And I could tell you
His favorite color's green
He loves to argue
Born on the seventeenth
His sister's beautiful
He has his father's eyes
And if you ask me if I love him..
I'd lie

It was the last Sunday dinner before Mark left for college. Meredith hadn't wanted to come. She'd wanted to sit in her room and cry, but Mark wouldn't hear it. If he was going to have to sit through his family's crazy dinner, then so was she. It was only fair since she'd been there at every other Sunday dinner for as long as either could remember. Everyone was already seated, and even though no one was saying it, all anyone was thinking was that they didn't know the next time they were all going to be together like this. Except for Mark, maybe, he was too excited about college to be sad about leaving. Yet, anyway. He was leaving after breakfast the next morning. A breakfast that she'd be alone with him in a public place. Mostly because neither of them could cook to save their lives. But a part of her figured that he wanted to limit the chances of her crying to an absolutely bare minimum, and he knew better than anyone that she did NOT cry in public, under any circumstances.

"I'm so glad you could make it, dear. Marcus told us that you weren't feeling well." Tammy spoke softly to Meredith, refusing to cry before dinner officially began. Meredith smiled back at her, feeling the same way. She was glad she went, she'd hate herself if she didn't,and it wasn't like she was going to have to say goodbye to him yet. She was going to miss his family so much. They hadn't talked about post college Mark dinners. She didn't know if she was still going to be invited, but she hoped so. She'd never had to plan a Sunday before. It scared her.

"Yeah. I'm feeling a little better now." She lied. She couldn't flat out admit that the thought of him leaving made her feel bed-ridden. Not to them, and especially not to him.

"Mom." Mark sighed as he watched tears fill his mothers eyes. They'd been "watering" all day, and it made him feel so bad. Going off to college was normal. It was expected. It wasn't like he was going on some last minute road trip for a year. And it wasn't like he wasn't going to come back to visit them all the time. He loved his family, even if they were entirely crazy and irrational. And Meredith. He didn't know how he was going to survive even two days without her. Much less, weeks at a time. He didn't tell her that though. It would only make it more concrete, making it harder for him to leave. He had to leave. He was certain that it wasn't even remotely healthy that he depended on her as much as he did. Sometimes it seemed like she felt the same way, but sometimes he didn't feel like he knew her at all. She'd get these far off looks sometimes, and it puzzled him. He'd begged her to tell him what she was thinking, but she'd refused. He hated secrets, especially secrets between them. There weren't suppose to be any secrets between them. They'd made a pact saying so.

"I'm sorry, baby." She sniffled, raising her head towards the ceiling, silently begging the tears to soak back into her eyes.

"Why is everyone crying again?" Megan, Mark's sister, cracked a smile to ease the tension. She was five years older than him. She'd been in his seat before, and she knew that everyone crying wasn't helping him at all. She smiled at him, and felt better when he sent her a grateful one in return.

"Megan." Thomas spoke sternly to his daughter, giving her a disapproving gaze. He knew what she was trying to do, but it only made Tammy want to cry more, and he really hated seeing his wife cry. He couldn't believe his only son was going off to college. He was so proud of Mark, but he couldn't say that with Tammy around. She'd glare at him and give him the silent treatment for days, and he'd learned a long time ago that silent treatments affected other areas of his life too, areas that he did not appreciate being disturbed.

