The first time they meet, it's the last day of school. Neither have much to do and are wondering where their usual crowd of people are. He has an excuse, at least. He moved during the middle of the school year. And people are less likely to be friends with someone they hadn't known for as long. She, on the other hand, has no excuse. All of her friends had gone off for summer already. She has no one.
No one is as surprised as him than when she walks up to him and asks, very bluntly, if he wants to spend summer with her. They barely know each other, only had a couple of classes together. They know each other, obviously, but most of their opinions are based on rumors rather than facts. She's not completely sure what she's gotten herself into.
No one's as surprised as her when he says yes.
XX
It's awkward at first, neither one knowing what to say. He breaks the silence by suggesting going to the beach. She agrees, not having any better ideas. They get to the packed beach and find a spot. Neither one says much, but they don't need to. Having company is good enough for them. She lays on a towel she brought, intent on getting sun.
She looks up when she sees him sprinting toward the water. She rolls her eyes and goes back to sunbathing. She hears him splashing and swimming and thinks that she might want to join him, but doesn't move. She wanted a tan more. But then, he's out of the water, walking towards her again, telling her to get in. She gives him a you're a dumb shit glare and goes back to relaxing.
His arms are around her the next minute and she's screaming at him to let her go, but he keeps running straight for the water. When they reach the water, he holds her up. She continues to yell at him, but he's ignoring her and finally, he sets her down in the water. And it's cold. She yelps and glares at him again and he smiles cheekily at her and says she'll get used to it.
And she does. They have fun swimming and splashing in the water. She doesn't remember a time when she has had this much fun (sober at least). It feels good to have that with someone. Even if it's for a little while. They're wrestling in the water and she tries not to think about how her hands feel against his chest and he's ignoring the fact that her body curves into his perfectly.
When he takes her home, she doesn't want him to leave. Anything would be better than going into her mom's "love shack". She asks him to stay. He does, for a couple more hours and they eat ice cream on her porch and talk. It's weird because neither have ever really been open to other people because when they have been they've gotten hurt. But it's different for them and they can just talk. It's a comforting feeling. When she goes back into her house, she kind of wishes he was still there.
XX
They have been hanging out all of summer. They're past the awkward I barely know you phase and are actually kind of friends. They're at his apartment and it's even nicer than hers. They're watching TV when he's suddenly asking about her reputation and how she got it, because she didn't seem that way. She rolls her eyes and says that she slept around a little bit. She even confesses that she slept with Bhandari's boyfriend. But -of course- she went back to him.
He accepts this and they go back to watching TV. She asks him about his rumors. He says that he lost where he was living because of relationship problems and he moved to Canada to live with a cousin. She nods and accepts this, knowing there's more, but doesn't ask. He knows there's more to her, too, but doesn't ask. It's a silent understanding.
They go back to watching TV. This isn't the most exciting day they've had over the summer, but they don't mind. They're just glad they have someone to share it with. Not that they'll ever admit it.
XX
It's halfway through summer and she's at her house, sitting on her porch. He's playing in the sprinkler like a five-year-old. She looks at him, rolls her eyes, and smiles. He sees her looking at him and smiles back, motioning for her to come join him. She shakes her head and he gives her puppy dog eyes. She rolls her brown eyes and joins him, somewhat hesitantly. She thinks it's weird because she's Bianca DeSousa and she never does anything hesitantly. And then this new guy -this Caleb Rivers- comes out of nowhere from Rosewood and she's fucking hesitating. She didn't understand it.
He watches and asks her why she's so afraid to look stupid. She says he doesn't understand because she has a reputation to keep up and since he had just came, he could be whoever he wants. He laughs at her and pulls her into the sprinklers. She squeals and chases after him. They run through the sprinklers and she's laughing and having fun and can't believe it. They switch off who's chasing who and he eventually catches her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and pulling her to him.
They laugh and look at each other, and the eye contact doesn't break. And she realizes that he's bending down to kiss her and that she actually wants him to. Their lips meet and Bianca thinks that it feels nice, and that she'd want to keep kissing him. The sprinklers are going off and Bianca's mom could see them if she really wanted to, but neither care as they kiss. They pull away and Caleb leaves.
They don't talk about the kiss again. Bianca thinks she's the only one it meant something to. But Caleb holds her hand and kisses her when he feels like it and she does the same with him. And it works. They aren't "official" but she doesn't care. She's just glad that he likes her like she likes him. And she's really glad she asked him to spend the summer with her.
XX
The rest of the summer is filled with "dates" and kisses and midnight meetings when she doesn't want to be around her mom and her mom's "flavor of the week". They go to the beach a lot and go to carnivals and Bianca's thinking this is actually one of the best summers she's had since her father bailed. The thing she likes the most about it is Caleb. Neither of them are perfect (Hell, they're probably not even perfect for each other, as far as they knew), but they understand enough and don't try to change each other. And for once, Bianca's happy.
