Lou and Parker

Lou and Parker is the friendship/romantic pairing (non-canon) of Lou Hockhauser and Parker Preston from Disney's Bunk'd.

## History

### Season 5

#### R.V. Having Fun Yet?

In season 5, Parker Preston is introduced. He first appears in episode three of the season titled "R.V. Having Fun Yet?" He announces himself as the new co-owner of Camp Kikiwaka, which comes as an *unpleasant* surprise for Lou. When she verifies Parker's claim that his family does indeed own 15% percent of the camp, she reluctantly allows him to stick around, not wanting him to sell his share to the rival camp Camp Champion. Meanwhile, she just wants to have a simple event for the parents, so that they'll enroll their kids in the new program she has created for the younger campers. However, Parker keeps bugging her with his over the top ideas for taking the camp to the "next level". In order to prove to Lou that he can take the camp to the "next level", Parker goes behind her back and convinces Noah, Finn, and Matteo to ditch Lou's simple plans for the event and go all out in order to impress the parents. However, through a series of shenanigans, things get out of control at the event, causing all the frustration Lou feels about all of a sudden having to deal with an unwanted co-owner to turn into absolute anger. She then tells Parker that he should just leave, but then he reveals to her that he has nowhere else to go, because his wealthy parents kicked him out and cut him off from all their money due to his bad business ideas. Eventually though, Parker tells Lou that he should've listened to her and shouldn't have dragged Noah, Finn, and Matteo into his scheme, then decides to leave anyways despite having nowhere else to go. However, Noah, Finn, and Matteo convince Lou to allow him to stay. She stops him from leaving, telling him that she'll give him a trial run and allow him to work at the camp to see how it goes.

#### Everyone's Trap'd

Before the events of this episode, Parker is still trying to prove himself to Lou, but Lou still doesn't seem to agree with Parker on a lot of his ideas. Anyways, during this episode, Lou is super busy with running the camp, being deputy mayor, and taking a college class. Parker tries to get Lou to be less busy so she can hear all of his ideas, so he turns in her assignment for her. When Lou finds out about this, she and Parker hurry to get the project back from the chemistry classroom because she doesn't want to cheat. But then because of Parker - *of course* - they get trapped in the classroom over night. Parker accidentally knocks over something labeled Truth Vapor and believing that they are under the influence of a truth serum, the two dare each other to ask questions they think the other would usually lie about. That's when Parker asks Lou if she really thinks her ideas are bad, to which she laughs and says yes, and tells him to ask her a harder question. That's when Parker becomes vulnerable and asks her "do you think you could ever like me?" To which Lou says "I do like you." Parker is doubtful about that and the two go on to have a heart to heart moment and admit that they admire each other - Lou admires how Parker always stays positive and how he's not afraid to think big and Parker says he admires Lou for how she actually accomplishes things and because of how much the campers rely on her. Later on, it is revealed that they actually weren't under the influence of a truth serum at all, the supposed truth vapor they knocked over was just the name of the professor's perfume, meaning they admitted that they admired each other all on their own.

#### The Great Awkward Bake-Off

In episode 14 of season 5, Lou asks Parker if she can stay with him in his fancy RV since the director's cabin needs to be fixed. Parker allows her to stay with him. Later on, Parker finds out from Finn that the director's cabin is fine, which makes Parker question why Lou lied and why she is staying with him. Finn tells Parker that Lou has a crush on him, to which Parker seems very excited about. After that, Parker goes in the RV and sees that Lou has candles on the table and romantic music on. That's when Parker seems really convinced that Lou has a crush on him and tries to get Lou to admit how she really feels for him. Finally, Lou admits that she loves - his RV. It turns out that she just got comfortable using the RV after he let her borrow it for the road trip and still wanted to live in the fancy RV for a little while longer, so she lied about her cabin needing to be fixed in order to stay with him. Parker seems very disappointed when he realizes all the signs of her having a crush on him was a misunderstanding. The fancy dinner was just so that he would let her stay in his fancy RV longer, the candles were for getting rid of mosquitoes, and the so called romantic music was just the playlist that Parker had on.

