As the rest of Swellview slowly started to awaken with the morning sun, Henry rummaged through his bedroom searching for a measly- but seemingly significant- sheet of paper.
He hadn't slept a wink.
Henry had been creating a mess in his room since he returned home the night before, not wasting a second to do anything else. As the memories of that night threatened to replay in his mind, he subconsciously put aside all thoughts of anything else and decided that finding the work schedule that Ray printed for him years ago when he began his job was the most important thing he could do right now.
Of course, Henry did not think to just wait until Junk 'N Stuff opened to ask Schwoz to find it in his digital files and print another one. No, he thought if he was not looking for the copy he had himself right now as his best friend stood innocently behind bars, he was doing Ray a disfavor.
In reality, Ray would have wanted Henry to get rest, as any good friend would. Their situation- though unfavorable- could be resolved the next morning. And though he pretended not to, Henry knew this. But if he were to wait patiently until the next morning and lay in bed attempting to sleep, he knew he'd have to face his heavy loaded thoughts, reliving the events of the night before over and over.
And he didn't want that.
So as he scrambled throughout his desk drawers, papers flying everywhere, his hair a mess and his eyes wide and anxious, Henry continued to look for his damned work schedule.
A loud and aggressive series of knocks were suddenly heard by the blond as his little sister, Piper, banged on his door.
"Henry!" she shouted before opening the door herself. "Keep it down! It's six in the morn- oh my God." Her mouth dropped at the sight of Henry and the state of his bedroom. His bed was filled with stray supplies, his blankets fell to the floor, his desk drawers remained pulled open and the floor contained what looked to be a million different sheets of worthless paper.
"What happened in here? Did your room get hit with a tornado or something?" She asked bewildered as she cautiously stepped into his room, avoiding the objects on the floor.
"I'm looking for something," he replied dismissively, not looking up from where he was. "Go back to your room." Piper looked at her older brother who seemed anxious for some reason unknown to her. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she asked, "What's up with you?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked absentmindedly, still not having made eye contact with her. Piper simply glared at him in reply before stepping closer to him.
"What are you looking for, anyway?" She asked.
"My work schedule," he responded, finally turning around to look at her. "Have you seen it?"
"No," she answered truthfully. "Why do you need it?"
"It's a long story," he sighed, going back to his search.
"So, let's hear it," she said firmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Henry glanced up to give his sister a look.
"I can't right now, okay?" he responded. "And if you can't help, just go back to bed." Piper scoffed as she watched Henry return to rummaging through his desk drawers. She hesitated for a moment, before rolling her eyes and going to open his closet.
"What are you doing?" Henry asked his younger sister. Now it was Piper who turned to give him a look.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She rolled her eyes before shuffling through the hangers of clothing in his closet. Henry couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face as his usually rude and annoying sister voluntarily decided to help him.
"Have you looked in here yet?" she asked as she tried to reach over to the shelf above the clothing rack. Henry stood up from where he was bent over looking into his desk drawers and glanced at Piper struggling to reach the top of the shelf.
"No, actually," he said in surprise. "I forgot about that shelf." Piper felt around the surface of it with her fingertips as she couldn't actually see the top of the shelf from where she stood. Her eyebrows raised when she felt something like paper and grabbed it.
"Maybe this-" she began before looking at what was in her hands. "Oh." Henry walked over to her to see what she held, looking over her shoulder.
It was an old photo from when they were a lot younger- Henry was nine years old and Piper was just five. They were at their dad's old lake house, before he sold it on a business venture. Their family used to go there every summer vacation, and Henry had some of his happiest memories there. In the photo, the siblings were both laughing hysterically in the lake, Piper holding onto Henry as she was just learning how to swim.
Piper and Henry looked at the photo with nostalgia, light smiles on both their faces.
"Look at us," she finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," he said. "What were we laughing at?" Piper laughed a bit herself, shaking her head.
"I can't remember. I was only, like, five here." He chuckled in response, thinking back to his own memories. His eyes widened when it hit him.
"Oh, I remember!" he exclaimed, turning towards Piper. "Dad was fishing, and he got super excited when he finally caught one, remember? But he couldn't get it in his hands 'cause it kept flopping around, and it ended up just falling back into the lake." Henry laughed as he relived the memory.
"Oh yeah!" she responded, laughing with him. "He looked ridiculous trying to catch that fish." Henry nodded and the two continued to laugh, and he forgot what he was doing for a moment.
Until he didn't forget, and the good moment vanished away as he remembered Ray was in jail, and he had just broken up with Charlotte, and Jasper probably hated him. He had stopped laughing at this point, plopping sulkily onto his bed.
