snowflakes a.i

december 15th, 2014

ashton had fallen asleep on the floor that night, while meredith tossed and turned around on the couch. her hair looked as if someone had stuck it in a cotton candy machine, and the bags under her eyes were definitely not gucci. one leg of her sweatpants was rolled up, and there was a little dribble of drool coming out of her mouth. meredith was soon woken from her deep and peaceful slumber by the sound of ashton sneezing.

"sorry, sorry." he whispered, hoping to hush her back to the point of sleeping again. it didnt work.

meredith tried to run her fingers through her hair for two seconds before cringing violently. "is this what a hangover feels like?" she groaned, pouting a little.

he chucked, and stood up from his spot on the floor. "yes, and i'm going to get you a banana and some asprin before you cry." ashton then walked out of the room and meredith rubbed her eyes.

she yawned for about three seconds before almost shaking with a realization. "TODAY IS MONDAY." she screamed, frantically trying to comb her hair with her fingers. "ASHTON THERES SCHOOL TODAY." meredith yelled again, standing from her spot on the couch and straightening out her sweatpants.

"meredith, we're going to have to be a little late." he said, and ran upstairs to get ready himself.

she spied the tight black jeans on the floor from the night before, and hopped around trying to get them on. the teeshirt was going to have to do, and luckily she still had a bra on. in the bathroom next to ashton's living room, she swiped on his mother's deodorant and almost cringed at the hairs stuck to it. meredith brushed her teeth with her finger and combed her hair with a big paddle brush. the top knot was her best friend for the day, and she threw on a pair of combat boots she'd left here.

"what time is it?!" she yelled up the stairs.

"7:58." ashton answered, running down the steps. "do you have your backpack?"

"no." she sighed heavily.

"are your parents home?" he asked, and meredith shook her head. "let's go."

ashton and meredith jumped in his car and almost immediately after the doors shut, he sped down the streets on the route to meredith's house. she ran inside as fast as her little feet could carry her, grabbed her bag and ran out. "it's 8:02, second period starts at 8:15. let's just hang around until then." she panted, trying to fix her eyebrows in the rear view mirror.

"i like the way you think." ashton smirked. he revved the engine and meredith laughed. she thought that it felt nice to let loose.

at exactly 8:09 they pulled into the parking lot and decided to walk in at different times so no one would assume anything. meredith went first, and signed in at the office, apoligizing to the secretary for being late. she then scurried to her locker, head down. but she bumped into something.

"meredith?" she heard luke say.

she rolled her eyes, and looked up. "what the hell do you want?" meredith spat, disgusted. even with luke's sudden 'random acts of kindness' he'd been pulling with her, she still hated him.

luke's friendly grin soon turned into a devious smirk as he leaned against the wall. "walk in with ashton, hm?" his glare nearly burned holes in her own eyes.

meredith scoffed. "we went to a party last night, i walked in late for the first time since 5th grade when i got my braces on." she laughed, returning his hard stare. "big whoop."

he made "tsk" noises and rolled his eyes. "stuck up little girl, where have you gone?" luke mocked his disappointment and laced his question with sarcasm.

meredith shoved him slightly. "i have to go to my locker."

as she walked away, rather quickly, luke added, "see you at the next family dinner!"

she mumbled angry comments about luke under her breath as she opened her locker and took out her books. in the 3 minutes before the second bell rang she was combing through her eyebrows with a little brush that she kept in her locker. "finally." she smiled in the little mirror, then pulled out a sweatshirt and shut the door as the bell rang. the volleyball sweatshirt engulfed her in warmth as she walked to her french class.

people stared at her. they also whispered and snickered and meredith had no idea why.

but then it hit her.

she was not presentable. the bags under her eyes were noticeable. instead of lint free stockings and a pleated skirt she wore black jeans that were wearing and ripping at the knees. instead of a shiny perfect braid her hair was in a lazy ponytail that was done in a car going 40 miles per hour in a school zone after the topknot fell out. finally, instead of grey cashmere sweaters and pastel scarves she wore a band tee and a sweatshirt.

they saw her at her true self. the people who sent her those text messages, they weren't lying. god, back then meredith hadn't even known who she really was. but who saw it before? wasn't ashton, she believed him on that.

"meredith really let herself go."

"just a matter of time before she starts doing drugs."

"maybe she's failing her classes too."

"she's probably in with the burnouts now."

"meredith king had sex with ashton irwin, i saw it on facebook."

that was the talk of the morning, so it seemed. but still, she held her head high and walked to the french classroom.

••

after school she couldn't find ashton, but she sure found calum. as she closed her locker, she saw him behind the door. after almost gagging at the sight of him, she just casually told him to fuck off.

"how rude, honey." calum smirked, biting his bottom lip, figuring she'd turn to putty in his hands.

she just glared. "i hope your lip starts bleeding." with her backpack slung over her shoulder, she tapped her foot. "so, what do you want?"

"i want a second chance." he mumbled, looking down at the floor.

meredith raised her eyebrow, then smiled widely. "aw, cal! i'm so glad you asked, because i really needed that self esteem boost, and you needed a blow to your gigantic ego when i rejected you!" she said enthusiastically, and ruffed his hair. "good talk, chap." and with that, she walked out of the school without a care in the world.

••

i fucking love meredith hbu