Henry was ranting to Charlotte in the Man Cave about how Ms. Shapen's gorgeous niece picked Jasper over him (Because seriously? Was she blind? He had the looks and the charm. What girl didn't want the H-Bomb?) when Charlotte interrupted him, annoyed.
"Why are you so mad that she picked Jasper over you? Jasper's a nice guy who happens to be your oldest friend."
"Yeah, but she's hot, and that's all that matters." Henry was joking, but Charlotte didn't take it well. It was like Henry set off a bomb. Charlotte stood abruptly from her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Is that all you care about? How pretty a girl is?! What about what kind of person she is? How smart she is? How loyal she is? You and Jasper don't know anything about her, but you're both determined to date her for some reason. You'd even risk your friendship for some random girl that you just met." Henry watched confused as she paced, her boots hitting the floor hard.
"What's wrong with that? I'm not looking for a new friend." Charlotte's mouth dropped as she listened to him talk. Her hands twitched at her sides, ready to slap the stupid out of him.
"There are times when I can't believe that I call you my best friend." Charlotte said before rushing towards the elevator. Henry may not fully understand Charlotte, but her words practically screamed: DANGER. ANGRY CHARLOTTE.
He had to fix this and quickly. An angry Charlotte was not fun for him (or anyone else). Henry jumped off of his place on the couch to stand in front of the elevator, blocking her from leaving.
"What did I say? Why are you so mad that I think that she's pretty?"
"That's not why I'm mad!"
"Then why are you mad?"
"Because you're being shallow and acting like an idiot." Charlotte said, throwing her arms up in the air.
"You can't see what's right in front of you! You don't appreciate what you already have." Charlotte mumbled angrily, but Henry heard her clearly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What do I have? Are you talking about Jasper? Of course, I appreciate him. I wouldn't just quit my job for anybody. I wouldn't seriously end our relationship over a girl." Charlotte looked at him like he had just slapped her. She huffed angrily. Charlotte shoved him out of the way roughly. He stumbled out of her way, and Charlotte pressed the up button on the elevator. The elevator doors opened automatically.
"Goodbye, Henry." The elevator doors started to close, but Henry wasn't going to let Charlotte leave this angry at him.
"Charlotte, wait!" With the help of his super powers, he slipped in the elevator.
"Get out, Henry."
"Not until you explain why you're so mad." Charlotte ignored him and moved to press the button on the elevator. Henry caught her hand before she could press it.
"Let go!"
"Not until you talk to me."
"I'm talking to you right now."
"You know exactly what I mean. I don't like when you're mad at me."
"Well, you're not helping yourself then. Just give me some space."
"If I give you space, you'll just get angrier. Come on, please?" Charlotte sighed, knowing that he was right. The more time that she thought about what Henry said, the more pissed off she was going to get.
"What do you think that you said?" Charlotte said, yanking her arm back and glaring at him.
"Uhhhhh… Something bad?" Henry said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Charlotte groaned.
"Do you really think that's okay to judge someone by their looks?"
"No?" Henry looked at her for confirmation.
"Okay, then why are you willing to fight your best friend over some girl that you just met?"
"I don't know." Henry sighed.
"The truth is, I've had this other girl on my mind for a while, and I just wanted a distraction." Henry leaned against the wall, and he prayed that she wouldn't start asking questions. Instead, he watched Charlotte's body stiffen, and he watched with his heart in his throat as a flash of hurt and something else washed over Charlotte.
"I have to go. I have a lot of homework to do." She pushed open the doors to the elevator again, and she sprinted towards the tubes, not looking back at him at all. Henry tried to follow her, but even Henry couldn't stop her from leaving this time.
Charlotte wasn't really sure where she was going, but she couldn't be there, with him. Charlotte knew that it was her job as his best friend to be supportive and listen to him, but she couldn't do it anymore. Henry was fawning over yet another girl. Tears burned hot in Charlotte's eyes, but she refused to cry over a stupid boy. Even if that stupid boy happened to be the best friend that she had fallen in love with.
Charlotte had thought that she was walking aimlessly, but when she looked up, she was on the outskirts of Henry's house. She glared over at his driveway, annoyed.
"Why do I always end up here?" As she was talking to herself, she was hit with a small breeze.
"Maybe because you belong here." Charlotte whipped around to find Henry behind her.
"What're you doing out here? Are you following me?" Charlotte growled, crossing her arms over her chest. Henry was the last person that she wanted to talk to at the moment.
"No, I saw you when I was walking in." Charlotte bit her lip slightly to keep the curse words whirling in her brain from flowing out of her mouth.
"Why did you run out like that?" Henry asked her in a slightly annoyed and exasperated tone. Charlotte's anger flared back to life, and she couldn't help the anger and bitterness that flowed out of her mouth.
"Do you really want to know?" Henry nodded, giving her an obviously look. Henry was honestly asking for it.
"Because I'm sick of listening to your girl problems." Charlotte blurted out, but she couldn't stop there. That wasn't all that was bothering her.
"Charlotte-" Henry tried to interrupt, but Charlotte was done listening to him.