Piper watched as his brother's mood and expression changed completely in a matter of seconds, before sitting down on his bed next to him.
"Why do you need your work schedule, again?" She asked, this time her tone a lot more sincere.
Henry sighed as he glanced up at his little sister who gazed at him with what he thought looked like worry in her eyes, which was very unexpected coming from her. He raised his eyebrows in question.
"You really want to know?" he assured. She rolled her eyes.
"Why else would I ask?" Henry chuckled lightly before explaining the events of the night before. He told her how his boss was arrested for the wrong reasons, and how he was practically his only friend and that's why he cared so much. He told her about Charlotte; how they met and their short-lived relationship, why he felt like he had to break up with her. He even mentioned Jasper, and how he thought he was almost making an actual guy friend his age. And he told her how much he was hurting, because he was, and he never got to talk about it with anyone until now.
Of course, he said all this without mentioning he was Kid Danger and that he worked for Captain Man because that wasn't entirely significant to the situation.
"Wow," Piper spoke finally after her brother's rant. Henry sighed.
"Yeah."
"We really need to talk more, huh?" Henry laughed.
"So, your boss. You need your work schedule to get him out of jail?"
"He was arrested under accusations of administering child labor, so I thought if I showed the police my work schedule, they'd see he's not really making me work excessive hours," he explained. "They just saw me hanging out there. I wasn't actually working."
"Why do you hang out there so much, anyway?" she asked.
"Uh, y-you know," he stammered. "He's my friend, so. I like it there." Piper snickered.
"You need more friends." Henry rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, and I almost did, remember?" he stated, suggesting from his previous confessional.
"Right, right, Charlotte and Jasper," she nodded. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.
"You know she was kind of right though." Henry looked at Piper, his eyebrows knit in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"In thinking something was going on," she stated as if it was obvious.
"But she was wrong-"
"Yeah, but you can't blame her for that," she told him. "Judging from how you've been acting recently, I'd think something was up, too."
"What do you mean?" he asked. "How have I been acting?"
"You're just-" she looked up as if searching for the right word. "So distant now. Like, you're here, 'cause you live here. But that's it. It's like you're not actually present sometimes." Henry looked down into his lap where his hands laid.
"And that's just from what I see when you're at home, which you never are anymore," she continued. She paused, waiting for him to say something, then sighed when he didn't.
"Why do you think we don't have moments like these anymore?" She placed the photo in his hands, and Henry felt his heart tug a little at his sister's words. He looked at the photo sadly, tears in the back of his eyes, before he heard Piper snicker.
"Are you crying?" She asked in surprise. Henry turned from her to blink them away.
"No!" he said defensively. "It's uh, dusty in here." Piper nodded.
"Right," she said sarcastically. She watched as he laughed a little himself. Leave it to Piper to tease him at his most vulnerable state.
"Henry," she started. "You have to stop pushing people away. Open up, and let her help you." The blond sighed. I can't, he thought.
"She sounds like a good person, and trustworthy," she continued. "Just talk to her. I'm sure she'll understand and respect your decision." Henry looked at Piper when she said this. Maybe she was right.
"Don't let go of a good thing." Henry thought about this for a moment, realizing how right she was.
He needed to talk to Charlotte.
"Wow," he spoke. "Have you always been this good at advice?" Piper laughed, pushing him slightly.
"Maybe you would know if you talked to me more," she stated.
"Okay, okay, fine," he responded. "Tell me about your problems." Piper hesitated before speaking.
"Jana Tetrazzini is on my last nerve with her latest tweet," she said angrily all of a sudden. "Do you know what she-"
"Beat her up," Henry interrupted. Piper raised her eyebrows.
"Really? That's your advice?"
"Mhm. That's how we do it." Piper scoffed.
"Great. Really great advice, Henry," she said sarcastically.
"You're welcome." Piper glared at him as her brother laughed. She rolled her eyes turning away, before her gaze set on something in the distance.
"What?" he asked her. Piper got up from the bed and approached his closet, before squatting down and reaching over underneath the hanging clothing. She pulled out a crumpled up wad of paper, then stood up.
"Is this it?" She asked. Henry's eyes widened as he rushed over to her, taking the crumpled ball and opening it up, revealing none other than his work schedule.
"You found it!" he exclaimed. "Oh my God, Piper, thank you!" He swooped down to give her a quick sloppy kiss on her cheek before rushing out his bedroom door.
"Ew! Gross, Henry!" she shouted back, frantically wiping her cheek. "You're so disgusting! Mom!" She ran down the hall to her parents' bedroom. And as Henry ran out of the house that morning, he finally believed things were looking up.
"I'm here for Raymond Manchester?"
