A/N - I think I might have forgotten to mention this in the story, but on homecoming Friday, it's free dress day (they don't have to wear their uniforms), so they usually dress up in school spirit colors. And they also wear the mums and garters to the game. Just keep that in mind.
Chapter 12
"Mer?" Addison waved her hand in front of my eyes. "Mer, are you listening?"
I shook my head and my eyes unglazed as Addison's beautiful face came swimming into view. "Sorry," I smiled sheepishly. "What were you saying?"
She rolled her eyes. "I was saying that I scheduled a beautifying appointment at my favorite salon on Saturday at four o'clock. We're having our hair, nails and make-up done, and trust me, they're fantastic."
I nodded, simply taking her word for it. Addison had taken over the homecoming planning; she was the one that made reservations at the Château de Marie, the one that made orders for the corsages and boutonnières (it was better that she did this; she knew the colors of everyone's dresses), and the one that picked out exactly what all the guys were wearing, down to the color of their ties.
"Are you okay, Mer?" she asked concernedly. "You've been zoning out a lot lately."
I nodded. "I'm fine."
Well, actually she was right. I had been zoning out a lot, ever since Derek told me about his relationship problems with Addison. It's like when you're in the middle of an amazing dream, and then your alarm clock goes off, waking you up and effectively smashing the delicate illusion in a million pieces.
Addison and Derek were slowly drifting apart…the delicate illusion was shattering.
I watched the two of them carefully the day after he told me about it. They weren't the type to eat each other in the hallways, but they rarely held hands. If some random person off the street saw them, he probably wouldn't think they were going out. And hey, that was okay, they just weren't into PDA. But whenever you saw them, it was almost as if they were keeping their distance on purpose. Not to mention, they had so many excuses to be apart: Addison always had to take care of some student council issue and Derek never could get away from grading something or other for Dr. Bailey (he was her teacher's assistant).
True to my word, I didn't say anything to anyone, not even Cristina. But I continued to watch their relationship in silence.
Derek and I only talked about it once since he admitted it to me.
"I feel that we're drifting apart," he said one day after school. "I feel it, but…it's weird. Everyone expects us to be together forever, you know? We're the 'it' couple or whatever, and the 'it' couple can't break up. It's socially unacceptable."
"Does she feel the same way about the relationship as you do?" I asked.
He sighed. "That's the thing," he began. "We don't communicate like we used to, so I don't know how she feels about anything. The only time we really ever talk now is whenever we get in a fight."
"Then just talk to her," I urged. "All relationships are based on communication, and I'm sure the two of you could work out your problems if you just talked."
He shook his head sadly. "I don't think we can, Mer," he whispered. "We've changed…we've become two completely different people."
"But still," I protested. "There's gotta be something you can do. You can't just give up after two years. You're in love."
He eyed me curiously. "Why are you so passionate about this?" he asked. "Why does this matter to you at all? Do you really want to see Addison and me fix our problems that badly?"
I went home asking myself the exact same thing.
"You…have got…to be kidding me," I said very slowly and very quietly as I stared at the mass of glittery, silvery ribbons and flowers in Mark's hand. My mum was humongous; the flower portion was made of five fake chrysanthemums glued together framed with blue and white ribbons; right in the middle was a huge teddy bear, holding tiny roses with a crown around its head. Attached to the head of the mum looked to be about five hundred streamers in all, several bearing the words "Homecoming '07" and our names. There were all sorts of plastic charms glued on the ends and beads and candy and…it was just insane.
"What do you think?" he asked with a big grin.
I stared at it in horror. "Seriously? Mark, that thing's bigger than I am!"
He kissed me on the lips. "That's your fault. You should eat more."
I glared at him and whipped out his garter from behind my back. Garters were smaller than mums with (usually) single-flowered heads and shorter streamers. I knew how much he hated really big garters, so I did my best to make him a moderately sized. It had the essentials, but still managed to look festive and school spirit-y without being annoying.
"Wow!" he cried in appreciation. "This is awesome! It's way smaller than my one last year."
"You're welcome," I shot at him. He grinned sheepishly and, after slipping his garter over his large bicep, he helped me pin my mum to the front of my shirt. Unsurprisingly, my shirt sagged under the weight of it, showing a considerable amount of skin.
"I don't think I can walk to school like this," I admitted to him.
