Walked in on Mark and Addison having sex before the matinee performance. I hope your day is proving better than mine.

Arizona opened Callie's text during the water break during cheerleading practice, and didn't realize she was already smiling until an actual laugh worked it's way quietly out of her throat.

Cheer practice isn't going very smoothly, however, I haven't had to witness any carnal relations, so I guess I'm faring better than you are! She typed back.

Surreptitiously, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure her squad was preoccupied with themselves rather than noticing her texting.

Though she and Callie had spoken regularly before they'd met in person last week, since then they had been texting more during the days. She couldn't complain – they somehow always had conversation to make every night even with their texting.

The only complaint she did have was the occasional odd look she received from a girl on the squad or in the sorority, who would see her smiling at her phone, and then gave her the inquisitive look.

Or even worse, a knowing smirk.

As long as their personal matters stayed out of their activities, she stayed out of them; she would like if they extended the same courtesy.

The text she got back within a minute made her jump slightly – they did text often, but because they both ran on different schedules, they didn't text back and forth quickly most of the time.

See, I knew the bad feeling you had about this week was going to be fine.

Arizona rolled her eyes before narrowing them, and nearly took the time to write back against Callie's insistence that she was having "bad feelings" about this week. But then, as her thumbs hesitated over her messaging screen, she saw that the time just ticked to the minute to end the water break.

And if she wasn't the stickler for being on time, then no one would be.

With a quiet sigh, she placed her phone back in her bag and turned around, gesturing for the girls to get in formation to run through the routine again. And as they did, she reflected on Callie's words. It wasn't like that "bad feelings" stuff at all; it was simply that, well, Arizona had known that this week wasn't going to go well.

It wasn't something silly, like a "gut-feeling" or anything like that. Whatever Callie had tried to deem it as when she'd spoken about it a couple of nights ago.

No, Arizona had known that this week wasn't going to go well based on past experience and clues that were cuing up around her seemingly at every turn for the last few days.

The girls on the squad were getting restless while waiting for their next competition – they always got like this when they were at this point in the new choreography. The point where the routines had all been learned, and were now being perfected.

Which meant that the "fun" aspects to practices – learning new moves, hearing the new music… the aspects that really drew them into the sport – were put on hold for the next couple of weeks, until after they won the next competition.

And it was during these times that she had her most watchful eye on the girls, because their coach stopped personally attending practice as soon as the choreography had been learned; Arizona was the one who critiqued until it was competition worthy.

"Again!" she called out, and the groans she had expected to receive in return nearly made her grin a little bit, because they came out in full force. "Come on, ladies. If we can make it through two more run-throughs without any mishaps, then we can leave early," she enticed, because well, she wasn't a slave driver and her girls were working hard.

Hard work deserved acknowledgement, and she firmly believed that. Hard work for the reward; it was the way she lived her life.

With her arms crossed, she walked across the gym – it was still too cold to be practicing out on the field – and lifted an appraising eyebrow. She could still spot the kinks they would have to work out during next week's practices, but the routine had gotten to be almost spotless.

An encouraging smile on her face, she started pacing the other way, "This is what I'm talking about. Moving as a unit –"

She cut herself off as blue eyes narrowed into the back row, where two of her girls, Sadie and Megan, both missed their cue to somersault over/under one another, and were scowling at each other instead. With a sigh, she nodded her head to April, who jogged over to cut the music.

"Sadie, Megan. Cut it out," she felt frustrated, and she made sure to reflect that in her tone. Better she voice it than the other girls on the squad who, after being made the promise of getting out early if they could get this routine down, were glaring at the girls in back.

Arizona, somewhere in the back of her mind that registered some of the gossip that had been going around. As a general rule, she tuned as much of it out as possible, so she wasn't sure, but she thought that Megan and Sadie were both interested in the same guy from the soccer team.

Nailing them both with a glare, a tried and true glare that made the competition quake in their pleated skirts – she lifted her eyebrows and made her way over to her iPod, "Again. And this time, pay attention to the cues."

