this chapters is in three parts
(figured i'd give a reading break after each 2K-5K words, but decided to keep this as one chapter due to the fact that it actually wasn't planned to be this long but i can't really filter in the rest of my planned chapters if i let this particular one overlap.)
i will edit out the chapter titles in the next two chapters so that it only shows as '—,, vii.' and then '¹/²/³' to make it easier.
thanks for understanding ✨
✧*̥˚ chapter seven: looking for more. *̥˚✧
[part one]
Every year, or since Jamie had been in Tree Hill High, the Scott's continued the tradition of hosting an appreciation party for the basketball team at Tree Hill High School, the same as some parents of the other players on the team. All the players, as well as their families were invited with the additions of friends as well as extended families for some.
Parker had been the only player invited that hadn't come with his family.
He found himself seated at the kids' table, flanked by Jamie and Lily, both of whom seemed to be stuck with the same fate. He didn't mind it much, knowing a couple of the kids at the table, including Evelyn's younger brothers, Jude and Davis. However, they were engrossed in a rapid-fire conversation with another child, leaving Parker without much to say.
It was when Parker decided he'd just talk to Lily and Jamie instead when the both of them were called to help Haley with serving food.
"I can help...too." He offered but Haley didn't hear as she walked away and Jamie and Lily had followed her, leaving him to be the only near-adult at the table.
Just as he came to the conclusion that maybe it was for the best that he stayed, to keep an careful eye on the kids seeing as he was the oldest there, his gaze wandered across the room and fell upon Jennifer.
Well, of course it did. Somehow he managed to find her in almost every room she was in. It was almost like a superpower.
She looked stunning in a black dress, her blonde hair styled to perfection. Parker's breath caught in his throat at the sight of her and he felt his brain turn to mush. But then when he noticed that she was beginning to look his way, he quickly averted his eyes, pretending to be interested in the kids conversations at the table.
He listened in to their conversation, which revolved around video games like Minecraft—topics that Parker, at seventeen, couldn't contribute much to. But among the boys who were talking about it, he noticed a young girl sitting quietly beside Jamie's empty chair.
She appeared to be the oldest among the kids, around twelve years old, and she had been studying Parker intently. Something he hadn't noticed until now. He smiled awkwardly and held his hand up to wave but it faltered when her expression changed.
"You look like my dad," she suddenly remarked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she assessed his features.
With a chuckle, Parker asked curiously with a charming smile, "Oh yeah? Who's the lucky guy?"
"He couldn't make it because he's working, but he's pretty famous," she replied matter-of-factly.
Parker instantly knew who her father was. Jamie had mentioned earlier that his dad wouldn't be home until later due to work commitments, and Parker was aware that Jamie had a little sister. It also helped that she had the same exact features as Jamie.
He smiled, "Oh, you're um, Jamie's superstar little sister Lydia, right?" He watched as her eyes lightened up, happy to know her brother had spoken good about her.
Lydia beamed with pride, "Yep, that's me. I'm the coolest little sister and the best wingwoman in the world." She seemed very proud of that fact. Her eyes naturally glanced toward where Jamie had been serving a couple of guests while talking to them before they rested back onto Parker, her smile and bright eyes still evident.
Parker raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Really? How so?" She paused for a moment before she remembered something. Just moments before, she had noticed Parker's gaze soften and stay focused on only one person in the entire room. She'd known exactly who it was out of curiosity, and she was going to do exactly what she had already done plenty of times for Jamie with Madison.
She leaned in conspiratorially, her eyes twinkling. "I just am and I can prove it to you."
"Okay," Parker said with a grin, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes squinted slightly in anticipation as she looked behind to find Jennifer. And when she had, she looked back at Parker who noticed it straight away. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he wondered if he really was that obvious. Did this eleven year old know? Does that mean that everyone else would know too?
"You like that girl over there, don't you?" Lydia asked, her gaze flicking towards Jennifer. "I can get her to come over here and talk to you."
Parker's eyes widened, and he stammered, "Huh? Wait, no—I don't, wait, Lydia—" But before he could finish, Lydia was on her feet and heading toward Jennifer who immediately noticed her and widened her smile in greeting.
