So I made a little technical error with the chapter titles; last chapter took place on Saturday not Sunday. Okay. Just saying.
Matt woke up at 5:03 in the morning because the neighbor's extremely annoying dog was barking. Of course Clara slept through it (his window was right next to the doghouse next door) so he didn't have anyone to talk to.
He went over to his computer. To his great surprise, he'd gotten an instant message from Melody just about five minutes.
Are you awake? Amy says she left her favorite scarf over at your place, and I was wondering if you were awake so she could swing by and pick it up later.
Matt found it a bit odd that she didn't want to come over herself, but thankfully he had enough tact not to question it and instead write Yeah, I'm up.
Oh, that's brilliant. I would drive over myself, but the car keys are in Amy's room and she's still sleeping.
This didn't add up. Then how would you know that she left her favorite scarf at my house? Matt typed with a small frown, and it took about a minute for Melody to write back.
She mentioned something about it yesterday. How's your day going?
Seeing as it's barely five in the morning, I'd say it's a bit too early to tell. Still have to go out and apply for some more positions at universities, pick up some groceries for Clara, and possibly run into River at some point.
Run into River?
I think she's following me.
Right. I bet you're following her.
Matt was about to write an angry retort when he realized that Melody sort of had a point. Sort of. Kind of.
I'm not following her.
Really?
Intentionally.
I bet she's not following you intentionally either.
Matt had to smile a bit at this. That's easy to say if you don't know River.
Well, I don't know River.
She's very…collected. She wouldn't waste her time following me around.
Collected?
As in "so pretty it's almost terrifying" combined with an attitude.
Basically the dream girl of millions of men.
Was that sarcastic? I can't tell when I'm instant messaging if that sort of thing is sarcastic.
I'm not sure, honestly. Amy's like that, though, and she's had loads of boyfriends.
Yeah, well, compared to River, Amy's a docile young thing.
You just made me snort tea all over my laptop. I'm going to go get a paper towel.
Matt waited. It took about five minutes for Melody to write back.
Okay. Back. Computer's a bit less tea-sodden. Amy-a docile young thing? I find that hard to believe.
I meant in comparison to River, Melody, not just in general.
Ah. That's just a bit scarier.
What?
Someone more flirty and pretty than Amy.
She probably isn't flirtier or prettier at all.
Oh.
No, I mean, I fancy her, and when I do that I sort of put her on a pedestal and
Worship her?
No. Just-she's really amazing and funny and smart and clever and
I get the idea, Romeo.
I'm no Romeo.
From what Amy tells me, you serenade every single girl you go out with.
Not true! I only serenade the ones I fall in love with.
You would have done so much better in the sixteenth century.
I wouldn't have survived without my laptop.
Same here. Everyone's all "Oh, sixteenth century! Fashion! Dancing! Fun! Gorgeous rich men!" but I really just like writing on my laptop.
Writing on your laptop?
Yeah. I'm practicing.
Practicing what?
Hang on, earlier-did you say that you're looking for a position teaching?
Yeah, why?
There's a position open at Luna University. It's across campus from me, so I could avoid actually meeting you and proving Amy right, but I bet I could pull a few strings for you. Term starts this August.
Are you serious?
Completely, Romeo.
Don't call me Romeo when you're being serious.
I'll just call you Romeo all the time. It suits you.
You haven't even seen me in person. How can you accurately judge the sort of name that suits me?
Lucky guess. Do you have brown hair?
Why?
Romeo should have brown hair.
That's not true. He could have been blonde.
Juliet's the blonde one. All willowy and blonde and fair.
I bet Juliet had space hair, Matt wrote, unable to stop himself from thinking of River. (Stupid brain.)
…Space hair?
Yeah! Curly. Browny-yellow. Bouncy. Kind you want to tug on to see if it springs back.
Oh my god.
What?
Nothing.
What?
Can you email me your job application form so that I can send it in for you? I'll send you the interview date tomorrow.
You're using diversionary tactics again, Juliet.
How am I Juliet?
Because it's an annoying name and if you call me Romeo I'm calling you Juliet.
You do that and we're meant to be.
What?
Romeo and Juliet, idiot! Is that your normal pickup line?
Oh. Oops. That wasn't what I meant.
Course not.
Listen, I think my sister's waking up-I'm going to email you the form and then I need to get off the laptop and make her breakfast.
Maybe we could chat later, though?
Matt smiled, a silly little smile a lot like the one when he got through talking with River. Melody possessed the wonderful ability of making a chat about nothing seem like a chat about everything.
Yeah. Definitely.
