The hospital cafeteria was unusually quiet for once, the morning rush not yet in full swing. Aria sat at a table near the window, sipping her coffee as she skimmed over a chart, while Lexie stabbed at her fruit cup with more aggression than necessary.
"Can you believe it?" Lexie huffed, dropping her fork and crossing her arms. "Mark is asking Julia to move in with him."
Aria raised an eyebrow, setting her coffee down. "Yeah, I heard."
Lexie scoffed. "Of course you did. It's Mark Sloan—he probably announced it to the entire hospital before even asking her."
Aria smirked. "Well, technically, he only told Derek, but knowing them, it's basically the same thing."
Lexie groaned, running a hand through her hair. "It's just—it's so stupid. I mean, they've been dating for, what, five minutes? And now they're suddenly playing house?"
Aria tilted her head, watching her carefully. "Why do you care so much?"
"I don't care—I just think it's ridiculous," Lexie said quickly, shaking her head. "He barely knows her."
Aria took another sip of her coffee, unimpressed. "Lex, do you still have feelings for him?"
Lexie nearly choked. "What? No! Absolutely not."
Aria gave her a knowing look.
"I don't," Lexie insisted, shifting in her seat. "I mean, yeah, okay, we had a thing, but that's over. He moved on, I moved on—"
Aria hummed. "Right. Which is why you're here, ranting about it over breakfast."
Lexie groaned again, dropping her head onto the table. "I hate you."
Aria grinned. "No, you don't."
Lexie lifted her head just enough to glare at her. "Fine, maybe I'm just—annoyed. It's Mark, you know? He doesn't do the whole serious relationship thing, and now suddenly he's asking some woman to move in with him?"
Aria shrugged. "Maybe he's trying to grow up."
Lexie made a face. "I hate that even more."
Aria laughed, shaking her head. "You sure you don't have feelings for him?"
Lexie groaned. "I don't."
Aria smirked, but decided to drop it—for now.
The on-call room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the hospital beyond its doors. The bed creaked slightly as Aria shifted beneath Alex, his body pressed against hers, his lips tracing a slow path along her jaw. Her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt, tugging him closer as heat coiled between them.
For the first time in days, it felt like they had a second to breathe—to just be together without the weight of their jobs, their patients, or the endless chaos surrounding them.
And then, right on cue, Alex's pager buzzed against the mattress.
He ignored it.
Aria sighed against his lips but didn't pull away. Not yet.
The pager buzzed again, more insistent this time.
Alex let out an irritated groan, pressing his forehead to hers. "Seriously?"
Aria huffed a quiet laugh. "Just check it."
"Or," he muttered, brushing his lips over hers again, "I could not."
The pager buzzed a third time.
Aria pulled back, arching a brow. "Alex."
He groaned in frustration, reaching down to grab the damn thing, barely glancing at the message before tossing it onto the floor.
YOU ARE READING
Shooting Stars
Fanfiction"But he's Evil Spawn." "Don't you think I know that. I didn't wake up one day and suddenly decide I was going to be in love with Alex Karev." Being the daughter of a world renowned surgeon was never destined to be easy. The first born of the Grey tw...
