Charlotte Bolton stepped through the doors of Swellview High trying to keep her head up as the first day of the second semester started.

Midterms and finals had just passed and the dark-haired girl was still recovering from all the stress and sleep loss. Luckily, she was able to get enough rest the past weekend and relax after undoubtedly acing all her exams.

Charlotte was known to be pretty sociable and outgoing around the school, with her sarcastic humor getting a laugh out of anyone and her ambitious nature when it came to academics. So while she didn't admit it out loud, she wasn't entirely surprised when the student body voted her as class president. Her style also seemed to attract those that her best friend Jasper didn't approve of. She smirked as she walked passed a pair of boys gawking and biting their lips in her direction as her curls bounced in their signature half-up half-down style and her black heeled ankle-boots clicked behind her.

Reaching her locker, she spotted Jasper propped up against it with his arms crossed in front of him, his eyes lowered in a glare.

"Well hello to you, too," Charlotte joked as he nodded his head, his gaze not moving from the boys who remained staring at his best friend.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jasper finally spoke to the boys, moving towards them and gesturing for them to leave. "She's a girl, wow, I know, right? Amazing. Now carry on." The guys nudged each other before walking down the hall, away from Jasper and Charlotte. The curly-haired blond huffed as he went back towards her, who was now laughing after watching in amusement.

"Hey," she complained as he stepped in front of her. "They could've been nice. You can't shoo away everyone. I'm gonna end up alone." Jasper scoffed.

"I'm protecting you," he responded. "Those guys were just a pair of hooligans with a load of testosterone practically waiting to cause trouble. Trust me, you can do better." Charlotte laughed before wrapping an arm around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Jasper," she said softly. He hummed in response, a smile spreading across his face as he squeezed her back.

The two had been inseparable since kindergarten, quite literally, when they accidentally got their hands glued together. They had been working on some sort of art project; abstract was what she had told him their amateurish art was called. He gave her a high-five after they both finished, confused when the other wouldn't let go. After a brief scolding from their teacher, glue remover, and a lot of soap, there was an instantaneous mutual agreement that they were destined to be best friends.

And so it happened.

The sound of the bell sent the two apart as students began to roam the halls, looking for certain room numbers and trying to find a match with friends.

"What's your first class?" she asked him.

"Uhhh," he drew out as he unfolded his roster. "Pre-calc."

"Me too!" she exclaimed happily. "Let's go."

The pair walked side-by-side through the halls, Charlotte's short black skirt swaying along with her strides and Jasper sending smiles to the girls waving at him. The curly-haired blond had matured nicely after his awkward, bucket-loving phase in middle school, undoubtedly surprising everyone in their grade. He had grown another five inches, much to Charlotte's dismay, and while his love for collecting buckets still thrived, he kept it on the low.

The bell rang again just as Charlotte and Jasper stepped into room 302, and the two sat next to each other in empty desks in the middle of the room.

"Hello, class," a petite, brunette woman spoke as she entered the room. She wore rectangular-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose that seemed to serve no purpose as she inspected the class from above the frame. "I'm Mrs. Johnston. I'll be your pre-calc teacher. Welcome to your second semes-"

Suddenly, a tall, blond-haired boy stumbled into the room, his hair a mop of a mess on his head and his blue flannel shirt buttoned in all the wrong places. Charlotte looked to Jasper and rolled her eyes. What a great way to start the second semester, delinquent, she thought. There were noticeable dark circles tracing underneath his eyes, indicating a lack of sleep, much more than Charlotte thought she lacked during finals week. In fact, he seemed as if he hadn't had proper sleep in a long time. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity as she watched the boy fumble and adjust the strap to his book bag, running a hand through his hair in embarrassment when he met the eyes of Mrs. Johnston, who stood with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"What a pleasure to have you joining us," she said, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. His deep, raspy morning voice caused Charlotte to straighten up in surprise. She didn't expect him to sound like that. Then again, she wasn't sure what she was expecting to be honest.

"Mhm. Find a seat." The blond awkwardly nodded before searching the room, then walking over to an empty seat conveniently located across from Charlotte. She couldn't help but stare intriguingly as he walked by, making brief eye contact with his chocolate-brown eyes. She watched as he sat down and rolled up his sleeves, surprisingly revealing very toned and muscular arms and a watch that seemed larger than any she's ever seen before. He pulled out a notebook and a pencil from his book bag and laid them on his desk before letting out a sigh that seemed both of exhaustion and relief.

Charlotte broke out of her trance when she heard Mrs. Johnston's voice raise in volume as she began their lesson. Shaking her head, she rolled up the sleeves to her purple plum-colored sweater before opening to a fresh page in her notebook and beginning to copy the notes displayed on the board.

But she couldn't get her thoughts of the boy out of her head.

