Unsettling

III

Henry and Jasper got out of their Güber once they reached Sidney's house, Henry making sure to pay and rate the driver well so he'd also get a good rating (his rating was abysmal thanks to a nasty expired Nacho Ball incident and another attack from a deadly evil bee). As Jasper made his way inside, Henry looked up from his phone and chuckled to himself. Sometimes he forgot how wealthy Sidney Birnbaum was and would be confronted with it the very rare moments he went to the mega mansion he called a house. He quickly followed Jasper inside and was met with the pulsating base of the loud music and the sea of people singing along, dancing, talking, and drinking. It reminded Henry so much of the cliche 2000s teen movies that he sometimes watched on the old movies channel. His eyes scanned the crowd and he craned his neck to see if he'd spot the familiar head of curls.

"Henry Hart!" He turned when he heard his name and smiled a little when he saw a girl who graduated with his class.

"Sara Lisdon, hey!" he greeted her with a half hug.

"Hey! I thought you were going to Dystopia? Well, at least that's what I heard from Shelby Lewis who heard it from Oliver who heard it from Dewey who heard it from Michael who heard it from-"

"Okay, okay," Henry cut her off with his hands up to stop her. He chuckled a little to himself. That was one thing about Sara, once she started talking, she kept talking. He licked his lips a little and gave her a small smile, "Yeah, I'm gonna head to Dystopia in a week or two."

"Oh, cool! So, are you still with Bianca?" she asked with a tilt of her head. He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion before shaking his head.

"No, we broke up when I was like 16. She's in LA now," he reminded her.

"Right, right! So you're single?" He saw her eyes light up with hope and his mouth opened a little. He couldn't really find the words to respond to that. Sara was a pretty girl but she also had a chronic talking problem and sometimes smelled like sardines. His brain scrambled for an answer when suddenly he felt an arm around him and he turned to see Jasper. He gave him a grateful smile.

"Sorry Sara gotta steal my best friend really quick!" he told her over the music before pulling Henry away from the girl. He glanced back at her before laughing and looking at Jasper.

"Thanks, dude! She asked if I was single," he told him and the other laughed.

"Dude, she gave Arnold Petrozoni mouth sores! I really saved your life," he laughed with him, "Besides, you belong to Charlotte now. Can't have you flirting with other girls." Henry rolled his eyes and brushed his arm off of his frame.

"I don't belong to her," the blond argued.

"But you like her!" the other countered. He expected Henry to argue but instead, he was met with silence, the curly haired blond poking his cheek with his tongue and avoiding eye contact. Jasper's eyes doubled in size, "Wait...you really do like her! I was just fucking with you! You like Charlotte!"

"Keep your voice down," Henry sighed but Jasper just yelled in excitement.

"You've gotta tell her tonight!" At that, it was Henry's turn for his eyes to double in size and he let out a high pitched scoff.

"What? Are you insane?!"

"No, I wanna win four hundred bucks! Ray, Schwoz, Piper, and I all put a hundred dollars on when you two would get together and if you confess tonight I can win!" he explained excitedly. The other stared at him in disbelief.

"You guys placed bets on us?" he questioned and Jasper waved his hands dismissively.

"That doesn't matter! Confess to her!" Henry rolled his eyes and walked away from his friend, deciding he'd rather deal with Mouth Sores Sara than this mess from Jasper.