A/N: This plot bunny hit me the other day and I ended up writing 11,000 words of it. This part is short but the other 2-3 parts should be a lot longer. I'll probably put the next bit up tomorrow. Thanks to Bria, my lovely beta who tackled this monster for me.

Wishing on Stars: Prologue

Rose flopped down on his lumpy mattress and let out a long sigh. "I need to get laid."

John didn't bother to look up from where his eyes were focused on his textbook, but was unable to keep the frown from turning his lips downwards. Tonelessly, he said, "Then get laid."

Rose pursed her lips. "S'not so easy, you know." John wanted to disagree. He was positive there couldn't possibly be a short supply of men who wouldn't give an arm and a leg for a chance to shag Rose Tyler.

Instead of voicing these thoughts however, John rolled his eyes. Rose saw.

"It is!" she protested, her eyes narrowing at him. "I haven't been shagged in six months, John. Six! Not since Jimmy and he was rubbish, let me tell you. But after all the bullshit he put me through I really don't want to deal with all that relationship bullocks. I just want a shag! Is that too much to ask for?

John closed his eyes. Now probably wouldn't be the best time to mention that he hadn't had a shag for at least a good two years now. Especially since that was the exact amount of time he'd known her for. Yeah, now was probably one of those times he should keep his gob shut. Otherwise, before he knew it, he would be blurting out something stupid like the fact that wankers like Jimmy Stone didn't deserve her and that she shouldn't give up on relationships because of that tosser and that if she'd only just consider-

John sighed internally, derailing that train of thought before it could go any further into dangerous, forbidden territory.

Rose leaned back until she was lying completely across the covers of his bed, her arms resting up behind her head. She stared up at his ceiling with contemplative eyes. John looked away, grumbling under his breath. Did she really need to stretch out like that across his bed while she complained about wanting a shag?

"Why is it so hard for a girl to get a nice unattached one night stand around here?"

John's mind flashed unwittingly to tangled sheets and limbs, soft sighs and moans, and naked, sweat soaked skin. Rose's body laid out bare for some other man's eyes to devour. His hands balled up by his side and he took in a calming breath, pushing the image from his mind and instead forced his lips to curl up into a smile that he hoped was convincing.

"It's hard is it?" John said with forced lightness. Rose sat up and threw a pillow at him.

"Stop being a child! This is serious!" Still, she was laughing and John gradually felt the edges of his smile smooth out into something a little more genuine.

"I'm sorry if I'm not giving your sexual frustrations the proper attention they deserve," he said defensively, teasingly. Then he froze, the color draining from his face as the words he'd just spoken registered to him. His ears began ringing and heating up simultaneously, a blush spreading across his freckled face. Not daring to even look at her, John began stammering.

"That's not- I mean I wasn't referring to- I don't think- I mean- Sorry...that didn't come out right and I..." John finally dared to meet her eyes and abruptly cut himself off when he saw the look in them.

She looked...intrigued. Her head cocked to the side as she scrutinized him in a way that made him fidget in his seat and sent his heart pounding in his chest, the blush only deepening on his pale skin. She licked her lips and John felt his brain go blank at the sight of her pink tongue.

"That's not," she said slowly, "a bad idea."

"What's not?" John squeaked. Then embarrassed, he coughed and tried again. "What's not?"

"You giving my sexual frustrations the attention they deserve," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, pushing a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. John made a noise that only sounded vaguely human, then searched her eyes, trying to decide if she was playing some cruel joke on him. To his surprise, he could find no humor or malicious intent in their depths. Her gaze was unwavering and completely serious, the whisky color captivating him just as it always did. John felt his stomach flip.

"I- I don't-" John looked at her helplessly, not having the slightest clue what the right thing to say was.

"Now listen," Rose said, suddenly becoming animated. "Just hear me out. This is a good idea!"

John actually thought it was a terrible idea, but wisely he kept his mouth shut.

"We're good friends, right? The best actually. I'd trust you with my life. And things don't have to get weird or complicated between us. Just a good shag between mates. And it's like, in all the time I've known you, John, I've never really seen you interested in anyone before." John had to hold back his weak protests by biting his tongue. "You're too focused on your studies, yeah? So this way you don't have to stress over any of the relationship nonsense either. It's a win-win."

"Yeah. A win-win," John said weakly.

Rose beamed. "So does that mean you're in?"

Was he in for having sex with Rose Tyler? Absolutely. Was he in for being her one-night stand or whatever it was that he was signing up for here? Not exactly. In fact, he craved her physically almost as much as he did emotionally. But she'd just made it perfectly clear that she wasn't looking for any kind of commitment or declaration. She'd also made it perfectly clear that she just saw him as a friend. Would it be wrong for him then, to under the circumstance, say yes? She wasn't looking for complicated after all and this had the potential to become very messy if he wasn't careful. Should he risk it then, just for the chance to be with her? Would he be able to remain satisfied with just this little bit that she was offering him? Should he be grateful that he was even getting this much? And if he were honest with himself, could he really turn her down, even if it would ultimately save him from the inevitable heartbreak that a situation like this was bound to cause?

In the end, his will power wasn't strong enough. Just the thought of having her in his sheets, their limbs tangled together, her body laid out bare for his eyes, was enough to do him in. Not trusting his voice, John nodded his head.

Rose bounded from his bed looking pleased. "Perfect! How about this Friday, then? We can get chips first."

"Yeah, yeah. Sounds good." John's voice was hoarse.

She gave him one last beaming smile before exiting his dorm room. When she was out of sight, John slumped down in his desk chair, letting his face fall into his hands.

What had he just agreed to?