Chapter Text
It was autumn and the school year has just begun. Clara Oswald is a school teacher who teaches English at Coal Hill School. She wakes up, annoyed that her phone woke her up. Clara was also annoyed at the fact that it was a new school year. She really didn't want to work, but she has to. You can't be more of a disappointment to your family! Ever since her Mum died, it went somewhat downhill. Her Dad had a new fiance, soon to be wife, Linda. God, how much Clara despised her. But, anything for her Dad and Gran. Clara took a quick wash, did her makeup, ate some toast. She decided to get coffee on the way. She grabbed her keys and jacket and made her way out of her apartment, right after she closed her Unit door.
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Clara walked into her nearby Starbucks to order some coffee. Enough for her to sustain the day without losing her 'cool'. When she ordered her coffee and went off to the side to wait for her drink, the person beside her began ordering. He was taller than her, that's for sure. His hair was all grey and fluffy. He had really expressive eyebrows too. He also wore a pair of ear pods. No, not airpods. Not all of us are rich and can afford airpods. The man began typing on his phone and presented it to the barista. The barista began reading the phone and punched in some words on the machine. The man took off his earphones and slung it around his neck.
Clara didn't realize she was just staring at him until her trance was cut off by someone tapping her shoulder.
"Hey, I'm sorry. Are you Clara?" a woman behind the counter asked.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. Yes, I am! Thank you." she took the coffee off of the barista's hand and walked out the Starbucks.
Still, in Starbucks, the man watched the woman walking away swiftly. Purely out of embarrassment. As he watched her walk out the coffee shop, he raised an eyebrow until focussing back on his phone until his name was called, "ORDER FOR JOHN SMITH?"
He raised his hand for a bit to tell them it was him. The woman behind the counter slid the drink into his hands. With a nod as a 'thank you', he placed his earphones back in his ears, took the drink and left the coffee shop.
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The school day came by quickly. Since it was only the first day of school, the entire day was just filled with icebreakers for the new and old students. When the day ended, there was no coffee from this morning, since she finished it by the afternoon. As she collected her belongings and exit the school, she walked back home the route she took. She walked rather slow, but as she neared her home, she decided to take a little detour. Across the Starbucks near her apartment, there was a small little park. There were a few benches splayed out along with a playground off to the side. Parents were there, with strollers and little children playing in the park. When Clara walked closer to the park, she spotted the same man from the Starbucks this morning.
Curious, for some reason, she was curious about this man. Why did he show his phone to the man behind the cash register? Clara sat beside him and set her bag aside. From the depths of her bag, she took out a book, 'Pride and Prejudice' of course. Her go-to book from her favorite author Jane Austen. She has read this book numerous times that she lost count. As she tried reading her book, she heard a pencil scratching against paper. Clara glanced to her side to look at the man. Back at Starbucks, she only focused on his phone and his face, but now, she examined what he was wearing. He was wearing a navy blue coat with a pair of blue pants with a pair of Docs. She looked down on the bench and saw the inside of the coat on display. It was a nice red color. Poking out of the collar, was a grey hoodie. He looked a bit like a magician, she thought.
Clara's eyes drifted down to what he was doing. He was very focused on his sketch with his earphones on. Clara tried to make out what he was drawing, but she didn't realize she got too close to the man, he covered the sketch with the book cover. He looked down at her and she looked up embarrassed.
'Wow. Again? You really just embarrassed yourself TWICE. Good job, Clara Oswald.' she thought to herself, but she mustered the courage to talk to him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." she looked off to the side avoiding eye contact, but it was so hard for her to do that when she could feel his stare.
She couldn't help but look back, becoming a bit annoyed, "Can you... I don't know, stop staring at me?"
The man was startled, his eyebrows going haywire before he came back to his sketch. A hand on his cheek to prevent looking at her, until she heard a sigh from beside him, "I'm sorry about that. God, what is wrong with me?"
The woman looked at him once more, "whatcha listening to?"
He looked at her, then the man pulled out his right earphone and cleaned before offering it to her. He nodded towards it telling her to listen. Reluctantly, she took the earphones and placed it in her ear. The soft sounds of the guitar began playing and a voice rang through both their ears, 'Didn't know what time it was, lights were low-ow-ow.-"
She looked up at him and asked, "are you a fan of Bowie?"
He nodded back in response.
After a while of listening to Bowie, she handed back the earphone to the man and packed her things. "I gotta go. Sorry about that. Oh!"
The man looked up from the sketch he was doing waiting for her to continue.
She stuck out a hand, "I'm Clara by the way. Clara Oswald."
Hesitantly, he shook her hand. He wanted to speak, but... he can't. He opened his mouth but immediately closed it.
"I get it. I understand you don't want to talk," she said. "It was nice meeting you though!" she waved a goodbye and off she goes.
He simply stared at her. 'Ugh! Again with the staring Doctor? That's just wrong you don't just stare." he thought to himself. He frowned at himself before looking at the drawing on his sketchbook. One page was a sketch of the park, the other was of her. Clara, when she was listening to Bowie. Her head looking up at the trees. A beautiful side profile. A strong jawline but with a pretty round face with a cute nose and unbelievably huge eyes. He smiled. The world around him became a bit dimmer than usual and a drop of water fell from the sky. The water made its way to his sketchbook. He looked up and a drop fell to his forehead. He quickly packed all his items. It wasn't much. It was just a sketchbook, pencil and eraser, and made his way out of the park.
As he entered the sidewalk, he began speed walking down the rows of houses, passing an intersection before taking a left. He continued walking until he stopped at a building. He stepped in and fumbled with his keys. He entered the lobby and took the elevator up. He came up to floor 12 and made his way to room 12. 1212 was his number. His flat was a bit small, but it worked out if you're living alone. The Doctor opened the door to his flat and stepped. Before closing the door, he glanced up to find the same woman- Clara opening a door across from him. She lived there apparently.
The Doctor looked back down and closed the door to his flat before opening the light.
From the inside of his jacket, he pulled out the sketchbook and flipped to the page where he drew Clara. There was a wave of affection that washed over him as he looked at the sketch. He smiled. He closed the sketchbook and made his way into his own home.
Clara unlocked the door to her apartment and locked it. She placed her bag in the living room and took off her shoes. Today has been an exhausting day for her despite it only being icebreakers. But... the man at the park listening to David Bowie and sketching the scenery. She smiled. It was something different and she quite liked it. He may have looked intimidating for a bit, but he was actually quite nice. She wanted to ask why he couldn’t talk. But that was personal so she left it for another day.
Maybe tomorrow, they should meet up again.
The two thought. The Doctor and Clara pondered for a moment in their own apartments and thought, “yeah. That’s gonna be a great idea.”