Hyperion Lobby - New Years Day

[marsheadtilt]

Somewhere around noon, Veronica managed to drag herself out of bed and make her way downstairs. She figured there would be a lot of hungover people waking up eventually and she pulled out the leftovers from the party the previous night and tuned the TV to one of the many stations that was running football games all day. There was also lots and lots

Comments

[mparkerceo]

Parker's eyes narrowed, and she smiled coolly. "Lana. Happy New Year."

[lovelylana]

Lana smiled a little nervously. "Hi, Parker. Um, Happy New Year."

[mparkerceo]

"Have a good New Year's Eve?" Parker watched her over her coffee cup, taking a sip. "You and... what's his name? Joe?"

[lovelylana]

Lana flushed. "Jim," she corrected, sure that Parker already knew his name. "And yes, yes we did. How about you? You and Eric looked really good together."

[mparkerceo]

"We're friends," Parker said. "And we did. In between other crises, which aren't important at the moment." Another sip of her coffee, and she'd held off for a while, so.... "See much of Jarod, lately?"

[lovelylana]

"I'm glad," Lana said. "It's good to be with friends on New Year's Eve."

She bit her lip and hesitated again. "I... no. I haven't seen him since he rescued me from the trolls. I meant to go see him to thank him, but..." she shook her head. "I just never found a good time. I did get a little Christmas present for him, so I'll have to make time to go drop that off when I get back."

[mparkerceo]

Parker found herself grinding her teeth at that. "Mmmm. He's always been one to go the hero route." She flashed a smile at Lana, only half-insincere. "I'm glad you got out okay. You looked pretty shakey when you two were escaping."

[lovelylana]

"I... I don't think I would have made it without him," Lana said honestly. "I was so scared and cold and I kept passing out. He never left me. He held me and comforted me and -"

She choked off the rest of what she said, realizing just who she was speaking to. "I'm sorry. You don't want to hear any of this."

[mparkerceo]

Parker's teeth-grinding might be audible now. "No. It's what I'd expect of him." She tapped her fingers on her coffee cup, face impassive. "Jim's okay with all that, right? So why should I complain? We broke up in September."

The set jaw might contradict that.

[lovelylana]

Lana hesitated again, not sure whether to pay more heed to Parker's words or her actions. After a moment she decided that she kind of lost either way, so she might as well just answer. "Jim... wasn't very happy. I was pretty disoriented when Jarod got me to the clinic and I didn't recognize Jim at first - Jarod had to help me see who it was. Jim was grateful that Jarod saved me, but I think he felt really guilty that he hadn't been the one to be with me."

[mparkerceo]

Which jolted Parker out of her momentary obsession for a moment, frowning. "How very macho of him." She rolled her eyes. "Jarod was there. Jim wasn't. You needed rescuing. What's the problem?"

[lovelylana]

"I think he feels like he should have been able to do more or somehow prevent me from being captured and hurt." Lana smiled fondly. "He's a really good guy. He's glad Jarod was able to help rescue me, but he's also a bit on the possessive and jealous side, which makes it harder for him."

[mparkerceo]

Parker cocked an eyebrow, then her eyes narrowed. "He didn't make it hard for Jarod, I hope."

[lovelylana]

"What, you think he dropped me on the floor of the clinic to pick a fight with Jarod because he was feeling threatened and overly macho?" Lana asked.

[mparkerceo]

Parker blinked at that image, then cocked her head. "I don't know. You're the one that said jealous and possessive." She studied Lana speculatively. "I've never even met the guy."

[lovelylana]

"Well, he's not like that," Lana said, wondering just what it was about Parker that made her feel both nervous and defensive. "He just... probably growled a little under his breath."