C H A P T E R   T H R E E

RAY'S plan had failed twice now, neither Jasper nor Charlotte being successful in their task to find out what Juliette Dunlop knew.

It had come time for Henry's turn, and he was absolutely dreading it. He hadn't spoken to Juliette outside of text since the day at the hospital; the thought of spying on her for Ray, knowing the chances of him wiping her memory, didn't sit right with him.

Henry had already fought tooth and nail to keep the man from wiping Jasper's memory, and sometimes when Jasper would get on Ray's nerves, he still had to stop him from grabbing the memory erasing device.

The blonde waited anxiously at Frosty's, having texted the Dunlop girl the night before and made plans to meet up at the frozen yogurt shop. He didn't want a ride from her that day, fearful that he would slip up instead.

The jingling of the overhead bell at the door signaled to him that someone had entered; turning his head, his cinnamon eyes met the oak ones of a joyous Juliette Dunlop.

     The Dunlop girl hadn't pondered on her discovery too much, accepting it for what it was and not allowing it to curse her daily life.

     So, when Henry had messaged her the night before asking to hang out for the first time in months, she leapt at the opportunity. Her respect for her friend had somehow heightened even more at the knowledge that he was risking his life nearly every night.

     Plus, she'd missed his company.

     Juliette had obviously taken note of her friend and brother's odd behavior in the days prior, drawing the conclusion that they'd just grown nervous she was going to tell somebody else that she'd recognized Kid Danger's voice.

     Henry went to hug her, suddenly remembering the wire on his chest. He pulled her into a side-hug, before the duo had gone to order at the counter.

     "That'll be $10.70."

     Juliette nodded, going to pull out her wallet to pay for herself — but she'd been stopped. Looking up at her friend in confusion, she'd watched as he placed $11 on the counter and lead her to their table.

     "Thanks, Hen." She chuckled, "You didn't have to do that, though."

     "Eh, take it as an apology for not being around much recently." He smiled, sliding her yogurt toward her. "Besides, a gentleman always pays."

     Juliette raised an eyebrow, nearly snorting at his words. "Are you claiming yourself as a gentleman?"

     "Yes."

     "Whatever you say, Hen." She chuckled, taking a bite of the chocolate caramel treat. "So, why the sudden want to hang out?"

     Henry gulped, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I dunno... Just... missed hanging out with you. Is that a crime, Jules?"

     "I missed hanging out with you too, Hen."

     The pair had fallen into normal conversation, catching up with one another just as Juliette had been waiting for.

     If she were to be honest, she'd missed hanging out with Henry more than the others. They'd always had a closer friendship than she and Charlotte, and she loved rubbing it in Jasper's face that she was Henry's favorite twin — though he would always deny it to the boy's face.

     A long-forgotten sense of normality had overcome the teens, something that Juliette had deeply missed in regards of her friends.

     But, not all good things last.

     "So, Char mentioned that you recognized Kid Danger's voice from somewhere—"

     "Jesus Christ," she frowned. "What is with everyone's interest in that?"

     Henry widened his eyes at her irritated tone. She was clearly exhausted of the topic, and it had seemed that Charlotte and Jasper had tried to pry rather obviously in the days prior.

     "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were tired of talking about it..." He admitted, refusing to meet her gaze. He felt so bad for this — glancing briefly at Ray in the corner of the store, and then back to the girl in front of him, he frowned. "I was just curious about it."

     "It's fine, Henry." She muttered, swirling her spoon in the remnants of her yogurt. "I should probably head home— what's that?"

     He furrowed his eyebrows, looking to her curiously, before following her gaze to the thin black cord just barely peaking out of his shirt.

     "Shit." The boy whispered under his breath, "Jules—"

     Her frown deepened, and she connected the dots far quickly than he would have liked. "I'm leaving. Any of you spy on me again, I promise I will beat the shit out of all three of you."

     Grabbing her bag, she practically sprinted from the shop. Henry tried to go after her, but by the time he'd exited the door, she was already pulling off.

     "Great. Just great," he said, throwing his head back in defeat before re-entering the store and approaching Ray. "Well. She saw the wire. She's gone."

     "How'd she see it?" Ray whined, glancing him over. "It's so well hidden! The only way she could've seen it was if she was intentionally checking you out."

     "Yeah, well, she wasn't." Henry sighed, "One of the cords was sticking out of my collar."

     It wasn't actually.

...

     For three days, Juliette had avoided her friends and brother like the plague. She'd even engage in bitter conversations with Mitch Bilsky, knowing none of the three would want the migraine that came alongside approaching the bully.

     Juliette was angry with them, even though she knew that their boss had more than likely put them up to it. She was hurt that they'd just agreed to letting a grown man invade on their conversations — letting a grown man try to spy on her.

     She'd fully believed she'd gotten her message of not wanting to speak to them through, until she'd gotten to her car that afternoon.

     The Plymouth Duster was surrounded by the teens, blocking Juliette from getting in and driving off. She stood with her arms crossed, irritated that she'd finally have to face the three.

     "What?" She snapped, "You three got wires on you again?"

     "Jules, it's not what you think—"

     "Oh, please. I'm not your dad. I know exactly what it was." She scoffed, glaring daggers at the blonde across from her. "Now get out of my way so I can go home."

     Jasper shrugged, "No."

     "The fuck you mean no?" She snapped, slowly approaching her brother. "Let me go home, Jasper."

     The curly haired boy leant forward, now face-to-face with the shorter girl. "No. Not until you let us explain."

     "Explain what?" She scoffed, turning to the other two teens. "Explain that I made a discovery that could get me killed if anyone found out I knew? Explain that the three of you and your moronic boss didn't trust that I wouldn't say shit? Because, if that's what you wanna explain, there's no need. Now get the fuck out of my way."

     Henry pushed himself off the car, a plan hatching in his mind. "Hey, Jasper?"

     "Yeah?"

     "Take her keys." He stated, before throwing the girl over his shoulder. "We're going to Junk 'N Stuff."

     "Put me down, Hart!" She demanded, punching his back as he opened the car door. "I swear to God I'm gonna skin you all alive!"

     "Sorry, what was that?" Henry called, "Can't hear you over the grudge you're holding."

     "Henry!"

...

     She tried to run when they'd gotten to the store, but was quickly caught by Henry. He'd wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her from the ground and carrying her the rest of the way into the store.

     With the girl still in his arms, he looked to his two friends. "Please go let Ray know that she's here."

     Jasper nodded, knowing that his friends would be the best at keeping her in the store. As he went into the back, Charlotte locked the front door, allowing Henry to put the furious girl down.

     The moment her feet touched the ground, she started punching Henry in the chest. It didn't hurt, she wasn't putting any power behind them — they both knew that — she was just trying to prove her point.

     "You done?" He asked, looking down at her with apologetic eyes as she panted from exhaustion. "Feel better?"

     Juliette glared up at him, grabbing his hands from her waist and throwing them back to his sides. "Yes, I'm done. And I'll feel better when I see you fall into a pile of Legos."

     "Ouch." He winced, watching as she walked to the counter and leant against it. He felt bad; she didn't ask for this, and she didn't even know what Ray might decide to do to her poor mind.

     Henry chewed the inside of his cheek, slowly approaching and leaning against the counter next to her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Jules."

     "Don't be." She shrugged, eyes glued to her scuffed up boots. "I know why you couldn't... But spying on me? Seriously?"

     "We weren't really given a choice." He admitted, remembering how adamant Ray had been about the situation. "If it helps, I felt like shit about it."

"It kinda helps."

Jasper emerged from the back, an unreadable expression on his features as he looked at all of his friends. "C'mon."