This is just a little thing I came up with a while ago & I've been wanting to write it for months. Interpret this how you will. I don't ship Chenry, but it's cool if you do. I see them more as good friends than anything, but that's just me. I tried to write this similar to the way the show works and I believe Charlotte is closer to Henry than Jasper, which is why this is mostly written from Henry's point of view.

Anyways yeah, hope you enjoy :)

Oh! And it's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy holidays to everyone else :D

It happened after school.

The moment the bell rang, Harry Stevens grabbed Charlotte's hand and asked her out in the middle of the classroom. Their peers stopped and watched, immediately breaking out in whispers when the question was asked. Harry's friends exchanged knowing smirks, lightly nudging each other with their elbows and snickering under their breaths.

For a moment, Charlotte was in awe. Harry Stevens was the most popular guy in the junior class, and it's no wonder why. He was a linebacker for the Swellview High School football team. Harry was tall, fit, and had dark brown hair with shaved sides and a swoosh in the middle. There were a couple blemishes on his face from persistent acne and early sports incidents. Charlotte always liked them, despite what others may say. She thought they made him seem more human instead of your stereotypical perfect popular boy.

Jasper and Henry had talked about Harry on multiple occasions, and they never had anything good to say about him. Harry had a reputation for being a player and apparently there was something about a list that her friends kept talking about, but Charlotte never paid attention long enough to hear it. She knew of the risks and she knew Harry Stevens totally wasn't a good idea, but she still said yes. The girl side of her couldn't help herself because Harry Stevens just asked her out. As she headed to her locker afterward, she made a promise to herself to keep things quiet. She didn't want Jasper or Henry finding out.

•••••

Five minutes later, Jasper was rigid as he strained to hear the conversation a few lockers down. He opened his own and turned to the door, pretending to fix his hair and watching the group behind him through the little mirror.

Harry Stevens grinned at a long narrow paper in his hands. The paper fell midway to his chest. "I'm almost there, boys. Charlotte Bolton's the last on my list. Told ya I'd finish before senior year."

Jasper's eyes widened. The list. Charlotte said yes to the list. Well, she really said yes to Harry, but same thing.

Gently, he shut his locker and took off down the hall. I gotta find Henry.

•••••

Henry had left school early for a dentist appointment, so Jasper didn't see him until he arrived to work. Thankfully, Charlotte wasn't there yet.

Maybe she's hanging out with Harry, he thought as his face scrunched in disgust. The second the elevator door opened, Jasper tore his backpack off and rushed into the room. Henry was lounging on the couch drinking a smoothy and talking to Ray next to him.

"Henry!" Jasper cried, leaning over the back of the couch. Henry jumped, startled. He held a hand over his mouth as he choked on his drink and glared at Jasper.

"What?" Henry said, wiping his mouth.

"Charlotte's going on a date with Harry Stevens."

Henry frowned. "No way," he laughed, unsure. "We talk about him all the time. She knows that guy is bad news."

"Who's this guy and why's he bad news?" Ray asked. Henry ran a hand through his hair.

"He's, like, the most popular guy in school," Jasper began.

"He's been keeping a list of girls in our class since freshmen year," Henry continued.

"The Kiss List!" Jasper supplied.

Henry nodded. "Right. He asks the girls out, gets them to kiss him, then checks them off his list."

"Charlotte's the last girl," Jasper finished. "He's gonna finish his list tonight and he'll brag about it 'til we graduate!"

Henry slid out of the couch; he suddenly needed to get up and move. The idea of Harry doing that to Charlotte angered him. He began to pace, running his hands through his hair as he tried to devise a plan.

"Okay," Henry said, stopping in front of the couch and leaning on the table, "what if we… Disrupt their date?"

Ray pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes skeptically. "How?" he asked. A part of him was always up for some harmless sabotage and fun, but the superhero part of him had to know what these two were planning. He was already imaging the calls he would be getting later that night about two idiot boys causing a scene.

"Just… I dunno. We could go undercover at a restaurant and when Charlotte goes to the bathroom or something, we carefully warn Harry what'll happen if he pulls that trick on her."

Jasper frowned. "What if they hang out at his place?"

"Then we can…" Henry paused, glancing at Ray.

Ray sighed. "As the adult here, I feel the need to say that you can't break into someone's house."

Henry snickered. Ray watched him, raising an eyebrow as he fought back a smile. As Henry was about to dish out another idea, one of the tubes dropped from the ceiling. Charlotte shot down, a dreamy grin on her face.

