Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun filtered through the rusting leaves of the tree as Rose Tyler looked up and frowned. It had moved and was not on her currently, which was not helping the tanning situation. She shifted, adjusting her position to get her legs back in the warm rays. Fall was starting soon and warm sunny days like this would be going, replaced by drearier days and much colder temperatures. Next to her, her best friend Shareen shifted also, glancing at her phone. "Oh, crap its getting late. I need to get a shower before the Alpha party tonight. I hear Jimmy is coming. You should go. I think he has the hots for you."

Rose raised herself up on her elbows. "The hots? What, are you from 1960? I was going anyway. I don't know about him though. The last thing I heard was that he had a giant fight with Virginia in the student union. The cops came and everything. He's a little over the top."

"I think he's just intense. You'd make a cute couple. Plus he plays lacrosse. It's just all kids of hot."

Rose tossed a bottle of tanning lotion at her, which Shareen dodged, laughing.

An hour and a half later Rose sat on her bed waiting for her friends to get ready. On the bed next to her, her mobile rang. She smiled and picked it up. "Hi Gramma! How are you?"

As so it went, every Saturday her grandma called to check in. If she called early enough it was good, but sometimes Rose had to step outside the party she was at just to converse. If she didn't answer, her grandmother got worried, so she dutifully answered.

Like usual, grandma was on a mission." Did you get your flu shot Rose? We need to make sure that happens. You don't want the flu."

"Yes, I got it last Monday."

"OK and I was talking to your cousins. Everyone is coming in for my pre-Thanksgiving feast, and I'd like you to try too. It may be our last one together. I'm old you know."

Rose sighed. "It's not your last and you know it. You are as strong as a horse. But why pre-Thanksgiving?”

“I just booked a cruise for that holiday. It’s all seniors and it’s going to be amazing.”

“Ok that’s hysterical, it actually sounds fun. And yes, I'll come down. I wouldn't miss your pumpkin pie for the world. "

"Good! Oh and I finished your quilt too. I'll give it back to you then."

Again Rose grinned. She had had that quilt since she was little. It was bright and unbelievably soft and warm and covered with bright, happy fabric. Lately though, it had become threadbare and thinner. It had been difficult to part with, but when her grandmother had seen it, she had insisted on a repair. Rose actually had difficulty sleeping without it at first. Luckily it had been a warm summer and she could go without it. But now with fall coming she wanted it back.

Rose's grandmother chatted on and on about life and family things and Rose found herself sinking into her pillows and just listening. She had been tense lately. She was into her sophomore year in college and didn't have any idea what to do with herself. She let her advisor pick random subjects hoping to spark her interest with no luck so far. Her grades weren't great, actually they were borderline poor. Nothing seemed to keep her attention.

The only thing really keeping her in school were her sorority sisters, Shareen included. The fun never stopped there, and Rose was directly in the middle. She couldn’t say that she never missed class to go do something, or was too hungover to go to class in the first place. There was just so much happening. She rarely got moments to herself, but that was OK too, there was no loneliness here.

When she was little there was plenty. Her mother was rich, she had married Rose's father "the king of the Vitex Empire" as he liked to be known. Truth be told he had inherited it from his father. Her mother married him young and along came Rose. She had raised Rose in her image, manicures at 4 years old, the best clothes and toys, you name it, Rose had it. Then her father died and Rose's mother went into a tailspin. She dragged Rose all over the world on vacations with new men, new friends and all sorts of people. School was all but left behind in exchange for exotic locals and adventures, not to mention the parties. It was not a good environment for a little girl, especially one without anyone her age to be with.

That's how Rose landed with her grandmother. She had gotten sick of being the parent in their lives but her mother was unwilling to change. It was too fun. At twelve she had had enough and moved out and in with her grandmother. It was then that college came into the picture.

She was the spitting image of her mother when she was younger too. Her grandmother struggled to show her that material things didn't always matter, but it was hard. Her mother had ingrained things into her that were hard to break down. All "Gramma" could do was hope that eventually she would come around, maybe settle down a little, find a nice boy (rather than all the pretty party boys she usually chose) and start a life. But if Rose's life so far had been any indication it wasn't in the cards, at least for now.

Rose was listening to Gramma tell her about a stray cat that had been hanging around lately when she heard a knock on her door. Interrupting she said, "Sorry Gramma, but I have to go."

"Ok Rose, my love, please be careful. I'll talk to you next week. I love you."

"Love you too, bye." Rose answered hastily, waving to Shareen who had stuck her head in through the doorway.

OoOoOo

Two hours later Rose sat on a chair in the Alpha house staring across the room at Jimmy Stone, a frown written on her face. Jimmy was tall and muscular with six-pack abs and short, spiked dark brown hair mixed with blonde highlights. He wore a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and slit down the sides to the bottom hem. It showed off his chest and abs marvelously, unfortunately said chest and abs were currently being touched by Virginia, his not-so-ex-girlfriend.

Shareen pulled over another chair and plopped down next to Rose, handing her a plastic cup with blue fluid in it. Rose sniffed it and looked at her friend quizzically.

"Jungle juice," Shareen answered, "it'll cure what ails ya."

"Or make it worse," grumbled Rose, taking a sip and wincing. "Eww it's like melted gummy worms."

"Exactly! Bottoms up!" Shareen enthused as both girls drank.

Minutes later after both drinking from their cups then getting sick of the sweetness, Rose sat back. "This I didn't need. I came here for nothing. All the good guys are taken."

Shareen burped and giggled. "Has it ever occurred to you that you only date cookie cutter boys?"

"Huh?"

"No really. Everyone you date looks and acts all the same. They are all super-hot, muscular and with the collective intelligence of a bag of chalk."

Rose snorted into her cup and took another sip, forgetting that she didn't like the taste.

"No really Rose, you need to shake it up a little."

"I can, I just don't."

"Really, shall I make a list of your last 4 boyfriends and see just how diverse they have been?."

"Ok ok." Rose slugged Shareen in the arm.

"I bet you can't do it. I bet you'll just fall back into your pattern. You’ll have the next hot guy who is about as deep as a puddle."

"Puddles can be deep!" Rose laughed.

"Ok, you can't take me seriously, so I'll bet you. I'll bet that you can't get someone completely out of your mold and have them take you to... oh I know, he has to escort you to our Holiday formal dance.

"What are we betting?"

"Um... If I win you have to take me on a spa day. All day, manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, the whole thing. If you will I will do the same for you. "

"So I have to find a guy, who is what, smart, deep, and wait, does he have to be ugly?"

"He has to at least start out that way, but you can dress him up. But he can't be anything like the others. He has to be smart like you said, but he has to be able to carry on a conversation about something other than beer."

"I don't know anyone like that, and neither do you."

"Yet, but I'll help you though."

"Won't that be helping me win?"

"No Rose, because you are helpless at the sight of a hot Adonis. You won't be able to contain yourself. I know you."

"Or so you think. I'll find me a cute little geeky boy and make him fall in love with me. Then he'll take me to the formal. Then I will gloat the entire time at the spa. It will be glorious."

"It's a bet then." Shareen stuck out her hand and the girls shook on it. Then Shareen went to refill the jungle juice.

OoOoOoOoo

John smith was late to assist with class again. His long coat whipped in the wind as he scurried across the campus. At least he wasn't teaching this one. He was just lending a hand in a huge history class filed with mostly uninterested students fulfilling their history requirements. Today he was just dropping off some books to the teacher for a few of the students. It was all part of getting his masters in early English history. He has well on his way too. The problem was just biding his time and getting there. He was easily the brightest mind in the history department. It was never a matter of him knowing the subject matter. He dove into every book he could get his hands on and gave brilliant lectures, but for now he was mostly a minion. He taught a few classes on his own, mostly for freshman as he was assigned. It would be a few more semesters before he officially graduated though. In the meantime the department had latched onto his brilliant ability of storytelling in his lectures, and frequently sent him out with other professors to speak at conventions and the like all over the country.

John stumbled through the door of the lecture hall, his arms loaded with books that quickly landed on the floor with a tremendous crash. The hall that sat 200 students quickly erupted in laughter. The professor up on the dais, Dr. Bond, just smiled and shook his head.

John was never on time and always looked as if his world was about to fall apart. He waved at the professor and took a seat in the corner of the classroom, arranging the books he held. When he got situated he walked the stack to Dr. Bond. Just as he was reaching out for them though, John's foot got caught and the bunch of them were scattered across the lectern, eliciting a smattering of giggles from the large class.

While the men gathered the papers what had since been dislodged as well as the books, there was whispering in the back row. Shareen leaned over to her best friend. "There you go Rose, target acquired."

"Him? That teacher's aide? No way." She wrinkled up her face as they both turned back to have a good look at him, well as good as possible considering they were at the back of the huge hall. He was tall and lean with a big brown long coat that he was currently doffing. He wore dark brown rimmed glasses, and a brown pinstriped suit that Rose figured he got at a second hand store. He had chestnut colored hair, on the longer side. It kept falling in his eyes and he ran his fingers through it periodically to get it in the right place. It looked like he had a nice haircut at one time, but has since let it grow out. It bunched around the collar of his suit jacket, and Rose wondered if he ever just put it in a ponytail. It was hard to get a good look at his face, mostly because of a scruffy beard on his face and neck. It didn't look like he had had it too long, but maybe just hadn't shaved in a week or so. All in all he just looked like a mess.

"Oh come on Rose, where's your sense of adventure? Do you want to give in to me so easily? I have expensive tastes!"

Rose scoffed. "Like that's an issue."

"Well anyway, he's who I choose. You have to get him to take you to the holiday formal. If you do, you get the spa day and bragging rights."

"OK, fine, but we need some parameters. First, there will be no kissing. I bet it's like kissing Chewbacca. That's just gross. I feel nauseous just thinking about it. And if I make it to the dance with him that's it. Nothing else is required. No dancing, nothing. I just have to have him get me there."

"You have to have the formal picture taken. After that you can do whatever you want with him. Dumping or whatever is fine, it's not like there won't be other guys there. Oh, and you both have to be sober when you arrive. No liquid courage."

Rose groaned. "Fine." The girls shook again.

Chapter Text

Dr. Frank Gold came into the office of the history department to find John hastily stacking papers that looked like they had been just dumped on the floor. He smiled to himself. John was the best and brightest they had had in years but he could be so clueless at times. He needed something in his life, most likely someone, to help him steer. “John,” he started, “are you alright? Do you need a hand?”

“No Frank, I’m good, just tripped over my shoelace and dumped my stuff.” John grinned back.

“I swear that you are the dumbest smart guy I’ve ever met. You’d lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on.”

“I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not.” John whipped back with a smirk.

“Oh a little of both I suppose.” Frank leaned back on a nearby desk and took John in. “John, you are easily the smartest and most well-read person in this department. Probably even this university and beyond. When you finish your masters and ultimately your PhD you can write your ticket anywhere. But you always seem lost, like you aren’t really here. You need to get something else in your life.”

“So what exactly are you saying? Like I need a dog?”

“I’m saying you need to branch out. Maybe find someone to be with. Someone who likes what you like but can expand your horizons. You know, so you can actually do something except sit and read all the time.”

“I like sitting and reading.”

“John, I know you do, I also know that you read and re-read everything under the sun. You are an authority on more things than we even know about. But you have no life. You need to see what’s out there. Wait, I have an idea. Trish gave me tickets to the travelling Holocaust exhibit at her museum.”

John nodded. Frank’s wife was the curator at the local history museum. John went over frequently to give impromptu lectures. Trish let him come whenever he liked.

“Frank, Trish lets me come in without tickets, as long as I educate while I am there. It’s the deal we have.”

“OK but John I want you to take someone. You know, like a date. It will be good for you. I mean there must be someone you have your eye on. What about that Joan girl?”

“Joan and I are long over. She got a job in Massachusetts at a Children’s Hospital. It wasn’t going to work anyway. We weren’t good for each other. Actually we were boring together. It was just boring all the time. When she left for her job we were both relieved I think.”

Frank reached into his coat pocket and produced the tickets, handing them to John. “Here, take these. It’ll be your assignment for this week. Open your eyes, look around, and ask someone out. You need to get your head out of the sand.”

John sighed and tucked the tickets in his pocket. “And if I fail?”

“I’ll assign an essay test in my biggest lecture, and you will have to grade them.”

“Fine,” John answered begrudgingly.

OoOoOoo
Rose waited on the quad after class for the teacher’s helper to emerge. She couldn't for the life of her remember his name. But she figured he would come out eventually and even though there was a good breeze it was nice outside in the sun. About half an hour later, after Rose had nearly killed the battery on her phone trying to stave of boredom, John came out of the history building. He was carrying a stack of books and papers, and Rose noticed that the bag slung over his shoulder looked empty. This was going to be easy.

As John approached and was about to stride right in front of her, Rose suddenly stood up, colliding with his right hand and sending everything that he was holding crashing to the ground.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, stooping to help clean up the mess. John had instantly dropped to his knees to keep the papers from blowing all around. Rose popped up and chased after a few, bringing them back to him. He had gathered the fallen items quickly and was now arranging the papers awkwardly as she handed them to her.

Rose spoke again, "I'm really sorry, I didn't see you coming. I must have been preoccupied." She fixed a beaming smile on him.

John stopped for a moment and looked up at her. He didn't return the smile, but gave her a dumb look, like he had no idea what to say. One thing for sure though, he was transfixed. He reddened quickly and looked down, still not saying anything.

Rose took the chance. "Oh I think I know you. Aren't you the teacher's assistant in my history class?"

John met her eyes again, but this time he wore a frown. "I don't have anything to do with the grades in there. I have a template to follow on everything. I don't even enter them into the computer..." he trailed off.

Rose was beaming at him again. "No silly, I just recognized you, that's all. I'm Rose, and I'm clumsy I guess."

"You have no idea." he countered. She guessed he was talking about himself.

They stood together, Rose adjusting his stack a little to make sure nothing spilled. He nodded his head when he was settled.

"Can I help you transport all this somewhere? I mean since I knocked you over and all."

"No thank you, I'm fine." He still looked completely bewildered. Rose wondered idly if he had actually ever talked to a girl before. By the looks of it now, she was the first.

"No really...um I didn't catch your name."

"John, John Smith."

"Well hi there John John Smith. Can I at least treat you to a coffee so you can sit down and maybe straighten yourself out?"

"No thanks, you don't have to do that. I'm fine." He looked around nervously. Not like he was worried about being seen with her, but like he didn't know where to put his eyes.

"Oh come on. Please, I feel bad." Rose looped her arm in his and gave him a tug in the direction of the next building. She knew there was a little coffee shop in there, and that also the chances of being seen were low. It was in the lobby of the social and behavioral sciences building, tucked in a corner. She didn't know anyone who would have classes there, plus it was a little later in the day when most classes would start to wind down. It was the perfect place for a first encounter.

Rose only held his arm briefly, but to John it felt like a lifetime. Honestly he had never had a girl so close to him. She had grabbed him like it was nothing and John was struggling to metabolize it. Maybe she was just a friendly person. Yeah that was it. Friendly and felt bad for crashing into him. He nodded again to her as she held open the door to the building.

Rose approached the counter as John went to the nearest table to set down his load. He joined her after a minute or too. She was ordering a complicated coffee with fat free this and flavored that and John just listened. Her voice was sweet, like she was nice, but she certainly knew what she wanted. He scratched his beard waiting for her to finish. Finally she turned around, giving him the same warm smile from before. "Ok your turn, what do you want?"

"Oh nothing for me, thanks." Truth be told, he was on such a tight budget there was no room for frivolities like fancy coffee. He was paid very little as a graduate assistant and he was lucky if he made rent. Hence the lack of haircut. It simply wasn't in the budget.

Rose frowned a little. Then quirked a sneaky smile. "No really John John, it's on me. I invited you here. Please get something." She put her hand on the small of his back and pushed him gently towards the counter. "I insist."

John cleared his throat. She had called him John John. That was really cute. No one had ever called him that before. He looked at the menu board above the barista, but had no idea what to get. With everything that had just happened he couldn't concentrate either. The board just looked like a swirl of bright chalk. He drew a breath. "Can I just have a small coffee? Black?"

"No problem!" squeaked the overly perky girl behind the counter. She flipped a cup into her hand and started on their drinks while another person rung Rose up. John returned to the table and started to sort the pile he had left there. Rose joined him and they wordlessly straightened everything up and John put a lot if it into the bag. He had just grabbed everything before and not thought to pack it up.

Minutes later, coffee in front of them, they sat facing each other at the table. Now that he had a chance to get a good look at her, John still didn't recognize her. Of course he helped or taught in four different classes. So it wasn't a surprise or anything. She was attractive though, enough that had he seen her he would have remembered her. She had blonde hair, but by the look of her roots it didn't start out that way. Her eyes were whiskey colored and heavily makeuped, yet he could see how they could be soft and they were definitely alluring. Her smile was huge and warm, she seemed to show all her teeth too. It was something he would definitely remember.

