Author's note: Sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER! I'm going to try and post some more soon, but I've been SUPER busy. Anyway, this was written for a Doctor Who fanfic contest, and I will post updates. So far, I have made it to round two! YAAAAYYY! I'm going to continue the storyline even if I am eliminated late because I may or may not have fallen in love with Rosemary-Jane. Anyway, enjoy, and please review! I'd LOVE to see your feedback!
Every night, the invisible girl watched the universe fall apart and reassemble itself from her bedroom window. From the age of eight, Rosemary-Jane Winters had gazed intimately at the stars through the cold glass as they plummeted, disappeared, returned, brighter than before, and danced.
She was a tall, slender, gangling girl of 15, with long, light brown hair, acne-plagued, fair skin, an average, forgettable face dusted with freckles across her nose, and large, clumsy feet. Her only unique physical feature about her was her eyes. They were a midnight blue that seemed to hold the very galaxy she watched from her window.
At school, she was a nobody. She was just the quiet little girl who sat in the corner and never spoke to anyone, and that nobody spoke to. Nobody ever thought of her as anything remarkable. In truth, this was only because, day by day, social anxiety crushed her. She would tell her parents, but they never seemed to stop fighting.
Rosemary-Jane often mused to herself that, if she were in a story, she'd be the invisible girl, who she hoped would be of more importance than anyone else would have ever realized.
Little did she know, her falling stars would make her the most important in the months to come.
One rainy night, Rosemary-Jane pressed her hands onto the cool, smooth glass. She glanced eagerly at her digital clock on her nightstand in anticipation. 11:30 pm. Her stars would begin their routine at 11:59, and finish at 12:01 am, as usual. You would think that, logically, the stars wouldn't be visible in the heavy, clouded London sky. Rosemary-Jane knew better than this; she knew that in the darkness, the stars only shined brighter.
At 11:31, Rosemary-Jane heard a strange noise. It was a wheezing, groaning noise, that gave Rosemary-Jane a strange sense of… hope, was it? The gentle girl shook her head. It was probably the wind. But a little part of her, for some strange reason, felt, and maybe even hoped it wasn't.
Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. She pulled on her large, clunky rain boots and slipped on her hooded raincoat over her plain cotton nightgown. The 15-year-old walked as quietly as her abnormally large feet would allow across her parents' small flat. Her dog, a small westie called Kate, nipped gently at Rosemary-Jane's ankles. Kate let out a small yip.
"Shhh… Hush, Kate," Rosemary-Jane whispered.
She slowly opened the door, half curious, half terrified of what might be before her.
Surprisingly enough, a police box sat on the edge of the sidewalk, directly in front of her front steps. It hadn't been there when the girl had come home from school, had it? Police boxes hadn't been used since the 1950s. Why would one suddenly appear here?
Rosemary-Jane grabbed an umbrella from the closet next to the front entrance. She carefully unfolded it and stepped out into the rain. Despite her fear and her shy nature, she approached it. Gentle and awestruck, Rosemary-Jane placed her hand on the blue painted exterior. It looked brand new. She could almost smell the scent of freshly dried paint. She reached for the door handle. It's probably just a reproduction. It wouldn't hurt to peek inside… she thought to herself. She took a deep breath. Almost shaking, she creaked open the door.
Golden light flooded a large room, filled with switches, buttons, and levers. Every mechanism was moving gracefully and rhythmically, seeming to have a sense of purpose. Rosemary-Jane's jaw dropped. She must be dreaming. She stepped inside, figuring this must be some kind of illusion. The teen felt around for walls or screens, and looked all over the ceiling for projectors or cameras, but there was nothing to be found. No, this wasn't possible- it couldn't be!
The police box was bigger on the inside.
Rosemary-Jane turned on her heel and raced as fast as her awkwardly long legs could take her out of the police box, up the stairs, and slammed the door behind her. Breathing hard, she slid on her back down the door. She must be dreaming! She pinched herself- hard. She let out a small grunt of pain.
"You really shouldn't hurt yourself like that."
Rosemary-Jane whipped her head in the direction of the voice. A curious man with floppy brown hair and a bow tie stood before her. She rose slowly to her feet. Her eyes widened, and she began to scream. Before any sound could truly come out, there was a hand over her mouth.
"Shhhhh! Quiet now. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help. I promise."
"And why should I trust you?"
"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes look like a galaxy?"
"No."
"Nobody's ever looked close enough, have they?" the man in the bow tie said. "Well, it's not normal, and I know why. You watch the universe fall apart and put itself back together again every night, don't you?"
"How did you know I watched the stars dance?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Are you sure you're not just some madman who broke into my parents' flat?"
"That's for you to decide," the Doctor smiled. He squinted, looking out the window. "You left my TARDIS door open! In the rain!" He opened the door and dashed outside without an umbrella or anything of the sort.
"TARDIS? What's a TARDIS?"
But the man, this… "Doctor" was already gone. He disappeared inside the police box. If she hadn't already pinched herself, she'd be sure she was dreaming. Rosemary-Jane picked up her umbrella and ventured outside once again.
"Doctor?" She called. "Doctor who?" She whispered to herself.
Rosemary-Jane tramped through the puddles to the police box. Holding her breath, she knocked three times. "Doctor?"
"Come in! But I'd be careful. She's still a tad angry with you for leaving her open in the rain."
Rosemary-Jane pulled open the door (as was printed rather large on the sign) and was bathed in the strange gold light again. The Doctor was running around the control console in the center, flipping switches, pulling levers, and pushing buttons.
"So this is the TARDIS thing you mentioned?"
"Don't call her a 'thing', mind you, she's still cross, but yes."
"What is it? How is it bigger on the inside?"
"It's a time machine," the Doctor grinned. "Alien technology."
"Alien? Are you an alien?"
"Yes. Next question?"
"What… What are you doing here? What do you want with me?"
"You're the most valuable girl in the universe. I'm here to protect you."
"Why? I'm practically invisible."
"Who else do you think has seen the universe fall apart and put itself together again from their bedroom window? Rosemary-Jane Winters, I can promise you this: there will come a day you wish you were invisible."
"How do you know my name?"
"What can I say? I'm a time traveler. It's a very wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey thing."
Rosemary-Jane giggled. She hadn't giggled like that in years.
"So, Miss Winters, where to first?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Don't you want to come with me?"
"Go with a man I met ten minutes ago who claims to be an alien, has a time-traveling box that's bigger on the inside, knows my name and thinks I matter, and leave here, the only life I've ever known?" A broad smile swept across her face. "Of course! Um…"
"Um what? I really don't like 'um'."
"Can I pack first? I don't exactly want to travel through time in my nightie."
"Ah, yes! Go ahead. Don't worry. I'll be right here. I've learned my lesson about leaving little girls behind. Whoo! Still haven't heard the end of it!"
Rosemary-Jane ran all the way through her parents' flat to her room. She stuffed everything she wanted into a small suitcase. She quickly changed into her favorite, most practical and comfortable outfit. Finally, she would be free. Free of the parents who argue and never speak to her. Free from her peers' and classmates' judgemental glances. She was finally free.
The teen walked back out the door and took a deep breath. There was no way this was happening. Even if it was a dream, this was one unbelievable dream.
The door of the TARDIS opened, and Rosemary-Jane Winters stepped inside, ready as she would ever be for the adventures ahead.
And that is how Rosemary-Jane Winters, the invisible girl with the galaxy behind her eyes, the most valuable girl in the universe, came to join the Doctor in his many travels.
