Falling, Falling. Fell.

Chapter 9: Chaotic Minds

"Go ahead and use the bathroom. I left stuff for you. When you're ready, come down. I'm thinking pancakes."

Meredith must've nodded because soon she was left alone while still sitting at the edge of the bed. All at once her brain was way too loud and way too quiet. Chaos had broken inside her head and she had no idea how to stop it.

After Addison's initial question and her very ladylike response the redhead had calmly moved from under her and headed to the bathroom. She could still feel the lingering heat on her cheeks as she had completely flushed under Addison's grinning stare.

"I am so stupid."

She wasn't sure how to respond to Addison then. Hell she wasn't sure how to respond to her at all. Her drunken self had revealed her most guarded secret. What was she supposed to do now? She wasn't supposed to be Addison's Mark. They were supposed to be friends. Just friends. Which Addison did not make very easy.

Meredith had to fix this. She could most definitely fix this. She'd go down there and she'd tell Addison the crush was like one of those you have on movie starts. Sure, Addison would more than likely use that against her from now on but she could live with that. Meredith only had to play everything down and it would all be fine.

She made it to the bathroom and set about freshening up. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and brushed her hair as best she could. Frowning at her reflection on the mirror she began to give herself a much needed pep-talk.

"Just go down there and tell her it's not a real crush. It'll be fine. Go play it off and done. This is nothing. You can act like a normal person. It's simple, right?"

Wrong! What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of this one?

This was all Cristina's fault. Cristina and her stupid games. She shouldn't have played. No she shouldn't have drank as much as she did.

"That's it! No more tequila." She said, still staring at her reflection. "No. More. Tequila." This time she would do it. No more redheads with jade eyes and pretty smiles known as Satan would ever look porny to her again.

Jumping and barely holding in a yelp she heard Addison calling for her from downstairs. "Mer? Are you coming down soon? First batch is almost done."

"Coming!" She called back before looking back at the mirror. "God, I'm screwed."

***

The smell of freshly made pancakes and bacon surrounded her as she made her way down. Wearily she watched as Addison went about collecting plates and silverware for them. For a moment she considered just running out the double doors and locking herself up at home. But Addison's soft humming and her smiling form kept her where she was at the foot of the stairs. It was such a simple thing. Actually she wasn't doing anything and yet Meredith stood mesmerized. As if under a spell.

The redhead seemed not to have noticed her presence yet and continued on merrily fluttering about the kitchen. Pancakes stacked and bacon steaming, the kitchen island looked inviting. Addison was just setting their coffee mugs down when she finally noticed her.

"There you are." The redhead smiled before motioning her forward. "Come on, Grey. I don't bite. Unless you want me to." She smirked before turning around.

Meredith was thankful for that. She could feel her cheeks heating up steadily but she managed to mumble past her flustered state. "T-thanks. Smells good."

"Made bacon for me but I think we'll have to share. I may have made too much food."

Meredith chuckled at that and nodded. Soon they were both sitting in their stools, silently munching on their food. The air around them was so thick she could cut it with a knife. She didn't dare look at the redhead, who seemed completely unbothered by the heavy atmosphere.