( season 3: episode 11- gas or fail ; part two ) 

Juniper was busy taking the test when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She sneakily checked her phone, seeing that Schwoz had texted her, Charlotte, and Jasper in a group chat. Henry hadn't come back yet. That must've meant he managed to escape, probably with Schwoz's help so he can go help Ray. Juniper wondered if they would need her help with this gas leak, but she doubted it. They probably had everything under control.

Charlotte turns her mask off and takes it off before she looks at the teacher, raising her hand. "Uh, Miss Shapen?"

"Yeah, what?" Miss Shapen questioned, looking up from her book with an annoyed look before looking back at her book.

"It's time for our three minute break." Charlotte answered.

This got Miss Shapen's attention. "Huh?" Confusion etched on her face as she sat up straighter, closing her book. Charlotte glanced at Juniper and Jasper, silently telling them to go along with it.

"Uh, yeah, it's a state law." Jasper lies. "Uh, whenever kids take an achievement test, you have to give 'em a three minute break every two hours."

"Oh? And what if I don't?" Miss Shapen sassily asked.

Juniper quickly thought of something that would get her worried and make them take a break. "Oh, you didn't know you could get fined if you don't do that? It would cost you a lot of money. I mean, just think of your precious cats, you prbably won't be able to spoil them as much as you do if you get fined for breaking a law like that. It would put a huge dent in your budget." She delivered the last part with a hint of urgency, hoping to strike a chord with Miss Shapen.

It seemed to work, as the teacher was now looking worried. She stands up. "Three minute break!" She announces and everyone immeidiately had gotten up to leave. "But ya better be back here in three minutes!" She calls out. She then reaches a hand back under her shirt, grimacing as she turns to leave the room. "I gotta go pop something...."

Juniper exchanges a look with Charlotte, the two weirded out by their teacher as they walk over to the window with Jasper. Once they were sure everyone was gone, Charlotte opened the window and helped Juniper bring Schwoz inside.

"Okay, what is goin' on?" Charlotte inquired.

"Does Ray and Henry need my help?" Juniper chimed in.

"I don't think so, it should be an easy fix-"

"Even though Henry had gone to help Ray." Juniper interrupted him, furrowing her eyebrows as concern filled her gaze.

"What?" Jasper gasped, eyes widening.

"Henry can't leave!" Charlotte worriedly said.

"I know this. Where was Henry sitting?" Schwoz asked. After Jasper pointed out where, Schwoz sat some odd device on the chair, pulling out another one from his pocket and aiming it at the chair. Juniper gasped when a hologram of Henry siting and taking his test is shown.

"Wow." Juniper murmurs, her eyes wide with disbelief and shock. "That's incredible! It's clearly a hologram, but it looks so lifeless."

"That's insane!" Charlotte commented, staring at the hologram in awe.

Jasper nods in agreement. "Schwoz, you're a genius."

When the door suddenly opened, that made the four worried. "Ooh, they're coming back!" Charlotte warned and Schwoz was quick to run over to the window.

"Mahalo!" He called out quietly before he climbed out the window, groaning at the rough impact he had when he landed. Juniper cringed, feeling bad for him. But the door was closing and she knew Schwoz had no choice but to go out the window. Though he didn't really need to jump out it the way he did. It would've saved him some pain. Jasper closed the window while the girls sat back down along with everyone else. No one suspected a thing wiht Henry not being there. Until Miss Shapen got back and ordered Henry to go lock the door after the break was over.

Juniper tried not to show her nerves as she glanced at Charlotte and Jasper, who also looked worried. Jasper quickly stood and offered to lock the door, sitting back down immediately when Miss Shapen told him 'no'.

"I asked Henry to do it." Miss Shapen was getting frustrated with not getting a response despite raising her voice. "Now, Henry Hart, I asked you-"

"I think that Henry's just really focused on doing a great job on his test." Charlotte quickly interrupts with a nervous chuckle. She stands, walking over to the hologram. "Right, Henry?" She acts like Henry had whispered something to her and nods, sitting back down and smiling at Miss Shapen. "He says right." She sat back down, putting the mask back on while Miss Shapen stared back at Henry skeptically. Charlotte shares a worried look with Juniper, the two girls worried that their teacher would find out Henry wasn't there. "Ah, geez..."

