The Girl Next Door
Many years ago.
Arizona sat at a table in the cafeteria while waiting for her best friend to join her for lunch.
She was excited and yet nervous to see her friend. It had always been that way since they met when Arizona was eleven and Callie was twelve.
Callie had moved right next to her house and since then they became very good friends and also attended the same school. Callie's parents get along with Arizona's parents, so the two families practically lived in a huge house, instead of two separate, they had barbecue all the time in the backyard of the house and thanks to the warm climate of the Miami city, became much more likely to spend an afternoon in the pool of any of the two houses and just have fun all together.
Arizona's older brother, immediately set his eyes on Callie's older sister, Aria and certainly spent much time together, but as for Callie and Arizona, they were more like good friends and were very close to one another.
Now Arizona is 17 and Callie 18 and they were going through the most difficult stage of everyone. Adolescence.
For some people, Adolescence or puberty is nothing but a stage of personal growth.
For people like Arizona, this stage is crucial. She has been experiencing things she did not believe others her age do. She has been unsecure, scared, afraid and a little ... hormonal, about everything that moves around. Especially when it comes to women.
Yes. That was her biggest secret. She felt this attraction to girls very often these days. I.e. she always knew there was something different about her since she was a child.
Things like playing with dolls was something Arizona didn't call her attention at all, but she enjoyed climbing on trees and do heavy work or even have dirt on her all the time.
That's why she never found funny cheerleading - as did Callie - She liked volleyball and women's football field.
Even her way to dress up was always different, according to her classmates. She was never very feminine, she didn't much use accessories or makeup, she was a t-shirts, jeans and sneakers kind of girl, this was more her style.
And it wasn't really a big deal, but she never fit with anyone but Callie.
Callie however was completely different, she is brunette, with curves, death legs and strongly provocative lips. Callie loves to wear short skirts, high heels and low-cut blouses, she loves to wear makeup and many accessories to complement her outfit always. Her lips were always red as a freshly washed cherry.
It was torture.
To Arizona.
The blonde at times was totally drooling just staring those provocative lips.
Only that suggested she had a problem.
She discovered that she was attracted to women.
And now she was having the strongest infatuation ever for the wrong person.
Arizona started when someone suddenly covered her eyes from behind. "Guess who I am?" She shuddered when she heard low and husky Callie's voice in her ear. She could only gather a giggle.
Before she could say anything, Callie put a smacking kiss on the pale cheek and sat down next to her. "How are you today, beautiful? You didn't wait for me this morning to come to school." She makes a cute pot before removing two lollipop out of her cheerleading uniform. Callie gives one to the blonde and the other to her mouth.
"You were taking forever just combing your hair, Calliope and I would be late for class, you know I do not like being late anywhere ..." The words of the blonde slowly faded as she absently stared as Callie wrapped her lips around luscious cherry lollipop ... God, cherry, really?
Arizona quickly shook her head and her eyes off the desirable lips. "You exaggerated, at least say that I look pretty, I'm using my new perfume, you like it?" She lean over to Arizona exposing her neck.
"The smell of perfume can't be watched at, how do you expect me to tell you that you look pretty by using a new perfume?" Arizona said like the intoxicating scent touches her senses.
"You're so dork sometimes. You just have to say I look pretty." She teases her friend.
"You look hot, Torres." The quarterback, Mark Sloan says and goes through the table.
"Always, Sloan." Callie tells the boy as winks in the process.
That's one of the things Arizona liked about her best friend. Her confidence.
Callie is a flirtatious by nature, flirting should be her middle name. She literally is like a cauliflower and doesn't mind flirting with everyone. Men and women. That's what baffles the blonde on Callie. Perhaps she may have a chance with the brunette? No, that would be absurd. Furthermore Arizona doesn't want to ruin her friendship with Callie.
"What are you thinking so much there, Zo." The blonde smiled at the nickname Callie had given her since they met.
"Nothing just ... prom night." Arizona shrugged trying to downplay.
"Oh yeah. You've thought about who you're going with?" Callie wiggles her eyebrows comically, making the blonde to chuckle.
"I don't know ..." Arizona said. "Maybe." She said a few seconds later, blushing tenderly.
Callie scoffed before leaning in and give her a gentle kiss on the flushed cheek. "You're evil. Tell me everything, with whom you plan to go? And why I knew nothing about this mysterious person?" She raises an eyebrow in question. As Arizona stays in silent, Callie decided to ask something else. "Is this mysterious person a boy or a girl?" She whispered to her friend.
