-1I dedicate this chapter to Emily and Jimi. I hope it is what you were looking for. It is not quite what I had planned but this is what I got. It is mushy and gushy.
There was nothing more either of them could do. Neither one of them were overly artistic, nor did they have the desire to force themselves to be. Instead, they stuck with what they knew, and what they knew brought a giggle to her lips and a wide grin to his.
"It's not too bad," Meredith giggled, tucking her lips together to keep from bursting into a high pitched laugh. They stood in the hallway, just outside Derek's room, staring at their handiwork. A large apple tree that looked more like it belonged on a the door of a pre-school classroom than a high school boy's dorm room at prep school. "I mean, it could be worse right?"
Derek's shoulder's lift in a nonchalant sort of shrug. He hadn't shown much interest in the door decorating contest mandated by the house parents of Forbes hall. The only reason, he had confessed early, he was even doing it was so he wouldn't have a yellow mark in his file for not being social. "It could be." He glances down at her, his sky blue eyes twinkling. "Makes me think of home."
"Yeah." Meredith let's her lips lift into a soft smile. She peeks up at Derek, then back at the tree. Childish or not, it gave her a moment of home sickness. "Every fall my school takes this field trip to Wilson's Banner Ranch. We pick a crazy amount of apples. The lower grades would get to pick a pumpkin." Most her of apples ended up thrown away as she couldn't eat them on her own and Ellis could never be bothered to do anything with them.
"I've been there. It's like this tradition we have. A few days before Thanksgiving we go, pick a bunch of apples and a few pumpkins. Mom makes the best pies. Always from scratch. My sisters…I have five of them…they help." A wistful look passes over Derek's face.
"You really miss your family don't you?" Envy tinged her voice. She had no family. Just a father who hadn't loved her enough to stay and a mother who barely noticed she existed. To the best of her knowledge she had no siblings, and if she did they clearly could care less that she existed.
"Don't tell my sisters, but yeah, I kinda do. Weird, huh?" He let's out a half laugh, then sighs. "I couldn't wait to get away from them. Especially Nancy and Kathleen. Now, well now I miss them. I even miss Nancy's whining about her latest guy troubles."
Meredith giggles, thinking back to the night they met and his rambling speech about guys not being worth it. Her laughter fades away, but the smile remains. "She has a lot of them I take it?"
"Oh you have no idea. There's a new one every week. Literally. It's insane. I've told mom they need to do something about her. Do they listen to me? Nope. They just laugh. They're not going to be laughing though when she comes up pregnant and has no idea who the father is. Sorry. I love her, but my sister is a slut. Yes. I just called my sister a slut." Derek rolls his eyes, then slings an arm around her shoulders as they turn their attention back towards the apple tree.
It felt nice, having his arm around her shoulders. She felt safe, cared for. Smiling, she raises up on tip toe. She presses her lips against his cheek. He turns towards her, his eyes wide with surprise. She smiles, then closes her eyes, pressing her lips against his.