The Third Park (Damien x OC (Ellie) – Part 9

Allen was just entering the apartment, talking about something with Hayden, when Eleanor ran towards them.

“Allen!” – she greeted her cousin with open arms, a big smile on her face.

“Ellie!” – he hugged her back. – “Hey, how are you? Did you have any trouble with Dip—“ – his voice died when he saw her. – “Where are your pants?” – he looked over to the living room and noticed that there was someone on his couch.

“Uh, hey Allen.” – Damien said visibly embarrassed, a cushion over his lap.

“What’s happening?” – Hayden entered the apartment and saw Allen’s funny face between shock and amusement, his half-dressed cousin and a naked Damien on their couch.

And then, Allen and Hayden burst out laughing as Ellie and Damien just wished they could disappear.

Allen was still giggling a little when the four of them settled down around the table, with mugs of fresh coffee on their hands. Eleanor and Damien were now fully dressed.

“I feel like I own you an apology, Allen.” – Ellie said, half chuckling.

“Yeah, me too…” – Damien agreed, trying to hide his embarrassment by drinking all his coffee. He still felt mortified that Allen caught him on his trousers and with a fucking boner.

“Don’t worry, it was very funny! Right, baby?” – he asked Hayden who softly chuckled, resting their hand on Allen’s shoulder.

Damien saw their rings shining right on his face. He quickly stood up, announcing that he was going to get more coffee, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ellie saw the whole scene with her heart shattering for Damien. Would he ever be able to get over her cousin?

“And to think that you were worried if they would get along…” – Hayden said. – “Oh, thank you for taking care of Dipper, Eleanor. I hope she hadn’t cause any trouble.” – and they reached down to stroke the dog’s ears.

“I bet Dipper behaved herself, Ellie on the other hand…”

“Oh shut up, you prick!” – Allen let out an evil laugh. – “And Dipper’s a great girl! But I thought you were coming back later? Like, just before dinner?”

“That’s Nadia. I sent you a text when we arrived at the airport, but you clearly was too busy to see it— hey, stop!” – Allen dodged his cousin’s slap, making Hayden laugh with the scene. Damien was back from the kitchen, a new mug of fresh black coffee on his hand. Eleanor watched him cautiously as he sat down by her side. – “Anyway, I’m starving! Do you guys feel like eating pizza?”

“Uh, I better go home. I have some work to do.” – Damien said, still averting looking into Allen and see that shining ring on his left hand.

Ellie could see that he was trying to act normal, but she knew that he was dying to get out of there. All the lovey-dovey newlyweds vibes from Allen and Hayden were clearly killing him.

“And we have to unpack.” – Hayden reminded their husband, the phone pressed on their ear as they called for a pizza.

“And I have to pack my things. Sigh.” – Eleanor said dramatically. Damien bit back a laugh when she said ‘sigh’. She was so adorably weird.

“Oh, then why don’t we all go dinner out tonight? Nadia and Steve will be back by then! When is the last train to Northbridge, Ellie?”

Fuck. Ellie was going home tonight.

“10 PM. I think this is a great idea, Allen, it would be nice to have dinner with all of you before I go back to Northbridge.”

“Cool! Can you go, D?” – Allen asked him. Damien felt both cousins’ eyes already on him.

“Yeah, sure.” – he said and saw a coyly smile spreading on Eleanor’s face. He wanted to kiss her there, but he held himself back. It would be so weird to do it in front of Allen. – “Well, I’m going now. See you all later, then.”

Allen walked him to the apartment door.

Ellie averted her eyes when her cousin hugged his best friend before Damien left. She would rather die than say it out loud, but she did feel a discomfort with that scene. The way Damien looked and smiled to Allen. The way Allen seemed to have this “spell” over him.

What the fuck was wrong with her? She knew he’d been in love with her cousin since long before they had met. She never felt jealous before, so why did she felt almost hurt by it?

“Uh, I better go pack my things.” – she stood up and picked her laptop and phone left on Allen’s coffee table before going back to the bedroom as Allen and Hayden unpacked their things on the living room.

She had just closed her suitcase when she received a text.

Damien Nazario: “Unfortunately we’ll have to leave things unfinished between us.”

Eleanor smiled to her screen, feeling a warmth sensation growing inside her chest.

Eleanor Zhou: “Raincheck? 😉”

Damien Nazario: “Raincheck. See you later, Ellie.”

Nadia and Steve arrived that evening and had time to just drop their bags in their apartment and take a quick shower before going to meet with her cousins, Hayden and Damien. They agreed to regroup in the restaurant at eight o’clock.