To avoid the embarrassment of being pointed out to the girl he had a crush on, Parker pulled his phone out, checked to see if Jesse had returned his texts yet - which he hadn't since two days ago - and began scrolling through Instagram absentmindedly, fighting off the urge to see what Lydia and Jennifer were talking about.
But then, moments later, he couldn't resist anymore and looked up just in time for Jennifer to approach him, a charming smile on her face once she realized how red Parker's cheeks were, "Hey," She muttered before she sat beside him, "Some kid promised me ten bucks and a free hot chocolate on the house at my next visit to Karen's Café if I sat with you and pretended to be interested for the next five to ten minutes."
"Of course she did," Parker laughed, trying to see where Lydia had disappeared off to, finding her now with Jamie - pulling at him for something, "Way cuter and cooler than Jamie huh? And strategic too. Think she'd make a good point guard one day?" He asked curiously as he tried to imagine it.
Jennifer shrugged, "When she's not like three foot five, sure," As soon as she had finished talking, a new song began to play through the speakers of the lakehouse and immediately, Jennifer perked up, "Oh my god, this is my favorite song!" She widened her eyes at Parker, her smile so wide that he couldn't look away before she shyly asked him, "Would you... maybe want to dance?"
Parker glanced back at the kids' table. "I gotta keep an eye on the kids, can't have any of them running off. What if something happens?" He muttered dejectedly. He would have loved to join her but considering he was the eldest there, he felt it was his responsibility to look after them, "And besides, what if my dancing skills are too much for you and you can't handle it?" He asked cheekily which only made her scoff in response.
"We'll invite the kids to dance with us too," Jennifer suggested, extending her hand. "Come on," Parker accepted her hand and she pulled him up with her before glancing at the kids with a wide smile, "Apparently Parker here thinks he's a way better dancer than the rest of us, you kids up for proving him wrong?" All five of them had yelled in agreement before rushing off to the dance floor alongside Jennifer and Parker.
Parker rolled his eyes playfully when Jennifer looked back at him before he felt himself becoming shy. He looked down at their intertwined hands and then fought a beautiful smile at how perfect it had looked for their hands to be intertwined like this.
As the music played, they swayed to the rhythm, their bodies moving in perfect harmony as the kids only danced around them with each other, being as silly as they could which only made both Parker and Jennifer laugh, "So you like '90s music, huh? That's... pretty cool," Parker remarked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
Jennifer smiled. "As opposed to the kind of pop music that we hear all the time on the radio, yeah. I think I prefer music from that time. What kind of music do you like?"
Parker hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I don't know, I think I like everything. Right now, it's rap, and uh, a little bit of R&B. Sometimes I'd sneak in a little Olivia Rodrigo here and there, it depends on my mood," When Jennifer raised her eyebrows at him, he became immediately defensive, "What? I'm not embarrassed by it, she's cool. Definitely a true artist, probably the only one in the pop scene that could get the whole world to fall in love with her, even with older ones."
"I didn't know you had such deep opinions about music and artistry and hot girls who are older than you. I just stick to you know... hip hop, R&B, and rock and roll."
"Know anything from this century?"
"Maybe early 2000's but it's only because my dad still listens to that type of music. It's the type of music he used to listen to growing up, he's stuck in the past, well his past anyways."
As they danced and talked, Parker found himself drawn into the conversation, enjoying Jennifer's company more than he had ever imagined. Amidst the chatter and laughter of the party, their connection grew, and for the first time that evening, Parker felt completely at ease. But it seemed that someone else had felt the complete opposite.
It wasn't a pretty sight, at least only to her.
Because there Parker had been, a wide smile on his face and his hands on Jennifer's waist as they danced and laughed. They'd make jokes and share stories and the chemistry had been so obvious and loud that Evelyn felt like she'd never been a true factor of love for him. Did they even have chemistry like that? Make each other laugh like that? Evelyn couldn't remember a time.
Her soft brown eyes faltered along with her smile, and the sudden thought that she'd go back to feeling as numb as she did months before overwhelmed her. Panic began to rise along with the beats of her heart as she let her subconscious thoughts envelope her.
