So, Chapter Five. Things are going to become more Calzona-centric soon, whilst their in their week of training, so stick around for some nice fluff. Also, thanks to the five people who reviewed. Means a lot to me 3 ;)
Silently, Arizona stood at the edge of the room, nearly obscured by the spare dummies piled up in a heap of fake, shiny flesh. She gave a dry, sardonic, chuckle as she saw that there were twenty-three of the mannequins - each as lifeless as the next.
'Just like twenty three of us will be in under two weeks', she thought, her blue eyes becoming steely as she watched the Careers, and the few other Tributes either hanging around with them, or trailing in their wake. Her eyes fixed on the beautiful Latina, the one from the previous day, and the raven hair that hung past her shoulders, which shimmered in the harsh light from the training room.
Suddenly – unexpectedly - a pair of dark brown eyes flicked around to meet hers, nearly stunning her senseless as she watched.
'Shit', thought Arizona, blushing profusely, and turning her head away, 'you just got caught staring at the lethal District Two Career who dragged you under her bed. Way to go, girl.'
A derisive murmur escaped her lips, before the slender girl lifted her head and scraped her hair back into a long high ponytail and slipped out from her vantage point, still determinedly looking away from the Latina who had caught her gaze a few moments earlier.
'Shit. Shit. Shit. She's smirking', though Arizona, groaning internally as she hazarded a glance back, only to spin away again, as if scalded.
Feeling those eyes burn holes into her back, she headed for the wood carving station – the only thing she was favoring in training so far, along with knife training, because it was the only thing she could really do.
Callie had felt eyes on her, and had turned accordingly, catching the blonde's eyes as she swivelled around. A sultry smirk had slipped onto her lips, and she had held the icy blue eyes until they looked away, embarrassed.
After the train ride, and the anger, and possibly jealous shown by Arizona as she looked at Callie, the Latina felt drawn to the blonde, in a very big kind of way. In a way that was like - 'if we weren't about too fight to the death, I'd like to take you to dinner, and actually get to know you. But still, now I'm going to try very hard not to let my friends kill you in the arena'
Now, as they had a week of training - compared with the four days Tributes had before President Webber was in charge - she would make the most of it, and try to talk the blonde into an alliance with her. That way, the killing problem, and the getting to know problem would be solved. And, you know, Callie was not averse to more late-night run-ins with Arizona...
As the other girl turned away, Callie's eyes drifted up and down her body, taking in every curve with an insidious pleasure. A larger smile lit up her face as she watched the shapely hips flick from side to side, and it took a large shove from Mark to get her to look away.
As she turned back to her fellow careers she saw a number of things: Jackson & Cristina ignoring the human weakness she was showing (themselves as aloof as ever), Derek trying not to laugh, Mark looking extremely embarrassed for his friend, and a growing, mischievous smile on Addison's face.
"You look like you're about to pounce on her and tear her clothes off", Addison commented, unabashed by the glower on her friend's face, "Mark, head over there and ask Blondie if she wants to join us. Maybe if Pixie Girl is here with us, then Callie will actually have her mind in the game, instead of being off in lesbian fantasy land with her."
Callie panicked, and the emotion spilt onto her face, making her fellow Careers chuckle even more. She tried to lunge at Mark, but he quickly sidestepped – agile for a man of his size. She watched helpless, as her fellow Tribute, Career & friend swaggered over to where the blond sat.
Turning to Addison, a growl escaped her lips, "As soon as we break alliances in the Arena. You're the first one I'm going to kill." To her surprise, Addison just laughed. Maybe the whole scaring tactic wasn't going to work after all.
"Hey there"
Arizona was startled as she heard a deep, inexplicably sexy man's voice. Well, it would have been sexy, had Arizona not been entirely into women.
She looked up from the half finished climbing pegs she was making to see the familiar face of the career she had seen laughing with Callie, a slick grin plastered on his sly features.
It made her angry: he was the one who had his hand around her waist. And now he was here, trying to wheedle something out of her. There was no chance of that happening.
The man reached forwards, trying to take one of the climbing pegs to examine it, when he stopped abruptly at the sharp whooshing noise, and a thud. Between his spread fingers on the table was a long, elaborate knife, still wobbling from side to side as its tip was stuck in the table surface.
The hand that clenched the handle of the knife was white knuckled, and when Mark looked up, Arizona's jaw was clenched, and her eyes narrowed.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Don't touch your stuff. Duly noted."
When his response failed to elicit any reaction, he continued, seemingly figuring that it was best to strike when the iron was hot.
