Callie was ambitious, she had goals and a future ahead of her, so many dreams and plans. She was an excellent student, excelling in her courses, a member of the National Honors Society, and part of many tutoring committees.
But, although she was outstanding, she was also quiet; Calliope Torres kept to herself, as she had most of her life. She was never one to draw unwanted attention, and she tended to stay away from those who held any potential to ridicule her. She had enough of that for a lifetime.
During the school day Callie would go to her classes and be the outstanding student she was, answering questions and finishing her work. She would eat her lunch at her table in the corner of the cafeteria during break, then presume to study. It was a solid schedule, one that Callie had down to a T.
Everyday when the final bell rung, the brunette would wander out to the softball field; it was secluded and quiet, a perfect place to get her homework done. She didn't have to worry about being bothered there, it was peaceful under the mighty oak she sat by.
If she stayed long enough, the softball team would come out for practice, not paying enough attention to see her sitting nearby. Callie wasn't one for sports but she did enjoy a good game of baseball, so she found herself often getting distracted by the batters and pitchers.
There was one pitcher individual that seemed to catch her eye, number 15. From where she was seated Callie could only ever see her back, and when she was faced the other way her features were too far away to distinguish.
Callie had come to admire the girl as of late, her throws were always perfect, her arms flexing as she threw the ball. Her golden locks were never not pulled into a high ponytail and tucked under a baseball cap. On the rare occasion, Callie couldn't help but ogle her ass, which was either hidden beneath tight pants or very short shorts.
On that day in particular Callie had more chemistry homework than normal, so she wasn't able to focus on the game as much. She knew that if she got sidetracked her work would just need to be finished at home.
Callie's pencil scratched against paper, as her chestnut eyes scanned quickly through her text, the faint sound of a bat hitting a ball striking in the background.
Her concentration was broken when she heard a thump, and Callie looked up to see a bright green ball rolling to a stop at her feet. Damn, was the first thought to come to her mind, that was a good hit.
The brunette looked at the ball for a few more seconds before returning to her reading, her eyes not catching the girl beginning to walk towards her.
When the player got close enough she shouted, "Hey, you wanna toss me that?"
Callie's head snapped up. She would know that voice anywhere. She heard it everyday as she walked through the halls. Always chatting animatedly to someone, or giggling at some unfunny joke. The voice was too sweet not to recognize.
When the girl in question came to a stop before Callie, she felt herself blanch, her eyes darting from the number 15 on the girl's jersey to the face it belonged to.
"Earth to Callie?" Arizona grinned crookedly, causing butterflies to swarm in Callie's stomach. Her smile was so breathtaking that the brunette felt as if she had been paralyzed. How could she not have known that number 15 was Arizona Robbins?
"Calliope?" The way her given name sounded rolling off of Arizona's tongue was what caused Callie to snap out of her trance, her pencil falling out of her grip to the ground.
"You know my name?" She asked meekly, kicking herself at the ridiculous response. She sounded like an idiot, and of course in front of Arizona Robbins of all people.
"Of course, we have chem together," Arizona said gently, obviously sensing the tension coming from Callie. She tried to catch the girl's warm eyes, but Callie seemed ardent on avoiding all eye contact, "Well, I need to get back before the coach yells at me, can you toss me that ball?"
Callie glanced briefly upward, remembering why Arizona even came over in the first place, "O-oh, yeah, sorry," She stuttered, quickly throwing the ball to the blonde.
"Nice throw. It was nice talking to you Calliope, I'll see you around," Arizona said, before turning on her heel and walking away, leaving Callie speechless behind her.
Arizona Robbins has always been comfortable in her own skin, she had known from a young age that she was gay, and was always open about it. Everyone around school knew she was a lesbian, and everyone knew she was a player.
She had a reputation of sleeping with almost the whole cheerleading squad, and more than half of the softball team; not to mention, the theatre girls as well. She was sort of a legend and owned up to it.
