"Erica."
Arizona heard the strain in Callie's voice as she whipped around to see the brunette standing behind her, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Hello Callie." Erica's face twisted into a cruel sneer. "I didn't know you were still on campus. Still hanging on to the past I see. I was just warning your new girlfriend about you. How you'll turn on her and hurt her."
The atmosphere had gone from uncomfortable to agonisingly painful in seconds. Arizona turned to face Callie anxiously; the latter forced an extremely pinched and anxious smile for her. It was so unlike the glowing smiles that Arizona had become used to seeing on Callie that it was practically alien. It physically pained Arizona to see Callie like this.
Callie seemed completely lost for words for a few moments. "Well, if you're here it must mean that you're doing better. Good for you," she said to the other blonde in a strained voice. She turned to look at the canvas. Her face drained of colour as she recognised the image on the canvas. Her fists clenched at her side.
Noticing Callie's expression, Arizona turned to the canvas again and gave it a hard stare, realisation dawning on her. Wait. It… it couldn't be, could it?
"This-"Callie indicated the canvas. "This is really messed up, Erica. It's sick. You're sick." Callie closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She seemed about to say something, but after a few seconds she opened her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I need some fresh air." She turned on her heels and walked away.
The whole time, Arizona observed the entire exchange. She took one last glance at the canvas, the image which she now knew with absolute certainty was Callie. She turned to the other woman called Erica, and narrowed her eyes. "You know, your art isn't that bad – just not to my taste – but what you just did was really ugly. You need to stay away from Callie."
Arizona hurried after Callie, stopping to pick up their coats and went outside through the door they'd come in earlier. She found Callie hunched over the steps with her arms hugging herself.
Callie heard someone approach, and she instinctively knew it was Arizona and not Erica who had come after her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Callie turned to look at Arizona, shame on her face. It was evident that Callie was trying very hard to keep her tears at bay.
"These things happen. Something you run into a nasty ex who brings up things that probably should be kept private. Sometimes your library floods and you have to cancel a first date with a gorgeous woman. These things happen." Arizona's voice was calm soothing as she tried to let Callie know that that she wasn't going to push Callie for answers now; the incident wasn't going to put her off from getting to know her better, or wanting to pursue a relationship with her. As much as she wanted to reach out and put a protective arm around Callie, she wasn't sure if it was what Callie needed right now. The night had been going so well, and for it to suddenly take such a nasty turn like this felt so wrong. Arizona wanted to fix things if she could. Arizona wanted to comfort Callie. She wanted to protect her. She decided to risk it.
Callie tensed when she felt Arizona's hand on her shoulder. "I need to get out of here."
"Okay. Let's take a walk. The temperature hasn't dropped too much. It'll be refreshing."
Callie squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm really sorry Arizona. I… I just really need to go home. I can't… I'm sorry…" The brunette looked on the verge of tears. She shook her head.
Arizona felt her stomach churn. This was somewhat frightening and it made her realise just how little she knew about Callie. It was a sobering and unwanted realisation after the chemistry she had felt earlier that night. "O-okay. Do you want me to walk you to your car?"
Callie shook her head. "I'm really sorry. I was really enjoying our date until… well, until THAT. I just need to go." Callie turned and walked away.
Arizona stared dumbfounded as she watched Callie walk away. She didn't even know what to say. She'd been on too many blind dates set up by well-meaning friends who thought they knew what Arizona wanted in a date. She'd been stood up on dates before. She'd had a date who insisted they get matching tattoos after only four dates. She'd even dated this one girl who came at her with a steak knife after Arizona told her that they should stop seeing each other. But this was the worst feeling she'd had in a long time.
She finally realised that she was left standing there holding Callie's jacket. She ran her fingers over the raised pattern on one shoulder. It smelled like Callie. She didn't know what to do, and she certainly didn't know what to make of the encounter with Erica. Was she Callie's ex?
Arizona walked home alone. She put on her favourite hoodie and tried to console herself with a pint of ice cream and a marathon of America Bake-off. She didn't even feel like eating anything. But every time she closed her eyes, she could still see Callie's expression, right before she turned to leave, walking out on their date. What had been their first date. Their ruined first date. The pain reflected in those soft chocolate eyes spoke volumes.
When the phone ringing next to her ear jolted her awake to bright sunshine, she realised that she'd fallen asleep on the sofa. She fumbled with the handset and picked up her phone. "Hello?"
"Arizona? It's James. We had you on the schedule for 10 a.m. today; I got a little concerned when you didn't come in. Is everything okay?"
Oh, shit. She looked at the clock. Friday morning, 10:35 a.m… she had forgotten to set an alarm and now she'd overslept and was late for work. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I overslept. I am really sorry, James. I'll be right in!" Arizona looked down at her sweatshirt and screwed her face in disgust as she realised that her ice cream spoon was fused to the front of it.
