BY VERY DEFINITION
24. First Impressions
Parker was laying on her bed on Sunday morning, looking defeated. She was still dressed in her pajamas-black sweat pants and a white tank top- and her hair was in an unbrushed ponytail. Kurt and Quinn, both ludicrously bubbly at the early hour of 8 a.m, were standing at Parker's closet. The girl's clothes had been strewn across the floor and thrown on top of her dresser, shoes laid without their partners at various points throughout the room, belts hung from the top of the closet door, and Parker's room was messier than she had ever seen it.
"I can pick out my own clothes." She insisted wearily for the umpteenth time that morning. Kurt had arrived at the crack of dawn, ready to prepare Parker for her "big date" with Tate Hanson. Parker, personally, couldn't see why it was such a big deal. It was lunch and a movie, nothing special.
"I'm sure you could." Kurt assured her, "But we can pick them out better." Parker couldn't argue with his logic, but she wasn't happy about it.
"You're messing my room up." The little redhead complained.
"We'll clean it later." Quinn said, holding up a jean skirt, "This is cute. It's fun, classy, and casual. She should wear this." She held it out for Kurt's approval. The self-appointed fashion authority looked at it and turned up his nose.
"Jean skirts don't really speak to me." He said haughtily.
"You picked it out for me!" Parker said from her place on the bed. Kurt just rolled his eyes.
"There's a time and a place, my dear Parker." He shook is head woefully, "And a lunch date with Tate Hanson is neither the time or the place."
"It's a freaking lunch date." Parker complained, "It's not a big deal."
"How little she knows." Kurt said to Quinn, who was looking through Parker's shirts and not listening.
"What does that mean?" Parker pressed.
"Tate Hanson is a big deal." He informed his small friend, tossing away a pair of sneakers in disgust, "He's the best basketball player in the state, he's only not captain because he didn't feel like a successful leader. And he likes you. You've got to do this right."
"This could work." Quinn said suddenly, holding up a dark purple shirt with a ruffled elastic body and puffy princess-like short sleeves, "I love the sleeves, it's adorable."
"We're not going for adorable." Kurt turned her down, "We're going for Parker Chic."
"I have a chic?" Parker asked in surprise.
"Hardly." Kurt rolled his eyes, "You're surprisingly hard to shop for, and dress."
"Why's that?"
"You've got a cute look." Quinn answer, "But it's hard to find something that fits your look and your personality."
"My personality." Parker lamented, hanging her head, "That's because I don't have one." Quinn and Kurt stopped their frantic raid of her closet and looked at her with surprise.
"You really think that?" Quinn asked in dismay, Parker nodded. At this cue, Quinn moved and sat next to Parker on her bed, putting her arm around the smaller girl, "It's not true, you know. I never thought that you didn't have a personality."
"Me either." Kurt agreed, coming to sit on her other side.
"Really?" Parker sniffed.
"Parker, the first time I met you, I thought you were shy. And kind of weird, but that's something you get over in Glee club. And when we started talking to you, you had so much personality. You were curious, and we could see that you had an opinion on everything, and that's why you wanted the whole story. You're good at reading people, you're observant. And then when you decided to bug Rachel? That gave you a sense of humor and resilience, you wouldn't take crap from anyone. You're observations were funny, too." Kurt put a hand on her shoulder warmly, "That was the first day I met you, it had only been an hour and you were already three-dimensional. You were already curious, observant, funny, strong, and shy."
"I don't think I'll ever forget the first time you talked to me." Quinn said, "You were the first person who was completely honest with me. You were smart and realistic, so down to earth that you could reach up and pull me from the clouds. You were hard on me because you seemed to care. And even though, under those circumstances, most people would have pushed you away, but it was what I really needed to hear. I could tell that you spoke from experience, and I respected you for putting me in my place. And you were still willing to be my friend despite your thoughts about me. So that first time I met you I had you pegged as realistic, intelligent, honest, friendly, and someone that no longer feared what I'd think of her." Parker thought about that for a minute, not entire sure how she'd managed to full so much off in just a single meeting.
"And that was just the first time." Kurt reminded her, "I found out that you could be a lot of fun, remember that first time we went shopping? And the dueling pianos? And you're really musically gifted."
"I could tell that you were respectful by the way you talked about Rhonda the first time I came over." Quinn added, "And you're helpful, and you're willing to trust people if they give you a reason to. Like how you helped Puck and I, you're not still afraid to let people get close to you."
