Worry hung over Charlotte like a dark, brooding cloud. She tried not to think about it, but without Henry next to her to steal her attention, it was all she could think about. She always worried about Henry; he was her best friend and the most important person in her life, if she were going to be honest with herself. Henry was the center of her thoughts more often than not, and she wished desperately that he wasn't. Even though she liked to pretend that she loved Henry in a purely platonic way, Charlotte knew it was a lie. She looked forward to and savored every text, call, touch, and moment they shared. She missed him more than words could ever begin to explain when they weren't together. She'd felt this way since middle school, but Henry had paid her no attention then. He chased after Chloe, Bianca, and Veronica, but he never sought her attention. It hurt in a way that never seemed to heal, but Charlotte listened to every single girl problem that he had. She loved him enough to let go, or at least she tried to let him go. She was pondering her relationship with Henry as she walked toward his house when someone ran into her. The impact knocked her off of her feet, and she held back a slew of curses. Charlotte opened her mouth and looked up to give the person a piece of her mind, but all she saw was a blur of black at the end of the street.
"What was that about?" Charlotte asked herself. She got up and brushed her pants off and rearranged her shirt. As she was trying to fix her outfit, she noticed a small, circular, black thing with an attached wire on her shirt. She took it off quickly and observed it. Charlotte knew that she didn't put this on herself. Did that stranger put this thing on me? It looks like a recorder or something… What if someone's bugging me to get to Henry? Charlotte thought barely constraining the panic that arose accompanying the thought. She resisted the urge to sprint back in Henry's direction and tell him. She had to act natural. If she fed whoever was listening false information, then maybe they would leave her and Henry alone. She took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way to Henry's house.
Once she got there, she turned on the television in the living room and placed the wire on the couch. Then, she quietly went upstairs to Henry's room to grab her pear phone and keys. She opened her phone and called Henry. She practically growled when it went straight to voicemail. She put her hands over her face and decided to go back down the stairs. She sat down on the couch and laughed as authentically as she could, hoping to fool whoever was listening. How long are they really gonna believe this? God, I hope Henry gets home soon. Charlotte said nervously tapping her foot and staring at the front door anxiously.
After a good ten minutes, she saw the handle to the front door turn. She jumped to her feet, turned up Natural Surgeries, and silently opened the door coming face to face with Henry who was holding a melting strawberry ice cream cone and a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
"Hey-" Henry said before Charlotte covered his mouth. She motioned for him to step backward, and he complied while raising his eyebrows. Charlotte closed the door without making a sound and removed her hand from Henry's mouth.
"I think someone put a wire on me to try to spy on you." Charlotte said not giving Henry time to even gather himself. Henry's eyes practically fell out of his head, and he dropped the bowl of ice cream.
"Ar-are you serious? Why do you think that? When did that happen?" Henry said lowering his voice and leaning towards Charlotte. He focused his gorgeous brown eyes on her, giving her his full attention. Charlotte's heart rate picked up in response to Henry's closeness. She tried to ignore it by taking the remaining melting ice cream cone from Henry's hand.
"I was walking back to your house, and someone bumped into me. I think that's when they stuck it on me then. I put it on the couch. Hopefully, they think that I've been watching television." Charlotte said. Henry's face clouded over with emotions. He closed his eyes forcefully as he pushed his sticky hands through his hair. He opened his eyes again, and Charlotte felt her heart break. Henry looked like he was carrying the world on his shoulders. His usually cheerful expression was broken, but the words that came out of his mouth next still took Charlotte by surprise.
"Charlotte, I think that you coming here was a mistake. You should leave. I can get you tickets to New York City, so you can be with your parents for the rest of the summer." It practically pained Henry to say it, but he wanted, needed Charlotte to be safe. Charlotte glared at him.
"What are you saying, Henry?" Charlotte said in shock. She wanted to make sure that she heard him correctly before she blew up.
"I'm saying that you can't be here. It's not safe." Henry said, pleading with his eyes for her to understand. Charlotte wasn't having it.
"I'm not going to leave you because it gets dangerous, Henry. I'm your best friend. I can't believe you would even suggest this!" Charlotte said raising her voice. She felt something cold drip down her clenched fist, and she realized that she had crushed her ice cream cone in her anger. She dropped it and let the remaining ice cream drip down her hand. Henry felt himself get angry as well.
"It's not like I don't want you here, Char! I can't let anything happen to you." Henry said getting closer to Charlotte to the point where his chest was just inches away from her face.
"Well, I don't hear you suggesting that you send Jasper or Piper away! What's so special about me? You know that I can help you, but you're trying to send me away." Charlotte said, sending him a ferocious glare. For once, Charlotte's glare didn't scare him off. In despite of himself, Henry felt his emotions start to get out of control. How could she ask me that? Henry thought.