He emailed her his resume and got off the computer, hurrying to go make Clara some pancakes.
"Morning!" said Matt cheerfully as Clara stumbled blearily into the dining room. "Making pancakes! Got a job offer-this pancake looks sort of evil, I have dibs on it-d'you know where the soy sauce is at?"
Clara shook her head sleepily and slumped into a chair.
"Well, you're chatty," said Matt, reaching up into a cupboard and pulling out the soy sauce. "I'm trying pancakes and soy sauce, you want some?"
"Ew, Matt, no," Clara groaned. "Just eat them with syrup."
The doorbell rang.
"I'm getting it," said Clara, getting out of the chair and stumbling out of the dining room sleepily. Matt turned back to the stove-
"Ohnoohnoohno!" he shouted desperately, waving at the copious amounts of smoke and the steadily increasing flames. "Pancakes getting all explody-wody-Clara I set the pancakes on fire help meee!" He grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and poured the cup on the frying pan. There was a loud sizzling and a lot of popping before the flames went out, and he heard a soft gasp from the doorway. "Clara?" called Matt, turning, and to his horror he saw River in the doorway with a terrified look on her face. "Oh," he said. "Hi."
"You-you-for god's sake, Matt, you almost set the curtains on fire!" gasped River. "You could have burned the house down!"
"What are you doing here?" Matt asked, utterly flabbergasted. "Our date's on Thursday, remember?"
River sighed, then replied, "I left my purse in your car. I couldn't call ahead because my phone's in your purse, and I only remembered this morning."
"Oh," said Matt, and then, "Can I-can I just finish the pancakes?"
"Matt," called Clara, from where she was presumably shutting the front door, "what was all that shouting about?"
Matt looked down at the charred, soggy mess of pancakes before shouting, "I think I'm going to be a bit late with breakfast, Clara, I'd recommend getting dressed so that you have something to do while you wait."
"All right," Clara called back. "River, make sure he doesn't burn the house down, okay?"
"I'll do my best," River muttered, "but I think it's a bit of a lost cause."
"Oi!" said Matt. "You have no idea how hard it is to make breakfast!"
"Watch me make breakfast and show you how easy it is," said River with a grin, shrugging off her jacket and hanging it on a chair. She was wearing a loose blue blouse today, along with a pair of jeans and the same ratty Converses. Matt was starting to get the distinct impression that there were two sides of River; the made-up femme fatale and the normal young woman. He wasn't quite sure which one he liked more. She strolled over to the counter and hip-checked him. "Budge up, sweetie, I don't want you burning the house down. Clara said you aren't supposed to."
"Clara's my little sister," said Matt huffily. "I am not obligated to listen to little sisters."
River rolled her eyes. "I'm a little sister."
"Not my little sister-god that would be weird," said Matt. "I'm sure you're a lovely little sister-no, no, can I take that back? Not because you're not lovely, you are, just that-"
River took his hand, spun him away from the counter so that she was facing him, and placed a finger over his lips, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "I'd recommend quitting while you're ahead, honey."
"Right, yes, good idea," Matt mumbled, distracted by her soft space hair and her wide beautiful eyes and her lovely mouth and-
"Are we going to make breakfast or not?" River said impatiently, moving her finger away from his lips and turning back to the counter. Matt didn't let go of her hand. "Stop it. I can't cook if we're holding hands."
"Nope."
"Matt."
"Never letting you go, Doctor Song."
River blushed. Really blushed. And Matt realized that he had once again managed to throw her off of her game. She turned bright red and yanked her hand away, staggering a few steps back. "Sorry," she said breathlessly. "Just-sorry. I-breakfast?"
"Breakfast," Matt echoed a tad disappointedly, turning his attention back to the counter. "Pancake mix-can you get that? It's in the cupboard-"
"Yeah. Sure. Mix. Cupboard." River walked toward him and stopped suddenly. "You've-you've got a lot of cupboards."
"Yeah, I have."
"A lot of cupboards," River mumbled again, her eyes fixed on his.
"Yeah, a lot."
"Which one is the pancake mix in?" said River softly.
"Oh! Mix! Right! Sorry!" Matt stumbled backward and very nearly scalded his hand on the frying pan holding the still-smoking pancakes. River uttered a yelp and grabbed his hand, yanking him uncomfortably close to him.
"Sorry," she said, her eyes wide. "Just-you could have burned yourself."
"I can't take this anymore!" Clara exploded from the doorway. "Will you two either shut up and snog or stop the shy-flirting and get me my bloody breakfast!"