Arizona's eyes widened. "Wha- why do you ask me that? What?" She stammered.
"Hey it's okay. You're my best friend, my duty is to know my friend. It's not a bad thing that you like girls, Zo."
"Since when did you know I like girls?" Arizona asked quietly.
"Well it was like a little obvious just to see how you dress." Callie laughed aloud.
"These are stereotypes, Calliope. I never considered you a stereotypes girl." Arizona mocked her friend.
"I am not! I'm just saying that something in me always told me that there was something about you. I don't know how to explain it, I just know. And I want to tell you that it is perfectly fine with me, Zo. I love you just the way you are." She said sweetly.
"That sounds like a song by Bruno Mars." Arizona chuckled to lighten the conversation.
"Applies. That's what matters." Callie sent a seductive wink to her best friend.
"Thank you, then." Arizona didn't know what else to respond. "With who are you going?" She asked trying to steer the conversation away from her.
"Well, many have asked me." She mentions arrogantly, making the blond laugh with her antics. "But I guess I'm waiting for the right person to ask."
"Oh yeah, and who this person is, do I know them?" Arizona looked away to hide her smile. Callie could be talking about her? That would be just ... unreal.
"You know them, yes. But that's all I'll say." Callie hugged her friend before taking her hand and go to class.
Arizona was nervous again. She felt a lump in her throat as she sat on a park bench waiting for her best friend.
She was nervous, because after giving it much thought, she decided she was finally going to invite Callie go with her to the prom. The blonde had indeed noticed that the brunette rejected all the guys who approached her to invite her and she kept saying she's waited for the right person. Arizona thought that person was her and that's why she filled with courage and asked her friend to meet her at the park.
"Hey, why are we out here in the freezing while we could stay in your room or mine watching a stupidly romantic movie?" Callie ranted as she sat next to her friend. This was Miami, on the day the sun was hot, but the nights were usually cold.
"I wanted to ask you something important." Arizona said shyly.
"I insist. You could ask under a roof and nearby food." The two girls laughed at the brunette's words.
But after a few minutes of silence, Callie worried when she said nothing. "Zo, you're scaring me. What's going on? Why are you so nervous?" Callie saw her friend's leg bouncing up and down. She worried about the strange - adorable, however - best friend's behavior. "You can ask me whatever you want." She said to the blonde.
"Do you want to go to the prom with me?" Arizona asked in a hurry before turning her blue orbs o the deep brown.
Callie opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, trying to digest the question of the blonde. "You mean like a date-date?" She asked after a few moments.
"Umm ... yeah." Arizona bit her lip until it near bled. The surprise in Callie's face, was not exactly the expression that she expects to see. "Is that bad?" She asked softly, looking away.
"No! No at all. Zo it's just ... I said yes to Mark this afternoon. He finally asked me to go with him and I said yes ..." Callie spontaneous smile faded when she saw the sad blue eyes. "Zo, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I-"
"It's Okay, Callie." Arizona stood up and awkwardly put her hands in her front jeans pockets. "It was he who you expect to ask you?" Arizona tried to smile through obvious discomfort. Callie could see through her fake smile though, so she just nodded slowly. "Well, then surely you will be queen and king of the prom night."
"Arizona ..."
"It's Okay, Callie. You don't have to say anything. I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow in class, okay? Have a good night." Arizona leaned kissing her on the cheek. "And don't eat too many chocolates before bedtime or it'll give you nightmares." She said before walking away.
"Arizona, wait." It was in vain, the blonde didn't stop.
The days passed and Arizona continued to pretend that everything was fine. She told Callie that all was good between them and there was nothing to worry about. But Callie worried about it. The brunette was worried about her best friend, she was concerned about what would happen to their friendship. She cared.
The Prom finally came and everyone was excited about it, except for Arizona. She was excited about graduation, though. Graduation meant she and Callie will go to Columbia together. She was excited by the adventure that she would have with her best friend.
Even if her heart still ached for being so stupid and think that Callie would want her.
Someone like Callie never would see her as more than just a friend. She was just the girl next door.
She understood that. Now she just had to get over it.
Arizona went to the prom night anyway. She didn't want to see Callie kissing Mark, but this was her last year. She just wanted to burn all the stages of adolescence.
But it was harder than she thought.
Seeing Callie, wearing a beautiful tight red dress marking her body look perfect, her hair was on point and makeup too. But she was on the dance floor with Mark, dancing intimately, Mark's hands were everywhere and the smirk on Callie's face was what bothered the blonde the most.
