"Hey, Mer!" Brian called, running up behind Meredith. She turned and smiled at him.
"Hey! There you are. I was worried that you'd left without me," Meredith laughed, shyly. Meredith was never very good at acting normal around Brian. She had had a crush on him ever since they first met. She just hoped Brian would one day like her back and make a move. He never had, though, much to her disappointment.
"I would never!" Brian said, pretending to be offended. Meredith just laughed in response, as usual. "Well, we should probably head out soon, before the snow gets too heavy." Meredith agreed and they started the trek back to Meredith's apartment. The snow was coming down harder and harder and the road was becoming slick. The car slid out of control for a moment and Meredith braced herself in her seat, shutting her eyes. Once Brian had regained control, he stopped the car.
"Are you okay?" He asked, turning to Meredith.
"Yea, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Brian placed his hand on Meredith's shoulder and she nodded in response. He turned back forward and ran his hands through his hair, thinking. "I think there is a truck stop up ahead. I'll pull in there and we can keep driving once the snow stops. Okay?" Meredith nodded with a faint smile and he shifted the car into drive. He drove slowly, since they were the only cars on the road. They pulled into the truck stop and he parked between two semi-trucks.
"The show was great tonight," Brian said after a solid minute of silence.
"Yea. We had a good audience." Meredith said, wrapping her arms around her body as a sudden chill fell over her. "Could you turn up the heat?" She asked, shyly. Brian gave her a frown.
"The heats been broken for ages. I keep forgetting to take it in and get it fixed." Meredith frowned and he kicked himself mentally. "Here! Take my jacket." Brian unbuckled his seat belt and began to take his coat off.
"You don't have to." Brian just laughed.
"Of course I do! What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't?" Meredith laughed as she grabbed the jacket from his hands.
"Does the radio work?"
"Yea! Surprisingly, that hasn't broken yet." Brian pressed the knob and turned on a soft-rock station. He sat staring out the window as Meredith watched him. She could tell he was cold from giving up his jacket, though he would never admit it. Brian could feel her eyes on him and he smirked slightly.
"Whatcha looking at, Mer?" Brian joked. Meredith immediately shifted her gaze forward and felt a blush come over her.
"What? Nothing," she stammered awkwardly. Brian laughed slightly and she turned to look at him. "What are you looking at?"
"Me? I'm looking at Meredith Stepien." He continued to look at her and Meredith had a million thoughts going through her mind. Her thinking was so loud she was sure she had misheard the next thing he said. "And it's a pretty great view." Her eyes widened and a smile crept onto her lips.
"What?"
Brian laughed and looked away.
"I'm calling you beautiful." He looked back at Meredith and she never wanted him to look away again.