Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry I still don't have an update for Words That Were Never Spoken, but a technical difficulty made it so that I couldn't type the last part of the chapter. It will be fixed and posted soon. Near and Far is almost completed so that will probably be updated before Words That Were Never Spoken. I'm finally starting to get into the other storylines of the other characters so that's going to be fun for me. And thanks for the reviews last chapter, it's always fun writing arguments so I'm glad you all liked Jude's outburst. Anyway, read on!

"Hey," Marianna looks at her bedroom door to see Callie standing there, arms crossed, expression indifferent, "look, what I said earlier, it was mean. I shouldn't have said it."

Marianna rolls her eyes, "Whatever."

"Marianna-"

She slams her pencil down on her desk and swivels in her chair towards Callie. "I thought you were my friend. I thought you were going to be my sister."

Callie shrugs her shoulders at Marianna's little outburst, which was just proving what she said before. "I'm not leaving anytime soon, according to your moms."

"They could have been your moms too."

"Just drop it Marianna. It's done. I've made my decision." She walked over to her bed in the corner and flopped onto it.

But Marianna wasn't letting it go without a fight. "What has to happen to a person for them to totally give up on being a part of a family?" Marianna jumps up and walks to Callie. "I stood up for you in front of my friends and now I have none."

"It's not my fault your friends suck."

"And it's not my problem that you're so messed up that you can't even recognize when people actually care about you." She lets out a breath and continues. "I'm getting tired of this facade that you don't want to be here. Despite this hardening of your heart that you do, you are human. You have feelings and things you want like I do. And I know you want a family. I saw it the moment moms asked if you wanted to be a part of this family. So just stop pretending already."

Callie just stares at Marianna, whose spirits sink as she gets up off the bed. "I'll let you finish your homework." Callie walks out the door and Marianna faces in the opposite direction, turning her back on the door frowning upon her homework.

"Great to have you back." She mutters.

"You can't be sitting out here alone," Lena says to Callie who's curled up on one of the outdoor couches in the backyard.

"You chaperoning me?"

"Yes, I am. You need to earn your trust back with this family. Even if you're not planning on becoming a part of this family, Stef and I are still your guardians and while you're living under this roof you need to abide under our rules."

"Sorry, Vice-Principal Adams, I'll go back to my room," she trudges past Lena who sighs and stops her.

"Callie, Principal Sanchez is letting you back into school tomorrow, so be ready tomorrow morning."

"I just got back and you're sending me to school?"

"It's part of your probation. You need to show your P.O. that you are willing to set up roots here and that you're not going to run away again."

"And how am I supposed to do that? I'm sure everyone's heard that I ran off with Wyatt and made up their own stupid rumors about why I did it."

"I have to send you to school. And if you skip, I have to tell your Parole Officer. That's the rules."

"That's bull." She rushes past Lena and Lena takes a place at the kitchen counter. Lena eyes the phone before picking it up and putting in the phone number.

"Hey sweetie, how was your day," her moms voice resonates through the phone and Lena takes a shuddering breath as she tries to say something back.

"Overall, it wasn't good."

"What happened?"

"Remember I told you we were going to Callie's hearing to see if we could get her back?"

"Yes. Did it not work out?"

"No, we got her back. But mom, she doesn't want to be here. She spent the whole car ride not speaking and when we finally get home, she tells us that she want to move out and that she never wanted us to adopt her."

"Oh honey."

Lena leans her head against her hand and squints her eyes as the tears form. "I just wanted to help her and everything she's said since she came back has just hurt somebody."

"Honey, you took a risky move taking in a girl who just got out of Juvie. You knew it would be hard take care of two extra kids. Why did you think adoption was the best decision for these two?"

"Because they deserve it mom. They're good kids."

"And you and Stef are great parents. I know you have your heart set on keeping these kids, and I know how much you have connected with Jude. You've provided her and her brother with a home, safety, an education, and a chance at having a real family. If she doesn't want it, you can't force it on her."

"So what do I do then? Send her back like a meal at a restaurant? Callie needs a family."

"Give it time Lena. Things will work out the way they should. The best thing you can do is be there for her, be a parent, show her that you aren't giving up on her."

Lena nods, a tear escaping before blinking the rest away, "I have to get to bed. Thanks for talking with me."

"Of course. I love you sweetie."

"I love you too Mom."

"Welcome back to class Callie." Timothy says when Callie walks into class. She ducks her head and just takes her seat, near the middle of the room, where she can still feel the stares from her classmates as her body sinks lower into the uncomfortable chair. Whispers are being passed around and the way kids are being obvious that they're talking about Callie running just makes the situation seem so high school right now.

Fifty-five minutes left, she's reading a chapter of a book she doesn't remember reading, her foot tapping up and down as her eyes glaze over the same sentence for the tenth time.

Thirty-five minutes left, Timothy hasn't called on her, and he's easily becoming her favorite teacher by scolding anybody that is talking behind her back.

