┌──── •✧• ────┐
"I have fun!"
"A five hour nap is not fun, it's depression."
└──── •✧• ────┘
"Missed me!" Jasper exclaimed as he dodged the balls Charlotte and Schwoz threw at him while bouncing on the small trampoline under him.
Valentina was paying them no attention as she lied sprawled out on the couch, airpods in both ears. She had been pretty quiet ever since Drex two days ago, her head still occupied with grief and thoughts of Elena.
While the girl's behavior didn't go unnoticed by the group, no one wanted to push her to talk, in fear that she might blow up, like a ticking time bomb.
No one knew of what had happened at the Martinez household that day, except for Henry of course. But the blonde knew it wasn't his place to say anything. Valentina would tell people if she wanted to. All that he could do was be there for her, and he would be.
"We're back." Henry announced as he and Ray came down the tubes, still in their superhero attire.
"Hey guys." Charlotte greeted, throwing another ball at Jasper.
"Hey Hen, guess what I'm training for." Jasper grinned excitedly.
"Does it involve bouncing?" Henry asked as he walked over to his girlfriend on the couch, standing over her expectantly, waiting for her to realize he had returned.
Valentina enjoyed the noise cancelling aspect of her headphones. She laid comfortably on her back, getting lost in her music, her eyes closed. She didn't even realize that Henry and Ray had come back from their mission. Which made it all the more terrifying when she opened her eyes and saw Henry in his Kid Danger uniform standing over her, staring at her.
Henry groaned in pain as Valentina's reflexes kicked in, immediately punching him in the face. "Ow!" He whined, holding his nose.
"Don't scare me like that el pendejo!" Valentina scolded, taking out her airpods and sitting up on the couch. "Are you okay?" She asked in a softer tone.
"Why do you hit so hard?" Henry complained, sitting down next to the girl.
Valentina shrugged. "You're a superhero, you can take a hit."
"Still hurts." Henry grumbled, turning his attention back to Jasper and Charlotte. "What are you training for?"
"He's training for a three on three dodge a leen tournament." Charlotte answered, crossing her arms.
"I've heard of Dodge a leen. It's basically just dodgeball on trampolines right?" Ray confirmed.
"Basically."
"Who are the other two members of your team?" Henry asked.
"Well, one of them is Val."
"V? My V?" Henry scoffed in disbelief.
"She's naturally vicious." Jasper explained.
Valentina furrowed her eyebrows. "One, thank you. Two, I never agreed to do that."
Jasper kneeled in front of the couch, looking up at Valentina with his hands clasped together. "Oh c'mon, please?" He begged. "I need you!"
"No." Valentina answered, examining her nails.
"Val!" Jasper whined, still begging on the ground. He looked to Henry sitting next to her for help, silently pleading with him.
Henry sighed, putting an arm around Valentina. "C'mon V, you'll have fun. You need to have fun."
"I have fun." Valentina protested.
"A five hour nap is not fun, it's depression." Charlotte corrected with an eye roll.
"I do not appreciate this peer pressure." Valentina groaned.
"It'll be good for you." Henry added, knowing that the girl needed to let loose for once instead of burying herself in her grief. He tilted his head, his eyes finding hers.
Valentina sighed, not being able to resist Henry's puppy dog eyes. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Yes!" Jasper exclaimed excitedly, standing up and hugging the girl tightly.
"Okay. That's enough." Valentina patted the boy's back awkwardly, signaling for him to let go.
"Tell Henry who you want the other person on your team to be." Charlotte told Jasper, reminding him.
"Well, he's blonde...Handsome..." Jasper began, grinning at Henry.
"Alright, I get it." Henry rolled his eyes, a smile creeping its way onto his face.
"Will you be on my team?" The boy asked expectantly.
"Yeah, it sounds fun." Henry agreed.
"With your hyper motility, no one will be able to land a ball on you." Jasper bragged.
Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait a minute."
The two boys groaned in annoyance, taking turns complaining as they turned their attention to their friend sitting on the couch on the other side of Valentina.
"Let me guess, you have some reason why this is bad, or wrong, or dangerous, or too much fun." Henry rolled his eyes.
"I have a reason." Ray spoke up. "Your superpower is for fighting crime, not for bouncing on trampolines and dodging balls."
"Yeah, you can't use your superpower to win competitions." Charlotte agreed, standing up next to Ray. "Tell em Val."
Valentina shrugged. "I really don't think it's a big deal."
