1. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! And in honor of Halloween, here is your obligatory reminder that someone's culture is NOT a costume; treating it as such is cultural appropriation, and it is racist and wrong. (For example, "dressing up" as Native Americans or other indigenous peoples, or wearing blackface to dress up as a Black character, celebrity, etc.) Cultural appropriation is very, very easy to avoid if you just take a moment to think about the "costume" you're preparing. Be respectful!

2. HAPPY ACE AWARENESS WEEK! Aspec individuals own Halloween this year, and wow does it feel good. In honor of this week, allow me to give you a rundown of asexuality! The asexual spectrum is where an individual experiences no sexual attraction (i.e. they are asexual), or maybe they do experience sexual attraction, but only in certain circumstances (e.g. they are graysexual or demisexual; "asexual/ace/aspec" are umbrella terms). Asexuality is not celibacy, as celibacy is when a person intentionally chooses not to have sex. Asexuality is not a choice; it is about the lack of attraction. An asexual person can also choose to have or not have sex, of course, like any other allosexual individual! And because asexuality is about the absence of sexual attraction, it is an inherently LGBT+ identity. Asexuality has also been around since the beginning of time, like any other sexuality, even if the term did not yet exist. The first explicit mention of asexuality is from the late 1800s, I believe, though there are many instances in historic documents before then where the experience of asexuality is described, just without modern terminology for it. Furthermore, asexual individuals might experience romantic attraction (e.g. they may be biromantic, heteroromantic, homoromantic, panromantic, etc.), or they might not (i.e. they may be aromantic/arospec). Every person is different! (Information condensed from AVEN, Ace Week, and my own prior knowledge.)

In honor of Ace Awareness Week, let me remind y'all that our girl Sonya is CANONLY ASEXUAL! (It's canon because she's my OC, lmao.) A lot of y'all noticed her ace ring she wears, and that makes me smile. :D Again, happy Halloween, guys! This chapter is a long one, but I think it's a good one. No spoilers, but let's just say that y'all deserve some levity after the tension of the past few chapters. I hope you enjoy!

xXxXxXx

Callum stayed in his bedroom for most of the next day. It was a mixture of him not quite feeling ready to talk to his aunt and also his desperate need for alone time to mentally prepare himself for the art showcase that evening. He'd discussed his introverted-ness with Soren before, how going out and interacting with people - even his friends - always left him exhausted, even after short amounts of time. Soren was the opposite, apparently, as he'd claimed social interaction left him more energized. They'd concluded from their insightful conversation that the charging and draining of one's 'social battery' had to be the key difference between introverts and extroverts.

So, for the sake of maintaining that analogy, Callum was charging his social battery by staying in his room before the showcase, when it would undoubtedly be completely drained. Hence why he was contentedly sketching away his troubles instead of studying for finals while the Carole and Tuesday soundtrack played quietly in the background.

He'd originally been working on a sketch of Soren and Rayla playing football, but he kept getting distracted and consequently frustrated with himself when he made a mistake, so he'd soon moved to sketching Claudia in different witch outfits for Macbeth. She'd been very excited when the cast had been provided pictures of their costumes, and had promptly spammed the group chat with photos of them.

Of course, those sketches didn't hold his attention for long, either, even if they did require more brainpower to truly focus on. Instead he turned to his traditional comfort sketch: his mom. He preferred sketching her from memory, just to prove to himself that he'd never forgotten her appearance, but he had a photo of her tucked into the cover of his sketchbook for whenever his mind faltered.

Callum could hear Ezran laughing every now and then throughout the day, and he suspected Amaya had started patching things over with him. If anyone was capable of unlearning toxic beliefs and hateful rhetoric, he knew it was her. He also understood that much of her prejudice was a result of growing up during a war and eventually fighting in it herself, but that only further convinced him that she could see reason. Amaya had never wanted to be so consumed by war. He had hope.

Which was why it only confused him more as to what, exactly, was making him so hesitant to talk with her about… well, everything. He knew she'd be willing to listen, so why couldn't he bring himself to do it?

Ugh. There was no way to put it off forever. And since he'd have to leave to pick up Claudia for the art showcase in less than an hour - and he still had to get dressed and ready - that conversation probably needed to take place sooner rather than later.

He stared down at the photo of his mother, who looked up at him with a soft smile and a warmth to her eyes that he'd yet to be able to capture perfectly in his sketches. He knew what she'd tell him, if she were there. Communication is important, Callum. You love Amaya. You trust her. And she loves and trusts you. The only way to move forward is to take the first step.

His mom was right. In more ways than one. He needed to talk to Rayla about the exchange program, too, even if he was no longer as certain that he wanted to apply. Maybe… he could bring her to his mother's grave - a way to tell them both at the same time. A silly thought, perhaps, but he couldn't help but smile as he imagined what his mother's reaction would have been like. Ecstatic, encouraging, open-minded - she'd always been his #1 supporter.

Callum smoothed the picture before closing his sketchbook, leaving it on his desk as he stood and made his way over to his bedroom door, readying himself to talk to Amaya. He did not expect, however, to open the door and find his aunt already standing outside, her hand poised to knock.

"Oh, sorry!" he stammered, taking a surprised step backwards. "I - uh -" He shook his head. "Did you need something?" How casual of him. Didn't betray his nerves at all.

Amaya hesitated, then signed, "Can I come in?"

