Ascension by Maxwell played over a BlueTooth speaker, filling the living room as Charlotte and Diana sat on the couch preparing their Christmas decorations. They carefully strung some cranberries and stale popcorn onto fishing wire to make homemade garlands. Diana couldn't help the big smile on her face as she and her daughter worked together, something they hadn't done in years since she was a little girl. She usually forsook their old traditions to spend time with her friends and at work, but now they could take their time and prepare for the holiday.

Their tree was already up but still bare, they would decorate it on their own time since it was only the first of the month. Diana loved Christmas though and she loved decorating the house so she often started early so the house would be gorgeous by the time the holiday came. She was also determined to make this a good Christmas for Charlotte to help take her mind off of her boy problems. They weren't going to let any stupid men come between them during the best season of the year. Charlotte quietly sang along to the music as she added the popcorn and cranberries in a specific pattern that her mother wanted. She knew she was a stickler for Christmas and her decor, and she found it very endearing and something she missed. However, their enjoyable time together was soon interrupted by a knock at the door, causing the young woman to sigh. Diana pursed her lips in a tight line in annoyance but shrugged her shoulders.

"Go get it, honey," she said with a sigh. Charlotte nodded and popped a cranberry into her mouth as she stood up and went to the door. Peeking through the peephole, she was surprised to see a dejected looking Piper there. She opened the door quickly and looked at her worryingly.

"Piper?" The blonde sniffled and wiped away her mascara covered tears as she looked at her friend.

"Hey, am I interrupting?" she asked meekly. Charlotte looked back at her mom who also saw how upset Piper was. She sighed. Oh well, they'd have to continue this later.

"Go ahead," she said with a small smile. The young woman nodded and let Piper inside before going upstairs. The moment they entered her bedroom, the blonde collapsed onto her bed and sobbed against the red bedsheets.

"Oh God Pipes, what happened?" Charlotte asked as she sat next to her on the bed and placed a comforting hand on her arm. She sniffled and wiped away her tears again to no avail as they continued to rain down her young face.

"I took Jasper to see his mom-"

"Whoa, you what?!" the elder exclaimed. She knew all about Irene Dunlop and how awful she was to Jasper and anyone who questioned her authority. She remembered when she was 14 and her mom called CPS on her yet again and somehow she found out. She came to their house and caused such a ruckus, throwing and breaking things and even almost hitting her mother. They had to call the police to get her, then Captain Man because the police were even scared of her. It was a terrifying day and Charlotte knew for sure that she wasn't a good person. Piper, however, seemed to be the only one completely in the dark.

"I didn't know she was nuts!" she said as she sat up. "It went horribly and she was so nasty to him, she even hit him. I felt so awful that I took him to NCOW and got him that waffle platter he likes but he wouldn't even talk to me. Then he finally did and God…he was so mean. He called me a brat and basically blamed me and…" she trailed off as she realized she hadn't told Charlotte that they slept together. The elder looked at her expectantly as she waited for her to continue. She sighed and looked down at the sheets, idly drawing shapes into it with her finger.

"Um, there's something I didn't tell you," she muttered. Charlotte put one and two together and figured out what she was suggesting, biting down on her lip.

"Jasper told me you two slept together," she said softly. The youngest Hart's head flew up and she looked at her with big eyes.

"He did?! God!" She fell back against the bed and buried her face against the sheets, whining against them. She looked up at her friend with a pout. "He said it was just sex, a one night stand and I should get over it." At that, Charlotte frowned.

"Well, that's just plain rude…" When she told him to be honest with her, she didn't expect him to just be an asshole about it. She hoped he wasn't taking tips from Henry. Piper sat up again and looked down at her hands as she pouted.

"He was upset because of his mom, I'm sure that's all it was. It didn't hurt any less to hear. I…I really liked him, Char…" The other sighed and pulled her close in a comforting hug. It seemed like heartbreak was becoming a common thing in Swellview.

