, pushing aside his deep feeling of dread. “I’ll let you guys know when I get my acceptance letter, ‘kay?”

Only there won’t be any acceptance, or rejection, letters coming to their house because Henry didn’t apply to any colleges. No ivy league, no D1 college, not even a local community college. He did none of that, just watched his friends and peers all apply to different schools and listened to them drown on and on about their various college picks. He would join in the conversation, say a few things here and there when it was necessary, but there was never any truth behind it. He hasn’t told anyone about this, not Victor, not Sam, and not Joss— which is a bit silly. Really, if he truly loves— or loved— Joss, wouldn’t he trust her enough with this secret? 

His parents exchange a look, the married couple having their own private conversation, it makes Henry sick to see. While his parents barely have time for their own children, there’s no denying that the two do love each other. With that love, they’re able to do stuff like this. When Henry was younger, he always found a sense of comfort in this hidden language that only his parents knew. Now… he hates it, solely because it’s his parents doing it. “Well, alright.” His mom says, turning to look back at Henry. “How’s Joss? Is she back from her trip?” 

Luckily for him, his parents haven’t heard about their breakup. “Yeah, she’s back. She’s, uh… doing alright. Haven’t had a chance to really see and hang with her.” 

“You should fix that,” says his mom. “Invite her over, I want to hear all about her ski trip! Oh, maybe we should take a family ski trip during your spring break.”

“Yeah! And you can invite Joss and the guys, it’ll be fun.” His dad adds, both of his parents smiling widely. 

Maybe if he was still dating Joss, Henry would be ecstatic about the idea. It would be the perfect way to say goodbye to their teen years and to have fun with some of his favorite people… plus his family. However, he doesn’t want anything to do with Joss and skiing. “I’ll talk to them about it.” Not wanting to spend anymore time with parents, Henry starts walking backwards, jabbing a finger in the direction of the door. “I’m gonna head out. To meet the guys. I’ll talk to them about a senior spring trip.” 

“Okay and don’t forget to tell Joss!” 

“Right. Joss. Got it.” 

Before either of them can say anything else, Henry is already out the door and heading to his car. It’s when he’s inside his car and clicking on his seatbelt that the passenger side door opens and closes, his sister Piper Hart slipping into the other seat. “Uh,” he says, watching as she closes her door and buckle herself in. “What are you doing?” 

“Getting in the car, obviously.” 

Henry blinks. “Why?” 

“Because I need a ride downtown, obviously.” Piper rolls her eyes at how obvious it all is. “I’m meeting some friends and was gonna ask mom for a ride, but decided against when I saw you leaving.” 

“Okay.” There’s a beat as he turns the car on. “Are you going to ask me to give you a ride?” 

“Ew, no, why would I do that.” 

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Without another a word, Henry puts the car into reverse, pulls out of their driveway, and heads into town. This is normal for the Hart siblings, Henry heading out somewhere and Piper right behind him, just to use her older brother to get from place A to place B. It was annoying at first, but now he enjoys it. In the beginning, they two used to always argue and bicker about the little things (what music should they listen to, should they turn the A/C on, or should they roll the window down), it was terrible. However, after a while, the two of them finally fell into a routine that relaxes them both. Henry figures that it’s because the two of them are older now, they’ve calmed down and learned to coexist. Well, most of the time that is. 

“I heard about your breakup,” Piper says, breaking their silence as she scrolls through her playlist, looking for the perfect song for their ten minute drive. “How are you holding up?” 

Henry taps on the steering wheel, thinking deeply about how he feels. The obvious answer is shitty, wouldn’t anyone feel that way after a breakup? Though, this is Piper, his little sister, and while she annoys the hell out him… She also knows Henry better than anyone else. Shitty wouldn’t work with her. “Not good,” he says, settling for a plain answer. “I just… don’t understand what I did wrong for her to breakup with me.”

Piper scrunches her nose, pressing play on a random Hozier song. “You did nothing wrong,” she says. “Joss cheated on you, dude, she’s the only one in the wrong.” 

His sister has a point. Joss did in fact cheat on him which means she’s in the wrong, but that doesn’t stop him for thinking he did something wrong to prompt Joss to cheat. His tapping increase as does his anxiety. “You still follow her?” 

“No,” Piper says. “Unfollowed her as soon as I saw her kissing Jack Swagger on Instagram.” This makes Henry smile, appreciating the fact. “Do you?” 

“I deleted the app.” He should’ve unfollowed Joss, but he couldn’t bring himself to. The same way he can’t bring himself to delete all of her pictures.