"See?" Henry stood up, pointing at Valentina in agreement.
"You're a fun squasher." Jasper told Charlotte, crossing his arms.
"Sorry kid, no dodgeball." Ray declared.
Valentina raised her hand expectantly. "Can you think of a reason I can't play?"
"No, you're good to go." Ray shrugged.
"Dang it."
☆☆☆
Valentina was growing frustrated as she stood in Henry's room, putting her hair in a ponytail. She was on her fifth try, and nothing was looking the way it should. It was too tight, then it was too loose. Too low, too high.
Her arms were tired from holding the thick strands in her hands, and her body temperature was increasing with every passing second.
Finally, she groaned in defeat, dropping her hands and letting her hair fall around her face and onto her shoulders.
Henry, who had been watching the whole ordeal from the couch on the ledge, raised an eyebrow. "You want some help?"
Valentina's head snapped toward the boy. In her struggle, she forgot he was there. "Could you?" She asked weakly, silently doubting his ability but wanting to let him help anyway.
Henry nodded, standing up from the couch and stepping down off the platform, walking toward the girl. He sat down on the edge of his bed, motioning for Valentina to sit in front of him.
She handed the blonde the hair tie and sat down, facing away from him. Valentina felt Henry gently take hold of her hair, his fingers surprisingly adept as they began to work through the strands.
His touch was gentle yet purposeful, and Valentina could feel the tension leaving her body as Henry skillfully maneuvered her hair into a ponytail.
"Done." The boy announced, almost to Valentina's disappointment. She liked the feeling of his fingers raking gently through her hair, it comforted her.
"Thank you." Valentina spoke, pulling a few strands out to frame her face. She stood up quietly, putting on her shoes, not saying a word.
Henry knew Valentina wasn't herself. Her usual fiery spirit seemed dulled, and her eyes were clouded with a distant sort of melancholy. She was quieter, more reserved and apathetic.
He fought with himself, trying to decide if it was a good idea to ask the girl to open up. Valentina held her emotions close to her chest, never opening up about them unless she was feeling vulnerable. But Henry knew how much she hated being vulnerable, and he'd have to speak carefully if he wanted her to talk to him.
"How are you?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"Fine." Valentina answered, not looking up as she tied her shoe.
"We both know when you say you're fine you're really not." Henry argued.
"Stop acting like you can read my mind, it's irritating." Valentina snapped. standing up and straightening her T shirt sporting Jasper's dodgeball team's name.
"If I could read your mind I wouldn't be begging you to talk to me, V. I'm worried about you." Henry continued, standing up from his spot on the bed and coming closer to the girl.
Valentina's frustration flared. "I don't want to talk about it." She declared, walking out of the room and storming down the stairs, desperate to get away from the conversation.
"That's the problem, you never wanna talk about it. How can I help if you keep everything bottled up?" Henry persisted, following the girl down the stairs and into his living room.
"I don't need help!" Valentina groaned. "I can handle my own problems."
"But that doesn't mean you have to!" The blonde shot back. "Me, Charlotte, Jasper, Shawn. We're all here for you. How am I supposed to just stand by and watch you shut everyone out again?" Henry raised his voice as he followed Valentina out the front door and onto the sidewalk.
Again. Shut everyone out again.
Valentina knew what he was talking about. Right after Elena died when she wouldn't come out of her room or talk to anyone for at least a month. She had come so far from that point, hadn't she?
"I won't go back to that, don't worry." Valentina spoke in a softer tone, slowing her pace to let Henry catch up to her.
Valentina hated how worried the boy sounded. It made her feel guilty. It made her want to give in right there on the sidewalk, to tell him every agonizing thought that had entered her brain in the last two days.
But she couldn't. Her emotions were hers to deal with only. She wouldn't burden anyone else with them, especially not Henry. He didn't deserve that. She'd put on a brave face for him and everyone else.
"Val–" Henry began.
"I'm fine." Valentina interrupted abruptly as the two walked to the dodge a leen tournament building.
"Val." Henry spoke again, this time stopping both himself and Valentina in the middle of the sidewalk. Henry tried to find her eyes, but the girl had them trained on the ground.
"I'm fine." She said again, as if convincing both Henry and herself. "We're gonna be late." With that, she turned on her heels and began a brisk walk, leaving Henry running to catch up to her once again.
☆☆☆
The rest of the walk to the tournament was silent, both teens becoming lost in their own heads. Henry was at a loss, wanting to help his girlfriend but not knowing how, andValentina was internally battling with her grief, guilt, and anger.