Henry stood at the front desk in the Swellview Police Station, schedule in hand while frantically trying to catch his breath. He had ran the fifteen blocks to get there because that was the first thing he thought of and logic was not really a factor in Henry's decisions nowadays. The officer behind the desk looked at him with an unamused expression.
"All visitors must check in with ID," he stated as if it was rehearsed.
"No," Henry shook his head. "I'm not here to visit. I want to get him out of jail." The officer raised his eyebrows.
"You here with bail?" he asked him.
"No, um," Henry coughed, wishing he had planned what he was going to say. "My friend- well, boss- was arrested last night because the police thought he had violated some child labor laws. I just wanted to prove that-"
"Oh, you're here for the buff guy who came in last night," the officer finally understood. "Let me pull up his file." Henry drummed his fingers anxiously against the counter as the officer typed away on his keyboard. After a few moments, he spoke.
"Ah, here it is," he announced suddenly, leading Henry to abruptly straighten his posture. "Raymond Manchester. Arrested for violating Swellview's child labor laws and administering excessive work hours to a minor. He's in a holding cell, so there's no guarantee we'll arrest him with a sentence."
"And you can't sentence him without any evidence, right?" Henry spoke up. "Look, I'm the minor, okay? I've worked for Ray at Junk 'N Stuff since I was thirteen, and I promise he hasn't made me work any more than I should. If you would just-" Henry moved to slide his work schedule to the officer before he was interrupted.
"It says you were there at the time of arrest, which was approximately 12:07 am," the officer pointed.
"I know, I-I know that looks bad, but I was only there because I wanted to be. Ray is, uh, a family friend, which makes us friends. And I like being there when I'm not at home. I'm only there voluntarily. Here-" Henry handed the officer his work schedule. "This is how much Ray actually makes me work in a week. And it doesn't go against the law. It's practical." The officer wore a doubtful expression as he looked at the schedule.
"Yeah, these are abiding by the laws," he said as he read the schedule. His eyes squinted when he glanced at the top of the page. "This was printed three years ago. You don't have a recent one?" Henry ran a hand through his hair in nervousness.
"No, I don't," he answered truthfully. The officer raised his eyebrows. Henry hesitated before thinking of what to say.
"But only because I suggested he stopped printing them," he spoke. "The hours were always the same anyway. And you know, just trying to save trees." Henry gave the officer an apologetic grin.
"I don't know kid," the officer began. "We don't understand why we would get an accusation like that if there wasn't some suspicious reason. I think I'm going to have to keep him in there until further notice."
"No, wait, please," Henry begged. "I can explain that, too. The girl who called with the accusation was my girlfriend- I mean ex-girlfriend. She was worried why I seemed tired at school, and she's a little impulsive- or a lot impulsive, actually- and decided to call the police about my job, thinking I was being overworked. I promise I'm not. I'm tired because I'm a teenager and don't go to bed until 2am because I, uh, like video games. And TV." Henry watched as the expression of the officer changed as he said this, hoping he was being believable.
"Sounds like a pretty big jump she made, then, don't you think?" the officer inquired. "Why would she do that?" Henry sighed before answering.
"Because she cares about me. And I don't tell her everything because I'm not a good boyfriend and like to keep to myself and not get others involved with my personal life so I don't burden anyone." Henry felt the tension in his shoulders release a bit following the little confession. While he wouldn't normally tell his problems to a complete stranger, he knew he had to do this for Ray. He was not leaving here without him.
"Huh," the officer leaned back into his chair. "Is that why you broke up with her? Because you didn't want to burden her?" Henry was surprised by the officer's reaction of asking him about his relationship. Was this still about Ray?
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Henry responded awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "So my fri-"
"You gotta let people in your life, kid," the officer told him. "Don't hold back. It sounds like she wanted to be burdened." Henry raised his eyebrows. I'm getting advice from the weirdest people today.
"Um, thanks," he replied. The officer nodded.
"What about Ray? Can he leave now?" Henry asked.
"Oh, right," the officer began. "Well, it looks to me that he's innocent. And since there was never any evidence brought up, I'll let him go."
"Seriously?" Henry exclaimed.
"Yeah," the officer repeated. "Come with me." He got up from his desk, grabbing the keys to the cells and walked into the center as Henry followed. After passing through a few cells the officer stopped and unlocked one.
"Raymond Manchester?" he called. Ray turned around to see him and Henry outside the cell. His face lit up when he saw Henry.
"You're being released," he stated. Ray grinned before turning around back to another inmate.
"It was nice knowing you, Fred," he said to him, shaking his hand.
