The couple Rose had been watching walked away from the newsstand where they'd been, but were quickly replaced by another couple and another memory…
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Rose asked the strange man who no longer seemed a stranger.
"Who says this is the first time we've seen each other?"
"Now, hold on cowboy, I didn't imply I loved you!" she replied as she softly slugged him in the shoulder, "I just want to know, theoretically, do you think it exists? Somewhere out there?" she asked, motioning to the stars above them and then turned toward the man she'd now spent the entire day and most of the night with. She was surprised to find how close they were standing together. She hadn't even noticed that their sides were pressed up against each other, it had felt so natural, and so when she turned, she'd practically ended up in his arms.
She reached out and played with his lapel and he reached out and grabbed her arms, just above her elbows, pulling her slightly closer and creating instantaneous tension. She spread her hands out over his chest and could swear she felt TWO heartbeats. Maybe she was just feeling her own pulse in her hands. Her heart was beating so quickly.
"What's your name?" she whispered to his chest, "I don't even know your name…"
"John Smith," he replied. He was so close now she could feel his warm breath against her ear.
"John Smith, this is the craziest thing I've ever done."
"Doubt it," he smirked, "But to what are you referring?" he questioned pulling back so he could look into her large hazel eyes.
"This," she said. Then she reached up and cupped his face in her hands, drawing his mouth to her own. She'd expected to just give him a small kiss, a thank you of sorts for the wonderful day, but was completely surprised by his reaction, and doubly surprised by the fact that she responded in kind.
His hands wandered from her elbows to her waist and drew her closer to him. She allowed one hand to wander back to tangle itself in his soft hair while she rubbed his cheek with the thumb on her other hand. She could feel his hand wander under her shirt to caress the skin on her waist, and yet nothing about the kiss felt inappropriate or lustful, despite the fact that there was no air between their two bodies. It simply felt right. And for some strange reason, she felt like she'd been waiting for this kiss for a very long time. And not just a kiss this perfect, but a kiss from this man—any kiss from this man. It was a couple of minutes before they drew apart from each other, leaning their foreheads together and breathing in sync.
"Yes, Rose Tyler, I believe in love at first sight, and second sight, and third sight, and 700th sight. And I also believe that even if the time you spend with the person you love is short, it doesn't mean you have to stop loving them, and it also doesn't mean you have to stop living. You can be fantastically alive even when they're not at your side, do you understand? Do you understand how important it is to keep living?" he said, suddenly passionate and cupping her face in his hands.
"Not really," she laughed, and he answered her laugh with a soft smile, "but I don't really understand anything that happened today."
He kissed her on the forehead then and drew her into a tight embrace. They just stood there for several moments before either of them spoke.
"Will I ever see you again? I mean after tonight. I have this terrible feeling we'll never see each other again," Rose whispered into his chest.
"Nah, you and me, we'll be fine. We're bound to see each other again, even the entire universe and all its rules can't stop us from seeing each other again, trust me," he replied and gazed at her intensely for several seconds, "And when we do, it'll be fantastic." And then he grinned. It was the widest smile Rose had ever seen in her 18 years of life.