Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed! Like I've said before, it really does motivate me to keep writing. This chapter focuses more on some personal stuff, but the law aspect will be coming into play more in the later chapters.

Song featured: Divisionary (Do the Right Thing) by Ages and Ages. "Do the right thing, do the right thing/Do it all the time, do it all the time/Make yourself right, never mind 'em/Don't you know you're not the only one suffering"

Meredith leaves Bailey's office, readjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She had just left the stern professor's office hours after asking for clarification

the Erie doctrine, which is a doctrine that addresses whether to apply state or federal law in federal courts.

"Fancy seeing you here," a voice calls from behind Meredith, and she turns around to see Derek Shepherd

"Well, I do go to school here, and you teach here, so it's not that small a world, is it?" Meredith's sarcastic response makes Derek chuckle a bit.

"So, did you enjoy my Legal Methods class? Did it prepare you properly for the rest of your legal education, and the rest of your law career?" If he had been totally serious, she would have rolled her eyes, but his tone is ironic enough to show that he doesn't take himself too seriously.

Meredith sighs. "I did enjoy it. All those memos and briefs we had to write though… It was exhausting."

"It will continue to be exhausting, but soon, eventually? They'll become second nature. You are all smart students, but the way you write and think in undergrad is very different than the way you have to think in law school."

They've reached his office door, and Derek puts his hand on the doorknob. "Do you want to come in?" He asks, glancing back at her, and she shouldn't. She knows this. But Meredith has always been a girl who's been interested in the shouldn'ts of life, and so she nods her head.

He ushers her into his office, and Meredith looks around to see bookshelves as tall as the ceiling filled with books, and while there are many law titles, Meredith is surprised to see other genres as well; there are biographies and travel books, books about politics and she can even spot a few bestsellers here and there. Pictures of smiling, dark-haired children adorn his desk while his degrees hang on the wall. She should never have entered his office. Because this is a real person's office. This isn't the random handsome man in Joe's office, and it's not the brilliant lawyer Derek Shepherd's office. This is Derek's office, with his smile and the way he makes her laugh and the pictures of kids on his desk. It's real. Meredith can't think about him that way, so she pivots the conversation back to familiar ground.

"So. You specialize in international law."

"And maritime law," Derek provides helpfully, blue eyes twinkling.

"And maritime law. But what made you decide to specialize in that?" Meredith is genuinely curious. She knows a few of her friends already have plans for what they want to specialize in, but Meredith? She isn't so sure.

"International law? It's… important, but it's not only that- it can be life-changing. It's challenging. Balancing an understanding of how different countries and their governments operate, what laws they uphold, it's intricate. It's delicate. And how those countries and their laws interact with one another, affect each other? It's like watching neurons firing off in the brain," Derek responds, and his passion is clear in his voice. Meredith wants to be able to pretend like seeing his passion, his enthusiasm, for the law doesn't affect her, but it does. He continues, "And as for maritime law? Well, I have a thing for ferryboats. And sailboats."

She smiles back at him, and he returns the grin, taking a step closer to her, invading her space. His hands frame her face carefully. "Meredith." He murmurs, his lips meeting hers. "I'm not your professor anymore."

"That's… that's semantics." Meredith giggles. She needs to concentrate, and not on how good this kiss is, or how good his hands feel, or how much she wants this.

She can feel his smile against hers. "Now you sound like a lawyer." His hands move into her hair now, and one kiss becomes two, then three, and by the time their shirts have come off, Meredith's not thinking at all.

The glass walls of the atrium allow the grey Seattle October sky to as the group eats lunch. The constant deluge of rain could be depressing, but April has always liked the rain. As a farmer's daughter, she knows how essential a good downpour of rain is for crops. And the sound of the rain hitting the glass is soothing, even over the group's intense conversation.

"What types of contracts must be in writing?" Izzie asks, peering around the table. They're quizzing each other for their upcoming Contracts midterm, supposedly taking turns answering the questions, but their competitive natures keep rising.

