"I can't believe we brought Jasper here with us," Charlotte whispered to Henry as Jasper oohed at all the attractions at the mini golf course. She glanced behind them and saw him trailing behind them with wide eyes. "I can't believe he's acting like he's never been here before when, in reality, he has multiple times. And I can't believe he's wearing Ray's jorts."
"Oh, just leave him be, Char," Henry said with a laugh. He wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulder like he was going to lose her in the crowds surrounding them. "Don't you want to have fun with our best friend today?"
"Not when there's cameras everywhere. He's going to either embarrass us in front of everyone or he's going to reveal our secrets."
"He hasn't yet, so take a chill pill and calm down."
"I think I'll shove that chill pill somewhere else," Charlotte muttered to him. He glanced at her with a frown on his face, like she was acting more different than normal. Maybe she was. "How would it feel if I shoved it up your --"
"What has gotten into you today?" he asked. Henry grabbed three golf clubs for the three of them, handing one to each of them. Jasper collected their three multi-colored balls for them, while Charlotte just stood there. "You were angry the whole ride here, yelling at people who were going slow or who were pulling out in front of us. What is your problem?"
She really didn't know why she was in such a bad mood today. Charlotte just woke up this morning and knew everything felt wrong. The sun was way too bright, keeping her awake longer than she wanted. For some reason, she felt way too hot in her bed because her covers were so heavy and warm. It started off as a bad day, and she wasn't sure if it was because of her and Henry's dinner the other night with her parents.
That dinner went so much better than she had expected. Her parents were really receptive toward him, especially because he was on his best behavior around them. Even though the food they had made was absolutely disgusting, Henry and her parents were laughing and chatting like they were old friends. It probably helped that Henry actually knew them and knew how they reacted to things. The whole evening was such a surprise to her.
But the thing that surprised her the most was that she wished it was Henry in that seat at her dinner table instead of Kid Danger. Sure, Henry had sat at that exact seat many nights in the past, but that was just as her best friend. This was way different. This was the first time her parents had actually spent quality time with a guy she was going out with. They never had enough time to spend with Jack Swagger whenever he came to Swellview to visit her, which meant that they didn't exactly trust him. Yet they seemed to trust Kid Danger, even after their initial meeting in their downstairs bathroom with Charlotte.
Everything about this situation with Henry was making her head and heart do some strange things. She couldn't believe that she had almost kissed Henry in her kitchen when they were alone. That was the craziest thing she had ever done in her entire life, and that was saying something because she decided to work with her best friend at a place that only seemed to employ guys. Charlotte hated herself for allowing that to almost happen because this was her best friend she was almost kissing. Her best friend. Not her boyfriend. Not her lover. Her best friend. That was it. That was all they were going to be.
And for some reason, that didn't sit right with her.
"I don't know why I've been acting like this," she finally managed to say to him. He was looking at her with something strange in his eyes, like he knew she was lying to him. He probably did; they were best friends who knew each other better than anyone else. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
As they approached the ball washing station, Charlotte took her golf club and golf balls from her two friends. She just wanted to get started on playing mini golf with them and get to the competitiveness that they all exhibited together. That way, she could forget about the weird feelings forming in her chest the more she spent time with Henry.
"This is where Veronika handcuffed me and kissed me," Henry said with a sly grin on his face. Him and Jasper shared a look together like that was the best thing that could ever happen to either of them. "It was one of the hottest things I've ever done in my life."
"That's it?" Charlotte asked him before she could stop herself. For some reason, there was a hot searing feeling in her stomach. The thing was, Charlotte couldn't figure out why she was so jealous right now. His words were not making her any happier right now. "I guess I've been farther than you have with a significant other."
Both Henry and Jasper shot her a weird look. They probably thought she was going crazy right now. Maybe she was. All she knew was that there was something strange going on with her that she couldn't really figure out right now. She didn't want to try to figure out what was wrong with her, not yet. She knew it had something to do with Henry and how much she wanted to kiss him right now to get rid of Veronika's memory, but that definitely didn't make sense to her because they were best friends. They were only best friends. She had to keep reminding herself about that; she had to turn it into a chant in her head.
Charlotte busied herself with taking the first shot at the first hole. She could hear Jasper and Henry whispering to each other behind her, but the sound of her heart beating loudly in her chest drowned everything else out for the time being. That was the only thing she could focus on as she hit the ball toward the hall. It didn't make it at all, though she wasn't that surprised because of how distracted she was right now.
"That's all you've got?" Jasper asked her with a grin on his face. "I'm going to make this first shot, which is much better than what you could do."
"Whatever," Charlotte said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to make the next putt and beat you at this course."
"I don't think so," Henry said, jumping into their conversation. "I'm going to beat both of you."
"Oh, it's on," Jasper answered. He had a determined look on his face as he lined up the ball for the first putt. Charlotte nearly laughed out loud as his ball rolled right next to the hole, missing it by a few inches. "Okay, me and Charlotte are tied for this first one with nothing. It's your turn, Kid Danger."
Henry was the only one to make it for the first putt. That made Charlotte and Jasper both angry as they both wanted to win. Charlotte tried her best for the second putt, and she was actually surprised to make it. Jasper, on the other hand, didn't make the next one, either. Henry made it, so he was beating both of them. Charlotte was coming up right behind him, though, and she knew she could somehow overtake him. She didn't think Jasper could, and she kind of felt bad because they were all supposed to be having fun together. She was about to say something to him when he grinned at both her and Henry, meaning he was having fun with his friends for the first time in a long time.
