Hey g I see your pfps Stitch if you watched the new Lilo and Stitch movie how would you rate it 1/10 I would give it an 9.5/10
Soooooo here's the thing, I just do not like live action remakes of animated movies. It really has nothing to do with changing plot lines or characters or anything like that. As a 90s kid, I just grew up on cartoons and animated movies and they're so special to meâthe only exception to this will, of course, be the live action Scooby Doo and Scooby Doo Monsters Unleashed as those movies are real cinemaâit's soooooo hard to have that same fun in live action films.
So, as of now, I have no plans to see it, but I'm sure in the future I wil eventually watch it.
But what about you guys???? Anybody see it???????? And was it goooooodddddddd?????????????
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Hi! Iâm glad that your still alive! I look forward to your updates when ever that may be đ¤
Thank you thank you thank you đ
You guys are so sweet and encouraging! I've booked time to go to the library this weekend to work on my draft, which is exciting because I've been really struggling on it, and I think locking in with some iced coffee at the Copley library might trick my brain into thinking I'm back in grad school and I hope my fight or flight response will kick in so I can crank out a lot of words âď¸
gasp. GERALD đđđ OHHH HOW MUCH IVE MISSED YOU
the drought was so serious you had me hit with random bouts of âi miss my ryversâ and âi miss GERALDâ throughout your unofficial hiatus đŠ but i am glad to hear that youâve gotten to work on a lot of things and on yourself too! really glad youâre doing well (and sorry for the less-yay things that happened to you đ)
as for your great return with FWAH, take your time!!! if anything, this just gives me the chance to rewatch the fall guy and reread all of FWAH so far đ
anyway, so stoked that youâre back!!! love u đŤśđź
I missed YOU!
No, like, forreal, this self imposed break from social media was difficult entirely because I missed the Tumblr community, so thank you for your love and kindess. I'm at the airport rn jotting down some ideas for the next chapter đ the juices are flowing guys
Hello my dearest friends, bonjour, nuonasera, and all the other greetings too!
It's been... well, a while.
And seeing as it has been a while (translation a freakishly long, unbearably awful, crazy time that cannot be understated) I feel that I owe it to everyone to answer a few questions:
Let's get the biggest and the best done with first: am I dead, and if so is this tumblr post being written by my restless ghost, unable to escape the purgatory of the tumblr graveyard where all absent writers are forced to go?
No! I am alive andâvery shockingly given my absenceâwell. Was I always well? Wellllll..... no. There has been a lot of ongoings in my life in the last year that led to my absence. Sure I've been lurking around, but I haven't really been here, and for that, I'm sorry. It's been... a time and it would probably be best for us all if I just leave it at that.
But then again if my life were a tv show, there would have to be a recap, so here are the non-depressing highlights:
I got promoted (yay!) and then willingly took on a second position on an adjacent team to build my career and improve my resume (less yay), which led to a moment of self reflection as I considered my career goals and how I was going to get there, which then led to self-reflection of my personal goals and how I was going to get there, which then led me to realize that quite a bit of both needed to be adjusted. And knowing that nothing changed if nothing changed, I stopped fucking around and made some changes. I lost thirty pounds (yay again!) and then immediately reignited a knee injury I've had for a decade that got myself placed back into my tenth round of physical therapy (way less yay. Carl, if you're reading this, I hate you). I moved, paid off some loans, went on a lot of bad first dates, got back into yoga, realized I sucked at yoga, attended two funerals, helped a friend through a 6-year break-up, got into baking, etc. etc. etc.
And while a lot of it sucked, I can finally say that I got through it. I am very happy now, the healthiest I've been in a decade (minus a knee I now have a prescription arthritic cream for), and fairly confident that I've finally learned how to my balance work life with my social one with my debilitating need to travel.
Blah blah blahâwhen is she gonna get to the good stuff?
I know, apologies for the long-winded monologue when there is a much more important question in the air: what is happening with Falling Without A Harness?
Nothing!
Everything!
All the things!
I am not stopping this story, going on hiatus, or quitting. I promise. I'm notâand I'm not just saying that eitherâI'm foaming at the bit to start working on it now. The only obstacle is that I lost my voice a bit during my time off the internet, and while I've been wanting to get back into the story for a while, it's been a painstakingly slow process of trying to find media to inspire my inner voice again. There have been a lot of movies you guys, and after so much trial and error and disappointmentâfinallyâI feel ready to get working again (all thanks to the Thunderbolts, Bob specifically, ie the most pathetic little man ever that just so happens to be the love of my life). Marvel definitely isn't as good as it used to be, but that movie reminded what it was like to have a muse, and so I've started some rough drafts on any idea that comes to me just to get practicing again.
I will be posting the next chapter of FWAH soon. I'm going to practice a little more on my writing style, before I plan on hopping back into the rough draft.