"Bind executors and administrators!" Jackson says, jabbing his finger, while Cristina shouts rapidly and even louder, "Answer for the debt of another!"

April leans forward, "For sale of interest in a land!" she excitedly says, but Cristina once again speaks over her. "Cristina! You have to let other people answer too," April says, annoyed.

Cristina's eyebrows raise, and she puts on a faux-innocent expression. "Well, if you were faster…"

April opens her mouth to form a response, but Meredith decides to intervene. Sometimes, she found herself playing peacemaker more often than she'd like.

"Ok, we'll all study together at the library, taking turns, and then we'll go to Joe's after. It'll be good to release some tension in a way that doesn't involve a party where my house is trashed," she pointedly eyes Izzie. Izzie rolls her eyes, gesturing with her fork. "You're still upset about that? It was fun."

"I won't be able to come."

"Wait, you're not coming? Why not?" Meredith frowns at Cristina. She is not one to pass up an opportunity to study, to continue to be the best. For that matter, Cristina isn't one to pass up an opportunity to go to Joe's.

Cristina shakes her head. "I'm meeting Owen tonight at his office. It's probably going to be awkward, or hot, or maybe awkward and hot at the same time. Who knows."

"Who's Owen?" April asks Izzie quietly. Izzie opens her mouth to explain, but thinks twice. It is kind of complicated. "I'll explain later."

"It'll be fine. You might be about to have hot, sweaty sex, in which case, have fun, and even if it goes awful, meet us at Joe's and we can drink tequila and commiserate." Meredith points out to Cristina, her grin reappearing.

"Wait, who's having hot, sweaty sex?" Alex looks up from his lunch, eyebrows raising as a smirk slowly grows on his face.

Cristina examines Alex's face closely. "Now you decide to join the conversation? Do you have a radar when anyone is discussing sex? Does someone say the word and you just magically appear?"

Alex considers this for a moment. "Pretty much."

"I'm constantly surprised anyone ever had sex with you in the first place." George eyes Alex with disdain.

"The school nurse was infatuated. I was 15, and she couldn't get enough of me."

"15? Goddamn." Jackson is impressed. He didn't lose his virginity until he was 17, but he lost it in spectacular fashion. "My first time was at junior prom. Sarah Richardson and Penny Garroway."

"You lost your virginity in a threesome? You're joking. You have to be joking." George is visibly astonished. Jackson shrugs and extends his hands.

"What can I say? I've always been very talented."

"My first time was awful, he had no idea what he was doing. Grabby hands, the works. Hand placement is very, very important," Meredith says, looking wistfully away as she laughs.

Izzie bites her lip, suddenly very preoccupied with her salad. "I was sixteen. It was a classmate, no big deal." Alex watches her carefully for a moment, before he turns to April.

"What about you, Kepner? Did you let some farm boy plow your field?" The others half-groan, half-chuckle.

"No, it was on a beach, and- and there were roses, and it was very romantic," April stammers, and as she looks down at the table, her hair covers her eyes.

"That sounds fake." Cristina's shrewd eyes examine April for a moment, while Jackson wracks his brain.

While April had gone on a few dates in college and in the years , she hadn't had a serious boyfriend. And, to be honest, he had never really spent a lot of time thinking about April's sexual status.

"Wait, Kepner, are you a virgin?" Alex asks gleefully, because if she was, there would be a wealth of opportunity for jokes.

April awkwardly laughs, grabbing her half-empty yogurt cup and her tea. "Of course I'm not. I'm just not talking about this. I've gotta go get- I have to pick up my mail! I'm waiting for some very important mail, so I should get that. Now. I'll talk to you guys later, yeah?"

"Ok, she is weird," Alex says, and Jackson opens his mouth to defend her, but all he can do is sigh.

"Yeah, she is."

