1. There's a lot happening in the world right now. Obviously a lot of attention is on the USA because of the recent storming of the Capitol, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems the world is facing. I'd be lying if I said that it's not scary - it is, and sometimes those feelings can get overwhelming. So here's five things you can do when you feel hopeless: 1) Name your feelings. Being able to identify what you're experiencing is the first step to addressing it. 2) Make space to grieve. The feeling of loss is not just about missing a loved one. It may be about missed opportunities, empathy for the pain of others, and more. Give yourself time to let your grief out in whatever way you need. 3) Take action where you can. No matter how small or insignificant you may feel, remember that single drops eventually fill a bucket! 4) Stay in the present. Experiencing things as they happen can make them easier to process rather than internalizing them for too long. And 5) Safeguard your energy. Don't burn yourself out! Do what you can and stay informed, but know and respect your own limitations. Take care of yourself. (Information condensed from soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram.)
Hello my lovelies! It's been a depressing past few days, hasn't it? I hope this chapter provides you with some much-needed cheer. Here's a hint: Rayllum fluff abounds!
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"Rayla's guardians fly into town a few days from now, don't they?" Harrow mused, glancing up from the local newspaper he was reading.
Callum paused in his sketch of Rayla dancing with sparklers from New Year's Eve - he'd only completed the basic framework of her body so far. "Uh… Yeah, I think so. Why?"
Harrow stroked his beard. "I'd like to meet them in person before the big game," he finally said. "I communicated with them through email several times before Rayla arrived at KSU, and now that the two of you are together, I feel it's only fitting I have a proper, informal introduction to them." He frowned. "That felt like an oxymoron."
Callum was tempted to disagree with his father. Severely tempted. But he refused to let go of his newfound resolve to better his relationship with Runaan just yet. He was determined to at least get on speaking terms with the man. "That's a great idea!" he said, hoping his enthusiasm didn't sound too forced. "Why don't we treat them to dinner on their first night here?"
Harrow grinned at him. "That is an excellent suggestion, Callum. Amaya and Gren should be arriving that same day, too, so I'm sure both of them will also want to meet Rayla's guardians." He chuckled. "I'll have to figure out soon whether I want to cook dinner and risk burning it all, or invite them to a restaurant instead and risk being perceived as lazy."
Callum managed a laugh at his stepfather's quip. "I'll leave you to figure that one out on your own." He'd actually forgotten that Amaya was coming into Katolis the same day as Runaan and Ethari. He hadn't remembered Gren was joining her, either, but that was fine. Gren was the epitome of a pacifist. His aunt, on the other hand, could be a little more… hotheaded. He hoped Gren and presumably Ethari could keep things calm. "I'll text Rayla and ask her to let Runaan and Ethari know."
Harrow nodded. "Perfect." His father then returned his attention to his newspaper, though Callum suspected he was less reading and more silently weighing the pros and cons of cooking versus eating out.
Callum grabbed his phone off the coffee table to text his girlfriend, but was surprised to see two missed calls from Claudia only a few minutes earlier. He frowned, heading into the kitchen to call her back. Not because he thought his dad would eavesdrop or anything. He just… didn't like talking on the phone with other people in the room. It was too awkward for his taste.
"Hey," he said as Claudia picked up. "Sorry I missed your calls. Is something wrong?"
"Well…" Claudia cleared her throat. "Eh, yeah. Sure. You could say that." There was the sound of shuffling on her end. "Rayla's sick."
Callum's blood turned to ice. "What?! How sick? Is she going to be okay?"
"She's fine!" Claudia hastily reassured him, and his shoulders relaxed. Slightly. "Sorry, I probably should have braced you for that."
Well, that was a lovely sentiment. A lovely, wonderful sentiment provided a second too late. He'd already had a mini heart attack. "Okay. Good," he said, trying to calm down. "Alright. So what's wrong with her, then? What's she sick with?"
"The doctor said it's just a fever virus," Claudia said, her voice matter-of-fact. "So here's what happened. Rayla woke up this morning, right?"
Uh. He sure hoped she had.
"And she was cold. Like, bundled-up-in-blankets cold. I knew immediately she had to be sick."
That tracked. Rayla never got cold. "You took her to the clinic on campus right away?"
"Correct. The doctor's prescription was that she needs to relax. Like, literally just to rest. Unnecessary stress and too much activity - mental and physical - is just going to exacerbate the fever and keep her sick longer. For all intents and purposes, she's fine. I mean, except for the fact that she has a fever, of course."
Callum couldn't help but grimace. 'Relaxing' had to be difficult for Rayla, what with the championship barely a week away and their second semester having just started. "Right. Got it." He frowned. "So why call me? Other than to update me on my girlfriend's general well-being, which seems like something you would normally text about. Unless it was… er, deadly." Which a fever virus was not. Anxiety-inducing, maybe, but not fatal.
There was a rustling noise, as if Claudia had moved her phone to her other hand. "I need you to come look after her for a bit. She keeps threatening to go to football practice - which isn't until this evening, so I guess she's a tiny bit delirious - and she is not allowed to do that because she needs rest to get better. Not romping." She sighed. "My dad asked me to run a bunch of ridiculous errands for him, and I figured you'd be the only other person she might at least consider listening to. Do you think you can get here in the next ten minutes?"
To do that, he'd have to leave immediately. Which… okay, yes, it was absolutely something he was willing to do. He wanted to ensure Rayla was okay and didn't overextend herself as much as Claudia did.
Still. "Give me fifteen," he compromised. "I'm at my dad's house, so I'll need some time to tell him where I'm going and to pack my homework." He doubted he'd get any done while he was with an apparently semi-delirious Rayla, but it was worth a shot.
Claudia snorted. "Only you, Callum. Only you." There was more rustling on the end of her line. "Alright. See you in fifteen."
"See you." Callum hung up, sticking his phone into his pocket before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. It was so frustratingly like Rayla to disregard her own health because she didn't want to let anyone down. Ugh - how could someone as smart as her be so dumb?
In her defense, he supposed that question could be asked of just about anyone. Including himself.
"Hey, Dad," Callum said as he stepped back into the living room, grabbing his sketchbook and satchel off the couch before making sure his homework was tucked into the latter. "I have to cut today's visit short." Jeez, he was leaving before lunch. Cutting it really short. "Rayla's sick and Claudia needs me to look after her for a few hours so she can run errands for Viren."
Harrow frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "Is Rayla okay?"
"Yeah, Claudia says it's just a fever virus." Callum carefully put his sketchbook into his satchel before swinging the bag over his shoulder. "I'll just be making sure she doesn't overexert herself, that way she can get better as soon as possible."
Harrow chuckled. "Of course. The championship is coming up." He folded his newspaper in his lap. "Well, have fun, and try to avoid getting sick yourself."
Callum grimaced. He didn't even want to entertain that possibility. "I'll do my best." He waved goodbye before heading out to his car and driving over to Claudia's dorm. It was late enough in the morning where he didn't have to deal with rush hour traffic of people going to work, and he ended up arriving in less than the fifteen minutes he'd asked for.
"Hmm, someone's early," Claudia teased as she let him inside. "Thanks for coming."
Callum started to say that it really wasn't a big deal and he was happy to help, but he was interrupted by none other than his sick girlfriend herself.
"Callum!" Rayla exclaimed, joining them at the end of the hallway. "I'm so glad you're here! Please tell Claudia that I'm fine and she should let me do stuff and be productive today."
Callum frowned, studying his girlfriend. Claudia hadn't been lying - Rayla didn't… well, she didn't look or sound particularly sick. In fact, the slight flush to her cheeks was probably the only thing that gave her away. He then reached out, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.
As expected, she was burning up.
"Hell no," Callum said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're staying here and resting until you're better."
Rayla rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Ugh. You're as bad as Claudia."
Claudia snorted. "You're the one who has a 101 degree fever. Not us." She pulled Callum into a quick hug before releasing him and patting his cheek. "Thank you again for helping me out. Best of luck with your ridiculously stubborn girlfriend!" And with that, she took her leave.
"Now that she's gone, you'll actually listen to me, right?" Rayla said, staring at him pleadingly. "The championship is barely a week away. I can't afford to miss a single practice! Everyone has to be there!"
"You can, and you will." Callum took her by the shoulders and steered her back into her bedroom. He sat Rayla down on her bed before grabbing her computer, signing in, and opening up Netflix. "Claudia told me that the doctor prescribed you rest and relaxation, so find something to watch. You need a break, okay?"
He noticed that the metal flower he'd given her on New Year's was resting on top of her dresser. His heart fluttered happily.
Rayla groaned, trying to stand back up. "I can't just 'take a break,' Callum! There's so much that has to get done. There's so much I need to do!"
Part of him was irritated by her stubbornness, but the rest of him understood her need to always be doing something or else it seemed any time that passed had no value. So he gave her a soft smile. "I promise that it's okay for you to take one day off to rest, Ray." That nickname again - he'd have to ask her how she felt about it when she was better. "The football team - and me - all want you to be healthy so you can do your best work, understand?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "And you should want to get better, too, because you of all people ought to understand that you'll play your best football when you're, you know, not suffering from a fever virus."
Rayla hesitated. "Yeah, but -"
"No arguing," Callum countered firmly, shaking his head. "You know I'm right."
Rayla sighed. "Fine. You're right. I'll rest." She hesitated before reaching out and grabbing one of his hands. "At least… stay with me, okay?"
Callum remembered Harrow's advice to not get sick. He had a feeling that advice was about to be thrown out the window. Defenestration - a word he was always looking to use more often. But hey, if it meant Rayla would take a proper break… sacrifices had to be made. Even if they were at the expense of his own health. At least he wasn't expected to play in the championship.
"Alright," he relented, joining his girlfriend on her bed. "But you can't judge me if I do homework while we watch."
Rayla snickered, pulling several blankets over herself before placing her computer on her lap. "Don't worry. I'll only judge you silently."
He figured that was as good of a compromise as he could get from her.
Rayla ended up choosing a show on Netflix called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which Callum vaguely recognized as a reboot of some show from the 80s. And although he'd intended to work on his physics assignment - really, he had - he found himself drawn very quickly into the show.
"Oh my God. Catra and Adora are in love, aren't they?" Rayla mused at one point, around the end of the first episode. She pulled her blankets further up her chest. "And they're both completely oblivious to it, too, because they've grown up in this environment where affection-based interpersonal relationships are discouraged because self-esteem is determined by power, strength, and control."
She was such an English major. God, Callum loved her more than anything. But that said…
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? You realize we're barely an episode in." And it was just a kid's show. Maybe she was reading a little too much into it.
Rayla rested her head on his shoulder, and he was so distracted by his concern about how hot her skin was against his that he nearly missed what she said next. "You'll see. Just wait."
And when Catra broke down in tears as she tore up Adora's pillow after her friend had defected from the Horde to the Rebellion, Callum saw it. "Oh, damn," he said with a low whistle. "She's in love love."
Rayla smirked at him. "Told you so. Ten bucks says this show is a massive friends to enemies to lovers slowburn."
Callum didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing that he knew what a slowburn was. "Hell no. I'd basically be handing ten dollars to you."
"Duh." She rolled her eyes. "That's why I suggested it."
As they continued watching, Callum couldn't help but notice how his girlfriend's shivering continued to intensify. She moved closer to him, too, which typically would not have been a bad thing, but he was getting increasingly worried that her fever wasn't breaking. Pausing the show to take her temperature only confirmed his fears.
"Okay, your fever has jumped up to 104 degrees," he said, putting aside the thermometer. "We need to get you some medicine to help your body lower it."
Rayla waved her hand dismissively. "I'll be fine. Give me some time to finish season one."
"I've given you two and half hours already," Callum said pointedly, closing her laptop, "and your fever hasn't dropped at all. You need ibuprofen." He grabbed her hands to pull her off her bed, though he made sure her blanket remained draped around her shoulders.
"I can't take ibuprofen," Rayla grumbled as he led her into the kitchen. "I haven't had anything to eat today."
The latter part of her declaration was concerning in itself, because why on Earth hadn't she eaten yet?! But Callum also didn't understand how that was related to her ability to take medicine. "Wait, why does that mean you can't have ibuprofen?"
"I can't take ibuprofen on an empty stomach," she explained, leaning against the counter. "I'm one of the people who gets nauseous if I try to do that."
Ah. Well, that would be no good to either of them. "Then let's have lunch," he suggested, walking over to the fridge. "It's already half past one."
Rayla smirked at him. "Good luck finding any food in there. I was supposed to go grocery shopping today, but then I was rudely quarantined by my overbearing, overprotective friends."
Callum rolled his eyes. "I think you mean by your loving, caring friends." He opened the fridge and had to bite back a sigh. The shelves were… bare was almost an understatement. But then he saw three things that he could use - cheese, bread, and butter.
"Text Claudia and tell her to pick up some basic groceries for you guys when she's out," he said as he grabbed his 'ingredients' and placed them on the counter next to the stove. "I'll make grilled cheese for us."
Rayla laughed, taking her phone out of her pocket and signing in. "Oh, yes. Grilled cheese is truly the height of luxury."
Huh. Callum recognized that quote, but he couldn't quite place where it was from. "Don't knock it until you try it. I make a mean grilled cheese," he said as he turned on the stove and got a pan out of the cabinet. "Plus, it's one of the best comfort foods."
Rayla snorted. "Assuming you're not lactose intolerant."
Callum rolled his eyes as he dropped a piece of butter on the pan, though he couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Wow. Way to be a Debbie Downer."
"Mm, I think I prefer the term 'realist.'"
"Uh huh. Sure."
It didn't take particularly long for him to make their sandwiches, though Callum did clean the pan immediately afterwards, since he didn't want the grease to dry. He was also pleased to note that Rayla remained in a cheery mood during the cooking process, though her face still had a red tint to it and she seemed to find everything a little funnier than normal.
While they were eating, Rayla startled him by slamming her hands on the counter. "Wait - what time is it?!"
Callum fumbled with his phone, nearly dropping it to the floor as he pulled it out of his pocket to check the time. "Uh… a few minutes before two?"
Rayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. I have to video chat Runaan and Ethari at 3:30."
Callum frowned. "Can you not reschedule?" He knew Rayla loved them, but… well, he imagined a conversation with them had to be at least a little stressful as things were now, and stress was something she was supposed to be avoiding.
Rayla sighed, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Normally I would, but today we were supposed to talk about them flying into Katolis for the championship. Where they'd stay, when their flight lands, all the 'technical' stuff."
Callum bit his bottom lip, processing her words. "Well, you need to rest," he finally said, "so why don't I video chat with them instead?"
Rayla stared at him. "Er… do you really think that's a good idea?" she tentatively asked. "Last time you talked with them… didn't exactly go well."
He shrugged. "I'll approach it like a to-do list. Methodically go through whatever needs to be addressed and call it a day as soon as it's done."
Rayla still appeared hesitant. "I'll sit there with you," she decided. "But I promise I'll keep quiet and rest while you do the talking, and I'll only intervene if anyone gets too…" She snorted. "Enthusiastic. Is that okay?"
He knew her asking for his permission was little more than a formality, because she'd join him anyway. And as much as he'd prefer that she distance herself from any potential conflict… at least her suggestion was a compromise he could work with. "Alright." Callum opened up the notes app on his phone. "Let's make a list."
As they finished eating, Rayla told him the topics he'd need to go over in the video call, which in his opinion was starting to feel a little more like a video conference. They took a quick break for Callum to clean their dishes and for Rayla to take two ibuprofen, then proceeded to finish up the list before returning back to the bedroom. They were both confident that they could get in three more episodes of She-Ra before the video call.
After about twenty minutes, Rayla threw off her blanket. "I'm so hot," she complained. "Like, I'm actually sweating right now."