As they neared the entrance to the building, Henry stopped Valentina, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to stand in front of him. "We're okay, right?" He asked. The last thing he wanted was for Valentina to be mad at him for worrying.
Valentina's eyes met his. She wanted to be mad at him for not minding his own business, but she couldn't. She knew he was only trying to help, and she couldn't be mad at that.
"We're okay." Valentina nodded smiling softly as she looked at the boy's concerned face slowly melt into a relieved one.
"Good." Henry smiled. He leaned down and quickly kissed the girl's forehead. "Now go give them hell."
Valentina rolled her eyes as she walked into the facility. "Don't be dramatic, it's just dodgeball." Her eyes glanced at Charlotte, who was sitting at a table, and Jasper and Oliver on the other side of the room, stretching. She waved a quick hello to Charlotte before walking over to the boys with a sigh. Why oh why did she get roped into this?
Henry sat down next to Charlotte, watching Valentina walk away. "Hey Char." He greeted.
"You guys were supposed to be here ten minutes ago." Charlotte scolded.
"We got caught up." Henry defended, thinking back to their argument.
"Yeah. 'caught up'." Charlotte mocked using air quotes. "Gross."
Henry rolled his eyes. "Not like that."
Jasper grinned once Valentina walked over to him. "Val! You made it!"
"I'm here." Valentina sported a cheesy smile. Sure she didn't really want to be doing this, but it made Jasper happy, so she'd at least pretend for him.
"Dude, you can't eat a chocolate bar before a match." Jasper scolded Oliver, who was standing next to him, stuffing his face.
"Don't tell me how to live my life." The boy fired back, his mouth full.
As the three stood, waiting for the match to begin, a dodgeball soared through the air and hit Oliver's back, causing him to choke on a piece of chocolate.
"Who threw that ball?" Jasper shouted into the room.
Valentina glared at Mitch and his friends, sitting a snickering at a table a few feet away. "I know who."
As Oliver fell to the floor, the dodgeball referee called for both teams. Jasper looked around frantically, not knowing what to do.
"What's going on?" Henry asked with furrowed eyebrows as he walked over to the commotion.
A lightbulb went off in Jasper's head. "Henry, you have to play." He begged.
"I totally would, but Ray said I can't use my superpower for stuff like this!" Henry whispered frantically.
"Ray's not here!" Jasper whispered back.
"Charlotte is!"
"So?"
"If she sees me playing she's gonna give me the look!" Henry explained.
"What look?" Jasper furrowed his eyebrows.
"You know, the one where she's judging us for our choices!"
The two boys looked at each other, both having a silent conversation with their eyes.
Valentina rolled her eyes, becoming bored. "Are we gonna play dodge a leen or are you two just gonna stand there and kiss?"
Mitch raised his hand. "I second that."
Both Henry and Jasper glared at Valentina. "You know we're just good friends." Jasper defended.
Henry thought it over, glancing between Valentina, Jasper, and Mitch. "Alright I'll do it."
☆☆☆
Valentina stood on the trampoline in between Jasper and Henry, glaring at Mitch and his two team members on the trampoline across from them.
"If you get hit with a ball you're out! If you throw a ball and the other team catches it, you're out! When all three team members are out, you lose!" The referee explained.
As the whistle blew, signaling the game had started, dodgeballs had dropped from the ceiling in front of each team.
Something overcame Valentina once the whistle blew. All of the complaining and annoyance that she had to play vanished and were replaced by fierce competitiveness and pure determination.
Jasper was right, she was naturally vicious.
The girl expertly dodged the balls being thrown at her, leaping and twisting with agility that surprised even her teammates.
Valentina picked up a ball, eyeing her competitors. With one swift move, she launched the ball at one of Mitch's teammates, effectively hitting him smack in the face. The boy fumbled, falling backward at the force of the throw.
"You're out!" the referee called, pointing at the boy who was now rubbing his nose in pain.
Henry raised an eyebrow at the girl next to him. "That was aggressive."
Valentina shrugged. "I just imagined it was Rebecca's stupid face."
"Dang it!" Jasper called, causing the two to turn their attention toward their friend. He was hit with a ball, and was now walking defeatedly off the trampoline. It was now two to two.
Before Valentina could pick up another ball to throw, Mitch aimed right in the middle of her stomach, celebrating as it hit her.
