Hi everyone. This is the last chapter! Enjoy! Thank all of you so much for your feedback! It means a lot to me!
Mark was already in his truck when Meredith made her way into his yard. She smiled as she climbed into the passenger side, quickly buckling her seat belt restraint as he roared out of the driveway.
"Had to use every single minute?" He smirked as he glanced at the clock on his stereo system. He'd been slightly worried that she wouldn't be able to get away from Izzie, but once again, she had proven him wrong. She always managed to show up.
"Of course." She grinned, pulling down the visor to block the early morning rays of light from invading her eyes more than absolutely necessary.
"I was about to leave you, ya know." He laughed as he threw the car in reverse and pulled out of his driveway.
"Whatever. You'd never go eat alone." She watched out of the corner of her eye as he tried very hard to refute that, but she smiled in victory when he couldn't seem to do so.
"Who said I'd be alone?" He bit back, albeit it was momentarily too late to hold much ground.
"Like you have friends." She rolled her eyes, knowing that even if it was true, it was not possible to hurt the guy's ego. He was more than well aware of how many people, girls really, would flock to him before he could even remember, much less get out, their name. It was enough to nauseate her. No wonder the guy didn't believe in monogamy. Why should he?
"Fine. I wasn't going to leave. But I could have!" He grumbled, forcing himself to pay attention to the road. Not that a lot of attention was needed, it was a very straight road and it didn't have any hidden turns. He'd spent his whole life wishing to get away from this town. From the boring roads and unsurprising faces that never seemed to age. He still had that dream now, but it was a faltered plan now. He couldn't stay away for too long now that he was gone. Not so much the town as he couldn't stay away from her. They hadn't really talked about her plans after high school. It was a subject neither of them had the nerve to breach.
She'd told him when he went off for college that he could expect her with him the next year, but he wasn't sure what a year of independence had done for her. Would she want to be around him? He knew time was running out for her to decide though. He'd never had a problem asking anyone else what school they were going to, because it didn't really matter the answer. But her answer- it was huge. It was life- altering at the least.
"Mark?" She spoke softly not to frighten him once he went right past the dinner that she'd thought they were going to.
"Huh?.. Oh." He blushed, pulling far to the side of the road in order to make a U- Turn. He was once again thankful that traffic was practically non- existent. He could hear her laughing at him, but he chose to ignore it. "So you aren't going to eat me out of a paycheck, are you, Mer?"
She narrowed her eyes on him as they pulled into the diner's parking lot. "Well I wasn't planning on it. Until now." She wanted to comment that he didn't get paychecks, but she decided it was irrelevant. She guessed it wasn't very manly to say out of his allowance. If you could have an allowance that was unlimited.
"Good thing I have my credit card." He mumbled, fighting a grin, as he turned off the car.
"HEY!" She slapped his arm before jumping out of his truck.
"Aw you know I'm just kidding, Mer." He laughed, wrapping his arm easily around her waist to pull her against him. He smiled as she didn't struggle against him, instead just leaning further into him.
They made their way into the diner, and Meredith relished the feel of Mark's calloused fingers grabbed onto hers, pulling her through a maze of tables to their usual booth. It was the smallest booth in the building, and Meredith loved that she was as close to him as she could be without coming up with some bogus excuse as to why she was there. She didn't know why Mark liked it so much, it was almost too small for his food alone, much less the both of theirs. She didn't argue though. She could feel his muscular calves rub ever so gently against hers as they slid into their seats. She was thankful that the heart was a rather silent organ, or she would be doomed every time he touched her with how her heart raced. It wasn't long before the waitress showed up to get their drink orders. Meredith discovered a long time ago that anytime she was with Mark, they got quick service- quick and very attentive service. She was certain that the women never stayed away for longer than five minutes. Mark never seemed to notice. If he did, he had the decency not to comment to her about it.
"So, what's it going to be?" Mark asked after the waitress, a plump redhead with too many freckles lying solely on her nose, left them to decide.
"Waffles."She grinned, already imagining how delicious they would be with the maple syrup, lots of whipped cream, and of course her favorite addition, the two strawberries on top. Her mouth was watering at the idea. Even though she rarely got to eat both of the strawberries, Mark always managed to steal one, most of the time without her even noticing.
"We are boring. I'm talking tear-worthy boring, Mer. We get the same thing every single time." He grinned, resting his elbows on the table as he leaned towards her.
"I'm not boring. Just picky. There's a difference." She narrowed her eyes into a glare as she leaned back against her seat.
"Is that your excuse for your personal life too?" He winked at her, and she was certain that it was pure reflexes when her foot kicked him. She did not remember making a conscious effort to do so.
