Note: So the show recently confirmed Charlotte's actual surname is Page. Since that's the case I'm gonna go back and edit every time her last name has been mentioned as Bolton before this chapter to that instead...but I'll do that later when I have more time so yeah lmao.

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You Found Me - Chapter Four: Inappropriate Compliments

It was safe to say my life had become equivalent to something out of an awful teen drama in the span of 2 weeks.

Working part-time with your best friend's ex was one thing, but constantly going back and forth between arguing and flirting with said best friend's ex was a whole different story. Not that I could even call it flirting since I didn't flirt back to begin with, but when someone tends to remind you that you're hot from time to time do you count that as just friendly talk? (Not, that we were friend's either)

I honestly couldn't tell what we were to each other, but I was in Henry Hart's presence for a good portion of my week every week, so I couldn't help but wonder. I also couldn't help the way my cheeks would burn whenever he referred to me as hot or the guilty feeling I felt whenever this reaction happened because of one very obvious factor.

Bianca.

So, I told her.

"It makes me feel...weird," I said to her, as we strolled out of school that Friday afternoon. After finally revealing my weird interactions with Henry, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. She glanced over at me with slight amusement.

"Weird how? Like, you want to punch him in the throat?" She proceeded to smirk, as if she were imagining doing this herself and I let out a brief chuckle.

"Not exactly. More like..." Here goes nothing. I thought woefully to myself. "...Flattered." Watching her face carefully, I waited with a bated breath for her reaction.

"Yeah well," She started off with a sigh "As much as I want to deny it, that Henry Hart sure has a way of getting to a girl," A small smile was now on her face as she faced the way she was walking but her eyes showed the sadness that she truly felt.

"You're not mad?" I asked slowly, still watching her intently as she shook her head.

"Of course not," she replied, stopping to face me; prompting me to also stop in my tracks. "You're my best friend Charlotte, and like a best friend, you told me what was up. How could I ever be mad?" Feeling warmth in my heart I pulled her into a hug. She laughed and squeezed me back before we let go of each other.

"Besides, we all know Blake is the one you really have eyes for. Henry's just the guy who shows the girl a bit of attention that can feel sort of nice," She put an arm around my shoulder as we continued to walk again.

"You're right. Blake even spoke to me today and said he might come visit me at the store sometime," a giddy smile crept onto my lips at thought of our conversation. Well, sort of conversation...I babbled nonsense while he spoke again.

"Henry just sometimes says some things that...kind of make feel some type of way."

"Exactly. Just don't be dumb and actually fall for it," She joked, and I let out a loud, unattractive, snort.

"Trust me B, that'll never happen."

-X-

I took a deep breath as I walked into Junk 'N' Stuff, the door making a chime sound from the bell that was attached to it. It was Saturday; another four hour shift was ahead of me and spending it with a certain blonde wasn't exactly the easiest way I could see myself getting through it.

He was there like he usually was, leaning on the counter like he owned it and stubbing out the remains of his cigarette. He raked a hand through his hair as our eyes met and for second, I felt a weird sensation in my stomach.

But then he frowned and rolled his eyes once he realised it was me, causing the feeling to vanish as quickly as it came.

Rude. I thought to myself offended but decided not to let this visibly show.

"Did you actually come to work early, Page? You never cease to amaze me." He sounded almost disgusted and it was now my turn to roll my eyes.

"Nothing's wrong with trying to avoid being tardy, Henry Hart," I made my way to my place beside him and placed my name tag on my chest.

"Ray's not gonna pay you more for this, you know?" He mentioned bluntly, as if I didn't know this already.

"Yeah, and what's your point?" I made sure to sound as disinterested as possible, examining my nails for effect.

"My point is that you look like a kiss ass," In an instant, I turned to glare at him, my facade broken. The smirk on his face was infuriating but I didn't have a comeback off the top of my head to wipe it off.

"Didn't Ray say you weren't allowed to smoke in here?" This was the only thing I could think of to say instead.

"Yeah, and what's your point?" With the sting of my own words being used against me hitting me in the face, I clenched my teeth in irritation. He simply winked in response.

That weird feeling appeared again.

"Whatever. I don't even know why I'm talking to you," I snapped.