"Sorry." Megan mumbled, fighting not to roll her eyes at her parents. Her mother was so dramatic sometimes. Was she the only one that saw how impossible it'd be for Mark to stay away? Meredith was still next door. It was next year they should be mourning. She couldn't say that though, because apparently Mark and Meredith were still in denial that we were anything more than the Mark and Meredith they were when they in Middle School. Blind, that's what they were. Or in denial. Or REALLY great actors. Maybe they had noticed. Maybe they just didn't want Mom already planning their wedding, she thought with a small grin. Maybe she'd ask Meredith. It's not like anything would really change, Meredith had always been a part of the family, and as much as they try to say otherwise, they had NEVER been very much like brother and sister. She saw them kiss once when they were younger. Siblings. Yeah right. Of course, they didn't know she saw them. But hello. They were in her backyard! It's not like they were hiding. Meredith was pretty aggressive for a five year old, she thought with a smile. Got her first kiss before even she did. Which is why she kissed Chad Michaels the next Monday at school. For the record, kissing with braces is just not fun. Really. Why anyone does it was beyond her. Given she was totally clumsy and definitely did not have the confidence that Meredith seemed to have. She'd like to say she taught Meredith well in life, but it was probably the other way around. Meredith was definitely more self sufficient than she was at that age than she cared to admit.

"So." Meredith fidgeted around in her chair, trying to rid herself of the nerves she was feeling. Megan had been giving her weird looks the entire time, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. But if she knew Megan as well as she thought she did, she would know pretty soon. Megan was never let's beat around the bush kind of person.

"Yeah.." Mark tried to wind the conversation, but in that moment, he could not think of a word to say. He knew he should want to talk to his family, but all he could think about was hanging out with Meredith. He'd spent all summer with her, practically every day, and yet he still felt like there was so much they needed to do before he left. He didn't know if it was normal to feel that way, but he'd decided it was best not to find out. Sticking with routine was safe. Besides he was leaving in the morning, and it didn't really matter what kind of strange feelings he was having today, because tomorrow she would not be in walking distance from him. He knew himself better than believe he was good enough for her. He wasn't.

The rest of dinner was as silent and uncomfortable as the beginning, and Meredith had never been so relieved when everyone was done so she could offer to do dishes. Usually, she'd follow Mark back to his room, but tonight she needed to distract herself, and she would do that by the dishes. "I got them." She smiled softly at the older woman before taking them from her hands. She could tell that she wanted to fight her on it, but was thankful that she didn't as she handed them over, taking her seat again.

"I'll help you!" Megan chimed in, thankful that she was going to have a chance to talk to Meredith after all. It was a sign. A sign that she was suppose to ask. She watched as Meredith simply nodded her head before walking into the kitchen. She quickly grabbed the rest of the dishes from the center of the table before following her into the kitchen.

"Hey." She smiled softly at the sight of Meredith scrubbing rather hard on the dishes. It was really very unnecessary to scrub that hard, but she didn't have the heart to tell her that, not yet.

"Hey. Thanks for the help." Meredith smiled gratefully at her before returning her attention to the nearly sparkling plate, this time much gentler now that she had an audience.

"No problem." Megan shrugged as she rolled up her sleeves, taking a stand beside Meredith, gently taking the plate from her before rinsing it and sitting it down to dry. "Can you believe he's already leaving?" She'd expected to glide into the subject in a much smoother way, but she couldn't help it. She didn't really have anything else to say to her.

"I know. It's going to be so different around here without him." Meredith frowned, her strokes on the next plate much slower, almost a snail pace, as she thought about what her life was going to be like.

"I remember when I went away for college." Megan laughed to herself as the image of her family in her rear view mirror floated through her mind. "One of the most exciting days of my life... until I actually got to college." She laughed a little louder as her family was replaced by the memory of the two MOST annoying roommates she'd ever had. She'd gotten a new placement a week into school. She'd hated them.

Meredith wasn't sure what to say, so she simply smiled at her as she continued to wash the dishes. She really didn't want to think about Mark leaving at all, but less actually TALK about it. That was just cruel.

"He'll come back a lot, you know?" Meredith's head quickly shot up as the words entered her thought process. She wanted to question it, but it was clear that Megan wasn't finished. "For you. He counts on you too much not to. I don't think you should worry so much, hun." Megan smiled softly at her, feeling the urge to hug her, but Meredith had never been the kind of person that welcomed hugs that weren't absolutely necessary.

