Screaming

Charlie POV

I turned the necklace with the stunning, green gem in her hands as I spoke, continuously looking up at Callum to make sure that he was listening to me as I babbled on, pondering on whether he was believing this or not.

It hung from a long, silver chain and was stunning and matched the same colour of them lovely, green eyes as The Doctor, and he had always promised me that the gemstone would come in handy to me one day.

Of course I believed him.

We was sat on my bed upstairs, and I had got the necklace out from under the mattress of my bed from where I had kept it for all of these years and it had taken me a lot of courage to tell somebody about this.

"He's never came back…but I thought I saw the blue box again today, and I know that you probably wont believe me, but…he is real. I know he is, but if you don't believe me, then…send me to an asylum, but I know that he is definitely, a hundred percent real." Charlie stated with pure, absolutely determination.

I mean…there was no mistaking that night when I had first met him. I remembered every little detail about him.

The heavily polished, black shoes, the blue and white striped shirt, the chequered jacket, the navy blue bow tie and trousers, even the wild, light brown hair. And them green eyes too…trusting and different, the same colour of the stunning green jewel that I had right here in my hands.

I remembered absolutely everything about The Doctor.

The way he walked with determination, with a slightly happy bounce when we skipped out to get me the present, the certain, 'pretty' smell that I could never seem to be able to distinguish that belonged to him.

It was a nice smell, but I had never managed to be able to find that same smell anyway…besides this necklace anyway. That had always reminded me just like The Doctor's smell.

"He's as real as you and me." I added, hoping and praying that Callum would believe me. "He gave me this, he really did." He was the only chance I had, because I knew nobody else would ever believe me.

He flinched away from me slightly, making me panic a little bit in response. Because if he didn't believe me, then I had no chance. I'd probably be sent away again, or put in some asylum cell or something.

Then I really would never be able to meet The Doctor again.

I sighed heavily in response, staring down hard at the necklace in my hand. I was too trusting; that was my problem. I always said too much, rather than keep my mouth shut, and I had gone and done it again.

Now I would have to at least move away again, away from anyone I've ever known or be locked up in some little cell for the next five years!

"Well you know me," Callum sighed heavily, but I refused to look up at him. I just listened instead, getting ready for him to accuse me of being insane or something alike that. "I deal with weirdness a little easier than other people. Good idea you told me."

My eyes instantly darted up and looked back at his face straight away. He was watching me seriously, not one ounce of doubt on his face as he nodded his head slowly once, backing up my claim that he believed me.

I could literally have bounced with happiness right at that moment. Because nobody else needed to know, and I didn't want anybody else to know. Callum was the only one who could have dealt with this as good as how he would deal with weirdness, and I trusted him almost as much as I trusted The Doctor.

"You believe me?"

"Urm…yeah, you wouldn't lie about something like this. And besides….you're a rotten liar, Charlie!" He rolled his eyes. "I see through you so easily, even when you're acting…it's so easy for me to tell." He grinned.

"Oh thank god! I really thought you weren't going to believe me for a second!" I panicked, throwing my eyes around him suddenly, and taking him off guard.

Usually, I would have been awkward and embarrassed by my sudden hug, but not this time. Because this time, I was so happy that he believed me…he was the one person I relied on, and he backed me up.

"Thank you…I can't believe you actually believe me."

He laughed awkwardly, but hugged me back anyway. "Well….sure, its possible that normal, right minded people wouldn't believe you, but you know me….I deal with weirdness quite a bit better."

"What made you believe me?"

"You made me believe you. I know when you're lying, and anyway…if you believe, then….the rest will fall into place. If you don't believe…then its impossible that anything would come true." His words made me smile so easily in response.

Callum was always right with things like that.

"You could possibly be too clever for your own good, you know that." I joked, laughing away with my own joke.

"Just honest really…you know what I'm like for believing anything."

"Very true." I smiled, snuggling even closer to him.

Callum stayed for a drink when my Aunt Marie got home from doing her weekly Monday afternoon shopping, and I was only too glad that he promised me he wouldn't say anything; not to Aunt Marie, or anyone else.

Yes, I knew that it was good that Callum actually believed me, but the chances of anyone else doing the same thing had to be pretty poor.

I saw Callum to the door, so that we could talk more about our conversation from upstairs, which was a good idea.

"So…tomorrow…do you want to go into town? I'll look with you, if you'd want? It might be easier having two people to look rather than just one." He suggested, seeming to feel the need to explain to me.

"That would be a lot of help thanks…hopefully something will come about."