Meanwhile, an enraged Tati stormed into the Hart house, slamming the door behind her but hitting Henry with it instead. He sighed and followed her inside, taking off his coat and hanging it up. He could hear her foot tapping quickly against the floor and knew she was waiting for him to turn around so she could confront him. He was tempted to just never turn around and run upstairs to his bedroom, but she was going to corner him anyway, so he might as well get it over with. Letting out a breath, he turned around to face her and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"You embarrassed me," she said as she glared at him. She took off her coat quickly and tossed it at him before folding her arms. He sighed and hung up her coat before grabbing her phone from the pocket.

"Tati, I couldn't afford the shit you were buying! What's the difference between a Marc Jacobs lipstick and the store brand?" he asked with an exasperated sigh.

"The name is the fucking difference!" she snapped with a clap of her hands. "The difference is one is by a well known designer and one is a cheap knockoff! The difference is that I fucking wanted that lipstick and you told me to put it back like I was some fucking child!" He rolled his eyes and made his way over to the couch to plop down onto it.

"You were buying all the expensive shit and I can't afford that anymore," he explained as he turned on the TV. That just made her even more irritated and she resisted the urge to hit him.

"What are you broke now? Because I don't date broke men," she jeered. A part of him wanted to say he was broke so she could leave him alone. Maybe that would be the way he could get rid of her, but he also didn't want to be lonely. And he definitely would if she left.

"I'm close to broke," he admitted. "The money I had came from…my job in Dystopia and I'm almost out of it. So, let's ease up on the shopping, okay?" He turned his head to look at her and cringed at the deadly look in her eyes. Thank God she couldn't shoot lasers because he would've been dead right then and there. She breathed out through her nose and leaned in so their faces were close.

"Then get more money and get it quickly before I leave your stupid ass destitute and alone in this stupid little town," she whispered with venom laced in her voice. She nodded firmly before standing up straight and going upstairs, leaving him alone on the couch. He sighed and leaned forward, holding his head in his hands and groaning against them. He seriously made a mistake by being with her. Maybe being lonely wouldn't be so bad, and it probably wouldn't last too long anyway. He was Henry Hart. He could easily find a new girl to occupy his time.

He quickly came back to his senses though as he thought it over. Did he want a new girl to occupy his time? So far, it only proved to make him more miserable when he jumped from girl to girl. Tati was a mistake and she would possibly be one of many mistakes. He groaned and ran his hand over his face, unsure of what to do. He had conflicting thoughts and both of them were completely opposite of each other and he wasn't sure which one to go with. They were two extremes and in the end, he was going to be miserable.

He sighed and got up from the couch, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and making his way to the back patio to smoke. As he entered the kitchen, the sound of the front door opening earned his attention and he turned to see Jasper entering. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of his friend's wet sweater and hair and the dejected look on his face.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Jasper sighed and pushed his damp hair back.

"Life happened. Look, I need to ask you for something," he started but Henry shook his head.

"Later, I need a smoke," he said as he made his way to the back door. The raspberry blond sighed heavily and rested his hands on his hips.

"This won't take long, dude! I need my half of the briefcase money," he said. Henry froze in place and tensed up before slowly turning to look at his friend. He licked his lips nervously and tried to remain calm and collected.

"Uh, why?"

"I need to get a motel room," Jasper answered with a sigh. "I can't sleep on the couch anymore."

"Dude, you can just stay in my room again," the tall blond offered. "You don't need to go to a motel! Besides, my dad will get all pouty if you leave." The other rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"What, so I can watch you and Tati pork it every night? Just give me my half of the money so I can get a room," he said. Henry exhaled in frustration and scratched the back of his head.

"Okay, I gotta be honest. The money's practically gone," he admitted. The raspberry blond's eyes doubled in size and his mouth fell open in shock. He wanted to clean out his ears to make sure he heard him correctly. All of the money was gone? All of it?!

"Wh- bro, that was fifty thousand dollars?! How the fuck is all of that gone?!" he exclaimed. The other sighed and walked over to him, placing his cigarettes on the surface of the bar.

"Look, we had to pay for the rental car and-"

"No, stop right there!" Jasper cut him off as he pointed to him. "The money for the rental car was a small dent in fifty thousand fucking dollars, Henry! Even all the money we spent on weed and your little coke and ecstasy habit wouldn't deplete all of it! It's gone because you've been spending it all on that slut upstairs!"