"I... " Meredith began, but quickly realized she didn't really know what to say to that. "I hope so." She finally managed to whisper as she lowered her eyes back to the dishes, thankful that she was almost to the pots and pans, which would require a lot more concentration.

"What is going on with you two, anyway?" Megan asked, trying her best to play it off smoothly, but as Meredith completely stopped washing the dish, she realized that she failed.

"What do you mean?" Her cheeks flushed as she tried to remember if she'd slipped during dinner. A glance too long, a touch too soft, but she was certain she'd been extra careful. Her emotions were on high as it was.

"You two just seemed... different.. tonight." She sent her a questioning glance and was disappointed to find that it seemed as though that they really were just in denial. She fought the urge to roll her eyes as Meredith shrugged her shoulders.

"Same as always." Meredith responded, and it was then that Megan got it. It wasn't that they were in denial. Her stupid brother was in denial. It was now clear to her that Meredith was well aware of how she felt. Megan couldn't help but to feel pity for her. She'd heard about her brother's reputation. It wasn't really a surprise that Meredith hadn't said anything.

"I know this isn't really my business, Meredith.." She bit her bottom lip softly as she eyed the drying dishes. Meredith was actually quite impressive at washing dishes. She really didn't want to have to say it, but it was clear to her that she would have to. "But if he doesn't see that you're in love with him, then he's an idiot." She smiled softly at Meredith's shocked and baffled expression. She nodded her head as she dried her hands on a dish towel before patting Meredith's shoulder.

"Wait.. WHAT!" Meredith finally got out, but it was too late. Megan had already left the room. "I am NOT in-"

"Are you talking to yourself, Mer?" Mark's laughter filled the room, causing Meredith to jump as she turned around.

"How long have you been standing there?" Meredith's cheeks reddened as she eyed him.

"I just heard you talking and I knew everyone was in the living room." Mark grinned as he walked towards her. "Why? Were you talking about me?" He laughed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter.

"Oh get over yourself, loser." She rolled her eyes, finally turning off the running water.

"Can't do that. Not when you're talking to yourself about how much your going to miss me." He laughed, patting the top of her head playfully, knowing that it'd make her fume.

"Oh. You mean how much I'm going to love actually getting some sleep because you won't be calling me every time you THINK you see a spider."

"Oh. There was TOTALLY a spider that night, Mer! And You know it!" He gasped, hating himself that he had no better defense for sounding like a girl. It was a freaking huge spider! What was he suppose to do? Let it bite him and die? No!

"If you say so.." She grinned as she reached past him to grab the dish towel to dry her hands."All I remember is being woken up every FIVE minutes!"

"A lot of good that did me." He pouted, remembering how she told him to grow up and go back to sleep, and don't call back, once it was five AM and she had to get up in thirty minutes.

"You love me." She shrugged her shoulders with a grin before turning to leave the room. She was surprised when she felt his hand latch onto her wrist, pulling her back to him softly. She eyes his hand for a second, hoping that he wouldn't feel the increase in her pulse before she looked into his eyes. "What are you doing?" She managed a half laugh as she raised an eyebrow in speculation.

"Mer?" His voice was soft and she had to struggle to hear him, but she nodded anyway. She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. "I.." She watched as he struggled to find the words. Mark had never been one to search for words to say. He was very quick witted and kept her on her toes. It was unusual to see him like this, and she really couldn't remember the last time she had, if ever.

"You know I do, right?" He finally to get out, and she truly didn't know how to respond. She wanted to believe it was the way she loved him, but she was afraid she was wrong. She fought the urge to jump into his arms and kiss him crazily, which was very hard to do, and instead she just smiled at him softly.

"I know." She whispered, falling into his open arms for a hug. The hug lasted longer than theres usually did, and even though she knew she was probably making him uncomfortable, she couldn't bring herself to let go. He was leaving her. The one person who had never left her before was leaving. She just wanted to hold on to him for as long as she could, even if she never would be more than the girl next door.