“For the best.” 

They’re silent again, the two allowing Hozier to fill the space with his music. Henry is grateful for that, he’s sick of talking, especially because people only ever want to talk about college or his breakup with Joss. It’s never anything else with them. He wonders if that’s all to him, his future career as a basketball player and his career as Joss Moss’ ex-boyfriend. That people only care about the surface regarding him, never anything deeper. Honestly, is there anything about Henry Hart that screams deep? Because Henry Hart himself isn’t too sure about that.

As he pulls into town, Piper tells him to drop her off outside of the local café. “Tess said that she’s two minutes away,” she says, typing away on her phone. “And Nora is waiting inside.” 

“Cool.” Is all he says. Tess and Nora are cool and calm, different from Piper. Really, he’s still trying to figure out how his sister is able to keep friends like that. The same way people wonder how you got with a girl like Joss Moss, says a tiny voice. He flinches at the sound of it. He’s really losing it, huh? 

He whips into a parking spot next to the café and puts the car in park. “Alright,” Henry says, looking at his sister. “We’re here.” 

“Thank God.” Piper unbuckles herself, grabs her bag, and opens the door. She almost steps out, but pauses and turns to look Henry with an apologetic expression. “Hey.” She starts. “You know you’re gonna have tell them.” 

Henry blinks, confused. “Tell who what?” 

“Mom and dad, about Joss.” Ah, that. Right. “Or else they’ll keep asking about her, or worst, reach out to her and Joss tells them the truth. Then they’ll be on your ass and ask what you did wrong.” Piper rolls her eyes and that makes Henry smile. “So tell them soon, ‘kay?” 

Henry hesitates, really thinking it over, before he nods. “Okay, I’ll tell them. Soon.” Not today, but soon. The same with his decision regarding college.

“Good,” Piper says. “I’m out. See you at home.” 

“Do you need a ride home?” 

“Nah, I’ll have Nora take me home.” Then she steps out with a slam, slipping into the café without a look back. Henry shakes his head, always bewildered by Piper and her antics. While she annoys the hell out of him and makes him so angry, he still loves her to death. That’s his little sister and his only family who truly gives a damn about him. She doesn’t care about who’s he dating or what he wants to do with himself in the future, just that he’s not doing anything stupid that could hurt him. His parents care about what he can give them, Piper just wants her brother to be alive and safe. Before he talks to his parents about his future, he’ll make sure that he tells Piper everything. He at least owes her that. 

Henry puts his car into drive, not wanting to sit out here any longer (Piper will send him a ‘GET LOST LOSER’ if he stays any longer) and not wanting to think more about his future. He still has another twenty minutes until he meets up with the guys, so maybe he can get some lunch since he decided to skip breakfast to avoid his parents. Joey’s is a few minutes away and has the best BLT in Swellview, so he could stop there. It doesn’t take him long to pull up to Joey’s, but it does take him a while to find parking since it is the weekend and everyone wants to hang out downtown. Luckily he finds somewhere to park that’s not too far from his destination. He’s sending a quick text to the guys, telling them to meet him at Joey’s, when he pauses, another shop catching his eye. 

Junk N’ Stuff. The shabby looking store that he considered applying to years ago, but decided against when Vic helped him get a job elsewhere. After that, he never thought about the place again, until now. Why? Because Charlotte Page works here and the bet is still on, even if she basically told him to get lost a few days ago. He can’t give up, not when his pride is on the line here. 

“Why not get to know her?” Sam suggested when Henry called him that night. He needed some help and he was the only one Henry could reach out about this without cracking jokes. “Find out what she likes and start from there. Girls like that type of stuff.” 

With a deep sigh and some encouragement, Henry pushes the door open and steps inside, the bell announcing his entry to whoever’s working. The first thing he sees is Jasper talking to a customer, an older man who looks like he’s trying to haggle the guy for a cheaper price, but Jasper is just shaking his head, not giving in. Not exactly who he’s looking for and he worries that Charlotte isn’t in, until she walks out from the back with a clipboard in hand. She looks up, first towards Jasper before her eyes sweep around the store and finally land on Henry. She immediately frowns and glares at him— he can’t deny how her obvious annoyance and disdain for him ignites something within him. 

Henry doesn’t get the chance to move because Charlotte is already angrily stomping over to him. “What are you doing here?” 

Henry shrugs, looking around the place with slight curiosity. “I was in the area and remembered that you work here, so I wanted to come in and say… hey.” 

