"Piper… Piper... Piper… Piper!" Ray screeched as his entire body shook and his arms flailed with frustration. The young blonde sighed heavily and slowly turned her chair around until she was facing her boss. Mondays. She hated Mondays so much.

"What?"

"I…asked you…a question," the older man said through gritted teeth. He was ready to blow at any second. They were in the Man's Nest and Piper sat behind the tablet stand, where she was supposed to be watching for crime alerts and tell them where it was happening. But after a year of working with the youngest Hart, he quickly learned that she did everything but that. Anyone else would've fired her, and God did he want to, but he missed Henry, and sadly, this was the closest to Henry he could get.

"And what was it? I was ignoring you," she said as she eyed him with disinterest. He clenched his fists tightly and brought them up to his face before yelping quickly then relaxing.

"I asked you whether you knew if the kids finished their mission yet," he repeated tensely and forced a tight smile onto his face. She sighed and looked at the tablet, tapping on it a few times before looking at him again.

"No, looks like they're still there. Is that all? Can you leave me alone now?"

"You are so mean!" he whined and felt his lower lip tremble. He stepped back and looked everywhere around the Man's Nest to avoid meeting the blonde's mean eyes. "I hired you and I'm your boss so you should be nice to me!" His voice cracked and he quickly turned away from her to hide his tear-filled eyes. Piper stared at him for a while before laughing.

"You're a grown 50 year old man crying because of a teenage girl," she said and Ray quickly whipped around to glare at her.

"I am not 50!" he said with a stern point of his finger. "I am 37!"

"You've been 37 for five years. Please come up with a better lie," she countered with an eye roll. He let out a series of frustrated groans and yelps as his arms flailed and he stomped his feet on the ground.

"I'm 37, little girl!"

"Oh my God, Ray, you're still lying about your age?" Ray and Piper both turned to look at the tubes when they suddenly heard a third voice. Standing there was Charlotte who smiled brightly at the both of them. Piper gasped at the sight of her but Ray's reaction was more explosive. He gasped loudly and his eyes doubled in size, almost popping out of their sockets before he hollered in excitement and jumped up into the air.

"Charlotte!" he shouted in an excited squeal and ran towards her, enveloping her in a tight hug. She squeaked as he squeezed her and lifted her off the ground, causing her to laugh loudly. A part of her didn't really think he would miss her as much as he apparently did. He never seemed to like her as much (not as much as he disliked Jasper) and saw her more as a burden to his "fun" ideas. But the way he held her in a tight grip and spun her around seemed to suggest that he missed her quite a lot.

"God, I missed you so much!" he cried out as he held her tightly in his bear hug. "Please don't ever leave me!" He squeezed her tightly and she groaned a little.

"I missed you too Ray, but you've gotta let me go," she managed to strain out as he squeezed all the air out of her.

"Geez Ray, let the woman breathe," Piper said as she walked up to them. Ray quickly placed Charlotte back down on her feet and turned to face the young blonde while the other young woman took her chance to get some distance between her and her former boss.

"Please don't ruin this for me," he said quickly with his voice going up an octave as he tilted his head and gave her a fake sweet smile. "Seeing Charlotte is the closest I've been to being genuinely happy in a long time so hush!" He turned back towards Charlotte ready to hug her again but she had placed considerable distance between them. He shook it off and looked at her with a big face splitting smile. "What are you doing here?! It's been so long!"

"I finally came back for Thanksgiving! I'm also going to be staying until the new year so you'll have lots of time to suffocate me with hugs," she explained with a smile and Ray beamed excitedly.

"Awesome! Great! But you know, you don't have to leave after the new year. You can get your job back and stay here and work with me again!" he said quickly then his face fell when Piper cleared her throat.

"Uh," she started. "I have Charlotte's old job." He faced her again as he brought his palms together and rested his chin atop his fingers.

