A/N: This is an idea I've had for a while. I will start by saying that I haven't forgotten about either of my other fics and I won't forget. I'll be working on all three stories at once, crazy, I know. I love writing, but sometimes I like to jump around a little on topics, to have something to fit the mood. I know there are a million high school fics out there but I wanted to write one of my own. Title may change at some point...don't know yet. Rated M for later chapters, and language.
A/N 2: Summary- Callie is forced to move to a different state, the summer before her Junior year of high school. After having to break up with her girlfriend due to the distance, she has trouble trying to see the 'good' in her parents decision to move. When she meets her neighbor Addison, they soon become friends and Callie is instantly accepted into Addison's close-knit group of friends who, together, will all face the every day ups and downs as they make it through their teen years together. When A certain blonde catches Callie's eye, she doesn't know it at first, but her life will soon be changed forever.
Callie's POV
Moving half way through my four years of high school, wasn't exactly what I wanted. But as I learned early on, life doesn't always go quite the way you want it to. I was perfectly content in Miami Florida. I had become quite fond of my high school, after struggling my freshman year; had made so many great friends over the years, friends that I won't get to finish high school and graduate with. By the time my Sophomore year came around, I was a varsity athlete and one of the most popular girls in school; having grown up with the majority of my friends, and always making friends with anyone and everyone I met.
Being forced to leave the familiarity and comfort of the house I spent almost my whole life living in, I'm quite angry at my parents to say the least. I had to end things between my girlfriend and I, who neither of my parents ever acknowledged as such, because they have had a hard time accepting my sexuality. In my very early teens, I already knew who I was. After having gone through the individual struggle of being confident with who I was, I was faced with an even bigger obstacle when I came out to my parents.
It's been three days since we have moved into our new house in Los Angeles California, and I've barely said a word to either of my parents. A huge part of me knows that it isn't their fault. That they did what they knew was best for our family. My father was having some problems with his career, until he received a new job offer. Doing what he knew was best for us, he accepted the offer. My sister Aria is equally unhappy, which is the only thing we have been able to agree on at all lately.
If I've gotten anything out of this current mess that is my life, It's that we have a newly found understanding of one another. Finally being on the same page about something in our lives, we have already grown closer in the very short time that we have been here. Not yet having anyone around here except each other, a large portion of our time has been spent together.
The rest of my time has been spent unpacking and getting my new room ready, the way that I want it to be. When I'm not doing that, I usually walk around the neighborhood; wandering around aimlessly, to have some time alone. All I can do is think about my now ex-girlfriend Anna, and how much I miss her. I hate the fact that I had to break her heart the way that I did, and I also broke my own heart in the process. I had thought long and hard about how to make things work between us, but the distance that would be between us, seemed to be too much. I wanted her to be free and live her life, so she could find someone that could make her happy. Someone that would love her as much as I did, and treat her right.
A single tear escapes from each of my eyes, rolling down the side of my face; as I lay on my bed, unable to think of anything except her. From her golden brown hair, to her bright blue eyes, I miss everything about her. Her touch, her smell, her kisses. While I know deep down that it was what was best for us at this time in our lives, breaking up with her is something I will never forget, because it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
knock knock knock
"Callie..?" Aria calls from the other side of my bedroom door.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I sit up and scramble around trying to gather up all the tissues. "Uh...yeah...just a second..." I reply, tossing the tissues in the small trash next to my bed. "...come in."
She cracks the door open, poking her head inside. "It's like two in the afternoon...have you been up here all day?..." she asks, closing the door behind her. As she approaches my bed, she looks down at the small trash can, filled with used tissues. "...Cal, this isn't good...I know it sucks...but we should try and make the most of it."
Sighing heavily, I let myself fall back onto my pillow. "I know...I'm just...so mad, and...I don't know. It just sucks."
"It totally does, I'm with you on that one..." she replies, laying down beside me. "...I just met the neighbors kids...they're pretty cool. The girl is your age, and the boy is my age."
"That's cool..."
"Her name is Addison, she's pretty cool. I think you two would get along great. When I told her you were a softball player said her best friend Teddy is on the team..so I think you would get along with her too...she's over there now."
"Nice.." I reply, still not feeling very enthusiastic.
