Holly had never been on a date before. The fact that her first date was with a boy so cute was something of a dream come true. They saw a movie together, but it was basically background noise to Holly’s nervousness. She couldn't remember a single thing about it. But she did remember how she felt when Parker rested his arm over her shoulders midway through.

After the movie finished, they went to the Sunset Fairy Gardens. It was mostly designed for kids, with its brightly coloured flowers, winding paths and glowing fairy lights draped through trees. But it was cute. And it seemed like a spot Holly might like,

He took her hand, guiding her through the greenhouses. He looked so handsome under the slightly dim lighting.

“So pretty.” She gazed through wide eyes.

He nodded, smiling, but his eyes seemed a little distant.  He lightly squeezed her hand once before pulling her toward the little restaurant upstairs. She sat at the table while he ordered a funnelcake for them to share. When he returned to the table, Holly’s head was rested on the back of her wooden chair. She was mesmerised, watching the unique fish in the giant aquarium window behind her. She watched them with so much whimsy, he almost felt like he was babysitting instead of being on a date.

“Are you always so…full of wonder?” He took a sip from his can of coke,

She turned to him, blushing a bit, “Do I seem that way?” 

He chuckled, “It’s almost like you're a new born.” He looked like he might have had thoughts elsewhere, “Don’t get me wrong though. It’s cute.” He joined her, sitting across from her and watching the fish. 

“I guess I don’t get out much.” She admitted,

Parker smirked, “That’s cool. I’m glad I could take you out then.”

Holly was floating. She literally felt like she was on air. After Parker dropped her home, she practically twirled through the door. The night was like a fairytale. The kind of thing she used to read about in books or that she imagined she’d dream about with some girlfriends when she was a kid. As she made her way to her room, she heard the usual. Her dad yelling at her mom about something unimportant yet again. She felt the air shift, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her night.

After she showered, she took a look at her phone, there was one unread message,

Are you alright?

Who is this?

It’s Jeff

She felt her heart drop to her toes. She walked into her room, Should she respond? She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling? What could he possibly want now? She bit her lip, almost having to fight her fingers to respond,

What do you want? How’d you get my number?

She waited a bit, clutching a stuffed bear tightly until her phone went off,

Jeez. I got it from Lisa’s phone. I just wanted to apologize for coming on so strong.

She sat up. Okay… Maybe he wasn't a total asshole.

Ok. Just give me space please

Yeah. Sure. Just don’t tell Lisa okay? 

She scoffed. She hated him. She literally could not stand him. If he was so afraid of Lisa knowing, why did he do it? She was literally upstairs. She could have walked in. And what about her? Would he have stopped if she didn’t bite him? Her chest hurt again. Screw him.

She sat on her bed. And just like that, her perfect night was ruined. She held the bear tighter on her chest as tears filled her eyes.

Liz had spent the night doing homework with Lisa and Lynn and after they’d gone home, she practiced some of her ballet stretches and had herself a relaxing shower and spa night.

Just as she was about to go to sleep, she heard knocking at her window. She tiredly rolled out of bed, pulling aside the curtains at her balcony. Parker waved to her, smiling his carefree smile. He'd climbed up the white lattice by her balcony like he had so many times that summer.

   She smiled back, unlocking the door, "So, how was your date?"

"Don't have much to compare it to…unless I count the summer." He stepped inside,

She playfully rolled her eyes, "So…why are you here?" 

He let out a heavy, almost exasperated breath, sitting in Liz' window nook. She hesitated for a second, but stepped closer to him as he reached out his hand to hold hers, "We haven't really talked since the other night. Are we good?”

His eyes were more earnest than usual. She smiled slightly, nodding,

“You remember that night? When we talked for hours...and you told me all about how much you wished you could be someone else sometimes? Not Elizabeth Ecochard. Just Liz?"

“Yeah…” She whispered, looking down at him. 

Their gaze never broke, it felt like he was searching for something, “You cried in my arms that night.”

“You’re the only one who knows...”

He nodded, “I know.” He looked down, hesitating a bit,“Even if we're not gonna be hooking up anymore, I want you to know I'm still here." He intertwined his fingers with her's. "Outside of that, I really care about you. Do you know that?" 

Their eyes met again and her breath caught for a heartbeat. She looked at the ground, “I do.” She whispered, stepping back, “You should go home.”

Before she could fully pull away, his other hand caught hers, “Can I sleep here?”

“Parker…”

“Just sleep.” His voice was unfamiliarly fragile,

She sighed, looking at his honest expression. She nodded again.

St. Vincent De Paul offered a wide range of Extracurriculars. With the parents of most students having more than disposable income, they could afford to have sports across the board, much to the pleasure of Elizabeth and Lisa, who had been ballerinas since they were three. 

The girls practiced their ballet stretches together in the studio. They wore matching sets again, a pink floral leotard with a matching tulle skirt. They were still in warm up so they had their Repeto wrap overs on. Lisa in pink, Liz in grey, and their matching pink booties. Miss Morgana, their ballet teacher, approached them looking pleased. She gently motioned for Elizabeth to step aside with her. 

“How was your vacation?” Liz asked as they walked,

Miss Morgana smiled, sighing wistfully, “Ah, Paris will be Paris. Thorton and I had the most lovely honeymoon.” She stopped and rested a hand on Liz’ shoulder, “I trust you’re prepared for ballet this year?”

“Always.”

Miss Morgana smiled, “Your lines look amazing this year.” She commended, “I can tell you've kept busy all summer.”

Elizabeth curtsied, “Thank you Ma’am.”