It was quick. The way her panic became an attack. But nobody could see, nobody even noticed. She began to feel the tightness of her chest and couldn't breathe in or out properly, so much so that she wondered if this was what a heart attack would feel like. A million javelins thrown at her heart couldn't even come close to this, but surely it's the same feeling as a heart attack... or heartbreak.
A hand grabbed hers and pulled her away at the peak of her panic, a soft large hand that had been blurry to her when she looked at it intertwined with her own. Everything was a haze, until it wasn't.
"Eve, what the hell?" Logan pushed her into a closet after realizing that there'd been no other place for privacy and turned on the light, looking at her expectantly with an annoyed look. But then, when he took notice of her hand clutching her chest and her trying to breathe, he softened, "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you like that?"
Evelyn immediately straightened up, calming herself down at the thought of Logan being the one to see her so vulnerable. She cleared her throat when she felt her heartbeats go back to normal and then when she realized she was in the closet, she glared at him, "Why the hell did you bring me in here?"
Logan scoffed at her, going back to his original expression of annoyance, "You told Fin that I'm a costume clown for kids birthday parties?" He asked, his eyes full of anger as his jaw tightened.
Evelyn sighed, rolling her eyes before she muttered, "You said that I couldn't tell anyone about your dirty little secret, and she was poking her head around in mine and your business. What else did you want me to say? Logan is so mysterious and sweet and oh, by the way, he's a pathetic little drug dealer?"
Logan shook his head, annoyed, "Literally any other job would've been better than a kids entertainer, Eve."
"Would you rather I said porno actor?" She asked with a smirk, her arms crossed upon her chest as she stared up at him, watching his annoyance fly through the roof as he glared back down at her, "I don't know why you're pissed, it worked in your favor anyway. She had this stupid smile thinking you were some kind of charitable stand-in daddy or something. I didn't get it."
Logan lightened up at that, "Really?" He asked, a subtle pink blush flushing onto his cheeks as he faltered his gaze in thought.
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows, surprised at his reaction before she came to a revelation, "Oh my god, you like her." Immediately Logan shook his head and went back to his usual emotionless self but Evelyn pushed with an amused smirk, "Admit it, Junkie, you like Finley Caruse. Which is a miracle really, I don't even like her." Though, to be honest, her dislike toward Finley was mostly due to the closeness between her and Parker after the break-up. Evelyn never got over her bitterness over their friendship.
"Shut up," Logan muttered before he sighed and decided that there wasn't much to talk about and they could go back to the party, "Let's go." Immediately, at the reminder that they were still at this party, Evelyn's thoughts went back to Parker and she gulped, her smirk falling to a frown.
Logan went to open the closet door, ready to leave but it wouldn't budge. He pushed harder but nothing happened. Evelyn rolled her eyes at him, believing that she probably had more strength than him and pushed him out the way to open the door herself. But it barely budged.
She retorted to banging on it and shouted, "Hey! We're trapped in here!" But, considering that the party had been so loud and people were migrating to the main part of the lake-house, away from where they were, nobody had heard, "Just my luck."
Logan sighed before he came up with an idea, "Let me body slam into it, break it open." Evelyn moved away, gesturing for him to try before crossing her arms upon her chest again. Logan went as further back as he possibly could, which wasn't a lot considering that the closet was as big as a cubicle. He lunged forward and pushed all his body weight against the door, and though it moved, it didn't open or even cause any damage to the door at all, "The hell is this made of?"
Evelyn only laughed, "Wow, you really are weak."
"Like you could do better."
"Oh, you got me there. Ninety-eight pounds of flesh and bone, and a girl, can't break through a door. I'm literally physically more inferior than you by default, what's your excuse?"
With a sigh, Evelyn decided to sit down on the carpeted floor of the closet which was surprisingly comfortable. Logan followed her actions when he realized that they couldn't possibly get out of the closet without someone helping them on the outside. When he sat down, he pulled his phone out and tried to call the only person who's number he had, that he knew was at the party, his mom.
The phone rang, and rang until it went straight to voicemail, "She's probably drunk with my dad right now. and left her phone somewhere." He then thought of Jamie. If there was anyone who wouldn't leave their phone and kept it on them at all times, it would be him. But Logan didn't have his number, at least not his new one. So, instead of calling Jamie's number, he opened up Instagram and called him on there instead, hoping the boy had his notifications on for it.