"My personal life is just fine, just like my waffles. Thank you very much. I thought you of all people would be glad that I don't date much, you know, since you have a freak out when guys even look at me."
She watched curiously as he puffed out his chest,a huffing sound escaping his lips. "I did not freak out."
"You so freaked out." She laughed, enjoying every moment of his discomfort.
"Fine. I might have freaked out a little. Temporary glitch." He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to rehash the anger that'd exploded the night before. He wouldn't let that happen again. He had no say in that department of her life. She didn't comment on his. He would do better. He had no choice. He was relieved when the waitress came back to get their food orders. He let Meredith order her waffles first before ordering his french toast with a side of cheesy hashbrowns.
"Alright, well, I have a question."
"I always have the answer." He chuckled
"What are your thoughts on getting an apartment instead of staying in a dorm?" She knew this was a touchy subject, but she was running out of time, and she didn't know when she was going to see him again before graduation, if she would.
"You want to live alone?" He raised his left eyebrow skeptically at her, taking a sip of his drink to quench his drying throat. College talk. He'd hoped they would talk about it, but it still made him nervous.
"I didn't say anything about living alone. I asked you your thoughts." She rolled her eyes, even though she was partially relieved that he didn't seem to see what she'd been implying.
"Well I don't suggest living alone, but I know a lot of people with apartments, it's not a terrible idea." He shrugged his shoulders before a grin lit up his face. "Besides, then I could crash on your couch whenever I wanted."
"Or.." She took a deep breath as she promised herself she wouldn't get upset by his answer, no matter what. A promise she knew she couldn't keep. "We could get an apartment together?"
"You want to get an apartment with me?"
"Yes. Or with Izzie. She will be there too. Maybe even Alex.." Meredith rambled nervously, almost positive she remembered Izzie rambling something about how she found out Alex was going there too on a scholarship.
"This mean you've chosen to not abandon me?" He tried to at least partially hide his excitement, but he was failing, and he couldn't bring himself to care. He wasn't even lingering on the fact that he would really hate for Alex to live with Meredith. If he was there, he could punch the guy every time he touched her. He liked the idea of that.
"Yes." She let out a sigh of relief at his excitement. She still wasn't completely sure on how he would respond. "P.S- it wouldn't have been abandoning. I would still have seen you."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes, forcing himself to not jump up and hug her. The waitress returned with the two plates and a big smile for just for Mark. Clearly she didn't notice that she was interrupting a big moment, because after she handed off their food, she lingered. "I'm sorry.." Mark managed to force a smile at the woman, trying not to be rude. "Was there something else?"
"Oh. No. Sorry." The waitress blushed before quickly scurrying away from the duo.
"Anyway!" Mark shook his head, putting the waitress out of mind to focus on the conversation. "Mer! I am so glad you're going to be with me!" He grinned as he looked up at her to find that the whipped cream had somehow traveled to make big spot on the tip of her nose.
"Yeah?"
"You thought I wouldn't be happy?" His stomach dropped as he realized the doubt that was etched into her face.
"I.. I wasn't sure. I didn't want to suffocate you." She frowned, glancing down at her hands buried into her lap.
"You're insane, Mer." He smiled, sliding out of his seat to sit next to her, even though there wasn't much room for him.
"I just didn't know." She pouted, still refusing to meet his gaze.
"Mer." His eyes sparkled as he lifted her chin with his hand, staring at her until she finally looked at him. "I would love to get an apartment with you, and whoever else you want to live with." His smile never faltered as he lifted his other hand to her face with the intention of wiping off the cream, but instead it rested on her cheek. "Don't you know how hard the last year has been without you?" His voice cracked, but he didn't try to fix it. It was the most honest the two of them had been, and he didn't want to be the one to ruin it.
Tears welled in Meredith's eyes as she felt the warmth of his fingers on her cheeks and heard the vulnerability in his voice. She knew if she was ever going to do something about her feelings, it was time. She forced a smile as she lifted her own hands, gently cupping his face in her hands before pulling his lips to hers. Her stomach knotted as a long-lasting moment passed and he didn't respond. She was just about to pull away when his hands tightened against her skin, pulling her closer to him. She eventually pulled away for air, and was embarrassed when Mark immediately started laughing.
"Don't laugh!" She blushed, turning her head in the other direction to look out the window at the empty parking lot.
"Aw! Mer. I wasn't laughing about the kiss. I was laughing because now we both have whipped cream on our noses." He grinned, turning her chin to face him again."See?"
"Oh." She blushed again. "I kissed you. I can't believe I did that."
"Want to do it again?"
"I.. well.. " Before she could answer, he was pulling her into another kiss that she didn't hesitate to return.
"The waffles are good." He grinned once they finally pulled away again.
"Told you."
The End.
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