The next day, Piper's fingers are itching to call Charlotte. It's futile, really, because she could call anyone. Anyone else who would find her words convenient, except Piper wants Charlotte. Charlotte, who probably needs sleep much more than gossip right about now.
Deciding against it, Piper places her phone on the table with an especially loud and disrupting muffled clack and takes a worryingly large bite of her bagel. A few other college students look towards her upon hearing the sudden sound, which she gleefully sends daggers through them with the most icy 'leave-me-alone-before-I-pummel-you' glare she can manage.
Zoning out, Piper imagines a dagger, and starts firing imaginary ones at the weirdos who keep glancing at her every now and then. Eventually, the daggers are being fired at people she hates, which eventually lands on Melanie, and Piper's heart skips a beat.
The poor blonde girl is left choking on her coffee, trying to regain her composure before someone from her class can label her as the weird kid.
She'd confidently and proudly called Jasper that before. Completely bluntly, she'd thrown herself onto his shoulders and made him carry her around, before insulting him in every way possible. She remembers the look of disappointment and hurt as it had crept upon his face, and the way he hadn't left Henry's side afterwards.
Jasper shall not be at fault to avoiding her that day. It's surprising he didn't avoid her after that; she said some pretty messed up stuff.
She hates her younger self, too. There's no need to hide it.
Her hate is a burning passion, one sourced by rationality and reason. She hates her for a multitude of reasons. For her pride, for her anger, for her attitude, for her recklessness, for her beliefs, for her carelessness, for her fashion, for her actions, for her lust (of her brother, of all people, the thought is still traumatising) and for her words.
She shouldn't of said or done over half of the things she did say and do, especially to the people of her household. Her mother and father were busy enough as it was, and her needless wants and demands were not helping . Her poor father, who worked nine-to-five and sometimes gone for longer, who'd she'd screamed and ranted towards constantly. Her tired mother, who was trying to earn money herself, busy with work, trying to get Henry to be more present and Piper's unfounded neediness.
She wonders just about how much of a burden she was back then, and then her train of thought immediately turns to how far she's come. Her evolution to decency had started the day her brother's broken arm, and they'd had that 'hypothetical' conversation about if he were to be Kid Danger. Later, she would find her suspicions to be true.
She'd realised over time that the superhero missions weren't all fun and games, and that Captain Man and Kid Danger had a lot more to worry about than their social status. That put her in the best position possible for her role of Social Media manager (which wasn't official, or approved by her brother).
After a few missions and one really bad one, Piper had finally realised the severity of the whole superhero gig. Her brother had earned himself a few broken ribs and a concussion and had leaned on her the entire way home. Her cunning mind and picturesque memory had seen how guilty Captain Man looked despite reassurances, how Schwoz fretted over Henry until Ray told him to hurry up and get the job done, how Henry kept on making inappropriate puns and trying to on about his day (it was night), how Charlotte had paced back and forth and berated him for getting hurt and how Jasper didn't give a shit and chatted loudly on about his buckets anyway.
They were like some sort of twisted family, and Piper couldn't distinguish her specific place between them. So she'd declared herself Social Media manager and moved on.
No, she hadn't.
She was still jealous to this day, but she didn't know why or who, for that matter. Definitely not Schwoz or Ray. The possibilities landed to Charlotte, Jasper or her brother. Henry had died. If only for a few minutes, yet he was still dead and it was still the scariest and worst thing she'd ever seen. She wasn't jealous of that: she didn't want to die.
Jasper was an…interesting character, to say the least. He was addicted to buckets and weird foods. Sometimes he'd been known to not be able to comprehend days of the week, for example, 'It's Sunday, don't come to work today,' but he wasn't stupid. Her brother's friend had been known to follow his friends blindly, and she doesn't think she's jealous of that.
Charlotte. She's smart and sassy, confident enough that she's willing to hang around kids as weird as Henry and Jasper and still show her face with a proud smile wherever she goes. She's pretty and knows her standards, also refusing any form of criticism towards her.
Piper will admit, she is jealous of wouldn't be?
Also, there's things Charlotte gets to do that Piper doesn't. Like being a super cool, super-strong cyborg fighting crime in Dystopia. Like having the ability to berate and rant at both Jasper and Henry and not feel bad about it because she knows the difference between being a jerk and chastising. Charlotte's also more mature, knowing where she does and doesn't belong.
Piper doesn't.
The thoughts hits her like a slap in the face, and she's left a little dumbfounded at her little table in the corner of the small café.
She's been poking around in someone's business, somewhere she doesn't belong because she was bored. Bored of her amazing life that others might never have the chance to live, evident from her elder brother himself. How selfish is that?
She hates her jealousy, and from now on, she'll try to stay where she's needed.
Like her mom said once, 'be present!'
Sorry if this turned out anticlimactic, but it is the first fanfic I've written so… hooray?