He sipped his coffee then set it down. "So Rose, what's your major. You seem to know me, so I figure I ought to ask about you too."

Rose tucked a strand a hair behind her ear. "I actually don't know yet. My mom would like me to go into fashion design or like international business. My grandma would like me to do social work."

"What does Rose want?"

"You see that's the problem. Nothing jumps out at me. I guess I may just get a business degree. Maybe go into the family company."

John sat back and took another sip. "And what is the family company?"

"Rose blushed a little. It's Vitex. "

John looked back at her blankly. "Vitex? What's that?"

"You don't know what Vitex is? Energy and health drinks, supplements, protein powder?"

John shook his head. "Never heard of it. But I have been told I live under a rock."

"You must." she giggled. John grinned back her.

For a moment John looked conflicted. He drew a breath and Rose momentarily thought he may bolt, but instead he spoke. "Um Rose, thank you for the coffee. Unfortunately I have to be at a lecture soon, but I wanted to ask you something. You can totally say no because this is a little forward."

"OK what?"

"I just got some tickets to a travelling exhibit at the world history museum. It's called 'Children of the Holocaust' it's supposed to be amazing. I guess by amazing I mean tragic. I just really like those kinds of things so it is amazing to me. Anyway, would you like to come with me? It doesn't have to be a date, it can just be two people who know each other who are at the same place at the same time."

Rose grinned again. His ramble, though coming from an unshaven, hastily dressed history geek, was actually charming. "When is it?"

"Um," he pulled out the tickets along with a pair of brown glasses. He slid the glasses on his face and examined the tickets. "It starts Saturday. It opens at 6:00." He looked up at her with a slight grin, and puppy eyes.

Rose thought for a second. There was supposed to be a party, a big one that she had planned on attending with her sorority sisters, but those really started later, at least later is when they got interesting. She could easily go to the exhibit then out with her friends after. "Sure, but go you mind if I drive myself and meet you there?"

John looked down at his feet and shuffled a little. "That works out fine considering I don't have a car."

"Oh, well do you need me to come get you?"

John answered quickly. "Oh no, I'll meet you there. Outside by the lion statue at, say 6:15?"

"That sounds great." Rose beamed. She then quickly grabbed his hand and took out a pen. She wrote her phone number on his palm and looked up at him. He now wore a goofy grin. "Here's my number if you need it. But I'll see you there."

John collected his things and slung his now full bag over his shoulder. "I can't wait Rose, by the way what is your last name?"

"It's Tyler. I'll see you on Saturday John John!" With that she turned and headed out the nearest door.

John stood silently for a minute. What had just happened? One minute Frank was telling him to get a life and the next he had a date, well maybe not a date, but was meeting someone. He looked down at the numbers on his hand. He needed a phone. He hadn't ever had one. No one ever called so it was useless. But now he had to get one, because there may actually be someone to call!

Walking away through the grass on the quad, Rose fished out her phone. She opened it and texted Shareen.

"Ha ha first date made, trap has been set. It was too easy. You are going down! I want my spa to include a mud bath, and a sexy masseuse."

Her phone beeped a second later.

"That remains to be seen. By the looks of him, you have a lot of work to do."

Chapter Text

Chapter 3
The remainder of the week crept along for John. He didn't have the history section with Rose in it again that week, and though he looked for her, didn't see her on campus. He went about his daily business trying hard to ignore that he actually had a date and was beyond nervous. At least it was at the museum, a place where he was comfortable. Hopefully she would love it as much as he did.

Rose, on the other hand, was wishing the week wouldn’t go as fast as it was. She actually saw John around a few times but effectively dodged him. The last thing she needed was for him to approach when she was with her friends. Most of them knew about the bet, thanks to Shareen's big mouth. It was entirely possible that one of them would let it slip. Plus he simply wouldn't fit in. Rose was proud of the friends she hung with. They were the cream of the social crop. Even her mother had commented on it. Heck, half the champion football team was in the living room of her apartment just the night before. On top of that there were sons and daughters of many successful and rich families. It was widely felt that these kids and their families ruled the school, and Rose was right in the thick of it.

On Friday night she sat in her room, eating pizza with Shareen and catching up on their TV shows for the week. There wasn't much happening that night, but Rose was upset because the reason for that was that everything was happening the next night.

"I think I'll cancel with John. That party at the Beta house sounds epic." she said, reclining on the couch.

"So you want to lose don't you? Oh boy let me get the brochures and we can pick the spa right now. Oh, maybe I’ll pick one in the Bahamas?"

"Funny." laughed Rose, punching her friend on the arm.

"I'm actually not kidding. If you keep cancelling on him he's going to bolt. I mean all kidding aside, I figure you'll have to go on a few dates before he is comfortable enough to take you to the formal."

"Are you serious? Crap, I never really thought about it. I guess so; I never thought this bet would have so much to it. I mean, he's not horrible or anything, just not very good looking."

"Then you won't get too attached."

"Yeah that won't be a problem. We have nothing in common. I figure I'll just get him to the dance, take the picture, tell him I'm sick, and have him take me home, then take a taxi back and collect my prize."

So you have it all thought out?" Shareen grabbed another piece of pizza. "That's brutal."

"To quote my mom, 'Any man that can't take care of you is not worth your time.' And John is in no way going to be a sugar daddy. I don't think he even has a phone. I wrote my number on his hand and it was like I just gave him a new toy. Kinda sad if you ask me. But he's nice enough so as long as I don't have to kiss him or anything I'll live. Plus maybe I'll learn something. I have a D in history right now. Or maybe he'll let something slip that I can use on a test."

"It's a bummer that he says he can't do anything with your grade though. But I suppose after you dump him he can't retaliate. Your GPA can't take another hit. "

"Tell me about it."

OoOoOoOoO

The day of the date John was nearly beside himself. He hadn’t been out with a girl since he broke it off with Joan. That had been nearly six months ago. Since then he hadn't thought much about his appearance or dress. It hadn't mattered. He chose his brown pinstriped suit, one he had found at a great local second hand store. He had a blue one too but felt more powerful in the brown one. He also chose his normal dingy white Converse sneakers. The choice that confounded him was shirt and tie combo. Finally settling on a white shirt and a swirly blue tie, he looked at his watch... and panicked. He had missed the bus he had intended on catching to the museum. The next one was due in five minutes and the stop for the proper route was a block away. He sprinted out the door and down the street. He had planned on getting there and waiting for her on the steps, but now he was lucky if he made it on time at all.

As the bus pulled to a stop just across the street from the museum, John looked out the window to see a beautiful blonde girl bundled against the cold, standing on the steps waiting for him. He grinned at the thought. Waiting for him! There was a girl he was supposed to meet. John bounded off the bus and across the street.

Rose wore a frown and was staring at her phone, periodically typing on it.

"He's not here yet. I can't believe I got stood up! That's never happened!" she typed.

Her phone beeped. "Maybe he's just late. He looked totally unorganized. Anyway, if he does stand you up, you can just come to the party! I'm going over in half an hour."

"Oh I'll be there for sure. How long can it take to go through a museum? I'll be over in an hour or so. I'm not missing this one for a date I don't want to be on."

"Just tell him you have to wash your hair or something, then come meet me.”

"Ok but I have my car. Do you think it will be safe to leave it there? I doubt any of us will be safe to drive."

"Yeah probably. Then we can send a pledge to get it in the morning."

"Sounds good." Just as Rose sent her last message, a figure popped up in front of her and she startled.

"Hello there, Rose Tyler, sorry to scare you." John wore a happy smile and his normal brown suit. Rose noticed that he hadn't shaved or brushed his hair. He pretty much looked the same.

Rose recovered quickly. "Um, hi John John. Are you ready?"

John made a little purring noise when she called him the little nick name. It was funny to Rose how something so simple could have such an effect. He offered her his arm and she took it. What he didn't see was the deep breath she took to steel herself as she took it. Her mind was on the party and who may be there. Not on the stuffy old museum she was about to enter. She couldn't think of a worse date.

OoOoOoOo

John presented the tickets after they entered. As they were waiting in line Rose discreetly pulled her arm out of his, faking covering a cough. After a few minutes of awkward silence they made it to the front.

The young lady that took them greeted him excitedly. "Oh hi John! Are you doing any lectures tonight? Your one about the Blitz was amazing. It was as if you were really there. I'll never forget it."

John grinned back at her. "Thanks Julie. I'm glad you liked it. I don't know about tonight. I guess we'll see." He lightly poked Rose in the ribs with his elbow. She smiled weakly in return. What had she gotten herself into? She got enough lectures in class. One thing for sure, she was going to need that party after this. She snuck a look at her watch and wondered how to get out of this. Then another thought popped into her head. If Shareen had chosen this one for her, and it didn't work out, what would she choose next?

Inside the museum, John quickly made his rounds saying hi to everyone. Rose sat herself on a nearby bench, not wanting to be dragged around and introduced to everyone she would never see again. John even made a point of going into the gift shop to give a hug to the elderly volunteer there. She, in turn, dug something out of her bag and handed to him. When he came back to Rose, he showed her a little cellophane wrapped loaf. "She makes the best banana bread on the planet." he enthused, opening the wrapper. "Would you like to share it with me?"

Rose turned up her nose a little. "No thanks. I'm not a big banana fan."

"Too bad, you're missing a treat." And with that he ate the whole thing, groaning with each bite.

Rose tried to bury herself in the collar of her coat. This was beginning to be painful. Maybe losing this bet wasn't going to be so bad. Before she could think of an excuse John was up again. "C'mon Rose, let's go see the exhibit!"

Even his enthusiasm was wearing thin on Rose. Slowly she got up. He was standing in front of her bouncing on the balls of his feet.

She followed him into the hall under the big sign "Children of the Holocaust." Inside there were literally hundreds of pictures and artifacts, each with a little cluster of people around it. John took her here and there, explaining things. Rose was literally trying to stay awake. She remembered studying the Holocaust in school, and did understand the tragedy of it, but this exhibit was rather dry, and there was a lot of reading to do.

John stopped in front of a glass case that had a small wool coat inside with a yellow Star of David sewn onto the front. He was explaining to Rose how the Jews had to mark their clothing in Germany during the war and how they were persecuted. He began to tell her about how families went into hiding, and how other families risked their own lives to hide them. Soon Rose noticed a crowd gathering.

"Let me tell you about a little girl named Minna and her older brother Emil." John started, “They were Jewish and living in Berlin. They lived in a neighborhood with lots of other Jewish families. It was pretty there and there were many celebrations amongst the people. Minna loved that there were tables set right out in the streets for the New Year and Passover. They had a nice life with their parents Deiter and Yetta in a cozy house with flower boxes in the windows, a little yard in the back to play in and where their mother hung out clothing to dry. They even had a little fuzzy dog named Heinz that Emil named because he looked like the kosher butcher the next block over.”

“Their father was an accountant in a big firm and made a good living for them. He was a frugal man and walked to work each day with other men from the area rather than having a vehicle. Yeta, their mother, was a great seamstress and made most of the clothes for the family. She was teaching Minna to make clothes for her dolls. She was a smart and beautiful lady with long black hair that Minna tried to braid, but her little hands just couldn’t quite accomplish it. Yeta told her it was well done anyway.”

“The family was comfortable and happy in their little world. The children went to a good school, played the piano and had a great amount of friends. Minna was also elated to be taking dance lessons from a kind woman two houses down. She dreamed about performing in the ballet and giggled about it with her friends.”

“One day though, Deiter came running in when they were getting ready for dinner and told them to grab a few things each, because they had to leave. Minna and Emil grabbed clothes and a few toys, Minna almost forgetting to grab her favorite doll, which she ran back for. Their questions of their father went unanswered in the race to get out. Deiter told them to run through the alley to a house several blocks over and they would be hidden. All he told them was that there were some bad people coming and they had to hide."

"The children and Yetta ran with their things to the house, one owned by good friends, and squeezed into the attic space. Minna was very scared as it was dirty and there was little light. She huddled with Emil in a corner after he swept the cobwebs away for her. Yetta joined them, trying to keep them calm. It was difficult because their father wasn’t with them. The worst thing for Minna was that she didn’t understand why this was happening. No one would tell her, her mother just held her tight.”

While the children and Yetta hid, Deiter was desperately trying to finish some business, get money and contact some family. He told his wife and children that he would meet them later. It seemed like forever for Minna. All she wanted was for her family to be with her. After a long while and after hearing noises below, Minna peeked out the dirty attic window. There were lots of soldiers in the street. They had men lined up on the sidewalk all with their hands on their heads. One of the soldiers advanced on one of the men. Yetta squealed when she recognized him as her father. The soldier then pulled a gun from the holster on his side, then swiftly aimed it and shot him in the head, leaving him in a heap as he moved to the others and did the same. Yetta, who had come up behind Minna clamped her hand over her daughter's mouth, squelching the scream from her daughter."

People continued to gather around John as he told the story. Some had a seat on the floor but others hovered closely, just listening. No one left the room though. He had everyone's attention. Rose backed away mostly so she wasn't standing in front of the group. She looked around at the pictures while John talked. From time to time she looked up, and sometimes his eyes were on her. He would shoot her a little grin from time to time but kept talking.

John continued his story as Rose came upon a picture of a girl carrying a doll. She was with a little boy. John's story went on about how Minna, her mother and brother finally were caught and how they were sent to a concentration camp. He described the conditions there and how Minna was put to work repairing the soldier's uniforms, and how one day her mother disappeared.

Rose stood there, staring at the picture and letting John's story play through her mind. It hurt to hear about this brave little girl and those who simply wanted her and her family dead. Before she knew it a tear escaped, then another, followed by more. She started patting her pockets looking for a tissue and soon her nose started to run too. An older lady took pity on her and handed her a few folded tissues. Rose tried not to meet the lady's eyes out of embarrassment, but muttered a quick thank you.

Before she knew it she heard a smattering of applause and people thanking John. Seconds later he was by her side looking worried. "Are you alright Rose?"

She nodded, looking down and wiped away another stray tear. How mortifying, she came here on this pseudo date and now she was crying her eyes out at a story. John gently took her free hand. "C'mon I'll get us some hot chocolate. The lady in the snack bar always gives it to me for free. I tutor her son."

He led Rose out of the exhibit, into the big entrance hall, and then to then to the end. There was a little restaurant with a few people seated around, but he took her to a table in the back and sat her down. Moments later he returned with two steaming cups of hot chocolate with absurd amounts of whip cream on top and chocolate sprinkles.

Rose's eyes widened when she saw them. John smiled sheepishly. "She saw that I was with a girl so she added some flare. I hope it's not too much."

"Did she die John?" asked Rose, eyes still trained on the cup in front of her.

"You mean Minna? I certainly hope she didn't."

"How can you not know?"

John leaned in a little closer, his voice low. "Because I made that story up, Rose. It was a mish mash of hundreds of true stories. And yes some of them did live. But millions of people died. Families lost forever. Minna's family could have been any of them."

"I knew it happened, but this is the first time anyone has made it real." Rose finally picked up a spoon and scooped a little whip cream off the top of her drink and put it in her mouth.

John sat back watching her. "Well that's what I do here from time to time. I come here to tell the stories of people who no longer have voices."

"Do they pay you?"

John laughed. "Sometimes I get something, but mostly I get to come whenever I want. But that's not why I do it. I just want people to get history. You know, be able to take what they hear and apply it to the modern world. It not, it can all happen again."

They sat in silence for a little while each lost in thought, sipping their drinks when Rose's phone buzzed. She brought it out of her pocket. It was a text from Shareen. "Hey Chica, are you coming over? This place is heating up. Jimmy's here too, and guess who he's NOT with? Text me back!"

Rose tucked her phone back in her pocket and looked up at John. "So, tonight has been great, but I have to go. Thanks for everything." She stood up.

"No problem Rose, I had fun too. I'm sorry if my story made you sad though. I wish you could stay longer. There's a ton of stuff left to see, I promise to only show you happy stuff though." He wore a bright grin.

Rose laughed. It was like music to John's ears, making him smile and join her. "No, I really have a lot of...stuff to get to." She paused for a few moments, thinking. "But I wouldn't mind doing something else another time."

John nodded eagerly and stuck out his hand awkwardly to shake hers. He clearly didn't know what to do next. Rose smiled again and shook it. Then reached up and poked the abundant scruff on his chin. "You should shave so people can see your face."

John stepped back and reddened considerably. Rose thought that maybe she had said too much. Why was she concerned about that though? She shouldn't care really, but for some reason she did.

"Goodnight Rose," he half mumbled. Then he picked up their trash and she followed him out into the hall.

"Goodnight John John." This time her smile at him had a little hint of tongue sticking out the side and John nearly fell over. His heart was slamming into his ribs and suddenly he felt a little dizzy. He managed a weak smile as she turned and headed to the exit.