My posting schedule will be nowhere close to what it used to be but I think that's probably a good thing (for my life personally, I understand as a reader that this unofficial hiatus is probably the most frustrating bullshit ever, I have been there). That being said, I still have a very clear vision of where this story is going to go that I think you guys will like!
So, in short: sorry for the delay, I'm back and working on it, and thank you all so much for your patience and love! Every message I've gotten over the last few months meant the world to me, and I hope to start working on my replies soon.
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Hi G! Todays my birthday ! Im so exited for a new chapter of FWAH I love your work always !
O.M.G. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you had a good day, and a good month, and a good year!
As always I so greatly appreciate your support. Editing the chapter has stalled so I could go on a camping trip this weekend, but I'm back and will be chipping away. Love ya! So happy to have you on this planet for another birth year đ
Hello!!! How does Parker feel about toms blue and yellow striped robe and yellow leather pants combo đ
He has so many goofy outfits (THE neon suit )
This may be an unpopular opinion but I LOVE his robe and pants combo, and I think she would too. We already know that Tom thinks Parker has an awful fashion sense, and in the same vein, she thinks designer brands and "high fashion" are made up social experiments. They hate the outfits the other wears but somehow loves them at the same time because they compliment the personality.
And that robe? The softest thing he owns. She loves to cuddle with him when he wears it.
Tom taking care of Parker when sheâs sick has got to be one of my favorite things
He comes to her house brings her meals and eats with her. Brushes her hair and helps her get into the shower because letâs face it she doesnât have the energy . He would drive to the bookstore to make sure itâs not absolute chaos and that Melissa is holding up okay . He strikes me as the type of boyfriend to cuddle with her while sheâs sick and sheâs worried about him getting sick telling him he should leave but he doesnât he stays because letâs face it he could use a break from Gail and from set once and a while .
He may not be perfect but heâs doing his best and Parker knows it
I love them
I love them, and I love when you guys talk about them like they're real because it's both vindicating and beautiful đĽš
"He may not be perfect but he's doing his best and Parker knows it" is the new tagline for FWAH. So accurate, encapsulating everything I try to write for them, and soooo Parker coded. Tom absolutely gives her nyquil instead of dayquil on accident and then has to deal with her drooling on his shoulder when he drives her to her doctor's appointment.
I have a headcannon that Tom did bull riding before he became a huge A-list celebrity (since he grew up in the south ) and Parker had no idea until she was going through an old box in his storage and found his old bull riding outfit ,cowboy hat and pictures of him while he was bull riding
......thoughts that should not be thought are being thought....Tom Ryder....a bullrider....chaps and a COWBOY HAT?.....that smile of his???....the crowd going WILD...
Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Let's just say the spirit of Parker took me over to write this? Pretty sure she'd be speechless and drooling, just like I am rn. God bless you anon đĽľđĽľđĽľ
Another s/o to a constant supporter of mine @wollymolly586921! I see you, I hear you, and I wuv you đ obvi I'm behind on my posting schedule (I should really stop posting my expected update dates lol), but I'm pretty close to finished!
October is a hard month for me just because the mountains and leaves are so beautiful and the campgrounds are calling me đ so I'm working slowly but surely.
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Let's be real, he's a little baffled about how to handle these fans at first because he's never been around them, but once he realizes they really are no different he's unstoppable. He may not always act like it but Tom has a big 'ole bleeding heart, and after filming a movie with a disabled costar, Tom rallies a whole list of A-list actors to donate to a charity foundation. It's actually something he's really good at; calling out his costar, forcing them to pledge, Make-A-Wish appearances are something he can't get enough of, and even once shaving his head to raise awareness for cancer.
(Well, it was actually for a role, but like a true professional he took advantage of the timing to also raise a ton of money for St. Jude's)
Hi g! You totally donât have to answer this question if you arenât comfortable with it I know itâs a sensitive topic for some people .
But what would Parker do if she went to go and see Tom and found him overdosed
Of course you have absolutely no pressure to answer it !
You guys give me such good questions! Chitchat below the cut.
TW: overdose, drugs, crying.
Step 1: scream bloody murder. Despite all of her practice with Colt's stupidity, when it comes to Tom, Parker may not be the best at handling a crisis. Can you blame her?
Step 2: call 911 for medical help, then Colt for mental support, all while trying not to scream bloody murder.
Step 3: cry a LOT, before coming to an eerie calm, and realizing some things had to change.
Parker never realized Tom was in a place dark enough to push him into something like this (even if accidental) and it's absolutely an eyeopener for her. For so long she had been supporting Tom in his career and personal life that she assumed things were good, and the shock of realizing that things obviously aren't good makes her sick.
Even worse is when he wakes up, Tom doesn't want to address the issue, doesn't want to admit he has a problem, stressing that it was an accident and that Parker that it had nothing to do with her.