Charlotte is silent at first, taking Henry in and carefully processing what he just said. “You wanted to say hey… to me?” Henry nods and that only deepens her frown. “Why?” 

“Because I want to.” More like he needs to, but that sounds too desperate. “And, I don’t know, I was curious about this place. You know, I almost applied here a few years ago. I didn’t, of course, but sometimes I think how different my life would’ve been if I did.” He’s sure that if he had worked here, Joss wouldn’t care to look at him. Why in the world would she want to date someone who works at some pawn shop? That would ruin her reputation, and Henry’s too if he really thinks about it. Would his current friends even care to look or talk to him if he had worked here? “Probably for the best, it doesn’t really fit me.” 

Then he sees it. The way Charlotte’s eyes shift at his words, whether it’s hurt or uncontrollable anger, he’s not exactly sure. He just knows that his words hit her in the wrong way and he wonders if he should apologize. Though, just as quickly as it came, it’s gone. She turns her back on him, not giving Henry the chance to understand her, as she says, “You’re right, it doesn’t fit you. Are we done here?” 

“No.” Henry steps forward, standing beside Charlotte. “I still want to talk to you.” 

“Uh, no. I’m working,” she says, keeping her focus on her clipboard, doing whatever she can to ignore Henry. Too bad for her because that makes him want to follow her even more. “If you’re not here to buy anything, then you can leave.” 

“Okay, then I’ll buy something.” He peels his eyes away from her, scanning the store for something… interesting to buy. The store is filled with, well, junk. A lot of it. He’s not even sure where to start or what to get. | He picks up a picture frame and puts it down. An old phone that was created during the time of dinosaurs, and even a traffic light— how did that end up here? He repeats the action, still trailing behind Charlotte who works, but also glares at him whenever she can. As the pair near the registers, Henry finally sees something of interest. A barrel full of swords that he can tell from a mile away are real and authentic swords. “Whoa!” He shouts, peeling away from Charlotte to pick up one of the swords, the corners of his lips twisting upwards. “This is awesome! These are real right?” Of course they are, he can tell!

Charlotte spares him a singular glance before looking elsewhere. “They are.” 

“Dude…” He holds one up, letting the blade glisten in the shabby lighting, though, Henry finds it magnificent. “How much is it?” 

“It’s a lot. I don’t think you have the money for it.” 

“You don’t know what I have,” Henry says, slightly offended. “Come on, just tell me.” Can’t be too much, this place is a pawn shop after all. “It can’t be too expensive—“

“It’s $1,500.” 

“Jesus!” Henry almost drops the sword, though catches it before he does, afraid that if he damages the sword, then he would have to pay the price and more. Isn’t this place a pawn shop? It’s, like, expected for the prices of the items to be cheaper than usual? “Why is it so much?” 

“Because it’s a real sword, obviously.”  

Her back may be to him, but Henry can still hear the smile in her voice. He almost smiles himself, but stops as he remembers the price of the sword. “Okay, so, not this then.” He puts the sword back into the barrel just as Charlotte walks to the registers, stepping around the counter and going to Jasper. The action makes Henry panic as he quickly follows her, picking up whatever he can find that is, hopefully, cheaper than the swords. He places the item down in front of Charlotte who raises a singular eyebrow, looking down at his item of choice and then back up at Henry. “You’re seriously getting this?” 

“Yep.” 

“A lamp, you’re buying a lamp?” 

Not just any lamp, a lamp that looks like something his grandmother would buy. Seriously, if he goes to his grandmother’s house right, he’s sure he can find a lamp that looks exactly like this one.  Nothing about it screamed Henry Hart, but it was something and he hopes and prays that it costs a lot less than those $450 swords. “I like it,” he says with a shrug. “And besides, I’ve been looking for a vintage lamp.” He hasn’t, but Charlotte doesn’t need to know that. 

“Uh huh.” From her tone, Henry can tell that Charlotte doesn’t believe him, but she doesn’t say anything else. She just starts to ring Henry up and tells him his price— an easy $15 which still feels a little steep, but he doesn’t say anything about it. He just pulls out his card, ready to pay before he pauses. 

“So, do you like working here?” 

“What?” 

“Do you like working here?” 

“It’s a job,” Charlotte says. “Your total is $15.” 

“You know, I imagined you working at like a coffee shop, or even at a library. That fits more of your—“ 

“What do you want from me?” 

“What?” 

Charlotte is glaring at him, frowning deeply up at him. “What do you want from me? Because for some reason, you’re talking to me despite us knowing each other for almost ten years. And you never cared to look my way, until now and I don’t know why. What, are you looking for a booty call after your breakup with Joss?” 

