A Conspicuous Conspiracy (Ch. 7)
Title: A Conspicuous Conspiracy
Author: clanket
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Callie and Arizona are best friends. As they navigate through their final year of high school, will they realize that they're more than just friends?
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libellous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: So this chapter is about three times longer than the previous ones, so bear with me LOL. I considered splitting it but I figure there isn't really any point in that - nor could I find a good spot to do that in. But enough about the chapter - let's get onto the chapter, instead!
Ch. 7
“We’ll watch some sappy romantic comedy then when it gets dark out we’ll put in the scary movie…”
xxx
I really am starting to speak the vagina monologues, as Addie had so eloquently put it, aren’t I? At the very least I’m taking some introductory lessons on the language.
xxx
“Alright,” Addison announces. “That movie was for you wusses who can’t appreciate a cinematic work of art when they see one.”
I roll my eyes at her. The Libertine and Marie Antoinette are hardly great works of art. You want to see a work of art - go out to my garage; Dorothy is a work of art! And she’s a classic.
“Hey, I can totally appreciate cinematic art,” Arizona announces indignantly, then her mouth forms a devilish grin, “I have seen Gia…and every other Angelina Jolie movie.”
“Ha! Please, that is not art - that is…okay I don’t know exactly how to classify that aside from eye candy.”
“Exactly,” Arizona responds. “One’s man’s trash is another man’s Picasso.”
“I’ve gotta agree with Arizona here,” I add, “I mean at least in those movies there’s something to look at; watching Johnny Depp die for two and a half hours, on the other hand? Agonizing torture - and not just for him.”
Addie glares at me for a moment then mumbles, “of course you’d agree with her.”
Arizona and I look at each other and smile. We love ganging up on Addie like this and I’m enjoying it even more now that she’s decided it is her personal duty to get me and Arizona together.
“Whatever, you guys deserve each other,” Addison says. “But since I was awesome enough to sit through that sap with you guys, you’re going to sit through one of my picks with me.”
And here it is, the coup de grâce in her little plan to get Arizona to fall in love with me. Apparently Addie thinks she’s easy. I roll my eyes in anticipation of what’s coming.
“Oh, come on, Addison! You just picked the last movie!” Arizona protests.
“Yes but I picked the last movie for you,” Addie explained. “This next one is for me,” she said smiling mischievously.
I could see Arizona start to squirm a little. She knows as well as I do that Addison's two favourite genres are sappy period dramas and extremely brutal horror movies. Like the ones that maybe aren’t visually that bad but what’s happening is just so innately wrong that you can help but cringe and hope that the feeling it elicits doesn’t stick. Odd mixture, but I guess they even each other out?
“You could always go home if you don’t want to watch my pick, Arizona,” Addie taunts.
I’m surprised that she’s suggesting Arizona leave. I mean wasn’t her whole plan tonight to make Arizona fall into my lap - literally?
“You know very well that I’m sleeping here tonight, Addison. And if we watch whatever movie you have in mind, I’m pretty sure that it’s just going to solidify that decision.”
Addie was at least right about that; if she’s scared there’s no way that Arizona will want to go home in the dark only to lay in bed alone, afraid to close her eyes.
“Well then it’s settled,” Addison says with a decisive nod.
I watch her go over to our DVD stand and grab a case. Of course I already know what it is, but Arizona is still in the dark. Then I feel her breath on my ear.
“Do you know what she’s gonna choose?”
“I can hear you, you know,” Addison says without turning around, saving me from having to answer. She’s done changing the disc in the player and returns to her seat on the smaller couch.
“Popcorn?” she offers, holding out the half-empty bowl. Arizona and I both shake our heads in the negative.
“But could you pass me the Twizzlers?” Arizona asks. After Addie grabs them from the coffee table in front of her she tosses them over to Arizona, who swiftly takes one from the pack and shoves half of it into her mouth. She has a habit of chewing on things when she’s nervous. If there’s candy around then it’s her first choice - maybe I could do something to change that? - but anything will suffice, really: a nail, pencil - even her shirt sleeve when she gets really desperate but that’s only happened a few times. Plus she gets grossed out at the result of said chewing. I can’t blame her; soggy, scrunched up sleeve covered in slobber? Ew.
“So which twisted movie did you choose?”
“Oh, you’ll see,” Addison deflects.
