Disclaimer: I do not own Henry Danger. De Loughrey is a fictional university I made up. Apologies for taking so long in updating.

PART FOUR - JULY & AUGUST

Charlotte stood on the back deck of her parent's house, leaning against the railing. The party they had thrown for their daughter was in full swing. Old classmates, family friends, colleagues, all there to wish Charlotte congrats on graduating high school and getting into Harvard, along with welcome home from Dystopia.

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder and saw the Danger Force kids laughing. She smiled. The bond those four shared would hopefully last the rest of their lives. It reminded her of the bond she had with Team Danger.

She took a sip of the Diet Pepsi she was holding. Charlotte had been back in the US less than 36 hours and was still getting over the jet lag, and the difference between her home and Dystopia.

'Hey.'

Charlotte looked up and saw Henry Hart standing in front of her. She smiled when she saw him.

'Hey back' she said. They hadn't seen each other in person for twelve months. Any communication had been mainly via email, messages and phone calls. Charlotte had spent a portion of her time in Dystopia visiting some remote villages, meaning that communication had been spotty for most of her time away.

'How are you?' asked Henry as he stood next to her.

'Good' said Charlotte. 'A little delirious from jet lag.' Was it jet lag or the sudden proximity to him? Charlotte couldn't tell. 'A bit of reverse culture shock too' she added.

'Really?' said Henry. Charlotte nodded.

'Swellview is very different from Dystopia. This.' She gestured to the party. 'Is very different from Dystopia.'

'Going to Harvard?' offered Henry. Charlotte gave a chuckle.

'I have always been grateful for my education but what I saw and what I did with the charity over there was profound. We complain about school and homework and exams but seeing how excited those kids and their parents were about school was a big daily reminder about how privileged and lucky we are. Going to school will change those kids' lives forever. What?' she asked at the look on Henry's face. He was smiling.

'Nothing' he said. 'You just sound so passionate and excited about what you did. Sounds like it was a good year.'

'It was' said Charlotte. 'What about you?'

'I got my athletic coaching certificate' said Henry.

'Really?'

'Yeah. I loved coaching the Woodpeckers and Swellview Community College has an athletic coaching programme.'

'That's so cool' said Charlotte. Henry smiled, laughed and nodded his head. Charlotte felt butterflies in her stomach.

'Perhaps a potential job?' suggested Charlotte. 'Youth sports coach.'

'Maybe' said Henry. 'I'm thinking of majoring in sport science.'

'Majoring? You applied to college?' In all of Henry's emails, he hadn't mentioned college applications at least once.

'Yeah' said Henry, awkwardly. 'I wanted to tell you in person.'

'Where did you apply?'

'Um, Swellview Tech, Florida State, Oregon State and De Loughrey.'

'Which one did you go for?' Charlotte felt her heart begin to race. De Loughrey was in Providence, an hour away from Cambridge.

'De Loughrey' said Henry. 'Look, I know we've barely begun to figure things out but we'll be at different colleges in different cities' he said very quickly. The tension between them became palpable.

'We need to talk, don't we?' said Charlotte quietly.

'Yeah, we do,' agreed Henry.

Now that Charlotte was back, did they still have the same feelings for each other they had twelve months ago. Did they still want to try a relationship? What about college and Jasper? He was thriving at Herberd with his found independence and friends but neither Henry or Charlotte wanted Jasper to feel pushed out, even if they went to colleges on the other side of the country.

'Want to do it now?' asked Henry. Charlotte was about to answer when her mom called her over.

'Tomorrow. 8 am' she called quickly as she walked away. 'At Kid Danger's statue.'

'I'll be there' replied Henry.

Charlotte paced back and forth by Kid Danger's statue. When she suggested the meeting to Henry last night, it had been a spur of the moment. They needed to talk but she didn't want to ruin her parent's party. Time and privacy would be needed, something they didn't have last night.

Charlotte had no idea how this was going to happen. For the past twelve months, she had lived with the same feelings for Henry she had when she left for her gap year.

But what if she saw him today and realised those feelings weren't romantic or vice versa? What if they tried a relationship but it ruined 12 years of friendship and Charlotte lost one of her oldest and closest friends? The more she thought about it, the more confused she got. And the more confused she became, the more she paced.

'Char.' His voice cut clear in the air. She turned around and there he was. Henry Hart.

'Hi' she said quietly.

'Hi back' he replied, repeating their greeting from the night before.

They stood there, facing each other. In the daylight, Henry could see that she looked different. Just as beautiful as she did in the lights of the party but she looked a little bit older, maturer, worldlier. To Charlotte, Henry looked like he was at peace with the decisions and life he led as a teenager, though she missed the blond curls.

'You got a haircut' she said. Henry ran a hand over his head.

'Yeah. The longer hair was fine but this is just easier to manage.'

'I liked the longer hair.'

'Maybe I'll grow it then.' Charlotte gave a weak chuckle. 'How's the party

clean up going?' asked Henry.

'Let's just say my parents are glad they did one party and not three' said Charlotte.

'No mishaps with the vacuum?' said Henry.

'No' said Charlotte, laughing. Henry smiled and laughed with her. God, Charlotte loved that smile.

A year ago, when Henry suggested that he, Charlotte and Jasper spend some time away from each other, Charlotte had both been nervous and excited. Almost everything she had done in her life, either Henry and/ or Jasper had been by her side. But for the past year, Charlotte had gotten be simply Charlotte. Not Charlotte-Henry-Jasper, or Charlotte the smart one, or one of the three musketeers. None of the other volunteers knew about her life in Swellview, or of Captain Man & Kid Danger. It had been nice to have a completely clean slate and Charlotte was looking forward to a new one at Harvard.

'One of us needs to say something' said Henry. 'This silence is deafening.'

'Do you still…' began Charlotte.

'Yes' he said instantly. 'I still have feelings for you Char.' Henry felt his stomach do back flips. 'What about you?'

Charlotte paused before answering.

'I think so,' she said quietly, tears forming in her eyes. 'This past year, I missed you more than anyone else. So much that it hurt and whenever I was able to send an email, you were always at the top of my list.'

Henry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

'Char' he breathed, stepping forwards. Charlotte did the same and Henry pulled her into a hug. 'I missed you Char' said Henry, muffled by her hair.

'I missed you too Hen' replied Charlotte, pulling away a little to look at him.

Henry raised a hand and very lightly brushed the back of his fingers across Charlotte's cheek. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Charlotte's. Charlotte raised her hand and placed it on the back of Henry's head, pulling him closer.

It wasn't necessarily a meeting of soul mates. It didn't feel like everything was going to be magically perfect because they were kissing, or that they were even made for each other. It was simply two people who were attracted to each other and could no longer ignore their feelings.

It felt right though, to both Henry and Charlotte. They now knew dating wouldn't ruin their friendship, only make their relationship stronger.

'So?' asked Henry, when they pulled apart.

'It was good' said Charlotte. 'If a little short.' Henry raised an eyebrow as Charlotte pulled him in for another kiss.

'Would you like to have dinner with me?' Henry asked afterwards, a little breathless.

'Yes' said Charlotte, smiling.

At six pm on the dot, Henry jogged up the steps to Charlotte's house. He had managed to get a table at a new restaurant called The Lighthouse.

The front door opened and Charlotte stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

'Wow' breathed Henry, as he reached the top step. 'You look incredible Char.' She was wearing a green jumpsuit that stood out against her dark skin. Henry leaned forward and lightly kissed her.

'Thank you' she said quietly. 'You look good too. It's a nice jacket. Henry chuckled.

'You ready?' Henry asked, offering her his hand. Charlotte took it and they interlocked their fingers.

'More than ever' she replied.

Evelyn Page watched as her daughter and Henry Hart walked down the street. She pulled out her phone and dialled Kris Hart's number.

'Hi Evelyn' came Kris' voice.

'I just watched your son and my daughter go on their first date' said Evelyn.

'Really?' said Kris.

'You didn't know?'

'Well, Henry came down stairs wearing his nice jeans and jacket, and said he was going out for dinner but that was it. Are you sure it's a date?'

'Oh yes' said Evelyn. She glanced out of the window but Henry and Charlotte had disappeared from view. 'Charlotte's wearing this green jumpsuit. She's never worn it, but had it a couple of years. Always said she wanted to save it for a special occasion.'