"I will finally have an excuse to fire you." He whipped back around to Charlotte and grabbed her arms. "Please stay! Please! She's so mean and doesn't even do anything! Please, Char, I need you!" He started to shake her a little and she laughed nervously. She quickly pulled her arms out of his grip and held her hands up to keep him away from her.

"I'm not coming back, Ray, I'm only here for the holidays," she explained and gave him a sympathetic smile when his face fell and his body seemed to deflate. "I wanted to see you and Schwoz! Also, my friend is a huge fan of Captain Man, so I wanted to know if I could bring her by to meet you. How have you guys been?" Ray sighed dramatically and Charlotte rolled her eyes as he brushed past Piper.

"I'm depressed now because you've abandoned me just like Henry! I miss him so much…"

"Dude, I told you he's home," Piper said and Charlotte could feel her heart skipping a couple of beats. "You can come by and see him!"

"Pfft!" Ray scoffed as he looked at her with offense written all over his face. "I don't go to see people, they come to see me! He's the one who ghosted me for years, he has to come here and reconcile with me!" He huffed dramatically and stumbled a little as he stared at the girls' uninterested faces. He ran his fingers through his hair and pressed a button on the wall, the wall going up and revealing a hallway as he mumbled about going to get Schwoz. Once he disappeared behind the wall, Piper and Charlotte exchanged glances before big smiles spread onto their faces and they squealed in excitement. The two of them shared a tight hug that lasted a few moments before separating.

"Fuck! Look at you, you look amazing!" Piper exclaimed as she looked over her friend. Out of all the "friends" she had, Charlotte was the only one she'd ever consider a true friend. Sure they hadn't seen each other in a long time but they were both busy and she was the only one who seemed to genuinely like her. She had really missed her.

"Me? Girl, look at you! You're a whole woman now!" Charlotte said impressed with how much the young Hart had grown. Piper grinned and did a quick twirl to show off the body she was quite proud of.

"I know, don't I look great?" The two of them shared a laugh and Piper led her over to the curved couch. "When did you get back to Swellview? And how was California? You've got to dish everything!" She sat down and slid over as Charlotte sat next to her. They easily lost themselves in conversation as Charlotte began to share her stories from Stanford and her time in California (she conveniently left out getting engaged and said fiancé cheating on her right before she arrived). She told her about meeting Tati and Jasmine and how happy she was to finally have female friends, she told her about late nights studying astronomy and how much fun quantum physics can be, and she told her about her plans to go back and continue working alongside her favorite professor. Piper told her about her fun times at Florida State, about how badly her dad freaked out when she got her belly button pierced, and of course, how awful boys are.

"Then he's like, 'Are we gonna fuck tonight? Because when a guy pays for dinner, you owe him that.' Like, what the hell!" she exclaimed and Charlotte shook her head.

"Guys can seriously be the worst. Trust me, I know…" she trailed off as she thought back to Eddy. The bastard. The blonde nodded in agreement and sighed as she gazed at her friend.

"And Henry's back. He and Jasper showed up last night," she said and the older woman nodded her head a little.

"I…heard…" she said as she let out a breath. "I actually saw Jasper last night. He came by my place. It was really nice to see him again."

"Yeah…it is nice seeing him, isn't it?" At that, Charlotte raised an eyebrow and looked at the blonde. She was now looking off in the distance with the corner of her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Clearly, Charlotte had missed a lot because the Piper she knew would never be happy about seeing Jasper.

"Uh…did I miss something?" she asked but before Piper could respond, Ray returned with Schwoz. The tiny man ran over and attacked her with a hug, easily saving Piper from having to explain what the hell she meant. The blonde quietly thanked them for the interruption and laughed as Charlotte fought to escape the embrace of the scientist and now Ray who had joined in. She couldn't help but smile at the display. It was nice to have some of the team back together, they just needed two more people.