And last but certainly not least, after Parker admits to Lou that he thought she liked him, that's when Lou asked him "you weren't, like, *into* my imaginary feelings for you - Were you? Because that would be ridiculous, right?"

To which Parker quickly says "of course that's ridiculous" and then the two laugh - very awkwardly - before Lou leaves. When she does leave, Parker repeats the word "ridiculous" to himself and seems to be contemplating something for a while, before distracting himself with something else (combing his hair while listening to his "smooth jams to comb my hair too" playlist to be specific). This is the first (and only episode as of the season 7 episode "Coop D'etat") to bring up the topic of romance between these two characters.

#### Frien'ds Forever

Now that the last day of camp is here, Lou and Parker make plans with each other, where Lou will show him around the town of Moose Rump. However, those plans go out the window when Parker's sister arrives and tells him that he can officially come back home now, Parker at first decides to go back home - that's when Lou admits that she will miss him before he leaves and they share a sweet hug. And then later on, when Lou and all the campers and counselors are preparing to say goodbye to each other for the summer, she admits that the only thing that would make the moment better is "if Parker were here". Of course, Parker decides to come back, telling Lou that he wants to see what he can do on his own two feet, instead of relying on his family.

### Season 6

#### Badminton to the Bone

In the episode, Lou reluctantly allows Parker to do the morning announcements. However, Lou wants him to stick to reading off of her clipboard instead of going off script. But Parker doesn't listen to her and basically goes overboard, putting on an extravagant show while announcing that the campers get to have dessert every meal. After this, Lou and Parker start arguing and Jake offers to help them work out their disagreements. Jake tries all sorts of things, including making the two wear each other's clothes while pretending to be each other. When the two are pretending to be each other, they start insulting each other. When Jake panics about how his ideas to help only made them angrier at each other, Lou admits that Parker was right about how she can micromanage things too much sometimes, to which Parker admits that she only has to do that because he constantly goes overboard, which then Lou tells him that he only goes overboard because he's trying so hard to make things fun for the kids and that's something she "really admires" about him. Parker also goes on to tell Lou that the only reason he's so obsessed with leveling up is because she sets the bar so high and tells her that she's his role model.

### Season 7

#### Cursed Day of Camp

The Lost Treasure of Dusty Tush turns out to be cursed, but Lou at first refuses to give up the treasure. Since she refuses to give up the treasure, Parker, Jake, and Bill try to get rid of it without her knowing. The treasure is hidden behind a locked door and it requires a passcode to unlock it. Parker guesses that Lou's passcode is his birthday, but when it doesn't work, Parker says "I'm offended, I thought we were close!" After that, Bill suggests trying Lou's birthday, but Parker doesn't know what it is. Bill then asks him "I thought you said you were close", to which Parker replied "We only see each other three months out of the year, what more do you want from us??". Later on, seeing as how Lou seems obsessed with holding onto the treasure, Parker recognizes a bit of his old materialistic self in her and tries to help her by saying, "Lou, take it from someone who used to have a lot of money and then had it all taken away. I thought it was the end of the world, but then you taught me that money isn't everything."

#### Workaversary Girl

In this episode, it is revealed that Lou and Parker have been celebrating their "workaversary" for two years, which celebrates the day the two started working together. Lou says that it is a day that means so much to the both of them. In this episode, Lou thinks she forgot their workaversary (although it turns out that Parker actually got the date mixed up and thought it was a week earlier). Because of this, Lou scrambles to try and pretend as if she didn't forget what they both refer to as their "special day" and tries to quickly put together a surprise party for him. Parker says that they "always go all out for each other" for their workaversary. While Lou is trying to hide the fact that she "forgot" their workaversary, Parker gives Lou a cake and has planned out a whole elaborate Parker and Lou themed trivia game and scavenger hunt for the two of them based on the moments they had with each other. Parker seems to clearly remember very specific and random moments that the two have shared and seems to expect Lou to remember them as well. At the end, Lou has no choice but to admit she "forgot" their workaversary and Parker seems very disappointed by that, saying that "I would never forget our special day. Were our business feelings for each other all a lie?" But Lou apologizes to him and reassures him that she "really does value" their friendship.