Fifteen minutes left, Fingers tap as she stares at the blank page of her journal. How am I supposed to freaking answer this? Kids are writing all around her and all she wants is to get out.

Bell rings and she is almost the first person out when Timothy calls her back.

"Get everything done by next week or it'll be late," and she rolls her eyes and drags off to the next class.

One class down, five more to go.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Callie watches friends find friends and silently slinks to the stairwells where she used to eat before Wyatt came and she found solace in his friendship.

This time though, the emptiness of the area gave her the chance to feel like she wasn't being watched. Every teacher in her class gave her a look like she was about to pull a gun out of her jacket and start pinning kids down. Adults were no better than kids.

Speaking of brats, Marianna walks by with some boy whose excitingly telling her some story.

"Hey isn't that the girl you're fostering?"

"Just ignore her, please."

Callie's eyebrows rise at Marianna's brashness, never thinking she would publicly shun her. Mariana spared her one glance but Callie immediately stared her down and Marianna's eyes went downcast, instantly regretting her words and tone.

"Can I talk to you?"

Looking up from her lunch, she saw Talya, without her lackeys and with a serious expression on her face. Callie cocks her head and pretends to actually try to think of an answer to that asinine question. "Don't you see the big banner above my head saying to not talk to me? Cause everyone else does apparently."

"Well what did you expect, a big welcome party?"

"No," Callie smiles mockingly, "this was exactly what I thought coming back would be like."

"Do you have to act like this?"

Callie raises her eyebrows. "Like what? A pariah? In case you haven't noticed, I seem be classified as one."

"You know, I was actually worried about you while you were gone."

"I'm sure that when you heard I was sent back to Juvie, you hoped I would rot there."

She flinches back. "I didn't. I don't."

"Liar."

She stands a little taller. "I just came to talk about Brandon."

Callie stiffens. "There's nothing to talk about."

"He broke up with me yesterday because of you."

"You're delusional."

"He told me it was because of you. Nothing else would make sense to me."

"Maybe it has nothing to do with me. Maybe he needed an excuse to end things with you. He broke up with you once, what made you think he couldn't do it again."

"We were happy before you came. He loved me but now he's broken my heart, twice."

"I'm sorry, how is that my problem?"

"You're my problem. You running away broke him, but I could have helped him get better, I could have helped him forget you. But then, you came back, and he couldn't wait to be rid of me the moment you came home."

"I had no intention coming back and I had no intention of taking Brandon from you. But he's a big boy; he can make his own decisions. I didn't manipulate him to do anything."

"So what, you don't love him?"

"No." Her heart constricted as the lie easily rolled off her tongue. "So whatever you may think is going on between us, it isn't. So you can just take your flouncy shirts and smelly perfume and just breeze on back to your friends."

She looks me up and down and a confused look crosses over her face. "You're trying to make me hate you."

Callie's face goes stony. "Is it working?"

She steps back, a shocked look on her face. "What is your problem? You never acted like this."

"Like what?" Callie goaded.

Talya glared, "Like a bitch."

"Guess I've had a change of heart." Callie crumpled up her trash and picked up her backpack, "I'm not trying to make you like me anymore. In fact, you can just take what you think and shove it. I'm done with this place. I'm done with you and you're stupid friends, I'm done with teachers looking at me like I'm some sort of threat, and I'm done with everyone trying to figure out what my problem is. I don't have a problem. It's all of you that just can't accept that maybe I'm different."

"You're not just different. You're toxic." Her face twists into an expression so hateful, it could have competed with some of the looks Callie got in Juvie. "You know what, I'm done with you too. I don't care what happens to you anymore. Have a nice life." She walks past Callie, shoving her shoulder with hers, "Bitch."

Callie doesn't even spare a glance at her. Every cell in her body wants to say something snide towards her, wants to get the final word in. But it's not worth it. And if anything, it just makes her spirits sink down to the pit of her stomach as she stands in the middle of the hallway.

She feels eyes from the side of her face and she knows he's standing there watching her because for the first time today she doesn't feel like a zoo animal looking out behind bars as people gawk and talk about her. She turns her head and locks eyes with him and he finally walks towards her, glancing off to where Talya had disappeared.

"Hey," Brandon stands in front of her. "Was she bothering you?" Callie looks down at the ground and he takes another step towards her. "You shouldn't listen to her. She's just mad I broke up with her."

She gives the smallest shake of her head and backs away from him. "I'm fine."

He nods and his mouth sets into a line. "So, you want to hang out after school? Go somewhere and just talk?"

Callie bites the inside of her cheek and shakes her head. "There's no way your mothers will let me go anywhere. I'm sure I'm grounded. Besides," she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and begins to walk past Brandon, "we probably shouldn't."

He grabs her arms and stops her. "Callie, I told you I would be careful."

"But a big part of you doesn't want to be. You want to tell the moms, I get that. But I don't know if I'll be leaving anytime soon," she says truthfully, "and I can't do anything to rash. Jude needs the comfort of knowing that wherever I go, I'm safe."

