AN: All I have to say for now is: enjoy!
Clara's POV :
When Arizona told me about Callie's birthday I didn't imagine it would be this big of a deal. But right now, watching my friend pacing back and forth in her room for almost forty minutes I see that it might have been a mistake. She's been talking to me about it since the day Callie invited her. When she told me she asked if she could bring someone and that she had thought about me, I wondered why she would need me there, since she works with Callie everyday and she's able to control herself... then I remembered what happened at the dance club. And as the great friend I am, here I am now.
"Arizona!" I say after a while, getting tired of watching her having this internal fight. "Stop, okay?" I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her from walking forth again. "We've been here for almost an hour, are we going or not?"
"I-I don't know.." She calmly says after taking a breath. "I don't know what to do."
"Do you want to go? "
"Yes..."
"So, let's go then."
"What if I make a fool of myself, what if I keep staring at her like I did the other night?"
"That's why I am going, right? To make sure that you don't do anything stupid."
"Yeah..."
"So don't worry, I won't let you embarass yourself. "
" Promise?" She asks with a childsh tone.
"I promise."
"Okay..." She says letting out a heavy breath. "How do I look?
"You look amazing, Arizona. This Callie girl is really stupid if she's willing to miss out on all of this." I say pointing to Arizona's body up and down, trying to lighten up the mood.
"Shut up you moron." She says laughing. "Let me just get my purse and then we can go."
Arriving at the bar I notice that it's a really nice place. Not too full of people, some great music and a little dance floor in the back. At the bar stools, there are people chatting away, drinking their drinks not really minding that tomorrow they have to be at work.
Taking a glance at my friend I can see that all nervousness that had dissipated while we were on our way here had come back.
"Are you okay?" I ask turning to her.
"Yes... I'm alright." She says with a smile. If I didn't know her so well I would've bought it, but I decided to just pretend I did and let the subject drop.
"Do you see her?"
"No." She says with a sad voice.
"Do you think we're early "
"Yeah, maybe we- no wait, there. " She points to a very handsome man sitting at a table near the bar. "Mark is here, let's go."
"Who's Mark?" I ask, even though this name is kinda familiar I can't remember where or when I've heard it before.
"Callie's best friend, I already told you about him."
"The one who offered you the napkin?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"I feel like I'm going to like him." I say to provoke her.
"You know he has a girlfriend, right?" She asks suddenly turning to face me.
"You know I'm not a fan of penis, right?" She just lets out a laugh and walks towards the man's direction.
As we are approaching the table I can see the smirk that appears on his face when he spots Arizona. But that little smirk disappears as soon as it appeared when his eyes stop on me.
"Hey guys!" Arizona says when we're finally next to them.
"Hey Blondie, how's it going?" Blondie... I can't remember someone ever calling her like that without getting a punch.
"Hi Arizona, it's nice to see you again." The brunette that seemed to be a little too close to Mark to be just a friend said.
"Nice to see you again too, Lexie." She says with a smile. "Guys, this is my friend Clara." She introduces me. "Clara, this is Mark and this beautiful woman next to him is his girlfriend Lexie."
"Hello everyone, nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Mark answers with a tone a little weird for someone who's pleased to meet another person. I can't help but see the light punch Lexie gives him.
"So, is Callie here?" Arizona asks to dismiss the weird mood that had been created... and also because she was dying to see Callie. I could tell just by the sparkle in her eyes when she mentioned the woman's name.
"Huh, yes..." Lexie says, something obviously behind that 'huh'.
"She's right there." Mark points to the back of the bar, where a tall and really beautiful brunette is chatting with a man. "She probably didn't see you arrive, she's a little busy."
By Mark's tone I can see that there's something clearly going on. Why would he say something like that since he knows about Arizona's feelings or whatever for Callie?
"Hey Z, why don't you go to the bar and get us drinks? I feel like I need some alcohol right now."
"Okay, I'll be right back." She replies, her eyes not leaving the brunette for a second.
When Arizona heads to the bar, I decide it's time for me and this Mark guy to have a little talk.
