Brandon sighed as he made his way down to the student lounge where Sophia told him to meet her and Wyatt. Apparently Sophia signed him and Callie up for the summer dance committee and they were both in charge of music. Brandon rolled his eyes when he reached the room and wasn't surprised to see Wyatt and Sophia making out. He sat down on the couch and got his phone out to check the time.
'Good luck getting Callie to come' he thought to himself. He's noticed that Callie had been avoiding him ever since that make out session in music room. His face flushed a bit as he remembered it but he quickly shook the memory out of his mind.
'She's not ready for another relationship yet' he thought again. Sighing and looking around the room as he waited for the meeting to begin. Just as he got up to say something to Wyatt and Sophia, Callie walked through the door, looking as gorgeous as ever and she rolled her eyes at the sight of Wyatt and Sophia.
"Seriously guys?" She said in annoyance, aware of Brandon's presence in the room but not acknowledging him. It took a while for Brandon to look away from her but he eventually did and he cleared his throat when Wyatt and Sophia finally looked in their direction.
"Oh they're here! Yay!" Sophia exclaimed happily. Wyatt sat on the arm of another couch and moved some hair out of his face as he watched his girlfriend get her clipboard out and pen. Callie leaned against the wall as she watched her with disinterest, thinking of a million ways to get herself out of this situation.
"Alright. Thank you guys for coming and meeting us here for our first meeting! I'm putting together a summer dance and with the help of you guys,"
She gestured to Brandon and Callie before continuing,
"We'll have this place set up in no time."She smiled before going over to Wyatt and speaking with him briefly. Callie crossed her arms and sighed as she glanced at Brandon quickly, thankful that he wasn't looking her way. She took a moment to analyse him. I mean, this is the first time they've been in a two feet radius of each other in 3 weeks. Besides the times they shared class together where she'd move her seat all the way to the corner of the room just to get away from him. She picked at the lint balls on her top as she waited for Sophia to give her their instructions and watched as she turned back to them.
"Okay so the theme of the dance will be A Night In Hollywood. It's a masquerade ball as well. So I'm thinking you both can be in charge of the music and some ideas for decorations. Got it?" Brandon and Callie both nodded and sat up a bit. Sophia smiled yet again.
"Good. Me and Wyatt will be making and selling the tickets. But for now, you both can start brainstorming ideas for the dance and music." She said before putting the clipboard down and starting to decorate the tickets with Wyatt. Brandon looked around helplessly, not knowing if he should approach Callie first or just walk out without acknowledging her. Too busy thinking of different ways for this to go, he didn't notice Callie walk up to him and shove her hands in her back pockets.
"Hey, wanna start working on this dance thing or not?" She said disinterestedly. Her face not showing any emotion. Brandon looked down at her and shrugged as he nodded.
"Uh yeah alright." He replied simply. Callie nodded and plopped herself down on the couch, waiting for Brandon to do the same. He sat down beside her and watched as she pulled out a notebook and a pen to write with.
"So... A night in Hollywood. Any ideas?" Callie asked. Brandon sat back in the couch and looked up at the ceiling as he tried to think of ideas. His mind coming up blank except for the one thought that replayed itself over and over again.
'Callie's speaking to me' He closed his eyes and tried to think harder, sighing and finally opening his eyes when he once again came up blank. He lifted his head up and noticed Callie staring at him with a small grin.
"What?" He questioned, his eyebrow furrowed in confusion. Callie chuckled and looked down.
"You look funny when you make your thinking face." She chuckled again and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before scribbling in her book. Brandon felt a smile form on his lips and he sat up to see what she was writing.
"Have you thought of anything?" He asked. Callie nodded and finished writing before showing him her book.
• Photo booth/paparazzi (photography students take pictures as paparazzi)
•Walk of fame with students names on it.
Brandon read her ideas as Callie took her shoes off and tucked her feet under herself.
"Uh that's all I got so far. They're crap but I'm sure I'll come up with something better eventually." She took her book back from him and Brandon nodded and glanced at Wyatt and Sophia.
"Those ideas were good Callie. You should stop doubting yourself and go with your gut."