This time, they barely got halfway through the song before she could hear their screams over the music, and all of the girls stopped moving to stare. Annoyed, jaw set, Arizona deliberately paused the music again, in a tactic that usually worked when some of the girls got side tracked in conversation or argument – draw attention to just how disruptive they were being – before making her way over.

And when Megan shoved Sadie, she started moving faster, calling out, "That's enough!"

By the time she made it to them, Sadie was practically baring her teeth, their argument had raised to a crescendo as their voices echoed through the gym. She knew then that the rest of practice was already shot, because the other girls were already getting into this chaos.

And damn if that wasn't even more frustrating. Stepping forward, she tossed out her arm toward Megan, who looked like she was going to lunge again, "I said –"

Her head snapped back, pain bursting against her jaw, as Sadie's fist made solid contact.

It made her stumble back a couple of steps, even, before she felt April – she knew it was April – gently catch her shoulders, steadying her.

The silence that now had taken over the chaos might have been funny in any other situation. Megan was staring at her in shock, and Sadie's expression could only be categorized as fear. She'd admit it did give her a little satisfaction.

Wiggling her jaw a little – Sadie packed more of a punch than she would have thought – she winced, before narrowing her eyes at the two girls ahead of her.

"I hope that some guy was worth the fight," her voice was quiet, determined, and it still rang out around everyone, "Girls, practice is done for the day. Megan, Sadie, stay," she ordered. And even though she could tell that the rest of the team wanted to stay, they left fairly quickly.

As soon as door to the locker room closed, she crossed her arms, and faced the two girls who still look somewhat shocked, "This isn't going to take long. You both know that fighting during practice isn't tolerated, and you know that physical violence is tolerated even less." She nodded toward the taller girl, "Megan, you're suspended from the team for the next two weeks; you won't be in our next competition meet, and towel duty is all yours until you're done with suspension."

She tilted her head to let the girl know that she was dismissed. And because Megan was generally quiet and had never caused a problem before, she wasn't surprised when the girl accepted the punishment with a quick nod. She didn't miss the glare she sent Sadie as she gathered her things and made her way to the exit.

Bringing her hands to her hips, she eyed Sadie, who had masked her expression now into a stonier face. Shaking her head, she sighed, "Sadie, you were already on probation; I think you know what's coming next."

When the other blonde's eyes widened with dawning, Arizona could already see the argument dwelling there, and she cut it off, "No. You're off the team; coach told you last time that this would happen."

It was tough, she would admit, to see the way Sadie's eyes filled with tears at the words. But, with a deep breath and the reminder of the pounding in her jaw, she steeled herself against them, and kept her face expressionless.

And then turned to grab her own bag and walked away. Instead of heading to the locker room, where she knew gossip would be flying, she settled the bag over her shoulder and started towards the outside exit.

She only paused briefly to tentatively bring her hand to Sadie's shoulder, if only to say that this wouldn't reflect on her within the sorority because she knew the other girl relied heavily on her place as a well-liked upperclassman in the sorority house, but she was shrugged off.

Feeling that shrug, she narrowed her eyes and turned on her heel toward the doors. She had a date with an ice pack.

When her phone rang that night, she was deep in concentration as she read over her final draft for a class in the morning, and reached over. Without looking at it, she answered, and set it on the desk next to her, muttering, "Hey, hold on."

Since coming home from cheerleading – thankful that she hadn't had any other responsibilities that evening – she'd been in her room, putting the final touches on her paper to distract her from the turmoil that was going on in the house around her.

But she supposed she didn't need to reread her paper again when she could talk to Callie as a distraction. Saving her document, she quickly shut her laptop, and picked up her phone again, "Back, sorry," and then she sucked in a sharp breath at the way her phone pressed uncomfortably against her jaw.

"No problem. What was that?" Callie asked, and her concern at the sound Arizona had made was clear.

Gingerly moving the phone so it was against her other ear, she reached up to place her fingers against her jaw and pressed lightly, "Nothing. Just – there was a little fight at practice." She didn't want to go into details. She didn't want to talk about the genuine sadness she'd seen in Sadie's eyes and the fact that she'd thought about it in her room for the last few hours.