#### Hot Couture

Lou and Parker go into the metal shop to find the AC that Lou is offering as a prize for the competition. They have some back and forth banter in this episode, which is fun to watch.

## Their Friendship

Lou and Parker have a rocky start, but after a while, they become close friends. They have very different perspectives on certain things. Lou is a little more strict and orderly with things and is also a self-sufficient farm girl, while Parker is an inexperienced goofball that loves to make everything fun. Lou goes from wanting Parker to leave in episode 3 to wishing he would stay in episode 21 of season 5, which truly shows how much their relationship has changed over time, growing into something much more positive. Of course they still do a lot of playful banter and bickering with each other, which is pretty much a cute little trademark of their friendship. Parker also moves all the way to Wyoming to start Kikiwaka Ranch with her, which is a possible sign of the loyalty that Parker has towards Lou. In the season 7 episode "Workaversary Girl", it is revealed that the two celebrate something called a "workaversary" which is a day celebrating the day they started working together.

## Hints of Romance

As stated earlier, the only episode that brings up romance between the two is "The Great Awkward Bake-Off" and all the signs of Lou having a crush on him were misunderstandings. As of the season 7 episode "Coop D'etat", Parker is still dating Victoria Vance, so Lou and Parker is a non-canon ship. However, here are some "hints" or reasons why some fans might ship them.

