𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳 | ᵍʳᵉʸˢ ᵃⁿᵃᵗᵒᵐʸ

⁰²⁸ 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

Seattle Grace Hospital had somehow become my second home, not that I wanted it to be. After practice, I could usually be found in the cafeteria waiting for my parents to transition from their scrubs to their parental roles.

It had become my own little routine to hang out here, watching people and sometimes causing a little chaos.

I shuffled through the automatic doors, my book bag nearly dragging me to the floor.

And then I saw Alex Karev, aka 'Dr. Evilpawn', buried behind a mountain of patient charts. He looked more stressed than a hamster on a spinning wheel. Time for some fun.

I approached him quietly from behind and gave him a hard slap on the back of the head-a little payback for the peanut incident a few weeks ago.

"Hey!" he protested, rubbing his head and turning around. "What was that for?" Then he recognized me, and his face changed to that typical "oh, you again" expression.

"It's called karma," I said, the grin on my face wide enough to show him I wasn't sorry. "Thought I'd help you stay awake."

He scowled and ran a hand through his short hair, the exhaustion of many night shifts written all over his face. "What are you doing here, Missy? Shouldn't you be somewhere having a teenage crisis?"

"I thought I'd see if Dr. Sunshine got his vitamin D today," I replied, pulling up a chair and sitting across from him.

"Very funny, Shepherd Junior. I have a lot to do." He gestured to the files as if they were evidence of his immense responsibility.

"What have you done? Spill the tea."

"Nothing. Everything's fine," Alex grumbled, but his expression said otherwise.

I leaned back, crossed my arms, and sized him up. "Come on, Karev, what's wrong? Why do you look like someone stole your puppy?"

Alex stared at me for a moment before finally giving up, his face an open book of reluctance.

"I had a date with Izzie."

"And you ruined the evening by showing up?" I asked as I moved to sit next to him, my grin wide and mischievous.

"I was afraid to kiss her," he confessed, and suddenly there was a hint of real vulnerability in his voice. I couldn't help myself; I burst out laughing.

"You did what? Dr. 'I-know-how-to-do-it' Karev got cold feet? Oh, this is too good."

"Listen, it's not that simple. She's... she's Izzie." His tone was more serious now, and I could tell he was genuinely unsure.

"Next time, just kiss her, Alex. It can't get any worse than a communicable disease. Remember?" I teased, unable to resist bringing up the old syphilis scandal.

"Yeah, yeah, Missy. Thanks for the reminder," Alex let out a frustrated laugh. "I don't need advice from a teenager."

I took a sip of his disastrously bad coffee and grimaced. "Too late, you already have."

"Diversionary tactic; what's with the bandage?" Before I could react, he flicked my nose with a grin. "Doesn't seem fractured."

"Ouch!" I yelled, more playfully than seriously, but it still pinched. "I face-planted on the ice last week trying to land a triple axel. It was epic. Blood everywhere. But I'm still alive, so everything's cool."

"Sounds like you're at least as bad at skating as you are at catching peanuts," Alex said, but the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.

"Very funny, Karev. Maybe you should practice kissing before you try it on real people again."

Alex looked at me sideways. "You're really annoying, Shepherd Junior, you know that?"

I chuckled and pushed my chair back.
"Next time, tiger. Maybe you'll get it right the second time."