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Truthfully, Callie had no intention of trying to hold her to that potential promise. Given the fact that she had no idea what was now hiding under the surface of this interaction, she couldn't believe anything would come to fruition here. She practically forgot what was likely considered of her given the last time they spoke. Heartbreak clouded that volatile memory, so she left it alone. It wasn't worth digging up now.
That was a fast no. Fast enough that her eyebrows raised and she looked physically taken back. Nostalgic? She supposed she could see where that would come from, but as she so rightly pointed out, it wasn't the same building. It was enough of a break to have Callie look around, considering the similarities, the differences. "Tell me about it. It might be different, but it's still my favourite place here." She explained, glancing down at her own hand. Fingertips idly brushed the back of the chair. She watched it for a few seconds before she lifted it back up again.
"So, yeah, okay. I should get back." She decided. That was enough heartache for one day.
Wasn't it? rocking back a step, she let her eyes filter back up to that long lost, familiar face. Parted lips threatened something more crucial, but in the break she tried her best not to give any more. "I, uhh-" She started, shrugging her shoulders lightly, "I missed you." There. She said it. Simple enough words left hanging in the air, and she could take them however she wanted.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie never expected to see her again. Time went by and memories easily faded into the background when contact was completely severed. Now she was back, and she was staying. For at least a year, Callie could guess. Further still, she was following a line of interest in photography.
"Oh, that's awesome." She replied genuinely. She really had no idea her former friend had an interest in photography, but she'd always been one to praise those who went after an artistic future. "I'd totally love to see some of your work sometime." After all, she was sitting here watching Callie do just that.
Had she always been one to skate across the surface of something so serious? Leaning forward, Callie pressed a hand to the back of the chair in front of her. "Were you looking for me?" She asked then, now that the stock standard questions had been answered.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
There was that look. She knew it wouldn't take much to be on the receiving end of that scrutiny. Callie very much doubted she had any merit with this girl anymore, so it wasn't surprising to be judged in such a way. She already knew she didn't deserve much.
"Yeah, it's good. I mean, it's fun, and it was better than just chaining myself to a desk trying to study something I don't really care about." She'd never been book smart. She'd never been the type to be comfortable with restrictions. Of course Chandler knee that already.
"Are you staying in town long?" Callie asked then, edging the topic of conversation as far away from herself as she could.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
The short response she got forced Callie to hold her breath for a few seconds. Maybe it would have been better to stay away in the first place and let her sit in the back like she wanted. It was odd how quickly one person made her doubt herself. She did her best to let it go and listen.
"I never left." Callie replied on instinct, and instantly her eyes went a little wide. She heard how that could have sounded, and how it would easily be taken.
"I didn't mean-" She tried, and fumbled over the right words. Now was the time to say anything else, "I meant, like, when everything moved, so did I." She continued on, well aware how much worse she'd probably just made anything.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Well, she didn't run off again. That was good. Callie mentally called that a win. She left a good bit of distance between them still, and though she felt the great urge to hug her - physical as she often was - she tethered her hands together behind her back instead.
She wondered how best to explain herself. Immediately, she wanted to point out that she didn't really consider herself a teacher. She even opened her mouth to express the fact, but she stopped herself. That didn't matter right here.
"You're here." Callie offered instead, like that was bigger news than the profession she'd fallen into, "That's... Wow." At least the smile she couldn't help indicated that that was a good wow.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Pressure practically burned in her skull in the precious few seconds where Callie could keep her gaze. She took a slow breath in, feeling the way it dragged her shoulders up out of their little slump. There was something toxic about being under a watchful gaze, especially one she desperately wanted to impress.
The odd salute sent her way forced her teeth into her power lip in a weak attempt to suppress a smile. She had never been one to hide her feelings well and this was no exception.
"Let's, umm..." She hummed briefly in the break, catching the expecting eyes that followed her every move, "Take five, okay?"
And then she tried her best not to seem excited when she left the stage they used. Walking down the aisle felt like a kind of moment of truth situation. After all, there wasn't much to stop her from leaving again. It wasn't as if she knew what to say to her either.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
It was a little daunting to be leading anything these days. Though Callie had great confidence in her own abilities, it was another thing entirely to put herself at the front of the class and teach people how to do it. She'd never really thought she was capable of that kind of leadership. To her credit, she was doing better than she thought she would. She was nice and patience and really, just kind to people, and that made a world of difference.
She didn't really look when someone walked in, because it wasn't odd to have people watch these kinds of things anyway. She was busy praising a set of people for making their way through the potential struggle that was a difficult section of a new routine.
It took time as she tried to pay attention to the direct people around her, but curiosity got the best of her eventually. As she finally did look out, blue eyes peered to the back of the room. When she realised her mind really wasn't playing tricks on her with that familiar face, all she could do was stare.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
POWER:Disjointed Flexibility: Calliope is able to bend and twist her body in ways that normal people cannot do. Her physiology has manifested in a strange way, whereby her ligaments, tendons and muscles are able to stretch in abnormal ways and take unnatural amounts of strain. This means that when she 'activates' the ability, her movements can appear almost boneless, and the contortions are accomplished with an unnatural ease. Her flexibility works only from the joints, allowing them to dislocate and reattach at the bending proportions of the surrounding tissue.
LIMITATIONS: This power only works on herself; she cannot in any way manipulate the physical structure of another person. The ability only works on joints; as such, only viable connections can be disjointed. Bones remain stagnant and sturdy. Pain akin to hyper-extension can linger for up to an hour after the ability is settled.
SIDE-EFFECTS: Disjointed Flexibility is by no means painless. Every dislocation and relocation hurts. The pain and stiffness of her muscles and joints sets in after her as if coming down from a harsh workout. Without proper concentration, joints can fail to reconnect properly, causing her to be stuck with a limb out of place until she can make the reconnection.
♦ THE FREEFORM ♦
Put it before my eyes,
You know I'ma smash it; only if you want it.
There's always one thing I have to say first. And it's really, really important that you listen, because if you're not listening, I'm gonna feel really weird if I have to say it again. Seriously, this is like, the biggest thing for me. Are you listening? Okay.
I really, really, totally, completely hate my name.
Every time I meet anyone, I always tell them my name is Callie. Calliope can stay in the dark where it totally belongs. I know my mom things it's cute - because she's really into screaming about how Greek we are - but I just do not like it. So call me Callie, okay? Do that and we're definitely going to be friends.
Hold on tight,
This ride is a wild one, make no mistake.
Family is such a big thing for me, I can't even explain it. I have two older brothers, and believe me, they are the kind of brothers you read about. Niko's three years older than me, and he's the kind of guy that doesn't let a single person mess with his family. Not his mother. Not his sister. Not even his older brother. Okay, so he has a short temper, and he's kinda prone to getting physical before he can talk his way out of anything, but he's a real sweetheart. I promise! He's just not around much. He doesn't like to stay still, so he's travelling almost all the time.
Then there's Eric. He's six years older than me and he's the smartest person I've ever met. Seriously, he can talk his way out of anything. He's usually way too busy with school work to hang around much, but he's there when he needs to be. Eric's my half brother. We all share the same dad, but only Niko and I have the same mom.
Dad was running a property development business, a thing that later turned into a pretty winning chain of restaurants. Let's just say he does a lot, and earns a lot. He worked in the city as much as he could, and mom was always at home when we were growing up. It's funny when you look at them; you'd never expect my all-American dad to fall in love with my Greek Orthodox mom. They're total, polar opposites, but if anyone has love figured out, it's totally them. She's the total boss of the family.
Strike a match,
Play it loud, giving love to the world.
When I was really little, my parents were always going to these events. Like giant parties for a bunch of rich people, so they could connect or talk about business or whatever. It might sound totally boring or even really exhausting, but I used to love it.
Giant dance floors full of beautiful, amazing people. That was the thing I really remember. Being young and being taught how to dance properly with kids my age. I made my first real friend at one of those parties, and when I realised all I wanted to do was dance, he was nice enough to dance around with me for ages.
There was a pretty big thing about being... Poised. From when I was seven to when I was seventeen, I was going to these things. Dad liked people to know he was a family man; he wanted all his associates to know that nothing was as important to him as that, so he always asked us to come along. So I grew up in that kinda life, y'know? That rigid, money-driven style. And you could see how that sort of thing effected a lot of people. Personally? I don't even tell people about the fact that I've got a wealthy family. People are always so different when they know something like that.
Over dramatic,
Automatically assume I'll stay the same.
The first person in our household to get powers was Eric. He figured out he could teleport, and they sent him out from Orange County straight to Montana as soon as possible. It's like having a piece of you stolen; sure, I could talk to him all the time, but I could never really see him when I wanted to. We were always such a tightly knit group, and to lose him like that was probably the worst thing ever.
Until it happened again, with Niko, when he figured out he could phase through walls. Just like that, two of the best people in the world were in other states. Mom and I visited as much as we could, whenever we could, but it wasn't the same. Two empty spots at the dinner table.
Maybe I was just too young to understand how important it was. That's what dad always used to say. Of course, I totally get it now.
