Chapter Text
Neither Callie nor Arizona are experts of planning dates. Especially not friend ones. What even is the etiquette for those? So they’ve kind of left it hanging for the six days that have passed since their first text message conversation. They’ve been texting, though. You could say they’ve hit it off. (Sloan was already growing tired of Callie’s never ending cat memes.) It’s just that neither has dared to suggest a date or activity for the friend-date, assuming the other one is probably busy with everything. Not that they’re stressing about it. Well, Callie isn’t. They’ll eventually meet up, right? She kind of has other things to be worrying about right now. Like how to not look like a loner at school, now that her only friend in the said place is gone. Arizona, on the other hand, has been doing maybe too well, since she has had time to stress about the future friend-date. School’s been starting alright, Betty’s growing on her, homesickness is getting easier. How hard can it be to ask a girl on a fucking friend-date, dammit!
Callie never realized how much she disliked the high school she had gone to for the last three years until now. Freshman year, it all had been just new and sort of scary - not even that scary, since her older sister whom she was closer with back then had been in the school too. Eventually she had met Sloan. Who needed friends in her own grade, when she had a cool junior sister and a cool sophomore friend, who on top of everything happened to be a) a boy, and b) a hot one? Not that Callie thought of him like that at the start. Or probably ever, really. The sex just kind of happened. I mean, losing your virginity to your forever best friend instead of some rando was probably a good idea at the end of the day.
Callie’s way too familiar with how things would roll in her senior year. She had already experienced it all through Sloan last year. Unfortunately that was no excuse to not show up. It’s not like I want my whole life to revolve around him.
Then again, what does she have to lose? High school is a bunch of crap anyway. So, she turns right instead of going straight where the school is in the crossroads. She can’t help but feel a little guilty. Not like she hasn’t been a disappointment to her parents and herself before, but not academically. She tries to brush the feeling off by reminding herself it’s the first day of the school year. It’s not like she’s going to miss anything important. Right?
Callie doesn’t really know where she’s going. Just somewhere . Then a stupid idea strikes her. She could go meet Sloan! She’s got his schedule on her phone and - yes! Sloan’s class is ending in 20 minutes. The college campus is technically students and faculty only, but Callie’s guessing it doesn’t have security levels that high. She would for sure pass for a college student. If she wouldn’t, that’d just be embarrassing.
Arizona doesn’t have a morning class, but she’s already up and awake. Weird. Usually she barely makes it to her first class in time.
She takes a shower, brushes her teeth, brushes her hair, does the entire face of makeup instead of just really quick brows, mascara and lipgloss like usual. She braids her blonde hair, which she doesn’t remember doing since ninth grade. Still one and a half hours until class.
Arizona exits the dorm without a plan. A girl holding hands with another waves to her. Arizona waves back. Her face looks familiar, but she can’t remember which class they share, or what’s the girl's name. Wait, are these the local gays? Arizona hasn’t really been socially networking. Maybe she should get to know the local gays. Not right now, though. Later.
Arizona spots the campus cafe that’s looked way too busy all the other times she’s passed it. She’s not a fan of crowded places. Now there’s a sign saying open at the front door, but barely any people in, at least what she can see from the enormous windows. Really, why are the windows so big? There’s more window than wall, Jesus Christ.
She takes a few hesitant steps towards the door, when she spots a girl with long-ish black hair and overalls parking her bicycle to the bicycle stand in front of the cafe. Something about the girl feels oddly familiar, but Arizona can’t put her finger on exactly what until she turns around.
“Oh”, the girl exclaims. Arizona followed Callie on Instagram a few days ago. The girl staring at her is most definitely a less yassified version of Instagram user @callie_torres ‘s profile picture. Callie seems to regain her brain function as she shakes her head and removes the pink helmet she’s wearing. Pink helmet. A girl with a pink helmet! A girl with a pink helmet I sort of know! Whom I’ve been supposed to take on a platonic date.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” is the first thing coming out of Arizona’s mouth. Not Callie, right? or nice to meet you!
“Uh, yeah. Shouldn’t you?”
“No, I don’t have a class yet. College, y’know?”
“Right!”
“So… what are you doing here, then?”
“Just… grabbing some coffee.”
“On college campus?”
“SHH. I may or may not be here…” Callie looks around overdramatically. “...without permission.”
“Gotcha.”
“Please don’t bust me.”
“I would never. Scout’s honor.”
“You’re a girl scout?”
“No…”
“Then why’d you say that?”
“I don’t know.”
Ten minutes later the girls are sitting around a two person table in the cafe.
“You don’t like coffee?” Callie asks Arizona, mortified. Callie has a cup of regular coffee in front of her, meanwhile Arizona ordered hot chocolate.
“No-”
“Not even iced?”
“Well, iced is alright.”
“Gay ass.”
“What’d you say?” Arizona asks pretend-angry.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Is it short for Calliope?”
“What?”
“Callie. Is it short for Calliope?”
Callie’s stomach drops, but she can’t put her finger on why.
“No! It’s just Callie.”
“You’re lying.”
Callie’s face says got me .
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, I definitely will. I’ll start with everyone in this cafe, and then I’ll tell Mark when I see him.”
“Oh please. That man knows my social security number.”
“Why does he know your social security number?”
“We- have been in situations.”
“What even is up with the two of you?”
“What do you mean?”
“He ends his calls to you with I love you . You speak of him like a… like a brother. Did you friendzone him or something? Did you, like, use to be a thing before you realized you were gay?”
“Oh no, I’m bi”, Callie says like she’s sure, though she isn’t. The liking girls thing is sort of new, and now she feels like she’s sure of nothing. “But he’s definitely not in love with me. I used to think I was in love with him, but I don’t think it was ever like that. I think he’s like my platonic soulmate or something. How weird do you think that is?”