When she touched his face he nearly died of... what? Fright, embarrassment, anxiety? It was hard to tell. All he knew was that whatever this girl wanted him to do for he would... ten times over.

Back in her car Rose got out her phone again. She was emotionally exhausted and leaned back into the seat. She re-opened the text from Shareen. "Hey Sister, I'm not feeling so hot. I think I'll take a pass on tonight. Tell Jimmy hi for me and be sure to talk about me a lot. See you later." With that she drove home.

Chapter Text

When John woke the next morning he bounced out of bed, showered, then stood staring at himself in the mirror. He turned this way and that, evaluating his chin and scruffy beard. Then he opened the drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors and a razor and got to work.

On Monday morning it was easy for John to shave again. It made him feel like a new person. He frowned at the overgrown hair on his head though. There was nothing to do with it for now; he was saving for a phone to be able to call Rose anyway. When he opened the closet to pick the suit of the day he stalled. He felt different today, ready to try new things. Instead of reaching for the suit he grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans from the shelf. Joan had made him get them a long time ago.

He had been with Joan for about six months. In that time, “a whole lot of nothing” happened. They hadn't even been intimate. In fact, all they had shared was chaste kisses and only a few of those. It just never felt right to John. Joan seemed to need someone just to be there for her while she finished nursing school. They watched movies and spent time together, but mostly he was just her sounding board for school frustrations. She hadn't made him any more comfortable around girls for sure. Now being near Rose made that abundantly clear. He had been so nervous he could barely stand it at the museum, and hadn't calmed until he started to tell the story.

Rose's reaction had hit him right in the heart. He could see her crying and wanted to just quit talking and run to her, but that would have created a scene. It felt good that his words made someone emotional. Maybe he would be able to get to her. But then again, what did he have to offer a girl like Rose?. She was obviously high class’ he could see that by just the hair and the clothes. He was just a lowly graduate assistant with zero money and an overwhelming workload. He really didn't have time for a relationship, if that was where this was going. But he couldn't stop. Rose was beautiful and paying attention to him and it felt good.

OoOoOoOo

Rose sat on a low brick wall in the quad trying to stay warm. Fall had come all of a sudden and now a stiff breeze blew the leaves all around. October had started warm, but changed quickly. She idly wondered how John felt about the date. She hadn't heard anything; but then again he said he didn't have a phone.

She looked up to see Shareen approaching. Her friend plopped down next to her and chirped, "Hey girl, what's up?"

"Oh just waiting for you. I feel like I haven't seen you at all since Saturday."

"I know." Shareen countered," I was super hung over Sunday and have been crazy busy getting that presentation together for Econ class. I'm finished now, but I still have to go and turn in my paper and talk to my professor. So tell me about your date."

"It wasn't really a date. He took me to the museum."

"Oh gross." Shareen wrinkled her nose.

"It really wasn't that bad. John's not as horrible as I thought. I have this sewn up. You're going down. How much time do you think I need to do before I bring up the formal though? I mean I don't want to have to obtain girlfriend status before he asks me."

Shareen scoffed." Are you asking me how to proceed so you can win this bet? I thought you didn't much care what happened. "

"No I'm asking you as a friend. Now that I have spent a little time with him I realize that I don't want to lead him on and squash his heart when this is all over."

"Are you falling for him?"

"Oh God no, but he's a real person. I don't want to ruin the guy. I mean we have nothing in common and I'd never ever choose him as a boyfriend. Anyway he's kinda nice and I would feel bad if he got the wrong idea."

"Whatever, I would tell him about the dance as soon as you can. But maybe just go out with him once more. You don't have to kiss him or anything. That would be gross." Shareen stood.

Rose stuck out her tongue. "Eww, I wouldn't kiss that face if you paid me. He has the grossest beard ever."

"OK, it sounded like you may be starting to like him. I'm encouraged by this though. If you guys had made out or something I'd get after you."

"No, you're safe. John is still weird enough that there is no chance of that."

"OK Rose, will you wait for me? I’ll be back in a few minutes and we can go eat."

"Sure, I have some reading to do. I'll hang out here."

As Shareen left to drop off her materials, Rose rested back with her book.

OoOoOoOo

Earlier that day John bounded into the history offices drawing whistles and cat calls from his coworkers. He laughed and posed for them. "Wow John," called Frank,” You look like a regular person. Hey, you're even in jeans! Who are you anyway?"

"Funny," John grumbled.

"You forgot to get a haircut." Frank pointed out.

"All in good time my man, next paycheck." John said sinking into his chair, then jumping back up. "Oh I forgot, I have a meeting with the dean. I'll be back, and then we can talk about travel plans for next week."

"Sure." Frank waved him off.

A half hour later when John came back Frank was gone, but an envelope was on John's chair. It had a note on it,"GET A HAIRCUT YOU HIPPY." was all it said. Inside was $25 dollars in various sizes of bills. Frank must have taken up a collection. John laughed and headed out the door to the on-campus barber.

OoOoOoo

Crossing campus a little later John found himself rubbing the back of his head. The hair was really short there now. It had been nearly a year since he last had a haircut but it felt good. The gal had cut it really short in the back and trimmed it up on top, then she added a bunch of hair gel to the top. Now it was spiked up but not too short. John had really liked the outcome. Then the lady gave him the rest of the gel bottle with instructions on its use. John wondered if she had taken pity on him, seeing him take the money to pay her out of the envelope.

John was heading back to the history building when he caught sight of Rose sitting on a wall. She was talking to a friend who then left. He crept up behind her, careful not to make noise. Just as he got to her, he hopped up on the wall next to her. "Hi Rose!" he blurted out.

Rose startled, but her face broke into a smile quickly. Then she instantly morphed into a confused look. John didn't quite know how to react to her. It was as if she didn't know who he was. "Did you recover from the museum?" he asked, hoping to give her a clue.

"John John? Oh my God. You shaved, oh and cut your hair! You look like a different person."

John frowned a little and looked down. "Geez I don’t know I was that bad."

"No, you look great. I've just never seen you without facial hair. You look good." She smiled warmly, recovering from her initial shock and calming John considerably. The truth was, John looked great. Rose hadn't looked beyond the beard before. Now she could clearly see the freckles on his cheeks and across his nose. His hear was great too. Having it spiked up like that made him look five years younger. He also didn't have his normal suit on. Had she just seen him out and about she may have given him a second look. He wasn't her usual muscled frat boy, but he was quite good looking none the less. She could see now that he had an easy smile that shone all the way up to his eyes, which sparked.

John rubbed his chin reflexively when she mentioned it. "Yeah, I took your advice. I guess I just don't think about shaving. "

"I like it." she beamed.

John checked his watch. "I just wanted to say hi, since I hadn't talked to you since the museum. Did you have fun?"

"If you mean did I recover from my emotional trauma, yes I did. But it was fun overall."

"Good, I um, I was wondering if you ever wanted to see me again after that.”

Rose laughed. "You didn't scar me for life it that's what you were wondering."

"Well good. I was thinking that we should do something a little less... harsh. Are you up for another go? I mean something else?"

"Sure John John, what do you have in mind?"

Every time Rose said his name like that it made him blush. No one had ever called him that before. No one really called him anything except John for that matter. "Well I have to go out of town on university business for the rest of this week, but how about next week? We'll do something simple. No crying involved."

"Sounds good. What do you have to do?"

"Oh I present various papers at symposiums around the country. I do about two a semester. It just so happens that both of them are in the next few weeks though. It's part of getting my master’s degree. I should be done with that by next summer."

"Then what do you do?" Even while asking, Rose was looking around but John couldn't figure out why.

"I don't know. I suppose I may go teach somewhere, or maybe look into museum work. I want my PhD and will need to get that first if I really want something good. I haven't really looked yet. I'm not much of a planner, I guess I just kind of fly by the seat of my pants. I'm working on that though. Are you looking for someone?" He noticed her turn her head again.

"Oh yeah, my friend is supposed to meet me."

John shifted a little. He got the feeling that she wasn't really comfortable enough to show him to her friends yet. "Well OK Rose. I'm getting a phone soon, so I'll text you when I get back...hopefully. I still have your number."

Rose looked a little distracted but turned back and smiled. "OK that sounds good John John. I'll look forward to it."

With that John nodded and stood. He gave an awkward wave. "See ya later."

Rose grinned hugely. "Not if I see you first."

John laughed and headed out. Unfortunately he didn't see that the statement was true on Rose's part, especially if she was with her current group of friends.

OoOoOoOo

What made Rose not as able to concentrate on John was Shareen walking towards her. She was making all kinds of silly gestures and faces. It was all Rose could do to keep herself together.

After John left Shareen, joined Rose again, "Was that John? What happened to him? I mean whoa, he actually looked cute. Was that your doing?"

"Yes and no... I mentioned to him that he should shave, but the rest was all him. He did look good didn't he? I just have to remember to have my eyes on the prize. I have to say that it's easier if he's not hideous."

"You are sticking to the bet though. I mean I picked him, but he is out of your normal mold. I should have picked someone who looked more like a troll."

"No thank you. He and I have really have nothing in common, like I said. I have to pretend to be interested in whatever he’s babbling about. But I think he's on the hook for sure. I'll tell him about the formal when I see him next. He's even getting phone just so he can talk to me."

Shareen threw her head back and laughed. "He doesn't even have a phone? Wow he really is an alien isn’t he? This is going to be fun. "

OoOoOo

Days later, Saturday morning in fact, Rose woke early to the sound of her phone buzzing. She groaned and looked at the screen, 8:05 am. It was a text from an unknown phone. She blinked a few times and pushed her hair from her face, squinting from the brightness of the screen. It read, “Hi, it's John. I found a great store that sells refurbished phones and got one! Can I call you?"

Rose shook her head. How was he up so early? She had only gotten to bed four hours ago herself. She typed back. "Give me a second, I'll call you." Then she got up to the bathroom and took a long swig from a water bottle on her bedside table.

Finally she went out into the hall, away from her sleeping roommates. She added John to her contacts and called him. He answered on the first ring. "Hi Rose! Did I wake you?"

"Um yeah, but it's ok. What's up?"

"Well I got a phone. I'm in Atlanta and I found it at an outlet mall. Problem is that I have super limited minutes. But I wanted to call you, even though I’ll be home tonight. How are you?"

Rose was taken aback with the tempo of his talking. It was hard to assimilate him this early and so recently after being out partying. She took a breath. "I'm ok, but I was out late, so I'm tired."

"Ok, I'll let you go back to sleep. I was hoping we could go out tomorrow. How about I meet you around ten? That is, unless you have something else to do? I mean church or something? Gosh I never even asked you."

Rose rubbed her face. No way, not that early on a Sunday, but she couldn't keep from chuckling. "Um, that's a little early, since I have plans tonight. How about closer to 12? I can meet you anywhere."

John got quiet for a a couple of beats. "Yeah sure, sorry, I don't really know how it all works. I really am not one for parties. I guess I like the company of a good book. Not that you are doing anything out of the ordinary. I don't need much sleep though, I'm an early riser."

Rose shook her head. His rambling was not doing much for her growing headache. She was more than ready to be done with this conversation. "Ok John, where and when?"

"Commerce park by the duck pond? There's parking right there. Twelve o'clock?"

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow John."

"Ok Rose, goodbye." With that Rose ended the call. John sat at the desk at his hotel and set the phone down. It was the second time in a week that he felt like Rose wasn’t quite on the same page as him, yet she didn't tell him to get lost. It felt weird.

Rose stood quietly and turned back into her room. She was asleep ten seconds later.

Chapter Text

Later the same night as the early morning phone call, Rose sat in the couch of a fraternity house. Next to her sat a freshman boy that she was pretty sure had just passed out. Shareen had run off with someone and hadn't come back for an hour. Rose looked around, surveying the various dramas playing out. Several new couples were forming, one was breaking up, and a cluster of boys was hanging around group of girls deeply entrenched in a drinking game that Rose never had figured out the rules to. It was entirely possible that the rules were made up as it went along.

She looked down at the rum and coke in her cup. Her stomach was still sensitive from last night. She hadn't even drunk half of one cup yet. She felt something heavy on her shoulder and saw that the head of the boy next to her had come to rest on her shoulder. That was enough. She stood and deposited her drink on the nearest counter and went outside. The ground was wet with puddles all around, as it had been lightly raining for some time.

She shot a quick text to Shareen, wherever she was. "I'm bored, going home." She could see that the text went unopened. Sighing, she walked the block to her car and got in, waiting for it to warm up. It fogged up quickly inside and she sat down and waited for the defroster to work.

After listening to two songs on the radio, Rose could see though about half of her windshield if the bent over in her seat. She put the car in gear and pulled into the street. It was only a few blocks back to her place anyway. The roads looked wet, but ok overall. She was careful to stop with plenty of room. That was until she saw two headlights behind her. They were far up the ground like on a lifted truck and they were advancing quickly.

Rose gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to stay on the road but moments later she could hear the loud engine of the truck. It was nearly on top of her now. Terrified that it didn't see her, she jerked the wheel to the right and the truck swerved around her and roared past. Rose’s car then ran right into a huge patch of mud.

"Dammit!" she screamed, hitting the steering wheel with her fist. Luckily the airbags didn't deploy. When she opened her door and stomped out though, she knew her predicament. She was now ankle deep in thick mud. Her car was buried up to the axles in front and nearly that in back. There was no way to get it out without help.

She took out her phone and looked at it. Shareen still hadn't seen her message, so she would be no help. Who to call? She hadn't seen Jimmy at the party, maybe he didn't go out. Everyone else had been there and weren't going to be sober enough to do anything. She had his number for a while now and every once and a while he and she would text, but rarely at best. But what better time to get to know someone?

She pulled up his contact and called him. He answered after four rings. "H'lo?"

"Hi Jimmy, it's Rose Tyler. I know this is a long shot, but I wondered if you could come get me, I got my car stuck in the mud."

There was a long pause. "Rose..T--yler? I know you don't I?"

Rose quickly figured out that Jimmy was in no state of mind to come save her.

Instead of dragging on the conversation with an obviously intoxicated Jimmy, Rose ended the call. It wasn't going to go anywhere that was clear. She climbed back in her car shivering. It was still raining, in fact it had started raining harder. Next she went through all of her contacts starting at the beginning. Most of her friends were at the party and were in no shape to drive let alone rescue her. She called four other people, three were stuck at work and the last one didn't answer.

Just as Rose was getting discouraged, she got to the J's in her contacts. She took a long look at John's name. Could she? He didn't have a car but maybe he could help. He was supposed to be back at 8, it was 11 now. Maybe he would answer. She rapped the phone on her dashboard trying to decide. It was a little weird. Her only other option was to try a tow truck but last time something like this happened to Shareen, it took two hours for the truck to arrive. She would be frozen be then. She needed to at least try John. If he didn’t pick up he didn’t pick up.

She took a breath and pushed on the screen to call him. With every ring she got more anxious. Maybe he wouldn't hear it, maybe he was sleeping. On the last ring before she figured it would do to voice mail he answered, he voice surprisingly chipper for the time of night. "Hello? Rose?"

"Hi John John."

"Are you OK?"

"Well actually that's why I'm calling. I got ran off the road and ended up in the mud. I’m ok, but can't get my car out. I wasn't sure if you'd be able to help me or if I should call for a tow."

"Where are you?"

"Umm, I am near Stoneman Road. Do you know where the Alpha house is? I'm just a few blocks away from that."

"I actually don't know where that is, specifically, but I know the road. Give me a few minutes and I'll be there to help figure it out."

"Thanks John John."

“No problem."

And with that John was on his way. Fifteen minutes later Rose heard gravel crunching and saw a wavering light heading her way. As it got closer she could see that it was a flashlight taped to the handlebars of a bike. He clattered to a stop by her driver's door and knocked on the window, which she lowered. "Hello Miss, did you need to be rescued?" John was bundled from head to toe, his voice muffled by an enormous scarf around his face. All that she could see were his brilliant brown eyes.

"Oh I'm glad you made it. Do you think you can get me out?"

"Where there's a will there's a way Miss Tyler!" he enthused, pulling a camp shovel from around his back. He must have had it in a backpack.

John went to work then digging out the mud, finding pieces of wood and rocks to get under the tires and such. The whole endeavor took nearly an hour. Finally he came up next to her. "OK let's try it."

Rose got a look at him standing in the light of her headlights. He was caked with mud. She couldn't even see his shoes for the buildup. His clothes were so coated that she there was no way to tell what he had been wearing. She also noticed that he was shivering. "Are you OK John John?"

"I'm fine Rose let's just try it so we can get home, huh?" His voice was not unkind, just sounded exhausted.

Rose got into the driver's seat and followed his instructions to slowly back out. The tires slipped a little at first and John had to toss some more things under the tires for traction, but slowly the car inched out. At the very end he even jumped ahead of the car and pushed on the hood. The car lurched back onto the road. When Rose stopped, now clear of the mud, she took him in. He stood there not bathed in the light of her headlights. He not only had mud all over his clothes, but all over his face and hair too. He wore a weary smirk though, but his eyes had lost their shine.