****

"That's right, test booklets right here. Hurry up, I gotta get home and powder my cat." Miss Shapen instructed later that day when everyone was done with their tests. Finally. Juniper was so relieved she was done so she could go home and relax. She wanted to go check on Henry and see how the gas leak problem was handled. But, first, she had to finish things up here.

But as she realized what her teacher said, confusion filled her and she shared a look with her friends. "Powder your cat?" Jasper repeated, furrowing his eyebrows at her. They were all equally confused by Miss Shapen's odd remark. It was such a strange way to put it, and it only added to the series of bizarre events of the day.

"Get out of here! All a'you go!" Miss Shapen ignored their confusion, shooing them toward the door. Juniper couldn't help but feel a little relieved to be free of the testing room, even if it meant she still had to figure out what was going on with Henry and Ray. Henry still hadn't got back yet and she hadn't heard anything from him. She assumed things were okay, but she had that little voice in the back of her head telling her something could have gone wrong. She was trying to push her worries down, though, because she knew that Henry and Ray were more than capable of handling themselves.

"Hey," Jasper whispers to the girls. "What are we gonna do with Henry?"

"I don't know." Charlotte replied quietly.

"We can't just leave him here!" Jasper argued.

"He's a hologram. What are we gonna do?" Charlotte shot back. After a few moments of thinking, they came up with nothing and left quickly. But Juniper didn't leave. She lingered in the hall, texting Henry and Ray on what was going on and that Henry needed to hurry back. She sighed in relief when she noticed Henry rushing over to her.

"Finally, what happened? Are you okay?" Juniper asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry. Everything's fine, just had a bit of trouble getting Ray out since he got trapped but we're both good. He's gonna help me get out of here." Henry replied as Ray walked over to them in his Captain Man suit. Juniper raised her eyebrows. Part of her was curious as to what the plan was, but part of her didn't really want to know. So she left, saying her goodbyes, and headed home, ready to get into comfy clothes and relax for the night before bed.

****

(juniper's outfit for this part of the chapter)

That night Juniper was curled up in bed, watching one of her favorite shows, Drake and Josh, when suddenly there was a knock on her window, followed by her phone buzzing. She picked her phone up, smiling at the notification from Henry. It was a text letting her know he was at her window and asking if he could come in. She texted him back it was fine and put her phone on the nightstand before she got up and went over to unlock and open her window to let him in.

"Hey, Hen. What's up?" She asked curiously, closing her window after he was in and taking his shoes off.

"Just wanted to come over and hang out." Henry answered, plopping down on her bed with a smile. Juniper smiled back at him, sitting back on her bed by him where she was before, leaning against the headboard against some pillows.

"Okay, cool." She murmured, chuckling when he scooted closer and moved so he laid his head on her lap. He reached over to grab the remote to play the paused show, his lips curving upwards when he felt her hand begin to run through his blonde hair. Often when they hung out while watching shows or movies, they both liked it when one of them would run their fingers through the other's hair. It was relaxing for the both of them and it was a habit the two had gotten used to and didn't mind at all.

As they watched the show, the two occasionally shared some laughter at the funny parts. They enjoyed this time spent together and it was the perfect way to end the day after the stressful, nerve-wracking events that took place earlier. Comfortable silence filled the room despite the noise from the tv and the ocassional laughter or comment from the two teenagers. The atmosphere was relaxed and the two felt at ease as they laid there. Juniper loved running her hand through Henry's hair. His blonde hair was soft and light, and she loved the way it felt as her fingers glided through it. It was moments like these that made her forget about the worries of the day. Just being with Henry made everything feel a little brighter.

As the episode transitioned to a commercial break, Henry shifted slightly, looking up at her with a playful grin. "You know, if I had a nickel for every time you ran your fingers through my hair, I'd be rich by now."

Juniper laughs softly. "Well, can you blame me? It's like petting a really cute puppy. You're just so...Adorable." She teased, giggling when Henry rolled his eyes.

"Please, I am not adorable. I am very manly." Henry stated dramatically.

Juniper giggles, her laughter echoing softly in the room. "Right, very manly," She replies, raising an eyebrow with a teasing smile. "The epitome of masculinity, lying here with your head in my lap while watching a sitcom."

