The summer before heading off to college had been a transformation for Meredith Grey. Showing up at Mass General and being handed her mothers credit card had been a blessing in disguise. Gone was the long, pink hair and in it's place were blonde waves. The black clothes had been tossed to the curb too, replaced with boho dresses, tight jeans that showed off her slim legs, and warm, chunky sweaters to keep her bony frame warm in the cold winters of Long Island. She was off to Yale for undergrad, finally getting away from her mother after 18 long years of being ignored by her. She had graduated school with a 4.0, proving to her mother that she was smart. Or at least it would have proven something to her, if the great Ellis Grey had bothered coming to her only child's graduation, or noticed the report cards Meredith had slipped in her mailbox at work. What did it matter though? She was making her escape. All summer she had worked on her new look, even going so far as to stepping into Vineyard Vines and Lilly Pulitzer, buying out their stock of preppy dresses, pants, and shirts. She was going to be that Ivy League girl, with perfect clothes, perfect hair, and perfect grades, toting her textbooks and neatly scrawled notes in a perfectly monogrammed totebag. She had no idea where her latest transformation had come from, but she liked it.

Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail as she loaded the last box into the backseat of her car and she looked back at the house she had grown up in. It was a nice house, she had to admit. It was a beautiful and large townhouse in an older section of Boston, but she had spent more time there with nannies and housekeepers than with her mother. She was excited to finally be on her own, having just turned 18 on July fifteenth. New Haven was only two and a half hours away, but it was good enough that she didn't have to see her mother much, or come home at all if she had to. She knew the name of her roommate – Addison Forbes Montgomery from Greenwich, Connecticut – and she was thrilled to meet the girl in person, having only exchanged a few text messages. Climbing into the drivers seat of her Range Rover, she was off, following the directions of the GPS on her phone.

Two and a half hours later, Meredith swung into a parking spot just under the hill her dorm was on and she smiled. It had been nothing but her, her music, and the road for two and a half hours. Reaching next to her for her purse, she climbed out of her car, and she could she other freshman and their parents everywhere; she was the only one without a parent but frankly, she didn't care. She followed the signs to one of the main halls, a good 15 minute walk from her car but she didn't care. She needed to get her ID photo taken and pick up her keys. There was a thrill running through her; she was starting the rest of her life and it was exciting. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally ran into someone. "Oh! I'm so sorry," she said, looking up into the deep blue eyes of a guy, looking to be around her age with seemingly perfect hair. "Oh," she breathed, straightening her white lace dress and jean jacket, smoothing her hair away from her face. "Hi," he said to her, a smile on his face. "I'm Derek." "Meredith," she replied, slightly breathless. This guy was perfect looking and she'd managed to crash literally right into him after being on campus less than 20 minutes. "I'm sorry I ran into you, I'm trying to find the building to pick up my keys," she admitted with a blush. "I just came from there actually, it's the next building from here," he told he with a smile. Good, this guy was a freshman too. Today was freshman move-in only. But god, a guy this good looking had to be taken. "Thanks," she managed to get out, moving past him slightly. "I'll see you around Derek," she smiled, giving him a little wave as she went on to the next building, a hop in her step.

Fortunately the line for ID's was moving fast, and in ten minutes she was holding her Yale ID, the one she would have for the next four years. Her photo wasn't terrible, and the thing would be able to get her into all buildings, pay for meals and laundry, and could even pay for stuff at a few stores in New Haven. Picking up her keys was even faster, and in another 20 minutes she was climbing to the fourth floor of Jonathan Edwards College. She and Addison had fought to be in this College; it had the best facilities with old New England architecture that was absolutely stunning. The facilities boasted an art gallery, a buttery catering to students that was open every night with yummy food, computer labs, a dance studio, a gym, a game room, several libraries, printing rooms, music rooms, interview rooms, a kitchen, and a theater. It was dizzying to think that Meredith lived in such a gorgeous place full of history; she was a history nerd and minor despite being pre-med. Finally she reached the room and unlocked it; she had made it first, despite Addison living in Connecticut. The room wasn't huge, but for having two of everything it was spacious. She chose the bed next to the windows and set her bag down on it, taking a peek out of said windows. Their room faced the courtyard of the set of buildings and she smiled.

