Chapter 2: The New Kid

The truck didn't drive as smoothly as Thatcher's cruiser, but it still got Meredith from point A to point B. Though it didn't move all that fast, she felt secure in a big box of metal. It was like her own little suit of armor, protecting her from the rest of the world. When she finally got out of the truck, she almost felt naked, having finally slipped into her newest reality. Meredith noticed that many of them were like hers in the fact that they were slightly outdated. She pulled her backpack on and cradled a book against her chest. If she could just seamlessly blend in, she'd be fine. Taking a breath, she moved forward, the cold wind of the morning biting at her face. The weather was defiantly a new experience in itself. Upon waking up that morning, she half expected to be roused by the golden rays of warm sunlight that so often greeted her face. But this morning, she awoke to the bleak, clouded day outside her window. She guessed it was something she would just have to get used to.

With her rubber boots squeaking beneath her, Meredith made her way into the school building. She rifled through her pocket before bringing up a slip of paper that had her class schedule printed on it. She observed the small lettered numerals and asked around, until she stumbled upon her first class. Unfortunately, her inane sense of direction caused her to be about fifteen minutes late. Timidly, she opened the door, to see the teacher in the middle of writing something on the board. He turned his eyes over to her, as did the rest of the class – a kind of domino effect that Meredith always a pored. He smiled politely at her.

"You must be Meredith Grey?" She nodded and made her way in with a careful step. The teacher turned to the other students, who were all looking at her curiously. It was obvious that some of them noted her last name. "Everyone this is our newest student, Chief Grey's daughter. She just moved here from Boston. Why don't you tell a little about yourself?"

Meredith shifted uncomfortably, moving her gaze about the room. She hated the spotlight. She knew that people constantly made judgments within the first five seconds of meeting a person. "Um… hi," she said, waving a bit. The class just stared at her, as if waiting for the girl to perform some sort of amazing stunt. "Well… um… My name's Meredith and… I… like to read… and stuff…" She trailed off, a couple students chuckling at her nervousness. However, the laughter had more cheer then malice to it. The teacher clapped his hands.

"Right. Well, I'm Mr. Tesler, as I'm sure your schedule already pointed out. Now let's see… Who can I pair you up with?" He turned and tapped his chin, looking from face to face. However, everyone seemed to have some form of partner. As far as Meredith could see, anyway. Perhaps she'd just end up with two partners? It might be easier than an abrupt, one-on-one interrogation with a single partner. However, Mr. Tesler seemed to find someone. "Ah, there we are. Mr. Shepherd, you're still lacking a partner, right?" Meredith blinked and tried to find whoever this "Mr. Shepherd" was but couldn't seem to find him. That is, until every head in the class turned to the very back. That's when Meredith saw him.

Sitting in the far back of the class, slumped down in his seat, was a boy. He had a chalky, pale complexion that was nearly pasty. His eyes were the lightest shade of blue and were sunken in, and his face was horribly gaunt. He wore a thick, dark sweatshirt and black leather gloves, his hood sitting atop his head. His bangs were a faint caramel color, and his cheekbones were high and prominent. His eyes fell on Meredith, and he almost seemed to sneer. Meredith didn't particularly want to sit beside this sour looking male, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. She moved to the back and took her seat, putting her bag to the side. As she settled, Shepherd turned away from her, scooting an inch or so to the side. Meredith couldn't help but feel insulted and looked to the table. He didn't say a word to her.

"Oh, and Derek?" Shepherd looked up, though it appeared to be against his will. "Since Meredith's new here, why don't you show her around? So, she won't be late again…" Meredith smiled sheepishly at the teacher but said nothing on the matter. She was not born with an internal compass.

"Can't someone else do it?" Derek asked bluntly. His voice was low and sullen, with a growling, gravely undertone. Meredith rounded to him in disbelief. She hadn't even said hello, and yet he acted as though she'd insulted him. All she did was sit beside him. What was the harm in that?"

Tesler frowned at the request. "No," he said shortly. "Now be nice, Mr. Shepherd. This is Miss Grey's first day." Derek only huffed and folded his arms in a pout, turning his head to the side. "And take your hood off," the teacher added. Derek shot him a glare before yanking the top part of his jacket off. Meredith frowned and took out her book. As the teacher began the lesson once more, Meredith jotted down a couple of notes, continually passing glances at the blatant emo who sat beside her. Maybe he was just having an off day? Maybe he just wasn't one for human interaction? Meredith couldn't say she didn't relate. Still, it was no excuse for him to be so rude without even knowing her. In the middle of class, when the teacher gave them free work time, Meredith had no real option but to speak to him.

"Um… Derek, right?" He refused to look at her. Meredith continued. "What… what exactly were you guys doing before I got here? I need to do a little catch up work…" She stopped when he abruptly pushed over his notebook.

"Have fun," he chided, propping his head in his hand and looking away. Meredith just about pouted then and pushed his notebook back. He spared her a glance over his shoulder.

