A/N: (You'll have to excuse the bad description, I'm sorry!) This is really just something that I result to when I don't want to work on something else or I'm blocked (by which I mean, I have no idea how often this will be updated, and I'm not actually sure it's all that amazing). Either way, I hope you enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or it's characters!
On January 3rd of 2006, it's ridiculously cold, and for the first time in what seems like forever, there's a light layer of snow that has accumulated on the ground. Rose has been working for the past six hours straight today, and every muscle in her body feels like it's going to give up. Her cheeks and nose are all bright red and her toes feel ready to fall off. It's now that she wishes she knew how to drive so she doesn't have to walk the six blocks to her flat. One of these days she's going to get frost bite. She needs to find someone willing to drive her around on the days that she works. Shareen, maybe, as her friend still owes her after that day in France from when they were thirteen.
Her fingers are numb from the cold and her breath curls up in front of her like white smoke. She brushes a piece of hair behind her ear and tucks a strand underneath her hat so it won't fall out as often. She folds her arms over her chest, wishing she'd worn more layers.
She's wearing a pink sweatshirt with another blue hoodie underneath. In the morning rush, she'd settled with wearing an new, but thin pair of jeans. They don't offer her much protection from the biting cold. At least she had thought enough to bring the purple hat and the long, colorful scarf that dipped down just below her knees, both of which she was wearing right now. Still, she found that her neck and ears were still cold. She regrets being so hasty while choosing clothing.
She begins to walk a little quicker, her gaze lowered to the ground. She kicks lightly at the snow, watching as it swirls up into the air and catches the wind, spiraling continuously higher into the sky. The cold nips at her skin and she tries her best to ignore it, keeping her pace quick. She feels chilled to the bone, and walking quickly doesn't seem to be warming her.
In the distance, she can hear police sirens blaring, splitting through the air. She glances behind her, wondering if she could see where the sirens were coming from, and if they were anywhere near her. There was nothing there, so they must have been farther downtown, which isn't exactly a surprise. If criminals were to run through this part of town, they would be caught quickly; there wasn't many places to go around here. An awful lot of the alleys were dead ends, and if they weren't, they just wound in a square.
Several more sirens were turned on and Rose shivered, hoping that it would end all right. The last time so many sirens had been on was in March last year, when the Henrik's store had been blown up. There still wasn't an explanation for what had caused the explosion, but there had been so many police surrounding the area for days afterward, looking through rubble for clues, which they never found.
Rose had lost her job for several months after that, until just one month ago, when they had rebuilt it and called Rose back to hire her.
But anyway, that wasn't the point.
The point was, sirens aren't a new thing for her. She hears sirens all the time while walking home from Henrik's, and yet, something about it right now makes her feel a little uncomfortable. Her skin tingles and her stomach beings to feel a little unsettled. She shivers and looks straight ahead again, tensing up a little as she walks.
She stops at the nearest coffee shop and orders a vanilla coffee, smiling tiredly at the employee. He smiles back and happily fixes her what she ordered. She sees him write his number down on the side of the cup, but she pretends she didn't. She wouldn't call him. Rose hardly has time for dating anymore, and she's got a boyfriend, anyway. She digs through her wallet for a few moments, searching for a fiver, and then tosses it onto the counter. "Happy New Years," he says as Rose turns to leave, and she nods in thanks, smiling.
"Happy New Years. Make it a good one," she replies as she exits, tucking the change into her pocket. She waits outside of the shop for a few minutes, watching the snow drift down from the sky and settle over her footprints. She sighs and takes a sip of her coffee, smiling in relief as warmth floods her mouth. The sirens, she realizes with a twinge of fear, are much closer than they had been before. Maybe she shouldn't have stopped. She quickly takes off again, her hand tight around the cup.
There's no reason to be scared, and she knows it. The police must have the situation under control, whatever that situation is. She risks a glance behind her and tenses as she realizes the sirens were only a few blocks down. She can see the red and blue lights bouncing off of buildings, glowing in the darkness. Were they chasing someone? Taking a deep breath, she forces herself to stare straight ahead and calm down, pushing her nerves into the back of her head, repeating to herself that she shouldn't worry.