But that's absolutely not good enough. They do sobriety together. They do therapy together. She even finds them a teeny tiny little Airbnb in the mountains with no wifi where they go to talk and be together.
It takes a long time, and it's definitely not easy, but he kicks the habit. And one day when Tom Ryder publishes his official memoir the forward is dedicated to Parker Seavers-Ryder, "the fearless woman who saved his life."
What would Tom do if somebody was posting about Parker on social media calling her all types of stuff just because their jealous sheâs with Tom
Probably something impulsive like a live stream where he talks about how much he loves her or breaking his phone while promising to abandon social media until his fans start being nice. Realistically he would sweep her away on an all expense paid vacation, photos taken at every opportunity, #theyhateuscuztheyain'tus #Mrs.Ryder #mywifeishotterthanyours as he buys too many shirts with her face plastered all over them to wear on press tours.
It drives the internet crazy, and suddenly they're listed as the Best Couple in Hollywood by three different magazines. (Tom planted the story with two of them, but the third really was real)
How would Parker feel if she and Tom where kissing and he got to rough with her on accident
When I first tried to answer this, I tried to write a really in-depth analysis of how this would impact the couple, but it never felt right because I honestly feel like it would be shocking to them and not something they ever want to explore. Parker is Tom's safe space, and Tom is pretty much everything Parker has ever wanted. Their relationship is built on a deep love few people get, and I really don't think this rough aspect would fit into their lives.
So, I think they'd probably put down whatever liquor they were drinking, hold each other tight, and move on. They're just lovebirds like that.
I know your very busy editing and writing your new chapter of FWAH so you donât have to do this ask but if Tom was having a meltdown and just full on sobbing and screaming because his outfit didnât fit for his movie since it shrunk but he doesnât know that and thinks he gained weight and became super insecure which led to his meltdown. I donât know if this makes sense but of course you donât have to do this ask !!!!!
This absolutely makes sense in the context of Tom. I remember when Rocketman came out there was an interview with Taron Egerton and he talked about how self conscious he was about his body due to his weight gain, and I completely envision this as Tom.
He wouldn't talk about it in the media, obviously, but he would absolutely obsessively look in every mirror he can, needing all the angles, asking Parker if such and such clothing makes him look bad.
And Parker? We know know that she is endless support, the only person who gets Tom Ryder, the best person for the job. It would be a hard time for them both, definitely, with him not bring very receptive to the conversation when she tries to bring it up, and there's a couple trials/errors where she attempts to cheer him up with his favorite food that he takes as an insult... but, they work it out.
Maybe that's even the point that finally pushes Tom to get a therapist. Or maybe it's not enough for a real one, but he does start trauma dumping on Colt when they do joint workouts, which leads to the boys always getting drinks after workouts, which leads to their own little thing. Shockingly Colt is amazing at body positivity, and even more shockingly, his positive attitude is able to rub off a little on Tom.
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Hehe I feel a bit like a rat crawling out of the sewer since I took almost a week break from this site, but I am here and working on the next chapter!
To add to the bingo list of 2024 horrors my parents + other family were all unexpectedly hit by the hurricane in their backwater town in SC (they are ALL fine, with only 1 porch roof having been ripped off and a many massive trees taken down). Still, they said it could be 14 DAYS before the electrical grid is back up, so that means that every free moment of my life lately has been reading a flood of updates from my mom so I haven't really been on any social media this past week.
That being said I rewatched TFG this week, got through my work presentations, am starting a new position tomorrow, and am feeling mighty good about what I've written so far. I'll start working through my askbox this evening. As always I loooooveeeeeee you guys â¤ď¸ đ đ đ
AU where Tom Ryder is still an asshole, just not a psychotic one. In the aftermath of Tom's simple but complicated favor, Parker is forced to finally face reality, and decide once and for all what she wants.
Read the story here: prev / ...
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Melissa's voice echoed across the empty store, each syllable raspy and drawn out, tinged with the same sort of disbelief that has been simmering in Parker's chest all day. "But holy fuck."
The disbelief spirals and explodes, and Parker can't the help the laugh that is startled out of her from the unexpected curse.
"Excuse me," she drawled, aiming for levity, but falling somewhere in the realm of pure shock. "But since when do you curse?"
"Since about eleven am this morning," Melissa chirped back. She's slouched in the reading chair, hair piled on the top of her head in a janky bun, mascara smeared all along her cheeks, and if Parker hadn't been so thrown off by her sudden use of French, she might have taken a moment to reflect on the fact that this is the most out of sorts she has ever seen the girl look. "It just seemed like a good time to start. And, honestly? I kind of get it now. There really is no other way to express yourself properly, is there? BecauseâI mean seriously, Parkâwhat the fuck?"
