Meredith arrived home later that evening and quickly fell on to the couch, exhausted. She forgot how hard it was to actually work and be in a job. However the tips and future paycheck a she would receive would be worth it. Even if Brian worked all the nights she did.

After about 5 minutes of actual rest she got up from her cozy spot on the couch and checked the front of the fridge. The apartment was just too quiet since she entered, she figured Lauren and Jaime must've both been out. Meredith scoured the messy front and finally found a new sticky note cluttered among many, explaining that they had in fact went out on a double date with Joey and Joe.

Meredith's eyes stumbled upon a new one as well from Lauren. 'Start on your painting!' Was quickly scrawled out in her neat writing. Meredith smiled, leave it do Lauren to act like the mom in these situations, always making sure that her work was done. Meredith shook her head and smiled opening the fridge door and began researching for something to eat.

One finished frozen pizza later and Meredith once again found herself in front of a blank canvas. Meredith grabbed a pencil from on the ground nearby and just started lighting sketching on to the canvas. Her soft hands gazed the rough texture while moving it across the board. She leaned over more, and kept constantly pushing a strand of curly brown hair out of her face. She wasn't exactly how long it was until she had something finished.

Something that sure wouldn't be able to fit her requirement for the project, but at least it was something. For her project, her professed had assigned everybody an emotion. Some people had gotten easy ones. Well easy in her opinion, such as despair or excitement, but she was stuck with love. Love for her was terrible, for someone who hadn't always trusted the word or the feeling, she could hardly begin to think what could happen.

She glanced down at her sketch of the woman curled in ball in the corner and tossed the whole canvas aside. She hated this. She hated not being able to draw. Maybe she'd get over it tomorrow she mused slowly getting up off the floor and heading to the bathroom. Maybe tomorrow she'd get past this damn block.

Brian Holden arrived late home to his apartment that night and found fellow roommates, Joe Walker and Joey Richter up and having a beer.

"Hey man," Joey smiled at Brian as he approached them and handed him a bottle, how come you're home so late?"

"Work," Brian responded with a tired shrug opening his beer bottle. "What about you guys why are you up so late?"

"Oh we just got back from a date," Joe had quickly explained to Brian.

"Got it." Brian has said with a nod. He didn't really pay close attention to when Joe and Joey went back to their conversation from before, his mind was somewhere else, back at work, where she had been. There was something about her to Brian that was just so intriguing and mysterious. Not in the shy and quiet mysterious, but in the 'what are your secrets' type of way.

Meredith was like a safe. But instead of having to crack the code, he just had to be weary for the security guard that watched over everything. And Brian was determined to have that guard let him in. For him it usually wasn't hard for him to get to the treasure on the inside of people's safes. But with Meredith he could just tell she'd be more of a challenge.

"Brian?" Joey's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you listening?"

"Uh, yeah? Sorry, I just got a little distracted. What were we talking about again?"

"We just asked you how your day went that's all."

"Well, it was fine," Brian said and forced a smile. "You know, I'm a little tired I'm gonna head to bed then," and with one more swig of his beer he left the room and headed off to his bedroom.

He sat on his bed and rested his head in his hands. He just couldn't get her out of his mind. Her chocolate brown eyes, her bright smile, it was all becoming too much. He'd try asking her out again tomorrow. Brian Holden was determined to get passed the security guard. He was a man who got what he wanted, and he wanted Meredith.

Meredith laid in her bed that night, a couldn't help but think about the days events. About Brian.

Annoying as he was, which was very, there was still something about him. Something in his eyes. Those grey eyes. She felt something too when she had handed his book to him on the subway. That unsettling spark. She didn't want this to happen. She didn't want to open herself up to anyone else again.

She'd prefer just to keep herself away from everyone else and where she can't get hurt. She didn't want to get hurt like her mother nor hurt like she had with Darren. She'd rather just sleep. So she slept.