Callum hastily nodded. "Sure! Yeah, totally." He stepped aside to allow her to enter, turning off his music before sitting next to her on his bed. The silence in the room was… awkward, definitely, but at least nowhere near as bad as when Harrow had given him 'the talk' so many years ago. God, sex education needed to be taught in schools. The system was so broken.

Amaya sighed, catching his attention as she turned on the bed to face him directly. "I want to apologize for last night." There was a distinct regret in her eyes as she signed. "My behavior was inexcusable. I put everyone in an uncomfortable position, especially Rayla, by acting so cruelly because of my prejudice against Xadia. It should have never happened in the first place, but my promise from now on is to ensure it never happens again."

Callum hesitated, then nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate your apology." This was a good start, right? It had to be.

"I plan to continue working on addressing my anti-Xadian biases," Amaya continued, giving him a small smile. "And I thank you for pointing them out to me. Perhaps I've always been aware of them and the terrible place from which they come, but… you forced me to confront them. I know I have a long way to go. However." She placed one hand on his shoulder, continuing to sign with the other and finger-spelling as needed. "Thank you for showing me that it's never too late to begin the journey towards peace."

There was a pause. Then Callum pulled his aunt into a tight hug, burying his face in her shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered, more for himself than it was for her. He didn't know why he was thanking her, really. The fact that she'd admitted she was wrong? Her determination to learn and do better? How she was the best aunt in the world?

Everything?

Amaya squeezed him tightly in response before slowly pulling away and signing, "You are so much like Sarai."

Callum couldn't help but smile at that, pride blossoming in his chest. "Thank you."

Hesitation flickered in Amaya's eyes, and she then proceeded to ask, "I assume Rayla will be at the art showcase tonight?"

"Yes." He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "She and Soren will be about an hour late because of football practice, but they'll be there." He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She tilted her head, her stern expression reading don't give me that look. "I want to apologize to her," she signed. "I treated her the most unfairly. It doesn't matter that it was behind her back. It was wrong, and she deserves a proper apology."

Callum found himself beaming at her. "That's awesome, Aunt Amaya! I know Rayla will forgive you." It was in his girlfriend's nature to forgive - so long as she determined his aunt's apology to be genuine.

Amaya gave him a small smile. "I certainly hope so."

Guilt flooded Callum's chest as he suddenly remembered the aggression with which he'd confronted his aunt the night before. "But speaking of forgiveness…? He hastily signed his words, realizing he'd only been doing so sporadically. "I owe you an apology, too."

Amaya frowned. "What?"

"I shouldn't have lashed out so harshly at you," he said honestly. "It would have been better for me to have sat you down at the table or - or have taken you outside so we could talk privately, rather than snapping at you in front of everyone and expecting you to receive my words positively." He hesitated. "If that makes sense."

Amaya gave him a gentle smile. "You have no need to apologize for rightfully putting me in my place," she signed, "but if it will ease your mind, then I accept your apology."

It did ease his mind, and after another beat, Callum pulled her into a second hug. "You're the best aunt ever." God, he hated arguing with people. Especially with people he loved. No wonder therapists put so much emphasis on clear communication in maintaining healthy relationships.

"Your room hasn't changed much," Amaya signed when Callum pulled out of the hug, her eyes scanning the walls. "Not since the last time I was here, anyways. Although it is emptier."

Callum laughed. "That's because I moved out," he reminded her. "My dorm has a lot of the stuff that used to be in here."

Amaya raised an eyebrow. "Why did you end up moving out? Living at home would have kept you close enough to campus. And you wouldn't have had to pay for housing and meal plans."

Callum shrugged. "My scholarships cover most of it. And…" Actually, why had he moved out? Huh. He wasn't sure. "I guess I was just following Soren and Claudia's example," he went with. "Since Soren's relationship with Viren is… not the greatest, he moved out as soon as he could. Claudia did the same when she got accepted, so I kind of tagged along, too."

Amaya chuckled. "Monkey see, monkey do." She gestured to an empty space on the wall above his desk. "You used to have a bulletin board there, with polaroid photos and your sketches. Has it also been transferred to your dorm?"

"Yep." It was above his bed, and he updated it with new drawings weekly and a new photograph or two a month. Really, he deserved a pat on the back for how consistently he maintained it. High school Callum had been far less reliable.

Amaya smirked at him. "You have plenty of pictures with you and Rayla, I assume?"

Callum flushed, mostly because she was completely right. "Maybe."

Amaya shook her head, squeezing his shoulder. "I want you to know that I fully support your relationship with Rayla," she signed. "You're right. You love each other, and she makes you happy. I have no reason to doubt your faith in her."

Callum couldn't help but give his aunt a grateful smile. Her words were like a weight being lifted from his chest. "It means a lot to hear that from you." He paused, realizing that his phrasing was… not quite accurate. "Wait. To see that from you?"

Amaya snickered. "Either works. I know what you mean." She paused, then added with a smirk, "Also, I feel the need to inform you that Ezran has been regaling me all morning with tales from before you found the confidence to ask Rayla out. How I wish I had been here to see that."

Callum groaned. "Of course he did." Typical Ezran. Apparently his brother had made it his life goal to embarrass Callum as many times as possible. On the bright side, he supposed it was a good sign that Ezran had talked about Rayla all morning and Aunt Amaya hadn't minded. His suffering, then, was for the greater good of creating peace between Katolis and Xadia.

Amaya chuckled, then tapped her wrist. "Anyways. Don't you need to start getting ready soon?"