Rose climbed out. "Thank you so much. I can't believe you did it. No one could come and you did. Thanks a million!"

John walked closer, giving her an appraising look. "So how many people did you call before you called me?"

Rose thought for a moment "Well I went through everyone or most everyone. I called a few but the rest weren't sober to drive. Then I came to you."

Rose had no idea what he was asking. "Oh I thought you may have called me first. I wasn't doing anything." He futilely tried to wipe globs of mud from the front of his pants.

Then it dawned on Rose. It sounded like she had called him as a last resort. She had actually. It was too late to save that one; she had already run her mouth.

"John, I should have called you first."

"It's OK Rose; I know you live in a different world from me. I just don't know... I mean how you..." What he was trying to ask was if she was afraid to let him meet any of her friends or to hang out with him let alone think of him before anyone else. It was certainly beginning to feel like it. But if it was the truth, she didn’t want him to meet anyone, then what were they doing? She kept agreeing to go with him, but then kept him away from the rest of her life. Though he wanted to know, this wasn’t the time to ask the question he had been pondering for days. John didn't know what else to say, so he stood there, shivering and looking pitiful.

Rose instantly felt horrible. She hadn’t thought of him before anyone else. . Now he was feeling like she didn’t think of him except for a last resort. But that wasn't the truth or was it? She hadn’t thought about him a whole lot, just here and there, remembering how cute he looked, but then about how different they were. She shook her head subtly, clearing the whirlwind of thoughts that were swirling around in her head. "Come on John, let's get you home and warmed up."

Without a word John grabbed his bike from the side of the road while Rose opened the trunk of the car. Together they shoved it in, securing it closed with a strap of a bag she had in there.

The ride to John's apartment was quiet save him giving her directions. When they arrived Rose got out, helping with the bike. He held it between them. "Thanks for the ride home." he said, looking down and starting to turn.

"Wait John John, I wanted to thank you. You saved me, literally. I'm sorry I didn't think to call you first. You were there for me when no one else was. You're my hero. I'd hug you right now if I could, but..."

John smiled shyly, his eyes finally meeting hers. "But you don't want to be covered in mud?"

"No not really.”

"Ok Rose, goodnight." He turned to leave.

"Wait, what about tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, noon then?"

Rose smiled broadly. "I'll be there by ten."

John returned her smile and with his customary awkward wave, walked his bike to the apartment building.

OoOoOo

Minutes later after he had shucked his muddy clothes, John stood in the hot water of the shower thinking. What was it about him that Rose Tyler liked? Why was she paying him attention? She obviously had rafts of friends, not all that reliable friends, but lots of them none the less. He still hadn't met any of them yet though. She still went out and behaved as usual when he wasn't around too. Not like he had anything to say about her social life, but if he was going to ever be her boyfriend it would be nice to be included. Or at least asked to be included.

He settled on wondering why Rose seemed interested. He had made the first advance though, asking her to the museum. But she had come back. He scrubbed his face. It made no sense. He couldn't help with her grades, and she hadn't asked, but it all didn't add up. It was completely out of the blue.

John went to bed that night, wondering what Rose Tyler was after.

OoOoOo

The morning broke cool and clear. The rain had ended close to midnight and the skies were bright blue as John steered his bike through a residential neighborhood. He stopped at a modern, tidy two story house in a cul-de-sac and hopped off his bike. Instantly upon his arrival two kids came barreling out of the house. "Hi John! " they yelled enthusiastically. The first one to reach him was eight year old tow headed boy. The second was a ginger haired girl that was six. He gave them both high fives with a smile.

"Hi guys!" John countered.

The boy was jumping up and down. "John you have to see my National History Day project! It's a model of Pearl Harbor and shows where all the ships were. I even have Japanese planes flying over it."

"That sounds really cool Alex. I'll come in after your dad and I are done."

Frank joined John just then. He was outfitted in running pants, shoes and a jacket. He eyed John, who was in sweatpants, his Converse and an oversized sweatshirt. "Are you ready?"

"Sure thing!" John answered. With that they started off. They had had a long standing running date on Sunday mornings for the last year. John secretly thought it maybe was his mentor's way of shirking Sunday morning chores, but liked the time away from everything. It wasn’t a tough run or anything, they usually only ran about two miles, then sat and chatted somewhere for a while.

This morning they found a bench about a mile from the house. They sat quietly for a while, taking in the sights when Frank spoke. "So John, I gotta know. First I talked to you about going out with someone and then Trish said you went to the museum with a girl. Now you have shaved and gotten a haircut. Soooo, what's up?"

John shook his head.” I actually don't know Frank, So… I literally ran into this girl and she was really nice to me. I went out on a limb and asked her out to the museum. I did a little impromptu storytelling and she got emotional. It was cute. Since then we have been kind of talking. Last night she even called me to ask for help when her car got stuck in the mud. Of course that was after she called all her friends. I was the last one. But I came and dug her out."

"That's chivalrous."

"I know, but it’s weird too. I've never met any of her friends. It's like she wants to be with me then not… all at the same time. "

"Has she asked anything of you?"

"No I even started with the fact that I could not help her grade. She has you for history. You may know her; Rose Tyler?

"It rings a bell but I have so many in those lectures I never remember."

John smiled. "I sympathize. I have two classes of thirty and I only know the good ones and the bad ones. But anyway, I'm supposed to meet her today to do stuff, but I just can't get past not knowing what she wants. "

"Well John, maybe you're just a different guy for her. She may not want anything. I mean look at you. You're good looking, funny, crazy intelligent, and an all-around good guy. You're a catch, so to speak. I can say that because I am confident in my masculinity. “They both broke out in laughter at this.

Frank recovered first. "So where are you taking her today?"

John grinned. "Well I have a fabulous day planned. It's basically the poor man's tour. Actually I'm meeting her at the park for a stroll around 10."

"Well that can be fun. Are you packing a lunch?"

"Um no, I hadn't thought of it. All I have a home is mac and cheese and peanut butter. I'm not even sure I have bread right now."

"You’re pathetic." Frank stood and clapped John on the back. "Come on Romeo, I'll consult my romance specialist. But we better hurry." Without further explanation, Frank took off at a jog back to the house.

Chapter Text

Two hours after his meeting with Frank, John steered his bike into the parking lot of the park. He had a large basket strapped to the back of it. It looked like it may have been on the base of a baby seat, but now was attached with bright bungee cords. In truth, Frank and John had spent a large amount of time repurposing the bike seat from one of his kids while Trish prepared the basket.

John parked his bike next to a bench and locked it up. He looked around but saw no sign of Rose. He set down the basket next to him and glanced at his phone. She hadn't called or texted. Half an hour later John started to squirm. Even though the sun was warm, the bench was cold and he was getting bored. Maybe she had decided not to come.

He picked up his phone again wondering if he should call her and see if there was something the matter or just leave it be. If she didn't want to hang out with him it was her choice.

Just then Rose’s car came speedily turning into the lot. She stopped in the parking space in front of John, who met her with a wide grin.

She hopped out hastily. "I'm so sorry John, my best friend's roommate called and she didn't come last night. I had to go find her."

"Was she ok?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I guess she has a new boyfriend. She ummm, she stayed with a guy last night."

"Oh." John blushed and promptly looked down.

Rose sat next to him. "But I'm here now, so what's up? What are we doing?"

John perked up again. "Well Rose Tyler, I thought I would take you on a little walk so we can soak in this beautiful day. Then maybe a little lunch." He pointed to the basket.

"Oh John John! That's really nice! Ok, so do you want to put that in my car while we walk?"

John blushed furiously at her excitement and the use of his new nick name. He honestly thought he would never stop reacting to it. He covered his face with a quick movement to her car to put the basket in. Shortly thereafter, they headed out on the walk.

John led Rose down a path to a pond. It was a nice day, the rain now gone and pleasant for mid-November. He turned onto the sidewalk next to the water and came to a stop by what looked like a bubble gum machine. Rose watched as he slid a coin in the slot and twisted the knob, dispensing little brown pellets into his hand. As he did so, ducks that had been a little farther away started to swim towards him. He then quickly started tossing the food into the water for the ducks to eat.

Rose watched, laughing at the greedy animals. She took in John too. He was taking special care to toss nuggets to the birds that were smaller and scolding ones when he thought they took too much. Soon he had to get another handful of food to toss, giving her some to throw too. Quickly it developed into a game of trying to get some delivered to each bird and the two of them competing to see who could be the most accurate. Rose thought they must look loony bobbing and weaving around each other laughing loudly.

Finally when the food was exhausted they started down the path again. Rose noticed the ducks following. "I think you've made friends."

"Yeah... Hey you freeloaders," he said to them, “the buffet's over for now."

Rose laughed. "I always just fed them bread. I've never seen dispensers before."

"Actually bread is bad for them. It can poison them if it sits around too long. This food is good for them though. I like to think that we are getting them ready to fly south. I mean I imagine they will be leaving soon..." Rose looked up at him as he trailed off. The next thing she noticed was him distractedly looking all around.

"What's the matter John John?"

"I don't know… I hear something. I thought at first it was just the hungry bunch we just fed, but there's something else." Sure enough after he pointed it out Rose heard it too. It was kind of like a squawking. Before she could locate it, John was off running to a little rock outcropping a about fifty yards down the lane. When she caught up she could see what he was after. There were two ducks together, one quacking loudly, and another laying there. On closer inspection the second one was wound up in fishing line.

"Oh he's stuck!" exclaimed Rose.

John didn't answer; he was carefully advancing on the birds, talking in a low calming voice. "Hello there Mr. Duck, are you caught up?" he cooed. "Those mean fishermen must have left behind their line and look at you."

The first duck advanced on John quacking angrily. John turned to it but didn't stop. "Is this your chick? Oh he's got himself all tied up but I'll help him. Don't worry Mama."

Rose looked down again at the tangled animal. It was smaller than the other. She marveled at how John picked up on that so quickly.

John stopped, kneeling by the second duck. Carefully he slid his hand into the pocket of his jacket and produced a pocket knife. As he leaned in to cut the wire, the mama duck ran towards him biting him on the hand.

"Ouch, now that wasn't nice." he said, voice calm despite the look of pain on his face. He stood and took off his long coat and looked at Rose. "It seems as though I need your assistance." Before Rose could see what he was doing he whirled around and settled his jacket over the angry bird, leaving its head out. He had her snuggly though and she couldn't move.

"OK Rose, can you just come where I am and hold her?"

Rose shot him a look of trepidation. "It's ok, she can't hurt now. Just keep a hand on her neck like this. I want her to see what I'm doing. Rose timidly took steps to him, bending over next to him, and holding the bird, which had calmed considerably. Rose held her tight as John hopped up and made quick work of cutting the other bird free.

Minutes later he sat the duck up and stepped back. It took a few seconds to acclimate, but it started towards the water. He motioned for Rose to stand, releasing her prisoner too. The mama joined him and they happily but quickly swam away. Rose settled her hands on her hips. "Look at that! John John Smith, duck whisperer." She threw her head back and laughed.

Had she been looking at him at that moment she would have seen his eyes sparkle before he joined her. He hadn't seen her laugh out loud so openly before. It was breathtaking.

"Yeah I guess I have a thing for helping the helpless. I just couldn't handle that little guy suffering. I hope he does ok." He looked down at his hand and frowned. It had drops of blood dripping from it.

Rose reached out to him. "Here let me see that. I mean if you are going to be a duck savior at least I can provide first aid." She stepped close to him and took his hand in hers, wiping away the blood with a little piece of tissue she pulled from her pocket. She dabbed away the blood to get a better look at the wound. "Oh it's just a little nip, look." Without thinking she put her finger in her mouth and rubbed it on his palm, getting some of the dried blood off.

John watched her in awe. She was so gentle, and aside from when he took her arm and later shook her hand at the museum, this is the first time they had really touched. Rose didn't seem to notice him staring, open mouthed at her.

"There! All better." she exclaimed, patting the tissue in place. "Just hold it for a few more minutes. I think you're going to live, soldier." She beamed up at him meeting soft brown eyes and a smile creeping across his face. She matched his expression, and then realized just how close they were. So close she could feel his breath on her cheeks. She cleared her throat and took a little step back, blushing.

"Thank you.” he whispered.

They both took a moment, now apart, to recover. John swallowed hard. “OK then, picnic time!” he exclaimed a little too enthusiastically. “Shall we?” He took a few steps toward the path and held his uninjured hand out, wiggling his fingers at her. Rose grinned widely and took it, letting John lead her away.

The pair walked hand in hand back towards Rose's car during which John babbled incessantly. Rose didn't mind though, his stories were funny but at the same time full of fun facts and put her at ease. It occurred to her then just how easy it was to be with John. There was no pretense; she didn't have to keep her image up or anything. He wasn't expecting anything and for once, no one was judging. Her nerves just washed away with him. He was like human valium. It was refreshing to be like this. She had been taught by her mother to always look and act a certain way. That way no one could say anything about you. That stayed with her, even when she lived with her grandmother, the constant need to keep up airs. But now it was different, walking along with John, and it felt good.

"Rose?" John interrupted her reverie. "Earth to Rose."

"Sorry, John John, I was just thinking." She hadn't even noticed it, but they had made it all the way back to her car.

"Oh I was just asking if you wanted to sit on the grass over there in the sun?"

"In the sun sounds perfect." she answered, unlocking the car. John bounced over to the spot he pointed out and slid off his long coat, spreading it out for them to sit on. He took the basket from her when she arrived and set it right in the middle, plopping down next to it and promptly started digging inside.

"Oh boy, what do we have here?" he enthused.

"Don't you know? Isn't it your basket?"

John reddened. "Actually it’s not. Frank...uh Dr. Gold's wife set me up this morning. She ah, well she takes pity on me a lot… mostly in the form of food. She gets the whole starving student thing. I go over there about twice a week and never leave empty handed." He didn't look up, but rather kept digging. "Oh sandwiches, chicken I think, little bags of chips..." he laid the food out as he found it.”OH YEAH! Pudding cups! Lemme see...water..."

"Geez how much did she put in there?"

"I honestly have no idea, it's like it's bigger on the inside." He popped his head up to smile at her, and then started digging again. "Wet naps for our hands, fruit leather... and cookies! I hope you are hungry! Wait, you're not one of those girls who doesn't eat are you?"

Rose smiled. Ordinarily she actually was. She could vividly remember her mother talking about how guys though badly about girls that ate a lot or actually usual amounts. It was all about looking good. If she was with her girlfriends it was ok, but she always was careful when there were boys around. She felt no pressure today though. "No John John, I'm normal, and hungry. Gimme a sandwich!"

John sprouted a smile from ear to ear and tossed one over to her. They ate in companionable silence with little comments here and there for a while. Rose never once was uncomfortable.

After a while she laid back and looked up at the sky with a sigh. "That was great. Please thank her for me. It was just what I needed. The next thing she knew, John was moving the basket off his jacket and stretching out next to her. He was a few inches away, but she would feel him there.

"So Rose Tyler, tell me about yourself. I don't feel like I know much."

"What do you want to know?"

"Siblings?"

"Nope just me."

"Mom, Dad and picket fence?"

Rose stalled. "No I have a mom, but dad died when I was young, raised a lot by my grandmother."

"Oh sorry." He rolled on his side to face her. “I didn't mean to bring up old memories."

"No actually no one ever has really asked. Once they hear I am the Vitex heiress they stop asking."

"I'm amongst royalty and didn't know it? Wow. So Vitex, like the energy drinks?'

"Yup." Rose now rolled to face him. "So how about you John, do you come from a long line of duck rescuers?"

John's face softened even more while he thought. "I actually don't know. My parents had me late in life and I was away at boarding school starting at ten years old. Before that I was raised but a succession of nannies. They were with me 24-7. I can't say I knew my parents very well. They seemed like nice people though. They passed about five years ago. I can't complain though, I had a pretty happy childhood. You know birthdays and playing at the park and all that."

"I guess I didn't do so badly either. I never wanted for anything. My grandmother was always in my life. My mother is a bit wacko though. She completely went off the rails when Dad died for a little while. You know, crazy parties and stuff, so I went to live permanently with my grandmother."

"Who are you more like?"

My mother I suppose. I'm flighty and not super interested in school. I don't know, that’s what she says anyway. My grandma is more down to earth and practical."

"Oh Rose Tyler, I think you are wrong." He smiled mischievously at her. "I find you to be sweet and very grounded. If you were 'flighty' as you say, I wouldn't have been attracted to you in the first place."

Rose felt a twinge of guilt at that moment, so strong she had to sit up. What was she doing? It felt like she had been slapped across the face. This bet with Shareen, it had been a joke, but now there was a real person attached to it. John was not only a person, but a good one at that, someone sensitive and gentle, who clearly was starting to care for her. Her original plan had been to dump him, but now not so much. Was she beginning to fall for him too? She turned around and caught the worried expression he now wore.

