Bonfire of the Vanities

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker, having left a voicemail for Jarod and a note on her door, is carrying a box full of stuff into the middle of the park. In the box are:

Three bottles of wine
French chocolates
Two sets of silk sheets
A blue silk shirt
sunglasses
A book
A few notes
Photos
and
Lip gloss

When she finds a metal garbage barrel, she kicks it close to the path, and puts down her box. Then she gets out her lighter.

_{[open to anyone-- we'll probably go to Luke's from here]}

Comments

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

Jarod walked up, breath frosty in the cold night air. "Evening, Parker."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Glad you could make it." She grabbed the silk shirt, then popped open a bottle of Champagne, swigging it from the bottle with a grin. "Care to join me?"

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

He took the bottle from her, then took a swig. "Interesting. Kind of...effervescent." He didn't hand the bottle back.

"What are we doing here?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker popped open another bottle, took a swig, then doused the silk shirt. "Burning stuff. Michael's stuff. What's left of it." She lit the edge of the shirt, and watched it flare, her smile gleeful, then threw it in the trash can.

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

He raised an eyebrow and took another swig. "And we're doing this why?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Vengeance. Closure. Pretty bright shiny burn." Parker took another swig, and pulled out some of the notes and the book, and started rippping pages. "Plus, I don't want it around. Grab a handful, throw it on the fire."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

Jarod shrugged, then tossed some sunglasses on the fire. "If you say so." He took another drink. "I'd think getting him expelled would be enough vengeance for anybody, but I guess you've always got to go that one step further, huh?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker stuck out her tongue at him. "Yes." Then she shrugged. "Besides, just trashing it would leave me thinking about it too much. This way, I *know* it's gone." She took another swig from her bottle, then held her thumb over the opening, shook it up, and sprayed it over the fire, which leapt up.

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

Jarod decided she wasn't in the mood to hear about carbon atoms and took another drink. "Are you sure you don't want to keep at least one of the pictures?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm." The hmm came out a little longer than Parker intended, so she took another drink. "Maybe. To remind me of mistakes?"

She flipped through the stack, and found the one she'd taken from Michael's room. Nodding judiciously, she put it in her pocket, then threw the rest on the fire. "A toast! To a new year, and a new semester, and no new guys forever!" She swigged more of the wine.

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"No new guys?" He smirked. "Who does that leave you with?" Jarod grinned, thinking of Parker and Broots as a couple. It was a pretty funny picture.

He clinked his bottle against hers. "To a new year."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Clinking her bottle with his, Parker reviewed what she just said, caught herself about to giggle, and sternly repressed it.

"No, no guys. Or girls! I'm sick of it, it's all pointless. I'm not dating again until I can legally drink. We're in high school! Well, I am. I have more important things to do." She took another swig, and tossed the last of the paper on the fire.

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

Jarod took another swig and grinned at her a little goofily, and perhaps lopsidedly. "And what things are those, Parker?"

Privately, he figured she'd last about a month.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Classes. Shopping. Library stuff. Investigations. Honor Society. And, Student Council," she nodded. "And! Possibly! Uh." Parker frowned. "Uh."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"Sounds busy, Parker." He nodded. "You'll have a very...full life."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"I will!" she toasted him again, and then yanked at the sheets (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomtownies/456602.html?thread=18376858#t18376858). "It'll get me ready to run and rule the Centre."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

He grabbed the other end and yanked, but only ended up dumping the rest of the champagne all over them. "Why would you want to rule the Centre?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Ahhhh! Cold cold cold!" Parker shrieked, wringing out the edge of her jacket and flinging droplets of champagne at him. "You klutz!"

"And I have to rule the Centre to make lots of money," Parker said in her best duh voice. "So I can take it apart and put it back together the way *I* want."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"Parker, it's twenty degrees out! Of course it's cold!" He licked some stray champagne off his fingers. "Tasty, though. Sorry about that."

"Why can't you make lots of money doing something else, then come in, tear the Centre down, and leave it that way?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker's a little too blitzed to care if he's right. "Cold," she grumbles. "And it should taste good. It's the real thing. Accept no California substi-substitu.. damn. Sub.Sti.Tutes. Ha."

"Because if I want to tear the Centre down, I need to know who to 'retire' to Aruba, and I can't do that if I don't work there first. And I don't think I can make enough money to just buy it for myself." Parker looked mournful, then defiant. "It's a good plan. You'll see."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

Jarod eyed her. "Ookaay..." He was privately a little skeptical. Or maybe not so privately, but it was probably dark enough so that she couldn't see his expression. He stepped closer to the fire and began to warm his hands.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker nodded, not wanting to get into the specifics. "We need to take you on an alphabetic drunk sometime," she said as precisely as possible. "Starting at C isn't the best plan. Amaretto, Bailey's, champagne, Dewar's...."

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"You're so anal..." He chuckled. "What's wrong with starting in the middle?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"If you're doing it right, you forget where you started," she said, then grinned and finished the champagne.

[janet_fraiser]

Janet had seen the note on Parker's door and come out to the park. Looks like Jarod had already made it here.

"Hey. How's it going?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Good so far," Parker said, poking the fire with the edge of her wine bottle. "Want some chocolate and wine? I'm not keeping it in my room one more night, so what we don't eat or drink goes on the fire."

[janet_fraiser]

Janet shook her head. "I'll save the drinking for when I'm at home," she said. "But thanks. Chocolate would be nice."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Help yourself." Parker toed over the box. "Grab something and ignite it. I've got a lighter if you need it."

[janet_fraiser]

"Sure," said Janet. She pulled a few notes out of the box and tossed them on the fire. It was nice and warm in the chilly night air.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker had now drunk about a third of the bottle, with another third going on the fire. She started to hum "La Marsellaise," caught herself, then stopped, picking up the lipgloss and a CD that was under the sheets and tossing them both in.

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"It's nice to see you again, Janet." Jarod offered her his hand. "You must be a very good friend to come stand out here in the cold like this."

[janet_fraiser]

"Hey, Jarod," said Janet. She shook his hand. "It's not very cold near the fire, and I know how to dress for the weather. How's it going tonight?"

[jarodpretends.livejournal.com]

"Can't complain," he smiled. "Good company, warm fire, strange girl rituals..."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Almost done," Parker promised, swaying a little. "Help me get allll this--" she motioned to the sheets, "Into the barrel. Then we're done!"

[janet_fraiser]

Janet reached down to grab part of the bundle. "Having fun?" she asked.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Yup." Parker grinned. "Burning stuff and booze and buddies. It's all good."

She sprayed the last of the champagne from her bottled onto the fire, then looked speculatively at the only bottle left untouched. "Hmmmmmmm."

[swerval_zero]

Zero walks up, carrying a Zippo. "Am I too late?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Not quite. You can burn the box," Parker said, offering the cardboard box she'd carried everything in. "Want some champagne? We're toasting a new year. Just a little early, that's all."

[swerval_zero]

No thanks, no alcohol. Just fire. *stuffs the box into the trash can and lights it up* Feel any better?

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Much. The champagne helps. The flames help. No more evidence? Helps." Parker opened up the last bottle, and poured half of it on the fire. "Good bye forever, Loser Man."