Matthew's Apartment
After Ted left…
Lily and Matthew's search finally paid off.
"Adam! Over here!"
Their terrified shouts echoed through the room.
Adam hurried over, following their wide-eyed stares.
"Eww, gross!"
Yup, it was mutant-level disgusting. Even Adam, who'd seen it all, couldn't help but grimace out loud.
"It's coming this way!"
Lily and Matthew stumbled back in unison.
"Leave it to me."
Adam geared up—mask, goggles, gloves, the whole deal. Fully armored, he crouched down toward the cockroach-rat hybrid, locking eyes with it for a few tense seconds. Then, in a flash, he snatched it up.
He plopped it straight into a glass container he'd prepped earlier and slammed the lid shut.
It wasn't that Adam's speed had suddenly outpaced animal reflexes or anything. Nah, this cockroach-rat just wasn't scared of people.
Adam had zero doubt that once Columbia University's bio lab dissected this thing, they'd find its胆子—uh, guts, or maybe courage?—were way bigger than your average rat or roach, pound for pound.
"C'mere, you two."
Adam held up the glass jar, inspecting it casually while waving over Matthew and Lily, who were still cowering at a safe distance. Seeing them hesitate, he chuckled.
"Matthew, I get Lily being freaked out, but you? A 6'4" giant? Really?"
"It's not fear!"
Matthew puffed out his chest, trying to play it cool.
"Oh, yeah?"
Adam shoved the jar right in his face.
"Ahh!"
Matthew yelped and leaped back.
"If that's not fear, then what is it?" Adam teased.
"It's… awe! Yeah, awe at mysterious things!" Matthew clutched his chest, desperately clinging to his dignity.
"Heh."
Adam cracked up.
Matthew hailed from Minnesota, where his whole family was a lineup of giants. His dad and two older brothers? All over 6'6". At 6'4", Matthew could only flex his height over the women in the family—and even then, it wasn't a total win. One of his sisters-in-law was taller than him.
Their meals? Supersized. When it came to making food, most folks scooped mayo with a spoon. The Erickson clan? They measured it in cups—16 full cups, to be exact. Their salads? Seven layers deep!
As for games, regular ol' violent football wasn't enough for these "titans." They'd cooked up their own mashup: blue ice ball, a chaotic mix of basketball and hockey. Rules? What rules? It was pure, brutal chaos—smacking each other with hockey sticks was fair game. You either toughed it out or tapped out.
When Matthew was about to hit adulthood, his rite of passage for inheriting his brother's car was… wild. He had to drive buck naked to grab coffee. To get the keys, he sucked it up and did it.
But his two brothers? They got there first, bought out every coffee tray at the shop, and left him high and dry. Matthew, undeterred, loaded up the family's coffee order cup by cup, planning to crawl home slow and steady.
Cue his brothers popping out of nowhere, startling him. Coffee everywhere—scalding hot, all over him and probably them too.
Oof! That sting! Only real siblings could pull off a prank that savage.
So, growing up in that kind of chaos, Matthew being spooked by a little cockroach-rat? It honestly threw Adam for a loop. Then again, Matthew did have this weird reverence for Bigfoot, Yetis, the Loch Ness Monster—all that mysterious stuff. So maybe it tracked after all.
"Hey, this needs to go to Columbia's bio center. I'm swamped—Matthew, you up for it?" Adam asked, holding out the jar.
"I…" Matthew swallowed hard, then forced out, "Yeah, I can do it. I've got a buddy in Columbia's bio department—he'll love this."
"Sweet." Adam handed it over with a grin. "Who knows? Might just change his career trajectory."
Matthew hesitated, hands darting in and out, but finally took it.
"Ugh, yuck."
Lily, now feeling like the situation was under control—glass jar, no escape—edged closer, peering at it. "So gross! This is all Ted's fault! He totally ruined my perfect vision of love's little miracles!"
"Alright, you two have fun with that. I've gotta head back to the hospital," Adam said with a laugh, brushing off Lily's dramatic, shallow rant as he headed out.
Tonight, he still had to dig into Alice Grey's legendary experience pack.
---
Medical Center
Outside the building…
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The second Adam pulled up, he caught a soap-opera-worthy scene.
"See ya, Derek~"
"See ya, Meredith~"
There, on an outdoor bench, Dr. Shepherd sat in his off-duty clothes. Meredith stood up, facing him with a loaded, double-meaning goodbye. He blinked, then matched her solemn vibe with his own reply.
That "see ya" was both a casual "catch you later after work" and a deeper "we're done, time to move on" vibe.
Looked like Meredith was finally ready to let go.
Adam's lips quirked into a smirk.
"What's so funny?"
Meredith, sharp as ever, spotted the curve of his mouth as she turned back toward the hospital.
"Nothing," Adam said, shaking his head.
"Me and Derek? It's over for good," she said, clearly knowing what he was smirking about and jumping to explain.
"Mm-hmm, I believe you," Adam replied, mimicking her earlier "solemn" tone. He locked eyes with her for a good few seconds before nodding seriously.
"…"
Meredith's whole vibe just deflated. She could feel the sarcasm dripping off him.
"You don't believe me?!"
"Why'd you say that?" Adam grinned wider. "I'm giving you the exact same energy you just gave!"
"You—!" Meredith huffed, fuming.
"Wanna bet on it?" Adam said, trying to smooth things over. "How about a rare surgery? If you really manage to cut ties with Dr. Shepherd—no more lingering strings—I'll hand you a rare surgery down the line. But if you can't, you owe me one. Deal? It's a freebie for you!"
Meredith opened her mouth, ready to jump at it, but then she caught the glint in Adam's eye. She pursed her lips, said nothing, and stormed off.
"C'mon, it's a no-lose deal! You believe me, right?" Adam called after her retreating back.
Sigh. Young folks these days—no trust, no guts.
Adam shook his head, chuckling to himself.
Meredith could talk a big game about "goodbye," but it was just a heat-of-the-moment thing. She thought she'd moved on.
But exes? There's a 0 or 1 difference—have you crossed that line or not? Why do people freak out about their partner's old flames? Why do they try to block any contact? Because the risk of rekindling something with an ex is a million times higher than with some random stranger!
Emotions flare, things happen, someone gets burned—it's basic math.
And Meredith? She knew it deep down.
She wasn't your average girl, either. Forget exes—she had a passive skill: 100% pants-dropping chance when drunk, even with a total stranger. No way she'd win Adam's bet.
So why would she take it? She'd have to be nuts.
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