✧*̥˚ chapter four: falling all in you *̥˚✧
continuation from the last chapter.
Jesse glanced at Parker and then checked the rearview mirror, observing Evelyn sleeping as Parker drove in the direction to his house, "Nothing happened, right? She didn't get hurt in there while she was..." Jesse's words trailed off, but Parker understood what he meant.
"No, I don't think so. When I got to her, Fin and Hazel were with her and you know those girls, they're good - they'd never let her even be in a situation where something like that could happen."
Parker was so sure about it too. He wasn't so oblivious to understand the dynamics between the girls he was friends with. They often voiced out their opinions on matters, especially supporting other girls, even if they didn't like them. It was something he admired about them.
Upon reaching his house, Jesse turned to him and asked, "You'll text me when you're back home? And check on her in the morning?" Parker nodded, and Jesse visibly relaxed. Opening the car door, Jesse said, "See you at school on Monday. Thanks for the ride, I owe you."
Parker knew Jesse didn't owe him anything, but he didn't say that. He would never let Jesse repay him for anything. After Jesse went inside, Parker turned the car around and headed to Evelyn's place.
When Parker arrived at her house, he noticed that the main light was still on, indicating that Evelyn's mom was awake. He knew that Evelyn would likely get in trouble for this, but he couldn't take her back to his place. It didn't feel right. His priority was getting her settled in and ensuring she was safe with her mom.
With some effort, he helped a now somewhat awake Evelyn out of the car and guided her to the front door.
He remembered Lily telling him about the key and was about to make his way until he heard Evelyn mumble about the key being in her pocket and how her mom would be angry. Parker gently took the key from her as she struggled to retrieve it.
After a bit of fumbling, he managed to open the door and led Evelyn inside.
Evelyn's mom, Brooke, stood up from the couch as soon as she saw them, her surprise evident upon seeing her daughter's state. "Eve? Hey," she quickly approached them, wrapping her arm around Evelyn's waist to support her.
Taking Evelyn from Parker, she guided her down to her room. Parker followed closely, making sure Evelyn didn't stumble. "Oh - you are so in trouble, young lady." Brooke muttered, and Parker couldn't help but smile.
"I'm really sorry, I had no idea she was..." Parker hesitated to say the word aloud but felt that she understood what he meant as she looked at him with a concerned expression. "I'm just glad I could bring her home in time," he admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
"It's okay, Parker," Her voice rasped once they had settled Evelyn into bed. She watched as Evelyn moved to lie on her side and closed her eyes, quickly succumbing to sleep. Brooke then placed a bin beside the bed, just in case Evelyn felt sick, before turning to look at Parker. "Thank you." Parker nodded before making his way to leave, but Brooke stopped him.
"Has she been staying with you?" She asked curiously, watching as Parker shook his head with a frown. Once realizing that he was telling the truth, she sighed, "She's been staying somewhere these past few nights, do you know if...?"
Parker knew what she was asking, it was if she found someone new that she was staying with, a new boyfriend or even just a friend. He truthfully didn't know, but he knew that he wasn't in a position to ask Evelyn himself.
"Never-mind."
"She was at my door the other morning, asked me to take her home to get changed and I took her to school. That's all I know." Parker let out, his voice small but careful as he took in Brooke's faltered gaze to the floor.
Thankfully, she dropped the subject after that and instead - having remembered that she hadn't checked up on him recently - asked, "Parker, how have you been? You know, since you moved out?"
Her concern was evident, and Parker recognized it all too well. He glanced back as Brooke left Evelyn's door open and walked to the couch, gesturing for him to join her for a chat. With nothing pressing to do, he followed and took a seat across from her, studying her expression lightly. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her eyes squinted slightly as she waited for his response.
"I'm good," he replied with a shrug. "It's quiet but I like it. Thank you, again, for setting me up - I didn't get chance to say it before but I really appreciated it."
She rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Oh, please, it was nothing," she then took it back when she remembered something and playfully said with a smirk, "On second thought, you owe me big time," gesturing with her hands to emphasize that.
Parker knew she was referring to the challenges of finding him a place when he was too young to live alone or rent a place. It had been harder for her, since he wasn't emancipated, which meant she had to check on him occasionally or have someone from social services do it.
He watched as a tired smile formed on her lips, and he could tell she was getting sleepy. "If you're tired, Mrs. Baker, I can leave," he offered.
She shook her head calmly, stopping him. "What did I say about calling me that? It makes me sound old." He chuckled as she shuddered dramatically, as if the word was the most terrible thing she had ever heard. He knew she preferred being called by her first name.
"I mean, you are kinda getting wrinkles now," he teased. Her gasp was audible as she held her hand to her heart in mock offense. Parker knew that if he were sitting closer, he'd have been pushed off the couch. He continued with a wide smile, "But, nevertheless, you look gorgeous as always."
"Oh, honey, don't even try to sweet-talk me. I know I'm aging like a fine wine, but you can't flatter me that easily."
They shared a laugh, as they often did. After a few moments of comfortable silence, he saw her gaze drift toward Evelyn's room, and her smile faded into a sad frown. He knew why, and it didn't take much to figure it out.
"Eve said there was some... problems with her bio-mom, when she came to mine to get a ride to school the other day and I thought it was weird but when I asked, I knew something must've happened." he informed her. He couldn't keep it a secret, especially since he knew Evelyn had fallen back into her old habits.
Brooke glanced at him before looking down at the floor. "I can't control what the courts want, I can only do what I think is best for her. I just thought that maybe she'd want to get to know her birth-mom, at least try to connect with her."
"She really doesn't want to lose you, you know. That's why she's acting out like this," Parker said, curious to know if Brooke had come to the same conclusion. "She's scared that she'll lose you forever. She loves you, and she doesn't want to ruin that." Brooke appeared lost in thought, her frown deepening as she contemplated whatever was on her mind.
"I know," she muttered before suddenly straightening up. Sensing that delving further into the topic would only bring sadness, Parker changed the subject.
"I should probably go—"
"Oh no, you're not leaving until the sun comes up, mister. I won't have your blood on my hands. Since it's the weekend tomorrow, you can sleep in if the boys don't wake you up. Maybe even have breakfast with us like old times?" she suggested.
It was late, and Parker could see that it was already dark outside through the window next to the kitchen sink. Brooke had always emphasized the dangers of driving at night, often pointing out the higher likelihood of accidents. He usually disregarded it, but he knew she wouldn't physically let him leave if he tried this time.
"Thank you, Mrs—" She glared at him, pointing a warning finger, prompting him to correct himself with a smile. "Brooke. Thank you."
She smiled and nodded before she got up from the couch begrudgingly, "Let me get you some blankets."
Parker smiled at her thankfully, "Thank you."
Eventually, he was by himself in the darkness of the living room, laying upon the couch with his head rested upon a comfortable pillow. His eyes were closed but thoughts wrangled around his mind. All that he could think about was Jennifer. Her laugh, her smile, those beautiful eyes of hers, he couldn't help but blush just at the thought of her.
And then, he fell asleep.
It seemed to have been the most sleep he'd gotten since he moved to his apartment, and the most peaceful. Not a single sound of cars outside the window, or noisy neighbors arguing outside his door. It was something that he didn't even realize he'd craved until hours had passed into the morning and he felt his phone buzzing.
He answered it nonchalantly, without even looking at the Caller ID, "Hello?" His voice was raspy, broken as he lifted himself up from the couch, his right hand pinching the top of his nose as he felt a sharp pain through his head as he tried to push it away.
"Listen, Cap, last night at the party..." It was Jamie. And from his tone of voice which had been a mixture of guilt and sheepish, Parker could tell it would something bad. Continuing, Jamie muttered, "I may have challenged the Panthers' to a rematch—" Parker groaned but Jamie quickly interrupted, "But it was an empty invitation and it was only because they said it was luck, and uh..."
