Author's Note: A really lovely request from wish you knew 222, which was "How about one where Eliot is jealous. The team goes out and some guy takes an interest in Parker." I hope you like this one! I had a lot of fun writing it and obviously, this is set before they become a couple. The song used for the dance is "The River Flows in You" by Yiruma. It's a gorgeous song and it fits this chapter perfectly. Please enjoy!

It's a rare night for the team.

Tonight, is a night to celebrate. A night where everyone can let their worries leave them and just have fun.

Tonight is a huge night.

Eliot is not looking forward to it. Nate has insisted that they go to this party formally and that means Eliot has to wear a suit. He hates suits. He feels constricted in a suit. You can't punch a guy in a suit.

And yet, here he is.

Waiting with Hardison and Nate for Sophie and Parker to emerge from the bathroom where they have been for the past hour.

"Nate, man," Hardison groans. "Can we go yet?" He checks his watch. "By the time those two are done, the whole party's gonna be over."

"Give them a few more minutes." Nate replies, but Eliot can tell that he too is becoming restless.

Ten minutes pass until finally, they hear the door open and Sophie excitedly rushes out. Nate stands to greet her, but Sophie motions for him to sit down. Eliot has to say that she looks even more beautiful than usual. She's wearing a strapless red gown with white jewels surrounding her body right under her chest. Elegant white flowers sweep down the right side of the gown and connect to an opening where the silky red material pulls up, revealing white lace bedecked with gold in it. Her hair has been curled and then placed into a bun and she's wearing a long diamond pendant that Nate gave her for her birthday with matching earrings. Eliot can tell that Nate is blown away by her appearance and he smirks at that. He finds it funny that a guy could become so flustered at the sight of a pretty girl. Sophie really had Nate tied around her pinky.

"May I present the lovely Parker?" She begins to clap, but Eliot hears Parker call out:

"I'm not coming!"

Sophie sighs.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asks.

"I look ridiculous!" Eliot chuckles. "Why can't I wear sweat pants?"

"Because I didn't just spend over an hour helping you put on that dress just so you could go to this party is sweats!"

He could hear Parker sigh and then he heard her slowly walk down the hall. She reluctantly appeared before all of them and as soon as Eliot laid eyes on her, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

"I look funny," She mumbles, looking at the ground and Eliot wanted to protest. She looked like a—angel was the only word he come up with. She was wearing a strapless turquoise blue gown with jewels embedded in the corset. Past the corset, the shiny material was pulled up with crystals holding it into place. The pulled up part reveled a silky blue underneath. Her hair was down but had been curled as well and it appeared to glow in the light. She was wearing a diamond chocker and matching bracelet. Eliot thought she even outshone Sophie when it came to her beauty.

He realized with a start that he was checking Parker out and for some reason, that didn't sound odd to him. In fact, he felt like he wanted to be with Parker for the rest of the night—her and her alone.

He quickly then felt startled at the obvious change in himself.

"You look gorgeous, Parker." Nate informs her, taking Sophie by the hand. "And we all need to go or we'll miss the party all together."

Sophie nods eagerly and Nate escorts her outside. Hardison follows behind them. Eliot is stunned by the beauty that is front of him and he doesn't know what to say or do. Parker looks at him for a moment and Eliot feels a spark in him, urging him to kiss Parker.

Kiss Parker?

That thought—strange as it may be—sounds wonderful. He wants to kiss her, to hold her, comfort her, but most of all be with her. He can't believe that a simple dress could inspire all these feelings in him. It was like Parker had him under some spell, maybe she did, but Eliot didn't care.

"Ready to go?" Eliot asks, but his tone of voice is full of shock and admiration. He doesn't deserve to be talking to this angel on Earth.

"Y-yeah," She answers and he offers a hand. She stares at it for a few seconds and then takes it as he escorts her to the car. The whole way to the party, he stares at her, trying to memorize every detail of her. He wants to forever remember the way she looks tonight. He wants it to be engrained into his memory, eternally.

Too soon the car came to a stop and they all got out.

"Well," Nate began as they all stood before him. "This your night, do with it as you will because tomorrow we are working on a huge job that'll take who knows how long."

"So, party!" Sophie exclaims as she pulled Nate into the crowded hotel ballroom. After a few seconds, Eliot and Parker were the only ones left.

"So . . ." She mumbles. "Should we go in?" Her gaze met his again and his heart skipped a beat. She had to be the most beautiful thing on this Earth.

"Yes," He answers and he begins to lead the way.

The ballroom is packed, not that he notices. His eyes refuse to look at anything but Parker and he doesn't even care about what that might mean in the long run. All that matters right now is her. She is his world right now. The candles and jewels that adorn the regal ballroom look pathetic compared to her.

"Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn so bright," He quotes, watching her in the candlelight. Romeo and Juliet had been his mother's favorite play and as a child he had never understood it. Who falls in love with a girl in one night? It had to be impossible and yet, Eliot knew that he done just that.

He was in love with Parker.

He breaks out of his silent reverie to find that another man has also taken an interest in Parker. He's talking to her and Eliot can tell that this man wants Parker for himself. A strange anger boils within himself. He clenches his fists by his side and thinks about punching this stranger out.

His body moves before his mind can think.

"And as I was saying—"

"Parker," He greets, pulling her close to him. "There you are." He smiles evilly at the guy who even dared to consider flirting with his girl.

"Eliot?" She questions. He says nothing, only keeps his grip on Parker. Soon enough, the guy is gone and Eliot is still holding Parker.

"What were you doing?" He questioned.

"I believe he was . . ." She thought for a second, trying to think of Sophie's word. "Flirting with me and then you showed up and now he's gone." She looks up at him and he loves the way her eyes sparkle in the light. "What are you doing?"

A song begins with a slow, beautiful medley. On the dance floor, various couples begin to dance and Eliot can see Nate and Sophie dancing, both of them as happy as can be.

He bows and asks:

"May I have this dance?"

Parker, speechless, nods.

He whisks her away to the dance floor. The two of them sway side to side as the music seems to eliminate everyone and just leaves them, swaying on the ballroom dance floor.

He admits to himself that he was jealous of that guy. He feels anger boil within him just thinking about any guy getting within five feet of Parker. That being said, he also realizes his feelings for her are more than just friendship.

He is in love with Parker.

She places her head down on his shoulder and he feels happiness spread within himself. To think that her touch could cause so much change in him astonishes him. But, he also doesn't care anymore. He doesn't care about the "why" anymore. All he cares about is the girl that is in front of him. She is what he fights for—she and she alone.

The sweet melody plays on.

He won't tell her now; she isn't ready. But one day, when the time is right, he will tell her about his feelings for her. He'll tell her about how he fell in love with her that one magical night when they went to this party. He'll tell her about the jealousy he felt when he saw that guy flirting with her. But most of all, he'll tell her about the feeling he's having right now dancing with her. He'll tell her about the music that's playing and how he thinks it suits her.

And after all that is done, he'll tell her that he thanks Sophie everyday for helping her into the dress that made him realize his feelings for her.

Author's Note: Review/Request please!