I felt the love and here is the next chapter. I'm glad you guys liked it because I was on the fence about the Mark and Arizona being related thing! I'm sorry I didn't have time to respond to your reviews so I'm going to do it here. Thank you! It's really appreciated. As requested, this chapter is just as long as the last. It's actually a tiny bit longer! Hope you like! ;)
P.S. I like your picture too TakeOffMyGauzepaws!
"Aren't you going to say hi? I said this is my cousin, Arizona."
A hand waved in front of me. "Callie?" I'm pretty sure it was Cristina.
"Huh?"
Was I staring?
"Are you okay?" Mark asked, staring at me funny.
I cleared my throat. "Yea...I'm still just a little overwhelmed...with the whole surprise party thing. What did you say?" I asked.
He shrugged it off and continued with the introduction. "This is my cousin, Arizona, from Chicago." He smiles and pushes her forward. "Arizona, this is my girlfriend, Callie."
She shook my hand and showed off her dimples in full force. I couldn't help but stare again. She's so...breathtaking.
Her eyes were the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I could stare into them forever. But the most adorable thing I've ever seen shows up when she smiles.
The dimples.
I shook my head and focused on not staring again.
Then I hear her voice. "I've heard so much about you." She smiles sweetly and I get a little light headed.
"R-really?" I look up at Mark and he's smiling proudly. "I haven't really heard about you." I give Mark a dirty look for not ever mentioning his beautiful cousin.
She looks at Mark angrily then elbows him in the stomach. "Ooww!" Mark grunts.
"Why haven't you mentioned me before?" She asked, in a playful manner that was making me get tingles inside.
"I don't know...I forgot." He said, and then stuck his tongue out at her while she just glared at him.
"Sup, I'm Cristina." She said boredly, slightly waving her hand.
Arizona waves back kindly. "Hi, I'm Arizona."
Cristina chuckles. "Yeah, I heard. What were your parents smoking?"
Wow. How did I not see that coming?
Arizona's eyes go wide.
"Cristina!" I snap.
"You're such an ass, Yang!" Mark barked.
"Come on! Relax, blondie knows I'm joking."
I turn to Arizona and she clears her throat. "Yeah, of course, it's fine….I just hope you learn from your parent's mistakes...and use birth control."
Cristina's mouth falls open just like mine while Mark erupts into laughter then grabs Arizona into a tight hug. "I've missed you, Robbins!" He says in between laughs and I join in on the laughter.
She's clever, beautiful and has a great personality. Can it get any better?
"Mark, can't breathe." She gasps and Mark finally lets go. "Oops, sorry...I just forgot to say how much I've missed you."
She smiles up at him. "I've missed you too."
I can see that they're really close. They must have grown up together. It makes me feel happy to see the special bond these two have….It's just so warm.
I look at Cristina and she's smirking. "I like you." She says to Arizona.
"I like you too."
I feel myself being wrapped into another quick hug. "Happy birthday, sis." She winks at me before turning her attention to Mark and Arizona.
"There you are!" I hear Mark say and Arizona elbows him in the ribs. "Oow." He rubs his side.
What was that? Why was Mark looking for Aria?
Aria just ignores him. "Hi there." She reaches out her hand for Arizona to shake. She has a huge smile on her face...and I recognize that smile.
I hate that smile. It always means trouble.
Aria is older then me, but not by much. She's eighteen and a Senior at Seattle Grace High. I, as you know, am seventeen now and only a Junior.
"Hi." Arizona shakes her hand with that same smile she gave me a few minutes ago. I felt bothered by that smile being aimed toward someone else.
"I'm Aria."
"I'm Arizona."
"You have a very captivating name, Arizona." She's says her name sensually and I hear Cristina snicker in the background.
"You have a pretty captivating name yourself."
Aria is still holding her hand and Arizona is still giving her that same smile.
"Why is this bothering me so much?"
I don't know, but I can't stand to see it any longer.
