Disclaimer: I'd like to make it clear that Pokemon, and everything related to it is not my own property. Instead that priviledge, to the best of my knowledge, belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Satoshi Tajiri. This is their world and I just play in it.
-/
Callum was used to spending nights in the streets of New York. In fact, this was when he was most alive. Must have something to do with his dark nature.
Having spent the day hold up asleep on some fire escape, with Pikachu and Froakie clutched to him, stretching his legs felt amazing.
He came upon Washington Square Park, one of his favourite haunts in the summer. The park at its center was usually deserted at this time of night. Callum walked, keeping his Pokemon inside of their Pokeballs as by now he was sure they were enjoying stasis sleep.
All except Pikachu, who's sleep scheduled was just as screwed as Cal's own.
The sound of rushing water from the fountain in the park reached his ears, and his shoulders released a tension he hadn't realized he was carrying. Water had always calmed him, since he was a child. Even after the incident with Kyogre, the water had called to him.
He found his favourite bench and sat, dropping the bag The Rockets had given him at his feet.
This was the same bench that he had spent many a lonely night sleeping on when things at the group home got too rough. The children were merciless in teasing the mute boy, and he wasn't allowed to have Pikachu out of his Pokeball as often as he would have liked.
The first time he had his Pokemon confiscated, he had run he had stolen Pikachu back before running away. He got terribly lost, and everything was a blur. He didn't remember how he got on the train, but somehow he found himself here. At this fountain.
He slept on this very bench, although it felt much smaller now than it did that first night.
"Hey!" He was snapped out of his reverie by a young woman. She wore capri leggings and a track jacket, with running shoes. A thin film of sweat reflected the light off her caramel skin. Her hair was a curly mop, buzzed short at the sides, and she walked with her hands on her hips as she caught her breath.
"You okay there? You seem pretty out of it." She nodded at him, and he self-consciously thumbed his eyebrow. He bit his lip softly, before slowly shaking his head no. The upside to not speaking is he never had to be afraid that he would say too much.
"Not much of a talker, huh? That's okay, my mom always says I speak enough for two anyways. Do you mind if I keep you company? My Buneary and I usually jog through here just for the fountain, and nobody's usually here. There she is now!"
She sat beside him, and pointed at a Buneary skating across the ice after releasing an ice beam across the surface of the water.
"Do you have any other Pokemon? You look like you have some adorable Pokemon, you just seem like the type. Am I right?"
He nodded once, smiling slightly. Froakie definitely counted as cute in his book. Scyther, not so much.
While this girl was extremely talkative, it was somehow very endearing. Cal didn't usually enjoy the company of other people, but he thought he might make an exception for this one.
She seemed to be encouraged by his smile. "My brother's a Pokemon trainer, he's on his way to the Pokemon League now. My parents always said he'd make it far. I was never really one for battling though, I just enjoy cute Pokemon. Buneary was a gift from my brother actually, he bred her from his own Lopunny. Hey, are you hungry? I could dig some pizza. I'm supposed to be losing weight but apparently pizza's a vegetable so I think I'm allowed" she stood, extending a hand.
He looked at it for a moment, before taking it. Her hand was cool, and small in his.
She whistled once and her Buneary leaped once off of the now melting ice, to her side.
"By the way, my name's Athena, although my friends call me Nina and my mom shortens it to 'Thena'. You, Mr. Quiet, can call me anything you like." She winked once, and Cal blushed viciously as he picked up his bag. He whipped out his Pokedex from his pocket, before finding the notes application and typing out a quick message.
"I'm Callum."
She grinned even more widely if possible, and looked up at him. While Cal wasn't overly tall, she was small at only five foot four. She had to crane her neck up to look at him properly when they stood this close.
"Then I guess you can be Cal" she pulled at his hand without a second glance, leading him to the promised pizza.
Running in to strangers in New York was nothing new, although usually they were more drunk or high than this girl seemed to be. Callum decided not to question it. Perhaps things could be looking up for him, or at the very least this was the good to balance out the bad.
They walked, quiet except for the sound of Athena's talking. She carried both parts of the conversation dutifully, looking to him now and then for his response wether it be a nod or a shake of his head.
Eventually she pulled him in to a small pizza shop. The owner seemed to know her. He set her up with two slices of extra cheese for Callum, and two slices of pineapple pizza. Pikachu got his own slice of pizza, with ketchup and salt.