"You became supportive." Kurt said, "You came to watch me cheer when no one else could."
"And you were always supportive about the baby."
"You try not to care about your appearance, but you're willing to let me dress you up so I know that you care on the inside."
"And you asked for Rhonda to help with your dancing, you're always striving to improve."
"Face it." Kurt concluded, "You've got integrity." Parker, embarrassed by the flattery, turned her red face to look at each of her friends in turn.
"Thanks." She said, "But, if I give such good first impressions, why does Tate like me so much? I have done anything to deserve it."
"Well." Kurt crossed his legs thoughtfully, "He first met you after you got a bloody nose. Then what happened, what did he say to you?" Parker thought about it for a minute.
"He asked my nose, then he called me a tough little thing." She said.
"He saw your bravery." Quinn smiled, "What next?"
"He said he'd heard of me, but I didn't want to talk about it."
"Humility." Kurt said at once, "Go on."
"We talked about his wrist. Since he couldn't play he said he might do homework. He sprained his right wrist, so I asked him if he was a lefty. He wasn't, I thought it was funny when he remembered. Then I suggested he paid someone else to write his papers for him."
"Observant, sense of humor, smart." Quinn said.
"I changed and he said I cleaned up good."
"Of course." Kurt waved his hand, "You're pretty, you know."
"He asked why I was there, I told him about Kurt. I guess he got that I was supportive from that. I tripped, so he figured I was a bit accident-prone. Then he asked about Quinn so I got out of there pretty fast." Parker finished.
"Brave, humble, observant, smart, funny, pretty, supportive, clumsy. That's not too bad of a first impression." Quinn nudged her friend.
"I guess not." Parker said, feeling slightly happier. Quinn and Kurt returned to their scrutiny of her closet, but Parker had stopped paying attention to them. She was thinking about what Tate must have seen in her since then, she'd seen herself as an emotional wreck, but maybe that had looked different to someone else.
I guess he saw more of my humility when he called me the most popular girl in school, I'd never seen myself that way. I was distracted when he asked me to go to pizza with the team. When I told him about Whitney maybe he saw me as sensitive or sentimental. Maybe even passionate...no, I doubt it. I must have looked vulnerable when he offered his help, why else do guys help out girls like me? Maybe he thought I was confident when I sang at the funeral. Maybe he saw the love for my foster-family when he dropped me off. I'm sure he saw my evasiveness, and maybe he thought I was careful by the way I handled Whitney Grace. Maybe I'm over-analyzing everything, there must be something in the water of this town.
"Voila!" Kurt called triumphantly some time later. He was standing by the closet door, Quinn was sitting cross-legged next to him, sorting through clothes. Parker had then sprawled out across the bed and looked up at her friend's exclamation. "Here you go." Kurt marched over to the bed and dumped a pile of clothes and accessories on top of her, "I have assembled the perfect outfit for your date. You're welcome." Parker picked up the clothes and looked at them. In the end Kurt had decided on a jean skirt with a piece of white fabric on the bottom that reached here knees. The shirt was short-sleeved and button up, a deep forest green that matched her eyes. He had also tossed her a green scrunchy that matched the shirt color and a silver chain necklace with a charm of a white heart. The shoes were simple white sandals.
"Thanks." She said sincerely, "I think this will work great."
"Of course it will." Kurt pat her head, making Parker wince, "Now go and get dressed, you look horrible."
"Only because I haven't even gotten out of bed yet." Parker argued, getting to her feet before jumping off the mattress and heading to the bathroom quickly in case Kurt changed his mind. Kurt and Quinn both sat on the bed as they waited for her.
"How are things with you?" Kurt asked Quinn as they both settled down.
"I'm surprisingly okay." The blond answered with a small smile, "The Piersons are great, they said that I can stay with them for as long as I want, though I don't want to be any trouble. But I do want to stay with them, they make me feel good, you know? They're respectful of my confusion over Whitney. They said I could be involved any way I want, and they don't push me either direction."
"That's kind of them." Kurt observed without surprise.
"Yes, it is. So the only problem is that I don't what I want." Quinn shook her head hopelessly, "I don't know if I want Whitney as a sister or a friend. I don't know if I want to ignore her entirely or if I want her to grow up knowing who I am."
"In my humble opinion," Kurt said, making Quinn smirk momentarily, "I think that Whitney should know who you are. If I were in her place, I'd want to know about you. There are people out there with two mothers, people who know that they're adopted and make it work. If I were Whitney, I'd want the ability to choose."