Henry bites down hard on his bottom lip, not liking the accusation thrown at him. Because Charlotte is right, the two have known each other since forever, but never have they spoken to each other. Their paths never crossed and they were both fine with that. Until now because, well, Henry needs Charlotte for a bet. However, he does not want her, especially not for a booty call. “What? No!” He scrunches his nose at the thought of being so intimate with Charlotte. She’s not exactly his type. “That’s not why I’m here.” 

“Really?” Charlotte says, crossing her arms over her chest. “Then what do you want?” 

Shit. What should he say? “Well, I—“ Think Henry, think! What’s a believable excuse that he can use? “You see, I really wanted to talk to you about, well, uh—“ 

“Yeah?” 

“Academic team!” Henry blurts out, surprising himself, Charlotte, and Jasper who is now listening to their conversation. His customer has long left the store. “I wanted to talk to you because I’m interested in joining the… academic team.” 

There’s a moment of silence as the two Junk N’ Stuff workers process what was said. He doesn’t judge them for looking at him as if he has three heads, he would do the same. Out of the many lies that he could’ve gone with, he went with academic team. Nice going, Hen! 

“You want to join… academic team?” Charlotte scoffs, finally finding the words to smash against his head. “This late in the school year?” 

He flinches. “I was always too nervous to join?” 

Charlotte laughs dryly and Henry is ready to walk out of the store, accepting his failure and $15 lamp, until Jasper chimes in. “Then you should come to tonight’s academic bowl!” 

“What?” Says Henry and Charlotte.

Jasper nods, beaming at the pair. “Yeah, there’s an academic team match tonight! It starts at 6:30 and free to watch,” he says. “You should come and sit with me and our boss.” 

Henry opens his mouth, ready to get more information out of Jasper, until Charlotte is grabbing the guy by his shirt, pulling on it tight. Henry winces at the sight. “Excuse me, I just need to talk to Jasper.” With that, she drags Jasper to the back of the store, the two disappearing and leaving Henry alone. He doesn’t have the chance, or care really, to wonder if Jasper is going to be alright as he internally thanks the fates for the opportunity that has presented itself to him. Bringing up the academic team was utter bullshit that he thought would fall in on itself. Thank God for Jasper because without him, Henry would’ve failed to talk to Charlotte for a second time. And he’s not exactly sure if he can handle another hit to his ego. 

Finally, the pair come back. Jasper with the brightest smile Henry has ever seen and Charlotte who looks defeated. Henry has to fight back his own smile, having an idea of the results of their private conversation. “So?” Henry asks. 

Charlotte looks between him and Jasper before she sighs. “You can come.” 

“Yes!” Shouts Jasper and Henry, the two teens looking at each other in excitement. \“Okay, so, 6:30, right? Where exactly?” 

“Bro, I got you,” Jasper says, pulling out his phone. 

By the end of Henry’s transactions, not only does he have a lamp, but Jasper’s phone number and a starting ground for his part of the bet. His day may have started off on the wrong foot, but now, he can’t deny that it’s gotten tremendously better. 

Charlotte slides the paper bag to him that now holds his lamp and receipt, doing whatever she can to avoid his gaze. It only makes him smile even more. “So, I’ll see you tonight?” 

“Whatever.” Is all she says and he takes it. 

“Cool,” he says. Henry looks up at Jasper and nods his head in the guy’s direction. “Thanks again for the invite.” 

“Anytime,” Jasper says. “We’ll save you a seat.” 

“Nice. See ya’.” 

“Bye!” 

With final look at Charlotte— who is now glaring deep into his soul— Henry walks out the front door, smiling big, pride flooding his entire body. What a great day this is! Now it’s time to tell the boys about tonight and rub it in Vic’s face that he will be winning this bet, he can promise him that. 

. . .

Henry gets there five minutes early, wanting to prove to Charlotte that he’s serious about this. He made sure to set an alarm while at Sam’s place, not wanting to lose track of time because he was having fun with the guys. Because of it, he had to deal with Vic and Sam teasing him, the pair telling him to have fun with the nerds. (They also teased him about his new lamp, which Henry forgot to put back in his car before meeting with them. So there’s that.) The guys found all of this hilarious, especially after hearing about Henry’s little lie to worm his way into Charlotte’s life. You? On the academic team? Vic says in between fits of laughter. Dude, you’re a C average student. No way you could survive as a member, much less make the team.

