CHAPTER ONE
A/N: Keep in mind, this is probably going to turn out to be a total crack-fic that I kinda just thought of one night. So, bare with me until I get the hang of this entire "being in the Doctor's head" thing. And yes, I do realize not many people enjoy fics where the main character isn't even in the real story, but I promise the Doctor comes in soon!
"Hey Ellie, would you like to go out for a spot of tea and biscuits and later we can watch the Queen on the telly!" April mocked in a very bad attempt at a British accent.
"Sod off, April." Ellie warily replied.
"What's wrong, Ellie, dearie? Are you tired from staying up at night to contact your friends back at your home planet? It must be a horrible time difference!" April mocked, pushing her poker-straight, half dead, bleached blonde hair out of her face.
Ellie just sat there in her desk, waiting for the torture of her calculus class to be over. She enjoyed school, she really did, but ever since she moved from England, her attitude towards her schooling hasn't been the same.
"Ellie, don't you want to talk to us?" Christian cooed, tilting her head to the side so her bun wobbled on top of her head.
Her bun makes it look like her head is going to topple off at any minute, Ellie chuckled to herself, smirking.
"Ooh, what's so funny, Els? Is that okay, you know, like, me calling you Els? Because I should since we're like totally BFF's!" Bekka exclaimed in her sing-song voice.
"Nothing. You wouldn't get it. And could you three please be quiet? I really am trying to work here." Ellie sighed, just wanting a bit of peace and quiet for a change.
"What's wrong, Ellie?" April started again, "Did you have a bad day?"
"Aww, you poor thing..." Bekka crooned.
Christian didn't say anything, she just pretended to let a tear fall down her cheek with her finger.
"Look, I just want to work. If you could leave me alone, that'd be great." Ellie was getting frustrated now. What did it take to get some privacy in America? Ever since she moved here, people never seemed to stop! Even the little children at her foster home never seemed to stop. The only time she could get away was at her nightly walks when no one is around.
"Wait, guys, I think I know what's wrong," April started.
Here we go again, Ellie thought, rolling her eyes. More derogatory jokes about England.
"I think...Ellie misses her mommy. I mean she's all the way back in England! She must be too busy paying your expenses to get to talk to you much. Oh! Wait... I forgot... You don't have a mom, Ellie." April snarled the last sentence, a cruel sneer on her face.
That was it. Ellie could deal with the teasing and the bashing of her mother country, England; The mocking of her heritage; and the inaccurate impersonations of her culture, but attack her mother - her dead mother - then God have mercy on her soul...
Ellie took a deep breath before she started on the rage that had been building inside of her for the past two months.
"You know what, April? I do miss my Mum. Not because she's too busy for me, no I wouldn't know how that feels. But I'm sure you do, April, with your father being the very important man that he is! I'm sure you know all about a parent not having time to spend with their child." The look of shock that registered on April's face was priceless. Ellie took the opportunity to try and tell April, Bekka, and Christian off one at a time. Hopefully she could get all of her insults in before the ABC Bitches wave their white flag.
"And while I have you listening to me, I would like to say something about you and your little group of wenches. All three of you go around wearing ten kilos of makeup, flashing your tits for every teenage bloke in North America to see, and then you snap at them and call them 'perverts' every time they even look at you in the slightest. I don't understand that, April. Could you ever so kindly explain that science to me? Because you seem to do that on a daily basis."
Christian snickered at that.
"Oh, you find this funny, Christian? Let me ask you this, how's your sex life with Robert over there in the back? I bet it's great! I mean, I see you two snogging in the halls between almost every class, and his hands are always touching and groping your body, so I would just assume that you two have been getting it on recently. And plus there's that smug grin on Robert's face every morning before school, and he's always rubbing his neck as if it was sore, which would imply that he had just gotten laid in the car before school. Oh, wait! I forgot! Your father is a minister! I wonder if he knows what his little baby girl is doing in her free time? What would poor old daddy say about your sexual habits, Christian? It really would be a shame if daddy found out about it..."
Christian panicked. And when Christian panicked, she immediately rages.
