"Excuse me," he asked, "Did I miss something?"
"No," she responded agitated while avoiding eye contact, "No you did not."
"Oh okay," he said still being confused, but he didn't mind. See, he was amazed by this young girl. He looked at her and gazed at her evanescent beauty. She then looked at him in the face, & his breath was taken away. For a girl so young, she held herself as a woman, but he knew never to pursue her. The way she acted around him, for knowing him for such a little time, reminded him of his ex-girlfriend Addison. He just could not deal with dealing with an immense amount of rejection. He then continued, "Well, I am terribly sorry for bumping into you."
"Don't worry about it," she said, dazed.
He walked away, not looking back. He knew that if it was meant to be, she would call out to him. She would want to speak with him, and she would want to get to know him. Then his best friend spoke.
"She wants you man," Mark said.
"What is it with everyone having to want a person. What ever happened to just getting to know someone?"
"Year 2000 happened. Man, wake up. I bet you in the next...Three seconds she's gonna be like," He then falsely impersonated a woman, " 'Oh sexy future lover, come sex me in the locker room.' I'm telling you man it's gonna happen."
Owen laughed, listening to the conversation.
"Okay one," Derek responded, "Don't ever do that voice again. It's disturbing. And two, she's young. She probably sees me as an old man. I don't think she'd wou-"
"Hey you," Meredith screamed, stopping Mark & Derek from their conversation. Owen, Mark & Derek all turned around. Derek then pointed to himself, asking if it was him she was speaking to.
"Yeah, You!"
Derek walked to her but quickly turned back only to see Mark mouth the words 'Locker room.' He then focused on Meredith.
"Yes," he asked.
"Is your name Derek Sheppard?"
The corners of his mouth went upward. "You've heard about me," he said egotistically.
Seriously Meredith responded, "No." The smile washed off his face immediately. She continued, "Were you at Seattle Grace High-School today?"
He became confused. He thought she was another spy, Addison got on him to make sure he wasn't with anyone. "Yes? How did you know where I was?"
"I didn't," she said taking his wallet out of her pocket, "You dropped this. I mean it's kind of weird that you haven't noticed your wallet was missing for about 8 hours. But you've probably been busy."
"My friend Callie works in the office over there. I spend lunch with her twice a week. You came all the way from Seattle Grace, to bring me back my wallet?"
"Yeah. Your money is still in there. You can check if you'd like."
He put his wallet in his pocket and stared in her eyes for a brief moment, and sincerely he said three words that Meredith never heard before. "I trust you."
She stared at him, unable to look away. She felt her body at ease. The tensity that she's had for so long just seemed to wash away as she looked at him. She was unable to speak, and he noticed this. He smiled and as he smiled Meredith felt to warm. She didn't feel dark & twisty. "I must go then," he said as he still smiled, "I'm going to be late to my next class."
"Okay. It was nice meeting you Derek."
"It was nice meeting you too, um..." he said realizing he never got her name.
She smiled & with this smile it blew him away, "Meredith. Meredith Grey."
He walked away to join his friends and Meredith stood there only to watch him walk away. She knew that this wasn't the last time she would be seeing him. She was, for once, hopeful. As she had this thought her phone vibrated. She picked up the phone without hesitation.
"Yeah," she answered.
"So? What happened," Lexie asked.
Meredith paused for a single moment. She smiled again before answering her sister.
"...I think I just met the man of my dreams."
The next day something was different. She woke up normal. No hatred towards school, she was just fine. The alarm clock went off and she turned it off immediately, she woke up early. She walked out of her room, ironically at the same time her sister did again. Without hesitation, Lexie ran to the bathroom.
"Oh no, not again," Lexie whined, "You signed a contract!"
Meredith made a long & peaceful sigh and smiled. Softly, she spoke, "You're right."
Lexie smiled but relaxed her lips when she remembered what happened yesterday morning. "Wait a minute. Is this a trick?"
Meredith walked back to her room, "Nope, but hurry up before I change my mind."
The day seemed to be going fine, and like the day before the fifth bell rang. This time something was different. It wasn't the scenery, it wasn't the teachers. It was her. She felt different. She felt as if a weight was just knocked off her shoulders, and she had never felt better. She didn't care about the people who walked around her, she didn't even care if they shoved her because she knew they were only trying to get to their destination. She became...optimistic.
Right on time, Izzie appeared. "Hey," Izzie said as she walked next to her.
Meredith smiled, "Hey Izzie."
"How's your morning this far?"
"It's good," Meredith has never said the word 'great' when referring to herself.
Izzie gave Meredith a automated answer until she realized what she had just said. "Well," Izzie started, "You have to think pos- WHAAAAA?"
Meredith smiled, "I knew you would do that."
"Meredith's day is never great. Your day is never great. Where's my Mer & what have you done to her?"
"What? I can't have a good day? For God sakes, we are Seniors." Meredith smiled at her playfully and walked ahead of her.