"That makes two of us, sweetheart."

Before I could respond, Ray walked into the room, smiling once he saw me. He turned to Henry and proceeded to reprimand him for smoking for what felt like the 50th time since I'd started working there. Once Henry rolled his eyes, the door chimed, and we all turned to see who it was.

"Char!" Jasper came running in, stopping in front of the counter with his hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back.

"Uh...hey Jasp, what's up? Are you here to buy something?"

"Great, our first customer of the day! I'll leave you guys too it." Ray said with the smile back on his face and headed to the back of the store before any of us could even blurt out an 'okay.'

"No, I have something to tell you about...is that king Tut's golden bucket?!" And just like that Jasper went from air deprived to distracted fanboy.

"Is he for real?" Henry muttered. I gave him a quick side eye before focusing on Jasper again.

"Jasper focus! What important thing did you need to tell me?" He ignored me and continued to stare at the bucket like he was in love. He practically embodied the 'heart eyes' emoji.

"JASPER!"

"HUH? Oh right, sorry," he swept a hand through his straight brown hair.

"I was at the mall, browsing over those crazy skinny jeans again when -"

"Ugh, don't you dare buy those things ever again or I will hurt you!" I wouldn't, but Jasper was easy to fool.

"I'm not gonna, I promise I was just looking! Anyway...Blake Middleton was there with some jocks from school, and I overheard him saying he was going to come see you at the store later!"

There was a moment of silence. I blinked, saying nothing. Then once my brain caught up to speed with the situation, I proceeded to freak out.

"What?!" I practically shrieked. Was I dreaming? Had I even heard Jasper correctly?

"And you ran all the way over here to tell her that?" Henry unnecessarily added his two cents, letting out a scoff. Jasper and I both smartly decided to ignore him.

"He's coming here? To see me? oh my gosh how do I look? I literally just threw this on today and I'm not even wearing any lipgloss! Oh my g-"

"Char, breath." I looked up, feeling Jasper's arms on my shoulders. It wasn't until that moment I realised I'd stepped out from behind the counter and started pacing.

"...You're right." I said, letting out a breath. Jasper smiled.

"When am I not?"

"Almost always."

"Hey!" I grinned at him sheepishly, not being able to help my sass before concentrating back on the situation at hand.

"Blake said he'd come by the store some time on Friday, but I thought he was just making small talk," I grabbed Jasper's hands on my shoulders and bounced on my feet, a sudden excitement coursing through my veins.

"Do you think he's coming here because he likes me? Is this finally happening?" Jasper was about to respond but was rudely interrupted.

"Can't wait to see that disaster happen again." I frowned and turned to the idiot blonde behind me.

"Excuse me?"

"You attempting to talk to that, toolbag." I couldn't help but glare at him again.

"No one asked you," I seethed, and Henry shrugged.

"Can't deny it's true." Jasper tugged on my arm, so I could face him again.

"Don't listen to him, Char. You'll be fine." Just like that, my glare disappeared, and the smile was back on my face.

"Thanks, Jasp."

-X-

After purchasing the bucket, Jasper left with a spring in his step and for a while it was just me and Henry, half ignoring and half bickering with each other.

After what felt like decades of waiting, the entrance to the store opened and Blake stepped in with his hands in his pockets; looking as perfect as he usually did. I felt myself smiling like an idiot and couldn't stop my hand from raising in the air into a wave even if I wanted to.

"Blake! I – and you...hey!" He smiled back at me and stopped short of the counter.

"Hey Charlotte, so this is the store you're working at, huh? It's kind of cool." I lent my elbow on the counter, my chin in my hand as I admired the boy in front of me.

"Thanks...I mean well, I'm glad you like the...you know...the store," Blake chuckled at me and the butterflies in my stomach were instantly at it again. He then glanced at Henry and raised his eyebrows.

"Hart, you work here?" I stared at Blake with wide eyes before turning to look at Henry who didn't even bother answer, instead rolling his eyes.

"You know Henry Hart?" I couldn't help but sound shocked. Blake looked back at me with a small smile.

"I mean, yeah, he's left quite an impression on everyone at Swellview High, especially the ladies." It was my turn to roll my eyes, causing Blake to once again chuckle at me.