"Did I say something wrong Rose?" he asked, sitting up to join her.

"No John, I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Just stuff.” She took a long pause weighing out want she was about to say very carefully. Once it came out there was no turning back. This was John John, the sweet sensitive boy she was coming to know. But then again, she had been on a mission. Maybe there was a way to work this out though. Plus it was always entirely a possibility that he wouldn’t be interested.

“So I was wondering...” she started after taking a breath, “my sorority has a winter formal coming up. It's on a Saturday night at the beginning of December. The 3rd I think. I was thinking it would be fun to go. Will you come with me?"

John brightened. "I'd love to. I have something around that time. It’s actually a lecture. It's part of my master’s program. It's required, but I think it’s on another night. I know, you can go to mine and I can go to yours. Maybe you can go to it too? I promise not to make too boring."

Rose laughed. "I can't imagine anything you would do would be anything less than completely entertaining. I'll come for sure." She couldn’t help but feel another twinge of guilt about furthering the bet, but she had to at least try. Maybe it would be alright.

Just then John leaned in closer to her. He was smiling. She found herself leaning in too. Before she knew it they were an inch apart. Then John closed the gap and put a gentle, innocent kiss on her lips. Rose didn't back away, but moved to him and returned his kiss, a little more fervently. In total both kisses lasted only a few seconds. But together they were wonderful and the duo both lay back again. This time her hand found his.

Rose and John lay there silently for a few minutes just holding hands and staring at the blue sky.

"What do you have on tap for next week?" he finally asked.

"Oh I'm doing home on Friday. My grandmother is having a pre-Thanksgiving thing. And you?"

"Just finishing up the courses I'm teaching. Since we only have a few weeks left I have a lot of papers to grade and such. I'd like to see you again though."

Rose paled a little. Her life with John was moving quickly, but introducing him to her friends was another matter entirely; one that would take adequate preparation. "Um, my week is pretty jam packed so I can leave on time on Friday. Can we just see how it goes? I'd feel bad if I had to cancel on you."

John must have been able to read the trepidation in her voice. "Rose, we don't have to. If you're not ready to..." he trailed off, not sure how to go on.

"No really John, I have myself scheduled to death. Can we hang out when I come back?"

"Yeah that sounds good. Can I call you though?"

"Of course, John John. I always like to hear from you.” She was beaming at him again. Rose could see John’s anxiety about her not wanting to see him melting away.

The date ended with packing up Rose's car and securing the basket to the back of John's bike.

The two stood facing each other, not sure what to do next. Finally John went in for a kiss on the cheek, but Rose surprised him, turning her head to kiss him on the lips. This one was longer that the first two but still relatively chaste. They broke apart and simultaneously started to blush. John gave her a little wave and got on his bike.

Rose sat for a few minutes just thinking in her car. She couldn’t help but smile. Kissing him was fun, but there were other issues. In a perfect world she could have met and started to date this amazing guy, but everything wasn’t perfect. They existed on two totally different planes. Her world and his were never meant to cross. But here she was, confused, turning her head so a casual kiss turned into something more. What was she doing? Is there any way she could actually do this? Was it just wiser to finish up the bet and let him go? Feeling a mix of dread and elation, Rose put her car in gear and headed home, without a single answer to any of her questions.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Throughout the week Rose and John exchanged texts here and there. Rose was careful not to use up his time, knowing that he may not have the money to refill his phone. On Thursday night Rose was home on her bed and Shareen was over. They were supposed to be studying for history but Shareen wasn’t feeling it.

“UGH! This is so boring!” she whined.

Rose shifted a bit to hug a pillow. “Oh come on, that stuff about the Trojan wars was actually interesting. Weren’t you listening when Dr. Gold told the story?

“No.”

“He’s actually pretty funny.”

Shareen raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, have we met? I thought you hated that class as much as I did.”

Rose chuckled. “I don’t know, I guess he caught my attention.” Just then her phone dinged and she picked it up and smiled. She typed something back and never changed her expression. When she put it down again she found Shareen staring at her.

“Spill.” was all her best friend said.

“It’s nothing.” Rose countered, stuffing the phone under the pillow, which Shareen quickly dove for. A brief wrestling match ensued, of which Rose lost.

Shareen held the phone high above Rose’s head and Rose jumped for it. “What are you not telling me Rose? Who are you talking to?” Rose continued to struggle until she decided to pinch her friend’s opposing arm, which lead to an “OW!” and the phone coming down so Rose could snatch it away.

“That was unfair.” Shareen pouted.

“Sorry you’re taller, I needed a diversionary tactic.”

“So you’re not going to tell me? Really? I’m your best friend.”

“I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

“Oh, is it Jimmy? I heard him ask Kim about you. Is it him? Please please please please tell me!”

“I’ll tell you when the time comes. It’s just really early on yet. I don’t want to curse it.”

“Fine but I still have first priority when it becomes something.”

Rose just nodded and flopped back on the bed. Soon Shareen got a call and was in what sounded like a fight with her current squeeze. Rose took that moment of her attention being elsewhere to take out her phone again and look at it. John had sent her a picture of a cartoon duck wearing a life preserver. She laughed to herself. He had been doing things like that all week. Truthfully she had never had this happen before. All the guys she dated were too hung up on themselves to do the little things. It was as if they thought it was a privilege to date them. Then when something better came around they would wander off. Nothing lasted more than a few weeks. Rose’s grandmother called he the revolving door of boyfriends.

But with John she felt like a princess. He thought about her first and was chivalrous and sweet all the time. For once she didn’t feel like he would just go get drunk at a party and find someone else to be with. It just didn’t feel like he operated that way. Maybe it was the way he looked at her, like she was the only one in the universe. It made her feel special. If asked she wouldn’t admit it, but she had been thinking about John nonstop since they parted.

OoOoOoOo

Two days later Rose stood in the kitchen of her Grandmother’s house mashing potatoes and humming quietly to herself. The next thing she knew there was a face inches from her. "Who is he?" asked the older lady.

"Grandma you scared me! It's no one."

"Liar. You have not stopped smiling, singing, and checking that blasted phone since you got here."

Rose was at a loss for words. Her grandmother had an innate ability to see right through her. Hence the reason she was so frequently grounded as a teenager. "No really, it's nothing. Can't I be in a good mood?"

“I can read you like a book kid. It's probably the only one of my senses that isn't failing."

"OH that's crap and you know it. You are the healthiest person here."

“Don’t change the subject." Her grandmother crossed her arms and leaned on the counter. "Tell me or I'll water board you. Don’t think I won't."

Rose sighed, knowing that there was no way out of this. "Fine, his name is John. He's cute and charming, and I met him kinda as a fluke-"

"Who is John? Is this a new boyfriend?" Rose cringed as her mother came sweeping into the kitchen. This was exactly what she didn't want to happen. Every time there was someone new she hounded Rose about who the parents were, were they rich etc. Rose finally stopped telling her about anyone. It was beyond annoying. Jackie stood there tapping her toe at her daughter. She wore a designer track suit, matching pants and coordinating sneakers. On top of that she had at least four gaudy rings, a huge jeweled watch, chandelier diamond earrings and three gold necklaces. Add to it perfectly done nails and coifed bleach blonde hair and she was quite a sight. Though Rose had always thought it was normal for mothers to look that way, once it was pointed out by her grandmother that indeed it looked silly Rose realized that is was not a look she wanted to emulate.

"Rose, you never tell me anything! I thought you were interested in someone else a little while ago. Of course I had to squeeze that one out of you too. You'd think I wasn't your mother. I need to know these things."

Rose turned back to her potatoes and started to mash aggressively. "He's no one mom. Just I guy I met. Nothing's happening."

"Is he a student?" her grandmother prompted.

"Well kind of. He's going for his master’s in some kind of history. "

"An academic huh?" her mother chimed in. "They don't make much money."

Rose whirled around on her mother. "Geez mom, Is that all you care about? I mean I could date Jimmy Stone, his parents are loaded. He also has a new girl every thirty seconds. I could see how that would make for a meaningful marriage."

"I don't appreciate your lip young lady." her mother snarled back. Just as she said that her mobile rang loudly. To be precise, it played "All the Single Ladies." Jackie held up a finger at Rose and put the phone to her ear. "Oh hi Michael, how are you?" Then, with her phone stapled to her head, she left them for the living room.

"So much for hurricane Jackie." Rose sighed.

"She’ll leave you alone now. Michael is the new love interest. He owns twenty gyms and is a complete muscle head. He treats your mother well though."

"But wait for a month and he will be gone." Rose said.

"Most likely, but tell me about John. He sounds great."

"I don't know Grandma. I mean I feel really bad about how I met him." Her grandmother gave her the "come on" gesture. "Well Shareen bet me that I couldn't date anyone with an actual brain. She told me that I had to get him to take me to the winter formal to win the bet. Then I could dump him. I thought it would be easy, charming some nerd into taking me. But..."

"But you actually found him out to be a good guy and now you are conflicted. He's not your normal type and you are afraid of what your friends will think. Plus you don't want to dump him."

"Stop reading my mind Grandma, that's weird. Or am I just that transparent?"

"Rose, there are some things about you that I've told you before and they still stand. First, you are much more intelligent than you give yourself credit for. That bunch of rich partying dummies you call friends can't hold a candle to you. Second, once you put your mind to something, you are not satisfied until it is complete. And third, you pay way too much attention to what other people think. If John is the right guy for you, then he is. It's as easy as that. It doesn't matter how he looks or dresses or if he fits into the environment you have made for yourself. What's important is if he makes you happy and feel good about yourself. Does he do that?

"Yes he does, he makes me feel fantastic. When we’re together it’s comfortable. I don't have to feel like I need to talk with him. And when we do talk it’s about everything and nothing. He doesn’t gossip like everyone else. It's just nice and no pressure."

"That's how good relationships develop honey. No one puts on airs. They just let it all hang out, to coin a phrase from my childhood. If he's good for you, you need to go get him. In ten years what any of your shallow friends thought will be irrelevant."

"I'm getting the impression that you don't like my choice of friends." Rose looked back at her grandmother.

"Rose, I'll be frank. You surround yourself with idiots. You have more intelligence and sense in your pinky finger than they have in their whole bodies. But what I'm upset with is that you let someone talk you into playing with someone's heart. Did you really think that doing this to this guy was going to be without consequences? I mean if he really likes you and you toss him away for no real reason other than that the bet was won, what happens? Stuff like that can break people."

Rose froze in place then slowly met her Grandmother's eyes. "Oh my God I never thought about that. You're right. It was supposed to be like a joke, but I suppose it's not that funny on the other end."

"You need to call off the bet, Rose."

"I will, but that brings me back to my original problem. What if he is rejected by my friends? I mean, Shareen was the one who picked him out as the target of the whole thing. She's told everyone about it. " Rose started to panic. "She'll not spill the beans to him, I trust her, but anyone else could. If he finds out....Oh God."

Her grandmother took Rose by the shoulders and got right in her face. "Rose, you need to get to John and explain this whole thing before he meets anyone. It's too easy for someone who doesn't know better to let it slip. If he hears it from someone else he may be gone. I've never seen you like this, so enamored. He must really be something special. If you don't want to lose him forever, tell him, apologize and if need be, beg for mercy. You also will have to let him be mad at you. This was a stupid thing you did I hope you can right it before it blows up on you."

"I will," Rose sighed, knowing that she had to step up and be straight with John, but the mere anticipation of it all made her hurt all over.

OoOoOoOo

After successfully dodging her mother’s inquiries and trying to choke down food with the rest of the family, Rose took her newly fixed quilt and headed home. Once back in her room, she snuggled under it to think. She needed a plan to talk to John. Even though it would be tough, she thought he would understand. He was an intelligent guy after all. Then she would talk to Shareen and all her friends and get the word out. She inhaled deeply. The quilt smelled like home. It was a mixture of familiar fabric softener and just the scent of her Grandmother's house. Just having it on her calmed her considerably.

Rose texted John when she got home but didn't get a reply. It wasn't a surprise though; he still hadn't gotten the hang of charging his phone.

At 8:00 the next morning her phone buzzed as she was getting ready for class. "Hey Rose, sorry I didn't get your text. My phone fell into a pile of clothes and I only just found it. Can I call you?"

Rose called him first. "Hi John John, how are you?"

"Great Rose! How was the family?"

"Grandma was good, Mom was herself. I...missed you." She wasn't sure just why she paused.

"I missed you too. Listen, I wanted to tell you that I have to leave this Friday for another symposium. I actually forgot about his one. I'm presenting though. So I can't go out this weekend. Can we meet this week?"

Rose really really wanted to see him, but unloading all this on him all of a sudden sounded like a bad thing to do before he went away. By the same token she missed him badly and wasn't sure if she could go a week without being with him. "How about I get some take out and bring it to your place on Wednesday?"

"Sure, but I um..."

"John, I'm buying. Don’t you think for a second that you owe me either. It's my treat."

"OK. Listen I hate to cut you off, but my minutes are low. Can we talk later?"

"Oh just answer your door at seven on Wednesday and we'll talk then."

"OK by Rose."

"Bye John John."

OoOoOoOo

Three days later, promptly at 7:00, John heard a rap on his door. When he opened it, Rose held up two huge bags of food, smiling. "Hungry?" she asked. "I like Italian, I hope you don't mind. I've got everything, pasta, salad, garlic bread... the whole package."

John liberated one of the bags from her. "I love Italian, and yes I am very hungry."

He ushered her inside where he had his little table set up with plates, napkins, an odd assortment of silverware and a candle stuck to a little bowl in the middle. When she came in he gave her an embarrassed smile. "Home sweet home! Or maybe I should say closet sweet closet."

"It's cozy John, I kind of like it." That melted any of John's insecurities and he beamed back at her.

The meal was fun. Rose filled John in on all her family drama, including a full rundown on her mother's latest shenanigans. It became clear to him though why she had lived with her grandmother. Her mom sounded like a hot mess.

After dinner Rose looked around. "So I was going to suggest that we watch a movie, but I don't see a TV."

John had gotten up to clear the plates and stopped. "Yeah, I have a computer but nothing to watch. I really don't have much time for TV. The Wifi is crap here anyway."

"So what do you do?"

"I read mostly." Seeing Rose's face he added, "Would you like me to read something to you? Is that weird?"

Rose laughed out loud. "No, I haven't been read to in a really long time. It will be nice."

After tossing the trash and carefully packaging the leftovers in John's fridge (to which he was immensely happy), Rose and John settled on his bed. She deposited herself at the head amongst the pillows, and he sat closer to the foot. Though they were close, he maintained a safe distance.

John produced a storybook, explaining that it was one that one of his nannies used to read to him. Over the next two hours he wove tales of dragons and knights. Rose was quickly caught up in it all and it was only when she yawned that he looked up. It was midnight. "I'm so sorry Rose! I got caught up."

"John I loved it. Just maybe can we continue this when you get back? I have an early class." Rose sat up and slid next to him, legs hanging off the side of the bed. She bumped shoulders with him.

“That sounds like a date!” he answered happily sliding the satin bookmark into place.

“Wait, let me see that.” She took the book from him and opened it again. “John, what language is this in?”

John blushed. “German.”

"Wait, are you telling me you were reading in German, translating it and telling me the story in English?"

"Yup." He popped the "p", and wore a little smirk.

"John John you are full of surprises!" She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Ok, what else don't I know?"

"That's about it."

"I hardly think that is it, John. Start with how many languages you speak?"

"Fluently?"

"At all."

"Um six. Including English."

"No way. How do you speak six languages?" Rose still was holding him tight.

John leaned into her even more. "Well it was one of the few things my parents did right. They hired nannies what spoke in their native tongue as well as English. I learned first to speak German, second was Spanish and third was Dutch. The next ones, French and Russian were easy. I picked them up in school. Of course English is one of them too."

"Duh."

John laughed, "Yeah Duh."

John looked down into her eyes and was taken by how open she looked. Without pause, he leaned down and dropped a sweet kiss on her lips. She leaned towards him and returned it. He didn't push though, never trying to deepen the kiss. It remained just right and made her tingly all over. The kisses were like John himself, nice, cute and not forceful. It was refreshing. Every boy she had kissed this year immediately jammed their tongues in, turning them sloppy and intense.

Rose was quickly learning that John was different. He wasn't in a hurry; just seemed happy to be there. That was what made him so special. Rose's heart swelled and she found herself hugging him harder. She had to tell him. She didn't feel good about being so close with the promise of growing closer and having this looming over her head.

"John I-I..."

"What Rose?" John whispered back, brushing his lips over her ear.

Rose took a breath. He smelled so good, was so warm, his body so close to hers. If she told him and he rejected her on the spot... she couldn't do it. Not now. "Nothing. But I have to go. Really I need a few hours of sleep. "

Reluctantly John let her go and walked her to the door. Before stepping out, Rose snuck a quick kiss. “So you are out of town Friday then through the weekend?"

