Sky Full of Stars

Tyler is about one more smug look away from getting slapped.

Ever since the night at Jamie and Jordie's, he's been much more careful in watching her than before and she knows it's because he knows. She'd denied the accusation, but not very well, and now he knows the one secret she hasn't even told Jamie. She prays he won't let it slip, even thought he has no reason not to tell. It wouldn't have any negative effect on him, but it would be devastating for her.

She feels like she can't say anything about Jordie at all now because Tyler will read something into it and forget trying to hang out with the three of them at once. That's impossible because if she and Jordie get within ten feet of each other, Tyler's eyebrows shoot up and he gets this stupid, knowing grin on his face. Luckily, the hockey schedule is packed with away games this month so she does get a few breaks from it while they're traveling, but as soon as they get home, it's the same thing.

Work isn't doing much to take her mind off of it, because somehow Miranda has found out that she and Jamie are friends and she cannot shut up about it any time they're together working on something. She gushes about how cute Tyler is and Calista has to resist the urge to roll her eyes every time, but she knows it's not Miranda's fault; she doesn't know what an ass Tyler is.

The only sanctuary she has where she can actually not think about any of it is with Felicity and Nick. She throws all of her free time into going to the studio, learning the new stuff they've come up with for their classes and practicing the older routines to keep them fresh in her mind. They don't bring up Tyler or Jordie or her job at all and it's a weight off her shoulders to be able to forget it for awhile.

Jamie insists on Sunday brunch at the diner because they'll be gone for games the next two days and, when Jamie insists, he often gets his way. Plus, she feels kind of bad that she's been inadvertently avoiding him by staying away from Tyler and Jordie. They're always together so it's not really her fault, but it makes her feel guilty anyway, so she resigns herself to go. They had an off day with no practice so Jamie tells her just to meet them down by the car in the high rise's garage. Their diner is in the opposite direction of the studio but Calista decides she'll just have them drop her off after.

Of course she's expecting it, but she still can't help groaning internally when she steps out of the elevator into the garage and sees three people leaned up against Jordie's truck, waiting for her. Tyler looks up first, that same stupid smirk on his face, and when he stands up straight, the other two finally look up to see her walking over to them.

"Finally!" Jamie exclaims as he turns around to open the passenger door and hop in. "I thought you were gonna bail on us again."

She rolls her eyes at his dramatics and climbs into the back seat behind him while Tyler gets into the back with her on Jordie's side. "You just texted me ten minutes ago, Jamie. I had to put clothes on."

"Yeah, well I never know about you these days."

He may have meant it jokingly, but it sure doesn't sound like it. He's hurt, the hint of sadness evident in his voice, and she feels guilty all over again. "Hey," she says softly, reaching up to rest her hand on his shoulder. "Star Wars. When you get back from Montreal."

"Nice," Tyler nods in agreement at what he thinks is a group activity idea but Jordie just looks at him in the rear view mirror and chuckles.

"No, man. 'Star Wars' is code for we're not invited."

"Oh. Why not?" Tyler asks, looking over at Calista, but she ignores him, still waiting for Jamie to agree.

Jordie shakes his head. "Don't question it, Segs. I've learned not to."

They come to a stop sign and he glances back at her before he pulls out onto the main road, but she ignores that too. She always knew that Jordie didn't like not being included in hers and Jamie's secret plans, but honestly they weren't so secret. It started out as them getting together, just the two of them, to watch at least one of the Star Wars movies and talk about their lives if need be. Now, 'Star Wars' didn't even mean necessarily watching the movie at all anymore; it had evolved to just mean that she and Jamie were going to hang out and they didn't want anyone else to tag along. It was their quality time together.

Jamie finally agrees after a moment or two of silence and she gently squeezes his shoulder before she sits back in her seat for the duration of the ride. The waitresses all shout greetings at them when they walk into the diner and immediately head toward the back where their usual booth is located. Calista slides in first with Jamie coming in right after her on her left, and Tyler slides in next to her on her other side, leaving Jordie on the end at a safe distance. At this point, Calista is a little relieved to have him far away from her, even if that means Tyler is the one sitting inches away.

After their orders are taken, the boys launch into some discussion about their upcoming game against Buffalo and Calista mostly ignores them because it's easy to tune them out when they're just discussing the opposing team's players and breaking down plays. By the time her pancakes arrive, she's too occupied with them to even be concerned about what they're talking about anymore and it takes Tyler nudging her side with his elbow to snap her out of it.

"Huh?" she asks, looking over at him before noticing that Jamie and Jordie are both staring at her too. Tyler however is grinning widely. "I said what are you gonna be?"

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't been listening to us since we sat down, have you?" Jamie chuckles. She shrugs and Tyler laughs again, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he does, while Jamie just shakes his head at her. "Were having a Halloween party. Some of us are renting out the upstairs part of a bar downtown and-"

"Oh. Yeah, I'm not gonna go to that. That's more of a team thing."