Sighing Parker just muttered, "When is it? Or where?" He didn't have the energy to be mad or disappointed. He was so tired that he just went with whatever would go on.
"River Court, 10am. The boys are here, couple of the girls too."
Parker nodded to himself, glancing down at his watch to check the time. It was 8.46am. He then glanced up around the living room which had been empty, as well as the kitchen. All the doors were shut in the Baker's home. It was unusual.
"Yeah, James. I'll meet you there, Buddy." He muttered before he stood up from the couch, and looked around for his shoes - seeing them just by the front door. Brooke must've moved them.
"Okay, Captain. See you at the court." With that Parker hung up, his eyes still filtering around the home that he could see. As quietly as he could, he folded the blanket on the couch and neatly placed it atop of the pillow and then padded his way over to Evelyn's door which was beside the kitchen.
Softly, he knocked on the door - hoping not to be too loud. But there was no answer.
"She was up all night, throwing up. She's probably still asleep."
His head whipped to the sound of Brooke's voice as she trailed down the stairs already dressed and ready to go. He wondered where she'd be going on a Saturday but remembered she still worked at Karen's Café, "I just wanted to check on her before I go, make sure she's okay?" But he didn't want to go in without her answering, just in case.
"Want me to check for you?"
"If you don't mind." He answered, stepping away from the door as he let her pass him.
She passed him a small smile and opened the door, peeking through, "She's good, she's literally sleeping like a baby in there." She laughed adoringly before she moved back, keeping the door slightly ajar.
Parker was happy with that and nodded at her before moving slowly to make his way to his shoes, "Well, then, I should probably go, the boys and I have a game today."
"On a Saturday?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
Parker smiled and then chuckled, "Who would've thought? But, it's just a friendly at the River Court... for practice?" He said unconvincingly.
Brooke raised her eyebrows at that and smirked, "Right. Well have fun."
Not wanting to embarrass himself, Parker just passed her a kind smile and immediately turned away to put his shoes on. Once he did, he made sure to grab his car keys and went to open the door, "See you later, Mrs. Baker!" He muttered before he left, briefly hearing her bid her goodbyes.
"Parker!" Another voice shouted after him as he closed the front door and he followed the small voice to an open window, which he'd known was the room of the two boys, Evelyn's little brothers. He'd only known it was their room considering the amount of times he used to sleep in there when Evelyn's parents knew he was staying the night, so that they knew he wasn't sleeping in Evelyn's bedroom.
Grinning broadly at the sight of Jude and Davis, Parker greeted them with a casual "Hey." He observed them as they exchanged animated waves before diving into a conversation about a video game they used to play together. A pang of regret swept over Parker, realizing he had missed out on those moments. Leaning against the wall by the driveway, he joined in, listening and engaging with them for a few minutes.
But as the moment drew to a close, he knew he had to leave. After sharing words with them, he stood at the doorstep, gazing up at their faces, and slowly began giving his goodbyes. He inched backward toward the end of the driveway, reaching his car, and playfully reminded the boys, "Make sure you're at Uncle Jamie's game on Friday. Tell your folks we won't accept 'no' as an answer, alright?" Pointing at them with a grin, he waited for their eager nods before slipping into his car and driving off.
When Parker got to River Court, he was surprised to see that it was already full of students of Tree Hill. Most of them were athletes but there were also a couple kids that he recognized from his AP classes. One face that stood out to him was Jennifer.
Beautiful as the day before, and probably every day for the rest of her life, Jennifer sat beside Finley and Hazel on the metal outdoor bleachers. They were animatedly talking amongst each other about the party the day before.
He walked toward them but when the thought of the awkwardness - especially with Finley and Hazel there too - overwhelmed him, he directed his walk toward Jesse first. Jesse was sat at the very edge of the bleachers by himself, head down and gaze strictly upon the screen of his phone.