Parker knew that she should be scolding the young girl for her language. The last thing she needed was to garner the wrath of a disgruntled mom on top of everything else that she's dealing with. More importantly, she really didn't want teaching the youth curse words to be on her yearly karma bingo card. But... honestly, Parker couldn't help but agree.
There really was no better way to put it.
"TouchĂŠ."
"Did you know that he was going to post that?"
Parker arched her brow at Melissa. "Do you think I would have left you to cover the shift alone if I knew that this was going to happen? I don't even follow his Instagram. Although, guess I have to after this, don't I?"
Melissa rolled her eyes, head lolling to the side as she stretched out her arms, back, and neck. "Only you would get an exclusive shout-out from the Tom Ryder and you aren't even following his Insta. Totally unfair, by the way."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is my sudden luck raining on your plans somehow?"
"It's not luck."
Parker slumped on her elbows, a pen stuck sideways in her mouth as she tried to work through her to-do list for closing down the shop. It was hard to concentrate with Melissa's jabbering, though, and it was even harder to find the energy to sweep the shop when she'd much rather just collapse onto her bed. "What else would it be?"
Melissa blinked at her with a tart expression. "Um, hello? You're dating Tom Ryder. That might have something to do with it."
So surprised by the comment, Parker scratched a line across her notepad, and subsequently decided that her to-do list could wait till later. "We're notâI'm not dating Tom."
"Sure," the girl snorted. "He just hangs around your shop all the time, invites you over for parties, gets dinner with you, andâoh yeahâposts you on his Instagram."
"He didn't post meâ"
"But, whatever," she continued, already moving on to the next topic. Parker watched as she bent forward and, with a grimace, tried to rub some feeling into her ankles. "I lost feeling in my toes, like, three hours ago. Is that bad? I mean, I'm not gonna have to get an amputation or anything, will I? Because I'm not missing out on Stacy Jordan's sweet sixteen because of you. Her parents rented out this huge dance hall, and they even hired a DJ."
Parker sighed.
Melissa's train of thought was something that she would never be able to keep up with, and today in particular she did not have the stamina to even try. Sourly, she said, "I told you that those shoes weren't very supportiveâ"
A book is lobbed in her direction, and Parker ducked behind the register before it can make contact.
The loud fwap of it hitting the ground echoes between the two.
"That better not have been a new edition."
"Oh, fuck off," Melissa said.
Parker returned from her hiding spotâback aching when she sits up, neck hurting when she props herself atop an elbow, eyes burning as she squints at the largest stack of receipts she's ever had beforeâand clucked her tongue. "You know I think I like this new you. You should curse more often."
"Pf. You just want to get rid of the swear jar."
"Well," she hedged, eyes darting to said jar, "it would save me some money. Unless you feel like paying up anytime soon. That's, what, three f-words? I'm not going to turn my nose up at fifteen bucks anytime soon."
Melissa gave an unbothered snort. "You wish."
"So, it's just a punishment for me, then?"
"You won't even need that thing after this week," she pressed on, sinking deeper into the worn out plush of the reading chair as her gaze slowly drifted across the bookstore. The shelves are the emptiest they've ever been, and the decorations they worked meticulously hard to find are in disarray from the constant throng of customers today. It's not a problem they've had before, having to reset the store after closing, but Parker supposes that's a good problem to have. "My feet hurt because of how busy we were, not because of my shoesâwhich, by the way, I had to wait in line for two hours to getâthey will be supportive if I want them to be. Does this mean you'll finally hire Emily?"
"Emily?"
"My best friend. I've introduced you, like, ten times."
Parker conjured up a blurry image of a blonde girl, identical to Melissa in every way except for their different colored hair and eyes, with matching braces to boot. She thought she was nice, but, honestly, she can't really recall. Whatever. "Why would I hire Emily?"
Melissa scowled. "Well, that's rude. Just because she's my best friend doesn't mean that we're going to goof off or anything. She's just as hard of a worker as I am. You'd practically be getting two employees for the price of one if you hired her. Plus, it would drive Maddy H crazy if Emily got to work at Tom Ryder's bookstore and she didn't."
"It's notâ" Parker started, before shaking the thought away. Bigger things to focus on, she reminded herself. "I thought we talked about this. I can give you a raise, but I can't afford to hire someone else."
"Uh, correction, you couldn't afford to hire someone else."
Parker puts the stack of receipts away, mind slowly but surely drifting to the next task as she attempts to lock the register down. She would definitely have to stop at the bank tomorrow to deposit their cash from the dayânot a problem she had ever had beforeâand she mentally adds that to the list of musts. "Did I win the lottery without knowing it or something?"
Her question hangs flat in the air, and in response, Melissa curls a disbelieving look in her direction. "You're kidding, right? Did you see how busy we were today?"
