Fic: Times Like These (2/?)
Title: Times Like These
Author: addictt24 (Addictt on fanfiction.net)
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: R to be safe.
Summary: AU-fic. What if Callie and Arizona met in high school? Multi-chaptered.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything related to Grey’s Anatomy. That’s courtesy of Shonda Rimes and ABC. This fiction is not meant to make money or to be harmful in any way. It’s just pure for amusement.
Chapter 1 - Learning How To Smile
A/N: Okay, so this is chapter two, where Callie and Arizona officially meet :-) Thanks to
lizadizzle for beta'ing, you're my savior!
Chapter 2 - Fascination
Two weeks had passed since Callie moved. Today was Friday; the last day of her first school week at Miami High. The past week she had gotten to know Andy better and they had become friends. Andy had showed her around and introduced her to a few people, mostly members of the girls softball team. Callie’s favorite period of time at school was lunch, where Andy told her about herself, the other people at their school and other happenings.
"Okay, now is the ultimate test. I’m curious if I’ve taught you well." Andy said before biting into her sandwich. "Those people over there, who are they?"
"Uhm... Members of the basketball team?" Callie tried, looking at the tall, masculine guys.
"Correct! Now, these people over here?" Andy pointed to the table next to theirs.
Callie looked at them. They looked an awful lot like the girls on their right side. "The girls who are in the school band?"
"Choir, but close enough. Now, the people walking in, the best people you will ever know, who are they?"
Callie snickered. "The girls from the softball team," she established while the girls joined them at their table.
"That’s right. Oh, I see an interesting one. The group in the corner over there?" Andy nodded to her left.
Callie didn’t have a clue, until she saw Aria joining them. "I don’t know about the guys, but I bet those girls are cheerleaders."
Andy’s jaw dropped. "How did you know that? I haven’t told you about them yet. It was a trick question!"
"My sister, Aria, is sitting with them," Callie mentioned with a smile.
"Hmm, no fair," Andy pouted. "You get along with your sister?"
"Not really... So you might as well tell me about them, ‘cause it’s a small chance I’ll hear it from her."
"Too bad you don’t get along with your sister," Andy looked at her friend with a sad face. "See that blonde guy in their group? The tall one?" Callie nodded. "That’s my brother, Tommy. We get along really well," Andy’s lips curled into a genuine smile.
"I thought you were at Greenwald’s office for fighting with him?"
Andy rolled her eyes, remembering the first time she met Callie. "We have our moments. But other than that, I love him. He’s my brother, you know?"
Callie looked down at the table.
"And he’s a cheerleader?"
"God no. He just likes to pick up girls," Andy said, rolling her eyes again. "Anyway, the brunnette sitting next to your sister is Hailey, she’s captain of the cheer squad..."
Andy continued telling her about all the girls of the cheer squad sitting around Aria until the school bell interrupted her. At that moment, two slender people joined Aria’s group, hugging each other. A girl and guy, both tan, blonde and apparently very happy.
"Who are they?" Callie asked intrigued. There was something about the couple that caught her interest. It wasn’t that they both were very pretty, there was something different about them.
"The guy is my brother’s best friend, Mick Robbins. They play basketball together. He’s pretty good actually," Andy ate her last bite of her sandwich. Callie got up and reached for her bag, not letting the couple out of sight.
"And the girl? She’s his girlfriend?"
"Eww, no. That’s his little sister, Arizona. She skipped a year in middle school, so they’re both seniors now. They’re like, really close. You coming?"
Callie averted her gaze. "Yeah. Let’s go." She slung her backpack across her shoulders and made her way out of the cafeteria with Andy and the other girls.
"Thank God it’s weekend right?" Callie heard her friend say as she put a few books back into her locker. "So, what do you think of Miami High so far?"
"It’s fine. I’m glad I met you," she replied, her lips curling into a smile. "Are you doing anything this weekend?"
"Not much. You wanna hang out?"
Callie’s smile grew wider. "I’d like that." As she shut her locker, she saw Tommy approaching.
"Hey sis, ready to go home?" Tommy said lifting Andy a little into the air. "Hi Callie," he winked at her, making Callie blush a little.
"You bet. Put me down." Andy started moving in his arms and he obliged. "I’ll call you later, okay?" Andy said.
"Okay," Callie put on her bag. She had to leave too, as Aria didn’t like to wait on her if she wanted to ride along.
Tommy gave a her broad smile, flashing his white teeth. "Bye."
Callie turned a little redder and waved her friend and Tommy goodbye as she walked away. A few seconds later she heard Andy slapping her brother and telling him not to go after her friends again. The last thing she heard was him mumbling an agreement as she walked out the door.
One thing she didn’t get used to in Miami was the bright sun, shining constantly. With narrowed eyes she searched for the dark blue cabrio on the parking lot. Hopefully, she would have her own driver’s license and car a year from now.
"Calliope!" Aria drove the BMW in front of the school. There could only be one reason her sister used her complete first name and sounding happy saying it: Aria wasn’t alone. Probably half of the cheering squad was sitting in the car, including that girl Arizona Callie had seen at lunch that day and the cheer captain.
"Great," Callie mumbled as she walked down the steps, putting on a fake smile. She suddenly felt the urge to walk home instead of riding along in a car full of cheerleaders for ten minutes.
"Girls, this is my little sister Callie. Come on, get in the car." Quickly, the brunnette moved to the backseat so Callie could join them. When she slammed the door shut, sitting with her backpack on her knees, Aria drove away. Callie could see the four girls sitting on the backseat in the rear-view mirror. The brunnette caught her looking and flashed her a toothpaste smile.
"Hi Callie! I’m Hailey."
Callie could see Aria glaring at her so she turned around and said hello back. She locked her eyes with Arizona’s, whose cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
The cheer captain kept talking to her. "And, does Miami High live up to your expectations?"
"To be honest-" Callie could hear Aria hold her breath. Maybe it wasn’t the brighest idea to tell the most passionate people of the school she didn’t have any expectations to begin with. "...yes, it does." Aria exhaled again.
For the second time that day, Callie averted her eyes from the blonde girl, who was now beaming at her. Just like all the other girls from the backseat were, she noticed. As for as Callie was concerned, this was a little overshare of attention. Just as the wanted to turn back again, Hailey asked her another question.
"Ever think about trying out for cheerleading like your big sister?"
Next to the fact Aria was only one year older than her, Callie would never ever try out for cheerleading. She focused at a point on the floor of the car, trying to keep a straight face and not insult the cheerleaders.
"I, I... Uhm... I..." Callie stuttered.
"So, Hailey, sorry to interrupt, what time are we supposed to be at the try-outs tomorrow?"
Callie looked up at Arizona who gave her a little wink. Callie took that as her cue to turn around again after giving the blonde a smile as a sign of appreciation.
When they arrived at home, Aria and her friends went to the kitchen. Callie took the opportunity to hide out in her room to avoid any more social awkwardness and do some homework. It was rare Callie did any homework on Friday afternoons, she had actually made a rule once not to do homework when the weekend had just started. It seemed stupid to be occupied with schoolwork when you just had five days full of it. But, when your home is taken over by cheerleaders and you don’t have many friends, what are you going to do?
Though she only moved in a week ago, she had already unpacked all of her stuff. Callie wanted her room to be very personal, cosy and welcoming, so she could feel at home though outside her room everything was new and different. One wall was a dark purple and the other three were painted light grey, covered with paintings and posters. Her queen sized bed was covered in pillows, as was the couch which was positioned in the corner. Comfort was also an important factor in Callie’s bedroom.
After throwing her schoolbag down next to her desk, she switched her stereo on. Quickly the beats from one of her favorite indie rock bands filled the room. Humming along to one of her favorite songs, she unpacked a few books and sat down at her desk. One of the assigments of next week was for Literature: they had to read a book and write a report about the theme of the book. Something she didn’t exactly was looking forward to. It wasn’t that Callie didn’t like reading, in fact, she had four shelves stacked with books, but the book the teacher chose was a novel. In Callie’s opinion, way too predictable and frankly she didn’t get why people would go through all the pain and trouble just to be loved.
A small cough interrupted her from her thoughts and Callie looked up from her book to see Arizona standing in her doorway.
"I’m sorry to intrude, but I was looking for the bathroom and I got kinda lost," the blonde said sheepishly, gesturing to the hallway. "You have a really big house..."
"Oh... It’s across the hall," Callie replied before turning her attention back to the novel.
"I’m Arizona Robbins, by the way," Arizona told her, stepping one step further into the room.
"I know who you are." It sounded colder and a little more harsh than Callie had intended and Arizona’s smile fell and she stepped back again. "I’m sorry, that was rude. I do that sometimes," Callie apologized. "I still wanted to thank you for this afternoon, in the car..."
Arizona smiled again and Callie noticed she had very distinct dimples. They looked good on her, Callie thought to herself.
"No problem. I know Hailey can get very excited about our school and when she does, she can get very...intimidating and persistant, you could say. And I know not everyone is all happy and ‘Yay!’ about cheerleading."
"You can say that," Callie said with a little grin. "I mean, no offense, it’s... fine, it just isn’t my thing."
Arizona nodded. "I get it. So... homework on a Friday afternoon?"
"Yeah, only I suck at it at the moment." Callie rolled her eyes.
The blonde’s face turned serious. "Oh... What’s wrong? Something I can help with?" She walked over to Callie’s desk.
"Shouldn’t you go back to your friends? I mean... I’m just asking," Callie mentioned smiling. "Otherwise..." she gestured to another chair.
"Nah, they can keep themselves entertained for a while," Arizona teased before pulling the chair closer and sitting down. "Looks we follow most of the same classes, Calliope." Callie looked surprised at the using of her full name. Normally she hated it when people said it, but coming from the cheerleaders mouth, it had a nice ring to it.
"Seriously? You skipped a grade and you’re into science?"
Now it was Arizona’s turn to look surprised. "Plus the fact that I’m a cheerleader right? How did you even know I skipped a grade?" It was clear to Callie the blonde felt offended.
"No, don’t be upset. I didn’t mean it like that," Callie said apologetically. "I just didn’t expect you to be a nerd, that’s all," she joked.
Arizona laughed. "Well yeah... that’s me. Except for Algebra. Chemistry, Biology and regular math I can handle, but Algebra..." She shivered and pulled a face. "Not my thing. So, maybe when I help you with..." she looked at the book Callie was holding. "...literature, you can maybe return the favor sometime by helping me out with Algebra."
"Sure," Callie nodded. She actually liked Math, and she was taking Advanced Algebra anyway. Helping a senior with ‘regular’ Algebra shouldn’t be that big of a problem. Besides, she had tutored Aria several times in the past year.
Ten minutes later they were still discussing the main character in the book.
"I just don’t get why he would do that for her."
"But that’s love, Calliope. He’s madly, head-over-heels in love with her. Haven’t you ever been in love?" Arizona looked at her, batting her eyelashes once or twice.
When Callie didn’t asnwer and looked awkwardly to the ground, she placed her hand on Callie’s knee. When she felt the muscle tighten, she pulled away. "I’m sorry. I’m being too personal." She got up from the chair. "I just want to say... it’s okay if you haven’t. There shouldn’t be any rush to it. When you truly love someone, nothing should matter. Not the time, place, age or the person." She walked back to the hallway. When she was at the door, the blonde turned around again. "And for what it’s worth; I haven’t either. Head-over-heels, I mean," she said with a grin, her dimples showing again. Then the cheerleading left.
"Bye," Callie mumbled looking at the empty doorway, confused about what just had happened.