Vic was right, but Henry didn’t want to hear it. It was an excuse of course, the first thing that came to his mind, so give him a break. 

Henry walks into the auditorium, following Jasper’s clear directions of where to go, his head twisting and turning in hopes of finding the other teen. It doesn’t take him long to find Jasper, a combination of the other waving him over and the fact that there aren’t a lot of people inside. He knows that it’s an academic team meet, but he was expecting a bigger turnout than this. There’s probably less than forty people inside, most of them being adults and some teens. Henry has seen more people at their school’s golf matches. This… this is pathetic. Is this what it looks like all the time? And the academic team is just fine with that? 

As he nears Jasper, the other teen stands up and wraps his arms around Henry, the teenager in question freezing. He does, however, give the other a pat on the back. “You made it!” Jasper says, pulling away from Henry, smiling brightly at him. Henry can’t help, but to smile back. He’s really starting to feel bad for messing up the guy’s name. “Here, meet my boss.” 

Jasper sits down and Henry follows suit as his eyes land on the two older men who stare at Henry. Well, one of them is staring, the other is glaring deep into Henry’s soul. He gulps awkwardly as Jasper introduces them, not paying mind to the glare that’s being thrown at Henry. “Alright, Henry, meet Ray and Schwoz. Ray, Schwoz, this is Henry.” 

“Hi.” Henry lets out awkwardly, his usual burst of confidence leaving his body. Which is wild. The glare that Ray sends his way reminds Henry of the time he met Rob Moss, Joss’s dad. Rob Moss glared Henry down, asking him if he was serious about dating his daughter. Henry was only fifteen at the time and almost peed his pants, but kept his cool, earning Rob Moss’ respect that night. So it should be the same with Ray, who isn’t Charlotte’s dad by the way. So there’s no need for Henry to feel nervous, but there’s just something so… different about Ray. It’s almost like Ray is looking through him, picking Henry apart and peering at his true intentions. It makes him squirm slightly in his seat. “Nice to meet you guys.” 

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you,” Ray says, the words slowly spilling from his mouth, never letting up on his gaze on Henry. Henry has to fight back the urge to shrink away, too stubborn to give in just like that. 

“Nice to meet you, Henry!” Comes from Schwoz, the much shorter man with a thick accent. He’s not glaring, but just like Ray, Schwoz is definitely picking Henry apart. Fantastic. “Do you go to school with Charlotte and Jasper?” 

Henry nods, turning his full attention to Schwoz. “Yeah,” he says. “We’ve been classmates for as long as I can remember.” 

“Really?” Ray asks. “And yet this is our first time seeing and hearing about you. Why is that? Why are you trying to hang out with them now?” 

“Well, I told Charlotte and Jasper that I was interested in joining the academic team—” 

“A little late for that, huh?” 

That makes Henry smile a little. “Yeah, I realize that now, but I still wanted to test my luck. To see if I had chance to still join. I’m actually happy that Jasper invited me to come tonight, gives me the chance to see what this is like.” 

Ray hums, not fully believing Henry which is fair. Henry never had an interest in joining, but he was curious to see what it was like. He’s always surrounded himself with athletes and popular kids, rarely did he interact with anyone from another circle unless it was for a school project. He never went to any academic team meets or robotics matches, hell, he just recently saw a musical at their school and it was because Sam got roped into by their teacher. He never strayed and it wasn’t like Joss would let him. Because if Henry was found talking to some nerd, then that would affect her public image as well. He had to be mindful of his interactions because it would always get tied to Joss Moss and her popularity. Now without her… he can do whatever he wants, which apparently means going to an academic team meet without having to worry about it affecting Joss. “So what do you do?” 

“Oh,” he says. “I’m apart of the basketball team.” 

Ray’s eyes light up, his glare disappearing with a flash. “Basketball?” 

Henry nods and Jasper jumps in. “He’s not just apart of the team, he’s the captain and our star player! We’re all sure that he’ll go pro one day.” 

Henry bites down on his bottom lip. Of course Jasper thinks that, it’s what everyone is thinking and expecting of him. His stomach churns terribly as he realizes that he’ll have to come clean to everyone in the next few months. It’s just a matter of when and how he’ll go about it. “I’m not that good.” 

“Dude, yes you are,” Jasper says, looking at Henry as if he’s insane. “You’re literally a beast on the court.” 

“Wow… thanks man.” 

“Anytime, bro.” 

“Well,” Ray says, interrupting the two teens. “If Jasper is telling the truth, then maybe we should test it out.” 

Henry and Jasper share a look. “Uh… what do you mean by that?” Henry asks. 