"Except you, I'm guessing?"

"If by impression, you mean asshole, then sure he's definitely left one on me." I muttered, but Blake must have heard me anyway because he laughed again.

"Wow, I gotta say I'm surprised at you Charlotte Page," And then he leaned in a little closer to me, cupping a hand around his mouth to whisper "But also kind of glad,"

Cue excessive giggling and stuttering from yours truly.

"Glad? As in - h-happy? Oh well then uh...me too happy - I mean, I'm glad...too?" The whole thing was a train wreck to watch but Blake didn't seem to mind. He laughed harder, his beautiful blue eyes lighting up.

"You're really cute, you know that?" My heart practically exploded in my chest at the compliment. It was like I was floating on a cloud and nothing could bring me down.

"Okay, but are you going to stand here all day and gawk at her or are you going to buy something?" And suddenly I was plummeting back to earth thanks to the disgusted background voice of Henry Hart.

If there was anytime I'd wished I had to strength to punch someone, and punch them hard. It would've been in this moment right here.

"Oh well uh...not really. I just came here to see how Charlotte was doing but I guess I'll go now and let you guys get back to work."

No! Don't leave! My brain shouted, but outwardly I just gave him a smile and a dejected "Okay." I walked with him to front door and he turned around one last time to smile at me.

"See you in school?" I didn't want to risk replying verbally and sounding like a mess again so smiling back, I simply nodded and waved. Once he was gone, I sighed to myself. Maybe Blake did see me as more than a blubbering mess. Maybe he saw me as girlfriend material.

"Still don't get why you're obsessed with that guy," I didn't even bother to look at Henry, still side-tracked with my thoughts about the whole situation.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't."

"Then why are you -" A loud crashing sound came from behind me and I shrieked loudly, not expecting it. Turning around I saw couple of bits and pieces of...well junk and stuff had fallen to the floor.

With a sigh, I leaned down to put them back in their rightful place. While I was doing this, I could've sworn I felt someone's eyes burning holes into me, but the only other person in the room was Henry and he wouldn't have cared to watch me do such a thing. I spun around to see he was indeed watching me, unfazed at being caught.

I glared at him.

"You really couldn't have helped me pick up all that stuff?" He shrugged and looked back down at his phone before replying.

"I wouldn't have been able to stare at that nice ass bend over if I did," I froze
at his words and almost choked on air. For the second time that day I was questioning if my hearing was okay. What's worse is that I could also feel my cheeks involuntarily burning.

It seemed like I was prone to blushing no matter what inappropriate compliment Henry Hart would give me. The only thing I could be thankful for was that my skin was dark enough to hide it at least.

"Excuse me?" I managed to ask, my tone sounding as incredulous as I felt the whole situation I was currently in was.

"Your ass. You have a nice one and I would've missed it," He spoke with such nonchalance you would think he was talking about the weather.

"I...you..." I was rendered dumbfounded for a good thirty seconds before I managed to gather my thoughts together to complete a sentence.

"You can't just say things like that out of no where!"

"Would you rather me lie to you?" He was still tapping away at his phone, not even bothering a brief glance at me. I couldn't respond. What could I even say in response to that?

"That what I thought," He added once he was met with about another ten seconds of silence.

"I really don't understand you, Henry Hart." I eventually said with the shake of my head. As if to save me from this weird moment a customer walked into the store and I was gladly distracted with giving the best customer service that anyone was ever going to give while working at this store.

But there wasn't always going to be somewhere there to distract from the facts.

Henry Hart's compliments got to me, and as much as I didn't like him...I didn't exactly hate the feeling his words gave me.

"And the awful teen drama continues..." Again, muttering didn't seem to be my strong point today, because the woman who had just walked in gave me a look.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing m'am. We have just what you're looking for over here..."

A/N: LMFAO WOW ok so I know it's been MONTHS (OVER A YEAR?) since I last updated but I just had such a bad block with what to write next. I know where I want this story to go but the bits in between? I'm kind of stuck. The news of the upcoming 'I Dream Of Danger' Episode has given me some motivation though - FINALLY AFTER FIVE YEARS Y'ALL. Thank you to everyone who's shown interest in this story and I will try to update more regularly.