Or about how she knew the girls were confused and some a bit angry at her, even though she hadn't seen or spoken to them, because Sadie was their friend, and it looked like Megan got off with a slap on the wrist in comparison.

But she knew that it didn't make a difference. Because as soon as coach heard about this, the result was going to be the same.

The concern that she'd heard was taken up a notch now, "A fight? You got into a fight? Like boom-pow?"

She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her throat, and she shook her head, "Yeah, like boom-pow. And it wasn't me in the fight; I was an active bystander who was injured by the violence."

Now Callie gasped, "What happened?"

Groaning slightly as she ran her hand over her jaw again – she really should stop touching it – she shook her head, "I stepped between two girls who were having an issue. And one of them was going to punch the other, but my jaw got in the way."

"But you're okay? Did it leave a mark?"

She couldn't help but snort in laugher, "Of course it left a mark, Callie. I got seriously punched by a cheerleader who helps throw other people in the air and catch them for recreation."

Callie inhaled through her teeth in sympathy and waited a few seconds before asking, "How bad is it?"

Lifting her eyebrows, she turned her chair to be able to see in the mirror above her bureau. It was slightly swollen, which she was pretty sure would be gone by the weekend. But the dark bruise that had taken a few hours to really set in was going to be there for a little bit, and it made her scowl before looking away, "I'm not hideously deformed, so that's something."

It made Callie's laugh come, and the almost musical quality of if washed over her, and made her smile in response. Then Callie's laughter died out after a few seconds and she was silent for a few moments, her voice returning hesitantly, "Can I, uh, see?"

Arizona lifted an eyebrow in confusion for a moment, "Huh?"

Which prompted Callie to speak again, still sounding nervous – which was a strange tone for Callie's voice, "I was thinking we could Skype or something. It – it's fine if you don't want to, or can't. I was just wondering," she rushed to get out, and then was waiting on Arizona's answer.

She couldn't remember the last time she Skyped someone, and for a moment, blue eyes landed on the wall she shared with April, who had undoubtedly picked up on the fact that she had this new friendship, though Arizona was still loathe to tell her it was with the "stalker" from a few months ago.

It probably wasn't a good idea, especially considering all of the crap that was going on in the house today, but what she found herself saying was, "Sure."

Within a few seconds, they'd both hung up, and Arizona texted Callie her Skype name. As she waited for the call, she scooted all of the way back in her chair, pulling one of her legs up to rest her chin on her knee.

She'd admit that she was kind of excited to see Callie again, even if it was on Skype. The brunette was just… nice to talk to. Arizona found her voice soothing, and when they'd met last week, Arizona felt like her features were beautiful in a way that was somehow soothing to her as well.

Or maybe it was a fluke. A trick of her memory, and she pictured Callie as prettier than she was because she'd been excited and nervous about their meeting.

As she nearly jumped when her laptop screen started alerting her to the incoming call, she was already reaching forward to answer it. After a moment, her screen opened and a slightly pixelated Callie was on her screen, that big somehow radiant smile already in place to greet her.

No, so how beautiful she was wasn't a fluke, Arizona decided, as she found herself smiling back, with a little wave, "Hi."

"Hey!" Callie's greeting was excited, and she lifted one of her eyebrows that was perfectly arched, "Can I see it? Show me!" as soon as the words left her mouth, Arizona could see via the screen that her cheeks tinged slightly pink, which made her giggle as Callie corrected, "Uh. I meant, your jaw. Where you got punched."

"I know, I know," she sighed, and turned her head a bit, leaning closer to the camera attached to the top of her laptop.

Callie gasped again, and this time, it wasn't really funny, because as she turned back to face her friend, those wide brown eyes were staring right at her intensely – through a computer screen, she reminded herself as she shifted in her seat – with worry, "Arizona! You said you weren't disfigured!"

Her mouth fell open as Callie's expression turned playful, and she didn't know how the brunette did it, but she already felt more lighthearted in this conversation than she had all day, "If you're going to be rude about my deformation, I'm hanging up."