Callum placed the back of his hand on her forehead, unable to keep a relieved smile off his face at how her skin was noticeably cooler than earlier. "That would be your fever breaking. Sweating is a good thing."
Rayla groaned, lifting her hair to fan the back of her neck. "It's a miserable thing. I think I'd rather be freezing again."
Callum laughed. "No you wouldn't."
She chuckled. "Okay. No, I wouldn't."
He gestured to her hair. "Do you want me to braid it for you? So it doesn't stick to your neck?"
Rayla raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how to do that?"
Callum shrugged. "I did Claudia's hair a lot when we were kids. Especially the two years when Soren was in middle school while we were still in elementary school."
"Aww," Rayla said with a small smile. "I'd kill to see a photo of little Callum braiding little Claudia's hair."
"My dad might have one. He's big on keeping pictures for sentimental value and stuff like that." He carefully took her ponytail off her wrist. "And I'm interpreting that as a yes, you do want me to braid your hair back."
Rayla laughed. "You know me so well."
Callum tried to be gentle as he braided her hair, since he didn't have a brush and because his hands were a little shaky. He wasn't great at French braiding, but he knew the basics, so he hoped that would be enough to do the trick.
He ran his fingers through her hair before he began, and she shivered as his nails brushed her scalp. He'd never really thought about it before, but doing someone's hair could be an… intimate task. Huh.
Rayla hummed in contentment as he twisted her hair together, and Callum was fairly certain her attention had long since drifted away from the new episode of She-Ra playing on her laptop. When he finished the braid, he moved it to rest over her shoulder, noting with mild amusement that her hair was barely long enough to do so.
Rayla leaned back into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her as she looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "If I wasn't sick, I'd probably kiss you."
Callum chuckled. "If you weren't sick, I'd probably let you."
Rayla yawned into her elbow. "Mm… I think I'm going to take a nap." She removed his arms from around her to lean forward and pause the episode that was playing before closing her laptop and pushing it aside. "But." She turned around and pointed at him. "You have to wake me up before the video call with Runaan and Ethari, okay?"
Callum couldn't help but laugh at how her attempt at a serious expression was largely overshadowed by how tired she looked. "Okay. I promise."
He'd lied.
The doctor had said she'd needed rest, therefore Callum was going to let. Her. Rest. There was no point in waking her up before she'd even hit the REM stage of sleep. Not to mention she'd looked so peaceful… he didn't want to be the one responsible for disturbing her. So when the time for the video chat came, he quietly took her computer off the bed before tiptoeing into the living room. He plugged in his headphones to guarantee that any arguing wouldn't disturb his girlfriend. He'd deal with Rayla's wrath later.
Deep breaths. He could do this.
When the invite message popped up, Callum clicked to join the call.
Runaan's eyes narrowed upon seeing him. Ethari simply appeared surprised.
"Hi," Callum found himself saying awkwardly. "I - uh, I'm sure you're wondering -"
"Where is Rayla?" Runaan interrupted, ice already present in his voice. "What are you doing in her dorm?"
Callum bit back an irritated sigh, knowing impertinence would get him nowhere, satisfying as it might be. "Rayla is sick," he said slowly. Calmly. "Nothing life-threatening - just a fever virus. I'm looking after her while Claudia, her roommate, is out of the house running errands. She's currently asleep. But no, I will not wake her up, because the doctor said that the key component to her recovery is rest. I greatly appreciate your cooperation. Thank you."
Runaan glared at him. The man's expression contained so much weight it was like a block of cement had dropped onto Callum's shoulders, even though Runaan was hundreds of miles away. Callum suspected he'd laid his pleasantries on too thick. Oops. "How dare you -"
"How dare I take care of Rayla?" Callum finished, raising an eyebrow and hoping he sounded more rational and collected than he felt. He suspected he didn't. "I'm sorry if this comes as a shock to you, but I'm still Rayla's boyfriend. I also know that Rayla never willingly takes breaks on her own, which means someone has to be there to make sure she doesn't sneak off to try and get work done. You don't have to like me" - he was more than certain Runaan didn't like him, for that matter - "but please respect that I care about Rayla as much as you do. We both know how important the championship is to her. All I'm trying to do is make sure that she's healthy in time to play."
