The ever intimidating, scary, Addison Montgomery sat before her flickering television, watching some indecipherable cartoon. She wasn't really watching, per say. It was more of a way for her to seem less crazy while she thought. Since it was one of those old-fashioned black and white silent cartoons, it gave her the opprotunity she needed.
She was contemplating moving to LA. She had nothing left in Seattle. Derek had moved on with Meredith, Mark had, well, Mark didn't count. Alex...well Alex didn't count either. She briefly wondered if Alex was still with Rebecca, or Lexie, or Izzie. Then she cursed herself for her moment of weakness. She wasn't supposed to think about that intern anymore. She had forbidden it. In the confines of her mind, of course.
After his whole 'you're not my girlfriend' episode, they had both stopped talking to each other. For a while at least. After a month or two, when they finally realized how different their lives were without their friendship, they quickly started talking again. It had been awkward for a while, sure, but they had gotten over it. They had become fast friends. He was almost her best friend. But in her eyes, Callie still had that one down.
For now.
She then thought of Mark. Mark had been oddly avoiding her since he told her he broke the sixty days bet. She had expected it. What she hadn't expected was that she would break it too.
So she was back to Alex. She shook her head, then berated herself for almost getting her hair in her ice cream. God she loved ice cream. It was so deliciously fattening. She closed her eyes and savored the ice cream, and refused to let her thoughts stray back to any of her ex-husbands, ex-boyfriends, and ex-not boyfriends. She stood suddenly and decided this night would be completely pathetic if she had her comfy pants on. She set the ice cream down and walked down to her bedroom. When she returned, she was wearing pink plaid flannel pants and a red tank top. It didn't match whatsoever, and she loved it.
At home was the only time she allowed herself to look anything other than her best. It was nice to have a break. But when she glanced back down at her appearance, the mismatched colors made her feel slightly out of place. She set down the ice cream again, hoping to dissuade herself from gaining five pounds, and stood at the window. The sky would flash with light every few seconds, followed by a quiet rumble of thunder. Addison shivered. She hated thunderstorms. They reminded her of the day Derek left.
So she was finally at Derek.
She was ashamed to admit that one man had so much effect on her life. He had controlled where she had moved, what she wore, how she acted for the longest time. So when the divorce was finally..well...final, she didn't quite know what to do with herself. So she didn't change. And that had hurt her. A lot. To admit that one man controlled her so well. When she would come home, she used to yell "I'm home!" and when no one would answer, it would make the divorce seem even worse. All she wanted was someone to yell back when she came home.
Which brought her to Mark. And Alex.
There he was again. That man seemed to hang over Addison like the dark sky outside. But instead of making her feel dismal, he made her feel sunny. Now THAT made her feel dismal.
The thunder made a loud bang outside and she flinched. She jumped when she realized she was still standing at the window. It had started raining. Pouring, even. She scooped up her best buddy, ice cream, and sat on the couch again.
She sat in a thoughtless daze, staring at the television. It wasn't until the ending credits played with music that she started and came back to reality. A quiet, hesitant knock sounded at the door. Addison briefly wondered if she had time to put on red pants. Or a pink shirt. When whoever was at the door knocked again, she decided she'd better open the door. And decided the universe was against her and all her thought processes. "Alex?"
Alex shrugged. "I'm wet." He shook his head for emphasis.
Addison giggled. "No kidding."
Addison tried to supress a smile. "What happened to you? A fight with a water hose?"
He rolled his eyes and laughed. "I got in trouble at the house," he said, looking at his feet. That was what they called where he lived. 'The house'. They both knew he hated it. And truth be told, Addison would have hated it too. Meredith, Derek, Izzie, Christina, and George all in one house. Well, and Alex.
Addison frowned. "What kind of trouble?"
"I bought Thatcher Grey alcohol." He nodded his head as though Addison should understand. Which, for the record, she didn't.
Addison tipped her head to the left, the way she did when she was confused. Something Alex noticed. "Why would you buy Meredith's father booze?"
"It was either go buy it for him or let him drive drunk," he reasoned. "But Meredith wouldn't let me explain." he imitated Meredith's shrill and whiny voice. "No, Alex. I told you to stay away from Lexie, that includes my father. What were you thinking buying him beer?"
