Chapter Four

Special thanks to mattkaztrophe :)

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In no less than two minutes Amy somehow found shoes and a jacket and threw herself into the kitchen.

"What happened?" John asked innocently, his voice garbled from the spoon of peanut butter in his mouth.

"Uh," Amy said as she grabbed her purse and car keys, only stopping for a moment to take in how messy it was in the kitchen.

"I'm going out, just for a bit," She replied. "I'll be back soon, so the kitchen had better be looking normal by the time I get back."

"Sure," John nodded and tossed the spoon in the sink.

Amy rolled her eyes and marched out of the room for the front door when she heard him shout behind her, "Uh, Amelia—" Amy spun around and raised a finger at him.

"Don't," she growled, "call me Amelia." She didn't give him the chance to apologize as she rushed out the door and jumped into the car.

She'd never driven so fast in her life. Amy knew River had a boyfriend, but the way River talked about him Amy figured that he'd be some buff adventure enthusiast. Not some stupid-faced man who looked like a twelve year old on a sugar high.

But if River knew who this person was, then Amy was determined to find out.

Amy arrived at River's flat in no time. Amy quickly rushed up to the door and pounded on it as hard as she could.

"River? River, answer the door!" Amy shouted, not giving a single care about what the neighbors thought. Amy was on a mission, after all.

Amy heard a thud from the other side of the door, and nearly fell on her face when River threw open the door and stepped out of the way.

"Amy, what a surprise," River said in fake shock, but smiled as she placed a hand on her chest.

"Don't 'Amy, what a surprise' me!" Amy growled, wiping her hair out of her face and stood upright.

"Is this about poor John?" River asked in amusement, closing the door as Amy began to pace the living room.

"He is not poor John! He is in my flat John! Who is he? Why is he in my flat?" Amy said sharply and threw her arms across her chest. She couldn't decide if she wanted to scream or cry. Scratch that, Amy thought. Definitely not cry.

"I'm sure you've called your mother by now," River replied coolly, and seated herself comfortably on one of the sofas.

"Yes," Amy grumbled, taping her fingers on her arm impatiently.

"Then you know who he is."

"He's your boyfriend!" Amy nearly screeched.

River laughed and patted the seat next to her.

"Oh, sit down Amy. You'll make the neighbors wonder."

Amy tried not to growl as she fell down against the seat, refusing to smile when River laughed at her.

"Why is he in my flat?" Amy finally sighed tiredly.

"Because your mum doesn't want you to travel on your parents' money perhaps?"

"Why? It's not like they care about me. I'm out of the way now. They tried shipping me off to a boarding school. Twice. See how well that worked out," Amy laughed bitterly and grabbed a pillow to hold.

"I don't pretend to understand your parents' motives. I can only try and make you feel better about it," River replied with a gentle smile. Amy's eyes widened.

"He's your boyfriend, maybe he could stay with you and we'd just pretend he's still in my flat?"

River suddenly laughed, and Amy narrowed her eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, Amy!" River giggled and repositioned herself on the sofa. "As much as I'd like to help, you know dear Tabetha Pond will be watching. Your parents are too rich to not be watching."

Amy rolled her eyes. Of course her parents would be watching. It was all about publicity in the end. If their daughter lived with someone that was one thing. Lots of people did that nowadays. But if their daughter went off the deep end and did something illegal,then the Pond parents would want a head start on that news article.

Not that Amy would ever do something that ridiculous… She deserved some credit.

"But you can't be okay with this!" Amy still protested. "Your boyfriend living with your best friend?" River raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for one, I know that you have a boyfriend, you hate my boyfriend, and he's dating a gorgeous woman," Amy grinned, "So I don't see what there is to worry about."

"You trust him that much?" Amy asked. River shrugged.

"I trust him completely. John is many things, absolutely. But of all the things I'm worried out, him cheating on me is not on that list. Besides, we talked about it before he moved in. I didn't know it was you he was staying with until you were flying home from China."