At her threat, Callie clearly tried to sober her expression, even as her eyes still twinkled, "Fine fine… but in all seriousness, that looks painful. What happened?"

Unable to stop herself, Arizona threw her gaze over to her door, which was firmly closed, but she couldn't help but imagine everything going on in other parts of the house. Sighing, she shook her head, as she turned back to Callie, "I don't really want to get into it; it's dumb. Basically, two girls fought. I tried to step in, and this happened. Ouch."

Callie bit into her bottom lip as her eyes landed on the area again, "I'm sorry. Are you feeling better?"

Shrugging, she sent a small smile toward the brunette, "Well, I am talking to my favorite distraction."

She couldn't tell if it was the lighting on Callie's end of the call or what, but she swore that there was a light blush on her cheeks as she ducked her head at Arizona's words, "Distraction, huh?"

Nodding, she lightly used the foot she had still on the ground to rock her chair back and forth, "Mhmm. Distract me from the pain."

"Want to play a game?" Callie asked, and the way she perked up at the question was nearly enough to make Arizona laugh because it was just so… Callie.

But she shook her head, once more resting her chin on her knee, "What kind of game?"

Callie thought for a few seconds, and Arizona watched as the camera shifted and Callie settled onto her bed, lying on her back, before she said, "Okay, so it's not a game, but it will distract you."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow in question, amused at the scene in front of her.

"Yeah. I'm just going to fulfill my duties and tell you some stories that will take your mind off of everything," Callie sounded more sure of herself now, a smile playing on those full lips.

And Arizona found herself very much behind this idea, "Okay. Hit me." Then she frowned, "But not too hard, that already happened once today."

They locked eyes through the camera, and grinned.

Then dark eyes rolled at her, "Okay. So, earlier, I texted you and said that I walked in on Mark and Addison?" Arizona nodded softly, urging her on, before Callie continued, "They were getting it on, outside of Addison's dressing room, which is right next to mind. And as disturbed as I was by the image – and I was," she emphasized it with a nod toward the camera, which made Arizona smile, "All I could stare at was their mouths."

Confused, she narrowed her eyes, "What?"

Callie grinned self-deprecatingly, "Their mouths! Like… they were making out like no tomorrow, and I mean, thankfully that's what I was looking at considering everything else that was going on, but – it hit me that it's a weird thing. They make out nearly every day because of their… affair," Arizona could tell Callie was reluctant to use the word and even said it somewhat guiltily, before she pushed on, "Mark and Addison are making out. Then an hour later, the show starts, and I'm kissing Mark. And then I'm kissing Addison! It's – it's a weird little web."

Arizona had been nodding along with the story before that last part caught her, and everything seemed to pause, "Wait. You… kiss Addison?"

She'd known about Mark, because she had known he was playing Callie's male love interest in the play. But this whole kissing another woman business – even if it was on stage – was new. And, she would admit, much more interesting.

Callie looked at her in confusion, "I – yeah. Have we never discussed this? Lyla, my character, she… she falls in love with two people in the play. I don't want to completely spoil you for it, but one of them is Caroline – Lyla's best friend – who is played by Addison."

Arizona nodded slowly, even though she knew they'd never actually discussed this before. So, Callie was kissing another woman in her play. That was just another incentive to see it. As soon as the thought entered her mind, she felt her cheeks heat in a blush and she shook her head.

Not like, she was going to see the play to try to perv on her friend. But she was more interested in any production that featured a well crafted story of female sexuality, and all the better if it was being done by Callie, who she just knew was a good performer.

It appeared her silence made Callie nervous, because that tone was back when she asked apprehensively, "I mean… you… that's not going to stop you from coming to see the show, right?"

Which snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly shook her head, "What? No, I – no. I'll be seeing the show no matter what. That's definitely not a problem."

Callie seemed relieved by her words, and she gave her one of those smiles that could probably light up a room, "Good."

Arizona muffled a yawn as she nodded, "But I see your point. It's a weird little web of kissing that goes on in your life."