"Girl, I'm so glad we're finally doing something. I needed this party," Tati said as she stood in front of the mirror. Jasmine stood behind her helping her to tie the back of her top. She wore a black long sleeve crop top, the back cropped a little higher with ties that wrapped around her waist and tied in the back. The black matching pants were mid-rise and flared out at her feet, covering the top of her high heeled black ankle boots. She kept her hair simple, the loose curls down and flowing down her back and shoulders. She was more than excited to get out of the house and go to this party, not only because she was incredibly bored, but the host was apparently the best plug in Swellview and she needed more weed.

Jasmine was much more satiated now that Charlotte got her multiple signed items from Captain Man and a promise to meet up soon. She was dressed in an olive green mini slip dress that stopped at her mid thigh. Her braids were pulled back into a half ponytail with the rest cascading down her back. She finished tying the ties around Tati's waist and took a step back. "You just want to go so you can buy from that Sidney guy," she said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, hell yeah. I'm almost out and I refuse to enter the new year sober," she responded with a chuckle. She looked over at Charlotte and rolled her eyes at the sight of her best friend. She laid on the bed fully dressed in a yellow and tan button down halter top and matching yellow knit pants, her yellow heeled sandals on the floor next to her bed. Her arms were folded and she clearly had a pout on her face, causing Tati to sigh and roll her eyes. "Stop pouting! The party is gonna be fine!"

"I don't want to go!" Charlotte argued. Jasmine sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, putting on her own strappy heels.

"You're being immature. It's just a damn party with a bunch of your old friends. It's not like you're going to be trapped in one room with Henry," she explained and looked at her friend. She could only see her back but was sure she was still pouting like a child who was told she couldn't have dessert. Tati turned back towards the mirror and made sure her makeup was neat. Neither of them saw the tears falling from Charlotte's eyes as she took some deep breaths to steady her breathing.

"I just hate parties."

"Bye! Thanks for coming!" Charlotte waved as the last few guests left the apartment. She closed the door once they left and turned to look at the mess that was left, causing her to sigh heavily. She hated parties especially when they ended and she was left to clean up all the mess. Thankfully, Henry and Jasper were there to help — well, Jasper was actually asleep on the couch thanks to multiple tequila shots. But Henry gathered up some plates and cups then took them to the kitchen to clean them up or throw away disposable items. Charlotte couldn't help but smile as she watched him.

They had been in Dystopia for more than a year and it was now July. She was making plans on going back to the States to attend Harvard in September but what was mainly on her mind was how much time she had wasted. She knew months ago that she had developed feelings for Henry but she was far too scared to actually confront them. He was her best friend, he had been this for years, she was terrified of losing their relationship. But she cared about him a lot and she didn't know if she could go back to the US without letting him know how she felt.

"That was such a fun party, Char, this was a great idea," he said from the kitchen. She smiled and made her way towards the kitchen with her arms folded over her chest.

"You and Jasper have been so uptight lately and you've really been worrying me, so why not have a fun party?" She walked up to the counter and leaned against it as she looked at him with a kind smile. He turned his attention to her and returned the smile, his chocolate brown eyes warm and tender. She could always read him so well but Dystopia was a hard place to live in and sometimes she worried she was losing him. "Are you okay?" she inquired with a gentle voice. He turned off the sink and dried his hands before fully turning his body towards her.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "Why?"

"Just checking." She smiled a little. "I always want to check up on you, make sure you're okay. Especially here." He chuckled a little and shrugged his shoulders dismissively as he slumped against the counter. His eyes met hers and she felt her heartbeat skip several beats.

"I'm fine, Char. I have you by my side so how can I be anything less than fine?" At that, she laughed a little and sheepishly glanced down at her shoes. She wanted to bring up school, how she'd be leaving soon and wanted to ask whether he'd be okay without her, but she was almost too scared to do so. Mentioning that would make it all too real. It was still July anyway, she wouldn't have to go back until the beginning of September. She had time.

"Char?" he said softly and pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him again and sucked in a breath as her eyes met his.