Callum grabbed his phone to check the time, eyes widening as he realized that he needed to leave for Claudia's house in less than twenty minutes if he wanted to pick her up without being late to the showcase. Which was important, since he was one of the featured artists and therefore needed to arrive early. "Yes, I definitely do," he said frantically, jumping off his bed and darting over to his closet, pushing different shirts and slacks aside to find his suit.

Ugh. He hated formal attire, but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

Amaya joined him, taking out his suit with maroon accents. "Wear this one," she signed. "If you trust my fashion sense, that is."

Callum laughed, accepting the outfit from her. "I trust yours more than my own, that's for sure." Which, to be fair, wasn't a difficult contest by any means.

She left his room while he changed, and he put the Carole and Tuesday soundtrack back on. Because why not? It was calming, and he attributed his success in correctly tying his tie without attempting it a million times to that fact. He remembered to run his brush through his hair before he left the bedroom, knowing there was little else he could do to style it. Hair gel had been a bad phase for him during his sophomore year of high school. He really didn't know what had compelled him to put so much effort into his appearance.

No, wait. He definitely did. And the reason made it all the more understandable why Claudia had never reciprocated his feelings.

Before he left for Claudia's house, he double-checked with his family that they knew when to arrive at the art showcase. They confirmed that they'd be there about fifteen minutes before the official start time, since Harrow was supposed to give one of the introductory speeches. With that finalized, Callum said his goodbyes - pointedly ignoring Ezran's teasing about how Rayla would love how dashing he looked in a suit - before heading out the door and climbing into his car. He plugged Claudia's address into his GPS and put on one of Spotify's daily mixes before driving away.

Claudia's house - well, Viren's house - was not far from his dad's, per se. They'd grown up together, after all, and he was pretty sure he could get there in his sleep. Still, it had been a while since he'd been to the house and not her dorm, and he didn't want to make even one wrong turn that could cause him to be late and face the wrath of a million pissed off art professors. As a freshman, he figured making a good first impression at one of KSU's more prestigious events was important.

That said, he'd of course calculated an extra ten minutes into his schedule, because he had a gut feeling that Claudia wouldn't be completely ready the moment he arrived at her house.

His suspicions were confirmed when he knocked on the door and it was her dad who answered.

"Callum," Viren said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Here to pick up Claudia, I presume?"

Callum nodded. "Yes sir. For - For the art showcase."

Viren sighed. "I'm aware. She's talked incessantly about it. Though at least that subject is more interesting than Soren's obsession with football. His most ridiculous passion, if he ever had one that wasn't so." He stepped aside, holding the door open. "Come in. She's almost ready."

Callum nodded again and did as instructed, though he didn't follow the man further into the house. Viren had always been… well, 'odd' was probably the kindest way to put it. Callum was never particularly comfortable being in a room alone with him. Plus, he was well aware of the anti-Xadian sentiments Viren held, as much as the man tried to disguise them as concern for Katolis.

Not to mention Callum noticed the… disparity of treatment between Claudia and Soren. It was no wonder Soren had wanted to move out as soon as he was old enough. Harrow had never and would never stoop to such a low in his parenting, even if Callum technically wasn't 'his' son, which made Callum ever the more grateful for his stepfather's presence in his life.

"Claudia tells me you and the Xa… Rayla are dating," Viren said as he returned to the hallway where Callum was waiting, now holding a glass of clear liquid. Hopefully water. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

Callum managed to give him an awkward smile. "Thank you, sir."

Viren nodded, glancing down into his cup. "I'm curious as to whether your father had anything to say about your getting together." He raised an eyebrow. "Did he?"

"Er… He was very supportive," Callum said, fingering the edge of his suit's sleeve around his left wrist. "He said that Rayla made me laugh, and that we were good for each other, so he was perfectly fine with us dating."

Something akin to distaste flickered in Viren's eyes. "Of course he did."

Callum had no idea how to respond to that. Thankfully, however, he was saved from having to come up with something as Claudia joined them in the hallway.

"Ooh, someone sure looks dashing!" she teased, gently knocking his shoulder. "Planning to sweep your girlfriend off your feet?"

"Ha ha," Callum said, rolling his eyes. "You know I'm only dressed this nice because the event requires it." Formal wear was not his thing. And, if he was being honest, he kind of preferred that Rayla be the one to sweep him off of his feet, rather than the other way around. Still - both were good, and he would not refuse Rayla if she asked.

Claudia then noticed that Viren was in the hall with them. "Dad, have you been bothering Callum?" she demanded, placing a hand on her hip in exasperation. "Seriously. You need to learn how to read the room!"

"No, it's fine," Callum hastily reassured her, not wanting to be a point of conflict between Claudia and her dad. "We were just… chatting." If their stiff, awkward conversation could be called a 'chat', anyways.

Viren nodded. "Callum is correct. We were merely making small talk."

Claudia didn't look like she believed either of them. "Dad, you aren't physically capable of making socially-acceptable small talk." She rolled her eyes, looping an arm through Callum's. "But we have no time for debate. Callum and I need to get a move on!" She pressed a quick kiss to her dad's cheek before practically dragging Callum out the front door, pulling it shut behind them.

Once they were outside in the evening's warm sunlight, Callum was able to fully appreciate his friend's glamorous outfit. When Claudia went all-out, she went all-out. She wore a floor-length green silk dress - the same shade as her eyes - with spaghetti straps, the fabric dipping down in the back. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, and a white flower was tucked behind her right ear.

