Unsettling

V

Wait, why would he care if Blake liked me or not? The realization finally hit Charlotte as she sat in the car. Why would Henry care whether she and Blake had something going on and why did he seem so relieved to know that he was gay? Besides the fact that he got to tell Jasper, it seemed like he was almost...jealous? She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and glanced over at her best friend as he sped down the freeway. Something was different about him, about them. This was long before she kissed him, and then he kissed her. Something changed.

It was enough for Schwoz to notice and constantly ask if they were dating. It seemed like something shifted after she told him about her dream about them almost kissing. She cringed to herself as she thought about how freaked out she was about it. It was just a dream, why did she take it so seriously? Ever since the day he saved her from the lion's den, things were both the same and different. The same in the fact that he never listened to her and took her for granted but was still a good friend to her when need be, but different in the way that he sometimes looked at her, the way he always made sure to stay close to her, and sometimes even touch her. When they'd study together, he'd sometimes brush their pinkies together then link them. He always sat next to her on the ManCouch and his knee always rested against hers. And, oddly enough, he did tend to listen to her more and actually value what she had to say. He was still the same, but so much different.

"Hey," he said, that raspy voice of his pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Anything you wanna do when we get to Phoenix?" he asked as he glanced at her. His blond curls fell into his eyes a little and she smiled, reaching over to gently brush them back.

"Maybe we can go to the botanical gardens? Ooh, or the art museum!" she suggested excitedly. Henry smiled at that and found her so adorable.

"Ugh, so boring!" Jasper loudly protested and interrupted the moment between the other two. Charlotte rolled her eyes and Henry chuckled softly as the broad teen continued, "We're in Phoenix for a few hours and we're gonna spend that time at a boring ass botanical garden?!"

"Do you even know what a botanical garden is?" Charlotte deadpanned as she looked out of the window. Jasper scoffed loudly.

"Yes, Charlotte, I know what a botanical garden is," he scoffed and went quiet before leaning towards Henry and whispering, "Hen, what's a botanical garden?" The tall blond laughed as Charlotte gave him a judgmental look.

"Anyway, the hotel we're staying at has a pool and a freaking water park! You guys can go to the botanical garden if you want, but I'm going to the water park!" Jasper excitedly told them.

"You booked us at a place with a water park? Sounds really expensive..." Henry said as they reached the Welcome to Arizona sign.

"Eh, our rooms are just like $213 plus some fees," he said with a dismissive shrug. Charlotte turned to look at him with stunned eyes.

"$213?! Each?!"

"For three rooms?! Jasp, that's like $700! That's insane!" Henry exclaimed but Jasper waved him off.

"Don't worry! I got us two rooms and I have a bunch of money from all my relatives, plus my parents still compete with each other over who sends me more money for my birthday. I'm loaded!" he laughed and his two best friends just shook their heads. There was no use in arguing with Jasper Dunlop, he already had his mind set on this hotel and that water park.

It was 4:30 pm when they pulled up to the hotel Jasper told them about. Charlotte wanted to protest because it looked so expensive but she knew it would fall on deaf ears so she stayed quiet as they got out of the car. Henry and Jasper got their bags and went inside, the raspberry blond giving the receptionist his name. She gave them the key cards to their rooms and the staff took their bags for them. Charlotte walked into her room first and was impressed. Despite his many, many faults, Jasper did a good job with getting their rooms. They had easy access to the pool and she had one king sized bed while Henry and Jasper's room had two queen sized beds (Henry was extremely grateful for that). She plopped onto her bed and laid back with a contented sigh, her eyes closing only for a moment before they opened when her friends barged in.