"Right, listen," Parker started, but by how intense Melissa's eyeroll was, it was obvious that the teenager would not, in fact, be listening. "One good day of sales doesn't override an entire quarter of awful sales. This was justâjust a fluke. I can't just hire Emily on a whim because we had one nice day. Ever heard of a rainy day fund?"
Melissa, hand in the air as she inspects the damage to her manicure, scoffed. "Yeah, but it's not just one good day."
"Are you secretly working at a different bookstore in your free time or something?"
"Oh my god," Melissa moaned, before dropping her boots to the ground with a heavy thud. "Right, you listen."
"Oh, here we goâ"
"Park, I know you're big on self decrepitation and whateverâsomething I'm guessing you learned from your total has been of a brotherâ"
"Wow. You know, you two have got to figure out whatever this beef is about," Parker interrupted, only to be promptly ignored as Melissa stood.
"But this isn't just going to die down," she said, the stack of bangles on her wrists jangling as she made air quotes to emphasize her point. "Tom Ryder gave you a personal shout-out on his Instagram. That, like, never happens. The only things he posts are selfies, and paid promotions. In February, he posted a three second video about his Erewhon smoothie, and they're still selling out on the daily."
Parker frowned. "Smoothie?"
"So not the point," Melissa grumbled with another jingle of her bracelets. "The point is that thisâ" she gestured around them, to the bookshelves and the roof and the chair beneath her with one long sweeping motion, "just hit the jackpot. Kay? This is going to go viral, and when it does, you're going to have crowds like today every day."
That doesn't sound right. Parker knows that Tom is famous, that he has millions of followers on all of his social media, and that there are fangirls out there of his even more obsessed with what he does than the one scowling across the room from her. But just because he posted her store doesn't mean that she's going to have throngs of fans outside, day after day.
That sort of thing just... didn't happen.
Not to people like her.
Right?
"Okay, well, I mean," she started, struggling to put her thoughts into words after all of her braincells effectively went on vacation for the weekend. The cash register snapped shut with a metallic clang, and she dangled the key between her hands mindlessly. "Even if we go viral, we'll be popular for a bit, but not for, like, ever. A month, maybe."
Melissa blinked at her in that sort of way that means she's judging her, and when she hefts herself to a stand, Parker can feel the lecture about to come. "Look, I know you're a millennial and you aren't really active online, so I'll break it down for you."
"How gracious," she snarked, rolling her eyes.
"It's going to be like thisâlike it was todayâfor weeks. Until something new or something better comes along, but even then you're going to have Influencers coming in for pictures, wanting to stake a claim on this place just like Tom did. Okay? Which means more pictures, more shout-outs, and more people seeing this place on their FYPs."
"FYâ?"
"So, yeah, maybe this place isn't going to stay viral forever, but that just means it's all the more important to capitalize on the attention while you can. If people are flocking here just to get stuck in long lines because there's only one employee during the day, then they're going to lose interest faster."
"I know how business work," Parker interjected, offended on her own behalf, but Melissa didn't seem to care one way or the other about her feelings.
"So you know that you need to dress to impress."
Parker narrowed her eyes at the girl shrewdly. She was staring to get that familiar feeling in her gut that Melissa was winding up for some big scheme, and previous experience had proven that when Melissa really wanted something, Parker was helpless but to give in. "Is this just some big production so I'll hire a bunch of your little cheerleading friends?"
The face she made was lethal. "First off, Emily doesn't cheer, she does dance, and that sort of tone is both condescending and so not cool. Secondly, it's an excuse to hire someone else so I don't get stuck like I did today when my boss decides to go gallivanting around town without her phone!"
"I wasn't gallivanting," she defended. "It was, just, an unfortunateâ"
"Parker," Melissa said, leaning on her elbows until they were inches apart. "Hire some more people, or you're going to have to work every shift of this store forever because I don't ever want to experience that rush alone again."
Ugh.
The girl had a serious pointâabout everything, it seemedâbut Parker was in no mood to think about any of that. "I already said I'd give you a raise."
"Well, that is a given," she chirped, gathering her purse and jacket from behind the counter. Parker might have been more put off by her attitude if she didn't think the girl deserved a hearty raise. Afterall, she was a little mastermind in her own right, as terrifying as that could be. "But I'd also like to have extra help, and it's no one's business if that extra help is a couple of my friends from school. I take this job seriously, you know. I wouldn't recommend her if she wouldn't be a good employee."
"You're a menace, you know that, right?"
Melissa smiled, and for the first time all day, it seemed more conniving than tired. "I'll send you her resume."
"No, no, no, that's not what I justâ"
"And, anyways, she's just as big of a fan of you and Tom as I am. I mean, obviously, she's never met him, but I tell her everything. She totally ships you two. Probably not as much as I do, obviously," she trailed on, finally getting around to swipe the mascara off her cheeks as she bent even closer into Parker's space, "but she's invested. I think it's totally time you post him on your story."
