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henry-hart · 7 years ago

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Henry Danger Carnival/Fair Fic: Part 5

Dedicated to: @sunbeameyes @up-the-tube @youngbloodthekilljoy @ramune-ray @writing-excuses @an-anxious-gay-mess @kiwikwami *blows a kiss to you all* This is for you wonderful human beings.

A/N: It's the final part! I had so much fun making this fic; I'm almost sad to see it end not really because I am glad I pushed myself to finish this. This was definitely my favorite part to write because I knew how I wanted it to end, and it's such a sweet way to conclude it all. Everything comes to a close nicely. :))) I was listening to a playlist of 80s songs like "Drive" by The Cars and "The Edge of Forever" by The Sleep Academy while writing this, so if you get a real nostalgic 80s cult film vibe from it, that's why. lolol Enjoy and thank you for reading my fic! xoxoxo (it's hella long, so sit somewhere comfy while you read)

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

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"And that makes 1,000," Ray announced, pulling the tickets from the skee ball machine and adding them to the mounting pile he and Piper had already won. "Henry should bring you around more often, kid." He remarked, smiling wickedly at their earnings.

Piper inserted three more tokens into the game. She grabbed a ball, wound her arm back, and threw it, once again landing in the hole marked 100. She smirked at Ray when the machine started spitting out tickets again. Turns out Henry wasn't the only Hart with a knack for carnival games.

Once Piper had chased the boys away, She and Ray had developed a kind of partnership over their mutual love of getting what they want. Together the two of them had conned their way to the front of as many lines as they could manage and had even gotten free cotton candy. Where before they could hardly stand each other, now they were functioning as a pretty good team and actually enjoying themselves in the process.

When Ray had gotten Piper and Schwoz onto as many rides as he could manage under the guise of their father (he accepted that he could pass as Piper's father, but to have people believe he could be Schowz' father just hurt--Schwoz is older than him), they decided to give the arcade a chance.

The second they walked through the doors, Schwoz took off, grinning like a kid in a candy shop. Ray figured he'd be okay on his own while he and Piper brought their prowess as a joined force to the world of gaming.

Piper was great at every game she tried--especially skee ball. She had racked up an impressive amount of tickets for herself on just the one game alone. Ray found he was good at the classic video games--Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga--and he figured that was because he had played them a lot as a kid. He too earned a good bit of tickets, and they decided they would combine their winnings so they could get the better prizes.

Piper had her eye on a neon flamingo sign, and she had noticed a rocket ship lava lamp that she thought Henry might like. She was going to need a lot of tickets to get them, but she had faith in her skills, considering they were at 1,000 already. Most people weren't as proficient as she was with the arcade games, so she wasn't worried about anyone beating her to the prizes she wanted.

Ray wanted a classic, giant lollipop, but Piper inspired him to aim bigger. He had seen a plasma ball lamp when he walked in and decided that was what he wanted--along with his lollipop. He also wanted to get something for Schwoz, but he knew any prize would make Schwoz happy.

Piper landed the ball in the 100 hole a few more times, and Ray once again collected the tickets, adding them to the rest.

"I am so good at this." Piper boasted. "Someone should give me a trophy or something." She took a break from the game to join Ray at a table he had picked out. She looked around for Schwoz but didn't see him. She was sure he was having the time of his life wherever he was. She'd never seen anyone as excited as he was when they walked through the front doors.

Piper had to admit she felt the excitement too. It was hard not to. The arcade was one giant room of game machines, neon enhanced by black lights, and the exciting sound of tokens being deposited and tickets being won. Everyone cheering and talking and enjoying themselves blended into one sound, like the white noise of a crowded cafeteria or a busy store. Every now and then, a machine would burst into a series of whoops and whirls and beeps followed by a bright light display, signaling someone had just won big, but mostly everything wove into one conglomerate sound.

The arcade had the distinct smell of pizza--as most kid's places do--but Piper didn't mind. Not when the prize booth was right next to the entrance and she could see what she had a chance to win. That was when she had spotted the neon flamingo, and it was all she could really think about.

Ray finished organizing the tickets into one pile and nodded to Piper, breaking her train of thought. "What next?"

Piper shrugged. She looked around and noticed a two player driving game that was unoccupied. She jutted her chin in the game's direction. "Wanna play that one?"

Ray looked at the game and back to Piper. He raised his eyebrows. "You want to play a driving game?"

Piper didn't see what he wasn't getting. "Yeah?" She hesitated. "So?"

"So," Ray continued. "Aren't you a little young to drive?"

"It's a game not a NASCAR race." Piper snorted. "Besides, I have a license."

"Yeah, Henry told me about that." He muttered absently. Ray rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You promise not to give me a bloody nose?"