“Ah, I missed all of you so much!” – Nadia shouted as she tightly hugged each one of them. – “And here! Paris was beautiful, but I missed New York! And how’s been your little vacation here, Ellie? Seems like you and D got along really well… right, Allen?”

“You bet!” – Eleanor rolled her eyes to her giggling cousins, but joined them anyway. Damien soon arrived.

“Oh, speaking of the devil!”

“I believe you’re talking about yourself, Nadia.”

“D, you jerk!” – and she tried to punch him on the arm, but Damien was faster and grabbed her wrist.

“Yeah, yeah, I missed you too.” – he hugged her as she still tried to punch him, making everyone else laugh.

Since it was a Friday night, the restaurant was a little packed and they would have to wait for a table for a few minutes. Damien said that he would get himself a drink at the bar and Ellie decided to go with him.

“Already drinking?” – she asked as they waited for his drink.

“If I’m going to listen to Allen talking about his honeymoon through the whole night, I’ll need some help. Alcohol help.”

“Aaaw, you poor thing.” – she said teasingly, leaning closer to him. He rolled his eyes, but she saw a small smile on his lips.

The barman gave Damien his drink and they walked back to where her cousins and their partners were chatting.

“…Cinque Terre was as beautiful as we imagined…” – Hayden was saying as they joined the group.

Damien withdrew his hand that was on the small of her back, but she felt his fingers brushing slightly on hers before he put his hand inside his pocket. He was fucking teasing her and Eleanor had to control the sudden urge she had to pull his face to hers and pick up where they left off that afternoon when Allen and Hayden arrived on the apartment. Would people notice if they disappeared for some time?

Nadia suddenly announced:

“I need to use the restroom! What about you, Ellie?” – Ellie was going to say that she was good, but she knew that she would have to go with her cousin whether she liked it or not, by the way Nadia looked at her.

Eleanor Zhou would never confess it out loud, but she had always had a soft spot for that little cinnamon roll. All Nadia had to do was to look at her with those shining eyes that she would agree with everything. And that was how they once ended up swimming in the Central Park lake with their clothes on when they were thirteen.

“Sure, me too.” – she heard herself saying, before Nadia linked her arm in hers and practically dragged her to the women’s restroom.

“Be right back!” – Nadia shouted over her shoulder. Ellie rolled her eyes, chuckling. – “So!” – her cousin squealed as soon as they were inside the empty restroom. Eleanor calmly walked over to the mirror, fixing her hair. – “Spit out!”

“About what?” – she saw Nadia rolling her eyes by the mirror reflex.

“About you and D, duh!! Tell me all about it! Even the juicy details, I want to know everything! No wait, I don’t want to know everything. It’s kind of weird seeing my best friend like that. But you understood me! So, shoot!” – she leaned over the sink, her eyes gleaming excitedly. – “You did it, didn’t you? You’re both like literally glowing. It’s written all over your faces ‘WE HAD WILD SEX’!” – Ellie chuckled. Nadia was such a big dork.

“Please. I know Allen told you that he and Hayden found me and Damien half undressed on their apartment.”

“Alright, he might have texted me about it. But don’t think I didn’t notice the ‘innocent’ flirting between you and D. The way you’re always finding excuses to touch each other. The way he eyes your body hungrily. I swear, that man is holding himself to keep his pants on!” – Ellie would never confess it out loud, but it felt damn good to know that she had that effect over him. – “And the way you shoot side glances to him! I knew you guys linked! In the wedding! The way D was speechless when he met you. He’d never acted this way before.”

“This is a lie. He acts this way towards Allen.” – Eleanor said in a frustrated tone and cursed herself for that. Don’t you dare start acting all jealous right now! She desperately tried change the subject back to Nadia’s curiosity: “Anyway, what do you want to know? I’m an open book.”

And that was true. She didn’t know why, but Nadia had this skill to get Ellie to tell her everything. Maybe it was because she always felt closer to her than to Allen, or because Nadia was just so simply adorable.

“Well, what did you guys do? Where did you go? Allen told me that he gave you D’s phone number and address in case you needed his help.”

“Yes, it was exactly like this. I was struggling to connect to Allen’s Wi-Fi—”

“I can’t believe Allen forgot to inform you the most important thing ever! His Wi-Fi password!”

“EXACTLY!” – she knew Nadia would understand her! – “And I had to go to Damien’s house and drag him back to the apartment to help me with it.” – her cousin started laughing.

“Let me guess, you called him but he wouldn’t pick up?” – Eleanor nodded, chuckling too. – “I’ve lost count on how many times I had to go there personally because he wouldn’t answer his damn phone! Can you believe that I had to rescue him on my wedding day?! He was so wasted that he totally forgot about it, and he was our Best Man! I swear, that man has the heaviest sleep on Earth!” – Ellie laughed.

