So, I actually wrote this fic back in July, but I've been wrestling with the decision to post it. I finally figured 'what the hell'. Anyways, I likely won't continue it, but my ffic buddy suggested writing a scene where Arizona tells the story to her brother, so I just might. Let me know what you think!
Taking a moment to herself, Callie looks around the room that is Arizona's study.
Following the shooting and giving their statements to the police, Callie didn't feel safe about returning to her apartment across the street, so Arizona led her to her own house just a few miles away from Meredith's house.
Now Callie takes in the room that seems so off personality from her normally bubbly and perky girlfriend. There's no artwork from previous patients adorning the walls here like there is in her office at the hospital, instead the walls are covered in framed photos. Many of them are of a group of kids in locations all over the world. It's easy for Callie to pick out her girlfriend in the group, and the dimples on one, the smile on another and the curls on the fourth let her know that the other three in the photos are the rest of the Robbins siblings.
One photo in particular draws Callie's attention. It's tucked away in the corner, and Callie quickly realizes why, the costumes each of the people in the photo are wearing are strongly reminiscent of her own days in show choir and even Callie goes to great lengths to keep those photos hidden. But something about this photo strikes a chord deep within Callie's memory. There's something oddly familiar about the group donned in green and gold. Finally, a sliver at the edge of the photo draws her attention and Callie removes the photo from the frame in the hopes that there's a little more to the photo that's hidden by the mat. She lucks out, and the sight of a young man in blue and black throws the memory to front and center.
At the sound of footsteps in the hallway, Callie quickly reframes the photo and hangs it back where it belongs just as a voice is heard at the doorway.
"Hey," Callie whips around at the soft tone to find Arizona leaning against the door jamb. She's still wearing the scrubs she wore that day as the sound of the phone ringing the moment they'd entered the house stopped her original plan of changing.
"Hey, everything alright?" She heard enough of the phone call to know that Arizona's mother was the one on the phone.
"Yeah, they saw the news footage of the shooting and freaked out. Apparently they've been calling the house and my cell every five minutes since then."
"Yeah, I sent a text to my father telling him I'd call him tomorrow and explain everything and to please leave me alone until then as soon as I could."
"Smart." The two share a nervous smile, clearly neither knows just where they're going to pick up on this relationship.
"What are you thinking?" Arizona finally breaks the silence. Callie chuckles softly at the question before deciding to answer it honestly.
"I was thinking of my freshman year of high school." The furrow that appears between Arizona's eyes is all it takes for Callie to laugh a little harder. She takes the blonde's hand, leading her over to the couch and making themselves comfortable before continuing.
"In high school, I was in the show choir – glee club – and my freshman year we won regional's and went to nationals in DC. By the end of the second day, all but four schools had been eliminated, and we all knew that the real competition was between my school and the school from DC – not that the other two weren't good, they just weren't as good – and we gave our all for the final performance. Three songs later and we were waiting to hear if we would be named the best high school show choir in the country.
"I remember looking over at the other school – the one that was our main competitor – and there were these two kids that weren't staring at us with quite as much hostility as the others. One guy was easily 6 feet, probably a few inches taller, and he had dark hair and eyes; the other was his polar opposite, this little tiny blonde thing that had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. While the others in her team were shooting daggers at us, waiting for the curtain to rise and the winner to be announced, the girl walks over, sticks out her hand, and wishes us luck with the biggest smile that displayed these crater-sized dimples that every guy on my team fell in love with immediately.
"Later that night, when I got back to the hotel, I'd retrieved my father's program to find out who that girl was." Callie pauses in her recall to chuckle ever so softly. "I'd forgotten about that night until just now."
"So what made you remember it now?" Callie looks deep into the blue eyes that had her mesmerized from the start before answering.
"That year – the spring of 1992 – we took second place to the Glee Club from DC's William McKinley High School." Callie recognizes the second that realization crosses the blonde's features.
"That was you?" Callie nods briefly before Arizona breaks out in laughter.
Once the laughter has subsided, Arizona wipes her eyes before turning to the younger woman.
"That moment, my brother saw you the second before and immediately got the biggest crush on you. I told him if he didn't go over and wish you luck than I would."
"I'm guessing he didn't have the courage?"
"Nope. But he wasn't the only one to develop a crush that day." The two share a smile before breaking out into soft laughter.
"Who would have guessed that I'd meet the one that I was meant to spend my life with when I was 14 years old?"