This was gonna be a weird day.

Every night, I fall asleep. And that's when I have...the dream.

Told you.

I'm late for work, so I drive there in a tiny vehicle. I come out of the elevator and then, I hear something cooking, so I walk across the room to see what's up. And then, there's this girl, who I've never seen before.

"What's up, Henry?" She says.

"How do you know my name?" I ask.

"'Cause, you're wearing a name tag." She was right, I was. So, next, I say...

"What you doin'?"

"I'm steaming beans!" I'm like, "random, but okay". She's hard to find through all the bean steam and just when I almost get to her--

"And that's how my dream always ends. Pretty crazy, right?" Henry smiled at (y/n) and Piper as they sat at his kitchen table, the woman filing her nails and the girl doing what looked like homework. Being the big boy he was, Henry had been colouring in a kid's picture book as he told them all about this absurd dream he kept having, but honestly, neither was paying much attention.

(y/n) had heard this story before...sort of. She knew bits and pieces from when he'd retold it in the Man Cave and she was only in the kitchen because Mrs Hart had asked her to be there. Yeah, that Mrs Hart, the one she found difficult to like because of unfortunate history, had politely requested her to come to the Harts' house, but those details could wait for a moment. Henry was needy for attention.

"Yeah, super weird." She nodded sympathetically, looking up briefly from her manicure as Piper did the same, only the girl hadn't kept one ear open like her. Well, she might as well get used to catching up with the kid, she was gonna be with him for quite a while it seemed and if she could help, she would. Small problem though, (y/n) wasn't a shrink, she didn't know much about dreams, especially ones filled with bean girls who mystically turn into Jasper.

*the only good thing this episode gave me was the opportunity to look at nice outfits on google to try and find inspiration*

"What? Were you guys talking?" Piper suddenly asked, taking out the earphones that had been blasting teen-pop into her eardrums the entire time her brother had been divulging what plagued him every time he got some shut-eye. That pissed the boy off; he'd spent the last fifteen minutes pouring his heart out to the girls and only one was listening. That sucked. He wanted advice or some kind of interpretation, not the blank stare of Piper or the apologetic shrug from (y/n).

"Were we--Yeah, I was--I told you and (y/n) the whole dream that I had!"

"About what?" Piper frowned at his snappy tone and moodily threw her cute, red earphones onto the table now that she actually had to listen to him. Ugh, couldn't she just sit here and chill with (y/n), the one she liked because she didn't ask dumb questions?

"Well, I'm not gonna tell it again!" Henry exclaimed. The story was longwinded and he felt like just saying it again would take all the mystery out of it, Piper should've been listening like (y/n), although saying that, she wasn't offering much counselling either.

"Thank you!" The girl returned to her work, making Henry sit back in a huff that caused his coworker to smile. Brother and sister feuds were always funny, particularly between these two, but then she had to stop smiling and filing because here came her employers for the night, Mr and Mrs Hart. Yep, employers.

"Henry, Piper, your dad and I are about to leave." Mrs Hart called out to her children as she and her husband came down the stairs, holding a lot of luggage. This was the sitch; they were going away for a couple of days and even though Henry was a very responsible young man and had never let them down in the past, they still felt that their home needed some adult supervision. That's where (y/n) came in.

Now, she wasn't exactly their first choice, come on, they weren't very close and the young woman always hesitated to go to the house since she was highly aware that her soon-to-be husband had a thing for Henry's mom. They'd called family, friends, neighbours, but coincidentally, they'd all been busy with holidays, work or their weekend plans, so they'd gradually worked their way to the bottom of the list. And with a recommendation from Henry, how could they go wrong?

She was flattered, really she was, but (y/n) was a bit nervous. After all, she barely knew these people except for Piper and Henry, she may or may not have some disdain for his hot mother and she'd never watched over someone's house for them. At the start, she was sure that Henry would do a fine job in keeping himself and Piper alive and their home not on fire for two days, but then when she was offered twenty dollars an hour just to sit on her ass and watch some kids, she quickly changed her tune.

Hell yeah, twenty an hour? She'd be raking it in and even if she had to rearrange a few plans and fight Ray off as he begged her not to get into the elevator, she was gonna do it. It was hard to leave the comfort of the Man Cave and her adorable doofus behind but if she thought of this as a vacation, a weekend to recharge her batteries in different surroundings, it wasn't too bad, at least, that's what she kept telling herself.

"'Kay, bye!"

"Okay, later. See ya..." The teens weren't interested at all, they just wanted to finish their equations and giraffe picture. Honestly, they thought this was gonna be great; (y/n) wasn't strict or severe, more responsible in a cool way and they weren't dreading her housesitting, they were looking forward to it. And that's why they didn't care about their parents leaving because they were boring and old.

"Piper, come help me with the luggage!" Mr Hart ordered his daughter from across the room. He was feeling brave today, giving her instructions like that, or maybe he just didn't want to get his suit all sweaty since his wife had packed everything but the kitchen sink it seemed like.

"Ugh, why can't Henry or (y/n) help you? He's the boy and she's a grown-up!" Piper argued back, wishing that they'd just leave already so she could get her school work done.

"Because your father has to give them instructions for while we're out of town." Mrs Hart's tone was final and firm, meaning Piper begrudgingly got up from her seat and plodded across the room to help her dad, leaving (y/n) and Henry at the table. Right, the woman had to earn her twenty dollars an hour and she wasn't gonna get a cent if something or someone was broken.

"Good evening, Mr Hart." (y/n) smiled at the man politely, knowing she had to be on her best behaviour until they left. Once they were gone, that was a different story, although she wasn't the type to party and trash the place.

"Hello, Miss (y/l/n)--" Jake began, already feeling like he was leaving his house in safe hands. From his past dealings with Henry's boss, he knew that she was a very nice girl and even if she hadn't been their first choice, he knew that his kids wouldn't mess about with her since Henry said she was great and to his amazement, Piper seemed to like her. How she managed to pull that off he had no idea.

"Oh, (y/n), please. I'm not that fancy."

"(y/n)...are you sure you're gonna be all right here with Henry and Piper?" It was best to ask, of course. He didn't want to overwhelm the poor girl and if she needed any help, they were a mere phone call away. After all, he'd seen the size of her fiancé and he didn't want to be on the wrong side of him at all.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine, they're great kids. And if I need anything, I've got you and your wife's numbers." (y/n) promised and offered him a reassuring expression. Rule one, don't let anything get broken. Rule two, don't let Henry and Piper fight. Rule three, no parties. Rule four, don't touch anything unless necessary. Rule five--and so forth. She had it all planned out in that tidy brain of hers and if there was one thing she could do, it was manage someone else's place. Hell, she'd been running a secret hideout for years, how much different was a house?

"Great. Okay, Henry, pick up your phone." And this was where Henry got his instructions. He was gonna be like the second-in-command. Piper was a handful, his parents knew that and even if (y/n) got on with her, they still wanted their son to be vigilant since he was getting to the age where they should've been able to trust him. The woman needed guidance and they wanted him to give it to her...responsibly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Still, it was quite a strange instruction.

"Your phone! I have instructions for you and I want you to get them on video." But when Mr Hart put it like that, it did kinda make sense. He wanted insurance from his own child--a teenager--that was smart. Well, Henry wasn't exactly the typical teen, he only had two friends and he focused on his work more than anything, but still. When the cat is away, the mice will play.

"All right, I'll shoot a video." The boy sighed and got his PearPhone prepared as his dad got camera-ready, (y/n) still sat in between them. Why was this necessary? "Okay, go!"

"Hi, my name is Jake "Dad" Hart. Now, Henry, your mom and I will be in Toronto for three days. Now, follow me, you too, Miss (y/n). I wanna show you both something. Come this way..." Mr Hart smiled at them mysteriously and after sharing a puzzled yet suspicious look, the two complied, following him to the decorative shelving in the middle of the room, the one that separated the kitchen from the sitting area.

Each compartment was filled with books, knickknacks, a few family photos that (y/n) found adorable, just the general stuff that a family would display in their home - and that included Mr Hart's pride and joy.

"Okay, see this?" He showed them a small toy car, all shiny with its silver chassis polished to perfection and even though (y/n) knew nothing about its significance, she could make an educated guess. It was well looked after and the kind of thing that seemed ridiculous to most considering that it was a child's plaything by all accounts, but she knew it was much more than that. From her experience with her man-child, this wasn't a toy, this was a "collectable", or what normal people called a toy for grown men.

"Yes, I see it."

"It is right there in your hands, sir." They confirmed, eyeing the car with cautious gazes. Yeah, man-babies are protective of their "collectables", especially when they have some ludicrous explanation why no one can touch them, use them or even look at them without explicit permission.

"This is my vintage remote control sports car from the late nineteen-hundreds." Mr Hart's eyes flickered over it like it was his third child or something and that just confirmed her suspicion. No doubt about it, this was one of those and Henry wasn't impressed. At all.

"Wow."

"This is not a toy." There it was, the old saying, right up there with midlife crisis and receding hairlines; the epitome of the middle-aged man. However, even though smiles did threaten to worm their way on their faces, Henry and (y/n) did not break their stony expressions, no matter how amusing his dad was being because sheesh. If looks could kill...

"That is literally a toy." The kid did have a point though. It was just a toy, probably a rare and expensive one, but still. The difference between it and a Barbie doll was just that one was meant for little kids and the other one was meant for big kids...or maybe idiots with credit cards. Who knows.

"While your mom and I are gone, you are not to play with my car." The instruction was clear from the man, no car-playing, message received if a little unnecessary. If she wanted to, (y/n) could go and play with an actual car, a big one with horsepower, not My Little Pony power. Same for Henry, he was way past the "I-see-I-grab-I-ruin" stage, meaning he wasn't a child anymore. He had much better things to do.

"I don't wanna play with it..."

"Play-o, no-no."

"Don't-o, want to." With that settled, Mr Hart then directed his eyes at (y/n) as she shuffled nervously, wondering why all the attention was now on her. Had she broken a rule before they had even left?

"And Miss (y/n), if my car gets broken, you won't get paid tonight or any other night. Not one dollar." Mr Hart told the woman gravely, who was starting to understand just how deep this infatuation with man-child toys went for middle-aged men, but she nodded solemnly all the same. As well as not wanting a stain on her squeaky-clean record, she also didn't want to spend time away from home and her hot fiancé for nothing, she wanted that coin. No car, got it.

"I understand, Mr Hart. No one will touch your to--car."

"Fine. Now, I think your mother has something she wants to tell you." The man moved on, confusing (y/n) for a moment until she realised that he'd turned back to his son, who sighed and looked at the open door, expecting to see his mom there. In the time they had been talking, she'd silently crossed the room and was now standing in the kitchen in all her hotness. Jealousy was an ugly thing yet (y/n) could understand why some men found her attractive, she could almost justify it if it didn't leave a bitter taste settled on her tongue.

Couldn't she have a bad hair day once? Or catch bubonic plague on the off chance that Ray stopped by to "check-up" on the Hart family?

"Oh, Henry, (y/n), over here!" She called out to them and they quickly angled the camera in her direction so they could get whatever rule she had on video. And this one was gonna be crazy because why else would she behold a goddamn egg?

"Oh, hey, Mom..."

"Now, Henry, I assume you know what this is." The hot mom started, holding the pale, ovoid thing in between her index finger and thumb. Well, duh, he knew what it was, he had them for breakfast nearly every day but something about her face told him that this was gonna be a lot more serious than most people would deem it.

"It's an egg, Mrs Hart." Well, gold star for (y/n), top of the class as always.

"This is an egg."

"My deductive reasoning wins again." The woman laughed to herself and Henry shared in her jokey smile, thinking that this was a joking matter, but their grins died down when his mother refused to break her sombre mood. Was it a special egg? Did it come from a lucky chicken? Was the egg the answer to world peace?

"It's hardboiled. Do not eat this egg." Right, no car, no egg, understood. Henry wasn't feeling particularly eggish and (y/n) wasn't a big fan of eggs anyway.

"All right..."

"Don't even touch it." Yeah, like a teenage boy and a grown woman went around feeling up eggs. Honestly, what did they think was gonna happen once they tootled off to the land of moose and maple syrup? Throw the damn thing at the car? "We don't wanna touch it..."

"And (y/n), if anything happens to this egg--"

"I won't get paid, I know. Mr Hart already gave me the drill, so trust me, no one is touching the car or the egg." (y/n) nodded assuredly, giving Mrs Hart a tight smile. Not that she was in the habit of pissing off her employers unless you count Ray, but he wasn't really an employer at this point and she wasn't an employee, more like someone who turned up one day and the rest was happily ever after.

