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As Parker looked around the circle that formed in the middle of the room, he couldn't help but tap his foot in excitement. He had finally done it, he had every dateable that had been struck in the attic for as long as he had, sitting with him. And they were willing to play his games!
He had formatted the circle perfectly, telling everyone where to sit. He sat about a foot away from the wall, an easy spot to be seen from. To his left, sat Memoria, next to Sophia. The two engaged in a conversation, which Parker thinks is about Ro-Dog. He couldn't really tell, and he also had other issues to be worrying about, so he didn't harbor on it. Next to Sophia sat Monique, who was sat next to Prissy. They were also having polite conversation, some stuff about being green or fake, maybe capitalism? Next to Prissy was an open space, though it did feel as there was some sort of energy there. Finally, Artt sat and talked to Hector, who was on Parker's right. Hector described the player and Artt listened tentatively, sketching them out in his mind, hoping one day to meet this divine force that Hector preached about.
Parker finally lowered himself into the open spot in the circle, where everyone else sat. He cleared his throat, causing the conversations that were happening to cease. All attention snapped to Parker, and his smile grew as he felt all eyes on him, attentive and ready. He reached behind him, grabbing a deck of cards and bringing them in front of him.
"I would like to thank you friends for joining me today on this warm summer afternoon. I can almost feel the sun's rays and slight breeze from outside, this game shall be perfect!" Parker narrated, carefully taking the cards out of the cover and setting the jokers to the side, along with the cover.
"Have you ever been outside?" Prissy asks and Parker raises his head to make eye contact with the "plant" that sat across from him.
"No, silly. But I have a good feeling on how it would feel out there!" Parker smiled, tilting his head as he spoke. His gaze fell back to the cards in his hands as he split the deck, shuffling them with ease.
"So, the game we are playing today is called, Hearts!" He announced, pulling the top card from the deck facing outwards, which happened to be the queen of hearts. He turned the card around to see for himself and pumped his fist in the air! "That was almost embarrassing!" He pauses, putting the card back. "This game is usually played with four people but thats okay!"
"Is there no special name for this game?" Artt points out, having watched Parker play his games many times, like Sandyland.
"Nope! I am pretty sure that the game is not copyrighted! I think!" Parker smiles, giving the deck one more good shuffle.
Parker began to pass out cards, laying them face down in front of everyone, one at a time.
"How this game works, is that you are trying to get the least amount of points, and no teaming. Highest card is ace, lowest is two. Turns will go clockwise," He leans back pointing to Memoria, then curving his wrist into a circle. "Whoever gets the 2 of clubs will go first, putting the card down in the middle. Then, each player will try to put down a card of the same suit. Whoever put down the highest card takes the cards from that round, putting them to their side. If you receive a card with a heart on it, thats a point against you. You get one point against you for each heart card, and thirteen for the queen of spades."
"Thirteen points for one card?!" Monique shoots up, startling the objects around her.
"Yes! And once everyone is out of cards, I will collect and reshuffle myself, then allow everyone else to reshuffle before passing cards back. Once i finish passing out the cards, you may look at your own and choose 3 to pass to the player to your left. Once you pick the cards, put them face down between the two of you, and you can only pick up those cards AFTER you have passed your cards." Parker says, passing the last card in the deck to Hector.
Everyone picks up their cards, looking over them and deciding which would be the best to pass on. Parker puts down a 9 of spades, a 10 of hearts, and a queen of diamonds between him and Memoria, watching her put some next to Sophia. He grabs cards from the floor between him and Hector, which are the 3 of hearts, 8 of clubs, and queen of spades. He catches Hector's worried glance, figuring out if that was too mean. But Parker beams and holds a thumb up to Hector, reassuring him that he's playing the game right. Parker diverts his gaze, watching Prissy stretch over the empty spot, being grabbed by Artt who also has to flex to reach them.
"Is everyone done?" Parker asks, earning nods from the group. "Wonderful! Now, whoever has the two of clubs, please put it face-up in the middle of our circle." As Parker finishes his sentence, Memoria bends over and puts the card down, the whole group watching, then their eyes shifting to Sophia.
"Oh. It is my turn? So, I put down a club, is that correct?" She asks, looking at Parker for clarification.
"Correct! Put down any club if you can, and if you don't have a club then you're welcome to put down another card." Parker smiles, earning a nod from Sophia who was studying her cards carefully. After a moment, she put down a five of clubs. As Sophia pulled her hand away, Monique put down the queen of spades, earning a few gasps from the circle. Parker beamed, making eye contact with the girl who was now grinning mischievously.
"Incredible move from Monique! Breaking Hearts!" The circle looks at him, confused. "... Thats the actual term in the game the first point of the game. Anyways, it is your turn, Prissy!" Parker exclaims and Prissy nods, putting down a five of clubs. Artt puts down a jack of clubs, Hector puts down a three of spades, and Parker puts a seven of clubs.
"So, who gets the points?" Memoria asks, her mysterious demeanor seemingly beginning to ease up as everyone gets more comfortable and used to the game. Parker put his hand face down, leaning forward and looking through the cards to jog his memory.