Piper mocked him with a few silly expressions and stood up from her seat. "Do you promise not to make this an easy win?"

Ray raised his eyebrows. "That's how it is, huh? Well, considering the bumper car incident, I don't think there's anything for me to worry about."

Piper didn't make a comment, instead deciding to let him believe that she was bad behind the wheel. Her win would be much sweeter that way.

Ray took her silence for apprehension and rubbed his hands together diabolically. He had seen her dominate most of the games in the arcade, but considering the tale Henry had told of the bumper cars, Ray wasn't too worried this time. It was driving. He was a full adult--of an age that did not matter because he didn't look that old, so, don't worry about it--and she was a child. He had this one already marked down as a win.

Ten minutes later, Ray was singing a different tune.

Piper walked away from the racing game, a wad of tickets she had just won in her hand and a sulking Ray following behind her.

Piper was folding her tickets up, snickering as she remembered how Ray had bragged and boasted shortly before she destroyed him, when a group of boys--probably older than her brother, by the looks of them--stepped in front of her.

"Hey, little girl," the one in the middle, most likely the leader, sneered down at her. "Where do you think you're going with those tickets?"

Piper wasn't the type to scare easy (now, scaring other people easily, that she was the type for), but this was a group of five guys, all much older and much taller than she. She was caught off guard, and she didn't think her tactics from before with the line-cutters would work in this noisy, crowded arcade.

She held tighter to her tickets, but she didn't say anything.

"I said, where do you think you're going with my tickets?" He spat again, this time leaning down to look her right in the eyes.

Piper was about to say something about the guy's bad breath when Ray stepped up from behind her.

"Something wrong?" He asked the group of guys in a tone that warned that their better not be.

Ray was aware that these weren't adults, so he couldn't just start throwing punches or anything, but he figured they were cowards. Any guy who needs to get a gang together to scare little girls into giving up their tickets is a coward, and cowards are easily frightened. Ray knew his presence and a few intimidating words were enough to keep the boys away from Piper.

Piper wasn't used to having someone stick up for her; she usually didn't need it, but she was glad for it, all the same.

The main guy stepped away from Piper, losing almost all of his bravado at the sight of Ray. "No, we were just leaving." He nudged his buddies to follow him.

Ray nodded. "I thought so." When the boys were gone, and he was confident they weren't coming back, he turned back to Piper. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Thanks for--well--you know--the--"

Ray placed a hand on her arm to stop her, knowing that saying thank you to him was incredibly difficult for her. "Don't mention it." Piper sighed in relief. "No, seriously, don't mention it. I don't want anyone thinking I like you or anything now."

"Don't worry." She assured. "I won't be telling anyone about this. I have a reputation to protect."

Ray smiled, knowing that no one would believe the story even if they did tell people; Piper was too well-known for being aggressive and violent (though Ray thought this kind of sad--she was only twelve after all. Why should it be so hard to believe that she is capable of acting like a twelve year old?).

She looked at Ray then, and he could tell that, despite her dislike for not being able to help herself, she was grateful.

"You should be proud to have those tickets kid. You kicked my butt to get them, and that's no easy feat." He jested, nudging her arm lightly as they walked back to their table.

Piper snorted. "That's not the way Henry tells it. According to him, winning games isn't really your thing."

Ray bristled. "He said that?" He demanded, scowling. Henry had the audacity to bad mouth Ray behind his back. "That little string bean thinks that just because he can knock down a few cans when it was obviously rigged makes him some kind of master of games." He grumbled, angrily ripping pieces off the napkins on the table and throwing them to the floor. "He's a master of lame, that's what he is. And he's blonde. What's up with that?"

Piper watched the napkin pieces flying all around them and landing on the red carpet floor. She didn't think it wise to interject to say that she too was a blonde and didn't see what the problem there was; she knew--from the limited times she had been exposed to him--that Ray was prone to temper tantrums, so she let him do his thing. She had a hard time flipping out on him anyway now that he had done something nice for her.

See, this is why she hates when people are nice because then she feels bad for having a short temper with them. If everyone would just be horrible, life would be so much easier for her.

"I'm going to send that brother of yours a carefully worded text letting him know exactly how I feel about that smart mouth of his." He pulled his phone out of his back pocket, mumbling in angry tones the whole time. "And I'm going to use emojis!" He barked at Piper. "He won't know what hit him. Blonde."

"Again with the blonde hate," Piper stopped him. "What do you have against blondes?"

Ray only gave her a seconds glance before going back to furiously typing on his phone. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're related to him. You're a whole family of blondes."

Piper shook her head, sorry she ever said anything. "I'm going to go dominate Pac-Man or something." She stood to leave Ray to chew Henry out and continue his napkin tearing.

Ray stopped texting, his attitude doing a complete 180 as he spoke. "You stay away from the boys. If they give you any more trouble, come find me, okay?"

