"Let me help you get that," a voice from behind her bellowed. The hurried noise of footsteps gradually increased in volume as he ran up beside her, kneeling down to fetch the notes that were now strewn all over the floor. She looked up to be met with a pair of dazzling blue eyes belonging to a cute dark-haired boy. He handed her the messy pile of papers, her characteristic chicken scratch filled each page. She suddenly felt embarrassed as she stood to accept the fallen items.
"Thanks," she muttered under her breath, her eyes cast downward, too humiliated to make eye contact. From behind her a familiar voice called her name. Closing her eyes, she cursed her bad fortune; now the unnamed guy knew her name and would forever associate her with her awful, rushed handwriting and characteristic clumsiness. After the tenth shout of 'Meredith! Meredith Grey!' she turned to look behind her, acknowledging the fierce, stiletto-wearing redhead slowly approaching her. Even with her back turned to him, she could feel his burning stare, no doubt a smile playing on his lips at her laughable condition.
"Hey, Derek! What are you doing here?" Addison questioned, feigning surprise. In reality, she'd seen him from a mile away; she just didn't want him to know she'd noticed him so quickly. Beside him stood a blushing, barefaced Meredith, dressed in her overly large Dartmouth sweatshirt and some ill-fitting sweatpants. She rolled her eyes at Meredith's 'casual' appearance, making a mental note to reprimand her later.
"I was helping...Meredith was it? With her notes," he informed, gesturing to the unruly pile crumpled in the girl's tiny arms. Her petite figure seemed to be swallowed by Addison's towering presence. The juxtaposition between Addison's poised, unrelenting attitude to the girl's soft, easygoing demeanor amused him. How did these two completely differing personalities know each other? Who was this charming albeit clumsy girl?
"You are such a klutz, Mer!" Addison exclaimed, letting out a forced chuckle before turning her attention back to Derek. "How's your mother doing? I haven't seen Mrs. Shepherd in a while. Ever since college started, I've been too busy to even talk to my own parents! I didn't know you decided on Dartmouth."
"Oh, she misses your homemade brownies. She's always telling me to go scour the campus for you and your brownies. Now I can tell her I found you!" he replied. As he spoke, he noticed the mysterious girl slowly moving to walk away. He grabbed her by the shoulder just as she turned to leave, spinning her to face him. He could tell that he'd surprised her as her captivating green eyes stared back at him shocked.
"Sorry...I...where are you headed?" he muttered. Even he was startled by his rude impulse; his hand had stopped her before his mind could stop it. The frightened expression on her face made him regret his rash actions.
"I need to get to class," she responded through clenched teeth, her hands held tightly onto her now ruined notes, the pages crinkled as she balled her fists. How dare he manhandle her like that! Whatever embarrassment she had melted away replaced with the anger of his unwarranted pull. The only thing that restrained her from going off on him was Addison. They seemed to know each other well enough and she didn't want her temper to make things awkward between the two of them.
"Oh...I have to go too," he mumbled quickly before rushing off, leaving both girls bewildered at his strange behavior.
As he walked to his next class, he cursed himself for his lack of manners. He didn't know what exactly had caused the outburst. All he knew was that he had not wanted her to leave and because of that, his body had so naturally pulled her in to stay. Now because of his lack of self-control, she'd know him as that rude guy who physically harassed her.
Upon entering the large lecture hall, he noticed the familiar petite figure that had consumed his thoughts sitting in the relatively empty hall. It would be another twenty minutes before class actually started, but he liked to get to class early for a closer seat; it seemed she had the same thought. He smiled at his good fortune, now he had twenty minutes to repair her bad impression of him. Making his way toward the vacant seat beside him, he caught the scowl on her face as she recognized him.
"Hey, sorry about earlier. I really don't know what came over me," he explained to the back of her head. The flowery scent of her honey blond hair intoxicated him; it took all his might to stop himself from leaning closer for fear of digging himself deeper into the hole he was trying to climb out of.
"You know, Addison and I were neighbors growing up. Of course, then she moved to Boston and I stayed in New York, so we stopped talking, but she can attest that I am not some abusive pervert," he added, trying futilely to make her turn around. Her resolve only increased his determination. It had been quite some time since a girl had played hard to get with him usually they were fairly open about their attraction to him.
"Oh, come on. You know I didn't mean it. Bullheadedness is unbecoming in a young woman," he provoked, smiling as she turned to give him a repulsed glare before whipping her head back to face opposite him. He let out a sigh, faced with the backside of her once again; she was definitely one of the harder nuts he'd encountered. He would have to change his approach.
Pushing his chair back to stand, he surveyed the number of students in the large hall, estimating at least fifty. He made his way to the opposite side, giving her a mischievous grin before bellowing in front of the large room, "Meredith Grey! I am sorry for not being able to control myself around you! I promise to be a perfect gentleman from now on if you could ever forgive me for my ill-manners!"
Shouts of encouragement and support erupted from his fellow classmates as his eyes, trained on her, watched her astonished reaction to his outburst. Chants of 'forgive him' erupted and overtook the room. Her face turned a beet red as she motioned a forced nod, plastering on a fake grin, more aware than ever of the large size of the class; a series of cheers, congratulations, and pats on the backs followed as he returned to his seat next to her. No longer avoiding his gaze, her eyes focused on him, giving him the dirtiest look she could muster.
"Oh, I forgot to properly introduce myself. I'm Derek Shepherd. It's nice to meet you, Meredith Grey," he greeted, offering her his outstretched hand. He laughed as she hesitantly shook it; it was obvious she was appeasing him in order to avoid another scene. As the professor slowly trekked in with his lecture materials, Derek couldn't help but smile to himself. This was going to be one hell of a semester.