"No problem," he said as he took my backpack from me. "I'll just drive us. Come on."
I climbed into his car, taking care to sweep the streamers in with me. The two minutes to school was spent in silence as I contemplated, in horror, the reaction my mum would illicit from my friends.
When we pulled into the school parking lot, I saw in relief that I wasn't the only one with a gigantic mum. Some girls were walking around with huge heart shaped mums, and masses and masses of streamers loaded with everything. Mark helped me out of the car, taking care not to step on the ribbons.
As usual, I met George, Izzie, and Cristina in the commons that morning. George was wearing his blue and white garter with pride, and Izzie was displaying the double mum pinned to a pair of spiritedly decorated overalls. Cristina was holding Burke's garter on a hanger, looking surprisingly normal in a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Wow, Meredith!" Izzie exclaimed when she saw me. "Your mum is huge!"
I smiled wryly. "Trust me, I know."
Mark stopped to quickly peck me on the cheek. "I have to go make up a Calculus test. I'll see you later okay?" I nodded and with one last squeeze of the hand, he walked off.
"Seriously, Mer, that thing is ridiculous," Cristina said as she eyed the thing with disgust.
"Where's Burke?" I asked, not bothering to respond.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I told him to meet me here so he could get his garter."
"You're gonna look pretty stupid walking around with a garter on a hanger if he doesn't show up soon," George declared, voicing very bluntly what the rest of us had been thinking.
"Shut up, Bambi, I know," Cristina growled.
"Maybe you should wear it if he doesn't show up," he said, ignoring the slight at his apparent innocence.
Izzie, Cristina and I just turned to stare at him and he shrugged. "Just a suggestion."
A few minutes later, Burke strolled into the commons with a double mum attached to a hanger. "Hello, Cristina," he said pleasantly as he handed her the hanger.
"Hi," she replied shortly. They exchanged hangers and Cristina held out her closed fist. "Oh, and I remembered you complaining about keeping garters on and stuff, so I got you some safety pins. You know, just in case."
Burke gave her a very white smile that contrasted handsomely against his dark skin. "Thank you." He took the pins from her and slipped them in his pocket.
"You're welcome."
After he slipped his garter on and she managed to pin her mum to her shirt, they exchanged an awkward hug (slightly blocked by her mum) and parted ways.
The rest of the morning was hectic; people were looking everywhere for their dates, hoping to give them their mum/garter before the bell rang. Some were already beginning to fall apart, and some were already shedding ribbons and plastic charms on the ground. Joe wouldn't like cleaning this up, I thought to myself with a smile.
I walked into English class that morning, the jingling of the huge cowbell on one of the ribbons announcing my arrival. Alex lifted his head and smirked when he saw me.
"Nice mum," he commented.
"Shut up," I retorted. After I sat down (rather awkwardly, because the mum head jutted out about a foot from my chest and pressed against the desk) I turned to him. "I notice you don't have a garter."
"That's because there wasn't really anyone worth me asking," he said confidently.
I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Whatever."
Lunch that day was fun. By that time, my mum had started to grow on me (there were so many cool little things on it) and Izzie, Cristina, Addison and I were comparing them. George was having trouble keeping his garter attached to his sleeve (Izzie made his really rather large) and Mark kept blowing the whistle I attached on one of the streamers.
"What do you think of the garter I made Derek?" Addison asked us as she gestured proudly to the collection of ribbons and flowers on Derek's arm. He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly.
"Wow, it's huge," Izzie said in awe. "I love it."
"Isn't it?" Addison declared excitedly. "I really outdid myself this year."
"I'll say," Derek mumbled under his breath. I caught it, but I doubted anyone else at the table had. I glanced at him worriedly. He saw me and shrugged, as if to say, "It's her thing."
Mark couldn't leave the school grounds before the game, so he kissed me before going off to practice, promising that he would look for me in the stands during the game.
When I got home, Mom was sitting at the kitchen table with her newspaper and her cup of tea, as usual. "Hi, Mom," I said cautiously as I entered the kitchen.
She took one look at me, then burst into hysterical laughter. I stood there in the entrance to the kitchen in confusion, wondering why she was laughing so hard. "Is that your mum?" she managed to gasp between laughs.