"You know Cal, you're a good listener." Her thick valley accent reminded him of that movie they had seen in school once during a recreational time. Clueless, he remembered.
He didn't have the heart to ever tell her that he had stopped listening long ago, only catching tidbits and pieces of their conversation. "So, what do you do? Are you in school? Do you work?"
This was what he had dreaded. How would he explain he was homeless. What could he say to her, about the rolls of money in the bag, the stolen TM the rockets had flicked back at him, and the prototype Pokedex given to him the legendary Professor Oak.
Athena must have noticed the change in his demeanor, as she grabbed his hand from across the table, before changing the subject smoothly.
After pizza they walked again through the night. This time they walked much more slowly, and finally ended up on the roof of her building. It was tall, and he was confused as to why they made their way towards it until she greeted the doorman by name. They rode the elevator up to her floor in silence, and she opened the door with practiced ease.
They watched from the veranda on the roof, as the sun rose. Cal watched as Pikachu sat with Athena's buneary.
Cal thought of the night he had just had. It was like something out of a dream, and at any moment he thought he might wake up on the same bench outside near the fountain.
Suddenly Athena turned next to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"C'mon let's go to bed."
Cal's eyes shot wide open.
"Not like that silly!" Athena laughed. "The sun is already coming up. You can take the couch, since I made you walk me home."
Cal would never say she forced him anywhere, as he seemed to follow her as though under a spell.
If this was a dream he never wanted it to end.
-/
Cal awoke later that afternoon on Athena's bed. Somehow, the original plan of sleeping on the couch had fallen to the wayside. They hadn't done anything, besides sleep, but the weight of her body on such a comfortable bed next to his was something he could definitely become accustomed to.
When he awoke, Athena's hair was still wet from a shower. She wore an oversized sweater, and a pair of too small track shorts that accentuated her thick thighs.
Cal sat up, tying his hair back and looking for his shirt.
"Good morning sleepy head, you slept a lot longer than I thought you would but I didn't want to wake you up. You just looked so cute!" She giggled, and Cal blushed.
He looked away, tying his hair back again, before she punched slapped his arm playfully.
"No, really though, you looked like you hadn't slept well in ages. You feeling okay?"
She looked worried, and he was touched. He couldn't remember the last time somebody was worried for him.
He nodded, and scratched his neck. They maintained eye contact for a moment, before he suddenly got up. He noticed Pikachu asleep with Buneary in a blush bed in the corner.
Callum looked at Athena questioningly, before looking both ways as if looking for something and looking down at his bare chest.
"Your shirt? I threw it in the wash, but I took out some of my brothers old clothes for you, in case you wanted a shower or anything."
She paused.
"I was gonna shopping for a party later on tonight, if you wanna come?" There was that accent again. She would never know how much he loved it.
A party. Despite being nineteen years old, he had never been to one of those. It could be fun.
He nodded tentatively. He didn't fully trust Athena, not by a long shot, but he figured after everything he had been through he could handle himself well enough. Plus, he had just slept in her bed. If she wanted to hurt him she would've done it already.
Athena grinned widely, before getting up.
"In that case, we should be heading out soon. The shower's that one door on the end, I'll leave the clothes right outside the door. Um, I'll get started on breakfast, and I have Pokemon food in the pantry. Okay, I'm totally rambling…" She trailed off and made eye contact with Cal, who was silently laughing.
"Hey! No laughing, or no breakfast! Just get in the shower,!" Athena rolled her eyes before kicking him out of the room.
Callum found himself with a towel on his arm outside of Athena's room. The apartment was large, and very nicely furnished. He walked to the end of the hall, walking past a large painting of a man, seated next to a royal looking Persian on the wall.
Now why would a girl have a painting like that in their apartment?
Callum decided not to put too much more thought in to it, instead he locked the bathroom door and stripped.
Even the shower was very high-end. Honestly, who was this girl? The shower was not like any he had ever see, the floors were black tile and the stalls were some material he couldn't identify. The water came out of both sides of the wall, and drained at his feet. The water pressure was much better than the hotel shower.
He soaped and lathered several times, finally finishing with a deep condition of his hair. He methodically twisted his dreadlocks so the hairs were more uniformly joined together, as the last few weeks had caused his hair to become loose and a bit of a mess.
