A/N: SUPER sorry for the long delay. I had midterms and life. But I'm on spring break now, so I'll try to get a bunch of chapters started so that ya'll never have to wait this long again. But, no promises :(

Anyway, because I love you all so much and because I wanted to get an update to you as quickly as possible, this chapter is a bit...I don't know...suckish. But, I had to get it out because it's kind of important to the plot.

So, even though it kind of sucks, I hope you will bear with me!

Callie's POV

I fight back a smile as I close the apartment door behind me, knowing that I shouldn't be happy with what I had just done. After the long awaited talk with Arizona about us not being able to have an intimate relationship, I went and kissed her again.

But, I don't regret it. I did need one last taste, and maybe it will hold me over for a while. Or, it could just make me desire more. I guess I'll just have to let time figure that one out.

I pick up the dishes that Arizona and I had used and place them in the sink in the kitchen, not wanting to bother with washing them at this time of night. Somehow, with all of the talking and enjoying each other's presence, it had reached nearly 2 A.M. Luckily, I don't need to be in the office until around 11 tomorrow, so I can still get a bit of sleep. But, I don't know if I'll even be able to. Having Arizona in my apartment just felt so…I don't know…right. It felt comfortable, like she has always been here. She molded perfectly into the atmosphere, and now that she is gone it feels empty. And in a way, I feel empty, too. We had talked about our lives over dinner, and I learned so many new and interesting things about her. Like the fact that she is a military brat or that she's allergic to cats, but she still has three of them. Learning more about her engrained her existence in my mind even more, and now that she isn't present at the moment it almost feels like I miss her.

I sigh and retreat into my bedroom and climb into my bed, not bothering to change or wash my face. I lie in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, just trying to better understand my feelings so that I can handle them in a healthy way. After a few minutes, my eyelids start to grow heavy, so I turn onto my stomach to try and get into a more comfortable position for sleep. I'm about to drift off, when my phone buzzes on my nightstand. I reach for it, wondering who could possibly be wanting to talk to me at this hour.

"I'm home. Thanks for the pizza. I owe you. – A".

I smile at the text, having forgotten that I had given her my number, wanting her to text me so that I know she got home safely. Driving in L.A. at this hour isn't always the safest thing to do. My thumbs dance over the keyboard, not sure what to reply. I decide on a: "Good. Had fun tonight. And if you really think you owe me, coffee is the way to my heart." I send the text and wait for a few minutes for a reply, but end up drifting off to sleep.

xoxoxoxo

I rush to my office Friday morning, running late for class. I had car troubles this morning and couldn't get my car started right away. It took me about 15 minutes before it worked for me, so I am way behind my usual schedule. I drop my bag in my office and quickly check my email before packing up my things for my 9 A.M. sculpting class. I would be arriving only a few minutes early today rather than my usual 15 or 20 minutes early.

I feel myself growing anxious as the seconds tick by, and at first I can't really figure out why. On Wednesday, Arizona hadn't shown up for class early like she usually did. I tell myself that she was just running late that morning, or that her tall blonde friend, Izzie, had asked her to walk together that day. But part of me feels like she is trying to give me space since we can't have a romantic relationship. But, I don't want space. We might not be able to be intimate, but I still crave the sight of her. She's beautiful and cute and hot and sexy and my eyes devour her every time they see her. If I can't love on her, I at least can look at her.

It's not like she had been hostile towards me. She had intently listened to my short lecture and graciously accepted my compliments as she finished up her animal sculpture. As she was leaving with Izzie she said: "See you Friday, Dr. Torres!" But she hadn't stayed afterwards to talk and she didn't look at me unless I was speaking. It hurt me a bit, even though I know it shouldn't.

Now, I'm anxious not only to get to class and see her, but also to see if she came early today.

I scan through my emails quickly, looking to see if there's anything super important that I need to get back to right away. There is one in which a student is asking about coming to my office for a one-on-one meeting, so I reply with the times I am available. All the other emails can be dealt with later and I grab my bag for class and rush out the door, not bothering to lock it.

I arrive at the classroom with a few minutes to spare and Arizona is sitting in her seat quietly, playing around on her phone. My heart sinks a little at the fact that I wasn't here earlier so that she and I could just be alone together for a while, but my spirits are lifted when I see a disposable coffee cup sitting on the table in the front.

"What's this?" I ask while catching my breath and putting my bag down.