"You're out!" The referee called again.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Valentina rolled her eyes, walking off the trampoline and joining Jasper on the sideline.
The two watched as Henry used his superpower to dodge the balls Mitch and his teammate were throwing at him left and right. Finally, Henry managed to catch a ball being thrown at him, leaving only him and Mitch.
The two glared at each other, competing in an intense standoff. Henry glanced down at one of the dodgeballs on the trampoline in front of him and had an idea.
In almost slow motion, Henry kicked the ball in front of him straight into Mitch's face, gaining the win for Jasper's team.
"Game!" The referee blew the whistle. "The Jumpin Jaspers advance to the next round!"
Henry ran over to Jasper and Valentina on the sideline, putting a celebratory arm around his girlfriend and high fiving his friend.
"We won!" Jasper grinned.
"Does this mean I don't have to play anymore?" Valentina asked.
"It means we play again tomorrow." Jasper answered.
"Don't act like you didn't have fun." Henry teased.
"I do enjoy causing pain." Valentina admitted. "Fine, I'll play again tomorrow."
The three's celebration was interrupted by Charlotte clearing her throat, gaining their attention.
Henry sighed as Charlotte shook her head at him, her arms crossed. "There's the look."
☆☆☆
Valentina and Charlotte rolled their eyes as they walked into the man cave, followed by an excited Henry and Jasper. The two were reveling in their victory earlier that day, and kept replaying the events like it was an action movie.
"The best part was when I kicked the ball right in Mitch's face!" Henry bragged, causing the two to break out in laughter.
"Hey guys." Ray walked into the room, instantly quieting the boys down. "What are you laughing about?"
"Nothing." The two boys answered simultaneously.
Ray raised an eyebrow. "I feel like there's something going on here." He spoke, looking at the group of teens. "And you guys don't wanna tell me what it is."
"Nothing's going on." Henry shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
Valentina watched with an amused expression as Jasper caught eyes with Ray, and immediately broke under the pressure.
"I didn't mean to do anything bad!" Jasper blurted.
"Jasper don't!" Henry warned.
"Oliver choked on a chocolate bar and passed out!"
"Dude stop talking."
"And I either had to forfeit or ask Henry to play!" Jasper explained to his boss guiltily.
"Nice job." Henry spoke dryly, knowing they were caught.
"Did you seriously use your superpower to win a game of dodgeball?" Ray asked the blonde for confirmation.
"Yeah I did, okay?" Henry sighed guiltily.
Ray's eye twitched as he glared at Henry. But instead of yelling at him, he turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte how could you have let this happen?"
"What? Me?" Charlotte repeated, opening her mouth in shock.
"You're the responsible one!" Ray argued.
"Why not Val? She let Henry play too!" Charlotte defended herself.
"Narc." Valentina coughed, shrugging as Charlotte sent her a glare.
Ray groaned, pinching his nose with his fingers. "Alright." He looked at Henry. "Do you promise not to do it again?"
"No, I'm doing it again tomorrow." Henry answered casually.
"Tomorrow?" Ray repeated, eyes widening.
"Look, with all due respect, you're not the boss of me when I'm not working, so.." Henry explained to his boss, standing in front of him.
Ray scoffed. "Okay. I see. Fine. Keep playing." He nodded his head, backing up slowly.
"You're cool with it?" Henry asked.
"No, but you just keep on playing." Ray spoke threateningly, backing away and around the corner of the Man Cave.
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
☆☆☆
"Let's do this!" Jasper grinned as he, Henry, and Valentina walked into the dodgeball tournament the next day.
"Just to be clear, this is the last day we're doing this, correct?" Valentina asked, tightening her ponytail.
Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes, stop complaining and be fun." He scolded.
"I'm fun." Valentina defended, flicking the blonde's forehead in retaliation.
"Ow." Henry glared at the girl. "You're so mean."
"Thank you." Valentina smiled. She turned her head away from Henry, groaning as her eyes landed on three familiar heads sitting at the bar. "Jasper will you go sign us in?"
"Sure." The boy agreed, walking away.
Valentina nudged Henry, pointing toward the three across the room. "Look who's here."
Henry groaned. "Aw man what is this?" He walked over to the three, Valentina following behind him. "Uh, hey." He greeted, annoyance laced in his tone.
Ray, Schwoz, and Charlotte all simultaneously turned around in their chairs, staring at Henry and Valentina.
"Whoaaa, check out the competition." Ray spoke in a surfer dude voice, his blonde wig in an aggressive side part.