He turned his gaze to her and Callie glanced at him; nodding slightly.
"Um okay." She pulled out a bag of twizzlers and took one out, nibbling on it. Brandon smiled as he remembered her telling him it's her favourite candy.
"Want one?" She asked, holding the bag out to him.
"Sure." He replied while taking one and biting into it. They chewed in silence for a while before Callie finally spoke.
"So... -"
"This is the first time you've talked to me for weeks cal..." Brandon muttered quietly, interrupting her. Callie froze a bit and lifted her gaze to look at him, the pain in his eyes clear. She gulped and looked back down at her notebook.
"B-Brandon... Can we not talk about this right now please?" She started to write in the book, not meeting his gaze.
"Why not? Sophia and Wyatt aren't paying attention. I just wanna know why... Just because we can't be in a... Relationship at the moment doesn't mean we can't be friends." He continued. Callie dropped her arms and finally met his eyes, looking into them intensely.
"Brandon I need time. Please. I'm still conflicted at the moment and I need some time to think about whether I-"
"Bullshit." Brandon immediately said. Not believing her one bit.
"Tell me the real reason you won't talk to me." He said. Starting to get a bit angry. Callie noticed his change in mood and raised her eyebrow.
"Um excuse me? I don't think you have the right to be fussy with me right now since it's your fault why me and Sam broke up in the first place." Brandon gave her a look and rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on Callie!" He said incredulously.
"You know that was both our fault and I seem to recall /you/ being the one that kissed me first that night after the party remember?" Callie set her lips into a firm line as she glared up at him. Infuriated at how quickly he had an effect on her and how easily her mood changed because of a few of his words. The sound of Wyatt clearing his throat caused them both to finally lose eye contact and turn their gaze over to him. Both Wyatt and Sophia were staring at them. Callie immediately felt self conscious and she looked down at she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear out of habit. Brandon stood up and checked the time.
"Uh I think that's enough brainstorming for today. I'll work on the music selection some other time" He muttered. Callie watched him stand up and hated herself for missing his presence. Sophia nodded and looked between the both of them. As did Wyatt.
"Yeah, bye." Brandon said again before quickly leaving. Not looking back at Callie once.
Callie sighed in frustration as she unlocked the door to her dorm and immediately went to her bed, falling face first on it. She ignored the stares from Mariana, Skylar, and Sophia as they were all sitting on Mariana's bed talking about the dance.
"So, has Dylan asked you to the dance yet?" Sophia asked Mariana. Callie kicked her shoes off as Mariana grinned and her face turned a light pink.
"Yes. He got me a rose too" she giggled and all three girls squealed with excitement. Callie rolled her eyes and turned over on to her back to stare up at the ceiling. Wondering why she was so moody before with Brandon. All he did was ask her a simple question and it set her off.
"Hey Callie? Are you going to the dance with anyone?" Skylar asked from across the room. Callie raised her eyebrows at the mention of her name and sat up on her elbows.
"Uh no I don't think I'm going to the dance at all actually. Not my thing." She replied. All three girls gasped and gave her a look.
"You're not going? But why. It's a masquerade ball with a Hollywood theme who wouldn't wanna go!" Mariana said. Sophia grinned to herself and looked at both girls as Callie just shrugged.
"I know why she doesn't wanna go." Sophia said knowingly. Callie raised an eyebrow sat up again.
"Oh yeah? Why then." Sophia smirked and looked at Mariana and Sophia.
"It's because of Brandon." She stated simply. Both girls tilted their heads in confusion an Callie narrowed her eyes at Sophia.
"You don't know anything Sophia." Callie mumbled as she turned on her side facing away from the girls. Sophia raised her eyebrow and smirked.
"I don't? Then why were you guys arguing in the hall yesterday? It's obvious you two have a history." She continued. Callie rolled her eyes and didn't say anything as Sky and Mariana both watched.
"Okay... Um which one of you has got your dress!" Mariana quickly asked. Trying to change the subject as she noticed her roommate starting to get annoyed. Sky and Sophia both averted their eyes from Callie and looked at Mariana with interest.