So Arizona walk away. She had made a mistake coming here. She really didn't need Callie to scrub on her face her new boyfriend.
"Arizona, wait a second, where are you going?" The blonde heard the well-known voice, but she kept walking. "Please Zo. Don't ignore me." Callie asked.
Arizona stopped on her tracks. She wanted to run and not look at the beautiful face of her best friend, but she knew how much it hurt Callie when people just ignore her - which does not happen very often - but she wouldn't be able to do that to her friend, so she turned to face the expressive brown eyes.
"You look very pretty, I like your dress, looks great on you." Callie approached the blonde. Arizona was wearing a pretty aquamarine blue drees Vintage style.
"Please don't do that." The blonde almost begged without looking at the brown eyes.
"Do what, Zo?"
"Give me compliments for pity. I don't need that. I'm a big girl, I can understand that you do not want to come here with me ..." Her words trailed off.
"You know I think you're pretty. Damn beautiful. You know I don't feel pity for you, Arizona. Do not ever say that again." Callie was almost offended by the nonsense accusation of her best friend. "Why didn't you ever tell me about your feelings? Why you never said anything? I'm your best friend, you're supposed to trust me." She said softly this time.
"I was afraid of losing you. You are very important to me, Calliope and I appreciate our friendship and then I thought you might feel something for me." Arizona took a deep breath. "I mean, you're so special to me and our connection has always been unique ... and I'm so pathetic I thought you and I-"
"You're not pathetic, Zo." Callie gently wiped the single tear coming down her best friend's flushed face. "I also felt that connection since the day I met you." Callie spoke with sincerity.
"Really?" Arizona smiled slowly.
"Really." Callie assure her.
"Callie, let's go back to the party, you can keep talking with your friend the dyke later!" Both women jumped apart when Mark's deep voice resounded all over the place.
"Mark, shut up!" Callie scolded the boy.
"You told him?" Arizona dropped Callie's hand.
"I did not!"
"She didn't need to. It was obvious, blonde. It's like you were wearing the word 'pussy' drawn on your forehead." Mark scoffed loudly and began to attract the attention of other people around them. "What I didn't know was that you get hots for your friends."
"Mark, you're drunk, stop talking now." Callie tried again but to no avail.
"You did really think that Callie would want to go somewhere with you? She just keeps pretending to be your friend not to damage the fragile blonde lesbian heart." And now officially everyone was listening.
"I cannot believe you told him." Arizona shook her head, while heavy tears rolling down her eyes.
"Arizona just let me-." Once again, Mark interrupted Callie.
"Of course she told me. She was freaking out about how she didn't know how to tell you that she has no intention of having something more than friendship ... if you can call it that." He kept taunting.
"I trusted you, Callie." Arizona was now furious.
"You have to let me explain, Zo. Things didn't happen that way. I told him some things, but-"
"So you admit talking to the school asshole about my intimate and personal things?"
"Yes, I'm sorry. I know that was wrong, but I didn't know with who talk to the day you asked me to come to the prom and I just-"
"I think we did more than talk that night, Torres." Mark patted Callie's ass. Making it clear what his words meant. "And now we go to Columbia to study together, isn't that great?"
"You're going with him?" Arizona pulled away more when Callie tried to reach her after recovering from the initial shock at Mark's words.
"Zo ..."
"Don't call me that anymore!" Arizona screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Arizona, please let me explain-"
"There is nothing to explain, Callie. It's all very clear." Arizona spat with contempt. "I hope you have a good time." She said before running away from her ex best friend and the prying eyes.
After that she never spoke to Callie again.
Present.
Arizona passed a towel around her neck as she took a break from her morning run when she heard the particular tone of her phone.
"Hi, Mom." She said wearily.
"Good morning, sunshine. How you been?" Her mother asked with a happy voice, more than usual.
"Well you know, same old. So what's up?" She really wasn't in the mood and at this hour of the morning.
"Well, Miss moody, I have two great news."
"Really?" She said with disinterest.
"Yes!" Mrs. Robbins squealed with delight. "The first news is that your brother will be back in two days."
That brought a genuine smile on the blonde's face. "That's great, Mom." She hadn't seen her brother in what seemed like eternity.
"And the second is that Callie Torres is getting marry in a few weeks!" Arizona's mother said happily while Arizona froze in the middle of the park when she heard that name again.
Is been a long time the last time she hear that name.
"So you better start packing, because Miami awaits. You need to stop the wedding in one way or another."
All mistakes are mine.