Oh no, Ellie thought, Here it comes. It's never a pretty experience when Christian goes into her rages. Ellie smirked smugly, satisfied that she struck a nerve with two out of three of the ABC Bitches. She'll get Bekka back soon.
"You know what, you little scamp? You think you're so cool with your little accent and you think you're like better than everyone else because you're not from this country but really you're just-like-lame!" Christian sputtered, tripping up on words through her rage, her anger blocking every intelligent thought and insult, leaving only pathetic fragments shoved together in an attempt at an insult.
"Oh, wow! You know what, Christian? I think that is the logical argument I've ever heard," Ellie mocked, laughing at Christian's pathetic insult.
"Leave it, Chrissie... You ain't gonna win." Bekka chimed in, finally speaking up.
She always was the pacifist of the three, Ellie thought to herself, turning around in her seat to face the front once more.
Ellie smiled gladly and finally relaxed in calculus class, knowing that she would have about three days of peace and quiet from the ABC Bitches before they finally cooled off from their rages.
[A/N: In the following paragraphs, the stories of foster children are included. A few are graphic and could be considered TRIGGERS for some people. Skip ahead if you wish, I will put a note in saying when the possible triggers are finished.]
Ellie's foster home was home to two dogs, Argos and Dakota, two turtles, Yertle and Leo, a goldfish, Colin, not including the six children living there. It was a decent sized house, with five bedrooms and three bathrooms. It was always slightly cramped, but cozy nonetheless.
The children were Lexi, age four, Dustin, age six, Robby, age nine, Cleo, age fourteen, Ellie, age sixteen, and Xavier, age seventeen. Although they all lived together, they all differed from one another greatly, whether it be from their personalities to their past.
Lexi was a tomboy and loved to play with Dustin's action figures. Dustin had no interest in action figures, as he would much rather be reading a book. Robby was full of energy and never stopped bouncing around. Cleo was the stereotypical hipster you would see in a Starbucks. Xavier was sort of a "lone wolf" and mostly kept to himself.
In addition to their personalities differing, all of their stories come from a range of backgrounds. The only reason Ellie knows these stories is from eavesdropping on the conversations her foster parents have.
Lexi was born into a very nice family, but they were really struggling financially. She wasn't a planned child, but she was extremely loved nonetheless. Her parents kept her for about a year until they made one of the hardest decisions of their lives: How can we make sure Lexi has a good life? They decided to put her up for adoption, knowing that she would be better off in a house with a family that can support her needs. To Lexi's delight, her parents still visit her whenever their busy work schedules allow. Once they get back on their feet, they may take Lexi back into their care. Lexi is too young to understand why she's in the foster home. She has convinced herself that she's at a giant sleepover party with the rest of the foster kids, which, in Ellie's opinion, is super adorable.
Dustin's mother had a teenage pregnancy. She was 18 when she was drugged and raped at a friend's party. She became pregnant, but didn't want to keep Dustin and didn't believe in abortion. Almost immediately after he was born and they were both released from the hospital, she dropped him off at an orphanage halfway across the state. She wanted nothing to do with her child because she never wanted to be reminded of what happened that night almost ten years ago. She didn't even name her son. She later moved out of the state and started to do meth at age 22 to help cope with the trauma of being raped. Dustin doesn't know why he's in the foster home, nor does he know about his mother.
In Ellie's opinion, Robby's story is the most tragic. Robby's parents' marriage was falling apart, and his father was desperate to save it. He got his wife pregnant with Robby and that helped for a few years. After Robby was born, his mother choreographed an affair behind her husband's back and ended up leaving Robby's father for that man. She took all of the money with her. Left with nothing, Robby's father was alone with only his son and an empty house to grieve over the loss of his wife. He started drinking and not paying his bills and taxes, and eventually the government took his house and everything left that he owned, including Robby. Robby was sent to a foster care home at the age of four. He remembers nothing of his old life. His father is still in jail for child neglect and for not paying his taxes. Robby knows nothing.