"I told you, you don't have to leave. We can wait."

"But you don't want to, and neither do I. It's better we just get it over with, skip all the awkward dinners and exchanges in the hallway."

"We're not awkward."

"We are the definition of awkward. If I got adopted and we had to introduce ourselves to other people, it'd be, 'Hey, this my sister, I mean my girlfriend, oh wait I guess I mean both'."

"Do you really have to go though?"

She shrugs. "If I'm given the chance to get out of the system, I have to take it. It'll be hard, but it's what I want."

He looks down at her, wanting to take her hand, but knows she would resist. "At least tell my moms." She shakes her head. "They can help." He insists.

"I don't want to bring them into this."

"They're your foster moms, your legal guardians. Where you end up is their business. And it will make it easier I'm sure to get a place of your own if they're backing you up." She crosses her arms and he tries to be a little more forward. "Bill won't listen to you otherwise. You need to talk to them."

"Fine." She concedes. "I'll talk to them."

"Now."

"Now?"

"Lena is in her office right now, and if you want this to be easy, you should probably talk to them one at a time."

She huffs and looks up at him, the one small glance she spares him, giving him the chance to plead with his eyes and she nods. It was the least she could do for him. He gives her a little half smile and watches her walk to Lena's office down the hall, and she knows that he's not going to leave until he sees her walk in. So, she turns the knob and steps in, Lena's head looking up from her lunch.

"Hey Callie. Is everything all right?" Callie sits down and swallows before she starts speaking.

"I want you to help me get an apartment."

Lena's eyes go big but she stays silent, letting Callie continue. "I'm not asking you to buy me a place to live and pay the rent. I just, I don't know, thought that maybe there are programs out there for kids like me that want to live on their own. But I realize that for me to get this chance to be on my own, I probably need you and Stef to help me out. My P.O doesn't think I can do it, and as good of a person Bill is, the only thing he's ever done is put a roof over my head and leaves me to take care of myself. You and Stef helped me out with Liam, so I thought you could help me again."

The best thing you can do is being there for her; be a parent, show her that you aren't giving up on her. Dana's words remind Lena. The only way Lena could show that is if she agrees to help Callie grow up and take responsibility. Luckily, she knew how to do that.

Lena leans forward on her desk, her face blank. "Callie, I don't think you have really earned the right to be on your own." She clasps her hands and goes into full vice-principal mode. "Looking at your attitude towards coming back yesterday, I think that you need someone to look after you until you start acting more responsible. I know that you think you are ready, but up until you ran away, you expressed no desire to leave. And I can't trust that this decision to move out is well thought through. You make some spontaneous choices, like going across town to get Jude, or damaging your foster father's car-"

"He deserved it!" Callie argues.

"Yes, he did. I know your intentions are always good, and you probably didn't think that running away would worry us so much. But your problem Callie is that when you are stuck in a bad situation, you take the first idea that pops into your head and you don't think of the consequences before going in headfirst. Before you are able to be on your own, you need to learn how to cope with this." She reaches into her bag, pulls out a brochure, and slides it across the desk. "This is a friend of ours who has helped us out in the past when one of our kids needed some guidance. We want you to talk to her. If she says you can handle it, then Stef and I will do our best to get you a place. But if she agrees with us, that you need this family more than independence, then you stay, no more resistance, no more attitudes. Can you agree to that?"

Jaw set and eyes hard, Callie tries to keep her calm while she looks down at the tiny booklet in front of her, weighing her options of saying no and losing her chance or saying yes and risk letting a woman psychoanalyze her. Either way, she's letting someone else make a decision for her.

"How am I supposed to know that you won't just say no, no matter the outcome?" She asks.

Lena stands up and leans over her desk, making Callie feel like she was a small child looking up at a powerful adult, someone with clearly more power than her. "I swear on my job that if you keep up your end of the bargain, I'll keep mine. I can say the same about Stef. Now do we have a deal?" She picks up the brochure and holds it out like some sort of peace treaty, although it feels more like a chain that will keep her in place. But at least this chain could come off.

"Deal." She takes the brochure with two fingers and holds her arms next to her sides. "I'll keep my end."

Lena nods and gestures towards the door and Callie took that as her dismissal. She almost makes it out the door before Lena adds, "And Callie. I don't want to hear from anybody, students or teachers, about your attitude and behavior. Principal Sanchez still needs to report to your P.O. about whether she thinks you're making an effort here. So don't give her any reason not to."

It could have been a threat if it weren't for the fact that Lena's voice oozed with concern and the corner of Callie's mouth turned up as she looked back at her.

"Thanks," she pauses, "Lena."

Lena visibly relaxes from hearing her name come out of her mouth, as opposed to 'Vice-Principal Adams' and waves her hand to say goodbye. "I'll see you at home Callie."

Not my home, Callie thought. But she just nodded and left the office not feeling like she won or loss. More like the game just got started.

Next Chapter: Marianna has to decide whether to stand up for Callie or gain a friend.