Thanks for the reviews, everybody! I really appreciate your feedback on this fic :) I'm posting this a day earlier than I had planned because you guys are awesome! Anyway, there will be a few twists coming up, so I hope you'll stick around to find out what happens next.

Enjoy!

Summer 1993 – Day two, dinner in the mess hall

April led Jackson to a table in the corner where her friends waited for her. She stood beside the table, nodding her head towards the anxious nerd next to her. "Guys, this is Jackson Fox. He's new here and needs some company, so I invited him to sit with us, okay?"

"Sure, that's cool. Hi, Jackson. I'm Lexie Grey," the girl sitting down introduced herself. She grinned widely at him, showing off the braces covering her top and bottom rows of teeth. Her dark brown hair was in pigtails just like April. The boy next to her had his nose buried in The Catcher in the Rye, so she nudged him with her elbow. "George! Introduce yourself."

Like Jackson, he wore glasses, though with smaller frames compared to the new kid's. His brown hair was combed over to one side. Setting his book down, he extended his arm out to him. "George. O'Malley, George," he awkwardly said. "I mean, I'm George O'Malley."

"Umm, yeah. I figured that out," Jackson chuckled as he shook George's hand. He and April sat down across from the other two. "Are you from Seattle too?"

"I've known Lexie and George since first grade," April answered, while she started eating her dinner. "The three of us always come to camp together."

Lexie wanted to know more about Jackson. She loved meeting new people. "What about you? Where are you from? Tell us everything about you," she eagerly asked.

"Uhh…" Jackson stared at his plate and poked at his food. He wasn't comfortable bragging about himself. "I'm from Boston and it's my first time doing the camping thing. My mother forced me to come here. I like basketball and football, but I don't get picked much to play at school because nobody thinks I'm athletic. My bunk mates are mostly that type, so I don't fit in well with them."

"Oh, it's okay!" she assured him. "You can't be worse than George. He hates sports."

George scowled at his friend. "Reading awesome books can be exciting too," he said defensively. Picking up his book again, he showed the cover to April. "Have you read this one, April? If you haven't, you should. It's a good read."

April shook her head. "No, not yet." She smiled at the bashful nerd. "But thanks for the recommendation."

Lexie turned her attention back to Jackson. "How do you like Wazi so far?" He quietly responded with a shoulder shrug. She could tell by his body language that he hated being there. "Give it some time first. Before you know it, you'll be having fun with the rest of us. The best parts of camp haven't even happened yet."

"Yeah, she's right," the redhead reassured him. "And you have us for support if you need it."

Staring at the reunited threesome from across the cafeteria, Jackson sipped his water as April reacquainted herself with her two childhood best friends. Lexie Grey-Sloan and George O'Malley. How could he have not remembered them? Perhaps the lack of braces threw him off with the urologist, but George… looking back at his teenage appearance, the trauma surgeon had barely changed. Same hairstyle and mannerisms, but lost the glasses. He blamed practically shutting off anything about his former nerd life. And twenty years was a lot of time to forget people's faces.

It felt surreal being in the same room as his three summer camp friends. They welcomed him into their group when nobody else would accept him. All four of them were outcasts in their own way. April, while friendly and perky, was a goody two shoes girl who followed the rules. Other girls hated her for constantly ratting them out to their counselor when they tried to break them. Lexie basically scared people off with her metal teeth and her overly outgoing personality. And George… was the complete opposite. Barely talked – except to April and Lexie.

Lexie attended Yale for medical school, which Jackson gave her grief over because of their rivalry with Harvard. However, he forced himself to be friends with her to stay on her husband's good list. A surgical urologist, she was married to Mark Sloan, the Head of Plastics and his boss. They exchanged vows three years ago after dating for five.

According to their coworkers, Mark used to be a sex-obsessed bachelor, sleeping around with anybody who had a vagina. Then Lexie arrived at Seattle Grace for her residency and he pushed his sleazy behavior aside for her. His boss' former persona was his hero. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived to work under him, he was tied down. Jackson speculated that Mark would have been the perfect mentor for his bachelorhood, though he didn't think he needed much help either. He charmed beautiful women alone, but he did have a wingman to accompany him at night.

"Dude, have you met the new peds attending? Freaking hot," Alex Karev blurted out as he placed his tray beside Jackson's. Sitting down next to his best pal, he snickered. "And I get to work with her. I am one lucky son of a bitch."