When the tube disappeared, Charlotte bounced down the stairs happier than the guys had ever seen her. Henry and Jasper exchanged disgusted looks.

"Hey Char," Henry greeted. "Why're you so happy?"

Charlotte looked at him, smile fading a bit. She scoffed, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you mean? I'm as happy as I always am."

Jasper pushed off the couch, placing his hands on his hips as he stood in front of her. "You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you're going on a date with Harry Stevens?!"

Charlotte's face fell. Her mouth formed a perfect O as she looked past Jasper at Henry, then Ray, then back to Jasper. "Oh that," she laughed sheepishly.

"Charlotte-" Henry began. Ray cut him off, holding a hand in the boy's face as Ray slid off the couch.

"That's awesome! Where're you going?" Ray asked, grinning at Charlotte.

"Sotto Voce," Charlotte answered, her smile returning.

"Oh yeah, great memories there," Henry mumbled under his breath.

"He's picking me up at seven," she continued, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Henry made a face, gesturing toward her with his hand as he shared a look of disgust with Jasper. Her phone dinged and she pulled it out of her pocket. She sighed, smiling again. Henry shook his head and Jasper rolled his eyes. Charlotte gasped, "It's already four! I have to go get ready!"

"Good luck!" Ray called as Charlotte was enclosed in the tube once more.

"Make good choices!" Jasper added. She shot him a weird look.

"Up the tube," she said, disappearing with a whoosh.

Henry stormed forward, waving his hand at the place the tube used to be. "Did you see how she was acting? It was completely out-of-character for her!"

"Stupid Harry Stevens," Jasper spat, glaring at the floor.

Ray snapped his fingers like a lightbulb went off in his head. "I know how you guys can go spy on them."

"You're okay with us spying but not breaking into a house?" Jasper asked.

"I'm okay with anything that won't get me involved," Ray explained. Henry nodded and shrugged. Fair enough.

Henry smiled. "So, what's the plan?"

•••••

Charlotte looked beautiful.

She wore a pretty white sleeveless dress that cut just above her knees and a pair of white sandals with small heels. Her hair was as curly as ever and her eyelids sparkled under the restaurant lights. For the first time, she was actually wearing makeup.

The boys agreed she looked amazing; too bad it's wasted on Harry Stevens.

"This is the dumbest idea ever," Jasper whined, glaring at Henry across the table. Henry glanced at him and smirked. Jasper wore a light pink butterfly dress with knee high gray socks and a pair of brown shoes. At his feet sat a maroon handbag with a peacock feather design across the front. His regular curls were replaced with a gray curly wig and thin wired glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Why do I have to be the woman?"

"Maybe Ray likes me better," Henry suggested with a shrug. He wore a Hawaiian button up and a pair of dark pants pulled up to his waist. A furry gray mustache that matched his short haired wig stuck to his upper lip and it took everything in him not to yank it off. Every time Henry spoke, the hair tickled his nose.

Jasper glared. "Shocker."

To finish Henry's look, a wooden cane leaned against the table beside him. Ray had been reluctant to give it to the boy, but caved after Henry begged that the outfit wouldn't be complete without it.

While the boys were preparing to infiltrate the date, Ray was back in the Man Cave, never straying too far from the monitors. He may or may not have been waiting for a call about a crazy old man whacking a child with a cane.

Henry snickered. "Besides, that costume brings back some… Bad memories."

"Is it part of another inside joke that I wasn't around for?" Jasper rolled his eyes.

"No. Well, yeah, but no. It was part of my job interview."

Jasper frowned. "Why did your job interview involve an old lady?"

Henry pursed his lips and looked at the menu in front of him. "It was a… Strange interview."

As Jasper began to question further, something white moved to their left. The boys snapped their heads toward the table, watching Charlotte excuse herself to the bathroom. Harry smiled and said something the boys couldn't hear. Henry waited until Charlotte disappeared around the corner.

Then, they went in.

Harry eyed the old couple approaching him, faces twisted with anger. He refrained from staring as long as he could, taking a sip of water and observing the restaurant décor. However, he could only keep up the act for so long before the couple had stopped next to him.

"Hello-o-o there youngster," Jasper greeted in a high-pitched, shaky voice.

"Are you here with a date?" Henry questioned, leaning on his cane and glaring at the boy.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Er, yeah? She's in the bathroom, why?"

"You seem like a…" Henry swallowed back the bad taste in his mouth as he choked out the word, "A decent young fellow. Certainly not somebody who would take advantage of your date, correct?"

The boy cocked his head. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Jasper shook his head. "No, no, not us. We're just your friendly neighborhood old couple!"