However, Henry's mom was starting to bug her a bit, call it unresolved beef or a simmering tension but she wasn't a child - she didn't need a lecture, lord knows she'd attended enough of those to know how to do a job properly.

"Good."

"Good for all of us." Henry smiled back at his mother with uneasiness plastered across his cheeks and he patted his friend on the back as the interrogation was over and Mrs Hart went to put her precious egg back in the fridge. She probably had biometric security on the thing to protect it, not that anyone would ever steal it or know what they were looking for.

"Okay, Henry, Miss (y/n)!" And there was Mr Hart, not with instructions this time, thank God, but still, there was something he wanted and the kid was still recording. Something they'd missed?

"Yeah, dad?"

"Mr Hart?"

"While we're gone, no parties." Well, that's more like it. That's more like what (y/n) had been expecting; she'd watched enough crappy romcoms about college students living it up on campus and throwing parties in their parents' house to know that life sometimes truly imitates art - and it gets ugly.

Tee-peed everything, holes in walls, naked people in the guest bedroom, a bathtub full of cheap beer, looted jewellery, vomit in every plant pot and unspeakable little presents left behind in the beds since the toilet gets clogged with trash. Any homeowner's worst nightmare and for the next few days, she would be the proud defender, the guard standing by their castle. That's what most housesitters and teensitters have to do.

"I won't have any parties."

"If he even thinks of the word "party", I will make him regret it, Mr Hart." And she wasn't kidding, not if the stern, squinted look she threw Henry meant anything. Come on, twenty bucks an hour over three days, that was gonna be one hell of a payday if she did everything right and she kinda needed the money or at least, she wanted it. Badly.

"The only guests you're allowed to have in this house are Miss (y/n), obviously, Charlotte and Jasper....actually, just Charlotte." Mr Hart corrected himself after a few minutes of thinking. Having known the boy since he was a small child, he knew all about Jasper and the chaos that ensued when he was around, plus he just had a general dislike for the kid, so he wasn't welcome in his home.

"So, how are you guys getting to the airport?" Henry asked, trying to work it all out in his head. A taxi would be too expensive, especially if his parents were already paying (y/n), and they could drive themselves because that would mean having to pay to park at the airport, so, where did that leave them?

"Piper's driving us!" Child labour. That's how.

"'Cause I have a driver's license!" The girl smiled into the camera and flashed the fake I.D that had been sent to her so long ago. At least it felt like so long ago and practically everyone knew about it know, except for the government, but that was the whole point.

"Yeah, which they sent you by mistake," Henry argued, trying to gain the argumentative high ground since he was a teeny bit jealous that his sister could drive and was good at it. Sure, she was a bit heavy-footed with the accelerator but in a pinch, it was super useful.

"Still valid!" She growled and put her beloved license back into her bag as Charlotte of all people walked up next to her, which Henry hadn't been expecting. (y/n), being the superheroine badass with all the super-spy knowledge stuff that she'd acquired and what they'd just told her anyway, knew why they were there, but he didn't and certainly not smiling at his sister.

"Oh, hey, Henry! Hi, (y/n)!" The teen girl smiled and waved at the camera, behind which Henry pulled a confused expression.

"Oh, hey, what are you doing here?"

"After I drop mom and dad off at the airport, we're gonna go see a movie. (y/n) was gonna come but she bailed to stay here with you." And the secret was revealed. Piper looked at her brother with an accusing stare because little did many people know, but this wasn't a new thing. The girls made up a friendship group and the youngest sure didn't like it when her nice, older lady friend was taken away by someone like her dumb brother or that dopey fiancé of hers, even if they were couple goals.

Ever since that day when they went to see Galaxy Wars, way back when (y/n) would've disintegrated into atoms if someone told her that one day she'd be engaged to Ray Manchester, they'd been enjoying time with each other, like a small girl squad. The Man Cave was fun and all but sometimes, the woman and Charlotte needed to get out and Piper was a lovely girl when not being pressured to be the "it girl" for social media.

"With Piper?!" Henry couldn't believe it and under his very nose. Why his sister? She was so mean and spiteful and horrible, and they...weren't. He couldn't think of any reason why they'd want to be friends with her, let alone spend time and money with her.

"Yes. We work with all boys, y'know, we're outnumbered. Sometimes, we need a break." (y/n) answered snappily, not liking what the boy was implying. Going out with them was fun, no matter what he said, she enjoyed it, they all did, no matter what he said. They split the bill, they saw a good movie, they chatted about everything from boys, to the engagement, to bitches in school, to celebrity gossip. What was not to love?

"Speaking of, you sure you don't wanna come with us, (y/n/n)? You can probably buy a ticket when you get there..." Piper asked the woman, hoping that her last-ditch attempt to bring her on board would work. Her house was so boring, her brother was so dull, why would she come and hang with the girls? Didn't she want to tell them all about her wedding plans and get mercilessly teased about how when she started talking about him she couldn't stop?

"I'm getting paid twenty dollars for every hour I watch this house. Trust me, you two go, I'll be fine and the next movie is on me." (y/n) smiled at them, knowing that whilst the offer sounded lovely a chance to express her deep and profound love for her soulmate without hearing groans or remarks of disgust, she couldn't accept. Something about needing to save for a wedding, minus the tickets and snacks ...

"Okay, Henry, (y/n). Well, we better go so we don't miss our plane." Mrs Hart stated as she returned from her eggscapades in the kitchen and smiled up at her husband. Those two were tricky to read: were they or love or weren't they?

"Shotgun!"

"Hey! I called shotgun!" Yeah, (y/n) thought they were. Only idiots in love acted like children, even if they were a little distant sometimes and perhaps a bit too hot towards other men.

"Bye, (y/n)! See ya, Hen!"

"Dummy...stole my friend." Charlotte waved to her friends as she followed a stomping Piper out of the door. Eh, she'd cheer up once they were at the movie theatre and if not, (y/n) would make sure the next was so brilliant, it was sure to make up for it.

Right, that's that. Parents in the car, daughter off to the cinema with a reliable friend, housesitting starts now. (y/n) carefully scanned the room for every detail, every little niggling thing that her temporary employers might pick up on if they got back and it was out of place. From now on she wasn't going to relax, but she sure as hell was on century duty, which begged the question--

"So, what do you wanna do now?" And Henry had some ideas. Or one, specifically one.

~Ten minutes later~

Now, Henry's idea of a relaxing time was not what (y/n) had been expecting, not at all. Screw video games or a movie, he opted to eat first, which wasn't so weird to think about until she was sitting with the kid at the kitchen table with a large, skewered corn on the cob placed in front of her, all buttery and perfectly boiled to eat, plus, a can of Wahoo Punch. Not her go-to meal but still, not too bad...until Henry made it weird.

"You're a real freak, do you know that?" She told the boy jokingly as she watched him place a single ice cube in his glass as if he was pouring himself a fine scotch whisky or something and then, this was the revolting part, started with sweet tea. And he was having both the tea and the punch in some crazy cocktail that frankly nauseated the woman next to him. It was like a quarter punch, three-quarters tea, just enough to turn the liquid into a deep rust colour and it was one of his habits that she'd never get over.

"Don't knock it till you try it," Henry smirked and took a long sip of his perfected beverage, appreciating the blend of flavours that seemed to work so well for him. This was what he wanted, a nice, quiet evening with one of his calmer friends, a tasty snack and no parents to bother him and it was all going so well until an unwanted intruder burst onto the scene.

"Hiya, Henry! Oh, hey, (y/n)!" Jasper slapped his hands down onto their shoulders, causing Henry's tea-punch to erupt in a comical spit-take as (y/n) chocked on corn. Thank god for super-regeneration, otherwise, Jasper would have been hunted down by Captain Man until the end of the Earth.

Seriously, what was he doing here? The two stood up in surprise, thinking for a split second that burglars or mad strangers were trying to attack them but then they looked at their assailant and were filled with irritation and shock. Of course, it was Jasper, who else would sneak up on them like that and go in for such a heavy-handed approach?

"Dude, what the-- How'd you enter my house and why would you do that?!" Henry exclaimed in anger whilst (y/n) gulped down some Wahoo Punch to clear her throat, but to Jasper, there was no big deal, no panic and certainly no concern about nearly killing two of his closest friends via heart attacks.

"Well, I waited until your parents were in their car, then I crawled through your window and waited until your mouths were full of liquid and food!" The boy explained happily, making their eyebrows furrow in confusion at how he simply didn't care. All he did was swipe Henry's cocktail as (y/n) began to scold him for being so weird and reckless, after all, scaring the shit out of people is thirsty work.

"Okay, Curly, normal guys don't do those things." She told him, trying to be as gentle as possible since she didn't want to hurt his feelings even though he needed to hear her advice. And she was almost certain that some guys did pull pranks like that, hell, she'd place money on her fiancé being one of those impish maniacs, but Jasper didn't need to know that, not when he already seemed so cocky at being able to spook two sidekicks. They'd faced the scummiest scum that had ever been scum on the planet and yet he scared them, the rush of pride was immense.

"Ah, true 'dat!"

Uh, my drink..." Henry limply pointed at his glass as Jasper took a large swig and fouled the sweet combination by tainting it with his saliva and mouth germs. Well, he wouldn't be drinking any more of that, thanks to him, but they were quickly drawn away from that problem as Jasper set out his ulterior motive for his so-called friendly visit to the Harts' residence.

"So, you ready?"

"For what?" Henry and (y/n) eyed him suspiciously, not knowing what he was referring to or what he was up to but they didn't like it. What happened to the peace from before? Couldn't they have that back instead of this headache?

"Fun! Crazy, weird, teenage fun!" Jasper cheered and revealed the first part of his "let's have fun whilst Henry's parents aren't here" plan. Oh no, definitely not, not on (y/n)'s watch. Now, it wasn't like she wanted to be a stick in the mud, she hated to be the one to kill the joy but fun sounded messy and dangerous and reckless, the sort of activity where things would get smashed and damaged beyond repair to the point where she'd be the one paying Mr and Mrs Hart at the end of their trip, not the other way around.

"Jasper, whatever you're planning on doing, don't because--why do you have a boom box?"

"Where are you going with my corn? Where are you going with my corn?" They watched in confusion as the teen left his small yet stupidly powerful speakers on the kitchen island facing the couch and then walked towards the sitting area, leaving them to wonder what the hell he was doing.

Firstly, he was ignoring (y/n)'s instructions, which normally wouldn't go down very well, but there was no Ray here, he could do what he wanted. And secondly, he'd again stolen something from Henry, for reasons yet to be revealed, not that they could do anything about it.

"Just get ready to hit play," Jasper instructed them and marched over to behind the couch as Henry continued to lament about his stolen snack, but that was soon put into perspective when Jasper started shuffling awkwardly and looked at them with a fierce gaze as if he was about to do something incredibly brave and stupid.

"All right..." He nodded and (y/n) tapped the play button and a funky if a little tinny, piano beat started to ring out from the speakers, and dear sweet lord, she wished immediately that she hadn't done so. Taking the first note as his queue, Jasper leapt onto the couch from behind, revealing to Henry's horror and (y/n)'s mortified blushes that he'd removed his pants and was intent on dancing on the damn thing, using the corn as a fucking microphone. Jeez, had he been sniffing something?

"Shake it! Like you're never gonna break it!--" The music faded into a rock classic that normally would've rendered them dancing along with Jasper like they were young and free without a care in the world...if only this didn't feel so wrong and weird. Jasper, the cute, awkward kid that (y/n) had watched grow up was prancing around in bright red, baggy, glittery boxers like an idiot, throwing the corn at Henry and splashing his drink like he'd lost control of his inhibitions. She did not need to see this...

"Oh my god, if I watch any more of this, I will be put on some sort of list..." She muttered and swiftly turn her back on the screen and screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to get a glance at something scarring. Henry could have the show, she could happily live her life without it, especially at how...icky it made her feel.

Even for Henry, it was weird; he'd seen Jasper do a lot of insane shit, but this was one of the worst, particularly when he collapsed onto the cushions and began to wriggle and squirm like he was having some kind of inappropriate fit.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Stop, oh my god, stop!" Henry barked at his friend and silenced the blasting music, having seen enough of Jasper "thinks he's Channing Tatum" Dunlop's performance for one lifetime. Never again would he let his poor eyes see that, even if the image was permanently tattooed onto his frontal lobe.

"What's wrong?" And the hilarious or...worrying thing was that Jasper didn't find any fault in what he'd done and couldn't think of any reason to explain why Henry was pulling such a disgusted face or why (y/n) had her face and scarlet cheeks hidden by her hands.

"That activity you're doing to my couch..."