“You and me will go against each other,” Ray says. “We’ll see if you’re really a beast.” 

There’s a brief pause as Henry registers what is being said. Ray isn’t glaring anymore, no, he looks a little relaxed. Still doesn’t seem like he trusts Henry, but not as hostile as a few minutes ago. Wow, Jasper is really the man today! From helping him get closer to Charlotte and even easing Ray’s suspicion of him… he’s starting to like this guy a lot. “Alright.” Henry finally says. “But I don’t know man… are you sure you can beat me?”

It's Ray's turn to register what is said before he burst out in a fit of laughter. The sight and sound of it makes Henry smile wider. “Oh, just you wait, kid, I’m going to take you down.”

“I would like to see you try.” 

“Quiet! They’re starting!”

Schwoz points at the stage, stopping Ray and Henry's banter before it can unfold any more. Instead, the four of them look forward, eyes falling onto Charlotte and the other teenagers who make their way onto the stage. Henry counts eight students in total, four for each school. Each team sits behind a table as some random man stands in between them, standing behind a podium. The set up reminds Henry of the ending scene of Mean Girls— he only watched it because Joss begged him to watch it with her. He wonders if anyone has ever answered the final question like Caddy and if so, did any of them shout “THE LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST”! If he was apart of the academic team, Henry knows that he would do exactly that. 

“Welcome everyone to tonight’s academic bowl,” the man says. “My name is Benjamin Morris and tonight we have Leroy Rowland, Mark Wu, and Teresa Garner from Swellview High School with Charlotte Page as their captain.” The four students all give a slight nod as the audience claps, Henry following what Jasper and the others do. Henry unfortunately cannot recognize the three other students, their faces aren’t too memorable. And he’s 100% sure that after tonight, he won’t remember them one bit. “Then we have Rebecca Williams, Luke Garcia, and Sophie Johnson from Oak Grove High School with Thomas Brown as their captain.” Just like with Swellview, the audience claps for the other team, though Henry notes that Ray, Schwoz, and Jasper don’t clap, the three of them looking bored at the introduction of the rival team. It makes Henry chuckle silently to himself. “We’ll start with twenty tossup questions and several opportunities for bonus questions. If a member answers the tossup correctly, then their team has the opportunity for a bonus question. If the tossup is answered incorrectly, then that opportunity is lost. After the twenty questions, then we’ll move on to our lighting round. Understood?” The members all nod. “Alright, then let’s begin. Question number one…” 

See, Henry is fully aware of what he’s watching, but honestly, he wasn’t expecting it to be so, well, boring. At first, he was following along, listening and clapping whenever a question was answered correctly, but after a while… he found himself bored and fighting to stay awake. True to what Vic said, Henry is a C average student, he’s not exactly book smart like the teens sitting on the stage. These guys answer the questions so easily and quickly, as if this stuff is common knowledge. It makes him wonder where exactly are these guys learning this stuff? Extra after school lessons, random podcasts, YouTube videos, reading? And how exactly are they remembering all of this stuff? This match may be boring, but he can’t deny how impressed he is. 

Especially when it comes to a Ms. Charlotte Page and how cool she looks onstage. Which is a crazy statement because Charlotte Page is not cool, and yet, here she is. Dazzling and dominating the entire match. She answers every single question with ease, slamming her hand down on the buzzer and letting the answer fall from her lips without a crack in her expression or breaking a sweat. And it’s not just that, she doesn’t take over the entire team. If she notices that her teammate knows the answer, she’ll let them go ahead. If they get it right, she’ll smile in their direction. If a question is missed, she’ll gently pat them on the back, but never does she let the fire die within her. 

Henry gets it, he’s the same way when he’s on the court. The two of them shine and sparkle in their elements, though, Henry bets that the only similarity that they share. Charlotte loves what she does, Henry used to, but doesn’t anymore. He wonders when he lost his spark and passion for basketball. 

By the end of the first round, Swellview is in the lead, beating the other team by a measly five points. “Oh, they got this,” Ray says. “They’re going to win this easily.” 

Henry wants to believe him, but he knows better than anyone that it’s never a good idea to brag so early on. 

The lightning round is true to its name, it goes by a lot faster than the first round. Though, it’s during this round that the rival catches up to Swellview, closing the gap between their schools and ending the round in a tie. Jasper, Ray, and Schwoz are nervous, silently cheering whenever a point goes to Swellview and cursing when it’s lost. By the end of the round, the three guys look so tensed that you would think they’re the ones competing. Though, it’s not just them, Henry can see how tensed other audience members are and even the students competing. None of them try to hide how anxious and nervous they are, even Charlotte is sitting there, lips pressed into a thin line as each minute goes by. 

