TROUVAILLE | BROOKE DAVIS

eight.

"Do I have to go?" Parker asked as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hated dressing up and most of all, she hated wearing pink. Jesse insisted that he wanted to go to Dan Scott's Kiss-Ass-Party, and that meant Grace and Parker were being dragged along.

"Yes," Grace said forcing Parker to face her. Her sister leaned close and began to apply mascara to her eyes. After a moment, Grace pulled away a satisfied smile on her face.

"You do know that Jake probably isn't going to be there, and even if he was, he's not talking to me," Parker told her older sister with a laugh,

"So?" Grace said, "You're representing our family and I cannot have you going in there looking a mess."

Parker rolled her eyes, "Thanks.

There was a knock at the door, and eager to get away from her sister's hovering, Parker sprinted downstairs and opened the door without checking to see who was there.

"Haley?" Parker said surprised.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Parker nodded, stepping aside so that Haley could enter.

"What's going on?"

Haley exhaled loudly in an attempt to compose herself, "I think I like Nathan."

Parker blinked, trying to process the information. She had thought Haley was being nice to Nathan, she totally hadn't expected for Haley to develop a crush on him.

"Are you sure?" Parker asked, slightly hoping that Haley was joking.

"I've thought this out a lot," Haley said, and Parker knew that Haley had. Every move her friend made was calculated and thought through.

"Okay," Parker said nodding slowly.

"Okay?" Haley asked unsure.

"I'm not mad at you," Parker said, "We don't control who we like."

Haley exhaled, "Really?"

Parker grinned as she nodded, "Really."

"Thank you so much Parker," Haley said as she took a step forward and threw her arms around Parker, drawing her into a tight hug. Parker smiled as she hugged Haley.

"You just have to know Lucas won't like this," Parker said as she pulled away.

"I know," Haley said, "I needed to tell you first to weigh your reaction."

Parker laughed, "Haley Bob, you know I'll support you in anything you do, even if it's something as crazy as liking Nathan Scott."

Haley laughed, "Thanks Parker."

"I'd love to talk about this more, but I've got to go," Parker said as she heard Grace's heels clicking on the steps.

"Tell me how it goes," Haley said as she made her way to the door.

Grace insisted that they take her car and Jesse insisted that he get shotgun, so Parker sat in the backseat, annoyed. When they arrived at the Scoot residence, Parker sighed aloud.

"Okay ground rules," Grace said turning in her seat, "Jesse, don't kiss Nathan's ass. It looks bad."

Jesse opened his mouth, but Grace had already moved on to Parker, "Please don't sit in a corner."

"No promises," Parker said forcing a smile.

Grace sighed and checked her appearance once more before getting out of the car. Jesse got out and opened Parker's door for her, smiling at her.

"Thank you for coming," he said.

"You know I'd do anything for you," Parker said kissing Jesse's cheek. She pulled away and wiped of the mark her lipstick had left. Jesse extended his arm to her and Parker accepted. They caught up to Grace and walked together toward the front door of the Scott house.