Chapter 3: No Strings Attached
Late.
She was late.
Again.
"Laptop… phone… keys… shit, where are my keys!"
Meredith groaned in frustration; after a second of deliberation, she turned her purse – the old one she was using, as she was too much of a coward to get her favourite one back from the bastard ex boyfriend who held it hostage – upside down. Books, lipstick, a bottle of water and impressive amounts of junk fell out on the bed sheets; but no keys. They weren't there.
"Keys… keys… keys…" Meredith chanted to herself as she searched yesterday's jeans and jacket pockets without luck. Just as she sat down in the middle of the pile of clothes on the floor, trying to think, her phone started ringing.
Meredith didn't have the courage to look at the cell phone to see who was calling. It could only be three persons in the entire world: her boyfriend, her person or her mother, neither of who she was particularly interested in talking to right now.
If she could just ignore it… No, Meredith wasn't that kind of person. She had responsibilities.
She pressed the tiny green button.
"Hello."
"Meredith!" the voice of Ellis Grey roared. "Care to tell me where the hell you were last night?"
Meredith closed her eyes as a well-known headache was forming at her temples.
"I'm sorry… I just, I couldn't make it."
"What do you mean you couldn't make it?"
"I… I needed a break."
"A break! Greys don't need breaks. Damn it, Meredith, you're too much like your father. Weak!"
Her head was pounding in a steady rhythm. She closed her eyes and forced herself to stay calm, not to give in, not to react exactly like her mother wanted her to; like an immature child.
"Mother," Meredith said, firmly and sounded as calm as she possibly could. "I'm going to be late for school."
"Why do you even bother?" Ellis snorted. "You and I both know you'll never make it."
"Mother-"
"And you're dragging Christina down with you-"
"Mother," Meredith loudly interrupted, carefully rubbing her temples in soothing circles. "Goodbye."
She urgently pressed the red button before her mother could say anything. Closing her eyes, Meredith got up and as she did, she heard a ringing sound under her foot.
"There you were," she muttered in the air and bend to pick up her keys that had hid under the pile of clothes.
Swiftly, she threw most of her purse's content back in it, before hurrying out the door, into the elevator, down in the hall and out on the street. Where she glanced upwards and came to an abrupt halt.
It was kind of strange; a little creepy, definitely. But all Meredith could feel was the amused smile that spread on her face, her oppressive headache all but forgotten.
Right in front of her held a car, a navy taxi to be precise, windows open due to the blistering heat of the day that was in unusual contrast to weeks and weeks of never-ending rain.
And there, leaning against the car was a man – and my oh my, that man could lean, Meredith couldn't help but think.
He was wearing a pair of old jeans that were slightly worn at the edges and fit neatly and a casual sea blue button up shirt, unbuttoned at the top with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The thick black hair was messy and perfectly windblown; only it seemed so carefree, so innocently unintentional on him.
There was the crooked smile to go along with the crooked nose; and the slight stubble on his chin showing in the bright sun. And then there was the eyes, the unfathomable, intelligent, warm cerulean eyes that she had saved for last, butterflies somersaulting in her stomach as she caught them and wondered if it really was as good as she remembered…
It wasn't. It was better.
Just as she was drowning in the pools of clear blue, he spoke in a rather throaty voice, carrying a trace of amusement.
"Hi."
"Hi," she simply replied in her surprise. "What are you doing here? How do you know I live here?"
"Well I drove you home yesterday, remember?"
"Oh," Meredith replied, feeling rather stupid under his amused smirk, "Right."
"I… I brought coffee," he said; for the first time, she thought she heard a hint of insecurity in his voice, behind the overwhelming smile. Or was she fooling herself?
She looked down and noticed only now the coffee mug he was offering her. After a short hesitation she took it.
"Thanks," she looked up and smiled at him. "Derek."
"I uh…" definitely insecure as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, "I wanted to hear if you'd like to have a picnic with me?"
"A what?"
"You know," Derek said, slowly as if talking to an adamant child, "Food in a basket on a blanket in a park…"
"I know what a picnic is."
"Oh well then, would you like to go?"
Meredith looked at his hopeful smile and felt a pang of disappointment, as she knew what her answer would be.
"I'm sorry I can't," she sighed, checking her watch. "I'm late for school."
"Skip it," he grinned at her; she couldn't help but grin back. "Just this once."
"But it's school and-"
"There will be lots and lots of school and then seven years of residency after that," Derek pleaded. "You know, it's not everyday you get an offer like this."
"How do you know that?" she asked in wonder at his sudden change; the confidence was back.
"Oh please," he snorted. "I am incomparable."
"Cocky much?" she giggled and he beamed.
"Meredith," he said, smiling as he did so; she marvelled just a little bit at the sound of her name in his mouth. "Please?"
Had her life depended on it, Meredith would still have absolutely no idea how in hell he did that; that thing where his eyes melted, vulnerability, exposure in his glance.
It scared her, how much power his person had over her; one look and a 'please' and she was a goner.
A goner, left behind in absolute amazement over his mood swing, the contrast between confident and defenceless sides of him.
"Okay," she simply said as if there was no choice; in reality there wasn't.
