Cliff Parker
Cliff was glad that Lexi was in good spirits, but he wasn't really sure what she was saying when she went on about someone named Lance making out with her at the assembly. The name rang a bell, probably since the head of school had addressed the new student during the meeting, but he couldn't put a face to it and brushed it off as Lexi just being dramatic. While he was quite protective of her, he was aware that she got with guys. It would be idiotic to think otherwise, and Cliff wasn't against Lexi being with other guys, since he didn't exactly want her for himself. However, he had older brother-like standards for whoever the guy she was seeing. Logan had been a perfect guy for her at the start. While Cliff knew better than anyone that he was promiscuous, he also trusted that Logan wouldn't do anything to hurt Lexi. Reflecting on it, he knew he should have known better. Logan would try to seduce any girl with a heartbeat, regardless of how perfect his current girlfriend was for him.
Cliff felt like Lexi was moving a mile a minute, but he took that as an indicator of the party being fun. He didn't expect any less from an Annelise Walton event, though. Speaking of the Queen, Cliff soon stood in front of her as Lexi pulled them towards the bar. God, is she gorgeous... He only checked her out for a moment but when he shifted his gaze to her face, it took more of an effort than it normally would have. Was Lex right? Had she seriously had this much of a draw to her for the past three years and he had been blind to it? Maybe too wrapped up in his own life or preconceived notions about her to consider that she wasn't quite as ruthless as she was panned out to be? He wasn't sure, but the way that he began to sweat from just being in her presence wasn't a good sign.
A drink was needed and he didn't object to the tequila shot that was handed to him. In fact, after he downed it, he turned to the bartender and ordered a beer too. He preferred the simple beverage over fruity drinks, and didn't want to overdo the hard liquor tonight either. When he turned back around to the group, Benjamin Henderson had appeared, but was quickly being pulled away by Lexi to go dance. Lex was also leaving him, as he headed in the opposite direction with Katherine's step-sister, leaving him alone with Annelise.
If he was uncomfortable before, he was even more so now, but he didn't want to keep feeling this way. Even if these sudden feelings for Annelise were strange, he needed to either validate or invalidate them. Part of him wanted to just come out and directly ask her if there was something new about her besides the hair, that he was missing, but he also wanted to play it cool. He needed to be suggestive but not too direct but the normally calm and collected Cliff was suddenly at a loss for words. Even though the music was loud enough to negate awkward silence, he still felt awkward. "I don't know what I'm thinking throwing a party the day after one like this," he smiled slightly but shook his head. "It's not gonna be big or anything, but you should come if you have time." Where the hell was he going with this conversation? He took a slug of his beer as his eyes searched behind Annelise. The one time that he wanted Katherine or Lexi to boldly interrupt a conversation, the two were out of sight. "You know, you look really nice tonight. Different, I think, but in a good way." He said it. It was just a simple compliment, but for Cliff, it was a big step.