"Okay, you're right, alright?" Henry relented with his hands up defensively. "And I'm sorry, but there's still like five or six thousand left but I can't give you that money."

"Because of her?!" he asked incredulously. "I can't fucking believe you."

"No! Dude, come on, I'm even thinking about maybe breaking up with her because I'm not even happy." Jasper rolled his eyes and shook his head as he chuckled dryly. Running his fingers through his medium length hair, he tried his best to calm down as he turned away from him. But the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. This just didn't seem to be his day and it only kept getting worse.

"'I'm not even happy', my God, Henry you're so fucking inconsistent." He turned to face him again. "One minute you're chasing Tati and calling Charlotte names in her favor, and now you're throwing her aside. What are you going to do now?! Go running back to Charlotte?!"

"Man, calm down," the blond sighed. "Everything's just so confusing. One party is saying Charlotte lied, the other is saying Tati lied-"

"Of course, she fucking lied!" he exclaimed. "Anyone with a lick of common sense and who wasn't thinking with their stupid fucking dick could fucking see that because why would Charlotte do anything like that?!"

"You don't get it!" Henry yelled. "One second Char and I are back together, the next I find out she's engaged, of course, I'm gonna freak out over that!" He didn't understand why no one else seemed to see where he was coming from. Sure, maybe he was wrong for hooking up with Tati and he was wrong for the things he said to Charlotte, but in his mind, he had been betrayed and he reacted how anyone else would. He also couldn't understand why Jasper was so angry. It was just money and he didn't really need it anyway, especially since he was going to be kicking Tati aside. Jasper, however, was sick of his excuses and his whining.

"Henry…give me my half of the money," he said sternly. "I can't stay here anymore. I can't deal with your bullshit or Piper's so you need to figure out how you're gonna come up with forty thousand dollars." At that, Henry's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and he scoffed.

"First of all, why do you think you were getting half of that money?" he asked.

"Are you serious?" Jasper scoffed.

"Yeah, you were gonna get maybe…thirty percent of it?" The other's mouth fell open in shock before he laughed loudly in disbelief. He gripped his hair and wanted to rip it out in frustration. He couldn't believe this, it was like he was in some sick form of hell.

"I've stuck by your side our entire time in Dystopia, Hen! I've helped you fight criminals, helped you on missions, supported you through your breakup with Char, stood by you through thick and thin and every change you went through, and you have the nerve to say I'm not owed half of that money?! That's the least you can do for me!" he insisted.

"Jasp, dude, I do all the work!" he said with a mirthless chuckle. "Even the 50k, I tracked down the kid who was making the deal, I found where they were meeting, I fucking shot a kid! I'm entitled to more and you know it!"

"I broke the other guy's neck! Do you think I like what we started doing?! Do you think I like what we turned into?!"

"Do you think I do?!" Henry shot back. It had become an open secret between the two of them that they were ashamed of who they became. Once heroes, they became what felt like people who were no different than the criminals they used to fight. Intercepting drug deals and killing those involved so they wouldn't tell anyone, stealing the money, using and sometimes even selling drugs, and becoming shells of who they once were was a troubling reality neither of them ever wanted to face. But now they were forced to face it as they unknowingly took out their own pain and anger on each other. They stared at each other in tense silence for a bit before Jasper breathed out hard and pushed stray hairs back from his face.

"I just want to get out of here, okay? And you fucking owe me," he said.

"Jasper, I don't have it-"

"Get it! Do something! I don't know but this isn't fair, Henry! I can't believe you're putting her above me!" he exasperated. The tall blond rolled his eyes.

"I'm not but you're acting like some jealous girlfriend!" he argued. "The money's been spent! What can I do?! Stop being so jealous and whiny and get over it!"

"Jealous?" Jasper questioned with an eyebrow raised. "What the fuck would I be jealous over? Your drug habit? Your immaturity? Your inability to keep a girlfriend?" Henry frowned as the words cut deep. He was so focused on Jasper that he didn't notice the front door opening and his parents entering. The Hart parents immediately went silent as they noticed the two boys and the tension between them.