"Um no. We should go buy our dresses together!" Skylar said with a big smile. Mariana and Sophia's eyes lit up and they smiled widely.
"That sounds perfect. Hey Callie, you should come with us!" Sophia asked. Callie sighed and mumbled,
"What part of 'Not My Thing' don't you understand?" Sophia rolled her eyes and got up from Mariana's bed to sit beside her.
"Come onnnn. Please come with us! You don't even have to try anything on just tell us how we look in ours." Callie looked at her and wondered if she was serious; Grimacing when she realised she was.
"Er... You promise I don't have to try anything on?" Callie pleaded. Sophia squeaked in excitement even before Callie agreed to go and nodded.
"Yes I promise! OMG this is gonna be so fun! I have to go get ready then we can go straight there!" Sophia said before running over to the girls and kissing both their cheeks, leaving the dorm.
"Uhm I'll be waiting downstairs" Callie muttered before slipping out of her dorm and quickly going downstairs, knowing it will take hours for the three girls to finally be ready to go.
"Oh my god this dress is to die for"
"You should try it I bet it would look amazing on you!"
"You think?"
"Yes! It's perfect for you!"
Callie almost wanted to rip her ears off as she listened to the girls squeal and talk in high pitched voices about the billions of dresses they try on. She watched as Sophia walked into the dressing rooms for the 8th time to try on /another/ gown that probably looked just as good as the one she tried on before.
"How much longer do we have to be here?" Callie asked Mariana and she watched as the Latina looked over at her an give her an apologetic smile.
"Um maybe an hour or so? I know this isn't really your thing Callie. Sorry you have to suffer through it."
"Um no it's alright I've been through worse. Trust me." She has been through worse. Hours and hours of watching her mother try on expensive gowns for fancy events that she always had to go to. It was annoying to say the least. Even Jude was forced to come along to these events. All her colleagues would compliment her saying things like 'oh such a wonderful family' and
'Wow I wish I could have a family like that.' Callie would smile and play the part of the perfect daughter and role model big sister. If only they knew what went on behind closed doors...
"Oh. My. God." The sound of Skylar's exclaim broke her out of her flashback and she blinked a few times while wincing as she heard another onslaught of squeals and giggles. Callie looked up and saw Sophia standing in a blush colored dress that had a sweetheart neckline and was fitted around the waist but flowed out at her hips. It was very elegant and perfect for the occasion.
"You like it? Does it make my butt look too big?" Sophia asked insecurely as he checked herself out in the mirror. Both girls squeaked again and smiled widely.
"It's amazing just like we said! Wyatt's gonna love it." Mariana stated. Sophia smiled and looked over at Callie.
"So, how does it look? And I want you to be honest." She asked. Callie raised her eyebrows and smiled as she nodded her approval.
"Uh it's really nice. She's right Wyatt's gonna love it." Sophia's eyes lit up and she bit her lip, seemingly satisfied with the feedback. Callie quickly excused herself after saying she would go use the bathroom and walked towards the back where the restrooms were located. After relieving herself, Callie stepped out of the booth to wash her hands. As she reached for the soap the toilet beside the one she was in opened and a girl came up to wash her hands as well.
"Oh hey Callie!" The girl said politely. Callie looked up at her face and furrowed her eyebrows at her.
"Um hey? Do I know you?" She continued washing her hands and chuckled a bit. The girl gave her a look and tilted her head.
"It's me. Lou? We have math class together!" Callie reached for a napkin as she examined the girl for a while before recognition spread across her face.
"Oh! Lou hey!" Lou grinned when Callie finally recognised her and she started to wash her hands.
"How are you? I didn't expect to find you here in the middle of a dress shop." Lou said. Trying to make conversation.
"Uhm yeah me neither to be honest" Callie chuckled before adding, "I was forced." Lou laughed and shook her head as she shook her hands out before putting it under the automatic dryer. Callie chuckled as her dark brown hair flew back by the power of the dryer and leaned back against the sink.
"Aren't you gonna head back out?" Lou asked as she watched Callie sit up on the sink.