"Do you have some kind of problem with me?" she asked in a low voice. Derek narrowed his eyes and picked up his chair. Then, in a very pointed fashion, he turned it away from her and sat it so that his back was facing her. Meredith felt embarrassment and anger rise within her. Especially when she heard a few snickers from the other students. No doubt they were enjoying the show. Before she could stop herself, Meredith picked up her own notebook and hit him in the back of the head. He didn't seem to expect that and jumped slightly, turning to look at her. "Look. I don't know what your problem is, but all I want to do is get through this first day surviving." She sighed and set the notebook down as he continued to look at her, though his mouth was closed now. "We don't have to be friends… I just… I don't want to make enemies on my first day of school. Ok?" There was another little pause before Derek corrected his chair and laid his head down, still turned away from her. Meredith sighed and looked down at her own work. She guessed she'd have to figure things out on her own.

When the bell finally rang, Meredith began to put her things away. By the time she was standing, Derek was gone. She looked left and right, but he seemed eager to get out of the class anyway. No surprise he wouldn't listen to the teacher and show her around. Not that she would even want him to do so if he was simply going to be foul to her. She just hated the feeling of making an enemy. Shaking her head, she pulled on her backpack and headed out of class, pulling out the sheet of paper. Thankfully, she made it to her math class just as the bell rang. The introduction given by the teacher was much briefer and more painless, and the student she sat beside wasn't nearly as disagreeable. She was a girl with long, light hair and a few freckles along her cheeks. She was charming enough, with just the right amount of baby fat left in her face. She brightly introduced herself as Jessica.

"So, you're from Boston?" she questioned. Meredith nodded. "Must be a big change coming here…"

"I used to visit every year. I'm living with my dad now."

"No kidding? Hey… your dad's Chief Grey, right?"

"Yeah…" She tapped the desk with her pencil. "He's happy I'm here."

"Well that's good. How are you liking the school here so far? Is it different then down there?" Meredith's mind went to her new lab partner.

"It's interesting…" she said honestly. She shook her head. "Sorry, some guy was giving me a hard time last period."

Jessica blinked. "Really? Who?"

"Derek Shepherd is his name I think," said Meredith with a shrug. Jessica's eyebrows went to her hairline. "What?"

"Why was he giving you a hard time?" It seemed to be genuine curiosity.

"Uh… well he's my new lab partner. I sit next to him." Jessica's face revealed even more surprise, until a smile curled around her lips.

"Oh man…" She patted Meredith's shoulder. "My condolences, Meredith. You have a very hard road ahead."

"Really? Is he that bad?"

"From what I hear, he's worse than that." She scrunched down, gossip clearly being her favorite topic of discussion. "He started coming to school just a few months ago, actually. He was home schooled up until then by his dad."

"Who's his dad?" Meredith asked, moving down a bit to be level with Jessica.

"Dr. Shepherd," she continued. "He's a specialist. He only makes house calls. Never comes to the hospital unless it's something very important. They all live in their family house out of town."

"They…?" For some reason, Meredith had a sickly feeling in her stomach.

"His family. He's got four brothers and sisters. The word is they're adopted because they're all mostly the same age. They don't come into town that often." She shook her head. "Anyway… Derek. He's got some major problems. I mean major problems. I heard that when he was little, he tortured small animals just to see what they would do." Meredith's stomach tied in knots.

"Tortured…? How?"

"Ropes, bags, water… anything he could get a hold of. He got worse as he got older. One time, this kid got on his nerves, and then the next day, he was gone. Just vanished."

"Oh, that can't be true," said Meredith with a frown. "…Can it?"

"No one really knows," Jessica admitted. "But you can't doubt that he's creepy…"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah…"

"But his whole family's like that," she pressed on. "The dad's ok, I hear… I haven't met him, but my uncle once had a case of the flu. A really bad case… Dr. Shepherd made a special trip and treated him. At a really low cost, too."

"Wow. Sounds generous."

"Yeah…" Jessica trailed off then and shook her head. "Well anyway. Good luck with Derek." Meredith smiled bitterly and looked up to the teacher, figuring she'd need a little more than luck to get herself through biology.


When lunch rolled around, Meredith hurried to the lunch line, quite famished as the lunch there was a bit later then the lunch in Phoenix. She began to fill her tray, Jessica having tagged along with her, and inched down the line. Just as she turned to go sit down, her eyes once more fell onto the dark figure that was Derek Shepherd.

He sat in the corner of the lunchroom at a small, broken down table. He had no lunch in front of him, but instead, drank from a sole thermos. He sat alone, no one daring to even go near him. Meredith didn't blame them. He constantly wiped his mouth as he drank from the thermos, putting the napkins in his pocket, rather than leaving them on the table. An odd thing… Then again, Jessica did say that he had problems…

"This way, Meredith." The girl blinked out of her daydream and headed over to a slightly crowded table. They all turned as the two made their way to it. "Everybody, this is Meredith. She's Chief Grey's daughter." Meredith gave a meek greeting and sat beside Jessica, starting on her lunch. Eating was a good excuse not to talk. One of the boys, Mike, spoke with a loud voice, his hand on Jessica's lower back. The two seemed to be a bit of an item. It made Meredith remember how Finn used to be back home. She took her apple in her hand and idly began to play with the stem. She missed having him by her side. He was such a playful person to be around, and always made her smile. He could be a bit too touchy feely at times, but Meredith got used to it. Besides, she'd love it when he would hug her from behind out of nowhere…

"Oy! You awake there?" Meredith blinked and looked up to where one of them was addressing her. Tyler, she believed his name was. He had slightly large teeth, with dark skin and tightly curled hair, resting on the edge of his head. He smiled at her. "Jessica was just telling us about your new lab partner."