Callie chuckled softly before looking next to her at the bottom of her screen, "Why aren't you lying down?" she shook her head at herself, before adding, "I just mean, by this time, unless you're busy, you're in bed."

Arizona realized it was past midnight, and Callie was right, but she shrugged, "I don't know… it seemed more cumbersome with this thing," she pointed, gesturing toward her laptop.

A perfect eyebrow lifted at her before Callie gestured around on her end, "I'm in bed. So comfortable," she teased, and Arizona rolled her eyes before shifting forward to take her laptop into her hands.

Picking it up, she made her way over to the bed, placing the laptop onto one side of the pillows, and pulling down the blankets to climb in. After a moment's hesitation, she turned off the light and sunk into her comfy bed, releasing a groan, before turning back to the camera to find Callie mirroring her on her own bed.

For a moment, she froze at the way this seemed. It was…

It just was a lot of things, she thought, as dark eyes looked back at her. Strange, because this was what they both did every night already, but now they could see what was happening. And kind of interesting, in the way that made her stomach tingle.

Then Callie gave her a small smile before she yawned, "You're quiet. Does that mean you need another distraction story? Because I have one that is extremely embarrassing," she admitted, and she was incredibly serious as she turned towards the camera.

The intensity of the look made her freeze for a moment, and she would admit that she was intrigued, "Okay, I will obviously bite. What is it?"

Callie took in a deep breath, before blowing it out, and it made her hair flutter a bit, "The first time I was ever on stage, I threw up. Everywhere. It was awful and disgusting, and it's somewhat even more embarrassing because there was no one even in the audience. Like, it wasn't even an actual crowd that scared me; it was the idea of one."

Though it hadn't been what she was expecting, Arizona's eyebrows raised high on her forehead and a laugh escaped her quickly, before she lifted her hand to cover her mouth, "And this led you to believe that you should be on Broadway?"

The look on Callie's face turned from one of mirth and slight embarrassment, and Arizona watched her go through several changes, before she became serious. She looked down at her hands and shrugged, "That was in high school. I sat in the auditorium one day during lunch because it was empty. And… it was kind of thrilling, you know? I loved it, even though I was petrified. But I didn't decide to go to Broadway right after that; it was a few years before I realized where I really wanted to be."

There it was. That thing about Callie where she so easily said things like that – things about her past, and Arizona wondered how it was so simple for her.

Closing her eyes, she hummed, "I liked that story. It makes you fearless for following your dreams, despite the vomit. Tell me more," she requested, as she made herself more comfortable.

Callie sounded slightly affronted as she asked, "… about the vomit?"

Which made Arizona laugh, "No! Just… more stories."

"Bedtime stories," Callie mumbled, and her voice was all soft and sweet in a way that let Arizona know that she, too, was tired. She liked it, even as she nodded in affirmation.

Waking up to her alarm after only a few hours of sleep definitely wasn't new to Arizona. Waking up with her phone on her pillow from when she'd fallen asleep on it talking to Callie those few hours before wasn't new to her, not after the last month of doing so just about every night.

What was new to Arizona, she realized, as she reached for her phone to get to her alarm to shut it off, was that her laptop was still there, propped up on her pillow, and Skype was still open. And a sleeping woman on the other end, who was groaning at the sound of the alarm.

She felt… odd, and she didn't enjoy the way her stomach flipped as she watched Callie slowly wake up.

Dark eyes looked blearily at her through dark hair as she grumbled, "We skyped? All night?"

Arizona bit her lip and looked around at the sunlight filtering into her room, "It would appear so."

Callie pulled a pillow over her head, completely removing her from Arizona's view, "How do you wake up like this?"

Now she grinned, even though she really disliked having to wake up, but just at the way Callie said it, as she stretched, "Years of practice. But… I'll let you get back to sleep."

Callie's sleepy groan was what met her statement, and it made her grin wider – which was much too wide for a morning grin.

Before she could disconnect the call, the pillow lifted slightly, and she could see Callie peek out at her from underneath everything, "Good luck at your mock-trial thing."

