In Sotto Voce, a still flustered Piper sat at her table as she stared at her phone. She had been sitting there for more than an hour and there was no sign of Steve at all, and she was quickly growing irritated. She didn't want to believe that she had been stood up especially by someone related to Bose but she especially didn't want to go back home just yet. She was so embarrassed by how she reacted to seeing Jasper. Jasper. Jasper Dunlop. The stupid dork from her childhood somehow turned her brain into mush and she genuinely couldn't believe it. Sure, he looked good - he looked great - but he was still just Jasper and there was no need for her to behave like that. She sighed as she dropped her phone on the table and rubbed her face with her hands then threaded her fingers through her blonde locks.

"Hey! Are you Piper?" a voice suddenly asked. She looked up as the staff shushed the voice and a young man gave them a sheepish smile. He sat down in the chair across from her and she gave him a once over. He had long brown hair that was slicked back with a ton of gel and big brown eyes. He had stubble and she wouldn't be surprised if he was trying his hardest to grow it out into a full on beard. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and simply gave him a small smile.

"Yeah...Steve?"

"That's me! Sorry I'm late, I didn't wanna come," he said and she blinked at his bluntness. She couldn't be mad at that she figured.

"I see...well if you want to leave-"

"Oh, no no!" he interjected and waved his hands quickly to quiet her down. "I didn't want to come but then Bose finally sent me a picture of you and I was like, 'Oh hell yeah, I gotta get a piece of that'! And I gotta say, you're way hotter in person. Plus, I don't have a car so I gotta wait for the next bus." She hated this. She hated this so Goddamn much. She forced a small smile and nodded as she raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Thanks…" she said with a sigh and picked up her menu to distract herself. "So, uh, tell me about yourself…?"

"'Kay 'kay! So, name's Steve O'Brian, I'm 20, I'm in a band, and I live in my parents' basement. But just until I make enough money to get my own place! As soon as my band takes off, I'm gonna be living the high life!" he explained defensively and her blue eyes flicked up to meet him. Great, another basement guy. "Tell me about yourself, sexy mama." She lifted her menu up to hide her eye roll before placing it down again.

"Mhm. Well, I'm Piper Hart, I'm 19, I work at that school for the gifted - SWAG? And I'm actually a college graduate! I went to Florida State when I was just 14," she bragged with a prideful grin. He sat up straight in his chair and his face lit up.

"Noice! You must've gone to a bunch of super hot parties!" he exclaimed and she shrugged.

"I mean, yeah…I'm an influencer so I go to parties all the time," she told him with a small nod. He nodded his head quickly before biting down on his lip and looking at her. She raised an eyebrow and watched his eyes as they explored her face then instantly trailed down to her cleavage. She rolled her eyes again and picked up her menu once again. The food and their prices were way more appealing than he was. "What do you do for a living?" she asked, desperate to get his eyes off of her.

"I'm in a band, already told you," he said with a scoff. She looked up at him once again and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but like…how do you make money?"

"I don't," he scoffed dismissively, "I gotta focus on making my band successful so my money can come from that. Jobs are just a distraction, you know?" She simply rolled her eyes behind her menu. Great, another loser with no ambition. She was going to kill Bose for setting her up with this loser.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked suddenly and she hesitantly glanced up at him.

"Um…sure…"

"Am I…are we…will we…" he stammered as he gesticulated and stared up at the ceiling, searching for the right words. He finally looked at her again and pointed at her with his index fingers. "Are we gonna smash tonight?" Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline and she closed her eyes for a moment before fluttering them open again.

"Excuse me?" she asked slowly.

"You know…are we gonna fuck? Because you're hot, and I wanna know so I can look forward to it," the brunet explained with a smile. She stared at him for a few beats, her hands clenching into tight fists. She finally closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Breathe Piper, breathe. Don't forget your JAM techniques. She slowly opened her eyes again and was met with Steve's expectant face.

"No," she forced out through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw. She relaxed her hands and slowly relaxed her muscles, taking a moment then smiling a little. "I have no intentions of having sex with you tonight, Steve. We just met."

"Aw," he whined and pouted like a child. "But we're on a date! I was gonna pay for this whole dinner so you owe me!"

