Author's Note: Hi everyone! I just want to say that I am so, so sorry for not updating for the longest time. I was in a really bad place mentally the past six months and let's just say, it got really bad. Anyway, I'm SO much better now and I can finally go back to writing! I'm so excited to be back! I hope that this chapter makes up for my absence. I'll be updating regularly from now on. I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers,

goodgirlgonebad21

The Cat's Out of the Bag…Kind Of?

"PIPER?"

Piper finished brushing the dust off her jeans and stood up. Her eyes turned to the size of saucers as she took in her surroundings. Charlotte stepped out of the elevator with a sour look on her face, still brushing the dust off her sweater. When her eyes met Henry's, her expression turned into one of complete guilt and Henry could see the apology in her eyes. However, he was too shocked to process any of it.

"What...what is this place?" Piper whispered, her mouth wide open in awe. She stepped out of the elevator slowly, as if trying to take in every detail of her surroundings.

Henry's mind was spinning and spinning and spinning. The love of his life was standing there and apparently reciprocated his feelings, but the person she's standing with is his sister? IN THE MAN CAVE? His head spun and his knees buckled, but Jasper caught him before he hit the ground. He looked up to meet Jasper's concerned eyes, which were also filled with shock. He pulled himself upright and cleared his throat.

"Piper…" he started, his voice cracking slightly. "What- what...what are you doing here?"

Piper turned to him, her eyes defiant. "No, Henry. The question is: What are you doing here? WHAT IS THIS PLACE?"

Henry winced at her booming voice. He glanced at Ray, who looked more anxious than he had ever seen him. How did it get to this? Henry thought.

"Little girl, you see, this is a staff only area. It's just a b-break r-room for the staff now please go like right now can someone get her to LEAVE PLEASE!" Ray rambled nervously.

"I'm not an idiot. That's the background Captain Man uses when he posts videos online! Which means that... this must be THE MAN CAVE!" Piper screamed.

Henry thought he would feel more panicked, but it seemed like his body had experienced enough panic at this point. He just looked down at the ground in exhaustion and groaned. Jasper placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"Wait...so if this is the Man Cave," Piper continued, "then you must be Captain Man," she reasoned, pointing to Ray. "So you're Captain Man...but who's Kid Danger?"

"It's me!" Jasper quickly yelled. "I'm Kid Danger."

Piper fixed him a look that clearly showed that she would sooner believe that Jasper was a ferret from Mars. Jasper looked at Henry in panic, not knowing what to do.

"No, you know what? Listen here, little girl. Yep, you're right. I'm Captain Man. And your dandy brother over there is Kid Danger. Alright, now that we've gotten that covered, Schwoz, if you could kindly bring the memory wiper," he said, hissing the last part so Piper couldn't hear it.

"WHAT- WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. WHAT THE ACTUAL BUTT?! HENRY- MY DOOFUS OF A BROTHER- WAIT. WAIT. NOPE. NO THERE'S NO WAY. MY BROTHER? WAIT BUT I HAD A-" Piper screeched like a banshee.

Charlotte winced and covered her ears from where she was still standing next to Piper, drawing Henry's attention to her. Though they were in one of the biggest predicaments they had ever been in, Henry couldn't help but stare at her for a while. She was so beautiful. Her dark hair, glowing skin, and those beautiful, luscious lips. The lips he had kissed earlier. And she's in love with- wait. No, we can't think about that right now, Henry thought. The thought of Charlotte being in love with him filled his stomach with raging butterflies and he wasn't ready for any of that yet. It wasn't the time anyway.

Piper had given up on screaming for once and was sitting on the couch, trying to process everything. Not unlike how Henry was sitting a while ago. Maybe they were siblings after all.

Henry walked over to where Charlotte was as Jasper, Ray, and Schwoz had a discussion in frantic whispers.

"Hi," Henry said, looking into her mesmerizing eyes. She looked down at the ground nervously and refused to look up at him. "Hey," Henry said softly, lifting her chin up with his hand. She reluctantly met his eyes and there was unmistakable guilt in them.

"Henry...I'm so sorry," she started, but Henry put a finger over her lips.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's not your fault. We're gonna find a way to fix this," he said, trying to reassure her with a smile. She didn't smile back, but she looked immensely relieved. She must have been extremely stressed if she wasn't even acting all lovesick around him.

"Come here," Henry said, having a sudden urge to wrap Charlotte in his arms and to never let go. She fell into his arms without hesitation and sighed contently when he tightened his arms around her. They both stood there, arms securely around each other, gently rocking from side to side, just basking in each other's presence. It was a nice break from the chaos that had just occurred.

"Ayo, lovebirds! Get over here! We're having a crisis, in case you haven't noticed," Ray snapped. Piper's head snapped up so hard at the word "lovebirds" that Henry was worried for her neck.

"Love- LOVEBIRDS? You mean...THESE TWO" she screeched, pointing back and forth between Charlotte and Henry in an accusatory manner. "I- I don't even know what to say…" she heaved.

"Relax, Piper. They're not actually together. We're kind of in the middle of something right now," Jasper explained.

"What kind of something…?" Piper questioned curiously.

Jasper opened his mouth to elaborate, but Ray spoke up. "Jasper…" he said, a warning clear in his voice.

"Ray, she already knows most of this. And we can't really do anything about her until we fix the Charlotte situation. We need all the help we can get right now," Jasper said.

"He's right," Henry spoke up. He wasn't hugging Charlotte anymore, but she was standing next to him with an arm around his waist. Her solid warmth cleared Henry's mind enough to assess the situation. "We don't really have much to lose at this point, Ray."

Ray sighed. "Fine. Tell her." Piper perked up at this and turned back to Jasper with an eager expression on her face.

"Okay," Jasper began, "it all started this morning when Schwoz decided to bake some muffins…"