"You look amazing," he said honestly as he unlocked his car, though the fact that the dress lacked any real sleeves did make him wonder if she'd be cold in the chilly November air. Well, he supposed they'd be inside for a majority of the evening, so maybe not. Then he smirked at her. "Dressing up for a certain mutual friend of ours, by any chance?"

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Can't a girl ever dress up for herself?" She snickered at the dubious look he gave her. "Okay, I can't get anything past you." She spun in a circle, the bottom of the gown flaring out slightly. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"She'd be a fool not to," he said with a laugh. He started to walk around to the driver's side of his car, but stopped when Claudia snatched the keys out of his hand. "Uh… Am I not driving?"

"Nope," Claudia said as she steered him by the shoulders to the passenger seat of his car. "I know you better than just about anyone, which means I am entirely aware of how nervous you are about the showcase, and as a result I do not want you driving me anywhere. Not when your thoughts are going in a million directions. Would you consider that a fair assessment?"

More than fair. So Callum resigned himself to sitting in the passenger seat.

But, being that it was his car, he was still allowed to control the music, and he put the Spotify daily mix he'd been playing earlier back on.

"So, do you know how Sonya plans to get to the showcase?" Callum asked as Claudia stopped at a red light.

"Not really. I think she mentioned something about being a little late," Claudia mused, adjusting the rearview mirror. He'd have to remember to correct it later. "She said she had to help her cousin Samirah with a favor before she could leave."

Callum nodded. He vaguely recalled Sonya explaining that when he'd asked her the other day.

"I'm so excited to see all the art," Claudia added, the twinkle in her eyes only serving to reinforce her words as true. "I wanted to go to both showcases last year, but I didn't have any time because I was an idiot who scheduled too many hours as a freshman. Not this semester, though! I wised up." She beamed at him, though she had to turn her attention back to the road as the light turned green. "And I really can't wait to see your picture, Callum, all hung up and on display!"

He couldn't lie - he was pretty excited for that, too. It made him feel so… 'professional' was the only word for it. "Yeah," he admitted, unable to keep a smile off his lips. "I still can't believe my art was actually accepted." Sure, it was just a schoolwide showcase, but he'd read on KSU's website that they usually got close to a thousand submissions - mostly from art majors, though not entirely - but could only display around a hundred. And he'd made it. Him! It still felt surreal.

"Well, you'd better learn to believe it," Claudia said with a sideways glance towards him, "because you're an incredibly talented artist and you shouldn't be afraid to acknowledge that." She waited until she had to pause at a stop sign to wink at him. "It's not bragging if it's true."

Callum wasn't sure how true her last statement was, but it boosted his ego nicely nonetheless.

They spent the rest of the drive griping about finals, because sometimes it was just nice to complain with someone about a shared struggle. Callum was tempted to ask Claudia about the calculus group chat she and Rayla were supposedly in, but he figured that was ultimately an uncalled for invasion of both her and Rayla's privacy, so he kept his questions to himself.

Claudia returned his keys to him when they arrived, and he made sure to lock his car and put them in his pocket immediately afterwards, otherwise he knew he'd end up dropping them or something equally ridiculous. Upon walking inside the building, they were greeted by a sign-in sheet and a bubbly red-haired girl.

"Just keeping track of our artists as they arrive," she said with a cheerful smile. "Thank you for showing up on time!"

Callum found his name on the paper, scribbling his initial on the line next to it before returning the girl's smile as Claudia skimmed through something on her phone. The girl then matched his name with a map she had on a clipboard, directing him to where his artwork was hung with another bright smile. Callum noticed Claudia snagging a program off the table before she followed him.

His picture was in the room farthest from the entrance, located near a back corner. In other words, it was the perfect place. The only people that should approach him - hypothetically, at least - would be his friends and anyone genuinely interested in his artwork, both of which were scenarios he was confident he could handle. And he hadn't invited many people, either - just close friends and family, like Claudia and Sonya, Rayla and Soren, and of course Ezran, Harrow, and Amaya.

That said, he had not expected to see someone standing in front of his work already.

"Professor Dupuy?!" Callum exclaimed, recognizing the agender-flag bracelet they'd taken to wearing. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Professor Nguyen now, actually," they said, turning around to give both him and Claudia a wide smile. "My divorce has at last been finalized with my husband - ex-husband - and he's on his way to anger management classes, so I'm taking my name back!"

It did look like a weight had been lifted from their shoulders, although Callum hadn't been privy to all the details regarding his professor's divorce. Only what they'd chosen to share in class. "Oh." He shook his head. "I mean, that's great!" He paused. "I think?"

Professor Dup - Professor Nguyen - chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll be giving your class the rundown of that story on Monday. I've prepared a lesson related to it about the restricted life of Renaissance women and how it has more similarities to the treatment of women today than people like to think about."

Yet another reason why Professor Nguyen was the best teacher Callum had ever had. It was hardly a contest at this point.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but you are obviously the coolest professor in all of KSU," Claudia said, offering her hand for Professor Nguyen to shake. "My name is Claudia. I'm guessing Callum is in one of your classes?"

Oops. Callum had forgotten that Claudia was one of his friends who wasn't in Renaissance History with him.

Professor Nguyen chuckled, shaking her hand. "I appreciate the compliment. And yes, Callum takes one of my history courses. Renaissance History, to be precise."

Claudia snapped her fingers. "Oh, okay! Sonya has praised your class a lot." She laughed. "Maybe I should consider signing up for it next semester. I think I still have a Gen Ed Humanities requirement to fill."

