Summary: Shy Meredith Grey almost gets trampled from a rough game of rugby. Written in Meredith's POV
000
The first day of spring had not disappointed and throughout my final class, all I could think about was finally being able to study outside. I had a somewhat romanticised notion in my head where I'd find a nice, quiet spot in the sun and I'd breathe in the fresh air and listen to the sounds of the wind through the leaves. Unfortunately, like all things, the romanticised expectations never live up to the real thing. Everyone had had a similar idea and it became increasingly difficult to find the fabled quiet, grassy area I had been yearning for. It had gotten so difficult, that I had found myself walking farther than I normally did, all in the name of studying.
I didn't wear the right shoes for this.
The trek had taken me to an unfamiliar area which was still populated by fellow university students and I huffed, obviously I was going to have to abandon my vision of me in a secluded, sunny spot with my books. I turned to make my way to the library instead; perhaps if everyone was out here, the library would be empty enough to satisfy me?
The faint shouting and thump of steps suddenly filled my ears, making me drop my book in surprise. The sound was close by but I figured I wouldn't get in the way of anything.
It's probably the ultimate Frisbee society. What is ultimate Frisbee, anyway?
I could not have been more wrong because the sound had gotten so close that when I looked up, I received the shock of a lifetime when I saw a herd of boys running directly at me. A group of tall, well built, young men running towards me was one thing, but a group of tall, well built, young men running at me was something else altogether.
Do they not see me?!
I resolved that moving wouldn't do me much good; it was clear that it was too late to get out of the way and that whether or not I moved, I would still find myself trampled on. The entire scene was way too reminiscent of The Lion King and I suddenly felt sorrier for a cartoon lion than I had ever done in my entire life. My face suddenly met with a wall of thick cotton, which smelled remarkably like washing detergent and grass, all while strong arms seemed to hold me, preventing me from moving.
"Are you okay?" The arms around me loosened and I looked up to see a boy whose expression was half concerned, half amused.
"Um, I-I think so" I said and the boy smiled. His dark hair had caught some of the sun's rays and looked akin to a halo from the angle I was looking at him at.
"I nearly didn't spot you, you're small" he said looking down at me; the top of my head just about brushed his chin and I couldn't help but wonder if in fact, he was just part giraffe but I held my tongue. Though he is smaller than the other guys.
"Sorry" I brushed some imaginary lint off of my cotton dress, so that I had the excuse to not look him in the eyes anymore.
"Shepherd! Hurry up, you can flirt later!" Someone called and the usual paleness of my cheeks suddenly had an undertone of red at the word 'flirt'. It was a word that wasn't attributed to me. Ever.
"Give me a minute, Sloan!" the boy – Shepherd – shouted back "Oh, is this yours?" He asked, reaching down to fish my text book out of the untamed grass.
"Yeah, thanks" I said, accepting the text book and hugging it to my chest. I dared to look up and instantly met with his unwavering gaze "Did I say something wrong?" I asked, suddenly worried that I had spoiled the conversation somehow.
Shepherd smiled apologetically "Sorry about that, it's just… I've seen you somewhere before and I can't place where."
"Oh, um, I… I'm not sure where you could have seen me. I'm a recluse" I said, trying to make a joke about my lack of social skills but he just smiled.
Clearly I'd make an awful comedian.
"Shep!" Sloan shouted again and the blonde boy in front of me sighed.
"I better go, Sloan - Mark is one of the forwards so I probably don't want to piss him off" he said rolling his eyes and I nodded as though I actually understood what he was talking about.
What's a forward? I don't do sports…
"I'll catch you later" he said, flashing me a one hundred watt smile which did nothing but baffle me further.
Who is this boy? Why is being so nice to me? Why can't I talk to people?
I mused each of the questions and countless others as I walked back in the direction I had come from.
It had been a handful of days since I had almost been run over by (what I had realised later to be) the college rugby team but instead of the event sticking in my head, the boy did.
Isn't that terribly cliché?
A rap of knuckles at the door brought me out of my daydreams and I looked down at the unopened text book, sighing to myself at my lack of productivity. I hurried to the door, fully expecting it to be my flat mate having forgotten her keys or something but instead it was the boy. Shepherd. At my door. Wearing only a towel.
Holy Shit.
My eyes widened but I tried to remain casual "um, c-can I help you?"
Stuttering… Very smooth.