"Excuse me?" she inquired with narrowing eyes.

"When guys take girls out on dates and they're paying, the least a girl can do is sleep with the guy! Come on, I'm hot!"

"And?!" she screeched as her anger began to build up once again. She was shushed by the staff and gave them an apologetic look before looking at Steve again. "I don't owe you anything."

"Okay, at least a blowjob?" he asked and Piper's head began to spin.

"What?!"

"Shh!" a waiter shushed her again and Piper sent her a glare that wasn't as apologetic this time.

"Look at yourself! You're hot and have perfect dick sucking li-"

"Shut up!" the blonde hollered as she shot up from her chair.

"Shh!" warned the waiter again. Piper grabbed one of their free dinner rolls and threw it at the waiter, knocking her off her feet with a yelp. She turned her attention to the boy in front of her again.

"You…you have me sitting here for an hour, barely fucking talked to me, and then not only ask for sex but say that I owe it to you?! Are you kidding me?! Is that all you stupid boys want?! You live in your parents' basement, you have no job, you don't even have a car! You are a stupid fucking loser and if you died tonight, I'd do a backflip and dance over your stupid corpse!" She punctuated her rant by tossing her glass of water in his face. As he gasped and tried to wipe the water away, she grabbed her phone and purse and stormed out of the restaurant. She really hated men sometimes.

"So, Henry's fighting off these two dicks, and I'm dealing with this skinny short dude. I look away for one second to make sure Henry's okay and the dude fucking slices my face with his pocket knife!" Jasper let out an exasperated sigh as he stabbed his pork chop with his fork. "I kicked his ass but that's how I ended up with this nasty scar."

Charlotte had her chin resting against her palm as she listened to him speak. It was funny. When she was younger, she used to hate listening to Jasper's stories because they were usually nothing but nonsense. But he was so different now. He was so mature, much more calm and settled, and didn't have many of the quirks he once had. But he was still so familiar, especially in the way he spoke and how he devoured those pork chops in no time. "That's crazy," she finally said, "it sounds like I missed out on a lot."

"You did," he confirmed. "A whole lot has changed. But I think the worst part is that you missed out on me. Like, damn Char, you and Henry break up and we can't be friends anymore?" She sighed heavily and looked down at the table as she folded her arms. She knew this was coming and it was the main thing she wasn't looking forward to. She hated admitting when she was wrong and she especially hated being open and vulnerable.

"I'm sorry," she sighed and looked at him, "it was a hard breakup. I didn't want anything to do with him and unfortunately, you have a lot to do with him."

"Yeah, but I'm still supposed to be your best friend," he argued.

"You were Henry's best friend first! And I didn't want to put you in that position of having to choose between the two of us," she explained and reached out to hold his hand. The blond frowned but held her hand, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

"So you didn't even give me the chance to choose, you made the decision for both of us," he lamented as he looked down. Charlotte sighed again. She felt bad about ghosting Jasper but at the time it just felt right. Her mind and world were a mess after leaving Dystopia and she made a lot of choices that she usually wouldn't do.

"Be honest, if I asked you to choose between me and Henry, you would've chosen him. You had a huge crush on him, for crying out loud," she said and couldn't help but snicker when his head snapped up and he glared at her.

"Okay, first of all, yes he was my bisexual awakening but I wouldn't call it a huge crush. I was always subtle about my attraction towards him!" he defended while Charlotte rolled her eyes and laughed. He huffed in slight annoyance and folded his arms as he looked away from her. "And second of all, I shouldn't have had to choose! You still could've talked to me!"

"Talking to you would've led me to seeing or talking to him somehow and I wasn't ready for that!"

"For four years?!" He narrowed his eyes at her and she looked at him with sincerity as she nodded her head.

"Yeah, for four years," she responded softly and he felt his tense muscles relax. He sighed and finished his pork chops before pushing the plate aside. He rested his elbow on the table and rubbed his hand over his face. Out of everyone, Jasper was one of the few people who could understand the damage from their breakup because he was actually there. He saw how intense of a relationship they had and how it fell apart so rapidly in just one day. And he lived with the aftermath of it for years, watching as Henry changed before his own eyes and struggled to keep himself together. As mad as he wanted to be at Charlotte for leaving them, he more than understood. He rested his chin against his palm as he looked at her.

