I don't own the characters. I attach strings to them and shout, "Dance marionettes! Dance for my pleasure!"


1. Clouds

Things that had always seemed so complicated and stupid seemed nice and comfortable whenever she was with Brandon.

2. Football

She doesn't understand the sport (heck, she barely understands any sport) but since the whole family loves it she'll sit down on the couch, next to her favorite people, and cheer on a team she doesn't know just so they will be happy.

3. Hurt

Every time Callie pushed him away it was like he was reliving his parent's divorce all over again.

4. Blush

When she got sick in that house for the first time, he was the one who made her chicken noodle soup and rubbed her tummy as she fell asleep.

5. Serenade

He wrote melodies specifically with her in mind and he let her hear every single one of them before his audience did; her eyes would always close with satisfaction at the beauty of the melody while her mind would chant, "It was me. He wrote this for me."

6. Building

Callie always seemed like she could stand at the bottom of the sea and still feel like she was on top of the world when she played her guitar.

7. Defense

She never lowered her guard for anyone except Jude until Brandon came along and smashed through all her walls like they were made of weak plastic (because saying they were made of glass was just cliche when she is anything but).

8. Saint

He was her angel of mercy, because she knows she's too tainted to ever be a true angel.

9. Sweet

The first present Brandon ever gave to her was a stuffed bear with a tutu and slippers; she laughed, asked, "Who am I? Girly-girl Marianna?" but she slept with the bear every day until they got a place of their own where he became the substitute snuggle-buddy.

10. Jackass

Whether people knew it or not, Brandon could actually be an asshole when he wanted to.

11. Chances

They knew seeing each other was risky, but after one touch, one kiss, one moment, they were both willing to risk everything to be together.

12. Woman

Callie would not get out of his head, not after that bikini Mariana lent her that she wore to the beach.

13. Shift

She never welcomed change (it usually meant that she was leaving a foster home and she and Jude would have to start over somewhere again) but being with Brandon has made her much more-open minded.

14. Running

Callie was so good at running away Brandon thought she might like to try out for the track team; she chucked the brochure at his face.

15. Boy

Even Jude, young as he is, could see the undeniable connection between his foster brother and his real sister (and thats why he was so so afraid).

16. White

Snow was obviously not common in San Diego (the locals called it witchcraft, the apocalypse, or just plain abnormal), but the awed look on Callie and Jude's faces were worth all the uncomfortable, cold chills the rest of the family had.

17. Strawberry

The only color that could match the shade of her lips.

18. Smile

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Callie's happy expression is worth so much more to him.

19. Friends

"This color will totally make your skin pop out." Mariana babbled. "And Brandon will fall even further in love with you." Guess who was giving out the innuendos and who was blushing all night.

20. Cat

She had the ferociousness of a lion, but the curiosity of a young kitten.

21. Peace

Their first anniversary as a couple (a whole year of dating) is met with smiles, laughter and approval from everyone who mattered; Callie can't remember a time when she felt this much happiness.

22. Knowledge

He was going to get hurt one day if he kept being so nice to everyone (but wasn't that kindness something she had come to love in him?).

23. Lightning

Despite the fact that Brandon knew she would bear her claws at a gun-bearing former foster father, he knew she jumped at every mention of lightning (despite his wishes, he's never really seen her during a thunderstorm).

24. Whim

No matter what Jude thought, Callie had never meant to destroy their relationship on a chance.

25. Sister (companion to Woman)

Now that he thought about it, why did Marianna have something like that in her closet in the first place (and why did Stef allow it in there)?

26. Permanence

Something she never thought she would ever have, but found it in Brandon and his family.

27. Hot

Brandon came up behind her, seated her and her guitar in his lap, his hand over hers and showed her how to play the correct cords; she couldn't deny the heat that coursed through her veins and flooded her cheeks.

28. Fantasy

She had never felt as beautiful as she did, dancing in Brandon's arms at Mariana's quiencenera.

29. Surprise

Callie doesn't know how he did it, but somehow Brandon found out that her favorite flowers were tulips; now every time she went downstairs to get some coffee she always found a flower next to her already-filled coffee mug.

30. Black

The color she always thought her soul was, but its the color of his hair in the sunlight on the beach.

31. Scared

They counted the days until she turned eighteen as they lived in fear that someone would discover just how involved they were.

32. Time

Every little moment alone together was something even more precious to her than Jude's smiles.

33. Private

Despite the lectures from Stef and Lena (especially Stef) they sneak out again and again just to spend a moment alone in that busy house.

34. Clench

The grip Brandon had on her heart was crazy (it also drove her insane most of the time).

35. Regret

Talya told him that she would ruin him one day; now, standing at the alter, watching his future wife walk down the aisle with her brother to give her away, he thinks of how he'll never regret bringing Callie into his life.

36. Torture

Didn't Callie know what she did to him when she ate that popsicle?

37. Motorcycle

She's wanted one since she convinced some guy to give her a ride on one; when she told Brandon this, he calmly steered her towards the SUVs and the safer vehicles.

38. Boys

Why did he have to get horny every time he heard her singing in the shower?

39. Freedom

Brandon took Callie to the docks on their first date and lifted her up so she could feel the wind in her hair (the fact that he had his arms around her waist all afternoon was a definite benefit for both of them).

40. Life

There is a before Brandon (darkest days of her life) and an after Brandon (definitely better).

41. Table

It was the first thing they bought together in honor of getting their first apartment.

42. Men

Callie definitely didn't consider him a boy; not after she saw that chest not wrapped in that towel that hung very low on his waist.

43. Stroll

They walk hand in hand now that they know they can be together in public without someone to ridicule them for doing so.

44. Desire

They didn't know what they wanted from everyone else, but what they wanted from each other was nothing less than simple.

45. Fudge

If she could barely control herself around Brandon normally, how could she control herself when he had a splotch of fudge on his lip? (It was killing her not to be able to just lick it off!)

46. Prize

She certainly didn't think she was anything special, but try telling that to Brandon.

47. Eros

Though her lips looked like temptation reincarnated, they tasted so much sweeter.

48. Private

The music room was their sanctuary, somewhere they could just be themselves and not have to worry about the staring eyes and judging thoughts.

49. Haunted

Even when they were together, even when they made love to one another, Callie's past was always going to be there in the shadows, waiting for that one chance to pull them apart.

50. Replace

She was no Marianna, but to Brandon that was even better.