Because I was thirteen when I was sure I broke my arm. I mean, arms just aren't supposed to... Bend that way. I was screaming so loudly at my mom to take me to the hospital that I didn't even realise how much it didn't really hurt. I mean, yeah, duh, it totally did hurt, but a break like that? I'd probably have died, and my parents would have freaked out a lot harder than they did. Anyway, I got to go to Montana too; like clockwork, the recruiter showed up two days later. Pretty sure it broke my mom's heart, and that always killed me.
Rhythm is a dancer,
It's a soul's companion; you can feel it everywhere.
Apart from being around Niko, my favourite thing about Bellefonte was being able to dance. I'd always done it when I was a kid - ballet and jazz when I was little, contemporary and hip hop when I got older - and I'd been so worried that the move meant I'd struggle to find a time and a place to do that. Being able to fold that training into the powers training part of high school was like, the best thing ever. I'm not always the best with words. Like, I don't always really know what to say in the right moments and stuff like that, but when I'm moving it's so much easier. It's like... It's the only way I know how to get anything out properly.
If I'm frustrated, or I'm angry, or I just feel really broken, it's like I can't do beautiful things properly. I can't make the right move at the right moment, because everything feels way too rough. On the days where things got hard, or the distance from the family got really difficult, I liked to disappear into the auditorium when no one else was around. Just me, a stage and some blaring music. It was perfect. Like my own personal brand of perfect therapy.
Just like run-aways,
They will have to find some other hearts to break.
My first real serious boyfriend-relationship happened when I was sixteen. It was a total accident. I knew him already and we weren't really friends; honestly, it always seemed like I kinda annoyed him. But one day, we got to talking. And things just... Happened. And then it'd been... Over a year.
He was, like, the nicest person when we were alone. No body knew that about him. Not really, anyway. When it was just us, everything cold about him just seemed to melt away, and he was nothing but a total sweetheart. He was just, I don't know... Afraid to ever make real contact. A kiss to the forehead or the cheek when you'd be practically begging for one on your mouth, y'know? So I figured, he's so nice, it must be me. Maybe he's too nice to tell me he's just not that into me. He says all these things about how he loves me and he needs me and he wants to be with me, but when you don't feel it, how do you really believe it?
I'm not... I was going to say I'm not proud of what happened, but it's not even about proud. When I got all caught up with someone else, it wasn't about hurting anyone or breaking anyone's heart. This thing I can do isn't the most attractive thing in the world. And she - my best friend, I mean - she loved me. Really, truly, honestly loved me.
Cheating is a bad thing. But trust me, it didn't feel bad. I didn't regret it and I wouldn't change the way things happened.
Are we together? ...No, but-
Nothing. We graduated. She left. It's fine.
Your eyes have ferried,
My nightmares to sleep, so come on.
I'm not built for relationships. I don't know how to explain it any other way. I just can't have them. The moment I land in that commitment territory, I just... I can't.
Because suddenly everything goes from perfect to pressure, and I don't know what else to do.
And it's not like I don't try. I do. I really, really do look for the good in people. The thing that made me love them in the first place. Because I believe so much that I love them.
Then someone else is there. And they're beautiful. And they're perfect. And I love them. What if I love them more? What if they're the right one, and I've just been wasting my time with another person?
How do you know your soul mate is yours unless you take a chance, follow that feeling, and give it a shot?
What about us?
What about all the broken happy ever afters?
It was weird, maybe, when I decided that I wanted to stay and move with the school. I know I go on a lot about how much I miss my family, and how I really just feel a little lost without them, but after being here for years there's... Something about it that feels like home. Like I love it here, and that's weirder than anything else. I don't really know how to explain it.
I mean, everything was pretty sheltered when I was growing up. I was just that little blonde haired blue eyed girl that everyone kept an eye on. Even when I first moved here, everyone was like that. They got Eric to stay and go to college here so I'd have someone around me. Niko would always come back from overseas trips and stay in the area to make sure I was okay.
But I am okay. I've been okay since I got here.
Okay, I cried for like the first week, but whatever. That doesn't even count.
The point is that like, there's always this cloud of people watching out for me. They're always keeping track of what I'm doing. Everyone always says I'm too gullible. Like I fall for too much or I trust people too easily. Like I'm too naive to be able to make it in the world by myself. So when I graduated, I stayed. Started taking general college courses and looking for a job despite the fact that everyone says I don't need one.
I don't want to live off dad's money forever.
♦ THE PLAYER ♦
USERNAME: Eddie AGE GROUP: Twenty-Six EXPERIENCE: A long ass time WHERE DID YOU FIND US? I was like; yo let's remake BA