"Damn. That dick must've been insane." He grinned when she burst into laughter and looked away from him. "Seriously! He should be bragging way more than he usually does. You know, 'dick so good it makes my best friend disappear for years.'" He started to laugh as well as she laughed harder and reached over to nudge him. She shook her head as she laughed and looked at him with a big smile.

"I've missed you."

"I missed you too," he said with a smile. He licked his lips a little and looked down briefly before looking at her again. "Henry misses you too." Her smile fell slowly and she grabbed his empty plate as she stood and walked to the sink.

"I'm not ready," she told him as she started to wash the plate. Jasper sighed and made his way over to her, standing next to her and leaning against the sink.

"Char."

"Jasper."

"Come on!" he exasperated and rolled his eyes. "It's been-"

"Everyone's been saying it's been four years!" the young woman snapped as she turned to face him. "I don't care how long it's been, I'm not ready to see or talk to him! He hurt me, Jasper, he threw me away because I just wanted to go to school and acted like my dreams and wants were worthless compared to his own! I'm just…I'm not ready." He sighed and nodded his head a little. He folded his arms over his chest and looked at her.

"Okay, I get it. Listen, Sidney is throwing a party tomorrow. Can you come?"

"I don't know." She shook her head as she returned to washing the plate. She knew what Jasper had planned and she wasn't going to fall for it. It was bad enough that she was going to be forced to see him at Thanksgiving dinner. She finished washing the plate and placed it in the drying rack as she felt Jasper's eyes still on her.

"Come on," he egged her with a small nudge. "It's just a party. He'll be inviting everyone from school so you'll easily be able to avoid him. Bring your friends, have some fun." She glanced at him and he gave her a wide eyed pleading look that made her roll her eyes. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She would just stick close to Tati and Jasmine, say hi to some old LIMP friends, reminisce with old friends, then go home. It wouldn't have to end with her running into Henry. She sighed heavily and nodded her head a little while she dried her hands, looking at him again and smiling a little when she saw a big smile on his face.

"Fine."

"Yes!" he cheered and threw an arm over her shoulders, jostling her a little. "You won't regret it, it'll be fun!" She folded her arms in stubbornness.

"I'll be filling the entire place with negative energy so everyone will be as miserable as I am."

"Fun!" he cheered and she couldn't help but laugh again. It amazed her how easily he brought her back to the way they were before. Jasper was comfortable and a reminder of easier times, even if those times were filled with late nights in the Man Cave and dealing with crazy villains. He brought her back to what she once considered a normal life for herself. She moved an arm around his waist as he draped an arm across her shoulders, the two of them making their way out of the kitchen and to the front door.

"I'll send you Sidney's address and I better see you there," he said and she offered him a half grin with a dismissive eye roll.

"I'll be there, negative energy and all," she confirmed and he chuckled softly.

"Good, I'll see you and your cloud of hatred then." He grabbed his jacket and pulled it back on with her assistance. Once he was situated, he stood in front of the door and rubbed his hands together as he looked at her. "Tell your mom I said I'll see her later. Should I tell Henry you said hi?" Her face instantly fell into a frown and she shook her head quickly.

"Don't tell him I'm here, okay? We'll...see each other at Thanksgiving or whatever, but at least let me have these next few days to myself." He pursed his lips together in a firm line before exhaling heavily and shrugging his shoulders as he gave up. This was something the two of them would have to fix on their own. He wasn't going to get involved...much.

"Fine. Night, Char." The two of them shared one last hug before he left the house he loved so much. It was a little later now and the cooler air made him shiver. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way back to the Hart house, his mind on Charlotte and Henry. He wondered if he should tell his friend about the reunion or leave it to them to reunite tomorrow at the party. If he told him now, it would likely end in Henry freaking out and demanding they leave, disappointing everyone. His best bet would probably be keeping his mouth shut and letting things happen naturally. In his mind, his two best friends were soulmates and were destined to be together again. It would just have to happen naturally.

