Ten/Rose DJ AU inspired by the prompt "Breaking my back just to know your name. Seventeen tracks and I've had it with this game."
Please excuse my lack of knowledge about DJing. Also this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine as usual. And usual disclaimer that none of the characters belong to me.
It started out as a way to make money during uni. John hadn't been doing anything on Friday and Saturday nights anyways, so why not try DJing? Turned out that he was good at it and suddenly he was in high demand for parties and celebrations and had discovered a love for the art.
Sure, most of the time he was just playing tracks for dancing and taking requests but what set him apart was his ability to throw the unexpected in and make it work. He would cut popular songs with less well known ones, would remix things on the spot and the crowd would go wild.
He finished uni, took his degree in physics and hung it on the wall of his flat and kept DJing, full time now. He'd originally planned to do postgrad work and eventually get a doctorate, hence his stage name of "The Doctor" but that plan was abandoned now in favor of his promising career on the music scene. If anyone asked, he told them that he had a doctorate in entertainment and made the music better.
John had been DJing for five years and was immensely popular in London when he got an invitation to a DJ battle. He'd gotten quite a few over the years and he'd only accepted a couple, not needing them to get his name out and not really interested in trying to prove his superiority over another DJ. But this one…this one caught his attention.
The DJ he was being invited to battle was Bad Wolf. THE Bad Wolf. He had heard all about her but never met her or listened to her DJ live. No one knew who she really was. She kept her real name a secret and always disappeared right after her gigs, never sticking around to talk to anyone. The mystery was intriguing, plus she was the only DJ who was in as high demand as the Doctor was and he wanted to see what the hype was about.
John grabbed his mobile and dialed the number on the invitation. As long as Bad Wolf was there, he said, he'd be there too.
The night of the battle arrived and John dressed carefully. His favorite dark blue oxford and swirly tie accompanied his trademark brown pinstripe suit. He coaxed his hair into its normal gravity-defying style and hit the streets to walk to the venue of the battle.
John had delivered his equipment earlier in the day and supervised its setup before retreating to his flat to get ready. He'd lingered longer than he'd planned at the club, hoping to catch a glimpse of Bad Wolf before the nights proceedings but she hadn't shown up yet when he left.
He made his way in the back door and to the backstage area, waiting for the crowd to finish trickling in and the announcer to introduce him and his competitor.
John scanned his surroundings, hoping to spot a blonde clad in a red hoodie. He'd never actually seen Bad Wolf, but all the descriptions said she was young and blonde and always wearing that red hoodie like she was Little Red instead of the big Bad Wolf.
The announcer was just starting his opening spiel when the back door burst open and a streak of gold and red shot in, hurrying to the other side of the stage. The blur stopped moving long enough to shoot John a bright grin before stepping onto stage as Bad Wolf was announced.
Then it was his name being called and he walked out, smiling and waving at the crowd, his normal manic energy shining through.
John, or the Doctor rather since he was on stage, took his place behind his turntables and made sure everything was in place. Once he was satisfied with both his digital and manual equipment, he look up to see Bad Wolf watching him, eyes sparkling and a slightly feral smile on her face.
Oh this was going to be good.
She went first, starting things off easy with a couple popular songs mixed together to get the crowd pumped. It sounded simple but John could hear the sophistication behind how she had layered the melodies, making them dance together and creating a subtle masterpiece.
She turned over the show to him with a flourish of her hand and he started his queued piece, picking up on the atmosphere she had created and matching her skill level.
They traded back and forth, the crowd growing louder with every switch as they both upped their game, mixing their technical skills with their drive to please the crowd. A couple sets back, John had started using lyrics from songs to try and talk to Bad Wolf.
She'd picked up on it with a heart stopping grin and played along, talking back. They were flirting with music, lobbing playful words and challenges towards each other and delighting when the other could keep up.
It was his turn again and John had the perfect song. He started out with a technically challenging beat to keep his difficulty level up but in the middle of the lyricless dance groove, he snuck in a line from The Killer's "Somebody Told Me."
"Breaking my back just to know your name. Seventeen tracks and I've had it with this game."
He smiled as he watched Bad Wolf double over in laughter. She'd been keeping track of the number of tracks they'd played as well and before he'd started that one, it had been at seventeen.
She countered with her own dance beat, mixing in lyrics from The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name" in response to the lyrics he'd shot at her.
The crowd was loving them both and after a few more sets, the announcer interrupted.
"Time's up everyone, I don't think we have a winner here tonight! What do you think?"
The crowd roared its approval not wanting to pick either DJ over the other when they had both been spectacular.
"We witnessed magic being made here tonight, let's show some love to the Doctor and the Bad Wolf!"
Both DJs smiled and waved as they made their way to center stage to take their bows. As they ducked backstage.
They faced each other, both unsure what to say now that it was just the two of them.
"I usually leave right after a show," Bad Wolf said, getting the words out just as John was opening his mouth.
"There's a chippie just down the street if you want to go grab a bite." He blurted out. Cringing at his abrupt invitation he continued, "I mean only if you want to though. I'm just always hungry after things like this and chips are brilliant. Brilliantly brilliant actually. And I should stop talking." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at her face.
"I'd like that," she said, suddenly looking shy. It was an odd contrast to her on stage persona that was always fierce. "But we really need to leave now."
A grin lit up John's face and he grabbed her hand, "Run!" he said pulling her out the back door and down the street just a few seconds before fans started gathering.
They burst through the door of the chippie breathless from the run and laughing. John stepped up to the counter to place their orders and then started patting down his pockets. He turned to Bad Wolf with a sheepish smile.
"Left my wallet at my flat."
"Some date you are!" she teased, tongue sneaking out between her teeth and completely distracting her fellow DJ. She fished out the notes she needed and slid them to the bored cashier.
They grabbed their food and sat down at a booth. John watched as she drowned her chips in an absurd amount of vinegar.
"So Bad Wolf, how'd you get into DJing?" he stressed her stage name, rolling it over his tongue and wondering if her real name would taste as right.
She chewed for a moment before answering. "I've always been interested in music. Dropped out of school for a boy in a band. When that went bad a friend I'd made at one of his shows let me stay with her. She was a DJ so she started teaching me and I fell in love with it. What about you?"
"Picked it up in uni when I needed some money. Was supposed to just be a temporary thing but I couldn't walk away so I started doing it full time instead of going for my doctorate."
"So you're not actually a doctor then, Doctor?"
She was smiling at him again and John was so focused on that he almost forgot to answer her. "Nope. Finished my undergrad degree in physics and then started DJing full time. Kept the name though, just seemed to fit. I've always wondered about yours, you know. Your stage name, that is. How did you decide on it? And how do you manage to keep your real name under wraps so well?"
"So many questions!" she exclaimed, giggling at his obvious enthusiasm. "I've always loved the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf was the only one who really did anythin' in the story. He was smart and clever and ferocious and I wanted to be all of those things so I became Bad Wolf."
She suddenly grinned again, a bit of that feral gleam he'd seen onstage reappearing. "And it keeps people interested if they don't know who I am, John Smith."
She watched him splutter at the fact that she had used his real name before continuing. "What kind of name is John Smith anyways? Didn't think anyone was actually called that. Doctor suits ya better."
"See now you have me at a disadvantage, I still don't know your name and I can't just keep calling you Bad Wolf!"
"Oh, I've always had you at a disadvantage, you just didn't know it."
The Doctor let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whine.
Bad Wolf glanced at her watch and slid out of the booth. "I've got to go. It was lovely chatting with you and we should do this, all of this, again soon. I don't think I've ever battled someone as good as you. It was a lot more fun than I usually have at those things."
"Don't go." The words escaped before he could think to rein them back. "I mean…we're just getting to know each other and…" he trailed off unable to give an actual reason as to why he wanted her to stay other than being with her made everything feel right and he didn't know why.
She looked genuinely sorry. "I don't want to go but I really need to."
Bad Wolf made a split second decision and grabbed a napkin from the table and a pen from her bag. She scribbled a note on it and then pulled the Doctor to his feet.
"Don't be a stranger," she said before grabbing his tie and pressing her lips to his briefly. Too briefly in John's opinion.
Before he could gather his thoughts she was out the door. He grabbed the napkin from the table and grinned at the scrap of paper with two words on it.
Rose Tyler.
He mouthed the words, decided they tasted even better than Bad Wolf on his tongue. Not as good as the remnants of her that were clinging to his lips though.
He had her name, now he just needed to figure out how to get the elusive Bad Wolf, how to get Rose Tyler.
Well he always did enjoy a challenge.