"Tell you what. Why don't you take your time and come in at noon? If you need to make up the hours we can figure out some time next week for it. Also, I haven't forgotten you worked late the other day when the library flooded."
Arizona paused. Everything was decidedly not okay. Her love life had taken a nosedive just when it had finally been looking so good. She'd eaten so much ice cream that she felt sick now, she'd overslept her work shift, and she was about to cry in front of her boss. She took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I just...I feel really bad about oversleeping. I'll be in by noon, and I just want to apologise for how unprofessional this was of me."
"Don't think another moment on it. You've never been late before, and I'm sure you won't let it happen again. It's been pretty quiet here this morning."
Arizona felt tears prickling. "Thank you. I'll be there by noon." She hung up the phone.
She peeled the spoon off her hoodie and rinsed it in the sink. The dried on chocolate was probably going to stain the fabric. She sighed again; stripping off the hoodie and throwing it onto the top of her laundry pile and headed for the shower.
Arizona felt a little nauseated after her shower, probably because of the hot water on top the ice cream hangover – if there was ever such a thing. She dressed plainly, pulled her hair back into a messy knot, and went to work. The day passed in a blur of forgotten moments that receded back into a general fog as soon as they were finished. James let her go early and even asked if she was feeling well. He told her to get some rest and feel better on Monday. When she looked up at the cafe she couldn't see who was working. She decided to give Callie some space; hefted the strap of her backpack, hunched her shoulders and headed back home.
Arizona called Tim when she got home. "T-man, I think I'm going to be single forever. I'm gonna die alone and unloved. You're going to have to take in the hundreds of chickens I'm going to have as well as their future babies because I'm just going to buy myself a ton of them to keep me company. I'm going to die alone. And unloved. And no, you're not allowed to eat them."
"Wow, so I take it the date was a total bomb."
She whined in response. She laid down face-first on her bed, pressing her face into the blankets.
"Aww, man. What happened Z?"
Arizona lifted her head. "Everything was going so well. We went for a walk together, she brought me chocolate—"
"Ooh, what kind?"
"Caramel and sea salt. Tim! Focus, please! I'm dying alone, here. Alone and unloved."
"Sorry, I haven't eaten yet, so when you mentioned food… y'know. The twins were on a rampage all afternoon. Seriously they don't call them the Terrible Twos for nothing. Finally managed to get them down for a nap. Sarah's exhausted so I told her to take a nap too. I'm gonna fix myself a sandwich, but go on, I'm listening."
Arizona sighed. "We went to this student art show and it was nice. But then we ran into this woman whom I think is her ex, who is probably insane, and things just...blew up in our faces. And I came home and binged on ice cream and fell asleep on my couch and overslept and ended up being late for work."
Tim inhaled sharply. "Ooh, running into your date's ex on a first date "that's bad luck. But still, I mean it's not like you thought she'd never dated anyone before." He paused. Arizona could hear him chewing. "Did you? I mean I'm all for pure-as-the-driven-snow love, but I don't really think it's realistic in this modern age—"
"Of course not. It's not that at all. It's just that...well, I really think her ex might have been legitimately crazy. She was one of the artists participating in the exhibit and she'd put up this nude of Callie. I mean, at first glance I couldn't tell that it was Callie because duh I haven't seen her naked and her hair was covering her face but still it was really creepy. Like, the kind of creepy that you'd be worried that the woman was going to flip out and start biting people and screaming about lizard men in the government at any moment. Only that kind of sounds like it would be funny and this Erica woman wasn't funny at all. She really made me uncomfortable. She warned me about how Callie was this horrible person and how she'd stab me in the back."
"Oh, wow, okay…that's awkward. What did Callie say?"
Arizona sighed. "She kind of freaked out and said she needed to leave."
"Yikes. Oh, Z, I'm so sorry. I know you were really excited about this date. So, do we hate Callie forever and curse her name?"
"No...well...I don't think so. I mean...it was this incredibly bizarre situation. I mean, I don't know what I would have done if my ex showed up with terrifying intimate pictures of me all slashed to pieces with trash glued onto them."
"She seriously did that? Man, I think I would have freaked out, too. That sounds like crazy stalker ex. Yikes."
Tim continued his chewing. "So... are you going to see Callie again?"
"I dunno. I mean, I'd like to. I really felt like we had something. I'm just so drawn to her. I want to know everything about her. But what if she doesn't feel the same way? I mean...I don't even know what I mean." Arizona sighed again. "It just sucks. Every time I try to see her, something bad happens. It's like we're cursed. Maybe it's just a sign. Maybe I'm not destined to be with anyone."
Tim snorted. "Oh, please, since when do you believe in 'signs'? Come on Z, pull yourself together. Put on your big girl panties and suck it up."
"I don't know what to do, Tim."
"Well, dear sister, you just have to decide one thing. Are you desperate enough to let me set you up on another blind date?"
"Dear God, no." Arizona sat up. "Your blind dates are the worst. I don't know where you find those people. But that said, I AM thirty-five…" She sighed.