Miss Morgana’s approval meant a lot to her. She and Lisa had grown up watching her dance in the St. Vincent winter showcases every year. She was part of the reason the girls had grown so passionate about dance.

“How would you feel about taking on the role of Clara for The Nutcracker in the winter showcase?” Morgana asked,

Elizabeth glanced back at Lisa. She looked completely bodied. Lisa rolled her eyes, mouthing “It’s ok.”

Morgana grinned, “Lovely, Lisa you’ll be the alternate.” She turned to examine the rest of the class.

“Weird that there was no audition.”

“Too bad our daddies can’t buy us roles-”                                                          

“Ladies.” Morgana interrupted, about to begin the lesson.

Candace Ashedale and Beatrice Hart, or Candy and Bebe as they were usually referred to, had been classmates of Elizabeth and Lisa for about as long as the girls could remember. Bebe was never fond of them and when Kaylynn and Parker came to Sunset in the 3rd and 4th grade it became full blown hatred–For the girls. They had no problems with the guys. They were both pretty and popular enough. So the girls could only assume they must have seen them as competition. Typically they kept their distance, but Bebe had a thing for Parker which made it really hard to completely ignore her.

Lisa held Elizabeth’s shoulders. “They’re just jealous. I promise, you deserve the part.”

It meant a lot to Elizabeth that Lisa would support her after getting the role she wanted. As little girls The two of them would watch Barbie movies every weekend. They'd fantasize about how pretty Clara’s dress was after she transformed into the Sugar Plum Fairy, and how lovely Odette and her prince danced. Lisa was always Clara from The Nutcracker and Liz was always Odette from Swan lake. If they ever got the chance to perform them, they promised they’d support each other. And so Lisa did.  At least She’d still get to be a part of it even if she wasn't dancing as Clara.

Parker bought a bunch of drinks and weed with his fake ID and invited the entire senior class over to the Langerak house on Friday night. He chugged a mixture of whatever alcohol he had sprawled out over the bar table as Holly sat on the couch watching her classmates and friends. She felt entirely out of place watching girls dance suggestively, Lisa and Kaylynn chat together in a corner, VJ kiss Elizabeth in a way that made her totally uncomfortable and Jefferey disappear into the backyard with some blonde who definitely wasn't Lisa. She scowled. At least he wasn't anywhere near her.

“Not having a good time, Red?” Holly looked up. Parker stood above her.

She shook her head, “I’ve never been to a party before.”

Parker walked around the couch, joining her on the seat and slouching backwards, He smelled like a brewery. “You just gotta relax. You want?” He handed her a rolled paper cylinder. It was already lit up.

She took it and stared at it. So that was the smell she smelled on them when they first met. “Maybe not.” She passed it back.

“I respect that. At least share a drink with me?” He asked, holding her hand.

She nodded. She had already tried champagne and that wasn't bad. She followed Parker back to the kitchen counters,

Parker looked around the house as they walked to the bar table. Elizabeth and VJ had gone off somewhere together and he felt his stomach twist. He could handle seeing them kiss– It made him want to jump out of his skin thinking they could be hooking up in his bed. He looked back at Holly, who shyly followed behind him, staring at her feet. She was pretty cute and she did seem really happy on their date. He leaned back on the bar, passing her a bottle of jack daniels and crossing his arms. Holly chugged from the bottle and immediately began gagging, holding her throat,

Parker laughed, “You really are new, huh.”

Holly blushed, spinning around shyly, “Can we go outside? I need some air.”

Parker took her hand again, leading her to the backyard. They had a huge pool and a beautiful outdoor seating area. He led her to the couch and they sat down beside each other. When he put his arm around her shoulder. She felt like she was erupting.

“You nervous?” Parker asked, looking at her with that charming smile.

She breathed out, nodding quickly.

He leaned his head, “That’s cute. Don’t worry, we’re just chilling. I can't really relate to being shy, but I get it. I am pretty handsome.”

She laughed, “Someone’s full of himself.”

“As I should be.” He nodded up at her, “You too.”

“Me too, what?”

“You should be full of yourself. You’re beautiful.”

She blushed, staring down at her toes and twisting the hem of her skirt, "I thought guys hated girls who thought they were all that."

His smile stretched across his face, "Insecure guys. Guys who are comfortable with themselves love a girl who knows she's cute."

They sat in silence for a bit as music played from inside the house. He could feel how stiffly she sat beside him, so upright it was like she was balancing a book on her head,

He leaned back, "You know this isn't the first time I've had my arm around you. You can relax." His voice was warm.

She could barely make eye contact, "At the movies we didn't have to talk."

He laughed, a low easy laugh that made her giggle too, "We don't have to talk now either if you don't want–"

Jefferey walked around the hedges from the garden with Darlene, both of them laughing at something Jefferey had just said. When he noticed them, He raised his brows at Holly and Parker as he walked by. “Okay, Taking her up to your room?” He held Darlene’s hand, leading her inside,

Parker rolled his eyes. Holly’s energy completely depleted,

“I hate that guy.” She said under her breath, 

But Parker heard, tilting his head, “Oh.” His tone was careful, “Did something happen?”

Holly bit her lip. Jeff was clearly his best friend. What could she possibly say? She shook her head, “No. I’m just being over the top.”

“He studied her for a second and his smile returned, “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna take you up there. Unless you want me to.”

Her nose crinkled as she laughed, relaxing again and letting herself lean into his side. She and Parker spent the rest of the party just talking under the stars. And for her, it was like no one else was there.