He came out of the shower feeling like a new person after having scrubbed what felt like dozens of layers of skin off. He shook his head and hair dripped around the bathroom, but he was sure Athena wouldn't mind terribly.
Opening the bathroom door, he found a small pile of clothes next to the door. He and Athena's brother must have been very close in stature, as they fit him very well. It was simple, ripped denim jeans, a white T-shirt and a flannel. He probably had a skater phase. Either way it was comfortable and casual enough.
Callum walked out of the bathroom barefoot, letting his hair hang to finish drying, as he had already wrung it out before stepping out of the shower. He tried Athena's door, but it was locked. He scratched his neck, before figuring that Athena must've been dressing. Instead he decided to explore a bit.
He walked through the apartment, happening upon the open concept living room and kitchen. He was surprised to see a man sitting at the couch, looking very comfortable.
"Well, don't just stand there, take a seat. National Geographic is having a wildlife special, and I'd like to meet my daughter's latest boy toy."
Cal winced, before making his way over. The man didn't look over at him once as Cal walked. He sat at the other end of the couch, and watched as a fearow made quick work of a ratticate, before settling to eat its' kill.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Athena's father asked. We humans find ourselves with the power to train these powerful beings and yet we forget at times that they are still animals, with an animal's instincts" As he spoke a powerful Persian slinked around the couch, before sitting on its hind legs in front of him. He placed a large hand on its' head, scratching it softly behind the ears.
The man made eye contact with him for the first time that conversation, and Callum froze. His piercing grey eyes were like bullets.
"You don't know who I am, young man, but I know who you are. I don't know how you found yourself here, but you are exactly where I need you. You seem to have a talent for being in the right place at the right time. My people have told me what you can do. You are of use to me."
The man flipped his card at Callum. On it was emblazoned a large red "R". Only a name and a number beside it. Giovanni.
"Call me. And know this, if Athena hears anything of this, you're dead. If the cops hear of this, you are dead. This is between us, otherwise, you are dead. Remember this."
He stood, and Callum's heart thudded harder and harder.
Suddenly Athena came out.
"Daddy! I didn't know you were visiting! Have you met Callum? He's taking me shopping. Would you like to join us for breakfast?" She didn't even skip a beat, casually introducing him.
"We've been acquainted darling, yes, but I'm sorry I can't stay, I just wanted to check to make sure everything was okay. Keep my daughter safe young man, understand?" He chuckled, as if he hadn't just threatened to have him killed before embracing Athena. As he walked away his persian made direct eye contact with Callum before slinking away after its master. Pikachu leapt on to Cal's shoulder, glaring back at the persian.
"I'm sorry about that, Cal, I didn't know my dad would be here. He can be a pretty intimidating guy I would've warned you if I knew he was coming."
Callum just smiled and waved his hand, as if to wave her worries away.
Athena smiled back and they had another of those awkward eye contact moments before Callum looked away.
Instances like these his lack of communication skills stood out, as even if he did speak he wouldn't know what to say. He looked up again and watched as Athena smiled shaking her head, before slipping on her shoes.
"C'mon, we can eat on the way."
They stepped out, and Cal threw his bag over his shoulder.
-:
Cal discovered he hated shopping. Athena on the other hand, seemed to love nothing more. They floated from store to store, without rush.
He began to realize just how much money she must have when the employees of the stores promised to have all the bags delivered to her apartment. Didn't normal people just carry everything? He wouldn't know from experience but something seemed off.
He did manage to buy himself a wallet, and stick some money in there so he could pay for some items of his own. Athena took great fun out of having him try on numerous items and cat calling.
Finally after several hours she finally decided they were done. They were on their way to the foodcourt when his dex buzzed. It was oak.
Oak: update?
Callum sighed, wondering how he would explain all of this. He decided the easiest way was just to send a picture. He left Athena under guise of using the bathroom, and entered an empty stall. Pulling out Giovanni's card he snapped a picture of it and sent it off to Oak.
As he walked out of the bathroom his beads shifted once and he looked instinctively to the second floor of the shopping mall. There, by a trainer store was the boy from when he had stolen the tm. And he had a friend.
He turned away quickly, and walked to the food court. A run-in here, with Athena, would be catastrophic. But what excuse could he give her?
He found her in the food court. She had ordered them both food, and was nibbling on a french fry. Her face lit up when she saw him, and he couldn't help but feel that everything might be okay.