Parker ruffled his hair playfully, only to have his hand quickly swatted away, before finally sitting beside him, "Am I dreaming? Is my little brother Jesse actually awake at this ungodly hour?" He teased, knowing that usually Jesse would stay in bed until the afternoon on the weekends.
Jesse looked up at him and shook his head with a chuckle, "Shut up. I heard there was gonna be an off-court Raven's game. You know I'd never miss any of your games." He muttered genuinely before his eyes went back to his phone.
Parker smiled and patted his brother's back before Jesse glanced back up at him, "Do you mind if Marcus takes me to his and back home?" He asked, "He offered when he didn't think you were coming, and I haven't seen Mrs. Rayans in ages."
Parker nodded. He didn't mind that at all, "She's been asking about you for weeks, Parker, it's so nice to see you. Oh and how's my favourite boy?" He teased playfully, his smile turning into a smirk before he heard his name from behind him. He glanced toward the boys of the team before he muttered a farewell to Jesse, "See you in a bit, alright?" He walked toward the boys with a wide smile on his face as usual.
Jamie was the first to greet him, "I'm so glad you're not mad. I swear I didn't think they'd agree to it, I didn't even mean to make it sound like an offer—" Parker laughed at the growing nerves he could see within Jamie who lightened up and raised his eyebrows at him, "This isn't funny, Parker."
"Come on, it's a little funny. You're so worked up," Parker smiled reassuringly, "It's just a rematch. We're good enough to beat them a second time, and even if we don't, we're still ahead of 'em." He stated, his smile radiating confidence as though it was second nature to him.
But it worked because Jamie straightened up and put on a smile, feeling his worries lift away from him as he nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I don't know why I was even nervous." Parker knew why but he didn't say anything, he just smiled and nodded before Jamie asked, "So, are you playing or?" Parker was about to nod and agree but then he noticed Jennifer looking at him and smiled at her, happy to see that he'd been the focus of her attention, even just for a small moment.
"I think I might sit this one out."
Jamie smirked as he glanced between him before he let out a small chuckle, "Alright then, I'll put Rafe in. I'll let you... get to know the new girl better." He winked at him before patting him on the shoulder and then leaving him to join the team back on court. Parker only rolled his eyes and laughed before doing just that. He walked to sit just behind the girls, hoping that eventually Finley and Hazel would soon move away so that he could talk to her.
It wasn't an abnormal occurrence, for the both of them to find themselves glancing at each other in the meantime though, while the basketball team awaited the arrival of the Panthers but it was just as obvious to everyone else.
Eventually Finley and Hazel had decided to join the rest of the cheerleaders who were discussing whether or not they'd do their usual cheering even for a silly out-of-school game, and Parker found himself taking over, sitting right by Jennifer.
"I'm sorry, for leaving you last night," He started, his voice genuine and desperate to get a genuine reaction back.
Jennifer passed him a small smile, "It's okay, Marcus kept me entertained until I had to leave." She said, and immediately Parker's smile slightly faltered in guilt.
He wandered his eyes to his best friend who nodded his head at him in acknowledgement when he noticed him, before Marcus' focus went to Jennifer and a bright smile washed over his face. Jennifer raised her eyebrows in amusement before she whispered to Parker, "Don't worry, it was fine. All we did was talk about Anime, I don't even watch Anime."
Parker let out a relieving chuckle and then grinned at the mention of the genre Marcus so very much liked, "It's his favorite genre. I only know a couple shows from when I've watched it with him. I get why he's obsessed and honestly he gets so happy with it, I don't ever say anything bad about it to him."
"He talked about you like that too, you know, after you left with your brother and Eve," She mentioned in curiosity.
Clearly so, there had been a deep bond between Marcus and Parker that she didn't really see with anybody else, despite the fact that they were practically opposites other than the sport that they both play. Parker raised his eyebrows in concern, wondering what Marcus might've said, the boy rarely had a filter on him.