"I'm sure I'm biased because it's my class, but I do highly recommend it." They shoved their hands into their pockets. "Callum - I never answered your question as to what I was doing here." They shrugged. "It's simple, really. I heard one of my best students got accepted into the art showcase - as a freshman, no less - with a classically-inspired piece. From there, the universe basically commanded me to come check it out."

Callum flushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Professor." He hesitated, but couldn't stop himself from adding, "Does… that mean you like it, then?"

Professor Nguyen grinned at him. "Yes, I do. It is very impressive. I hope you won't forget me when you're famous."

If a Classics teacher approved of his work, then there was no higher praise. Callum couldn't believe he'd peaked at 18.

They chatted a few minutes longer about finals before Professor Nguyen got a phone call and had to leave to answer it, though they reminded Callum again about their upcoming lesson plan for Monday before doing so.

"Oh, look at that!" Claudia practically squealed as they moved to where his picture hung, gently nudging him towards it. "How does it feel to be a local celebrity?"

Callum rolled his eyes, though her praise had him blushing. "I wouldn't know, since I'm not a local celebrity. But…" He couldn't help but smile as he looked up at the picture, neatly framed with a small card next to it that had his name printed in block letters. "It does feel pretty good."

Claudia pulled him into a tight hug, and Callum could practically feel the enthusiasm radiating off of her. "I am so proud of you! This is all freaking awesome!"

"Claudia, it's not that big of a deal," he muttered, both flattered and embarrassed by her gushing. "It's just the school showcase."

Claudia rolled her eyes as she released him from the hug. "You're so modest. It's infuriating." She glanced down at her phone to check the time. "Presenters won't be arriving for another twenty minutes. Want to go look at all the other artworks?"

Obviously he did, thus they went on a brief wander throughout the three rooms where everything was displayed. For the most part, Claudia seemed as interested as he did, though she kept pausing to text someone. Not that her occasionally getting distracted at all took away from the experience for Callum. He was far too absorbed for that. He'd always enjoyed looking at art, especially the art of people he knew or were close to his age, which of course meant the showcase was a perfect combination of the two. The variety of the work made it all the more exciting, and not to mention also only increased his disbelief that somehow, somehow, his piece had been accepted. It still blew his mind.

Paintings made up a majority of the works, but they were of several different mediums, from acrylic to watercolor to even a few oil, which he knew must have taken eons to finish. There were several sculptures, a couple different handicrafts, and at least four charcoal sketches. Including his own, that was.

"Oh, Ezran says they're here," Claudia said, tearing his attention away from the Mycenaean-style doll he'd been admiring. She snickered as she read something else on her phone. "He also says to take your phone off of silent for once in your life."

Callum rolled his eyes, amused. "Not a chance." Though he did accept the hint to check his phone, quickly skimming over his brother's messages. "Do you want to go say hi to them before we're restricted to my corner?" Well, she technically wasn't restricted, but she'd be sticking with him so he wouldn't have to face strangers alone. True friendship.

Claudia shrugged. "Why not? We still have time."

Callum tried not to look too eager as they began walking towards the front of the building. As far as he knew, no one except himself, Ezran, Rayla, and his dad knew that Amaya was in town. Hopefully Rayla hadn't told Claudia - assuming she hadn't, then it would be the perfect surprise. Admittedly, Aunt Amaya had always been closer to Soren, but she still cared for Claudia, too. Callum was well aware that his aunt couldn't stand Viren, which was probably why she'd unofficially taken his kids under her wing.

Claudia's eyes widened as she caught sight of exactly who was waiting near the front. "No. Way." She glanced at Callum, who just grinned at her. "Am I imagining things? Or is she really…?"

She trailed off, and Callum shrugged, still grinning. "Let's find out."

Claudia lifted the bottom of her dress to walk faster across the room, somehow managing to politely dodge through the ever-growing crowd of people. "Oh my God, Amaya!" she exclaimed, pulling the woman into a hug that was immediately returned. "Holy crap, I didn't know you were coming into town!"

"It wouldn't have been a surprise if you did," Amaya signed with a teasing smile after releasing her, Harrow having translated Claudia's words for her during the hug. Callum relayed his aunt's message to his friend. "It's so good to see you! Will Soren be here tonight, too?"

While Claudia and Amaya caught up, Callum was distracted by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that Rayla had sent him a text.

Rayla: football practice will be over soon so we're almost on our way :)

Rayla: it's too bad i have to miss your dad's speech

Callum: no, you're better off missing that

Rayla: lmao how cruel of you

Rayla: gtg. see you soon!

Callum: can't wait!

And he followed his message with a heart emoji like a lovestruck teen, because that was exactly what he was. How embarrassing.

"The introductory speeches are starting soon," Harrow said, snapping Callum out of his Rayla-induced reverie. "If you'd prefer, you can all wait near the edge of the room, that way Callum can get to his 'station' right away afterwards. I'll have to tie up a few loose ends after I give my speech, but hopefully I'll be able to join you within a half hour."

They followed his advice, mostly because there was no reason not to, and carefully navigated through the crowd of artists and art-lovers alike.

"Is anyone who's actually interesting giving a speech tonight?" Ezran asked. "Because I don't really care about a bunch of old white men giving a mini-lecture on art history when they themselves do not fully comprehend art's progress, made clear in their adamant refusal to acknowledge today's transformative artwork in the form of graffiti - which isn't even new - as well as fanart and digital artwork."

