AN: The response to that story is amazing! A huge thank you to all of you out there reading it! THANK YOU!
And another thank you to my beta. She's literally correcting everything I throw her way. She's awesome and I am kinda proud about our work because after all, we're both no native speakers, she's Dutch and I am German but we're quite the team.
She turned to me and I could see in those beautiful soulful brown eyes that she had been deep in thoughts, that something had kept her mind busy for a few hours at least and I didn't know whether I should be afraid of what was about to come out of her mouth or if this could possibly be something I had been longing to hear her say far longer than forever. "Have you ever been in love, Arizona?", she asked me, her voice sincere and somehow a little insecure as her eyes seemed to stare right through me.
Her question left me dumbstruck, so it took me a couple of seconds before I could wrap my brain around the words. I hadn't expected a loaded question like this. Have I ever been in love before? "I thought I was", I answered timidly but I couldn't hold her gaze, the atmosphere surrounding us was too intense for me to watch her reaction to my response. Nevertheless, there was more honesty in my words than I thought I could muster right now. And I had no idea where the courage that suddenly filled my body and heart came from, but shortly after my first answer I heard myself talk again, "But I was wrong. I know that now."
"Ugh", I groan. This is not good, it's not even worth continuing this piece, I think to myself, put my laptop on sleep and close the lid. My eyes wander around the room which is filled with students, two teacher's assistants and the teacher, the latter giving the most boring lecture on law. It is not even a real lecture since all he has been doing for almost eighty minutes now is giving us examples on how he won a variety of cases. "Harvard Law School", I scoff quietly from my seat in the last row, thankful that I grabbed my laptop this morning on a last minute decision. I have only been listening with one ear, the rest of my brain has been focused on my writing, and I am glad I didn't give Professor Treeving the chance to kill my brain on my first day.
Luckily for all of us, this torture is over within the next ten minutes so I decide to sit back and just listen to the music that is filling my other ear, plugged with an in-ear headphone that is hidden beneath my blonde wavy mane. For the last few weeks I have been thinking about cutting my hair short, not like super short, but maybe shoulder length since it now reaches past my breasts, but I quickly throw that plan away. If I am forced to endure more of his classes, I need a distraction. And even better if I can hide that distraction.
When he finally dismisses us, I practically bolt out of my seat and out of the room, taking one deep breath to clear my lungs from the sticky air before I make my way to the coffee cart. I think about the conversation I had with Teddy when we had our movie night. Her first advise was to find a good coffee cart, her second was to always have something with me that could keep me awake in case I would get bored and the third was to never sit in the first ten rows, because that is usually how far the eyes of the teachers truly glance. And I have to admit, Teddy was right. I am not even sure if Professor Treeving noticed that I was typing away on my laptop. He probably didn't even hear the sound of the keys when I pressed them.
With a strong black coffee in my left hand and my laptop trapped between my right forearm and body, I make my way to the next class to get a seat in one of the last rows yet again. Once I am all set up, my best friend – at least when it comes to a technical device – is powered up already. I go over the last page of written words and actually have to laugh about myself. Because this is so cliché and so sob-stuffy that I am closer to deleting it than putting any more work into it. It definitely needs a lot of editing.
Apparently, I need more inspiration so I click myself through a couple of Callie Torres fan blogs and pages before more students decide to fill the room, one news catching my eye pretty fast.
Callie Torres on Ellen, live, tonight!
My eyes almost bulge out of my head when I read the headline. I love when Callie is on the Ellen Show, they are so funny together and even better when they're actually live on TV. I bet she'll look amazing, she always does. She's a goddess, she has that gleam around here, that confident aura, it takes my breath away every time. Copying the link and sending a quick text to Teddy, telling her that I'll be at her place tonight to watch the show, I then focus back on my writing, not caring about whether this class actually starts or not.
Hours later, I have no idea how I got through the first day of horror, but I do know that the days and months to come will make my life a living hell. My father – Colonel Robbins of the United States Marine Corps – has clearly no idea what law school is doing to my brain, it's killing me! And even better, every time I confront him and tell him that I don't want to become a lawyer, he just replies that it has been my dream since I was little. Well, maybe at the age of ten when I was watching Ally McBeal, but that was more than a decade ago. The thing is, I can't go against the Colonel's words. He's my dad, he and my mother gave me and my brother everything so far and my brother is serving our country just like my father and grandfather did. So until I can come up with a better plan for my life or find it in me to actually try and find a publishing company for my novel, I will attend law school... and who knows, maybe my brain still works as good as it did in college and I do not have to study my ass off to get at least tolerable grades. Because I graduated from college without studying until the last final exams.
But no more thoughts about that. I just made it to Teddy's and were waiting for the Ellen Show to start. I am already tapping my feet and checking the clock every five seconds. This is exactly what seeing Callie Torres does to me, even though it's not real, even though she's just on television, I can barely keep it together.
"You know", Teddy starts, "one day you might meet her and you're a nervous wreck already. You can't sit still although it's just television. How will it be when she's standing in front of you?" She laughs at my antics and nervous shifting. "Probably for the best she's not in Cambridge", she adds and nudges my shoulder. "How was your day?"
"Don't ask", I mutter under my breath and just raise the bottle of beer to my lips. I am usually not one to drink beer while watching TV, but today I need it. A shitty day and Callie Torres live on TV, yup, I definitely need the light buzz of alcohol running through my body. "Oh, it starts!", I exclaim, Teddy's teasing completely forgotten as Ellen and Callie enter the stage together. And just as expected, she looks stunning in a tight, form fitting and curve hugging black dress that ends just below mid-thigh. Frankly, she could be wearing a garbage bag and I would still say it's hot, but that dress shows off her legs and just enough cleavage for me to get a good imagination of what's beneath the rest of the fabric and I can feel my mouth going dry. "Hot", I mumble before I take another sip of the cold beer.
Teddy just laughs out loud. I can feel her eyes on me but I don't dare to look away from the screen, wanting to see every second of it. After the usual greeting and welcoming stuff is done, they sit down and start to talk about the actress' work, most of the things I already know, but I am still focused on every word the brunette says. Callie sits there, one leg crossed over the other while she's talking about her new movie and then goes over to announce the release date for her first album. I already know I'll have to put the date in my agenda to buy it. I have tons of her songs in my play list on YouTube, but the quality isn't always on point so having the actual record in my hands, hopefully with a nice booklet, it will be so much better.
"So, Callie, tell me", Ellen starts, "do you know what fan fiction is?"
"Of course I do", she answers with a gorgeous megawatt smile. A smile so bright, it can light up your day, even when everything around you is as dark as the night. "I've read some of them, mostly during breaks or when I have a rare lazy Sunday. Some of those writer are truly talented."
All of a sudden, I become nervous. What if she has read some of my stories? Or even just one? That would be so embarrassing. I mean, sure, she doesn't know who I am and who's behind the pseudonym of the author, but what if-
"Geez A, just imagine she read one of yours", Teddy chimes in, voicing my very thoughts. "Luckily for you, you only post the ones about the characters she's played and not the ones about her and you." My face must turn into one of utter horror as I picture how bad that could have been. "Relax", my best friend laughs again, "even if you'd have done that, there's literally no chance she would know who you are. It still would be amazing if she has read one of your stories before."
"So I take it, you like fan fiction", Ellen concludes and my attention turns back to the show within a split second, seeing Callie nod. I think my little fan heart just died, she likes reading fan fiction! "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the best thing about a live show, because this is completely unscripted and not in the notes on my cards but what do you say to a little contest?"
"A contest?", the Latina asks the host, Ellen must have just sprung that idea on her. Typically Ellen, spontaneous and full with ideas.
"A fan fiction contest. You must know by now that you fan base is huge and amazing so what if you could give them just a small treat in return for that." To that, Callie just nods and I swoon again. Yeah, I have it that bad. "So here's my suggestion. The fans could hand in a short story, let's say three pages max so we don't have to read ten thousand words for each story", she chuckles and Callie joins in, the sound is music to my ears. "And we or rather you could pick a winner live on this show when you come back in three months."
"That...", Callie starts and I can feel it in my gut, she's loving the idea. It's honestly quite embarrassing that I know her reaction just from the way she moves and tilts her head, but I have been watching and studying this woman's gesture for years. I just know her. "What will be the prize?"
"How about a meet and greet? I'm not stupid, I've read the Twitter comments before we came on stage, they're all here for you, not for me", she laughs. "A lot of them saying they were dying to meet you one day. So, at least for one person we could make that dream come true. What do you say?"
"I'm game", the Latina replies and shakes the hand Ellen is holding out for her.
"Arizona!", Teddy yells and pinches my arm, ripping me out of the frozen state I have obviously been in. "This is amazing! This is your chance. Hand in one of your stories, meet Callie Torres and even better, that's the first step. If Callie Torres is allowed to read one of your stories, then the whole world is definitely ready for your novel and-"
"No", I state firmly and cut her off, witnessing just a second later as my best friend's jaw lands on the floor, figuratively, of course. "I can't do that Teddy. My stories about her are personal, they are what my dreams are made of. And the ones not about her almost always have sexual content. They're gonna laugh about me. I can't hand in one of those, that's humiliating."
"So? Write a new one", Teddy says matter-of-factly, as if it's the easiest thing on earth. Maybe it is, maybe even for me, but that's not the point. "Come on A, this is an amazing chance. And hell, who knows how many fans will hand in their fan fictions that are not even half as good as yours. Your way with words is amazing. Amazing, do you hear me? Your characters become real, the emotions they feel, when I read the stories you send me, I can feel them too. Just-"
"No!", I say again, this time louder and even firmer than before. "And it's not up for discussion either, this conversation is over." I cross my arms over my chest and turn my attention back to the screen, my brows frowned in stubborn anger as I hear Ellen and my number one celebrity crush state the details. My brain registers the deadline for handing in a story and my eyes linger just a moment too long on the email address that's shown at the bottom of the screen and the note to use 'Callie Torres fan fiction contest' as the subject heading. My thoughts are racing ten miles a minute and in entirely different directions.
I sigh and close my eyes. I can't do that. I am not ready, maybe I won't ever be ready for that step, so maybe becoming a lawyer isn't so bad after all.
AN: So, we kind of met Callie Torres, but then again we didn't, and neither did Arizona. Will it happen soon? And if or when they meet, can Arizona handle the situation?
TGIT and happy Grey's Day!