"You helping me isn't as important as keeping you safe! They don't mean as much to me as you do. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. Why can't you understand that?" Henry said voice heavy with unspoken emotions. Charlotte stared at him, speechless. She felt her heart swell with hope at his words, but she pushed it down. They were very close friends. That's what he was talking about. He didn't love her or anything. After a couple of seconds of talking herself down, she replied.
"Well, what about you? Who's helping you? I refuse to leave you alone when someone who might actually be dangerous comes along." Henry sighed as he heard the resignation in her voice. Despite himself, he couldn't help being in awe of her stubbornness. She was right, he did need her, but that didn't mean he wasn't concerned for her safety.
"Could you just think about it, please?" Henry said taking her free hand and squeezing it. Charlotte was determined to give him a piece of her mind, but the pleading in Henry's voice threw her off. She almost felt bad for raising her voice. His eyes were full of worry and anxiety, and it dawned on her how much this was hurting him.
"I'll think about it." The words tumbled out of Charlotte's mouth. Henry smiled a little bit in response. Looking at Henry, Charlotte had this strong urge to kiss him. Would he back away if I move closer? She thought slowly inching closer.
Henry swore that he could feel his body burst into flames as Charlotte moved closer to him. He couldn't be sure, but Henry thought Charlotte was staring at his lips. Almost instinctively, Henry moved closer practically drinking Charlotte in. He leaned down towards her, dipping his head down. Henry released her hand, and he rested it on her waist. They were nose to nose, breathing each other's air. Charlotte's heart was beating so loudly that she wondered if Henry could hear it.
"That's Charlotte?!" A voice said from a couple feet away. Charlotte jumped away from Henry, startled. She looked over at a tall, ecstatic brunette and an angry looking Piper standing a few feet away.
"Henry will really hate you now." Piper mumbled to herself as she glared at Peter. Peter was oblivious, and he started to walk towards Charlotte until he met Henry's gaze. Henry felt his blood boil as he stared at that idiot, Peter. He tore his eyes away from his new enemy, Peter, to look longingly at Charlotte who was a couple feet from him. She felt so far away from him…
"What do you want, Peter?" Henry said, saying Peter's name mockingly and with obvious venom. Charlotte almost felt bad for Peter. He was practically shaking in fear, and he looked like he was seconds from running away.
"I-I was just dropping Piper off early, so you would be happy. Piper told me that this is Charlotte Bolton, and I got excited…" Peter said, looking like a dear in head lights. Charlotte glanced at Henry out of the corner of her eye. He looked like he might light Peter on fire, and Charlotte could ashamedly relate. She ignored the petty part of her, and introduced herself.
"Hey, I'm Charlotte." Charlotte said waving and offering Peter her hand to shake. Peter lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Hi, I'm Peter! I've heard a lot about you! You're practically a legend at the high school. Is it true that you got a 5.0 GPA?" Peter said with a large smile on his face.
"Uh, no, I had a 4.89 when I graduated, but that's not in the 4.0 scale." Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact tone. Peter's smile widened, and he proceeded to go on a nerdy tangent.
"That's amazing! I've wanted to go to Stanford since I was little. How's the camp-"
"Thanks for dropping Piper off, but Charlotte's busy." Henry interrupted practically daring Peter to disagree. Peter deflated and said goodbye to everyone quietly. Peter stared at Piper affectionately and kissed her on the cheek. Piper blushed and told him that she would text him later.
Charlotte looked at the affectionate display and wished that was her and Henry. She looked over at Henry to see him glaring and clenching his fists. She put her hand over his, and he immediately looked over to her. Once Peter had left, Piper cleared her throat.
"I'm going inside now. Try not to make me an aunt." Charlotte blushed profusely, and Henry just coughed awkwardly. Then, Charlotte remembered that she left the recorder in the living room.
"Hold on, I need to go inside first." Charlotte said opening the door quietly and running over to the couch. She picked up the recorder and put it on her shirt. Piper walked inside while giving Charlotte a strange look.
"Hey Piper! Where'd you go?" Charlotte said, praying that Piper would play along. Alas, her prayers were not answered.
"What are you talking about? You just saw m-" Piper said confused before Henry walked in after her.
"Hey Char, Piper and I were just at the ice cream parlor with her new boyfriend. I wanted to see if he was good enough for her. He's not." Henry said rudely interrupting her. Piper glared.
"Peter's actually a nice guy, Henry." Piper said getting defensive. She crossed her arms and glared at Henry who mimicked her.
"I'm sure that her boyfriend is fine, Henry. Plus, she's old enough to make her own decisions on who to date. Weren't you in middle school when you dated Bianca?" Charlotte said pointedly. Henry glared at her.
"That's not important. I'm her brother, so of course, she needs my permission." Piper bent over and laughed. Charlotte chuckled too. Henry growled and glared at them both, but he knew that he had lost the argument.
"Yeah, sure. Well, I'm going to go upstairs and head to bed." Charlotte said before winking at Henry.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed too." Henry said as Charlotte walked past him to go up the stairs. Piper stopped laughing to gawk at them.