Claudia shook her head in amusement, smoothing the program she'd grabbed earlier over her knee. "Ezran, you possess more wisdom than anyone else here, and you're younger than most of them." She handed him the booklet. "Here. This lists everyone giving a speech tonight."

Ezran quickly read through the program, sighing in disappointment. "No one cool. Except Dad, of course."

Callum had to bite his tongue to avoid laughing at his brother's expression. "I know this is like, 'my night' or whatever," he began, "but I would not judge any of you if you get on your phone during the speeches." He was considering doing so himself, though he did feel obligated to try and translate for his aunt, since KSU had neglected to hire someone for Deaf and HOH guests. The only people he was really interested in hearing from were his own art professor, who'd no doubt keep things short, and obviously his dad. He was almost certain that Harrow had snuck in a reference about him, although his stepfather denied it.

"God, I love being friends with an artist who's not a pretentious douche," Claudia said with a contented sigh, placing a hand over her heart as she logged into her phone with the other. "Callum, I hope you know that you're my favorite person."

Callum snickered. "I doubt that. But the flattery is appreciated."

As he suspected, most of the speeches were pretty boring. Claudia was shamelessly texting someone the entire time, while Ezran was more subtly messaging Aanya and Ellis in a group chat on Instagram. Callum was translating the speeches to the best of his ability for Aunt Amaya, as he didn't think they were close enough for her to read the presenters' lips, but he didn't miss the bored expression on her face. So he added some random words into the mix, just for the fun of it. That got her to smile.

Callum could not articulate just how much of a relief it was to be back on good terms with her. He hated conflict, and conflict with the people he cared about was worst of all. But they'd be okay. He trusted his aunt's sincerity.

Callum's art professor did keep his speech short, as Callum had predicted, focusing mostly on good etiquette as well as the best questions to ask an artist if someone felt genuinely interested in their work. Callum agreed with the conclusion of 'if you don't really care, then don't ask' wholeheartedly - the idea of making small talk with strangers made him want to die.

Harrow's speech started pretty traditionally, as he talked about how proud he was of every student there and how they should be even more proud of themselves for such an accomplishment. He made a few corny, lighthearted jokes about previous speakers that earned laughter from the crowd and an amused eye roll from Amaya. He concluded it all with a subtle reference towards Callum, which Callum had known was inevitable and was just thankful it was brief.

"I encourage you to check out every piece in this exhibit," Harrow said, gesturing around him, "from glass-blown bottles to impressive charcoal sketches that blend the past and present into one."

Ah, there it was. How cliché.

Amaya must have noticed his disgruntled expression as he translated his dad's words for her, as she signed to him, "He's just teasing you."

"I know," he signed in response. "I just hope that doesn't attract unwanted visitors to my corner." Hopefully the reference had been vague enough that no one would connect it to him.

Harrow ended his speech by dismissing everyone into the exhibit, and Callum turned around to face their little group. "Claudia and I have already seen all the art, so it's okay if you two want to explore before you join us in my back corner," he said to Ezran and his aunt.

Ezran gave him a thumbs up, and the two duos went their separate ways. Callum was relieved to note that not many people - besides other artists - were in the room where his sketch was hung.

"Oh, Soren says he and Rayla are about to leave," Claudia said as they stationed themselves in front of his picture. "So I guess they'll be here in twenty-ish minutes."

Twenty minutes without Rayla would no doubt feel like an hour, but he'd have to endure. "Cool." He was excited, though, by the prospect of Soren getting surprised by Aunt Amaya. And hopefully the tension between her and Rayla would be… less, too. He knew his aunt wanted to apologize, but he just wasn't sure when she'd be able to find time that evening.

During those twenty minutes, Callum was approached by only two people, one being an elderly woman with a passion for classical architecture and the other being a high schooler who was involved with their school's Junior Classical League, both of which were hobbies that Callum could respect. Just as Amaya and Ezran arrived and started to jokingly fawn over his art, Callum felt his phone buzz in his pocket at the same time as Claudia exclaimed, "Oh! Soren and Rayla are here!"

Callum couldn't help but break into a smile at her proclamation, and Ezran's eyes similarly lit up.

"I'll let them know where we are," Claudia mused as she texted a response, "that way we don't have to be the ones navigating through the crowd for the millionth time."

Amaya tapped Callum on the shoulder, pulling his thoughts away from the arrival of his friends. "I would still like to apologize to Rayla tonight," she signed. "Would you mind translating for me?"

"Of course," he said, almost surprised she'd felt the need to ask. Well, asking was the polite thing to do, technically. "Just let me know when you need me."

She nodded, starting to sign something that probably would have been 'thank you', but they were all soon distracted by an ecstatic shout of, "AMAYA?!"

Callum turned to see a familiar blonde quarterback charging - how fitting - through the crowd to practically tackle - oh, wow, even more fitting - his aunt into a hug.

Amaya grinned as she embraced Soren, ruffling his hair as he pulled away. "Surprise! It's so good to see you," she signed. "I take it you missed me?"

"Holy crap, this is the best surprise ever!" Soren said, returning her grin with an enthusiastic one of his own, bouncing on his heels in excitement. "When did you arrive? How long will you be in town? Obviously I've missed you so frickin' much!" With that, he promptly pulled her into another hug.

Yeah, Aunt Amaya was far more of a parent to Soren than Viren had ever been.