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking about?" he asked with a small smile. "What's buzzing in that awesome brain of yours?" She offered him a small smile before she bit down on the corner of her bottom lip. If she was going to tell him, this would have to be the moment. She glanced down briefly before looking up at him again.

"I'm thinking…about you…about us…" His eyebrows knit together in confusion and she sighed softly before taking in a deep breath. "I…want to tell you something but I'm nervous…" Confusion was still etched onto Henry's face as he watched her. In the years that he'd known her, she often wasn't nervous to tell him anything. Usually, she'd easily tell him anything she felt he needed to hear. He gently grabbed her arms and rubbed his thumbs against her smooth skin.

"You can tell me anything. What is it, Char?" His voice was so delicate and tender, it easily comforted her and eased her nerves just a little. This was it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly before setting her gaze on him once more.

"I have…feelings for you. God, this is so weird to say but I can't stop thinking about you. When I wake up in the morning and see a good morning text from you, I can't help but smile. I get butterflies whenever you hold my hand. You make me feel so comfortable and so safe and you just…make me happy. And I know we've been friends for years and this is going to change everything but I can't help what I feel and my feelings are so real and so intense. I…like you, Henry…" She looked away from him with her cheeks warm as she bit down on her bottom lip. She hated being so open and vulnerable, it often made her feel so weak. She hated it even more when it came to confessing something so embarrassing to her best friend who often enjoyed teasing her. She was prepared to hear him start laughing and mock her confession, but she was met with silence instead. She refused to look at him so she just waited and hoped that he would just say something.

"Char…" he finally said and let go of her arm. His finger gently pressed underneath her chin and forced her to look up at him, her brown eyes meeting his own and sucking all the air out of her body. They were so affable and filled with sincerity. She always loved how expressive his eyes were.

"I've liked you for such a long time," he said with a soft chuckle and a smile spreading onto his face. "I just figured you'd never see me that way and I didn't want to mess up our friendship. But I like you too, Charlotte, I like you a lot." Her heart fluttered and skipped several beats. She had to bite down on her lip to keep herself from smiling too big though a smile still found its way onto her features. She couldn't even find the words to say, she was just so damn happy. He shared his own face splitting smile as he looked at her before he licked his lips nervously.

"Can…" he started with a nervous twitch of his head. "Can I kiss you?" She couldn't hold back her smile anymore as it blossomed on her face and she nodded her head.

"Please," she breathed out. He leaned in and closed the space between them, his soft lips meeting her own. She let out a pleased sigh and placed her hand on the back of his neck, holding him close as she happily responded to the kiss and melted into it. He tasted like sunshine, like warm Spring days where all the cherry blossoms have bloomed fully on their trees, like falling asleep in warm sheets on a soft cozy bed, and crisp apples thanks to the lip balm he used. His arms found their way around her waist and he pulled her frame flush against his own, and she never felt safer. It was perfect, this was perfect, he was perfect. This was the happiest Charlotte had ever been.

But that was then. Then she was a 19 year old girl who had fallen head over heels for her best friend. Then she thought all she needed in her life was Henry by her side and she'd be happy. Then she thought he would support her through anything she wanted and needed. But now she was a 23 year old woman with a broken heart sitting miserably in the backseat of her car as Tati drove to the party. They had stolen her phone and gotten the address to Sidney's house and were forcing her to attend the party against her will (okay, maybe that was a little dramatic). She just hated parties and she had a bad feeling about this one.

At Sidney's house, Henry realized just how small it was once it was packed full of people. They were all familiar faces from school and while it was nice to see them all, he couldn't help but feel a little inferior around some of them. They kept discussing what they were up to after graduation, many of them having gone to college or started their own business endeavors. Some had even gotten married and started their own families. When they would ask what he was up to, all he could say was that he moved to Dystopia to see more of the world and was vibing. He couldn't tell them he was a superhero (he barely even fought crime nowadays anyway) and he didn't even graduate from high school so he couldn't lie about going to college or having a big fancy job. He felt like such a loser.