A few seconds went by until the call was answered, "Logan?" Jamie's voice rang out in confusion, probably because Logan had never once initiated a call with Jamie, not willingly anyways. The two of them, despite being cousins, were barely close, "Oh, crap, are my parents looking for me?"
Logan couldn't find the words to speak, feeling awkward for asking Jamie to help him out. So, when Evelyn noticed him stumped, she groaned in annoyance and grabbed the phone from him, "Hey, Jamie, it's Eve. Your stupid cousin locked us in a closet at your lakehouse and now we can't get out, would you be a doll and open it for us?"
Jamie laughed through the phone in surprise before he agreed, "Yeah, of course. It wouldn't be the first time someone got stuck in there. But look, I'm not actually at the lakehouse right now? I'm on the way to Maddie's, it's a long story. But I'll be on my way," He then paused before he muttered, "Wait, Parker should still be there. I can give him a call and get him to come to you? That'll probably be quicker," Before either Evelyn or Logan could protest, Jamie quickly said, "Yeah. I'm gonna give him a call," and then hung up the phone.
"That's just great, we have to rely on your stupid ex-boyfriend to rescue us," Logan muttered in annoyance before leaning back onto the closet wall underneath all the hung up coats and jackets before sighing. Evelyn only glared at him before doing the same.
When Logan had noticed Evelyn didn't say a word back when she usually would, he turned his head to look at her, "What even happened between you guys anyway?" He asked curiously.
Evelyn snapped her head toward him with a sharp glare, "It's none of your business."
Logan only gulped in response and decided he wouldn't ask anything further about Parker. Instead, finding the silence a little hard to succumb to, Logan began talking about his own relationship, particularly with Finley.
"I think I like Fin. But it's not in that way, she just - she's just so interesting, I've never really considered girls being interesting. I don't want her to think I'm some kind of bad guy, even if I was one once." He muttered, and Evelyn wondered why he was opening up to her.
"The only thing interesting about Finley is how she managed to get on the cheer team when she can't even dance without tripping on her own two feet." She muttered in response.
Logan rolled his eyes at her comment and continued, "You only don't like her because Parker likes her," and then he gulped before admitting, "I've done some pretty shitty things in the past, Eve. A girl like Finley, she's not the type of girl who deserves someone like me. I don't deal drugs anymore, you know that but I feel like it's a mistake that will always catch up to me. It doesn't matter how far away I run from it or even if I become the best person that I could ever be, it'll always be there, just staring right at me. How do you grow to love someone who has that weighing on their shoulders?"
He watched as Evelyn's gaze faltered and regretted bringing it up but because Evelyn felt like Logan had trusted her enough to tell her something about him — and felt privileged to be opened up to in that way — she decided it wouldn't harm anyone to tell him about her or more specifically why her and Parker had broken up.
It just meant that she'd be telling him something only a handful of people know about. Most of them adults.
After a moment of contemplation, Evelyn started to let it all out into the open, "Last year, when Kelley was still around, he convinced me to go to TRIC! with him, but once we were in, he ended up ditching me and I ended up next to some guy who bought me a drink to impress me. I didn't like him, he was weird. But I still took the drink because... well, I was stupid and reckless."
Logan nodded slowly, picturing the scene in his mind. He tried not to get too upset about an older man buying drinks for a sixteen-year-old as Evelyn continued with a hint of sadness, "I mean, I had the opportunity so I thought I'd try it and I really liked it — not the taste because the taste is God awful, it was disgusting — but just the feeling of being able to let loose and numb everything that I felt especially about some other things that were going on at the time. And so, I went back there... a couple times."
"I can't believe they let you in, they don't let in kids unless it's a private event."
Evelyn raised her eyebrows at him, wondering how he knew before she continued, "I had a fake I.D. and they never questioned it."
"Anyways, I would end up drinking so much, that I'd get home late or sleep the night at someone's house." Logan's eyebrows shot up in surprise at that and Evelyn looked at him guiltily, "It wasn't a guys house, it was just a couple of college girls I made friends with. They were good, but the friends they had that were guys... they were not. I got roofied by one of them and one of the girls called Parker because they were scared something would happen to me."
