Turlough had woken up far earlier than usual, as his night had been tormented by countless nightmares. Once again. The ginger slowly massaged his temples, as if to brush the dreadful images away, and left his room, still in his pyjamas. He then headed towards the TARDIS' kitchen, to grab a glass of something and then try getting back to sleep.
To his surprise, the lights were already on in the corridors he crossed, and metallic noises came from the console room. Sighing, Turlough decided to change his plans and dragged himself towards the main room. As expected, the Doctor was there, the upper part of his body under the console, several unidentified tools scattered around him.
"Er, Doctor? Mind if I ask you what you are doing here?" loudly asked the young alien.
The Time Lord emerged from his spot, and a bright smile found his way across his lips.
"Ah, hello Turlough. Isn't it a bit early?"
"Couldn't sleep, muttered the ginger. And the noise drew me here."
"Hm, I see. Well, the old girl has apparently decided to be a little… fickle, and won't move."
"Yes, well, it's not the first time and it won't be the last. I only hope that this time we're not stranded on a remote planet devoid of any form of intelligence or of food."
"Let's see, said the Doctor, according to the scanner we're… on XXth or XXIth century Earth. The coordinates are a bit blurry, though."
Turlough grumbled.
"Cheer up, will you ? It could be worse. Besides, I might be busy here for a little while; why don't you go out for some sightseeing?"
"I don't know, maybe because I hate this planet?" suggested the Trion.
"A little walk couldn't hurt you. We haven't been very active lately. Maybe you could grab your sketchbook and draw a bit? You complained that you lacked inspiration yesterday."
"I see, you want to be alone with your girl. Well I'll leave you two alone, then." finally spat Turlough, heading back to his room.
A bit later, the young man had put his school uniform on, per usual, stuffed various pencils and an eraser in his pockets and wedged a sketchbook under his left arm.
"I'm leaving." he informed the Doctor, who vaguely waved him goodbye.
Turlough slammed the TARDIS door shut behind him.
Apparently, they had landed in a small and colourful town. Probably on a market day, as various stalls were placed on either side of the streets. The Doctor had asked him to find out where and when they precisely were, but Turlough cared little and decided to save that part for later. At any rate, it was early, and given the amount of people already in the streets, probably around the middle of the morning.
After a while of dodging people and carefully not paying attention to the merchants who yelled at him about how good their prices were, Turlough found himself out of the village, in a nearby forest. The trees were of a deep green, and the sun gave an eerie light; even the alien had to admit the whole scenery was beautiful. He walked a bit more, and found a little lake, surrounded by the same majestic trees. His breath taken away, he sat on a nearby trunk and decided to sketch the landscape.
But as he started shading his drawing, Turlough heard footsteps. "Probably tourists" he thought, and didn't worry much. The footsteps stopped near him, and once again, the ginger kept his eyes focused on his paper.
"It's pretty. You're talented."
The voice was young, and sort of marked with sadness. Turlough didn't like to be disturbed while drawing, but he had to at least acknowledge the compliment and the person who formulated it. Thus, he lifted his gaze and met deep brown eyes. And his heart missed a beat.
The person was a young man, probably not older than seventeen or eighteen. Thick, raven hair framed his face, and he was wearing a curious outfit of various colours. A blue star-shaped badge proudly shone on his chest.
"Thank you." finally said Turlough, snapping out of his initial surprise.
"Can I sit here for a while?"
"Huh, sure, why not."
So the teenager sat next to the ginger, and an awkward silence fell between the two of them. Turlough kept on working on his sketch, but his mind was elsewhere.
There was no doubt the boy was Adric. He had glimpsed the picture on Nyssa's nightstand, and the young smiling face had remained intact in his head, as if burned in his memories. He often thought of the young man as a sort of hero, though the version sitting beside him had no idea of what awaited him.
Turlough mainly knew Adric through this photo, the Doctor's long silences or Nyssa's muffled cries at night. The first and only time the topic had been brought up and discussed, after Nyssa's departure, it had ended up with Tegan smashing a glass against the wall and the Doctor secluding himself in the TARDIS' library. Turlough had gone there a few hours later, only to find the Time Lord asleep on a couch. A rare fact, as the Doctor seemed to sleep very little. The blonde man's eyes were a bit puffy, and Turlough's heart had sunk upon realizing it was the first time he had ever caught a hint of the Doctor breaking down.
"What's your name?"