“Well, we went to drink on a pub and played this card game…”

“OMG, the legendary Nazario Chug?!” – Nadia shouted. – “I’ve never played it, just Allen! This means that D really likes you, Ellie!” – Ellie rolled her eyes, trying to not get too excited by Nadia’s words. She was very aware that Damien still was in love with Allen.

“…This was Tuesday night. Yesterday we went out to grab some dinner. And…” – Nadia squealed excitedly to her cousin’s mischievous smirk. – “…yes, the sex is fantastic. He wasn’t kidding when he used to call himself ‘Big D’—”

“Alright, alright, this is too much information for me! Too much information!” – Ellie laughed with Nadia interruption. – “I won’t hear the rest of this!”

“I thought you wanted to know everything?”

“Are you trying to traumatize me? Damien is like my big brother! I don’t need to know this!” – they shared a laugh. – “But I’m so glad for both of you, Ellie.”

“Nadia, I’m not dating Damien. We’re just getting to know each other. And he’s helping me with Lucy; I hired him as my private investigator.”

“Oh shit, is she still with that shady guy?” – she nodded. – “Anyway, I’m just so happy that you and D got to meet each other! He’s really a great guy and I know he still is struggling to get over Allen. You probably noticed that he tries to drown himself on alcohol when he’s feeling a little down or uncomfortable, right?” – Ellie sighed, nodding. – “He deserves happiness, especially after what that bitch did to him and Allen choosing to stay with Hayden. And you too. I’ve always felt you a little lonely since your mom passed away, you know? And especially after Lucy started dating that douchebag. We might not get to see each other a lot, but I know you, Ellie.” – Nadia looked at her deeply in the eyes, taking her hands in hers. – “I worry about you, little cousin.” – Ellie wanted to chuckle. Nadia had always called her like that, just because she was a year younger than her and Allen. But now Eleanor was like a half-feet taller than her petite cousin. – “I know that when you’re feeling a little down or stressed, you drown yourself on work. You work like crazy. And this is why this is your first vacation in 5 years, right?”

Ellie could have told her that she was mistaken. She didn’t work that much. But that would be a lie. Eleanor Zhou knew that she worked like crazy and that was why she already was Mortif’s Art Editor.

And Nadia was totally right about her working too much. When her mother got sick, Eleanor immediately fled back home, to Cedar Cove, to help and spend her last moments with her. She had made the conscious decision that, if she had lost that year in college, it would be okay, she could try next year, all she wanted was to be with her mom. But she died within a couple of months, so Eleanor went back to Hartfeld. She was a Senior and was doing her final project and she buried herself in it. She went back to her internship, so Ellie was basically working 24/7. She made everything to keep herself busy and hoped to let the pain go away. But Lucy knew that she wasn’t okay and reminded her that life was more than just working and that Ellie should enjoy it too. And that was something her mom had always told her: to find balance in life.

The Park cousins also helped her a lot. They stayed with her at Cedar Cove when her mom died, even though they had to work. Since Nadia had a more flexible job, she took Eleanor to Seattle, the closest big city to her hometown. They spent just the weekend there, but Ellie still remembered all the fun they had. It definitely helped her cope a little better with her mother’s death.

“Thank you for always looking after me, Nadia. But I’m okay, really. And about Damien… I’m just going to see where this goes. No pressure.” – Nadia smiled widely at her before pulling her in a tight hug. Eleanor hugged her favorite cousin back. – “I would die and kill for you, Nadia. You’re too cute.”

“Shut up!” – Nadia shoved her playfully, making her laugh. – “I’m not cute! But I’m glad that you’ve got my back, Ellie. I’ve got yours too, you know this, right?”

Eleanor smile widened as they exited the restroom.

“Is everything okay?” – Steve asked, his hand already intertwining with Nadia’s.

“Yep, there was a queue. Where’s Allen and Hayden?”

“They already went to our table, but we waited for you.”

“Oh, aren’t you two both gentlemen?” – Nadia giggled and kissed her husband on the cheek.

“May I accompany you?” – Damien extended his arm to Eleanor, which she accepted.

“Gladly.” – Steve and Nadia walked forward, hand in hand. Ellie bit back an urge to laugh every time her cousin looked over her shoulder, practically squealing by just seeing her and D together.

“…I bet Nadia asked about us.” – Damien leaned closer and whispered. She’d definitely miss his low and husky voice in her ear. She chuckled.

“You know her too well.” – Eleanor said, holding tighter to his arm. – “She demanded me to tell everything that happened between us to her.”

“And did you tell her?”

“You know how Nadia is very persuasive. I always say how those puppy dog eyes of hers are my greatest weakness.” – Damien chuckled. He knew very well what she meant; it was practically impossible to deny little evil Nadia anything.

“Oh God, Nadia will never leave me alone after this.”

“Yeah, she won’t.” – Ellie agreed as they sat by the table, side by side.

The dinner went better than Damien Nazario imagined. He was sure that it would be as awkward as hell, eating with all the three Park cousins there – plus Hayden and Steve -, especially after he was caught by Allen, the one he’d been in love for the last six years, half-naked with his cousin Ellie, the one he’d met less than a week ago and to whom he was desperately attracted to.

But it went smoothly. The Park cousins knew how to make everyone feel at ease, especially Nadia, with all her “adorkableness”.

Steve and Nadia still were talking about their vacation in France while they all waited for their desserts. Damien was sipping his full-bodied red wine, when he almost choked.

“Damien, are you okay?” – Hayden turned to him, a worried expression in their face. – “Do you want some water?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.” – he told them, his cough stopping gradually.

“Maybe you should stop drinking so much.” – he heard Ellie saying from his other side. He glared at her, but she simply grinned mischievously at him, before drinking her own wine. Her other hand still was on his thigh, dangerously close to his crotch.

Of course she’d been teasing him throughout the dinner. Sometimes he would feel her foot ‘innocently’ touching his leg, her hands brushing on his ‘accidentally’ and now, her hand just ‘casually’ resting on his lap.

She was driving him mad. And the worst part was that he was enjoying it very much.

…Fuck. He was going to miss Eleanor Zhou more than he had ever imagined possible.

After the dessert – actually, just the three Parks asked for it, since all of them got a sweet tooth -, they all went to Allen’s apartment so Ellie could grab her suitcase, before taking her to the station where she would take her train to Northbridge.

“Thank you so much for taking care of Dipper, Ellie. And you should come here see us more often.”

“YES!” – Nadia squealed, agreeing with Allen. Eleanor chuckled. – “We miss you, you know!”

“I miss you too and yes, maybe I should. I loved coming here and next time I want to hang out with you too, guys.” – the three of them shared a hug.

Then, each of them took turns to say goodbye to her. Damien patiently waited, being the last one, wanting to postpone it as much as possible. He hated goodbyes. Even if they were going to see each other soon like they were. When it was finally his turn, Ellie had that side grin on her face. Nadia dragged everyone away to give them some privacy, making Damien roll his eyes and Ellie chuckle a little.

“So.” – he took a step closer to her, with his hands inside his pockets. She watched him with an amused look. – “Uh, I hope you liked your staying here in New York.”

“Oh, plenty. Thanks for wasting your time with me, Nazario. You didn’t have to babysit me, yet you were kind enough to hang out with the outsider cousin.” – her smirk was enough to make him a little less tense.

“It was my pleasure, Zhou.” – he grinned at her, that charming smile of his that made her want to take his clothes off. – “You’re a great company. Besides, I’ll see you soon, right?”

“You better, because I’ll be paying you.” – he chuckled.

“Right. Just because of this.”

“Hey, I like my money a lot, okay?” – they both shared a laugh. – “So you’ll send me an email with your professional contact and we’ll communicate through there?”

“Exactly. I usually do everything as anonymously as possible.”

“…But we still can talk to each other privately, right?” – her eyes shined that way he knew too well by now. She took a step closer to him, her hands playing with his tie.

“Well, you got my number, don’t you?” – she smiled back at him.

“Always better confirm that the other part is interested too.” – she said, fixing his tie. She was so close he could feel the scent of her perfume and shampoo. Fuck, he was going to miss her so much. They’ve known each other for just a week, but he already was so used to her company. And he never was the type of guy to open so easily. He knew how to play his cards right, but care for someone so much in so little time… but, well, she was a Park. And it was more than confirmed that they were his weakness. All three of them.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about this. You’re a fucking tease.” – she giggled. – “You were driving me mad during dinner.”

“Well, I had to make sure that you would miss me.” – he watched that mischievous grin of hers widening in her lips. – “…But I mean it when I say thanks for sticking with me all these days, D. I know things were a little crazy.” – she kept saying, whispering to him. – “Thanks for your help and company.”

“It was no—“ – but then she leaned in and kissed him, her lips soft and sweet against his. She felt his hand brushing the hair away from her face and she pulled out before he could deepen the kiss.

“…I better go.” – she smirked, walking backwards. – “Don’t miss me too much, okay, Nazario?” – she winked at him and turned on her heels, walking away from him.

And then, she disappeared inside the train station.