"If he told you about the time I got arrested, honestly - it was an honest mistake—"
"He just said how much of a good brother that you are to him, even though you guys weren't really close at the beginning," Jennifer's small smile quickly turned to a curious one as she squinted her eyes at him, "You got arrested?"
Parker smiled, "It's a story for another day. You know, when I'm sure I can trust you with such a secret." He said it so playfully that Jennifer only nodded with a soft nervous smile, staring at him with a gaze that had screamed I have a crush on you.
Parker gazed at her with the same look as he nudged her playfully, "But you know, if you tell me the biggest secret about you, maybe I'll reconsider and return the favor right at this moment."
"You couldn't handle my biggest secret." Jennifer remarked with a playful smirk before she trained her eyes to the court, having noticed a few new faces.
Her eyes lingered upon the familiar players of the Panthers, all dressed and ready to play but not before the usual trash talk toward the Ravens. It was baffling to her that the two teams even agreed to play each other again out of spite from the last game when they hated each other.
She watched along with Parker as the point guard of the Panthers had begun to try and beef with Jamie, which immediately triggered a protective reaction from Parker who stood up abruptly, "I should probably uh - intervene." He let his hand softly graze Jennifer's shoulder as he smiled and then nodded at her, before walking to Jamie and the Panthers point guard, Wilkes.
When Wilkes had started to get too close, enough to initiate a push, Parker put himself in front of Jamie, lightly pushing him behind him which only caused Wilkes to laugh, "Wow, so Scott got himself a bodyguard, huh? Do you really think you can scare me?"
Parker rolled his eyes, "Save that energy for the game, asshole," Before he turned to his players to make sure that they were all alright and ready. Then he turned back to Wilkes who was ready to throw another insult at him, "Pre-game smack talk is for kindergarteners, not sophomores." With that, Wilkes shut up and signaled his team to get in position and Parker glanced at Jamie, "If you don't beat their asses, I will." He muttered in annoyance.
Jamie smiled before he nodded and then asked, "You mind keeping score?" Parker immediately shook his head, he definitely didn't mind it, "I'll do you proud, Cap." Jamie muttered before patting Parker's back and moving back to join the rest of the boys on the court. But before he fully turned away he passed Parker a confident wink.
Parker shook his head and walked back to Jennifer, a small smile on his face as he approached her and sat beside her. It was only just then that he realized that she was getting cold. Visible goosebumps rose upon the soft skin of her arms and he tugged off his jacket, passing it to her.
She looked up at him with a grateful smile and took it before placing it on, immediately feeling the warmth as it engulfed her, "Thank you." She muttered and he nodded at her as though to wave it off like it didn't mean anything. When she looked back to see the game starting, she leaned closer to him without looking away, "So, what's your prediction?" She asked.
Leaning forward, Parker softly but confidently whispered, "We're going to win."
Raising her eyebrows, Jennifer turned to him, "You seem so sure."
"You saw us play yesterday, you tell me what you think."
Jennifer thought about it, remembering the way that the boys had played the day before, and then she shrugged, "I don't actually know enough about basketball to make a prediction. But I'd say we have a pretty good chance."
She watched as Parker's smile widened, and finally when the game started, his attention gravitated back to the court. A lingering thought of her stuck to the back of his mind as he watched the game and kept score, and she couldn't help but glance at him every now and then to watch him light up at every basket the Raven's made.
Eventually, the game neared the end and the score was tied. The timer was edging toward it's limit as the boys continued to play. Jamie had the ball and was dribbling towards the Panthers' side of the court.
With just seconds remaining, he faked a pass and took a shot from the three-point line. The ball flew through the air and hit the rim, but bounced back out. Everyone held their breath as it hung in the air for what felt like an eternity before Andre jumped up and tipped it in. The ball went through the hoop, and the surrounding teenagers erupted into cheers.
