A/N: So, I FINALLY figured out what I wanted to call A Chasper Fic. It's gonna be called "Determined." Also, I'm going to go ahead and begin a masterlist post for the chapters. Lastly, because my storytelling is traveling faster than the episodes, the story is only gonna be canon up to the musical episode. Everything from here on out gets to be 100% fabricated, but I'll still try to be as realistic and responsible with the story as possible. Thanks for reading.

Dust Yourself Off & Try Again

They stopped by the bakery on their way to Junk N Stuff. Jasper ordered a box of donuts for everyone. She just grabbed a green tea smoothie. He tried to get it put on his ticket, but she was so adamant that he gave up. Must've been her fight with Henry that put her in such a bad mood. Now, he was feeling a way too. Why was Henry able to affect her this much? Did she have feelings for him? Was it a lovers' quarrel? Honestly, she had been having dreams about Henry, not him. But, by the time Jasper found that out, he had already tethered emotional importance to winning Charlotte's heart. He wondered if the idea of her and Henry would always be in the back of his mind. Or worse.. the back of her mind.

They arrived and Henry approached only to be met with Charlotte's hand halting him. "Don't," was all she said and all she had to say. He noticed the seriousness in her face, swiftly turned, and left her alone. Jasper sighed and went to find his change of clothes. They kept some there in case things got messy and inexplicable to their families. He kept the most, as he generally had the most incidents somehow.

Whenever he got back, Charlotte was gone. "Where's Char?"

"Went home sick," Henry said.

"Oh. Okay." Jasper messaged her. Heard you're not feeling well. Hopefully that changes soon. Let me know if you need anything.

To Henry, he wondered, "What happened between you two this morning?"

Henry looked up from his phone and asked, "Hmm?"

"She was in a bad mood all morning and I know that it wasn't because of me… At least I hope it wasn't."

Henry waved a hand and said, "Yeah… she got all bent out of shape because I was looking out for you." Jasper furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Come on, Dude. I know that you said you didn't like her like that or whatever, but in the past few weeks it's been obvious that you were lying. You like her. You know it. I know it. She knows it. And, I just wanted to make sure that she doesn't take advantage of that. She doesn't get a lot of attention and I wanted to make sure that you stay safe through this phase."

Jasper folded his arms and raised both eyebrows. "Okay. As you know, I sometimes get lost in a lot of information. It sounded like you said that you saw that I liked Charlotte and decided to defend me to her, despite the fact that she hasn't done anything to make you defensive of me. Is that about it?" Jasper sounded… mad. Henry was a little bit thrown off by how much.

"When you say it like that, you make me feel bad," Henry said.

Jasper took a deep breath and and said, "I'm gonna man the store."

"Jasper, are you mad?"

"A little bit, Henry!" He snapped. Sounded like a lotta bit, but.. "I don't understand why you thought that was okay."

"Because we're all friends?"

Jasper nodded and said, "Well, you were a great friend to us today." It was clearly sarcastic. Henry made a face, but Jasper didn't see it. He was already headed to the elevator. Charlotte had texted him back.

Charlotte: Dude, I'm fine. Chill out. Lol. TTYL.

He read it multiple times. It felt like old Charlotte. Like, before he was trying to impress her… before she was impressed. He didn't want to say that he talked to Henry about her, because he wasn't sure if that would help or not.

So, he simply replied: Don't mean to be so pushy. I just care about you. I also trust you. I wanted to let you know that. I'll give you some space to feel better.

Charlotte read Jasper's text and felt bad. He definitely noticed her tone. She could tell from that "I trust you," that he also probably talked to Henry about their disagreement. But, he was giving her space and that was what she honestly needed at the moment.

That was what they were still having whenever Frankini placed a musical curse over Swellview…

.

What an adventure!

"Honestly, it wasn't all that bad. You have a really pretty singing voice," Jasper said. "And I'm not just saying that to get something out of you."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Good. Because that would be manipulative."

"It certainly would!" He said and tried to change the subject. They only talked for a little while, and she eventually went home by herself, again. Charlotte had gotten pretty good at successfully not spending any time alone with Jasper since her revelation that maybe it wasn't a good idea to… well… to give him ideas about them. If they were ever alone, it was at work, and she quickly got Henry or Schwoz into the fold. Jasper wasn't necessarily deterred by this; because he blamed Henry and his big mouth for her even reacting this way. However, he also didn't want to be the creepy guy who couldn't take a hint, like he was doing with Patina whenever she was purposefully avoiding him.

So, he tried to wait and watch for a natural opening where he could slide in and maybe convince her that whatever she was worried about, she didn't have to be. His birthday recently passed, and she'd given him a backpack with a bucket in it, and one of those fun popup birthday cards with a cowboys on horses theme. He was super excited about it. He tried to be cool, but, "A bucket? AND a backpack? A BACKPACK WITH A BUCKET INSIDE?"

"I know that you aren't as into buckets as you used to be, but I also know that you're never gonna get rid of the buckets that you did collect over the years and that you don't have one like this," she said.

