c h a p t e r | 01
MOANING HIPPOS
'You sound like a moaning hippo.'
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"SERIOUSLY THOUGH, WHY NOT?" Parker's voice sounded thoroughly disconcerted over the phone and Tessa rolled her eyes. She repositioned her body, wriggling a little closer so she could better reach her toes. Her face was scrunched into a grimace of deep concentration as her tongue was sticking out together with a forming crease on her forehead as her eyes stayed transfixed on the project at hand.

"Park, don't you have anything else to do than to annoy me on a Sunday evening?" She mumbled into the phone, nudging it so it settled better in between her ear and shoulder, while she applied her nail polish.

This Sunday was a gift sent from heaven with no work, no functions, no nada, just pure relaxation. Yet, here she was, clearly picturing the small pout which illuminated the distinctive features that made up her best friend, though she could not see him. For what had already been half an hour she had listened to him with half an ear as she went about her pampering session.

"Aw!" She erupted as a sudden spasm went through her leg, causing it to jump and attempted to battle both bottle and phone. "Oh man, now I have to redo my toe all over again," she complained as she looked at her now smeared toe, and let out another huff as she waddled her way over to the bathroom to get the nail polish remover and some cotton pads.

Parker breathed out a slight chuckle on the other end of the line, clearly finding her setback amusing. "You know, we do live in the 21st century, right?" He drawled smugly, always amused by his friend's weird antics.

Tessa let out another sigh as she noticed Indy once again had not restocked the container and jumped onto the toilet seat to reach the top shelf of the cabinet.

"Today, the phone comes with this new feature that's called a speaker. It allows you to have your hands free to do whatever while still stringing up an uninterrupted conversation," Parker, the know-it-all's voice informed over the phone with an undertone Tessa knew all too well, however she settled with yet another eye roll. Finally, getting a hold of the cotton pads, she jumped down, heading back to her couch.

"The quality has gotten quite good too, rarely no static," he carried on unaware of Tessa's mission.

Knowing fully well how Parker's face was cracked with a smirk well planted on his full lips as he chipped away merrily, she felt seconds away from wanting to choke him.

"Thanks!" She clipped and punched the speaker button before dropping it down on the table, eyeing it with satisfaction by Parker not knowing he was once again talking to himself while she dapped away the spoiled polish.

"Hey!" Parker yelled through the phone, obviously realizing her focus was once again elsewhere.

"Mmh?" Tessa mumbled, applying the final coat of her polish. This time without a smear or blob.

"Are you even listening?" Parker huffed through the phone and Tessa shook her head. Parker was like a dog. Not once able to make do on his own. Always had to be entertained and acknowledged otherwise he might just start peeing on the floor for attention.

She let out a slight giggle by the thought that Parker might even be more poorly mannered than Mrs. Livingstone's retriever pup.

"Why are you giggling? It isn't funny!"

"I really am liking this electric blue," she mused out, ignoring him grumbling on the other end as she admired how the color glinted in the light from the lamp and she could not wait to see how well it went with her new sandals.

"Yeah! I find it remarkably intriguing," Parker hooted from the small device on the table. "I mean who knew there were so many different kinds of blue? Sapphire, cobalt, marine, royal and now behold! Electric blue!" His voice was laced with heavy sarcasm and underlined with a high pitched squeal which should imitate one of a cheerleader.

Tessa ran a hand over her face, eyeing the phone again thoughtfully. Parker really was not one for girly topics, but not even that would make him hang up the phone when he had nothing else to do.

"Funny, Park," she replied and scrolled on the lid of the polish, before grabbing the phone and put it back to her ear as she continued to study her twinkling toes. "Your stab at humor makes me want to poke my eye out," she assessed, her head dropping onto the backrest.

"Like you did that time with the candy floss in Santa Fe last fall?" Parker chirped up with a laugh and Tessa groaned by the image that popped into her head, unappreciative of the memory. Her free hand covered her eyes and forehead for a minute as she shook her head, while Parker blabbered on about how the pink sugary stuff amazingly found its way into her eye and she had to carry an eye patch like a freaking pirate for the remainder of the week.

More times than she could count, she had cursed her best friend for his astounding good memory and ability to retell every single embarrassing moment of her life with impeccable detail, and he loved to take jabs at her whenever she least expected it.

