AN: Thanks for the feedback on the first chapter. I'm not sure when I'll have the next one up, but it should be within the next few days. Please continue to leave reviews, and enjoy.
Gianna opened her eyes. Everyone was still cheering for her, but the man was gone.
Just something in your eye, Gianna told herself. It was so odd, though. She saw him for a split second, then everything, everything around her just vanished. Then she opened her eyes, and it was as if nothing had happened.
Gianna realized that at this point she was now stopped in the middle of the aisle. The cheering hadn't ceased, so Gianna continued to the front.
The principal, whose name Gianna never bothered to remember, handed her a plaque, and Gianna continued to the podium. She smiled at the cheering crowd, and briefly basked in their love.
"Thank you." She said loudly into the microphone. "Thank you.
"I can't help recalling that this is my fourth year winning this prestigious award. Since I came to this school in seventh grade, I have given rebirth to so many of the extracurricular programs including, but not limited to: cheerleading, debate club, tennis, and so many others. I couldn't have done it without the inspiring, empowering lessons my teachers taught me, or my encouraging friends, who have stood by me every step of the way."
Everybody cheered. Gianna chuckled slightly at the fact that the entire assembly believed this lie.
"I would not have been able to accomplish any of these magnificent feats on my own, so I thank the student body and the staff for their loving support."
Cheers erupted from the assembly again. Gianna let out another small laugh. Such fools, she thought, believing that she ever needed their help.
"I have nothing more to say except thank you, and have a wonderful summer!"
The loudest cheers of the entire afternoon ensued, and Gianna exited the stage. As she walked down the aisle, the final bell rang overhead. Students rushed from their seats to the door, leaving a few feet of extra space around Gianna at all times.
"Congrats, Gia!" Someone exclaimed from behind her. Gianna turned around to see Rita, a somewhat pretty girl, running toward her. Gianna knew her as one of the babblers in the chemistry club.
"Congrats on your award!" She said once she reached Gianna.
"Thanks." Gianna said coolly, continuing to exit the auditorium.
"It's so amazing that you've won that award. That makes you such an influential student in our school."
"Wasn't that already pretty obvious?" Gianna responded in the same tone.
Rita hesitated. "Well, um, still, nothing proves it more like a big gold plague!"
"It's not even that big." Gianna muttered as she pushed past others to get to the bus. "Plus," she turned again to Rita, "I have three others. I think it's already been proven how great a person I am."
Rita was either oblivious to Gianna's rudeness, or simply chose to excuse it. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to say congratulations."
"Thanks." Gianna walked up the bus steps, and turned to Rita. "Have a nice summer."
Rita nodded as Gianna turned to walk to the back of the bus. Girls cheered for her while attractive guys gave her interested grins. Gianna was having a good day. Well, as good as any other day.
She sat down in the back of the bus, and checked her phone for new messages. Her screen read "139 New Messages", to which she grinned.
"I don't suppose you're planning to respond to all of those."
Gianna's head jerked up. She turned to her side to see the same man from before sitting next to her. She now could study his features; he had dark hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a tweed jacket and a silly-looking bowtie.
"I don't usually respond to any of them." She slipped her phone back into her pocket. "I get about 375 a day, on average."
"You're quite the celebrity here."
"Yes." Gianna answered. "Now," she began, turning to the man, "I have to ask you why a grown man is sitting in my seat on a high school bus."
The man smiled. "Oh, I just needed a ride. And someone to talk to. You willing to listen?"
"No." She said coldly as soon as he cut off. "Get out of my seat."
"Well, it's not as though anyone else is going to come sit with you." He said, looking deeply into her eyes. "You know they don't want to."
Gianna, taken aback, scoffed. "They just know they're too far below me to even consider sitting with me."
"Or, they feel threatened."
"Yeah, that's what I meant."
"And is that supposed to be a good thing?"
Gianna stared at the man incredulously. As the bus started to move, Gianna still couldn't shake off the realization that he may be right.