"No. You know what? I'm sick of dealing with your problems in general! It's always about you, your relationship problems, your jealousy, your powers. It's never really about me. I'm not your life coach. I'm your best friend." Charlotte breathed, letting out the months of anger and resentment. Charlotte couldn't help but to remember all of the times that she had been left behind and pushed aside. She had told herself that it was fine when Henry had left her in the Auto-Snacker, scared and in the dark. He had other, more important, people to save. She had ignored the hurt when Henry had left her on the Man Cave floor, full of tranquilizer. He had to stop Drex; he would have helped her if he wasn't busy. No matter how many reasonable excuses she told herself, it still hurt.
Charlotte would do anything for Henry, and sometimes, it felt like he just used her for advice.
"That's not true, Charlotte. I-"
"Isn't? You somehow manage to turn things that are obviously about me about you." Once the words were out of her mouth, Charlotte realized how true they were.
"I'm sorry."
"Wait, what?" Charlotte stopped in her angry rant to look at him. Charlotte stared into his dark brown eyes, her breath caught in her chest and hope blooming in her heart. Was Henry apologizing and being considerate to her feelings?
"I said that I'm sorry. I didn't know that my problems bothered you so much." The premature hope inside of Charlotte sizzled out, being blown apart by the harsh winds of disappoint and anger.
"See, you just did it again! I complain, and you turn it into something about you."
"I didn't mean it like that. Do you really feel that way?" Henry tried to find whatever words would stop this. He could tell Charlotte wasn't just angry anymore. She was hurt and in pain. Guilt washed over Henry as he realized that it was because of him that Charlotte was so upset.
"Yes?! Why would I tell you that if I didn't? When was the last time that you asked me about L.I.M.P? When was the last time that you brought me food? Joined a tournament for me?"
"Uh, what about that…" Henry tried to search for something that he did for her besides take a few hornet stings and a laser to the eye. One bad day wasn't enough to prove how much he loved and cared about her. Charlotte felt like screaming as she watched Henry try to think of something, anything good to say.
"Yeah, you can't think of anything because you don't pay attention to or appreciate me." Henry cringed at her words. They weren't true. Maybe he didn't show her, but Henry loved her so much. He was so grateful to have her in his life.
"I appreciate you, Charlotte. I don't know what I would do without you." Charlotte was so infuriated that she couldn't hear the obvious pleading in his voice.
"Well, you don't act like it." Charlotte started to walk away. She thought that getting her feelings off of her chest would make her feel better, but she somehow felt worse. Henry grabbed her hand, but this time, he interlaced their fingers together. Charlotte turned back to him in shock.
"Wait, can we please talk about this some more? I don't want to leave it like this." Henry pleaded, his voice heavy with emotions.
"If we talk anymore, I might hit you."
"That's fine. Hit me all you want. Just, please, don't leave me again."
Charlotte was going to leave. She really was, but then Charlotte made the mistake of looking down at their intertwined hands, in order to release hers. Instead, she found that the sight of them took her breath and intent to leave away. They looked so perfect together. It was almost like the gaps between her fingers were made just so his pale fingers could fill them. His pasty hands dwarfed hers, like Henry's hands were trying to cradle Charlotte's and hold them as close to his as possible.
Charlotte looked up into his mocha eyes, to find them slightly watery. No matter how mad she was at him, Charlotte could never leave Henry when he was upset.
"Don't go, Char. I love you. I need you. You're more than just my best friend. I'm really sorry if I haven't been treating you like you are. I honestly didn't know that you felt that way, but you have every right to. I've treated you like crap. You deserve more than I can ever dream of giving you. Please stay, I want to know what to do to at least try to deserve you." Charlotte watched him curiously, trying not to melt at his words.
"I'm not going to leave." Henry sagged with relief, and he clutched her hand tighter, causing warmth to travel through Charlotte's body. She ignored it, just like she usually did. Henry didn't mean anything by it.
"You don't have to keep holding my hand. I'm not going anywhere."
"I'm not holding your hand to keep you here." Henry gave her a look full of hurt and shock.
"Then why are you?" Charlotte grumbled, looking at the ground to try to prepare herself for the casual answer that would probably break her heart.
"I'm holding your hand because I want to. Because it feels right in mine." Charlotte jerked up quickly, meeting his sincere mocha eyes. A smile tugged at her lips, but the days, weeks, months, and years of waiting for him to say something, anything like this to her and being stung with cold rejection and disappoint taught her better than to blindly hope. She forced herself not to smile, not to get hopeful.
"Shouldn't you be spouting this romantic nonsense to whatever girl you were talking about earlier?"
"I am." Charlotte's heart pounded so loudly in her chest that she swore the whole neighborhood could hear it.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"You're the girl I was talking about it. It's you, Charlotte. I can't stop thinking about you. When I said that I loved you, I didn't mean it because we're best friends. …Well, I did, but that's not all that I meant it as." Charlotte was sure that she wasn't hearing this right. There was no way that he could be talking about her.
"You love me? As in you're in love with me?" Henry smiled down at her, his brown orbs filled with a love and adoration.
