A couple of days had passed since Danny had walked out of Clara's apartment. She hadn't spoken to him, as it seemed he was avoiding her. He wasn't eating lunch in the staff room and he was nowhere to be found after school. She decided it was likely best to give him space and not push him. She had also decided to go ahead with her date with John. She had stared at her phone for 30 minutes having an internal debate and eventually her curiosity won out.

Clara was just about to walk out of her class when she almost walked into Danny.

"Oh. Sorry." She said.

"It's ok." He replied. "I was hoping we could talk for a second."

The two of them moved back into Clara's room and sat down in a couple of desks.

"I'm sorry for walking out the other night." Danny stated. "I just needed to wrap my head around what you were saying."

"Sure." Clara replied.

"I understand that you have had a crush on this guy for some time, and that this probably all seems surreal."

"Well, yeah." Clara confirmed.

"So of course, my immediate response was that I couldn't compete with him, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought I can. People are often disappointed when a fantasy becomes reality, and I feel that this may be the case." Danny sighed. "If you need to date him to get it out of your system, I understand. And when the time comes that he lets you down, I'll be there."

"Okay." Clara said.

"So, no sex, and no discussing him, agreed?"

"Absolutely." She agreed.

"Okay, so dinner on Saturday?" He asked.

"Sounds good."

They made a plan for Saturday night and then Danny left. Clara was happy he agreed, but could tell he had pulled back on his emotions and she couldn't blame him. Clara grabbed her bag and headed home. She needed to do some cleaning and plan what she was going to wear on her date tomorrow night with John.

John had tried on about 10 different shirts and his room looked like a cyclone had gone through it. He finally decided to wear a pair of black trousers, a light coloured button up shirt, and his black blazer with the blue lining. He also opted to wear his glasses as he was less recognizable in public with them. He looked in the mirror and thought he looked good enough and hoped Clara liked it. This was the first date he had been on in ages and he was incredibly nervous. He went downstairs, grabbed the flowers he had bought earlier that day and headed out the door.

Clara was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard a knock at the door. Her stomach flipped and she took a deep breath before she went to answer it. She opened the door and smiled at the handsome man standing there.

John tried to say hello when Clara opened the door, but all speech was taken at the sight of her. She was wearing a maroon halter dress that went to just above her knees, with a flowy bottom. She was breath taking.

"You look gorgeous." He said, finally gaining the ability to speak.

"Thanks." She smiled at him trying not to freak out because John Anderson had just said she was gorgeous. "You look really handsome."

"Oh you're too kind." He blushed and then revealed the flowers that were behind his back. "These are for you."

"Thank you." She said as she took the flowers from him. "Come in, while I put these in water."

John shut the door behind him and entered her flat. He looked around while Clara was in the kitchen. He really liked how comfortable it felt. He walked into her living room and was looking at some pictures on her bookshelf, when Clara entered with the flowers in a vase.

"That's my mom." She said as she set the flowers down on a table.

"It's a great picture." He said. "Are the two of you close?"

"We were." She said as she went to stand next to him. He looked at her and she elaborated. "She passed when I was younger."

"I'm so sorry." John said.

"Thanks, but it was a long time ago. Anyway, could I get you a drink or something?" She asked trying to change the subject.

"Actually we should get going if we want to make our reservation."

The two left her flat and walked to the restaurant. John had picked a small Italian restaurant that wasn't far from Clara's so they could easily walk. While they were on their way they chatted about John's trip to see his family and Clara's job. Every now and then Clara noticed people stopping and looking at John, but it never seemed to faze him.

They arrived at the restaurant and were greeted by a very enthusiastic maitre d'. John put his hand at the small of Clara's back as they were led to a small table. They sat down and Clara took in the atmosphere. It was a very romantic place, with dim lighting and each table seemed intimate and not crowded by other patrons. The waiter came over to take their drink order and John ordered a bottle of wine.

"I hope you like Italian? I never thought to ask." He said.

"I love it. This is perfect."

The waiter returned and poured them each a glass of wine. Once he left, John raised his glass to Clara for a toast.

"To new possibilities." He said as they clinked glasses.

Clara couldn't get over how handsome he was. Never in a million years would she have imagined something like this would happen. The two started chatting about food, while they were looking at the menu and after they ordered they continued their conversation. They both found the other very easy to talk to and were never short of topics. Clara started to feel more comfortable with John and decided to ask him questions about work.

"So how much can you tell me about your job?" Clara asked.

"Well ask me what you want and I'll tell you if I can answer?" He said smiling at her.

"Okay. Is your character going to get together with Missy Davros' character?"

"God, I hope not." John said with a groan.

"Oh, am I sensing something there?"

"She just can't take no for an answer. She's been trying to convince me to go on a date with her for months and I keep saying no. I don't like to date people I work with, well not like I actually go on dates, and she refuses to believe me."

"So, you weren't on a date with her the night we met?" She asked.

John smiled at Clara. "You did notice me that night." He stated.

Clara blushed and then grinned. "Busted."

John chuckled. "No, I was not on a date with her. She asked if I wanted to go for a drink as friends and then after I agreed, she tried desperately to get me to go back to her hotel. I told her off after that, which I shouldn't have, but I don't regret it because then I met you."

"Flatterer."

The two continued talking throughout dinner and after. Clara was quickly being charmed by the silver fox and was so enthralled with him that she hadn't even noticed they were holding hands across the table. Both were leaning into each other, closing themselves off even more in the intimate space. Clara needed to be careful because she could see herself falling hard for him, and she still wasn't sure what his intentions were.

"I had a really lovely time tonight. Thanks so much for dinner." Clara said after John had paid for the bill.

"Me too." John said as he smiled at her. "I don't really want the night to end."

"It doesn't have to. I know a little bar around the corner we could go get a drink at."

"Well, lead the way Miss Oswald."

They left the restaurant and walked hand in hand to the bar, but when they got there, there was a line up outside.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot it's Friday night."

"That's okay. Wait here and I'll see how long it's going to be."

Clara watched John walk up to the bouncer and started chatting to him. The next thing she knew John had motioned for her to join him. She left her spot and went to the front.

"Go on in Mr. Anderson." The bouncer said.

John thanked the man and grabbed Clara's hand as they walked into the bar, where they were greeted by a man in a suit and taken to a back corner. Clara had been here a few times before but had never noticed this section. Probably because it was closed off with a sheer curtain that made it difficult to see the area. It looked like a living room from a gothic castle with two couches, a coffee table and candelabras for lighting. They sat next to each other on one of the sofas and John ordered a couple of cocktails for them.

"Wow. Impressive." Clara said as she turned on the couch to face John. He did the same but put his arm across the back and started caressing Clara's bare shoulder with his thumb. This simple touch was sending shivers through her body and she could only imagine what it would feel like to have him touch more of her.

"Believe me this was not my intention." John said. "Turns out the bouncer and the manager are fans of the show, so hence the VIP treatment. I don't typically like this kind of attention, but if it means I get some privacy with you, I'll start throwing my name around." He winked at her.

The manager returned with their drinks and shut the curtain after he left, closing them off from the rest of the bar. It was taking all of John's will power to not kiss Clara. He had been staring at her lips all night wondering what they would taste like. Now she was sitting so close to him, he could feel her leg against his thigh.

"So, Clara Oswald, is it safe for me to assume you would say yes to a second date?" John asked.

God, she loved the way the r in her name rolled off his tongue. Feeling bold from the alcohol, she placed her hand on top of his thigh and replied. "I think it's safe to say I would say yes to many more."

John couldn't hold back any longer. He leaned in and finally captured her lips.