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Chapter 38

When Clara stepped out of the shower she realized just how hungry she really was, yet when she discarded the towel and reached for her clothes she became also aware that all she had to wear was her very short, red evening dress. Now, after sleeping with John despite knowing better, she would have to do the walk of shame, or rather the breakfast of shame, in front of his friends.

A knock on the door tore her out of her thought and Clara reached for the towel once more to wrap it around her body before she told John to come inside.

"You're not ready yet?" he asked and he looked more than a little disappointed.

Clara chuckled in response. "You won't starve, I promise," she told him. "I just realized the only thing that I have to wear is my dress."

"It's a very pretty dress," John responded with a shrug. "I mean, obviously not as pretty as the gorgeous woman wearing it, but-"

"Stop being charming," Clara told him with a smile as she gave him a soft nudge. "I'll get dressed. Give me two minutes."

Clara walked back into the bedroom and John was already waiting for her there, wearing an odd smile on his face as he stepped closer. Her gaze dropped to his hands and what he was holding.

"What is that?" she asked him as he handed it to her and Clara recognized it as a flash drive.

"It's the photos from our trip. I thought you might wanna have them. And-" he paused and a short moment later John also gave her a note. "And my phone number."

He raised his head and looked her straight into the eye while he sighed. "I don't want to lose you again, Clara."

Something about these words tugged at her heart and she truly believed that he meant them, at least for the moment. Clara didn't want to lose him again either, but how could they possibly have a future? How could she be sure that their affair wasn't going to rip her heart out of her chest when it was over?

Clara acted before she had even made up her mind. She tore a small piece from the note and walked towards his desk where she scribbled down her own number before she could change her mind. She left it right on his desk where he could see it and placed the flash drive on top of it.

"I'll get it after breakfast," she told him with a smile before they both headed downstairs.

The kitchen was already busy when they stepped inside and Clara recognized Jack, the man that had bought her a drink at a bar. She could hardly believe that she had run into one of John's best friends during their time apart and never known who he was, but then again, Clara had still been confused and angry during that time and she doubted that meeting John again at that point would have ended well. Clara also spotted a young woman with long, red hair and a kind of dorky looking man. They seemed vaguely familiar from the concert, but she hadn't actually paid a lot of attention to the rest of the band.

"Clara, that's Amy, my best friend," John introduced them, "and her husband Rory. You've already met Jack."

"Nice to meet you," the man called Rory greeted her politely.

The woman grinned broadly at her. "The famous Clara, the woman that tamed the Doctor," she chuckled, her Scottish accent thick.

"Clara hasn't tamed me," John grumbled in response as he held out a chair for Clara to sit down before he took a seat next to her.

"Really?" Amy didn't seem convinced. "I don't recall you looking at another woman since you've met her. And you used to look a lot."

"He did a lot more than just look," Jack laughed and took a large bite off his croissant.

Once again Clara felt something tug at her heart because for a brief moment she had forgotten who John really was. A rockstar. A womanizer. And yes, she was a little jealous of all the women he had been with because she knew she wouldn't be the last.

"Please stop embarrassing me," John mumbled, chewing his toast.

Amy laughed in response. "If I wanted to embarrass you I'd show Clara the photos of you dancing on the table in my underwear."

"You did what?" Clara enquired curiously.

John glowered at his friend across the table. "That's a lie. I never did that."

Amy took another spoonful of yoghurt into her mouth and grinned at him. "You were just too drunk to remember," she remarked. "Alright, maybe the underwear bit was a lie, but the rest certainly happened."

He turned his head to look at Clara and the expression on his face was one of pain. "I have to correct my earlier statement. These are not my friends, especially not that one," he said, pointing towards Amy.

"Mean," she replied.

"So, erm, anyway," John said, "that's the band. My friends."

"Tell us something about yourself, Clara," Amy prompted. "This is the first time the Doctor has brought a girl home, we're curious."

"Uhm," Clara paused, unsure of what to tell Amy. And was she really the first the Doctor had brought back home with him? Clara found that hard to believe, especially considering what else his friends said about him. "There isn't actually much to tell. I met John in the diner I worked in, we went to Norway together and that's about the most interesting story of my life." She chuckled nervously. Clara felt a bit as if she was being interviewed.

"But you haven't always been a waitress, have you?" his friend enquired.

"No," Clara replied. "Teacher originally, but I'm taking a break right now."

"Why?"

"Amy," John interrupted her softly. "Please, stop quizzing her and let her have her breakfast."

He held out the small basket and Clara took a slice of toast from the selection, but Amy's eyes never left her and it was beginning to make her a little uncomfortable. His friends were really interested in her for some reason and yet Clara couldn't shake the feeling that it was just because she was a novelty. And novelty faded over time. At some point John would lose interest and go back to his normal routine.

After breakfast John offered her a ride home, something that Clara declined politely because she needed time to think, she needed to clear her head and when she walked upstairs to get her purse she spotted the flash drive and the two notes lying on the desk. Clara pocketed the flash drive and his number, but her eyes were still set on the remaining note for a long moment while she was considering her options.

John would break her heart sooner or later and she wasn't ready for that yet, not so soon after Danny. She had never meant to fall in love or see him again and still it had happened and now Clara wasn't sure what to do. She still had feelings and maybe right now they were stronger than ever, which didn't really make her decision any easier. Before she could change her mind she reached out and pocketed the second note with her own number on it. At least that way it was up to her to decide whether she wanted to see him again.