Adric had finally broken the silence, and Turlough hesitated a bit. Should he lie or tell the truth? There was a major risk of spoilers here, but after all, a name is just a name.
"Turlough. You?"
"Adric."
Another silence. Deep inside, the Trion wanted nothing more than chat with the Alzarian, as he had often dreamt to. But confronted to the reality – the boy would die very soon, and he couldn't tell him anything about it – his words and phrases were trapped in his dry throat.
"So… are you a tourist? Or perhaps you live there?" he finally asked, though he knew the answer.
"I guess I'm what you could call a tourist."
"And, erm, are you enjoying the place?"
"I don't know yet, we just arrived. I mean, my… friends and I."
The ginger noticed that Adric had hesitated on the word "friends". He frowned; why would he stumble on his words like that?
"Something happened?" Turlough asked while starting a new drawing.
"Kind of."
Turlough cast a quick glance at his interlocutor, who was looking at the lake before them. His dark gaze seemed a bit veiled.
Another long pause. Only the noise of pencils running on the paper was heard.
"So?" pressed Turlough.
"It's silly, really, sighed Adric. I just… sometimes, I feel like I don't belong with them, that's all."
"And why would you think so?"
"Why not? countered the Alazarian. Why… why am I even talking to you about this ?"
The ginger alien couldn't help but chuckle.
"I don't know. You tell me."
A smile crept on Adric's lips.
"Neither do I. Since I'm asking."
"Maybe I make you feel good naturally?"
Another tiny laugh.
"Yes, maybe."
"So, continued Turlough while drawing, you were saying you didn't feel right with them."
"No, it's not like that. It's just… sometimes I feel like I'm some unnecessary weight. As if they could be just fine without me."
"Trust me, they wouldn't".
"Oh damn." thought Turlough, too late.
Adric gave him a curious look.
"Why? I mean, you don't even know them."
"Maybe, but you do seem like a great kid."
"I'm not a kid, protested the maths genius. I'm a teenager."
"Yes. Anyways…"
Turlough put his sketchbook and pencils on the ground, and turned himself so he could face his interlocutor.
"I know what it is to feel left out, trust me on that. But I also… happen to know that sometimes, you have to read through the lines and mixed signals you can receive."
He earned a confused look.
"What I'm trying to say is… suppose you have a friend. The kind that gets angry easily and doesn't show his affection often."
"Yes."
"Well, if he yells at you or doesn't treat you well at times, do you think it has something to do with you? Or that it's just the way he is?"
The last question left a thoughtful teen. The alien returned to his drawing, hiding it from Adric's eyes.
"It's funny, the Alzarian finally remarked. It's like… you know me somehow. Haven't we met?"
"I'm afraid no. Maybe I'm just good at figuring people out." proposed the ginger in a tone he wanted neutral.
"No, insisted Adric. I know I might sound weird, but it does feel like you know me. How'd you have guessed I have such a friend otherwise?"
"Well I'm glad you view that person as a friend again."
"Don't try to change the subject."
Turlough rolled his eyes.
"What's with you? I'm trying to help, that's all."
"Sure, and I thank you for that, but the question remains."
"Does it matter?" snapped the Trion.
"E-Excuse me?"
"Does it matter that I know you or not? Can't we just enjoy each other's company?"
Once again, silence fell. And probably didn't last for long, but felt like ages to the two of them.
"So…are you from here?" asked Adric, his eyes wandering on the lake.
"No. I'm travelling, just like you."
"Alone?"
"No, but my friend had something important to do. So I walked for a while and ended up there."
"Hmm." muttered the Alzarian with a nod.
They stopped talking after this last exchange. It just felt good to both aliens to be there, in a calm and charming setting, next to each other. Turlough kept on working on his sheet of paper, still hiding it. But it didn't matter, as Adric's gaze was absorbed by the landscape in front of him, and his mind seemed elsewhere. After a few minutes, his right hand went to grab Turlough's left. The Trion lifted a surprised eyebrow, but didn't object. He knew how the Alzarian felt, and he knew he needed it.
Maybe they stayed there for hours, keeping silent. But little did they care, everything seemed perfect for once. Turlough had stopped drawing, and his grip on Adric's hand had slowly tightened. He didn't want to let go of the teen, ever. Because he knew what was to happen. And it hurt so much, because the raven haired boy didn't deserve it. The math genius had just wanted to feel more accepted and loved. And he had tried to make Adric feel better, and it just hurt, to see how low he thought of himself.
