Pseudo-Secrecies Broken-Part 3
A/N: I am really appreciating all the review and thanks I’m getting for this story that I had slowly but surely forgotten until the past month or so. The only writing I’m ever really motivated to do is this fanfic and the other, You’re Worth It, and a numbered to sixty-five list of Brallie story ideas that have been in the making for almost a year now. Anyways, Brandon’s flashback in this chapter made me laugh while I was laughing and question him, but it’s all in good teenage-boy hormones and love. Keep reading and reviewing; this is a longer chapter! Thank the -13° wind chill and no school here for this update!
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“BRANDON! Oh my god, Lena what happened to him!” Callie rushes to his side on the ground and lifts his head unto her bent knees, forgetting the dove-colored dress she is supposed to keep decent for the upcoming wedding which was the farthest from her mind at the moment.
“Brandon? Can you hear me?” Lena gently brings her hand to the side of his face and tries to bring him back to his senses, without potentially hurting him if anything extreme was happening in his brain or spine. Her minimal experience in simple emergency health situations for her position to become a teacher and potential principal at the start of her career in education really came in handy during emergency situations like this. She mostly believed that he had a minor panic attack with all the pressure and questions that were being thrown at him. Cool and pale skin should have been her first sign that he wasn’t feeling to well. But, she knew it had to have come on all of a sudden because he was just cracking jokes at Jesus less than ten minutes ago.
“His face is really cold. Do you think he was stressed out about anything else because this couldn’t have come up all of a sudden, making him anxious enough to faint?” Lena voiced her observations and was curious as to why it was that he could’ve been so panicky, while trying to stay calm for Callie’s sake.
Meanwhile, Callie was practically about to hyperventilate herself; and while listening to Lena’s reassurances helped some, it wasn’t enough for her not to be on the brink of her own onslaught of anxiety attacks that she had learned to tame over the past few years. After dealing with a lot of physical and verbal abuse from her and Jude’s former foster parents, siblings, and spiteful kids in schools that saw them as charity cases, she was forced to build up a tough exterior to protect herself and her heart from the painful jabs at her clothing and harsh personality in general. On occasion, a small push into lockers or the kitchen counter became the tipping point to her breathing picking up and her vision becoming blurred until she splashed water in her face, waiting for her vision to clear out, and lose the faraway look that they had obtained.
But back in the heat of the moment, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty. Her interactions with Brandon had always had some underlying wanting and longing that she knew she couldn’t tap into. The side smile and shoulder brushes as they passed by each other was almost always enough to have her begging herself not to jump him at any random moment. But, she had always kept strong because the smile on Jude’s face as one of the mom’s offered to get him something or let him go to bed without doing chores, brought her down into the reality of the situation just as she is about to turn around and grab Brandon, pushing her tongue down his throat as she simultaneously shoved him to a wall for stability.
They both always had so much fun together and they knew each other in ways that people only knowing each other for a few months should know. Emotions could not be hidden from the other, and when they told the truth it always was comforting to have the other person to put them back together, as they crumbled.
The memories they shared were ones to cherish for a life time and unaware to Brandon or Callie’s knowledge, they were thinking about the same moment.
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On a lucky Monday for the kids of the Foster household, school was out at Anchor Beach for the day, allowing them a day to not be trapped in the illustrious school setting on the beach. But for students, this elaborate setting still required being forced to listen to overzealous teachers tell the lectures that always led up to some pointless assignment, essay, or test that seemed like punishment enough at all times.
After sleeping in for a few extra hours, or until noon like Jesus and Jude, all the kids were up and moving sluggishly as hair and wrinkled clothes kept their integrity as tell-tale signs that they had no ulterior motives for their days besides possibly taking a shower, eating, and watching TV.
Brandon was the first up and went down the kitchen around nine o’clock and enjoyed the silence that resonated in the air, juxtaposing the usual madness of breakfast of every weekday. He appreciated the lack of Jesus’ asking to go to some bubble-headed girl’s house and Mariana’s shrieks that her outfit and hair didn’t match, which still never made sense to Brandon. He thought about the voices and interruptions he never really heard too much from as well. Callie and Jude, alike, both always seemed to peer around the kitchen with amused expressions, most likely basking in the madness that was the Foster household at eight a.m.
Brandon couldn’t help but be caught up in his own daydream as he pictured Callie tired face leaning against the palms of her hands put together as she rested her head on them. He thought to himself “I swear if I was more cliché I could definitely compare this to a bad version of Romeo’s adoration for Rosaline. But I’m pretty sure the school play twisted it enough to sell millions”, he laughed a little as he thought his way out of his Callie-induced hazy state.