Cleo was a surprise baby. Her parents were highschool sweethearts and made Cleo when they were 17. The father wanted Cleo's mother to get an abortion, but she refused, saying that she would never end her child's life before it even began. She was going to put the baby up for adoption, and let her have a better home. After multiple arguments, her parents broke up and her mother was left to have Cleo alone. Her mother is now a successful attorney and always visits Cleo at least three times a year: Christmas, Easter, and Cleo's birthday. Cleo knows her story, and understands her mother's decision and respects it.
Xavier was the happiest kid you knew. Emphasis on "was". When he was 11, he and his parents were driving home from picking Xavier from school when a huge SUV lost control and hit them from the side. It hit near the front on the driver's side, and killed Xavier's father on impact. His mother was left with many broken bones, including a spinal injury that left her paralyzed, and a fatal head wound. She died in about seven minutes. Xavier was sitting in the back seat the entire time, helplessly watching his mother die. He suffered a minor head wound and broken bones. He knows about everything that went on in the car, and remembers it in vivid detail. He still has nightmares, and has never been the same again. He never goes in cars anymore, and rarely leaves the house, apart from working and school. He doesn't talk much anymore, but when he does, it is very formal and polite.
[A/N: Triggers are over. Continue on reading freely.]
Ellie often thought about the foster children's stories when she was sitting alone in her room. It wasn't exactly her room, per say. All the children shared rooms with one another. Lexi and Dustin shared a room, Robby and Xavier shared a room, and Cleo and Ellie shared a room.
Ellie and Cleo had a great room arrangement. Their room contained of a bunkbed, two bureaus, a decent sized closet, a round, white shag carpet that covered the light pine floorboards, and four light green walls.
When Ellie moved in, the two girls made the dead that Ellie would get the top bunk, mainly because Cleo never liked heights. They each had one of the two bureaus for clothes, and they split the closet space in half.
As for decoration, they decided they would be allowed to decorate their designated bureaus however they wanted, and they would each be allowed one of the four walls to decorate with things like pictures and posters.
Ellie never understood Cleo's fascination with One Direction-especially Harry Styles, who just so happened to be Cleo's favorite member. The first day Ellie met Cleo and spoke in her British accent, the first question Cleo asked her was, "Have you met Harry Styles?!"
On Cleo's wall, there are pictures of One Direction and other hipster bands Ellie had never heard of. Not to mention all of the pictures of her friends posing in the traditional girl pose: Standing sideways with one arm down and the other hand on their hip. There were pictures of them at Starbucks, drinking iced lattes, outside the cinema, making duck faces, and eating at sushi places.
On the other hand, Ellie's wall contained photos of everyone she loved, regardless if she had met them or not. There was a UK flag in the center, with pictures all around it. Directly below the flag is a picture of her mother that was taken a few weeks before she died. There were also pictures of the Queen, the rest of the royal family, along with pictures of her favorite actors and actresses.
Ellie sat on her bed, back to the wall, staring at the picture of her mother.
She's beautiful... Ellie thought to herself. More beautiful than I'll ever be...
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Someone shouted from the hallway, startling Ellie from her thought bubble. It was immediately evident that it was Robby that shouted. The only two people in the house that shouts on a regular basis were Robby and Lexi. It obviously wasn't Lexi because when Lexi screams, it is a high pitched torture device.
"Robby, tone it down a few notches!" Aunt Liza scolded.
"Aunt" Liza and "Uncle" Benvolio were Ellie's foster parents. The reason the kids all called them "aunt" and "uncle" was because they thought Mr. And Mrs. Lotelli was too formal and would be too hard for the kids to remember, and they didn't want to be called "mom" and "dad" because they always felt that they would never be a mother or a father to us, so that leaves the names as "Aunt Liza" and "Uncle Ben".
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Robby! What did I just say?!"
Silence.
"Robby..."
Silence.
"Robert, front and center."
Quiet, padding footsteps retreated down the hallway towards Aunt Liza.
"Robby, what did I just tell you?"
"To stop yelling..."
"Did you listen to me?"
"...No..."
"Are you going to yell anymore?"