So I step in front of Aria, breaking their linked hands. "Ya know, it's okay that Mark never mentioned you before. Now we can get to know each other." I say, giving her my best megawatt smile.
She smiles at me again and I get butterflies all over.
Wow. I love this feeling.
"I knew you guys would get along great." Mark said, and then winked at me.
"Yea, if you want I could give you a tour around town and show you what we do for fun around here." Aria said from behind me and she was starting to get on my nerves.
"Um, that would be great." She said to Aria and it made me jealous that Aria would be the one to show her around and not me.
Then she faces me again and I get excited, just like when a puppy sees his owner. "I have to go though." I frown. "The birthday girl took forever getting home and I lost track of the time." She's smiling at me with a playful glint in her eyes. All I can do is smile back. "I hope you get everything you wished for." Then she leans in and gives me a hug.
I close my eyes and take in her scent. It was amazing. It made me sad that she was leaving. I didn't want to let go, but then she pulled back and gave me that enticing smile again. "Thanks for having me."
"Why are you leaving?" Mark says in a whiny voice, also not wanting his cousin to leave.
"Yea, you should stay a little longer." Aria says, butting in again.
"I wish I could, but my parents are leaving tonight and I need to say good bye."
Now I'm confused.
"Oh that's right, I forgot! I have to leave too." Mark says, and now I'm really confused.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"I have to say bye to Uncle Dan and Aunt Barbara. They were only staying for a week."
"Yeah, they're going back to Chicago tonight."
"Aaww, so you're leaving?" Aria says, beating me to it.
Arizona just grins. "No, only them. I'm staying." Hearing her say that brought an immense feeling of joy inside of me.
But why were her parents leaving and she wasn't going with them? I'll have to find that out later.
Then I realized something and I turned around to slap Mark on the arm. "Oww!"
"I'm sorry that I have to go, baby." He puts his hands around my waist and pulls me close. "I'll be back when everyone is gone so I can give you your present." He says seductively into my ear.
"That's not why I hit you."
He looks at me confused. "Then why did you hit me?"
"Your cousin has been here for a week and you haven't introduced us!"
I hear Arizona giggle and it brings a smile to my face. It was an amazing felling making her laugh.
Then I see Aria saying her good byes to Arizona with a tight hug and I get bothered again by their closeness. Mark is whispering things into my ear, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying. I was more focused on the sight in front of me.
Aria is whispering something in Arizona's ear, then Arizona pulls her head back and laughs. My hands tighten up into fists.
"Sooo, yes?" Mark says, staring at me, waiting for an answer.
"What the hell did he say?"
"Uh." I stare at him blankly. "...Yea."
I look back and now she is saying good bye to Cristina. I feel a relief that she's away from Aria. They shack hands and Cristina is saying something to her while she's just looking at her a little confused. Then they both smile at each other then she starts walking our way.
"Let's go loser." Arizona says to Mark, shoving his arm.
"Okay, okay." Mark gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Bye babe." Then he nudges Arizona on the shoulder. "Let's go, Robbins."
As they're both walking out the door, Arizona turns around. "Nice to meet you, Calliope." Then she winks at me, making the butterflies go crazy.
Wait, did she just call me Calliope?
Arizona's POV
"So where's this gorgeous Latina that has my favorite cousin all mushy and in love." I tease, poking his ribs.
"She should be here in a couple of minuets. We called the friend she's with and told her that we're all set." He says, rubbing his hands together in excitement, waiting for the front door to open.
I laugh. "Geez Mark, I've never seen you like this for any girl."
"Because she's not just any girl. She's the girl." He smiles a smile I've never seen him wear as he continues staring at the door. "I can feel it. She just makes me feel...I don't know! I can't explain it.
I grin at my baffled Cousin. "Does your stomach do flip-flops when you're with her, Mark?"
He finally turns to me, looking at me like if I just solved a mysterious case.
"Yeah, it does."
"Do you get happier just when she walks into the room?"
His eye brows fly up in thought. "All the time."