* In "The Great Awkward Bake-Off", Parker seemed rather excited about the idea of Lou having a crush on him. He kept trying to get her to admit her feelings for him, almost in a flirtatious way. When Parker agreed with Lou that him being into her "imaginary feelings" for him is ridiculous, it could be possible that he was lying, only agreeing with her out of fear of being rejected by Lou and making their friendship awkward if she wouldn't like him back. Also, if you look closely, he seems nervous after that whole conversation, as Parker rapidly hits his fist into his other hand. And after that, Parker repeats the word ridiculous to himself when she leaves, but then has a look of contemplation on his face, as if maybe he is thinking about the idea of being with Lou, before distracting himself, possibly because he doesn't want to face his real feelings for Lou.
* The season 7 episode "Workaversary Girl" has a lot of romantic subtext between them. When giving Parker a coupon for 15% enrollment at Kikiwaka Ranch and he notices that the coupon has a lot of black out dates on it, Lou says "And FOR YOU, I will overlook... most of them." Also, when Lou admits that she "forgot" their workaversary, Parker is extremely disappointed and says, "Were our business feelings for each other all a lie?" Clearly, if the word "business" wasn't in the sentence, Parker would've basically asked her "were our feelings for each other all a lie?"
* The two celebrate their "workaversary", which both Lou and Parker refer to as their "special day". It is supposed to be platonic, but the fact that the two have a "special day" for each other can be a sign that Lou and Parker are definitely very close. Emma and Xander were also Lou's best friends, but yet, Emma and Lou nor Xander and Lou had a whole "special day" for each other.
* The way that Parker remembers so many random and specific moments between him and Lou - enough to make a whole trivia game based off of the moments that they have had - as well as expects Lou to remember all of those moments as well may be a sign that Parker sees Lou as more than a friend, but just doesn't realize it yet.
* Parker is extremely happy to celebrate their workaversary and goes all out to celebrate it with her. He even says that the two "always go all out for each other" for the holiday, but him saying that they always go all out for each other may also reference their relationship as a whole and how much the two really care about each other.
* Lou and Parker, if they would be together, would fit the "opposites attract" trope and the "enemies to friends to lovers" trope, which are two very popular romantic tropes in media.
* Throughout the series, they have many moments where they bicker with each other, but a lot of the time, it's very playful and also why some fans might find that the two have chemistry with each other.
* In the season 6 premiere "Learning the Ropes", Lou and Parker pretended to be a married couple in order to get The Marshal to sell them the ranch, which is basically the "fake dating" trope.
* Lou and Parker have both said that they admired each other TWICE in the series. It was in a platonic way, but maybe it could be a sign of something more.
* Parker's desire to have more responsibility around the camp and to have Lou approve his ideas might also be due to Parker having feelings for Lou, as if he's trying to impress her and get her to like him.
* Lou and Parker fought and made up like an old married couple in the season 6 episode "Badminton to the Bone".
* Lou and Parker fight and banter like an old married couple again in the season 7 episode "Hot Couture".
* When Victoria is convincing campers from Kikiwaka Ranch to join her camp instead in the season 6 episode "Wild West Side Story", Lou gets Parker to tell Victoria to stop stealing her campers. However, when Parker develops a crush on Victoria, Parker and Victoria dance in the mess hall and Lou catches them dancing. The scene at first almost looks like Lou is the girlfriend that catches her boyfriend cheating with someone else. Later on, Lou, knowing about Parker's feelings for Victoria asks Parker if he is going to do what is best for Kikiwaka (and at the time, she thinks that sabotaging Victoria's camp is what's best) OR if he's going to let his feelings get in the way. Parker then says that of course he is going to do what is best for Kikiwaka. This could be interpreted by some as Parker "choosing" Lou over Victoria (at least until they realize Victoria wasn't the rival Lou thought she was).
* When Lou and Parker got trapped in the chemistry classroom in "Everyone's Trap'd", Lou and Parker were forced to resolve their issues and have a heart to heart moment with each other. Trapping two characters who struggle to get along in a room by themselves and forcing them to work together is a very common storyline in enemies to lovers stories.
* In "The Great Awkward Bake-Off", Lou asks Parker to go bowling with her and he says sure, to which she replies, "Great, then it's a date." Later on, Parker really believed that they were going on an actual date. After Lou says she loves his RV, that's when Parker says, "I thought you liked me. I mean, what about that bowling date we just went on?"
* Also, in "The Great Awkward Bake-Off", when Parker tries to ask Lou exactly why she wanted to move in (guessing that the reason is because she might have a crush on him just like Finn said), Lou tries to change the topic by bringing up the time on her watch that has bananas on it. She then runs out of the room and because of that, Parker really believes Lou has a crush on him and is just too scared to tell him. That's when he says to himself, "Wow, Finn was right. Before you know it, she'll be buying me a banana *ring.*"
* In the beginning of season 5, Parker keeps coming up with nicknames for Lou, such as "Lou-Boo" and "Cock-a-doodle-Lou". Nicknames can be a sign of affection.
* Miranda May who plays Lou posted a picture on her Instagram page of her and Trevor (who plays Parker) with the caption "L&P Forever". Then, Trevor replied on her post saying "Pou for lyfe!" (Pou being a combination of Lou + Parker). This could be a possible hint that Parker and Lou might end up together.

## Similarities and Differences

### Similarities

* They both care about making Camp Kikiwaka/Kikiwaka Ranch the best place it can be.
* They both care about helping kids. They also respect how great each other are with helping kids. In "Everybody's Trap'd", Parker says he admires Lou because the kids really love and rely on her. In "Badminton to the Bone", Lou says she admires how Parker tries so hard to make things fun for the kids.
* They both can sing rather well.
* Parker and Lou both have creative passions - Parker is a dancer while Lou loves writing novels. Parker isn't a fiction writer, but he does write a lot in his journal.
* They both have a goofy and playful side. Although Lou is not as goofy as Parker, both of them can be rather silly at times.
* They're the same age (both of them are 21 years old as of the season 6 finale - they will turn 22 in season 7).
* They both have siblings (Parker has a sister, Lou has two brothers).

### Differences

* They both have different perspectives on running the camp. Lou believes in sticking to the camp traditions while Parker wants to switch things up.
* Parker is from a wealthy Canadian family while Lou grew up on a farm.
* Lou can be more reasonable, logical, and mature than Parker.