“What’s so funny?” He heard the bandit of his thoughts question him. He turned and inspected her attire casually and scolded himself for noticing every small detail that should have been oblivious to his supposed-to-be-foster brother role. The wavy tendrils of hair that escaped her “lazy bun” that she loved to call it, practically hypnotized his eyes, sending a small wave of something he couldn’t explain through his stiff body. Her tank sleeve didn’t have any other straps intertwined and he could’ve slapped himself for thinking of her bare chest in such a way, remembering all the things she has been through. But, her white sweater she probably threw on to come downstairs for breakfast was still hanging off of her left shoulder and the white blush color and occasional moles had his brain whirling as to what else could lay behind the figurine body that couldn’t fit anyone but Callie Jacob.
“Brandon…anybody up there” she said as she brought her bent hand up to the side of his head and knocked on it playfully with a lazy smirk on her face. The awkward distance they had endured after Brandon had inadvertently admitted his feelings for after her disastrous “date” with Wyatt had definitely put a strain on the platonic side of their relationship that made them the best of friends they grew to be. After a week or two, they had made a silent agreement to leave the situation as it was, despite a few of their mutual grazing stares and Brandon’s two-sided comments. They’d reached a place of comfort in their relationship and though they both wanted more, they knew that this was a safe alternative.
Brandon was snapped back into the present with her couple of knocks at his forehead.
“Hey! What was that for?” He put on a stern face that held no match to the absolute adorable face he adored without fail every time he saw it.
“You were totally spaced out, and yes, thank you, I know I am adorable. But I asked you about…break-fast. You do understand that, don’t you?” she said as she made her was past him and to the fridge.
Brandon stood awe-struck and somewhat offended, as his face revealed the true feelings of his heart through the warmth that was flooding his cheeks. He couldn’t believe he thought about how adorable Callie was and then said aloud, outside of his control. He couldn’t be surprised though, not really, because his inability to act normal when she simply walked past him is enough to have him dazed for the following hours.
“No, I’m not a person. I take nothing personally; like when some weirdo named Callie comes from upstairs, just to fill her stomach and insult me,” he remarked sarcastically
“Oh stop whining you big baby.”
“I’m just saying that you could show a little compassion.”
“Whatever, whiny baby.”
“…and you call me the baby, you’re being completely childish!”
“Hey do you want some food or not. Now I could be nice or I could let you starve into nothing and leave you sitting at your keyboard as a pile of bones, piano man.”
“Oh gracious and beautiful mistress, dare not leave the entertainment unpaid in his nourishment.”
They both stood at a standstill and let his words hang in the air. His word choice maybe didn’t fit the situation, he thought.
“Wow. You really are something!”
They let the moment pass and the awkwardness seep into the tiles of the floor. He followed her further into the kitchen and stood at the island before questioning her again.
“Hey, so what are you going to make for breakfast, since you offered to feed me?”
“I was thinking about pancakes or something, maybe waffles. We haven’t had those in a while.”
“You should definitely make those waffles, because pancakes are the one thing I make perfectly. I wouldn’t want you to corrupt anyone with your different culinary techniques.”
“You are such a dork! But, I have yet to have these ‘perfect pancakes,’ you should make them and let me taste it, just to judge your ability of course.”
The atmosphere that hung around them when they were alone could go a few paths. They could joke around like they have known each other forever and crack jokes at each other, like now. They could be having serious conversations with tears and seeking comfort from the other through words of advice and encouragement. Or they could simply be hanging around like only they do, just basking in each other presence, their minds away from the world and all of its distractions.
“I think you just played me into making breakfast, well done Callie. I almost wouldn’t have assumed you’d planned this,” Brandon said to her as he dutifully made his way over to the fridge, looking for the eggs and milk he would need.
“Well now that you mention it, it may have been like that, but I have a splendid idea,” she said changing the subject, “something that will make the both of us very happy. You know since Stef and Lena are at work…we could almost do anything and I have a really good idea.” Callie said as she inched her way around the island in the middle of the kitchen. This mischief behind her eyes is one Brandon had ever seen and he almost stopped breathing as she came closer to him at the row of cabinets, holding the dry ingredients for his creation. She leaned over his shoulder and grabbed it with hands that had him shaking to the core. “We should have some coffee…”
Brandon puffed out a forced breath of laughter, hoping to calm himself after feeling her warm breath of joint laughter against his ears. The feeling that shot through his stomach made him want her as far away as possible, but yet, he couldn’t imagine how much further he could handle her being.
Once their laughter died down and their breaths evened out, the tension seeped into the air around them once again and the two teens stood like statues. Callie’s hands eventually fell away from Brandon’s left shoulder and she stepped away, making her way over to the coffee machine. Brandon was just happy that he was turned the other way, hoping to hide the sweat and blush now upon his face.
“Oh. God. Why am I sweating so much? She probably thinks I’m even weirder, standing around like some creeper teenager, who practically can’t control his own body!” Brandon’s mental freak-out continued as he mixed the flour, sugar, and salt.