The guys had done all this extra stuff to try to impress and spoil Jasper, but he was most excited about this simple gift from Charlotte. Ray was a little bit insulted, to be honest. "Jasper, do you even realize the time, energy, effort, and money that went into getting someone as strange as yourself a perfect gift?"

Charlotte commented, "He idolizes you. You could have gotten him shoelaces and he would have been happy."

"SHOELACES?" Jasper asked, super excited about the possibility.

"Nobody got you shoelaces," Charlotte added. He sank in his seat, hugging his bucket in a backpack. "I'm just saying that Ray spent $300,000 on a painting and $90,000 on a spotlight that he only used, like, once. I doubt that money is an object or that a lot of decision-making goes into his decisions. But, that's a really cool… What is this?"

"It's the Potty Perfector 900!" Ray said. "It works as a light, a seat warmer, and has interesting facts and stories to tell when you're stuck on the pot!"

"That is one of the most amazing things ever invented!" Jasper said and steadied his backpack between his knees so that he could study the Potty Perfector 900 box.

"See, Charlotte? Whenever you put some THOUGHT into things, it shows how much you care about a person," Ray said.

Charlotte nodded, "Thank you, of all people, for that life lesson. So… What'd you write on Jasper's card?"

"Card? He's got an amazing gift. That says it all."

"Oh, okay," She said.

"Why? Did you write something on a card?" Ray wondered.
"I did." She smiled and finally left the conversation, with a tousle of Jasper's hair and a "Birthday boy!" cheer. He nearly lost his breath when she touched him, but it was over before he knew it, and she was out of the picture. He held his Potty Perfector 900 in and embrace and watched her walk to the elevator.

"She's amazing," Jasper mused.

Ray laughed and said, "Good one! Guess somebody got you a sense of humor for your birthday."

Jasper rolled his eyes and set down his present, to go back to Charlotte's present. Turned out that not only was there a bucket in the backpack, but in each little compartment of the backpack, she hid small trinkets and treats that she knew he would like. One of them was the birthday card, with her message insert.

Jasper,

It's a special time of year, to me. Whenever your birthday comes around, it's summer and we're already feeling great and enjoying life. But, this year, it was even more special to me. Not only have you finally (technically) become a man, but you and I got even closer this summer than we've ever been in all of the years that we've been friends. I've learned things about you that make me so proud to be someone that you call a friend and I can't wait to experience even more with you. One thing that I've been thinking about is your confession that your middle name is TBD, because your parents never got around to granting you an actual middle name. But, the thing that I've been thinking about is how funny it is that the name TBD worked out for you.

"To Be Determined" was meant as an uncertain placeholder, but turned out to be a prophecy. Because, Jasper Dunlop, you are one of the most determined people that I've ever known. Whenever you set your mind to something, you practically kill yourself trying to see it through. You never worry about what people will think of you or how you'll look when you set out to do whatever it is that's on your heart to do. Your middle name might be TBD, but you, Jasper, are actually quite determined. And that's why I love you. You're strong, resilient, and steadfast. You're a pillar in my life and I'm glad to wish you another year. Hopefully we have many more together.

Happy Birthday, Jasper.

Love Always,

Your Friend, Charlotte.

.

Charlotte's parents were out and she was off, so walking around the house in a sleepwear short set with fuzzy unicorn slippers and a ponypuff as she prepared for bed was all she had plans to do. Whenever there was a knock and a doorbell ring, her first thought was that it was Jasper. But, why would he be there? She went to the peephole and gasped. It WAS Jasper!

She rushed around, trying to maybe change or something, but her room was way across the house and even if she got there, she wouldn't have been able to change quickly, and… Jasper put his face up to the window and said, "Charlotte, I see you! Open the door!"

She rolled her eyes and did just that. She opened the door and feigned happiness, "Jasper! I… wasn't expecting company."

"Right. You look so silly right now," he said, laughing. "No biggie. I came by to give you something." He opened his backpack as he explained, "One of my birthday presents was a gift card to Asking for Truffle, so I bought a gift box of some flavors I thought you might like."

He handed her a box that looked a little bit like a treasure chest. "There's a white chocolate lemon cream, creme brulee, of course, peaches and champagne, pecan praline pie…"

She opened the box to see gold foil wrapped truffles and a little card that read: For Charlotte. "Jasper, you're not supposed to be spending your gift cards on somebody else."

"I know. But, you should be getting spoiled and how often am I in a position to do so?"

She shook her head and tried to hand it back, but he stepped back, out of reach. "Nope. I ordered it for you. No take backsies. Also, you look adorable. I was just picking, earlier."

"Jasper…"

"Thanks for the card. It was powerful."

"Okay. Thanks for the… Expensive truffles they were supposed to be for you." Her fave was so damn warm, and when he smiled, it got even warmer. By the time he left, she was speechless. Apparently, her stepping back and bringing things back to normal didn't stick. That boy really was determined.