"Yeah, what about it?" Seriously? Did he find nothing strange about the past few minutes? Not the sparkly red shorts that were so damn short they should've been illegal - honestly, they'd put Daisy Duke to shame. Not the dancing, not the corn-stealing, not the gyrations because what else could they be called? Was none of that weird to him?

"Dude, (y/n) is in the room! Don't do it anymore!" Henry protested, gesturing to the woman standing behind him, who still refused to look. It felt wrong like if anyone found out she'd be chased through town followed by an angry mob with torches and pitchforks, but Jasper didn't mind. (y/n) was like the big sister he'd never had and at this point, she was one of the lads, a member of his crew. They were all friends here...

"Duuuuuuuuuude!"

"That was a long 'dude'," Henry commented as Jasper threw his head back and groaned. This kid needed education on learning to let go of society's boundaries and bullshit expectations. Sometimes, Henry Hart just needed to let go.

"Come here. You too, (y/n), come here!" Jasper hissed, beckoning them over like he was about to tell them some revolutionary, top-secret information that could only be divulged to their ears.  But Henry and (y/n) were a little apprehensive - what if he started dancing again?

"Are you sure it's safe? If I look, am I going to see something I don't want to see?" The woman asked jokingly as Henry reluctantly led her over to Jasper by putting his hand in the crook of her arm and it was only when they were within touching distance that she dared to peek past her fingers. Okay, he was still clothed--only just-- but she could handle the hot pants, just as long as his hips stayed stationary. Jasper put his arm around Henry, who looked quite pale as his fingers clenched around his glass like he was fearing the worst.

"Your parents are in Toronto...all right, that's practically another country." Oh, this kid. He was cute but so...challenged. Still, his friends humoured him and chose to ignore his geographical error in favour of getting to the bottom of whatever the hell he was trying to say.

"Yeah..."

"They've left y/n) in charge of the house..." At least that one was true, however, it didn't reveal any more about what the point of all of this was. Of course, Henry already knew this, it had been drilled into him over the past week or so and he had it on video just in case he somehow forgot. It all seemed so futile.

"Sometimes, you just gotta say...rubber duck."

"Oh, not this shit again." (y/n) groaned as she heard the method behind Jasper's madness. It was this newfangled philosophy of his and he'd constantly used it around her in the Man Cave as an excuse. Spill her ice cream? Rubber duck. Break the supercomputer. Rubber duck. Get tricked into giving a conniving old lady a lamp for free in Junk-N-Stuff? Rubber damn duck.

"Why would I say rubber duck?" Henry asked in confusion, looking at them as if they were aliens. He'd never heard of this dogma before and found it strange, weird, crazy. It was just so random, so Jasper and he felt like he was on the outside of some inside joke or knowledge between them because when they were at work, it's not like he saw Jasper a lot. He didn't go up to monitor the boy in the store like (y/n) did or go to fix the things he broke so their interactions were few and far between. And that had led to some odd things occurring that she had been privy to and not him.

"'Cause! Rubber duck sets you free! It's a way of saying, hey world, I'm gonna have fun! And I don't care what happens...a rubber duck!" Jasper growled into his ear, trying to seem like some shaman imparting his wisdom onto a mere student, one who hadn't yet reached the enlightenment that came from the mystical bath toy known as a rubber duck. That sounded like some hippie bullshit to Henry, who was puzzled by the need to blur simple language with such a strange phrase as (y/n) pinched the bridge of her nose.

Again, not to be a stick in the mud, but in her mind, this rubber duck nonsense was just a way of letting idiots use their get-out-of-jail-free cards when they got into trouble for being too rowdy. And to her, that wasn't cool, that was just irritating to an adult like her who usually had to deal with the aftermath.

"Couldn't I just say that without the rubber duck part?"

"Or not say it at all because it's dumb?" Henry and (y/n) argued and the latter was at least partially happy that Henry wasn't completely sold by the idea, but if Jasper had his way then by the end of the night, he'd be saying it too. And that's what she was dreading; a two-against-one situation.

"No," Jasper replied firmly and took Henry's tea-punch combo away from him because y'know, best buds share everything and it wasn't like (y/n) could complain since she was a renowned beverage thief, even if she only stole from one doofus in particular. And before either of them could complain any further, the doorbell rang, signalling that the night was still young and many more people/challenges were ready to put the woman's housesitting skills to the test.

Just her damn luck.

"Huh, I wonder that is..." She wondered, eyeing the door with shifty eyes, similar to Henry since both of them knew that they hadn't ordered takeout just yet and there were no deliveries scheduled for the next few days just in case taking in a package was too much for the poor, weak dear that Mr and Mrs Hart had left in charge.

"You'll see..." Jasper, on the other hand, had a shit-eating grin on his face and was looking remarkably shifty as he sipped on his friend's drink and they quickly guessed that he was up to something. They knew a kid with something to hide when they saw one and slowly, they approached the door, too curious to know what was on the other side of the wood to leave the person on the doorstep.

"All right, since I'm in charge, I'll get the door and Jasper, for the love of God, please put some pants on!" (y/n) told the kid strictly, pointing at his exposed legs and shuddering by the glittering fabric that only just covered the top of them. Honestly, she didn't know if she'd ever be able to see the same sweet soul as she did before but a good way to fix it would be to start with hiding away what should have never been seen.

"Rubber duck!" Or not. There was that dumb phrase again, causing her and the blonde boy next to her to turn and flash their serious eyes at him since this was a rubber duck moment - not that they knew what one of those was.

"Stop saying that!" She snapped, giving him a flash of the anger that rarely rose within her. She very rarely got sharp with the kids, usually, they were angels and sometimes it was easy to forget that Jasper and Henry were teenagers and boys. That made them a bit dumb and arrogant and argumentative, ready for a challenge since they suddenly discovered that they liked biting back, even if they were outmatched. Still, she could keep them in line just about and with him backing off, she opened the door to a new problem.

"Hello, are you Henry? I'm looking for Henry." A chubby man stated as she held the door open and stared at him blankly as he did to her. What the--where had he come from? And since when did she look like a Henry? Why was he at the door? Didn't he know that she had been praying to every god in existence to strike every unwanted visitor with lightning so she wouldn't have to deal with them?

"I am obviously not a Henry." She replied, hoping that the guy would break a smile or move or hell, breathe to show that he was alive and not a wax model, but she got very little in return. The only sign of life was one singular blink, so slow he'd put a sloth to shame, which got even worse when he began to speak again in that monotone drawl of his.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty sure and I hope that's what it says here." (y/n) gestured to her face and how she was obviously not the teen boy this man was looking for, but her sarcastic tone did nothing to inspire some energy into him. He ould be a robot, that would explain the slow, drawn-out breaths, or her could be a nutter, that would just about explain everything.

"Uh, no, she's not--I'm Hen...ro." And like her saving grace, Henry was by her side quickly--as soon as he heard his name being mentioned--and now, it was his turn to talk to the guy who thought a beige, suede, unbuttoned waistcoat would go well with a plaid shirt. At first, he was gonna say his name, he didn't see the harm in confirming his identity, but then that paranoid little corner of his brain whispered to him that if this guy was an axe-wielding maniac, would he want him to know who he was if he'd been sent to kill him or something? Definitely not.

"Sounds pretty close to Henry." However, for a man who was pretty slow at speaking, their visitor wasn't too bad at spotting a poor lie, causing Henry to awkwardly smile as he debated just slamming the door in his face.

"Right, but it's different....'cause the O part." Oh, this was painful to hear and watch and (y/n) decided that she couldn't take anymore as she endured Henry's terrible performance, only to hear Jasper sniggering to himself in the background.

"Okay, 'scuse us just a sec..." She gave the man a bright yet false smile as she closed the door in his face, figuring that if Henry was too chicken to do it, then she'd be the one to step forward and give them time to grill Jasper. And grill him they did.

"Who is that guy? What does he want with me?"

"Why is that man at the door? Is he a serial killer? Please tell me he's not a serial killer!" They bombarded Jasper with questions as soon as the wood was in the hole and he scoffed at their worrying, thinking that they were getting way too excited over the little surprise he'd arranged. It wasn't that deep, to be honest, and to him, they were just being ridiculous, especially with the serial killer thing, though, the guy definitely looked like a lumberjack who strangled people in the woods.

"He's not a serial killer, (y/n/n)! I booked us manis!" He grinned, watching as their faces screwed up in thought. Come on, he thought it would be nice, just two guys and one gal getting their nails done because cuticle care is important and maybe it would soften the caretaker of the house up a bit; he was no stranger to the fact that she loved a good manicure since they made her fiancé coo over her shiny nails for days on end - how could she say no?

"What?!" Or, how could they say that?

"That guy does manicures!" He explained, causing the pair to pause. Seriously, the guy at the door did people's nails all fancy and stuff? Talk about confusing appearances...

"Wait, do you mean that that man out there, the one who looks like he would bake all three of us into a pie, he does things to fingernails?... And I don't mean retaining them as keepsakes from his victims..." (y/n) asked, peeking past Jasper's body to see the guy through the glass panel of the door. Jeez, if his skills were correlated to the shock of his job and looks, then he should be a damn good nail tech.

"Yeah, he works at the salon my mom goes to once a year." Ah, yes, the elusive Mrs Dunlop. The woman (y/n) had never met but had heard so much about and none of those whispers into her ears were good. Deep down, she couldn't find it in herself to trust the salon frequented by the woman who by all accounts was a massive weirdo. And she wasn't the only one...

Okay, what makes you think that I would want him to do our nails?!" Henry exclaimed, backing his older friend all the way because what the hell? That guy looked like he could eat him whole and then come back for créme-de-(y/n) or (y/n)-style cheesecake.

"Rubber duck!" Oh, give them strength, he was saying it again!

"That's a bad answer! You can't go through life using a random phrase to excuse every dumb decision you make! Tell him to leave!" (y/n) ordered him, well, politely yet firmly instructed him. Sure, getting a French manicure did sound nice and it would be extra fun to go home and surprise Ray with a fresh set that would make him "ooh!' and "ahh!' over her, but it made her nervous. So damn nervous because this wasn't her house and letting strangers in was against the rules given to her.

"Why should I leave?" Suddenly, the mystery man appeared behind her and Henry and spoke into their ears because that wasn't psychopathic at all. No superhero training could've prepared them for it, not when they suspected him of being a wrong'un and as such, the boy and woman hit the deck with embarrassing squeaks, kinda like small mammals that play dead instead of fighting or fleeing.

"Came in through the back door..." He told them as they sprang back up instantly, already feeling pretty foolish and if the nutjob did strike, then they wanted to be ready to sacrifice Jasper to save their own skins; y'know since it was his idea to invite a madman to the house.

"Okay, sir, I don't mean to be rude, but, uh, I was told by this boy's parents to not let any strangers---" (y/n) began explaining as nicely as she could, hoping that if she was kind and polite, she'd get to keep her head attached to her body, but it seemed like the dude hadn't come alone. And his partner was Leatherface or Freddy Krueger, far from it, the second nail tech was a heartbreakingly pretty young girl, close to the boys' age and for Henry, it was love at first sight.

"Hey...so, whose nails am I doing?" She asked with a flirtatious smile and her hand on a jutted hip. Damn, (y/n) would never get to finish her kick-the-weirdo-out speech because for a babe with luscious blonde hair, big blue eyes and a cute dress like that, Henry would do anything. Screw the murderer man, he wanted that girl to touch his hands and stare into his soul and he wasn't shy about or tactile.

"Mine! Me! Henry! Or Henro, doesn't matter, please do my nails!" Wow, that was subtle, definitely not hilarious for his friends to watch. To be fair to him, he hadn't exactly lucked out in the romance department recently, considering that the last time he showed an interest in a girl, he never heard from her again and what with his Kid Danger duties, he wasn't getting many offers. This angel of a girl had been placed on his doorstep for a reason and he was gonna get his nails done and get her number...or die trying.

"Look, kid, I know you're desperate, but think your mom and dad's--" (y/n) tried to lure him out of whatever rose-tinted love-fest was going on in his mind, but it was foolish to think that she could lure a teenage boy away from a pretty young female.

"Rubber duck!" And she was left speechless and Jasper was left reeling as he not only left her to warmly welcome the girl into his house, ensuring that he subtly touched the smooth skin of her arm as he did, but he'd also fallen into the dumb trap set by his best friend. Come on, his resilience was pathetic.

"Y'know, I swear I saw something like this on the nature channel once. Something about birds or wildebeest going all goo-goo-eyed for a girl." (y/n) said grumpily, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes as she and Jasper watched Henry turn up the charm. The girl was allowed to set up her nail things on the coffee table, in fact, she could probably get away with anything when Henry was concerned. He was utterly and totally smitten.