"Great!" Derek just grinned, seemingly highly entertained with his new weapon.
After a quiet ride, Derek humming a tune and Meredith staring out the window, sipping coffee, they came to a halt. Perfectly blasé, Derek pulled out a picnic basket of old movies from the backseat, smugly ignoring Meredith's astonished stare.
Though the weather was clear and sunny, the park was relatively empty at the early time of the day. They hid under a lone tree, enjoying the flickers of sunlight that made their way through the ceiling of leaves above them.
"You've spend quite some time on this," Meredith commented as Derek silently unpacked his basket, revealing sandwiches, a bottle of ice tea, two cans of ice cream and fresh fruit cut into small, delicate pieces.
He looked up at her and smiled brightly but didn't comment. As he finished, he motioned for her to sit. She did; but he poutingly waved her closer. Giggling, Meredith scooted nearer to where he was sitting.
"Eat whatever you want," he encouraged, picking up a slice of apple for himself. After short deliberation, Meredith picked a sandwich to munch on. It was gone in no time at all.
"You're a fast eater?" Derek chuckled and offered a strawberry that she willingly accepted, hungrier than she had realized.
"I didn't have breakfast," she protested. "I was busy."
"What was the matter with you this morning?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Just when I saw you walk out of your front door," Derek watched her closely, "You had this look on your face."
Meredith thought back to her headache caused by a certain phone call and her thoughts darkened a little.
"I was fine."
"Meredith," Derek chuckled, half laughing, half annoyed. "That doesn't work on me, remember?"
"Right," Meredith paused, a wondering frown crossing her features. "Why not, do you think?"
"Your eyes," Derek peacefully mumbled. "They tend to speak for you."
Meredith didn't know what to say, so she waited for him to continue, as a warm feeling spread through her body.
Somehow, awfully annoying as it could seem, she was delighted that he had called her bluff. Again.
No one ever did that.
"So?" Derek encouraged, "More boyfriend trouble?"
"He's not my boyfriend," Meredith sighed. "And no. I just had a phone call from my mother, wondering where the hell I was last night."
"Oh," Derek looked at her, shrinking a little. "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble."
"It's fine," Meredith assured him. "I just… I usually don't do this."
"What?"
"Ditch my mother, skip school… I have responsibilities."
"So what did you tell her?"
"Not much really," Meredith rolled her eyes. "She did most of the talking."
"But if you told her," Derek gently suggested, "About your ex-boyfriend-"
"She wouldn't understand," Meredith sighed. "Finn is rich. And knows people. She likes him, as much as she is able to like someone. And she thinks I'm weak enough as it is; mourning over a boyfriend like a lame ass loser does not need to be added onto the list of things that make me a failure."
Derek didn't say anything for a long time and Meredith got nervous that her rant had been too much, too self-pitiful.
"Look I'm sorry," she said in the lightest voice she could muster. "Let's talk about something else."
"No, no…" Derek assured her and put a warm hand on her back; she felt the heat surge through her body. "You should talk about it."
"I'm boring you," Meredith sighed.
"No, I was just thinking," Derek paused, "I disagree."
"With what?"
"I don't think you're a failure."
She unconsciously leaned into him; when she realized, she self-consciously tried to pull back, but his arm had tightened around her, keeping her in place.
"Thank you Derek."
"You're welcome."
They sat there for an immeasurable while, watching people walk by as the sun rose above the skyscrapers. Meredith shifted and looked up at his smiling face.
"Tell me something about yourself."
His smile grew wider.
"What do you want to know?"
"Loads of things."
"Well," Derek chuckled, "Choose one."
Meredith closed her eyes, perfectly content and peaceful with his arm protectively around her.
"Why did you become a cab driver?"
"Ah," Derek chuckled. Nervously? "Long story."
"Since I am here, having time," Meredith smiled, eyes still closed. "Tell me."
"Meredith-"
"Derek," she interrupted, opening her eyes to look at his hesitating face. "I've told you stuff. Stuff I don't tell a lot of people. Talk to me. Please."
It was the 'please' that did it, Meredith smugly thought as Derek's eyes melted. Apparently that worked both ways.
"Meredith," Derek hesitated. She was settling back in his arms, closing her eyes again. "Would you believe me if I said I used to be a surgeon?"
She opened her eyes once again, looking bewildered at him.
"You're joking right?"
"Nope," he popped on the 'p'. "A neurosurgeon, actually."
"No way!" she shouted, giggling almost hysterically. "Just, no way!"
He smiled down at her, apparently finding amusement in her little fit.
"Are you done?" he asked, his voice teasingly insulted.
"You can't drop a bomb like that and expect me to keep calm," Meredith giggled. "Why did you stop?"
"I…" he hesitated. "I didn't like the pace. The stress, the arrogance, the fact that it became more about money and egos than saving human lives; I guess the bad parts outdid the advantages."
Now it was Meredith that was quiet for a while.
"You think it's stupid," Derek darkly concluded.
"No." Meredith smiled and looked up at him. "It makes sense."
"So," he continued in a lighter voice. "I quit, bought a cab and now live in freedom," he grinned. "No strings attached."
Meredith stiffened slightly at his last words.