Matt and River looked at Clara, then at each other, and then both of them burst out laughing at the utter ridiculousness of the situation. Somehow River ended up hugging him and laughing hysterically into his shoulder, and then he was leaning precariously against the counter and his foot slipped. He fell against the counter, both of them still laughing, and distantly Matt heard Clara mutter something about how she was going to go get something at Starbucks and leave the room.
When they finally stopped laughing, River looked up at him and said softly, "I really like you, Matt."
"I really like you too, River," said Matt with an easy grin. "So can we stop with the awkwardness? We know we like each other-we don't have to act like it's a big thing."
River smiled broadly. "I'm sorry I was silly about things. Just-I was talking to a friend earlier, and something surprising came up. That's all."
"Sure, fine, yeah, whatever works for you," Matt blurted. "I'm actually getting really hungry, though, so d'you mind helping me make some actually edible pancakes? Clara's going to kill me when she gets back."
River pulled him away from the counter. "Let's do this. I'm absolutely spectacular at cooking."
She wasn't.
Actually, she was worse than him, which was saying a lot.
"Matt," called River from her station at the frying pan, "it said oil, right? Does olive oil work?"
"What? I-no! You're supposed to grease the pan-did you put olive oil in the pancake mix?" Matt responded in horror. "I'm starving, please tell me you didn't put olive oil in the-"
"Of course I didn't!" River replied indignantly. "I'm not an idiot, Matt, I put it on the pan."
Matt smirked. "You're awful at this, ha ha."
"Am not," said River stubbornly, turning away from the pan and crossing her arms at him. He could see the smile in her eyes, though, so it sort of rendered the entire thing useless.
"Are too." He flicked a bit of flour at her. She shrieked and flicked olive oil at him.
"Take that back, Matt Smith!" she shouted.
"Not a chance," he replied smugly, taking a bigger handful of flour and throwing it at her. She sputtered and laughed and poured some olive oil into her hands, flinging it at him and spattering his nightshirt. "Oi!"
"Take. It. Back! I am so wonderful at cooking."
"Are not."
River huffed, smiled a bit, and flicked a bit more olive oil at him. "What d'you say to cereal, sweetie?"
"I say that it's the best idea you've had yet," Matt replied, "and that's saying something, because you're brilliant."
She laughed.
She said that she had to leave after breakfast, so cereal was actually a good idea. He found that it was nice eating cereal with her and squabbling over the comics section. Eventually they had to scoot their chairs together.
In a daring moment, he put his arm around her and tugged her into his side. She didn't object.
"This is Clara's car," said Matt as he dug in the front seat before handing River her purse. "I've been using it to drive you places. It's a very nice car. I swear I didn't intend to take your purse with me, or anything like that, it just-"
"Sweetie, I've already taken full responsibility for it," River replied with a breezy laugh. "Our date's on Thursday, right?"
"Can I keep your purse so you have an excuse to come visit me on Monday?" Matt asked playfully, taking River's hands in his and smiling at her happily, because he really did like her.
"How about I just come over for lunch today instead?" River asked in response, and then "Oh look, it's noon, and I appear to have gotten a text from my sister saying that she doesn't need me at home after all. Isn't that lovely? I suppose I'll have to stay with you."
"Thank goodness," Matt replied breathlessly.
River smiled shyly, an expression that seemed unnatural when compared to her usually confident façade. But then he'd only known her for a few days, so he couldn't really tell what she was like. He squeezed her hands, trying to communicate that he wanted to know her, and the shyness in her smile seemed to fade.
Lunch was grilled cheese, made by Clara of course. Clara and River had apparently met earlier at a teahouse, where River had proceeded to pour herself a bottle of champagne that she'd gotten from the back. Clara had been so impressed with River's "borrowing skills", as River called them, that they had become friends. Not close ones, though. Matt had a feeling that River didn't have many close friends.
"This is the random lady you shagged?" said Clara in amusement. "I hadn't expected it to be River!"
"Clara shut up shut up shut up," Matt muttered.
"I mean, River's all curves and hair-"
"Thank you, Clara!" said River with delighted gratification.
"-and you're all limbs and chin!" Clara concluded with a laugh.
"Clara really shut up really shut up really shut up," Matt muttered with a bit more intensity.
"Oh, I like limbs and chin," River replied airily. "Bowties, too."
Matt grinned broadly, like someone had handed him the moon, because he was fairly certain that he was starting to have a crush on this woman.
(okay that's a lie Matt you totally fancy her but you just aren't ready to admit it yet)
Reviews?
-The Eclectic Bookworm