"Hey! What took you so long? I didn't know what you like so I got you the same thing as me, I hope that's okay. I was thinking, you're a trainer right? I'd love to see you train, we have a training room in our building my brother would use all the time. What other Pokemon do you have? I've already seen Froakie and Pikachu, but you have a third Pokeball so I just wondered. If you like we can go home to eat, it's kinda crowded here." Athena spoke quickly as always, never fully giving him time to answer one question. As she spoke he typed on his pokedex answering her questions.
"Had trouble finding you, but burgers and fries is good. I haven't had much time to train lately so that sounds good. I have a Scyther. Eating at yours is probably best." He typed the last sentence intensely relieved that he wouldn't have to make an excuse to leave.
They stood, collecting their food and making their way through the maze of a mall to the front exit where they would catch a cab. As they walked, Callum was extremely glad he wouldn't have to fake a conversation as he was trying to act natural.
His luck was good until they exited the mall. The taxi had just pulled up and he was opening the door for Athena when he spotted the two trainers exiting. They were speaking animatedly, and each carried several bags.
He was spotted entering the cab, but sighed in relief as the driver ignored the trainer. He yelled and pointed them out to his friend, but by then they had driven off. Athena remained oblivious to the close encounter.
The taxi ride was particularly quiet as it seemed Athena was finally tired out by the shopping trip.
Halfway through, Oak texted him. It was simply a news link to Giovanni's suspected ties to the Rockets, as if he needed further proof.
Athena grabbed Cal's arm and laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes peacefully.
It appeared that on top of everything else he was now dating the daughter of the head of a crime syndicate.
Athena snuggled up to his side.
Things could still be worse.
-/
For Athena, getting ready for a party meant hours doing her hair and makeup, as well as picking out the perfect outfit. Callum was ready after twenty minutes, but when he saw Athena's end result he thought the time invested was well worth it.
Her curls were done up in wonderful fashion, and her makeup was not too heavy, defining her full lips and drawing attention to her deep eyes. Callum didn't know what exactly her outfit was, but it looked like a two piece dress , with her midriff exposed.
Callum kept it simple, white T-shirt and a denim jacket with a pair of black tapered jeans. Pikachu stalked across his shoulder, tousling his hair.
They took another cab to the party and Cal felt his anxiety spike. Athena on the other hand seemed to be more excited than ever. She chattered non-stop about how lovely her friend was, and how much she loved roof top parties.
He nodded once, before gripping her hand. She stopped talking and looked him in the eye.
"We don't have to do this, Cal. I understand. My friend's can be a bit much, but they'll understand if I don't show. Especially because we just met, this can be a bit much. I just really like you, and it's only been a day, but you seem to understand me so well. Am I talking too much? I'm talking too much, I mean, I'm practically moving you in with me! You've met my father and everything, it's just-" Cal pulled covered her mouth with his own.
He leaned back, breaking the kiss, and looked at her.
"Talk about a first kiss!" she exclaimed, gasping for air. "For the record, we're doing that again. Were there fireworks? I swear there were fireworks. Oh my goodness, that was amazing. Do we have to go to this party?" Cal nodded his head yes.
"Then save more of that for after, okay?" She giggled before crawling out of his lap and stepping out of the car. Callum followed, and followed Athena as she took his hand and led him in to the building. They released hands in the stairs, and Cal let his hair down, shaking his head once shake it out before retying it back. His hands fumbled though, and the knot slipped out.
"Here, I've got you." Athena softly took the band from his hand, and got up on her tip toes so she could tie it for him. He let her small hands guide his hair in to his usual style, but she allowed one strand to fall to the side of his face. "Trust me, it's a good look for you. And this too." She pulled up the sleeves of the jacket, before catching sight of the beads on his left wrist. She reached softly for them, before Cal caught her hands. He shook his head no once, before intertwining her hand in his right hand.
The elevator door dinged as it open, and Callum got his first view of a pent house. The lights were off, except for some strobes and the lights around the open bar. The music was loud, and the bass heavy. Athena looked back at him once, before they walked out in to the party.
They were instantly accosted by a girl in a pink dress.
"OhmiGawd! Nina, you made it! I haven't seen you since the party at the Robinsons! How are you? OhmiGawd who is this!"