"You should come meet them, they're still outside!..." she exclaims excitedly, as she sits up and looks out the window. She crawls over me, jumping off the bed and grabbing my arm "...come on lazy pants let's go!..." she says, pulling me into a sitting position.
"I hate you so much right now!" I groan in frustration, as she forces me into a standing position and starts dragging me out of the room.
"Oh, shut up! you love me..." she teases. Not having much energy to fight her, I allow her to drag me downstairs."...this will be good for you...for both of us...and it's only the beginning of the summer so we have like two months to make friends before school starts."
I pull my hand away from hers, as I slip my shoes on. "I guess you're right...give me a second though."
After putting my shoes on, I head into the kitchen and around the corner to the downstairs bathroom by the laundry room. Studying myself in the mirror, it's obvious that I won't be leaving the house like this, especially when I will be meeting new people. Opening and closing the many drawers by the bathroom sink, I finally reach the drawer containing the make up.
I splash cold water on my face-trying to reduce the redness of my cheeks, and somewhat cover up the fact that I've been crying. After drying my face, I quickly re-apply make up and fix my hair before being dragged out the door by Aria.
"They're out back, come on Cal!..." Aria exclaims excitedly as she jogs along the side of their house, heading to the back yard. "...could you move any slower!" she jokes.
"Yeah, I'm right behind you, dork!" I reply, quickening my pace to catch up to her, we make it around their large house, through the fence and into the back yard.
"Hey Aria!.." a tall red head greets, as she's skimming the large in ground pool. "...you came back!" she says excitedly before walking over to the fence and resting the long pole on the hooks. While she's making her way over to us, I turn to the left at the sound of what I know is most definitely someone jumping on a trampoline. A tall, skinny girl with honey blonde hair, wearing an army tank top, black basketball shorts and black skater shoes.
Before I have a chance to fully observe my surroundings, the red head is standing in front of me.
"You must be Callie...I'm Addison.." she greets with a smile, while extending her hand. "...it's nice to meet you. Aria told me a lot about you."
"I'm sure she did.." I joke, shaking her hand. "...it's nice to meet you too."
"Hey Teddy... come here!.." she calls. "...and how many times do I have to tell you...not to wear your shoes on the trampoline!"
Teddy takes a few more jumps, getting less air every time before leaping off of the trampoline and jogging over to us.
"Teddy, this is Callie...Aria's sister" Addison says, gesturing to me. "...I'll be right back, Aria...you can come if you want...I'll show you the inside."
Addison and Aria make their way inside, leaving Teddy and I alone.
Teddy smiles, and shakes my hand. "It's nice to meet you...I heard you're a softball player. What position?"
"I'm a catcher..." I reply. "...well, was a catcher...I don't know if I'll play anymore."
"Oh you have to!.." she exclaims. "...I'm on the varsity team...our catcher just graduated and we will be needing one."
"Really?..." I ask, with a newly found level of enthusiasm. That is, until I remember why I am struggling to make this decision. "...I was on varsity at my old school. I was just so bummed about the move that I hadn't really planned on continuing to play...you know, being the 'new kid' and all. I grew up with a lot of my team mates."
"Alright girl, you're going to try out!..." she demands, jokingly of course. "...I know you would make it and I think you'd be an great addition to the team...you and I could go to the batting cages or play catch sometime if you wanted. I play third base...by the way. We could practice plays together this summer."
Before I have the chance to respond, our attention is turned to the opening sliding glass door. A blonde girl with braids, wearing short pink shorts and a white tank top steps onto the back porch.
"There you are!..." Teddy exclaims. "...answer your phone much?"
Teddy runs to meet the blonde, as she leaps into her open arms for a hug. I awkwardly make my way over to them, waiting to introduce myself to the blonde. The blonde who is absolutely gorgeous. Okay Callie, she's probably not even into girls. You don't even know her name yet any way, slow down the thinking.
"I'm sorry...I was out late last night, and slept in." The blonde replies when they break from the hug.
When the blonde notices me standing there, she gives me a dimpled smile. "Are you Callie?.." she asks. "...I just met your sister."
I don't ever remember a time in my life, that dimples would ever attract my attention so much. I always associated dimples with young children, never any one my age or older; because I always thought dimples were cute, which is a word that I wouldn't use to describe girls my age. But, she is cute...adorable even. From her sparkling blue eyes, to her beautiful blonde hair and adorable dimples, I am immediately taken by this girl that I don't even know. She's definitely easy on the eyes.
"You still with us?" Teddy asks me, pulling me out of my day dream.
"Um yeah..." I reply awkwardly, before refocusing my attention. "...yeah. I'm Callie."
"I'm Arizona. It's so nice to meet you!" she replies excitedly, as she extends her hand for me to shake.
Without meaning to, I keep my grip on her hand a few seconds longer. For the few seconds that her hand was in mine, I felt an instant spark throughout my body.
At the sound of the gate clicking closed, Teddy makes her way over and peaks around the corner. "Hey small fry!..." she teases, as a short, skinny girl with honey brown hair makes her way around the corner; followed by a boy with dark hair, holding her hand.
While Teddy carries on a short conversation with them, I catch Arizona staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Is she attracted to me too? She can't be...we barely know each other, and I don't believe in all of that 'at first sight' talk any way.
"So...you're new here, right?" Arizona asks, breaking the silence.
"Yeah...we just moved here three days ago, from Miami Florida." I reply.
"That's awesome. I love Florida!..." she replies excitedly, and a tad too perky. Normally I would find this level of perkiness annoying, but she is so damn beautiful and that's all I can think about. "...we lived there when I was younger, only for a year though. We move a lot...I was the 'new kid' here last summer."
Teddy makes her way over to us with her two friends, and introduces them as Meredith and Derek. Immediately following that introduction, a boy comes out of the sliding glass door, jumping over the few steps and onto the grass.
"Hey Alex!" Arizona says, giving him a dimpled smile as she leaps into his arms. What's with all the hugging around here?
"How's my number one girl?" He asks, keeping his hold on her and lifting her off the ground slightly before giving her a kiss on the cheek. Boyfriend maybe? Should have known she wasn't into girls. Get ahold of yourself Callie, you've known her all of ten minutes.
She giggles, as she struggles to free herself from his hold on her. When he puts her back down onto the ground, she turns around and gestures for him to follow. He follows behind her, taking the few steps toward the group of us.
"Callie, this is my best friend Alex.." She tells me, gesturing to him, before gesturing back to me. "...Alex, this is Callie. She's new here..."
"It's nice to meet you..." he says, shaking my hand. "...where did you move from?"
"Miami Florida...we moved into the house next door." I reply.
"That huge house next door that wouldn't sell for the longest time?" Meredith asks, pointing in the direction of our new house.
"That would be the one..." I reply.
Addison and Aria finally come back outside, and another round of introductions begins, as Aria meets Derek, and Meredith. Aria will be a senior, and will probably make her own friends. But for now, I can see that she will be spending a lot of time with me this summer, and probably my new friends as well.
As the hours go by, Aria and I are introduced to the rest of the group: Mark, Cristina, Owen, George and Izzie(who stayed for a short while before leaving) Lexie, April, and Jackson. Lexie, the half sister of Meredith is one year younger the rest of the group. Everyone else will be entering their junior year, like me.
While the rest of them get into a backyard soccer game, I head into the house with Addison to help her find some snacks for everyone.
"So...where are your parents?" I ask Addison, as she digs through the fridge.
"No idea. They're pretty much never home. My brother and I are usually left alone...and he left a while ago so it's me and my friends today." she replies.
She closes the fridge with her knee, and drops bags of cheese and deli meat on the kitchen island.
"They don't mind all of your friends being over here...and eating all your food? I ask jokingly, looking at the amount of food she has taken out.
"They never seem to mind...hey would you mind grabbing some bread and buns or whatever out of the bread basket?" She asks, opening and closing random cabinets, pulling out various bags of chips and other snacks.
"Uh...yeah sure..."
"So...where are your parents?" she asks.
"They're really never home much during the day...they work a lot..." I reply. Looking out the kitchen window, I notice that Teddy has excused herself from the soccer game and is now on the trampoline doing flips. "...Teddy really loves that trampoline huh?"
