User blog:SodaCat/Bullworth Nights - Diamonds: Chapter 8: Shea Lewis

Piper shivered as she waited for Parker outside the Shea Lewis Cafe. She'd texted him about an hour ago, and they'd agreed to meet in about 15 minutes. However, finding as she and Bif were not currently speaking, and Alexis was spending more time than ever with Larry, she found herself seated at the cafe early.

She pulled her sky blue Ericsson out and placed it on the table, knowing before she even glanced at it that she had no new texts. Piper briefly wondered when Bif planned on apologizing to her, but then quickly casted the thought away.

Instead she turned her attention to the shopping center around her. Over by the beauty salon stood two jocks--Jesse Tyler and Casey Harris, by the looks of it. The two idiots were gawking into the salon and making obscene gestures with their tongues and hips, undoubtedly harassing the women in the salon. Piper rolled her eyes, they were so immature.

Her blue eyes continued grazing the scenery, from the two gits by the salon, to the smartly dressed Old Bullworth Vale residents, to finally the Aquaberry clad boys entering the outlet. Her eyes widened in surprised as she realized that among them stood Bif, towering over Derby and Tad.

The other two paid no mind to her, instead Derby entered the store while surely giving Tad instructions for yet another stupid party at Harrington House, Tad eagerly following behind as if clinging onto every word Derby said. Bif, however, hung back, meeting Piper's gaze.

His rust-colored hair was neatly combed, his sweater pressed and snug against his chest. Piper found her jaw slacking just a little, and she assumed she looked like an idiot, staring at him with a surprised look. Bif stared back, a bit more dignified, the disappointment in his face apparent.

"Piper?"

She turned away instantly upon hearing Parker's voice, determined to not let him think she'd simply invited him over so that she could gawk at Bif instead. Unfortunately, Parker was already staring at Bif's direction. Piper resisted the urge to look back, instead offering Parker a sheepish smile.

"Parker... Hello, thank you for meeting me."

Piper gestured awkwardly to the seat on the opposite side of the table, unsure of how to handle things. To her relief, however, Parker took a seat.

His brown eyes stared back at her own stiffly, as if he were as uncomfortable as she were. They remained silently for a moment, turning their gazes to anywhere but each other.

"So, what'd you want to meet for?" Parker asked finally, sounding more upset than angry, to Piper's surprise.

"Well..." Piper considered this for a moment, unsure of how to begin. She wasn't exactly used to apologizing people; she never really had any reason to. If anything, Parker was the first person she'd ever been purposely rude to.

She let out a sigh, feeling rotten about herself. "Parker, I wanted to apologize to you. Truly apologize. I've acted awfully rude and vile to you, and quite honestly, I'm not surprised one bit that you haven't been speaking to me. If anything, I deserve it."

Parker stared back at her, admiring the way her sapphire eyes were casted down, her shockingly white teeth biting down on her thin lip. "Oh..." he mumbled, unsure of how to react.

"You've been very kind to me, not just in the present time, but in the past as well, and I've had no excuse for having been so rotten to you." Piper let out a sign, looking up at him insecurely. "Do you forgive me?"

He let out a sigh, giving her a small smile, the anger already long gone. "Of course I forgive you, Piper. I kind of understand where you're coming from, I get that you're into Bif, and that you wanted to betrothed to him. It must be tough."

Piper studied him for a moment, but his tone wasn't sarcastic. Did he really mean that? He was honestly sympathizing with her?

"Yes, well, thank you for understanding, but I hardly believe that's the case. You see, Bif and I are not speaking at the moment."

Parker's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You're not? What happened?"

"We haven't been exactly seeing eye to eye, lately... I learned some things about him that I've found I don't particularly agree with."

Parker nodded a little. "I'm sorry to hear that, do you want me to talk to him?"

A small smile grazed Piper's lips, a little shocked by Parker's willingness to try and repair her and Bif's relationship, when that was what gave him competition in the first place. "That's alright, Parker."

He smiled back and reached over to her, taking her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm glad I'm here with you, Piper," he confessed in a hushed whisper.

She reddened a little this, both flattered and conflicted. Instincts told her that she wasn't quite sure if this was alright or fair to Bif, though logic reminded her that Bif was no longer in the picture.

Parker caught on to this instantly, and released his grip from her hand, though he moved it just enough so that their hands still touched. "I think part of the problem was that I came on too strong. I guess it's not really a secret that I'm into you..." he reddened a little, looking away. It was Piper's turn to take his hand to comfort him.

"Parker, I don't want you to feel as if you're trying to pass some sort of test with me. How about we take things slow? Let's just... let's start off as friends, yes?"

He grinned at her, nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm not really good with girls so, I think friends could work."

Piper smiled at him, an honest one that made her feel like laughing, so she did.

Friendzone, population: Parker Ogilvie?