His eyes lit up and he grinned "hey! I knew I knew you from somewhere!" He said "I recognise you because I live across the hall" he said nodding towards the door opposite my own.
"Oh" my eyes flicked back to him "did you realise that in the shower and rush over to tell me?" The words left my mouth without me registering, and were quickly followed with my face pricking with heat out of embarrassment.
He blinked at me, as if he didn't expect the comment from me but he laughed, obviously amused by my words. A small sigh of relief passed between my lips; glad that he hadn't taken it the wrong way.
"You got me" he winked and I shifted my weight and looked down, not entirely too sure if I should be feeling this fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach from his words. "My shower just randomly stopped working and I was wondering if I could use yours?"
"Well, um, I guess so?" My tone rose higher towards the end of my sentence, making it sound more like a question. I wasn't quite sure what to say, the situation was new to me, completely alien.
Saying yes is the polite thing to do right?
He smiled again and I allowed him to come in, before directing him to the bathroom and making a swift exit. I returned to my lack of studying, only to find myself procrastinating more. I did try. I opened the text book and took out a biro, but the sound of the shower distracted me and after five minutes I cracked and moved to the kitchen in need of a cup of tea.
To his credit, he was very quick and came out in a matter of minutes with the same dark blue towel, now hanging on his hands, he's wearing shorts now, thank God for that. He must have heard the kettle because he set a course for the kitchen and I jumped, nearly dropping the milk at the sight of him again.
"Thanks for letting me use your shower" he said, running a hand through his wet locks of hair, they were a darker shade of dark brown (if that's even possible, his hair was almost black in color) and flat against his head. Although he was dry, I could still spy droplets of water running down his neck and chest.
I would have continued to stare, but I knew that it would be socially unacceptable to ogle the hot boy next door so I cleared my throat and turned away to deal with the tea.
"It's nothing" I said, shrugging "um, would you like a cup or…" I trailed off, leaving him to fill in the blanks but surprisingly he agreed.
"That would be great" he approached me and leaned back against the counter, watching me take out another mug and drop a tea bag into it. He filled the silence, asking me my name and major and I asked him for his in return. His name was Derek and he was studying law.
"I thought someone else lived here" he said "I always see another girl coming in and out of here."
My heart dropped into my stomach "oh, yeah, that's my roommate" I shrugged "she likes to keep busy so she's scarcely home."
He nods in understanding "and you're a… what did you call yourself? A recluse?"
"I go out" I said, trying to defend myself, as well as come across as a wee bit more interesting than I actually was "just not often" I smile sheepishly.
"So you don't go out on dates often, then?" he asked casually and I swear, I could have choked on my tea right there and then.
"Dates?" I repeated, trying to bite my lip to stop giggling "I think the last date I went out on was maybe a month ago? Two months ago? I'm pretty content by myself."
"So you're not interested in dating?" He inquired and I suddenly realised that I should back pedal my comments, if he was hinting at what I thought he was hinting at.
Pull yourself together, woman!
"Uh, well, I…" I stumbled over each syllable before trying to collect myself and start again "I meant that I'm content not dating but if someone were to ask me, then I wouldn't object, maybe?" Again, the inflection made my statement turn into a question. What had started out as me trying to be confident turned into me being nervous and dumb, as per usual.
Ever wonder why you haven't been out on any dates recently?
"So…" Derek's hand reaches over to caress my own "what you're getting at" his startling blue eyes flicked up to meet mine "is that if someone… Say I, was to ask you out to dinner then you'd accept?"
"W-Well, I suppose so" I said, trying to calm the hammering of my heart, but the little jolts of electricity from his touch made it impossible.
"Are you free at seven?"
"Yes" I said, unsure that this was actually happening to me. When he rose to stand after letting go of my hand I scrabbled to get up but the quick action, and my hazy mind made me almost trip over and once again, I found my face pressed against Derek's chest. It rumbled as he laughed.
"We really must stop making a habit of this" I said, trying to maintain the shred of dignity I had left.
"Oh, I don't know" Derek said; one of his hands held my chin up "It's not such a bad habit" and then his lips met mine for the first time. "So I'll definitely see you at seven, then?" he asked and I laughed quietly.
"Not even the rugby team could stop me."
AN : Don't forget to review ~ BTW, i'm writing this fanfic based on prompts! so feel free to request something, i'll see what i can write with it!