Piper waved a hand at him. "Yeah, yeah, get back to yelling at my brother." Ray nodded, and she left, off to win more tickets.

"Oh, I will." He muttered to himself.

----------

"What was that?" Jasper asked after seeing Henry frown at something on his phone.

"Nothing," Henry sighed, sliding his phone back into his pocket, "Just Ray being ridiculous."

Jasper nodded. He knew about that all too well.

The two boys were currently in line for the ferris wheel; Henry had made sure Jasper stayed true to his promise. It was a better idea that they saved this moment for right now anyway because ferris wheel rides were always more magical at night.

The operator motioned the two boys forward, and Jasper handed him two tickets from his bucket. Henry smiled at this, remembering how Jasper had once been obsessed.

They climbed into the carriage, and the operator shut the door. They chose the same seat rather than be opposite each other, and neither of them pointed this fact out. It wasn't something they really thought about; they just did what came naturally, and that was sitting right next to each other in the small carriage. They waited quietly for the other people to be seated, and the ferris wheel began to turn, pulling them back and up.

What was once a warm day had turned into a chilly night. As the ferris wheel moved, a nipping breeze blew into the carriage where Henry and Jasper where sitting, and both boys found themselves thankful for the close proximity of the other.

"Hey, Jasp," Henry said thoughtfully when their carriage was close to the top.

"Hmm?" Jasper hummed, looking out at the fair grounds now that he could see everything from up in the air.

"You had fun today, right?" Henry asked, studying the side of Jasper's face.

Now that they were alone and without the complications of bumper cars or little sisters or paddle boats with a broken propeller, he wanted to take this chance to really talk to Jasper and get his input on today.

Jasper turned back to Henry. Their carriage was at the top now where it stopped, giving the two boys a full view of the fair. They looked away from each other to appreciate it, but neither of them had anything to say. It was breathtaking.

All the rides seemed so small from their height; the people were even smaller, no more than black specks moving in the night. The multitudes of lights made the grounds appear as its own world, separated from the rest of Swellview, teeming with life and pulsing with its own energy.

The lights were Jasper's favorite part because he had seen nothing like it before. It wasn't just the lights from the fair that were mesmerizing; it was all of Swellview. The town seemed to be lit up with soft, yellow and white lights. Jasper could see all of it. He felt like, if he tried hard enough, he could see the whole world. He felt powerful, limitless. He'd never been on a ferris wheel before, so he didn't know what he was feeling--that it was that carnival magic taking over his body. It's always strongest at the top of the ferris wheel, and Jasper was not immune.

Henry too was in awe. He was silent as he appreciated, as if it were the first time, a sight he had seen so many times before. No matter how many times he had been to the fair and ridden the exact same ferris wheel, that magic always struck him just as hard each time. He felt as Jasper did--endless, infinite--being up that high and looking out over something so incredible. This was his favorite thing about the fair: the exhilaration of seeing the carnival and all its magic in full.

Henry looked back to Jasper. Jasper looked back to Henry.

Jasper was hyper-aware of how close his hand was to Henry's, whose was resting on the bench in the small space between them. He felt warmth like a kind of energy bouncing back and forth between their hands. Henry's cheeks were flushed from the cold night air that, though Jasper hadn't noticed before, was more biting now that they were higher up in the air. The glow on Henry's cheeks combined with the light shining in his eyes even in the dark night made him look more alive than ever to Jasper. His heart jumped in his chest.

"Yeah," he breathed. "It was the best day of my life."

Henry's lips pulled into a warm smile. He felt as light as air, sitting here with his best friend on the best night of Jasper's life. He had done exactly as he had set out to do; he had made Jasper happy. Henry didn't think that he'd ever felt this good before in his life. There wasn't anything quite like the feeling of a loved one's happiness. The carnival magic didn't even come close. The chilly night didn't seem so uncomfortable now; Henry was glowing with an inner warmth, and no amount of cold weather could take that away from him.

He moved his hand up and over the back of Jasper's seat. He hadn't noticed as Jasper had that their hands were so close to touching, but he was aware now of how close his maneuver had brought the two, who were already very close. Henry didn't mind the proximity. It felt natural, easy, uncomplicated. He was also happy to be closer to the warmth radiating off of Jasper, who was meanwhile trying to refrain from smiling like an idiot now that Henry's arm was behind him.

Their carriage made it's way back down the ferris wheel, and when it stopped to let the next group have their chance at the top view, the two boys noticed familiar faces in the carriage in front of them.

Sydney and Oliver were also on the ferris wheel, and they were also seated on the same side.

