Episode 25

"What's that?"

It's not a matter of hearing him correctly or not, Stef has to ask again just to see if it's real, to see if this is really happening. It's not the biggest of surprises, but it sits heavy on her chest, as suddenly the air in the room is heavier than the room itself. For a beat, nobody says anything, not even Jude, and then Brandon steps forward into the kitchen, gingerly, as if testing the ground, and says, "We're not, mom. Callie and I...barely talk."

Jude scoffs, and the room is alive again, time thaws and the broken silence pops Stef's clogged ears. Lena, clearly too pensive or shocked to say anything, just stands there with open eyes and pursed lips. Jude goes on, not so much bitterly as matter-of-factly. "They are. Mariana has seen them."

Brandon shakes his head furiously, buying time to think of what would sound more convincing, when Mariana squeezes into the kitchen, having heard the mention of her name on the way downstairs. "What?" she flounders, barely containing the glare she wants to shoot Jude. "I've never..."

"Seen them doing what, Jude?" Stef ignores her youngest, focusing her attention of the young boy, who would never in his wildest dreams come forward with such a story about his own sister, unless it were absolutely true.

"Is this true, Brandon?" Lena finally asks, all inquisition from her voice missing, instead, her stony exterior seems to be affecting her vocal chords, too. "Because if so, we're going to need Callie down here right now."

"She's seen them hugging, and kissing, and I've noticed it, too," Jude rambles on, and all Brandon can do is just stand there and pretend what Jude is saying is the most absurd thing he's ever heard, and wear a face that says the notion of him and Callie being together is absolutely disgusting. He can't seem to get a word in edgewise for his defense, either, and soon Lena is yelling for Callie to come downstairs, her visage completely unrecognizable. In fact, she seems perhaps angrier than Stef, who is usually the hotter head of the two.

"This is a bunch of bullshit." Brandon squeezes in when Mariana's not protesting against Jude's mention of her knowing anything, and when his moms aren't bombarding him with the same question over and over again, and when Jude's not spilling all his secrets. Looking down at the boy, he sees someone else. The risk of Jude telling his moms was always very real, but there was always that gleam in his eyes, that look in his face, that gave Brandon some consolation. Jude is never out to get anyone, at least, he never was, so he can't seem to figure out what has changed, what's different now.

Stef raises an eyebrow, only interested by Brandon's continuous denial. "Is it?"

"This is for Callie." Brandon recalls him saying suddenly, and then he gets it. Jude thinks this'll get Callie out of the house, that this will get her where she wants to be. That was the plan all along, at least, but it was only in pre-production. They never talked about how they would come about it, they never talked about the best method, and now something has happened that has set him off and made him decide to take matters in his own hands.

But this isn't the right way, in fact, this will only set them back.

"What's going on?"

Brandon practically jumps out of his skin and turns to watch as she warily steps into the room, a wall of kids parting to let her enter, though his eyes burn the most on her skin. She wraps her arms around herself, hiding her goosebumps in her sweater sleeves, though the stares she's earning from both moms won't allow them a chance to depart. "Liam." she says so positively that she actually begins to tear up a bit, then turns around to scrutinize everyone. "Is everyone okay? Did he-"

"Liam?" Jude asks uneasily, incertitude masking his features. "What do you mean Liam?"

Callie flips back to Stef and Lena, whose faces tell her that they haven't actually gotten the chance to tell Jude yet, and she keeps her back to her younger brother to avoid his dreadful expression, and Stef, figuring that coming out with it quickly is the best way to get off the topic, admits, "We've just been told that you and Brandon are together, Callie, is this true?"

"Of course not-"

"We're asking Callie, Brandon," Lena snaps, and the older boy shuts up, and while Callie steps forward to wrap her fingers around a box on the counter and grabs both mom's attention, Brandon leans down and demands forcefully in whisper to Jude, "What were you thinking?"

"She's not happy here, and not with you," he reasons impassively, watching the wordless scene unfold before him. Brandon tries to say something more but Mariana seizes his arm and his attention as Callie turns back, looks longingly at the tall boy in the middle, seeming to foreshadow something, then confesses self-condemningly, "Yeah, it's true."

Lena fixes Brandon with a surprised scowl. "You lied to us."

Head first, Brandon starts to swoop away, looking petulant, when Stef objects and commands, "Nope, you stay here. The rest of you leave. Tell Jesus dinner will be a little later tonight. You two finish your homework if you haven't."

