A/N: Hope I didn't keep you under suspense for too long! I really should have posted this sooner, considering this was written almost two months ago. I have the rest of the story pretty much typed out and done. Since Suspicion is coming out tomorrow - whoo! - I'm not sure if I'll be able to post the rest. It just depends on you all, if you wanna read it or not while it rallies against Suspicion. So I guess at the end of this chapter...would be a good place to stop and hold the story for a while, basically until I read Suspicion and see how I can go from there. Make sense? However there is a teaser at the end for the following chapter - if that ever sees the light of day...
Anywhoo - you guys are wonderful!!! Thank you so much for the reviews. I'll be replying to them all ASAP.

:D

Chapter 9 – Devil Wouldn't Recognize

Thomas didn't know how long their eyes were locked onto each other before she broke the contact, scouting out the rest of the place. Thomas had gone unrecognized. But in that moment, he knew…

He had to get to her. He couldn't let her escape his field of vision. His eyes were on her as she finally trickled down her stairs and followed her group to the drinks station.

He had to wait until they split up. But, would he approach her? What would he say? Would she recognize him? Would she still want him? Would she be happy? These were the questions floating through his mind a mile a minute when he felt his friends stop and inquire.

"Parker, are you okay?" He could hear Charlie ask.

Jude snickered. "Dude looks like he's seen a ghost, eh Park?"

"Parker?" Charlie's voice was treading concern.

Cooper laughed. "Man, he's really out of it." Thomas shook his hands, waving them off, still not facing them. He walked away without saying anything. He stepped deeper in to the thick crowd.

Each step he was closer to Reed.

He couldn't believe that this was finally happening. Him and Reed were in the same room.

He slowly approached the drink station, oblivious about the dancers around him. Reed's back was towards him and she was surrounded by her groupies. Ariana, being one of them. Automatically Thomas took a pause in his step. His confidence wavered.

He shook his head. He had to be smart about this. He had already rationed about this before stepping foot on Legacy grounds. He knew he had to stay away from Ariana and probably the Billings Girls. He couldn't reassociate with anyone else. Even Reed.

But now his strong built of a plan was crumbling. He hadn't expected such a reaction, he hadn't been able to predict just how mesmerized he would be by Reed.

The aching hole in his chest was closing, sealing. He needed her. She was the only cure to his pain. He took another step forward.

But Ariana…He wouldn't approach Reed with the Billings Girls around, only when she would be alone, he decided…Now, he just had to get her alone.

Thomas took a step back and turned away. But he looked back once more for good measure, only to find familiar, icy blue eyes staring at him.

Ariana and her haunting eyes.

No, she wasn't staring at him at him. Just in his general direction. Thomas calmed down an inch and started to walk away. He decided to go up the stairs where he would have a better view of the party…and Reed.

On the way up the stairs, Thomas was almost halted by nostalgia.

"Dude! How sick is this!" Thomas almost wanted to roll his eyes at the familiar voice. But the motion was stuck as tears, freaking tears, threatened to spill over. He never thought he'd miss Gage this much.

Another familiar voice assaulted his ears, slamming his stomach. "It's even already better than last year's. Hollis! Get your eyes off her, there's time for that later. Come on. Enjoy!" The good-natured voice belonged to none other than Dash.

His group of old friends were going down, while he was going up.

"Who said I'm not enjoying?" Josh mumbled. Thomas almost wanted to laugh. As fun as he was, Josh seemed to be above partying. Well he was, mature as he was.

Thomas didn't realize he was smiling – oddly too, but it shocked him when Josh turned, catching his eyes with his own concerned ones and paused. "Hey, you okay?" Josh, always the caring one. And then Thomas didn't realize the tears in his eyes were fatter. He could almost feel them falling out of his eyes.

"Oh. Yeah. My…cat just died." Thomas held out his phone as if to show he had just gotten the news via text. He felt something slip out of his pocket, but he didn't have time to catch it. His eyes focused on Josh.

"Aw, I'm sorry man." Josh shuffled, his face becoming sullen.

"Don't worry about it." Thomas shrugged. Josh looked him once over, making sure that Thomas wouldn't start some sort of emotional breakdown and then nodded.

"Sure. See you later." Thomas watched him and his friends go. He rubbed his eyes and then blinked. He willed himself to continue up the stairs, willed him to be okay.

-

Thomas had been watching Reed dance, laugh, drink for the past hour. And he loved every second, never getting bored. He wished he could read lips, but it was impossible when she was below twenty-five feet and a couple yards away to make out her conversations. But it didn't matter. He smiled, laughed whenever she laughed, as if he knew the joke himself.

He was so far lost in his own little fantasies that he didn't even notice Reed missing for a second. Thomas grabbed the railing in panic and quickly scanned her group. She was still absent. His eyes made quick work of the dance floor. She wasn't there. Neither was she at the bar.

His last thought was to look at the stairs, a couple feet away from him. She was coming up the stairs, both hands on her sides, lifting her dressed as she climbed. Thomas watched her for a moment and then slid behind a pillar to be better concealed as she reached leveled ground.