Jasper and Henry waved to the two who waved back, and they enjoyed the rest of the ferris wheel ride. The next time they stopped at the top, they said nothing at all. Jasper nestled ever so slightly back against Henry, and Henry, noticing despite Jasper's attempt at subtlety, merely smiled, never moving his arm.

----------

"How was the ferris wheel?" Charlotte asked when Henry and Jasper met back up with her near the entrance to the arcade.

The boys shared a secret smile.

"It was great." Henry answered. "We saw Sydney and Oliver."

Charlotte nodded, handing Jasper's bear to him. "Cool," she took her phone out of her pocket. "Piper said everyone's inside."

"Alright, let's go on in. Ray sent me this long text earlier about how great he was at the games." Henry laughed. "I don't believe him, but it'll be fun to see him try."

Charlotte shook her head knowing another competition was about to start between those two.

The trio walked into the arcade and were met with the same energy Piper and Ray and Schwoz had encountered.

"This place is great." Jasper remarked, his eyes finding the prize booth.

Henry nodded. "Right? I don't know what to do first."

"I do." Piper said coming up to the group then. "You're going to take this." She handed him the hat she had bought him, "And then you're going to get your butt kicked by me at skee ball."

Henry accepted the hat, pressing the button to make it light up. He noticed Piper was wearing one too. "You bought me this?"

"Yeah, but that's not important." She dismissed, though Henry thought it was very important.

She had not only bought him a gift, but it was a matching set to which she had the other one. That was unheard of for Piper. She didn't purposefully match Henry with anything. He was touched, but Piper didn't give him a chance to tell her how much.

"Now come get owned by my mad skee ball skills." She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Henry looked to his friends.

Charlotte waved him on. "Go ahead. We'll be okay by ourselves." She hadn't had a chance to spend time with Jasper just the two of them. She still had to give him his keychain.

"Yeah, we'll find something to do." Jasper agreed.

Henry put his hat from Piper on and turned to his little sister. Though their hats were blinking in unison, the two were opposed at the moment. They glared at each other in a silent challenge.

"It's on." Henry declared, following Piper to the back of the arcade.

He saw the cache of tickets she had sticking out of her bag, but they did little to discourage him. He was a skee ball whiz.

"Shall we find Ray, let him know we're here?" Charlotte offered.

Jasper shrugged. "Sure. I need a place to set this down anyway." He lifted his bear up.

The two searched the arcade until they found Ray who was looking around frantically like he had lost something.

"What's wrong, Ray?" Charlotte frowned.

Ray didn't look at them as he spoke. "I can't find Schwoz." He spun in a circle. "He ditched us when we first got here, but that was awhile ago. I'm worried." He looked at the pair then. "He's really small."

Jasper and Charlotte looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing: how surprising it was to hear Ray concerned for Schwoz. They knew Ray cared about him, but no one ever really talked about it. They're relationship was complicated; Ray acted like he couldn't stand Schwoz, but everyone knew he actually liked the little guy.

They both reached a silent agreement not to point it out.

"Okay," Charlotte began, thinking pragmatically. "Where do you think he would most likely be?"

"Yeah," Jasper continued. "If you were Schwoz, what would you do?"

Ray threw his hands up. "I don't know. Do you know how weird that guy is? I never know what he's going to do."

"Well just try," Charlotte prompted. "What would be the most likely place to find him?"

Ray rubbed his chin, contemplating. "That's hard to say. Everything screams Schwoz around here. It's all games and lights and beep sounds." He scratched the back of his neck when a thought came to him. "The ball pit!" He snapped his fingers. "Schwoz has to be in the ball pit!"

Jasper cringed. "Gross. Ball pits are disgusting."

"This is Schwoz we're talking about. That's not really an issue for him." Ray snapped, already walking in the direction of the ball pit.

None of them were too interested in doing anything that concerned a pit full of plastic balls and millions of germs from the plethora of kids that jumped in them. They'd all heard news reports about ball pits and were surprised the arcade even had one.

When they made it to the pit, they noticed a line of kids waiting outside of it. Ray thought this odd. Usually the crazy kids just jumped right in like the animals they were. He suspected something was wrong, and he got the nagging feeling it had to do with Schwoz.

He was right.

Schwoz was stuck in the middle of the ball pit. He was too small reach the floor beneath all the balls, so he was just helplessly flailing in the center, stirring up all the gross things contained within a ball pit.

"Schwoz!" Ray called, shoving back the kid first in line. "What're you doing?"

"Ray!" Schwoz answered back in a helpless cry. Panic was evident in his voice. "Charlotte! Jasper! Help me!"

"I really don't want to." Charlotte grimaced.

Ray gave her a dirty look and reached a hand out in to the pit. He was going to help his friend, but he was going to stay out of the ball pit if he could help it. Schwoz wasn't worth that much.

"Will you hurry up and get your weird kid out?" The kid Ray had pushed said.