He opened up the notes app on his phone. "Earlier, Rayla helped me make a list of what she'd planned to talk about with you guys. I'm sure you're both very busy people, so I'll do my best to go through everything quickly. Sound fair?"
He'd concluded his monologue more sharply than intended, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it. The quiet shock written over Runaan's face was so worth it.
Ethari gave him a gentle smile in a clear attempt to diffuse the tension already present. "Thank you for looking after Rayla, Callum. We both appreciate it."
Callum started to say that it was no problem, he was more than happy to take care of her, but he was cut off by Runaan before he could get a word out.
"My apologies," the man said gruffly. "You have Rayla's best interests at heart. It was… unfair of me to presume otherwise."
Okay. Callum definitely hadn't been expecting an apology. But he'd gotten one - so that had to count as progress, right? "Thank you," he said, smiling. "Should we start going down Rayla's list?" When they both nodded, he began with the first item he and Rayla had discussed: what time their plane was supposed to land.
The conversation that followed was… not the worst Callum had ever experienced in his life. He'd even go so far as to say that it went much better than he'd expected. To be fair, of course, his expectations had been quite low. Runaan left the call at one point, but it was only to get a glass of water. Not anger-induced, like the first time.
Callum even ended up offering to pick them up from the airport to bring them to the rental car store, since their flight had been changed to land at a different airport that didn't have car rentals nearby. An offer delivered much to his own shock, if he was honest. And surprisingly, they accepted.
Even more surprisingly, it had been Runaan who first agreed.
By the time they reached the end of Rayla's list, Callum found that he was actually… pretty relaxed as he talked with the two men. There were still awkward pauses and the occasional pocket of tension, but Ethari expertly guided the conversation through them.
"I think we've covered everything," Callum said, double-checking his phone to make sure nothing had been skipped over or forgotten. He'd chosen to avoid bringing up his father's dinner invitation, though. He figured Rayla or Harrow himself should be the one to introduce that. "Thank you for helping with this, and sorry it took longer than expected."
The tangents they'd drifted off on every now and then had added nearly a half hour to his initial estimation. Still, Callum considered it a positive that the men were even willing to have tangential conversations with him. Most were initiated by Ethari, of course, but even Runaan had gotten distracted once or twice when Rayla or her hobbies were mentioned.
"It was our pleasure, Callum," Ethari said warmly. "And thank you for looking after Rayla today. It's reassuring to know she's in such good hands." He then turned to look at his husband expectantly. "Runaan? Anything you want to say?"
Runaan sighed, uncrossing his arms from over his chest. "I may have judged you too harshly in our previous meeting," he admitted. "You seem to care deeply for Rayla, and you clearly know her well. She herself has stated to us numerous times how important you are to her. So…" He hesitated, then said, "Thank you. For being with her. Today and every other day."
Callum couldn't stop himself from beaming at the praise. "Thank you, sir. I hope the both of you know how important you are to Rayla, too. She's so excited to see you guys again."
A soft smile flitted onto Runaan's lips. "We've missed her terribly."
Callum returned the smile with a gentle one of his own. "She's missed you, too."
The silence that followed was, for the first time, a peaceful one, only broken when Ethari reminded Runaan that they had to leave to meet with their friend Janai soon. They all exchanged goodbyes, and before Callum knew it, the call had ended. He slowly closed Rayla's laptop before detaching his headphones from the plugin.
He'd done it.
Wow.
Maybe their arrival in Katolis wouldn't be so bad after all.
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It's glaringly obvious that I wrote this chapter after the SPOP finale dropped, lmao. (I do love cramming my personal interests into everything I write!) And yay! Callum is on better terms with Runaan! Finally, lol. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter - the championship game is getting closer and closer, isn't it? ;) Au revoir! See y'all next week!