"You mean like the way you and Ray are with each other?" Jasper smirked, chuckling when her mouth opened and closed several times like a goldfish. Damn, checkmate...and it was Jasper Dunlop who rendered her without an argument for the first time in a while.

~

Well, this was cosy. As (y/n) admired her glossy French set whilst they dried, Jasper was getting sat with the lumberjack, who turned out to not be an axe-wielding maniac, just a bit weird. Sure, it was a bit awkward to sit and say nothing as the man filed, buffed and painted, which was a bit unnatural for a nail tech, but he'd done a good job and the woman was very thankful because her hands were now perfectly soft and so pretty. Ray would definitely approve and now, it was Henry's turn.

The boy was sitting on the couch, minding his own business and all the while, he was unaware that he was being hunted. The blonde beauty crossed the room, eyeing him with a mischievous smirk as she stood in front of the fireplace and put her hand on her hip. This kid was cute, she was cute and she wanted to see how flustered he got when she was holding his hands and face-to-face.

"Okay, Henry. I'm ready to do your nails." She said in a soft, alluring tone and the boy stood up with a gormless expression on his face. This wasn't exactly Henry's territory, he had no idea what to do in any manicure situation, let alone one with a girl as pretty as her. Speaking of the girl, as she bent over to rifle through her mobile nail bar case, Henry found himself at somewhat of a loss and extremely nervous, so he did what he thought made sense and offered his hands out to her, just y'know, as he stood next to her. Awkward...

"Do--do we stand? Do I give you my--I don't know what to do." Yeah, he was clueless, but it was also so damn adorable to witness. Since she wasn't exactly busy, just in the drying stage, (y/n) had all the time in the world to observe them as her friend got all sweaty and rubbed his fingers together; this was romcom shit, her kind of entertainment and it was live, almost as if she'd crawled inside her TV and was witnessing the boy meets girl stage. It felt real, and then the music started...

"The first time I saw you, I already knew that you could be mine and I was open for you. Then you took my hand and the sparks that went flying through the air..." Seriously, it couldn't have been more perfect as the two sat down and began to smile at each other with the kind of butterflies in their stomachs that only came from a teen crush. She held his hands so gently and didn't even comment on how they trembled from the anticipation - why did he mock the Man Cave couple again?

"I like you and you like me, together we could be. I bet you would like it, yeah, bet you would like it..." Okay, Jasper had been right, this was a great idea.

The nail techs were no trouble at all for (y/n) as she sat back and read an outdated magazine she'd found in a cupboard; Henry and the blonde, who'd been identified as Layla, were getting on like a house on fire, swapping hushed giggles that were kept secret from everyone else, whilst Jasper laughed it up with her colleague, also known as Zack. It turns out that an odd boy and an odd man have a lot in common, so the house was cheerful yet peaceful for quite a while until a rather spooky incident occurred.

Out of nowhere, the door suddenly blew open, a new phenomenon that took everyone by surprise since a load of leaves were blown in at the same time. Weird, it hadn't been blustery earlier and the weather hadn't forecasted a storm, so they couldn't place a finger on why the door would swing open like that, but then, it all became clear. Doors only open with human intervention...

"Jasper, turn off the music!" Henry called to the boy as (y/n) left her magazine for later and stood up to go and investigate. If anyone was gonna take on a weirdo at the door, it might as well be her since she would recover from the mad strangling, even if it would be difficult to explain away. Jesus, the leaves were everywhere, no doubt something for her to clean up since Mr and Mrs Hart couldn't come home to a mess, that would just be sloppy.

"Okay, why did that door just blow open?" Henry asked (y/n) as she edged closer, but it was difficult to hear anything over all the noise, which seemed to be getting louder and louder like someone had turned a vacuum cleaner on right next to her ear.

"What did you sa--doofus?" (y/n)'s fists clenched and her eyes started to sparkle as the mystery was solved when Ray of all people came strolling through the door with a huge leaf blower in his hands.

Okay, she didn't know why he was at Henry's house, but how could she send him away when he was looking so hot? His shirt was perfect, a classic Manchester special--cinched in at the waist and deliciously tight around his biceps. His hair was styled but not overly so, still floppy enough for her to run her fingers through, especially that one strand that never seemed to stay gelled with the rest. He was a goddamn vision, a sight for sore eyes and a very pleasant surprise.

"Hey, sweet girl! Hey, Henry! Look at my new leaf blower!" The man shouted at them excitedly as he trusted the device at them, no doubt knocking a load of stuff over with the powerful gales conjured by his new toy, but he was just too happy to be with his darling girl and best friend again. There was only so much Schwoz and Charlotte smartassery that a man could take and he thought his fiancée might like a little visit since it had been a whole three hours since he'd last seen her.

The leaf blower thing was just a cover, but they didn't need to know that.

"It's cordless...No cord!" He grinned at them, making (y/n) struggle to hide her smile at how dumb he was. Yeah, that's what he'd been missing, her smile and even more the way she giggled at his goofy ways as he finally turned the thing off and offered an arm out to her - an invitation for her to jump into his arms.

"That's nice, sweetheart..." She grinned at him and rested her hands on his cheeks as they leaned in for a gentle kiss, a welcome greeting after not seeing each other for a while.

She was staying the night here, had arrived at the house armed with a sleeping bag and some essential toiletries so she could camp out on the couch for a couple of nights, and that was a new thing for them.

He didn't see the need for her to stay at the house and leave him at home. He hated the idea of going to sleep in their bed alone with more space than he was used to, but she'd insisted, something about wanting to make sure Henry didn't get loopy off sugar and throw an all-night house party. It wasn't exactly luxury and she'd miss him too but he'd be waiting for her to come home, right? That was motivation enough, his spontaneous visits and lips on hers were just bonuses.

"Who's he?" Layla demanded to know, feeling a little uncomfortable at how the peace had been shattered by this unexpected and unwanted visitor, who was now canoodling with the woman in charge like no one else was in the room. Jeez, she was all for love and it was kinda sweet and they seemed to emit rays of sunshine and rainbows from just how happy they made each other, but jeeeez. They were so touchy and kissy and huggy and....cute.

"My boss."

"My fiancé," Henry answered at the same time as (y/n), giving the girl an idea of what kind of guy she was dealing with here. Her crush sounded tired in an annoyed sort of way, whilst the woman couldn't stop smiling and didn't even take her eyes off her lover once they'd pulled back. It was then that she took notice of the ring on her finger, still shining, still beautiful, even one month after the proposal and it made sense then; they were on cloud nine in romance terms, no wonder they couldn't focus on anyone else.

"That's right!" Ray laughed and pointed his leafblower in his sidekick's face, cackling when his blond quiff danced all over the place and his skin wrinkled from the powerful air. He only did it to get a laugh out of his sweet girl and because he was a massive child on the inside, but when she hit his shoulder and bit her lip to contain her chuckles, he stopped. Henry's bored face said it all.

"Oh, man..." He laughed and turned his head to peck his girl's forehead as he thought about his next move now that he'd annoyed some people. What else could he do that would excuse him from going home prematurely? Was he hungry? Was (y/n) hungry? Free food in the house, free utensils, what'd ya know, he had himself a plan. "I'm gonna go make a sandwich..."

"Raymond...don't make a mess and don't use everything!" (y/n) shouted after him as he plodded off to go and raid the fridge for whatever took his fancy (and whatever he knew she liked), and with her strict instructions, he found himself needing some sweet girl supervision.

"Or you could come help me!" He suggested, placing the leafblower down on the kitchen counter as he passed it and the woman knew that if she refused, he'd just get pouty. Oh well, it had been a hot minute since she'd seen him, kissed him, felt his arms around her, so why not? At least this way she could make sure he didn't break something or create a spillage that he wouldn't clean up on his own.

"Fine, I think I saw some cheese or lettuce or maybe some ham in the fridge earlier, so what do you w--agghhhh!" Having left the boys to carry on their beauty treatment, (y/n) followed her doofus over to the kitchen, intent on taking a few things from the fridge and hoping that her employers wouldn't mind.

They said so could eat whatever she wanted, but she supposed that came with the assumption of eating anything within reason. Obviously, they didn't want their fridge to be raided and she wasn't planning on doing that...mainly because she never actually made it to the damn thing.

Ray got to her first. Rather embarrassingly, she let out a small yelp as his arms encircled her waist and dragged her body back into his, trapped between him and the island. In an instant, his head dipped to push his nose and lips against her neck, a sensation that made her giggle quietly at how ticklish it was, but it wasn't enough to cause suspicion, more like just enough to make him grin against her skin and her knuckles to turn white as they gripped the counter's edge.

"I missed you." He confessed in her ear, causing her cheeks to heat up and her tummy to flutter when his hands started exploring. With nowhere to go, she just had to pray that Layla and Zack were too focused on their jobs to notice anything going on in a kitchen that was suspiciously quiet to say that they were supposed to be making sandwiches.

"It's been, like, three hours, doofus. Still got another two whole days to go yet." (y/n) smiled, trying to stomp down that sad twinge in her heart that tried to pull her down too. It was just two days; it really wasn't that long, and although the thought of having no more visits like this one did seem to make the whole thing seem so long and laborious, the bigger picture helped to put it all in perspective.

Comparing a harmless weekend to ten years of arduous, lonely nights of thinking that her heart was longing for something it would never get gave her her answer.

If she could wait for a decade, she could make it two nights.

"I know...don't know how I'm gonna sleep tonight without you next to me." Ray, not so much. Two days, ten years, it was all the same to him. He'd done his waiting, nearly lost his mind from it, and now he hated not having her close. It just brought back bad memories. Like all the times he cursed himself for admiring her in a particularly stunning dress, put himself down for dreaming that she might feel the same way or  when he shed a tear after waving her off on a date that wasn't with him.

"Well, I could call you and then, we could talk until two AM like those teenagers in Fifty Boys I've Loved Before and do the game where we see who hangs up first." She teased him, reaching back to run her fingers through the hair that brushed against the nape of his neck - just long enough to feel silky smooth and just long enough for her to yank.

It was a novel idea, a situation that only existed with the three walls of a movie where teens wasted their parent's monthly wage on one phone bill but it was so cheesy and so them, (y/n) was up for trying it. Why wouldn't they stay up half the night giggling nonsense into the receiver until their sleep pattern was well and truly screwed? Falling asleep to each other's voices sounded perfect, just like normal and better than any lullaby.

"And what if my mom finds out I've been calling a girl all night--oh, no way! No way, no way, no way!" Ray's joking around soon stopped when purely by chance, he happened to raise his gaze from his girl's pretty face, y'know simply to check if anyone was watching them, not that he cared, and that's when he saw it. The car.

He was like a goddamn damn magpie, the minute he saw something shiny and silver, his interest was piqued and this specific treasure tugged at his curiosity like nothing else. It was difficult to choose between his love and getting a closer look, but it was just too great, his brain quelling his heart's objections by arguing that his soulmate was likely to follow after them if they edged closer, so that's what he did.

Dear god, it was beautiful, not as beautiful as his gorgeous fiancée, but just like he'd seen in those middle-aged men's magazines and boy, did it satisfy the child within him. Come on, it was a toy meant for grown-ups, it was like it had practically been put there for him. The rarest of the rare, a trinket for him to admire but not touch. (y/n) wouldn't allow that.

"Wait, Raymond, no, no, no, no! Stop touching, no touching, put it down!" She ordered, feeling her previously fluffy heart turn to water as her silly doofus plucked Mr Hart's precious plaything from its shelf so he could check it out. Great, that's just what she wanted, Ray's paws all over it and it's not like she didn't trust him it's just that...she didn't trust him. It sounded mean like that but it was true; he had clumsy sausages for fingers, a sponge for a brain and zero luck, so there was no wonder that she foresaw an accident when he picked it up.

"Dude, that's my dad's! We're not allowed to touch it!" Henry was quick to join in the argument too, having leapt to his feet and left Layla behind when his boss stopped being handsy with (y/n) in favour of being handsy with something else. Yes, they all saw but said nothing, they never did, it was just easier to carry on with the manicures and pedicures rather than split them apart, but now, he was being serious. His life depended on that thing staying intact and functional.

"Well, don't mean that I can't!" Ray grinned at them childishly. He just had to find a loophole, didn't he? It wasn't him getting paid twenty bucks an hour, he didn't care, all he had to do was just swan off and leave them to complain about it later, no skin off his back. Maybe if it broke, he'd get to sleep with his girl tonight, after all, maybe she'd quit before the heat was on her, that sounded more like it, but (y/n) wasn't about to risk that situation coming into fruition.