Ray whipped around immediately. "That is not my kid. I don't even have kids." He motioned to his face with both hands. "Does this face look old enough to have kids?"

The kid shrugged. "You look the same age as my Dad, so yeah."

Ray eyed the kid carefully. "How old is your Dad?"

"I don't know, fifty?"

Ray almost fainted. "I am not fifty. I don't even look fifty. I look at least thirty."

The kid didn't look to sure. "Whatever, dude. Will you just get your kid out so the rest of us can get it?"

"No, don't whatever dude me. I have the kind of skin that never ages. Look at my face," he got close to the kid's face. "This is the definition of youthful glow."

"Ray, you're scaring the kids." Charlotte scolded him, not in the mood to hear Ray get testy about his age yet again.

"This place is making me itch." Jasper complained. "Can we just get Schwoz and go somewhere else?" Jasper's parents had told him too many stories about ball pits as a kid. He was sure he was getting hives just being this close.

Ray reluctantly turned away from the kid and once again offered a hand for Schwoz. The kid behind him got the attention of the other kids and pushed Ray's back with both hands, making him fall face first into the ball pit. He disappeared under all the balls.

Charlotte and Jasper stood frozen, jaws dropped.

Ray popped up to the surface screaming. "Oh God, it smells like cheese and pee!" He started the same frantic flailing Schwoz was doing. "Someone save me! I think I just ate a booger! Dear Lord, I'm gonna puke. GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

The kids in line where doubled over laughing at Ray and Schwoz. Charlotte and Jasper recovered from their shock, but they weren't going to make the same mistake as Ray.

"It's like five feet. Just stand up!" Charlotte called.

Ray stopped moving and did as Charlotte instructed, finding that it was only about five feet. He could touch the bottom which meant he could walk. He could get out.

He reached for Schwoz and dragged him along to the exit. He pulled them both out, glaring daggers at the kid who had pushed him in.

"See you later, grandpa." The kid snickered before jumping into the ball pit.

Jasper had to hold Ray back, all the while trying to convince him that going after a kid no more than ten years old wasn't a good idea.

He reluctantly agreed, and Jasper let him go.

"I need to go bathe in Germ-X." He grumbled, heading for the restrooms.

The other three found the table Ray and Piper had reserved and ordered some food to eat.

----------

"It's a tie." Henry declared after he finished tallying up all the points.

He and Piper had forgotten the tickets they won; they were more worried about adding up the points scored to see who could rightfully claim the skee ball champion title.

Piper scoffed. "Seriously?"

Henry held up the score sheet to prove it. "Don't look so surprised, little sister." He said, reaching for the stack of neglected tickets sticking out of his machine. "You forget. I taught you everything you know."

Piper removed her tickets from her machine. "You did not. Mom taught us both."

Henry shrugged. It was true. Their mom was the ultimate skee ball champion, but Henry thought he was a close second. He had helped Piper play when they were kids and she was too young to roll the ball, so in a way, he had also taught her to play.

They walked back to the table they had claimed and took their seats, enjoying cheese fries Henry had ordered. Henry watched Piper's hat blink and felt for his own. He had reversed his, so it was lighting up behind him.

"Thanks for the hat." He said, popping a fry into his mouth. "You didn't have to get me anything."

Piper chewed on a fry, glaring at her brother. "You're not gonna make this a thing, are you?"

Henry held his hands up in surrender. "I just wanted to say thank you. It was nice of you."

"I bought it with your money, so really it was nice of you."

They finished their food and decided to meet back up with everyone else. Piper wanted to cash in her tickets first, so they made their way to the prize booth. Henry didn't have very many tickets, so he just gave his to Piper, but she made him stay back while she went to get her prizes. Henry wasn't sure why she didn't want him to walk up with her, but he obeyed and stayed put until she came back, carrying two large prizes.

"Here," she muttered, not meeting Henry's eyes. She handed him a rocket ship shaped lava lamp.

"Woah," Henry remarked, taking the lamp from her. Henry always wanted a lava lamp, and this one was great. "This is awesome, Piper." He knitted his eyebrows together, a surprised smile on his face. "You got this for me?"

She tilted her head side to side. "I had more tickets than I knew what to do with, and you gave me yours. I figured I'd get you something after I got what I wanted." She held up her flamingo. She didn't tell Henry that she was going to get the lava lamp for him even before he gave her his tickets. She figured he'd get freaked out, what with all this uncharacteristic generosity on her part.

Honestly, it kind of freaked her out too.

"Still, that's two gifts in one day." Henry reported. "Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"

Piper smacked his arm. "Shut up, bonehead."

"There she is."

Piper walked away from him then. Henry caught up to her, making a mental note of the photo booth he saw on the way to the rest of the group.