The pediatric surgeon was as sex crazed as Jackson, but he was nowhere near the perfectionist's level. He didn't live in a luxurious condominium or drive an expensive car. Being an Avery was a blessing for his reputation and bank account. But Karev? Not a common name in the surgical world, but he excelled at his job. Nobody quite understood why he chose Pediatrics for his specialty. His attitude didn't fit with little sick children. He was one of the most anti-children people in the hospital, but his reason for choosing peds could be summed up in three words: Single, lonely moms.

Alex studied at the University of Miami for medical school, followed by residency at Stanford where he met Jackson and he completed his fellowship at the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Texas. It was the plastic surgeon who convinced him to join him at Seattle Grace last year. He initially preferred returning to Miami for the beaches and women, but his friend lured him away from the idea. They were offering the world to Jackson, yet he only promised to work for them if they hired Alex as well.

But Jackson hadn't been entirely honest with his colleague because the main reason why he wanted Alex in Seattle was to make himself look good next to someone who was below him in every way possible. Between the two of them, the pretty man snagged the hotter women. He knew how to woo them with his sweet talk, while his companion was more blunt and crude. They were both attractive men, but the ladies flocked to the plastic surgeon first.

"I did meet her," he answered Alex, his eyes focused on April. "Did you two talk about anything worth gloating about?"

"Uhh, well… Robbins introduced us and we talked for a few minutes. Her husband croaked a month ago from pancreatic cancer. She's shackin' up with her brother until she's settled in and finds a place of her own," the peds surgeon recalled, slowly shaking his head with a frown on his face. "That poor woman."

"Are you kidding me with that act?" Jackson skeptically retorted, rolling his eyes. "You are the least sympathetic person in this hospital. Her husband just died, jackass. Don't even think about doing what I know you want to do."

"Give me a break," Alex scoffed. He playfully elbowed his friend's bicep and chuckled. "So when you met her, how long did it take before you asked her out, Avery? A chick as hot as Kepner? You were probably squirming in your freaking pants."

He couldn't deny that, but after realizing who exactly April was, he started viewing her differently. Throwing her in the same category as his one night stands was impossible because she didn't compare to them. While he hardly knew adult April, he believed she was the same person she was when they were thirteen. Thoughtful, kind and caring. He wanted to earn her trust and respect… and then sleep with her.

But first, she needed to find out who he was. He decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to surprise her.

Meanwhile at April's table, Lexie had been giving her a rundown of the various attendings having lunch with them in the cafeteria. One by one, she pointed them out to her best friend and briefly provided their backgrounds.

"Well, you already know Mer," the urologist said about her older sister, Meredith Grey. The neurosurgeon was seated beside an Asian woman at another table. "And that's Cristina Yang. She's a cardiothoracic surgeon. She and Mer live together. Everybody insists they're more than roommates, if you know what I mean. Neither of them have denied it nor have they confirmed it, but trust me when I say they're totally together."

April's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Meredith had always been into men since she was old enough to know what to do with them. When she and Lexie were young adolescents the older Grey sister had a new boyfriend every other week. And in medical school, she met a man named Derek Shepherd. They were all positive he was the one because she stopped rotating men in and out of her life.

"What happened to that guy, umm… Derek?"

"You don't remember? They broke up five years ago," Lexie recalled. "Meredith caught him in bed with some red headed bimbo and threw his ass out. She hasn't spoken to him since."

"Oh, right. I forgot," she replied, slowly nodding her head. "Didn't she vow to never sleep with men again after that?"

Lexie softly chuckled. "Yup. Turns out she was serious. The proof is sitting beside her." She pointed her fork at the next table over. A blonde woman and a Latina woman were seated with a man with red hair and another blonde woman. "Obviously, you met Chief Robbins. Next to her is Callie Torres. She's an orthopedic surgeon and Arizona's best friend. Beside her is Owen Hunt, Head of Cardiothoracics. He's from Scotland, has a very thick accent. Most of us can't understand what he's saying half the time. And the other blonde is Teddy Altman. She's George's boss."