"Give it, doofus."

"Aww..." Immediately, Ray fell into a deep, sulking pout as she snatched the car from his hands, careful not to scratch the paint, chip the glass or knock a wing mirror off. Honestly, he was too handsome to pout, it caused too many lines on his face and it tugged on her heartstrings knowing that he wasn't happy about something but she had to toughen it out like any parent disciplining a child. Don't fall for the frowny face.

"If this thing breaks, I'm not getting paid and I'll have to pay to get it fixed or replaced, meaning you won't be getting laid for the next month. So, stop pouting and move." She told him firmly and knowing that she wasn't lying about any of it, Ray quickly sidestepped to let her past. As delicately as she could, (y/n) placed the car in the same position it had been in before, hoping that Mr Hart wasn't too strict about a few finger smudges here and there.

And that allowed Ray to have another look around; just because that was off-limits didn't mean that he had to stop looking for something else to satisfy his childlike wonder. And it wasn't difficult to let the next best thing steal his attention, after all, this one had buttons, an electric current and something he could push and pull. It was perfect.

"Oooh, the remote!" This would do nicely. It was still connected to the car, but not the main attraction, so he figured that it couldn't hurt to play with it - a few taps of the buttons here, a flick of the joystick there. Where was the harm in that?

"No, Ray. Don't touch the remote!" (y/n) whined, making grabby hands for the thing before he broke it because if the car was worth a lot and treasured possession, then she guessed that the same could be said for the remote that powered it. What use was the car if the remote didn't work? None, but Ray wouldn't let her have it, not even as his eye caught the ring, not even when she was the pouting one. Nope, he merely kept it close to his chest.

"Uh, sweet girl, I think I know how to work a remote for a remote-control car, okay?" He scoffed, pinching her cheek because her concern was cute, but as always, he thought he knew better.

Pressing the button under his thumb, the car roared to life with its back wheel squealing and its headlights illuminated. Sweet cheese, it was a cool bit of tech and in different circumstances, (y/n) probably would've loved to get a look at all that retro circuitry, but not with the toy that was the difference between a payday and a payout.

And it all went downhill from there. The thrust from the vehicle was too much for it to handle and when Ray took off the brake and pushed the joystick forward, only the inevitable could happen. The car skidded over the edge of the shelf, propelled by all the power generated from its tiny electric motor and to everyone's horror (and Ray's shame), it was headed straight for the discarded pedicure bucket that Jasper formerly had his tootsies in.

"Nooooooooo!" It was like slow motion as Henry, (y/n) and even Ray ran to save the car from drowning its circuits. All that training was coming in useful, they each had impeccable timing but Henry was the fastest, a factor derived from those super-fast reflexes, which proved to be extremely useful as he sank to his knees and caught the car just in time. No fried electrics, no soaked seats, no soggy tires. Talk about having a heart attack

"Oh, thank god...See? This is why we don't touch things that aren't ours!" (y/n) scolded Ray as everyone breathed a massive sigh of relief and allowed their bodies to relax. The man offered her an apologetic pout as if he'd just received a telling off from teacher. Still, the car was safe, it wasn't damaged and they were out of the woods...

"Henry, careful! Your nails!" Layla exclaimed because for some unknown fucking reason, she was more worried about her crush smudging the clear coat she'd put on his nails rather than saving the car that his father had specifically told him not to break. And understandably upon hearing the pure urgency and panic in her voice, Henry yelped...and most heartbreakingly, dropped the car in the damn water. Shit.

"Aghhhhhh! No, no, no!" Henry screamed as he watched the car fizz and pop and die as the water ruined its components and short-circuited everything. Oh god, he was gonna get screwed for this and he knew exactly who to blame. The one who couldn't keep his paws off, the one who couldn't listen, the one who couldn't understand when no means no. Not Layla, she was too cute to be in trouble, no, his culprit was Ray, that stupid, stupid man-child who he would happily boil in oil if he wasn't indestructible.

"Uh...all right. Just, uh, I know you're mad at me, but I think I know what to do here, I'll be...hang on..." Ray laughed nervously as Henry gave him a death stare, and if looks could kill then he'd definitely be dead by now. But luckily for him, they couldn't, meaning it was safe for him to circle the couch, his hand tightly gripping (y/n)'s as she followed him in confusion, possibly to kill him for being such a moron or perhaps to protect when Henry pounced. Either way, he was able to nervously return the remote to the spot that it should never have left and he tiptoed to the door dragging (y/n) with him.

"Ray, I'm not leaving, the car--" Her protests about how she thought he was pulling her away from the sinking ship were silenced when he kissed her in the blink of an eye. It was rushed, unexpected and not very coordinated as he moved his lips against hers in a desperate attempt to savour the experience before he had to leg it, but she sighed and melted against him just as she did with all the others.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that this was a goodbye kiss, he could never leave without one and it just reaffirmed that tonight was gonna be a lonely one. It was over too quickly; one minute he was there, the next minute he was gone, running off into his car and driving off into the night to save his skin.

Her wrist carried his warmth for a few seconds after he tore himself away, a reminder of how tightly he'd held her before he realised why he was holding her so close and trying to commit everything he already knew to memory again. Maybe it would stave off the sadness.

With Ray gone, the group was left in silence, all eyes on the seething boy as he slowly lifted his dad's car from the bucket, water cascading from every gap that it seeped into. Jesus, even when he opened the door more poured out, showing that the thing was thoroughly drenched and unlikely to ever run again without some serious intervention. good thing that Henry was friends with a mechanical engineer, that shit was second nature to her, rewiring and fixing stuff.

"Feels bad!" Henry whined to his friends, echoing his signature catchphrase but without his usual cheeriness. Okay, no need to panic, yes, it was bad, horrific even, hundreds of dollars were on the line here for everyone, but they had time to fix it. A couple of days to make things right was a good thing, a positive when everything seemed so glum.

"Okay, it's fine, we can fix this, no problem. Just don't turn it on and put it in rice while the manicure people give me their glasses and a spotlight." (y/n) was quick off the mark, ignoring the crushing guilt gnawing at her mind since it had been her responsibility to keep everything safe and it had been her lover who'd screwed everything up. Therefore, she felt like it was her duty to make it right, plus, she had the expertise to root out the problem and repair it.

"What? Why?" Henry asked curtly, still in quite a crabby mood since he was pointing the finger at one person in particular. (y/n) had always been like an extension of Ray and vice versa, where one was, the other followed, so he channelled all the anger he felt towards his boss into her, which wasn't very fair but hey, it made him feel better.

"Because the rice will absorb the moisture and I need something to magnify the electronics and light so I can look at them. I didn't do a degree in engineering just to do math, y'know." She replied in a flat tone, fully aware that the kid wasn't his best self right now and whilst it would be nice to snap back, it wouldn't help much. He was just mad and needed time to calm down and in that time, she could get to work.

"Well, I wouldn't need your stupid degree if your fiancé hadn't made me drop my dad's car in a bucket of water!" Well, rude much? It was so hard not to shout in his face, to say something harsh back because what he said was meant to be hurtful to some extent and of course, the kid normally wouldn't dare to be mean to the woman who'd given him so much advice and care over the years, but he was lashing out. (y/n) could take it, at least she didn't show any reaction.

"Just go find some rice!" That got him moving, thank god and Jasper shrugged awkwardly when they shared a glance. Obviously, he didn't know what to make of the situation either, Henry was normally so nice, but when it came to his dad disowning him or not, he could be a real monster. Scary...

~Forty minutes later~

After a good towelling and a stint in a sack of basmati, the car was ready for service. Climbing up onto the kitchen counter and lying flat on her back like she was under an actual car, (y/n) delved deep into every wire, every board and every connection she could find in the toy as Henry and Jasper held it over her face. This was her in her prime, in her element as it were and if wasn't for the elephant in the room she would be having a whale of a time.

It was a delicate operation, she didn't want to do any more damage than had already been done, not with prying eyes around, but the good news was that it was fairly simple for someone who'd worked under Schwoz for so many years. The nineties had produced some beautiful stuff and this little gadget was one of them, so it would be a pleasure to work on it for Henry as reparation, all he needed to do was give her the go-ahead and not insult her in the meanest way possible.

"All right, boys. Set the car down because I am done!" She grinned and slowly sat up from the cold granite once the car was out of danger from headbutts. Jeez, her back was stiff, lying flat really brought out her age, but oh well, she was vertical now and flicked the magnifying headset that the nail techs had graciously lent her up to her forehead. Not her usual kit; it stank of acetone but it did the job because if it worked for doing nail art, it worked for fine electronics.

"So, what do you think? Can you fix it?" Henry asked her, praying for good news since that would stop the nerves zooming around his stomach and lower his blood pressure. If it was broken beyond repair, then he was screwed, destined to die in two days because his dad would never forgive him, but her smile looked promising...maybe?

"Yeah, it's not actually that difficult, so I don't why you brought him here!" She snapped, suddenly turning to look at the elephant who'd been summoned at the drop of a hat by a boy and clearly doubted her skills.

A spare mechanic as it were, a dude he'd found online who claimed to be an expert in repairing old gadgets as if he needed one. Seriously, she was quite insulted, just because she'd never been formally employed by a garage or company didn't mean she didn't know an exhaust manifold from a capacitor.

She was better than some guy who'd appeared out of nowhere and judged her work like she was the scum of the Earth - a woman who dared to step into the world of engineering and think she could work with the big boys. Yeah, because he was really channelling Elon Musk right now with his dopey glasses and burger shirt, he looked like a real "professional".

"Because I need my dad's car to be in exactly the same condition as it was before, so I want a proper guy to do it! So, can you fix it?" Henry's gaze then turned to the burger man, this so-called expert in retro toys. Maybe he did know what he was doing, maybe he knew more about the car than (y/n) did but still, she knew she could do this and the outside of the car was fine, it was the circuits that needed worrying about. The art she was good at and he wouldn't let her do it. The nerve of this kid.

"Yeah, I can fix it. Too bad, sweetheart." Burger boy snorted at (y/n), making her bite her tongue to hold in the torrent of filth that would be heading her way if she wasn't so nice. She was a "proper guy", why couldn't Henry see that? And Jasper wasn't helping much, sure, he gave her a sympathetic smile, but he didn't want to upset his friend more than he already was. Looks like the pleb was here to stay.

"Thank you!"

"Oh, that is great news!" The boys were so relieved at hearing the man could fix it because their other option was a tad more "risky". It's not that they didn't trust (y/n), it's just they wanted to get a professional in so they could say they gave the car the best TLC they could find, which was fine. Perfect. Fantastic. But didn't they know that commercial prowess came at a cost?

"It'll cost you three thousand bucks." There was the catch that had their grins falling and (y/n) choking. When he said bucks, did he mean cents? Because holy Jesus, that was a small fortune for two teens who had next to nothing in their bank accounts.

"Three thousand?! Are you taking the piss? The repair is so damn simple, it should be one dollar!" (y/n) exclaimed, unexpectedly feeling quite protective over the boys, even if they had brought this by themselves.

Yeah, this guy was the kind of asshole who was smug about his skills and a conman, praying on people who were desperate enough to pay anything if it meant their treasures could be restored. But she knew for a fact that he was just being a dick and even if they were millionaires, there was no way she'd pay that amount for something that would take two seconds max. Degrees do come in useful sometimes...

"Listen, darlin', this is a vintage remote control car from the nineteen hundreds." He looked at her in such a condescending way, (y/n) wanted to smack him right where that stupid moustache rested on his upper lip. Because she'd been able to come to the same conclusion as him, he now felt the need to stomp on her, put her back in her place as a guy who probably lived in a shed with nothing put empty takeout cartons and old motors to keep him company was obviously her superior.

"Yes, I know. I'm looking at it."

"Then, why'd you go dunk it in water?" Wow, stupid as well as ignorant. They knew the value of the car, did he really think they'd do something like this on purpose? The more he talked, the less faith (y/n) had in him and she just wanted to push him out of the door and do the job herself because everything was becoming a lot more complicated than it needed to be. And a lot more shouty.

"I didn't mean to! It was her fiancé's fault!" Henry yelled back, still feeling quite touchy about the events that had transpired not too long ago, everything was still too raw to poke at. Whilst he'd stopped firing too many insults, he was still being irrational and loud, which stemmed from the fear of his dad returning home and finding the car broken and slightly damp, and now, his glare was on the burger man.

"All right!... If you ever want a new fiancé, I know where you can find one, darlin'." Why did she always attract the weirdos? Giving him an eye roll and folding her arms, (y/n) turned her back on the revolting man, who obviously thought he was god's gift to women or something. Like she'd ever leave her loveable doofus for a moron like him, the thought made her shudder, more than the idea of him effectively stealing money the boys didn't have.