Eager to escape the cold, he picked up his pace into a quick jog until he neared the familiar house. He stepped onto the porch and paused when he saw Piper sitting on the bench with her head in her hands. He was ready to make a run around to the back and head inside to avoid her but heard faint sniffles leaving the teenager. Was she…crying? He'd only ever seen her cry once and just like back then, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck and looked around to see if anyone could help him out of this situation, but he was the only one there. He sighed softly and walked closer to her, his footsteps making his presence known to her and causing her to look up.

"Uh…hey…" he said a little nervously and she rested her forehead against her palm again, her hair falling over her face. She couldn't do this again, she couldn't deal with trying to form actual words around him. He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other before finally sitting down next to her on the bench. "What's…what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied with a voice softer and more vulnerable than he was ever used to. He nodded his head a little and tried to wrack his brain for reasons why she would be upset. What did she say before she left? She was going on a date or something? He slowly started to frown as he wondered whether the date had something to do with her somber mood. Did he assault her? If some punk laid a hand on her, he and Henry would kill him with their bare hands. He shook his head and took a deep breath to calm himself down before looking at her again.

"Did something happen on your date?" he asked slowly and gently. She sniffled and looked at him with tear filled blue eyes.

"Yeah, it confirmed that your breed is nothing more than horny bastards who think with their dicks instead of the heads on their shoulders," she spat at him. There was the Piper he remembered. He sighed and moved away from her a little as she sat up straight. "What's wrong with you men?! Why is it that you can only think about sex? Sex, sex, and more sex! God! I have a brain too, you know! I'm not just tits and ass!" She swatted at him and he winced before quickly pulling away.

"Whoa! I didn't do anything to you!" he said defensively as he stood up from the bench. "Did the guy you went out with try to force himself on you? Because if he did, I'll fucking-"

"Oh, calm down Nacho Libre!" she said with an eye roll. "No, he didn't force himself on me, but he made me wait an hour for him then when he finally showed up, he was all like, 'oh, are we gonna fuck? If a guy takes you out, you owe him sex!' Like, what the fuck!" She screamed in frustration and held her face in her hands again. Jasper sighed and crossed his arms.

"Some guys can be dicks."

"Understatement of the century."

"I'm sorry." She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him again. It just hit her that she was actually talking to him again and it felt a little more normal. She didn't want to think about it too much before her brain melted again.

"What? Why?" she asked with her eyebrows knitted in confusion. He shrugged his shoulders and fished his hand inside his jacket pocket before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He opened it and pulled a cigarette out.

"You're right, guys often think about just sex and guys especially your age don't have much tact around that stuff. I remember being 18 and 19 and…well, you knew me when I was 18," he said with a small chuckle. She nodded with an eye roll as she thought back to the weird and quirky teenager. It still made so little sense to her that the man in front of her was the same guy, especially as she watched him place his cigarette between his lips and light it. He took a drag of it as he placed his lighter back in his pocket then balanced the cig between two fingers and blew out the smile slowly. She bit down on the corner of her lip as she watched him. Usually, she found smoking cigarettes gross but for some reason, Jasper looked kind of…hot? Oh fuck, not this again.

"Anyway," he continued, "I'm sorry you have to deal with those kinds of guys. I'm sure it's hard. But I know you, Piper, you can handle yourself and find a guy who will be more than worthy of being with you. Just gotta deal with a few spoiled apples first." She grinned a little and nodded in agreement. She stood up and ran her fingers through her blonde locks as she felt a boost to her already big ego.

"You're right. I look good as hell and I'm definitely gonna meet someone who will be worthy enough to be with me," she stated with a smug smirk. He laughed a little and nodded his head. He took a moment to let his eyes rake over her body and take in the way her dress perfectly showed off her lovely curves. Damn, she did look good.

"Yeah, you look great," he admitted with a small grin. Her blue eyes met his for a moment and she felt her cheeks heat up and her heart skip a beat. Why was she reacting like that to a compliment from Jasper? She was losing it. She cleared her throat and smiled a little tensely.

"Uh, thanks for…talking to me." She grabbed her bag and opened the door a little before looking at him again. "Goodnight, Jasper." He smiled at her and nodded his head a little.

"Night, Piper." She smiled a little and gave a small wave before going inside the house. As she closed the door, she let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. This was…weird. She had to get her shit together. Quickly.