Addison chuckles. "Yeah she does...she's the most energetic of all of us...she's not exactly a tom boy but not exactly a 'girly girl' either...but she's the girl who can out play the boys at any sport...it's kind of funny because they get so pissed off."
Having always been known by all of my friends in Miami as 'the girl who can beat up any of the boys' I laugh at her comment. From the very little I know about her, Teddy and I seem to have a lot in common, other than our love for softball.
"Oh god here they go again..." Addison groans, looking out the window that I have just stepped away from. "...poor Arizona. Gets picked on all the time by the guys, all in good fun though. Meredith too..." she trails off.
"They'd pick on Teddy and Cristina too but those two won't take their crap..." She adds.
When I return to my spot beside her, and look out the window; Meredith is pushed into the pool by Mark and Derek, and Arizona is hanging over Alex's shoulder, kicking and laughing as he tosses her into the pool.
A few minutes later, Meredith and Arizona come through the sliding glass door, soaked from head to toe.
"Having fun?" I ask Arizona teasingly.
"So much fun...they always do this to me..." she replies with a dimpled smile. "...your sister said I could borrow some dry clothes...her and I are about the same size."
"Okay...did you want me to go with you...?" I ask.
"If you wouldn't mind, that would be great."
"Did you want some dry clothes too?" I ask Meredith.
"You know I'd let you wear mine even though you'd be a pain about it...but today is laundry day and the maid isn't done yet..." Addison trails off.
Meredith smiles at me. "If you wouldn't mind that would be great...Addison is a lot taller tan both of us, and not exactly the same size...otherwise I'd wear hers...if it wasn't laundry day"
"Hurry back!" Addison calls, as we exit their house through the front door.
When we enter my house, both Meredith and Arizona look around in amazement.
"This place is huge!" Meredith exclaims. She runs up the stairs, trying to find her way to Aria's room.
Arizona and I follow behind her. "Aria's room is the second room on the right, from where you are." I tell Meredith.
"By the way this probably seems a little weird to you but this is what we do..." Arizona says. "...we wear each others clothes all the time."
"Oh...no it's not really weird at all...my friends and I used to do that.." I reply.
A few minutes later, Arizona comes out of Aria's room with a pair of short black shorts in one hand and her wet clothes in the other. However, the short black shorts are not the first thing I notice. The first thing I notice is that she has taken her wet clothes off, leaving her in only a bathing suit. Just when I thought she couldn't be more perfect, I'm suddenly staring at her perfectly toned stomach and her skinny, but strong legs.
"Um...Callie?" she asks, snapping me out of my almost drooling state.
"Huh...w...what...? I stutter, causing her to giggle.
"I was wondering if you had a shirt I could wear...or something, Meredith took the last clean tank top."
"Uh...sure...right this way..." I reply, gesturing for her to follow me to my room. "...my clothes might be a little big on you though.."
"I don't mind..." she replies, as we enter my room. The first thing she notices is a jersey from my old summer softball league, hanging on my closet door. The light and comfortable baby blue tank top jersey with my last name and number on the back in white, outlined in black. "...can I wear this?" she asks.
"Sure...if you want...it has my last name on it though..."
"Oh, I don't mind. I really like it...it looks comfortable"
After giving her and Meredith time to finish changing, we head back over to Addison's. Having been thrown in the pool, Arizona had to wash off the rest of her make up. Even without makeup, she is so beautiful and I'm finding it harder and harder to figure out why I'm so attracted to someone that I've only known for four, going on five hours.
While Meredith was still getting changed, Arizona came back into my room when she was done in the bathroom. She had asked if "Callie" was short for something. After having explained to her that no one calls me "Calliope" except for my parents, she insisted that she loved the sound of it and asked if she could call me that. Normally I'd be beyond annoyed at the use of my real name, but it sounds so beautiful coming from her pink lips. In the moments that I was alone with Arizona, I was able to forget about what brought me here in the first place. While I barely know her, just being around her helped brighten my day.
We find Addison and the rest of the group on the porch gathered around a large glass table, under an umbrella, making sandwiches and eating chips, cookies, and anything else that was in the house.
Meredith takes a seat on Derek's lap, and Arizona on Alex's, because there are no more chairs after I take the last one. Best friends? Freakishly close and very cozy best friends...
