As you can probably tell by the title, this is where that scene from trailer #2 appears. I do not go any more in-depth than the snippet you saw in the trailer. Warning for mentions of child abuse/molestation, but NOT involving Parker himself.

Parker VIII: Westcott

Though he and MJ went to meetings every week, neither of them had actually competed for Quizbowl yet. Apparently, the tournaments that took place earlier in the school year were more difficult and prestigious, with each school only permitted to send one team, so as freshmen they weren't chosen to participate. However, after winter break, Mr. Harrington told them that the next tournament had separate divisions so they could send a team in addition to their A-team of Liz, Abe, and Cindy. Parker ended up with MJ and a quirky kid named Charles with electric blue glasses to compete among underclassmen from other schools.

MJ immediately took charge, and the two boys let her. "Parker, you're our science and lit guy. Charles, you're on math and geography. I'll take history and art. Solidify what you already know and expand into what you don't."

"Got it." Parker spent that weekend making another stack of flashcards, this one for characters in novels. One side contained a name, the other a book title and a brief description. He already had one for Shakespeare plays, but he still hadn't memorized it, so he worked at least twenty minutes a day on that one too. As for science, he didn't study quite the same way for that subject. A lot of things he just already knew from classes in middle school or documentaries. Still, he went over notes from his current classes and read up on famous historical scientists and their achievements.

For the first half an hour of practice over the next few weeks, they played against each other in their assigned teams instead of each person playing for themselves. Of course the team of upperclassmen always won, but anytime another team scored even a single point against them it was considered a victory. Liz even complimented Parker on his quick answer to a question about the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

With that next competition so close, Quizbowl practice starting running half an hour longer every week. It was worth the extra work because of the marked improvement in his buzzer reflexes. Parker returned home on Wednesday hungry and tired. Dad was in the living room watching the news; he worked two-thirds days on Wednesdays, seeing fewer clients than other workdays. "Hey Dad," Parker greeted.

"Hey Parker. How was practice?"

"Really good. MJ was on fire. She got like five in a row."

"That's awesome. You guys are going to kill it next weekend."

"Thanks." Parker sat down next to him on the sofa with a granola bar and tuned in to the story he was watching.

The news anchor recited with practiced detachment, "Mr. Westcott was arrested on multiple counts of child molestation. The children currently in his care are being relocated by social services. At this moment, the date of the trial remains unknown. New York social services says their first priority is physical and psychological evaluation and treatment of the victims."

Parker almost spit out his last bite when his jaw fell open. He swallowed rapidly. "Oh my gosh."

"What's wrong?" Dad asked.

"That—that's Mr. Westcott." Parker hadn't heard the name in months, but he still remembered it. "My case worker al-almost sent me to him. But then you guys adopted me."

Dad immediately turned off the TV and threw an arm around his shoulders, hugging him in close. "Good thing we did, huh?"

Parker nodded, eyes filling with tears. He didn't even really know why he was crying, since he'd never suffered by this horrible man's hand, but once the tears started they wouldn't stop. Mr. Harrington had mentioned Mr. Westcott as Parker's slated next foster parent at least two or three times. If the Weavers hadn't expressed interest when they did, what would have happened to him? Parker didn't think he would have survived that trauma on top of everything else he'd already endured. He was immeasurably grateful for his parents—even more so than he already was—but more than that he was horrified on behalf of the children he had gotten his hands on. How many kids had he fostered before he got caught? How many people just like him were out there having suffered abuse at his hand?

When he went to Gravesen, they took him away from the Jones because of a mere suspicion of abuse, but they should have been investigating this guy instead. "Those poor kids," he whispered.

"I know, kiddo. But they're going to be okay. They got him."

"Too late," Parker muttered.

Dad sighed. "You're right. The important thing is that they got him now. All those kids are safe now. And you're safe."

"I know. But I was so close to going there. You and Daddell saved me."

"And I'm so glad we did."

"Me too." Though Parker still had homework to do, he stayed snuggled up with Dad for an hour. They turned the TV back on to some cheesy old action movie.

By the next day, Parker had mostly recovered from the shock of that news. He heard whispers about it at school, because the same type of smart nerdy kids who attended Midtown were the type who actually paid attention to the local news, but he mostly tuned them out. What he couldn't tune out, however, was the announcement during math class. "Lockdown. Lockdown. Lockdown."

Their teacher immediately directed them to the corner away from the windows as he closed the blinds, locked the door, and drew the shade over the door's little window. "Hurry, hurry," he prompted. The entire class calmly gathered in the far corner, except for Parker. A lockdown meant danger, a danger that here in the city most likely took the form of an armed hostile. He could feel the oncoming panic attack like his stomach dropping at the top of a roller coaster. Seated between MJ and some kid he didn't know, Parker drew his knees into his chest and frantically tried to utilize the breathing techniques Dr. Wilson had taught him. He held out his right hand, fingers splayed, and ran his left pointer up and down each finger in time with his inhales and exhales.

"What are you doing?" the kid beside him asked, staring at his hands in confusion. Parker didn't answer, not trusting himself to talk. He wanted somebody to latch on to, like Nurse Happy or Tony or his dads, but there was nobody here who could comfort him. Besides, nothing would be more embarrassing than diving into an adult's arms at the first sign of danger among all his level-headed classmates.

