Noon.
The cafeteria.
"Adam, this totally makes up for that rare surgery."
Christina barged in, dropping a bombshell like it was no big deal.
"Keep dreaming," Adam snorted with a laugh.
"I did the enema and the needle aspiration. That surgery was supposed to be mine," Christina pressed, not letting it go.
"But you bailed," Adam said, munching on his food with a grin. "So don't get your hopes up."
"Fine, maybe it doesn't cover that rare surgery, but it could at least cancel out that favor you owe me, right?" Christina finally revealed her real angle.
"Nope," Adam shook his head. "I earned this one myself, risking Dr. Shepherd's wrath. You just took off—those eyes of yours didn't exactly scream 'I'm handing this surgery over to you.'"
Psh, she thought she could out-negotiate him? Nice try.
No matter how much she flipped out, he wasn't budging.
"You're not me! How would you know what my eyes were saying?" Christina shot back confidently. "That's exactly what they meant."
"Heh."
Adam just chuckled, giving her a look that said, "Good luck owing me anything."
Christina deflated instantly.
She'd been hoping to haggle, but Adam wasn't giving her an inch. Asking outright for mercy? Nah, she had too much pride for that.
And the real kicker? She couldn't afford to piss Adam off.
One time, she'd ticked off a nurse and nearly got herself wrecked. If she crossed Adam? She had no doubt the nurses would hear about it and make her life a living hell—probably worse than before. Group payback, hospital style.
Just thinking about it gave her chills.
Women really knew how to get under each other's skin.
Guess that rare surgery and favor would have to wait for another day.
"Adam," Meredith walked up, hesitating like she wasn't sure what to say.
"Don't worry, the surgery went great," Adam answered her unspoken question.
Meredith nodded, then clammed up, retreating into her own little world.
With everything blowing up like this, there was no hiding it—the whole hospital knew by now.
A lot of the guys kept looking at her, their eyes a mix of nerves… and excitement.
Yup, you heard that right—excitement. 😳
George and Izzie strolled over with their trays just then.
Izzie had that classic BFF smirk, all sly and knowing.
George, though? His face was dark as a storm cloud.
His goddess Meredith caught up in another wild rumor? It was killing him.
And worse, he couldn't help but think back to that brief fling with her—nothing wild, just her crying the whole time.
His heart was practically breaking all over again.
"What?" Meredith snapped, her shut-down vibe cracking under Izzie's shameless grin.
"Nothing," Izzie said, shaking her head innocently.
Meredith just rolled her eyes.
"Heh heh heh."
Even chubby Stu waddled over, giggling like a creep—which was rare for him.
"What are you doing here?" Christina and Izzie snapped in unison, dripping with disgust.
Sure, George was chubby too, but he was their buddy.
Stu? He was the grossest kind of fat guy.
Why?
The dude was a total sleaze.
They all knew why he wanted to go into plastic surgery later—word got out, and that specialty's rep would be toast.
"Come on, don't be like that," Stu said, all fake-humble and讨好 (trying to suck up). "We're all colleagues here~"
"…"
Christina and Izzie didn't even bother responding.
What could they say? The guy was so pathetic, anything more would've been overkill.
Adam shook his head to himself.
The lower you sink, the harder you are to beat.
"Hey, Meredith~"
Stu, ignored by Christina and Izzie, smirked triumphantly and turned to his real target.
Adam, Christina, and Izzie exchanged a look, leaned back, and switched to spectator mode. 🍿
George, though, was fuming. "Just talk normal, dude! Quit with the creepy voice!"
"What's your deal?" Meredith grumbled.
Even a seasoned pro like her couldn't handle Stu's sleazy energy.
"Nothing," Stu said, still giggling like an idiot. "Just saying hi. You free tonight? Joe's bar—drinks on me!"
"…"
The whole table went dead silent.
Everyone knew Stu was a shameless perv, but this? This was next-level.
Just last night, Meredith had been at Joe's with Steven—right before his surgery.
And now, with her latest spicy gossip blowing up, Stu dropping this invite was basically him screaming, "Don't go thinking I'm some delicate flower you need to spare~"
The guy was a total horndog.
Unmatched.
Meredith's face flared with embarrassment and rage. She shot up, ready to snap—but one look at Stu's "honest" chubby face and the curious stares around her, and she grabbed her barely-touched tray and stormed off.
"Shameless!"
"Gross!"
Christina and Izzie gagged, grabbed their trays, and bailed too.
"You—" George clenched his fists, looking like he might swing, but he held back, snatched his tray, and left.
"What'd I do?" Stu whined, playing the victim.
"Alright, you've disgusted everyone enough. Chill," Adam said, half-joking.
They were on the same team, so he was closer to Stu than most.
Plus, the guy's sleazy vibe was kinda funny—in a twisted way.
And Stu wasn't clueless; he knew who he could mess with.
So Adam didn't mind him too much.
"Heh heh heh."
Stu dropped the pitiful act fast, leaning in with a hushed giggle. "Adam, you know Meredith has a nickname now, right?"
"What nickname?" Adam perked up.
It definitely wasn't anything flattering… but he was curious.
"A lot of the guys are calling her…" Stu waggled his eyebrows and rambled on.
Adam just heard a bunch of bleeps.
But from Stu's lip movements and goofy face, he could sum it up as "The Rock Queen Who Breaks Guts." 😏
Adam's mouth twitched.
Those seven little words packed a lot of meaning if you thought about it.
"A ton of the guys are all nervous and hyped about it," Stu said, finally audible again.
"If that's the case, you've got some guts asking out the Rock Queen," Adam teased. "Not scared?"
"Nah, I'm good!" Stu puffed up proudly. "I've got a low center of gravity—nothing to fear!"
"…"
Adam's lip twitched again. Words failed him.
Even he was floored by Stu's shameless perv energy this time.
The guy owned his flaws so hard, even a soap opera villain would have to bow down and say, "Stu, you're something else."
"Stu," Adam finally said.
"Yeah?"
"Tone it down a bit," Adam warned. "This version of you belongs in a 2D anime world. Keep acting this wild in real life, and someone's gonna beat you to a pulp someday."