I'm on fire tonight! This one's an AU, with the 11th Doctor. It's based off of Connect by Sick Puppies, as requested by AFireflyInSerenity.
John had to remind himself to breathe.
The lift was packed; he was touching no less than four people, and a little boy was standing on his foot.
That wasn't the reason for his respiratory distress.
No, that was caused by the blonde girl standing just behind him, so close in the packed elevator that he could feel her breath on his skin.
Her name was Rose Tyler, and she was his next door neighbor, and John had been in love with her since the day she'd moved in three years ago.
Coincidentally, that was also the last time he'd spoken to her.
But he'd watched her, and God, that sounded creepy, but he couldn't help it: the second she was in the lift, in the hall, in front of the building, anywhere, his eyes were glued to her.
He'd spent the last year working up the courage to say something to her to no avail.
The lift dinged as it opened, and John watched as she slipped out past him and the other passengers onto her floor, turning left, and disappearing from his sight.
It wasn't until the next floor up that John remembered he was meant to get off on that floor, too.
Three weeks later, and John was reminding himself to breathe again. The lift had broken—John suspected it was from the other tenants in his building blatantly ignoring the passenger limit—and he found himself alone in the stairwell with one Rose Tyler.
'Say something, you idiot!' He screamed internally, actively trying not to stare at her as they both chugged along towards the sixth floor. They'd gone three floors already; he was running out of time.
"I like your bow-tie." John nearly jumped in surprise at the voice from his left. She'd spoken to him. She'd spoken to him!
It took him a few seconds to realize he was just staring at her, his eyes much larger than they should be. "Erm, ahem," he coughed, trying to pull himself together. "Thanks."
She nodded. "You live next door to me, right? John…John Smith?" She asked. He was pretty sure he was falling in love with her voice.
He nodded, perhaps a bit too vigorously. "Uh huh, yeah, that's me!" Too excited. His voice was too high pitched.
"'m Rose," she added after a moment of silence.
"I know," John said quickly. Rose raised an eyebrow at him, looking a bit wary. "We met before, back when you first moved in?" God, had she forgotten about him? He'd been agonizing about that meeting for three years, and she didn't even remember…
"Oh, right!" She said after a moment, snapping her fingers. "You used to wear that brown suit all the time, right?"
John nodded, smiling. She remembered him!
"Why the switch to tweed?" They were at the door to the sixth floor now, and John held it open for her as they walked out into the hallway. Seven doors down was her, eight was him.
"I, ah, teach chemistry at the high school. I wore it one day as a joke—one of my students said it would make me look like a professor—and I, uh, kind of liked it. So I kept it," he shrugged, blushing a bit. God, why was it so difficult to talk to one bloody girl?!
"Well I like it," Rose decided after a moment, nodding.
John grinned, blushing a bit more, but too happy to care. It was with no small amount of disappointment that John realized they were at their respective doors.
"Well, see you then," Rose smiled, pulling a key from a chain around her neck.
John hesitated, then, right as she was about to step inside, he blurted "Wouldyouliketogetcoffeewithmesometime?"
Rose stilled, blinking at him in confusion. John felt his face growing redder by the second. "Sorry, I, ah, should—" he mumbled, fishing in his pocket for the key to his door.
"I'd love to."
John's head shot up, and he found Rose smiling at him, her hand out stretched. John blinked, grinned, and took her hand.
Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Merry Christmas!
Until next time!