A tall man with strawberry blond hair idly taps his pen against the desk, before he adjusts the only item currently placed on it: a nameplate reading Assistant US Attorney Owen Hunt. It was probably going to take him some time to get used to the new title, considering that he'd been Major Corporal Hunt for so long. But at least he'd have time to get used to it, which was more than he could say when he was serving abroad. There, everything was so uncertain, so unstable, that this was an opportunity for a more secure future for himself, and at least he would still be serving his country in some way, he thinks. As a federal prosecutor, Owen was going to be responsible for representing the federal government in investigating and prosecuting crimes, and he was going to be working primarily in the criminal division. He knew his years of litigation experience as a JAG would serve him well.

"Mr. Hunt?" His secretary Susannah peaks her head into his office.

"Susannah, please, we talked about this- it's Owen."

Susannah nods sheepishly and smiles. "Owen. A, uh-" She consults the post it in her hand. "A Cristina Yang is here to see you."

Owen straightens his shoulders, clears his throat. "Please send her in." Cristina Yang strides in, and she's a sight for sore eyes. She carefully examines his office, before making herself comfortable on his desk.

"Not too shabby. Congratulations. Assistant US Attorney, that's a big deal. Have they given you any good cases yet?" Cristina asks, brushing her hair out of her eyes

Owen smiles, his eyes creasing. "Thank you. And not yet, no. I have to pay my dues first." It was going to take some time to get used to that. He had paid his dues first in law school, and then his years with the military, so this- this was going to be an adjustment, to say the least.

"And how are you? How's 1L treating you?" Owen's genuinely curious. Cristina had fielded offers from the top law schools in the country, and while Seattle Grace is up there in terms of rankings, she probably could have gone anywhere. Cristina is smart and fierce, and Owen could already tell that she'd be a fantastic lawyer, but 1L is always considered to be the hardest year of law school.

"1L is challenging, but I'm handling it. Seattle Grace is good, I mean, the opportunity to learn from some of these professors… and I'm just really excited to get into more of the specialty classes in the upper levels. In general, law school is going amazing. I fully expect to be at the top of my class by the end of the year." Owen smiles affectionately. Cristina had always been arrogant, he could see that within the first hour of meeting her, and he feels that only she could say something so brash, so confident, and still be charming.

"I have no doubt. You know, another benefit of me accepting the AUSA position is the fact that I'm probably going to be in Seattle for the next couple of years, so that's…" He hesitates, eyes darting across Cristina's face. "Maybe we could get coffee sometime? Or dinner?" Owen asks hopefully, because if there's one thing he knows for sure, it's that Cristina Yang is not a woman that is easily forgotten.

Cristina hesitates before she hops off his desk and takes a step backward. "1L is- it's going well, I'm handling it. But for right now, I think I need to focus on being a law student and nothing else right now. So we can go out, but I'm not looking for anything serious. This would be sex, and it'd be fun and a great stress-reliever, but this would just be sex. That's all."

Owen takes a step forward, grabbing Cristina's waist, pulling her body against his.

"Relieving stress and fun and sex?" Owen slowly smiles. "I can do that." For now, he thinks, because while Cristina Yang was an amazing woman and was going to be an amazing lawyer, Owen Hunt was a man who was meant to do certain things. He was meant to serve his country, he was meant to be a lawyer, and he was meant to be someone's husband.

April sits with Jackson, Meredith, George, Alex, and Izzie at Joe's, sipping her beer. They had gotten a good amount of studying in earlier. Even though it was a Friday, and even though their Legal Methods class with Shepherd was over, the workload was still exhausting. Just survive this semester, April thinks. Survive this semester, and then survive the next semester, and then 1L will be over. She has zoned out from the conversation, but snaps to attention when she hears Alex say her name.

"So Cristina is probably off with that Hunt guy, and Kepner is a virgin. Is April your middle name, and you just go by it instead of Mary?"

"Wait, so are you actually a virgin?" Izzie asks, laughing a little. Oh God, not again, April thinks as she looks uncomfortably down at the table, and Izzie tries to stifle her giggle. "I mean, good for you. It's no big deal, right Mer?"

Meredith opens her mouth, looking around the table, before she finally shrugs and says unconvincingly, "Yeah. Yeah!" April rolls her eyes as Meredith takes another sip of her drink.

"No, I'm not, but let's just stop talking about it, ok?" April insists, and she casts her mind, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

"Come on, there's no shame in that," Jackson speaks up.

"Really?" April says, a slight edge to her voice, because even if Jackson is defending her, again, for some reason she doesn't want Jackson, of all people, thinking she's a joke because of her sexual status.

"Oh yeah, there's shame," Jackson says with a slight smirk, and Alex laughs while April feels it like a blow.

"Just admit it, Kepner. You're a virgin," Alex says once again. He'd always been persistent.

A little known fact about April Kepner is her temper. Her father had always said that she had a fiery temper to match her hair, but April hates proving the stereotype right. "I'm not going to talk about this. We all have stuff we don't talk about, ok?" April says, looking around the table. But they're still laughing. Only Reed knows she's religious, and April doesn't want the other law students to think she can't separate Church and State; she's pretty sure they would respect her less for her beliefs, and so she doesn't want to get into an explanation of why exactly she's a virgin. But as they continue to just openly joke about and discuss her virginity, like it's a football game, like it's a case they're working on... April has had enough.

"Jackson, you are so worried that you're not going to live up to your family's expectations for you, or the lack thereof, but I don't talk about that." Jackson's eyes widen before he quickly looks down, jaw clenching. April continues, "I don't talk about how Derek Shepherd keeps eye flirting with Meredith, and she does it right back to him. I don't talk about how Alex and Izzie keep fighting, a lot, and George-" April looks at him, and his eyes are bug-eyed. They both know what she could say, and part of her wants to, just address George's crush that everyone knows about- well, except Meredith, that is, but… "There's stuff you don't talk about too. You guys think I don't notice this stuff, but I do. OK! I notice. But I don't talk about it because I know you guys don't want me to talk about it, and it's not drinks conversation, and neither is this. I am a virgin, and it's partly because I waited too long for the right guy, and partly because I'm pretty sure guys find me annoying. But it is not drinks conversation," April says quickly on one breath, before finishing her beer. She's already decided not to tell any of the others about her faith, and the fact that they discovered she's a virgin doesn't change that. And right now? She doesn't feel close enough to any of them, including Jackson, to tell them. The group sits in stunned silence for a moment, before Meredith speaks up, smiling.

"Oh, April. I'm liking you more and more." April never thought calling people out on their crap would be a way for them to like you, but she'll take it.

"Thank you. Now, I am going to get another drink, and I am putting it on of your guys' tab," April says, standing up and walking towards the bar. Jackson, she thinks viciously. That's whose tab she'll put the drink on. Someone follows her, and April braces herself for the potential confrontation.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed," April hears the quiet murmur and turns to face the speaker.

George. She shouldn't be disappointed. She knows that.

"It's- it's not a shameful thing, being a virgin still," he continues, fingers peeling at the label of his beer.

April can feel her eyes fill with tears, and she hates it. She hates being so emotional and feeling everything to the nth degree, and she hates that her emotions are always broadcasted so clearly across her face. "Honestly," George says.

"Well, apparently it is," April snaps. She's angry with herself, for letting them get to her, and she's angry with the others, for pushing her, but, well- if she's being honest with herself, she's most upset with Jackson. He's supposed to be her person. He's supposed to be on her side.

"Thanks for not mentioning… well, thanks for not mentioning anything about me. And someone else."

"You're welcome," April says churlishly.

George nudges her playfully with his arm. "Here, I'll get your drink. What'll you have?"

"Freakin' hell. Who knew Kepner had it in her?" Alex is impressed. The fivesome watch April take a seat at the bar, gesturing to Joe.

"I'm going to go check on her," George says, standing up and making his way to the bar. Alex and Izzie are currently avoiding eye contact, and Meredith is still smiling- but that's because she might be just a little crazy. And Jackson? He took another sip of his whiskey. He'd just been making jokes, going along with the crowd, but he could tell April was hurt even though she spoke up for herself. And he was proud, he was… but the realization that he had hurt April was forming a pit in his stomach. And that George, who has known April for all of a month, is the one comforting her, didn't make Jackson feel any better.