"No, it isn't," the youngest Benn protests. "There'll be a ton of people there who aren't with the team. You have to come!"

"Jamie, you know how much I hate Halloween."

"Calista, you can't use that excuse," Jordie speaks up to address her for the first time. "It's not gonna be anything scary. It's at a fuckin' bar."

She absolutely hates scary stuff, which is why Halloween is her least favorite holiday of the year. The only thing good about it as far as she's concerned is the candy. "Halloween is this Thursday. I won't be able to find a costume by then."

"Sure, you can. Four days is plenty of time. But if not, don't worry about it. We'd rather you not dress up than not come."

"Yeah, c'mon," Tyler agrees with another grin. "It's gonna be fun."

As if Tyler inviting would convince her. She sighs and shakes her head, picking up her glass of orange juice to take a sip. "I'll think about it."

None of the three of them seem particularly satisfied but they let it go when they realize that's the only answer they're going to get from her. She changes the subject back to their upcoming games and once they get on a roll again, she drops out, just thankful she's no longer in the conversation spotlight. She quickly becomes annoyed at herself when she realizes she keeps looking at Tyler, watching him while he talks and laughs with the other boys. The way his eyes crinkle in the corners and his whole face lights up when he laughs is actually really cute and that only pisses her off because, no, she's definitely not supposed to be thinking things like that about him.

Calista tries changing her subject of focus but quickly realizes that's not going to work either. Looking at Jordie isn't any better. In fact, it's probably worse for her because everything he does only makes her like him more and that's exactly the opposite of what needs to be happening. She needs to be getting over him and that's really hard when she keeps looking at his smile and the scruff on his jaw and the way his muscles strain against the sleeves of his gray tee shirt. The only safe place to look is at her own lap and it's lucky Felicity responds to her text almost immediately because if one of the boys questions her, at least she has an excuse.

When they're all piling back into Jordie's truck to go home, Calista tells them they have to drop her off at the studio and the two Benns just accept it, but Tyler apparently has some questions. He asks her what kind of studio it is, and why she goes there, and on and on until they finally pull into an empty parking space in front of the building and she can climb out of the back seat and away from him. She waves goodbye, not looking back as she heads for the glass front doors and when she steps inside the lobby, Tasha spinning herself around in the chair behind the front desk.

"Hey, Tash," Calista greets with a chuckle as she passes by the older girl and goes straight into the first room where class will be held. "Where's Fifi?"

"Not back yet," Tasha answers, following her in.

Calista groans as she takes her jacket off and tosses it into the corner before laying down in the center of the floor. "I need help."

"With what? Maybe I can help?"

"Well, the boys are having a Halloween party on Thursday night and I wasn't planning on going but they're going to force me into it so I need a costume."

"Oooh, fun! Okay, let's think!" Tasha lays down beside her and they both stare up at the ceiling as they brainstorm. After a few minutes, the older girl finally breaks the silence. "What about like a princess or something? Get a big ass ball gown and a tiara! It'll be great."

"Uhh, no," Calista laughs. "It's a party at a bar."

"Catholic schoolgirl."

"No."

"Sexy cat."

"No."

"Sexy vampire."

"No."

"Sexy nurse."

"No!"

"Why do you refuse to be sexy?" Tasha sighs, exasperated.

"You're supposed to be helping me."

"Bitch, I'm trying!" Calista groans again, throwing one arm up to cover her eyes and Tasha laughs at her friend. "You're just being impossible."

"I'm not being impossible. I just can't pull off a sexy costume. I'm trying to think of something within reason for this body."

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Tasha scolds, smacking Calista's arm. "If you don't want sexy, what do you want? Like give me some ideas. What were you last year?"

"I didn't dress up last year. I don't think I've dressed up for Halloween since I was fifteen. I have no idea what people dress up in nowadays."

"Sexy costumes," Tasha deadpans, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, I'm not good at this. Maybe you should just wait for Felicity."

"Did someone mention me?" a voice asks suspiciously and both girls lift their heads to look toward the door where Felicity is leaning her shoulder against the frame with a smirk on her face.

"We're just talking about what costume Calista should get for the Halloween party," Tasha tells her, propping up on her elbows.

"What Halloween party?"

Calista sighs. "Jamie and some of the other guys are renting out some bar downtown and I'm dreading it very much but I don't have a choice."

"And you need a costume?"

"Yeah, we're clueless. Help me."

Felicity purses her lips as she thinks it over but it's only a few seconds before she looks down at Calista and grins. "I know just the thing."

"You do? What is it?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll bring it to you on Thursday after my class is over."

"No, no, no. Fifi, you have to tell me. I can't-"

"What's the matter, Liss? Don't you trust me?"

"Honestly?" Calista snorts.

Felicity rolls her eyes and shrugs. "Too bad, 'cause you don't have a choice, darlin'. Sorry. Now both of you get your asses up so we can work on this routine before the class shows up."