But before Callum could get too bogged down by such depressing thoughts during what was supposed to be a cheerful evening, he was distracted by a goddess appearing in front of him, an ethereal woman more commonly known as Rayla Moonshadow.

She smirked as he gawked at her appearance. "I do clean up pretty nicely, don't I?"

"'Nicely'?" he repeated. "It should be impossible for someone to look this beautiful." His girlfriend wore a flowing lavender dress, the fabric a shade lighter than her violet eyes. Instead of a back, there were slim silver chains and tiny rhinestones that created a design not dissimilar to the Eridanus constellation. In fact, that probably was the intended picture. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid, displaying her silver crescent moon earrings.

"Well, you can thank Claudia for that," Rayla said, eyes twinkling. Claudia proceeded to stick her tongue out and throw up a peace sign upon hearing her name. "She's the one who took me shopping and put up with my whining the entire time."

That sounded true. Rayla did not often enjoy shopping, even when it was for basic necessities like groceries. "To be fair, you could have worn anything and still been the most gorgeous person here," he pointed out, taking his hands in hers. "That said, I am not complaining about the final result."

Rayla laughed. "Well, you don't look too bad yourself, my prince. I certainly don't mind the suit - you should wear it more often."

Really, what was he supposed to do other than kiss her after she'd said that?

Her chapstick tasted like cotton candy, or at least something of similar sweetness. She smelled a bit like soap, too - probably from a post-practice shower.

"Ew," Ezran said in mock-disgust as they pulled away from each other, though their fingers remained intertwined. "You guys need to get a room."

"Ah, young love," Claudia said dreamily with a hand over her heart. "How enchanting to witness."

Callum figured the most appropriate response would be to press a quick kiss to his girlfriend's cheek, so he did exactly that.

"Claudia!" Soren exclaimed, his voice loud enough to capture the attention of the entire group. "Amaya said she's going to try to make it to the championship! Isn't that awesome?!"

Amaya signed from beside him, "Something tells me Viren won't make much of an effort to go. And how could I miss such an important event?"

Claudia's expression shifted from a barely-disguised grimace at the mention of their father to a look of gratitude. "That is totally awesome," she affirmed. "Soren is the greatest quarterback in the country, after all!"

Soren turned to say something else to Amaya, and Claudia glanced down at her phone before spinning on her heel to face Rayla. "Callum, permission to steal your girlfriend?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't need my permission," he said, amused, letting go of Rayla's hand. Rayla allowed Claudia to pull her off to the side, and although he may have been mistaken, Callum was pretty sure he heard one of them whisper something about needing a distraction. Whatever that was about.

"Have you talked to Rayla about the exchange program yet?" Ezran asked, pulling Callum out of his thoughts.

He grimaced at his brother's question "Er… not yet." He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I haven't figured out if I want to apply. I don't want to tell her too much while I'm still indecisive."

Ezran frowned. "I thought you were pretty set on going. Did something happen?"

Callum's mind flashed back to his… difficult conversation with Runaan and Ethari. "You could say that."

Ezran nodded, knowing his brother well enough to not press the matter further. "Well, I still think you should do it. It's your decision, after all. No one else's. Only you get the final say."

Ezran was right. He usually was, as annoying as that could sometimes be. "Thanks, Ez," Callum said, giving his brother a small smile. "You always are the voice of reason, huh?"

"Someone in our family has to be."

Again, true. But Amaya soon walked over, distracting them both. "Callum," she signed, "do you mind if I speak to Rayla now?"

Callum pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Uh… Now should be fine? Yes?" For all of Rayla's talent as an English major, dating her had done nothing to make him more articulate. He quickly moved to where Rayla and Claudia were talking, noting with amusement and suspicion that their conversation ceased the moment he'd arrived at their side. "Rayla, Aunt Amaya was wondering if she could talk to you for a moment."

Rayla glanced at Claudia, who simply shrugged and said, "That'll work."

He had no clue as to what unspoken conversation was happening between them, but Claudia's words seemed to satisfy Rayla, who turned back to him and nodded. "Sure."

He led her to the corner where Amaya was waiting, just to the right of his sketch hanging on the wall. "I'll translate for both of you," he said to his girlfriend, and she gave him a slightly nervous smile in response.

"Okay."

Callum then turned back to his aunt. "Whenever you're ready."

Amaya took a deep breath and began signing, not stopping once for a non-literal breath. "I want to first apologize for the disrespectful way I treated you when we first met. It does not matter that I did it behind closed doors - it was inexcusable and I do not expect your forgiveness for it. My behavior that night was bigoted and wrong. There is nothing I can do to change what happened or make it right for you." She hesitated, as if trying to find the right words. "But I want to do better," seemed to be what she decided on, and she nodded at Rayla. "I will do better, both with combating my biases and with educating myself on anti-Xadian rhetoric. Rhetoric that I have undoubtedly perpetuated in Katolis and in my travels, regardless of if I meant to or not." She paused. "Like I said, I do not expect your forgiveness. I do not even want to ask for your forgiveness, because you are not obligated to give it. All I would like is a second chance."

There was a brief pause before Rayla answered. "Thank you for your apology," she said, Callum signing as she spoke. "It means a lot to me, because…" She chuckled. "Well, most people don't bother." She twisted a silver ring around her pinky finger that Callum hadn't noticed she was wearing. "I actually want to apologize for rushing out that night. It was… pretty cowardly of me and I'm sure it didn't ease any tension between all of you."