"Is she the only person you want to be with?" I eye him suspiciously and he paused looking away a little puzzled. Mark has always been a man-whore. He would jump from girl to girl and never held on to a girlfriend that long because of it, so his answer was a real shocker to me.
"Yeah." My mouth hung open.
"Wow, Sloan. I guess you really are in love." I say, shaking his shoulder and he smiles at me.
"You think so?"
"Yup, you know I'm always right about these things." I wink at him and his smile grows wider. "Yeah, you are."
"Wait, I wouldn't want you getting hurt. How does she feel about you?
He thinks for a few seconds then his smile comes back. "She has said she loves me."
I throw my arms around him and he does the same to me. "I'm so happy for you, Mark!" He hugs me a little tighter, then takes a deep breath and lets it out before releasing me. "Thanks."
Mark has been there for me in one of the toughest moments of my life, so it brings me joy to see him so happy. We grew up together when we were kids. It was always me, my brother and Mark, but his dad ended up getting a job here in Seattle, so they moved away when I was seven. After that we only ended up seeing each other on holidays and vacations. When we got older we called and emailed each other more frequently. When my brother died two years ago, he flew to Chicago and stayed with me all summer. He took care of me and helped me get threw it. He never left my side. It still hurts, it will always hurt, but I don't know what I would have done without him that summer. He loved Danny like a brother and I didn't notice that he had pushed his pain aside to make sure I was okay until I found him crying in our backyard one day.
"I miss him." He says, sobbing into his hands.
My eyes quickly tear up and I wrap him into an embrace. He hugs me tight, painfully tight, but it didn't matter. He was there for me and I was going to be there for him.
"He-He was my best friend. The both of you….an-and now he's gone!" He weeps and I hold him tighter, his tears staining my shirt and my tears doing the same to his.
"I-I know Mark, I know…It's going to be okay. I promise."
"Do-do you think….he's okay?"
"Yeah." I sniffle. "Of course, Mark….Of course he is."
"How do know?" He whispers, he's still hugging me but I feel him relax a bit in my arms and I know he's going to be okay.
"You know I'm always right about these things."
We ended up getting drunk that night. We were with some of Danny's friends from high school who always came by the house so I knew them pretty well. It wasn't my idea, but it's what Mark needed and I was going to be there for him no matter what. It was actually pretty nice. We talked about him for hours, we shared our favorite stories about him and we laughed at all the fun memories. It was all about Danny that night and I couldn't be any happier just talking about how amazing he was.
He ended up being way more wasted then I was so I had to carry him home and make sure my parents didn't hear us. Thank god they didn't and I managed to get him into the guest room that had been his room for the past couple of weeks, and I threw him on the bed. I took his shoes off and tucked him in when he grabbed my wrist just as I was about to leave.
"You're all I have left." He slurred. "You're my sister now…Don't forget that I love you." He said those final words then drifted to sleep.
"You're always going to be a brother to me, Mark. I love you too."
"I can't wait for you to meet her!" He says, joyfully. "I just know you're gonna like her." He winks at me.
"How do you know that? What if I hate her?" I say playfully, but his face falls and I realize now just how much he really wants me to get along with her.
"Mark, she sounds amazing and I'm sure I'm gonna like her."
He smiles. "You better."
"And besides, you said she's hot, right?" I wink at him.
"Ooh yeah, she smokin' hot-hey don't even think about it, Robbins." He points his finger at me and I just wiggle my eyebrows.
"There is no way I'm letting that happen again."
I giggle. "What may you be talking about, Sloan?" I say coyly.
"Don't play dumb, Robbins." He shoves me playfully. "Christmas." He cocks and eyebrow. "Three years ago." He pauses for effect. "You and my girlfriend under the mistletoe."
I start laughing. "Oh come on! She wasn't even your girlfriend!"
"She was too."
"Well that's not what she told me." I say, smugly.
He chuckles then shakes his head. "Whatever, Zona, Callie is one hundred percent straight anyway, so you don't even have a chance."
"You sure about that, Mark?"