Callum smiled, gently brushing my chin with his index finger and thumb, forcing my face to look right at his, before pulling away again with a smile on his face.

"Keep your head up, alright? We will find him, I promise you."

Something in his voice made me have more faith automatically, more certainty in tomorrow, and being able to find him again. And I knew that I could wait as long as I needed to for the Doctor to come back.

I had waited twelve years already, I could definitely wait another ten or so years. However long it took….I could wait for him to come back.

"Callum…you know I told you about the….shadows, earlier on? The noises I hear when I wake up in the middle of the night?" I questioned him with curious uncertainty, knowing he had listened to every word I said.

He nodded, watching me closely with concern as he folded his arms together, across his chest, waiting for me to explain what I obviously wanted to know about it. Because I did have a question for him about it.

"Do you think…well…that their just dreams? That their not really there; that I'm imagining it………I mean, maybe I really am going crazy, what if I was going crazy Callum, I mean, I might not even know-"

"Charlie!" Callum grabbed me by my shoulder, shook me gently, and automatically, it had forced me to stop talking and listen to him. He stopped doing it, leaving his hands on my shoulders and looking at me with serious concern.

Oh no…maybe he thought that I was going mad too!

"Do you feel like you're going mad?" He questioned me, telling me silently to think hat through, before I suddenly started talking really fast in a nervous blubbering, like how I just had, in a panic.

"Urm…no."

"Well then, you're not crazy, are you?" Callum smiled helpfully; a look of pure trust buried deep within them similar green eyes. They wasn't totally the same as the Doctor's eyes from all them years ago-I would know, because I had drawn around a hundred pictures of him when I was younger-but they were very similar, possibly just as deep and kind too.

"No, no…you're right. Sorry for having a…mad moment, I guess you could call it." I apologized weakly, feeling a bit of a fool as he released his hands from my arm, and backed away from me like how he should do.

"Don't be so silly…" he laughed, trailing off awkwardly, as though he wanted to say something else. "You know Charlie, I'm always here for you. I'd still love to be friends with you, and…I'm really glad you trusted me with this."

I smiled in response, because if I was being honest, I was glad I had someone to tell too. Because I did trust him, and it was nice to know that I didn't have to keep this locked up inside anymore.

It had bothered me for twelve whole years.

"And as for the dreams…some seem so realistic, so scary that…you truly think that its real. But all of the sounds, all of the sights, and what happens in these dreams…they seem very realistic to me." Callum explained to me.

I nodded, glad that he was being as honest as he could with me, because I hadn't even been anywhere the shadows of my bedroom, nor underneath my bed because u had been that frightened of my dreams.

"Maybe I should…confront my fears, head closer to the shadows…task a risk, and face my nightmares head on-"

"No, no…don't do that." Callum quickly interrupted me, panic highlighting his features heavily then. I watched him warily, trying to understand what I should do for the best. "Whatever you do…don't do that. We'll find him first, we'll sort this out…together, right?"

I nodded, letting his arms wrap around me as he hugged me. It felt nice to have him here for me, as my friend, nothing else. It felt so much better, being able to trust someone with this big secret that I'd been holding in for years.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He agreed, pulling away from me and watching me closely to make sure that I was alright. And I was alright…I felt fine now that I had let it out, talked about it with him.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you'll be alright tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I laughed, rolling my eyes in response to the anxious tone of his voice. The way he asked me was like the way a Parent might ask a young Child, but I thought it was extremely kind to know that he cared enough about me to ask.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." He smiled, before quickly disappearing out into the heavy rain, running out to his car that was parked just outside the gates. I stood there for a few minutes, watching him leaving in his Mini and taking in the smell of the rain.

It wasn't really cold at all as I was stood outside on the front step of the house, as it was mid-May time, and the weather was just at the right temperature for cool evening. I loved the smell of rain too; it smelt so natural, and fresh.

I stayed out there for another moment, before forcing myself to head back into the house and cook me and Aunt Mimi's dinner.

I went to bed early again, ready for tomorrow and me and Callum's plans. I wanted to get plenty of sleep for the day ahead and be ready for this, completely ready, because I had waited such a long time for tomorrow to come around.

I had waited twelve long years for this Man to come back, and just having the very thought of him possibly coming back made me feel so much more happier than I had felt in a long, long time.

I had only met him once, on one single night, but it was somebody who I had always known I would meet again, it had been someone I had trusted more than anyone else. He hadn't been like anyone else.

But things were different when my dreams started that night, filling my head more and more with louder screaming, louder begging, louder desperation from a little Girl, begging to be freed, begging to be let out of the shadows…

And then the screaming started.

***