Amaya gave her a soft smile, the expression reminding Callum so strikingly of his mother that he was several seconds delayed in translating his aunt's next sentence to Rayla. "You are not responsible for educating me or for 'easing tension', as you put it. There is nothing you need to apologize for."

Rayla returned her smile. "Fair point." She stopped twisting her ring before she continued. "To answer your request - of course you can have a second chance. We'd never make any progress if I forced you to stay in square one your entire life." She took a deep breath. "And, for the record… I do forgive you." She glanced at Callum, and he felt like he was going to faint from the dizzying amount of affection in her eyes. "How could I not? You're one of the most important people in Callum's life."

Amaya chuckled at that, signing, "I can't believe I almost let my bigotry get in the way of seeing your importance to Callum. I may be Deaf, but I shouldn't allow myself to fall prey to selective blindness, too."

Callum could feel his face growing redder. "Why do these conversations always circle back to me?"

Rayla laughed, gently bumping his shoulder with hers. "Because we love you. Duh." She returned her attention to Amaya. "Okay. I practiced this in the mirror for like half an hour, with some help from Claudia but mostly from WikiHow." She lifted her hands, a mixture of focus and apprehension forming on her face as she slowly signed, "Can we be friends?"

A wide smile broke out onto Amaya's lips, and she nodded before holding her arms open for a hug, which Rayla accepted.

"Your family is the best," Rayla whispered to Callum as she returned the hug, earning laughter from her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I guess they're alright," he replied with a teasing smile. "But they're all huggers."

Rayla snorted. "I can tell. The whole lot of you."

Amaya released her, starting to sign but pausing as something behind them seemed to catch her attention. "Callum," she signed, switching gears, "I think there may be a few people here for you."

Callum frowned, glancing at Rayla, who had the most innocent-looking expression on her face he'd ever seen. And by that he meant it was obviously fake. "What do you -" He turned around, only to be cut off by a group of people all saying, "Surprise!"

His jaw dropped. "Oh my God."

All of his friends were there. All of them. Obviously Ez, Soren, and Claudia, who'd been there just about the entire time, but they'd been joined by Felix, who was holding hands with Dominic while Emilé stood to his left. Sonya was there, too, her hot pink hijab oddly complimentary to the long-sleeved, maroon dress she wore. Even Lucas was there, despite the fact that Callum hadn't seen him in person for several weeks.

"Why - what are you all doing here?" he sputtered, still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that so many of his friends stood in front of him. He wasn't complaining, definitely not, but he didn't understand - he hadn't gone out of his way to invite them or anything, so why -

"We're here to support you!" Felix said enthusiastically. "You're our friend, Callum. Obviously we weren't going to miss an event as important as this."

"Dude, you got accepted into KSU's super-selective art showcase!" Emilé added with a smirk. "This is a most triumphant occasion. We all wanted to see your bodacious artwork!"

Callum's face reddened at the compliment. "It's really not that big of a deal," he mumbled, feeling more embarrassed - and happier, admittedly - by the second.

Dominic tilted his head. "Wait, do you not know?"

Callum glanced at Rayla, who'd moved to stand at his side. "Know what?"

Sonya rolled her eyes. "Callum, only three freshmen had a piece accepted into the showcase. You're one of them. That's incredible."

Callum could feel his mouth forming a small 'o', and no words escaped his lips.

"Oops," Soren said. "We broke him."

"Only Callum wouldn't know when he did something cool," Ezran commented, rolling his eyes. Callum noticed his brother had his phone raised, and he had a feeling Ezran was either recording his reaction or streaming it to Ellis and Aanya. Possibly both.

"Claudia was the one who organized this," Lucas said with a small smile, his hands in his pockets. "We all wanted to congratulate you, of course, so there were no issues with getting us to agree. The real struggle was figuring out how to get us all here at the same time without you noticing so we could properly surprise you."

"Amaya unintentionally provided the perfect distraction," Claudia said with a laugh. "But I don't deserve even half the credit. All I did was create a group chat and help arrange transportation. It was Rayla's idea."

Callum turned to Rayla, who shrugged modestly. "I thought it'd be nice to have the whole gang here at once to surprise you."

Now he was having to fight back tears. "I love you so much," he murmured, taking her hands in his own again. "I think you're my dream girl."

She flushed. "You dork." She then gave him a gentle smile. "I love you, too."

Their friends all cheered as she leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, no doubt cued on by Ezran or Claudia or - hell, maybe even Soren. Their hollering probably disturbed everyone else at the showcase, but for once in his life Callum couldn't bring himself to care what other people thought of him. All that mattered was Rayla's presence - she was with him, he was with her, and he could feel the love radiating off his friends in waves.

And as he pulled away, hand cupping Rayla's cheek as she stared down at him with a hypnotizing mixture of awe and elation in her violet eyes, Callum made a decision.

He wanted to go to Xadia. Runaan and Ethari be damned. The only approval he needed was Rayla's.

As the both turned back to face their friends, still hand in hand, Callum felt like he was going to burst with happiness. It was - Everything was perfect.

"So… Do you like your surprise?" Rayla asked.

He couldn't fight down the laughter bubbling in his chest. "Like it?" He gave her hand a tight squeeze. "I love it."

xXxXxXx

Alternate title of this chapter could be "The Author Projects Onto Callum Way Too Much," lmao. It's above the love! The support! The choice to move forward!

Anyways. Have a very happy Halloween, guys, and stay safe out there! Wear your masks if you're going out and try to socially distance whenever possible. Merci pour lire! Au revoir!