Before Mariana and Jude are even ambling up the steps Lena starts her tirade, her usually friendly eyes glossed with disappointment, her usually kind lips spewing words of indignation. "You knew! You both knew you couldn't and you still did and you leave both of us in a very difficult situation!" Callie flinches slightly as she steps back and starts pacing behind a very stoic Stef, "Brandon, I expected better from you, I'm sure you're aware that this whole thing threatens Callie's place in this house, and-"

"I knew," Callie interjects swiftly, voice small but steady, eyes bouncing back in forth between the two moms, one falling silent while the other remains silent. "I knew what it would do and I could've told him that we couldn't do it anymore but I didn't."

"She did." Brandon steps up, meeting Callie at the other side of the counter, both taking their turn at hero, both trying to take the blame. "She did tell me, but I didn't really...I couldn't..."

Callie peeks at Brandon, face full of penitence. "I couldn't either."

Lena, suddenly grown mute, exchanges a softened glance with Stef, alleviating some of the suspense that has befallen the room. Stef shuts her eyes and sighs, and only the ticking clock can be heard for a couple of moments before she says to her wife, "You can't help who you love, Lena."

"They're just kids." Lena opposes, shaking her head. "They can't even make up their minds about what they want for breakfast."

Stef and Lena lower their voices, talking quietly amongst themselves, and Brandon and Callie take this opportunity to discuss what's going on, both aware that they're possibly having their last conversation for a while, so Callie grabs one of his hands, the more concealed one, and squeezes her fingers around his own, looking up at him with gloomy eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Why did you tell them? I just," he makes sure his parents are still talking to each other before saying a little quieter, "I just need to know if I ever made you feel like...you know, you had to do this. If I ever-"

"Brandon, no," Callie whispers through gritted teeth, appalled that he would suggest such a thing, "You never made me uncomfortable. Never. But the moment Jude told them, we were sunk. I have to be honest if I want to stay in this house."

"Stay? But I thought you said-"

"I know, but Liam is real. I can't...you know what this means for us."

Though forlorn, Brandon manages to nod his head, agreeing dejectedly, "I know, I'd rather have you safe. Nothing is forever, anyway."

"No, we can be. Now is just not the time for any of this, it never was." she disagrees, eager to lift his spirits, but then Stef is clearing her throat and they nearly jump apart, her fingers cold again out in the open air, his body heat missing from her side as the space between them grows.

"Just because we understand doesn't mean we approve of it," Stef explains, suspicion flashing through her eyes at their momentary engagement that did not go unnoticed. "And we can't allow it if Callie wants to stay in this home. So, unfortunately,"

"You lost our trust." Lena finishes for her curtly, shrugging blatantly. "And it'll take a while before we believe that there's nothing go on between you two."

"There's not. I mean, there won't be." Callie promises, but Lena goes on, obviously not buying it, never faltering. Their plans are set in stone, anyway. "Brandon, you're going to move in with your father."

"What?" he gapes, utterly astonished. He shakes his head rapidly while challenging, "No, I'm not going to stay with that alcoholic!"

"He's better now, Brandon. You haven't seen him." Stef says gently, afraid this would happen. "He's been sober for a while. He's in AA and he's got a temporary job, and a girlfriend. If he can be good enough for a girlfriend-"

"Then he can be good enough for me?" Brandon laughs bitterly, almost forgetting about the girl next to him, who casts him a warning look, and then he remembers that he doesn't have a choice. If he ever wants a choice again, in anything, he's going to have to do what they say. "Whatever. If it means that you'll keep Callie."

"We never planned on sending her away, Brandon, and I hope you know that, Callie. This doesn't change how we feel about you, it just throws a bit of a wrench in the works, that's all." Stef tells them, before pressing a palm to her forehead. "Anyway, we think it'll be good for both of you, Brandon. Your father needs you and whether you'll admit it or not, you need him. You'll keep each other on track."

"As for school," Lena takes over, running her own hands through her messy locks. "Expect one of your schedules to change. No classes together, and the music teacher will be expecting you every day at lunch from now on, Brandon."

Callie seems to have no qualms about this, but Brandon's eyebrows meet in the middle, ruffled with bewilderment. "Wait a minute, we can't see each other at all? We are friends, you know."

"That's a stretch." Lena deadpans before Stef has the chance to say anything, though she ends up adding a little nicer than her spouse, "Don't push your luck."

"I'll take it." Callie agrees, eager to please, anxious to start earning back their trust, and Brandon, though moving on was a mutual agreement, can't help but look down at her with rancor. "I am sorry. I really didn't know all of this would happen."

"You're excused." Stef says in a low voice, then regards Brandon. "You can start packing up what you want, I'll call up your father right now."