"But what if she doesn't like me?" She worried, "What if she wanted me as a sister, and got me as a mother? What if she doesn't want me?" Kurt couldn't help but notice the irony. Quinn struggled for months about whether or not she wanted the baby, and now she was worried that the baby didn't want her.
"I wouldn't worry about that yet." Kurt said soothingly. A couple of minutes later they heard the bathroom door open and Parker reentered. She was wearing everything that Kurt had picked out for her, she'd even pulled her hair back into a high ponytail with the green scrunchy. She stood in front of them nervously, her suddenly-greener eyes darted from her shoes to her friends. The only thing about the outfit that she changed was adding a pair of her white gloves. Though she had revealed her arms to both Kurt and Quinn and they saw them on a regular basis, she wasn't anywhere near ready letting Tate in on that part of her. Even these two, her best friends, didn't know the story behind the scars. The only soul she had ever told was Whitney Kay Allistar, and she had taken it to her grave.
"You look great." Quinn said seriously, looking the smaller girl up and down.
"You are the very incarnation of spring." Kurt commented. Parker laid her arms across her stomach.
"I've got butterflies." She complained breathlessly. Kurt stood and put a hand on her shoulder.
"At this point, my dear, that's a good thing."
Tate drove her to a classic lunch restaurant. It was a good place to buy brunch and sit around with a cup of coffee. Parker sat across from Tate Hanson, focusing a little too hard on trying to keep her face from going expressionless, as was her long-time habit.
"What are you guys doing in Glee Club?" Tate asked as an icebreaker when they picked up their menus.
"This week we were actually studying Soliloquies." Parker answered. Tate paused for a beat with his eyebrows furrowed.
"What's a Soliloquy?" He asked, Parker smiled, no longer needing to focus on her facial expression.
"It's a song, like in a musical. It'd be a song where the character is singing directly to the audience."
"That's kind of cool." It didn't sound like he understood.
"Do you sing, Tate?" Parker asked suddenly, catching her companion off guard.
"What? I don't know."
"I was just asking because you play the guitar very well." Parker said quickly, "I was wondering if you ever sing along."
"You're trying to get me to join Glee club, right?" Tate asked, his eyes glittering with humor.
"Not exactly." Parker shrugged.
"Because I was never really interested in that."
"Me neither." Parker laughed, "Mr. Schuester cornered me after school and asked me to join." That made Tate laugh.
"What were you doing when he cornered you?"
"I was singing." The girl ducked her head a bit, reminiscing on that day, "And playing the piano."
"I have yet to hear you play the piano." Tate complained jokingly.
"I'll play piano for you when you sing for me." Parker offered. The basketball player looked at her suspiciously for a moment.
"Deal." He agreed somewhat reluctantly.
"I kind of want pancakes." Parker said as she returned her attention to the menu.
"I guess this is all kind of lame after eating your mother's cooking your whole life." Tate glanced around.
"She's my foster mother." The redhead corrected, trying to remain casual about it, "And I've only been with them for about four months."
"Oh. I didn't know that." He looked at her solemnly, "Are they your first foster family?" He, of course, knew the typical t.v foster kid stereotype. Parker nodded. "What was your original family like?"
"I don't know." Parker half-sighed, half-smiled, "It's hard to remember and it doesn't really matter now." Parker propped her elbow on the table and observed her lunch partner, "What about you? What's your family like?"
"Normal, I guess." He shrugged, "We're not very interesting. I've got a mom and a dad, they both work."
"Any siblings?"
"Two brothers. My older brother, Anthony, is playing football at Ohio State, he's a freshman there. And my little brother, Cameron, is ten." He had a certain smile in his eyes when he mentioned his little brother that made Parker's heart swell.
"You get along with him?" She asked.
"Yeah, he's kind of like the world to me, you know?" It slipped out before he thought about it. He knew that Parker wouldn't understand, that all she had was Quinn and the new little Whitney, neither of whom were related to her by blood. He didn't want to hurt her feelings with his unthinking rhetorical question and he could see her looking at him with deadened eyes.
Tate opened his mouth to take it back but was surprised when Parker said, "Yeah."
Gasp! So I realize that in all reality this school year has been going on for a looong time. So here's what's going to happen: I am going to finish up this school year in the next couple of chapters. I am NOT going to create a sequel for this because they never get as much traffic. This will just continue with the next year or maybe even that summer (OPINIONS on that matter are appreciated). There may be a break between where the "season" would have ended, we'll see. So stay tuned and keep reading!
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