As the previews start to play I can already feel Arizona inching closer to me. Her chews are becoming more rapid as her head spins in anticipation. She’s less than half a foot away now, with her legs tucked up onto the couch facing left toward me, one flat on the cushion and the other propped up a few inches above it, with both knees bent.
She’s already eaten another three Twizzlers and the second preview has barely started. Now she’s wrestling with the bag for yet another waxy treat.
“You know, if you keep that up you’re not gonna have any left for the actual movie,” I tease quietly, trying to get her to loosen up a little.
Addison turns her head toward us.
“Wow, Arizona, that’s actually kind of impressive. Where do you put it all?”
“Well I wouldn’t have to ‘put it’ anywhere if it wasn’t for you and your masochistic need to torture people through your selection of movies,” Arizona retorted, getting raised eyebrows from Addison.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be mean. I just really don’t like being scared,” she apologized with another big bite of a Twizzler.
If anything ever does come of us, I’m really going to need her to stop eating those because there’s no way I’d be able to kiss her with that taste on her mouth.
“It’s okay, that’s about how I feel when you make us watch Pretty Woman every time it’s your turn to choose.
“And if you’re really scared you could always get Callie to protect you from the monsters,” Addie teases.
“Hey, Pretty Woman is a perfectly awesome movie! And I am not afraid of monsters,” she finishes with a pout.
“You only like it for the thigh high boots, Arizona, admit it.”
“Well they don’t hurt, either,” Arizona smiles lecherously. Addison merely rolls her eyes as I watch on, smiling. I really am lucky to have best friends who like each other nearly as much as they like me; I don’t know what I would do without either constant in my life.
Just as she finishes her sentence, Arizona’s smile drops and her eyes go so wide I feel like they may pop right out of her skull. I follow her line of sight and notice that the title menu to the movie has just come up on the TV screen.
“Saw? You chose freaking Saw? One of the scariest franchises ever and you know I don’t like scary movies and you freaking choose Saw?” Arizona exclaims, practically yelling at Addison by the end.
“No, I chose Saw II,” Addison proclaims happily. “It’s better than the first.”
Arizona huffs in Addison's direction then turns to me.
“You might actually have to protect me from the monsters,” she says sheepishly without making eye contact. I can’t help but smile at the childish gesture and lay my hand on her left thigh intending to comfort her. It just so happens that this was the one that was open to me, so I ended up with my hand on the inside of her leg in a rather intimate position.
Her eyes snap up to meet mine and when I notice what I’ve done I blush for about the hundredth time today. I don’t know if I should remove my hand or if it’s okay to leave it there, given our unspoken understanding of the handholding incident.
But before I can make up my mind, Arizona lowers her right leg to meet the left, effectively sandwiching my hand.
I’ve never been this unsure of myself around Arizona before; I have always been comfortable and did just what came naturally to me without questioning it. But my recent shift in emotions toward her has left me feeling like a thirteen-year-old with her first crush: unsure and easily excitable. It’s like the last few years of experience I’ve gained with dating and flirting never even happened.
I still act without thinking, but it seems to lead me into predicaments like this. By the time my brain finally catches up to what I’m doing, Arizona is already giving me a wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare. At least she’s still in control of her actions.
I look up from my hand and notice that Addison has busied herself over by the entertainment cabinet and was pretending to fiddle with one thing or another. I’m glad that she didn’t stick around to make more awkward comments this time.
“I’m a little chilly. I’m going to go grab a blanket from upstairs,” she announces.
“I’ll grab you guys one, too, in case Arizona needs to hide,” she continues with a knowing smile. I’m glad that I told Addie about how I feel about Arizona because this could have been far more awkward had she commented on the placement of my now very warm hand.
I smile and look over to Arizona who is blushing with embarrassment.
“It’s okay to be scared, you know,” I tell her. “That’s kinda the point of these movies.” I guess we’re just going to ignore this development, as well.
“I know but I’m eighteen years old - I shouldn’t be afraid of movies or the dark or monsters under my bed anymore.”
“You’re actually afraid of monsters?” I ask with a sarcastically raised eyebrow and a smile I just can’t hide.
“No, I’m not afraid of monsters, Calliope. I know they aren’t real. But I am afraid of things that could possibly happen - like getting kidnapped by a psychopath only to be tortured in a random building where the only way out is digging through my open skull or something. It creeps me out that it could actually happen,” Arizona explains matter-of-factly.
“Look, it’s just a movie, it’s -”
“But it’s not just a movie, that’s my point. Someone had to actually think up these torture methods and figure out how they would work - it’s like The Anarchist’s Cookbook in living colour for psychos!”
I had to laugh at that. I didn’t mean to, but she’s just too damn cute when she’s all pouty and scared.
“Okay, well I promised Addie that she could pick the movies tonight so either way I’m going to have to sit through it. But if you want, you could go up to my room and hang out until it’s over or something? I really don’t want to make you sit through something I know you hate so much.”
She seems to ponder this for a few moments then leans her head back to rest her cheek on the couch. She then starts to idly pick invisible lint from my sleeve.
“Arizona?”
Her eyes come up to meet mine.
“I can stay over tonight, right?”
“Of course. You know you don’t even have to ask - in fact, I’d be pretty insulted if you didn’t stay over considering I can’t remember the last time we spent a Saturday night apart,” I tell her with a smile.
“It was in sophomore year; I couldn’t go to a tournament because I’d gotten sick a couple days beforehand.”
“Oh, yeah! Coach Stratton was pretty pissed that we were down our best libero going up against a great hitting team there,” I laughed.
She smiles and with a roll of her eyes says, “Yeah, he told me all about it when you guys got back.”
“Wait, how the heck did you remember that that was the last time we spent a Saturday night apart?”
She merely looks into my eyes and shrugs.
I guess I never really noticed it before but all my boyfriends have always had to understand that Saturdays were somewhat of a ritual for us; they were the only nights we would regularly spend at each other’s houses as kids and I guess it just kind of stuck as we got older. The only differences now are that we don’t need our parents’ permission and Saturdays aren’t the only nights we spend together.
Friends have always been important to me; I ascribe to the idea that they are the family you choose for yourself, and families stick together. If a boyfriend wants to be a part of the family then that means earning their respect and honouring our traditions. I guess I’ve also been lucky in that all the guys I’ve dated I was friends with beforehand. It helped them understand the type of person I am and the type of relationships I have.
Arizona’s girlfriends, on the other hand, have not always been as understanding. I can appreciate that, though. I mean, I wouldn’t have been too thrilled if Jackson was regularly sleeping in April’s bed while we were together even if it was platonically. And look at us now - I broke up with Jackson and have my hand nestled between Arizona’s thighs and he’s going to go after April, so I suppose the fears weren’t completely unwarranted even if they seemed ridiculous at the time.
Arizona breaks me out of my musing. “So if I stay and watch then you’ll help fight away the fears?”
“Of course. Have I ever left you to fight them on your own?” I ask sincerely. She smiles and shakes her head.
“Alright, so you’re staying then?” I smile as I ask.
“Yeah, I’m staying. But I can’t promise I’ll actually watch the movie. For all I know I’m going to spend half the time under the blanket shoving Twizzlers in my mouth,” she jokes.
“Speaking of which, where is Addison any-”
“Hey guys, sorry that took so long. Your mom washed the covers so it took me a while to find them,” Addison says as she throws a blanket our way.
“Where are your parents, anyway?”
“Party,” Arizona and I answer at the same time. Addison smiles at us.
“Oh, I see,” then she turns to the TV and presses play on the remote.
I’m quite comfortable in this position: slightly sunk down into the corner of the couch with Arizona’s warmth pressed up against my side as she’s already anticipating the worst, my hand still on her thigh. I try to adjust the blanket Addison threw at us but it’s made difficult by my one usable hand.
After much fussing and face-making on my part, Arizona finally decides to help me and spreads the blanket over both of us. She pulls the edge all the way up to her chin so that only her nose and eyes are peeking out. I smile at her and give her leg a little squeeze to let her know I’m still here.
As soon as she sees the first victim with a spiked venus flytrap-esque helmet around his neck, Arizona leans into me, eyes still on the screen, and whispers, “see what I mean? It’s not normal to think that up.”
I turn slightly to look at her and smile at the enraptured look in her eyes. I know she doesn’t want to watch but she just can’t tear her eyes away.
When it’s time I decide to warn her just in case she doesn’t want to see how he actually dies, “Arizona, you have about five seconds to look away or you’re gonna see that thing close.”
