Homeroom

27: Surprise

[A/N] Song for this chapter is Reflections by MisterWives. Great song.

OMG THANK YOU FOR 50k READS AND 3k VOTES YOU ALL ROCK ILY ALL. 💖💖

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The final dismissal bell of the week rings, and I rush out of my English class to escape this place. I'm done for the week, and I can't wait to go home and watch shows on Netflix.

I walk to my locker, glad to see that Luke isn't pressed up against it with his former girlfriend. I shrug to myself,tossing almost every textbook into my backpack. I have a load of homework to get done over the weekend.

I slam my locker closed just as a set of arms encase me from behind. I find myself smiling because I know exactly who it is. "Hi, Aaron," I greet, laughing to myself. He's been quite touchy-feely lately, and I like it. It's cute.

"Hmm, hiiiiii," he draws out, pulling me closer into his chest.

I shake him off of me. "That's enough PDA for me," I reply, scooting around him to get away from all the people crowding at the lockers. "Let's go outside," I suggest, walking down the packed halls to the back doors. Aaron follows closely behind me.

I still feel a bit guilty for not telling him about my run in with Zander Wednesday morning. I meant to mention it, but I haven't found the perfect time to tell him yet. I just don't want to burst his bubble of happiness. That would be rude of me to do, right?

"Hey, you know how you guys were trying to come up with a good band name?" I ask as I push open the door.

"Yeah, you got one?" he asks, pulling his beanie down a bit more. His curls poke out from under the black fabric.

"Yes. You guys should call yourselves 4 Days to Jupiter," I suggest.

He hums a tune to himself, thinking as we walk to his car. "Interesting. I think it sounds different. Where did you get the idea from?"

I launch into my explanation, gauging his reaction as I talk. "So that's where the idea came from," I say. "But," I stress, waggling a finger at him, "Charlie and Al hate it."

"Don't worry, I'll convince them to love it," he replies as we approach his car.

"Really?!"

"Sure," he smiles, leaning against the side of his car. He pulls me closer to him so I'm standing between his legs. "But only if you kiss me."

I roll my eyes as he eyes my lips. "Alright, fine."

I lean in and peck his lips ever so slightly, pulling away from him before giving him the chance to respond. "That wasn't a kiss!" he complains, pouting.

"Yes it was, silly," I laugh, admiring his hazel eyes. They look greener than they usually do.

"One more," he requests, squeezing my hips playfully.

"How about no," I laugh in reply, twirling the hair on the back of his neck around my finger.

Aaron sticks his bottom lip out, giving me the puppy dog face. "Please?" he asks.

I search his eyes for a few seconds, building up suspense. My blank face softens as I push a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. It's getting so long. "Okay," I comply, smiling teasingly as I lean in again.

This time, though, he impatiently meets me in the middle, his lips pressing against mine. Aaron hums appreciatively as my lips move in a blissful harmony with his, both of us fighting to keep it from breaking. I run out of air fairly quickly and end up breaking it. "That was nice," I comment, winded.

"Mm-hm," he mumbles, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.

"Okay, enough," I shoo him off, pushing him away by shoving his chest. Aaron slips his arms from around my waist and opens the car door for me instead. I hop in, eager to get home to enjoy some free time.

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"So how's Andrew doing?" my father asks as his football game goes to a commercial break.

"You mean Aaron?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He smiles, rubbing his shaved chin. "Yeah, yeah, him."

I shrug, looking down at my textbook laying on my lap. I tap the lined paper with my pencil, trying to figure out the stupid math problem. "He's good."

"You guys dating?"

That's a valid question for him to ask, but do I truly know the answer to it? No, not really. Aaron never really formally asked me to be his girlfriend. "Um, I, uh, guess so?" I reply, obviously not sure myself.

He laughs. "Is that the cue for me to give you the talk?"

I groan. "You already did when I was 15. I really don't want to hear it again."

"So you need a refresher?"

"No!" I yell, face turning red with embarrassment. It was bad enough back then, let alone now.

Dad laughs, shaking his head. "Just promise me you'll be safe. You know, make sure--"

"You know I will, gosh," I cut him off, turning back to my homework. Right as the commercial break ends, the doorbell rings. "It's probably Aaron," I sigh, getting up. Dad mumbles something, eyes glued to the television.

I flip the porch light on and look through the peep hole, seeing a middle-aged woman standing on the door step. I open the door, incredulously looking at the brown-haired, brown-eyed lady. "You got the wrong house. Mr. and Mrs. Miller live at the next house over," I say in a monotone.

"Callie?" the woman asks, getting teary eyed. She reaches out to touch me, but I back away. Who is this woman, anyways?

"Uh, Dad..." I say, looking at him for support from the doorway.

My dad gets up and walks over to the door. "Steph?" he asks, wide-eyed and in disbelief from behind me.

My blood runs cold. I know exactly who this woman is now. She's the person who abandoned us ten years ago, and there is no way I'm staying in the same house as her.

"Callie! Get back here!" my dad yells as I march down the pathway and walk down the street.

"I'll come back when she's gone," I scream back, not looking back. There's no way he can expect me to stick around and act like everything is normal. If my mother decides to reappear in my life, well, then that's my cue to disappear.

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[A/N] Callie just met her mother! Buckle up, readers, 'cause this is going to be one heck of a story!