"Yeah," John was a little breathless. "I get back on Sunday evening. Do you have any plans for this weekend?"

"Well there is a huge party over at the Alpha house, but I think I'll stay in. I'm not in the mood for all the craziness. But when you get back can I bring you dinner and maybe you can finish the story?"

"I'd like that, but I can cook. How do you feel about ramen?" John was inching closer.

Rose wrinkled her nose. "How about I surprise you?" Rose leaned in too.

"You surprise me every day Rose Tyler." With that they kissed again. Longer this time, but still gentle. Rose found herself wanting to deepen it but resisting. John wasn't there yet. She could wait.

On the way home she berated herself. Why hadn't she been able to talk to John? She knew why. He was so wonderful to her, and she felt as if she was learning new things about him every day. She had even initiated a kiss and set up the next date. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. It sounded so horrible and it would make her look even worse, despite the fact that she was falling for him. Maybe it would work itself out. She could only hope.

Chapter Text

The pair texted once on Friday but didn’t talk, because John's account ran out of texts and minutes. Rose wanted to offer to refill it but knew he would refuse. He was too proud, he already didn't even want her to pay for dinner when she brought it to him.

With John away, Rose opted to sit at home alone that night reading. Given the choice of a night out, reading actually seemed better. That afternoon she had found herself in the bookstore on campus, and found a copy of something she had read as a girl. She bought it and practically ran home to open it again. She was just past the first chapter her phone rang. Hoping that by some chance it was John, she picked it up. It wasn't. It was Shareen.

"Hey girl." Rose chirped.

"Rose, where are you? Why are you not here?"

"I wanted to chill out tonight.”

"Who are you and what have you done with Rose?”

"No listen, I really just wanted to have some 'me' time. I need to do some stuff and I really don't want a hangover. Can we do something later?"

"No you listen. This party is amazing. Everyone’s here! I'll be at your place in twenty minutes and you better be dressed. I need a wing woman and that’s you, sister."

"Haven't you been drinking?"

"Of course, duh, but there are pledges here to give rides who haven't been. Hurry up... times a wasting!"

With that Shareen ended the call. Rose looked at herself in the mirror. She had wanted to stay home, but that party sounded fun. What harm could come out of just going? She always could come home after an hour or so. Maybe just stay until Shareen found someone to be with. She didn’t even really have to drink. Convinced, she quickly shed her pajamas and found a cute outfit.

When Shareen got there almost a half hour later, she dragged Rose out so quickly that Rose left her phone on the dresser.

Meanwhile John was waiting for Frank to pick him up. Their flight had been delayed once due to weather in Ohio. The weather didn’t look like it would be getting any better either. Taking a later flight brought its own difficulties. It would mean that they would be getting in late and having to get up early to present. John was waiting outside at about seven o'clock Frank pulled up and lowered his window. John hopped up and came up to the car.

"Hey John, man you need a phone."

"I have one but don't have any minutes left."

"Oh whatever, well anyway, you can unpack. There is a huge blizzard no the other end. They cancelled all the flights. So of course the symposium is cancelled too. The good news in that now you can have a weekend. I mean now that you have someone to spend it with other than me, Trish and the kids."

John was beaming. "You are so right! This is cool."

Frank held out his hand. "Bring me your phone for a minute."

Puzzled, John ducked back inside is apartment and came out with it. Frank had his wallet out when he came back and took it. John couldn't see exactly what he was doing but after a few minutes Frank handed it back to him. John accepted it, quirking an eyebrow.

Frant explained,"John, I have told you that you need a life, so this is me helping you. I just added my card to your account and paid for you to have 300 minutes and 200 texts. "

"Frank you didn’t..."

"Well I did. Now go find that girl and sweep her off her feet, or whatever you kids do these days."

"Thanks .I mean really."

"Just go and get her. You deserve a good woman.“ With that Frank drove off.

John immediately called Rose. In his haste he almost dropped it twice. When he had it steady in his hand he smiled at himself. “Steady boy, just call her.” he said, trying to calm his pounding heart. He felt like a kid at Christmas. After their last two meetings he could barely concentrate on anything. Things were moving along well and he couldn’t think of any better way to spend his Friday than with her. Hopefully she was free. If not maybe she could talk for a little while. At this point any contact with Rose Tyler was special.

After four rings her cheery message answered. "Hi it's Rose! You know what to do!"

John blushed even though he knew it was a message. "Hi Rose, it's John. Guess what? My trip got cancelled. Do you want to meet up? It may sound sappy, but I miss you and would like to see if maybe you want to see what Sir Gallifrey is up to in the book? Or maybe we can just hang out and do... whatever. So if you get this, call me back. I have minutes now so you can even call me twice if you want... or three times! Ok that was weird. I think I’ll head your way in case you ran off to are around. I hope I can see you soon!"

John shook his head. He was so dorky. But at least Rose seemed to like it. There was no use trying to find something else to do while waiting for her. She was all he could think of and he wanted desperately to see her, so he got out his bike. She had once told him where she lived, so he would start there he hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to find her. But first... he ran back in and dug around in his apartment for change. He cobbled together just enough to get her a little bouquet from the grocery store. He hoped it wouldn't be too much and embarrass her, but thought she would like it.

OoOoOo

The Alpha house was packed. As soon as the door opened Rose was hit by the smell of alcohol and the pounding of music. When she walked through the door a shot was shoved in her hand. An Alpha boy she didn't know yelled above the noise. "Condition of admission! One Shot!"

Rose looked at it and started to hand it back. "No thanks."

Shareen whined next to her. "Oh come on, what's one shot? You don't have to drink anything else. Come on!"

Rose pondered it. True, it was just one. She knew that in an hour she would be good again. Then maybe she could justify leaving. "Fine” she said, and she and Shareen both drank. Rose coughed and sputtered. "Oh my God what was in that?"

The boy smiled. "It's a secret. Have fun!"

Rose looked at her friend, but Shareen was reaching back and grabbing Rose's hand to pull her through the crowd. It was then that Rose realized she hadn't eaten anything since lunch. "This should be interesting," she thought to herself.

Within a few minutes Rose started to feel the effects of whatever it was she drank. First she felt warm and found herself taking off her sweater off. Now she was down to a skimpy tank top she never intended on showing off. Next she began to feel dizzy and giddy. It was easy to become disoriented in the house too. People were everywhere. The next thing she knew Shareen told her to open her mouth. When she did her friend popped a square of Jello in it. After she swallowed Rose realized that it was most likely a Jello shot. Great. Someone had come up with another plate of them, but Rose declined. Then she felt herself being pulled along again by her friend to meet some people. This was getting overwhelming fast. Then about a minute later, the last shot hit her brain.

Rose then stepped back, extricating herself from Shareen. What was she doing? This was crazy. With another step, she found a wall and hung onto it. Now the room was starting to spin and get fuzzy around the edges. She couldn’t really tell who was who anymore, but that there was a writhing loud mass in front of her; that was when she felt a warm arm snake around her waist and pull her tight. It was a strong arm and the person attached to it came up close to her ear, breathing in it. It tickled and made her giggle. It felt nice, like when John was close. It smelled a little different though. "Hey Rose." came a voice in her ear.

"Hey." she answered, swaying a little. Slowly she turned toward the warmth.

OoOoOoOo

John rode his bike to Rose’s apartment even with stopping for the flowers, it went quickly, though be might have been pedaling faster than normal. Once there, he figured out her door quickly because she and her roommates had bright construction paper hearts and flowers with their names on them stuck to it. In fact a bunch of doors were similarly decorated. It must be where a lot of her sorority sisters lived. John knocked two separate times on the door with no answer. He had seen her car parked in the lot when he rode up, so now he figured that she must have gotten a ride somewhere.

Two doors down from Rose’s, a girl stepped out with a giant full laundry basket and a duffel bag slung on her back.

“Um excuse me, I’m looking for Rose Tyler. I’m John.”

The girl looked appraisingly at John but smiled. She was joined a moment later by another girl carrying her own laundry. The first one spoke. ”You’re John? The second girl was openly staring at him and the cute bouquet of daisies and roses he still held.

“Yeah, I was looking for Rose. She mentioned something about maybe going to a party at the…um Alpha house? Do you know where that is?”

The girls exchanged a knowing look and the second one answered. “It’s about two blocks that way.” She pointed behind him. “It’s the red house, two stories. It will be loud, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.” With the feeling of two sets of eyes on him, John got on his bike and pedaled away in the direction the girl indicated.

When he was a safe distance away girl #1 looked at girl #2. “Wow he is supposed to be the nerdy date to the formal? He’s hot.”

“If she doesn’t jump on that, I may.” retorted #2.

It didn’t take John long to find the Alpha house. More than anything it was the noise that pulled him in. It was a miracle the police hadn’t showed up yet. There were people everywhere on the lawn and the music was loud even at the street.

John rode up to the porch and leaned his bike on the post. This was actually his first big college party. He hadn’t joined a fraternity or any big clubs. He had been to a few parties along the way, but they really weren’t his scene. This was punctuated by the young man who ran up to the railing and vomited into the bushes feet from him. John cringed, hoping he could find Rose quickly. The music stopped abruptly giving his ears a break, but he could hear the grousing of the people inside. He heard someone yell something about a blown fuse as he hopped up the stairs and reached for the door handle.

OoOoOoOo

Rose turned to the warm person that held her. John felt good. She remembered his soft lips and wanted them on hers. Something was different but she couldn’t quite get what it was, but she was grateful for the strong arms holding her up. She reached for his lips, and they were closer than she remembered. They were insistent, she knew that was different, but OK too. Then there was tongue pushing in and hands pulling her tightly to him. It felt rushed and sloppy. It tasted off too. Like beer and vodka. It actually was starting to hurt a little and was starting to not be OK. This wasn’t like a John kiss. Rose put her hands on his chest and pushed and was met with the feeling of bare chest. She heard something… laughing?

Then she heard a strangled gasp followed by, “Rose?” it sounded like John. Wait, wasn’t she just kissing John? She looked up in horror at the person still holding her. It was Jimmy. She tried to break free.

“John?’ she choked.

Jimmy let go and faced John. “This is John? Is he the one you tricked into taking you to the formal? Wow Rose, you broke the mold with this one. I love the shabby chic, or is it just shabby?” Everyone laughed except John and Rose, whose eyes were locked together.

From the quickly expanding gathered mass of kids Rose heard jeers. “This is Rose’s pet nerd?” and “Did he really thing he had a chance with her?” and “I wonder if this means she lost the bet.” among other things. John stood there but soon started to redden and shake. His eyes started to shine and he dropped something. Flowers? He had flowers? Suddenly the world was in sharp focus. John had come there for Rose and she was… Oh God.

Rose took a stumbling step forward, landing on her knees. John moved as if to try to catch her but stopped. He opened his mouth several times but words didn’t come out. It was made worse by the continued comments from the people enjoying the show. Rose distinctly saw a tear fall on his cheek before he abruptly turned and ran out the door. Rose remained on the floor speechless. Some people followed him out, still yelling barbs at him. “She never would have liked you anyway!” , “Ha ha you got punked!” and “Later, dweeb” among them.

OoOoOoO

Rose’s head was pounding. She groaned and rolled over in bed. Suddenly she was gripped by a huge wave of nausea. She kicked off her blankets and stumbled to the bathroom, tripping over someone along the way who grumbled in protest.

After retching until she thought she may turn inside out, Rose unsteadily made her way back to her bed. She stepped over the person, who turned out to be Shareen on the floor. There was a water bottle near the bed and she downed it and flopped back down.

“Are you alive?” came a voice from below the bed.

“No.” Rose croaked. “What happened last night? Or do I want to know?”

There was a pause before Shareen answered. “Um, you don’t want to know.”

Rose thought back. There was the shot at the door, the Jello shot, then everything got a little fuzzy. There was a kiss? Yeah she remembered someone holding her, but somehow it was not a good memory. Then it hit her, so hard she hit the bed. “Oh God, Shareen. Was John there? What happened?”

“He saw Jimmy massaging your tonsils, from the inside.”

“Oh no. Then what?” She actually knew, but wanted to hear it.

“He started to cry then left. He dropped these.” She reached up onto Rose’s desk and picked up what was now a pitiful collection of wilted and most likely stepped on flowers.

Rose took them and gently ran her fingers over them. “And then?”

“You told me everything. Rose, I had no idea you were falling for him.”

“I didn’t tell you because I was worried about what you would say. I was actually worried what everyone would say. I guess I know now.”

“Yeah, it was pretty ugly.” Shareen sighed.

“What happened to Jimmy? I only remember talking to you after everything.”

“You kicked him in the nuts.”

“Well at least he won’t bug me anymore. I thought he was John, Shareen. I was so confused. I didn’t mean for anything to happen. When he held me, I didn’t know what I was doing. At first it felt like John and my brain was so fuzzy. Then it was forceful. That’s when I realized. Then it was too late.”

“Maybe you should call him. I mean, he needs to know.” Shareen handed her the phone that had been left the night before. “Oh it looks like he may have called you.” She was looking at the screen.

Rose took the phone, frowned and looked at the display. She sighed, a afraid of what was awaiting her, unlocked the phone and started her message. It was short, but by the time it finished she had tears streaming down her face. She looked down at her friend. “It wasn’t about last night; it must have been from earlier. He said his conference was cancelled; he had gotten minutes on his phone somehow, and was coming to see me. He said he missed me. What have I done Shareen?”

Chapter Text

After John witnessed the single most heartbreaking moment in his life, he retrieved his bike from the front of the house. He escaped, pedaling for all he was worth, the sounds of ridicule chasing after him. Images of Rose pounded around painfully in his head as he pressed on. He could see her locked with that guy, him all muscled, no shirt, no apparent IQ. John could barely contain his anger he just pushed harder until his muscles screamed. One thing for sure though, after the tear fell in the house he refused let any more follow at least for now.

He rode for miles that night, going nowhere in particular, finally stopping near the top of the observatory road overlooking the city. He found a rock to sit on and looked out, knowing Rose was out there somewhere. He selfishly hoped she was as miserable as he, but didn’t see how that could possibly be an option. Before long he looked around realizing that he was surrounded by couples in cars, both enjoying the view and keeping themselves otherwise occupied. The longer he sat, the more he felt the cold of the evening beginning to creep in. Finally he got back on his bike and pedaled home.

He had hoped that when he got there he would be able to relax some or at least try to forget. But he was greeted with the bag from the Italian restaurant they had gotten takeout from on the top of the trash can. He looked away, but his eyes then landed on the German storybook. It seemed like Rose had seeped into his life everywhere, the razor in the bathroom because she wasn’t fond of the beard, the phone, the clothes he chose other than the suit. It all screamed Rose. Yesterday they had all been happy things, promising things that make him look forward to his next moments with her. Now they all made him hurt. The anger he was able to stave off while riding bubbled up inside him. Desperately seeking a release, he balled up his fist and struck out at the nearest wall. The sickening crunch that followed came from the cracking drywall and most likely the bones in his hand. Surprisingly he didn’t howl in pain, but cradled his hand, sat on the bed, letting the tears fall that he had stopped before.

OoOoOo

By the next morning things were no better. Now he hurt physically and mentally. Food had lost its appeal and he barely ate for anything whole day. When he opened his refrigerator, the leftovers from their dinner together loomed alone on the shelf, mocking him. He actually felt marginally better when he took them outside and tossed then into the dumpster.

When it was time to sleep again, he tossed and turned, pain in his head matching the pain in his hand. The only thing that helped was taking a run at midnight. He retraced the path he had taken to Rose’s apartment and to the fraternity house, not knowing why. Rose’s place was dark, but it was not like he would have stopped anyway. No way. He fraternity house was loud but nowhere near where it had been the night before. Apparently the Saturday night after a raging party wasn’t as crazy. Still he wondered if Rose was inside. His pace quickened as he ran past, though he was in the dark on the other side of the road. His chances of being seen were slim to none, but he still was sure not to look too long.

The running worked, by the time he arrived back home he fell into bed, exhaustion and grief taking their toll.

On Sunday morning, as usual, he rode to Frank's house. When he knocked on the door and Alex answered, the boy took one looked at John and yelled, ”DAD! John’s here,” and promptly disappeared. Frank opened the door and looked in shock at a very broken looking John.

“Come in,” he said simply. John followed without a word.

Soon Frank had John at the kitchen table with a hot coffee and a fresh blueberry muffin. John, however, just sat there staring at his hands.

Frank cleared his throat. ”So I’m thinking running wasn’t on your agenda this morning.”

“Not exactly.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

John sighed deeply and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m an idiot.”

“Ok…” Frank leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Hardly what I think of you, but I imagine this is about something that has nothing to do with book smarts.”