Parker jumped up with a proud smile. The Raven's won the game... again. With the final score of 57-55. He glanced toward the cheerleaders who were cheering for the win before he turned toward Jennifer and with an over-soaring excitement, he hugged her and then released her once he'd realized what he'd done and blushed in embarrassment, "I am so sorry." Jennifer just passed him a nervous smile.
At the same time, as Savannah had been cheering along with the girls, she'd fallen back and tripped over Jesse as he quickly caught her with a glare, "Can't you watch where you're going?" He muttered in anger before softly pushing her up so that she was upright. He looked around the floor for his phone when it'd fallen but couldn't see it.
Savannah knelt down and picked it up from beside her trainers and tensed her jaw in annoyance when she passed it over aggressively to him, "Jerk, it was an accident." She muttered before she glared back at him and walked away, finding Jennifer so that she could rant to her about it. When she went over to her, she saw how close Parker and Jennifer were standing and with a smirk interrupted them.
"Sorry to disturb your romance," She smiled sarcastically as Jennifer immediately glanced at her with a questioning look, "I'd like to borrow my sister back."
Parker chuckled and nodded, "As long as you promise to bring her back after?" He tried to compromise. It was to no avail however, because Savannah only crossed her arms and glared at him so that he'd leave, "Or not." Getting the message, Parker passed Jennifer a smile and shy wave before he left her alone with Savannah.
"What's wrong?" Jennifer asked and immediately Savannah groaned, reminded of her two-second interaction with Jesse.
Meanwhile, Parker had found himself on his phone, checking through his messages from the guys. A couple of them were informing him of this particular game that he was already at, others were questions about the practice on Tuesday. He didn't bother replying to them just yet, not when he'd noticed someone approaching him from the corner of his eye.
He looked up at Lily who smiled at him in greeting. He didn't remember seeing her, he was sure that she wasn't there during the game, "Hey, when did you get here?" He asked.
She raised her eyebrows at him, "I've been here the whole time, J.P. You were just too wrapped up in love that you didn't notice me. Truly, I am heartbroken." She muttered dramatically, holding her hand to her heart as though he'd hurt her.
He blushed and passed her a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry."
Lily dismissed his apology, "I'm kidding. I got here like five minutes ago because I couldn't get out of working this morning to support you guys, I actually still need to go back because I kinda left without telling anybody and I'm sure Aunt Haley will probably find out around now." Parker shook his head with a laugh. Of course she did. Lily then became serious and said, "I want to talk to you about something. Something you said at the party."
Parker thought back to the party, trying to remember what he might've said, but he couldn't remember much about it other than every interaction he had with Jennifer and when he took Evelyn home, it wasn't particularly an eventful night for him.
When Lily noticed his confusion, she stepped closer to him in attempt to keep the conversation private and away from prying ears, "You have an apartment? I mean, you don't live with your parents and Jesse?"
With a gulp, Parker's gaze and smile faded, "I - uh, that's not..." He wondered if he should even say anything at all about it. But then he thought about how he could trust Lily. He trusted her already just about the same as Marcus, and Marcus knew about his apartment. What difference would it make really if Lily knew? "It's new, I only moved in a couple months ago." He admitted quietly before he continued, "But we can't talk about it here."
Lily nodded, taking in the new information, "Okay. In that case, let's head back to the café and talk about it." When Parker's gaze drifted over to Jennifer, Lily rolled her eyes with a teasing smile, "I overheard them earlier, don't worry, they're going there too." He chuckled at her, though his gaze had been shy. He turned around to face the direction of the walk to Karen's café, and Lily had followed him, walking in step beside him.
"You know we're gonna have to find a table furthest away from everyone right?"
i'm a little late. sorry.
but hey! you get to see future brooke in this one! :) i've decided that i'm going to make her run for mayor in this spin-off, since i'm pretty sure i heard sophia bush once say that it was what she wanted brooke to be in an interview once. though i might've imagined it. either or, that's who she'll be.
remember to vote and comment :)