"That's when he broke up with you?"
"No." When Logan waited for her to elaborate, she rolled her eyes at him, "I don't even know why I'm even telling you this," When his eyebrows rose further in curiosity, she gulped and then continued anyway, "He wasn't even angry, he just made sure I was okay and cleaned me up. Took me to a friend of his whose brother is a doctor and they ran a couple tests off the books so mom wouldn't find out."
"So is that it? Credit to the guy for not getting angry, but he broke up with you over one mistake?"
Evelyn struggled with the desire to be more transparent, yet she feared that going into specifics would force her to relive painful memories. So, she carefully chose her words, saying, "It wasn't just one mistake. He tried to stop me from going back there but I didn't agree with him. I didn't want to stop, so..."
After a minute of silence, Evelyn finally said, "I ended it and it was all because he was trying to keep me away from it and I didn't want to be held back from doing what I wanted just because he thought it wasn't safe for me."
An uneasy quiet settled in the air. She braced herself for Logan's potential disappointment, expecting harsh words that might label her as foolish, reckless, or lacking in effort to change her situation.
But he didn't do any of those things. He did what Evelyn knew was what Parker did. He empathized.
"Hey," his voice softened as he saw her gaze fixed on the floor. He didn't want her to bear that burden, having been through something similar himself. He knew how important it was to have someone tell you not to be ashamed, particularly with such a challenging addiction to overcome.
Gently shifting closer, he lifted her chin to meet his eyes, understanding the struggle all too well and wanting her to know, "We all make mistakes, and that kind of addiction, it's like battling a disease. I'd be a hypocrite if I judged you for it."
Before Evelyn could say anything, curious to know about what Logan meant, the closet door had opened and the both of them moved away from each other quickly.
Parker stared down at the two of them with a sudden distant look, flickering his gaze between the two and how close they were despite moving away from each other. He cleared his throat, "Sorry, Jamie said you guys were trapped in a closet but didn't say which one." He muttered as he watched Logan quickly stand up and leave, giving him one last look.
Parker's eyes then flickered to Evelyn who took her time getting up. He bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance before he muttered, "Your mom's looking for you. Something about the twins?" He said in a quiet voice, so quiet that one would think it was a whisper. But Evelyn heard it loud and clear and nodded in thanks before walking out of the closet.
"Thanks for coming to get us, I appreciate it," She muttered before patting his shoulder and then leaving in the same direction that Logan had gone.
Parker nodded to himself before shutting the door again and following after her, though he wasn't as eager as her to get back to the party and eventually ended up staring at nothing as he walked.
He let the image of the two of them in the closet flood his mind, and furrowed his eyebrows at the obvious closeness between them. Were they together? Did Evelyn like him?
Evelyn finally found Logan again, after he'd ran off when Parker had opened the closet door, "Hey," He muttered confusedly, "Look, I — I really need to go, Baker."
She tensed her jaw, feeling a sense of vulnerability overwhelm her. It was something that she admittedly was not used to. She couldn't even grasp the fact that she even told him what she had never even uttered to her closest friends. No one knew about the end of Parker and Evelyn's relationship, not even his brother or his friends. It went both ways.
She threatened, "I'm only here to tell you to keep your mouth shut because the last time I'll ever open up to someone again will be my autopsy. You understand that, Evans?"
He frowned before he sucked in his cheeks in contemplation. He decided not to be that person, the kind of person that he hated, and therefore he only said, "Loud and clear, Baker," She was about to leave but before she could, he grabbed her arm and assured her, "I know you'll think it's stupid but... I'm here for you, alright? I could be more than a dealer."
Evelyn only passed him a small suspicious glare before she pursed her lips and then sighed, "I don't need another friend, Evans. I just need a damn reset button."
In the same room but just seconds away, Nathan Scott had finally arrived, his eyes immediately falling onto his wife who was frantically moving from one end of the room to the other. But as he went to approach her to say hi, calling out her name which made her look behind at him, he had bumped into someone.