As if that wasn't enough, here came Piper and Charlotte, right on cue, like they knew the perfect time to come home - in the middle of a situation. The youngest was still holding her soda from the movie, Charlotte had some candy, but neither was aware of the shitshow they were walking into and for them, it was all still giggles and swapping jokes. No stress, no panic, just a blissful ignorance that didn't break until Henry's foul mood clouded their happiness.

"Hey!"

"We're back from the movie!"

"Oh, great! Did you bring me three thousand dollars?" He asked sarcastically, coming over as they came into the room, wondering what had made him so crabby. They had no idea what he was talking about, all they knew was that their movie was great, they'd had an amazing time and now they were hoping to chill with (y/n) and tell her all about it. What was his problem?

"No..."

"But I brought you half a box of Mild Doods." Charlotte offered, hoping she could appease the angry beast with a peace offering. It was a small sacrifice if it meant he wouldn't bite her head off and whilst Henry wasn't so keen, Jasper could go for a Dood. And that gave them a chance to throw their questioning eyes at (y/n); she'd tell them what was wrong, that was the girl code.

"Ooh, I'll take some Doods."

"Wanna manicure?" Zack sudden;y appeared behind the girls. Yeah, the car fiasco wasn't his problem, therefore, he didn't care about his client's problems. Their money was much more appealing and if he could squeeze a few extra dollars, he'd be doing all right to say that he and Layla had been called out to a madhouse.

"Uh, who are you and why are you in my house?" Piper asked, eyeing the new stranger with a cautious gaze. Stranger danger and all that, and this guy was asking to look at her nails, meaning she got the same serial killer vibe that the others did before, but as always, Jasper was quick to respond.

"Oh, they're professional manicurists. That's Layla and that's Zack. He is unbelievab--" Just as Jasper started bragging about how the serial killer was actually a pretty nice guy and a wicked nail tech, Piper happened to glance at the man next to him, who (y/n) was still glaring daggers at. And then she saw it. The car. Broken. In his hands. Three thousand dollars worth of memories and threats in his palms and now she understood why the atmosphere in the house was so tense. Because they were in massive trouble.

"Oh my god!" She gasped and stormed over to the mechanic to snatch the car out from his hands. "You played with dad's vintage car?"

No, I didn't play with it! Okay? My boss, also known as (y/n)'s dumb fiancé, came in here and drove it into some foot water and now, it's gonna cost me three thousand bucks to fix it!" Henry replied, stress colouring every tone. Okay, only (y/n) got to call Ray dumb, but a fair point, it was a pretty stupid move, not that arguing about it would get them anywhere.

"You are not paying him three thousand dollars for that! Just give it to me and I'll do it for free!" The woman offered, trying to get through that stubborn side that had hardened the more the boy grew. He could be so annoying sometimes, if he just let her get hold of the thing, she'd show him that it was a simple flick and twist and that was the repair over, but he didn't trust her. Jerk.

"No, (y/n), I already told you! I need someone who knows what their doing and that guy does, so I'm paying him three thousand dollars!" Henry argued back and (y/n) just left it there, preferring to sit and seethe than waste her breath. What was the point? Every time she tried to say something, he shot her down, every time she tried to grab the car, he yanked it back, he just wouldn't listen and she figured that the only way he'd learn was to let him see that she was in the right and he was in the wrong.

"Uh, I hate to bring this up but you and your friends owe Zack and me seventy-five bucks for the manis." Layla's voice tapped into the conversation, adding yet more bad news for Henry to stress over. Great, now it was three thousand and seventy-five bucks - an added expense from the treatment they'd each had done, which to be fair, wasn't a lot for the superb job they'd done but it didn't help.

"Yeah, okay..."

"Whoa, seventy-five dollars is pretty cheap for three manicures," Charlotte commented, making the manicurists go all smug. Yeah, they were cheap but good, that's what made them so popular; what little they lost in the discounted price, they made up for in the sheer number of clients they received.

"Yeah, it's pretty cheap..."

"Okay, people! Look, my parents are gonna be back in two days! And when my dad sees that I broke his dumb toy car, he's gonna make my mom kill me and (y/n) because she was supposed to be the responsible one!" Henry shouted over the idle chitchat, feeling his self-control burst when they all went off on a tangent that wasn't helping him get the money to fix the car.

And (y/n) could understand that because technically, as annoying as he was right now, he was right. Mrs Hart would kill her and then refuse to pay, so even if she couldn't repair it, they had to find a way to get the bozo over there to do the honours.

"He had a point. I've been here for five hours, that's one hundred dollars and I would like to cash in at the end of this." She muttered. Getting her money was pretty important and of course, she wanted to make sure that Henry survived this, so for all his whining and moaning and complaining and insisting that she was just an idiot with a degree, she was gonna stay. Siblings annoy siblings but they stay together, right?

"Look, son, if I may..." And that pig-headed mechanic just had to stick his nose in, it wasn't enough for him to take advantage of a couple of teens who were too scared to trust one of their closest friends, but now, he was stirring the pot. If he wasn't careful, the guy was gonna earn himself a smack in the nose.

"You need me to fix your dad's car before your parents come home, so you need to get your hands on three thousand bucks--"

"Still a rip-off." (y/n) butted in, causing the man to send her an irritated side-eye but she didn't care because it was the truth. She knew it, he knew it, the only people who refused to see it that way were the ones scrounging to find the money.

"Yeah..." Henry batted (y/n) away so she'd stop throwing in her sly comments and gave the man a tired look. This better be good for him to waste his precious time like this.

"So, why don't you have a party? Invite a bunch of teenagers here on Saturday night and you two! You must know other people who give manicures..." Oh, god. He wasn't serious, was he? That was the opposite of what they needed; did (y/n) need to bring up the scenario of what teenagers do at a house party? Plants dying from being watered with vomit, trees decorated with toilet paper, and the beds, dear lord, the beds.

"I know a lot!"

"Yeah, we do!"

"There you go! You get your friends to get their friends, you have a wild mani-party, make some money, split the profits and you should have enough cash left over to pay me to fix your dad's car." The repairman proposed, sending Henry into a deep pondering state, which the woman on his right couldn't believe. Was he thinking about it? Oh, sure, it would be great when Mr Hart came home to both a broken car and a decimated house, that would be brilliant; bye-bye dignity, bye-bye wedding, bye-bye to their friendship because she'd never recover.

"You're not actually considering this, are you? You know I can't let you do this..." (y/n) whispered to Henry, acting as the angel on his shoulder when the burger-shirt guy was the devil, tempting him into sin. God, being the killjoy was hard but it was the smart thing to do, they could get three thousand dollars somewhere else or y'know, just let her do it. Parties weren't her thing, from both a personal and professional standpoint; they just filled her with dread, much like the way Henry sighed at the mechanic.

"I don't know...she's right, my parents said I'm not allowed to have parties while they're out of town. They won't give (y/n) her money if something goes wrong..." Henry told the dude and the woman felt grateful that he was at least considering her interests as well as his own. It was nice to know he cared about her efforts to pay for the best day of her life, whenever it would be, but no matter how worried he looked, her rival seemed relentless in his struggles to squeeze every penny he could get.

"Kid, sometimes you just gotta say...rubber duck!" Fuck her, it was like that damn phrase was following them, haunting their every move. As her eyes closed in frustration, a method of trying to quell the anger settling in her stomach, Jasper leapt up at the sound of someone else using his new motto. It wasn't just him, he wasn't alone in this, sure, the only other person was an asshole but still.

"See?!" Burger boy had truly made his day.

~A while later...party time~

"The party was off to an amazing start."

Remind (y/n) why this was a good idea again. The neighbours surrounding the Harts' residence were starting to get grouchy and for good reason; having decided to just "rubber duck it", Henry and his friends had contacted everyone they knew to try and get a party going and holy shit, it had worked.

"Charlotte, Jasper, Piper and I invited tons of our friends. (y/n), of course, hated it but she didn't say anything. We couldn't hear her over the music anyway."

The floor was vibrating and the walls were in danger of cracking from the loud, thumping bass beat from the music and the crowds, well, they were swarming. Friends had phoned friends, and then they had phoned their friends, leading to masses of people flocking to Henry's home like it was the place to be because honestly, it was. The manicurists were loving it, all their nail artist friends had come over to take advantage of all the teens living it large and the money was rolling in.

"And Layla, the prettiest manicurist I ever saw, she invited a bunch of her friends, other manicurists."

Jasper, naturally, was the doorman, greeting and vetting anyone who tried to get in since they weren't gonna let just anyone into the house. As per (y/n)'s frantic advice, they were trying to avoid that apocalyptic tale of a trashed house and whilst the riffraff was staying outside, it didn't mean to say that things were staying squeaky clean.

These people didn't care if they threw their trash on the floor or wiped their sticky hands on the curtains, they weren't the ones cleaning up. All they did care about was the sad-sack adult hovering over them with an eagle eye for troublemakers - that would be (y/n).

It was like college all over again, the noise, the stench, the heat, the tangle of sweaty bodies trying to dance and fumble to take a selfie all at the same time. She wasn't a big fan of them, then, she wasn't a big fan of them now, especially not when she had to be the one telling arrogant boys and bitchy girls off for getting a tad too rambunctious for her liking. You'd think that she'd be used to being called a nerdy little twerp, who should go and crawl back to whatever math paper she'd left behind, by now, but no. It still stung, but at least it wasn't true.

Popularity after high school doesn't mean shit; they'd all leave for college and then the real world where they were nobodies. The jocks would just become assholes, the bitches wouldn't be able to step on people and they'd find themselves being the losers for once, the ones with no experience. That was comforting, knowing that one day, someone would smack them in the mouth and they'd learn their lessons.

"And the money! Oh, man...it's, like, insane how much these kids will pay for a quality manicure." Henry chuckled as he narrated the events of the night to some dude he'd never met before. He didn't know why, but he just felt so cool and was riding the high that came from being the one to organise a great party. He had some dark glasses, a soda, a porch to sit on and chill, he felt like a god...but the same couldn't be said for the other guy. He just felt awkward.

"Uh, yeah...do I have to sit here and keep listening to you narrate?" He asked, glancing up from his phone so he could look at the boy who kept talking to him like they were friends. But Henry was just walking down memory lane, too blissed out from the recollection to care if he was being weird...

"Then, at one point, earlier in the night, I went to get a soda and Layla walked up to me. And out of nowhere, she says..." Henry remembered the sway of the crowd as he moved through the house, careful not to spill his when Layla stepped in front of him.

"Have you ever made spaghetti on a sailboat?" Okay, random, but she was so cute, he couldn't bring himself to laugh at her and just smiled softly. How could anyone not smile softly around such beauty?

"Hmmm? On a--on a sailboat?"

"Yeah, a boat with sails..." The conversation was awkward and limited to a few words, but his heart couldn't stop fluttering, not when she giggled at his smiley reaction.

"And I was thinking, why not make spaghetti in a kitchen?" It was a fair question and as Henry broke out of his daydream, he found himself pondering it again. He'd never been on a sailboat so he couldn't say if it was a good place or not, but surely, it would rock and dip and sway from the water, not to mention the seasickness. Was it a good idea?

"Y'know, 'cause a kitchen is where most people make spaghetti, right?" He turned to look at the dude he was sitting with, who at this point, had had quite enough of his tall, Jackanory tales.

"I just want to get a manicure..." He told him flatly and then, Henry gave up trying. Well, he tried to be cool and it failed, all he had left was his half-drunken soda and his shades. That was depressing, but he was the host of a house party, it was hard to ever be alone when that happened.

"Henry, Charlotte has good news..." (y/n) suddenly appeared in the doorway, the usual bounce in her step missing since she'd just unclogged the toilet and scrubbed her hands raw at how it made her skin crawl. This was the worst, why do teens think destruction is fun? Anyway, after losing her epidermis, she'd bumped into Charlotte as she tried to find Henry to give him an earful about how she should get paid extra for this shit and the girl was much more excited than she was.

"Henry! We did it!" She cried, clutching a safety deposit box and a wad of cash in her fist so they wouldn't lose a dollar. Now that was a reason to be excited about and (y/n) found her energy growing steadily once more since with that money, the end of this puke fest was in sight. Was it a bit much to call these animals degenerates?

"You made spaghetti on a sailboat?" He really needed to stop obsessing over everything little thing Layla said.

"What? No! Look, three thousand dollars!" Charlotte squealed and spread the bills into a fan so he could see every little number. Holy shit, three grand right in her hand, it seemed impossible for a group of kids and their nagging grownup friend, but they'd done it. Henry's neck was saved and yet more good news was still to come.

