A scrape, a thud, and a loudly-uttered curse were her first indications that she wasn't here alone any more.

She turned to see a boy not much older than her, sprawled out on the ground, looking at his knee that had been scraped up when he must have fallen. "Are you alright?" she asked, hurrying over to his side. Her mum's warnings to stay away from strangers, especially after her album release, echoed through her mind and was promptly pushed away. She knelt next to him hands fluttering between his shoulder and his knee, not sure where to put them or what to do with them.

He turned towards her, and she got a glimpse of brown eyes under his mop of brown hair. The curses died on his lips, and he went impossibly still as he looked at her. Her cheeks flared crimson and she pulled away a little bit.

He shook himself a bit, bringing a hand up to swipe the hair away from his face. A grin stretched across his lips. "You're Billie Piper," he announced in a thick Scottish accent.

If it were possible, her face burned an even brighter red. She wasn't used to being recognized yet. It's not like it happened very often. And especially not by men. The few times it had happened, it was the little preteen girls who bought up her CD and swore they lived by it.

He sensed her hesitation and straightened up, holding a hand up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. You probably just wanted to relax. Don't want a putz like me bothering you. No body guards around to protect you from the crazy fans then? Bet it would be a bother to go everywhere with them. Then even those who didn't know who you were would start gawking."

She was stunned by his rapid stream of chatter. She didn't know anyone could talk like that. She just blinked back at him in response.

The smile faltered off his face. "I'm sorry. I'll just…" He unfolded his long legs and got to his feet, towering over her. But as soon as he put his weight on his right leg, he gasped in pain and almost fell back to the ground.

Without thinking she was standing up right next to him, catching him on her shoulders. "Scrape's a bit worse than it looks, mate! C'mon, I've got a med kit in my bag over there."

Not focusing too much on what she was doing, she half-led, half-dragged him over to her beach towel halfway up the beach. It was a bit nippy and the beach was abandoned, but she'd been crammed in the studio so often lately she missed the sun. She helped him sit on the towel, sneaking a glance over his lean frame, before she adjusted her straw hat and turned back to her bag.

"So you listen to my music, huh? Not many blokes recognize me." She couldn't believe she was teasing this man next to her, but she couldn't stop the bit of tongue that poked through her smile.

"Not many blokes recognize you?" he cried back in astonishment. "But you're gorgeous!"

And just like that the heat of embarrassment was back in her face.

"N-not that that's the only reason I know who you are." She turned to see his face as red as her own. "My sister loves your album! Gotta admit, it's a bit catchy."

She smiled a bit at that and finished pulling out a bandage. She turned back to him, eyeing his pants around the scrape. "No chance you can pull those up a bit, mate?"

"Right!" He didn't even pause as he jerked his pants up to his calf, wincing as the fabric pushed against the cut. She didn't even try to hold back the laugh at his haste, and he grinned back at her.

"So, Mr. My-sister-listens-to-your-music-and-that-is-the-only-reason-I-know-who-you-are, got anything shorter I can call you?"

"Right! Right, sorry. Haven't even introduced myself." He stuck out a hand to her. "David McDonald. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

She shook his hand before moving hers back down to his knee, swiping at it to clear away the sand. She leaned down and blew a bit to get a stubborn grain away; she didn't miss the shiver that ran down his spine. She smoothed the bandage over his knee and sat back on the other end of the blanket.

"So, David, what do you do? Are you still in school?"

He laughed, ruffling his hair. Her eyes followed the movement. He had some great hair. "No, I've finished school."

She cocked her head, looking him over again. "Really? You don't look that much older than me."

A slightly cocky grin spread across his face. "Yeah, I use that to my advantage from time to time, looking as young as I do."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

Her heart dropped out of her chest. "Really?" Well, there was no hope in covering her squeak of disappointment there. "I'm only seventeen."

"I know." She just stared back at him. How much about her did he know? Way more than anyone who only knew her because of his sister.

"So what do you do?" she repeated, genuinely curious. This was the first non-work related conversation she'd had in a while. And it helped that he was the cutest man she'd seen in a while, even if he was twenty eight.

"I'm an actor." He shrugged.

But she leaned closer. "Really? What have you done?"

He shrugged again. "This and that. Commercials. Stage. Just went to 'murica a couple years ago to film a movie. Got into the RSC a few years back, too."

She knew her eyes were popping, but she didn't care enough to stop them. "Sounds to me like you're the one who needs body guards more than me."

He scooted forwards, an excited light dancing behind his eyes. "No, I'm nothing special. But you… You! You reach a lot more people than I do! And even though you're singing these vapid lyrics—no offense—you put your heart into it! You've really got a passion for your audience, I can tell!"

His energy brought a smile to her face, and she didn't even care that he'd just mildly insulted her. "To tell the truth, I never was interested in singing. It was just something I got talked into. I always wanted to act, myself."

He looked her up and down. "Then why don't you? Do what you love! If you can bring that same passion, I know you'd be good at it!"

"DAVID!" A bellowed voice drifted towards them from past the beach. He winced and looked towards it for a moment before he turned back to her. "Gotta go. Snuck away from production for a bit. They'll be cross when they see this," he pointed at his knee while rolling the pant leg back over it, "but what do they expect? When a bloke's as gangly as me, it's bound to happen sometimes." He hopped to his feet, holding his hand out to her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Piper."

"Call me Billie." She bit the inside of her cheek even as she shook his hand back. Call me Billie, really? Talk about cheesy worthless flirting.

He grinned. "My sis's never gonna believe I met you."

"DAVID!"

He growled back towards the voice, then turned to her one more time. "Good luck with everything, Billie. And remember: do what you want to do. I'm sure everything will work out. 's not like anyone can resist you." He winked at her and didn't give her a chance to respond as he jogged back the way he came.

"Maybe I'll see you again some time, yeah?" she hollered after him.

He turned, running backwards. "Only if I'm lucky!" he waved at her, disappearing over the edge. She flopped back down on the blanket, staring out at the sea.

Then she pulled her hat off her head, buried her face in it, and let out a squeal.