Harry caught something over Jasper's shoulder and he sighed with relief. Confused, the boys turned to look at the something and froze. Charlotte stared back at them, puzzled.

"Uh, hi," she said, stepping around Jasper to get to her seat. "Who're you?"

"O-Oh, we're just passing through," Jasper said, pulling Henry toward the door. Charlotte squinted at his face, crossing her arms over her chest. Jasper turned to Henry, alarmed. He knew that look. That was the look she got when she was figuring something out.

"Tah-tah, cheerio, goodnight!" Henry cried, twirling around and making a break for it. Charlotte caught him arm and yanked him back.

"Jasper," she growled, pointing at him. "Henry." Charlotte stepped forward and ripped the mustache off Henry's lip. The blond's hands flew to his mouth.

"Ow!" Henry cried.

"Shush!" a waiter hissed as he passed.

Charlotte tore Jasper's wig off his head and glowered at her best friends. "What're you doing here?!"

"Saving you from this loser," Henry explained, throwing a hand at Harry.

Harry rose to his feet, laughing. "Says the guy dressed as an old man. Such a freak, Hart. Both of you." He extended his hand to Charlotte, "C'mon love, let's find somewhere quiet."

"Gross, don't call her that," Henry spat.

Jasper jumped between Harry and Charlotte, crossing his arms over his chest. "No," he said, shoving a finger at Harry's chest. "We're not letting her go anywhere with you."

"Back off, Jasper," Charlotte ordered. She grabbed her bag and walked around her friends. "You're not in control of me."

"Yeah guys," Harry said, smirking, "you're not in control of her."

Henry lunged for him, raising his cane over his head as he howled a battle cry. Jasper wrapped his arms around Henry's shoulders while Charlotte tried to wedge her way between the boys. Chaos broke and suddenly the dining room was swarmed with waiters trying to break the teenagers apart. A punch here, another there, blood splattered across the floor. Somebody pried Henry's cane from his hand. Someone else announced they'd called the police. Everywhere phones waved through the air, trying to get a shot of the action.

Ten minutes later, Henry and Jasper were in handcuffs. Henry's nose dripped with blood and Jasper's knuckles throbbed painfully. Captain Man had arrived five minutes earlier, not at all surprised. Charlotte was waiting outside, too angry to look at her friends. Harry lingered, a smug smile on his face.

"You lost this one, Hart," he sneered.

Henry lurched forward, baring his teeth at his classmate. A strong hand on his shoulder held him in place, fingers pressing sternly into his back. Henry didn't have to look.

•••••

"He really got you."

Ray released Henry's chin and pressed an ice pack to the side of Henry's nose. Henry took over, taking the pack from Ray with a sigh. Ray slid off the couch and walked toward the giant gear in the back.

"I got him," Jasper said, waving his injured hand in the air. "Didn't anybody see that?"

Henry rubbed his temple, squeezing his eyes shut; his head really hurt. "Where'd you hit him?"

"Right in the eye."

Ray leaned over the back of the couch and sat a bottle of water and a couple of ibuprofen on the table in front of Henry. Then, he looked at Jasper. "Good job. At least one of you hit him."

"Shut up," Henry groaned. "I would've been able to if Charlotte wasn't right in front of me. I couldn't touch him."

"I'm just saying," Ray said, sitting on the couch, "if you're gonna get in a fight with someone, you gotta make it count. Especially if the guy hits you!"

Henry clenched his jaw. "Tomorrow. I'll get him back tomorrow."

Jasper shook his head. "You'll get suspended."

"Not if I do it before school." Upon the disapproving looks he was receiving, he added, "Look, even if Charlotte doesn't kiss him and he doesn't get to finish his stupid list, he still hit me! I get a freebie."

An alarm went off then and a tube dropped from the ceiling. The boys turned as Charlotte walked down the stairs, carefully rubbing at her eyes. Ray smiled, despite the blank look on her face.

"You look great, Charlotte."

She returned his smile, equally as halfhearted as his. "Thanks." Jasper and Henry looked at each other.

"Char…" Henry began, sliding out from behind the table. He laid the ice pack down and she gasped, hands flying to her mouth.

"I didn't know he hit you," she said, slowly removing her hands. "His eye was swollen, but I didn't know he got you back."

"I hit him!" Jasper cried, holding his injured knuckles out for her to see.

Charlotte pressed her lips into a smile. "Good job, Jasper."