"And Piper's in there collecting more money right now! We're raking it in." (y/n) smiled as Charlotte carefully passed the money to Henry, who cradled it like it was his firstborn child. A quick flicker through the notes and a calculation that took every ounce of mathematical ability he had, and he knew that he had the mechanic's money, which the heroine in front of him still thought was ridiculous but at least they'd enjoyed the party.

"Oh, man! Okay, problem solved!" The boy smiled, looking at them with hopeful eyes. This meant that the party was over, right? A shame but a necessary one because the house, the car, everything had to be perfect for when his parents came back, which was still some time away but the sooner this mess was fixed, the better.

"Well, unless we have some other unforeseen complication, we should go and pay that charlatan you call a repairman and get this over with." (y/n) replied dryly, still not believing that the kid was actually gonna hand over the money from what had turned out to be a brilliant plan (maybe the burger guy had been smart with his suggestion there).

It didn't seem right, not when the damage flashed into her brain and the problem's solution screamed out to her. The kid could keep his money and still fool his parents into thinking everything was fine, wasn't that better?

"Right..." Clearly not.

~

The time had come to hand the cash over. Sitting in the armchair by the fire, the "expert" repairman sat back and smirked at the woman watching him with cold eyes as Henry counted every bill they were giving him and the manicurist did his nails. This had been a good night for him, he'd been pampered and was being ten times the normal rate for a restoration. It felt good to be bad...

"Twenty-nine hundred and sixty, twenty-nine hundred and eighty, three thousand! Right there, three thousand dollars!" Henry slammed the last twenty down onto the table next to the guy, relieved that all the counting was over and the debt had been paid. The mechanic could pick it up, look at it, smell if he wanted to, but they'd given him the money, time for him to uphold his side of the deal.

"Yeah! You can count it if you want!"

"I just counted it right in front of him..." Oh, Jasper, he could see but he could never observe. Whatever, as quickly as he could, the man shoved the bundle into his top pocket and patted it happily before leaning back to enjoy his hand massage. Why should he go fast? It's not like he had a lot of work to do.

"You know, you've been sitting in that chair for so long, you're beginning to look like it." (y/n) snapped when a pleased sigh escaped the man, infuriating her, Henry and Jasper at how lax he was in his efforts to help them. Sure, she knew that he didn't have a mammoth task ahead, but this was just taking the piss.

"You just stand there and look pretty, darlin'. I'll do the work when I want to..." He grumbled in return as the girl next to him buffed his nails and chased away all of his worries. Three thousand dollars richer and he hadn't even lifted a finger, something which enraged Henry and fanned the flames of his panic.

"Come on, man, I really need this!" The kid cried, letting his desperation fly out as tears in his eyes and a needy yelp. That made the man wake up and put his hands in the air, startled by the loud tone that shattered his tranquillity. Jeez, couldn't the woman tell them that it wasn't that big of a deal?

"All right! Open my toolbox." He told the boys, making (y/n) scoff when Henry open the tiny red box that housed a series of screwdrivers, mini spanners and a small soldering iron - perfect for delicate operations. It was right next to him, literally ten centimetres away from his hand yet he couldn't be bothered to do it himself. Rather, he simply selected the tool he needed--the tool (y/n) would've gone for if it was up to her---and took the car from Jasper, ready to "earn" his three thousand bucks.

Turning the car upside down, his eyes raked over the circuitry until he saw what the pretty girl had told her friends about. Two loose screws. That was it. Nothing more. That's why (y/n) had been adamant that her skill was sufficient because all that needed fixing was two damn screws. When the electrics short-circuited, they popped out as a safety feature to protect the car from damaging itself; that killed the system and after drying out, it just needed putting back into place. Hardly a job worth what the man had taken.

"Penny in the air..." (y/n) muttered, watching as the screwdriver's head was jammed into the screws and twisted in three full turns, precisely what she'd been trying to do all night. If she had just been able to get her hands on it, things could've been so different and she'd be the one laughing at this clown.

"So, how long are you--"

"Done!" And like that, it was over. The car was perfectly fine again, ready to go for another drive, not that they were gonna even attempt that. Henry and Jasper fell silent as he presented the toy back to them, a smug smirk on his face now that the contract between them was over. They couldn't believe it, they must've misheard him because that took two seconds, just like (y/n) had said...

"You're done?"

"And the penny drops." (y/n) rubbed at her forehead as she saw the light leave Henry's eyes. Just because he didn't want to believe it didn't mean what the guy was saying wasn't true and if he didn't trust him, then all he had to do was test the car for himself.

"Yeah, push the green button on the remote and move the joystick forward." The repairman instructed Jasper, who nervously did as he was told. Raising the controller, he pushed the accelerator button down and pushed the joystick as commanded and low and behold, the car roared to life. The wheels moved perfectly, the headlights glowed, and the toy was in perfect working order again.

"Ta-dahhh!"

"It works!" For a moment, the rush of exhilaration and relief blinded the boys from what was important. They forgot about the price tag and focused on the genius man who'd saved their asses because it felt so good to not be in trouble again until Henry clocked onto the wad peeking out from his pocket. Right, he gave him that...wait...

"Oh my god, you're like a geni---wait, you charged me three thousand bucks and then fixed it in five seconds?!" Henry snapped, causing a grin to break out on the man's face. He found the fact that he'd only been caught now hilarious because it was too late and knowing that he'd gotten away with it was hilarious, especially considering that he'd beaten another mechanic to the chase.

"Rubber duck! Face it, kid, you should've trusted your friend here." The man laughed and slowly, Henry's face dropped. With thinking, he turned to look at (y/n), who'd been suspiciously quiet for the last few minutes and he felt his heart crack when she offered him a watery smile. Well, now he just felt like a jerk; all that shit he said about Ray not listening and suffering the consequences had echoed with him, it left him feeling rotten because he'd depended on a stranger when he already had everything he needed with her.

"What? No, no, no, no, no, that's not cool! That's not cool, man! Why are you laughing like that? She's my friend and because of you--" This was becoming a habit, all the finger-pointing. As the man continued to cackle at his furious questions and accusations, across the room, another problem was stewing, only this one was a big one. A really big one.

"Henry! Henry!" Piper shrieked over the music, urgently needing her brother to stop playing around with that moron mechanic and get over to her. She'd just gotten off the phone and what she had been told was bad. Very bad and it would affect everyone in the room if they didn't act quick.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Mom and dad just called." Well, that was normal, at least from (y/n)'s viewpoint. She'd get over the car thing but something didn't feel right. She knew when Piper was panicking and that certainly sounded like her panic voice, even if the newsflash wasn't particularly interesting. Parents liked to call and check up on their kids when they were away, there was nothing to worry about, just one of those things that happened. There was no need to get all worried, no reason at all.

"So?"

"They're on their way here!" That, however, was. That was a big reason to panic. (y/n) meltdown incoming, system shutdown impending because what the fuck? They were coming home? Early? When there was a party in full swing in their house? The one she was meant to be guarding against parties? Oh Jesus, oh Buddha, oh Superman, literally any deity out there, please come help her.

"What? They're coming here?! Oh, god..."

"No, no, no, no, they're in Toronto!" Henry calmed her fears with foolish rationality, kinda like he was sticking his head in the sand and hoping it would all go away if he didn't think about it. They were going on a trip, they hadn't even made it through the first night, and they weren't coming back. She was worried about nothing.

"Nu-uh. When they were changing planes in Chicago, dad went to the men's room and dropped his passport in the toilet!" Typical Jake Hart, clumsy and stupid. Yep, that was their dad.

"Why didn't he reach in and grab it?" Sure, that was gross, but for a passport, it wasn't a big ask, not when they needed to catch another flight, but again, this was a classic Mr Hart moment.

"He tried but it was an auto-flusher!" Oh god, he lost the damn thing and gave his arm and swirlie. They couldn't make this shit up; it was funny and they'd be laughing in any other circumstance but this was now just turning into a farce.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" (y/n) asked, feeling a bit concerned because the arm that was paying her was now down a toilet fishing for a passport. And of course, she worried for his safety but still, money, money money...

"So, his arm got stuck in the toilet then they had to call the fire department to pull him out!"

"So, mom and dad bailed on the trip?" It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened and Henry's voice was starting to get just as panicky as Piper retold the story. His house was full of strangers and trash and manicurists, they couldn't see this, they'd ground him for life, Piper too. (y/n) wouldn't get paid, Jasper and Charlotte would be permanently banned from his house and his life would be over. And that was all true.

"Yeah! They just called from Nacho Ball and said they'll be home soon!" Soon wasn't good, soon was exactly the opposite of what they needed, but one thing remained. Depending on the Nacho Ball, they might just be able to squeeze out a few extra minutes to think before their impending doom arrived.

"Wait, wait, wait, which Nacho Ball? The close one or the nice one?" Everyone loved the nice Nacho Ball, the service, the food, the restaurant, it was perfect family, fast-food dining, the only catch being that it was quite far away, in a classier part of Swellview. The close one was disgusting, probably only a health inspection away from getting closed down and don't get Henry started on the whiny staff. Plus, it was close by, hence, a real problem if his parents were at that one and not the nice one.

"The close one!" Piper screeched and shot forward to grab his jacket and shake some sense into him. That's what he was dreading. The bad news settled into his bones and froze his core, making chilling waves of fear run through him as he pictured the worst; his parents walking in on this scene. Nope, not on his watch, if they could scrounge three grand in one night, then they could fix this shit in fifteen minutes, that was their only choice. To at least try and hide the evidence.

"Okay, okay, okay, Jasper! Jasper, turn off the music!" Thinking on his feet, Henry gave his first instruction to the friend closest to the speaker system because step one had to be shutting down the party. With all the people gone then it would just be a case of tidying up, so how do you stop a party? Kill the music.

"Okay!" Jasper swiftly took a remote from his pocket that was connected to the PearPad that had been shuffling a cool party playlist, full of modern music that (y/n) wasn't very familiar with, and hit the pause button. The crowd stopped swaying and chattering when the beat reverberating through their bodies stopped and that meant it was quiet enough for Henry to tell them to fuck off. But y'know, more politely than that, just with the same effect.

"Okay! Everyone, please listen up, please! I need everyone to get all their stuff and get out immediately!" Henry yelled at the top of his voice, which would no doubt be red and sore afterwards but whatever, he had a crowd to address. And they weren't happy with the sudden eviction notice; the party had been going so well and so many were still waiting for a manicurist to become free, so they were reluctant to leave. That is, they still hadn't heard the best part.

"Why?" Oliver Pook asked as he sat at a pop-up nail bar, watching as Henry kept jerking his body to try and inspire some energy into everyone. Like the others, he was enjoying himself and it wasn't like he got invited to many parties because big-eating is weird and disgusting, so his butt was firmly wedged into the sofa.

"Uh, 'cause--" Now, Henry had another problem. This had been the greatest party he'd ever thrown and it would go down as one of the best ever thrown by someone in his school, so he didn't really want to ruin that by saying he was scared of what his mommy and daddy might say. Social suicide was not how he wanted the night to end, but he had to get rid of them somehow, maybe his friends could say something?

"'Cause a snake's got loose! Yeah, a real big one that loves to eat annoying teenagers." (y/n) interjected, coming up with something that would scare people out of the premises whilst simultaneously saving Henry's street cred and giving her something to chuckle about. Yeah, she wouldn't mind seeing some of these brats getting gobbled...do snakes eat burgers?

Immediately, there was a stampede. Upon hearing that a snake was slithering about the place, the partygoers, the manicurists, everyone ran for the exits, rushing to get to safety before they could get bitten or eaten. Small problem though, Jasper, who had been standing guard by the door as a watchman spotted a small flaw within the plan, mainly that something was worrying pulling into the driveway.

"Henry! Your parents just pulled up in the driveway!" He yelled to his best friend, having seen the unmistakable sight of a sorrowful Mr Hart and a furious Mrs Hart, who was not in the mood for taking any shit after what she'd been through.

"Okay, everyone, go out the back door! The back door!" Change of plan. Henry redirected the stampede to the back of the house, worried that the sight of a herd of teens and nail tech gushing from his front door might just tip off his parents that something was going on in the house. Thankfully, the crowd quickly changed directions, not caring how they got out as long as they did - the snake could strike at any minute.

"Charlotte, go outside and try to stall my parents!" That was step two. Henry needed every second he could get and if Charlotte could get him a few more then that would be great. It wouldn't be a lot but it would be something, perhaps even just enough time to clean the place up a bit.