She really liked that Callie remembered these things about her – she could tell her something small, once, and she remembered days later.

Softly, she whispered, "Thanks. Go back to sleep."

Callie's eyes closed and she mumbled, " 'night." Before Arizona disconnected the call.

Callie's well wishings did nothing to fix the continuation of the bad week, it turned out.

Arizona stared blankly down at the program for the first official mock-trial semi-finals, against Harvard, to be hosted here at UPenn on Saturday afternoon, only two days from now. Yes, she was the president of the sorority and the captain of the cheerleading squad, and yes, those were proud accomplishments that she had worked hard for.

They were accomplishments. They were coveted positions. They helped her push herself to be the best that she could be. And she took each position seriously and put the amount of effort she would expect anyone who wanted to be a leader to put into them.

But mock-trial debates were her passion.

And if there was a presidential role for mock-trial, she was confident that she would have that position as well. It wasn't that she was cocky – she was confident – but she had been the unofficial first chair leader in mock-trial since the spring semester of her second year in college.

As it was, there were no presidential or captain or official leadership roles in mock-trial because to be on the team was a rigorous exercise in and of itself.

But despite not being an official leader of the team, she was the leader of this team. Sure, things had felt like they were off here since the first debate a month ago, when she wasn't given the lead chair.

However, she'd… made her peace with that. Because even though it was the first debate of the year, it was still true that she didn't, couldn't, and shouldn't have first chair in every debate. But, as she stared down at the program sitting on the table in front of her, to not be made first chair – or even second chair? – in the first round of the semi-finals?

It was personal. It was a slap in the face.

And she was angry. It was only with the utmost self-control that she possessed – and lord knew she possessed a lot – that she managed to keep her face impassive.

Their new professor – Robert Stark – had given them a court case to write an argument for via email Sunday night, and had given them two days to write it, which Arizona already thought was certainly not enough time for a well-prepared case, but had nonetheless stayed up all night to complete – after a short conversation with Callie.

And she knew without a doubt her argument proposal was the best one that had been handed in because her mock-trial peers had asked her to proof-read their arguments!

Yet, undeniably, she was sitting here and staring at the fact that her name had been written in as support.

Support. In the semi-finals.

She could sense the curious, tentative, and somewhat confused glances darting to her and to Professor Stark, then back to the program in front of them that he had passed out. Even her classmates who were chosen as lead chairs. And as much as she was raging inside, she took a deep breath, and maintained her composure.

Though she would be lying if she said she wasn't relieved when they were released within the next few minutes. With a deep breath – then another – she slowly organized and packed her items as her teammates filtered out, before she made her way to Professor Stark.

Who hardly spared her a glance as he looked up from the desk, "Robbins?"

Her hand wanted to shake as she held out the program, but she made sure it was steady as she held it in front of her, "Professor. I was wondering what the reasoning is behind why you chose Karev and Barnett as the two lead chairs."

He let out a long-suffering sigh, that made her jaw clench even tighter, before he sat back, "You can't be first chair in every debate, Robbins."

"I understand that," she thanked whatever god she didn't believe in that her voice was as steady as she wanted it to be, "However, I haven't not been first chair in the semi-finals in two years, and in those two years, we didn't lose. I know that Karev and Barnett are capable, but my proposal was better. Which is why I'm simply asking for a reason why."

Stark put his hands together and leaned back to look up at her, "Your arrogance is astounding, Robbins. Have you ever thought that sometimes you have to let others shine?"

Her teeth bit painfully into her cheek for a moment, and she allowed herself to close her eyes – just for a second – before answering calmly, "I support my teammates and I hope for their success. But this was supposed to be about who wrote the best proposal, and who can get us even further into the finals."

He narrowed his eyes up at her, but waited too long before he spoke, because words were already spilling out of her mouth again, lowly, vehemently.

"With all due respect, Professor Stark, this team looks to me whenever there is an issue. And I gladly accept that responsibility. I gladly put in the extra hours in the library. I happily look over debate preparations for my teammates even after I've been put on support. And at the last minute, when someone needs to step up for the extra legwork, I don't mind being the one who it automatically falls to. But that has to mean something at the end of the day. It means that I put in the work to deserve this. I deserve to be first chair on this team, against Harvard, especially as the only graduating senior," she finished, and her chest was heaving slightly with her frustration.

