Hello, Seattle.

Addison Montgomery meets Meredith Grey when they are both only 9 years old. OR: In which Addison introduces herself to Meredith, who pulls her into a hug, "Addison, it's so good to see you! It's been way too long". Addison hugs her back to whisper into her ear "I've missed you, Meredith,". MerAdd. Meddison. Boarding School Childhood Roommates to Teenage Romance AU. Rated T, now.

PROLOGUE:

"I'm so sorry Meredith," Derek says with a start as Meredith looks at him confused.

The woman walking in smiles at him cheekily before she looks at the younger woman with quite a start.

"Addison Shepherd" the redhead offers out her hand for Meredith to shake it and Meredith just looks stunned and raises her eyebrows up again at the "Shepherd" part before she even reaches out to the other woman's hand to take it.

"And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband" Addison offers with a smirk.

But before they could either of them say anything more, Addison's lips went to Meredith's and she pecked her closed-mouth kiss quick and dirty before she retreats back to Meredith's side and she smiles.

"We went to boarding school together" Meredith explains off of Derek's completely shocked and skeptical look.

"We were roommates since like the fourth grade" Addison laughs as if that made any sense at all.

"We haven't seen each other since high school graduation" Meredith tries to explain.

"We got matched at different medical schools and we never looked back," Addison says sadly.

"I can't believe you got married!" Meredith exclaims and she's not even as angry as anyone would expect her to be after a tall leggy redhead walked right on into her conversation between her and her boyfriend to say

'Addison Shepherd, and you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband'.

"I can't believe you pretended not to know me for a split second there," says Addison with a giggle.

"How could I ever forget you" Meredith looks at Addison with a sad and longing ache.

"Meredith... I'm still sorry you know" Addison says to her compassionately.

"I'm so sorry too, Addie," Meredith says sadly as she looks at Derek and back at Addison again.

"You really didn't know?" Addison asks her honestly, figuring out the answer pretty quickly when Meredith shrugs her shoulders silently.

"Well I guess I can forgive you for this" Meredith laughs as she reaches her hand out to hug Addison again.

"I wish you could forgive me for all of it, Mer" Addison sighs as she pulls Meredith tight up against her.

"I'm still in love with you Addie," Meredith admits boldly. "I was still in love with you then and I'm still in love with you now" Meredith sighs as if she were confessing a crime.

"I'm still in love with you too" Addison answers her back solemnly as Meredith's eyes perk up at her in truth. "I always was then and I never wasn't, never ever even in the moments when I pretended that way" Addison admits to both Meredith and herself.

"I think we both have a lot to talk about" Meredith offers. "There's a bar just down the street from here," she says excitedly.

"That sounds like a great idea" Addison smiles at her and she wraps her arm around Meredith's shoulder as Meredith pulls her closer in by the waist.

"But that's the bar where we met" Derek pleads with the women, and their eyes snap back to him suddenly as if they'd forgotten he even existed.

"That was the bar where Meredith you were the girl and I was the guy and we- And Addison how could you come here and take away Meredith from me and how could you have hidden this from me all this time"

Derek blinks his McDreamy dark eyes at the both of them and they tell him they'll tell him some other time.

And Derek is staring in between them now.

And Derek is saying to his wife "Addison" and he's wondering whether she will be the one to come home to him.

And Derek is saying to his girlfriend "Meredith" and he's whether she will be the one to come home to him.

And both of the women look up at each other and then up at Derek then down at the floor.

And neither Meredith nor Addison will ever be the same once they know what the other is about to do next.

Chapter 1: In Which We Meet Addison, and Addison Meets Meredith

Addison Montgomery is only nine years old when she first meets Meredith Grey, who is also only nine years old, just like she is.

Over Twenty Years Earlier:

Addison Montgomery is only nine years old when she first meets Meredith Grey, who is also only nine years old, just like she is.

Her mother, Bizzy Forbes, and her father, 'The Captain' Montgomery had decided that she and Archer deserved a better education than the one that any public or even private school their state could offer them. So they sent her away to Boston where she'd spend the better part of her childhood at a sleep-away boarding school out on the edge of the country. There she could study and stay and have teachers and classes and boyfriends and she could be raised by herself because both of her parents were much too upscale to be bothered by trying to do such a thing as to raise her and her twin brother by themselves.

So they packed up their bags as they sent them well on their way. So now to the world yet so old to be told goodbye, they sat hand in hand at the registration counter saying their own sad goodbyes to each other as they'd live apart from here for the first time in their lives.

Alderbridge private was the partnered school for boys and girls where Meredith and Addison were going to school, while the Embreon English academy was the place that her brother was going to be boarded across the city. Archer started school a few days later so he came to say goodbye to Addison as they dropped her off here and he left with their parents.

They had wanted to stay together, but their parents insisted that Addison go to a science school and Archer go to an English school and pursue their own passions, and grow up separately too. So Addison and Archer reluctantly said their parting words. "Bye-bye Archie," Addison said. "You too, Addie," her brother said back. And that's when Addison could take in their surroundings.

They would have a shared recreation center, a pool, and a library but they'd be all alone from each other in their classes, their cafeterias and their dorms and they would only get to see each other really on the weekends. So they say their goodbyes for now as a counselor leads Archer Forbes Montgomery off to his new dorm.

And for the first time in what feels like forever, Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery feels like the loneliest girl in the whole entire world.

"Hello, my name is Meredith" a smaller, blonde girl sits next to her on the step as she offers out her hand to shake it.

"My name is Meredith Grey, and you must be the girl who's been assigned to be my first housemate" she adds until it settles and Addison is starting to see why this girl is now talking to her and it seems to all make more sense.

"Addison Montgomery" she shakes the girl's hand back. "So show me the way to our new dorm room I guess" she smiles and Meredith seems to be smiling right back.

"Here I'll help you take your stuff and I'm here to lead the way" Meredith offers out her hand. And Addison takes it as Meredith walks with her just down the hall to a small bedroom. It's fully furnished, with a double-sized bunk bed set on one side, two desks and two chairs on the other, their own private bathroom and their own private closets.

They've got lamps on the dresser nightstands by their bedsides and light on the ceiling and they each have a bookshelf set. There's a plush rug in the middle with two bean bag chairs laid out and even a small kitchenette with a microwave, a sink, a toaster oven, a kettle, cups and cutlery and dishes.

To Addison Montgomery it looked just like a tiny house, one twenty-two foot space they would be sharing for at least their first term and decided she was going to like it, she thought. She got to be all grown up just like her brother and she didn't even have to tell her parents what time she went to bed at night.

"I don't know why you're here but I'll tell you why I'm here" Meredith sits on one of the beanbag chairs now and Addison sets her stuff down to do the same.

"My mother's name is Doctor Ellis Grey and my daddy's name is Thatcher Grey. I think she's still secretly in love with her old boyfriend, my uncle Doctor Richard Webber but she never says so when I ask her" she begins.

"So my parents love medicine and they also love me. So when I finally got old enough to go to boarding school they decided to send me here because they know I like science and this is the only school in the country that has science labs for even the elementary school students" Meredith explains.

"It's still my first year here like you but I've been here since yesterday since my mom's at a conference in LA about something called 'Surgical Innovation' and my dad's doing research and he's gotta go get a new grant" she explains.

"So I'll help you move all your stuff in if you want before I show you where the cafeteria is where we all eat our dinner," she says.

And efficiently and quietly as they can be when they're nine years old, Meredith Grey and Addison Montgomery move in with each other like that as they line the bookshelves with Harry Potter readers, fill their desks with their pens and they spread their clothing into the closets and dressers before putting their toothbrushes by the sink.

"The last thing I wanted to ask you was which bunk bed you wanted" Meredith finally said softly. "I never actually slept here before because my room wasn't ready so I just dropped off my stuff last night and they had me stay in one of the guest suites. So whichever one you want you can have and I'll take the other I don't mind I'm not picky" Meredith offers generously.

"Well I don't know which one is better anyway because me and Archer my brother we don't have bunk beds so what do you say we each try them both out for a few nights so we can just see what sticks with us," says Addison with a smile.

And it's that thousand-watt smile that Meredith always smiles back when she's around her new friend Addison that makes it sincere when she agrees with her to share.

And they decide that before anything and everything that they are both going to be the best of friends for forever.

***** END OF CHAPTER ONE