The two exit the room, a mere feet apart, and Lena watches them vigilantly until they're out of sight, turning to her wife with a loud groan before placing her head in her hands on the counter. "I hate when I'm right."

"I hate when you're right, too." Stef agrees, eyes sparkling with the first spot of humor, though they quickly fade when she has to ask, "You think they'll try anything while they're up there?"

Lena lifts her head, fairly certain as she replies, "No, I don't think they'd dare to."

"Well, if I were them I'd be pretty scared of you," Stef admits, feigning innocence when she shoots her a cautionary glare. "I don't blame you, hon, but you've been on edge these past few days, you're unlike yourself."

Lena would rather not venture there today, so instead of spilling about what's actually been bothering her, she shakes it out of her mind and instead settles on a very vague, universal question, applicable to the situation at hand, "I just feel that love shouldn't have to mean that somebody gets hurt."

Stef, after a few moments of contemplation, decides that this isn't actually what has her worked up, but indulges her anyway, since she knows neither are rested up enough for more conflict, and offers, "Well, unfortunately, sometimes someone has to."

"Callie," Jude says urgently, stepping into her room uninvited, though it is really Mariana's room, and she doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact, Callie feels almost out of her body, not used to feeling so much disappointment with her brother. It's usually the other way around. Not that she prefers it, but she's never been good with unfamiliarity. "Why is Brandon packing?"

"Brandon's packing?" Mariana sits up on her bed, and now two pairs of eyes are on Callie as she scribbles away in her notebook, meeting neither of them. "Where is he going?"

"Uh...to live with his dad." Callie says as evenly as possible, running her tongue over her lips to supply them some moisture. Still not looking up, she goes on further to say, "It was pretty much him or me so I'd say your moms are being kinda fair."

"Why didn't you offer to leave?" Jude asks, sounding unnaturally angry, and Callie finally looks up, baffled about the whole thing. Who is this kid and what has he done with her brother? Why does he want her gone? She shivers, physically hurting, and rubs at her arms to warm them up as best as she can. "I don't know...do you want me to?"

She's almost hoping he doesn't answer, not sure if she'll be able to handle his thoughts on the subject, but he does answer, and though it doesn't make her want to hide away for a good while, it does nothing to dissolve her confusion. "No, you want to!"

"What are you talking about, Jude?"

He turns to Mariana. "I didn't mean to get Brandon sent away, I'm sorry, Mariana, I thought they would send Callie away." Heartbreak flashes across his sister's eyes and he adds quickly, "Brandon said you didn't want to be here. And I want you to be happy, so I told them about you and Brandon so that they'd send you away!"

"Oh my God, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Mariana stands from her bed, shaking her head, clearly upset, though she directs her attention at Callie when she says, "But I knew you two would screw everything up. Nobody ever listens to me."

She storms out, not waiting around for any reply from Callie, though she has nothing to say, anyway. She presses her back into the wall as hard as she can, hoping it'll just swallow her up, hoping it'll turn into quicksand and she'll just sink inside of it. But it doesn't, and she won't, so she spares her brother one last glance before trying to focus back on her homework, though her thoughts and emotions are running wild.

"I'm sorry, Callie."

His sister says nothing.

"All I've ever done is hurt you."

He's on the verge of crying now, and though she doesn't feel the urge to comfort him, the instinct still eats away at her, and she stands quickly from her bed and rushes to him, engulfing him in her arms and spilling lies, spilling such pretty little lies she can't help but eventually believe them herself. "No, no, all I've ever done is hurt myself."

"I can't get anything right."

"Listen, Jude," she holds him at arms length and sets him with a frown, "If you have to give something all you've got to get it right, if you've got to bust your butt you make it work, maybe it's not worth it." He raises an eyebrow slightly so she clarifies, "I'd rather have an imperfect Jude that has preferences and opinions and thoughts than a perfect Jude that only goes with what everyone else wants, what everybody else tells him. So if you did what you did because you don't agree with me and Brandon then I don't blame you, and I won't hold it against you."

He shakes his head. "I mean, I don't really like the idea of you two but I did it because I thought you weren't happy with him. I thought you weren't happy here."

"If I left, I'd never be happy. At least here, with my brother, my actual family, I have the chance to try." She exhales softly and pulls him to her again, hoping she's convincing him better than she's convincing herself. "Maybe you even did me a favor."

She knows he only did her in.

"Hi."