He leaned against the pillar and stuck his head out. Thomas watched her walk and then pick up speed. When she was far enough, he slid from his hiding place and followed her, keeping a good distance between them.

She rounded a corner before she started running. Why was she running? She possibly couldn't know he was behind her. There were people in between them.

Was she looking for someone? When Thomas turned the corner he could see her following a lone figure, a guy in a black tuxedo and dark hair. Was she going after him? Who was he? Thomas thought a little possessively. He immediately wanted to know. Jealousy flooded through him hot as rage.

He stopped himself, just a few away from Reed. Her oblivious back to him. Just as the clock struck midnight, he heard a faint whisper. "Thomas." Was he hearing things?

The guy heard too, or it seemed like it. The guy Reed had been following, turned around, but his eyes weren't on Reed. It had just been a coincidence that he had turned around just as she had called. Even further, it was an ironic coincidence that guy was Blake Pearson, his brother.

Thomas stepped back in shock, trying not to seem alarmed. But then understanding flooded him. He could see that Reed had mistaken Blake for him. He couldn't blame her; they were brothers, flesh and blood, after all. Blake disappeared through the curtain not realizing the dilemma he had caused, not even noticing his brother, only a couple of feet behind him

Reed's shoulders slumped as she looked after the guy's face. Was she disappointed? The clock tolled again.

Turn around. Reed, turn around.

He never wanted to scream as much as he did then. Especially when Reed shoke and heard a sniff. "Thomas." Her voice broke. His face fell when he realized that she purely was upset.

He couldn't do this anymore.

Without thinking it through…Just as the clock struck for the final time, he reached out his hand, on pure impulse and intent on placing it on her shoulder.

His hand was just close from brushing her shoulder. He clenched his hand and then unclenched it. His hand was just about to settle on Reed when she sighed and took a step through curtains.

He leaned forward wanting to stop her, but she had already moved into the next room. Her silky hair had only grazed him. Electric shocks went through his veins. He had just made contact with Reed.

She wasn't over him. Reed, wasn't over him.

Thomas stood still, dumbstruck, his hand still stupidly outstretched. He would have followed Reed in, if not for his delayed reactions, and he was just about to when the feeling in his hand returned. But before he could push through the curtains, he heard her speak.

"Natasha? Leanne?" Thomas paused. And then a slow grin spread on his lips. Looks like someone finally found out. Maybe he should give them some privacy and come back another time?

Thomas couldn't ration out his decision because he heard approaching footsteps. Ahh, the Billings Girls.

-

All the goodies had been announced and people were welcomed to stay as long as they liked, but the Easton crowd had a curfew. Most of them were gathered in the lobby, getting ready to leave.

They were leaving. And Thomas still hadn't approached Reed.

He still had time. He could still talk to her. All he had to do was approach, talk to her for a second, pull aside and tell her. But it was easier said than done. But he had to try. He knew he would regret it tomorrow, when he would be alone.

His eyes searched the familiar faces, trying to find Reed. And then there she was, standing by herself. Thomas smiled and began to walk over to her.

But someone else had beaten him to her. Josh. Confusion clouded in Thomas' head. And then it slowly became clear, the way Josh was looking at her. The way he was holding his hand, trying to fight the urge to not touch Reed.

Something was going on between them. He trusted Hollis, more than anyone. He was a good a guy, good enough for Reed, better than him. But Thomas still didn't like it. It bothered him to no end.

Maybe it was best that he did move on. Obviously Reed was doing fine. She had Josh.

He would have continued staring, but he felt eyes on his back and he had to turn around. Ariana was standing there, her eyes finally noticing Thomas for the first time. The Billings Girls were just behind her, all conversing.

Ariana's forehead wrinkled and she was just about to say something, when Thomas heard the voice of his rescuer. "Parker, there you are."

As much as he wanted to keep his eyes on Ariana at the moment, he couldn't make it look like he knew her. He turned to Charlie and grabbed her in his arms and spun her around. She smelled good. "Hey babe," He whispered against her neck, completely ignoring an embarrassed Ariana.

Even the devil couldn't recognize him. Thomas smiled to himself. He was indestructible and it felt good.

Charlie's warm hands went to hold his face and she pulled away, a smile on her face. He grinned as his nose touched hers. God, she was so…comforting. And then without further ado, he kissed her full on the lips.

He didn't know what made him do it, but while his lips were on Charlie's, he opened his eyes just in time to see Josh walk by with Reed closely at his side…He was assaulted with an aching memory of him and Reed. A few others flashed by, him and Reed by Gwendolyn, their first meeting, outside the cafeteria by the tree…

They walked away, clueless. His life walked by…leaving him behind. Her beauty was heartbreaking. She was something Thomas couldn't have anymore. She didn't belong to him.

Thomas closed his eyes, letting go of everything.

Teaser: He just got her back, he couldn't let her go. He pulled her close. He couldn't get enough of her. Her scent, her touch. He never wanted to let go…Never.

R&R