"My what?"
"I mean, he already posted you. Or, you know, your store," she corrected herself, waving a hand around flippantly as if those were the same thing. And, maybe, in the mind of a teenage fangirl, they were. "Relationships are never official until it's on the page."
"We're notâ"
"Have you thought about a ship name, yet?" she barreled on, completely ignoring the fact that every extra word she said was only compounded the migraine growing between Parker's temples. "Because I think Ryvers is so, totally cute, but Emily likes Parom better. Although, that sounds a littleâ"
"Okay, alright, that's it," Parker stood from her stool, and in the matter of seconds had shooed the teenager outside with as much decorum as she could muster. It was ruined, of course, by the bright red blush sprawling across her face like wild fire. "Goodnight, Melissa. Thank you for your help today, I will see you next week."
"Butâ"
"Goodbye!"
She shut the door with the jingle of the overhead bell and promptly slumped against it. A few beats passed before Melissa's boots clomped off in the direction of the bus stop, and when it fell silent outside, she glanced around. The store at night, with the main lights switched off and the crackled radio drifting from the corner, felt eerily empty after the busy day they had. And while the trash absolutely needed to be taken out, and the shelves needed to be catalogued for what she would have to put in her upcoming order, for the first time ever, Parker decided that there were some things that could wait until tomorrow.
After all, she had a boy to talk to.
---
"Are we dating?"
Tom, dressed down in some Nike sweats and a simple black tee with sleep marks red on the side of his face, blinked at Parker like she was on drugs. And, honestly, she supposed that was a fair assumption to make. After all, it was nearing midnight by the time she pulled into his driveway, unannounced, her hair mussed like a bird's nest from driving the entire way into the Hills with the windows down, and the anxious energy from the day's chaos had yet to make itself useful other than by adding a shakiness to her hands.
And while she had spent the entire drive over contemplating all the things that she wanted to ask him, the first thing that had come out of her mouth when he opened the door was that.
"What?"
Parker winced, anxiously wringing her hands together, before she pressed inside. She supposed having a mansion in the Hills meant that even the closest neighbors were too far away to hear anything, but the idea that there might be someone witnessing what likely could be considered a mental breakdown was not a comforting thought.
"I didn't mean..." she started, shaking her head, before she stooped to untie her shoes. That proved to be an impossible task with how shaky her hands, were, however, and in the end she just kicked them off with a grunt. "That wasn't what Iâwell, Melissa seems convinced that we are."
Parker could feel his eyes burrowing into her back, and Parker pointedly avoided eye contact as her cheeks flamed a hot red.
"Melissa," he echoed dully.
Cool, she thought to herself. Just be cool.
But the Seavers siblings were not known for their ability to play it cool, and while he drifted after her, Parker miserably tried to think of a way to explain her squirrel-brained thoughts without sounding like a lunatic.
"Well, you know, you posted me on Instagram."
"I didn't post you on my Instagram," he corrected.
Andâshit. Wasn't that exactly what she had argued?
Parker was happy that her back was to him as her face flushed an even more indelicate red. It didn't help that there were lamps on all throughout the living room, orange and yellow hues of lighting casting shadows across her already warm face.
"I know, I know, and I told her exactly that, but she has it in her head that posting, well, my shop is the same thing as posting me and then she wouldn't shut up about it today. And now she wants me to hire her friend who is also convinced that we're, you know, dating, and I told her that she'sâthat that's notâyou know..."
The knit of his brows made it painstakingly obvious that Tom didn't know, and honestly how would he? She didn't even know what she was trying to say.
"I... think I need a drink," she muttered, scurrying to the fridge where she withdrew two ice cold bottles of beer. IPAs were not her favorite by a long shot, but there were far more important things to handle, and without hesitating, Parker popped one open. A long swallow followed before she awkwardly slid the second bottle towards Tom. "Maybe I should start again."
His brows disappeared into his hairline, but the moment she met his eye Parker just knew that he was relishing in this particular conversation.
She planted her elbows on the counter, and caught her head in her hands with a whine. "I really wish that you had given me a heads-up about the post."
Whatever was smug withered and died. "A heads-up?"
"Just so I could have been more prepared, you know," she hedged, fingers nervously plucking at the wet label on her beer bottle. "Between the crowds today and my system freezing and Melissa pestering at me about ourâyou knowâwhatever, I feel like I've been running around like a headless chicken. It's been a lot to handle."
He was silent for a long moment, and by the time that she dared to glance at him he had managed to shake off any remaining sleepiness. Now, he scowled at her long and hard. "Right, well, next time I'll make sure to get your approval ahead of time. Should I have changed the picture too? Written a longer post about how much I fucking adore your shitty little store?"
Parker reared back. "Hey, it's not shitty."
"Right," he scoffed, shaking his head at her. "You know, most people would at least hold off on their complaints until after they've said thank you. Common deceny, and all that."