But that's the thing, whenever Bianca is truly happy, it's like the universe says, Oh look, Bianca's happy again, time to ruin it for her. And it does. And this time, with Caleb is no different.
She's just arrived at the Ravine for the party. Caleb had gotten there earlier, when it had started, but she had told him to just meet her there. She's looking for him when she sees Marisol and Caleb kissing. She doesn't know what to do. All she knows is she wants to walk over and rip Marisol's head off. She decides to confront them. Heart racing in her chest and blood boiling, she walks over to them.
"What the Hell is going on?" She demands. Marisol pulls away from Caleb fast. Bianca can tell that she's drunk, by the way she uses Caleb for support. Bianca rolls her eyes in disgust.
"Bianca… hey…" She slurs. She has no idea how mad the other girl is. "This is Caleb. Isn't he hot? I just walked up and we started making out. He's a great kisser." Marisol smiles. And Bianca really can't help it, with how mad she is and that stupid self-satisfied smirk on Marisol's face, and she smacks her. Hard. Marisol recoiles and gives her a What the fuck? look.
Bianca turns to Caleb. "You are such a loser." She says and turns to walk off. She knows that's not the best thing she's ever said to a guy, but she's mad and not thinking clearly and just wants to go home. She almost makes it out of the Ravine when she hears Caleb running after her and yelling her name.
She turns to face him, sharply. "Fuck off, Caleb." She says.
"You haven't even let me explain. I didn't know Marisol was going to kiss me. I swear." He said, giving her those fucking adorable puppy dog eyes. But she's not going to fall for them this time.
"Save your shit, cuz I honestly don't give a fuck anymore. We weren't even official, remember? So just… stay the Hell away from me for the rest of the summer, okay?" She says and walks off quickly. He doesn't follow her. She's glad because she really thinks she's going to cry and doesn't need him to see how much he's actually affected her.
She ignores the noises from her mom's bedroom when she gets home and just goes into her room and cries. She doesn't remember the last time she's cried, but it feels good and she just keeps doing it, sobbing loudly, almost drowning out the noises from down the hall completely. She hates it because the one guy she hates and never wants to see again is the same person she wishes was comforting her in that moment.
She finally falls asleep around midnight, thankful that the sleep envelopes her and she doesn't have to think about him anymore and all the pain she's endured. The last thought she has before she's asleep is that she hopes he and Marisol are happy together.
XX
She wakes up the next morning and goes for a walk. She sees him walking and momentarily forgets she's mad at him. But then she remembers Marisol's tongue down his throat and the anger comes right back. She can tell that he looks sad. She can't help but feel a little happy at that. They pass each other and glance back, but don't speak.
Bianca really wishes things were different for them.
XX
She's trying to sleep nights after she saw him, but can't. Her mom isn't there. She had slept at the guy's house. And while Bianca's happy that she doesn't have to hear her mom and the scum bag going at it like fucking rabbits, it's hard to sleep because she's gotten used to hearing it. She's almost asleep when she hears a tap on her window. She looks at it, but sees nothing and ignores it. But then she hears another. And another. And finally she just walks over to her window and opens it. She sees Caleb standing under it.
"Caleb? What the fuck are you doing?" She demands, completely shocked. Because no one's ever done anything like this for her. Because Bianca's not the kind of girl to be wooed by shit like this.
"I… I missed you. And I didn't kiss Marisol. She kissed me. And I just… I want things to go back to how they were. We were good together, Bianca." He says, pleading. She wants so badly to say yes, but just can't. Seeing him and Marisol kissing is still to clear in her head.
"Things are never going to be the same, Caleb. Even if we wanted them to be. You understand that, right?" She says, looking down at him. He gives her a "kicked puppy" look and starts walking off. She closes her window and sits back on her bed.
It takes her all of ten seconds to regret her decision. Because, even though she's hurt and mad and vulnerable, she misses him and can't stop thinking about him. She loves him. And it's scary but it's true. Bianca hops off her bed and runs outside as quickly as she can. When she gets outside, she sees he's already halfway down the street. She runs after him, calling his name. He turns around and looks surprised. She runs to him and kisses him. He kisses her back and wraps his arms around her tightly. Bianca can feel her heart racing and her mind telling her this might not work but she doesn't care. She decides to just put her heart out there this once and just go with it.
As she and Caleb kiss, she thinks it's the best decision she's made in a long time.
Fin.
And… another crossover story! This time it's Caleb and Bianca. I know I don't use their names in this a lot, but this is kind of a different writing style for me. What do y'all think? Did I do okay? Did I keep Caleb and Bianca IC for the most part? Did you like the style? Let me know!
Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or Pretty Little Liars. If I did, Lucas and Hanna would be together and Sean and Ellie would've gotten back together.