Derek drove Meredith through the streets of Seattle, the sun still shining slightly in the summer light. It illuminated Meredith's face and gave her a glow which Derek appreciated from the driver's seat. Yet again, he would not tell her where they were going. He wanted to see the genuine surprise on her face but this time she didn't inquire where they were going. She sat back and drank the moment in, trying to remember how she had ended up here. It seemed unreal to her that someone so close to her all her life, Derek of course only lived down the street, could become so significant in such a short amount of time.

"We are almost there," Derek said as he stopped the car at the red light.

"There?" Meredith asked the mysterious place that he had not mentioned by name thus far. She stopped questioning his judgment and went on blind faith. She trusted him enough to ensure herself that whatever he had planned would no doubt be fun. Because being around Derek was just that, it was enjoyable and effortless at the same time.

"Well, I had a few ideas in my head about what to do tonight…" Derek said as he inched the car forward at the green light's signal.

"And?" Meredith asked, what did he decide? She asked herself. The clichéd dinner and a movie approach? She wondered. Please say no, she chided Derek in her head, you can do better than that.

Derek shrugged a bit, not wanting to be an embarrassment to Meredith; he planned the date to be anything but ordinary. "I decided we should do them all," he said simply as they pulled into a metered parking lot. It was crowded with cars, the nightlife of Seattle was alive and well, Derek thought.

"A parking lot?" Meredith asked feigning disapproval. "What do you think I'm going to do? Make out with you in a car on the first date?" She asked jokingly.

Derek's eyes were wide, "What…no…NO," Derek said as he looked around at the empty lot.

"I was kidding," Meredith whispered as she laughed a little, enjoying the look of fear in Derek's eyes. It might have been a cruel joke but it was funny as heck she thought. Derek chuckled twice, trying to laugh off his spastic moment.

"Right," Derek said, half nodding as he got out to open Meredith's door for her. Meredith stepped out of the car, taking Derek's hand after he locked the car, they headed down the street.

"So what's first?" She asked Derek, his face bright in the late hazy light.

"First," he said as they crossed the street, "we go on that," he said pointing at the Seattle monorail system above them. Meredith had always seen it as a child when she would come to the city to see her mother at work, but like so many things in her life, she had missed out on this too.

Her smiled was bright at the simplest of things and it gave Derek hope that the rest of the night would go well, she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as they approached the ticket booth.

::

"Okay, so first stop?" She asked as the monorail approached a futuristic looking building with sheets of metal on the outside, they were formed in curves, looking like waves. It had no windows, it looked like a museum from the outside.

"Yes," Derek asked, interrupting her inquisitive banter as she had tried to figure out where they were headed. Her answers started off simple as she read out all of the twenty something stops on the monorail's posters inside and then she rattled off impossible scenarios that elicited laughter from Derek. "No Meredith, I'm not taking you to a cult in an underground club in the city," he had to tell her, twice. Meredith smiled as she prattled on even more impossible scenarios until the doors opened and the stepped out. Experience Music Project, Meredith read on the front of the building. She wondered to herself what it was as Derek grabbed her hand and took her inside. "Come on," he told her with a wink.

It was definitely not the typical date, though she had seen plenty of movies where the good looking boy took the girl to a stiff and boring museum where he prattled on about how much he knew about art. This, she thought, was infinitely better. They went through the interactive exhibits of the museum, listening to and trying to recreate iconic music from different decades. The museum currently boasted nearly every guitar Jimmy Hendrix had played during his short life, seeing them lined up on the wall was surreal to Meredith. It was very much like seeing a famous painter's brushes, things that created the beauty that inspired others. Meredith had always like music, all kinds because it had the power to define a moment and change a mood.

"The Beatles," Meredith said as they approached the wing where the British band was in full display.

Derek watched Meredith's expression as they looked at the signed vinyl LP's from the band, touching the edges of the glass cases as they walked by.

"They beat the Clash any day," she said with a proud smirk as they headed to the far end of the room where a wall of LCD screens were flashing different colors. In the center was a touch screen with various Beatle's tracks.

Meredith furrowed her eyebrow and scrolled through them, picking one at random as Derek lingered behind her, he was no expert on the Beatles, so he let her take the reigns. The music began as the wild colors on the LCD screen lit up the white room. Meredith walked back over to Derek as she stared at the lights with him; Derek looked over at her as the neon colors flashed on her face, thinking he would never forget this moment.

Is there anybody going to listen to my story
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl you want so much
It makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day.
Ah girl
Girl

Others started to crowd into the room as if they just figured out it's purpose, Meredith decided to herself that it as the music that attracted them, they were after all in a music museum. Meredith grabbed Derek's hand as she snaked her way through the crowd, letting out a deep breath as she wasn't crowded by people any more. Derek followed, willingly. Meredith's hand leading the way, the absence of its warmth was a surprise as they stopped in the lobby.

"What's the next stop?" She asked Derek as she brushed hair out of her eyes.

"Food?" he asked her, as if seeking her approval.

"Food," she repeated in agreement. "I love food," she said with a smile as they headed out into the streets. The sky was no longer lit by the sun; the stars were shining in the dark sky as they made their way towards a restaurant.

They settled into a booth at a throwback diner; it evoked the decorations and lifestyle of the fifties- cherry red booths, pictures of classic cars and classic rock playing from the miniature juke boxes situated on each table. Meredith smiled, the waitresses were on roller skates and the menu was satisfyingly minimalist.

"Where did you find this place?" Meredith asked Derek as she flipped her menu over.

"I used to come here as a kid," he said as he looked around, it was quirky and different. He didn't want to pick a stuffy restaurant with starched white linens and minuscule portions- that wasn't befitting of Meredith.

"It's cute," she said as the waitress come by. Meredith took no shame in ordering a strawberry malt, bacon cheeseburger and fries. Derek ordered the same, substituting a vanilla shake for her malt. He wondered to himself how many girls would have coronaries if they were told they couldn't have something fat free and carb free. Meredith embraced it and she looked better then the girls who counted their calories before sitting down to eat. As they waited for their food they exchanged anecdotes about their childhood. Derek was in the middle of telling Meredith a story about how his sisters used to con him into wearing makeup by setting up makeovers.

"I was helpless," he said as Meredith laughed.

"That's sad Derek," she said as she covered her mouth, imagining him with blue eye shadow and pink nail polish. Derek laughed with her. He was comfortable sharing secrets only few people knew about him with Meredith. As she laughed all he could think of was how he wanted to tell her everything and how he wanted to know everything about Meredith as well.

Meredith wondered in the silences between jokes and laughter about the still hidden parts of herself and whether they contained within them the loner, outcast or weirdo. How would Derek behave if he knew just how dark and twisty she was? How would everyone else? High school was never something she feared, it was something to be endured and now it was on the forefront of her mind.

I wanna hold you close
Under the rain
I wanna kiss your smile
And feel the pain
I know what's beautiful
Looking at you
In a world of lies
You are the truth

:::::

Part two coming soon.

Enjoy,

Viv