"You too, Ray Ray," Fred responded sadly. Ray pressed his lips together before meeting Henry outside the cell. The officer walked away from the two. Ray grinned before reaching out to hug his sidekick.
"Took you long enough," he joked.
"Made a friend already?" Henry asked.
"Yeah, Fred's a good guy," he replied. Henry laughed.
"I told you I'd get you out of here." They released from their embrace and Henry moved to scratch the back of his neck.
"Look, Ray," he started. "I'm sorry. This was my fault." Ray raised his eyebrows, waiting for Henry to explain.
"Charlotte called the police on you. I told her not to get involved, and she got worried and thought you were blackmailing me or something, and called the cops."
"What?!" Ray exclaimed. Henry reluctantly nodded.
"Why would she do that? You said you stopped hanging out with her!" Henry glanced down at his shoes sheepishly.
"Henry," Ray said firmly. "Did you stop hanging out with her or not?" Henry sighed.
"I tried to," he spoke, and Ray threw his arms up in exasperation. "But she cares about me. Ray. And I was hurting her. You can't make me do that."
"But she can get me arrested? What don't you understand? If I ask you to do something, you do it because I'm your boss," Ray scolded, shoving a finger at Henry's chest. Henry shook his head.
"No, Ray," he defended. "You can tell me what to do in Junk 'N Stuff and on missions but this is my life. And you can't control who I decide to talk to or be friends with."
"I'm trying to protect you," Ray insisted, his voice falling to a whisper. "Our secret. Your identity. You know what happens if word gets out who we are."
"Yes, I do, but I trust her, Ray," Henry said. "She's not going to tell anyone. Not even Jasper if I ask her not to." Ray scoffed.
"So now you want to tell her," Ray said. "That's against our oath, Henry."
"I know, but-"
"I told you what will happen if you break it." Ray's voice was firm and serious, which had Henry taken aback.
"You'd fire me?" Henry asked in disbelief. "Just for telling her who I am? After everything we've been through?"
"You'd give me no choice," Ray responded with a shrug. "I don't know if she's trustworthy."
"But I do," Henry persisted.
"Really? Are you sure? Because it didn't really seem like it when she promised not to get involved and then called the cops on me."
"That was different! She didn't know what was going on! And if I just tell her-"
"No," Ray stopped him, shaking his head. "If you tell her who you are, you're fired." Henry scoffed in disbelief as Ray started towards the exit.
"C'mon, Ray," Henry followed him. "You can't do that. You need me."
"I've worked without a sidekick before," Ray stated. "And I sure can do it again."
"But what about the robbers?" Henry asked as they were out the door. "You're never going to get catch them without me." Ray turned around when he said this, raising his eyebrows.
"I'll be just fine," he said to Henry, stepping closer to him and making Henry take a step back. "Go run to your girlfriend." Ray turned and walked away in the direction of Junk 'N Stuff, while Henry jogged to keep up.
"C'mon, Ray!" Henry shouted after him. "Don't do this!"
"You're fired, Henry!" Ray shouted back, turning to face him one last time. Henry sucked in a breath at his words, in shock.
"Return your gum as soon as possible." And with that, Ray walked away from the blond, leaving Henry speechless on a sidewalk corner.
He didn't run after him.
Hey guys! I'm so so sorry for the extremely late update! May has been the most stressful month for me with a million different exams and things going on. I barely had time to write, and when I did, it just came out terrible and I didn't want to publish a shitty chapter for you all. I wish I put out a sort of author's update telling you guys that, but I didn't think of it until yesterday and I just decided to publish an actual update.
I'm currently in between finals as this is my last week of school, which means I'll only be busy for another week. After, I promise you will definitely be getting more frequent updates! I'm aiming for one per week, but if I have more time on my hands there could even be more than one a week.
My goal is to have this story completed by this summer. It's been going on longer than it should've with all my hiatuses and you don't deserve that. For the readers who have been sticking by this story since the beginning, I seriously want to thank you! I appreciate your patience and for continuing to read even though I truly suck at updating. And for new readers, thank you, too! I promise you'll be getting the end of this story soon! 3
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the little Henry/Piper sibling scene. I know it seemed pretty OOC for Piper, but this was just how I always wished to see their relationship portrayed on the show. Especially since their older now (Piper's what, like 13? 14?) I feel it makes more sense to have more mature scenes between them rather than Piper just constantly screaming at him and I wish we got to see that on the show.
Also sorry if you hated this ending. I know it was probably not what you wanted to read after a month's wait but there'll be a happier one soon! 3
Thank you so much for reading! Sorry this A/N got so long. xD I appreciate your understanding with me and your patience with this story and I hope you see to its end! Look out for an update soon!