*big group hug for the lovely reviewers* Shall we see what our favourite non-lovebirds will get up to next?

Chapter 14

It wasn't exactly how John had expected the evening to go, but after not seeing Clara for two weeks, thanks to their full schedules, he was happy to receive her call on Saturday afternoon.

"Emergency!" Clara said straight after he had picked up the phone. "What are you doing tonight?"

John opened his mouth to reply that, in fact, he had nothing on his schedule when Clara already continued.

"I have tickets to a concert and the friend I was supposed to go with came down with the stomach flu," she announced and due to the speed at which the words bubbled out of her mouth, he needed a moment to process what she was saying.

Concert tickets. Sick friend. Emergency.

"You want me to go with you?" John asked just to be certain.

"You can count it as fake date number three and on the way home, we can make up a story about how we had our first kiss."

John paused for a moment. "Hang on, isn't date number three usually the point where couples have sex in the movies?"

"Yeah, but that's not something I'm going to tell my parents, is it? Please, just say yes. Everyone else I know already has plans for tonight and I really don't want to go on my own," Clara almost begged him and John heard himself sigh in return. How could he possible tun her down?

"Alright. What time do you want me to pick you up?"

"Seven would be perfect," Clara replied and even though he couldn't see her, John still imagined the big grin on her face.

It was well after midnight when the concert ended and John and Clara started walking back to the car. His ears were still ringing a little and even though he had spent the last few hours wondering how on earth Clara had tricked him like that, he had to admit that it wasn't as bad as he had initially thought.

"Ed Sheeran," John muttered to himself. "My fake girlfriend tricked me into going to an Ed Sheeran concert."

Clara giggled next to him and even though he wanted to hate her for it just a little, John couldn't bring himself to. She hadn't mentioned what kind of concert they would be going to with a single syllable, he hadn't asked, trusting in her taste and by the time he had spotted the large banners over the concert hall, it had been too late to back out.

"Oh, come on," Clara said and he felt her nudge him with her elbow. "It wasn't so bad."

"I was the oldest person in the audience!" John argued, trying his best to sound grumpy when really, he wasn't. He had actually liked a few of the songs.

Then, the unexpected happened. John was forced to come to an abrupt halt when he felt Clara placed her arms around his neck and press her body against his own in a tight hug. He stiffened up instantly as if by instinct, remembering how much he hated hugs, only to realise that this time, he didn't seem to hate it at all. Actually, to have Clara hug him was kind of nice.

"Um," he still muttered in protest, "I'm not really a hugging person."

Once again, she giggled and at last, released him from the embrace. "Thank you for coming with me," she said sincerely.

When John glanced at her, he noticed the smile under the warm light of the streetlamp and determined that listening to a few Ed Sheeran songs had definitely been worth it just to see her happy. However, he also vowed to take his revenge as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

"You're welcome," he replied eventually. "But just so you know, I'm going to pick the next concert."

"Sounds fair enough," Clara agreed.

As they continued their walk, John started to wonder why he had parked his car so far away from the venue and when he watched Clara yawn, he figured that she was probably thinking the exact same thing. His feet and legs were tired and all John really wanted to do right now was to lie down and sleep - or at least rest for just a moment. At last, he could no longer suppress the urge and yawned as well.

"Do you want to come up for a cup of coffee when you drop me off at my place?" Clara asked.

As tempting as that sounded, John knew that he should probably go to bed as quickly as possible. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I should get home."

"Right," she said with a sigh, "can't leave your daughter alone for too long."

At that, John found himself chuckling once again. "She's twelve, so unless she decided to burn the house down, I think I can leave her alone for a while. Besides, my sister took her to the cinema tonight and I think I'm more worried about leaving her with Missy than I am about the prospect of leaving Susie on her own."

And since Missy would have long delivered her back at her doorstep, there really was no reason for him not to accept that cup of coffee. John could certainly use a little boost before heading back home.

He had already gotten a glimpse of Clara's apartment after their first date, but when she finally led him inside, John looked around and instantly determined that he liked it. It was neither messy nor particularly orderly, but it contained the right amount of coordinated chaos that he himself preferred. When Clara handed him a cup of coffee, John finally lowered himself on the sofa.

"You have a nice flat," he remarked before he blew on the coffee to cool it down. John was tired and he sincerely hoped that this would help him wake up.

"Not as nice as your house," she said with a shrug.

Clara settled next to him and even though he wanted to keep the conversation going, his mind felt quite empty with exhaustion and lack of sleep. After a week of working the hospital's night shift, he needed a bit of rest.

"So, um," Clara began carefully, but despite her efforts to hide it, she couldn't deny that she was feeling just as exhausted. "I did the thing today."

"The thing?" John wanted to know, arching up his eyebrows.

Clara nodded. "Dad called. He wanted to know who I'm going to bring to the wedding and I told him about you."

"Ah, that thing." John had yet to announce it to his parents and so far, he hadn't really come up with a suitable battle plan. And that was due to one very good reason.

"He and Linda want to meet you before the wedding," she announced, accompanied by a rolling of her eyes.

Maybe it was because he was so tired and he took a sip from the coffee, hoping that it might help lift the mental fog that had settled around his brain, but regardless of that, he felt a twinge of panic. Meeting her parents. It was something most boyfriends dreaded and John found himself in the same state of dread all of a sudden despite the knowledge that none of it was actually real.

"I thought-" Clara began and when she broke off, John noticed the sheepish smile on her face. "I thought maybe it was time for me to properly meet your daughter before that happens."

There it was, his one very good reason for not having told anyone yet.

"I, uh, I haven't really told Susie yet," he admitted and bit down on his lip to hide his embarrassment. "I know, I should have done that weeks ago, but I know she'll be smug about having helped and I don't want to give her the satisfaction just yet."

To his surprise, Clara laughed. "John Smith, father of the year."

"Don't laugh at me," he replied in a defensive tone, glowering at Clara. "I promise, I'll tell her."

"Good," Clara concluded with a smile. "Because I'm curious to meet her properly."

John inhaled deeply and decided to have another sip of coffee while he pondered Clara's words. Somehow, he didn't doubt for a second that she was actually eager to meet his daughter which was exactly why she was the most perfect fake girlfriend he could have chosen.