And then, something hits her. Literally. Something smashes against her shoulder, with enough force to throw her down to the ground. She yells and stumbles, her ankle twisting in the process. Pain grips her leg and she tries to ignore it, gritting her teeth. The cup falls from her grip and splashes onto the sidewalk, melting the snow and staining it brown. She catches her balance just before she falls, and then straightens as quickly as she can, looking at what hit her.
Her gaze meets a man's. His eyes are wide and brown and deep and actually a little intimidating, despite how kind they seem to look. He's standing at an odd angle, his knees bent a little, so clearly he hadn't intended to crash into her. They are both frozen to the spot and Rose holds her breath. His stare is a little curious, looking her up a down. She feels a little uncomfortable when he does so, but he doesn't seem to mean anything by it, other than he's trying to figure out who she is.
Something sparks inside of her as she does the same as him - a spark of thrill. He's dressed in all black with a black balaclava drawn over his head, and she can't gather anything off of that except that he is the one the police are after.
She should be scared. She knows she should be. But for some reason, she isn't. She's curious and she's confused, but there is no fear in her at all. She can feel excitement pulsing through her veins and she straightens further, tucking a blonde lock of hair that has fallen loose behind her ear again. Her hat has gone askew and she can't be bothered to fix it, so she simply takes it off and holds it, the coldness forgotten for now.
He takes a step away from her, his eyes narrowing, and for a moment, she thinks he's going to draw a gun on her. Still, she's not scared. Well... maybe just a little. The thought of being shot by him does make her a little worried, but curiosity still clouds it over. She cocks her head and frowns, moving her hand up to rub her arm. The sirens are getting closer, but neither of them move for some reason. In the back of her mind, she doesn't quite understand why he hasn't taken off running yet.
"Sorry," he says suddenly, taking another step back, rocking back on his heels. His hand reaches up to rub at the back of his neck, clearing his throat. Rose stares at him in disbelief. She almost laughs, but nothing comes out. Her throat and mouth are both too dry to speak. Did he just apologize to her? Did a criminal - a man wanted by the police - just stop in the middle of the sidewalk and say he was sorry for bumping into her?
Suddenly, a screeching sound pierces the air; the sound of wheels skidding across the road at an odd angle. Rose ducks her head, hands going to protect her ears from the loud sound. The man jumps, his hands clenching into fists, and he shifts his position, crouching a little. A spark of excitement floods his gaze and he smirks, his head tilting. Rose swirls around on her heels, heart pounding. She's not curious anymore. That's all been drained out of her, because suddenly, there are officers pooling out of several different police cars that have driven out of an alley at high speed, and all of the officers have guns pointed at both her and the man's head. They're both surrounded on both the left and the right. Behind and in front of them are buildings, so there is no way to escape there.
"Down on your knees," one of them barks, but Rose is frozen to the spot, unable to move. It occurs to her that she should raise her hands above her head in a surrender, but feels like if she even twitched, they would fire a bullet at her. Several of the men take a few steps forward, towards them, and Rose feels utterly helpless, her heart pounding so hard, she feels as though it's going to explode in her chest.
Lights from flashlights and car's headlights are blinding her. She has to squint to make out who is threatening her. To make a rough guess, it seems to Rose that there are probably about fifty men surrounding them all together. Fifty men? All after one man? Who on Earth was he?
"I'm not," Rose tries to speak, but one of them cocks their guns and takes another step forward, so she stops, squeezing her eyes shut tight, a shudder passing through her body. I'm not with him, she thinks, shaking a little. Would they shoot her? What about her mum? What about Mickey? What would they think upon hearing that she had been arrested? Another command is shouting at them both, but Rose still can't move.
She can hear the light shuffling of footsteps coming in her direction, and she assumes it's the man. The criminal. The real and the only person they should be after. She wants to step away from him, thinking that maybe, if she's lucky, that'll make them realize that she has and wants nothing to do with this man, but suddenly, a hand grips hers, warm and tight, and she can feel his breath on her ear. "Run," he whispers, and she doesn't even try to stop him when he takes off to the right, dragging her along with him, his hand still gripping her's.