"Quick! Help me with the furniture!" Step three: get everything in order. (y/n) and Jasper didn't need telling twice, a lot was a stake here, so they all snapped into action as Charlotte faked smiles and kept her grip anchored to Mrs Hart and her feet glued to the driveway.

They shifted the nail bars out of the way, ready for Jasper to return them to the nail salon downtown when no one was looking.

"Go, go, go, go!" Was the mantra of everyone as they carried the furniture out to the backyard for whichever stylist wanted to pick it up themselves and as they did that, (y/n) got her game face on. With Piper as her apprentice and her years of experience cleaning the Man Cave in record times, she was ready to tackle whatever the house threw at him.

They plucked trash and nail equipment from the floor where people had just sat down to work before pushing the table back into the kitchen. It had been pushed aside to make more room for their guests, but now they were gone and they only had a few seconds to get everything perfect.

"Come on, come on...flowers!" (y/n) gasped as she, Henry and Piper each carried an orange chair back into place, not forgetting the little pot of tulips that Mrs Hart always had in the centre. There wasn't time to make them look too nice, there was still more to do; the coffee table was wheeled back into position as Jasper helped Henry push the couch back into its normal L-shape. Okay, the house looked good to say there had been forty people in it five minutes ago, and just in the nick of time too.

"Okay, good, good, good. Jasper, now get out!"

"Right!" It seemed mean to send him away after all of his help and hard work, but Mr Hart had been very specific - no Jasper in the house. So, if the kid was about they might smell a rat or assume the worst and that's not what they were going for.

"Piper, go upstairs and blow your nose!"

"Right!... Wait, why blow my nose?" That instruction made no sense. This was her house too, why couldn't she be sitting on the couch for when her parents' grumpy asses came through the door?

"'Cause, you got something hanging out right here!" Henry replied, gesturing to his nostrils to suggest that Piper, for once, wasn't on fleek. The thought of looking so disgusting made the girl shriek in fear, and in a flash, she was running up the stairs to blow her nose. (y/n) hadn't noticed anything, maybe it was a brotherly trick to make the house seem more natural because Henry and Piper hanging out wasn't something you'd normally see.

"Okay, kid, just sit and act--" (y/n) panted as she plumped the scatter cushions and dragged her old magazine to the couch so it would look like they'd just been chilling all evening. Calm was finally setting in over the house again, well, as much calm as there could be when the final judges were yet to assess if they'd pulled the whole thing off or not, but it didn't last. Not when there was one guest left who didn't get the memo about leaving and never coming back.

"Henry!" It was Layla. She'd returned to save the boy she'd been crushing on all night because, for some reason, he wouldn't leave the house despite the snake problem. Neither did she know why he scream like a child when she yelled his name but she could ignore that, anything if it meant they could run off into the night together.

"Come on, we gotta get outta here!"

"What?! Why? Why, why, why?!"

"I think you left out a why..." (y/n) muttered, barely glancing up from the magazine that she was pretending to read. If Mr and Mrs Hart walked through the door now then they see her just sitting on the couch and reading, definitely with a stomach full of butterflies as she read but failed to absorb any information. If Henry wanted to go, that was up to him, but she was gonna be the diligent housesitter.

"The snakes!" Did he forget about the lie they told?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, you know what? You go first, I'll follow you! Save yourself, don't worry about me!" Yeah, he'd definitely forgotten, but he couldn't leave, not even if he wanted to. Nevertheless, he stayed chivalrous to the end, letting Layla think that he was a true gentleman who didn't want her to fall victim whilst waiting for him.

"Okay! See you tomorrow for spaghetti on a sailboat!" She cried as she skipped out of the house, offering his perplexed face one last cheery smile before leaving, her nail case in tow. All those opportunities and Henry never even got to ask what the hell that meant.

"What?! Sailboat?! What is the thing with the sailboat? I don't understand--" He exclaimed as he shuffled over to the couch, following (y/n)'s beckons as she laid the magazine on her lap. They had bigger things to worry about, namely looking like they hadn't just cleaned the house from top to bottom.

"Just sit down and look norm--oh my god, the car!" (y/n) screamed when her eyes lazily dragged over the room and then spotted a flash of silver, still in the same armchair that the mechanic had "worked" on it in. Shit, they had to move it, cars don't drive themselves across the room by themselves.

"Oh my god!" Henry echoed, jumping up like he'd been burned as he saw that the gadget that had caused them so much grief was still a goddamn problem. It was official, he hated that thing, but nonetheless, he sprinted over to scoop it up from the chair and ran back over to the shelves to cautiously place it back into its rightful spot. The remote was returned too, everything in working order, no scratches, no water pouring out from anything, now, everything was fine, just in time.

As Henry jumped over the back of the couch to sit down and act casual, pretending to share an interest in whatever (y/n) was reading and hiding his glasses in the meantime, the door opened to reveal his tired-looking mother with all of her luggage and husband in tow. Showtime.

"We're home!"

"We're back!" The husband and wife announced as they crossed the threshold, relieved to see their home again after such an ordeal, but Henry and (y/n) didn't let on to the fact that they knew about the said ordeal. For them, that was still a surprise and they grinned politely like they were shocked to see them.

"Hey, mom and dad?"

"Mr and Mrs Hart! I--we didn't expect to see you back so early. What happened to Toronto?" (y/n) asked with her best manners, trying to play it well until the very last minute. Seven hours later and she was owed one hundred and forty dollars for keeping the house in one piece (for the most part) and if she sweetened them up, she might just get away with being paid.

"I don't want to talk about it.." Mr Hart said glumly and they both knew what that meant. Knowing that he'd had his arm around a U-bend was hilarious when they heard all of the little clues to what they were alluding to, although they didn't break out a giggle or smile.

"Just don't smell your father's arm." Mrs Hart told Henry, who huffed in amusement at how annoyed his mother seemed to be--pissed, even. A trip to Toronto would have to wait and maybe next time she wouldn't take her dumb husband with her.

"That's a deal."

"I'm gonna go wash my arm." He closed the door and walked upstairs, his suitcase in hand. He didn't even notice the car, this was perfect! The pair found themselves sinking into the couch as they breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the night was coming to a draw and anything that had been broken was now fixed. Everything was good...

"Henry, (y/n)..." Or not. Mrs Hart's voice was surprisingly calm as she called her son and his friend from the couch. It was almost a crime what they had done, the one thing she'd asked them to do and they'd failed. Disgraceful.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Yes, Mrs Hart?"

"Can I see you both in the kitchen?" This sounded ominous. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe she was about to congratulate them for a job well done and hand (y/n) some crisp, green bills for protecting her house from hoodlums whilst she and her husband were flying to Chicago and back. Maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed.

"Hey, what's up?" Henry asked cheerfully once he and (y/n) were face-to-face with her, having gotten up from the couch with a new nervousness settling in the stomaches. She wasn't smiling, she looked...disappointed and (y/n) suddenly felt a little faint like she'd done something wrong and was now facing the music. But for the life of her, she couldn't think of what could be the matter.

"There's a problem," Kris stated with an icy calmness and their hearts dropped. Oh god, they had missed something. A nail polish stain on the carpet, a hidden flaw with the car, a piece of furniture that hadn't been put back in its proper place, what was it?

"A problem?" (y/n) asked with a gulp and it was only when Mrs Hart raised her hand and thrust something into their faces that she remembered something very important.

"With my egg." The fucking egg. They'd forgotten about the egg. In all the chaos, they'd just left it in the fridge where it was safe but that didn't mean that one of the party people or a manicurist couldn't have touched it. They didn't have eyes in the back of their heads, someone could've easily swiped it and done something bad, not that they could see anything wrong.

"W-w-what do you mean?"

"It's cracked. My egg is cracked." Oh, shit. That was definitely a crack now that they looked closely, a very small one, but a crack nonetheless. What had she said? Anything happens to the egg and you won't get paid, did a crack count as anything?

"Well, I mean, you could still eat it and you could, y'know, pay me the one hundred and forty dollars you owe me for being here for seven hours...right?" (y/n) theorised, thinking that it would still taste the same, a small chip meant nothing. That money was important to her, maybe it wasn't the thousand she had expected to earn but still, every cent counted towards the dress, flowers, everything!

"No, (y/n), I can't still eat it and no, I won't be paying you tonight." Mrs Hart replied coldly and handed the now worthless eg to Henry, not even flinching when (y/n) looked at the floor with tears in the corners of her eyes. She didn't want to cry, it wasn't a lot of money, but to say how much they'd done to make the house right again, it felt like a just reward and the blonde woman wasn't being fair. How her soon-to-be husband fancied the mom was beyond (y/n) at that moment; she now had a reason to dislike her.

"I'm way upset with you." Was all she said when she turned back to give them one final glare before sauntering away, her heels and pencil skirt giving her a bit more sway and bitch energy to make them feel extra bad. Was that necessary? They already felt like letdowns, adding salt to their wounds was just cruel, not that Henry cared.

Whilst (y/n) felt gutted, Henry took one look at the egg, one look at the house and one look at her before making his final decision. All things considered, tonight had been a blast; he'd had a great manicure, met a cute girl, thrown a great party, raised and lost three thousand bucks and raced against the clock to work with his friends to trick his parents. His night had been like a goddamn movie, he wasn't sorry at all. "Rubber duck!"

"Stop! You know I hate that!" (y/n) sniffed as he chuckled and let all of his guilt go because his mom would get over the egg, there were millions of them and even his dad's one-of-a-kind car was good, that's what mattered. But for the young woman, it was more than that; that must've been the first time she remembered being fired for one reason or another, fired being the best word she could think of to describe this situation. Not getting paid was getting fired in her books--and a new thing.

Henry didn't know how to respond, not when she had her lips turned upwards but her eyes looking so damn sad. This was Ray's department, cheering her up with something went wrong but Ray wasn't here and whether it was his fault or not, he was the only one around to make her feel better for losing out. For starters, he should've let her repair the car, he could admit to that, not trusting her was a mistake.

"Sorry...it's not your fault, you know. The car, the egg, the party, none of it, I should've listened to you." He confessed, looking at his shoes because admitting he was wrong wasn't something Henry did often but when he did, he meant it, especially now. Sure, it had been impossible to predict Ray's sudden appearance at the house, but after everything that had happened, none of it could be pinned on (y/n), who deserved her money more than anything.

"I know, not your fault either. You didn't know that guy was a dick." (y/n) smiled, knocking the kid slightly by putting her knuckles on his arm and pushing his body away. He was still young, still cocky, it was only expected for him to not listen sometimes and for him to be annoying sometimes, so she wasn't gonna hold a grudge or anything. She could never, not with Henry.

"No...but you did." He murmured, her gaze meeting his sorry one. He'd learn that rick eventually, being able to separate the good guys from the bad was one of those things you sussed out with a little life experience and it had only taken her getting kicked down a few times to realise that not everyone out there was who they said they were.

"Yeah, I learned the hard way what happens if you trust someone blindly. I don't want the same to happen to you." She told him, remembering the time when she'd been naive enough to ignore the warning signs until she found herself loving a monster. Never again, lesson well-learned and she wouldn't let Henry go through something similar. Being used is horrible and seeing something like that happen to a kid as sweet as Henry would be awful. Tonight was just a taste of how mean people could really be.

"I'm glad I've got you, then. You know, I've never really had someone to look out for me like you do, like a big sister thing. It's always been me looking out for Piper and nothing else...I don't why I just said that." Henry whispered. He didn't know why he was letting himself appear so vulnerable for a minute but he couldn't help it. He felt safe with her, she actually listened and cared, she knew what to say even if to her it wasn't even that helpful. He was the eldest, the responsible one in the family, no one ever saw it his way until he met (y/n).

"I've got one of those faces. People like to tell me stuff." (y/n) joked, happy to see that she could still extract a smile from the kid after he felt so glum. But she knew what he meant though, he saw himself as the kind of kid who could face the world and sort it all out with a bit of luck and stupid phrase like "rubber duck", people relied on him as the oldest child, big brother and best friend, Henry Hart and more so as the always happy to help sidekick, Kid Danger.

"...And I'm always gonna look out for you, Henry Hart. You're like the annoying kid brother who drives me crazy but I wouldn't give up for the world." She added, smiling at how his cheeks flushed from the embarrassment of hearing something so sappy, and he confirmed it by pretending to hate the hug she brought him into, complaining about the way she ruffled his hair.

He liked it, deep down. Having a big sister was meant to be sweet and icky and annoying sometimes, but always good. She had his back and he drove her up the wall, just as it should be. She gave him a lecture or two and he gagged when she kissed her doofus, that was just how it was.

No one ever said siblings were perfect. No one ever said they had to be blood either.