Callie who?

Enjoy this chapter...

Thanks to jueka1 for already commenting on the last.

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The school felt the need to involve us in our formal preparations. As such, for the final two sessions of Friday, most of us year 12s boarded a bus to accompany the teachers to our selected venue where we'd inspect the premises and plan table layout and such to inform the decorating company.

The reality was, only a couple of us cared enough to get involved in these discussions and most of us left it to the few.

But it was a perfect opportunity for Flynn-Callie Bonding Time.

Flynn had made a habit to sit with us every day at lunch at my invitation. And sat next to Callie in every class under the guise of 'needing help'... even though he was mostly still on track with biology.

And of course he was dragging out tutoring sessions from their obligatory one hour to two every day. While his maths skills were improving, Ashton and Luke strongly recommended he continued to play dumb so that she couldn't back out on it.

On Friday, Callie had her leg back on finally. So she walked onto the bus behind Sara and I. But, as planned, Flynn was just behind her, and Ashton and Luke behind him.

As Sara and I quickly took a seat beside each other, Callie reluctantly sat down on the bench in front of us. Immediately as she turned to see who had followed on behind her, her face fell as Flynn was already sliding into the spot next to her.

Gaze lifting, she glanced at Ashton with a 'help me' look to her stare, while Ashton just shrugged and walked past her, making a point to sit on the other side of the bus so that she couldn't talk to them.

And as Callie turned in her seat to talk to me and Sara, I quickly yanked Sara to me, pressing my lips to hers to keep Callie away from us.

After sensing Callie had righted herself in her seat, I pulled back from Sara and we both immediately casted wary glances her way. All the while Sara's hand found mine, fingers lacing between my fingers.

Ears tuned forward, we did our best to pretend we weren't listening, all the while waiting for Flynn to strike up his conversation with her.

"So... I heard you and Ashton had a thing for a while," he started.

Sara and I winced at his topic of choice, all the while Callie said in a wary voice, "I guess you could call it that... it wasn't anything really though."

"That's not what he thinks."

Sara leaned over to my ear, whispering, "Is he trying to set her up with him?"

"Who knows," I muttered back, trying to have faith that Flynn knew what he was doing, though slowly losing confidence.

"I... ah..." Callie then stumbled. "Ash can think all he wants but... there's nothing going on with us... really."

The tension in Sara's grip of my hand began to relax as we both recognised the familiar stutter and her incessant assurance of her feelings.

"I'm glad to hear that," Flynn then said.

"Y-you are?" Callie asked, top of her head seeming to turn towards him.

"Of course I am, Callie," he said, voice low.

Next we heard, my sister cleared her voice and leaned across her seat towards the window. "Okay," she mumbled.

"So," Flynn then said, shifting closer to her, "What happened while I was gone?"

"What do you mean what happened?"

"Well... firstly, your sister and best friend are together?"

"Oh... yeah... that was quite the day."

"Tell me about it."

"It's okay."

"I want to know."

"It wasn't really anything..."

"You just said it was quite the day."

"I exaggerated."

"Are you really noping me right now, Callie?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Maybe I am. So what?"

"You said we are friends again, right?"

"... Yeah."

"Then I want to know how my friend has been. Her highs and lows."

"It's in the past."

"Even if it is... I want to know."

Callie sighed. "It's just... It started the day you dumped me."

"... Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"It's... whatever."

"It's not. I was a jerk."

"No... it's fine."

"It's not."

"Flynn..."

"Callie."

She sighed. "Just... can we drop this?"

"I don't want to."

"Well... I do."

"I'll keep asking the whole bus ride."

"Why?"

"Because things are best off spoken about. Tell me how that day continued. I was an absolute arse-hat and then..."

She was quiet for an insurmountable time. "Well... I went to the doctors. Got my socket checked out and a gel insert made—"

"An insert?"

"Yeah..." They were both quiet for a moment as we heard some sound coming from the other side of the seat.

But then Flynn said, "Oh, that's pretty neat. So this just stops rubbing?"

"Basically." There was more quiet again and some more noise—most likely Callie slipping her leg back on. But all the while, a smile grew on my face to think of how far she had come in her comfort in showing people her stump and talking about her leg. Or at least... how comfortable she was with Flynn about it.

"And then?" he pressed.

"And then I went to... tell Lex and Sara about you. And they were... well... I walked in on something I should not have walked in on."