'Well, if they are dating, it's definitely a special occasion' said Kris.

'Did I mention the kiss?' said Evelyn.

'What kiss?' asked Kris, intrigued.

'The kiss Henry gave Charlotte when he picked her up.'

'Wow' said Kris. 'They're definitely dating.'

'Yes they are' agreed Evelyn.

Four hours later, Henry and Charlotte arrived back at her parents house.

'I had fun tonight' she said, looking at Henry. 'The food was good.'

'So was the company,' added Henry. He leaned forward and kissed

Charlotte, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. He wanted to hold her, touch her always. At the restaurant, their fingers and hands had been constantly touching.

'You want to come in' she said, a smile forming on her face.

'More than you could possibly know' said Henry. 'But I think I just spotted one of your parents peeking through the window.

'You're a gentleman, Henry Hart' said Charlotte before kissing him again.

'See you tomorrow?' said Henry.

'Definitely' replied Charlotte. She walked up the steps and into the house. Hovering for a few moments, Henry eventually turned away and walked home, ignoring the voices in his head that were telling him he should have gone inside. They were only 19 and didn't need to rush anything. And as much as Henry loved Charlotte, he was also slightly afraid of what her dad would do if he found a teenage boy in his daughter's bed.

Henry walked into his own home, not bothering to switch the lights on until he got to his bedroom.

'Hi Henry.'

'Ah!' he squealed. His mother was sitting on the sofa in the corner of his bedroom. 'Mom, what are you doing here?'

'Evelyn Page called me tonight' she said.

'Why?'

'Something about you and Charlotte going out on a date.' Kris got up from the sofa and stood in front of her son. 'You and Charlotte dating?' she asked. Henry looked awkward for a second.

'Yeah, we are' he said eventually.

'That is a good thing,' she said.

'Yeah it is' said Henry. Both of them were smiling. Kris glanced at her watch.

'It's only 10.15. How come you're home? I'd thought the two of you would be glued to each other.'

'Char's parents are at her place' said Henry. 'Frankly I'm slightly scared of Mr Page.'

'Oh, you'll be fine with Chris. He's a teddy bear. Evelyn on the other hand.'

'Hmm?'

'Evelyn used to do bodybuilding competitions in the late 90s' said Kris. Henry was slightly speechless.

'Mrs Page? 5'5", looks like she weighs 110 pounds?'

'Yeah' said Kris. 'She gave up competing when she was pregnant with Charlotte but she still powerlifts at the gym.'

'I had no idea' said Henry. Kris laughed. Henry's phone began to ring. 'It's Char' he said to his mom.

'I'll leave the two of you then.'

'Mom?' called Henry. Kris stopped in the doorway.

'What?'

'Could you not tell people? About me and Char. At least not yet.'

'Of course' said Kris. 'Good night Henry.'

'Night Mom' replied Henry, before answering Charlotte's call. 'Hey.'

'My mom knows about us,' Charlotte said quickly.

'Yeah so does mine' said Henry. 'Apparently your mom called my mom.'

'Oh.'

'I asked her not to say anything' Henry said.

'Good idea' said Charlotte. 'I might ask my mom the same.'

'Hey, did you know your mom used to do bodybuilding competitions?' asked Henry. Charlotte laughed.

'Yeah I know. I'll dig out some photos and show you.'

Henry sat down on his bed, listening to his girlfriend talk. He felt happy. Life was good.

Piper walked into the living room, carrying a bowl of chips. She put it down on the coffee table, ready for the movie night. Jasper was sitting on the sofa with Ellie next to him. Ellie had been visiting for the past few days and as Jasper expected, everyone loved her, including his parents. Jasper had actually noticed a slight shift in his relationship with his parents since coming back from college. Things hadn't seemed quite so tense lately, and his mother adored Ellie.

The front door opened and Ray, Schwoz, Chapa and Bose walked in, all four talking at a hundred miles an hour.

'I said no' said Ray. 'And that's final.' Schwoz, Chapa and Bose all stopped talking and glared at Ray. 'When's the movie starting?' he asked Piper.

'Soon. Just waiting for Mika, Miles, Charlotte and Henry.'

'Any idea if those two have, you know?' asked Jasper.

'Haven't a clue,' said Piper. 'They didn't say anything to you? The four of you

spent like all day together yesterday.'

'I didn't see anything' said Jasper. 'Babe?' he asked Ellie.

'Nothing obvious' said Ellie. She had the slight advantage that she didn't

know Charlotte and Henry's history. Fresh eyes on their relationship, whatever it was.

'Speak of the devil' said Piper. Henry and Charlotte came down the stairs, stopping as everyone was looking at them.

'What?' asked Henry.

'What were you guys doing up there?' asked Jasper.

'Nothing' said Charlotte, reaching the bottom step.

'Really? You expect us to believe that,' said Piper.

'Yes. We were really doing nothing,' said Henry.

The front door opened and Mika and Miles walked in. Miles, as usual, casually walked over to the sofa and sat down. He was so laid back compared to Mika.

Mika, on the other hand, stopped when she saw Henry and Charlotte standing next to each other.

'Mika?' asked Bose. 'You OK?'

'Yes. Why wouldn't I be OK? Do I not look OK? Why do I not look OK?' she said very quickly.

'Something's up' said Chapa. 'Mika only talks like that when she knows something.'

Everyone stared at each other, eyes flicking back and forth. Then Mika burst out.

'I saw them kissing' she cried, pointing to Henry and Charlotte.

'Mika!' said Charlotte. She had promised she wouldn't say anything.

'What!' cried Ray and Jasper.

'When?' asked Piper and Schwoz.

'Yesterday' said Mika. 'At Downton Brown.'

'Is this true?' asked Chapa? Henry and Charlotte looked at each other, then back at their friends.

'We also made Mika promise not to tell anyone' said Charlotte as Henry put an arm around her shoulders. Henry and Charlotte had been on a date when Mika had walked into the coffee shop and spotted them kissing.

'So you're really dating?' asked Piper.

'Yes' said Henry, smiling.

'How long?' asked Jasper.

'Since I got back from Dystopia' said Charlotte. Silence fell in the Hart living room.

'Finally' said Ray, loudly.

'Yeah' agreed Jasper. 'Finally.'

'Took you long enough' said Schwoz.

Everybody burst out laughing, sitting down to watch the movie. Henry and Charlotte looked at each other and smiled. Keeping their relationship quiet between the two of them (and their parents) had been nice, but now that their closest friends knew also felt nice. He pulled her close and placed a kiss on her forehead.

'Oi! Lovebirds.' Henry and Charlotte looked over and saw Piper staring at them, hands on her hips. 'Movie's about to start.' Grinning, Henry and Charlotte sat down to a movie night with their friends.

End of August

'Have you heard from Charlotte?'

Christopher Page looked up from the book he was reading. His wife, Evelyn, had just walked into their bedroom.

'No, not since she left for Henry's.'

'She went to Henry's?' asked Evelyn.

'You know she did' said Chris. Charlotte and Henry had barely left each

other's side the entire summer; breakfast, lunch and dinner dates, movie nights, hanging out with Jasper and his girlfriend Ellie. Over the past two months, the only time Henry and Charlotte spent apart was when Charlotte visited her cousins for two days. Even then, they spent a lot of time on the phone. Chris and Evelyn had even walked in on Charlotte and Henry in several compromising situations where the two of them were more horizontal than vertical. As had Kris, Jake and Piper.

'Aren't Jake and Kris in Florida with Piper at the moment?' asked Evelyn.

'I think so,' said Chris, trying to get back into his book.

'Meaning that Henry and Charlotte have the house to themselves?'

Christ sighed and closed his book.

'Evie, relax' he said. Evelyn raised an eyebrow at her husband. 'They're 19 Evie, and in love and about to go to college in different states.'

'Oh please' said Evelyn. 'They'll be an hour away from each other.'

'I think this has less to do with Charlotte and Henry and more to do with you, me and your mother' said Chris, thinking about when he and Evelyn were once caught by his now mother-in-law.

'You leave my mother out of this' said Evelyn, pointing a finger at her husband.

'Whatever' said Chris. 'I, for one, am choosing to trust our daughter and her boyfriend.'

