A/N: So I had this idea rattling around in the dusty old brain of mine for some time. I finally decided to put it to paper. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
"Movie night!" the floppy-haired man yelled from the doorway. Clara rolled her eyes and placed the grocery bag on the table.
Rose chuckled. "Just like every Friday, John."
He nodded. "And every week I love it." He came over and wrapped his best friend in a warm hug.
Clara raised an eyebrow as she watched the two of them intently. She saw her brother lower his head to the blonde's hair and take a whiff.
That's new, she thought.
Rose had wrapped her arms around him when the embrace first started but at his movement she increased her hold and sighed. They remained like that for longer than necessary.
Until Clara cleared her throat.
Reluctantly, Rose pulled away. Her heart was suddenly racing and she had to put some distance between herself and her best friend. She walked over to Clara and the table to examine the grocery items.
"Gummy bears!" Rose screeched and clapped her hands.
Clara and John laughed. "Courtesy of John," Clara said. Rose turned to him and smiled. He had approached the table and now stood by his sister, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders.
"What movie did you get?" Rose asked as she pulled the popcorn bag out to pop it. Clara broke from her brother's embrace to get a beer out of the fridge.
"Terminator: Genisys. Apparently there's a guy in it that looks like me," John said as he ran a hand through his hair.
Rose chuckled and pressed the button on the microwave. "Well, it was your choice this week."
The three friends had a tradition. One would host the movie night, one would bring the movie and the other would bring snacks. Rose was already compiling her snack list for next week as movie night was being held at their house.
She turned and looked at her two best friends. John Smith was a doctor of veterinary medicine with his own laboratory. He was always working on finding cures for animal diseases. He was tall, six foot, with an abhorrent fashion sense. He enjoyed wearing bow ties at work. Rose found it endearing actually.
Tonight though, John was dressed like a normal person. He had on a light blue V-neck sweater with a white undershirt and black skinny jeans. Converse completed the outfit. Rose took a moment to focus on him as he harassed his sister about this or that.
He's so handsome and he doesn't even know it.
Rose had been in love with John Smith since the day the met in her junior year. He was funny, sweet, and so charming. That never changed and even now he still makes her heart flutter. She sighed sadly and glanced at the brunette who was playfully shoving him.
Clara Smith was one year younger than John. She had a personality similar to Rose; that is why they got along so well. She was working on achieving her master's through online school. Her degree was psychology. She was fascinated with human behavior and wanted to help people work through their issues. That, and she was also a great listener.
Rose would know, given she had lamented to Clara many times about her feelings for John. Clara would smile and nod, and even encourage Rose to go for it. "Trust me, Rose, he would be receptive." But Rose couldn't do it. John didn't look at her that way, she knew. Even though Clara tried to tell her differently, she knew. The brunette was just being nice to spare her friend's feelings.
Currently, Clara was dressed in yoga pants and a zip-up hoodie with a pink camisole peeking out and her long brown hair in a messy ponytail. Rose had the sneaking suspicion she had come right from yoga class. Nude colored ballet flats and simple good hoop earrings completed her outfit.
Finally the siblings were done with their squabbling. It wasn't anything new. They lived together so they took every opportunity to annoy each other. Clara turned to the blonde in the room.
"Ready?" she asked. The microwave dinged, confirming her question. She laughed.
After pouring the popcorn into a large bowl, Rose joined her friends in the den. The snacks were spread out across the coffee table and her large 70-inch flat screen was currently booting up the movie. John snagged a few Twizzlers and put his feet on the coffee table.
Rose sat between them and placed the bowl on the table. As the previews started, she hit the remote to dim the lights. The three friends were surrounded in darkness as they munched on their snacks.
When Alex appeared on screen, Clara and Rose burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" John asked as he reached for some popcorn.
"Al-Alex does look like you," Clara said between gasps for air.
He looked at the screen. "Think so?"
Rose nodded.
John shrugged. "He looks kinda gay to me."
More laughter from the women on his right. "Oi!" he said. "Now what's funny?"
The two women couldn't stop laughing to answer him. Rose fell off the couch due to her hysterics. Then John laughed and the three of them spent about five minutes with the giggles.
After they composed themselves, they continued with the movie, only sniggering whenever Alex had a line. John frowned and pursed his lips.
Clara glanced at her brother. She noticed he had unconsciously moved closer to Rose. She smiled. Her brother may be a certified genius but he was so obtuse about certain things. It seemed as though his subconscious was trying to tell him what he already knew.
The brunette sighed. Those two were so obvious. Well, to everyone but themselves apparently. Everyone saw how they gravitated towards each other, how they looked at one another, how they touched one another. Clara had been trying for years to play matchmaker with no luck, ever since they met in high school.