"I told you I owe you one. And you said coffee is the way to your heart. It's French vanilla…I hope you like that," she says, looking up from her phone and smiling at me.

I hold the warm coffee up to my mouth, breathing in the rich, delicious scent. How did she know my favorite? I take a sip happily, and then without thinking I'm over at Arizona's seat, giving her a big kiss on the forehead.

"You're a life saver," I say. After I realize what I did, I freeze for a second, but then walk back to the table at the front of the room like nothing happened. I notice her face has grown pink and she is nervously looking out the door as if someone is coming.

"Sorry," I mutter.

She looks at me with sad eyes, but then a smile quickly appears on her face.

"It's okay. Anyway, I saw you running into the building this morning. I figured maybe you were running late and didn't have time to get coffee and I remember what you had said so I went and got you one," she explains.

I smile as I lean against the table and take another sip of the coffee, letting the hot liquid run down my throat.

A comfortable silence falls around us and soon enough the rest of the class arrives.

"Good morning everyone and happy Friday. If you keep up with your syllabus you will see that today we are starting a new sculpture project. For this one you will work in partners. I will assign you those partners by pulling your names out of a bucket," I say, pulling in front of me an empty, plastic ice cream container with everyone's name in it.

"What if we don't like our partner?" a guy in the back of the classroom yells.

"You will deal with it. There will be no switching of partners," I say after shooting him a dirty look. "Arizona, will you type up a list of the partners and send it to me please? That way I know that no one switches."

Arizona happily pulls out her laptop and opens it and I start to call names. I see the look of defeat on Izzie and Arizona's faces when Izzie's name is called to be paired up with a guy named George. It's not until the end that I realize that there is an odd number of students. The way I have this project set up is that there can only be two per group, so I guess one unlucky person will have to be stuck with me.

But when I pull the last name out of the bucket, I'm not sure it's so unlucky. Actually, it could be a curse…but I don't see it that way. When I unfold the little piece of paper and it says Arizona Robbins my heart starts pounding. This means I get to really spend some alone time with her that's not just before class or in meetings for art club. I really get to spend time with her as she works on this project and I can get to know her more. But that's why this also could be a curse. Because I will get to know her more and I'll get to like her more. And we will be alone and there will be more opportunity for me to do something stupid.

"Well, there is an odd number of you guys…so, it looks like you'll be with me, Arizona," I say softly, trying not to let my voice shake.

She smiles sweetly at me, but her face grows pink.

"Now that we have our partners, I'll tell you what we are doing. If you didn't notice when you first walked in this morning, there are a bunch of blocks of clay in the back. You will be taking that clay and you will be sculpting a bust of your partner."

"What am I going to do with a sculpture of Izzie Steven's face?" the boy, George, asks with a disgusted tone.

"Be quiet. If you want to speak bad about your partner again, you can take a Zero. Is that clear?" I snap. George shakes his head at me weakly and apologizes. "Alright. Now, as for that question. If you really like your sculpture and think it's some of your best work, of course you can keep it. If you don't want it, your partner can take it if they want it. If not, you can leave it here at school for the archive art gallery. Now, today you will sit with your partner and get to know them a bit better and know their personality. You will also do a prelim sketch of the front and side views of their face for Monday. We will start actual sculpting then. Also, since this is such a big project and I have many more plans for us throughout the semester, you will have to log some studio hours with this project. Make sure you get your forms signed by whoever is on duty that day. Alright, let's get started."

Arizona's POV

I approach Dr. Torres slowly, sensing that she is tense. When she called out my name last, meaning that she has to be my partner, her mood completely changed. She went from carefree and casual to nervous and snappy. I'm not sure what is going through her mind, but I can tell she is a bit uneasy with the idea that she has to be my partner.

I sit down with hesitation in the chair she has placed on the other side of the table for me. She's quiet for a few moments, thinking about something and not looking me in the eye. Finally, we make eye contact and she whispers:

"Will you meet me in my office at 3?"

I nod, and she offers me a small smile. A few more thoughts bounce around in her head before she is back to acting like her normal self. She engages me in conversation while sketching my face.

"What are you doing?" I ask, motioning towards the sketch pad in front of her.

"Well, I'm not going to make you be the only one in this group that has to do the project. I'll be sculpting you, as well," she explains, the pencil in her hand never stopping. I guess I had just figured since I was the student, I was the only one doing it.

We talk for a while more, and she has me turn so that she has a view of the left side of my face, and then later on the right. It's very interesting to see her at work. It seems so natural for her. She casually draws while carrying on a full blown conversation, not seeming distracted at all. For the most part, I need quiet when I do my drawings. But for her, it just comes so easily. It's fascinating to watch her, and it makes me admire her even more. It adds to her overall beauty, somehow, and also makes her seem more powerful.

When class is over, she reminds me of our meeting later on this afternoon, and I catch up with Izzie in the hallway.

"So, how awkward is it going to be working with Dr. Hottie?" Izzie asks as we make it outside of the building.

"Oh. I don't think it will be awkward. She's really nice and I guess she'll be doing a bust of me as well," I say, trying not to sound too excited. "Besides, at least I'm not stuck with George O'Malley. I mean, yeah, he's a hard worker. But he's super awkward."

"Oh, shut up. At least I don't have a crush on my partner!" she refutes.

"I do not have a crush on Dr. Torres!" I exclaim, trying to not let my face grow pink in embarrassment. April is still the only one that knows about Dr. Torres and I's kiss.

"Whatever. Let's get to class," Izzie says, rolling her eyes in amusement. She links her arm in mine and we make our way to our 11 A.M.

xoxoxoxo

I knock on Dr. Torres's door softly, and she spins in her chair to face me.

"Right on time. Close the door behind you, will ya?" she asks. I do as I'm told and then take a seat on the couch. The couch where things started to get heated. I feel my face flush at the memory, but quickly shake it out of my head and give my undivided attention to Dr. Torres.

"So, this just kind of sucks, doesn't it?" she asks, laughing nervously.

"What do you mean?" I say, oblivious to what she is talking about.

"I mean, it's like fate is forcing us to drown in misery. Out of all the people in that class, you had to be the last one picked. You had to be the one that is paired up with me. And it sucks, Arizona. Because we just talked about keeping our relationship platonic, and this is going to make it even harder. When I did a project similar to this in college, my partner and I grew super close. And I know we weren't the only pair that did. What I'm saying is that you and I will be spending a lot of time together over these next few weeks, and it'll be hard to keep our emotions in check. And then of course, if you get a good grade, which I know you will because you're amazing, the other students will say I'm playing favorites or that I'm only giving you an A because the sculpture is of me, and let's face it…I'm hot. Wow, um, forget I said that. Anyway, all I'm saying is that we need to stay strong and keep our word that this relationship needs to stay strictly platonic." She catches her breath, her little rant obviously becoming far longer than she had intended it to.

"Okay," I reply.

"That's all you have to say?" she asks, incredulous. I think for a minute, not sure what else there is to say.

"You think I'm amazing?" I ask. She lets out a deep laugh, the tension inside of her crumbling away.

"Of course I do, Arizona. Anyone would be crazy not to."

I smile at her warmly. She's right, this will be difficult. But if she is as strong as she seems, I have no doubt that we can make it through this together.

"So, I realized after class that I never sketched you and your angles. So if you're not too busy now, I figured I could do that while you work?" I ask, reaching for my bag that contains my sketch book.

"Of course," she says, smiling at me. She turns back to her computer and I start work on the right side of her face. I get distracted looking at her every now and then because she is so cute when she is concentrated.

"Everything okay?" she asks one time when she catches me staring at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah…just…studying," I smile. She returns to her work, and when I'm done with the right side of her face I make my way to the opposite side of the room and hop up onto the second desk she has. I sit cross legged and start my work. I'm about ¾ of the way done when my phone starts ringing.

"Arizona!" Lexie says, sounding frustrated and out of breath.

"Lexie? Is everything okay?" I ask, sitting up straighter. Dr. Torres turns in her seat when she notices the tone in my voice. She looks at me with concerned eyes.

"No, everything is not okay. We need you to get back to the house. Now," she says.

"I'm sorry!" I hear April say desperately in the background. Oh, this can't be good. It's rare for Lexie to be angry. It's especially rare for Lexie to be angry with April.

"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a minute," I say, hopping off the desk. The line goes dead and I stash my phone in my back pocket.

"Is everything alright?" Dr. Torres asks, rising to her feet.

"Uh, I don't really know, actually. I just know I've been summoned home," I explain, putting my sketchbook back in my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

"Alright. Well, if you need anything, and I mean anything, you know where to find me."

A/N: Reviews for a friend?