On the Street Where You Live

[Calliope Gallo]

Continued from: Hey Roomie

Since hearing from Cam only minutes ago, Callie felt her mood elevate significantly. She couldn't help the smile she wore as she stepped around her dorm room. Would he want to come inside? Would that be weird? She spent a few idly minutes ensuring her own room was tidy. Not that he cared; he hadn't been bothered when they lived together, why would he now?

She all but ran for the common room door when she heard a familiar knock. At least, she was so sure it was familiar.

Swinging the door open wide, Callie's elated smile dropped and faltered the moment she saw his face. The marks. Bruising. The discolouration. Her eyebrows furrowed in clear cut concern; this wasn't how she wanted to see him after all this time. As if on cue, she felt her bright blue eyes start to water up, but she blinked it back and pressed forward, wrapping her arms tentatively around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

"I missed you." She said lightly, exhaling the rest of her breath on a sigh.

[Cameron Osiris]

It would be nice to see a friendly and familiar face inside these walls. Strolling to his old dorm room felt like habit, and he so wished it was still his to call. He almost didn’t bother knocking, but decided he probably should. Some new people were bound to be in there that didn’t know him, and one black eye was enough.

Cam smiled his half smile, his hands in his back pockets. He didn’t like seeing the look of concern on her face, but at least she cared. He hugged her back tenderly and in that instant wished he had told her he would be coming back.

“I missed you too,” he said, holding her tighter, “I should’ve said somethin’, but, yeah, I’m here now.”

Releasing her, he looked around and over her shoulders, peering into the old dorm. “New roomies as good as the old?” He laughed at himself, ignoring the fact that his face was badly bruised. It didn’t really need to be mentioned right?

[Calliope Gallo]

It was incredibly critical that Cam hugged her back the way he did. For a brief moment, it reminded Calliope of how things used to be. Before everything got so messed up. Before he left. The fact that he genuinely missed her felt like a life line within itself. Within the myriad of issues she'd caused for herself, it was important to have something good again.

"It's okay." She admitted, because really it was. He was there now, and to her that was what mattered the most. That he didn't forget about her.

When he released her, she couldn't stop the way her gaze travelled across his features on instinct. Callie could never hate an individual - not for making her cry, and evidently not even for bruising someone so important. But it was impossible for her to erase the concern she wore. If he was ignoring it, she could try to as well.

"They're okay." She replied, shrugging her shoulders once as she stepped to the side so he could walk in. "Hyper twins and a really... Sorta angry girl. It's not as much fun as it was when you were here."

Lacing her fingers together behind her back, Callie brushed her thumb across her palm idly. "Where'd you go?" She asked, but immediately shook her head. "Nevermind. You don't need to tell me."

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam wasn't going to give himself any illusions - things would never be the same, but at least they could move on. But deep, deep down inside, Cam knew that everyone he knew before he left, would always have that little bit of doubt in him in the back of their minds. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. People didn't like being hurt.

The truth was, Cam had already spent an afternoon talking to Mia about the fight, and he was over it. Yeah there was a healing bruise, but that was the thing, it would heal. And Oriel? He was just a guy with anger issues.

"Well I'm both happy and sorry to hear that," he said with a smirk. "My new roomies are actually pretty awesome." Cam touched her hands lightly. "But they're not as fun or hot as my old ones," he added with a wink, because it was Callie, and he couldn't help himself.

"Hey, you can ask," he said, looking around his old common living space. Not even a trace of him was left. "I was in California, living with my dad, finished all my course work, nature all around." Cam took a deep breath like he was still there.

"Things were really crazy when I left," he said, figuring Callie knew the half of it. "But I couldn't stay away, too many people here I like being around." People like Callie, Mia, Jared... Chester. Cam sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, looking up at her with big blue eyes. "How ya been Callie?"

[Calliope Gallo]

Calliope couldn't help but laugh when he spoke of his roommates. She spent far too much of her time wishing for things to be how they were. But she could never have that, and she knew it. The naivete of the half-Greek dancer felt as if it was slowly fading. Dwindling in the light of reality."They're just people I live with now." She offered lightly. No friends. Not anymore.

"You needed to get away, huh." Called reasoned, a small smile catching her features on instinct. Because she wa still Calliope Gallo, despite the stint of heartbreak.

She stared back at his big blue eyes with her own bright orbs. They boy who radiated light who still captured her attention like few others could. "Nothing really knew, Cammy. Honestly." She lied. And anyone who spent a moment with Callie knew she was a terrible liar.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam could almost see the laughter leave Callie's eyes, and he frowned slightly. Everyone seemed to have changed so much since he had been gone, like the world had gotten colder. Was it vanity that made him think perhaps he had been the light in a lot of people's lives? Maybe he had succeeded in doing what he had always wanted - making other people happy. "Well maybe once we've all graduated, you can pick and choose who you wanna live with, yeah?" It was something he was looking forward to at least.

He nodded. "I needed to get away from certain things, yeah," he smiled reassuringly. "You weren't, aren't, one of them." Just to be clear.

Cam let the statement stand for a few moments, just in case Callie was going to change her mind. She was lying, but he wasn't going to address it. "Well, I just wanted to say hi, I love you, I missed you, and that we should definitely go do something some time." He smiled hopefully.

This could still work.

[Calliope Gallo]

"I guess that's a big plus for graduating." Callie replied instantly, pursing her lips as she nodded her head. Still, she couldn't help but think of how things had been in the dorms only a year ago. How ridiculously fun it'd been for them. "But then, there's still a bit of fun in the roommate roulette. Just not right now." Because it would have been perfect if he moved back in. It was unfair how that worked out.

Callie couldn't stop the way her smile widened a touch when he explained that he hadn't been trying to get away from her. It was as comforting as it needed it be.

"Hi, I love you. I missed you, too. And whenever you have time for me, I'm here for you." The half-Greek dancer replied in turn. Reaching out, she rested a hand on his forearm, moving down to grasp his hand and offer a little squeeze for reassurance. "I'm not mad at you."

[Cameron Osiris]

“Yep,” Cam agreed, “we get to do all kinds of grown up things.” He smiled at the thought of roommate roulette. “Well, maybe it’ll be nice to have some choice over things when we graduate, since there will be enough things he don’t get to choose.” Like certain classes in order to get into certain degrees, or who co-workers will be at a shitty part-time job.

Yes, the list of things Cam had to get away from was quite long, but Callie hadn’t made the cut.

Cam’s mouth lifted into a half smile. “I’d be mad at me, but that why I’m glad you’re not me, that’d be weird.” He laughed at himself and pulled her into a little spin. “What’re you doing over summer? I was hoping to brush up on my dancing skills. You know, with you by my side.”

[Calliope Gallo]

The thought of graduating, and the talk to boot, brought a mixed reaction to Callie's face. Choice was a definite plus, but she'd missed the mark, and so she had to wait another year in those halls before she could find such freedom. But there was comfort to be found in staying somewhere so definite for a whole twelve months.

"You didn't do anything to me." Callie reasoned. She knew that there were others he'd hurt - left - that wore the pain more than she did. She wondered who she was to this boy; he was the first person to genuinely seem to care for her at Hammel. For all she knew now, she was just a girl. A girl he knew. One he used to live with; another friend to add to the many he managed to make in a day, much less a year.

"Are you staying around?" Callie asked, realising quickly that she had no idea what his plans were. "If you're around, I'd love to dance with you. You were always pretty good." The corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. At least he humoured her and seemed to have fun doing it.