April casually scanned the rest of the cafeteria. Her eyes found Jackson, who immediately looked away after making eye contact with him. She wasn't the type of person to judge a person upon their first meeting, but her initial impression of him was gorgeous, yet arrogant. Alex, on the other hand, was charming and made her feel welcome. He even cracked a few pathetic jokes to make her laugh, but she found him endearing. Nothing at all like the plastic surgeon.

"What should I know about those guys over there?" she asked, nodding her head towards the bachelors' table. "Avery seems a bit douchey, but Karev… he was really sweet to me when I met him."

Both George and Lexie erupted in laughter, drawing a look of confusion from April. "Don't let him fool you. Karev's a first class jerk. You need to stay away from those two," the brunette warned her. "Alex is disgusting. You want to know why he's in peds? To sleep with single mothers of his patients. And it's not just them. Nurses, interns… if they have big breasts, he'll bang them."

"And Avery, the interns and residents call him Dr. Jackass behind his back," George added. "He's inconsiderate. All he cares about is himself. Zero respect for everyone else, even Alex. Last month, those two were both sleeping with Izzie Stevens from OB. When the truth came out Jackson apparently threatened to have Alex fired if he refused to stop having sex with her. He completely controls him. The guy doesn't have much of a backbone against Avery."

"And they're friends?" April was growing less impressed with Jackson. "Why would Alex take that crap?"

Lexie rolled her eyes and groaned. "They're both dogs and Jackson helps him get women. They sleep around a lot. Honestly, they should consider themselves lucky for not getting any of their one night stands pregnant." She quickly shrugged her shoulders. "But maybe there are little Avery's and Karev's running around and they haven't got a clue."

"Jackson asked me out this morning when I met him in the elevator," the peds surgeon admitted, shaking her head in disgust. "He wanted to take me back to his condo or whatever. You think he would've still asked me out if he knew my husband just died last month?"

"Yes," her friends answered in unison.

"Like I said, he only cares about himself," George repeated. "All he wants to do is get laid on a daily basis, while he earns a multimillion paycheck. After he sleeps with a woman, they're gone from his memory. You don't want to be that girl, April. I know you far better than anyone else and you deserve a gentleman. Someone who will always respect you and- and be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on."

April smiled at the trauma surgeon. "Aww, thank you, Georgie," she acknowledged, resting her hand on top of his. "You've always been so sweet. You are going to make one special lady very happy someday."

George nervously laughed. Since he was ten years old, he had been head over heels for his best friend. He never built up the courage to tell her how he felt and his dreams of being with April were shattered when she married her husband six years ago – not that he had a perfect opportunity to make his confession. She met Matthew Taylor at Duke and they were college sweethearts, so she was off-limits for more than a decade.

He felt guilty for hoping April was ready to move on because his friend hadn't been her usual perky self until recently. Poor Matthew had done nothing wrong in his life to deserve the fate he was dealt. A hardworking firefighter, the news came as a shock to them because he was healthy, but by the time his pancreatic cancer was discovered, it was in the later stages. There was nothing anybody could do. They used to joke his death would occur while he was busy rescuing a young child from the top floor of a burning building. But no, the big C got him first.

One day, he would finally admit that he, George O'Malley, was in love with April Kepner. And he hoped she would reciprocate those feelings and they would live happily ever after. He thought she was the only woman who could possibly give him a chance because no one else had. Even as an adult, his obsession with Star Wars and classic books weren't attracting flocks of single women to him. Plus, he had difficulty talking to them in the first place. His self-esteem issues never disappeared as he grew older. Men like Jackson and Alex didn't do anything to help improve his confidence either.

April's pager beeped beside her waist and she immediately checked to see who it was. "Oh, yay. I'm needed for a consult," she chirped, standing up and taking her tray with her. "Somebody already trusts me enough to page me."

She exchanged quick goodbyes with her friends before she left the cafeteria. Humming to herself as she walked to her department's floor, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a man's voice calling her name from behind. Turning around, it was Jackson, who caught up with her in the hallway.

"Umm, yes?" The redhead pointed over her shoulder. "I have a consult to get to."

"Actually, the page came from me," Jackson boasted, placing his hands on his hips. He grinned, while she stared back at him unamused. "I was wondering if we could find a private area to chat for a bit. Do some catching up?"

"Catching up?" she asked with a puzzled expression on her face. "About what exactly? I only met you this morning."