"Where are you going," Izzie asked as she stood behind.
"I have to find Lexie, I'll meet you at the table," She said as she headed to find Lexie.
As she walked away, Izzie stopped in the middle of the hall. "...This is like a glitch in the matrix."
Meredith searched and searched but could not find Lexie. She looked around in the empty hallways but all she could find was Lexie's friend, Avery.
"Yo, Jackson," She called.
He winced. "You know how much I hate that."
"Oops," she said sarcastically, "It slipped my tongue. Where's my sister? She has my Calculus homework."
"I don't know, she left class late because she needed help with some science work. She should be by her locker"
"Thanks pretty boy," Meredith says playfully before walking away.
"Um, Meredith," He calls out to her.
She stops and turns around and looks at him, waiting to hear the question.
"Who did that nickname come from?"
"From Cristina. Why?"
"So she talks about me," He asked her with the biggest smile she has ever seen.
She smiles back and sprints away trying to find her sister. As she turns the corner to her sister's locker, she bumps into someone, making her fall on the ground. She looks up to find it was the same blue eyes she had seen yesterday afternoon. He smiles and her heartbeat races. She lets out an agitated sigh only knowing that, that's not how she felt. He stuck his hand out to help her up. "We meet again," he said.
She grabs onto his hand and tries to compose herself, "So we do. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my friend Callie. You might know her as Calliope."
"Yeah, I go to her when I'm late for school."
"Yeah," he said being amazed by her beauty once again.
She started to notice his look. She didn't know if this was a good thing, or a bad thing she was alone in the hallway. She became nervous. She gestured behind her, "Well I'm gonna go now." She starts to walk away until he says something. She was hoping he would.
"What grade are you in," he calls out to her.
She smiles slightly, only to compose herself before she turns to him once again. "I'm a Senior," she answers bashfully. She stands far from him and doesn't move closer. She stays where she is, but this doesn't bother him a bit.
"Oh," he was glad. He began inching his way toward her. He took two steps closer, "Okay. ….Do you know where you're going to College next year?"
"I have a few Colleges in mind."
He inched two more steps, "Is Seattle university one of them?"
She noticed he was getting closer to her, and as he did her body was jumping with excitement. She felt her hands shaking, "Possibly, why?"
He inched closer to her, he was so close that they could feel each others body warmth. "Because it would be nice to see you every day," he responded softly.
"Look, I'm flattered but –"
"Go out with me," he said cutting her off as his smile almost hypnotizes her.
Meredith stops talking. She wasn't sure what he actually said. It sounded as if he asked her out on a date. "Excuse me?"
"Go out with me," he repeated.
She shook her head and took a step back, scared. "Look, I'm 18-"
"Okay and I'm twenty. That's not a big age difference. Go out with me," he inched closer.
"I don't even know who you are."
He stopped. "You're right," he said. The silence took over all of the halls. She insisted she left and began to walk away, but he couldn't let her leave without seeing her again. "Hey," he called out to her.
She sighed and turned around to him once again, "Yes?"
"I'm going to the Bistro's tomorrow night for a dinner party. I'm inviting you, invite your friends too, I don't care. But I just have to see you again. Please, say yes."
She smiled, "Goodbye Derek."
As she walked away the bell rang and the kids came out of their classrooms and the lunch garden. He stood there watching her walk away, watching her drift into the sea of students. "That is some girl," he mumbled to himself before walking away.
As the kids went on to their next lunch period or their next class, Cristina walked to her locker to get her books for her next class. As she opened her locker, a rose, and a letter. She opens the letter and it reads:
In my mind you leap,
With words you'd never speak.
In my soul you'll stay,
Forever and a day.
One day you'll be mine,
& Our hands will intertwine.
Your soul shines brighter than the sun,
Our love will become as one.
Signed,
Your Secret Admirer.
Cristina looked disturbed. The last time she had an admirer, she was in the 2nd grade and her admirer liked glue. Now, she didn't quite figure out who would like her so much to write her a poem, but she felt flattered in some type of way. She opened her locker, only to realize she had a mix tape as well. She looked around to see if anyone was looking at her, no had. She grabbed the mix-tape and put it in her bag. She wanted to listen to how someone could possibly feel about her.
"Lexie, wake up," Meredith whined as she shook her sister, early the next morning.
Her sister let out a little snort as she sat up. Her back placed straight against the wall, she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times before she began speaking. With a groggy tone she asked, "What time is it?"
"It's 7:24, but that's not the point-" She was interrupted.
"Wait, wait, wait," she shook her head to make sure she was getting it right & it wasn't an absolute nightmare, "You woke me up at 7 in the morning? On a Saturday? And that's not the point?"
"No," she said in an uneven tone, "That's not the point," just as she was about to say the point she was interrupted once more.
"Then what's the point?"
"I'm getting to the point, the point is-"
"I would LOVE to know what the point is," she said cutting her off once more.
