Page 53 of Gifted & Talented

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Oh my god, I’m just kidding! You believed me, though, didn’t you. Meredith absolutely would. I thought it would be funny if I just did a little untruth there as a personal treat, hope you’re not mad.

Anyway, that’s not what Meredith did. She reached out and she pulled him to safety, and she kissed him like she used to kiss him, without really thinking about it. Initially, the kiss was very forgettable, the kind of kiss you part with without even really noticing because you feel sure it will happen again—that you’ll see each other at home at the end of the day. The kind of kiss that doesn’t usually get a story because it’s part of a bigger story, something vibrant and everlasting. The prelude-to-forever kiss. The gods-are-smiling-on-us kiss. The kiss that says I knew, I always knew, that it was you . Maybe not the most mind-blowing of kisses, unless you consider that this is Meredith Wren, who doesn’t technically have any sweetness living in her.

But the thing is, right when Meredith did this, the sky went prophetically black.