"Nah. I'll chill in here for a while. Out there is too much for me." Callie smiled a bit when lou chuckled again and looked down at her converse as she swung her feet.
"So, are you going to the dance next week?" Lou turned back to the mirror and started to fix her light makeup as she waited for Callie's reply.
"Nope. Not really into dances and wearing dresses and the whole shebang." Callie replied honestly. She stared at Lou's brown eyes through the mirror as she reapplied a layer of mascara and she nodded.
Just then, a phone rang and Callie checked if it was hers before relaxing a bit when she realised it was Lou's.
"Oh um excuse me let me just answer this real quick" she said as she checked who was calling her, a big grin spreading across her face before she answered the call.
"Hey you." She said into the phone. Callie had no choice but to listen in on the conversation no matter how uncomfortable she felt.
"I'm fine. I'm at the mall doing some shopping... Really? Oh wow okay have fun." Lou said to the other person and Callie looked around the bathroom as she waited patiently for the call to be finished but the next words that came out of Lou's mouth caused her to freeze.
"Yes I'm out buying my dress Brandon..." She chuckled and blushed at whatever this 'Brandon' told her.
"Oh shut up you know I would never do that." Lou glanced at Callie as she blushed and rolled her eyes and Callie suddenly became very interested into the conversation. Listening extra carefully.
'It couldn't be my Brandon...' she thought to herself.
"-wait you're working on the dance? Since when?... Oh okay makes sense." Lou chuckled and played with her hair as she continued speaking with him and Callie bit her tongue to refrain herself from saying anything, knowing exactly who she was talking to.
"Okay well make sure to get a matching red tie and mask because my dress is going to be red alright?... Okay good. I have to go now so bye B." Lou smiled as she hung up the phone before looking at Callie.
"Sorry about that-"
"You're going to the dance with Brandon?" Callie blurted out, immediately regretting it when Lou gave her weird look.
"Um yeah... I am. He's out looking for a matching mask right now." She replied. Callie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tried to make sense of the situation. Since when was Brandon going to the dance? Why hadn't he mentioned it to her? Millions of questions went through Callie's head as she watched Lou go back to fixing her makeup.
"Um I don't mean to be rude but.. How do you know Brandon? You two hardly ever hang out." Callie asked. Lou finished with her makeup and chuckled a bit.
"Well um we sorta teamed up a few weeks ago. I make these covers online and um I needed a pianist to play the songs for me and when we were both in music class I asked if he would help me out. He agreed and we hang out a lot working on the songs I want to sing. He sometimes sings with me a few times."
Callie listened intently as Lou spoke and she but her lip as he tried I ignore the jealously that was raging inside of her.
"Uh when did he ask you to the dance?" Callie asked. Lou put all her makeup away as she spoke.
"A few days ago. It was out of the blue actually" she chuckled to herself and blushed as she put her bag on her shoulder. Callie nodded and quickly hopped off the sink, giving herself one more look in the mirror.
"Well it was nice speaking to you Lou. Bye." Callie forced a smile before quickly exiting the bathroom, leaving a dazed Lou in her wake.
Callie stormed off back to where Sophia and the girls were and plopped down on a nearby seat. Trying to control her searing jealousy. All three girls stared at her and Mariana walked over to her.
"Um Callie are you okay?... you've been in the bathroom for quiet a while... I thought you ditched us." Mariana chuckled a bit but Callie didn't crack a smile.
"Sorry I was talking with a friend." She replied simply. Her mind racing a she thought about why Brandon was doing this.
'It's obvious he's just trying to get me jealous. He can't wait anymore so he thought me being jealous would make me want to be with him even more' Callie thought to herself angrily, not paying attention to Mariana. Callie suddenly got an idea.
"Actually," Callie stood up and looked at Sophia.
"Find me a dress. I'm going to the dance." Sophia grinned and reached behind her, pulling out a strapless lilac dress.
"I knew you would come around." She said. Callie grinned as well and took the dress.
'Two can play at this game.' She thought to herself as she headed to the changing rooms to try on the dress.