A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! This update is a little short but I promise the next will be longer!
Chapter 12
2 weeks after the prom everything at Seattle Grace High was anything but calm. Between studying for finals and preparing for what summer had in store for them, all the students were running haywire.
One person in particular was experiencing a day from hell, and that person was Callie Torres.
Mark found her frantically searching through the bookshelves in the school library, obviously getting flustered when she couldn't find what she was looking for. With a quiet chuckle, he strode toward her and leaned against one of the shelves, his presence going unnoticed by her.
Finally being amused by her chaotic movements, Mark cleared his throat and reached out to tap her on her shoulder.
Callie jumped in surprise, but also annoyed by being disturbed but smiled once she saw who it was. "Hey, babe." she said hastily, quickly kissing his cheek before returning to her book.
"Hey." Mark said with a chuckle. "Uh, watcha doing there, Cal?"
"Trying to find this stupid article-" she flipped through several pages in the book she was reading, "-got it!" She shouted, receiving several glares from the Library staff, "Sorry." her voice now dropped to a whisper.
Mark laughed at her guilty look before pushing her bangs that had fallen into her eyes out of her way. "And this article is so important because..."
"Its for my English Final." Callie explained, "Mr. Kramer said it would help out a lot to know this article. I have to know this entire thing line by line. Not to mention Ms. Higa has us reviewing our Science textbook from cover to cover, and Math is a whole nother story, and Art, and Home Economics, and-"
"Callie breath." Mark said, stopping her rant and placing his hands on her upper arms. "You're gonna do fine. The more you stress, the harder it's gonna be for you to concentrate." He tilted her head up and smiled down at her, "So, just take a second to calm down and relax."
Doing as told, she took a deep breath before replying, "I just-" she paused, "-really wanna do good on my exams. College is only a couple years away and I want to be prepared."
"I know you do. But, like you said, college is a couple years away. Don't let it stress you out just yet," he ran his thumb over her cheek, "save that for next year."
Smiling, Callie wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down for a sweet kiss.
"I like you." she whispered against his lips.
Mark smirked as his arms encircled her waist and brought her closer, "I like me, too." he laughed as she slapped his chest and pulled away from him to go back to her book.
Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and a slow smirk made its way on his face. "Don't make any plans tonight."
"Mark." she sighed shaking her head, "I really have to study-"
Before she could finish he cut her off, "Trust me, Cal. You need a break."
Looking up from her book, Callie saw the determined look on his face and knew that this was a fight she wasn't going to win. "Fine." she resigned.
He beamed at her and quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I'll pick you up at 7." he said over his shoulder on his way toward the exit.
Callie shook her head as she watched him strut out of the library. That boy would be the death of her.
When lunchtime rolled around, Callie made her way to her usual spot where Addison was already sitting, checking her makeup in the mirror she was holding.
"Hey there." Callie greeted her happily as she set down her tray and took a seat across from Addison.
"Hey!" Addie exclaimed and snapped her pocket mirror shut. "Where you been? I haven't seen you at all this week!"
"Eh, you know," the brunette answered with a shrug. "I've just been cramming for final exams coming up." Callie smiled meekly over at Addison before popping a grape into her mouth.
"I so know what you mean." she said nodding her head, "I am freaking out. My chemistry exam is going to kick my ass next week."
The girls both burst out laughing, both knowing exactly how hard that class was.
After calming down a bit, Callie took a sip of her water before raising a curious eyebrow, "Where the heck is Derek and Mark?"
Addison scanned the Cafeteria before shrugging her shoulders, "I have no idea."
Both girls shared a questioning look before Callie spoke, "Did Derek-"
"No." Addison answered before she could finish. "Did Mark-"
"Nope." Callie replied with a shake of her head. "Hmmmm...weird."
Addie nodded in agreement. "Very."
Meanwhile, at Mark's house...
"Dammit Derek!" Mark bellowed as he hopped up and down, clutching one foot in his hand.
Derek laughed as he watched his best friend howl and whine like a big baby, "Oh stop, you're being melodramatic."
"Melodramatic my ass." Mark muttered under his breath. He glared at his friend as he picked up the box Derek had dropped on his foot and put it in a corner.
"Why are we doing this again?" Derek asked for the fifth time since they got to Mark's house.
"Because-" Mark said with a sigh, "Callie's stressed. And when Callie's stressed, I'm stressed. So I'm just doing this to get her to relax a little, take her mind off final exams."
"Awww..." Derek cooed, "Wittle Markie is growing up." he playfully ruffled Mark's hair, earning a slap to his shoulder.
"Shut up." he growled. Derek continued to laugh as Mark put the finishing touches on his surprise for Callie.
After letting his laughter subside, Derek straightened up and grinned, "I've got to say Mark, you doing this surprises the hell out me."
"And why is that?"
"Well, I've never known Mark Sloan to do anything like this for a girl."
Mark smirked and turned to face his best friend, "She's not just any girl. She's the one, man."
"The one?" Derek questioned. "How can you be so sure?"
Before answering, Mark took long to think about his answer. "Callie's different. She's caring, kind, crazy smart, and insanely hot. When I see her, my palms start to sweat, my heart races, and my smile never leaves my face. I can be myself around her without having to worrying about whether or not I'm good enough. She calls me on my shit and doesn't think twice before smacking me upside the head when I deserved it. I feel things for her that I have never felt for anyone else before and I like it. I love her."
"I know what you mean. Addison. Addison's the one for me." Derek said proudly.
Mark smiled and looked around at his hard work. "Think she'll like it?"
Derek moved towards his friend and slung an arm around his shoulders. "She'll love it."