John shook his head sullenly. “Ok the short version, since you’re going to press until I spill, is that I thought I had something with Rose. I mean I really liked her, and our time together was…wonderful. We were getting closer daily. I mean, not like intimate, but really close. It wasn’t one sided either; she called and texted as much as I did. She even suggested that we get together… I guess it would be tonight. But it’s all over now. She isn’t who I thought she was.”

“I don’t get it. What happened, John?”

“Well I went to find her Friday night after we were cancelled. She must have lost her phone or something. I called first and she didn’t answer. Wait, I guess she didn’t want to answer because she didn’t want to talk to me. Just more proof of what stupid f… I mean guy, I am. Anyway, I met some of her friends and they told me that she was at this party. I went there, and there she was with some guy’s tongue stuck down her throat.”

“Oh John, I’m so sorry.”

“And here’s the weird thing, her friends, the ones at the party, was all yelling at me. It was horrible. They were talking about her losing some bet, that she never would have liked me, that I was her ‘pet nerd’ and so forth.”

“What sort of bet?”

“I don’t know. But the more I think about it, she came on to me. You had just been telling me to get out there, and here was this beautiful girl actually paying attention to me. So I went for it. And I fell hard. I thought we were perfect for each other. I was blind. I was wondering if maybe they were having some sort of contest about who can bring the worst date to this formal they have scheduled. I read about one of those once.” John pounded his forehead with his good fist. “I just don’t know how she did it. She had me hooked. I would have done anything for her.”

“I’m sorry John. It’s any consolation, you aren’t a bad date. You’re a good looking guy, and you’re smart and funny. She’s missing out.”

“I guess I’m not what she thinks of as attractive or even someone she would want to be with. I just need to crawl back into my hole and graduate to I can move away.”

“I hope that won’t happen. You’re a great guy. You’ll find someone. And I’d like it if you could stay around a little. I mean what are the chances of running into her anyway? You run in different circles.”

“You know when someone points something out, like a particular car you start seeing it everywhere? Watch I have her in a class.”

“Well then, as you know, you couldn’t have a relationship with her anyway.”

“Oh I know, and that ship has sailed. I’ll never be fooled like that again. But I mean she could still be there. Or I could go eat in the union and run into her. This campus can get really small if you are trying to avoid someone.”

“John, you’re going to have to take the high road on this one. Or you can ignore her completely. I’m just sorry it didn’t work out. You were happy. I could tell. Then again the semester’s almost over. The kids go home for Thanksgiving this next week then we only have a few weeks left. When was this formal anyway?

“Why?”

“I guess it’s not something that matters now, but we had to switch something around with your end of semester lecture presentation. Someone already had the hall in the library. We had to put you presentation with Wayne’s and Carl’s all on the 3rd. Is that going to be an issue?”

John wore a sad smile. “Not anymore, that was the night of the formal. But it doesn’t matter. At least I’ll have something else to think about other than being home alone.”

“One more thing, what happened to your hand?”

John looked up sheepishly then back down to it. It was swollen and purple. “I dispelled a little anger.”

“What did you punch?” Frank asked knowingly.

“A wall.”

“Well, you’re a university employee, you have insurance, and you need to go for an x-ray. Can you go tomorrow?

John blushed at being called out. “Yes Mom.”

“That’s the spirit. You’ll recover from this... all of this.”

“I’m not entirely sure of that, but one thing for certain. I’m done with Rose Tyler forever.”

OoOoOoOo

On Monday, after visiting the health center and finding out that he indeed fractured a bone in his hand and receiving a splint that held his ring and pinky fingers together and extended to the middle of his forearm, John was running late. It wasn’t too bad, but he didn’t have time to bike home for lunch. He decided to run into the student union for a sandwich instead.

John picked a turkey hoagie and paid the elderly checkout lady. He had known her for years. They chatted for a minute but she stopped and looked behind him. He slid the sandwich, wrapped in cellophane, into the pocket of his long coat and turned around. And then came face to face with Jimmy Stone.

Jimmy wore a sneer that made John’s skin crawl. “Hey aren’t you the ‘Rent a Nerd’?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Excuse me.” John started walking away.

Jimmy was backed up by a group of apparent followers and they surrounded John quickly.

“Yeah he is.” remarked a girl with curly black hair. She turned around. “Hey Rose, come here we have something for you.”

Before John could break free, Rose ambled over, clearly not knowing what was happening. “What’s up Nancy?” The girl pointed to John. “Oh.” Rose uttered, stunned.

“We were just about to ask John if he was still taking you to the formal like he promised.” Jimmy said, even his voice was slimy.

John looked from Rose to Jimmy and back. Not sure what to do. Finally he just stepped back quickly and broke free of the group. Jimmy called after him. “Hey its OK dude, we’re just trying to help Rose win her bet. You can still come if you want!”

John kept up his pace striding away, trying not to look like he was running like he wanted to. Then he heard something he didn’t expect. Rose was yelling. “Jimmy you’re such a douche bag. Leave him alone. What happened is between me and him. Go fuck yourself!” Rose then jogged off to catch up with John.

When she caught up John didn’t look at her. His eyes stared straight ahead and his face was set like stone. “John, please stop.” He didn’t.

Rose took two quick steps and jumped in front of him, causing him to pitch forward and nearly fall on her. His hands went to her shoulders to steady himself. She looked over and saw the splint on his hand and he instantly pulled it back and hid it behind his back, looking away.

Rose took him in. His face was paler than normal, and his scruff was back. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He also had dark circles under his eyes. The whole package hit her hard. She had done this.

“I need to go.” he said softly, turning to leave.

Rose recovered quickly and grabbed his shoulder. “No please John, can I have a minute?”

“No Rose, I’m done. I’m not taking any more from you. What do you want, to drive in the knife a little farther? No thank you.” He pushed her hands off and took quick steps away.

Rose ran after him. When she reached him she dropped into step with him. He didn’t look at her but kept up his pace. She had to take two steps to each of his.

John stopped abruptly to face her. She stumbled a little with the momentum. When she looked up at him, his face was red and his jaw set. His eyes were dark and… angry. Rose felt a chill descend down her spine. This was a totally new John. One that was not happy to see her.

“Rose I need you to get the hell away from me. Nothing you can say will fix what you did, but I imagine you are doing this to save face. You can say what you want to your friends. You win. Now go back to your plastic life, collect your prize and leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry.” she said simply.

John was too wound up to not continue. “I thought there was something there. I thought we had something together. I thought you were different, but I was wrong. I saw that you were smart, much more intelligent than the people you surround yourself with. I thought that you wanted something more with me and I was ready to give it to you.”

Rose looked up, tears spilling down her cheeks and making no attempt to wipe them away. “I’m sorry John. I know you can never forgive me and I get it. I just want you to know that, as bad as it may sound, this started out how you think but turned into something different. You changed me John; I want you to know that and to thank you.” She reached out and took his hands, expecting him not to let her. He seemed to resist but perhaps her words softened him a bit.

She ran her hands over the splint on his right hand wordlessly and looked back into his eyes. ”What happened?” she asked softly.

“What do you think Rose? I caught my girlfriend with another guy’s tongue down her throat. I lost my temper.”

Rose blushed at the word “girlfriend”. Not in a bad way, but because he had never said it before.

“I thought he was you.”

“WHAT? What kind of excuse is that? I wasn’t even there when it happened. You can’t expect me to believe that.”

“I know. It was stupid. I was drunk. It snuck up on me…he snuck up on me. Someone started to hold me, and my mind went to you. Then it turned bad, and a little scary. I was pushing him off when you got there. You don’t have to believe me. But that’s the truth. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Though John initially looked like he had calmed, his face hardened again. “What exactly was the bet?”

“It was nothing.”

“Tell me, if not I’ll get it from someone else. The whole university knows apparently, I could get it from one of your so called friends.” He nearly spat out the last word.

Rose was still holding his hands. She dropped them to wrap her arms around her body. “My best friend Shareen bet me that I couldn’t get a guy that was outside of my normal… type… to take me to the formal. She thought I couldn’t get someone who wasn’t dumb and a muscle head”.

“And what did you bet?” His voice held no emotion.

“A spa day.” Her voice was really small, he had to lean in to hear it.

“You came on to me to win a spa day. That’s rich. Then what did you intend on doing?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do Rose, you were going to drop me like a hot rock. Well at least I know now what you thought of me.”

“At first, but not lately. Please. Trust me. I changed. The girl you met was not the girl in front of you now.”

“Trust must be earned, and you have not earned it. You want me to trust you, but where do I find you today? Hanging with the same bunch of losers. Who’s the next target, Rose? I’m no fun anymore so they need another whipping boy.” The bells from the bell tower started to chime and John looked down at his watch. “I’m late.” He took a step back.

Rose lunged forward but he dodged. She looked up again, more tears running down her cheeks. "I don’t know what to do now.”

“You should go home and plan the next life you want to ruin. You did strong work with mine.” With that he turned and jogged up nearby steps into the building.

Rose stood there for some time hoping he would come back out, but when he didn’t she slumped her shoulders and walked away.

Inside the building John could see her on the sidewalk. He knew he had been harsh, but he had to be. It was better. He could have loved Rose, but now he had to distance himself. It was a mistake to let her into his life. He had been wide open for the wound. But sending her away meant that he couldn’t be hurt again. Now he just had to get over her, if that was even possible.

OoOoOo

In the days that passed, John was glad not to hear from Rose. Maybe glad was not the right word, more like relieved. He still missed her terribly and hoped that with the end of the semester he could close the door on that too. So far he hadn't been very good at it. The phone he had gotten to talk to her now was in a desk drawer, long since with a dead battery.

His days had been spent teaching his classes and preparing his presentation. He had hoped to make it interesting enough to capture the attention of the thirty or so students who had to be there as a class requirement and could think of many other places they would prefer to be on a Friday night. He also had a hard time not thinking about the formal dance. Had the circumstances been different it may have been a lot of fun dressing up, dancing, and just being with Rose. But the circumstances weren't different. He was the butt of a cruel joke on his end, a bet made that no one thought about the consequences to. Well they may have, and if so, didn't care.

The more John thought about it, he realized that Rose chose to deceive him, especially at first. Would she ever have liked him if she hadn't been motivated by a spa day? He kept going back to the kisses they had shared. Not all had been started by him. Had they? Hyper-analyzing the situation was making him crazy but there was little to distract him, so he just became more miserable.

Chapter Text

John was not the only person in mourning.

Rose was in her own private hell too. Shareen had tried to tell everyone to back off of John with limited success, but people still found the whole thing funny. Meanwhile Rose sunk into a depression. All she did now was eat, sleep and study. No amount of cajoling was going to get her to go back out to parties. Most nights Shareen just joined her with her books or forced her to watch decidedly un-romantic movies.

One night, mid-way through a super hero movie neither of them was particularly interested in, Shareen turned to her. "The formal is on Friday. Are you going to go?"

"You mean with the ex-boyfriend who hates me, or my imaginary friend?" Rose grumbled.

"So you were really together? I hadn't heard you call him that before."

Rose sighed. "He used 'girlfriend' when he was yelling at me. I guess we were like that, but we hadn't said it officially."

"Not on social media huh?"

Rose laughed. “No I don't think he'd ever go on social media. He would hate it. Did I ever tell you that he read to me? No I'm not giving the whole story. He read to me, out of a storybook that was written in GERMAN! He translated it and I never knew until I saw the book itself."

"That’s crazy, but also really cute. I mean, REALLY cute and different too. So I’m getting that there is a lot more to him than meets the eye."

"Oh yeah. And he would think of the little things, remember stuff I only mentioned, you know, like he was actually listening. I've never had that before. He treated me so well, I mean he has nothing, but he would have given me everything. I fucked that up. I'm so stupid."

"Rose?"

"What?"

"What are you going to do? You have to get him back. He's too good to pass up. I think he was good for you. I mean you started to listen in class, do your homework and everything. It's like you are a different Rose, and it's only been a few weeks."

"I know, but he made it pretty clear where he stood."

Shareen jumped to her feet and went rummaging around in her backpack. "I know it's in here somewhere. I wasn't sure if I should give it to you, but I think I need to."

She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It was a flyer, and John's picture was on it. There were two other guys on it too. "Here." She pushed the paper at Rose. "This is a lecture series. I saw it hanging in the history building and grabbed it while you were in the bathroom. I'm not sure why I grabbed it before, but now I know. You have to go."

Rose eyed it wearily. "I don't know; he basically told me I ruined his life and he never wanted to see me again."

"Rose, you hurt him a lot. It was primetime deception, no question but then you came around. You saw him for what he really was and realized that you made a mistake. He needs to see that you are different. Just telling him won't do it. You have to show him. Go to his thing instead of the formal."

"I can't do that. I could ruin his whole night. This lecture is really important to him. "

"So be there for him."

"I don't know..."

OoOoOoO

As the night of John's presentation got closer he became more anxious. Not only would he be lecturing in front of a group of disinterested people but he was being graded on it. Frank had imposed rules too. He had to look good, which entailed shaving "No less than five hours before the event" in Frank's words, and he had to get another haircut. He debated this strongly, since he had had one about a month ago, but Frank insisted.

It was a good thing though, John thought, because this was a big step in the process to his master’s and he could see the end, and leaving for greener pastures. Thinking back he couldn't believe he had gotten himself caught up with an undergrad. He would have been in trouble had he officially been one of her instructors. But now that would be a non-issue.

OoOoOoOo

On Friday all the girls went for manicures and pedicures and though she went along, Rose still didn't know what she was doing. Several girls offered to share their dates since they were going as friends, but that seemed like no fun for her. She had had her dress picked out for months so she was actually considering going just to go, though she knew that the was fooling herself. A good time wasn't on the docket. Sure, she would dance a little and eat, but still would be alone most of the time. Overall though, she figured it would be better than sitting at home alone.

Shareen stopped bugging her about the lecture finally, saying that it was up to her. Rose was grateful for that. Being reminded on a daily basis about John was too painful anyway.

That evening Shareen put Rose's hair in a fancy up do and Rose did Shareen's in an elaborate braid. It was early yet and most everyone was going to a "pre-party" at some guy's house. He apparently made killer margaritas. Rose was a little less than enthusiastic to go, but agreed to come along simply for something to do.

Just before their ride got there, Rose checked herself in the mirror. She wore the typical "little black dress". It was form fitting, short to show off her legs and low cut in the front. When she had seen it in the window of a shop while with her mother, her mother insisted on getting it. She topped it off with huge peekaboo heels. Diamond earrings and a silver necklace adorned with deep blue stones finished the look.

"OOhh you are one hot chick!" Shareen called from behind her. Rose sighed, but for what? So she could hang out with all her friends who would be getting progressively more intoxicated as the evening wore on? The whole idea was becoming more repellant the more she thought of it. She hadn't even thought about going out or partying since John said what he did. What had happened next was a lot of self-examination. None of it came up good though. Rose quickly found out that she didn't like the person she was right now. There had to be something else.

Outside the van honked its horn and all the roommates and Shareen piled in. It was a cold evening and Rose shivered, pulling the light shoulder wrap she had closer.

Shareen spoke to the driver, a freshman pledge girl. "Hey Brittany, can you go through campus on the way? It's more scenic."

Rose hadn't really noticed but Shareen then whispered something in the girl's ear.

As they wound their way through campus, Rose looked out the window. She realized that they were close to the library, where the auditorium was for John's lecture. As they drew closer, Rose's heart started to pound. Then slowly Brittany pulled to a stop along the curb in front of the library. Everyone turned and looked at Rose, who stared back in shock.

Finally Shareen spoke up. “Rose, get out.”

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“GET OUT!” all the girls yelled in unison.

Shareen opened the sliding door. “Hey, if it doesn’t work out, call me.”

Rose begrudgingly climbed out, the cold gripping her body in its painful grasp. It had even gotten colder, and it was hard to shake off. Her nerves only made it worse too, knowing she was close to John.

“BYE!” yelled Shareen, slamming the door shut. The van accelerated, leaving her standing on the sidewalk.

Rose stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Slowly she turned towards the library. At least, she thought, she should go in to avoid freezing to death. The main lobby wasn’t much warmer than outside, with the near constant opening and closing of the doors, but at least it was out of the wind. Following the crowd, Rose walked towards the auditorium where she fell into line with the much more appropriately dressed students.

At the front of the line there was a little desk and students were signing in. Rose turned to the boy next to her, who eyed her once he realized what she was wearing. “Um, why are we signing in?”

The boy replied,”Oh, some of us are required to be here, but Dr. Gold offered extra credit if we come. I’m here because I forgot to come to class... a lot. I need to get at least a C or my mother will kill me.”

Rose nodded. If nothing else, extra credit couldn’t hurt, even though she had gotten 98% on her last test. Funny how studying actually helped.

When she got to the front, she saw that Dr. Gold was standing there watching them sign the form and greeting everyone. Rose bent down and wrote her name then stood and gave him a little smile. He looked down at the sheet. ”Rose Tyler huh? Your name is familiar.”

“I’m in your 132 class.”