Henry smirks, looking up at her with a mock serious expression. "Well, the epitome of masculinity needs some TLC too." He quipped, earning a small laugh from Juniper.

"Of course, how could I forget?" She chuckled, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead, her smile growing when he grinned.

"You could never." Henry replied.

"Mm, so, are you okay? I was worried earlier when the gas leak happened and I didn't hear from you or Ray for awhile." Juniper admitted, continuing to run her hand through his hair.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I would've texted, but I had trouble getting Ray out. He had it all fixed by the time I was there. Though he had gotten trapped and I had to drill a hole to pull him out and he's heavy." Henry explained, one of his arms bended under his chin while his other was on her legs, fidgeting with the bottom hem of her shorts.

Juniper chuckles. "No kidding. I'm impressed you got him out on your own. You really are as manly as you say." She teasingly remarked, laughing when Henry playfully pinched her leg.

"You're lucky I love you." Henry retorted, pretending to be annoyed but the small smile on his face said otherwise.

She chuckles and gently pokes his nose. "I love you too, Hen."

He smiled fondly at her and the two teens settled down as the show resumed, their gazes focused on the screen. Despite being beat friends, the two teens always said the l word to each other. Of course it was platonic. But if they were honest, both of them had felt some kind of romantic feelings towards each other and have for awhile now. However, neither of them were brave enough to admit how they felt, and they both were unsure of what the other would think if they did. It was a scary thought, knowing there was a possibility the other would not share those same feelings. So the two decided to stay quiet, not wanting to risk their friendship. They figured their platonic love for each other was good enough. At least for now.

Henry smiled as Juniper ran her hand through his hair once again. His hand that had been messing with the bottom hem of her shorts moved slightly and was now resting on her leg. His fingers rubbed soothing circles on her skin and he glanced up at her, noticing she was now asleep. A small, warm smile formed on his lips as he turned his head and placed a gentle kiss on her leg.

"Goodnight, June. Sweet dreams." He murmured. After carefully moving and getting up without waking her, he pulled back the covers and helped hee get under them. He tucked her in and then moved to leave when suddenly he heard a soft, sleepy voice calling his name.

"Hen? Are you leaving?" She whispered, her tired, half lidded gaze on him with a pout.

"Yeah, but I'll see you tomorrow." Henry replied, placing a hand on her head and running his fingers through her hair.

Juniper hums softly and closed her eyes. "Can't you stay, please? I don't want you to go. Can't you spend the night?" She requested quietly, her eyelids heavy and fighting the urge to close them and sleep.

Henry pauses for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face before he gave her a smile. "Sure. Why not?" He shrugged. 

He moved to lock the window and turn the TV off. He grabbed some pjs he had left here before the last time he stayed over and went to go change in the bathroom attached to her room before he climbed into bed with her, pulling the covers over himself. He turned to lay on his side, facing her, and reaching over to pull her closer. She snuggled into him without hesitation, resting her head against his chest. Henry wrapped his arm around her, giving her a gentle squeeze. It was moments like these that made all the crazy, chaotic parts of his life feel worth it. Here, he didn't have to be Kid Danger; he could just be Henry, a teenager enjoying the comfort of having his best friend (and secretly the love of his life) in his arms.

"Thanks for staying, Hen." She murmurs, barely awake. She could feel the warmth of his body next to her, along with his steady heartbeat. She felt safe and warm, and his touch was so comforting. "G'night." She sleepily mumbled, her voice trailing off as sleep overtook her.

"No problem. Goodnight, June." Henry whispered softly, his voice barely above a breath as he brushed a gentle kiss against the top of her head. He felt his heart swell, his own eyelids growing heavy as he relaxed, surrounded by the warmth and calm that only Juniper's presence could give him. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but think that he would give up all the adventures, the superpowers, and the glory of being Kid Danger in an instant if it meant he could spend every night like this, by her side.

In the quiet, dim light of Juniper's room, everything else faded away. The responsibilities, the secrets, the battles—none of it mattered here. Being with her, feeling her breath softly rise and fall against him, he felt more at peace than he ever did fighting villains or saving the day. Here, with her tucked securely in his arms, he could let his guard down. He was just himself. A tired, contented smile played on Henry's lips as his eyelids finally fluttered shut. For tonight, everything was perfect. 

A/N juniper & henry ugh they're so precious