I watch as she tries to decide whether she wants to see it, her eyes darting away from the screen then right back to it several times but before she can decide what she actually wants, the helmet snaps shut, instantly killing the guy inside. Arizona gives a big yelp and jumps. Even though I warned her she wasn’t quite ready for the sight.
Addie and I chuckle from our places on the couches and Arizona slaps my arm for it. I look at her and laugh some more when I see the look on her face; she’s mildly embarrassed but also a little angry. I know her well enough to know that she’s angrier with herself for being scared than at us for having laughed at her.
As the movie drags on, poor Arizona becomes more and more tense. She’s clinging to my arm with everything she has and if it wasn’t cutting off the blood flow to it, it would be comical. I rub my thumb along the narrow path it can reach across her thigh.
“Arizona,” I whisper, “stop watching. Just close your eyes or go under the covers. It’s okay.”
She glances at me and shakes her head, determined to make it through. Unfortunately for her - and my arm - this next part is going to be one of those that aren’t visually that horrific but they mess with your head: the needle pit.
I see her eyes widen as she realizes what’s about to happen to one of the characters. She releases my arm from the grip of her left hand, finally eases a little pressure from her thighs, allowing my hand to regain some feeling, and slides her fingers between mine before resting her thigh on top once more. I know better than to say anything so I keep my eyes on the TV.
I watch as Xavier picks Amanda up and throws her into the pit. This is definitely going to get to Arizona.
Right on cue, Arizona gasps and squeezes my hand with more strength than I thought she possessed. It was like watching a train wreck for her now; no matter how much she wanted to she wouldn’t be able to rip her eyes away. I look at her face and notice that tears are starting to form in her eyes. I can’t let her do this; forget tonight - she won’t sleep for the next month if she sees this entire movie.
I bring my left hand up from beneath the covers and gently cradle her face in it while simultaneously squeezing her hand back. I pull her face around so that she’s looking at me instead.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I soothe, “it’s okay. It’s not real - no, don’t look at the TV - look at me.”
Her eyes meet my gaze once more, tears starting to spill over.
“It’s okay, just keep looking at me. I can’t wait for our game Tuesday,” I tell her with a half-smile, trying to take her mind off of the screaming girl being stabbed by countless dirty hypodermic needles. She nods slightly.
“I really don’t like the Aldershot team. I can’t wait to kick their butts. I’m totally gonna rock my serves and smash the ball so hard they won’t even have a chance to react before it hits the ground,” I tell her with a smile. My thumb is wiping away whatever tears it can. It’s killing me that she’s this scared. I could’ve stopped this; I didn’t have to play along with Addison’s game or let her pick this movie of the hundreds my family has collected over the years.
“And you’re going to dig every serve and every spike that comes your way, right?”
She lets out a heavy breath and nods.
“Alright, it’s settled then - we’re going to hand their asses back to them on a silver platter because we are just that awesome. We are going to dig and spike and set harder than ever before because there is no way that we’re going to let our rivals beat us on home turf, right?”
She nods again and smiles slightly. I keep looking into her eyes but listen for the sounds coming from the TV. The needle scene is over so I pull Arizona toward me until her head is resting on my shoulder, satisfied that her breathing has slowed and her tears have nearly stopped.
I don’t care if Addison’s plan is working or not - I hate how scared this movie is making Arizona feel. I just want it to be over so that we can think about something other than torture chambers and mutilated bodies. I shake my head at myself, disappointed that I let it get this far. We’re best friends; we’re supposed to protect each other, not scare the crap out of ourselves just to get some snuggling time - I could freaking snuggle with Arizona if I just asked, for God’s sake! I didn’t need to scare her so badly that the cried - I made her cry! I made sweet, innocent, never-hurt-a-fly Arizona cry just to hold her hand and have her snuggle into my side. She would’ve done that during The Lion King and, while there would have probably been tears when Mufasa died, she wouldn’t be terrified of being alone. Seriously, why do I let Addison drag me into crap like this? This is worse than the time she convinced me that using my mattress as a toboggan would be a good idea. I mean, it was super fun, but it was still a dumb idea.