"Mark, I know we just met but... what's your problem with me?" He looks at me with wild eyes. "You don't need to try and deny it because I noticed the way you looked at me when we arrived."
"I told you you're not as smooth as you think you are." Lexie says laughing.
"Yeah, I guess you were right."
"So, will you tell me or..?"
"Are you the woman who picked up Arizona's phone?" That was not the kind of thing I was expecting.
"Huh... yeah, that was me. I spoke to Callie, Arizona was in the shower."
"No she wasn't... and Callie knows that."
"What?!" I ask a little surprised.
"I guess that you're not as smooth as you think you are." He said quoting his girlfriend's previous phrase.
"Oh shit..."
"Yeah, she knows about your... relationship."
"What?" I ask now laughing. "Relationship? "
"Yes, you and blondie. And since she's my best friend and blondie sort of broke her heart, it's my job to not like the other one, in this case... you." He takes a sip of his scotch after finishing talking.
"You think Arizona and I are a couple?" The look of surprise on his face is priceless.
"You're not... ?"
"No, we were a little bit of a thing in the past but nowadays we are more like sisters." I explain.
"God, these two can't seem to get things right." He says.
"So Callie thinks I'm her girlfriend too."
"She does..."
"Oh well, that's something we have to fix."
"How do you plan on doing that? I mean, you're beautiful, we can find you a lady to hook up here so she'll see you with another woman and realize you and Arizona are just friends."
"Oh well, you stop it right there." I say pointing a finger to him. "One, you're not gonna find me a lady because I don't know you and you don't know me well enough to hook me up with someone... and two, I have a better idea. But first, we'll have to take Callie away from that man." I say as I chance a look at the brunette and the man who before was in a acceptable distance is now entering her personal space.
Callie's POV:
After staying still at a table staring at the door hoping to see my favorite blue eyed blonde walk through I gave up. Mark had been talking to me and I wasn't paying any attention, I was just nodding yes and no. It went like that until he snapped his fingers in front of me breaking my gaze from the door.
After telling me to stop staring at the door, saying that if she wanted to come she would, I got tired of being lectured for not enjoying my birthday and got up to go to the bar to get myself a drink. My second best friend, red wine.
While sitting at the bar stool I started to kick myself on the inside. Why did I invite her? It was a good slap to my face when she asked if she could bring someone. Is she really going to bring her girlfriend?
After a while having my internal fight, I saw a drink being placed in front of me.
"I didn't order this. " I tell the bartender.
"I know, it's from the guy across the bar."
Turning to the side to see the said man, I am met with a beautiful smile. Getting my glass, I lift it up to let him know I got it and it doesn't take long until he is on his feet and coming my way.
"Hi." He says with a shy voice.
"Hey." I reply with a smile.
"Can I sit here? " He asks pointing to the stool next to mine.
"Sure, take a seat."
"So," He says taking his seat. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Callie, Callie Torres."
"It's a beautiful name, fits you well."
I feel a little blush cross my cheeks. "Thank you. Will you tell me yours?"
"It's Owen Hunt."
"Nice to meet you Owen." I say raising my glass.
"The pleasure is mine." He says clicking his glass with mine.
After a while talking to him, I find out he is the Chief of Surgery at a hospital named Seattle Grace. I tell him about my previous plans of being a doctor and he says it's really sad I didn't become one but the bright side was that at least that way the doctors at the hospital wouldn't be distracted by my beauty, making my cheeks flush once again.
It felt really good talking to him, he was smart, knew how to talk and was really handsome. It felt okay to flirt with him... it felt okay because I couldn't stop thinking how it would be to be flirting with Arizona, how it would be to hug her... to kiss her...
"Are you still here?" He asks.
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"You seemed like you were somewhere else..."
"Yes, I'm sorry I-" That's when I hear the little bell that is on top of the door ring and the woman I've been waiting to see all night walks in. But as soon as a smile starts crossing my face it dissappears when I see a readhead girl right behind her, getting her attention out of somewhere and making her smile. That must be her. And right at that moment, all the little hope I had inside me was gone. "Actually, you know what?" I say getting closer to the man. "I am right where I want to be."