"The investment banker lady was nice," Tim said defensively.
"She talked about her parasitic twin all night! It was totally freaky."
"Okay, fine. But the transcriptionist was-"
"Married. To a mobster. Who showed up halfway through dinner. And knew where she was because he'd tapped her phone. He threatened me with bodily harm!" she countered.
"Oh yeah...I forgot that." Tim guffawed. "I don't know how many times you want me to apologise for that. She was recommended by one of the guys at work. You know that wasn't my fault!"
"I'm so glad you think it was funny. I had to spend two hours talking to the police because of that."
"Okay, so, it's obvious then. You should call Callie."
Arizona hunched over again, picking at the imaginary lint on her socks, cradling the phone on her shoulder while she pondered the shambles of her relationship with Callie which ended even before it had even begun.
Tim listened to the silence for a while. "Hello, earth to Z Robbins. Come in, Z. Are you still there? Are you still alive? Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you. I just don't know what I should do. I just...want something simple and nice. It felt so nice to think that someone found me attractive for a little while. And then it went all wrong."
"I know." Her brother's voice was softer. "That sucks, a lot. But from how you were talking about her, it sounds like you should give her another try. What have you got to lose? If you don't talk to her you won't know if she feels the same way about you, and well, so what if she's got a messy past? Yours isn't the most stellar either. And if you can work through your issues it will be worth it."
Arizona laughed once. "You make a good point."
"Hey, and it can't be worse than one of my blind dates, right? Oh yeah. There's this lady butcher that I know and she always slips me some extra sausage. You think she's hitting on me?" Tim paused and pondered.
Arizona snorted. "You made that up, didn't you? Please, God, tell me you made that up."
Tim laughed again. "Okay, the sausage thing is made up."
Arizona could hear fussing in the background. "Is that Liam?"
"Yeah, he's up from his nap, though he really shouldn't be."
"I should probably let you go." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Arizona nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Okay. Well...call Callie. Love you, sis. It'll be okay."
"Thanks, T-man. You're a good brother."
"Don't you forget it!"
Arizona hung up the phone. She lay on her bed and laced her fingers behind her head.
It was Friday night and she was spending it alone. She sighed. Again. She picked up her phone and opened her contacts. Maybe she should call Callie. Maybe Callie was just afraid that after that mess of a date, Arizona wouldn't want to hear from her. But she did. She did want to hear from her. All Arizona could think about was Callie; how much she'd enjoyed those smoothies, the stolen moments in the cafe, that amazing tea. How Callie's expressive brown eyes sparkled with mischief and how her smile lit up the room.
Arizona dialled the phone. It rang. And rang. And rang. And she was just about to hang up when the rings stopped.
"Hi." Callie's voice was almost a whisper. Arizona's heart ached, for she could hear how broken the brunette sounded.
Arizona sat up on her bed. "Hi Callie." Now what was she going to say? "I wanted to call you," she offered.
There was a pause. "I wasn't sure you'd want to hear from me again after the way I freaked out on you like that," came the reply.
Arizona frowned. "I was kind of worried about you. But mostly I...just want to see you again. I don't know how I would have reacted if that had happened to me."
"You don't hate me forever now? Like I'm some sort of freak?" Callie's voice was uncharacteristically timid.
"Only if you refuse to see me ever again, then I might have to hate you forever. Or at least be really hurt and start secretly questioning what was wrong with myself."
"Oh, God, don't do that. I'm the one with something wrong. Not you. You're... amazing, Arizona. I really like talking to you and walking with you and drinking tea with you—"
Arizona cut her off. "Okay, so can we give this another go? Callie, I really want us to give this another go."
Callie's voice came over the phone much stronger than before. "God, yes, Arizona, yes! Let's go. No flooded libraries, no crazy exes, no one but us."
Arizona felt relief rush through her at hearing Callie's voice saying such wonderful things.
But Callie wasn't done. "But what if I'm really the crazy ex? I mean, what if Erica was really right about me? I don't want to hurt you."
Arizona's heart ached again. "Well, you can be crazy today. Tomorrow, I'll be the crazy one. Okay?" Her voice was soft, tender even, as she coaxed Callie back from the brink. "Meet me tomorrow at that nature preserve down by the marketplace? We can go for a walk and talk."
"Okay. What time?"
"Is ten in the morning okay?" Was that too soon? Arizona held her breath.
"Okay." There was another pause. "Thanks, Arizona. I'm looking forward to it."
A/N: Hey hey... longest chapter so far! Thanks to everyone who continues to read and review, especially those of you whose fics I've been reading for the longest time :D Well done everyone who guessed Erica... and to the Guest who asked if Callie and Erica were ever together, the answer is yes! Erica paved the way for Calzona on the show, though in my opinion it was totally awks while it lasted. I initially wanted to make it Izzie instead of Erica, and have Arizona find out Callie is bi, but as you can see, I changed my mind. Hope you like!
