Chapter 14: Bodyguard
To say things were awkward would be an understatement. The uneasiness that escalated with every moment that day was nearing unbearable by the end of school. It wasn't just biology, either. Because of the appending danger to Meredith's being, Derek had to be with her whenever she was not in class. That meant from morning till dusk. However, no one thought it important to tell her this. So, when she woke up that morning to see Derek Shepherd on her porch, she was surprised, to say the least. Thankfully, Thatcher was still asleep. He would be on a leave of absence until the doctor deemed him well again. Meredith had woken up a bit late, and had rushed to put her clothes on, and then scurried downstairs, putting a bagel in her mouth as she went. She flung the door open, her bag half on, and her hair a complete mess, only to be met by the scowling face of Derek. There was a couple of beats as the two stared at each other. Meredith's mind had gone blank. Slowly, she closed the door, the pastry still hanging between her teeth. She blinked and opened it again, poking her eyes out the crack. He was still there. Now, irritation added to his already leering face. He rolled his eyes as she closed it again, her heart having skipped a few beats. She took out the bagel and put it aside, calming herself. After straightening everything out, she stepped to the porch, shyly smiling at him. She didn't want things to start off too terribly. But, far from reciprocating her gesture of truce, he scoffed, turning on his heal and stomping off.
"Come on," he snapped. "You're driving." He opened up the passenger door to her old truck and slumped in, slamming the metal thing behind him. Meredith sighed and moved forward. The snow was once more a sickly thin sheet, though not as dangerous or icy as it was the day Tyler's van almost hit her. She moved into the driver's seat and started the truck. As it warmed, she glanced at Derek. He stared out the window, arms folded and sulking. He reminded her of a wet cat. He turned and they stared at one another. Derek pouted. "Well? What are you waiting for? You're late enough as it is."
Meredith shook her head, deciding it was best not to speak. Instead, she drove, the rattling of the engine and the slightly loose doors the only sound between the two. She didn't dare turn on the radio. She feared that he'd tear it out from pure frustration. She drove up the road, leading to the school. She didn't want to be so tense around him all day, so finally, she spoke. "Um... do you not know how to drive?" He eyed her, frowning. However, Meredith could tell he was interested. "Because... because I could teach you. If you wanted... It's really easy. You just have to – "
"Are you wearing your cross?"
Meredith blinked as he interrupted her. She nodded, showing her the silver from her neck. "Yes... but like I was saying, if you want to learn – " She stopped as he wrenched open the door and slammed it shut once more. She parked and scurried after him, bringing her bag closer to her. "Derek, look I – "
"You're wearing your cross," he repeated. "You're in my sights. I'm doing my job. Part of my job isn't listening to you blabber. So, keep your mouth shut and it'll be a lot less painful."
Meredith wanted to protest at such a rude, blatant statement, but she was fearful of what the reaction might be if she said something along the lines of "make me". Pissing off an already angry vampire wasn't the best idea, as far as she was considered. So, she sighed and reverted to silence, keeping her eyes to the floor. Class was even worse. Instead of just not talking, he went out of his way to ignore that she was even there. He kept his eyes pointedly aimed at the wall beside him or up to the front. Anywhere but to where Meredith was sitting. In all honesty, it depressed her. Yes, they had had a fight. But he didn't need to be so terse. He begrudgingly walked her to each of her classes, and they ate together at lunch. She wanted to go back over to her friends at the regular lunch table, but disobeying him might make him even more angry. By the time he was waiting for her, Meredith's slight depression turned into aggravation. She had been dwelling on the fight all day. Yes, she didn't do what he told her to, but she was in the right. And if her father had just kept on the cross, he probably wouldn't have been attacked. He had just been over reacting. And now, he was pouting like a child who didn't get his way. When he saw her moving closer, he turned and lead her to her truck.
"Hey, Derek," she said, trying to get his attention. He didn't even pause. He just kept right on heading for the truck. She spoke louder. "Derek." He still didn't respond. Instead, he moved straight for the passenger door. In frustration, she followed him, closed the door and shoved him against the truck bed. A look of surprise came over his features. She glared at him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" she demanded, her voice more firm then she thought she could accomplish. Derek's eyebrows went to his hairline at that. "I know you're mad at me," she began, "but sulking won't fix anything! What happened happened. And... and I'll tell you something else. I don't regret what I did! It ultimately didn't work, but he needed it more then I did! If he just would have worn it, he might have not been in the hospital!" Her face was red. She couldn't stop herself if she wanted to. She inched forward, pointing at him menacingly. "And what gives you the right to boss me around anyway!? I'm smart enough to protect myself! You may be here to stop the nomads from hurting anyone else, but I don't need a babysitter! I'm not some meek female that needs her hand held every five minutes! And anotherthing! You had better start being nice to me! You don't have to be my best friend or anything, but you've been nothing but rude to me ever since you laid eyes on me! And all I've ever done is try to be nice to you! So I don't want to hear another complaint, whine, or smart little comment, or I'm – I'm – !" She paused, furious beyond all belief. She then nodded and leaned in venomously. "I'm telling your father!" she hissed finally.
