Rose eventually pulled her hand back and the boy stood up, pushing his hair back, and revealing his face.
Jack's eyes widened, "oh my god," and he started to chuckle, "ooh hoo hoo!"
The Doctor scrunched his nose, "come on, he's not that good looking."
Jack was still smiling wide, "for one thing, yes he his. For two, that's Cauul London, Luliv's top athlete. For three, he isn't really a ladies man, which is a waste if you ask me. He can have any lady he chooses, yet he is always single. No one knows why, I just figured he was too busy for a relationship, or gay. There are plenty of theories and rumors, but whatever the reason, Rose got his attention so, wow, good for her." Jack continued to chuckle as he watched Rose, impressed.
The Doctor started walking toward Rose and the boy, forgetting all about Reinette who was still watching the performers. Not wanting to be too obvious, he decided to go to a nearby fruit smoothie stand, acting as if he was looking for a refreshment and definitely not eavesdropping.
"I have a match tomorrow if you and your friends are interested. Maybe if you were there it would bring me some luck," Cauul said shyly.
Rose laughed, "so, you're that bad, eh," and grinned at him, a bit of tongue poked out the side.
That was the smile he missed, the Doctor thought. He hasn't seen it in weeks and here she is giving it to this boy.
"Nah, I'm not too bad," Cauul said and gestured his chin towards a large sign advertising his team and Cauul was the highlight of the ad, how Rose missed that she will never know.
Rose giggled and looked back at him, "you think you're so impressive."
The Doctor's memories went to his first trip with Rose; she said those same words to him, those exact same words! His blood was beginning to boil.
"Rubbish!" The Doctor blurted out before he could stop himself.
Rose spun around in surprise to find the Doctor standing right behind her, "excuse me Doctor, what was that?"
"What, oh," the Doctor tried to think fast, "there are no banana flavored smoothies here…..rubbish." He cleared his throat and stood tall, eyeing the boy fiercely.
Rose looked at him, puzzled, and Cauul cut in, "is this one of your friends Rose?"
"Yeah, this is the Doctor, Doctor this is Cauul," Rose pointed back and forth between them.
It was silent as The Doctor merely nodded at him.
"Rosie" Jack came jogging in with Reinette in tow who quickly clasped onto the Doctor's arm as if he would float away.
"Jack!" Rose cried and pulled him in for a hug, "I guess you do visit often."
"Yeah well, work hard, play hard," Jack smiled mischievously and gave her a wink.
She smacked him playfully on the arm, "anyway, Jack this is Cauul."
Jack gave him a tight handshake, excitedly, "hi, Jack Harkness, I'm a big fan."
"Jack Harkness," Cauul repeated with a grin, "I've heard about you. You have quite the reputation around here."
"Do I," Jack grinned, "hope it's not all bad though. I hear you have a rep of your own, eh."
Rose furrowed her brows making note to ask Jack what that meant later.
Mickey suddenly appeared and Rose pulled him over, "this is my best mate, Mickey, and before I forget, that's Reinette over there."
Reinette greeted Cauul without letting go of the Doctor, who was now obviously trying to shake her off.
"Cauul plays something called glider tackle in that stadium you were looking at, and said we are all invited to a match tomorrow," Rose said to Mickey.
Mickey gave a bewildered look, "I haven't heard of that one before?"
Jack cut in, "then you definitely need to go, it's exciting, fast paced and dangerous. I'm guessing that's where that scar is from," he pointed at Cauul's arm.
Cauul looked down at his scar, "yeah, I took a fall a few years back and snagged a rock on the way down."
Jack and the rest of the group winced, aside from the Doctor, who seemed unimpressed.
"I've got a few more," Cauul put his leg up on a bench and pointed at this calf, "I got this after I was thrown into a side rail and broke my leg in 4 places, I needed surgery to fix that one. He then lifted his tank top midway showing his perfectly chiseled stomach, Jack and Rose both let out a small growl simultaneously. Cauul ran his finger down a long, vertical scar at the center of his abs, "this was when a teammate of mine collided with an opposing player. His board snapped in half and I was at the sharp end of one of those pieces. He then turned around to show several on his back, "I have a variety of scars here from other falls, being thrown into walls, and other game hazards." His back was very tone and muscular in Rose's opinion as she watched his muscles flex, forgetting what they were looking at to begin with. Even Reinette took notice of this and blushed.
"Anyway, like Rose said, feel free to come and watch tomorrow," Cauul looked at Reinette and the Doctor, "that is, unless you and your girlfriend had…"
"We're not together," The Doctor snapped before he could finish his sentence.
Rose noticed this, he never reacted like that before when people assumed the same when he was with her. Nor did he correct it, they just played along.
Cauul took a step back from Rose, noticing how irritated the Doctor's tone was, as well as the way he had been glaring at him the whole time, "I'm sorry, I didn't know Rose was here with anyone."
The Doctor stayed silent, continuing to stare Cauul down.
"Nah, just friends as well," Rose cut in, giving the Doctor a disapproving look for his rude behavior. The Doctor's face went from stern to worry as he looked back at Rose. "Anyway, Cauul offered to show me around so I'll see you all later," they walked away and Cauul offered her his hand, which she took it without hesitation.
The Doctor watched them walking away then swiftly yanked his arm out of Reinette grip jammed his hands in his pockets, then walked in the other direction. He had plans to show Rose around, not this boy. Things were not going as planned, again.
Cauul walked with Rose through the crowded marketplace that was just outside the resort area where she was staying. Even though there were vendors near her hotel, Cauul said these were better because it was where the locals shopped so the foods were more unique, and they had a better variety. He told her to pick a few items to snack on and they could go on a hike after.
Rose walked around, sampling different types of fruits, cheeses and teas while Cauul led her around and bought anything she enjoyed. However, the longer they were there, the more Rose noticed others around her staring and whispering. Eventually, it started to make her uncomfortable, she leaned into to Cauul's ear and asked what everyone was looking at.
Cauul glanced around the crowd of onlookers and smiled at Rose, "they probably aren't used to seeing such a pretty girl here among them."
Rose rolled her eyes, "as if everyone here isn't already gorgeous."
"Including me," Cauul wiggled his eyebrows at Rose and she quickly looked away blushing.
Once she regained her composure she looked back, "honestly though, what is it?"
Cauul shrugged, "they're probably just excited for the match tomorrow," he then stood tall, puffed out his chest, and teased, "I am kind of a big deal you know."
Rose burst into laughter, "don't be daft," and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.
Cauul grinned, "ok, fine, we have enough food. How about we get out of here then, away from the gawkers."
"That would be good," Rose said and followed his lead out of the market.
He pointed to a trail not too far out in the distance, "I thought we could take that trail up through the hills. It's not too steep and there is a spot at the top with a great view where we can sit and eat."
The hike took over an hour, but he entertained her with stories of his childhood and the trouble he would get into in those hills they were climbing. He showed her his favorite tree that he would climb and fell out of twice, breaking his arm one of those times. Then he momentarily diverted them off the trail to a small pond where he and his friends would swim on extra hot days. Although there was an entire ocean nearby, he said they preferred to be away from the tourists and swore that the water was better somehow.
Once they reached the top, Rose was surprised at how high it seemed considering that it didn't feel like they were climbing very high. There was a clear view of the nearby villages were the locals lived and Cauul pointed out where he grew up and his school. She could also see the hotels and tourist areas below. Above all, she could see miles out into the ocean, never-ending, brilliant, blue water.
Cauul laid out a blanket, that he purchased at the market, near the edge of the hill so they can still see the view as they ate. He asked Rose about where she grew up, her family, and her ambitions. He didn't want to make everything about himself and he wanted to know more about this girl that captivated him so much. Eventually, the conversation led to her friends and to the Doctor.
"Hey seems…different," Cauul said about the Doctor, "how did you meet him?
"He blew up my job," is the answer that first crossed Rose's mind, but she realized that would bring up more questions that would be harder to answer. "At work, he was passing through when I met him. I helped him out and he invited me to travel with him." She wasn't lying, she just left out the big details.
"So, you are like partners in a way," Cauul asked. "It's never been anything more than a friendship, nothing, maybe, romantic?"
Rose swallowed hard, looked down and started playing with the grass next to her, "Just mates, yeah."
Cauul raised an eyebrow, he could see Rose was holding back on something, "he seems very protective of you. Has he always been like that, because he really didn't seem to like you being with me."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Rose said, "he was the same way toward Jack when I first met him, and even with this other bloke, Adam. Come to think of it, he wasn't very nice to Mickey at first either…"
"Well, I don't want to come between anything," Cauul said.
"No, you're not, there isn't anything," Rose said, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for him before. I thought he did for me as well, and it seemed like we were getting closer until…," Rose paused.
Cauul put his hand on hers, "until what?"
"Until he met Reinette. We were passing through and he was awestruck. He invited her along without asking how I felt about it, and now he barely even pays attention to me," Rose sniffed and fought back tears.
Cauul took a moment to let Rose relax, "I really don't see anything extra special about her, to be honest."
Rose wasn't going to fall for that statement, and was about to tell him that, but he quickly stopped her by placing his index finger on her lips, "I know what you are going to say, but first let me tell you something."
Cauul pointed toward the resort below, "look down there, at all those people. Nobody is up here, they all stay there. Because they come for the parties, the pampering, and the sex. They pay very little attention to what this planet once was, but rather what it's become. When I first noticed you, walking amongst the crowd, something about you seemed unique. You didn't plaster on a fake smile, you actually seemed kind of sad. Then you bypassed everything just to see the water and admire the natural beauty of our planet, like you knew life was bigger than everything happening behind you. I don't see that very often, I just had to talk to you and it turns out that your inner beauty matched your physical beauty. I truly have never met anyone like you."
Rose's smile grew wide and she had to look away feeling a bit shy from his compliments and the way he was looking at her. Cauul placed a hand on her chin to guide her gaze back to him so he could continue, "when I met your friends, and you somewhat introduced me to Reinette, I saw she too was very pretty, but like everyone else here, her attention was elsewhere. She was captivated by everything around her and she held your friend, the Doctor, almost possessively. She is no different than any of the thousands I've seen pass through here before."
"Well, you know how to make a girl feel special," Rose said. "How about we change the subject and you can tell me more about this place."
Cauul smiled and started telling Rose more stories for the rest of the afternoon until sunset, where they watched the sun slowly descend over the horizon, a magnificent view from where they sat.
Later that evening, the group ate dinner together, minus Rose who was still out. The Doctor was a little less chatty so Jack filled the silence with stories and jokes. Eventually, Jack noticed the Doctors gaze settling in the distance and he knew Rose was nearby. "How about we dance Reinette," Jack asked and pulled her away before she could say no.
Mickey stayed with him at the table as the Doctor continued to watch, seemingly emotionless.
"Athlete, eh," Mickey commented, "Rose always had an eye for that type, even when we were little. I'm not great at sports, just at watching them. I would try though, just to get her attention. I've known her my whole life and I always knew she was great, but I was too shy to say anything, afraid she would never speak to me again I did. So, I settled on being her best friend, hoping one day that things to change between us. Then one day she met Jimmy Stone, did she tell you about him?"
The Doctor gave him a look that told him that she didn't.
"Yeah, well, he was somethin' else, believe me. She left school for him and I didn't see her for months. I was angry at myself for not just telling her how I feel and then it was too late. When she came back she was like a different person, but I still cared for her. Eventually, I worked up the nerve to ask her out, we started dating, and everything was great. We were happy and I was happy, but I wasn't the greatest boyfriend either. I didn't give her the attention she deserved, after Jimmy she really deserved more than what I gave her. Then you know what happened?"
The Doctor glanced at him but didn't speak.
Mickey voice turned angry, "You happened! You came along and blew up Rose's job. I found her at home that night and tried to convince get to go to the pub with me, saying she needed a drink and to relax. She knew there was a match on and even though she needed me I left her because she said go on. Her job blew up, moments after she walked out, and all I cared about was some silly match, but, I figured Rose is tough and she can handle anything life throws at her."
The Doctor grinned at that comment.
"Of course my latter behavior did not compensate either. It's no wonder Rose took off with you. You were brave and she apparently has an interest in danger. After that the rest is history. We grew apart as a couple, but we stayed friends. I regret my actions every day because of what it cost me, but at least I didn't lose her completely. As the saying goes, if you love something let it go…"
The two sat in silence both watching Rose, smiling in the arms of another man.