What could he be doing outside of school? she wondered as she tapped her pencil against the side of her forehead. She looked to the boy once again, even though she could only get a glimpse of the side of his face and the back of his head from a few feet away. She could, however, get a good view of his structured jawline, and she couldn't help but admit that despite his rough "I-just-woke-up" look going on, he was very attractive.

That wasn't why she seemed to be drawn to him, though. She had noticed the boy before from her last semester classes, so she knew he had to be fairly intelligent to be in the same ones as her. She just never took the time to really notice him, and now that she had, she couldn't help but want to know more. Where did he come from? she asked herself as he restlessly bounced his leg. What has him so anxious and tired all the time?

Before she knew it, the bell rung, signaling that class was over. Charlotte glanced at the clock in shock when she noticed over an hour had already passed. She sighed as she looked down at her notebook, seeing that she had barely taken any notes. Most of the students immediately bustled out of the room, leaving a few left along with herself, Jasper, and the mystery blond.

"C'mon," Jasper nudged her shoulder as he stood up. His expression shifted to one of concern as he noticed the look on her face. "Are you okay, Char? You seem a little out of it."

"What?" she asked suddenly, as if she was just noticing him. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Jasper narrowed his eyes in suspicion as she packed her bag. He could tell she was lying, and while he was about to question her about it, the sudden beeping of a watch was perceived throughout the room. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she wondered where the noise could be coming from, before eyeing the mysterious blond still in the room hastily try and shut off his watch. She watched as he failed to stop the noise, then hurriedly pick up his books and run out the door.

"Uh, Jasper!" she spoke abruptly, standing up. "I'll meet you in our next class, I just have to go see something."

"We don't even know if we have the same class together!" he called as she scurried to the door, clutching her tote bag.

"Then, lunch!" she called back before she was out of his sight. Where could she be going? he wondered.

Charlotte ran threw the fairly crowded halls as fast as her two feet could carry her, craning her neck among the students around her, attempting to distinguish a lock of blond hair. She repeated "excuse me's" as she bumped and pushed passed people, trying to figure out where he could've went.

Eventually, the bell rang again, signaling that the next class period was in session. She sighed as she realized she was too late to catch him, despite the halls being significantly clearer. Taking one last look down the hall, she turned around and started heading towards her next class which was around the corner down the upcoming hallway.

Suddenly, a boy in the midst of running bumped into her, sending their bags and bodies crashing to the floor. Charlotte had tried to hold on to the boy's shirt in an attempt to steady herself, only causing the boy to land on his back with Charlotte on top of him, tightly gripping his flannel. It was then she recognized the disheveled shirt, plaid blue and wrinkly in all its glory. She peeked up despite the inevitable blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks, immediately recognizing the boy's face.

"Hi," she breathed. The blond let out a breath of laughter.

"Hi." A look of shock remained on her face until she realized she was still on top of him.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm so sorry," she apologized, getting up and lending him a hand. She was surprised when she felt a shock go up her arm when he grabbed her hand to pull himself up, causing her to quickly retrieve her hand back.

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing," he spoke as he picked up his bag along with hers. "I'm the one who was running." While still fairly deep, his voice had cleared from its previous raspy tone.

"You're in my Pre-Calc class," Charlotte said, immediately regretting it after. No, duh.

"Yep," he nodded after straightening his shirt. "I recognized you." He smiled warmly down at her, causing her to blush again.

"Well, I actually should be going-"

"Where?" she asked suddenly. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" She mentally slapped her forehead again. Why are you being so nosy?

"Uh, yeah," he let out after a moment's hesitation. "I'm heading to my next class."

"Oh." The dark haired girl could detect a lie when she heard one, and she knew he was lying. However, she decided to let it slide and stop interrogating the boy whom she had literally just met.

"Well, uh-" His watch started beeping again, interrupting him.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Nothing," he responded quickly. "I, uh, I have to go." He took off down the hall before she could ask anything else.

"Wait!" she called after him. "Can I at least know your name?"

The blond turned around, taking a look at her. Charlotte felt herself blush at his intense stare, as if he was deciding whether or not she was one to be trusted.. She gulped instinctively, wondering what could be so classified about the boy that he had to be careful with whom he shared his name with. His expression then softened into crinkled eyes and a closed-mouth smile before he finally spoke.

"Henry."

Hey guys! It's been a while! I've had this idea for an AU, and really liked it, so I decided to go for it. xD I've always wondered what it'd be like if Henry hadn't met or been best friends with Charlotte and Jasper since the beginning. :)

I hope you guys enjoy this story! It's going to be a multi-chap, obviously, so I'm going to aim for an update at least every week, but you guys know how bad I am at frequent updates. I promise, though, I'll try my best. :)

Anyways, thanks for reading! Updating (hopefully) soon! xD