Hopping off her bed, she decided since the room was empty, it was a great time to get her things from her car. About 20 trips later, since she was doing it alone, everything was in her room and for a moment she looked at the stacked up boxes, containers, and suitcases with a sigh, not knowing where to start, really. A moment later a tall, sophisticated red-head stepped into the room and the two girls assessed each other. "Meredith?" "Addison?" she said with a small smile, before the two girls rushed at each other in a tight hug. "Ohmigosh it's so glad to finally meet you!" Addison gushed, teetering in her heels. "My parents are on their way, they're bringing some more things," she said, nodding to two of the suitcases she'd managed to drag up to the fourth floor with her. In heels. "Where are your parents? You got everything up already?" Meredith merely shrugged. "My mom has surgeries all day and I haven't seen my dad since I was five. I drove down from Boston by myself and got it all up here by myself," she said, shedding her jean jacket and placing it on the back of her desk chair. Addison nodded, knowing a thing or two about absent parents. "Mine are just here to pretend to care about me for a few minutes before they fight all the way home. I went to boarding school most of my life so this is just another chapter of me being invisible," she said with a roll of her eyes, hoisting a suitcase onto her bed so she could start to unpack her clothes. Her parents arrived a few minutes later with several boxes, bickering with each other. They said hello to Meredith with a brief smile, before going back downstairs. This continued for the better part of an hour before they kissed Addison goodbye and suddenly the two 18 year old girls were on their own.

"So…should we unpack and then find something fun to do on our first night here?" Addison laughed, hanging dresses in her closet and lining up pair after pair of shoes. Meredith was making up her bed and lining up her textbooks on the shelf that the window sill provided. "I like fun," Meredith laughed over the music blasting on her MacBook. She had set up the internet on both of their computers and managed to set up their computers to the buildings wireless printers. Addison had to admit, the girl was smart, and she was glad they were paired together, especially with both of them being pre-med students. Padding around the room barefoot, Mere was grateful Addison had brought a rug to throw down on the cold hardwood floors as she set up a TV and a DVR box, before focusing on unpacking her clothes. She giggled to herself when she realized that she and Addie had extensive wardrobes and would be borrowing from each other most likely.

Several hours passed with the girls making small chat, before there was a knock on the door. Meredith had no idea who it was going to be when she twisted the doorknob, and to her delight it was the boy from earlier who she had run into. Derek she reminded herself. "Hi," she said with a smile, watching his face as it jumped to surprise. He definitely hadn't been expecting to see her. "Errr..hi Meredith," he managed to get out. "You live across the hall from me," he laughed slightly, shaking his head. She was just as surprised and matched his laugh, playing with the ends of her hair. "So, you live across from me, this should be fun," she giggled, lost in those eyes of his. She wasn't one to believe in love at first sight but boy, was he dreamy. "Would you want to get dinner later tonight in the dining hall downstairs?" he asked her, and Meredith balked a bit. It sounded like he was asking her on a date. Sort of. She'd never done the dating thing before. She'd slept around but dating wasn't her thing. But it could be. She'd reinvented herself. She was still figuring out who she was in this new version of herself…but she could have dinner with a guy. "I'd love to," she smiled, before biting her lip. "I don't want to leave my roommate alone though," she stated. "Oh that's easy, she can hang out with my friend Mark," he said matter-of-fact. "Oh really? And what makes you think she'll go for that? She smirked, teasing him. "Who knows?" he laughed, and Meredith waved him off. "Fine. 6 pm in the dining hall on the first floor," she grinned, her green eyes sparkling. "See you there," she said, turning and shutting the door.

Addison looked up as she returned back to the room; Meredith resuming her task of unpacking clothes and boxes. "Who was that?" she asked. "Our neighbor across the hall. Uh, I ran into him when I was going to get the keys and my ID. He invited me to dinner tonight, and invited you to dinner with his friend," she said as she bit her lip, not wanting to overstep boundaries. Thankfully Addison was cool about it. "Day one and we already have guys? Awesome," she laughed as she tucked her suitcases under her bed, before she got around to making it, fluffing up the pillows. The room was almost finished and Meredith was proud; they just needed to make a trip into town for finishing touches like hooks for hanging things on, lamps, and string lights to light up the ceiling. The room looked nice though, especially with all the empty boxes and containers out of it, which they were instructed to place in an empty storage room down the hall. Meredith felt more at home here than she did in the townhouse in Boston and she smiled, straightening things on top of her dresser and turning the lamp on, before looking around again. Yes, this definitely felt like home to her and already she could see herself and Addison getting along well.

For a moment she climbed onto her bed and closed her eyes, relishing in how comfortable it was after the long day. Suddenly though, she was being shaken awake by Addison. "Mere! It's almost time for dinner!" she said. Apparently Meredith had fallen asleep. She stretched out her arms and legs and took the time to look at herself in the mirror on the back of her closet door, that was identical to Addison's. Luckily her hair was unmarred by her nap, but she needed to change and do her makeup. Quickly she pulled off the white lace dress and replaced it with a navy and white striped strapless dress and the brown sandals she had been wearing earlier. She quickly did her makeup – brown eyeliner and eyeshadow with some mascara and nude lipgloss, before arranging her hair in waves over her shoulders. Addison was dressed somewhat similarly and had replaced her heels with sandals as well, touching up her makeup and hair as well. "You ready for these two potentially creepy guys to hit on us?" Meredith mused with a laugh. Addison tossed her hair back. "Naturally," she smirked, linking arms with Meredith and opening up their door before striding across the hall and knocking on that door. A guy other than Derek opened the door and it threw Meredith off for a minute. "Well hello," he smirked, looking at the two women in his doorway. "I'm Mark and this must be my lucky day," he smirked. Somewhere from within the room Derek groaned and got up, pushing him aside. "This is Mark, he's a manwhore, and I'm so sorry to you," he indicated towards Addison, "that he's with you for tonight."

Addison on the other hand, was inwardly drooling over Mark. The look on her face said it all and Meredith couldn't help but laugh over it. She turned back towards the two guys in the doorway, awkwardly looking down at her feet before looking up at Derek. "I think she's okay with that," she teased, catching Derek's eyes and smiling. He grabbed her hand and flashed a smile. "What do you say we get downstairs and leave these two idiots here?" he laughed, guiding her to the stairwell. He was nice, he had manners, and he was full of chivalry. Meredith, having never dated before, weighed these traits for the better and found herself enjoying his company, the way his hand touched the small of her back, the way his voice sounded – smooth, like honey. He was sweet and he was obviously attracted to her.

They reached the first floor and made their way to the series of buildings until they reached the dining hall, and Meredith had to admit it was beautiful. High vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, it reminded her of something out of Harry Potter. She remembered seeing it on a tour earlier in the summer, but again, she reminded herself that she lived here now. She could definitely get used to this. They chatted as they got in the line for food, and Meredith learned that he had four sisters; three older and one younger, and he was from Westchester County, New York. He asked her where she was from and about her family and she took a deep breath. "I was born in Seattle but I've lived in Boston since I was five. My mother is a doctor…" she said, trailing off and biting her lip. He raised an eyebrow at that. "You're not okay with her being a doctor and yet you're pre-med?" he laughed, shaking his head. It had already been established that he and Mark were also pre-med, joining her and Addie. "Well. My last name is Grey," she said, not looking up from the buffet, where she was piling her plate with chicken Parmesan. It took Derek a minute but his eyes went wide. "Your mother is Ellis Grey," he said, in complete awe." Meredith looked back at him, her eyes hard. "Yep, the one and only. Fabulous surgeon but she's kind of a terrible mom," she shrugged, grabbing a cup and filling it with diet coke, before they left the kitchen and headed back into the dining room, grabbing a seat at the end of table. She couldn't help but note that Derek was studying her every move with a smile on his face. "What?" she questioned him, taking a sip of her soda. "Nothing, I just can't believe the daughter of the great Ellis Grey is so beautiful and nice. Dr. Grey is pretty unforgiving and hardcore I've heard," he admitted, digging into his meal. Meredith laughed a bit, waving her hand. "Unforgiving and hardcore is an understatement. I grew up like I didn't have a mother, or running around the hospital, watching surgeries in galleries," she admitted. Really, she had been on her own since she was five, when they moved to Boston. She couldn't remember a birthday, or any holidays, that had been spent with her mother. Birthday presents had been given to her, but by the staff that ran their house, not by her mother. Birthday cakes were non-existent, Christmas trees were never put up in the living room surrounded by presents. She'd had friends in school, but had always kept them at arms length. Reinventing herself, in her mind, gave her the chance to have everything she ever wanted at school, maybe even a close knit group of friends and going home with them for the holidays.

