Hello again! Wow you guys are so supportive, keep it coming! The more you follow/favorite/review the faster I write! This chapter gets pretty intense, and there is mention of self-harm so be warned if that's something you'd rather not read. Again, I own none of Doctor Who (if only!)

For the rest of the week, Clara had no more contact with John. He was apparently only in her science class, a fact that came as somewhat of a relief to Clara, and he made no move to talk to her. As far as her other classes, they were fairly straightforward and Clara understood most of what she was learning (except for maths, but she had given up on that subject a long time ago). She particularly liked her Home Ec class, which had been the only open elective when she was signing up for courses. They were currently working on baking, and she was going to try and make a soufflé on Monday. All in all, Clara thought she liked the new school - as long as she ignored the one annoying boy, which was easy enough to do.

Clara woke up early on Saturday morning and decided that if she had to meet with John, she would do it today and get it over with. At 10, she grabbed her notebooks and the paper on which John had written his address, and headed out. He lived fairly close and it was a nice day, so she didn't bother with the tube and instead walked to John's house. Once she felt like she was getting close, she pulled out the paper and read each door's number as she passed - 8, 9, 10, ah here! Number 11. The house was ordinary looking, two storied with a modest stoop in front. Clara walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. She realized that she probably should have called, but come on. No one does anything on Saturday mornings, especially a guy like him who, lets be honest, didn't exactly look like he had many friends. A couple minutes passed and no answer, so she got out the paper again and tried phoning him. Nothing. Clara decided that the best thing to do would be to leave a message and go somewhere nearby to get lunch while she waited for him to respond, so she quickly dialed the number again, said what she was doing, and headed out to find a place to eat.

There was a small cafe around the corner that looked passable, so Clara went and got herself a muffin before looking around to try and see if there was some place to sit. The only open seat was at a table that someone was already sitting at, but the girl sitting there didn't look particularly busy, and besides, Clara was hungry and didn't fancy sitting on the ground very much. She grabbed the chair and introduced herself. "Hello, do you mind if I sit here? Im Clara, by the way" "oh no, by all means," said the girl. She had a slightly mischievous smile and her hair looked like it could swallow the planet. "Hello Clara. I'm River Song" the girl said. They chatted for a bit about the weather and such, and Clara actually found that she quite liked River Song. The woman was spunky and had a good sense of humor, and they exchanged emails and agreed that they should hang out again. Eventually, though, River pulled out a book and Clara, having nothing better to do, started going over her science notes.

After an hour with no word from John, she decided to try his house again. "Well, thanks for the seat. I have to go meet my, er... friend now" she said to River Song "Oh no problem sweetie" River said "what's this friend's name?" "John. John... Smith, I think?" Clara replied. River looked surprised "Oh really! You know John. And he's never mentioned me?" "Oh, um, we've only spoken, like, once. He's supposed to help me with science class" "well, be careful sweetie. And also..." River hesitated "well, I suppose you should know. He's not always like this. He used to be quite funny, actually" "really?" Clara wasn't sure if they were talking about the same John - the one she knew was anything but funny. "Oh yes! But his best friends, Amy and Rory, the Ponds we called them because they were practically married, well... they died." Clara didn't know how to react. She supposed that was why he was so grumpy. "Oh, um, well" she sputtered "no, it's ok sweetie, you didn't know. Just don't take it personally, yeah?" River said. "Ok yeah. I wont. I should, er, go now." Said Clara, awkwardly. "Yeah. Um. Bye" and she left.

At John's house, Clara rang the doorbell what must've been twenty times. She wanted to apologize for her first impression of him, she wanted to help him. She was a very protective friend, and she felt terribly guilty for the way she had acted towards him earlier. Eventually she realized that ringing wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she tentatively tried the door. To her surprise it was unlocked, and she entered slowly, feeling the need to tiptoe for some reason. Inside the house was quite nice. It had dark blue walls and carpets, and the furniture was on the fancy side. The whole place, however, was musty and seemed un-lived in. Clara started to wonder whether she was in the right house, when she heard a quiet noise. She stopped for a second, tilting her head to hear better. The noise came again. It sounded like a whimper, like a dog, and it was coming from upstairs. She hesitantly ascended the stairs, and looked for any sign that the Smiths had a pet. What she saw, though, was much worse. A few feet in front of her, the carpet turned darker and a figure was lying facedown. His shirt was pushed up to his elbows, revealing his bony arms and he looked smaller, weaker, lying out on the ground like that. But far the most alarming feature was his wrists. They were covered in blood.

agh cliffhanger! I'll probably publish the next chapter sometime later this week :)