invisible string

year 14

Four in the morning. Derek hated time change. Why couldn't the entire planet just pick one time and stick to it? That would be bad, then half the earth would be dark all day and light all night. Why couldn't the earth just be flat? Then he would be able to fall asleep before four in the morning. At school he had never gone to sleep before two am. Which translates to five am in Seattle. Which meant that he would not be able to fall asleep until five in the fucking morning. Then, since his mother was crazy person with a crazy schedule, he would be woken while the sun was still rising. Which wasn't actually saying all that much because it was December in Seattle so the sun didn't actually rise until almost eight. But still, eight is an ungodly hour that shouldn't exist, and at college, didn't.

So now it was four in the morning and he was sneaking out of his house. He couldn't spend another hour silently staring at a wall trying not to wake anyone else in the house. It was freezing outside. There wasn't any snow on the ground but the sky looked like it was about to start to snow, or sleet. His entire street was abandoned, with the only light coming from streetlamps littered through the neighborhood. He turned the corner and saw a figure walking towards him. Meredith. She looked like a mess. She was carrying her shoes, she had black tights on and she was wearing a very short, tight black dress that was in disarray. She was looking down but her hair was very pink and very tangled.

"Mer?" He asked.

She looked up at him, squinting her eyes. She had eyeliner and lipstick smeared across her face. She was a disaster. "Derek?"

"Mer?" He asked again. He ran up to her. "What happened?"

"Oh, I'm just going home." She mumbled nonchalantly.

"It's four in the morning." He said.

"Oh yea.. it's a little late." She said.

"You're hungover." Derek stated.

"Yea, so. As fun as this conversation is, I think I am going to go home." She said while continuing to walk to her house. "See ya tomorrow, or later today or whatever."

"Where were you?" Derek asked even though he knew where she was.

"Party." She said.

"Until 4 am?" Derek asked.

"Oh yea. Got distracted. Bed. Guy." She mumbled.

"You were in bed with a guy?" Derek breathed.

"yea." She yawned.

"What were you doing in bed with a guy?" Derek asked even though he knew what she was doing.

"I- Look, I'm exhausted and have a really bad headache, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this conversation later." She said

"Is this what you do now? Go to parties, get waisted, have sex with random guys, then walk home half drunk half hungover at four in the morning?" Derek asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Um..." She scratched her head a little, "Sometimes."

"Mer... You... You can't do that!" He yelled. He was yelling, he knew he shouldn't be yelling but why was she doing this? Meredith couldn't get drunk sleep with random guys. She was sixteen... and Meredith.

"Shhh. Why can't I do that?" She asked a little confused.

"Because you're- It's irresponsible. And dangerous." He said.

"Didn't Mark get drunk and sleep with random girls at sixteen?" She asked.

"Yes. But he's Mark." He said.

"And I'm Meredith. I can do what I want." She rolled her eyes.

"No you can't." He growled.

"Derek." She hissed.

"I'm not going to let you do this!" He yelled.

"You have no control over what I do or don't do Derek." She snapped.

"The hell I don't." He yelled.

"Derek, you're not my father, you're not my brother, you're not my... anything. Fuck off." She yelled as she stomped into her empty house and slammed the door while Derek stood there staring at the house for a few minutes. They had never had a fight like that. Sure they had argued but it was always resolved in a conversation. But apparently he was nothing to her. They had known each other for fourteen years, but apparently he was just now being informed that they were nothing.