Fred and Callie: A Confrontation (BACKDATED)

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Fred tries to get Callie to take a break from studying, and the subject of his condition leads to some static

((Backdated to Sunday Night))



Callie sat in her usual table in the library, surrounded on all sides by books and silence. It was the perfect place to write an essay or do problem sets, the former of which she was currently deeply engrossed in. Her fingers furiously tapped away at the keys of her keyboard, pausing only briefly when she needed to insert an accent mark. She was in the zone, the paper was almost done, she could taste the sweetness of finishing before a deadline, when she realized she needed a quote from her notes. Quickly she shuffled through her pages of loose leaf, and coming up empty there, pulled out her book and began flipping through it, searching for what she needed.

Silently, Fred moved up behind Callie, each silent step filled with purpose.

Mission: Get Callie to come watch some television.

Weapon of Choice: Shoulder rub.

While she was hunched over her book, Fred softly pressed his palms and fingers into Callie's neck and shoulders, kneading the muscles together as he spoke over her shoulder, "Cal, the reason they give ya a deadline is cause that's when you're supposed to do it," he said, with a grin.

Okay, so, she probably needed that given all the tension she was carrying around in her upper back. She leaned back to look at him, a small, sheepish grin on her face. "I know, but I like to finish early so I can not worry about it. Keeps me from having work pile up. What's up?"

As she leaned back, Fred continued to rub her shoulders and kissed her, "Was going to try and convince you to take a break. I got that new movie through Netflix...the, uh, Mo-lee-air movie you wanted to see..." Fred chuckled a little bit as he butchered the french name...

"With Romain Duris?" Callie's voice squeaked a little. "I loved him in 'The Spanish Apartment'. Okay. Yes. Sure. Just let me pick up my stuff and take it to my room?"

Fred grinned broadly, moving to pick up some of Callie's stuff, "Here, I'll give you a-" Fred made a noise in the back of his throat, like he was about to cough, and moved away from the table quietly, trying to not be obvious about clutching his arm, "I'll, uh...I'll meet you in the media room, okay?"

She froze midway to standing up. All of a sudden his demeanor had changed, and he was clutching his arm. Something had happened. "Fred... what's wrong?"

Fred smiled, and covered his arm movements by scratching the back of his head, "It, uh, it ain't nuthing, Cal. Just...slept on my arm wrong is all. Did you want popcorn?" Changing the subject didn't always work with Callie, but sometimes...

"Fred. Seriously. Do you think I'm stupid?" Callie slowly raised herself to standing height and began to walk towards him. "Every so often when we're watching a movie, or doing homework, or something you pull back suddenly, like you've just been hit. And you try to play it off. I never said anything before now really because, well, I hoped it was something you would get taken care of by yourself. But it's still happening. And... I don't want anything to be wrong with you, but you can't keep doing this."

The smile on Fred's face died a hideous, unnatural death, "Look, Cal...I, uh, I promise, I'm...gonna get it looked at. Soon. I am. But I promise, it's nothing to worry about. See?" Fred waved his arm, "So, just...calm down, alright?" His last words came out snappish, like he wanted the point dropped then and there. Admittedly, the pains his power cause him weren't his favorite topics of conversation, and he didn't react well to confrontation.

"Why wait Fred? Why not go get it looked at now?" She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. Why couldn't he see? If something was wrong he needed to get it looked at sooner rather than later, before it became too late. "Something could be seriously wrong. Persistent pain can have a number of causes. Internal injury, a herniated disk, pinched nerve, cancer?"

...

There was a long silence as Callie's last word set into the air, and Fred's face looked in complete disbelief. When he finally did talk, his voice was very quiet, "It's, uh...it's not cancer, Calliope. It's...it's got something to do with my powers..." Fred began backstepping a little, looking like an animal worried about getting cornered.

Callie watched him retreat. He rarely used her full name, this was serious. But so was she. And if he wanted to be an immovable force, well she would be one too. "How do you know though, Fred, if you don't get it looked at? You're in pain," she was careful to keep her voice down. "I don't want to see you like this. Why are you so afraid? What are you afraid of? Whatever it is, it can't be worse than the truth. Knowledge sets you free. Wouldn't you rather know? So you don't have to be in pain all the time?"

Fred stared at her for a moment, "I...I'm gonna..." he finally managed. Without another sound, Fred was gone.

That wasn't how Callie imagined the conversation would go. She heaved a weary sigh and lowered herself back onto the chair. The only thing that she wanted to do now was pour herself into her books and try to let the frustration and anxiety subside, and hope that Fred would do what she knew he knew was the right thing.