The next morning, Jackson is sitting in the kitchen eating cereal when April walks quickly into the room.

"Good morning." April greets Jackson, but there is a definitely a slight chill to her voice. Jackson sighs. April is a close friend of his, and being on the outs with her just doesn't feel right.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" April's back is turned away from him as she pours coffee in her travel mug.

She turns and faces Jackson, and she paints a wide smile on her face. "Nope, I'm fine. Everything's fine. I'll see you later, ok?"

"April-"

She sighs, exasperated. "It's fine, Jackson. Honestly. I just have to go, this is the last farmer's market of the season, and I have other errands to run." By the time April finishes her sentence, she's already halfway out the door.

"Listen, April- just wait, ok?" He stands and follows her to the door. "I'm sorry. I was just joking last night, but- let me make it up to you." Jackson pleads. "Tonight."

April is still looking at him warily, so Jackson tilts his head, maintaining eye contact with her, before he asks once again, softly. "Come on, April."

April sighs. Damn him. Those green eyes of his really were annoyingly hypnotic. "Ok, we'll do something tonight. But now, I really do have to go." Jackson smiles widely, going back to his cereal. Now he just has to think of something to do.

"It's a plan."

"You know, Seattle is a pretty big city. There's lots of bars, coffee shops, universities. Yet we keep running into each other. Some people would call that fate," Derek says, sipping his coffee. Meredith had been buying a latte at the cafe near Seattle Grace when she ran into him. While they hadn't seen each other since their encounter in his office, she had accepted his invitation to join him at one of the outdoor tables. The sun was shining which was a welcome respite after the torrential rain of the last few days.

Meredith can't help but laugh, and Derek looks delighted at the sound. "And if we keep running into each other, I think we should get to know one another. So, let's see. This is friendly conversation, right? Hmm. A few things to know about me. I have four sisters, and nine nieces and nephews. I prefer sunrises over sunsets, and I love fishing. I like ferryboats. I have a thing for ferryboats."

Meredith's lips curl. "So you've mentioned. You have a thing for ferryboats."

Derek laughs. "I do. Now, I would like to know more about you. You frequent Joe's. You're a law student. And you use what is probably the sweetest smelling shampoo I've ever smelled. So. What else is there to know about you?" He asks, leaning against the wall, and he's handsome and funny and smart, and while their class is over for this semester, he's still going to be her professor next spring.

Meredith bites her lip. "Well, let's see," she starts sardonically, "I love Cristina Yang. She's probably the only person I'm 100% sure I trust. My roommates? George, Izzie, and Alex? That's my family. And Jackson and April? They aren't family yet, though they probably will be eventually. My mother raised me to be extraordinary, but," Meredith laughs, even though it isn't funny, "I often fall short. My father abandoned my mother and me when I was a kid, so while I do technically have siblings- two half-sisters- I've only met them once." Derek's smile fades, and he's looking at her not with pity; there's something softer in his gaze, and Meredith realizes it's empathy. "There's ugliness and craziness in my life, probably too much for you to handle and this is most likely too much information. Basically, I'm not a bright and shiny person, and I think you should know that upfront." Meredith quickly finishes speaking, because she's ready for him to leave, to run, because that's what people do, and sometimes Meredith herself feels like she wants to run. She wants to run away from her life, and just not… be here anymore.

"Are you trying to scare me off? Because it won't work. You're not just a girl in a bar, Meredith, you're- you're something else entirely." Meredith didn't know it was possible for blue eyes to be so intense and so warm at the same time. "And we all have craziness. Addison cheated on me with my best friend, but I'm getting over it. My dad was killed in front of me when I was a kid. I'll most likely never get over that, it's why I initially wanted to go to law school. We all have craziness. And all of that those things you just told me? It's not too much information, I'd like to learn a lot more about you. So what do you say? Will you go get dinner with me tonight?" Derek asks, reaching his hand out to hers, and while Meredith can be dark and twisty, she takes his hand and smiles. Maybe her life didn't need to be dark and twisty all the time.