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have a tie.” Benjamin Morris clears his throat as he shuffles through his stack of paper. “To determine tonight’s winner, we’ll have each team send up a member to answer this final question. Whoever answers this question correctly wins.” Looking between the two teams, he continues. “Please send up your chosen member.” 

There’s no whispering between the Swellview team as Charlotte stands to her feet and steps forward, prepared to take home the trophy. At the sight of her stepping forward, Oak Grove sends up their own team captain, some tall and lanky guy with thick glasses. He stands on the left side of Benjamin Morris’ podium and Charlotte on the right side, the two facing each other. Watching the two face off like this reminds Henry of the times he had to face off against a rival’s school captain. On the court, those guys would try to intimadate Henry with either their height or ugly mug, but it never worked. He knew better than to fall for such petty taunts that were mostly bark than bite. Though, he knows that the captains during these matches aren’t intimidating in the slightest, well, except for Charlotte. Henry figures that she’s the type of academic team captain that makes others cower in free. He bet that the guy facing Charlotte is shaking in his boots and trying so hard not to cry right now because of the Swellview’s captain intense stare. 

“Alright, teams, here’s your final question… Name this last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the successor of Esarhaddon. This scholarly king, who defeated the Elamites, is depicted hunting lions on a series of reliefs—”

Charlotte’s hand slams down on the buzzer, all eyes on her as she says, “Ashurbanipal.” 

“Correct! The winner of tonight’s match is Swellview High School!” 

Without much thought, Henry shoots up and cheers very loudly. His clapping and yelling makes an elderly couple in front of him jump in fright and pulls all eyes towards him. Including the people onstage, Charlotte staring at him with wide eyes. The amount of eyes on him is less than what he’s used to, but the judgement is bigger than anything else he has experienced. Shit, maybe he should’ve asked Jasper about proper ettiqutie at these things. Would save him from embarrassing himself like this. Ready to sit down and pretend that this never happened, Jasper, Ray, and Schwoz all shoot up from their own seats and start cheering loudly. Seeing their involvement eases Henry’s nerves as he joins in, no longer caring about the stares and judgements. At least for now that is. 

Within seconds, the rest of the audience starts to clap, though, a lot more quiet than the four. Benjamin Morris claps from behind his podium as the two teams shake hands before breaking away to come out into the audience. Parents stand up and hug their children, either to congratulate them or to comfort them after that match. Charlotte is the last one to leave the stage and takes her time to get to the four. Not really her fault as random people stop to congratulate her or adults who want to briefly talk to her. The more Henry watches her, the more he notices how she’s in her element here. He’ll never say it to her, but he really does respect that about her.

Finally, Charlotte has made her way to their group that welcomes Charlotte with hugs. Jasper is the first one to wrap his arms around Charlotte, squeezing her tight as she giggles. “You did it! You won!” He shouts. “You’re so smart, dude.” 

“Jasper, come on!” Charlotte says, smile big. “You’re ruining my reputation, stop it!” 

(Henry doesn’t know what reputation she has here and he’s sure that it couldn’t be ruined by a simple hug.)

Listening to her, Jasper lets go of Charlotte, but he’s still close. “We were worried, we weren’t sure if you guys were going to win or not.” 

Ray rolls his eyes. “Uh, excuse you, I never doubted Charlotte once.” 

“Oh, I doubted you,” Schwoz says, shrugging. “That other team were very good. And smart! I thought you were going to lose tonight’s match.” 

“Schwoz!” Ray says through cleanchd teeth. 

Schwoz only looks up at him in confusion. “What? I’m telling the truth!” 

Charlotte laughs gently, not taking offense to the older man’s words. “It’s okay guys, I get,” she says. “I was worried too. That was a really close game, I wasn’t sure if we were going to win or not.” However, they did and Charlotte has the trophy to prove it. All is well tonight. 

Then Charlotte’s eyes land on Henry who’s been silent for the most part. He was mostly listening and didn’t want to interrupt this moment between the four of them. He’s not sure if it’s a good idea to worm his way into the group just yet, it’s only the first day. “You actually came.” 

“I told you I would,” Henry says, grinning. “Congratulations on your win. You guys did amazing up there.” 

There’s a moment as Charlotte looks at him, slowly registering Henry’s prescene and words, before she nods, smile there and small. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” 

Something thumps widely within Henry’s chest. 