The two girls walked to Clara's locker. Rose was the new student and was shy about making friends. Clara had been her math partner that day and they hit it off immediately. She was beginning to think maybe her junior year WOULDN'T suck.
"So then Ms. Fields tells us that answer was 72 and Bill corrected her saying it was 70. Bill was right of course, downright smarty pants she is."
Rose smiled at that. Clara opened her locker to put her books in there. No way was she taking homework home on the weekend. Hell no.
"Ms. Fields spent the rest of class in a snit. It was so bad she forgot to assign homework."
Rose laughed as she leaned against the cool metal lockers. Students buzzed by, some on their phones, some chatting with each other, some yelling across the hallway. A few students looked at the new blonde that had joined them and a few of the guys gave her a warm smile.
She smiled back, politely. Some of them were cute.
"Clara, you ready to go?" a male voice said. Rose couldn't see who it was as of yet, but she saw jeans and a Doctor Who shirt. She smiled.
"Yup," Clara said as she slammed her locker shut.
At that moment, it felt like time stood still. When she turned to her brother, she saw he was fixated on the blonde to her left. His green eyes were wide and she heard the slight breath hitch.
Turning to her new friend, she saw a mirror. Rose was staring at her brother, mouth slightly agape.
At that moment, Clara knew.
Breaking the spell, she spoke. "Rose, this is my brother. My ANNOYING brother, John Smith."
It took Rose another few seconds for her brain to come back online. She closed her mouth and swallowed a few times before regaining composure.
"N-nice to meet you, John."
John just stared.
Clara nudged him to get him out of his daze. He sputtered and looked at his sister, who was gesturing to her friend. "Oh, hi. Um, sorry."
Rose chuckled.
He tried again. "I'm John. Uh, John Smith, Clara's brother."
"Yes, I gathered that," Rose said with a laugh. Her cheeks were tinged pink.
Clara could have easily gone home and these two wouldn't have noticed. But she wanted to see how this would play out.
It's been a long time since John has shown interest in anyone, Clara thought. Melody was his last crush and THAT was eighth grade. He's been so into his studies since she left.
She had a feeling this was more than a crush.
John sputtered again and ran his hand through his hair. Then he smiled, having recovered.
"Well, Rose," he said. "It's nice to meet you. Where are you from?"
"Leavenworth."
He raised an eyebrow. "Ah, splendid! I spent last summer in Leavenworth for my senior project. Very nice city."
Clara spoke up. "I was about to invite Rose to get ice cream with us; that's okay right?" She turned her brown eyes to her brother who grinned.
"Of course it's alright!" he said, a little TOO enthusiastically. "If it's alright with you?" he asked, risking another glance at the beautiful blonde that had his attention.
Rose nodded. "I'd love to come."
He clapped his hands together. "Splendid!" he said. "I'll meet you two at the car." He spun on his heel and walked off.
Rose turned to her new friend. "He always that perky?"
Clara rolled her eyes. "That was him toning it down." Rose's eyes grew wide.
Snapping back to the present, she chanced another glance at them. They were still sitting closely together.
"Who wants more to drink?" she asked as she grabbed the remote and paused the movie. That caused John to unconsciously snap himself away from Rose.
Rose stood up and headed to the kitchen. Clara followed.
"You okay, Rose?" she asked. "You seem kinda off."
Rose opened up the fridge and pulled out two more beers and a bottle of Pepsi for John. She nodded. "I'm fine. I just…" she trailed off.
Clara tilted her head to the side. "What?"
The blonde sighed. "I have a date."
Clara choked on air. She couldn't have heard correctly. "What?"
Rose took the cap off of the beer and handed the bottle to her friend. "I have a date."
The brunette sputtered. This is not supposed to happen. "With who?"
Rose paused and blushed. Now Clara's interest was really piqued.
Who besides John could cause that kind of blush on her?
She stepped closer to her friend. "Who?" she asked as she rested her right hand on Rose's arm.
"Harold Saxon," the blonde said quietly.
Clara's jaw dropped. "THE Harold Saxon? The one running for Prime Minister?"
Rose nodded. Clara needed a swig to clear the fog in her head.
"How did that happen?"
Rose sighed. "Amy set it up."
"Your publicist?" Clara was already plotting the redhead's demise.
Rose nodded. "The Saxon family is quite close to her fiancé's family, apparently. She said it doesn't have to be anything grand, just coffee."
"And you're going to do it?"
The beautiful blonde shrugged. "Why not? I need to move on with life. It's clear John doesn't want me."