“Oh yeah. Nice to see you here. I see you dressed for the occasion.”

Rose blushed. “Yeah I had somewhere else to be, but that cancelled. So here I am.”

“Glad you’re here Rose. I hope it is all you want it to be.” With that Dr. Gold turned and headed down another hall.

Rose shook the odd exchange with him off. She knew he was a little weird anyway. But then again, maybe John had said something to him.

When Rose entered the auditorium she saw it was actually quite full. All the back seats were taken, as usual. No one ever wanted to sit in front for fear of being called on to answer something. Even though these were supposed to be lectures there was still a chance.

Rose took a seat in the third row near the aisle just as the house lights dimmed. The auditorium was smaller, being in a library, seating about 100 people. Here was a little stage at the front with a curtain and everything. Today a big screen hung in front of the curtain. First to come out were the first two people listed on the flyer. Theirs was a joint presentation on FDR era economics. It held Rose’s attention for exactly 54 seconds before her mind began to wander. This was a common problem though, as Rose saw some people immediately nod off. She was actually sure she heard soft snores from the person behind her.

Instead Rose’s mind went to John. Every time his name came up she cringed a little. She would have to work on that. But it was true, what she had done to him made her hurt, and it killed her that she would actually do something like that. Her grandmother had taught her better. She had never been a bully, but without thinking about it, that’s what she had become. She and Shareen had no end game for what would happen once she got to the formal with John. The thought of simply dumping him there was sickening. She imagined how hurt he would have been had that happened.

But it couldn’t have happened. No way. John was… John was someone she cared about and leaving him out in the rain, so to say, would have been out of the question. Then she thought, what would have happened had she actually gotten him to the dance? Would everyone had spilled the beans and picked on him? Would he have left in disgrace? If what had happened on the two occasions where he met up with her friends was any indication, they would have behaved similarly.

It came to Rose that no matter what had happened; the result would have been the same. He would have been humiliated, and it was her fault. He deserved better. He was easily the smartest and most caring man she had ever met. Before this all blew up she even found herself on multiple occasions fantasizing about life with him after school. Now she would be happy for just him to make eye contact with her and not send her packing.

OoOoOoOo

Backstage, John was reviewing his notes when Dr. Gold (Frank) approached. He was grinning like the cat that got the canary.

“What?” John asked, pushing up his glasses.

Frank kept smiling. “Oh nothing. I just hope you do well tonight.”

“And why would that be?”

“No reason, but there’s a lot of people out there. I hope you knock ‘em dead.” With that he walked away.

John shook his head and went back to his notes.

OoOoOo

Before Rose knew it, there was a smattering of applause. The first presentation was done. A few people stood and left, having had enough but most stayed.

After a minute or two Dr. Gold came out and introduced John. Then, he appeared. Rose took in a little breath. He looked amazing. He wore his old brown pinstriped suit and white Converse, but was shaved and had his hair spiked up in a messy but very handsome way. He bumbled onto the stage as usual, but all Rose could see was the John she knew; the gentle, duck saving, German reading, sweet one. She smiled at the bright orange cast he now wore on his injured hand with his two fingers stuck out straight, wondering idly what brought him to pick out that color. And oh, those glasses! Then she heard his voice and she was done. That’s all it took for the last few weeks to come crashing back. She remembered his lips on hers, how he was so chivalrous, how he dug her car out of the mud when no one else would or could, his face when he realized she had called him last, but then again his face just before they kissed for the first time.

Rose sat forward a little. He couldn’t see her, but she examined him. At first he stumbled, dropped some things, stammered a bit and had a hard time getting this PowerPoint to start, causing the audience to stir. Rose got nervous for him, willing him to get his act together.

After a few moments John looked up with a sly grin. “Let me tell you a story…” he started. From that moment on he had everyone’s rapt attention.

John’s lecture lasted about 45 minutes. During that time he had everyone on the edge of their seats. When he finished, there was loud applause, in huge contrast to what the other two presenters got.

Next the house lights came up and John asked for questions or discussion. Two microphones were set up in the aisles for people to come down and ask. The first one was across the auditorium from Rose, and the second was... right next to her. Rose panicked a little. This would be a strange time for him to see her for the first time. She sat lower in her seat to try to avoid this. Granted she wanted to see him and talk to him, but like this it would be more of an ambush. The very last thing she wanted to do was make him feel more uncomfortable.

The Q&A portion started shortly thereafter and most of the questions were coming from the other mic. Rose looked up with dismay though, when someone stepped up next to her. It was Dr. Gold. He purposely looked down at Rose when he was called on for his question. That drew John’s eyes down too.

John physically stumbled then, bumping into the lectern. Then he held on for dear life. Rose could even see his knuckles whitening as he gripped. Verbally he faltered too, but recovered within moments. If someone hadn't known John, they might not have noticed anything at all.

Rose sank lower still. After his question was answered, shakily at best, Dr. Gold looked at Rose again with a fatherly smile, then walked back to his seat. That was odd, Rose thought. In her entire semester in his class, this and the interaction at the door had been more than she had ever communicated with him. He must know though, because that was clearly a set up.

The questions continued for another fifteen minutes or so, from both mics. Every time his attention was directed to the one near her she couldn't help but feel his eyes on her, but only briefly so, like he was checking to see if she was still there.

Finally, questions exhausted, he finished, wrapping up the whole thing nicely, followed by more applause. He definitely had a talent for presentation, she would give him that. As everyone was filing out, Rose saw John slide behind the curtain. She wasn't sure if she should follow. He hadn't acknowledged her at all and there was no invitation. Sighing, she opted to walk out into the lobby and see if he would come out. If not she would make her way home. She was on his turf now and he made the rules.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Backstage, Frank approached John. "John that was fantastic! You had everyone enraptured. Nice job!"

John gave him a stern look. "Was this your doing? Did you bring her here? I nearly had a stroke when I saw her. It almost torpedoed my whole presentation!" His words came tumbling out, rushed yet sharp.

Frank held up his hands in surrender. "It wasn’t me! I just saw her and brought your attention to her. She came on her own volition."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"No not really. What are you going to do?"

"Is there a window to climb out of?"

"Why, John?"

"I've said my piece and she's said hers. I'm done with this. I have no idea why she's here.” He crossed his arms, showing he was, indeed, done with the matter. His body language said it, but his eyes betrayed him, looking lost. Knowing that he was giving himself away, he looked at the floor.

Frank took ahold of John's shoulder. "But John she IS here. That's the important part. She's all dressed up. I wonder if that formal you talked about was tonight. But she's not there. She's probably waiting out there for you. You need to go. At least talk to her. You guys left it in a very bad place. At least try to make it better."

"Why? I was the one hurt by this. I owe her nothing." His eyes were still downcast.

"I know, but please, for me?”

John looked up and huffed. "Fine, but if she rips my heart out again, you have to pay for the surgery to get it replaced." John reached over and pulled his long coat on over his suit.

"Deal." said Frank with a smile.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Rose stood in the lobby not sure what to do. At first there had been other people wandering about talking, but they had since all cleared out. Now she stood there realizing just how thin her wrap was and how cold the lobby had become. She also had no idea how long she should wait for John. It was more than possible that he wouldn't come out at all, that he found another exit or was waiting for her to leave. She contemplated this for a few moments.

Why would he come out to face her? He had no reason. She had done something awful. He didn't even owe it to her to talk to her. Shivering, Rose turned to look out the window and assessed her situation. No car, no ride, everyone was at the formal and no one would be able or in the right frame of mind to get her. She could call for a cab, but would it be worth it for a half mile ride? If she walked she would freeze though, then there was the whole thing about walking alone at night.

She stepped closer to the window just as she heard a door open behind her and movement. She spun around and there stood John, he now wore his long coat like he was ready to leave. His face was set yet unreadable. His eyes bored into hers, she could see that they were a mixture of stormy and tired. Once he stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him he didn't advance and farther. He also didn't say anything, he just looked at her.

Rose took a few steps to him, both closing the gap and searching for a warmer area. "Hi John John." she said quietly. He winced internally at the use of his nickname, he also noticed that her hand had migrated to her mouth and she was chewing her thumbnail.

He nodded curtly to her instead of answering.

Rose tried again. "Your lecture was great. Not as tear jerking as the first one you gave me, but just as good."

That elicited a little smile from John, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "What are you doing here Rose? You look like you have somewhere else to be."

Rose glanced down at her attire and gave him a sweet smile. "Well I was going to go to this formal, but my date disappeared on me, so I thought 'Hey why not go to a lecture instead’?”

"I hope you didn't come here to convince me to go with you to that thing." He frowned.

"No, I came to see you. That's all."

"Ok, good." They stood in silence. Rose was desperately trying to cover up the fact that she was outwardly shivering and John was trying not to notice.

Finally Rose spoke. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry... again. There is no excuse for me. You didn't deserve any of that. I've spent the last few days re-evaluating my friends and what I'm doing." John's eyes widened. "I've realized that the people who I was with were more toxic than not. I was hurting myself and accomplishing nothing. My best friend Shareen even though it through herself. We both are trying new paths now. Though I have to admit she was slower to come around."

John appraised her for a few more moments. She stood there, posture open, eyes pleading. She had come to watch him instead of going out. She looked so perfect too in her hot little dress, impeccable hair, makeup and puppy eyes. John's heart started to warm. Perhaps he should give her a chance. Or at least throw her a bone. "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Rose."

"I'm trying to tell you that I like you. I mean really like you. I want to be with you. What I did was terrible, but I'm glad it happened." John’s face fell but Rose kept on, her shivering becoming slightly more present in her speech. "If it hadn't happened I would have never met you. You opened up my life, made me see what could happen, what I was missing. It started out the wrong way but I'm just happy that I got to experience it. I mean I would have hoped that it would have turned out better, but ultimately I'm glad I ran into you, literally, the day we met."

Flashes of him meeting her, and the past weeks flooded John's mind. It was mostly all good, happy times, just being with her.

John stepped closer to her. "So what now?"

Rose shivered outright again. "Can we go somewhere... warmer to talk?"

John's face suddenly lit up. "Oh my God, What was I thinking?" In a flourish he took off his overcoat and draped it around her. The very moment he did she snuggled in, inhaling deeply and smiling broadly.

"Mmmm thank you. I didn’t dress appropriately for a night out."

"I think you dressed just fine." John answered.

A short cab ride to Rose's apartment and then a drive in her car later they were in his apartment with Chinese takeout. Rose set it up on his little table, but the distance between them was still clear. They talked very little on the two car rides. John was more than aware of tension, so he put a CD in his computer to pay some music. Anything to break the silence.

Finally Rose couldn't stand it anymore. "John, I don't want this to be awkward. It's just us.”

John stopped mid-bite, noodles nearly dropping from his mouth. He sucked them up quickly, but not before Rose giggled at him, her warm smile lighting the room. John smiled back, feeding off her. He took a few moments to chew and swallow.

He looked at her meekly. "I don't actually know what to say. It's a little weird."

"You could yell at me if you want. I'm ok with it. Go ahead and scream at me. I mean I was stupid and hurtful and a hundred other things. So go for it, I deserve it."

John sat back with a stunned expression. "I don't think I could ever yell at you Rose Tyler. I guess I raised my voice at you before, after seeing you in the union, but I feel bad about that.” He set his chopsticks down, nervously arranging them next to each other. Then he put his napkin primly on top. Rose watched with thinly veiled anxiety. He was almost painful to watch. It was obvious he was working on something in his head, and she was afraid of just what that might be.

After what seemed like forever, he drew a breath and spoke. “I have a question.” Rose tensed, sitting back a little in her chair. John pressed on. “Why me? I mean you are surrounded by Adonis clones all day. I've seen those guys. I’m nothing like them, and don't tell me I am. Those are the guys who could stuff me in a trash can, then pick up said trash can and throw it into another trash can."

Rose laughed, relieved. "John, that's all they do. Lift things, break things, it's all form and no function. Half of them are failing out. That guy...that you saw me...with… he’s already on academic probation and is going to he kicked out of school. How do you get straight F's anyway? It actually takes effort to fail that epically. But more than that, being with you let me see them for what they really are: dumb and shallow. That's what I thought I wanted, heck that's what my mother always chooses. But that's not the kind of person you want to be with forever. It's not someone who you can build a life with." Rose suddenly blushed and looked down. Her explanation had delved into her thoughts and dreams and she wasn't sure if John was ready to hear all that.

"Did you really think that guy at the party was me?" John asked.

Rose, relieved that he hadn't commented on the last part of her ramble, answered. "I did. I was confused and when he put his arm around me, I instantly thought it was you. My brain just went there. But then he started to push and it got uncomfortable. That's when I realized. If you would have come through that door even thirty seconds later you would have seen me kick him in the nuts rather than what you saw."

John shook his head, then took it in his hands. His cast clunked on his forehead and he dropped it onto the table with a thud. His other hand slid over his eyes. "But your friends. They really got into it. The things they said. Was that what you think of me? I know it wasn't from you, but still." His voice cracked as he said the last words.

"John, God I wish I could make that go away. That wasn’t me, it was just kids being stupid and trying to be cool. And no, that's not what I think of you. Not even close. But they were having fun with it. It's easy to say stuff when there are no consequences. They were all drunk. Shareen and I have told everyone that we know the story now."

"They weren't drunk the second time, Rose." John's eyes were still hidden.

Rose reached out and pulled his hand away and tried not to react to his eyes being rimmed with tears. It was clear he wasn't comfortable crying in front of her. He angrily wiped his eyes and then put his hands under the table. Rose was sure that he did it so she couldn't hold them.

John shook his head. "No matter what you say you can't wish it away. It happened. I can imagine it will continue too. Stuff like this doesn't go away. I will always be a Rent- Nerd or whatever he called me."

This time it was Rose's turn to cover her face, then she rested her head on her hands on the table. John could see her shoulders move like she was stifling sobs. Her next words were muffled. "John, I don't know how to say I'm sorry." She sniffed. "But if you can't get past this, I understand. I thought we had something, and I fucked it up."

John brought his hands back to the table top. Then ran his fingers through his hair wiggling in his seat. Rose was coming apart in front of him. She looked so pitiful, now openly crying, but with her head down.

Taking a deep breath, John thought back to their time together, the first date at the museum, digging her out of the mud, he ducks, the kissing, the take out and story time in his apartment and more kissing. As the images flipped through his head, he began to warm. They had been a good team and her interest had grown as time passed. She was more affectionate, but never pushy. It occurred to him that if she didn't like him she wouldn't have initiated kisses. If she was using him as a pawn she never would have come to his apartment or called back. She was in this as much as he was. It may not have started that way, but it was that way now.

The concussion hit John like a brick to the head. What was he doing? This beautiful, loving girl wanted to be with him and was willing to change her life to be in his. The answer was literally right there in front of him.

Rose jumped as she heard his chair scrape back. Then she tensed. “Here it comes,” she thought. To her surprise, the music from his computer swelled. Next she felt him come up beside her and tap her on the shoulder. She looked up into deep brown eyes.

"May I have this dance Miss Tyler?" He held out his good hand to her. She took it lightly and stood. He produced a tissue in his other hand and gave it to her. She gratefully accepted it and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. After tossing the used tissue, she turned to face him.

He smiled warmly, arms open. She advanced, holding him tightly as they swayed to the music. They stayed like that for a while, but the mood in the room was still heavy.

Rose pulled back a little. "I have to know John,"

"What?" he asked, brow now furrowed, grip loosening like he was expecting the worst.

"Why do you have an orange cast?"

John burst out laughing, instantly breaking the mood. Rose joined him. After trying unsuccessfully to answer several times and breaking into giggles, he finally collected himself. "I'm sorry, but that was totally unexpected. I had to go to the campus health clinic for my cast because I don't have insurance. All they had left was this." He held up his arm and giggled again.

"Well I think it's cute. Did you punch a wall for me?"

"Yes I did, right over there." He pointed to a fist sized hole next to the refrigerator.

"No one's ever done structural damage because of me before."

"No one's ever frustrated me like that before, so I guess there's a first time for everything."

"Hmmm" she hummed, resting her head back on his shoulder.

Together they danced for some time, just enjoying the closeness. They were both dep in thought, but they were together and it felt good.

After several songs passed, Rose lifted her head again. "John?"

"Another question?"

"Yes... I want this...us... to work. Do you think it can?"

John looked down at her, a warm smile spreading over his face and reaching all the way up to his eyes, which crinkled adorably. "I think it is a very good hypothesis, Miss Tyler, but we will have to work to prove it."

Rose hugged him tightly, and then looked up at him, rising on her tippy toes. "I think we can do that." She pressed her lips to his just as she had before, carefully, not wanting to push.

John joined her, but this time he did push, just a little. Rose opened up to him letting him in and they shared the most passionate, loving kiss either had ever encountered. After a few moments John broke away breathless. "Oh yes, I can certainly get into this research!"

Rose grinned and pulled him in for another kiss.