He licked his lips and flashed his charming smile at her. "Ah, but there's something you should know about me and believe me when I tell you, you're going to be very surprised," he insisted.

She folded her arms, unimpressed by his mannerisms. "That you sleep around?" she accusingly replied. He reacted by raising both of his eyebrows. "Umm, yeah. I recently got the 411 about you from some friends. And before you try to make anymore advances towards me, I'm not interested."

"W-wait a minute," he nervously stated, forcing himself to laugh. "Don't you think the most reliable source for information about myself is well… me?"

"Hmm… who should I trust more – a man I only met this morning or two of my best friends who I've known since I was six years old?" April teasingly questioned as she stroked her chin. She gently bit her lower lip, then she sighed. "I'll choose my friends. They wouldn't lie to me."

"But you haven't given me a chance," Jackson complained.

"Why should I give you a chance? I barely know anything about you, Dr. Avery," April retorted. "And for your information, my husband – who I had known for thirteen years – finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer last month. If I am ever ready to move on from him, I certainly wouldn't decide to date a man who sleeps with a new woman every night. Do me a favor and quit while you're ahead because the only time I will talk to you is for professional reasons. Tell your buddy, Karev, that I'm not interested in him either."

The plastic surgeon grimaced as April walked down the opposite direction. He cursed at himself because he should have known George and Lexie would inform her of who to integrate with and who to avoid. Jackson wasn't an idiot. He was aware of the fact that most of his colleagues loathed him, especially the ones he never called back. Jealously, he claimed. He couldn't help it that he was good looking and an excellent surgeon. But his summer camp sweetheart thought he was a disgusting manwhore. It was going to take more than straightforwardly telling her who he was to earn her trust.

Summer 1993 – Day five

A teary-eyed Jackson sat alone on the dock holding a Kleenex underneath his nostrils. An unexpected run-in with the group of counselors who had been bullying him resulted in a bloody nose. Maybe he should have paid more attention to the basketball coming his way, he thought. He had quick hands and could catch. Just that one time he wasn't ready for it.

His nose wasn't broken. Bruises hadn't developed underneath his eyes and it didn't feel fractured. The only thing broken was his pride. In Boston, his nerd status initiated teasing, but nothing ever physical. At camp, he was literally being pushed around like a rag doll. He contemplated turning in those counselors to the directors, but he didn't want to be that boy – the wuss who couldn't stand up for himself and needed adults to protect him. He learned to defend himself against his older brothers, though Mama Avery had the tendency to baby him whenever she caught them picking on him. That only garnered more teasing from his siblings.

He was determined to fight back one day, be that man everyone feared because he could intimidate the crap out of them. The next time the counselors arrived to bully him again, he would be ready… he hoped.

The sound of footsteps stole his attention. Looking up above him, April stopped beside him, smiling brightly as always. He preferred to be alone, but he decided to make an exception with the redhead.

"Hey, can I sit with you?" she cheerfully asked. He quietly nodded, then she sat down next to him and let her legs dangle over the edge. April quickly took note of the bloody tissue and the glossy eyes. "Why are you crying? What happened?"

"I-I I'm not crying," he lied, blinking his eyes to hide his tears. "Anyway, it's nothing. Stupid me kept my eye off of the ball during a basketball game. I'm okay."

April shrugged as she swung her legs back and forth. "Still having a hard time fitting in?"

"I thought people were supposed to be accepting here," he bitterly replied. "So far, they're all jerks."

"Even me?"

Jackson shook his head and softly smiled at April. "No, you're cool." He moved the Kleenex away from his nose and checked to see if it was still bleeding. Fortunately, it had stopped. He hardly wanted to embarrass himself in front of her by having blood drip out of his nose. "So… why are you here?"

"Free time. Saw you sitting here by yourself, so I thought we could hang out," she answered. Reaching for his glasses, she giggled when he moved his head away. "Take a chill pill. I was just curious to see how you look without those on. Can I see?"

"Umm, why?"

"Just 'cause. C'mon, lemme see," April pleaded. "I won't laugh at you if that's what you're worried about. I don't even laugh at you with your glasses on, Jackson."

Jackson shyly smiled as he removed his large eyeglasses. He held them against his lap and turned his head towards April. She appeared mesmerized by something on his face. "W-what? Is there a bug on my nose?"