"...No..."
"Good boy. Now run along and play with Lexi."
Ellie chuckled as Robby ran back to play with Lexi again.
Great, thought Ellie, it's game time. Goodbye peace and quiet.
Jumping down from the top bunk, Ellie made her way to the room Xavier and Robby shared - the only quiet place in the house.
Xavier never played with the little ones on his own. Whenever they wanted to play with Xavier, they were always forced to search out his hiding spots and ask him to play.
Only Ellie knew his hiding spots, and she refused to tell the little ones. After her coming to America, she seemed to always seek spots where she could sit down and think about how she missed her home country. After a while, she ran into Xavier in one of his hiding spots. He nodded to her that she could sit down, and they just stayed there, together, for hours until dinner.
She automatically knew where Xavier would be today. Whenever play time rolled around, he went onto the roof - a place where the kids would never find him.
Knocking in a four beat rhythm against Xavier's door, Ellie lets herself into the room. It was messy, as usual. Not pausing to look at anything, she heads straight towards the window directly across from the door. Making sure the window is open wide enough, she climbs up through the window and onto the roof. Looking to her right, she finds Xavier about five feet away. She scoots to the left so that she isn't in view from the window and so she gives Xavier his space.
"Hello, there."
Xavier just once nods in reply.
"It's nice out."
Three nods.
"Good day for a walk."
Three nods.
"Would you like to join me? We could stick to the back roads. Not many people back there."
"No thanks, Ellie."
"Alright. See you later?"
Three nods. Talking time was over.
Ellie sits there next to the window for about another half hour until she feels her butt start to get numb. She never understood how Xavier sat out here for so long.
Not thinking, she climbs feet first back into Xavier's room and walks back into her room. She only needed a few things before she leaves. She grabs ten dollars for dinner and her olive green zip up and beanie to wear outside.
"Aunt Liza, I'm going out with a few friends for dinner! Don't wait up for me!" Ellie shouts out when she reaches the bottom of the stairs. Aunt Liza didn't exactly know that Ellie hated everyone in school. Well, almost everyone. There were always a few exceptions.
"Okay, Ellie. Do you need a ride?" Aunt Liza called from the kitchen.
"I'm good, thanks!"
"Have fun! Best behavior!"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Ellie walked outside and shrugged on her jacket. She decided to make a left for once, rather than making the right turn down the sidewalk like normal.
After about five minutes of walking, Ellie was lost in her own thoughts. She thought about unicorns, and theories, and her mother. Her mind was racing. The gears were turning so fast it seemed like they would snap off at any moment and her head would implode. She thought about the ABC Bitches, how she missed England, and about her mo-
"Oh, hello there! Sorry, wasn't paying much attention! Must have been lost in my own thoughts, you know? Seems to happen a lot. Say, are you alright?" The man Ellie collided with, successfully knocking her to the ground, stared at her with serious concern on his face. She stared back at her blankly.
"No, really, are you okay? You look like you've just had the surprise of a lifetime!" The man held his hand out to help her up.
When he first started speaking, Ellie thought she was hallucinating. He was English! Good and proper English, with a British accent and everything!
"Y-yeah! Yeah, I'm great. Really, really great..." Ellie stuttered, a confused look on her face.
"I've been better. Looks like you've seen some better days, too. Right now it looks like you've gotten the shock of a lifetime," he observed.
"I-I'm fine. It's nothing, really."
"Say! You're British! Fancy seeing someone from Britain here..."
"Yeah, and so are you."
"So, where are you from?" The man inquired.
"London. You?"
"Haven't really got a home. I just run. I've been traveling for almost my entire life."
"Good for you, mate. Nice running into you...literally..."
Ellie started walking away from the man.
"Oi! Wait a minute! I never introduced myself!" the man exclaimed, catching up to Ellie in three strides.
"It's fine, really. You know you really don't have to, right?
"No, it's not!" The stranger says, jumping in front of her, successfully stopping her from walking.
"Trust me, it is."
"Hello," the man says, extending his hand,"I'm the Doctor!"