“Alright! Who wants pizza?” Ray asks. “Because I’m starving and think we earned it after that win.” 

“Oh yeah!” Jasper shouts, knocking his shoulder against Charlotte’s. “Free pizza sounds amazing right now.” 

“Who said you’re getting free pizza?” Ray asks. “Only Charlotte gets free pizza because she won tonight’s match.”

“What! Ray that isn’t fair.” 

“Actually, that’s very fair if we’re being honest…” 

The five of them walk out of the auditorium, Ray and Jasper going back and forth about free pizza, Charlotte and Schwoz talking about the questions that were asked, and Henry… just in the back. He wonders if that pizza invitation is extended to him, or if it’s just for the four of them. Again, he doesn’t want to worm his way into their group just yet, he has time before the deadline for the bet. Though, he knows that it’s not good to take forever when it comes to the bet. As the five of them walk outside and all to their respective car, Henry stops, remembering something. “Hey Charlotte,” he says, causing the other teen to pause mid sentence as she looks back at him. “Can I talk to you really quick?” 

“Uh…” Charlotte looks back at Schwoz who shrugs and makes his way behind Ray and Jasper, who are still arguing about pizza. Henry is grateful for the distraction because he’s not sure if he can give this thing to Charlotte while the others are watching. “Okay.” 

Henry gives her a small smile as he walks to his car, Charlotte following behind him quietly. Once next to his car, Henry unlocks the door, opens the backseat, and pulls out a small bouquet of flowers. “Uh, these are for you,” he says, holding the bouquet out for Charlotte to take. “Congrats on winning.” 

“Oh.” Charlotte takes the bouquet, staring down at them. Henry can see the wheels turning in her head, probably trying to figure out the purpose of this gesture.  Honestly, Henry wasn’t going to bring anything with him, but Sam pushed for him to do so. Because all girls love stuff like this apparently. “Thanks… Wait, you got these before the match?” He nods. “What if I had lost?” 

“Then I would give them to you as a pick me up,” he says. “And besides, I knew you were going to win.” That part isn’t a lie. Charlotte is smart, everyone knows this. He had a feeling that she would’ve won the match even if she was alone and had her hands tied behind her back. 

“That’s… very sweet of you.” 

Henry shrugs, smiling. “What can I say? I’m a sweet guy.” 

This makes Charlotte laugh. It’s small and airy, but it’s not in a mocking way. Henry takes that as a win. “Okay, whatever you say.” She pulls the bouquet closer to her chest as she continues. “So…. after watching tonight’s match, do you still want to join the team?” 

Right, that. “I’m still thinking about it, but I need to watch another match to really see,” he says. “When’s the next one?” 

“In two weeks.” Charlotte shifts the bouquet to one arm as she reaches into her pocket, fishing out her phone. She unlocks it and scrolls. “But we have an academic team meeting this week. You’re more than welcome to come and join us… if you’re really interested.” 

“I’ll be there!” He says, quickly taking to this opportunity. “Just have Jasper text me the day and time… yeah?” 

Charlotte slowly picks up her head, looking up at Henry. “Yeah… I’ll have him text you.” 

“Cool.” 

“Cool.” 

And they just stand there, staring at each other and Henry is 100% sure that this is the first time Charlotte isn’t glaring at him or looking at him as if he’s a waste of space. It’s here that he can look into her eyes and see how gentle they are. While she doesn’t look at him with the love that she holds for Jasper and her friends, she does look at him with a bit of… respect. It’s not a lot, but it’s surely something. “You know… your eyes look really beautiful in the moonlight.” 

Then just like that, it changes, a flip within Charlotte switches and the gentleness and respect is gone. “You can’t be serious right now.” 

Henry frowns. “I’m sorry?” 

“Your eyes look beautiful in the moonlight— did you read that in a magazine or some trashy teen flick?” 

Okay, so she didn’t like that compliment. “I was just telling you that your eyes look nice, what’s wrong with that?” 

“Everything.” Charlotte huffs before shoving the bouquet back into Henry’s arms. “You know what… forget it. I should’ve known that you weren’t being serious.” 

“Charlotte, come on…” 

“No,” Charlotte says, taking a step back. “I really should’ve trusted my gut. I should’ve told you to go fuck yourself.” She then fully turns her back on him. “Goodbye, Henry Hart.” 

“Charlotte!” Henry says, but she’s already gone, speeding towards her car. He groans as he mentally kicks himself. And just like that, he ruined his chance with her again. Nice going, Henry.