"Look who it is." Schwoz added, a black wig in a man bun on his head.
"I'd rather be anywhere but here." Charlotte spoke dryly, unamused.
"What are you guys doing, will you get out of here?" Henry pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"That wig is not doing either of you any favors." Valentina added, causing the two to glare at her, but touch their wigs self consciously.
"No can do broseph." Ray shrugged. "We have to make sure you don't win this competition."
"Oh yeah? How are you gonna do that?" Henry crossed his arms.
"If you don't drop out of the competition, we're gonna have to beat you." Ray explained, a smirk playing on his features.
"You're gonna beat Henry? Who has superpowers? Good luck with that." Valentina scoffed.
Ray put on a black glove with wires around it, waving it in front of Henry's face. "With this special glove that makes me throw balls faster."
"I'm still just a little bit faster than you." Henry bragged.
"You're not that fast." Ray scoffed.
"Then how did I pull Schwoz's pants down without any of you noticing?"
The group looked at Schwoz, then back at Henry in awe.
Henry grabbed Valentina's hand, sent a wink to Ray, and walked away, leaving the trio dumbfounded.
"You realized you just grabbed my hand in front of Ray?" Valentina raised an eyebrow.
"He's too obsessed with winning to notice." Henry waved off. "Besides, he has to find out at some point."
"It's your funeral."
☆☆☆
It was the final match of the tournament, and the Jumpin Jaspers and Ray's Bro Force One team were standing across from each other on the trampolines.
Charlotte and Valentina both shared bored looks as the others glared at each other across the room.
"Ready, Dodge!" The referee blew the whistle, causing the dodgeballs to fall in front of the teams. Chaos immediately ensued, the players dodging and throwing left and right.
Ray immediately aimed for Henry, throwing ball after ball at him, but groaning in frustration when he didn't land a hit.
"Oh no, please don't throw a ball at my foot." Charlotte cried sarcastically, holding her foot out to get hit. Jasper took the bait, hitting her leg and effectively placing her out of the game. "Darn it." She spoke dryly, walking off the trampolines.
It was now three to two, and Ray was determined to knock Henry out of the game, but he wasn't gaining any traction. Before he could throw another ball, Schwoz launched one, causing Henry to jump high in the air to dodge it. In one swift motion as he landed, the force from his bounce sent Valentina flying.
"V!" Henry shouted worriedly, not being able to see where she went because he was still focused on Ray. "You okay?"
"Great. Fine. Never better." Valentina groaned from the floor. She laid there, staring up at the ceiling. She'd get up. Eventually.
"Hey Jasper, look!" Schwoz baited, throwing a ball up in the air. While Jasper was distracted, the man threw another ball straight at his chest.
"You're out!"
Now it was Henry against Schwoz and Jasper. Using the same kick he used against Mitch, Henry launched the ball at Schwoz, knocking him to the ground.
The foreign man glared at Henry as he walked off the trampolines, leaving Ray and Henry.
Ray smirked, holding three balls. He launched them one by one at Henry, who managed to dodge every single one impressively.
The blonde grinned, watching Ray's frustration. But before he could do anything else, He tripped on a ball, falling to the ground. He was a sitting duck.
Ray picked up a ball, spinning it in his hands. He could taste victory. But as he winded up to throw, a ball hit him square in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Henry's head snapped to the side to see who threw the ball, immediately smiling when he saw his girlfriend with a triumphant grin on her face. "You got him!"
Ray sat up from the floor, immediately protesting. "What? No way dude she was already out!"
"No she wasn't." Henry argued, standing up and walking over to stand next to Valentina.
"The girl was not hit by a ball, I did not call her out, so you lose!" The referee told Ray.
Valentina, Jasper, and Henry watched as Ray argued with the referee, who blew the whistle in the man's face, running him out of the room. Charlotte and Schwoz followed behind defeatedly.
Valentina laughed as Jasper and Henry hoisted her up on their shoulders proudly. "This does not mean I had fun."
"Sure it doesn't."
• ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆• ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆ • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
4108 words
published: 12-29-23
ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : the author's note
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯
hi guys lol
filler today
also MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HANUKKAHHAPPY TOYATATHON HAPPY HONDADAYS LOL ETC ETC ETC
anyway
questions? comments? concerns?
i really got nothing for u today in this a/n
FUCK BITCHES
GET MONEY
VOTE AND COMMENT
BUY A VINYL
<3