“Not weird at all”, Arizona smiles. “Or, maybe a little.” Deep friendships are cool, but really ? Mark Sloan of all people is this girl’s best friend? It makes no sense to Arizona.
Callie laughs.
“I actually kind of get that. I mean, I’ve mentioned my little brother, Tim, right?”
Callie nods. She does remember something about a brother.
“Him and I have had this best friend like, forever. His name is Nick, and this one time when we were kids we got married. And I didn’t understand shit about anything so until I was like 12 and realized a certain thing about myself I really thought I would actually marry him someday.”
“Well, it’s good to have a backup plan if romance doesn’t work out.”
“Bleh. If it doesn’t work out and I end up joke marrying someone I’d still want to marry a girl. Like, just because. I’d have this big, gay ass wedding and not tell anyone we’re not even actually together.”
“Do you have a backup plan girl picked out yet, then?”
“Not yet.”
“I could do it.”
“Really?”
“Really. Let’s say if we’re both single when we’re like 30 - when I turn 30 since I’m younger - we’ll do a big ass gay wedding and not even tell anyone we’re not really dating.”
“Not even Mark?”
“Well, maybe him. And you can tell your brother and ex husband.”
“It’s a plan.”
In the afternoon it’s Sloan’s time to rush into Callie’s home.
“YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED??”
“I mean, not in over 12 years.”
“You got a fake wife after one singular date?”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“Y’all just got coffee and decided to get married? That’s a fucking date, Torres. That’s like, a relationship speedrun.”
“Shut up, Sloan, I don’t want my catholic family to hear you screaming about my fake gay marriage”, Callie shout-whispers, reminding Sloan as much as herself.
“Right, shit, sorry.”
Sloan and Callie make their way upstairs and into Callie’s room. Absolutely nothing could’ve prepared Callie for who was sitting on her bed.
“Mom said I’d find you in here.” Aria. Callie’s older sister goes to college in New York. Callie totally gets it, she often daydreams of getting away herself, but the year apart had made her and her sister less and less close.
“How’d you-” Sisters who live on the opposite side of the country don’t usually come in for a surprise visit. Aria doesn’t look her in the eye as she mumbles: “I.. sort of dropped out. I haven’t told Mom and Dad yet.”
“Oh.”
Aria seems to only now notice Sloan, who’s standing in behind Callie.
“You’re still with him?” she asks, as if Sloan’s not there.
“Uh, yeah”, Callie lies. This is not the time to unpack her and Sloan’s complex relationship. Sloan raises his hand in an awkward wave. “Yeah, I’m the boyfriend!” Callie mentally kicks her best friend. Over-convincing isn’t what she had in mind. Aria doesn’t seem to suspect anything as she nods as if in approval.
Callie doesn’t know what the protocol is. Is she supposed to hug Aria? Ask her what happened? Make her coffee? She glances at Sloan with slight panic in her eyes.
“So what’s up? College wasn’t your thing after all?” Sloan asks in a tone that’s probably meant to sound casual. Fucking shit.
“Something like that.”
“How long are you staying for?”
“I- I don’t know.” Aria doesn’t seem like her usual self, not that Callie knows her that well nowadays. Still, dropping out? Something is so off. Her sister, the girl who used to be the closest person to her before Sloan, is sitting on her bed, and though she doesn’t know her anymore, Callie can see that girl.
“Go off, Sloan”, Callie says to her own surprise. She finds it difficult to be Callie (Aria’s little sister) and Callie (Sloan’s best friend) at the same time. Sloan looks surprised, not hurt, just surprised, and does what he’s told.
Callie sits next to Aria, waits for her sister to say something.
“He left me”, Aria says.
“What? Daniel left you?” Callie doesn’t really know Daniel. She met him a couple of times, he seemed decent. It’s just that Callie never really cared. He was just one puzzle piece in Aria’s life that made her everything Callie wasn’t.
“There’s more”, Aria starts and breathes out like she’s made a choice. “I’m pregnant.”
WHAT?
“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad”, Aria’s voice breaks.
That’s when Callie realizes. She’s scared. The whole perfect thing Aria had had going on was falling apart. On some level, Callie gets it. And without wasting time overthinking it, she decides to be honest with her sister, too.
“I’m bisexual.” The second time today Callie’s said it. It feels right. Bisexual.
“I know”, Aria smiles, and looks a little less broken.
“You do?”
“Yeah? Thank your obsession with both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson for that.”
“Oh, God.”
Callie feels tears streaming down her face, and she’s not sure why. Is it because her sister’s back - not just physically here, but actually back, or because she feels so bad for everything Aria’s going through, or because she just came out, or because of the fact she used to fancy Robert Pattinson? Whichever it is, it causes Aria to wrap her arms around her little sister, and for a moment everything is perfectly alright.
“I went on a friend-date today”, Arizona tells Betty later that night in their dorm room.
“With the girl I wing-womaned you to?” Betty asks. Betty did not wing-woman her, she just sent one text, but for some reason the urge to say that to her is quite weak.
“Yeah. That girl. We’re getting married.”
“Oh, congrats? I knew lesbians moved on fast, but that’s quite insane. No offense.”
Yeah, Betty was a lost case.
Arizona: We should do that again ;)
The wink is a joke.
Callie: Yes!! Totally!!
Callie: I told my sister I’m bi.
Arizona: Wait, you have a sister? Why didn’t I know this?
Callie: I guess I haven’t mentioned her because we haven’t been talking much lately, but now she’s visiting home :)
Arizona: Right, makes sense! Congrats on coming out, dude!!