The blast sends Jasper stumbling back into the elevator, hands grasping around its frame to push himself forward in an attempt to save himself from falling.

Jasper's eyes follow Charlotte as she starts screaming at Ray, which confuses him until he notices the blaster in Ray's hands, and his face pales.

His sight burns as he looks at Ray, spinning the blaster around on his index finger, catching it in his palm, and blowing off the steaming barrel.

The others don't seem to notice, but Henry sees it the second Jasper catches his gaze with a pained look of complete and utter betrayal in his eyes, he biting back tears, unable to mask his emotions under the blaster's influence.

Jasper's reaction absolutely floors Henry- He's really upset and not in his typical annoyed vocal frustration. This, this is different- it's a more concentrated, consuming hurt... And fear?

This doesn't make sense. Jasper shouldn't have a secret from Henry, one that's terrified to tell.

He, reasonably, doesn't have any real reason to be mad. But since when does Henry do it reasonable.

They're supposed to tell each other everything; what the hell could he keep from his best friend?

More powerful than Henry's anger is that sudden chill of overwhelming guilt that sends shivers running down his spine as he sees with striking clarity just how really, really scared Jasper is because of them.

Jasper's not allowed to have negative emotions. It's just wrong. Henry's the worst friend in the world for allowing this to happen.

"Ray," Henry calls, head whipping over to face his boss, "We shouldn't do this."

"Ugh!" Ray groans, head turning back to face him with a look of irritation, "You're starting to sound like Charlotte."

"Good, because I am right." Charlotte insists, "This an invasion of Jasper's privacy-"

"It's not like he'll remember anything. Plus, Henry said himself that Jasper doesn't know the definition of privacy," Ray cuts off their scolding, rolling his eyes, "It's not like he's capable of hiding anything. Watch," He insists, turning to Jasper, "What's your biggest secret?"

Jasper parts his lips, breath shaking as he feels a compulsion to speak, but clasps a hand over his mouth before any words come out.

Ray's taken back, a curious smile raising, "Uh, would you look at that? I guess Bucket Boy is hiding something after all."

Jasper has lots of things he's hiding. Some secrets are just pointless, like all the time he's used Piper's girly curly or the real reason he got banned from that gas station, and others are things he doesn't want to talk about, like his relationship with his mom...

But his biggest secret- the one he'd rather die than admit has always been the fact he's in love with Henry.

Jasper can't tell them that- Henry might not want to be his friend anymore, and if that happens, he might as well just kill himself because Henry is one of the few people who makes his life feel worth living in the first place.

This is why he's fighting so hard not to tell him, yet he feels like he'll die if he doesn't.

"This isn't funny, you guys are so reckless." Charlotte scolds, gesturing back, "Look at Jasper. He's crying because of you."

Of course, he's crying. This hurts- holy fuck, this hurts.

It makes him feel like his lungs are filled with glass, shredding his throat the longer that he refuses to speak, and his head is pounding unbearably. Is his brain is on fire? His skull feels like it's being ripped open from the inside out.

He can't stop shaking, and his body starts to sway, making Henry call out in a panic, "Jasper?!"

Henry's arms wrap around his waist, hands fully grasping his sides to hold him upright as he desperately grips Henry's shoulder, seeking some stability as he begins to hyperventilate with such an intense sob that it makes it hard for him to think, and barely possible for him to breathe.

This is so fucked. Jasper's not supposed to cry. What did they do to him?

Henry lifts his hand to cradle Jasper's head as his face slumps into his chest, muffling the sound as he begins to scream out at the top of his lungs, "What- what's wrong with him?"

Ray's tone shifts completely, his voice suddenly very serious, "I don't know."

"This could be a side effect from the blaster." Charlotte frowns, before calling out, "Schwoz!"

"Oh, no," Schwoz gasps as he runs in from the back, startled by the sight of the blaster in Ray's hand, accompanied by the state of Jasper, "Vhat did you do?!"

Charlotte answers, "Ray used your blaster!"

"Well, I didn't know it would hurt him!" Ray stammers, gesturing to the blaster, "You- you guys said this was just going to force people to tell the truth!"

"It does," Schwoz assures, "By cause pain if vhey don't. "

"Maybe you should have told us that!" Henry fumes, arms tightening protectively around Jasper, "That's not a truthblaster. That's a torture device."

"Hey, It's not my vault you used it on Yasper," Schwoz argues, "I made it for villaons-"

"We don't have time for this." Charlotte cuts them off, "Schwoz, how do we make it stop?"