"Relax, Parker, it's probably just a drill," MJ assured him.

"Then why didn't they say that?" he asked, breath quivering.

"Because nobody would take it seriously."

Her explanation made sense, but Parker knew from experience that his panic attacks didn't listen to sense. He clung desperately to his respiratory rate, physically feeling his heart speed up in his chest. When his hands went numb, the breathing exercise stopped working. At a loss, he wrapped his arms around his shins and buried his face in his knees to try and stifle a panicked sob. MJ wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he flinched at first but didn't push her off. All the other students were completely silent as they should be during a lockdown, Parker's harsh breathing the only sound audible over the silence. He could feel their eyes on him like dozens of tiny laser beams.

"Please let this be over soon," he thought.

Their teacher approached him, speaking in a low voice, "Parker, are you alright?" Instead of his question, Parker heard gunshots and cans crashing and Uncle Ben crying out. He didn't answer, just buried his face harder into his knees until his kneecaps dug into his eyeballs.

"Is this a drill?" MJ asked on his behalf.

"Yes." He probably wasn't supposed to tell them that, but given the circumstances he'd probably decided against that. Flash immediately started whispering loudly to the kid next to him, seriousness regarding the lockdown evaporated now that it was revealed to be fake.

That information didn't magically erase Parker's panic, but at least it stopped worsening. The lockdown ended, and the principal explained that it was a drill and thanked everyone for their participation. He gave the all clear for everyone to resume activity as normal. Everyone stood up and returned to their desks. Except Parker, still locked in a battle with his own brain. MJ stayed beside him. Parker wanted to cry from both the fear and the embarrassment. As the former receded, the latter amplified tenfold. When he finally dared look up, it was to find every eye in the classroom trained on him.

"May we go to the nurse?" MJ asked. After a curt nod from their teacher, she pulled Parker to his feet and marched him out.

"Thanks," he said sheepishly, voice barely audible.

"No problem."

"I—I really needed to get out of there."

"I saw that. That's why you're going to go lie down until you feel better or call your parents and go home."

"What's the matter?" the nurse asked when they arrived.

"He had a panic attack," MJ informed her calmly.

"You can go back to class," Parker told her. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

He looked into her brown eyes and saw nothing but kindness and genuine concern. "Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks."

"Any time." She smiled at him and stepped back out into the hall.

"Care to tell me what happened, dear?" the nurse asked.

"I, uh…the lockdown," he explained.

"Do you need to lie down?"

"I don't think so. I just don't think I can be in class right now. Too many people. And they all…they all saw it."

"Do you want to call home?"

He thought about it for a moment, and he really did. Parker wanted nothing more than to curl up with a human security blanket. The nurse let him step back into the hallway and he called Daddell since Dad could be with a client and was less likely to be able to drop everything and go home.

"Parker? Is everything okay?" Daddell asked frantically. Parker had never called them in the middle of a school day before, so it made sense that he was freaking out. But his nervousness only magnified Parker's.

"I'm not hurt," he began, just to immediately get that out of the way. "But, I…there was a lockdown drill and I kinda…had a panic attack. It's over now, but I don't think I can go back to class."

"Okay, do you need me to come get you?"

"Could you?" Parker didn't think he'd ever asked so much of either of his parents. He still wasn't used to having unpaid adults who were dedicated to his well-being.

"Of course, kiddo. I'll be there in half an hour tops."

"Okay."

Parker returned to the nurse's office and sat down at the foot of one of the beds, once again running through the breathing exercise in an attempt to fix his frayed nerves. He couldn't believe his entire math class saw him like that. What would they think of the kid who freaked out at a lockdown drill? Walking into class tomorrow was going to be a nightmare, with everyone seeing him and immediately thinking of this incident. Parker was reminded of how he'd felt living with the Jones, determined to avoid any and all triggers so he wouldn't have a panic attack in front of them and destroy their opinion of him.

By the time Daddell arrived, he was mostly calm, but feeling panic-hungover, like the slightest stimulus could send him right back. They took a cab home instead of the subway to avoid crowds. When they got there, Parker put on Uncle Ben's old sweatshirt and picked up his Chewbacca, carrying it to the couch and sitting down.

"What do you need me to do?" Daddell asked matter-of-factly.

"Can you just…sit with me?" he requested.

"Of course. You want some water first?"

"Okay."

Daddell brought him a glass and he took a few cautious sips before setting it down on a coaster and curling up into his dad's side. "TV okay?"

"Yeah."

He flipped on some classic movie channel on low volume and hugged Parker closer. Vaguely, Parker wondered if he would've reacted differently if he hadn't already been rattled by the news about Mr. Westcott. Maybe hearing about how close he'd come to a new layer of trauma had stripped away some of the protective barriers in his head, baring those intrinsic fears to the world. If it had been any other day, would he have reacted so severely? He thought about that for all of a minute before he dismissed it, knowing he gained nothing from pondering it. Parker focused on the quiet drone of the television and the feel of Daddell's arm around his shoulders, once again more thankful than ever for his parents choosing him.

So that part of the second trailer wasn't a TOTAL fakeout, but I definitely included it to be intentionally misleading. I had a lot of you VERY scared. But there was no way I could include that sort of thing after everything I already did to Parker in this universe. Besides, there are already more than enough Skip Westcott fics out there.