Clara frowned. "He does Rose. He's just unaware."
"Yeah, sure." Rose looked down at her own bottle.
Clara groaned. She was going to kick her brother's ass.
At that moment, John walked into the kitchen. The look on his face was stone.
"Is this true?" he said, his voice low.
Oh shit, Clara thought. She saw Rose pale.
"You have a date?" He looked squarely into Rose's cinnamon eyes.
Rose nodded. John's teeth clenched.
"With Harold Saxon?"
She nodded again. Clara watched her brother's body language. He was definitely angry.
"Why, Rose?" again, voice low.
The blonde shrugged. "Why not?"
"Why…Rose, do you know about him?"
She shook her head. Clara observed her brother's stance. Rigid.
What the hell? She thought.
"Saxon is the one trying to shut down my lab."
Both women's eyes grew big at that moment.
"He's the one calling up false charges of endangerment and harassment just to shut me down. We think there's a mole in the company. All so he can be the only game in town." John was visibly shaking now. Only when he was truly angry did he shake that way.
"I'm sorry," Rose said, gently placing her hand on John's bicep. He relaxed slightly. "I had no idea. I'll cancel right now."
She reached for her phone sitting on the charger. Amelia Pond's picture pulled up as Rose began to dial.
"Hold up," Clara said. Four eyes turned to her. "Why doesn't Rose still go on the date?" Rose hung up and put the phone down.
"What?" John spat. The blonde winced.
He's totally pissed, she thought. Not that she blamed him.
"Follow me on this," Clara said calmly. "He's trying to shut you down. How about she go out with him to spy on him? I'm sure as his 'girlfriend,' she can learn some things. Things that might help you gain the upper hand. Maybe discover his skeletons."
John tilted his head to his right and said nothing for a bit, contemplating. The only sound in the kitchen was the ticking clock.
Then he smiled. "Clara Smith, that's brilliant!" he said, kissing the top of his sister's head. He turned to his best friend. "How 'bout it, Rose?"
She glanced between the two of them. "I don't know."
Clara intercepted. "You don't really want to go out with him, do you?" She didn't miss the flinch from her brother.
"No."
The brunette nodded. "Okay, then. Go out with him a few times and get the information. Hell, having him on your arm may help your career."
Rose hadn't thought of that.
John didn't like the direction this was going. He glanced at his beautiful friend.
"Plus," Clara continued with a smirk, "he most likely is looking for some arm candy while he's campaigning. And who better than supermodel Rose Tyler?" John narrowed his eyes.
Gotcha, Clara thought as she glanced at him.
"True," Rose thought as the idea spun in her head. "It could work."
Clara glanced at her brother. He was watching Rose intently. His stance had relaxed somewhat but he was still on edge. Clara smiled internally.
This'll be the kick in the ass he needs.
John reached out and moved a strand of hair that had fallen in Rose's eye. Rose froze at the movement. Clara smiled. When he spoke, his voice was soft.
"Think about it, Rose. You could be my personal spy." His hand lingered by her cheek. He pretended to check out her earring.
Clara wasn't fooled.
Rose was, however. "I will. I'll think about it." She turned to face John fully. He dropped his hand. The tension between them grew. They both stared into each other's eyes for a full minute, neither saying anything. His eyes flickered down to her mouth and back up. It was so quick that she missed it, thinking it was a blink.
The brunette in the room coughed. It wasn't that she didn't want them together, she so did. But the tension was too much for her. She was afraid if she didn't break it, the two would end up shagging on the island in the kitchen. She really didn't want to see that.
Clara wasn't ignorant; she knew her brother had had sex in the past. He wasn't the most experienced, but he definitely wasn't a virgin. If he gets his head out of his ass and admits his feelings for Rose, he'll be a pro in no time, she thought.
The tension was broken. The three friends looked at each other and laughed nervously.
Clara spoke. "Let's finish the movie and not think about Saxon for the rest of the night. Let Rose have her time and we'll go forward from there." John nodded and headed back into the den.
"What was that?" Rose asked her friend. Clara shrugged innocently. The blonde sighed and followed him, carrying the drinks.
John Smith's sister smiled. He would be forced to deal with his feelings, feelings that were becoming increasingly harder to hide. And then he and Rose would get their happily ever after, as they should.
Clara wanted to kiss Harold Saxon.
This is exactly what the soon-to-be doctor ordered.
A/N: I can't promise when I'll update. I'm the type who likes to have a few chapters written before posting, but I couldn't wait to get this up. Currently, I have through chapter 2 written; I'll try to get more done on the weekend. Hope you will stick with me.
Thanks for reading!