Stef couldn't help but be shocked at her son. As soon as Brandon had asked about bringing someone home for dinner, the look of confusion was etched clearly across her face. It took a couple of seconds for her to register her son's words but as she looked behind him, seeing the girl standing awkwardly on the sidewalk, she immediately said yes. A shy smile graced Callie's lips as she spoke - the blonde making sure that her voice was loud enough for them both to hear. Watching the pair slide into the backseat, one after the other, she couldn't help but let a small smile of her own creep onto her face. It had been too long since she had seen Brandon as happy. After all that had happened, it was all that Stef had wanted to see.
"B, you should call Momma and ask her to heat up an extra plate," the blonde said, looking back at the teenagers for a brief moment before pulling the car out of it's parked spot. She watched in the mirror as her son pulled his cell phone out from his back pocket before continuing. "So..."
"Callie," the brunette replied instantly, knowing exactly what the older woman wanted to know.
"Callie," Stef said, mimicking the younger girl with another smile. "Have you been going to group for a while?" The blonde wanted to kick herself after she had spoken. Of all the things to ask this teenager about - it could have been her hobbies, her family, even the weather - she asked about why she needed to go to therapy. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I've been going for a little while I guess. The guy who runs it, Josh, is an old foster brother of mine so I help him out a lot of the time," Callie replied, playing nervously with the sleeve of her sweater as she listened to the boy next to her speak. She couldn't help but smirk, stealing glances through her curly hair as she heard his words - noticing the redness growing on his cheeks with every sound that came past his lips.
"We'll be home soon...yes...yes it's her...please don't let the twins embarrass me," Brandon added the last part in a whisper in an attempt to hide it from the girl next to her but he was unsuccessful. It hadn't worked at all. Hanging up quickly, he raised his hips slightly to slide his phone back into his pocket before turning to face her with an awkward smile. "Full house. Don't judge me too harshly."
Callie couldn't help but laugh at him and how uncomfortable he seemed. "Don't worry about it. I wish that I had a big family, you should consider yourself lucky Brandon."
"You can have them if you like. I wouldn't mind a break."
"Brandon Foster!" Stef scolded him jokingly.
The journey back home didn't take as long as it usually would. The evening traffic was calmer than Stef had expected and the conversation had allowed the time to fly by them unnoticed. Callie couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as the car came to a halt. The big house, the big garden, the big family. It was all that she had ever wanted. The happiness. In her time she had been bounced around to various foster homes but there came a point where she was tired of all the change. She just wanted something to call her own. When the walked through the front door all the brunette could think about was how grateful she was the Brandon had asked her to come back with him.
"BRANDON'S GIRLFRIEND IS HERE," a voice shouted from another room. Callie could almost feel Brandon wince next to her as they heard what she could only assume was his brother's booming words.
"JESUS!" everyone except Callie, who couldn't help but simply laugh at the whole exchange, called back. Brandon immediately tucked his head close to his chest, trying to not let her see the scarlet shade his face had adopted. Letting out a deep sigh and scrunching his eyelids together, he spoke again. "One thing. All I wanted was him not to do one thing."
Callie laughed again but instead of replying straight away she simply brushed her fingers against his before lacing them carefully together. "Are you gonna introduce me to this wonderful family of yours or are we gonna just stand here all night?" she nudged his shoulder slightly before letting go of his hand and encouraging him with a small step forward.
Brandon began to move, walking in front of her and leading her straight into the kitchen. Callie had felt at ease as soon as they had entered through the front door, unlike the older boy she needed no encouragement. The same sense of sadness hit her as she passed all of the family photos lining the walls, all the memories that they had shared. Callie almost felt jealous.
"You must be the infamous Callie. Brandon has told us so much about you," Lena smiled warmly as she spoke, watching as the teenagers walked closer to her. She placed the knife that she had been using down carefully, next to the sliced tomatoes and cucumber. The voice had brought Callie out of her thoughts. "I hope you're good with lasagne?"
"Yeah of course, thank you. It's better than anything I would be able to make for myself tonight anyway. I don't think I can take another night of instant noodles," Callie let out a slight laugh at her own words, barely realising what she had said. Stef and Lena immediately looked at each other questioningly.
"What age are you again Callie?" the blonde asked, attempting to make her words sound casual though she was listening intently.
"Sixteen. Seventeen in July," the teen spoke again and Brandon motioned for her to sit down, patting the seat next to him lightly. She slid onto it without a second thought. Beofre either of the older women could say anything or ask anything else, Mariana half ran into the room - the focus immediately going to her. Jumping slightly onto the seat across for Callie, she let her bag drop down to her feet and slid her coat off. "Sorry I'm late...who's this?"
"This is Callie, Brandon's friend from group he's been talking about," Stef replied and the Latina raised an eyebrow with a smirk. Brandon groaned slightly as his mother spoke. All he needed was to be more embarrassed in front to this girl than he already was. The blonde scooped some salad onto her own plate before lifting to spoon again in a questioning manner. "Callie?"
"Please," she nodded, coughing slightly and covering her mouth in an attempt to get rid of the slowly forming grin that had began to appear on her face. Bringing her fist away briefly when Stef was finished. "Thank you."
"B, can you go get your brother. Tell him food's on the table," Lena asked, bringing the hot dish out of the oven and placing it on top of the island. Brandon sighed and stood up, though he only left momentarily. His loud shouting filled the house though he was only at the bottom of the stairs. The four winced slightly at the noise - Mariana over dramatically covering her ears.
"COMING," the younger boy shouted back and they both entered together as if nothing had happened. Both mothers looked at them with a frown, though Lena's was somewhat more serious than Stef's.
"Y'know I could have just done that myself Brandon," Lena said and he murmured a quick apology before moving back to sit next to Callie. Brandon politely placed a slice of lasagne onto her plate before doing the same thing to his own. Dinner went past uneventfully. Mariana, as she usually tended to do, told the story of her entire (obviously incredibly exciting) day - condensing it into a 10 minute burst luckily for the family. Until they had began to ask her questions, Callie had stayed relatively quiet - soaking up the atmosphere. She could almost pretend for a second that this was her own life if she tried hard enough.
"So Callie, do you have any siblings?" Lena asked before taking another mouthful of food.
"Yeah, I have a little brother. Jude," Callie smiled as she mentioned his name. "We were split up a little while ago though, I haven't seen him for a few weeks."
"Split up?"
"I'm a foster kid," she replied with an awkward laugh. Bringing out her battered cell phone, Callie scrolled through her camera gallery before settling on one of her favourite photographs - not realising that Brandon's eyes had been fixed to the screen the whole time. She passed the phone over to the older woman. "This is him."
"He looks just like you!" Stef smiled. "How old is he?"
"Thirteen."
"Did you take those other photos?" Brandon said suddenly, taking the teenager by surprise. "They're really great Callie."
"It's not that impressive. All you have to do is point and click," the brunette replied. She wanted to protest as the women began to scroll but she didn't want to be rude, or come across badly. She wanted to make a good impression. Even for just now, it felt like she was a part of the family and she had only just met them. It wasn't so bad.
Sorry I haven't updated in so long!This is only a short one though. I was focused a lot on another story and a couple of projects I have going on in the real world. I was debating whether to continue with the Brallie in this - considering that Callie is now adopted on the show, some people might find it kinda weird. As always though, it's up to you. Please review and give me all the feedback you can. Tell me what you want to see and I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks!