What You're Missing

Chapter 4

"What?" he asked defensively, just as the bell rung, signaling the call to class.

"I gotta go," he grumbled, then treaded away down the hall. Henry chuckled as he and Charlotte watched Jasper go.

"What was that about?" he asked, pointing in Jasper's direction. Charlotte watched her best friend's retreading figure in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know."

*

The last bell of the day rang, and all the students at Swellview High swarmed out the classroom doors. Charlotte, in her last period AP Government class, took a deep breath before standing up.

Don't freak out, she told herself. It's just a date.

Date. The word itself sent a smile across her face. Would it be embarrassing if the student body knew their most admirable student had never been on an actual date before? Well, unless you count that one time with Jasper when they went to the seventh grade dance together, but that was only because neither of them had dates. It was more of a friend thing, anyway.

Charlotte stepped out of class, a smile still clearly evident on her face. As she walked to her locker, a thought sprung to her. What if he forgot? Or got called into work again? Her smile faded. At this point, she had learned not to get her hopes up when it came to the blond. He had shown to be quite unreliable in the short time they had known each other. The dark-haired girl sighed before taking out her phone to text Jasper. She looked down at her phone as she walked the rest of the way to her locker.

hey jasp, don't think Henry's coming, gonna go home. call me after robotics.

Her thumb hovered over the Send button as she went to press it before she was met with a pair of black Sk8 Hi Vans facing her. Charlotte looked up to meet Henry's gaze, his eyes crinkled from the smile on his face.

"Hi, Charlotte," he said to her. She looked up at him in shock, to which he chuckled at in reply.

"You really didn't expect me to come, huh?" he asked jokingly, leaning his shoulder against the lockers. A blush of embarrassment spread across the petite girl's cheeks as she turned to her locker, hiding the grin on her face.

"Let's just say my expectations weren't too high," she replied, opening up her locker after slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"Ouch," he responded, faking hurt by placing a hand to his chest. Charlotte laughed through her nose.

"Well, I am determined to prove you wrong today," he spoke as she turned to him after finishing up at her locker.

"In what way?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"In every way until you decide I'm not a complete waste of time," he replied. The two began walking towards the exit. "Like the rest of the school probably does."

"Ooh," Charlotte responded. "See, I have a curfew that doesn't last until the next few years, so..." Henry's jaw dropped, a smile still evident in his features.

"It's gonna take that long for me to impress you?" he exasperated, holding the door for her. Charlotte laughed.

"Eh," she shrugged. "More or less." Henry playfully rolled his eyes as the two left the school and began walking down the sidewalk.