To Mask or Not To Mask (A Henry Danger Fanfic) [COMPLETED]

Blog Entry Number Twenty-Four

Mr. Barlow, or as most people in Swellview call him, "The Low Crow Bar," was in front of us. I felt my jaw drop. I wanted to back away, but then Ray and Henry would get suspicious. I clenched my fists.

"Let go of the sack," Ray scolded. Mr. Barlow glared at him.

"No," he growled. "You can't stop me." I saw him tighten his grip on wooden crow bar. He glanced at all of us, and he fixated his stare on me. He came walking towards me. Henry stood right in front of me.

"Don't hurt Tween Wonder," Henry said.

"You're just a little kid," Mr. Barlow sneered. "You can't protect her." I lightly pushed Henry out of the way and gave him a look that said, "I can do this. Thanks."

I clenched my fists so tightly, I felt like they were turning purple. Then out of nowhere, I threw a punch right in Mr. Barlow's face. I unclenched my fist, and I stared at it. Oh shoot, I thought. I'm so dead. Mr. Barlow fell, and he let go of the sack. Ray quickly took it. However, Mr. Barlow stood up, and wrapped one arm around my neck, tightly. He stood behind me.

"If you dare put the money back, the girl bites the dust," he threatened. Henry and Ray glanced at each other. What were they supposed to do?

"Guys. Just return the money to its rightful place," I gasped.

"But if we do... you die," Henry solemnly said.

"Justice is more important than my life." As soon as I said that, Mr. Barlow pushed his arm tighter against my neck. I felt like my lungs were going to collapse, like I was singing the last note of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked, you know, the one were Elphaba goes, "AHHHHHH!"

"Guys... make your choice quickly... I can't breathe..." I whispered. Ray did a double take, first facing the counter, then he faced me. Henry took the bag from him and walked up to Mr. Barlow.

"No... Kid Danger, stop... this is a bad idea..." I said, using my last gasps of air.

"Tween Wonder, I can't let you die," he retorted.

"Don't!" I managed to screech. Suddenly, the world was spinning at 300 miles per hour, and I felt like my eyelids were being dropped down by a 800 pound rock.

"Tween Wonder? Tween Wonder? TWEEN WONDER!" someone yelled, and my eyes shut.

***

I woke up in a white room. My costume had been turned into my normal outfit. "Hello? Henry? Ray? Charlotte?" I asked. Then it suddenly hit me: I was dead. "No. No. NO! I can't be dead! I can't be! I can't be!" I banged my fist onto the ground. I sensed someone coming towards me.

"Candie?" a familiar voice asked. I turned around. It was my mother. She was wearing a white gown, and her black waves melted down her back.

"Mom!" I hugged her tightly. "Am I dead?"

"No, sweetheart. This is just temporary." She smoothed my hair. "You look amazing."

"I-I-I don't feel like myself," I stated. "I look nice, but... it's just not me."

"Bella did this to you, didn't she?"

"Yes..."

She chuckled. "I knew she'd go far in fashion." She smiled, then she went serious. "When will you tell them?"

"Tell them what?" I asked.

"That you worked for the same person that temporarily killed you."

"I-I-I don't think I will."

"You have to. They'll never forgive you if you don't."

"Yeah, but the thing is... they'll never forgive me if I tell them."

She blew air out her cheeks. "That is true. Anyway, that man you work with, Ray. He's cute."

I glared at her. "Even if you're dead... you'd betray Dad?"

"I'm just joking, sweetie," she chuckled. "But anyway, about Henry... you like him, but he's dating Chloe, isn't he?"

"Can we... can we not talk about this? I don't like talking about Chloe and Henry."

"Ah. Like Charlotte said, you're jealous."

"I guess I am, but it's normal, isn't it?"

"It is." She cleared her throat. "Anyway... um, I have something to tell you, it's important."

"What is it?"

"It's about someone you know."

"What? What is it?"

"They're just faking it. They're pretending."

"What? Who is it?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it, with a shocked look on her face.

"What? Mom, tell me!" I echoed.

"I can't. Your heart is beating. Our time together is over," she whispered. She gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Say hi to your father and your sister for me."

"No! Mom, don't leave me!" But as soon as I said that, she turned around and started to fade away.

"Mom! Mom! Please stay!" I screamed, but I felt my eyes closing again.

***

I shot up straight and opened my eyes. I was still in my costume. I was laying down on the couch of the Man Cave, and I had an oxygen mask on my face. I took it off. "Mom..." I whimpered. I hugged my knees against my chest, and almost started to cry. I wanted my mother to stay with me, but I also wanted to know what that was about. Who was pretending? Who was faking what?

"Guys! Candie's awake!" Henry rushed over to the couch and flung his arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay!" I was shocked, but I wrapped my arms around him. He smelled like apples and sweat. I felt myself smile.

"Ahem, lovebirds," Ray said. Henry pulled away and turned red. "Are you okay?" Ray asked.

I slowly nodded. "Yeah... I think I am..." I started to bite on my fingernails. They're just faking it. My mom's words echoed in her head. I took off my Tween Wonder mask. "So, uh... what happened to the Low Crow Bar?" I asked.

Henry and Ray glanced at each other nervously.

"He... he got away..." Ray mumbled. Charlotte seemed to have overheard us, and she ran into the room.

"WHAT?!" we shouted at the same time.

"What do you mean, 'he got away'? As in, 'he's not in jail'!?" I screamed.

Henry cleared his throat. "When you passed out... he ran off. But he forgot the money, so we returned it to the bank."

"But... h-he's still out there, running, isn't he?" I stammered.

"Um... yes. But don't worry, Candie. It's not like he's gonna hurt you," Ray declared, walking to the snack-o-matic and ordered an entire fast food meal.

If only he knew how wrong he was.