A Pal Love Story: Parker and Val in the Biodome

Who Dun It?

Parker's POV

I take deep breaths in and out as I try to soothe the oncoming panic attack that's floating right above me. 'She can't be missing. She can't be missing.'

I try to make a million and one excuses. 'She's probably just wandering out there, looking for me. Or maybe she needed some fresh air. Yeah. That's probably it.'

I rush outside the door, in a hurry to track down the love of my life, but I unfortunately crash into an annoying blonde and fall backwards onto the floor beneath me.

"Oh. Parker, honey, you've gotta stop falling for me," Crystal smugly says.

Before I can even say anything, she says, "I don't believe you've met my new roommate. Meet Jack," a dark haired boy walks out the door, only to be rushed back inside by Crystal.

"Crystal, I don't have any time for you or Jack," I rush out, trying to get up quickly and walk past her. Before I can get a foot past her, she swiftly puts her hand on my chest, halting me from going any further.

"Uh uh uh. Hold up just a second and," she peers around me to check if Val's in the room and smiles when she realizes she's nowhere to be seen, "just listen to me. I think I've been able to make some pretty convincing points on why you should choose me over Val. It'll be worth your time."

"Seriously Crystal, I'm in the middle of an emergency right now," I try to pass her again only to be stopped by her hand again.

"Awww. Your precious baby Val goes missing for three seconds and you simply can't breath!" she teases.

"Crystal," I whisper as harshly as I can.

"Oh please. Just stop focusing on her for a second and focus on me," she bats her eyelashes.

"Do you know why you haven't seen your roommate all day?" I ask, trying to derail the conversation so she'll finally realize I'm being dead serious.

"No, why?" she asks.

"Because earlier he got arrested for sexually assaulting Val," I say slowly.

Her body freezes and she gets a horrified expression on her face.

"And... now she's missing," she whispers.

"Yes. So if you would kindly let me past you so I could go and search for her, that would be lovely," I say.

She lifts her hand off my chest and steps to the side, granting me right of passage.

"Parker!" I hear from behind me. What does she want now?

"If you can't find her in ten minutes, call the police. Sometimes, you can't do everything."

Keeping the thought in mind, I go and search around the biodome, but don't see a goddess in sight. So, I take Crystal's advice and call the police. They come in fifteen minutes and they start to search inside and outside the biodome. 

I'm told to stay inside and not get myself into trouble, but I could care less. I don't care if I get myself kicked out of this place, I just need to know that Val is safe.

I sneak outside one of the back doors, the fresh, natural air hitting my face. It's only been a few days since I've been outside, but with all these recent events it's felt like forever.

I run out into the forest as fast as I can stumbling on branches when I hear a faint, "Parker."

When I realize it's Val's voice, I sprint harder and faster over to where I heard her. I see her laying down on the ground in a mess of leaves and quickly go to her aid.

I pick her up bridal style and carry her all the way back to the biodome, where we're met by paramedics and policemen.

The next few hours into the night are all a blur as everyone rushes to help the both of us out. All I remember is Val being released because nothing physically harmed her and me cuddling her to sleep as I pass out as well...

The next day, I wake up with Val in my arms. I look over and notice the unused bed. Maybe they should just take the bed out of the room considering we haven't used it since we moved in.

"Parker?" I hear Val whisper.

"Shh, Val. It's ok. Just get some rest," I whisper.

"No, Parker, I need to tell you something. I've just endangered you. I knew I shouldn't have confessed to you. I might have just put your life at risk," she starts to blurt out.

"Val, slow down. What's going on," I try to be as soothing as possible.

"I was kidnapped yesterday, Parker. By someone from my past. I knew I shouldn't have told you I loved you because that would put you in danger, but I did it anyways, and now he knows who you are and I need you to get away from me-"

"Val. Get some rest. Please. You're not obligated to do anything today. Just please. You're worrying me," I interrupt.

"Fine," she mutters before collapsing back onto the bed.

"But don't forget, the police are coming later today to question us some more," I remind her.

I get up and get ready, heading out into the center of the biodome to begin the day. I see everyone gathered around one of the helpers and join them.

"Hello, everyone. As I'm sure everyone's heard, there has been some drama in the biodome and due to those circumstances, one of the students was arrested. So now we welcome with open arms, the first student on the waiting list, a boy named Jack who will be sharing a room with Crystal Ruby," they must be announcing the presence of that guy Crystal introduced to me yesterday.

After everyone says their hi's, I walk up to him and hold out my hand, "Hi. My name's Parker Rooney. Sorry we didn't get a proper introduction yesterday, I was in a hurry to do something."

"Understood. Our faulty introduction was probably also caused by Crystal's urgency to talk to you," he laughs. He's much better than Drake, that's for sure.

"Yeah. How is staying with Crystal so far?" I ask.

"It's-"

"Just wonderful, isn't it?" Crystal interrupts and jumps in, hugging both arms around his neck.

"Sure is," Jack strains. Poor guy.

"We are going to have so much fun! Parker, I've decided to give up on you because I think you might be little sick in the head to have rejected me so many times," Crystal explains.

"Sure, Crystal. I am perfectly fine with that. And also, thank you for the advice yesterday. I probably would've never called the police and we would've never told someone and now, they're looking for the culprit. So thank you for that," I say. For once, Crystal was nice, and I wanted to give her credit for that.

"Y-yeah, no problem," she stutters before she rushes away to her room. She seemed almost... embarrassed to be thanked for being nice.

But on to more important matters.

Who kidnapped Val?

And why?