"You don't know anything." She finally said. "Have you been stalking me or something?"
"Um, not technically."
"Ew. So you've been stalking me?"
"No, no. Not in that sort of way. I just happen to know a lot about you."
"Like what?"
"Like, how you always get your way. How nothing bad ever happens to you. How you're living every teenage girl's dream, because that's what it all is."
Gianna stared at him. "What was that last thing you said?"
The man ignored her comment. "We need to go somewhere else to talk."
"Talk? I never said I wanted to talk to you."
"Well, you're going to have to eventually. And I'll be back, so don't be worried about that."
"What?" Gianna was extremely confused. Suddenly, the bus jolted, sending Gianna's focus to the bus driver.
When she realized it was just a pothole, she turned back to the man, only to discover that he was gone. She groaned and leaned back in her seat, pulling her phone out to read her texts.
The bus dropped Gianna off at her house a few minutes before five o'clock. Gianna could actually smell lasagna and garlic bread as the scent wafted through the air to her bus stop. She waved for the bus driver to leave, and she slowly walked up her driveway, enjoying the scent of her dinner.
"Hello, sweetheart." Gianna's mother cooed as Gianna walked inside. "Dinner will be ready in about five minutes. Your father should be home around then too."
Gianna nodded, and began walking upstairs to her room. When she opened her bedroom door, she was surprised - though not entirely - to see the man sitting on her bed.
"What are you doing here?" She asked sharply.
"Oh, I do suppose this looks a bit awkward." The man said, looking down at where he was sitting.
"Answer my question!"
"Oh." He said simply. "Well, I did say I needed to talk to you, and there is nobody around listening, so now's the time to talk."
"I said that I didn't want to talk to you."
"Well, that sucks for you, doesn't it?" The man pulled her over to sit on the bed next to him. "Sorry, by the way. There's no where else to sit."
"Just wait a minute." Gianna said. "I think I have some chairs in my closet."
Gianna stood up and walked into her closet. It was a large walk-in closet, large enough for two friends to sit comfortably and converse. Gianna of course was not going to let that man in here with her, however.
She sat down on the floor and began crawling underneath her clothes. There was a secret door somewhere back here, Gianna recalled, that took her into the next room. From there, she could go downstairs and report to her mom that someone had broken into the house.
She began feeling against the wall for a small knob. When she finally found it, she pulled on it and let the door drop. She began crawling to the hole.
"Can I come, too?"
Gianna fumed. She turned around to see the man, on his hands and knees, behind her, waiting to see where he should follow her.
"You're really getting on my nerves."
"Hey, we'd all be past this if you'd stop trying to run away."
Gianna sighed as she stood up, brushing the dirt from her pants. She marched past the man into her bedroom, and sat on the floor, arms crossed.
The man returned to his original spot on the bed. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."
"Alright. I'm Gigi, or Gia."
"Does Gianna work? It sounds better, anyway." The Doctor said.
Gianna's eyes widened slightly, but she convinced herself that she shouldn't be surprised anymore. This man had already managed to find her thrice, and somehow managed to convince her that he knew enough about her to finally get to talking to her. Gianna would know what not to say; she knew how to handle this sort of situation.
"Anyway, as I said, I'm the Doctor," he began, "and I've come to get you out of here."
Gianna's expression remained impassive, though she began to panic slightly inside. "What makes you think I'll be willing to go?"
"When you find out what your life really is, then you'll want to leave."
"And why is that?"
The Doctor hesitated, searching her eyes. "Oh, they've really messed you up, haven't they?"
Gianna stared at him, unsure of what to think.
"Making you think that you're better than everyone else, that everything has to go your way, all for a silly-"
"Where is this going?" Gianna finally interjected. "Why am I so messed up?"
The Doctor sighed, and looked up at her once again. "Your life, it isn't real. It's all in your mind. It's all an illusion."