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Too Close
Part two
Jarod felt his anger rise at her words. Less then two minutes had passed since she's arrived and they were already fighting. This wasn't how he had planned this meeting to go, not at all. He looked at her, she was still looking directly at him, eyebrow high, waiting for his reaction. Jarod scanned her features, she had always been beautiful to him, no matter her mood, the anger he felt disapated instantly. She wasn't in the mood to play his games, and he had to admit, he wasn't either. The Centre sucked all the fun out of everything.
Miss Parker watched him, surprised she hadn't seen him react to her harsh, condescending tone. She had hoped it would scare him back into maintaining the old stasis quo between them, but the look in his eyes as a slow smile formed on his face told her it had not. Miss Parker dropped her eyes from his, turning slightly she continued on her slow circle of him.
For what seemed like hours the only sound in the room was the soft clicking of Miss Parker's heels. Jarod watched her, she occasionly look up in his direction. Jarod took a deep breath and let it out in an auible groan. Enough of this! he told himself. "Look Parker, things are different now . . ." Jarod pauses as Miss Parker stopped, turning to face him directly.
"Yes, they are, Jarod. You are back in the Centre where you belong and I'm out of this tomb," their was a small hint of sadness in her voice as she tried to be smug. Jarod picked it up but didn't let it show. He sucked in a slow breath.
"Are you really going to leave?" Jarod asked, quietly. "Can you really put all of this behind you and just walk away?"
Miss Parker turned her head to look at him, "That's that plan." She slowly took a few more steps around him, then stopped in front of him. She could see the lab door over his shoulder and felt the urge to check her watch again. Hadn't it been ten minutes already? she irriatedly asked herself.
Jarod wasn't angry, surprising himself at the realization. He'd known that she had always wanted out of this place, just as bad as he did now. Slight panic began to set in and Jarod went for and old play, "What about the truth, Miss Parker? Don't you still have a murder to solve?"
"That's it!" Parker was suddenly really angry now. Tired of letting him have all the control. Playing with her like he did everyone else. She wasn't his to play with. Parker pushed past him, intent on leaving.
"Don't leave!" the desparation evident in his voice but he didn't care. He reached out and grabbed her right arm at the curve of her elbow. The touch startled Miss Parker and she hestiated. He was desparate now. Things with Parker were never easy and he need to turn this around, and fast!
"Let me go, Jarod," she ground out. "I don't have to do this anymore." She pulled her arm from his hold and started again towards the door.
"What?" Jarod asked, confused at what she meant, caught in his own thoughts.
Parker stopped again, taking a deep breath as she turned. "This!" She threw her arms up in the air, gesturing wildly. "I don't have to play your games. Always trying to figure out your hints and innuendos." She stood there, waiting. For what exactly she wasn't sure.
Jarod took another deep breath, quietly he whispered, "I'm sorry." He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. The way he let this conversation go back to their old squabbles, fighting, instead of desclarations of love, romantic notions of happily ever after. He knew that any kind of 'happy ending' for him or for her would be a hard road to get to. Sorry for all the things he'd done to her in the past, the games he'd played. Didn't she know that he loved them. She was a worth advasary, keeping him on his toes, forcing him to keep sharp. Another time, another place for that conversation, he decided.
Parker looking into his eyes, stunned by the apology. Folding her arms again, trying to raise her defenses against what she saw there, sadness and disappointment. Great! Now he's disappointed in me! She chided herself, Wait! why do I care! When did what Jarod thinks of me start to matter? Nevermind . . . I don't want to think about that right now. She need to get out of here, get on with whatever she had left of a life. Miss Parker forced herself to push away the small comfort and vulability she felt when she was with Jarod. Taking a deep calming breath so looked at him.
Jarod looked at her, just watching her as she stared at him. He saw the anger disappearing. Good! he thought, now I have to get to her, tell her how I feel. Jarod turned, walked toward the back of the lab, needing to get her away from the door, away from the cameras that were focused on the center of the room.
Miss Parker watched him retreat, glad for the distance between them. Things were so different tonight and yet the same old theme between them. They'd become experts at fighting, always at each others throats. Not always, she reminder herself. Not thoses times when we really talked, shared a piece of our souls with each other. Parker let out a sigh. She'd almost let herself forget that they were sworn enemies on those nights. How she'd wished they were still friends, the way they use to be, not hunter and hunted. But weren't they different now? She was done with hunting him all over the country, following his little bread crumbs for the sake of the Centre. When he spoke again it startled her, she had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had almost forgotten she was standing in the same room as him.
"I just want things to be different between us. I mean don't you?" Jarod looked up at her. He could see she was lost, but the familiar mask she hides behind didn't come back. He still had a chance and he was taking it.
Miss Parker didn't answer him. Instead she took a step forward, into a darkened patch. She didn't want him reading her, he was too good at that.
They were near the back wall of the SIM lab and Jarod took a step toward Parker, closing the gap between them. He repeated, "don't you?" He searched the darkened area for her eyes, unable to find them.
"Things are different." Parker let out in a low whisper, "but they can never be like they were, Jarod. You know that as much as I do. Things have happened to both of us to change who we were as children."
"I know, that's not what I'm trying to say." Jarod let out an exasperated sigh. He took a few steps past Miss Parker, closing his eyes as her scent filling his being. He wasn't even sure anymore what he wanted to say. He only knew what he felt.
Parker suddenly felt nauses, from somewhere in her heart she knew what he wanted to say. She turned to face him. Jarod's face was tense, and she knew that her resolve was falling. Even in the dark, in the frosty air of the Centre, in a moment like this, he still managed to be handsome. That thought itself had lived in the depths of her heart and she couldn't let things go beyond that point. In the space of a few minutes things had snowballed beyond anything she had ever imagined possible. It was dangerous. One didn't get emotions involved in Centre business.
Isn't that what daddy always said? Parker almost let a chuckle escape her lips, but surpressed it. This wasn't a time for laughing.
"Parker, there are things happening . . ." Jarod looked down and drew a ragged breath, "I feel things that I'm not sure I should be. . . I want to. . . I think I've felt this way for a while but . . ." He was unable to look at her now. Rammbling, uncertain, hating the fact that his emotions made him careless.
Parker was alarmed now. He couldn't be saying what she thought he was saying. Was he insane? Finally lost his mind completely? This was the middle of the freaking Centre!! Did he want to sign both their death warents? She had to stop him. Things were way out of control now and she didn't like that one bit! "Jarod stop! Don't say anything else," Miss Parker took a quick step towards him, pulling her right hand up to silence him with a gesture.
Jarod's head shot up, her tone had taken him by surprise. She was right in front of him now. He could feel her breath on his face, close enough to touch, if he dared to reach out. He almost did but her eyes were hard. He realized what he'd almost done and silently cursed himself for the recklessness of it. But wasn't that the point? Didn't I want to scare her into this, scare myself into truely acknowledging what I've know in my heart for a long time now? Jarod looked down Miss Parker's body, her whole body was tense. His was . . . what? Tingling? He wanted to touch her, connect with her, he reached up with his right hand and took hold of hers.
Parker pulled away as soon as their hands made contact. The electricity that had pasted between them in that instant was too much for her and she was scared again. This had to end she had to get out of here before anything else could go wrong. She'd already have some explaining to do once she was on the other side of that door. Just as Parker made the decision to leave Jarod moved forward, almost colliding with her own advancing form.
Jarod's body came alive at the brief touch, the sensations that flooded him in that instant told him that he had to take the chance, that he had to push her just a little bit more. He steped forward just a little bit and their bodies were almost tounching.