"Easy," Schwoz tells them, "It vill stop vonce he answers you questions- vhat did you ask him?"

"Ray- He asked him his biggest secret," Henry starts, looking down at Jasper, picking up his face to force their gaze to meet, "Jasper, what is it?"

Jasper looks up, his pupils hazy as he shakes his head- refusing to speak.

"No, Yasper, you mustn't." Schwoz insists, voice panicked, "If you von't the blood vessel in your brain vill burst- and you vill die!"

"What!?" Charlotte explodes, "He's going to die if he doesn't tell us!?"

"Vell, yah."

No. Jasper's not allowed to cry, much less die. It's not happening. Henry won't let it happen.

He starts shaking Jasper at this point, "C'mon Jasper, say something. We don't even care about the damn secret anymore. Whatever it is, it can't be worth your life."

Even while knowing he could die, Jasper still looks Henry in the eyes and shakes his head again.

"It seems like you don't understand, kid!" Ray calls, grasping him by the shoulders and pulling him away from Henry, "You aren't going to survive if you don't tell someone."

"Can- can he tell just one person?" Henry asks, voice trembling, "Does it have to be all of us? Maybe he'd be willing to talk alone."

Charlotte turns her head, "Would that work, Schwoz?"

Schwoz shrugs, "Proboobly."

Henry grabs Jasper's arm instantly and drags him towards the elevator. Jasper doesn't have the energy to protest and allows Henry to pull them inside together.

Jasper leans into the wall, eyes squeezing shut as he collapses against it and slides down to his feet. He clutches his Captain Man keychain so tightly in his fist that his knuckles turn white around it. He lets his head fall back against the cool concrete, jaw clenching as he sucks in a sharp breath through gritted teeth.

"Jasper, please," Henry pleads, gently grasping his best friend's shoulder as he kneels beside him, "Whatever you say to me will never leave this elevator." Henry promises, voice thick with held-back tears, yet he continues to refuse, "You'd really rather die than trust me?"

Jasper doesn't acknowledge him, nails digging into his legs as he hugs his knees against his chest- and still, he stays silent.

"I don't- I don't want to lose you!" Henry begs, voice cracking in desperation, "I can't live without my bestest- coolest- most awesomest friend by my side." He says, cupping Jasper's face, tilting his head, "If you cared about me at all, you wouldn't make me watch you die? I thought- I thought we were friends? But if you do this, if you die, I- I will- I will never forgive you. I will hate you forever."

Jasper's lips quiver, eyes flicking back up to meet Henry's as he forces himself to speak, "I-I'm... I'm in love with you."

Henry blinks, "Hmmm?"

Tears stream down Jasper's face as he lets out a panting breath of relief, the pain-relieving the more he speaks, repeating a little louder this time, "I'm in love with you."

Henry's voice raises in pitch, humming an octave higher, "Hmmmm?!"

Jasper's eyes flutter in annoyance, and he lets out an exhausted sigh and states for the final time, "I'm in love with you."

"No," Henry denies while dropping Jasper's face, letting out a loose string of hesitant laughter, head shaking, "Nope, you're not." He insists, pulling away to wave his hands around, grappling for the words, "You're not even gay, so you can't be -"

"Henry," Jasper cuts him off, voice hoarse, "Just look at me." He sighs, gesturing towards himself, "I dress like a hipster grandpa and love wearing belly shirts. Obviously, I'm not straight."

Henry's hand clenched shut as he reels it back against his chin, words muffling into his knuckles, "Are you sure?!"

"That I'm gay or that I'm in love with you?"

"In love, how- how can you be sure about that?"

"I've been in love with you since before I knew what being in love meant." Jasper sighs, "Every time I'm with you, I lose parts of myself," He admits hesitantly, letting his eyelid drop for a moment, "But not in a bad way. It feels good to share these pieces of me with you. I want to give you anything, everything- my time, my attention, my affection, all of it. Whatever it takes to make you feel as special as you make me feel." He explains, face flushing as the word spills out, "Because I love you, I always have."

"Oh shit." Henry blurts, "B-but- you're not attracted to me." He stammers, snapping his fingers, "You didn't say that once, so this..." He gestures between them, "Could just be platonic, right?"

Jasper peeks his eyes open and shakes his head shamefully, "Nope."

Henry claps his hands together, "What if I said, please?"

Jasper shoots him an unmasked glare, voice pinched in anger, "If you wanted me to lie to you, you shouldn't have used the truthblaster on me."

