A big group hug for all you sweet reviewers! Want another look at the mystery of Clara's dates? Well, let's see. . .

Chapter 10

"You are deep in the friend zone," Missy said and rolled her eyes at him. "In fact, you're so deep in it that not even your head is sticking out any longer."

"The what-zone?" the Doctor asked gruffly.

"The friend zone."

He glowered at his best friend's explanation. "And what the hell is that supposed to be?"

Missy inhaled deeply and the Doctor was sure that a long explanation was to follow. "When a boy loves a girl," she said slowly as if talking to a child, "but the girl only sees him as a friend, then the guy is in the friend zone."

"Alright," he replied. It made sense. "So, how do I get out of this friend zone thing?"

Missy shrugged. "Have you tried asking her out on a proper date instead of, you know, picking her up from her dates with other men? A revolutionary concept, I know."

The Doctor groaned and sank deeper into the sofa cushions. He had stopped counting the number of times he had considered asking her out. In fact, he was quite sure that every time he saw Clara, a part of him wanted nothing more than to ask that question, but he knew just how fruitless that would be. Clara was interested in pretty, young men who were like likehim, not himas she had stated quite plainly only a couple of days ago.

"She doesn't want me, Missy," the Doctor admitted sadly. "And asking her out won't change that. So, how canI change that? And above all, can I even influence it at all or should I just give up?"

Suddenly, there was a look on his friend's face that he couldn't quite place. It was a strange one, somewhere between mischievous and downright evil. The Doctor didn't like it.

"What's that look for?" he demanded to know. "What are you up to?"

Missy raised her hands in a surrendering gesture. "Nothing," she replied instantly. "Why do you always assume I'm up to something when all I'm trying to do is listen to the same woes you've had for four years?"

"I'm boring you," the Doctor realized. Well, he couldn't blame her. To his friend, it probably seemed as if his entire world revolved only around Clara and, well, to be quite honest, it did most of the time. She was his best friend.

"To be honest, you're boring me most of the time, so you might as well tell me how Clara's recent date went and how you saved her day," Missy said casually and shrugged.

The Doctor blew the air out between his teeth. "Well, there isn't much to tell. Clara said that they really hit it off at first, but then he asked her about her sex change. Apparently, he assumed that Clara used to be a man," he explained and then scoffed. "Honestly, I don't think even I could fuck up a date like that."

"Huh," she huffed in response, but he decided to ignore the undertone in her voice. "The ideas men get."

"I don't understand it," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Clara is a marvellous woman and I'm not just saying that. It's strange that the men she goes out with can't see it. I mean, not that I'm complaining, but I'm confused. It feels a bit like it's just not supposed to happen and I'm not sure whether I should be glad or feel sorry for Clara because she's clearly unhappy. She deserves better than that."

"Exactly!"

When the Doctor raised his head and looked at Missy, the expression on her face had changed once again. Now, it looked downright triumphant.

"And you're welcome," she said, smiling at him.

After a moment of plain confusion, the Doctor cocked his eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry?" he asked. "Welcome for what?"

His friend's smile widened even more. "I wonder how many more failed dates it takes for her to realize that there's a perfectly nice idiot already waiting for her," Missy remarked. "And by idiot I mean you."

"I. . . I don't think I understand."

"God, you two really deserve each other. You're both slow," she groaned and rolled her eyes so hard that the Doctor thought they might never return to their original location. "Do you really think someone as pretty as Clara can be so unlucky when it comes to men? I bet four of the men she went out with would definitely have fucked her at least once."

"Don't talk about her like that," he growled, but the lewd remark aside, the Doctor could feel that something was wrong. Missy knew something. No, judging by the look on her face, she had done something. "Tell me what you know!"

Again, she rolled her eyes impatiently. "I work for MatchMaker!"

A frown appeared on the Doctor face. He still didn't get it.

"I know, we're not supposed to look at people's private conversations unless there has been a violation of our guidelines, but come on, it's your crush – how could I resist?"

The Doctor's mouth fell open. "You read Clara's private conversations with these men?!"

Missy grinned at him and nodded. "I did more than just read them."

The scales fell from his eyes when he realized the truth behind Clara's recent dating failures and all of a sudden, it made so much more sense than it had before. Of course, Clara hadn't picked the wrong men, of course, she wasn't undesirable. She had never been unlucky in the first place.

"You sabotaged Clara's dates?!"

"Nice job, huh?" Missy asked excitedly. "Which one did you prefer? The one where I told the guy she had a sugar daddy or the sex change one?"

"Neither!" the Doctor spat in reply and jumped up from his seat. It was outrageous. It was wrong. It was a perfectly horrible thing to do. "Missy, you can't do that! It isn't right!"

"Well, somebody had to do something," she argued loudly. "You love that girl and you're too cowardly to tell her! I saw a chance and I took it!"

"Clara was devastated!" he shouted at her in response. "She thinks it's her fault!"

"And you were there to pick up the pieces and cheer her up," Missy told him plainly. "She came running to you after every single one of her dates. If you're clever, you'll wait for the perfect moment and then make your move. Wait until her self-esteem hits rock bottom and-"

"Missy, stop!" the Doctor cut her off, his voice sharp. "This game has to stop and I will not be part of it! I can't believe you did that!"

In response, his friend raised her eyebrows at him.

"No," he growled.

"You're angry, I get it," Missy said with a sigh. "I know it's not the nicest thing to do, but I promise you, it's gonna work."

"I don't care!" the Doctor shouted. "It's hurting Clara, so you're going to stop spreading lies about her!"

Missy snorted. "So you can watch while Clara dates other men?"

"I'm gonna do better than that," he growled in her direction. "I'm gonna tell Clara exactly what you did!"

And with that, the Doctor spun around on his heels and headed towards the door. Once he was outside, he took a deep, long breath. It was unbelievable. The Doctor had always known that Missy was capable of a lot of mischief, but he hadn't believed that she would go so far as to use her job to spread lies and sabotage Clara's dates even if she had only done it as a favour to him. It had worked, yes, but at what price?

Yet as the Doctor made his way through the streets, he couldn't help but feel conflicted. To tell Clara the truth and betray his oldest friend? Or to keep it to himself and hope that Missy would stop? The Doctor had no idea what he should do.