Amy sighed heavily and leaned back against the sofa. This was all ridiculous. On one hand, it was a relief to know that River trusted him so well, but at the same time, it didn't remove the problem. He was still living in her flat.

"You must have been in a rush this morning," River's amused tone brought Amy out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked in confusion. River looked Amy over skeptically.

"Dear, you're still in your nighty."

~(*)~

By the time Amy got back to her flat she was beyond words. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. She felt no closer to understanding her situation, or the man that had become the situation, and it only made things worse that she couldn't make it go away. It was too difficult. The entire world, no, the universe seemed to be set against her.

Amy growled. Like hell she'd accept it.

Once she was inside she was instantly greeted by the overpowering smell of cleaner and disinfectant. At least John cleaned up, although it seemed overboard.

Amy scrunched up her nose as she took off her jacket and shoes. She needed to get dressed in real clothes.

Amy made her way to her room, but stopped when she saw John sitting far too innocently at the dining table, nose buried in a book like he'd been sitting there all morning. Somehow even he'd found time to get dressed while she was out.

John noticed her standing there and grinned widely.

"Hello!" He said happily. Amy's head felt like it was spinning. It was too early for this.

When she didn't respond, he squirmed in his seat and tried again.

"So, have a good outing?" He asked, a little less brightly but still appearing honestly interested.

Amy grabbed a chair and sat down, crossing her arms and leaning against the table. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

"Who are you?" She wasn't asking. She was demanding. John set down his book and scratched his cheek.

"Um, I'm John?" He offered, seemingly unsure of how else to answer.

"Got that bit," Amy replied stiffly. "But who are you? Where are you from? Why did you agree to live with a random girl when you're dating someone else? Where's the connection?"

"Oh! River!" John suddenly smiled fondly, his eyes glazing over as though he were reliving a pleasant memory. He suddenly shook his head and gave Amy an even stare. Amy almost shivered. There was something too alert in his gaze. It was different from his usual cheery attitude that she was quickly growing used to.

Dear Lord, Amy mentally cursed. Do not get used to it!

"Uh, yes, about that," John said nervously, his expression quickly returning to the nervous cheeriness that annoyed Amy to no end.

"Well, I really needed a place, and River has issues with company, so…"

"So you just decided to move into some random flat with some random girl?"

"No! I mean, yes. But no, not like that!" John tried desperately, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head.

When he finally looked up, a sad, faraway look cast a shadow across his face.

"I just really needed to get away for a while. You know what I mean?" He said finally.

Amy swallowed. Something in his tone made her heart twist painfully in her chest. She didn't want to ask why on earth he needed to get away so much that he jumped at the opportunity to live with anyone who would let him. She didn't want to ask because she knew. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah," Amy's voice choked out. John looked up at her in mild surprise. Amy looked away. This was getting too personal. She needed to change the subject. Before she could even open her mouth, John had already jumped to his feet and was popping the joints in his neck and shoulders.

"Well then!" He said brightly, as if their entire conversation hadn't happened. But Amy could see it in his eyes. The sparkle in his eyes was missing.

"This morning isn't going to start itself! I have to go see a man about a bowtie."

Amy couldn't help but scoff immediately as John dashed to grab his jacket.

"Who wears bowties anymore?" Amy asked incredulously.

"Oi!" John exclaimed, and Amy failed to stop herself from laughing when he came back around the corner.

He looked ridiculous. He wore boots, trousers, a white button up shirt, an old tweed jacket, and a red bowtie.

"What?" John demanded when Amy wouldn't stop laughing.

"You look like a raggedy old professor!" She declared and pointed at his outfit in shock.

"Do not!" He declared. "Bowties are cool!"

"Is that all that's cool?" Amy asked, eyeing him up and down as she tried to fight back the giggles and failed.

John opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it again and huffed at her.

"I'll be going then," He grumbled, grabbing his own keys and heading for the door.

Amy didn't stop laughing until long after he left.

~(*)~

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