"This is your apology? This is how you're making it up to me? With fancy grilled cheese?" April giggles, bringing her hands up to her face, covering her mouth.

"Hey, I'll have you know, I put a lot of thought into this!" Jackson says defensively, laughing. They get out of Jackson's car, approaching one of their favorite food trucks that they had discovered back in college. While they were studying for finals alongside Reed and Charles, they had taken a break at 1 am and went searching for a late night snack, and they discovered this hidden gem.

"I am treating you, and… drumroll please- you get all the crispiest of the fried brussel sprouts," Jackson grins boyishly. "And you know I love the crispiest ones, so I hope you appreciate the sacrifice."

"I do, I do. So I guess chivalry isn't dead after all," April says in a sarcastically awed tone, as Jackson laughs. "Shut up please, and let me buy you your fancy grilled cheese, ok?"

They order their sandwiches; goat cheese and figs for April, and gouda and pesto for Jackson, and the fried brussel sprouts with "extra aioli please," April chirps as Jackson pays for their meal. They find a park bench and begin eating, with the Seattle skyline sparkling over the trees.

"God, remember when we first found this place?" April smiles fondly, reminiscing. "We were so young."

"And now we're old? Speak for yourself."

"No, but things are changing, you know? Reed's going to finish med school next year, Charles is slowly but surely on his way to becoming an architect. And now here we are. Going to law school." April shakes her head. "I don't know, it just feels like things are different."

"Well, things are different, I guess, but that doesn't mean they're worse. That's just life." April sighs and nods. The silence isn't oppressive and it's not awkward; usually, April feels a compulsive need to fill the empty space, but with her and Jackson, it's comfortable.

"My grandfather is coming to Seattle in a week," Jackson says, stretching his long legs out. "If he does stop by one of our classes, everyone's gonna want to meet him." He shifts his gaze to her.

"Do you want to meet him?" April had met his mother numerous times over the years since they were college freshman, but she had never met Harper. It wasn't a deliberate choice, but his grandfather was a very busy man, and April and Jackson had only grown really closer recently.

"Yes! I mean, your grandfather's work in both the public and private sectors is just astonishing, let alone his work as Attorney General…" April begins excitedly, before trailing off at the amused look on Jackson's face; his eyebrows are raised and he can't contain his grin. She coughs. "Or, you know, whatever, it's no big deal."

At this, Jackson only nods before giving a half-smile, returning his contemplative stare to the Seattle skyline. He was both excited and stressed that his grandfather would visit Seattle. His grandfather was the closest thing to a father figure Jackson had ever had, and he loved Harper, he did, but... but Harper Avery had an astonishing ability to nitpick. His grandfather was a great man, and he expected- no, not just expected, he demanded greatness from everyone else around him.

April watches Jackson for a moment; she knows that while he in general usually keeps a calm head and doesn't seem to get too upset about anything, he can be hurt too. Sometimes she forgets that. And if Jackson is sensitive about anything, it'd be about his family, or his name, or his looks. She nervously tears at a napkin. "Jackson, I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have brought up your family like that... Sometimes, I just start talking and I don't know where I'll end up by the end of the sentence, and I say things I don't mean, or I say it wrong, and-"

Jackson interrupts her rambling. "It's fine, I deserved it. I was a jerk. Plus, for right now, the others still don't realize I'm an "Avery" Avery. For all they know, my family expected me to be a surgeon or something."

April laughs, feeling better as she grabs another fried brussel sprout. "Can you imagine?"

"Hey, I happen to think I could be a good surgeon, if I wanted to be. I'm very good in stressful situations."

"Sure, Jackson. Sure."

Luckily, April discovered over the next few days that her outburst at Joe's yielded positive results; her virginity was no longer a topic of conversation for the group, and she could already tell that the others respected her a bit more. Furthermore, George and April had developed a certain kinship since that night. They had talked about their similarities; as it turns out, George had a couple of brothers who were as dissimilar to him as April's sisters were to her, and both their mothers were teachers.