"Oh…" Meredith looked down to her apple again. "Yeah… he seems to hate me for some reason."

"He hates everyone," said one of the girls simply. The name escaped her at the moment.

"But why?" Meredith asked the group. "Why's he like that?" No one seemed to have an answer. Jessica looked over to his lone table.

"Hey… is your neck burning?" Meredith was a bit confused but turned to see that Derek was staring right at her. Almost as though he was hearing every word she spoke. It gave her a frightening thrill, but she soon calmed it, telling herself it was impossible. He was all the way over there, after all. She turned to the others as he looked away.

"Have any of you tried to at least talk to him?" she asked earnestly.

"And what?" Mike asked, cocking a brow. "Wake up to find our arms ripped off? No thanks."

"Yeah… he scares me too much…"

"Same here…"

Meredith paused for a moment and looked back over her shoulder. Derek was no longer looking at her, but instead, focusing on what he was drinking. She bit the inside of her lip. "Maybe… if someone tried to be friendly to him… maybe he wouldn't be so bad?"

"Oh? Well if you think that's the case, why don't you go talk to him?"

She looked at the others, apple still cradled in her palms. They all stared at her expectantly. With a twisting stomach, she looked back to Derek. Once more, he too was looking at her. She curled her toes inside of her shoes and took a couple of breaths. "Ok…" She stood up, Jessica taking her arm.

"Wait… are you really gonna do it?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Well… yeah. I'm sure he can't be as bad as everyone thinks…" Or she hoped, anyway. With a nod, she left the table and carefully made her way over to the boy. He didn't seem to blink as she got closer, his back going ridged. Meredith finally stopped, standing behind the empty seat that faced him. They stared at one another, the muscles in his face tightening and relaxing in rhythm. "Um… hi… Can I sit here?"

Derek kept her eyes on hers. He didn't seem to blink. "If I say no are you still gonna?" There was a silence between the two. Finally, the boy caved and held out a hand. "Fine. Knock yourself out." Meredith sat down, the two never breaking eye contact. She ran her thumb along the green skin of her fruit, which she still clutched close to her. Derek took a sip of his thermos, and Meredith dislodged her gaze long enough to look at the cylinder.

"Um… what's that?" she gestured to it.

"Soup," he said flatly.

"Oh. What kind?"

"Tomato."

"Any good?"

Derek rolled his eyes, rubbing his temple. "Is there a reason you're harassing me or is it all for the enjoyment of your friends?" Meredith turned to see that the group she had just been sitting with were all watching intently. Meredith turned back to Derek, looking as sincere as possible.

"I'm just trying to be nice… really."

"I don't need your sympathy, thanks."

"It's not sympathy," she said. "It's just being polite." You know, that thing that you can't seem to be? she added in her head. "I just… you looked lonely, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"Oh well," said Derek, his voice heavy with cynicism. "Thank you so much! I don't know what I would possibly do without someone like you! Why, you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!" He took another drink from his thermos. "So, is that all?"

Meredith frowned at him and looked back to his container. "Why only soup? Aren't you hungry?"

Derek gave her a stone like look. "I'm on a diet," he said evenly. Meredith looked him over. Despite the frumpy sweatshirt, it was obvious that Derek was quite thin. Perhaps just as much as she was.

"I think you might be over doing it," she commented. Derek gave her a cool look.

"Says the girl with the spaghetti arms." Self-consciously, Meredith put her hands to her limbs.

"I don't have spaghetti arms…" she began, her voice a bit smaller. Derek's eyes went to her shirt.

"Also, a flat chest," he added curtly. Her face filled with red at that comment. She stood then, feeling like a fool for ever giving such an ass hole a second chance. With all her might, she flung her apple hard at him. He dodged it, but it still got her point across. The cafeteria went a bit silent after that action, and they watched as Meredith stormed out of the room, feeling the urge to break into a run. She strode quickly down the hall and into the bathroom, where she locked herself in a stall.

She had never felt so humiliated in all her life. Nor had she ever felt like such an idiot. She pushed her forehead to the door, tempted to just call Finn in the middle of class and seek his comfort. But she knew he'd get in trouble if she did. So instead, she just sat on the toilet, lamenting the choices that lead her up to that particular moment. She didn't cry, though she felt like she wanted to.

Meredith had decided that she hated Derek Shepherd with every ounce of her being.


Yes, Derek has taken on Edward's jerky persona. What do you think? Please read and review..

~ Charlie xoxo