Cal was already annoyed, but Athena was gracious and polite.
"Hey Kelly! I'm great, that party was pretty wild I hope this one doesn't get that turned up. This is Cal, he doesn't talk much but he's a total sweetheart."
"Are you two like, sleeping together?" she whispered loudly, and Callum suddenly found himself interested in the rest of the party as he looked away.
Cal scanned the room. He hadn't been so surrounded by people since -
Suddenly he was the little boy again, crowded on all sides in a mob. He could feel Pikachu on his shiver on his shoulder.
Athena seemed to notice something was wrong and squeezed his hand. He winked at her. She smiled, assured. They looked back at Kelly, who had a knowing smile on her face.
"Well, I'll let you two love birds be, but just so you know, I'd avoid the roof unless you want to get in to a Pokemon battle, it's like some type of pissing contest or something." She rolled her eyes as she walked away.
Athena giggled and elbowed him lightly. "You know, I have yet to see you actually battle, wanna give me a show?"
Callum shook his head. He hadn't wanted to do this, but he pulled out the Pokedex. "2 things. You need to learn sign language, and I don't want to battle any of these guys here. They battle for Glory, I battle for more."
Mostly for survival, but she didn't need to know that.
Athena read all of this very quickly.
"Who's gonna teach me? Would that be you, Mr. strong dark and handsome? And I see you, the honorable knight. Would you fight for your ladies' honor?" She linked her arms over his neck and kissed him, before turning around and grinding on him in tune with the music.
He instinctively grabbed her waist with both hands, and grinned. He could definitely get used to this.
They danced until they were both sweaty and breathing heavily. Finally Athena kissed him before breathing heavily in to his ear. "
"I need a drink, mind getting me one, Mister?" He nodded to her, gasping as well, before making his way to the bar. He made eye contact with the bartender pulled out his Pokedex. Athena had texted him her order, so he pointed at his throat and shook his head. The bartender got the hint, and read the Pokedex. Callum slipped the Dex back in to his pocket, as he waited on Athena's drink and his own water.
He turned to look for Athena on the dance floor with the drinks when he bumped in to a hand.
He turned and saw a beefy young man with gelled hair and a drink spilled inches from his shirt.
"What the fuck bro! You pushin' on me? Why you pushin' on me? I had a drink in my hand, could've spilled it all over my shirt, you need to watch where you're going. If you watch where you're going we won't have a problem.
Callum went stone faced and his hand trembled as it formed a fist, while the beads began to burn. He shook his head once, and began to turn back towards the bar, hoping he could simply walk away.. There was no luck.
"C'mon bro. You were pushin' on me? You pushin' on me, huh? I had a drink in my hand, could've spilled it all over my shirt. " He would've gone on, but Athena appeared.
"Hey Cal, I came to see what was taking so long. Guess it was nothing." She said this making direct eye contact with the trainer, who's face visibly reflected his anger.
"This your girl?" He looked at Athena now. "Your boy was pushin' on me. I had a drink in my hand, could've spilled it all over my shirt. He wasn't watching where his going. He needs to watch where he's going or where going to have a problem"
"Nobody's 'pushin on you' my guy. Please just go back to the party." Athena rolled her eyes, grabbing the drink from Cal's hands.
Muscle-man looked back at Callum.
"Oh? You need a chick to speak for you? Punk ass. How about we settle this on the field then, 'my guy'."
He walked away without further word.
Callum flexed his knuckles, before cracking his fingers.
"What happened to battling for glory being pointless?" Athena asked, gripping his forearm. He looked down at her. On the bar top there was a pen and a napkin, he wrote quickly before walking off on his way to the roof.
"Glory is different from pride in oneself. Battling reveals all truths."
She watched, as he walked, without any of the fear or hesitation she expected of him. His shoulders squared and his chin high he made his way up the steps to the roof.
There the trainer already waited, having cleared the battlefield for them. His machop barked fiercely from his side of the field.
"Looks like the Rat showed up! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle, two on two!"
Cal took a battle stance in his corner. The roof was wide and spacious. There were large fences all around to prevent any battles from causing any casualties. Cal had a choice to make. Scyther had the type advantage, but didn't have the flying-type moves to back it up. Froakie was slowly getting stronger, but was still inexperienced. Pikachu could handle it, but if he had something stronger on his belt then he might want to hold on to him.