"One way to find out..." he mused. "Then what happened?"

"I said some horrible things and stormed home. Then Lex and I walked in on mum and dad—"

"Wait... your parents are back together?"

"Yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"They have the occasional sex it seems but they refuse to label it."

"But it's exclusive with each other?"

"Indeed..."

"Then they are together."

"Dad insists once the baby is born that he—"

"Baby?" Flynn exclaimed, the top of his head moving far away from Callie—most likely in shock.

"Oh, yeah. Then Lex and I demanded to know why my parents are hooking up and they gave us some big spiel about it making sense because dad knocked mum up again. So we will be big sisters... in December."

"December..." he trailed off. "I was only gone a term."

"Yup. And that was just one day."

"So... what happened after that day?"

Callie took a deep breath and reluctantly told him about mine and Sara's break up. Then her getting us together. And through selective wording (and Flynn's incessant pushing for more details), her completion of the kiss list. But then she trailed off.

Just as Flynn opened his mouth saying, "And how did you end up in your chair again?" the bus pulled up at our location.

And Callie immediately stood up. "We better get off," she quickly said, dodging his question.

As both shuffled out from their seat, I kept my eyes locked on my sister whose smile continued to drop from her face, especially as Flynn continued to press her the whole trip about what happened.

More and more she began to shrink into herself.

Seemingly ashamed at what had happened.

By the fifth time Flynn attempted another tactic to get her to spill and she feigned interest in something in the room, he sent me a 'help me look'.

But Sara and I just shook our heads. 'Drop it,' I mouthed at him.

Pressing his lips into a tight line, he gave me a nod.

Then his shoulders lifted and fell as though he were taking a deep breath, and he forced a grin onto his face before running after Callie again.

"Charlie won't shut up about you," I heard Flynn say on the way back after they sat in an awkward silence—Callie seemingly displeased that somehow she ended up trapped next to him again.

"He remembers me?" she responded.

"Of course he does... You're the... only girl he's met."

She didn't say anything for a moment. But then she finally said, "I'm sure there's plenty of girls at his primary school."

Flynn barked a laugh before saying, "I meant only girl I've been close to that he's met..."

"I see," she muttered, but then she drifted over to the window, falling back into her silence.

Through the crack in the chairs, I watched Flynn try and fail to start conversation multiple times, his mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out.

And eventually we pulled back up at the school with him having missed his chance.

Though before I could even think how to intrude on them, Sara's hand suddenly clutched mine with force.

"What?" I asked her, a little too loud, causing her eyes to go wide.

Ever so quickly, she pressed a finger against her lips then pointed out the window on the other side of the bus.

Leaning over her, I glanced out into the school car park, wondering what was so important I kept quiet about.

But then I saw him.

And his car.

"Shit," I breathed just loud enough for her to hear.

Lips coming as close to my ear as they could, she whispered, "Keep the both of them on this bus as long as you can while I try to get rid of him... or this will end badly."

I nodded at her, trying to not shiver at how delightful her warm breath felt against my neck—seriously, Lex, know the time and place—and immediately shuffled forward to talk to the awkward pair in front of me.

"Hey Flynn," I said first, deciding to start by distracting him and keeping Callie trapped in her spot.

"Yeah?" he asked, immediately turning around in desperation—as though I were coming to his aid.

All the while, Sara slowly slid off her seat, joining the masses forwarding off the bus.

While Flynn was oblivious, Callie was straight away onto her.

"Sara?" she called out, turning in her seat straight away to look at me. "What did you do to her?" she immediately accused.

"Do to who?" I responded.

"Sara. She just ran off this bus without talking to us. Did you two fight?"

Shit, think fast, Lexi, I thought. "It was a little spat... she's just overreacting."

"Overreacting? She literally ignored all of us and left without us trying to notice. You should go after her."

"No... she just needs time to calm down."

Callie heaved a frustrated sigh and pushed herself up to a standing position. "Then I will go after her."

Instinctively, I also stood up, reaching across the space to grab her. "Leave her," I quickly said.

"Why?"

"Let's just... wait until everyone is off the bus."

Flynn was glancing between Callie and me in confusion, brows coming together as he evidently tried to figure out what I was planning. Little did he know, this had nothing to do with 'Operation Get Callie and Flynn Back Together' and everything to do with 'Avoid Flynn Going to Prison for Murder and Callie Becoming a Blubbering Wreck Again'.