"No. Your eyes," she gushed at his bluish-green eyes. "I've never seen such pretty eyes before. It's like a mixture of blue and green. That's so rad."

He wished he could clearly see the impressed smile on her face, but his crappy vision only let him see a human blur in front of him. His eye color came from his father's side, probably the only gene he was grateful for from his estranged dad. Quickly putting on his glasses again, the awkward teenager could barely make eye contact with her.

"I… umm, I think you're cute," he admitted, ducking his head sheepishly. "You- you don't have to say it back."

April smiled as she bashfully brushed loose strands of her hair behind her ear. A boy thought she was cute! She rarely heard those words come out of her male classmates' mouths at school. And Jackson was quite the looker as well. He probably didn't believe it because his glasses were the main attraction on his face, but those eyes… how could anybody not adore them?

"I think you're cute too," she softly said. "I mean it."

"Really?" he squeaked, then he cleared his throat and in a deeper voice he repeated, "Really?"

She laughed at his attempt to cover up his changing voice. Tightening her neon green scrunchie, April was at a loss for words. Perhaps for the first time. Sitting next to a boy who thought she was cute, she didn't know how to continue their conversation. She and her mother hadn't had the "talk" about boys yet, so she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

"Umm…"

"Wanna be my girlfriend?" he suddenly asked, drawing a look of surprise from her. Jackson fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt as he visualized April pushing him into the lake. "I… I was just kidding. I said you were cute, y-you said I was cute, so-"

"Okay!" April excitedly interrupted. She nervously bit her lower lip and folded her hands on top of her lap. "Well, if you were just kidding, then… I'm kidding… too. I-I I've never had a boyfriend before."

Jackson pushed up his glasses with his finger. "I've never had a girlfriend. And… I wasn't kidding," he timidly replied. He slowly scooted closer to her until the material of their shorts were touching. "So… it's official then."

She nodded as her cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Yeah…" It became uncomfortably silent between them again. Calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend wasn't enough, so she removed a black, red and yellow threaded bracelet from her wrist. "Here, you can have this."

He stared at the bracelet like it was an unknown entity. "What is it?"

"It's a friendship bracelet, duh," she chuckled and tied it around Jackson's left wrist. "I made it yesterday. Now, you can have it 'cause you're my boyfriend and all."

"Oh, uhh… thanks. I should give you something too," he suggested. Reaching behind his neck, he removed a necklace and held it in front of her. It was a black cord with a circle dangling from it. Inside of the circle was a green hologram with the face of an alien inside. "You probably think it's weird, but… I want you to have this."

April smiled as Jackson hooked the necklace around her neck for her. She picked up the hologram and briefly watched it move whenever she tilted the circle. "Cool. It like follows you and stuff. Thank you, Jackson."

Jackson let out a sigh of relief. His boldness wasn't disastrous after all. April tightly clutched the necklace with her thumb and index finger as she watched fellow campers pass by in their canoes. He slowly raised his arm behind her back, wanting to rest it against her shoulder. However, he quickly changed his mind and placed his hand back down on the surface of the dock without her noticing.

He wasn't that bold yet.

Jackson sifted through his closet searching for a very important box. In the farthest corner of his walk-in closet, he found the box he had been looking for – a brown cardboard box, which he had written "Box of Crap" on the side. Inside of the box were various memorabilia from over the years. Some with sentimental value, some he couldn't remember why he dumped them in there in the first place.

But the most important piece of his past remained inside of a red and gold tin case at the bottom of his collection of so-called crap. He hadn't opened it in years and it wasn't until meeting April again did he remember the tin case was in that box. Setting it in front of him, he opened the lid and picked up a Polaroid picture of the two of them from camp. They were slightly dressed up in the photograph and he remembered it was taken at one of the dances held in the gymnasium.

There were other pictures inside, some with George and Lexie and others with April alone. A piece of paper had her address written on it. He felt like a douche for never actually writing to her after that summer. She had written a letter to him, but he hadn't returned the favor. He couldn't recall why, though.

And finally, he found the friendship bracelet she had given him that day at the docks. It was too small to fit around his wrist now, but he planned on bringing it to work the following day to show April that he had kept it all along. No more bullshit. He was going to tell her that Jackson Fox was also Jackson Avery.

Let me know what you think please :) Next chapter, you'll meet Jackson's bully in a flashback!