I can barely pay attention to what’s going on in the movie because for starters, I am way too caught up in the guilt and self-flagellation at having made Arizona so upset, but it’s also not helping the concentration that in addition to still holding my hand in her between her thighs, Arizona is completely pushed into my right side and is holding on for dear life. And the proximity I’ve almost gotten used to but her snuggling into my neck at every scary part? Well that’s a little harder to ignore.
Each time a new trap is revealed or a person is caught in a trap or a person gets violent - so pretty much the entire freaking movie - Arizona buries her face into the crook above my shoulder and each time it catches me off-guard. The whole time she’s like that, I can feel her breath flitting across my throat; her eyelashes sweeping across my neck with each bat of her lids whether it be to blink or slam them shut in an effort to keep the morose images from assaulting her senses.
While I may be slightly bothered by this - not necessarily in a bad way - I’m just glad that she has stopped crying and shaking altogether.
When the final scene comes to a close and the credits begin to roll, I run my free hand up Arizona’s arm to let her know that she could come out of hiding.
“Hey,” I greet her. Her eyes are a little puffy from a mixture of crying and exhaustion, something the crying must have added to.
“Hey,” she says just as quietly.
I hear rustling coming from the other couch and glance over to see Addie sitting up, pushing a heap of blankets off her small form.
“How you feeling, Arizona?” she asks.
“I’m alright, no thanks to you,” she deadpans.
“Oh, really? And who, pray tell, should I be thankful to for your state of well-bring?” Addison inquires with a trademark smirk.
“You know very well who it’s because of, Addison. There aren’t many options left.”
“Well I’ve gotta admit, you two did look pretty cozy there. I might’ve played up my fear a little if I’d known that was the TLC I would have received.”
“There’s no way I would have done that for you, Addie,” I tell her straight. “You brought this on yourself; Arizona didn’t ask for it. You would deserve to be as scared as she was and be left to your own devices.”
I smile at her to let her know that I’m only teasing and she raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in response.
“Besides, you’re not being a very good friend, forcing us to watch that. Whatever happened to democracy, we totally outnumbered you?”
“I work more on the dictatorship model,” Addison jokes. “But I’m going to be heading out of here before I encounter a Missile Crisis of my own. Arizona doesn’t seem quite as forgiving as you,” she says as she nods her head toward the body still firmly attached to my own. I smile at her and remove my hand from Arizona’s warmth to stand up.
“I’ll walk you out.”
Addison and I make our way to the front door before speaking.
“See, what’d I tell you?” Addison gloats.
“No, more like what did I tell you!” I say in a hushed whisper. “Arizona was terrified in there! That isn’t even a horror movie that can ease you into the genre - it’s the freaking Olympics of the horror movie slash thriller world!”
“Well it got her to practically jump into your lap, right?” she says with a smug grin.
“No! No, not ‘right’. She was terrified and crying and I made her cry because I listened to you! If I wanted her to sidle up next to me then I would have told her that I wanted to cuddle and she would’ve done it willingly!”
“Okay, I’ll buy that she’ll lay next to you or whatever, but that hand on her thigh thing? That was definitely new.” I couldn’t help taking my eyes from her gaze or the blush that started to creep up on my cheeks. “I saw both of your faces when it happened and you were both shocked. So, you know,” she gestured erratically, “you’re welcome! Be a little grateful.”
“Grateful?” I scoff.
“Yeah, grateful. Now go in there and get your girl!” and with that she gives me a hug and makes her way to her car. I yell a quick ‘good night’ her way and close the door.
When I get back into the living room Arizona is exactly as I’d left her. I sit down in the same small space beside her that I’ve been in for the last few hours, unwilling to take advantage of the extra space to her right.
“Hey, are you alright?” I ask softly as I pull her into my chest.
“Yeah, I just feel silly. I mean, even now I can’t get that stupid image of the needles out of my mind.”
“There’s nothing to feel silly about. The only reason I can stand those movies is because we always had them around the house. Your parents never let you watch those movies so you never got used to compartmentalising them.
“You just feel them the way they were meant to be felt; the way people who aren’t desensitized feel it. And that’s okay. That’s more than okay,” I tell her as I run my hand up and down her back.
“Did you wanna go sit in the hot tub for a bit before bed?” I ask, knowing that the hot water always relaxes her. It’s times like these that I’m glad for my father’s foresight: he had an outdoor hot tub installed on a covered deck and an indoor heated pool for year-round use. Arizona nods into my chest.
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