But Callie yanked her arm out from my grip, stepping just far enough away in the crack of her seat to avoid my next swiping hand.

"Cal, please sit back down," I begged.

"I won't have you hurt my friend, Lex," she said back. Then she turned her attention to Flynn. "Can you please move?"

Flynn whipped his head back and forth between us, as if unsure what he should do, but as I stared at him with wide, desperate eyes, he seemed to assume that whatever was going on had to do with him and Callie. So he stayed put and shook his head. "Let's just wait," he said to my sister.

Heaving a groan, Callie bent over slightly, hands going to her sleeve. Then she rolled down the fabric and pulled her leg off.

All the while, Flynn said, "What are you..."

But his question soon became answered. Leaning over Flynn, I almost heard all the air leave his body due to her proximity. Callie threw her leg over into the nearby vacant seat before literally climbing over Flynn, her body parts certainly making contact with him.

"Callie," he squeaked, neither of us expecting her to touch him like that—me because she didn't touch any boy, and him because she had been insisting they would only ever be friends.

Nonetheless, as she pushed herself off his lap, seemingly unphased by the contact—though I had never seen Flynn's eyes so wide—she grabbed her leg and slipped it back on in record fashion.

Finally caught up with the turn of events, I leapt off my seat and bounded after her.

And Flynn didn't seem far behind me.

All the while, I was thinking, Shit, shit, shit.

Glancing out the window, Sara was still in the car park where we last saw him, now in a screaming match.

And Callie was bounding down the steps of the bus.

She came to a stop as she exited, looking left and right for her friend. And I nearly ran into her on my way out.

But she quickly made a decision and began walking, just as I went to grab her.

"Callie, please, stop," I insisted.

Though Callie was on a mission.

Flynn tagged straight behind me, asking what was so important we stopped her over.

But as Callie rounded the corner of the bus, she immediately came to a halt.

Eyes wide, she stumbled a step backwards as her body seemed to freeze.

Caught up, I rounded her, trying to tug her away before he noticed.

But then...

"Callie!" he called out from across the car park. "Piss off, Sara. Callie, let's talk."

My sister seemed to come back to her senses, immediately pivoting on her heel and starting to walk back behind the bus, away from his line of sight just as Flynn had caught up to us.

Glancing between Noah's approaching figure and the retreating Callie, Flynn's brows furrowed as he tried to unpack what was going on.

"Please," Noah called out, almost reaching Flynn. "Let's just talk this through!"

But Callie continued to walk.

And as Noah had finally reached Flynn, paying him no attention, eyes only locked on my sister who was walking away as fast as she could, Flynn's hand shot out, grabbing the boy by the arm.

"What the..." Noah said, looking down at Flynn's tight grip around his bicep before meeting his venomous stare. "Dude, let me—"

"Why the fuck is she scared of you? Callie isn't scared of anyone like this," Flynn hissed at Noah.

In the distance, I watched Callie come to a stop, evidently still within hearing distance.

"I don't owe you an explanation," Noah spat back, trying to tug his arm from Flynn's grip. But Flynn wasn't budging.

"Oh, if you want to see another day, then I think you—"

"Flynn," Callie called from the distance, finally turning around to face us—to face Noah. "Let him go."

At the sound of her voice, he yanked his gaze from Noah to my sister. Eyes whirling between anger, pity, and sadness, he stared at her for an insurmountable time, not saying anything.

"Please... let him go," she said more softly, voice wavering.

"Why?" he croaked back, disbelief marring his face.

"Because... I want to forget he ever existed. And if you start something... then I have to deal with him again."

Flynn didn't budge a finger. His grip stayed just as tight. And Noah continued to try to worm out of his grip.

"Take me home, Flynn," Callie then said, keeping her spot on the other side of the bus, still away from Noah, but not breaking her eye contact on the boy with the curly brown hair. "Please... get me out of here."

And that was all it took.

Releasing Noah, he immediately bounded across the school grounds over to my sister.

Noah started to walk after him, but Sara and I were right behind, arms wrapping around him, keeping him away.

Last we saw, Flynn snaked an arm around Callie's shoulders, pulling her close as she leaned into him. All the while, they both walked out of sight.

Should Flynn have punched Noah or are we glad he listened to Callie's wishes?

What do we think will happen next?

Next chapter coming... I don't know. But I'll try to write tonight.

Meme: