Meredith Grey is Derek's neighbor and Mark Sloan's step-sister after Mark's father Jullian Sloan married Ellis Grey. Mark and Derek are best friends and seniors in high school who are the top of the school and the stars of the football team, where Meredith is the lonely junior who only has a few friends. What happens when Mark and Meredith's parents go on their honeymoon and she sees a lot of Derek Shepherd?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or any of it's amazing characters.
It was early in the morning and Meredith was just waking up for a run. She looked at herself in the mirror and checked how she was doing with her weight. She was unahppy with it ever since she moved to New York with her mom. Everyone looked gorgeous and beautiful and she felt so out of place. She got dressed into normal yoga pants and put on a fitted tee and her running shoes and made her waydown to the kitchen. She saw that Mark Sloan, the handsomely built step-brother that she was stuck with ever since they were in Boston for the wedding. She didn't talk to him much and didn't really know much about him except that he was a star back home.
"All unpacked?" He asked her while getting some kind of healthy cereal from some cabinet. Meredith felt uncomfortable because she and her mom just moved in the day before and she wasn't used to her surroundings.
"No." Meredith responded following Mark and grabbing a bowl and eating the healthy nutty kind of cereal he was having.
"Why are you up so early? It's 6 and school doesn't start until 8:30. You know that right?" Mark asked with raised eyebrows.
"I'm going for a morning run." Meredith replied not really paying attention to his cockiness.
"Do you want to run with me and Derek? He's our neighbor, he's been my best friend since we were five and we always do a morning run and morning weights. We know the area better than you, you could get lost you know?" Mark smirked at her while talking through a mouthful of cereal.
"It's okay. I'm good on my own." Meredith told him not finding him very funny.
"You know you could be a little more friendly and you woud fit in better. Come on a run with us, we'll show you." Meredith nodded hoping he would stop talking.
Once they finished eating Mark offered to do her dishes and she thought there was something nice about him and he was being friendly. They went out to the driveway and walked all the way to the gate. She thought it was a pretty tiring walk and once they got to the gate it was a struggle to get passed all the alarms. She didn't understand why they needed so much protection when they lived in a closed communitee and Mark and his father were pretty strong men. On the sidewalk they were supposed to meet up with Derek but they must have been early because he was no where to be found.
Mark pulled out his cellphone and called up to his house. "Hey Derek get your ass out here. We have company too we're showing my new step-sis around so hurry up."
Mark and Meredith stretched in silence and after about ten minutes someone came jumping over the fence that separated the house next door from the street. She wondered why he needed to jump his own fence.
"Hey man, this is Meredith and Meredith this is Derek. How long do we have?" Mark asked Derek in a hushed whispering voice.
"Hey Meredith, and Mark we have about an hour. Stephen should be here soon he told me he would meet up with us." Derek told Mark.
Meredith took one long look at Derek and thought he was one of those boys who lived in the rich community who was over privillaged and annoyingly snobby. She also thought he was extremely hot with his bright blue eyes and his raven black curls pushed back. He workd out a lot you could tell my his muscles in his tank top and his legs were perfectly toned in his shorts.
Not even a few seconds later another boy came out from behind her and she was kind of annoyed that they were doing this boy thing so she just started to run down the street.
"Meredith!" Mark yelled to her and Derek started to run after her and yelled back to Mark and Stephen. "Come on we're here to run!" Everyone started to run and Derek finally caught up with Meredith.
"Hey you didn't have to run away from us like that. It wasn't cool." He thought she was speechlessly beautiful and if he didn't have a girlfriend he would have definitly tried getting at least a date out of her.
"It wasn't cool for Mark to encourage me to go out on a run with him and then invite his boys along for the ride I rather just not talk I'm trying to run." Derek instantly noticed an accent and he knew she was from Boston because that's where Mark was this past week packing up her stuff after the wedding and driving her back to New York.
"He's having a back to school party thursday night before the game friday. Will you be there?" Meredith wondered if he was just making small talk or if he was really interested in her. Not like either was a bad thing.
"Seeming as I live there I guess I'm going to be there." She smiled at Derek hoping he would get the picture that she liked him even though they just met she thought it could be a start in this new place but he seemed quiet and like he was keeping to himself. Stephen and Mark caught up to them and they were frustrated with how fast Derek and Meredith ran.
"Dude I know you're QB one but can you and pause for a bit? I have this pain in my side and I rather not be sore." Stephen complained. They all slowed down for a walk and Stephen and Mark joked constantly and then they were finally back at their gate and Stephen walked back home. Meredith was finally getting a hint the Derek wasn't like Stephen and Mark and she wondered why not. She watched him talk to Mark about having to go or his step-dad would ground him forever.
"Mark you know I'm not supposed to be out, I have to get backk before he notices I'm gone. I'll see you at school okay? Bye Meredith. See you later?" Derek looked at her with his blue eyes and she felt like she kind of melted.
"See you later Derek." She said and he was soon back to climbing his fence and Mark and Meredith were going through the alarms and he was telling her all the codes which she wouldn't remember ever. "How come he has to climb over his own fence and he's not supposed to be out?" She asked Mark about it hoping he would have answers.
"Derek's a good kid. When he was small his dad got shot in his store by some thugs who wanted money. Ever since his mom remarried this guy Jason, he hasn't been the same. Jay pushes him too hard in football, he's always yelling at Derek and not letting him spend time without any of the boys. He sneaks around that prick all the time. It's not right but Derek has no control over his life. The guy only wants him to workout and play QB at every game. If his dad even knew he was running with us then Derek would be driven to school and picked up by Jason every day and his mom is completely obliivious to it all." Mark told all of this to Meredith on the way back and opened the door for her and turned the alarm back on. "It's already almost 7 so how about we just get ready and I'll give you a lift to school?" Mark told Meredith upon entering the house.
"You would do that? Because you know I was the loner back home? I would be bringing down your status as a star if I was even in your car." Meredith told him while laying on the couch to relax.
"It's okay, you're family I'll have your back. You won't be a loner here, I'll look out for you. You can hang out with me." Mark sat next to her.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you taking care of me?" Meredith asked him.
"Because you're just like me. Our parents work and leave us in this town. You have never even been here. You don't know anything about this place. I've been here my entire life and I wish that someone helped me like I'm trying to help you. I was lucky to be best friends with Derek. He was the one who took care of me. I am so alone here, my dad is never home and he doesn't give a crap about anything about me."
Meredith nodded understanding where he was coming from and got up and went to her room. She sat on her bed and watched the window which was facing Derek's house. She couldn't believe she was here. She couldn't believe that she had someone who was looking after her. She couldn't believe that Derek had that step father and that he watched his own dad die. She got up and went to shower for her first day at school and she sat there wondering what it would be like.