"How can she not when she has all of this?" He says, flexing his muscles and we busted out laughing. We both new it was all in good fun and I would never do something like that to Mark anyway. That one time that it did happen, she did seriously tell me that she wasn't his girlfriend. She said they were just friends.
"Well that's funny because I'm pretty sure Kelly had 'all of that' and she still came to me." I grin triumphantly.
He raises an eyebrow. "How do you still remember her name? I didn't even remember."
I roll my eyes. "You're such a whore, Mark."
"Hey, hey. Not anymore." He crosses his arms over his chest proudly, then I see a light go off in his head.
"Oh my god!" He almost yells into my face and my eyes go wide as I look around at the people who are staring at us.
He looks around too, realizing his mishap. "Oops." We both just smile awkwardly at the crowd until they got back to doing whatever it was they were doing.
I smack his arm. "What the hell is wrong with you!" I say between gritted teeth.
"Oow, sorry. It's just that I have the best idea in world!"
I roll my eyes and cross my hands over my chest. "What it is? What is your brilliant idea now?"
"We can be in-laws!" He said excitedly and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Callie's sister!" He looks around in an attempt in finding her. "Damn, were is she? Probably in her room." He said to himself.
"Mark, stop. What the hell are you talking about?"
He gives me a big toothy grin. "She's into chicks." He whispers.
Why the hell is he whispering?
"What? Who?" I whisper only because he did.
"Callie's sister." He tells me like if it's so obvious.
"Why are we whispering?"
"The Mr. and Mrs. don't know about their older daughters rendezvous with other girls."
"Oh."
"They're old school Christians so they'd probably cut her head off if they ever found out."
"…So why the hell would I want to get involved with that?"
"Because she's hot!" He grins. "And older."
I roll my eyes and shake my head just as the lights go out and Callie's mother tells everyone to hide.
Me and Mark crouch down next to the sofa. "Older Torres is hot, but there's no beating my Callie." He whispers to me and I hear talking from outside the door. It sounds more like an argument.
"She's that hot, huh?" I chuckle.
"Ooh, yeah."
"Well we'll just see about that." I say and the door finally swings open, revealing two dark figures standing in the door way.
I can't see their faces because they haven't turned the lights on yet, but they're both just standing there.
"Don't forget I warned you, Robbins." He whispers to me with his eyes glued on the door way. "You'll probably end up falling in love with her too." He says with a playful grin.
"Ha, yeah, that'll never happen." I roll my eyes at my cousin's silly joke and the lights finally go on.
"SURPRISE!" I was still crouched down when everyone had popped out and screamed surprise so the birthday girl was still out of sight. The crowd laughs and I finally get past some really tall guy and my breath hitched in my throat as my eyes laid on her.
My heart started pounding in an alarming rate and my stomach is flopping around wildly. I don't even hear the crowd around me anymore.
She's miraculous,breathtakingly stunning.
I'm planted to the ground just staring, admiring. But something takes me out of my trance and a flash of devastation washes over me.
He wraps his arms around her and starts spinning her around the room.
I felt like something had been ripped away from me, and it had been ripped from somewhere deep down in my soul. I finally realize that my vision was blurry when I felt the hot tears running down my cheeks. Too many emotions had hit me all at once and I steadied my trembling legs that had wanted to crumble beneath me. I run away from the sight and quickly find the bathroom.
It all feels so unreal. I grip the sink and stare at my distraught reflection, letting everything sink in.
"...Shit!"
I have to apologize because I feel like I did a really crappy job writing this chapter. There were parts I didn't really like and didn't go back to fix them. It's probably because I'm tired and I just wanted to get this chapter up for you guys! I hope it wasn't too bad, just let me know!
I wanted to show Mark's and Arizona's relationship in this chapter and just how much they care for each other because it's going to play a big role in the future. I hope I did okay with Arizona's emotions in this chapter. It was love at first site for both of them and Arizona is the one that truly recognizes it while Callie doesn't really know what she's feeling because it's for a girl.
Reviews keep me going so please continue and tell me what you think!