They were studying together with Izzie, who was taking a study break to bake. Alex and Izzie were fighting again, and April felt guilty about openly addressing the obvious tension. She wanted to say something, ask how Izzie was handling everything, but they didn't have that kind of relationship.

"My parents are proud of me, I guess, but they don't understand what I'm doing, at all," George says, and April focuses once more on their conversation. She understands where George is coming from. Her father Joe is a farmer and her mother Karen was a teacher; in the intervening years between undergrad and law school, when April did Teach for America, she knew a part of her mother hoped she would give up the idea of law school and just pursue teaching full time. And while April loved teaching, she truly did, there was this undeniable part of her that wanted more, that wanted to be a lawyer. "And my brothers? Sometimes, I feel like they actively don't listen to me," George says, and April starts to giggle. "Honestly, for them, it's an art form, the way. How can it appear like we're listening to George, when we aren't actually listening at all?"

While George's tone is joking, his face looks so forlorn that April has to say something. "My sisters call me Ducky. Because of the whole Ugly Duckling thing," she blurts out. She's never even told Reed this. "And I hate it, I do, but no matter how much I try to get them to cut it out, they won't stop."

George smiles at her. "You're not an Ugly Duckling, April." He's about to say something else but is interrupted by the door opening.

Jackson uses the bottom of his hoodie to wipe the sweat from his face as he enters the house, panting slightly. Working out, going for runs- they were great stress-relievers. And since it'd been so long since he had sex, and he's been buried up to his ears in reading and homework, his exercise routine was a much-needed tension reliever. Furthermore, while he'd been blessed with genetics, what so many people didn't realize is that his body didn't maintain itself. And, well… Jackson likes looking good. He didn't want to be used for his body, or liked only because of his looks, but he could appreciate the attention he got for his features. And sometimes, his looks come in handy.

In the living room, April is perched on the couch with her legs tucked under her, laptop on one cushion, a book in her hand and George is sitting on the floor next to her.

"Hey Jackson," George greets him, and Jackson does the man-nod thing. What is up with the man-nod? April does not understand boys at all. Jackson's defined abs are still on display and April quickly looks away. They're friends, but that doesn't mean April is blind.

"We're studying with Izzie, do you want to join?" George continues.

Jackson looks around curiously. "Where is she?"

April indicates her head toward the kitchen. "One of the best things about studying with Izzie? The frequent cupcake breaks," she grins.

"George! I need a second pair of hands!" Izzie's voice echoes from the kitchen.

He exhales as he gets up from the floor. "Duty calls."

Jackson takes a sip from his water bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You've been spending a lot of time with George," he notes.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool, actually. And I think he likes me too! And not just tolerates me, but actually wants to be my friend."

This causes Jackson pause. While Jackson and April have been friends since freshman year, there'd always been the buffer of Reed and Charles. The fact that Jackson and April are attending the same law school and living together means this is the first real extended period of time that Jackson and April spent without the presence of their other friends. He was learning a lot more about April, and one of the things he was discovering was April had many insecurities.

"People do like you, April. And if they don't, it's because they're idiots." April looks up from her intense studying and softly smiles. "And I'm your friend. I thought I was your best friend," Jackson grins as well, his voice light, but there's an odd tension in his eyes. "Or at least your best guy friend, considering Reed."

"You are," April responds brightly, looking back down to her organized outline. "George is just... George. We're buddies. Study buddies."

"I thought I was your study buddy!" Jackson exclaims, his hands splaying out.

Exasperated, April doesn't know whether to laugh or smack him. "Oh my God, Jackson, you are my study buddy! A person can have more than one study buddy."

Jackson sighs, sitting on the arm of the armchair as he rubs the back of his shaved head. He lowers his voice, glances surreptitiously around as George and Izzie return from the kitchen.

"Does he get to see your outlines?"

"Jackson!"