"I'm sorry if I hit a nerve," Derek said between mouthfuls of food, and Meredith shook her head. "You didn't. I see college as a new life, getting away from my mom and Boston," she shrugged, twirling pasta around her fork. So far, it was working. She'd met Derek after 20 minutes on campus and despite not being completely won over yet, she was completely enchanted by him. There was loud chatter by the table and she looked up to see Addison and Mark, deep in conversation, heading towards their table. "Looks like we have company," she giggled, finishing up her food and smirking at Derek. "Yes, but what they don't know is we're already finished," he grinned, standing up with his now dirty dishes. Meredith took his cue and also stood up, tapping Addison on the shoulder. "Hey, Addie, I'll see you in the room later okay?" she said, tilting her head towards Derek with a knowing grin. Addison gave her a familiar one, nodding towards Mark. It seemed like the two girls were both taken by the boys across the hall and Meredith really wouldn't change it, despite it being their first day at Yale. It was only Friday and the rest of the weekend involved new student orientation, which was mandatory and Meredith wasn't looking forward to it but whatever, she also had a weekend of amusing herself with Derek. However, she promised herself there would be no sex. Sure there was attraction and flirting, but her reinvention didn't include inappropriate sex with everything that moved.

Leaving the dining hall they made their way to the courtyard, the sun still shining. It was late August and New Haven was still warm. Derek was telling her his own version of growing up and Meredith couldn't help but smile. He was the second youngest, he had four sisters, and Mark had been his best friend since they met on the first day of kindergarten. Mark had parents that sounded a lot of Ellis Grey, and had been an honorary Shepherd since Derek had brought him home from school that day. "That's actually really adorable," she laughed, her hair shining in the sun. "I think kids thought I was weird because I would talk about surgery instead of playing with dolls. I'd rather sit in the gallery and watch complicated surgical procedures than play house with the girls in school," she shook her head. Derek had to laugh at that one. "My three older sisters are doctors. Well. Nancy is a doctor, Kathleen and Lizzie are still in med school, and Amy is only thirteen," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "My dad died when I was ten," he went on, his voice getting softer. They finally reached the courtyard and he dropped to the perfectly manicured lawn, motioning for Meredith to sit with him. She extended her legs and arranged the skirt over her legs, leaning back on her arms. "You're all bright and shiny, I'm so dark and twisty," she laughed, looking over at him. God, she wanted to kiss him. He was perfect. But the new Meredith wouldn't do that. Instead she just enjoyed his company until it grew dark.

He helped her stand up and she fell into him, giggling and apologizing like crazy. Her eyes met his and she moved in closer, wanting so badly to kiss him. Instead he smiled and slipped his hand into hers, leading her back to their building within JE College. They continued talking as they walked up all four flights of steps, right up until they were in front of Meredith's door. She was unable to wipe the smile off her face, and she didn't exactly want to. Derek was everything she should want in a boyfriend. He was charming and handsome, he came from a nice family, and he had similar interests in hers. In her mind though, she felt it was too early for anything. She had just met the guy hours before…it helped that he lived across the hallway, and as they both discovered through their talking, they had three classes together. Freshman year was going to be great. Hell, all four years would, since they were stuck in JE College for four years. "I should probably head into the room and bond with Addison, or something," she said, rolling her eyes slightly with a laugh. He returned her laugh, their hands still entwined. "And I should probably listen to Mark as he regales me with tales of her," he smirked, before leaning in and brushing a kiss to her cheek. "See you tomorrow morning with fun orientation things. It was great meeting you, Meredith Grey." Meredith couldn't help but blush as she fumbled with her room key, looking up at him. "It was amazing meeting you, Derek Shepherd," she replied, finding the right key and practically falling into her room, where Addison pounced on her with a million and one questions.

Let me know what you guys think! I'm nervous with this story but it's also super fun because I don't have to stick to the show, I get to make it up as I go! Feel free to leave feedback and suggestions! As always, REVIEW please!