"So, we were wondering, 'cause we've been watching you…any chance you'd like to hang out with us. Get a grasp on what we plan to do. We've got your back if you do – in here, and when we get in there. So, what do you say?"
The man gave his best, most charming, grin, and pulled the knife from the table, palming the blade and offering her the handle. Arizona took the knife gently, and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, before leaning back, offering a sweet smile.
"Oooh? No.", came the reply, complete with a dimpled, sweet grin, obviously taking great pleasure in denying the man what he wanted, "Because I find when I look at you all I want to hit you with bricks."
From the look on the man's face, it took him a little while to process the information. She was not interested - obviously something that he was not used to hearing.
The man frowned, apparently finally getting the picture that Arizona was not interested, despite the covert looks she had been throwing Callie all day. , "Are you sure? I mean, think about what you're giving up."
"Hmm, no, because you – the lot of you - are monsters." She pulled a grimace, and tilted her head to one side, raising her eyebrows when the man – Mark, she thought his name was – did not stand and leave. "Dude, run away, before I find the brick."
The man stood, his face sulky looking – a sulky child-like pout slipping onto his features that made Arizona want to burst out laughing. "Whatever." he said, a little heinously now, "We don't need you. You're nothing. The only reason I asked was because Callie told me to. Have fun dying."
Surprised, Arizona was shocked into civility, "Wait, sorry...Calliope asked you to ask me?"
He gave a curt nod and, with that, he stabbed the knife into the table once more, and stalked off, back to his pack of friends.
It was only then that Arizona, when she glanced over to the careers, saw the Latina grinning from ear to ear; a million watt smile that took her breath way utterly. The other women tipped her head to one side; black locks swaying gently as she did so, and winked overtly at Arizona.
Training flew by for the rest of the day. Callie and the Careers went from station to station, throwing their heads back in laughter as they aced nearly everything, over and over again, whilst Arizona worked quietly on the smaller, less confrontational stalls, occasionally meeting up with Charles to talk briefly.
The only thing that was constant throughout the day; the only thing that kept Callie from falling asleep from both boredom and exertion, was the sight of the blond as she moved from stall to stall, and the looks that passed between them when they caught each other's eyes.
They were on the same stall for all of ten minutes, but the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife – perhaps the one which was still stabbed into the table where Mark had left it.
It was the knot tying station – one that Arizona had deemed safe from the interference of the Careers.
The expert had turned away for a moment, leaving Arizona to fumble with a particularly difficult knot. A curse slipped out from her lips, and Arizona sighed, shutting her eyes for a moment.
Footsteps behind her made her jolt, and she recoiled a little from the noise. Frowning, she focused on the knot trying to drown out the catcalls from the Careers, and the noise made by the other stations.
Arizona jolted again, this time as she saw two hands reach from behind her, and guide her fingers through the knot she was trying to do. Turning, ready to snap at whoever thought they could swan up to her, and put their hands all over her.
"Excuse me—", she said, as she turned her head to see the possessor of the talented fingers, trailing off as she came face to face with the warm eyes that had been following her all day.
Her mouth gaped wide open for a moment, floundering as she tried to remember anything to say that did not involve commenting on the perfection to the face in front of her.
'''', was the single continuous thought running through Arizona's head at that moment, and one she knew she couldn't speak. Luckily for her, and her less than appropriate thoughts, she was saved from having to continue.
"I'm trying to help. And you're struggling, so excuse yourself", were the words that slipped from the Latina's lips, struggling to find words which sounded entirely platonic, and not at all flirty.
She diverted finally Arizona's attention back to the knot in front of her, and began to unravel it, showing gently how it was to be done. "It's a butterfly knot", Callie said, once the blond had seemed to relax somewhat with the Latina at her back, "So you have to be quite delicate with it."
Callie began to tie the knot again, doing it first on her own, and then moving Arizona's hands through it, step by step. It was calming, and the warmth exuding from the smaller woman in front of her comforted her some more.
As much as she tried to string it out, she could not stand with her arms nearly embracing the blonde, with their hands entwined forever. Slowly, as Arizona got the hang of the knot, Callie pulled away, pausing only to whisper, "There, you've got it", in Arizona's ear before turning sharply, and walking away, back to the other careers, her heart racing, but not daring to look back.
Arizona opened her mouth to protest as Callie spoke, but was silenced by the breath on her neck, and the tingling bush of lips near her ear. She was silenced further as she felt the heat at her back disappear, and the wonderful guiding hands slip from hers.
All of a sudden, she felt very cold, and the room felt very empty with the absence of the beautiful Latina.