"Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
The smell of dried grass and straw, the sun beating down on their backs with no sign of backing down at any moment, the sight of large white tents and several attraction rides greeted and the mix of chatter, children's laughter and screams greeted the two teenagers at the entrance. With every step she took, deeper into the grid of tents and crowds of people,Arizona could feel the crackle of the ground beneath her. She could feel her heart jump every time somebody brushed passed her, every fiber down to the actin and myosin in her muscles felt on edge. Her body ready to pump cortisol and adrenaline any minute now.
Callie on the other hand was loving this, she loved the atmosphere and the electricity that came along with it. She loved the clowns with their rainbow hair and obnoxiously large red noses that stood at every corner, she loved the greasy food and all the sweet treats that would surely rot all her teeth. Mostly she loved it because it was the one place her family was normal, not the well kept family who sat at tables that had five different types of forks.
The two lazily strolled by the stalls, thumbing through the intricate products each one had to offer. Arizona watched as Callie kept looking at the largest and fluffiest teddy bear, well that and a simple silver ring that had a a few diamonds on it and made it a point to come back here.
Coming up to the cotton candy stall, Arizona noticed how Callie began to walk a little faster and had a gleam in her eyes.
"Hey Matt, Please can I have two bags" She politely asked while handing the man the money
"Sure thing Cal, hey Arizona, fancy seeing you here" he smiled, dimples popping. He was also the local librarian and often saw the young blonde in and out of the place.
"Hi Matt." She said shyly "Yeah I just came with Callie for a day out, she's going to help me get over my fear of the place."
"Thats awesome" he beamed as he flipped one of his blond locks behind his ear "Enjoy your day guys"
Being a small town, everyone knew the everyone else's business and everyone had a soft spot for the blonde genius and were silently rooting for her to finally admit her feelings for Callie. They had all watched the two grow up, joint at the hip from the moment they could move. What surprised them was the complete opposite nature of the two. Their interests would have them seem as though they were oil and water. Everyone was grateful to find that the two instead managed to balance each other out, Callie getting Arizona educated on social norms and getting her to be more aware of her emotions and Arizona teaching Callie how to not be as reckless and managing to miraculously calm the Latina down
As they continued walking, they smiled and greeted everyone that they knew and Callie had finally managed to rip open her bag of cotton candy
"Did you know that it was actually a dentist Dr. William Morrison and a candy maker who actually invented cotton candy in 1897. And then some time later it was another dentist Dr. Josef Lascaux who refined it." Arizona spouted out as she stuffed chunks of the sugary treat down her throat
"Really?" Callie sarcastically replied and Arizona smiled unknowing of her best friend's fake enthusiasm
"Yeah! Can you believe it."
"No I really can't. And to think of all the times Dentist Rowland gave me crap about having too many sweets"
"Also in England they call it candy floss. But onto the more interesting stuff"
"Yay" Callie deadpanned. She loved Arizona, she really did. But in this moment she just wanted to eat her cotton candy and savor it
"They use the same technique to make polyester thread so that they can weave it into cloth and….. I'm boring you, aren't I?" Arizona realized, before looking down and then beginning to fumble with her own packet
"Just a little, But I promise I appreciate cotton candy more now knowing all that stuff. Why don't we go try one of the rides now?"
Just as Arizona was about to respond, she saw someone come up behind Callie and wrap their arm around her shoulder. If there was one more reason to hate the boy, it would've been how easy being affectionate was for him, even if Callie didn't like it, but still
"Listen Dweeb, why don't you run along to the library because Callie and I are going to spend the day together now and nobody likes a third wheel do they?" He said with a cocky smirk, one arm still around Callie's shoulder and the other shoved into the front pocket of his jeans.
Arizona had to give the boy some credit, he was attractive on most standards; athletically built, confident, clear faced and most of the girls her age would pine for him. What interested Arizona was how Callie didn't seem to brush his arm off of her. Did Callie want to spend the day with him? Probably, he was more interesting and she wouldn't have to hold his hand through the day or comfort his fears before going onto a ride.
Surprising herself, Arizona spoke up with confidence "Why don't you let Callie decide what she wants to do"
"Please a day with me is far more interesting than a school trip with you, and unlike you I actually have something to offer Callie" he smirked at himself. Callie at this point had watched the two argue and had been particularly stunned by Arizona speaking up for herself. Pleasantly so. She moved to stand next to Arizona and wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulder before nonchalantly saying "Pass" and guiding Arizona away from the boy.
The boy, however could not take the hint "Ahhh come on Cal, come be with me for the day, I promise I can make it worth your while" He grinned lecherously and before Callie had the chance to speak, Arizona stepped forward
"Dylan, you're primitive brain may not have grasped the concept of rejection or consent yet so let me put it simply for you to understand. When a woman says no, it means no. Period. End of story. She's not playing hard to get or waiting for you to force her to change her mind, it means she is not interested. This is not some game where she judges you based on how hard you try to get her attention, which in all honesty is quite pathetic." Arizona says, her voice unnervingly calm and her blue eyes steeled onto the boy in front of her. By the time she is finished the boy, Dylan, furiously stomps off and Arizona's speech had gotten some on lookers. Arizona felt the tension leave her body as she turned to look at Callie "Ready to have some fun?" she smiles
"That was awesome! OH MY GOSH! yeah we're going to the ferris wheel first" Callie exclaimed, her hand intertwining with Arizona's as she pulled them toward the ride.
"Scientifically I know that this is safe but what if..."
"Arizona we'll be fine, I promise. This thing gives the best view of the whole town"
The rest of the day went off without a hitch and Arizona found herself sad to actually leave the place when it was closing
"Admit it, you like Carnivals now" Callie gloated
"Yeah I do" Arizona admitted shyly, loving the way their laced hands were swinging between them. It was getting quite dark and the pair could see the sun setting. "Race you to Hogg's Hill" Callie yelled as she took off, Arizona now trailing slightly behind
The two watched as the sun slowly set. "Thank you for today, I think I really needed it" Callie admitted quietly "I think its time to focus on me and school this year. Can you believe it's our last year and then college?" the brunette focused on the scenery in front of her "Finally going out into the big bad world to make a name for ourselves"
"Any idea where you're going to go" Arizona asks. She herself had received many offers and scholarships but she wanted to go wherever Callie went. They both wanted to become surgeons, both enraptured by the thought of slowly healing the world.
"I'm not really sure, Hopkins is a great program and so is Stanford, Dartmouth looks cool but they are all really hard to get into."
"Don't worry you're smart and they would be luck to have you and you know you're smart enough to easily make it into any school of your choice" Arizona shoulder bumped the brunette. They stayed there until the sun had set, enjoying each others company
Walking back to their house, Callie looked over at Arizona "So they really used the cotton candy technique to improve clothes?"
Arizona smiled and began spouting out how it was done while Callie intently listened. She loved the way Arizona would get all excited about a topic and how animated she would become, her hands would fly everywhere trying to mimic the process.