They slowly began to talk again. At first, about how beautiful the sky was. Then, about how eerily gorgeous the whole place was. And about how it was incredible nobody came here, really, why would everyone be at the market buying stuff they didn't need when there was such a wonderful place a few minutes away? And the conversation kept going on and on, and everything felt right. Soon enough, they moved on to chatter about their lives. And it was quite interesting to see how they both managed to exclude any part that might seem too odd, and how they didn't mention the Doctor at all.
That's how Turlough learnt more about Adric. About his older brother, whom he had always admired and seen as a sort of role model, even when said brother would seem to care little about him. About how they had lost their parents when they were very young, and how they had to survive alone. And how he had enjoyed school when they were put there, even when his brother hadn't. About the comfort he had found in studying, especially mathematics. The numbers were soothing him, because everything had an answer, and everything was logical. There was no place for unexpected events. Adric seemed to hesitate after that part, and his ginger companion guessed it was because of the Doctor's involvement or something not quite normal. Then Adric continued about his friends, and how he had particularly gotten along with one of them, a nice girl with whom he shared a great interest in science. The teen completely stopped after that, so Turlough began talking about himself. As he was telling his story, both aliens were drawing parallels. They had known loneliness. And the loss of people they loved. And felt like outcasts. And the list could go on.
As they were speaking, the sun had started to set, giving the scenery a wonderful light. That's around the time they heard a powerful cry:
"ADRIC! ADRIC, ARE YOU THERE?"
"Oh damn, mumbled the teen, it's Tegan."
Turlough froze. He shouldn't be seen there, or the consequences could be… yes, disastrous was an appropriate term.
"I'm sorry, he apologized, I lost track of time. I have to go."
"What? No, stay, I'm sure my friends wouldn't mind meeting you."
"No, Adric, you don't understand, I really must leave."
"ADRIC! ADRIC!"
"Come on, Turlough…"
"I'm sorry. But I want you to have this. Don't open it now, though. Only if you feel really, really down."
Turlough took the last drawing he had done from his sketchbook, folded it carefully and placed it in Adric's hand. Then, he quickly grabbed a pencil, scribbled something on a piece of paper and gave it to the Alzarian.
"What…"
The boy looked quite shocked, and his eyes were glued to the paper he had received.
"I told you not to open it!" sighed Turlough, hoping he hadn't mess too much with the teen's timeline.
"I felt really, really down, justified Adric. Because you're leaving. But I was right earlier. You know me."
A little smile crept on the ginger's face.
"Maybe I do, indeed. But it was nice meeting you for real, Adric."
The Trion grabbed his surprised friend's free hand, and shook it. For quite a long time. But it was so hard to let go of that hand, to let the boy with his tragic fate. His heart was racing, and he knew he couldn't change the teen's timeline. He had already done far too much.
"I'm sorry I have to leave you."
Gathering his belongings, Turlough ran away, disappearing in the woods. Adric was far too puzzled to try and follow him. He glanced at the drawing once again.
It was a picture of the lake in front of him. Except the mysterious man had also added a few people: Adric, himself, and surprisingly, very accurate representations of the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan. Adric was surrounded by the four others, and they all seemed so peaceful and happy.
"ADRIC! THERE YOU ARE!"
"Hi, Tegan." answered the Alzarian while rapidly folding the picture.
"What are you doing here? We've been looking for you for the last two hours, darn it! The Doctor told you not to scoot too far away and-"
"Everything's okay, I met somebody nice, plus it's beautiful here." sighed Adric with annoyance.
The Australian scornfully shrugged.
"Maybe, but we were still worried. You could at least have told us where you'd wander, you brat. And by the way, I don't care you've met "somebody nice", you could have met a weirdo as well. Now let's go to the TARDIS before night falls. I really don't want to get lost in that forest."
"Yeah, yeah."
Tegan hurriedly turned back, and Adric followed reluctantly. He wished Turlough had stayed with him. He was sure the Doctor and Nyssa would've liked him. Maybe not Tegan, but still.
Suddenly, something struck the boy. The note!
He unfolded the little piece of paper he had been given along with the drawing. He let another shocked gasp slip, as he deciphered the messy handwriting.
Turlough had to be his guardian angel or something, it was undeniable. How else would he know that much about him?
"Adric? Are you coming or no?"
"Yes, calm down! I was just checking something!"
The dark haired teen hurried his pace to match Tegan's. As they progressed through the forest, he wondered if he really should follow the note's advice.
"Tell her."