I nodded, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my lips. Her laughter was contagious. "Yeah," I replied sheepishly. "Mark went a little overboard, I guess…"
Her laughs finally died down, but there was still a smile in her eyes. "Wow, I remember my mum my freshman year," she said reminiscently. "Of course, it was nowhere as big as yours," she said, eyeing my mum with amusement, "but it was nice."
"Who did you go with?" I asked curiously. I had never heard my mother talk the social aspect of her high school experience.
"I went with a boy named Austin Schaefli," she said, her eyes glazing over. I had the feeling that she no longer remembered I was in the room. "I thought he was the cutest boy in school, too. So when he asked me to homecoming, I was so excited. He made me the nicest mum…"
I watched my mother in fascination. "Then what happened?"
She sighed. "I found out he was real nerd," she said disappointedly. "We didn't share any of the same interests."
"Oh," I said. A contemplative silence descended over us.
Cristina's mother came by later that night to pick me up to take Izzie, Cristina, George and me to the game. We left Izzie and George to chatter with Mrs. Yang while Cristina and I talked quietly in the backseat.
"So are you meeting with Burke at the game?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah, he said it would be easier that way."
"What did you mother think of your mum?"
Cristina rolled her eyes. "She loved it, so I couldn't see it the same way anymore."
I chuckled. "You know, you're mother's really not all that bad," I told her and she stared at me with incredulous disbelief. "Seriously. At least she cares."
When we got to the game, we flashed our IDs to the ticket stands and entered the stadium. Izzie and George wanted to mill around and talk to the friends they found around the huge hill overlooking the football field. Cristina and I made our way to the stands and found seats right in the middle, with a great vantage point of the field.
"Cristina! Meredith!" We looked up and found Addison, Derek, and Burke making their way to sit with us. Burke took the seat next to Cristina and I made room for Addison and Derek. "How are you two?" she asked as she ducked in to give us a quick hug.
"Good," we replied simultaneously.
We talked a little while, until Addison decided to get up and get some hot chocolate. Cristina and Burke started talking about something political which didn't really interest me, leaving me to talk with Derek.
"How are you, tonight?" I asked him pleasantly.
He shrugged with a small smile. "Okay, I guess."
I recognized the sound in his voice. "Uh-oh. You and Addison got in a fight, didn't you?"
He sighed. "It was over something so stupid too! She asked me if I liked my garter, and I told her very plainly that I didn't because I don't like really big garters. Then she got all defensive and then one thing led to another…ugh. I wasn't going to lie to her, because she knew that I—whatever. It was stupid."
I smiled sympathetically and rubbed his back. "It's okay. She should have listened to you."
He returned the smile. "Thanks."
Something unspoken, yet powerful passed between us in that moment. In that demonstration of companionship and silent understanding, I grew closer to him than I ever thought possible.
"You know," he said, his eyes shining with a seriousness that made my heart pound, "it really means a lot to me. Being able to confide in you and all. It's nice."
I nodded, ignoring the pink flush I knew had spread across my cheeks. "I'll always be here for you, Derek. After all," I added with a wink, "we are friends, right?"
He nodded with a smile. He shifted imperceptibly closer and I shivered. "Are you cold?" he asked in concern.
No, I thought to myself as he draped the sweater he had been carrying over my shoulders. I'm very, very warm.
A/N - There were several concerns raised about Mark's fidelity to Meredith, and I would like to address those now. Mark will not be cheating on Meredith. Believe it or not, he actually does love her and he wants her to know that, so he will not be cheating on Meredith with Addison. ADDISON AND MARK ARE JUST FRIENDS. Thank you. And for those of you who hate either Mark or Addison (or both) just bear with me. You will be very happy semi-sometime soon.
Next chapter is the dance, and I'm so excited. I bet you guys are too.
merbelle007 - Ugh, amen sister friend. I am so over the high school drama. But it's fun to write about.
mcobssessed - Nah, fish aren't on the ballot. At my school, they don't really count for much, and as you've probably already realized, I'm basing this story off of my own high school experiences. So unfortunately, Meredith can't be homecoming queen.
Alayna - Being an incoming freshman once myself, I will impart a bit of knowledge to you. Everyone's going to tell you that high school will the be the best years of your life, and I will tell you right now that they're not. You'll have a fun time and all, but there's a bigger world than high school, I promise. Just focus on surviving and you should be fine.