She never really had relationships, she had "things" with multiple girls at a time, or hooked up with girls at parties. She had broken more than a few hearts, but she'd almost grown cold to it, accepting the fact that relationships just weren't for her.
However, for some reason when she saw Calliope Torres doing her homework by the softball field, something in her changed. Her heart began to skip a beat and butterflies formed at the bottom of her stomach. Every cliche thing you can think of, she felt around this girl.
A few days had passed by and Arizona was still thinking about her encounter with Callie. She couldn't explain the draw she developed towards the girl. They had never spoken to one another before yesterday, but Arizona was immediately intrigued by her shy and quiet demeanor.
As Arizona walked into her chemistry class she spotted Callie sitting in the front of the class, her nose buried in an anatomy book. The smile that was always etched onto her face grew a little bit bigger. She saw Callie look up at her, her eyes widening when she noticed Arizona gazing at her. Arizona attempted to give Callie a small wave, but she was already looking back down, her body sinking as low as it could into her chair.
The blonde wondered why Callie was always so shy, but brushed the thought away when the bell rung. Instead she found her seat.
The teacher began going around handing back their latest test, and worry formed at the pit of the blonde's stomach.
She looked over at the tall brunette, sitting in the front row of the classroom. The blonde thought the other would get a good grade, like she always did. Sure enough, when Callie was handed the test, the teacher was smiling widely, and patting her on the shoulder, obviously congratulating her on a job well done.
Arizona was, yet again, getting handed another failing grade on a chem test. The teacher gave her a stern look and shook her head, then went on to tell Arizona to meet with her after class.
Arizona was visibly nervous the whole period, shaking her leg and tapping her fingers. She was continually looking at the clock, hoping and praying that the class was almost over.
After what felt like hours, the bell rang and she got up from her seat, and went to the front of the room where the teacher was sitting.
She could tell by the look on her teacher's face, that she was in trouble and the news she was about to hear wasn't good.
"Arizona, I'm sorry to tell you this but one more test that you get a C or lower on, you will be kicked off the softball team," The blonde was shocked, her mouth open, unsure of what to say.
She spoke up, her voice, cracking, "What? That can't be, I've only failed a few tests."
Her legs began to shake again, she looked all around the room, desperately trying to keep herself calm.
"You've failed enough tests, to where you now have a D in my class. The semester will be over in a few weeks, you need to be getting at least a B on my exams in order to pass," Mrs. Rodgers explained, her eyes darting to the back of the class, "Callie, could you come up here?"
Arizona was suddenly confused as to why Callie was called over, but also couldn't ignore the excitement that came along with hearing the other girl's name being spoken.
"Callie, is a part of the tutoring committee and I thought she might be a perfect candidate to help you get your grades up," Mrs. Rodgers nodded to her reassuringly, hoping the blonde would take advantage of the idea.
"A tutor? I don't really have any extra time with practice," Arizona protested, trying not to sound rude at rejecting Callie's help. The brunette in question just looked down at the ground, wishing the ground would just swallow her whole at being brushoffed by her crush.
"You'll need to make time if you want to pass my class, Ms. Robbins."
Arizona winced, feeling like she was at an impasse; she could either take the offered aid and make her busy nights even more hectic, or risk failing and getting kicked off of the softball team.
"Arizona, Callie is an exceptional student that can no doubt help you bring up your grade. Please, think about it."
Before either could say anymore, the bell rang, and Arizona was already making a break for the door.
A small voice spoke out just as Arizona was almost no longer in sight.
"Hey...I can help you anytime, it's no problem," Callie was surprised in herself, not quite sure where that burst of courage came from.
The blonde turned around to see the taller girl tapping her fingers against her notebook, unsure of what to say or do next.
Arizona paused for moment, weighing the pros and cons of her choices, her brows furrowing. Her coach would kill her if she had to leave the team...and she didn't want to have to quit.
The blonde smiled slightly, setting her shoulders straight with determination, "Okay, Calliope, meet me in the library after school."
Callie opened her mouth to say more, but before she could Arizona was out the door and out of earshot, smiling contentedly as she walked to lunch.