Henry tenses in response to Jasper's sudden scolding. He forces himself to nod, swallowing uncomfortably before speaking, "Yeah, yeah, fair… so, what? You, um- think I'm like hot or something?"

"Definitely. You got the main lead in all my wet dreams." Jasper cringes as he speaks, compelled to answer, "I also am the one who made your favorite Twitflash fan page and- and- oh my god! Why would you ask me that?!"

"Oh my god!" Henry splutters out, face igniting in a red flush, "Wait- did you just say you're the one running the Kid Danger Simp account?!"

Jasper nods unwillingly, "Uh-huh."

Henry follows K1dDangerL0ver religiously because it's a great ego boost. It made him feel #prettyboi. How is he supposed to feel like hashtag pretty boy now when it's Jasper making all the posts like, 'Kid Danger deserves mouth kisses' and, 'I wish to die via Kid Danger's thighs.'

Henry groans, "Dude…"

"This is weird, right…?" Jasper whispers, "There's not even the slightest chance that you could like me back, is there?"

Henry's stomach sinks at how Jasper looks at him, his expression so heartbroken yet hopeful as he waits for the answer. Henry twists his mouth, head shaking as he utters the smallest, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me, too." Jasper admits weakly, bowing his face forward to try and hide his watering eyes, "Ya know, I never wanted me to feel this way either." He trails off, tears dripping down his nose as he pulls his knees into his chest, "It's sucks."

Henry doesn't know how to respond to the intensities of the raw emotion in his voice; he sounds so shattered. Henry's first instinct would be to reach out, but he holds himself back out of uncertainty.

"Which is why I wasn't going to tell you." Jasper swears, running his hand through his hair, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ruin everything, and- I- I'll understand if you hate me now... I'd hate me too." Jasper's voice cracks, and he hugs himself tighter, swallowing hard as he sobs, "But please, please-"

His voice choaks to a stop, lost in a sob.

So, Henry attempts to move, to do something instead of standing here awkwardly floundering for a response, shaking slightly as he lifts his hand to Jasper's shoulder. It is obvious that his movements are hesitant, so it doesn't ease Jasper the way he wanted it to.

"Jasp," Henry breathes, stammering, "I - I don't know what to say."

Jasper suddenly can't comprehend the words coming out of Henry's mouth; the sound echos and distorts around him, making Jasper lift his gaze. His vision blurs momentarily, making his sight go in and out of focus.

Jasper blinks once, then twice, before he lets out a groan as he rubs his temples, wondering why in the world his head hurts so fucking bad.

"Henry?" Jasper calls, eyes squinting in confusion, "Hi?"

Henry tilts his head, murmuring an equally confused, "Hi?"

Jasper scans his surroundings, noting the elevator, "Why are we in here?"

Henry leans back, eyes wide, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Schwoz said he'd forget- Henry knew that. Yet, it still came as a shock how fast Jasper's expression shifted. If it weren't for the tears still streaming down his face, Henry wouldn't have been able to tell that anything had happened at all.

It makes Henry feel sick the way Jasper's face lit up instantly the moment he realized who is in front of him, eyes shining brightly as if he wasn't close to death a few minutes ago.

It makes Henry still as he stares, unaware of what he's doing until Jasper tilts his head to catch his unfocused gaze with a perplexed smile.

"Henry," Jasper calls, snapping his fingers in front of his eyes, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh..." Henry blinks, letting out a shaky breath, then swallowing hard, "You- um.. have something on your face."

"What!?" Jasper squeaks, jumping up, "Is it a butterfly?!" He panics, swatting his face, "Henry, Get it off! Get it off!"

"Wait- no!" Henry tries, rising to his feet after him, attempting to tell him that there isn't a bug. Jasper doesn't hear a word until Henry grasps his shoulders firmly and assures, "There is no butterfly!"

"Oh, oops." Jasper laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Then, what's on my face?"

"It's- it's um..." Henry stammers before raising his arm, "It's nothing. I'll just wipe it off."

Jasper flinches slightly when Henry hesitantly brings his hand up to his face, the touch unbearably gentle as he runs the tip of his knuckles under Jasper's eyes and delicately brushes the tears away.

The interaction is followed by a few more seconds of silence, making Henry's face flush as the two look at each other. Jasper tenses under his gaze, unsure what to think about the way Henry lingers a little too long before finally pulling away.

"Is it hot in here?" Henry blurts out suddenly, tugging on the collar of his shirt, "It's definitely hot in here." He answers his own question, turning around and rapidly clicking the open door elevator button, "We should leave."