After a very interesting lunch, everyone helps clean up the table and put everything away when everyone head inside to relax for a little while, before we all go swimming. Arizona and I spent the majority of our time stealing glances at one another from across the table, instead of eating, which didn't go un noticed by Alex, Addison or Teddy. When people started finishing and getting up one by one, she took the seat next to me, carrying on random conversation; wanting to 'get to know me' more, while she would occasionally brush her leg up against mine.
"Ugh seriously!..." Cristina groans in annoyance. "...who invited her?"
Meredith walks up and stands next to Cristina, looking out the large front window of the house, to the right of the door.
"This time it was not me!" Teddy defends, from the kitchen as she's looking for something else to eat. I'd ask where someone as skinny as her puts so much food, but with how active and energetic she is, it's pretty self explanatory.
"Don't look at me...just because it's my house doesn't mean I'm the one responsible for clearly pissing all of you off" Addison says jokingly, as Meredith gives her a questioning look.
"Okay...so remind me again why we have to put up with her?" Meredith asks.
"She's so...blah" Mark adds, as him and Owen enter the living room.
"I know right...so why do we put up with her?" Cristina asks, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Addison.
"because...Arizona is our friend and we want to support her decisions, even if we don't agree with them." Addison answers her.
"Yeah...even if Emily is a bitch!.." Alex complains. "...I mean, she's hott and all but her attitude is the biggest turn off."
"and she's really annoying!" Cristina adds. "...more annoying than the ramble twins over here" she jokes, gesturing to Lexie and April. Lexie playfully shoves Cristina into Meredith, causing laughter from all.
Who and what are they talking about?
"She's really not that bad" April chimes in.
"Shut up, you don't get an opinion" Alex replies, rolling his eyes at her level of attempted optimism.
"She is that bad" Mark says
Wondering what all the talk about Emily is, I head to the window to get a closer look.
A girl with dirty blonde hair, seemingly the same height as Arizona, steps out of a black SUV. Maybe she is just a friend of Arizona's that they don't like? I don't think Arizona would have a girlfriend...I mean, I'm pretty sure that she's been flirting with me all day.
Arizona, who was still outside appears in the front yard. She runs towards Emily, stopping just in front of her. Still looking outside, I hear another series of comments from everyone.
"Does the back of her shirt say Torres?" Derek asks, as he appears along side Meredith.
"Yeah...she asked me to wear it so I let her" I reply.
Alex breaks into a quick fit of laughter. "You know what that means!" he exclaims, pumping his fists in the air excitedly.
"What does what mean?..." Teddy asks, with a mouth full of food as she enters the living room, wiping crumbs off of her shirt. "...oh...that...yeah..." she adds, smiling and nodding.
Meredith and Cristina give me a strange look before giving each other a high five, both receiving a playful slap in the back of the head from Addison.
"What?" Cristina asks innocently.
Alex wraps an arm around me. "You and I...we're going to get along great!"
"Does anyone want to tell me what you're all talking about?" I ask.
They all take turns looking towards each other and laughing, some whispering things to one another.
"Ughhh" Cristina groans in annoyance.
"Seriously guys give them some privacy..." Addison says. "...I mean even if we don't like her, she is Arizona's..."
"Privacy? They're in freakin broad day light!" Alex snaps.
Arizona's what?
"That doesn't mean we all have to stand here watching" Teddy groans, rolling her eyes and walking away.
Shifting my attention back outside, a feeling that I've never felt before suddenly hits me as I'm met with the sight of the two of them, lost in a lingering kiss. Arizona's...girlfriend...
Of course she has a girlfriend, Why wouldn't she? She's gorgeous.
To Be Continued...
A/N 3: Arizona's POV will come soon. There will also be more back round on each character and their family lives as the story goes on, it clearly won't follow too many things in the show (age differences and what not)...and no, this won't be one of those stories where it takes half the story to get Callie and Arizona together, so no worries. Also, like I said...don't worry about my other stories...I won't forget them. There are just times that I feel like working more on one story than another...and I like to have different topics to work with.
I'll fix typos in this chapter at another time, just wanted to post it and see if it would be something people would read. An update of this story as well as my other two...will come at some point this week(hopefully).
The jersey thing will explained at some point...