Addison tried to suppress a smile. His Meredith voice was impeccable.
"Come on in," Addison moved aside and let a dripping Alex walk by her. Even drenched, he still smelled faintly like a cologne she loved but couldn't quite recognize. She inhaled deeply and sighed. Alex stood awkwardly in her hallway.
"Wait here."
"Addison, where are you--" Addison wandered into her closet and pulled out a plaid robe and a navy blue towel. It was the manliest thing she owned.
"Here," she passed him the dry clothes. "You look like you're going to catch pneumonia."
He smiled at her and shook his head, splattering Addison with droplets of rain.
She spluttered and waved frantically at the water. "Alex!"
He turned and flashed her his trademark smirk that turned her into a puddle. She waited until he shut the door the bathroom and shook the feeling of his eyes off of her. Not that she minded. She smiled absentmindedly and looked down. Crap! She was wearing mismatched pajamas! And she had no make up on. Or shoes!
Addison glanced around and cursed silently. All her makeup stuff was in the bathroom! Where Alex was...No. Bad idea. She sprinted to her closet and slipped on Prada slippers and pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was in and shook her head, making her hair look purpousely tousled.
She jumped back onto the couch and tried to pretend she was watching the television. Until she realized what she was watching. Cartoons? Was she joking?!
Alex sauntered out of the bathroom, looking positively ridiculous in her robe and the towel around his shoulders. He plopped down on the couch next to her and grinned at her goofily. "Cartoons?"
Addison felt the color creeping up her cheeks. Until...
"I love these!" His entire face lit up and he laughed like a child. Addison couldn't help but smile. She passed him the ice cream and bit her lip silently. She didn't want to get sucked into the Karev charm again. So instead of staring at his perfect profile, she watched the cartoon. It was a more modern one now. Something called "Courage the Cowardly dog". Odd name for a cartoon.
She was freakishly enthralled by the creepy cartoon (full of scary ducks and screaming dogs and other creepy animals) until the thunder rolled again. This time, she jumped and hid her face in Alex's chest. He left his arms limp at his sides and furrowed his eyebrows at her.
"I take it you don't like thunderstorms?" he asked, as Addison scooted uncomfortably away. She nodded.
He wanted to tell her how pretty she was, with her pink and red pajamas that reminded him of Valentines Day. Her hair was messy and unbrushed, and he found himself wishing he could brush it. He blinked.
To distract himself, he looked around her apartment. It wasn't weirdly clean or anything, just an organized mess. There seemed to be shoes in every corner of the apartment. He smiled.
Addison was watching. "What?"
He wrung his mind for something to say, and came up with nothing. So he said, "Looking at your apartment. Its so...you."
Addison furrowed her perfect eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Well, there's shoes in every corner, your bookcase is full of medical journals, and all of your pictures are of Torres and Bailey," he gestured to the various corners of the room. Addison watched him talk, entranced by his description of the apartment. She seemed to revalue everything by the way it was seen in his eyes. "Your closet is divided by sections, and even your slippers are designer!" He snatched a pink Prada slipper off her foot and waved it in her face. Her toes were painted black.
"It's so much different than Meredith's house," he sighed. "I hate living there."
Addison frowned. "Why?"
Alex smiled ironically. "Well, Meredith and Derek are always going at it," Addison made a face that made him laugh. "Izzie and George are always being all drama or all coupley," this time Alex made the face, a mixture of disgust and amusement. "And if I so much as mention Lexie Grey, I get a round of dirty looks. Meredith has some serious followers in that house. Its like high school. No one cares if someone is really a good person. Like what they did to you."
"What do you mean, me?" she asked.
"They still call you Satan," he said, and wrung his hands nervously. "I like to make faces at them." He smiled.
Addison supressed a grin. "You can move in here."
"What?" Addison almost regretted speaking. Maybe he thought she was being weird.
"Move in here. There's another room you can stay in. But if you annoy me too much, I'll send you back to the Meredith and Derek love fest." Addison raised her eyebrows and Alex laughed.
"Its a deal." He shook her hand. And didn't let it go. The thunder boomed outside and Addison practically jumped onto Alex's lap and buried her face in his shoulders. Alex put his arms around her shoulders and kept them there.