Parker deflated against the counter as Tom looped around the other side of the couch to sit down. There were pillows sprawled across it, a blanket pooling on the ground, and a Tom shaped indent in one of the cushions from where he had been sleeping before she showed up. When he flicked the tv off mute, Parker became increasingly aware of how poorly this conversation was going.
She took a deep breath and a long dreg of her beer before carefully seating herself on the table smack dab in his line of view. When he refused to give in, however, she took the remote out of his hand and flicked the tv off with a huff.
"Tomâ"
But he wasn't having any of it, and he rolled his eyes at her so intensely that it must have hurt. "Oh, fuck. Look, if you're going to make this into some big lecture or whatever you can save us both the time and effort. I already spent the day dealing with this bullshit from Gail. I don't need it from you too."
As almost every mention of his producer did, that caught her off guard. "Gail?"
"Yeah, imagine that," he scoffed. "I try to do something nice, for once, and the first thing she does is yell at me because of it. And now you're here doing the same thing, and I don't even know what I expected, but it sure as shit isn'tâ"
"Why would she yell at you?" she interrupted.
He finished half of his beer in a swallow. "Why do you think?"
She wasn't sure. That was half the reason she asked the question, but when he tensedâas if preparing for that exact sort of answerâParker's mouth snapped shut just as quickly as it had opened.
Why would Gail be upset?
Sure, she was his producer, and likely was miffed about missing out on her fee, but it wasn't like a percentage of twenty grand would have had any real impact on her salary. After all, Tom hadn't minced his words earlier when talking about how much of his yearly income went to the movie mogul. And Parker had seen her house; the woman wasn't going to be pinching pennies any time soon unless she was robbed at gunpoint. And even then she would probably benefit from her high profile connections.
Which meant if it wasn't the money that she cared about, it must have been...
Realization was a painful thing, and Parker rounded towards Tom with wide eyes. "She's upset because you did this without asking her?"
Another swallow of his beer. "I told you that I don't do stuff without asking her."
"But you did this time."
"Because she would have fucking said no," he ground out, distaste over even having to admit it obvious from his tone. "Which is fuckingâI mean, it's my fucking life. I can do what I want. Should be able to, anyway. I'm the one making her money, but I do this one thing and she's all pissed off about it. You know how small that makes me feel? That she would even expect me to get permission from her?"
"Tom," she said, only to have him steamroll on.
"It's bullshit. Total bullshit."
"Tom," she tried again when he didn't seem to hear her.
But whatever floodgate he had opened wasn't closing anytime soon, and Parker felt her chest constrict. "Everything I do is because she tells me to do it. I don't even chose who I sponsor. But I do one post without her permission and get shit for it. And apparently, not just from her. Because you're here too, pissed that I didn't tell you ahead of time, and it's like no matter what I do it'sâ"
Not knowing what else to do, but knowing that she had to do something, Parker lurched forward to sling her arms around his neck. He went stiff beneath her touch, freezing as she attempted to pull him to her, before his hands slowly bracketed around her waist.
"What are youâ?"
"I'm sorry," she muttered. Then, when that wasn't enoughâbecause how could that ever be enoughâshe tightened her hold on him hoping that it might convey what she didn't know how to say. Parker shook her head into the crook of his neck, swallowing. "Fuck, Tom, I'm sorry. I didn't come over here to yell at you. I swear I didn't. I'm not even mad, I don't know why I said that thing about the heads-up, I just... I just was so overwhelmed today that I didn't know what to say or how to bring it up or thank you that I justâI just word vomited. Okay? I'm sorry. I am. I'm sorry."
"Hey," he said, arms tightening around her. "It's okay."
But it wasn't okay, and he had to know that. "But it's not, Tom. You justâyou just changed my life, you know? What you did... I've never had that many people in my store before, and they were lined up, and the line didn't dissipate all day! I think I sold, like, half my inventory because of you, and if that continues even for a month then I'll be able to actually finance my store and I won't have to close and... I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."
She leaned back to find Tom frowning at her. "It was just a post."
"To you, and to Gail," she said, finally being able to express what she had been stewing on all day. "But to me... it's everything. I don't know how I'll ever be able to pay you back."
"Pay me back?"
"I mean, I could give you some of the profit, but it probably won't be much. Especially since I still have loans to pay off, and I need to get insurance, and fix the AC, and maybe even hire some new staff, but I'm sure I could give you percentage. Like, a little over time, and it definitely won't be much, butâ"
She didn't realize she was rambling until Tom shook her. "I don't want you to pay me back, Park."
"Butâ"
"Nah," he said, shaking his head at her. One of his hands twisted into the cotton of her sweater, and for the first time that night, as he ducked his head to avoid her gaze Parker realized that maybe he was just as anxious about this entire thing as she was. "I owe you, okay. Not the other way around."