Remain. Calm.

When he stared up at her, she could see that he was annoyed with her outburst, but she could also see that it was taking him too long to come up with the legitimate reason of why this was happening.

Because she was right in what she had known all along; this was personal.

It wasn't about her proposal.

It was about what happened last spring.

And just the reminder of that made her spine snap straight into place. The backs of her eyes started to burn and it only got worse when she refused to let herself even close them for longer than a blink.

She refused to go there.

Finally, Stark found his voice and it sounded as uncertain as she thought it would, "Robbins, you – you need to be a team player here."

That was it?

That was all he had to say?! Her inner voice positively raged. So loudly, she almost cringed.

Outwardly, she pointedly made eye contact with him and turned around. As much as her feet wished they could stomp or that she could slam the door behind her, she was careful to walk swiftly and quietly away, closing it with a soft click.

By the time she made her way back to the sorority house, she was fuming. Because her jaw hurt, and she'd gotten dirty looks from some of her squad who knew about kicking Sadie off the team – even though they didn't know about her previous fighting record, but that wasn't her place to tell them about – and this whole thing with mock-trial.

And because of Stark and last year, and it all just… ugh.

Her hands were clenched into tight fists, even though she kept telling herself just to breathe and relax.

When she opened the door to the house, she lifted an eyebrow at April, who had turned the corner just as she'd entered and was walking toward her. Managing to not snip, just barely, and because April didn't deserve it, she asked, "How's your day, Apes?"

And her voice sounded tired to her own ears.

But the moment she saw that April looked mad, all she wanted was to pretend she hadn't seen her friend and had continued back up the stairs. It was too late now, and April crossed her arms, "Arizona, I understand and respect everything you do for the team. You know that. But kicking Sadie off? Megan – and the other girls who have gotten into fights before… it's a double standard. Of course she should be punished, but…" she trailed off, even though she was clearly still mad.

Arizona's hands clenched tighter, and she had to desperately bite her tongue. She wished to god she was the kind of person who would use Sadie's past to defend herself, but she refused to sink that low.

It must have been because she was in such a bad mood already that she goaded April to continue, "But?"

"But it's because she punched you that she got kicked off? Arizona, that's… they deserve the same punishment, and there's a lot of talk going on about fairness and equal treatment on the team."

When the words burst from April's mouth, she realized that Sadie, who knew that the other members of the squad had no idea about Sadie's prior probation status, was clearly spreading the word that the reason she was kicked off was because Arizona was personally pissed about getting her face punched.

Which she kind of was. And she wasn't surprised at the gossip, because several of the girls around were big on gossip; it didn't even phase her, really, because she knew it would blow over. It wasn't the first time that the girls had decided it was a good time to gossip about her over something petty.

It was something she'd learned in high school and something she had passed on to Callie – you were alone at the top. And that meant that the people who you were the leader of sometimes resented you, which came with the title.

But the fact that April was saying it to her was what made her snap, "You really think that? You really think that of me? You, of all people?"

Her words hit home, and she saw that in the way April looked down for a moment, before her hands tangled in front of her, "I just… I know you're not vindictive, Arizona. But you've been acting so strange lately. You've barely talked to me in the last few months! So, yeah, I have no idea what's going on with you. And it's getting even closer to the day, so maybe that's getting to you, too."

Arizona's stomach twisted, and her chest felt all heavy, because she trusted April more than to anyone else at this damn place. And everything she was saying laid heavy on top of everything else, so she simply turned on her heel because she just couldn't deal with this right now. She left April in the hallway downstairs, and closed the door behind her, leaning her head back against it.

She had known that this was going to be an awful week; she'd give anything to be anywhere but here.

Please let me know what you think! As always, I love hearing your thoughts, and thank you so much for everyone who reviewed last chapter! You're all awesome. And thank you for reading, in general :)