He stood by the wall with a drink in his hand as he watched everyone mingle. He was dressed simply in a black leather jacket, a white plain tee underneath, and black jeans to match his jacket. Jasper had become much more of a social butterfly and was the subject of everyone's interests thanks to his new buff and rugged appearance and less dorky behavior. Girls who never would've talked to the bucket collector in high school were now hanging on his every word and giggling at his anecdotes from Dystopia. Henry couldn't help but chuckle a little as he watched, he found it all so amusing.

"Henry!" a voice called out to him and he turned his attention to them. He inhaled sharply at the sight of Bianca Miller, all grown up and prettier than ever. A smile quickly graced his features and he stood up straighter.

"Bianca! Hey!" The two of them shared a hug and a smile once they separated. He looked her over and couldn't help but bite down on his bottom lip. She looked good, she looked great. She was dressed in a burgundy sweater with a heart cutout over her chest and giving a window to her cleavage with a brown mini skirt and a matching brown belt. Her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in loose beach waves. She was still as gorgeous as ever.

"How are you? God, it's been so long!" she exclaimed and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's been forever! I'm doing alright, just back for Thanksgiving. How have you been?"

"Good!" she answered with a big smile. "Kids in the Woods opened up so many opportunities for me! I'm modeling now and doing some acting gigs. My fiancé and I came back to Swellview for the holidays as well." Henry's eyebrows lifted into his hairline and he blinked his eyes a few times. Did she really say…?

"Fiancé?" he inquired and she nodded with a bigger smile. She held up her left hand to show him the big diamond ring on her ring finger and he felt his heart sink to his stomach.

"I'm engaged! His name is Grayson and he's a photographer! He proposed to me last Christmas and we're getting married this Christmas - corny, I know, but it's just perfect for us. I'm so excited, it's like we were made for each other." She started to ramble on and on about her fiancé and Henry started to tune her out. He felt a little dizzy and tried his hardest to swallow the lump in his throat. Sure, he was disappointed that he wouldn't have another chance with Bianca, but he was more upset because everyone else seemed to be living their lives and moving on and he was just stuck. He was stuck on a girl he only dated for two weeks four years ago. As she beamed and went on and on about this guy, Henry wished he could feel the euphoria she was feeling. Now he was feeling even more miserable. He cleared his throat to interrupt her excited rambling and gave her a tight smile.

"That's awesome, Bianca. But uh…I gotta go ask Sidney something," he said as he pulled himself away from the wall and walked away from her. He gave her a fake smile and threw a wave over his shoulder as she said bye, his smile fading when he turned away from her. This party was such a mistake. He downed the remainder of his drink and made his way over to Jasper who was still being talked up by old classmates. When the raspberry blond noticed him, he excused himself and walked away with Henry as he started to talk.

"Just saw Bianca. She's engaged, dude," he said with a sigh. Jasper chuckled a little and took a sip of his own drink.

"That's great, right? You weren't planning on trying to hit that were you?"

"No…well, maybe." He shrugged his shoulders. "She looked good as fuck and I was thinking about it but then she showed me her ring and started going on and on about Grayson." He mimicked the wistful way she said his name and rolled his eyes. He glanced down at his shoes for a moment before sighing and looking at his friend. "I think just being here and hearing that has made me realize how much I've missed. What do I have for myself? I'm a high school dropout with no girlfriend who is supposed to be fighting crime in Dystopia, yet I barely even do that." Jasper raised an eyebrow as Henry bemoaned about his life. He knew his friend was unhappy and overall down since Charlotte left, but he didn't realize just how much it was affecting him.

"Bro, we're only 23," he stated with a small chuckle. "We have a long time to settle down! There's no need to compare yourself to everyone…else…" Jasper trailed off as he noticed something. Henry knitted his eyebrows together as he watched him, the other's eyes looking at something behind him. As he was about to turn to see what he was looking at, Jasper quickly grabbed his shoulders to keep him still.