Parker couldn't think of anything more ridiculous than that, and her brows furrowed a divot into her forehead. "What are you talking about?"
He released a chuckle of disbelief, the sound low and raspy in his throat. "I know I'm an asshole. What you said when we first met, that day on the set, it pissed me off so much because... you were right, and no one else had ever bothered to tell me. I'm an asshole to staff and to the crew and to your fucking brother, but do you seriously think I'm blind to all the things that you've done for me?"
Floundering for wordsâand thoughtsâall she could do was blink at him.
Tom glanced away, fingers wrapping themselves into her shirt, skating a burning line over her skin. "Youâyou're..." he started, before drifting off. Clearly, she wasn't the only person struggling to put their thoughts into words tonight, but Parker was too dumbfounded by the fact that Tom Ryder was admitting to be an asshole above all else, that she couldn't find the energy to interrupt him. "No one has ever... held me accountable before."
Even more bewildered then before, she stared at him. "And that's... a good thing? Because I thought that drove you crazy? I meanâ"
"God, of course it drives me crazy," he cut her off with another chuckle. "But you do it becauseâbecause you see something in me that no one else does, you know? You see... me. Not the rich, famous me that everyone else sees and takes advantage of, but the asshole on the inside that no one else likes. Do you know how many people have found me in the bathroom like you did? Do you know how none of them have ever cared before?"
Parker's hands skated around his neck, desperate for something to hold onto, to feel, as she gently flattened them out on his chest. "You don't owe me anything for that," she said, shaking her head. "You didn't have to do this just to make up for that. I like being in your life, being your friend, your... I think more people care about you than you think, Tom."
He swallowed, and her eyes tracked the movement of his throat. "And you're the only person in my life that would say shit like that and mean it."
"Of course I mean it. I wouldn't lie to you."
"I know," he said, hands drifting further up her back, a connection that she didn't dare break as they settled into the groove of her spine. "And that's why I did it. So I don't want anything from you, alright? I just... want to give you this. Fuck Gail, fuck my social media manager, fuck all of them. Just this once I want to do something for someone else. Well, no, even that's a lie. Not for someone else, but for you."
Parker bit her lip, feeling her heart thump against her chest, and she was certain that he must have felt it too as she leaned against him. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said. "You'reâjust... you're not like other girls, you know that?"
Despite the tension growing between them, the softness of the moment and the tender way he was holding her, Parker couldn't keep back a startled laugh. And when she did laugh, Tom's hands paused in their movements, brows knitting a second time as he watched her with something wary struck across his features.
"Sorry, sorry," she said almost immediately, biting her lip, only for another giggle to escape. He looked truly put off then, and she carefully skated her hands back around his neck. "I just... sorry, I'm not laughing at you. That just so sounded like a line."
The wariness vanished, replaced by irritable fondness, and his hands pressed her closer. "Yeah, well," he said, that oh-so familiar smugness of his curling his mouth upwards. "What if it was?"
"Oh?"
He shrugged, pressing on. "Lots of girls would kill to hear that kind of line from Tom Ryder, you know? You should consider yourself lucky."
"I thought I wasn't like other girls."
"You're not. No other girl has ever driven me fucking crazy like you do."
"Flattering," she snarked. But the skate of his hands was starting to ignite a nervous fluttering in her stomach, and as her nails dug into his shirt, Parker could barely maintain a sense of decorum as she smirked at him. "Well? Go on then."
"With?"
"You've given me a line. I'm interested in seeing what other sorts of moves the famous Tom Ryder has to woo the ladies. You want to show me your wine cellar? Art collection? Is there a disco ball that comes down from your ceiling if I clap?"
His entire torso shook as he laughed. "See what I mean? You're drive me fucking crazy."
"Ah, maybe, but that wasn't a noâ"
Parker swore that a single kiss from Tom Ryder had the ability to set her entire body alight. Sometimes, she wondered if he felt it too; the way the pads of his thumbs would trail a burning line along her skin or how her hands got shaky as she trailed them up into his hair. His hands certainly didn't shake; not when they pulled her sweater over her head or drifted along the length of her legs, fingers dipping into the ticklish spot behind her knees, tugging her impossibly closer before moving up, up, up...
This time, there was no party to return to, no busybodies to avoid or assistants needing Tom's attention in between fittings on set, and most importantly no phone to chirp at them or brother to distract.
There was just her and him, Parker and Tom.
And when the tension between themâonce ugly and mean and festering and awful, now golden and beautiful and, maybe even destinedâfinally broke, she realized that it wasn't so bad to have someone to drive crazy; perhaps, even, it was the spark that she had been missing.
The fact that something I wrote can be so personal and loved by someone else is amazing and beautiful and blows my mind. Thank you for your endless support! â¤ď¸