in which callies knows that she and brandon can't do it anymore

Callie let out a shaky breath as she approached Brandon's bedroom door, trying to calm herself down.

It was just Brandon.

Of course, telling herself that had become completely useless weeks ago when she kissed Brandon at the wedding, throwing caution to the wind and acknowledging her feelings for him. He wasn't just Brandon, he was BRANDON, the boy that caused a ridiculous army of butterflies to take up residence in her stomach when he was around her, the boy who could make her completely weak at the knees with just a smile, let alone a kiss (and boy, did Brandon know how to kiss..)

Callie shook her head. Thinking about it was only going to make this all worse.

She pushed his bedroom door open, stepping into his room and giving him a soft smile. "Hey B."

Brandon's face lit up as he noticed her, closing his algebra book in record fast time. "Hey Callie." He leaned in to kiss her, looking confused as Callie pulled away before he could close the space between them.

"We need to talk." Callie said, gingerly sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Brandon, we can't do this anymore." Callie said, her voice cracking slightly as she choked the words out. "We need to stop doing this. I can't do it to Jude, I can't get him kicked out of the first real home he's had since our mom died because of a stupid mistake I made."

"This isn't a stupid mistake Callie, you know it isn't. How you feel, it isn't a mistake-"

"How I feel has nothing to do with this Brandon!" Callie interrupted, trying to sound as forceful as she possibly could.

"It has everything to do with this Callie." Brandon said. "How we feel about each other is why we're in this situation in the first place."

"Then maybe we shouldn't feel how we do about each other."

"Callie, you can't stand there and tell me you hate how you feel about me."

"Thats not the point Brandon! OK? That's not the point. The point is I hate lying to Stef and Lena, I hate having to sneak around, I hate always worrying that we're going to slip up and get found out, and then Jude and I will be kicked out, and this will all go on my record.." Callie said. "I can't do this anymore B."

"Callie, I love you." Brandon said desperately. "You love me too."

"I know B. But, we can't do this anymore, alright? We can't."

Brandon looked down at his hands, his forehead creased with - was it annoyance? "Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?"

"No." Callie said. "We're just not meant to be Brandon. The circumstances, they'll never be right."

"Never is a strong word Cal."

"Brandon, you aren't making this any easier." Callie choked out.

"I'm sorry." Brandon said. "I'm sorry things aren't different."

"Me too B." Callie sighed. "Me too."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to give up on us Callie."

"You should." Callie said. "You should give up on us. Go back to Talya, or something."

Brandon snorted. "Like I could ever go back to Talya after the past few weeks. Like i could ever go out with anyone else."

"There's a lot of other girls in the world."

"None of them are you." Brandon said. "Callie, in a few years you'll be eighteen, and you wont technically be in the foster system anymore, I'll wait-"

"No." Callie said sharply. "No Brandon. You need to give up on us right now, and forget about me. OK? Because we are never going to work. Our relationship was doomed from the start - it, it's wrong, okay. Our relationship is wrong. You're my foster brother, and we shouldn't have started this in the first place. So just give up on it, okay?"

"You really think how we feel is wrong?" Brandon said quietly.

Callie looked at him. "Yes." She lied.

"Fine. I'll give up then."

"B, its.. Its for the best, you know that."

"Seeing as you obviously think our relationship is so wrong, yeah, maybe it is." Brandon said, not quite looking at her. "Can you get out please? I need to practice."

Callie nodded, standing up and moving toward the door. She looked back at Brandon before she ducked back out into the hallway, the other teenager sitting completely silently, his gaze fixed on the wall.

There and then, Callie knew she had just driven a wedge between her and Brandon she would never be able to remove, or fix.

It was for the best though. It was for the best.

At least, that's what she told herself when she ran back to her and Marianna's room, and cried herself to sleep, the angry banging of Brandon's keyboard the only sound in the whole house.

It was for the best, it was.