"Oh, hold on! I think I still have the picture on my phone somewhere," he mumbled thoughtfully but eagerly, his voice sounding a little further away from the phone as he quite possibly was in the process of scrolling through his picture feed and she sucked in her bottom lip before breathing out a long breath through her nose, congratulating herself for having taken the opportunity to delete that disastrous picture the first chance she got.

Quickly getting tired of her pose on the couch, she rotated so her back was now arching on the seat, one leg lifted in the air while the other was slung over the backrest. Her head now coming to hover a few inches over the floor. The blood instantly went to her head, heating up her cheeks, but still she remained in the new awkward position.

"You just turned downright on the couch, didn't you?" Parker's smug voice once again lit up through the phone.

"What makes you think that?" She spoke evasively and shrugged, not wanting to let Parker know just how well he knew her. It really was one of her favorite positions.

She tried reaching for the remote which was resting somewhere on the table, but as she was now facing the underside of it, she had no clue as to where she put it and she kept tapping away at the surface in hope of hitting it.

As she stretched her arm further, she wondered why she had not gone with a glass table instead of the wooden one. Finally, she let out a happy sigh of victory when her fingers wrapped around the lifesaver.

"Because you sound like a moaning hippo," Parker deadpanned as she turned on the TV.

"I do not sound like a moaning hippo!" She gasped through the phone, her voice slightly shrill as Parker chuckled.

"Have you ever even heard a hippo moan? Has anyone?" She retorted, finally getting onto the channel she wanted.

"Hm, now you mention it..." He hummed out, "We should go to the zoo sometime soon to find out!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm, making it sound like the quest of the century and she let out a snort in response.

"We could go right now!"

"Park, it's nine o'clock at night," Tessa started in a tone as if she was talking to a five-year-old. "I'm not going on a tour to the zoo to find out whether a hippo moans or not," she rolled her eyes, pushing the table a little to get it out of her eyesight, now able to watch the whole screen, and ready to binge-watch Supernatural for the umpteenth time.

She had yet to see the day when Dean Winchester was not the sunshine on her rainy days.

"Well, the least you can do then is to invite me over," Parker was smooth to point out in counter offer and Tessa sighed as his tone of sweet pleading did not go unnoticed. She knew the puppy dog eyes would be on full display had they face-timed.

"We've been over this, Parker. You have a fitting tomorrow-" she argued, her leg falling to place itself on the other leg on the backrest.

"Yeah, Yeah. I know tomorrow morning," he spoke with impatient indifference.

"Early morning," Tessa corrected with rebuke, and she could almost feel Parker roll his eyes.

"I know," he stressed out, before his voice turned teasing, "But I'm very good friends with my stylist and she just swoons by my charm."

"I'm your stylist," she interjected while nibbling on her bottom lip, well aware that Parker was grinning on the other end.

"Exactly, and I know you can never be mad at me," he stated proudly and an affectionate smile ghosted her lips without her accept and she ran her hand over her face, smoothing out the stray tendrils that had escaped her messy bun.

"You really shouldn't be that confident. You know it's a group photoshoot tomorrow, which is hectic enough. Plus right now, you have the audacity to interrupt my Sunday off with yapping about moaning hippos and your distaste of shrimps," she remarked into the phone.

"Hey, I'm telling you the texture is like eating slime. Much like—"

"Mushrooms," Tessa ended his sentence, "Yeah, I know. Your way of comparing things is truly astounding," she snorted and tried to stifle a laugh as she heard him let out an aggravated huff through his nose.

"It's true!" He objected and she could not help but giggle, shaking her head.

"Suuuuure, it is," she teased while still laughing, quite aware that Parker had his peculiar quirks.

"You hungry?" He cut off her merriment with the question.

"Because we're talking about shrimps and mushrooms?" Her brows furrowed in confusion, though a smile was still lingering on her lips.

"Man, I could devour a pizza... Without mushrooms!" He stressed into the phone as he already knew what she was thinking and she let out another laugh.

A persistent knock sounded through the living room interrupting her turn to pick on him and she stopped laughing, pausing the series to listen though she was quite sure she must have heard wrong. However, yet another knock boomed in the silence.

"Hold on, I think Indy..." She started as she began to get up, "Argh!" She squeaked as she dropped her phone while ungracefully getting down on the floor, bumping her head in the process before her legs fell down on the floor too with a thump.

"I'm okay!" She proclaimed as she got a hold of her phone again.

"You really should reconsider the proper ways to inhabit a couch. You'll find that the right way actually is the most comfortable one," Parker mused through the device as she made her way to the door.

"Yeah, Whatever. You're just jealous because you're not as flexible as I am," she retorted into the phone.

"Hah, like that's the problem. I think it has more to do with you being short," he shot back and she scowled as that was the adapted response to that remark.

"I'm not short, I'm just—" She opened the door only to be cut off.

"Stocky?" Parker grinned on the other side of the door and ended the phone call with a push of a button, now watching his best friend's surprised expression as he waited for a reaction.

"Park," she breathed out accusingly and his face lit up with his boyish grin, causing his honey brown eyes to gleam. The light from the faint lamppost made his jawline seem even more sharp and prominent, and his curly brown hair was ruffled and unkept like it usually was before the hairstylists got their hands on it. In other words, he looked handsome as always.

"Hungry?" He asked and lifted the pizza box, wriggling it alluringly to make Tessa realize he did not come empty handed. When she looked away from the box of treasure again, she noticed he had conjured a 6pack of beer in his other hand.

"No wine this time?" A teasing glint filled her eyes and opened the door wider to let him in. He knew as well as her that she could not turn him away on the doorstep.

Parker rubbed his chin with his thumb, a sheepish smile replacing his grin. "So I might have taken my precautions. No wine the night before a long day at work," he muttered and put down the cardboard box, while she took the beers so he could shrug out of his jacket.

"Now, it better be a margarita pizza," she glanced at him with warning while lifting the lid of the box to have a peek.

"Half margarita, half meat special," he replied as she eyed the pizza, her mouth instantly watering by the sight of the cheesy pizza.

"I still don't understand, why settle with a plain cheese pizza when there are never-ending condiments which can be added to make it the best cheat meal in the world?" He wondered and picked up the pizza after kicking off his shoes, adding them to the already messy pile in the hallway.

"Why mess with perfection?" She shrugged and bumped down on the couch, waiting for him to sit down beside her.

"Seriously, do you girls ever tidy up the place?" Parker looked around the small crammed living room with a grimace and took in all the clothes, accessories and makeup palettes which were sprawled out on the different surfaces and corners of the place.

"New samples," she shrugged again, glancing at the surroundings with a lack of interest. The place had the tendency to look like Kylie Jenner's walk-in closet had exploded - both a perk and downside of working with the most wanted models in the industry.

He let himself fall down on the couch only to tilt to the side to remove whatever he had accidentally sat on.

"Oh, Electric blue really is a cute color," he appraised, looking at the small bottle in his hand with mock excitement.

Tessa shoved her shoulder into his side, grabbing the bottle out of his grasp, and threw it into the chair before she reached to take a slice of the delicious pizza.

"Shut up and eat."

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A/N: Ta daaaaaa ! *jazz hands* So yes, this is my attempt of a light, easy, breezy comedy slash romance, talkative, quirky story. Well, at least the beginning of one.

I know this lacks in the action, moving the plot forward element, but really. Give it a chance, it'll build up already by the next chapter. I just wanted to give you a feel of the friendships in the story and small bits that have importance for other chapters. ;)

A lot is to come while I try to pencil these characters out to the best of my ability as they jump around doing the limbo in my head.

It's not gonna be like one of those brain teasers that I seem to have an affinity for, but a work of fiction which in my mind feels as light as a chick flick. And by that I mean a chick flick from back when they were actually more than boobs and boom. *wriggles brows* Don't say you don't know what I'm talking about.

*Hauls myself back from thinking about which movie to watch tonight* So! In the spirit of dorky friendships! Name one weird thing you and your best friend/friends have done.

I can mention quite a few of my own but... Yeah, you're gonna be stuck here for the rest of the day and this a/n has already gone on for way too long. So let's say things such as going midnight skinny dipping at winter, hanging from a bridge, and reenacting Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez + entourage's 'lip sync' music video of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen aren't unusual whims in my circle of friends. And don't get me started on crazy convos because yeah... They get even worse *winks*

Bonus question for those who bothered reading this far - Favorite Winchester brother? Sam or Dean?

Toodles noodles !