"How about a little bet?" Charlotte asked Henry as they neared the third hole. He glanced at her with a small smile on his face.
"Okay."
"If I miss this putt, you and I kiss."
Fear erupted on Henry's face as he stared at Charlotte. Jasper was aiming his shot, but neither of them were watching him. All Charlotte could focus on was the fear written in his eyes as he sputtered, trying to figure out what to say to her next. "Uh what?" he finally managed to get out.
Charlotte stepped up to the station instead of answering him, dropping her last golf ball in front of her. There was something deep in her mind telling her that she desperately needed to miss this shot just so she could kiss Henry. But the logical side of her mind was telling her that she couldn't dare to miss this shot because there were way too many people around and this was her best friend she was thinking about.
She swung and hit the ball toward the hole. It had to go through a windmill and then bounce through some small walls before it could make it to the hole. So far, it had made it through the windmill easily, but she was afraid it was slowing down before it could make it to the hole. The only thing she could do was wait with bated breath.
It seemed like the ball had a mind of its own because it flew out of the course after knocking into one of the walls like the wind had caught it and it had wings to fly away. The blue ball soared through the air, blending in with the blue sky above them. Before she knew it, it was gone forever, leaving her here with Henry and Jasper and an empty bet.
"Oops," she muttered.
"So," Henry said to her. For some reason, his cheeks were lightly tinted pink.
"So," she answered him. "I missed the putt."
"Right."
Both of them glanced at Jasper like neither of them wanted him to watch. When they had fake dated all those years before to try to prove to Ray that Jasper wouldn't spill the secret, he had been interested in them kissing. That kept replaying in her head as she stepped closer to Henry. It would be awkward to kiss in front of their best friend, but they couldn't just ignore the bet. Not now. Besides, this would get them more publicity to be able to find Seymour Butts. At least, that was what she kept telling herself as she pulled him closer to her.
He is your best friend. He is your best friend. He is your best friend.
But he wasn't kissing her like she was his best friend.
"Oh my God, it's Jack Swagger!" Jasper shouted next to them. "Oh wait, you guys definitely aren't looking at him right now. My bad."
His voice was muddled in her head, but she could understand it enough to know that the boy she used to see was there. Charlotte shoved Henry away from her. He stumbled over his own two feet, a betrayed look on his face. She couldn't focus on that right now because Jack Swagger was standing in front of her. There was something in his dark eyes that she couldn't recognize right now. Maybe it was because her head was still spinning from the kiss.
"I saw the headlines that you were dating Kid Danger, but I didn't believe it because I thought we had something going on between us," Jack Swagger said to her, ignoring all the crowds that were forming around them. She didn't want this to go down in front of all these people, but she couldn't form any sort of words right now. "I guess I was wrong."
"Wait, how do you know him?" Jasper asked, pointing between her and Jack Swagger.
"I knew him from summer camp," Charlotte said. Her voice didn't really sound like it was coming out of her mouth. "We went on a couple of dates these past few years."
"We went on more than just a couple dates!"
Charlotte cringed when he yelled at her. She had never expected him to act like this. They weren't even dating. He never called her his girlfriend, and she definitely never called him her boyfriend. Yes, they had gone on dates before, and they had kissed, too, but she thought it never would pan out to anything. She enjoyed herself with him, but not like she enjoyed herself with Henry. She couldn't picture him as the one she fell in love with. She didn't think she ever could, now that she was thinking about it.
"Don't you dare yell at her," Henry said, stepping in front of her like he was going to protect her from a popstar. "If you care about Charlotte, then you would never treat her like that."
"I'm not scared of you, Kid Danger," Jack Swagger said. There was a lot of anger in his voice, and that did scare Charlotte. She never pictured him this jealous. But she also didn't picture Henry to be that angry, either. "I have bodyguards who can take you on."
His bodyguards stepped out of the crowds, flanking him on either side. Both of them had large muscles underneath their dark shirts. Charlotte was afraid that Henry was actually going to attack Jack Swagger and get hurt because of his bodyguards, so she stepped in front of him to be in between the two boys.
"This is ridiculous," she said, shaking her head at both of them. "What in the world has gotten into both of you?"
"You cheated on me!" Jack Swagger said angrily, pointing a finger at her.
"We weren't dating," she said, shaking her head. "I didn't cheat on you."
"He should not treat you like this," Henry said to her. There was a fire in his eyes that scared her. She had never seen something like that before on him. "You're not an object. You don't need to be yelled at."
"I know that, but I need both of you to stop before someone gets hurt."
"I'm not letting him --" Henry began, but Charlotte turned her glare on him. He immediately went silent.
"You need to stop, KD," she said, her voice hard. "You, too, Jack. I do not need either of you fighting over me nor do I want you two to get hurt." She looked at Jack Swagger and said, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I wanted to date someone. I hope you can forgive me."
Jack Swagger shoved his hands into his leather jacket pockets before turning away from her and Henry. She didn't even want to look at Henry right now because she was mad at him for acting like that in front of the crowds. He definitely didn't need to try to protect her because he knew she could take care of herself. She was grateful that he cared about her to want to take care of her, but he should have known her better than that. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he didn't know her like she knew him. And for some reason, that hurt her heart more than letting Jack Swagger go.