"It's only eleven. How old are you? Sixty?" Piper said before plopping on the couch and taking her phone out. Henry followed Charlotte as she walked towards the guest room. The Hart's guest room was the only bland room in the house, but it was her favorite. The walls were a soft yellow with gray accents. The full size bed in the middle was covered in a gray and white floral bedspread. Her black suitcases sat neatly at the end of the ottoman. Because she was known for staying in the guest room, Henry's mother had decorated the room with photos of her, Henry, and Jasper. There was one framed on the cherry wood nightstand. It was one of her favorites. Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper had just graduated from high school. Henry's mother had made a comment that Henry and Jasper only graduated because of Charlotte. Charlotte laughed it off, but Henry and Jasper agreed. They had whispered to themselves before they had attacked her. They both put their arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. Henry's father had been able to capture the moment with a picture. Charlotte had been in the middle of a giggle when the photo was taken, and her face practically glowed from the happiness she felt. Charlotte smiled just looking at it. She looked behind her to see that Henry had followed her into the room. She ignored him and took her toiletries and pajamas out of one of her suitcases. She walked over to the connected bathroom to change.
As soon as Charlotte left to go change, Henry walked over towards her bed and sighed. He knew that Charlotte would find him if she really needed him, but he was afraid of letting her leave his sight. Plus, he couldn't stop thinking about earlier. He couldn't tell if he had imagined it, but it felt like they were going to kiss. Henry felt a bright smile creep on his face just thinking about it. (Even though Piper was joking, Henry would love to marry and have children with Charlotte. He couldn't help but to indulge in the fantasy of waking up next to Charlotte every day, having breakfast with their two tan skinned, curly haired children, and kissing his family goodnight every night with special attention to his wife, Charlotte.) Henry heard the shower turn on as well as some music before the bathroom door opened. Charlotte stepped out in some short shorts and a tee shirt, and she walked over and sat next to Henry on the bed. Henry swallowed loudly as he forced himself not to stare at Charlotte's gorgeous and toned legs.
"So, what should we do? I mean, I can leave the bug in the bathroom for a while. It was on my shirt, so it would make sense for me to take my shirt off to shower." Charlotte said looking at Henry expectantly.
"Why are you looking at me? You're the idea person." Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"You can still give me some suggestions."
"I think that you should leave it in there until tomorrow. We can ask Schwoz if he can find out where the feed is going then." Charlotte smiled at him.
"I'm sleeping in here tonight. I'll sleep on the floor if you want me to, but I'm not leaving you alone." Henry said looking at her determinedly.
"You don't have to sleep on the floor. We slept next to each other earlier. I know that you barely get sleep as it is. Sleeping on the floor isn't going to help you get more sleep." Charlotte said before crawling over Henry, pushing back the covers, and getting into bed.
"Can you turn off the shower?" Charlotte said while pulling her phone out of her shorts' pocket. Henry nodded before getting up and walking into the bathroom. Charlotte was reading an article about recording devices on her phone when Henry came out of the bathroom. She felt a slightly cold draft on her legs as he pulled the covers back, and that's when she looked up at him. Henry was shirtless and in his navy blue boxers, exposing his robust and muscular chest. Charlotte felt her face inflame as she blatantly stared at him. Being a superhero sidekick really paid off. Charlotte thought to herself as she committed his six pack, pecs, and shoulders to memory. Her heart hammered so hard in her chest that she wondered if she might combust.
"You're not wearing a shirt." Henry looked at her oddly as he climbed in the bed next to her.
"Yeah, it's too hot to wear a shirt. Is that a problem?"
"No! I mean… that's fine." Charlotte said practically cursing herself for being so obvious, but I mean he had to know what he was doing to her. First, he seems like he might kiss her, and then, he decides to sleep next to her shirtless. Charlotte couldn't decide if Fate loved her or was teasing her. Either way, Charlotte wasn't exactly complaining as Henry scooted closer to her.
Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been so long! (*laughs awkwardly*) First things first, I have some preliminaries! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews! I couldn't see the reviews for a couple of days which was super sad. ;( I love reading them! Please post more! (*Begs on floor*) As an I'm so sorry that I got lazy with the last chapter present, I wrote an extra long chapter this time. XD (So sorry that it took so long. I'm a robot who can't write emotions, so this actually took forever.) Before I forget, I wrote a part of this fic for Shonashee! Specifically, the OT3 picture because I was inspired by your adorable fic that I haven't finished yet! (So sorry! Forgive me!)
Also! I was wondering if you guys would be interested in me writing another fic. I have three choices. A. Christmas One-shot B. New Year's One-Shot C. A Truth or Dare One-shot (Or D. You hate me, and I should stop writing.) This is my Christmas present to you guys! (Unless you're not religious or observe another religion because then it's my Sorry this took me like 5 days to write present.)
P.S.: Do you guy hate Peter? (Because I hate Peter...) He totally ruined the moment. XP