Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ducks, I only own my original characters. I don't own quotes used in the story either.

A/N: This chapter is quite long. That's more of a warning, than a note. But it sure does give you, the readers of this story, some background information that you've been wondering about. I hope you like this chapter. The next chapters are shorter, and in a less serious tone, which always brings out a few laughs. So, review please, so I can share these next chapters with you. Oh, reviews. They sure do keep me motivated to continue updating. Tell me what you readers are thinking; if you like it, don't like it, whatever works. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

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"I don't get it." Guy paused, "You're scared of me?"

"Not like that," Parker shook her head, eyes tightly shut as if she was in a battle between telling him and not telling him. She groaned in frustration, to her fight inside, against her heart and her head. "I don't know why, but I open up to you, I tell you things that I usually don't tell new people. I just don't let people in like that. You're passing my Great Wall of China type wall, and… it scares me, a lot."

"I'm not gonna let you down." Guy reassured.

Parker looked down at the floor. "I want to believe you."

"Ducks fly together."

"What?"

Guy realized how stupid he sounded, "Well, ducks fly together, you know. You can trust The Ducks. We'll never let you fly by yourself. The Ducks are definitely trustworthy and ready to, uh, fly with you." Guy scratched the back of his head, looking red from embarrassment. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked confused to if this was the advice that was right for Parker. She lightly smiled at his confused look, and he smirked back at her.

Parker nodded slowly. "Oh. Ducks fly together, huh?"

"Yeah," Guy lowered his head to make eye contact with her. "You wanna talk about it now?"

"I don't know where to start."

Guy thought, "How about I ask you questions, and we'll see what happens from there? If you talk, then great, if you don't, well then we'll work on it."

Parker stared at her pillow, then gave a slow nod.

"Okay," Guy rubbed his hands together. "Where to start? So, he's your brother?"

"My step-brother."

"Max said he's a drunk ass, is that true?"

"Yes." Parker answered in glee at how easy these questions were.

Guy exhaled, "Okay. I have to think of better questions. Uh, what happened between you two?"

"I don't know where to start," Parker wrangled her pillow; it showed that she was getting nervous.

"Start anywhere, we can talk all night about this." Guy leaned back on his arm, showing that he was ready for an all night, no going to sleep, beat it out of her conversation.

"Okay, well," Parker looked at Guy, trying to see if she could trust him with this. "I used to live with my step-sister after I moved to the city. We uh used to be really close, but then she had to move to Paris for work So, to make sure I was safe, she got my step-brother to live with me." Guy nodded "Well we were good siblings, shared a lot of music interests, and got along real well, all that stuff. But then, my dad died. Remember how I said he fell off the face of the earth? Well it's easier for me to say that then explain how he actually fell off the face of the earth."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Guy looked down at the floor. "Must have been hard."

"It was." Parker continued, "But Riley took it the worst. He took it really hard because him and dad never got to, well be on good terms. He blamed so much stuff on himself and he went to the bottle. He lost his job, stayed home and drank all the time."

"Aw man,"Guy said. Parker stopped talking. "Is that it?"

Parker shook her head no.

"Then what happened?"

"Um," Parker bit her bottom lip, hugging her pillow even tighter. "Well, he uh got really wasted this one night. He was really angry. I came home from hockey practice and he was pissed you know. We got into a fight, and uh, well he…he hit me. Just once. It was just in the arm, but well he really meant it. It really scared him. It really scared me."

"Aw Parker. What did you do?"

"I ran to Jess's." Parker kind of smiled to herself, "That's why I'm here so much. It's the safest place to go, and the place with more good memories than bad. I went back to the apartment the next day and I brought Jess with me Riley packed all his stuff and just disappeared. He called to say he was sorry and left messages on the machine, but I never really said anything back. I guess I didn't, well I still don't know what to say. Five months ago, he came to Jess's and was drunk, of course, and just started freaking out. I never know if he's drunk and angry or okay and sober."

"Wait. You're eighteen. You're a freshman in college. You lived in an apartment for more than five months ago. It doesn't seem like you just moved it. When did you start living by yourself?"

Parker took a breath, "Sixteen."

Guy shook his head, "Sixteen. Hah, seriously Parker." He paused. "Sixteen! You're living in the city at sixteen. You look fourteen right now, you must've looked twelve."

Parker smiled. "I did look twelve. I still look twelve actually."

"H-how did that happen?"

"Well-"

"Sixteen."

"Sixteen," Parker repeated for the last time. "Well, my mom and I moved to California when I was twelve. We had family out there, and it was great because we lived really close to my mom's best friend. But I was, well not miserable, but not happy, out in the west coast. Cali's great, but my dream since I was a little kid was always New York City. Everything. To live there, to play hockey with my friends again, and to go to NYU. My mom saw that, so she talked to me about it, and she let me go. I had the option to go back to Cali, I still do."

"She let you? My mom would never do that, and I'm sure your mom loves you too much to leave you out here."

"She does. Oh man she does. When I first lived here, she would fly back and forth to check up on me every two weeks. She called me all the time, she seemed like one of those crazy moms," Parker chuckled at the thought. "One of the reasons she knew I would be okay was because of Jess's family. If I ever needed a family to run to, there would be Jess's a few blocks away, when they still lived here, and sometimes they would come visit me at the apartment."

"Wow. Jess has really been there for you forever, hasn't he?"

"Oh yeah. I have no idea where I'd be without Jess. I don't think I can survive without Jess." Parker stared at her nails. "The nights killed me though," She bit her bottom lip again. "There's this drawing that Peyton from One Tree Hill has, and it's just these words that fit, every time."
Parker turned her laptop towards Guy and it was a background that said, 'People always leave.'

"Jess is still here."

"Jess. Cooper. Maxwell. Greenberg," Parker rolled her eyes and exhaled. "Well not Greenberg anymore. Those four, three now, I guess, are all I've really known for a while. That's why it's hard to deal with me. My whole trust issues thing. Boys in general, boyfriends, brothers, fathers, they all kinda leave, or disappoint, in the personal relationship stuff."

"That's why I scare you so much? You're scared I'm gonna hurt you in some way?"

"Oh no, I know you're gonna hurt me."

"How?" Guy felt a slap in the face. I guess that's what honesty does to you. Slaps you in the face, which leaves you wondering why it surprised and confused you in the first place; just like Parker's remark.

"Because I care about you. You always hurt for the people you care about, or people you care about you seem to always hurt you, sometimes for good, sometimes they don't know it, but it's always some kind of hurt. You Ducks, I don't know what it is, maybe it's because we've spent around seventy-two hours together, but I definitely care about you guys. " Parker shook her head, "It's a damn shame."

"A damn shame, thanks." Guy rolled his eyes jokingly. "Don't worry. We got you. We care about you too, it's probably because you're so damn little and cute so we can't help it, but we care." He took her hand in his, and she stared at their entwined hands.

"I tend to hurt people that I'm involved with, well when it's more than a friendship. I really don't wanna hurt you."

"Well then I'll take it."

"I don't know if-"

"We'll just see where it goes then."

Parker looked up, and opened her mouth with something to say, but it wouldn't come out. She took her cell phone with her free hand and began texting. Guy raised an eyebrow and she soon handed him the phone, as he read, 'Just don't let me let you go.'

It confused him a little, but he smiled, and squeezed her hand. "Promise."