Jasper dropped his hand and glanced back at Henry. "Charlotte, we're sorry we crashed your date." She smiled and nodded, then looked at Henry. Jasper and Ray turned to Henry as well.

Henry took a deep breath, "Yeah, sorry. We might've gotten carried away."

She sighed, picking at the bracelets around her wrists. "It's okay; I know you guys were trying to protect me. He tried to kiss me on the way home. I refused and he freaked out, so I pushed him into a mud puddle."

Ray snorted. "Atta girl!"

Jasper gave her a high five. She giggled, her chest loosening a little. Whatever hesitation she felt about going to the Man Cave after the terrible date was evaporating with each passing second. Her friends were cheering her up, even if they didn't mean to.

"I should've seen it coming, though." Charlotte stared at her shoes. "There's no way a guy that popular would ever go out with someone like me unless he wanted something."

The guys shared concerned looks. Henry stepped forward, gently nudging her shoulder. "Hey," he said, drawing her attention, "I would rather go out with someone like you than a popular person like that."

She smiled. "Thanks! … I think."

Ray walked to the snack machine. "Anybody up for, say," he pressed his hand to the screen, "three gallons of vanilla ice cream?"

"Three gallons of vanilla ice cream," the machine repeated.

"Yes," Charlotte moaned, kicking her heels off. "I've been so worried about being perfect for Harry that all I want to do is stuff my face."

Jasper smiled. "There's the Charlotte we all know and love." He hooked his arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the snack machine. While she and Jasper gathered the ice cream in their arms, Ray joined Henry by the couch.

"Two rules for tomorrow," Ray began, crossing his arms over his chest.

Henry frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Rules?"

"Rule one, hit 'im hard. You're probably gonna get in a lot of trouble for this, so you may as well break his nose or something. Rule two, no getting arrested. That's way too early in the morning for me to get up."

The teen smiled sarcastically. "You're a great role model."

Ray pat his shoulder, smirking. "I know."

•••••

At eight o'clock Friday morning, the trio walked into a crowded hallway. Harry and his friends sat on the stairs by the water fountain, laughing about something on their phone. Their classmates turned and began to whisper, eyes jumping from Harry's group to Henry's. One of Harry's friends nudged him, nodding his head toward the front doors.

Henry and Harry met in the center of the hall, their friends trailing behind. Jasper grinned.

"Wow, your eye looks terrible." He cracked his knuckles, making sure his injured hand was on top for those close enough to see.

Henry smirked. "Heard you didn't finish your list, Stevens."

"Babygirl just got nervous, that's all." Harry shrugged. He winked at Charlotte, who glared in response. Henry stepped forward, shoving Harry back.

"Don't call her that," Henry growled.

"You gonna fight me, Hart? Didn't work out too well last time. Hey, how's your nose?"

Henry chuckled, but there was no humor. He clenched his fist and, in one quick motion, knocked Harry Stevens off his feet. There was a crack that echoed through the hallway. The other students gasped and cringed and looked away as blood began to dribble from Harry's nostrils. He cried out in pain, gently cupping his nose as he glanced around his friends.

Henry leaned on his knees and grinned down at the kid. "How's your nose, Harry?"

Ms. Chapen rushed onto the scene then, exclaiming, "What's going on in here?"

"They attacked me!" Harry accused, glaring at the trio as his friends helped him to his feet.

"Harry has been taking girls on dates and using them just to finish his dumb kiss list!" Charlotte shouted in return, pointing her finger at the boy with the bloodied nose.

"Yeah!" Jasper agreed. "We were just defending Charlotte."

Ms. Chapen groaned. "Can't you kids ever make my job easy?" She waved her hands lazily. "Detention for the next week, all of you."

Charlotte chewed on her lip. She stepped around Henry as Ms. Chapen began clearing out the hall. Harry watched the group wearily, gaze jumping from the girl in front of him to the dark glares of the guys behind her.

"On behalf of all the girls here, I have something I need to do," Charlotte said, grabbing Harry's shoulders. Harry smirked, obviously enjoying the closeness of their face. Charlotte hummed, returning his smirk. Then, she jerked her knee up roughly. Jasper, Henry, and every other guy in the room gasped and cringed. Harry's face twisted in pain and the color drained from his face. Charlotte released the boy and watched him crumble to the ground, hands blocking the area she just attacked.

Jasper and Henry looked so proud. They gave her high fives and hugs while the girls in the hallway clapped and cheered.

Across town, about a mile underground, Ray sat at his computer watching the whole exchange on a livestream. He raised his bottle of grape soda to the screen, a satisfied grin on his face. "Now that was making it count."