There was a very long beat after that. He stared at her in utter disbelief. She kept her composure, her angry face blaring straight into his. She was on her tip toes to try and get closer. She was so short and he was so tall. Slowly, a smile began to curl around his lips. He put his hand to his mouth and snickered. This only aggravated Meredith more, but she couldn't say anything as he suddenly burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach, leaning against the truck and roaring. He laughed so hard; tears came to the corners of his eyes. He was very lucky that they were on the opposite side facing the rest of the lot – his fangs were quite visible as he laughed. Finally, Meredith hit him in the back of the head. He rubbed it, reverting to chuckles instead of hysterical laughter.
"Ok, ok!" he said, standing up and holding out his hands. "I get it!" He shook his head. "Honestly, Meredith. You are the most reckless person..." However, this comment wasn't spiteful. Rather, it was light. Almost playful. He laughed a moment or so more before slipping into the passenger's seat. Meredith huffed and got into the driver's seat, still in a bit of a tiff. As they drove, Derek gave out a bit of a laugh now and then.
"Quit that," Meredith snipped.
"I'm not laughing at you," said Derek. "Ok... well, yeah I am. Just..." He shook his head, still laughing. "Over the past... what, month or more? You've been surrounded by blood sucking, demonic creatures. You've seen what they could do. You came close to death at least once. Maybe twice since the lake. And yet you have the balls to stand up to me like that." He shook his head thoroughly amused.
Meredith stared at him as she yielded for a cross walk. She turned her head back to the road and continued to drive. "Well..." She tapped her fingers on the wheel. What did possess her to make such a fuss? Especially when she already knew what kind of creature her companion was? How many times had Derek or any of the others struck fear into her? And yet she faced him, brave and bold, without thought of a consequence. But then again... Derek hadn't hurt her. He had a chance – a few chances – to do so. Still, he hadn't. She began to speak, deep in thought. "I just... don't think you'll hurt me like the nomads would. You come off like you're this dangerous thing... but I think... I think that if you had a choice, you wouldn't hurt a soul." She glanced at him. He had his chin propped on the door, looking at her with an unreadable face. The paused at a red light, looking at one another. A smile fell to Derek's lips. It wasn't the amused, snide grin that he wore before laughing at her. Rather, it was a kinder, warmer expression. One that caught Meredith by surprise.
"You're so strange..." He sat back on the chair. "It's green." Meredith noted that the light was in fact green and began to drive once more. Derek rubbed his forehead. "So... what do you plan on doing once you're home?"
"Um..." Meredith thought for a second. "Homework and then... I dunno. I might read for a bit. Call Finn."
That caught Derek's attention. He sat up a bit straighter and looked to him. "Who?"
"My boyfriend..." Meredith once more became uncomfortable, but for a very different reason. "He's still in Boston." She watched as Derek frowned out the window.
"Oh." He didn't say anything more. A strange thought came to Meredith. She stared at him, parking the truck.
"Are you... jealous?"
"No!" said Derek quickly, snapping his head to her. It was Meredith's turn to snicker this time. What little color the vampire possessed ran to his cheeks. "I said I'm not!" Meredith snorted and got out of the truck, bringing her pack with her. Derek slumped out behind her, back to his former self. Meredith shook her head, looking at him.
"You're so bipolar," she remarked with a click of her tongue. Derek huffed and looked away, still embarrassed. He shook his head and looked to her.
"So, you're not going anywhere else tonight?"
"Nope. Staying right at home." Derek nodded and looked up to the window.
"Good... Don't let anyone in – "
"Unless it's you, I know." Meredith paused and looked to the living room. Thatcher had gotten up to watch sports. "Um... did you want to come in for a second?" She looked to him. "I mean... if you want."
Derek considered it, staring at the little home. "Yeah, ok." He shrugged and the two walked up to the door. Meredith opened it, inviting him in as usual.
"Daddy?" Thatcher looked up from the couch, a beer in his gauzed hand. "Um.. this is Derek. He's my biology partner. We're going to work on some homework, ok?" Thatcher nodded, greeting Derek with a nod. They walked up the stairs.
"Keep the door open!" came Thatcher's instruction. Meredith said she would, even though she found the order to be quite funny. Once in her room, she sat on the bed, taking off her coat. Derek looked around the area, having been in her room only once, and only for a short time. Now, he seemed more analytical, taking in the details.
"Well here we are," said Meredith with a smile, pulling out her books. Derek nodded, eyes landing on a picture that she had framed. He picked it up.
"Is this Finn?" He showed it to her, and she nodded.
"Yeah..." He looked discerning at the photo before putting it down and not touching on the subject again. "So, um..." He directed his attention to her. "What do you want to do? I can hold off on my homework for now." Derek considered it and shrugged.
"I don't know." He sat on the edge of the bed. "What do you want to do?"
Meredith thought for a bit. "Well... I'm still curious. You know... about you."
"Ok."
"What's your dark gift?" It gnawed at her ever since she learned about them. She was so curious as to what it was, she daydreamed constantly about what it could be. Derek smiled and patted her head.
"It's a secret," he said slyly.
"Awe!" Meredith put her hands to her knees, bouncing up and down. "But I wanna know!"
"Maybe later." Derek laid on the bed, hands behind his hair. He kept his eyes on the ceiling before looking to her. Despite his sunken in features, when hit in the right light, he was actually handsome. "You know... I'm kind of curious about you."
"Me?" asked Meredith, a little taken aback.
"Sure." Derek laid to her side, propping his head in his hand. "I mean, all this time I've been talking about myself. What about you? All I really know is that you're the daughter of the chief of police and you're from Arizona." He made a face. "And you have a boyfriend," he added. He looked up to her. "There has to be more to you then that."
Meredith thought for a bit. "Well... I guess so. But it's not interesting."
"I'll decide that." Derek seemed sincerely interested. "Tell me."
She considered before starting to speak. She was born in Forks. Raised in Phoenix. She kept close to her father, despite the distance. She had a secret passion for photography but was too unsure of herself to pursue it. She enjoyed watching baseball – but only if she was at a game. It was too boring on TV. Her favorite color was blue. She could look at the desert for hours. She had looked at the desert for hours. Her best friend was crazy. Her boyfriend was sweet. She had a childhood toy named Sir Snuggles once. She didn't know what happened to him. She was afraid of the toilet when she was three. She was afraid of the closet when she was five. Hell, at one point, she was afraid of everything. Finally, she had to stop herself.
"Oh... I'm boring you, huh?" He smiled.
"No. Not at all." He had kept his attention on her the whole time, never wavering, never looking away or looking bored. He was intrigued, almost. He sat up. "It's cool."
Meredith laughed. "No it's not."
"Sure, it is." He sighed and looked out the window. It was dark now. "I can't remember all that much about my human life, other then my parents being murdered. It's nice to hear about someone who's... normal."
Meredith smiled weakly. "I hate being normal." He looked to her. "Well... I mean, it's dull to be normal, right? Being interesting is what makes someone exciting. Like you." They looked at one another, facing each other on the bed. Meredith hadn't realized that sitting up, Derek was quite close to her. She held her ankles, unsure of what to do or say. He smiled kindly.
"I guess so..." His voice was softer – the tenor lowering into a gentle hum. Meredith felt herself slowly gravitate towards him, and he to her. She could count the eyelashes that stuck to his lids. She noticed that under his wax complexion, there was evidence of faded freckles. His lips – though thin – were inviting. She inched a little further.
"It's late!" came the voice of her father. "Your friend should head home!"
Meredith jolted out of her skin and recaptured herself. "O-oh... yeah, sure..." She slipped off the bed. "He's leaving now!" she called to her father. She smiled weakly at Derek. "Sorry..." She looked away and began to straighten things on her desk. What was she doing just then? Was she... were they about to...?
"Yeah, ok." Derek stood. "Keep your cross on this time, ok?" Meredith nodded and walked him down to the door. Perhaps she was fooling herself. Yes... that was probably it. She was just seeing things. She'd been under a lot of stress. That was what it was. She imagined it. They walked out to the porch and Derek nodded to her.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right..." Her voice was a bit weaker than normal. He then walked off, hands in his pockets. Meredith shook her head and closed the door. She was being stupid... She had Finn, for one thing. For another... She let her hand fall from the knob. For another... She shook her head and went back upstairs, throwing herself to the bed. He wasn't human. How stupid would one have to be to fall for someone who wasn't human? She rubbed her forehead and sat up. Grudgingly, she took out her books.