And it didn't take too long until we found an empty booth to occupy.
Arizona's POV:
I've been fighting with myself for two days trying to decide whether to come to this stupid bar, and by my description of the bar you can see that I now realize it was a bad idea. The first thing I did when I arrived was look for the woman, the reason, that made me come here tonight. And as soon as I found her, I realized I should've listened to my head instead my heart.
When Clara told me to go get us some drinks, I knew it was because she was trying to take my attention away from Callie and that man. What does he have that I don't? Oh, of course Arizona, he has a penis.
Heading back to our table I can sense that the mood is lighter then it was when I left, I tried not to but I caught Mark looking at Clara with "weird" eyes.
"Finally, I thought you had lost your way back, Gretel." Clara jokes.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. You're really funny, Donkey."
"Are you seriously calling me "Donkey" like in the Shrek movie?" She mocks.
"Whatever, it was the best I could come up with."
"Yeah, there's no way you're getting in each others pants, you're right Clarita, you look more like sisters, 10 year old kids."
"WHAT?!" I ask, trying not to sppit out my drink. "What did you just say?"
"Yeah, Z. He thought you and I were a couple"
"Mark, are you serious? You can't stay out of anybody's business?" I ask with anger already taking over me.
"Calm down, Z. It's okay, we already talked about it."
"Are you seriously okay with this?" I ask angrly, turning to face Clara.
"Yes, I am... but you should be more worried about what Callie thinks about it though." Along with Clara's words, reality hit me. Callie also thinks Clara and I are together... I thought it was just a Mark thing, we all know how men like him act about this girl on girl thing, despite my reaction, it didn't really surprise that he would pick up on my sexual orientation after catching how I was looking at Callie at the dance club. But Callie... what would make her think like that? She didn't know about Clara...
"She assumed I was your girlfriend that day... when I picked up your phone. She thought you were on a date with me. And when you asked if you could bring someone, she thought you were going to bring your girlfriend... in this case, in her head, you really did." She says calmly, how can she be calm at a moment like this?
"How do you know all that?" I ask after a while.
"My boyfriend has a really big mouth and he is a big fan of gossip." Lexie says.
"It wasn't gossip, I had to tell her, this is killing Torres." He defends himself. "Blondie, you have to do something. Do not think you're the only one who is in love. I'm her best friend, she talks to me. She's been talking to me about you and your "girlfriend"" He makes air quotes. "These past two days... nonstop. She was scared and now she thinks she screwed up the chance she had. This is not a story I should tell you, she's the one who has to tell you but you have to know that she's been hurt in the past... badly. And since then she didn't feel like someone would like her again, like her for who she is. That day at the dance club I joked at you because of the way you were staring at her. I haven't seen someone look at her like that for I don't even know how long. I am not even sure if someone ever looked at her that way... I can see you like her, like you truly like her... don't let her go, do something. She's a lot to lose even if you never had her. I know you'd like to hear about her feelings for you coming out of her mouth, but she can't tell you this right now because she's confused, she's lost, so I am telling you and you need to believe me."
I listened to his every word without blinking, his words hit me with an intensity that almost knocked me to the ground. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry... God, I wanted to go home and cry all night inti my pillow... and I didn't even know why.
While he spoke, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was having a good time with that man. The way she laughed, the way she flipped her hair. He was closing the distance between them with each minute that passed. He whispered something in her ear and I felt every hair in my body shiver with anger... or was it jealousy? Probably the second one. She laughed at what he said and nodded her head. They got up and started heading towards our direction... what happens now?
"Hey!" She says as she sees me, with a bright smile on her face. "I didn't see you arrive."
"Yeah, I've been here for quite a while."
"Oh, I'm sorry, couldn't see you from the back."
"It's okay, you saw me now." I say with a fake laugh. "Anyways, happy birthday Callie."
"Thank you." She said. Her eyes fall to the woman next to me. My best friend, whom I had forgotten to introduce.
"Huh, Callie this is my friend Clara."
"Hi." She says with indifference. The way she eyed Clara... Mark was right, he was telling the truth. Her eyes betrayed her. She had this fake smile on her face but her eyes transmited what was going on in her mind. I guess if a look could kill, Clara would be dead... and so would this man who's standing next to Callie.
"Hello, Arizona has told me plenty about you." She said. Trying to easy the mood. Thank you, Clara.
"She did?" She asked surprised.
"Yes, she did."
An awkward moment happened when no one said a word, it was just the six of us eyeing each other.
"Callie, we should go." The redheaded man says. Go? Where to? They're leaving?
"Oh, yes." She says as if she remembered something. "Guys, this is Owen, my friend."
"Hi." We all replied in chorus.
"Torres, you're leaving?" Mark asks.
"Yes, but you guys stay, enjoy your night... I will enjoy mine. Celebrate life, right? " She said giving Mark light slaps on the shoulder.
"Owen, just give me a second, I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back."
And she left.
"Go after her." Clara whispered in my ear. "Remember what Mark said, don't let her go."
And before my friend could say anything else, I was gone to the restroom.
General POV:
"Hey" Callie said as she saw the blonde's reflection on the mirror. The blonde said nothing, she just closed the door behind her and stared at the woman in front of her dead in the eyes. "Is... everything okay?" Callie asked, trying to figure out the blonde's expression.
"Are you having fun?" Arizona asked with a tone that she didn't remember using before. She felt her heart race as she spoke.
"Huh, yes." The Latina said with a smile and a confused face, not quite understanding the blonde's behavior.
"Of course you are..." She said with a sarcastic laugh. "Why wouldn't you be?"
"Arizona, what's going on?"
"What's going on? I should be the one asking you what's going on."
"I-"
"No, you don't get to talk, you just listen." She said, pointing a finger to the Latina letting her know that she is serious. "Do you know how much time I have spent in front of the mirror thinking about how I was going to behave tonight? Do you know how hard it is for me to be here seeing yo-"
"You didn't have to come, you had a choice. You came because you wanted to and-"
"Shut up!" She yells at Callie, making the brunette jump at the sudden change in the blonde's tone. "I talk, you listen." She said with a calmer tone. "I know I had a choice, I came because I wanted to, it's a special day for you and I wanted to be here, to be a part of it... but you have no idea how much thought I gave to the idea of coming before finally deciding. I wasn't sure if this time I would be able to control myself and not..." She stopped to take a breath. She'd never thought she was going to tell Callie about her feelings in a bar's bathroom... she never thought she was going to tell Callie about her feelings at all, but when she saw Callie flirting with that man, a man she had just met, and all the things Mark had told her, Arizona felt something inside her, a feeling that she wasn't familiar with. It was a mix of anger and jealousy.
"Not what?" Callie asked after the blonde didn't go on with her speech. Callie had hope inside of her, hope that the blonde was going to say what she wanted her to say. "Tell me."
"You don't even know him... that man." Arizona said after a while. "You just met him and you were all flirtarious with him and now you're leaving with him... I can't-"
"Oh, so that's okay for you to bring someone but it's way over the line if I find a man to flirt with?" Callie cut in before the blonde could finish. When Arizona tried to speak up again, Callie was faster and got the first word. "You wanna know why I am this flirtarious with this man I just met... because I am lonely, Arizona. Mark has Lexie and I am glad he found someone, but I wished he wasn't with someone because that way I wouldn't need someone else to take my attention away from you and your... friend." She said the last word with emphasis, to let the blonde know she knew they were more than friends. "I heard you on the phone, Arizona." She said when she noticed the blonde's questioning eyes. "If you didn't want to talk to me you could just have said it, you didn't need to lie. I didn't know that your plans for that night was a date with girlfriend and I'm sorry I disturbed it. But you didn't need to lie."
"What?!" Arizona asked. "Girlfriend?" She started laughing. "You're so stupid, Callie."
"I am not, you don't get to say that."
"Yes, you are!" The blonde said with exasperation, throwing her hands in the air. "God, you're so blind you can't see what's right in front of you." She laughed. "So you just make up things."
The two of them just stared at each other. Each not daring to be the first to speak up again... until Arizona broke the silence.
"Clara isn't my girlfriend. She was one day but nowadays she is just my friend, my best friend." The expression on Callie's face was kinda unreadble. "You wanna know why I brought her tonight?" Callie just stared at her. "I brought her to keep my mind distracted, to not let me stare at you all night because I knew that this is what would happen because I can't take my eyes off of you. I tried, God, I tried... I tried to stay away from you, to fight these feelings I have when I see you but at the moment I saw your disappointed face when I turned you down I knew it was the most stupid decison I've made in my life."
"Arizona..."
"And tonight, I had to see you flirting with someone else, jealousy eating me at my bones and believe me when I tell you I am not the jealous kind of girl. But with you... it is different... and it scares me." Callie just kept staring at her, waiting for the blonde to move on. "See? That's what I was afraid of. That I couldn't keep my mouth shut and now you're looking at me with this face that I can't quite understand. I shouldn't have let Mark and Clara talk me into this... you know what, forget it. Go get your friend and enjoy your night."
The blonde was ready to leave the bathroom, she had just declared her feelings to Callie and the brunette just stared at her. No words came out of her mouth, making Arizona's biggest fear to come true. But before she could reach the doorknob, she felt a hand on her elbow, making her turn and meet the Latina's gaze.
"I am not stupid. Blind? I agree with you... but not stupid." She said staring into those mesmerazing blue orbs. "You stepped away... When I finally was able to see what was in front of me you backed off. That night? When I called you? I had just arrived home from the bar, Mark met me there and told me what happened back at the dance club... He helped me to see that you're not Erica Hanh and you're not going to hurt me. That the weird feelings I've been having since we started our friendship... the way it felt good to talk to you, to laugh with you... it wasn't just any feelings. I was blind, all the hurt I was caused in the past blinded me... but now I see. I can see what this really is."
"Then what is this?" She asked not breaking their gaze. "Tell me, let me know that we are in the same place."
"Arizona I..."
"See, this look on your face... that's what I was afraid of." She says, trying to make the Latina let her go but failing.
"I wasn't going to sleep with him." She says. "Owen, I wasn't going to sleep with him."
"That is not of my business." Arizona says.
"Yes it is. You said Mark told you. And if he told you what I think he did... then you and I both know this is of your business."
"So why can't you tell me? Mark told me... but I wanna hear it from you."
"I don't know how to say."
"Then show me..." Arizona said with a soft tone, her heart beating so fast she felt like it was going to come out of her chest.
The brunette let go of Arizona's arms and caressed her cheek with her thumb. She always knew Arizona was beautiful but being this close to her, it made her look like a Greek goddess. Her blue eyes sparkling with what Callie assumed was desire. "You're really beautiful, Arizona Robbins."
And before the blonde could say something else, the Latina put an end to the short space between them by putting her soft lips on Arizona's pink ones. Arizona felt shocks running through her body. Am I dreaming? She thought. If I am, please don't wake me up. She took her hand to the brunette's raven hair pulling her closer to her, if that was even possible to be closer. She felt Callie's hands go from her face to her hips and she felt like her legs had become jello. She stepped back, never breaking up the kiss until her back hit the door. A little harder than she expected...
"Ouch" She said, breaking up the kiss.
"Are you okay?" Callie asked with her voice full of concern.
Arizona just smiled at her, her dimples popping on her face. "I'm great." She said before crashing her lips back into Callie's, wishing she could do this for the rest of her life. She felt Callie's tongue wishing for entrance which she gladly allowed. When Callie's tongue touched the inside of her mouth she felt like there was a celebration like the 4th of July inside of her, fireworks and all. They were fighting for dominance in their much waited for kiss, Arizona had dreamt about this moment so many times she couldn't believe it was actually happening. When her lungs started to burn because of the lack of oxygen she broke the kiss.
Staring into warm brown eyes, she couldn't help but smile. "Happy birthday, Calliope."
Best birthday gift ever.
AN2: So, what do you guys think? Worth the wait? yes or nah? ...and what about Clara? I had some fun writing her POV. Anyways, let me hear it! See you next chapter!