'I suppose we are talking about Charlotte and Henry' said Evelyn. 'They aren't exactly stupid.'

'Not to mention that Henry used to be a superhero and has a literal super power' added Chris. Evelyn laughed, shaking her head. Finding out that their daughter worked for Captain Man and that Henry had been Kid Danger had been a surprise to Evelyn and Chris Page.

And whilst it explained a few things, it also created more questions for Evelyn and Chris about their daughter. Like, how on earth she managed to juggle AP course load, work for Captain Man, LIMP, the school council, all her other activities and still have time for the family things they had done over the years.

Evelyn got into bed, pulled out her hand cream and gave a big sigh.

'It'll be OK Evie' said Chris. 'Those two are in it for the long run.' Evelyn paused for a second.

'I hope so,' she said.

Over at the Hart house, Henry pushed open his bedroom door and saw Charlotte sitting up in his bed, scrolling on her phone. She was wearing nothing but one of his flannel shirts.

'Hey' he said quietly, handing her one of the glasses of water he was carrying.

'Hey back' she replied. Henry leaned forward and kissed Charlotte as he climbed back into bed. They'd just had sex for the first time ever (not counting the phone sex experiement and the several intense make out sessions in Henry's car), and were taking slight advantage of an empty house.

'How do you feel?' he asked.

'I'm good,' said Charlotte, smiling. 'You?'

'I'm good too,' said Henry. He kissed Charlotte again, pulling her closer to him. God, she looked sexy in that shirt of his. 'I'm glad we did this' he said, thinking out loud.

'Me too' said Charlotte. 'Nice not to be interrupted as well.' Henry laughed. It had started to get a little ridiculous, the number of times a parent had walked in on them.

(Like when Henry went over to Charlotte's the day after their first date, to find her topless (and intoxicating) in her closet only for her mother to walk in on them. Or when Jake and Kris came home from their date night and found Charlotte and Henry in the middle of a horizontal make out session on the sofa. Or when they ended up at the same showing of some cheesy movie along with Piper and her latest boyfriend.)

Back in Henry's bedroom, the two nineteen-year-olds leant against the headboard and pillows, arms wrapped around each other, fingers laced together tightly and talked about their future. In three days' time, they would separate again, when Henry would be driving across the country to Providence, for freshman move-in day at De Loughrey University.

The day after, Charlotte would be flying to Boston and moving into the Harvard dorms. They had tried to line up dates so they could go together but between freshman orientation, the start of classes and Henry's shifts at his new job in Providence, it wouldn't have worked. As a result, it meant they would be apart for a full seven days before they saw each other again.

Would the plan they spent the past two months creating actually work? Would they be able to juggle classes, jobs, friendships and personal interests alongside their relationship? Would being only an hour away from each other help, or hinder?

Henry pulled Charlotte closer to him and kissed the top of her head.

'I love you Char' he said quietly. She looked up at him, cupping his cheek.

'I love you too, Hen' she replied. He leaned down and kissed Charlotte passionately. Hands began to roam and wander as they deepened the kiss.

'Do you think you can stay tonight?' he asked quietly. He wanted to spend as much time with Charlotte as possible before they had to part ways, however briefly. Charlotte looked at him with her deep brown eyes.

'Yeah' she said softly. 'I can stay.'

Harvard, Ten Days Later

Charlotte hung up her phone, grabbed her keys and dashed out of her dorm suite as her three suitemates watched in confusion. Charlotte ran down three flights of stairs and stopped just before the main door to her building. There he was.

Henry Hart, her boyfriend.

He looked up and saw Charlotte standing and smiled. She grinned and opened the door.

'Hey' he said.

'Hey back' she replied. Charlotte opened the door wider to let Henry in. Henry pulled Charlotte into a tight hug. It felt good to have her back in his arms.

'Missed you' he said.

'Missed you too' she replied.

They moved their heads and their lips met in a passionate kiss. The past seven days had felt so long, that both wondered how they would manage the next four years. Eventually they broke apart.

'I love you Hen whispered Charlotte in Henry's ear.

'I love you too, Char' he replied.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

Part four went through several rewrites before the final version. I had an idea and wanted to see where it went. I enjoyed writing it and may have a idea for a sequel. No promises though I'm afraid.