"Who put down the jack of clubs?" Parker asks, raising his head and looking around the circle.
"I did." Artt raised his hand and Parker turned to face him, smiling while straightening the pile.
"Alright. So you put these on your side, and you now have 13 points." Parker hands the card stack to the Adonis of a man.
"Aren't points bad?" Hector asks in a quiet voice, causing Parkers head to turn from Artt to the AC.
"You are absoLUTELY correct, Hector! Whoever has the least amount of points by the end, wins the game!" Parker beams, causing Hector to smile back, before Parker returns to his spot.
"Now, whoever received the cards last round goes first!" Parker smiles, picking his cards back up.
"So just... any card?" Artt questioned, reviewing his options.
"Affirmative!" Parker barked a little too loudly, but it seemed that everyone was used to it by now. Artt put down a six of diamonds, followed by Hector putting a nine of diamonds, Parker a three of diamonds, Memoria a five of spades, Sophia a king of diamonds, Monique a four of clubs, and finally, Prissy an eight of diamonds.
Parker examined the cards closely, a hand curved around his chin as he thought. He pointed at a card, looking around the circle.
"King of diamonds!" Parker blurted, causing Sophia to raise her hand and collect the cards.
"Wait, does Sophia get any points?" Prissy asked, looking quizzical.
"Nope, no one put down a heart card. Therefore, she was safe. For that round!" Parker nodded towards Sophia, beckoning her to start the next round. She placed a five of hearts, and the other players followed suit, placing their cards down and determining who got the stack and if they got points.
Dorian appeared at the attic door for his daily check around the house. He expected the attic to be the way that it usually was. Quiet, everyone in their own respective corners and minding their business. Sometimes with the exception of Parker trying to coax Dorian into playing with him or another object, there really wasn't a lot going on in the attic. For the most part, everyone had grown used to their secluded lifestyles. But instead, Dorian was shocked to see everyone in a circle.
And, what might have been the most shocking part, is that no one noticed his presence. They were all so engaged in the game, it seemed so unnatural. And, better yet, they all listened when Parker talked. No one scoffed, or laughed, or seemingly even rolled their eyes. They listened to him. Dorian caught himself smiling, especially looking at how happy that Parker was. He often took pity on the man, being too much for most people. He was locked away from the people that would likely deal with him any time.
"Oh, hey Dorian! Do you want to play with us?" Parker finally noticed Dorians presence, his words making Hector jump and turn around nervously, looking like he was ready to take flight. Parker's words snapped Dorian back to reality, chuckling and shaking his head.
"Nah mate, I'm alright. Thank you for the offer. You lot havin' fun?" Dorian asked to the circle, earning shocked looks from the others. Dorian knew that they weren't the chattiest bunch, but he realized in that moment that he hadn't ever talked to about half of them. And the other half, he only had polite conversation with. (With the exception of Parker, obviously).
Instead of answering, Parker looked around the circle at the responses from the group. He always assumed that most of them didn't like him, but he was hoping that they were at least enjoying his game.
"Yes, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I'm glad Parker finally got us all out of our shell." Artt said, and the circled nodded, a few letting out small words of approval. Parker let out the breath that he didn't even know he was holding, turning back to the game. He put down a five of hearts and Memoria groaned, grabbing the pile.
"Three points for me." She pointed out and Parker nodded, making a mental note.
The game continued, before eventually coming to an end. It was probably about midnight by the time that Parker started wrapping up. He put the cards away, smiling as everyone stood, stretching out their forms.
"Hey, good job man!" Parker turned to Hector, shaking his hand and congratulating him for winning. He returned the gesture, a blush playing on his cheeks from slight embarrassment.
"Thank you for organizing this, Parker." Hector said in a soft voice, smiling sweetly.
"Of course!" He beamed back, mindfully keeping his tone a little lower when face to face with Hector.
"Thank you all for coming! This was an amazing game!" Parker announced, turning back to the circle and smiling. He expected everyone to nod and go back to their respective areas and never talk to him ever again.
"So, when's the next one, darling?" Sophia asked and Parker turned his head to face her, stunned. He opened his mouth a few times, closing it and trying to comprehend the very tall woman's words.
"Uhh... you guys would want that?" Parker asked hesitantly, not quite believing that he heard her right.
"Yeah, for sure!" Artt confirmed, nodding.
"Only if you'd be okay with hosting us again." Memoria added, making sure that Parker didn't feel too pressured.
"Yeah... yes of course! I will, uh, plan something soon. Thank you all, again." Parker smiled, a blush forming on his face. He's not used to people actually wanting to hang out with him, especially more than once.
So, everyone went back to their respective places. Artt gave Parker a reassuring and firm pat on the back, thanking him for organizing, before he walked away.
Parker laid down, closing his eyes and smiling at the day as he slowly fell into unconsciousness, the attic returning to it's usual silence. Parker hoped that it wouldn't be usual for too much longer.