She wasn't expecting anyone today, at least not right now, as she's just entering school, and this stranger's presence throws her off so that she jumps a bit as he walks alongside her, smiling like a goof at her reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Callie hikes her backpack further up, lips pressed together in hopes he'll take a hint and leave. Instead, he takes her silence as an invitation to blabber on, and goes on to introduce himself as Elijah, just Elijah, no last name, a new kid from Arizona. She feels obligated to at least welcome him, as that's what she would want if she had just moved from another state with no friends, but has a feeling he'll only take it as her wanting him to grace her with his company, and right now, she thinks she'd rather be alone.

"Do you have a name or should I just call you Student #1?"

She casts him a mystified glance, surprised he's stuck around this long, having trailed her all the way to her locker. While his persistence and determination is admirable, she feels inclined to let him know that she's not into it. "This isn't a movie, and if it were, I wouldn't just be an extra."

He beams while she spins open her locker, clearly more amused by her crack than her. "Good to see you're not mute. I was kind of hoping someone could tell me where my first class is. And my second, and my third."

"You skipping fourth?" she questions, though her deadpan delivery is what gets him. "I don't remember volunteering for that position, though, but thanks for asking. Maybe try Student #2?"

She shuts her locker and starts off, content on leaving him the dust, sure that with his personality he'll be able to find someone else to show him around, but her best escape maneuver doesn't seem to be working, as he's at her side again, grinning from ear to ear. She smiles slightly, though mostly at his doggedness. "Look, you seem nice, but I kinda just want to be alone."

He blinks a couple of times, his piercing gray eyes seeming to rip through the charade, uncovering all hidden things, all her secrets. "I know you don't actually want to be alone, nobody does. Why don't we help each other out today? You don't have to be lonely, and I don't have to be lost."

She racks her brain for reasons why she shouldn't show him around and finds nothing. She's not bound to hang out with anybody today, and she knows what happens when silence sets in, when she has the chance to be alone to her thoughts- she overthinks. Everything. And knowing her, she'll start regretting decisions. Every one of them. She'll probably start regretting her whole life. And since she doesn't want that- she's been there, done that, enough times already- that leaves only a couple more options open: hang out with Jude, or hang out with Elijah. She can't see Brandon, that's a given, and hanging with Mariana leaves much to be desired. Jesus has been withdrawn for a while now, and while Jude believes they're on good terms, she can't help but still feel slightly irked in his presence. She knows she shouldn't, but she does.

Besides, all she has to do is pretend Elijah is another Wyatt. She's done this before. Hung out with somebody. She's a little rusty, but she doesn't care too much what this kid thinks about her. And hell, maybe a little social interaction will remind her why she made the choice that she did in telling the parents about her and Brandon. Maybe it'll remind her that she can be a normal girl, and have friends. Maybe she'll forget about Brandon altogether.

Not likely, but she finds herself agreeing to this Elijah kid. "Alright, yeah, I guess I can help you."

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming." Elijah muses, digging into the inner pockets of his leather jacket for his class schedule, and while Callie's taking in all his features: his olive skin, the black mop of hair that seems to be its own entity, and his fifties attire, over his shoulder she spots two dark, curious eyes.

Forgetting Brandon exists isn't going to be easy.

Mariana glances cautiously at the boy next to her, who seems to be inching closer to her by the second, looking over her shoulder at her class schedule displayed on the front of her binder. Perhaps since she's just generally more peeved than usual, or perhaps because she just hates nosey people, she slaps her notebook on top of her binder, turning to glare at the kid, who springs back upright in his seat, though he doesn't seem crestfallen by this action. In fact, the pep in his step only furthers her irritation with him, and the second he runs his mouth she wishes she had sat somewhere else. "Sorry, just trying to make some friends, I'm new."

"Clearly," she rolls her eyes and turns away from him, but the second she does she pictures his face, long and sad and hopeless, and then she has to remind herself that she has nobody, and that's not going to change unless she does. So she flips around, trying to make amends, but he smiles at her, seemingly not bothered by her attitude at all. Still, she says a bit more playfully, "You know, snooping around in other people's business makes enemies, not friends."

He chuckles and insists, "At my old school, best friends were born from lies and betrayal."

She bites her lip, holding back a grin, uninterested in coming off as easily amused, especially since this is a first impression, a blank slate. She can reinvent herself, sophisticated, smart, strong-willed. She admits, all humor dying, "Too bad your new school isn't like your old one, otherwise you'd be popular."

He nods slowly, narrowing his eyes. "Ah, so you're implying-"

"Oh, no!" She blushes, only now realizing how that must've sounded, and only now realizing how handsome this boy actually is, his grey eyes sparkling at her reaction, beaming his perfect teeth. "I meant-"

"I know, I'm kidding," he reassures her, and she smiles gratefully as he goes on, "From what i've seen, this school is pretty cold. I mean, even your sister doesn't warm up very easy."