"Yeah, I do. I love you so much that it hurts." Henry squeezed her hand gently as he confessed.
"Why? I thought dating me was gross." Charlotte wanted to be able to throw caution into the wind, but she had to know that this was real. That this wasn't a joke, prank, or a test. Charlotte watched as Henry grimaced, regret creeping on to his face.
"I was being stupid when I said that. I'd be lucky to date you. You're beautiful, smart, kind, considerate, and you're probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. You give my life direction."
Charlotte had never been rendered speechless before that moment. Charlotte's heart swelled in her chest, goosebumps rose on her arms, and chills raced through her body. She could barely understand what Henry was saying. It was almost too much. Admittedly, she had imagined Henry telling her that he loved her several times, but even in her wildest fantasies, Charlotte had never expected him to be so romantic and sweet. She barely even recognized the fact that Henry was still speaking.
"…I'm sorry. You obviously don't feel the same, and I'm doing it again. This isn't about me-" Henry let go of their hands to rub the back of his neck, and his eyes moved around nervously.
Henry watched anxiously as Charlotte walked over to him, expecting her to hit and yell at him. To his surprise, she leaned upward, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pressed her soft lips against his. Before Henry could get over the shock to respond, Charlotte was pulling away and caressing his cheek.
"I love you too, Henry. I have for a long time." The brightness of Henry's smile rivaled the sun's. They stared at each other for several seconds before Henry leaned down, slowly removing the space between their lips. He watched with his breathing ragged as Charlotte's dark brown eyes turned into lovely black pools, knowing they probably matched his.
"This is kinda selfish, but I really want to kiss you." Henry whispered, centimeters from Charlotte's lips.
"You're lucky I forgive you then." A huge burden was taken off of Henry's chest, and he wasted no time stealing a kiss from Charlotte.
In that moment, Henry was pretty sure that the sky could fall, and he wouldn't care. Charlotte was occupying every inch of his mind and stealing every molecule of oxygen he had, and he loved it. Henry felt Charlotte smile into the kiss, and she snaked her hands into his hair, making him moan against her mouth. Henry wrapped his hands around her slender waist, and he was about to return the favor when they were interrupted by Henry's nosy neighbor.
"I always knew you two would get together, with all of that sneaking out and everything. I never thought it would be in front of my lawn though." The two pulled apart, with an audible smack to stare at her. Charlotte with mortification at getting caught, and Henry to glare at her for interrupting the moment.
"We're really sorry for bothering you." Charlotte apologized with a smile at the middle aged woman.
"Are we?" Henry grumbled sarcastically, his arms still around Charlotte's waist. Charlotte glared at him before pinching him in the arm.
"Ow! Fine." Henry released Charlotte and turned toward his neighbor with a fake smile.
"We're very sorry for bothering you. We'll leave right now." Charlotte nodded in agreement before the two walked in sync up Henry's driveway.
As Charlotte moved to open the front door, Henry grasped her hand again, causing sparks of electricity to flow between them.
"Charlotte, I know you said that you forgive me, but I don't deserve it. I don't want to ever make you feel unappreciated again. I don't know what I would do without you standing right beside me, helping me."
"Then don't." Henry's opened his mouth to say something, but Charlotte cut him off.
"Henry, we're best friends, no matter what. No matter what you say, I'll always be standing right by your side, holding you together. Because we both know that you would be a mess without me." Henry was silent for a few seconds, and Charlotte was slightly concerned that she might have gone too far. The next thing she knew; Henry had pulled her to his chest. His face was buried in her hair, and Charlotte hugged him back, just as tight.
Author's Note: "This is for you, Charlotte." It's also for all of the therapist friends out there. I've been there, and you can't let any of your 'friends' treat you like trash. You're amazing, and they should be telling you that all the time.
Anyway, let me get off of my soap box, don't you love how much of a liar I am? I can't even take a proper break. This might be rushed, but I wanted to get this out there before the episode airs tonight. (If it's not accurate somehow, sorry, I haven't seen it yet.) Yes, it is named after the 1961 song: Stand By Me, but if you're actually listening to music, you should listen to Stand by Me by Sam Smith while you're over there. They both relate to the story, but this was not inspired by a song. I saw this Tumblr* post about how Charlotte deserves her own life, and I was like: She really does. I wasn't going to write anything until I saw Charlotte stuck in the Auto-Snacker, and I was really mad. (What kind of friends?!) Also, I'm one of those people that believes that love is more than looks, and beauty is a construction of society. (Sorry not sorry. You're beautiful, anyone that disagrees is an idiot.)
My author's notes are starting to get really long, and I need to quit it, but I have three more people to thank! Wstrnplsr105 for always inspiring me and having the best reactions and feedback, ArdenThayer for just, well, everything, you always push me to be better (and more angsty XP), and Alore for generally being awesome. I love you guys! 98% of all of this is inspired by you guys!
* Don't follow me on Tumblr unless you hate yourself. No, seriously, the poor souls that follow me back regret it, I think. I only reblog pictures of books, book related things, and wedding stuff.