They found Charlotte, Jasper, Schwoz, and Ray eating, like they had, cheese fries.

"Hey," Ray said. "Where have you two been?"

Henry set his lava lamp down on the table and pulled a chair out for himself and Piper. "We were playing skee ball. Then Piper wanted to cash in her tickets."

Ray jumped up. "I need to do that."

Henry, despite just sitting down, jumped up too. "Wait, we'll all go. I saw a photo booth on the way over here and figured we could take a few pics." He looked to the group to see if they agreed.

They all murmured their approval, and the group set off, Ray in lead, back towards the prize booth.

Ray got his giant lollipop and the plasma ball lamp he had wanted. He bought a sky ball for Schwoz, knowing it would keep him easily entertained. Charlotte had given Jasper his bucket keychain before when they were seated at the table, so now everyone had exchanged all presents bought.

Henry lead the gang to the photo booth, and they all set their stuff down with Jasper's bear next to the booth so they could all squeeze in for a photo.

Of course, they were incredibly cramped, what with six people in a booth best fitted for two. Piper was in Ray's lap, and Schwoz was squishing Charlotte against the wall. Jasper had to hold onto Henry to keep from falling out the booth, but somehow they managed it. The camera cut their faces off most of the time, and fourteen seconds wasn't long enough time to get into position before the flash went off, but they were all laughing and smiling nonetheless. The camera caught their expressions, forever freezing the joy and mirth on all their faces. The photo strip came out wonderful.

"Okay, now let's take smaller group pictures." Henry laughed when he studied the photo strip and found that one picture had only Ray and Piper's faces fully in the shot.

First up was Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper. They took the customary best friends pictures; someone always put bunny ears on someone else, and majority of the time they were making ridiculous faces. Henry even pulled Jasper in for a tight hug while Charlotte made an expression like she was "over it" to be funny. For the last picture, Henry, being in the middle, wrapped an arm around both of them and pulled them in close to him.

Next was Ray and Schwoz. They outdid the trio with their silly poses. Ray had an knack for making goofy faces, and most of Schwoz expressions were already goofy. Henry photo-bombed one picture, and the picture following that was of Ray and Schwoz shoving him out of the booth. They simply smiled like the old friends they were for their last picture.

Charlotte and Piper commandeered the booth after Ray and Schwoz for a girls only session. They made the poses commonly found on social media, and for one picture, they sat back to back with their hands making gun symbols, staring dramatically at the camera. They cracked up after that one and spent the rest of their time looking as ridiculous as possible. The last picture was a sweet one: Charlotte and Piper hugging.

When Charlotte and Piper stepped out of the booth, Henry opened the curtain for himself, but he held a hand out towards Piper.

"You wanna take a few with your lame, big brother?" He teased. "Mom and Dad will love it."

Piper sighed dramatically, though she was going to offer to take pictures with Henry herself. "If you insist."

Henry made like he was going to hug Piper for the first pic, and she feigned a disgusted face, trying to push him away as the camera caught the moment. They both laughed, and the flash went off again, catching their laughter in a photo. They made a few brother and sister poses; Piper leaned an arm on Henry' shoulder, and they looked deep into the camera with that "we're too cool for you" expression. Henry reversed his hat so that the lights were back in front, and they took a photo, pointing to each other's matching hat. Henry threw a lazy arm over his little sister's shoulder and leaned his head on hers for the final photo.

Piper left the booth and collected their photos, but Henry remained. He signaled for Ray to join him.

"Dude, we should totally take a few as--" Henry lowered his voice even though Piper was too far away to hear. "Captain Man and Kid Danger."

Ray nodded. "Yeah, that would be so cool!"

"So cool!" Henry agreed with a wide grin. He made way for Ray to join him and then called Jasper over. "Hey, could you distract Piper while we take a few pictures as, you know."

"Ooh," Jasper grinned. "Sure thing, man."

"Thank you."

Jasper grabbed Charlotte by the arm and walked over to Piper. "Hey, Piper, why don't we take some selfies anywhere but the photo booth?"

"Okay," Piper agreed, not knowing why Jasper was being so specific. She didn't care though. She loved selfies: anything to update her social media and keep it fresh.

Henry face palmed himself at Jasper's obviousness, but he closed the curtain anyway. With Schwoz keeping watch, Henry and Ray blew a bubble, changing into their superhero identities while Charlotte and Jasper kept Piper busy with selfies.

They goofed off in some, pretended to be male models in others, and then genuinely smiled for the rest. Once they were done, they blew another bubble and changed back into their regular selves. Schwoz quickly took the photo strip from the machine and handed it to Henry as he exited the booth. Henry gave one to Ray, and they both hide them in the pocket of their shirts out of sight.

"Okay," Charlotte said as she rejoined the group, Piper and Jasper in tow. "What now?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't know. We could go home?" He couldn't think of anything else they had yet to do, and it was getting late. He also wasn't sure how much longer the fair was open.

Ray looked at Schwoz, and they both nodded. Ray addressed the group. "There is one more thing we would like to do."

"What?" Henry asked, not sure what Ray and Schwoz would have in mind.

They looked at each other again and said in perfect unison, "Karaoke!"

The kids all looked at each other, uneasy expressions on their faces.

"What?" Ray demanded.

"You don't like karaoke?" Schwoz asked, but his accent made the word sound like "carrot okay."

"It's not that we don't like it," Jasper began, trying to let the two men down easy.

"It's that we hate it." Piper finished for him, not too concerned with how they took it.

Ray looked personally offended. "How can you not like karaoke?" When ray said it, he put an extra, unnecessary flourish on the word.

"People our age don't really do karaoke." Charlotte explained.

"Nope. It's an old people thing." Piper added, again not caring about the effects.

Ray nearly exploded. "I swear, if one more kid in this stupid place calls me old--" Schwoz put a hand on his arm to calm him down. Ray nodded to Schwoz and took a deep, calming breath. "Karaoke is not for old people. Karaoke is an art."

"Okay, you have got to stop saying Karaoke like that." Henry complained.

Ray stuck his tongue out at him. "I can say it however I want to say it, and we're doing karaoke. I'm the adult. I'm the one driving, so we're doing what I want and what I want is Karaoke!"

"God, okay, Ray. We'll do your karaoke." Henry relented, dragging a hand down his face.

"It's karaoke." Ray corrected.

Henry pointed a finger at Ray. "I will take the keys, and I will drive us all home. I swear I'll do it." Ray held his hands up in surrender, and Henry motioned for them to lead the way. "Karaoke it is."

"We're probably going to regret it." Charlotte muttered. Henry shushed her, and they followed Ray and Schwoz to the stage.

The stage was empty--go figure--so Ray and Schwoz jumped right up and grabbed mics. They went to the DJ to request their songs, and as if it couldn't get any worse for the kids, the first song they chose was Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun."

Ray turned to the crowd as the music began and pointed to where the kids were all standing. "Hey kids, this one's for you!"

Henry, Piper, Charlotte, and Jasper watched with horrified expressions on their faces as these grown men they were embarrassed to know strutted around stage alternating singing, "My mother says 'When you gonna live your life right'/Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones/And girls they want to have fun/Oh girls just want to have fun."

They tried to scoot towards the shadows and out of the light, but Ray's dedication let everyone know they were there. They all held their hands up over their faces and pretended they didn't know the man trying and failing miserably to moonwalk across the stage and his short friend who was air guitar-ing to a song that really wasn't air guitar worthy.

"This is what I meant when I said it was only for old people." Piper cringed when Ray jumped up and did a toe touch. "My eyes," she gasped in horror.

"I'm nauseous." Charlotte nodded, the sight unfolding before her eyes bringing her to a near-puking point. "I'm physically nauseous."

"What do we do?" Jasper asked desperately. He wanted to go home immediately. His house may be horrible, but at least there wasn't any of whatever that was on stage happening at his house.

Henry threw a hand in the direction of the stage. "What can we do? If we go up there, everyone will know for sure that we're with them." He grimaced at Ray and Schwoz who were now doing the electric slide, much to the horror of everyone in the building.

"If we don't do anything, this will just keep going on for God knows how long." Charlotte reasoned, averting her eyes. She couldn't take much more.

"I'm not sure how much more I can take." Piper groaned.

Henry was torn. He too wanted the disaster to stop immediately, but he also didn't want to risk public humiliation. Quite the crowd had formed to watch Ray and Schwoz who were know dancing to "I've Had the Time of My Life"--and they were doing the full choreography from the movie.

"Dear God," Henry gasped in horror.

They weren't even assuming the roles that seemed to make the most sense; Ray wasn't playing the guy, and Schwoz wasn't playing the girl. No, Schwoz was Patrick Swayze, and Ray was Jennifer Gray. This could only end badly.

When the time came for the "big move," Henry was sure they wouldn't do it. Or Ray would suddenly switch to the guy role and lift Schwoz. That didn't seem to be happening. Schwoz was standing on one end of the stage, arms open and ready, and Ray was preparing to take off.

"Okay," Henry announced, deciding he was just going to have to accept public humiliation. He grabbed Jasper, and the two made their way to the stage to stop the catastrophe before it happened.

Ray started to run, but Henry hopped up on stage, blocking his path. Jasper went for Schwoz.

"That's enough fun for one night." Jasper said, grabbing Schwoz and pulling him after him.

"Yeah, time to go home buddy." Henry patted Ray on the back.

Ray refused. "You can't stop us before the big finish!"

Some people in the crowd seemed to believe so too; Henry and Jasper received a chorus of boos. Ray motioned towards the crowd with a "told you" look on his face.

"There wasn't going to be a big finish." Henry snapped, not believing Ray. How did he think jumping into the arms of someone half his size would end well? "All there was going to be was one incredibly injured Schwoz with you to blame."

Ray relented and started to walk with Henry, but he ran away from him right before they got off the stage. He ran to the microphone and grabbed it from its stand.

"Karaoke is not dead!" He yelled into the mic, dropping it when he was done.

"Ray!" Henry yelled, sure that it wasn't possible for it to get any worse.

Ray ran past Henry, snapping his fingers in a z-formation as he went. The crowd cheered Ray on.

Henry was wrong.

It was much worse.

----------

Henry unlocked his front door and stepped aside to let Piper in first. He followed and locked the door back behind him. He threw the keys and his bag from the arcade on the couch, stretching long and hard after his hands were free. It had been a long, eventful day. Enjoyable, but long. He noticed Piper was making her way to the stairs, but he stopped her.

"So," he began, a sleepy smile on his face.

Piper turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised. "So," she responded.

"Did you have fun?" Henry practically sang. He knew she did, but he wanted to see if he could coax a yes out of her.

Piper roller her eyes. "Do you have to be such a loser?"

Henry raised his eyebrows. "That wasn't a no."

Piper ignored him. "I'm going to bed now." She started up the stairs.

"You had fun! You won't admit it, but I know you did!" He called after her even when she was out of sight.

"You're an idiot!" He heard her call back to him.

Henry laughed triumphantly when she still didn't deny it. "You know you love me!" He was at the base of the stairs now and yelling up.

Piper didn't respond, but he knew she heard him. He chuckled again, getting joy from teasing his little sister, when his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He pulled it out to see that Jasper had texted him.

It read: I had a great time with you today thank you for everything xx

Henry smiled, his heart warming at his friend's words. He answered back: no problem I'm glad I could give you today :))) but I cant take all the credit it was Charlottes idea

Jasper responded immediately: I know I already texted her I just wanted to let you know that youre a great friend because today meant a lot to me

"Hey," Henry heard from the top of the stairs.

He looked up from his phone to see Piper walking towards him. He knitted his eyebrows together. "What's up?"

"Here," she gave him one of the photo strips of the pictures the two of them had taken. Henry took them and smiled when he saw the first picture of Piper trying to push him away. "So, yeah," she trailed off, not meeting his eyes. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't the best at saying thank you.

Fortunately for her, she has a big brother who understands that about her and knows what she wants to say without her having to say it.

"Yeah," Henry agreed in a gentle voice. He knew she was saying thank you.

Piper nodded, thankful that Henry didn't tease her now. "Today didn't totally suck." She finished with an eye roll. Henry broke out into a big, cheesy grin. Piper shook her head and flicked the brim of his hat. They were both still wearing theirs, and they were both still lighting up. "Night dweeb," she walked back up the stairs.

Henry scoffed. Leave it to Piper to follow a thank you with an insult. "Good night Piper," he drawled.

Henry took the hat off his head and studied the words "Swellview Fair '18." The memories of today played through his head like a motion picture movie: the bumper cars, Ray's candy apple fiasco, winning the carnival games, the paddle boat with the broken propeller, watching the sky with Charlotte and Jasper, the ferris wheel ride with Jasper (he was particularly fond of this one), playing skee ball with Piper, Schwoz and Ray getting stuck in the ball pit, the photo booth, and lastly that horrible karaoke show Ray and Schwoz put on. He remembered the text Jasper had sent him. Henry smiled, thinking about all the incredible things he had done today with the most incredible people in his life.

He walked up the stairs and to his room where he pinned the photo strip next to his bed with a few other pictures he had. He looked at the last photo of he and Piper hugging and smiled a smile that came straight from his heart. He had spent the day giving not only his best friend the best day ever but his little sister as well, and that was incredibly important to him.

"No, today did not totally suck." He said to himself, completely content. "Not at all."

Today was the best day of his life too.

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A/N Part 2: Aaaaaaaannnnndddd that's a wrap! Yay! We're finished! TMaybe not yay! Maybe you didn't want this to end! If you didn't, I'm sorry. I appreciate you, but this was a good time to end this fic. This was so much fun for me to write. Honestly, it's my favorite out of everything I've ever done. I hope you guys love this as much as I do. I have another fic I'm currently working on, so don't go anywhere! More coming soon! Love you all. Thank you for sticking with me through this fic. I did it for you guys (and my hd children bc I love them and wish the show gave us content like this). Much love. xoxoxo --Em

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