"Hey! You know what you need? Sidney's doing bong rips in his room, go join him and chill!" he said quickly and the tall blond raised a curious eyebrow.

"What's up, Jasper?" he asked him, suspicion laced in his words. The blue eyed male sighed and had a small internal battle in his head before looking at his friend once again.

"Okay, don't freak out on me, alright? I went to see Charlotte last night," he confessed and Henry blinked in surprise.

"You what?"

"And I invited her to the party."

"You what?!"

"And she just came in."

"She what?!" he screeched at the top of his lungs. He dropped his cup and ran his hand over his cropped hair as he began to fidget nervously.

"Dude, just relax-"

"Relax?! This house is small as fuck and now Charlotte is here?! I can't do this now, dude. I can't handle seeing her again. Not now." He looked around frantically before trying to walk past Jasper and maybe hide in the bathroom. Except, his broad friend quickly grabbed him and steadied him with a firm grip.

"Look! You're gonna man up and go talk to her! I know the second you see her, everything will go back to how it once was!" he told him, hoping he was right. He missed having his friends together and by his side. This was the first chance he had in four years for things to go back to normal. The tall blond shook his head quickly as he tried to pull himself out of his grasp.

"No, I can't! Not-" Before he could finish his sentence, Jasper turned him around, and almost instantly his eyes landed on her. Her. Those gorgeous black curls that came down and framed her perfect face. Her chocolate brown eyes were still so full and round, so youthful and sparkling as she looked at whoever she was talking to. She still had a cute button nose that made her look even more like a doll, except now it had a silver piece of jewelry decorating her septum. His eyes caught one of his most favorite things about that angelic face which was a pair of full lips covered with a berry red lip gloss that made them pop even more. He took in the way they moved as she spoke and how her jawline moved ever so gracefully, and he took in her swanlike smooth neck and her collarbone. His eyes continued to travel downwards and he saw a yellow halter top that hugged her frame and was unbuttoned a little in the front, giving him an incredibly delectable hint of cleavage before disappearing behind the rest of the buttons. There was a hint of skin showing right above the hem of her matching yellow pants that also hugged her frame and showed off her slim but still slightly round hips. Her. Charlotte Page was still the epitome of perfection.

"Fuck," he breathed out and swallowed a lump in his throat which traveled down to join the tightness in his chest. It was sick to him how four years could pass and he was still so infatuated with her, so easily affected by her mere appearance. He was everything an "alpha male" would make fun of. A simp, a soy boy, a wimp. All for Charlotte.

He didn't even realize his feet started to move and Jasper released his arms, standing back and looking forward to whatever show he was about to be subjected to. Henry's body moved on autopilot as he brushed past people until he could smell her sweet perfume. It was the one she used long ago - one that smelled like sweet flowers and lingered on everything in his room. After their breakup, he threw away his sheets and hoodies because he couldn't get her smell out of them (he quickly dug them out of the garbage days later because he missed her and her scent). It was intoxicating to smell it again. He finally managed to squeeze himself between Blake (or Blarf) Anderson and Robin Jefferson and he was now directly facing her, only a few feet away. She tore her attention away from some girl who was talking to her and her brown eyes met his own. Her smile fell from her face instantly and she froze in place.

"Charlotte," he breathed out somehow. He wasn't breathing at all and was barely blinking. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her beautiful face.

"Henry…" she squeaked and felt her heart start to beat a million miles a second. Suddenly, everyone disappeared inside the house except for the two of them. They could only see each other. He managed to smile a little and took a step closer to her.

"Hi, it's been a while."

A/N: Henry and Charlotte finally meet again! I didn't intend on this chapter being so long but I really wanted them to have this reunion in this chapter and I wanted to keep in the small bit with Ray and Piper. The next chapter will be a flashback and we'll finally see what happened to break them up. I hope y'all are as excited as I am! Please share your thoughts and thank you for reading!