"It's not hot, though?" Jasper states, "Maybe you're getting sick or something. You're all spacy, and your face is red." He frowns, concern flashing over his features, "You could have a fever. Let me check."

"Wait-" Henry starts, words falling flat when Jasper's hand falls over his forehead, making him instinctively shrink his neck into his shoulder before running away.

Henry ducks his head under Jasper's arm and escapes through the elevator door the second it slides open.

Jasper's nose scrunches up as he follows Henry out. He doesn't understand what the big deal is, but before he can open his mouth to question Henry, Charlotte pulls him into the most intense, bone-crushing hug he's ever had.

Jasper blinks, squeaking in surprise when her arms wrap around his back, eyebrows pinching together in confusion, as he looks down at her, "Char?"

She squeezes him tighter, "I'm so glad you're alive."

Jasper, despite his now increasing confusion, returns her embrace. He rests his chin over her head and murmurs, "Uh... me too?"

She pulls away, relief in her gaze as she looks up to meet his eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah? Wait- actually, no. I think I hit my head or something; I've got this killer migraine." He admits as he uncoils his arms, "But don't worry about me, I think we should check on Henry. He's acting super freaky."

"No, we- we should definitely worry about you." Henry insists, backing away from them, "Schwoz, why don't you go look into Jasper's headache, and- and Ray and Charlotte come over to er- check out my uh- fever? Now."

"Okay, I guess," Jasper says, not protesting as Schwoz drags him off to the side and opens the medical supplies panel in the wall. Schwoz forces him to lie on the examination bed the second it rolls out.

Henry drags Charlotte and Ray to the farthest space in the room from Jasper, voice hushed, "Oh my god." He whispers, "I- I am freaking out."

Ray's eyes widened with curiosity, "What did he say?"

"Hmmm?"

"What did he say?" Ray repeats in the exact same tone, "What's Jasper's secret?"

"Don't ask that." Charlotte scolds, smacking Ray, "Henry swore on Jasper's life to keep the secret."

Henry shakes his head, "What secret?"

Ray shrugs off her slap, "The one Jasper just told you."

"I don't know about any secret." Henry suddenly insists, arms folding over his chest, "But if I did know a hypothetical secret and made a hypothetical promise not to tell anyone, but then another hypothetical person asked about it. I could not hypothetically tell them without breaking my hypothetical promise, hypothetically."

Ray curls his lip in confusion, "What?!"

"He's doing his denial thing." Charlotte explains, calling Henry out bluntly, "He's trying to ignore it like he does all his other problems by pretending it doesn't exist."

"Right," Ray nods, "He does do that."

"I- no?" Henry denies weakly, "I don't even know what we are talking about right now."

"I think you should just tell Jasper what happened." Charlotte suggests seriously, "He has the right to know that his privacy has been violated. Then, maybe you could apologize and have a mature discussion about this situation."

"Or, he says nothing?" Ray suggests, snapping his fingers, "Jasper doesn't know Henry knows, and unless some blabber mouth tells him…" He pauses, glaring at Charlotte," We could pretend nothing happened, and no one has to do any of that 'communication' stuff."

"Yeah, that," Henry agrees, pointing to Ray, "I'm a do that."

"Don't make me lecture you again," Charlotte sighs, crossing her arms, "You both know this is wrong."

"Trust me, Char," Henry sighs, breaking character for a moment, "Telling him would only make things worse… hypothetically."

Ray cuts him off with a slap to his arms in a quick attempt to silence him as Schwoz finishes up, and Jasper starts to approach them.

"Hey, Sonny," Ray calls, ruffling Jasper's hair, "How is your head?"

Jasper's eyes light up when he's asked that, thrilled that his unsuspecting self-assigned father figure would care enough to want to know about his well-being.

"Dr. Schwartz says my head is fine." Jasper smiles, knocking on his head, "What about Henry?"

Henry rubs his shoulder, "I'm fine too."

"That's good." Jasper says, his tone showing that he doesn't believe them, "But why are you being weird?"

"It's nothing." Henry forces out, waving his hand in dismissal, "I just wanna get home, ya know?"

"Oh, "Jasper nods knowingly, "I get it."

Henry tilts his head, squinting his eyes, "Right, right. You know how it is." He nods, "I should really get going now."

"Wait up," Jasper calls, "I'll walk with you."

Henry doesn't say anything, only looks at Charlotte and Ray, silently begging one of them to make up an excuse or something to prevent him from being alone with Jasper.

Ray doesn't pick up on the hit, but Charlotte does and chooses to ignore it. Henry glares and mentally curses her as Jasper follows him back into the elevator.