Anti-Romantics

Nope.

"Meredith you're going to drown in tequila, actually drown yourself in it." Isobel Stevens, one of her closest friends since primary school began worried. "Hello, are you even listening to me?"

"Trying not to."  She replied firmly.

"So Finn dumped you, you're going to let that ruin your life?"

"We had plans, we were getting married in the fall, we had just moved in to a new house. We had plans. I was setting down my roots or whatever." She replied taking another drink from her glass.

"You need a distraction or something. This is just depressing."

Meredith's hands cupped the glass tightly staring out the bar window. Izzie tapped the table awkwardly. "Oh god, ten o' clock." She warned her of a wickedly handsome man.

Izzie stared him down and turned back to her friend, who was no longer there. "Mer?"

"Does he see me?" She asked from underneath the table not hiding herself so well.

"He does now, get up."

She hid behind her hair. "This is so embarrassing. He's over there being all charming flirting with women and I'm just, well I'm just me."

"Well, I like the you that you are and so will he. Cmon what do I have to bribe you?"

Meredith smirked. "Money would be nice."

"I'm taking matters into my own hands. You stay here, do not move!" An idea had set her off on a mission.

Meredith watched as she talked to the man's friend confused. She didn't care, she wasn't going to date anyone, not even if it bothered Izzie or Cristina. Three years of lies, deceit, she couldn't be vulnerable again. So she took another drink and then another.  The cycle repeated until the blonde returned. She handed her a card.

"Couples therapy!? Finn cheated on me, I don't want to fix it!" She snapped at her.

"No, no! Not with him."

"What?"

"Go for the twelve weeks and you get six hundred dollars. The Meredith I know never passes up on a bet."

"Damn, right she doesn't!" She slammed her hand down on the table. "Count me in."

A few weeks had passed until she had gotten a text from her dear friend Izzie reminding her of a drunken deal they made. She threw on some business casual clothes and grabbed her bag and journal. She really didn't want to do this, like at all. But some type of divine force (Izzie) made her go.

Once she arrived, she sat down scanning the room for who she might be going in with. Two gingers, four blondes, and three brunettes. All of who seemed to be coupled up. Great, they didn't hold up their end of the deal. She began jotting things down in her notebook.

"Mister and Missus Hughes?" A couple stood up and walked into a room down the hallway. Her anxiety began to kick in, why was she where? She sure as hell doesn't want to do it alone.

All of a sudden a man walked in who seemed to be searching for someone. He took a seat and and began bouncing his leg anxiously. She looked up at him. Shit, he seemed tense. He caught her looking at him and she quickly turned back to her journal.

"Grey, Shepherd?" They both stood up and stared at each-other, both not knowing what the future would hold for them or who exactly they were dealing with.

They both took a seat on opposite sides of the couch, basically glaring at each-other. Wow, this was gonna be fun. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sensing some tension between the two of you, can we talk about why that is?" The therapist opened.

"Maybe because she's a conniving bitch?" He stated firmly.

Taken by surprise she scoffed. "Right, me? You're the one who cheated." She projected.

"Okay little miss perfect, maybe if you weren't absent in our marriage I wouldn't have to get my needs somewhere else."

A smirk quickly appeared and disappeared off of Merediths face. They were really selling this. "Absent? I slaved away in the kitchen and around the house everyday for someone as ungrateful as you!"

The therapist interrupted. "Let's dial this back a little. Let's go back to the beginning tell me how you two met."

They shot each-other quick glances.

"We met.." She trailed off.

"In a bar." He finished. "I thought she was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen." He smiled to her.

Her cheeks flushed a few shades redder. Without missing a beat she responded. "He tried catching my attention and made small talk. I wasn't having any of it."

"That's when I introduced myself and she finally gave in. I took her home and the rest is history."

The therapist looked at them almost scanning them. Meredith fidgeted with the bottom of her purse praying their time would be up soon. "So how do you think we got from there to here."

She bit her lip anxiously waiting for him to chime in.

"I wasn't present."

"Wow Derek, its good to see some accountability. Im impressed and it's only our first session. What about you Meredith?"

"Huh?" She asked interrupted of her dissociation.

"I was asking what your accountable for in this marriage failing."

"Hm, probably not being good enough in bed. He had to find his needs somewhere else." She shrugged rather annoyed. Truth is she didn't know what she did wrong, she didn't know why Finn cheated but he did.

Derek went to reply but was cut off by the sound of an alarm. "Well that concludes our first session. Meredith, you have some homework to do before out next session."

"What, why me-"

"I need you to figure out what you are accountable for in this marriage. It takes two." She brought her stare back to the both of them. "Alright, I'll see you next week."

The two of them walked out of the building together both not making too much eye contact. She intrigued him, she had a fire in her eyes. He wasn't lying when he said she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

"Derek." He stuck out his hand with a rather charming smile.

"Nope." She cut past him into the parking lot.