"My sister?"

"Yeah, the girl you walked into school with, or are you just friends?"

Mariana laughs, her hair getting air as she shakes her head. "Callie is my foster sister."

"Ah, yeah, that explains the whole not looking alike thing." he points out, still smiling as he asks, "So, Callie, huh? She wouldn't even tell me her name. What's the deal with her? Does she have a boyfriend?"

Mariana coughs awkwardly, turning her head away for a minute so she can figure out what would be the best thing to tell this kid. On the one hand, she never thought Brandon and Callie together was a good idea, but she feels bad enough about everything Callie's had piled on her lately, and sending this kid off with the idea that he can pursue her and possibly win her might do more damage to the already full-handed girl. On the other hand, though, if she can do her foster sister one last favor, it'd be to give her the opportunity to move on. Of course, she's not sure how "in love" Brandon and Callie really are, and though this kid is pretty damn handsome, it takes quite a bit of charm to win over Callie. She's really not sure how her brother did it, now that she thinks about it, and unintentionally scrunches up her face in confusion and distaste.

She turns back, replacing it with one of sympathy. She said it herself, this boy is handsome, and his question is her advantage. "Yeah, they've been together a while, too. Sorry."

"That's cool." he says, genuinely unfazed. His flashes her another agreeable smile before adding, impishly, "Pretty girls aren't in short supply here, anyway."

Brandon is already loading a couple boxes of his stuff into his car when Callie makes it home, the brief consternation that crosses his face making her rush up the pathway, anxious to avoid the third degree. "New kid at school today?"

"We shouldn't be talking." she murmurs as she steps up the porch, but now empty-handed, he seizes her arm gently and urges her to look at him, to listen to him. "My mom is still at work, my other mom is changing, she won't see us. Who was the guy?"

"Why does it matter? He's new, I was showing him around."

"It doesn't, I was just curious."

Callie nods her head, face full of disbelief, but she'd really rather just be inside now, avoiding this confrontation altogether, so she doesn't press the matter. "Right, well, you better finish packing."

He releases her arm but adds while she's just starting to walk away, carefully planned so that she won't actually leave, "Just don't use the guy like you used Wyatt."

"What the hell?" she spits, the curse words rolling off her tongue so quickly you'd think she'd said them many times before, but instead her rare usage of them only adds to the shock factor of the whole thing. She storms forward, getting back up in his face, looking suddenly livid. "First off, I was never using Wyatt. Where do you get off saying that? Did you forget about Talya?"

"I was with Talya before I knew you, Callie,"

"Doesn't matter, you still cheated on her."

"With you!"

"Why are you doing this?" Callie demands, ears hot, cheeks flushed. "Why are you being such a jerk?"

Simulating innocence, he says, voice lowered, "I just want to know what your intentions are, why are you hanging out with that guy?"

"I'm trying to make things easier for the both of us!" she admits, voice deep with rage. "And you're doing a great job of screwing that up. Just finish packing, let me go inside, and pretend that one day everything will work out!"

Without notice, Brandon leans down, taking her cheeks in his hands and presses his lips to hers, her arms betraying her, wrapping themselves around his neck as his own hands find more intimate places, like the small of her back, the side belt loop on her jeans. With the loop, he pulls her up as he pulls her forward to stand in between his legs, and she reciprocates this forceful gesture, pressing her lips harder against his, tugging harder on the collars of his shirt. When she bites down softly on his bottom lip he groans and pulls away, looking awfully conflicted, an internal battle raging inside. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

She exhales loudly, running her tongue between her lips, much to his displeasure. "It's fine." she says faintly, backing away slowly, as if to stop herself from a reprise. "You just made things more difficult, but it's fine."

This is the last thing she says to him before he finishes packing all of us stuff and moves out, drives away for good, still completely unaware of the car that had been parked across the street for the whole ordeal.

While they were busy worrying about Lena, Liam had been watching.

A/N: Spoiler Alert: somebody dies. Just kidding! I won't kill off another character, I promise, especially since a few of you were sad about Lexi's death, which sort of shocked me. However, I will tell you that somebody is going to get hurt next chapter. Take your guesses, drop them off in a comment! Anyone that guesses correctly gets a sneak peek of next weeks episode! If you have any questions, feel free to leave those too! Thanks again for all your support, I hope you enjoyed this weeks! 5000 word for you all! See ya next!