I didn't know when he got here, but I was glad to have caught his form when he entered the living room. Parker stood in the doorway a second longer, looking around the room for someone he couldn't attribute a face to; me.

It was a hopeless feat, because unless I came up to him and let him know, he couldn't ever point me out. Eventually, he walked further inside and gave Marie a hug when he spotted her, handing her a present and exchanging wide smiles.

Unlike me, Ann Marie was easy to spot. She was the birthday girl and no one could outshine her in the cute blue number she wore, her head of long curls topped with a tiara.

She didn't want any of us to sing 'Happy Birthday' because she considered it too dreary, and frankly, no one knew what do do when it was being sung. But Marie still made a wish, and we still cut a cake.

There was champagne, there was music, there was Mr. Johnson telling us not to be too loud.

There was me sitting on the couch, full of champagne and tapas, watching the others dance. There were a couple of unfamiliar faces belonging to the moving bodies, but the majority were from the group chat and it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves while I nibbled on cake.

Then there was Parker. Right next to me. A cup in hand and a far-off expression on his face.

I tried not to look at him, not to let my eyes linger on his form, which leaned towards finding the version of me he knew. Parker lifted the cup, sipped, and lowered it to reveal lips which were tinged a light shade of crimson from whatever liquid he was drinking. It had a fruity aroma, coated with a much stronger alcoholic scent that made my nose tingle. Sangria, maybe?

Parker's tongue peeked out to lick off a drop that stuck to his bottom lip, staring ahead of him with his face set in. I wanted to lean in and kiss him, taste the Sangria on his lips and wipe off the frown that clouded his face with my tongue.

As if snapped out of a daze, Parker shook his head and raked his free hand through his hair, moving his gaze from the people dancing... to me. I didn't expect him to turn; he caught me staring.

"Hey, Adrian."

There was something about the way he said my name. He didn't particularly introduce a slur or anything; it was only that he pronounced my name in all its originality, just the way he's supposed. Every single time Parker called my name, his tongue clung onto the accent which no longer appeared on the front of my books, in my name.

After several teachers complained of how 'pretentious' it was to use Adrián, how 'stuck up' it seemed whenever I corrected them after they mispronounced it, I gave up on preserving that little detail and wrote my name without it. But Parker mentioned it with the missing accent which came with the second 'a', unlike the others who used the anglicised version.

I had never needed to remind---or try to remind Parker---even during the earlier days where I still fought for my name. And even now that I have up on the battle, I didn't have to either.

Even the "Hi," I said, came out wrong. A scratchy voice and an unintended hitch ruined it. I didn't want Parker's name to be, so I kept it out of my mouth.

Parker revealed a smile that had his dimples burn little burrows in his cheek---in my heart. I couldn't meet his eyes when lowered my gaze. It landed on the cup. "Do you want some? Micky brought them, and this was the mildest he had in the bunch."

Right, Micky. I shook my head and declined, saying, "I don't drink" instead of "I'm not drinking unless it's from your lips" like I wanted to. Yes, I was thirsty. Sue me.

"Me neither," Parker replied with a small laugh.

Under my breath, I added, "Says the person who finished two whole cups."

"You were watching me." He sounded amused, one corner of his lip turning up to form a lopsided smile, eyes drawn to small slits. He wasn't exactly questioning me, so there was no reason for me to provide an answer.

In any case, what kind of answer was one to give to a question posed in such a way? None, that's what.

"I really don't drink, it's just today. Trying to gather courage," Parker added.

"What for?"

"I'm meeting someone for the first time. Well, not exactly the first time, I don't know. It has me excited, and nervous. Really nervous."

Parker Thompson was nervous..., and I was the cause.

"You know what? I don't think this is enough, so I'm gonna go get a refill. Do you want---"

I cut him off by holding onto him before he could fully rise off the couch. He sat back down and looked at me, then slowly, his eyes moved to the spot where I still held his hand in mine. Immediately, I let go.

"I don't think whoever you're meeting will appreciate it if you're drunk out of your wits."

"You're right," he agreed with one firm nod that had locks of his hair fall over his face. I so desperately wanted to reach out and brush them back for him, but his own hand did so as he bent his head and muttered, "It's already given me a headache."

Awkward silence grew between us after that moment, and I picked up my slice of cake and slowly chewed on whatever I forked into my mouth. I almost choked on my next bite when a weight landed on my should. Parker's head.

"Adrian?"

I swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Wake me up when they get here, okay?"

"When who gets here?"

"Mystery," he said. "My head hurts and I think I need to sleep off some of the alcohol."

To say my heart jumped after that would be an understatement. It was a surprise my voice was steady when I asked, "And how am I supposed to know when they're here?"

"They're special, you just will."

And at that moment---even though Parker did not know that I was right next to him, being the figure he clung onto as his body gave up to sleep---I was special.

He slept for quite a while, and I figured it would be best if he got home. I tried waking him up, but after asking if I had seen Mystery, and receiving a negative answer, went back to sleep.

My best bet was to find Micky---who Parker had probably come with. But when I did, he wasn't ready to leave the party yet, neither did he want to drive back and forth and back again while he was on doing a tango with his nearly empty gas tank.

I would have to take him myself.

I texted Laura and asked whether it was okay for me to leave without her, and whether she could get back home.

Laura.aura: Go ahead! We KISSED! Leave me behind so I'll ask her to drive me and we can do it again :D

I did as she wished.