Meredith flicked her sister on the nose, "I would tell you what the point is if you stop cutting me off."
Lexie grabbed her nose and winced.
Meredith continued, "The point is I'm nervous. It's Derek."
Lexie's eyes grew wide, "Derek? Derek Sheppard? Wallet Guy?"
"Yes Wallet Guy. He asked me out on a date."
Lexie gasped, and moved to the corner wall giving Meredith some room to lay in bed with her. "What did you say?"
Meredith crawled in bed and went underneath the covers, "I said No."
She gasped again, "What did he do? Did he take the rejection? Did he cry?"
Meredith looked at her and seriously said, "No he did not cry. But he didn't take no for an answer. He invited me to a dinner party at the Bistro's. He told me I could invite any of my friends. I don't know."
"Mer," Lexie said persistently, "When you started high-school you used to always talk about that High school moment."
"Yeah, with a high-school guy. Not some 20 year old college student. Besides the rules are completely different."
"Boo-hoo. This guy is chasing you. We're not talking about stuttering Frank who asked you out last year. This is a real catch. I think you should do it."
She began thinking about it. She smiled & hesitantly she spoke "I just... I... I don't want to go alone. I'll look like an outcast. Would you come?"
Lexie's nose scrunch up, "Who else is going?"
"I'm asking Karev & Cristina, they'll be down for it I'm sure. But I need you."
She sighed, "Fine I'll go. Only if I can take April & Avery."
Meredith stuck her hand out and smiled, "Deal."
Lexie smiled, shook her hand. Then kicked her out of her bed and went back to sleep. Meredith went to her room and called Cristina. They spoke for a brief second and decided to meet each other at the park. Meredith waited in her jogging clothes and Cristina showed up on time in the same attire. They decided to warm up.
"Where were you yesterday," Cristina said as she stretched her arms.
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't show up for Lunch & you told Izzie you would. Did you actually do the dirty with frank."
"Ew, every time I look at him I think of Alfalfa from the Little Rascals. I Just can't"
Cristina Laughed. They slowly began jogging, "So what happened?"
"Wallet guy."
"Wallet guy? You never told me what happened. Was he hot?"
"More than hot. He was dreamy. He's the man of my dreams."
"So if you feel that way, why didn't you make a move?"
"I didn't need to. He asked me out."
Cristina stopped running. She tried to catch her breath as Meredith stopped as well but began sprinting in place.. "And you... didn't feel the need... to call me... and talk about … dressing options...?"
"There wasn't a need to. I turned him down."
"Please tell me you magically lost a limb that re-appeared. That's the reason you turned him down."
"I don't know him. He's probably a date raper."
"Okay and? I know I taught you how to slice deep with that cadaver your mom gave you for your 14th birthday."
"But It doesn't matter."
"Why is that?"
"Because he invited me to a dinner party & you're coming with me." She began running, Cristina followed right after.
"And why the hell do I need to be there?"
"Because you are my best friend, and you need to help me not mess things up."
"Okay fine." They continued to jog for a few seconds until Cristina blurted out what she had been wanting to say, "So I have a Secret Admirer."
Meredith stopped running and looked at her best friend. "What?"
"Well, I was looking for you but I couldn't find you. So I went to my locker and found a rose. And a poem. And a Mix-tape."
"A mix-tape? Wow, this secret guy must be serious."
"That's what I said."
"Maybe it's Avery."
Cristina looked disgusted. "Avery? Are you kidding me?"
Sincerely she responded, "Well not really. Before I bumped into Mcdreamy, he was in the halls. From what I hear after eavesdropping on Lexie's conversations he really likes you. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was him. I know he spends his Saturdays here with his dogs," she pointed to the west side of the park, "Look he's over there. I could talk to him if you want."
She stared at Avery and studied his chiseled body and gorgeous smile. She started in his eyes and was almost lost in a trance. Calmly she spoke, "No, no... I think I got this." Giving Meredith no notice, she began running towards Avery.
"Hey," she screamed as she ran towards him, "Hey you!" Avery was frightened. He tried to avoid eye contact. "I'm talking to you," she yelled at him. He stammered while his dogs surrounded him. "Hey," she said once more.
"Yeah," he said nervously.
"Did you write me that poem, and that mix-tape?"
"Did April tell you that? I swear she such a big mouth, I can nev-"
"She didn't tell me anything, I found out myself. So was it you?"
"If I say yes, and you going to punch my throat?"
"Answer Correctly and we'll see what happens."
"He flinched, "Yes... Look I'm really sorry. I wont do it ag-"
"It's sweet," she said calmly, "Are you going to that dinner party with Lexie?"
"I was thinking about it. I don't know if I should go."
"Well you are now. As my date. Pick me up at 6. DON'T BE LATE."
He smiled, "Okay. I will."
She took a deep breath, "Okay good. & Stop smiling like that. You look like a creeper."
She ran her way back to Meredith and he smiled as his dogs barked at him. This was the break he was waiting for.