he didn’t want to be here. the music was FAR too loud for his headache-ridden, alcohol-laced brain, and even then, his heart just wasn’t in it to socialize with people. after greeting and chatting with the cromwells, he decided that it was ENOUGH for the night, at least for now. he needed some air. parker chose to use the sides of the room to try and make his escape, not wanting to draw attention to himself as he moved through the crowed. “shit, sorry!” he called out above the music as his shoulder barreled into someone – he swore the damned mask made things a lot fucking harder, and right on cue, the DELICATE black ribbon that held it gently bridged on his nose came undone, revealing his identity (not that it was particularly concealed well in the first place). “listen … um, if anyone asks, you didn’t see me, yeah?”

with a sigh parker’s calloused fingers turned the handle to his dorm, fully expecting chaos to emerge from behind the wood frame. and he’d be right – there was zephyr, amidst a lingering smell of alcohol that made their dorm feel ALMOST like a rave. he laughed at the sight, a drunken, singing roommate clad in a fancy outfit, likely emma’s doing – completely contrasted to his plain white shirt and joggers. “dude, sweet getup,” he complimented, shouting ever so slightly above the blaring music. 

and right on cue, the one person who could NEVER fail to make him feel at home came into view – he would know those perfect, red curls anywhere. he wondered if she had seen him, chatting with as few people as possible, downing half-full glasses of liquor when he could. but either way, he knew she would be excited to see him. “miss me?” he asked, tapping june’s shoulder, trying to get her attention. “i think you owe me a dance.”

parker glanced up for the first time, allowing himself to drink in blaire’s features ( albeit somewhat hidden by her mask ) for the first time in months. he had previously refrained from stealing glances at her during class or imperium meetings, not wanting to feel the hurt that would inevitably come from looking her in the eye. but … it had been months. months. if he couldn’t even look at blaire now without hurting, then he was the FOOL. how pathetic would that have been? to be dumped, and not be able to move on? but he felt the pain again – a deep pit in his stomach. when he tried to look into her familiar, hazel eyes. he could tell she was just as uncomfortable as he was, by the way she tried to accelerate past him, but parker needed her. he needed her to say something. “blaire, wait!” he exclaimed, rushing over to her and grabbing her hand gently, the softness of her skin surprising him – it had been so long, he had forgotten what her touch felt like. 

and of course, it seemed like everyone else at ashcroft had the same goddamned idea. he huffed, trying to keep himself composed when all he wanted to do was take off his damned mask and loosen his bow tie, but he would stay. for zephyr and june, for the cromwells, he would stay. after a few minutes, he had given up on catching the bartender’s eye, and looked to his right, only to be surprised by how he hadn’t realized who was standing right next to him. he would know that blonde hair and those big, brown eyes anywhere. it’s not like … they would haunt him from the past, memories and what-ifs plaguing his brain from a time that could have been. “lucky me, graced by the presence of harper anderson twice in one week?” he asked with a cheeky smile, leaning in slightly closer so she could hear him better. 

zephyr and lucky had been completely gone by the time parker had even returned to his dorm from a bit of a therapeutic session in the music room, which was why parker was surprised by sound of the door being thrown open. with bags drooping beneath his eyes and a wrinkled t-shirt on, parker was nowhere near ready to go, with only one of two of his dress socks on. “lena,” he remarked with a smile, peering out from his bed to greet her as best as he could. “i don’t know how or why you agreed to bring zephyr to this thing, but i can guarantee he’ll be an entertaining date.” he glanced down at the plastic bag she had with her, clearly not an accessory that matched with her outfit. “what’s with the bag?”

                  he felt like a stranger in a crowd of people he couldn’t recognize. he didn’t want to – parker still felt on edge, like he wasn’t SUPPOSED to be here, like he would just cause even more trouble if he stuck around longer than he intended. come in, talk to the cromwells, and leave. that had been his plan, and he was planning on sticking to it, that is, until he spotted the back of a beautiful, pink, floral dress that parker just had a FEELING about. it had taken only two quick glances for parker to confirm his suspicions about the owner, and one quick sweep to determine that she wasn’t busy with someone else. “so … uh, a little birdy told me you don’t have anyone to dance with,” he said into her ear from behind her, before sweeping into her field of view. he smiled at her, trying his hardest to not make this AWKWARD, given that he wasn’t autumn’s date. he wasn’t sure if she even had one, but he couldn’t be too careful. “is that still true?”