"Well, at least I can get a girlfriend," Henry shot back.

"Oh please Henry, you're such a fucking dick."

"Oh, now I'm a dick," the blond scoffed.

"You are!" Jasper argued. "You're a dick to Charlotte, you're a dick to me, you've turned into a massive dick to everyone! You're nothing but a massive tool who thinks the world owes him something and that he's God's gift, but news flash, Henry: you're not! You're just a piece of shit now who's going to wake up one day completely alone and have no one to blame for it other than yourself." Henry's eyes narrowed a little and he looked away from him for a moment. He wished it wasn't true, he wished he wasn't already feeling what he said he would. But he did and it absolutely sucked, though he would be damned if he confirmed it to him. Instead, he swallowed his own insecurities and worries and decided the best thing to do would be to attack Jasper with his own.

"Whatever," he muttered and turned his head to look at him again. "I don't think you're actually mad about the money, I think you've just been living vicariously through me and you're just pissed because you know you couldn't land half the girls I pull because, at the end of the day, you're a loser. What, you want Tati? You can take her actually, I don't really want her anyway."

"Henry Hart!" Kris called out sternly. The blond didn't tear his eyes away from his friend though, who was growing angrier by the second.

"You're such a cocky bastard, no one wants your sloppy seconds, Henry," he said. He decided he had enough and turned away from him to leave. Maybe he could stay with Charlotte until he somehow got enough money to get a room. Henry wasn't done with him though.

"I mean it's the least I can offer since no one wants you anyway. Tati won't want you, Noelle and Patina didn't want you, even your own mother doesn't want you!" The second those words left Henry's mouth, he instantly regretted it. The broad blond quickly turned on his heels and stared at him with a mix of shock and pain in his eyes. The Harts all tensed up as they watched him, watching as he processed what was said and let it resonate in his brain. Soon, the expression on his face contorted into one of stunned anger as he began to stalk over to Henry again.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" he questioned with an eerily calm voice. Sensing an explosion imminent, Jake quickly walked between the boys and blocked Jasper just as he got close to him. The young man was on a mission though and tried to get past the older Hart, his eyes strictly on Henry. "What the fuck did you just say?!" he roared again. Henry took a step back and cracked his knuckles anxiously.

"Look, bro, I'm sor-"

"No, fuck you!" he shouted as he pointed at him over Jake's shoulder. "You're such a piece of shit, Henry! You've become such a massive asshole I barely even recognize you! Who says that shit? Who does the shit that you've been doing?!" Henry looked down at his feet, feeling himself growing even more guilty. He really had a penchant for upsetting the people he cared about.

"Jasper, I didn't mean it," he said with a sigh as he looked up to meet his angry blue eyes. The raspberry blond chuckled dryly as Jake tried to calm him down.

"No, you meant that shit and you can go to hell. And you're wrong too because women want me, okay? Your girl may not want me but Piper does," he shot at him. Henry blinked in confusion and raised an eyebrow at that, Jake also taking a step back to look at him in bewilderment.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" the blond spat as he stepped forward.

"It means I fucked Piper, and she still wants more so yeah, there's someone who wants me," he sneered.

"You fucked my sister?!" He lunged towards his friend and grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him close.

The house exploded with shouting and arguing as Jake and Kris tried to separate the angry young men, their attempts futile as Henry landed a hard punch to Jasper's left eye. The commotion was loud enough to alert Tati who rushed downstairs to see what was happening and was stunned to see Henry being held back by his father as Jasper held his hand over his eye. Everyone shouted over each other, causing nothing but confusion as the tall blond struggled to attack his friend once again. Realizing he couldn't, he grabbed one of the many decorative small flower pots and threw it at him, the porcelain sailing past him and smashing against the wall.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" he shouted.

"Gladly!" Jasper shot back as he held his swelling eye. He made his way to the door, ignoring Henry's yelling and Kris' requests for him to stop as he swung the door open and left the house. Maybe this time he would be leaving for good.