Callie had let the awkward moment roll off her shoulders before she poured the water and coffee beans into the machine. They sat in a comfortable silence afterward, taking moments to let the air be filled with the laughter from the jokes they made. Both were surprised, but not truly worried that the rest of the kids hadn’t come down as soon as they heard the flicker of the gas lighting for the stove.
Once Brandon had finished with the cooking of the pancakes he so expertly made, he brought the plate he’d stacked the pancakes up on to the island and got toppings he thought they both would like. Chocolate chips, syrup, and blueberries sat across the island as Callie came walking over with the steaming mugs.
After grabbing their assorted toppings and cups of coffee, they both exhaled as they simultaneously sipped the hot drinks and exhaled as it rolled off the back of their tongues, soothing their stomachs.
“Okay, before I bite into this, is there any chance you should go ahead and dial 911?” she said with a faux-serious expression.
“You really think you’re funny this morning,” he murmured under his breath before he continued aloud, “No, Callie, I’m good. But I may have to call them once your jaw locks up from one small bite from one of my delicious creation.”
She rolled her eyes at his once again cocky attitude before turning her fork to cut into the pancakes that had stem billowing out if them. They looked too good already, but of course she wouldn’t feed into his ego that easily. Bringing the edge of the pancake into her mouth and laying it across her tongue, she stopped for a second before looking up. Brandon sat in front of her peering over his cup of coffee, looking like Stef in a way that was almost alarming, with the same smug smile tugging at his mouth.
They sat in that moment as Callie slowly chewed after her jaw did indeed lock for a few mere seconds. Knowing that he had noticed her reaction, she finished the bite and looked up ready to hear it.
“Go ahead and say it, I know you want to,” she admitted.
“Oh, me? No, I am just enjoying the look of admiration from your single bite of my perfect creation.”
They continued to eat bantering back and forth until Callie let out a burp that seemed larger than her. They both laughed loudly and had tears at the ends of their eyelashes before they stopped because Callie was grabbing at her ribs. Being stuffed, then laughing was not a good combination. They had taken down the coffee pot by themselves and the entirety of the eight small pancakes.
“Oh my goodness, I’m literally to full to even think straight right now.”
“I told you not to eat that last one, so blame yourself Jacob.”
“You are the blame, Foster! No one, and I mean no one, should make something that good; it’s dangerous.”
“You’re exaggerating…”
“Maybe I am…maybe I’m not…”
Leaning into to the left and right she bumped into him, making him repeat her action. They stopped when Callie had grabbed his right shoulder and set her head on it. What would have been another life-changing moment for them was interrupted by another manly belch escaping Callie’s mouth.
“Wow, that just happened,” Brandon thought, trying to ignore how close she was to him.
“Yup, I think I’m gonna have to go back to sleep,” she said.
“Well, that will require you to move, so I hope you don’t fall asleep here.”
She was quiet for a few moments after that and he was sure she had fallen asleep before she spoke again.
“Hey, you would just be the greatest if you could do me a favor.”
“And what is that?”
The puppy-dog look didn’t even have to go into play because both of them knew; she had him wrapped around her finger. She turned her head so he could see half of her face, making him all too aware of her primrose, pink lips; “focus Brandon, focus,” his recited in his head. Her doe, yet droopy eyes seemed away from the usual Callie he was around.
“Carry me upstairs, please,” she already had her arms wrapped around his neck, ready to be lifted and currently dozing off.
He pushed aside the thoughts of how her body pressed close to his so perfectly, and didn’t even respond before he lifted her from her chair before heading for the steps. Making small steps so he didn’t trip with her in his arms, he continued carefully, completely silent.
Stepping up the two small stairs before the staircase, he turned and took another step, just to feel himself slowly, but so quickly, falling to the ground. Jesus’ skateboard lay upside down against that wall perpendicular to the steps.
“Wha-what hap-pened, Br-Bran-don…” her words turned into mumbles and she was already asleep again.
He used her adorable face as a distraction from his throbbing butt bone and trudged up the stairs. Knocking lightly on the door to her and Mariana’s room, he listened to feet scratching against the carpet before the door opened revealing a pajama-clad Mariana. It took her a few seconds to recognize what was happening and the face she gave Brandon had him blushing in seconds.
He gently laid Callie down on her bed before covering her with her blanket. Turning around her found Mariana’s meddlesome eyes upon him again; before she could make any remarks, he flew out of the room ready to go downstairs and clean up the kitchen.
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Brandon’s eyes opened slowly to see the same dark curly hair and illustrious brown eyes from Lena and Callie, respectively.
His head was hurting and the brightly shining sun in his eyes wasn’t helping. Callie’s face seemed to be shining and that wasn’t helping him focus. He noticed that his head was propped on her knees and before he could stop himself, he raised his head to her now calm face and placed his lips upon hers, like he had wanted to do tens of times in that one morning in the kitchen.
Come back and read Part Four! Votes and Comments are good motivation for faster updates!