He maximized Froakie's Pokeball, before throwing it out on to the field. A young man stepped to the exact middle of the field from the sidelines and raised his right arm.
"Challenger, ready?" The trainer nodded and his torchic ruffled its feathers.
"The challenged, are you ready?" Cal nodded, and Froakie's blew a bubble.
"Begin!" The ref shouted, and neither skipped a beat in launching commands.
"Machop, start this off with a sweep!" The machop leapt, launching himself at Froakie who leapt up higher over it.
"Hit it with a water pulse, but stay on your toes! Guerrilla warfare!"
Callum signed this quickly, but Froakie had developed a good sense of not only his tactics but how to catch on to most of what he was saying without fully losing his focus on the battle.
Froakie dove to the side, dodging a karate chop and quickly released a water pulse that glanced off the machop's side. It lost its balance and was spun around, but quickly gathered itself just in time to catch another water pulse. It took it head on, and shook, as it began to shiver.
"Machop, shake it off, and focus!"
The machop began to shake and tremble, steam rising off it.
Cal watched as Froakie launched another water pulse, but the machop quickly rolled to the side as the opposite trainer shouted.
"Machop, chop it away!"
The machop raised a hand as it glowed , before slapping the water pulse away.
"Again!" he shouted, and the machop ran now.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Callum tried to sign for Froakie to get away, but it was too late, as the machop slammed it's glowing hand down its side.
"Looks like a critical hit," He heard somebody say, and he had to agree, as Froakie was thrown to the side. When it got up, it immediately began to favor its' side. It didn't have much left, but it might still be able to win this.
"Froakie, quick attack in to Thief!" Froakie took one limping step before it dashed away in a blur, a dark aura surrounding its' hand. It swiped past the machop, which recoiled. In its' hand it held a Sitrus berry, which it promptly ate.
Looked like a come from behind win was in bound, Cal grinned to himself. What luck.
Or it was good luck, until the machop got another critical hit. Despite that, Froakie looked as though it could take more even though the hit seemed to have done more damage than it should've. All its' attacks seemed to hit harder than they should've as well, but he had no time to wonder.
He commanded Froakie to use water pulse again, and watched as the machop sidestepped it before closing in with a third karate chop. Froakie leapt to the side, and then again as the machop continued swinging.
He looked and evaluated his options, as time seemed to slow down. He could call for another water pulse, and risk the machop countering with another move that he didnt think he could avoid. Quick attack in to thief might cause some damage but froakie looked done. He knew Pikachu could clean up the rest of this match, as it was his strongest pokemon by far but what if his next pokemon was stronger than this machop? It wasn't likely as it already seemed power-leveled, so it was probably his starter.
Callum watched the opponent zone in on Froakie, who had two large bruises on it's leg and rib. It would need to be pulled out soon, but not yet.
"Lick!" Callum commanded, and Froakie's long tongue caught the Torchic just as it moved in to attack. It shuddered in response before yellow sparks crackled around it.
It moved in for another chop, but its' hand phased right through Froakie, just as Callum felt its' ghostly presence. Interesting.
"Another!" Cal commanded, this time his eyes flashing purple as he bypassed the hand signs entirely.
The Machop shuddered again, falling to a knee as Froakie licked it a final time and it felt flat.
Without skipping a beat he recalled it, effectively forfeiting Froakie for the rest of the match as there were no substitutions but that was fine. Pikachu could handle this.
Cal' hadn't had to issue commands to Pikachu since he first bonded with it.
His opponent recalled the machop with a growl and released a hawlucha. It flexed and posed, before leaping swooping in. Pikachu blasted it away with a thunder.
Callum smirked, and another thunder later it was over.
He didn't bother recalling Pikachu who was no worse for wear, and climbed his shoulder. The other trainer recalled his ghastly before clipping it to his belt. They met in the middle of the field.
"I don't know who you are or where you came from, but I know battles of the heart never lie. You won, but I'll be back for a rematch."
Callum nodded, and shook his hand firmly, before turning away.
Athena stood on the field behind him, her head cocked to the side as tho examining him. He stood as well, awaiting her judgement.
"Knight in shining armor, huh? I guess I could get used to that" she winked before grinning. "C'mon Cal, I'm not done dancing for the night." She walked off, presumably back downstairs to the dancefloor.
Callum grinned, before jogging to catch up to her.