Nathan looked up at that someone only to see that it had been an old friend of his that he hadn't seen in a long time. Jake Jagielski. Both of them exchanged smiles before Nathan reached forward to engulf Jake into a hug, "Hey, it's been a long time. What's up man? How's it going?" He asked which only made Jake grin back at him.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't looking," Jake smiled back at him. Nathan only waved him off, already knowing it wasn't Jake's fault since it was himself who wasn't really looking at anything except Haley. Jake then continued with a happy sigh, "It's good, life's good, man. And what about you? How are you since...?"
"As good as I can be," Nathan smiled solemnly before he glanced toward his wife again, to see what she had been doing. The both of them had invited the Jagielski's to the party knowing that they had only recently moved back but neither of them had seen him or even known where they had lived now, "So, you're back permanently? Back in the parents house?"
Jake shook his head with a small smile, "I bought one, your old one actually. It was on offer and I thought the girls could use a bigger space, you know?" Nathan raised his eyebrows in surprise but then laughed. He had wondered who the mystery buyer that he'd been competing with for his parent's house had been. He would never have thought it would've been Jake. But nevertheless, he was happy about it.
Jake then asked curiously, "I haven't managed to catch Haley yet, she doing okay too?" He asked, and Nathan only gestured toward Haley in the distance.
"Why don't you ask her yourself, Jagielski?" He smiled kindly before glancing back at Haley who was now walking toward them.
Making her way through the bustling crowd, she approached Jake with a warm grin, her hand immediately reaching down to intertwine with Nathan's, "Jake," she called out, her tone light and her smile wide.
"Haley James Scott," he said, his eyes lighting up. "You haven't changed a bit." He couldn't believe how young she still looked before glancing toward Nathan who had only playfully glared at him. He laughed before he reached forward to hug Haley, who hugged him back with the hand that was free.
The hug was like a gesture that held the weight of years of shared memories as Haley asked with a nostalgic feeling rising up to the surface of her skin, "How have you been?" Her eyes were filled with genuine curiosity at his answer.
"Busy," Jake replied with a chuckle. "Life has its way of keeping us on our toes. But I can't complain. And you?"
Haley's smile grew as she thought about her life with Nathan and Jamie. "Life's been good to me too. The kids are growing up so fast — oh! did you bring..." She was about to mention Jenny who she had remembered from when they were in high school when they were interrupted.
Jennifer approached them. She had a confident stride and a champagne flute in hand - only containing coke and ice rather than alcohol, "Dad, I left my phone in the car," she said to Jake.
Haley's heart skipped a beat as she realized who it was. Her mind could barely comprehend that this was Jenny, but all grown up. The last time she had seen her, she had been just a baby. Now, she was a striking eighteen-year-old with her father's strong features and a fierce determination in her eyes.
"Jenny, I'd like you to meet Haley and Nathan," Jake introduced, he gestured toward both Haley and Nathan, "Guys, meet my daughter, Jenny."
"It's nice to see you — again, Jenny." Nathan smiled.
Jennifer caught the emphasis on again, and realized that they had been her father's old friends that she had heard all about. She observed them, trying to match her father's descriptions of them to how they were and realizing that they had stayed together despite all the hurdles in their life. It made her smile to know that.
Haley extended her hand, her smile warm. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Jenny."
Jennifer shook her hand firmly. "Likewise," she replied, her voice confident and friendly before she turned back to Jake, "Can I take your car keys? Please? I promise I'll bring it back." She asked, to which Jake only sighed and reached into his pocket, passing over his keys to her reluctantly.
As Jennifer headed off to his car to get her phone, Jake and Haley continued their conversation, "She's beautiful, I can't believe that she's so big now." It was a bittersweet reunion, a rekindling of old memories and the discovery of new ones. Despite the years apart, the bond between them was still evident, and they both felt grateful for the chance to reconnect in the midst of a basketball association party that had brought them back together.
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✧*̥˚ hunter's notes *̥˚✧
had to stop here bc i'm already above 5000 words 💀 and i shan't go higher. hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please vote and comment!
gonna put jamie and madison's little secret getaway from the party as the beginning of the next part c;
—fromtherivertothesea—