I was sitting at my desk, scribbling notes down as I went through my American history textbook. Why did I have to have a damn test tomorrow? And one that I didn't fully understand. I felt every sense of panic running through me. I couldn't fail this stupid test!
I heard the similar sound of the Tardis appearing outside my house, but I continued on my work, too stressed to stop. In less than a minute, the Doctor bounded into my room, cheery as per usual. He faltered when he noticed my studying, but for some reason, chose to ignore it.
"Come on, Katharine!" He cheered, attempting to pull me from my book. I didn't move my eyes, only to turn on my lamp since the sun had settled. "I thought you would like to go on an adventure!"
I spun around in my chair to lash out at him in frustration and stress, but when I saw his slightly hurt face, all those feelings dispersed. I couldn't be angry with him; especially not for something that he didn't understand. I inhaled deeply, forcing my body to calm. "Trust me, I do, but I have a big history test tomorrow and I would really like to get as much studying as I could."
He stood in silence for a few moments as I went back to skimming over parts of the book that I did remember hearing about. I heard his footsteps toward me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him take off his jacket and put it on the back of the other chair. He pulled it next me and took a seat, placing his chin in one hand and stared at me. I glanced up at him, somewhat annoyed. "What?"
"We are studying the book, yes? Well, I'm studying it," his eyes went back to the book.
I laughed, loudly. "Doctor, in high school, or any school really, studying means you read over the material and try your hardest to remember it all."
His eyes brightened. "Oh I see now! You said it's on history?" He leans back and swipes his hands over his torso. "Who would be any better than me?"
"Just because you are a Time Lord doesn't mean you know everything about American history." I scoffed, glancing away from him.
"Are you kidding me?" He sounded offended, but I didn't bother to look at him again. "I know much more than you do!"
"But enough for the history book?"
He jerked the book from me, flipping through pages. He stood once again, running a hand through his hair as he paced through my room. I leaned back, watching him, wondering what he could be doing. Finally, his eyes fell on me and he grinned. "How about I quiz you?"
I shrug and wander over to my bed, flopping down onto it, and put my hands behind my head. This has to be interesting. "Sure."
The Doctor did the normal things people did when studying, asking questions and helping me with the answers. It went rather well, I did better than I expected. But then he began asking me harder questions.
I blankly stared at him, my mind frozen. "I don't know."
The Doctor scoffed this time, eyeing me in a way that told me I was wrong. "Of course you do, Katharine, you need to think."
I sat forward, nearly growling through my teeth. "I am trying. Nothing is coming to mind."
"Come on, Katharine! I know your smart! You can do this!"
"How about you stop pushing me so damn hard like my mother!" I screamed at him, throwing myself hard onto my pillow. He was quiet then, and I heard the book snap closed. Before I knew it, I felt pressure beside me on the bed and I knew he was sitting there. His hand went across my head, sending relaxing shivers down my body. It felt nice; I had to admit that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," his soothing voice made me feel at ease. I kept my eyes closed, and very possibly, smiling too. "Have you not been telling me about your problems at home?"
I sat up, on my elbows at least, and gaped at him, my face tear stained. "How could I? You're a Time Lord. I thought you wouldn't be able to understand me."
"I can always find ways to understand, Katharine. I'm a friend, I want you to be able to tell me things, if you want to," and there was that smile. THAT smile.
I leaned against the head of my bed, deciding to tell him everything, well, at least almost everything. "As you can tell, my parents are ever rarely home. They work all day and sometimes in the night. If not, they go out to parties with their friends and talk. I am usually here by myself, since all my friends are off doing their own thing. I hate being alone. I always have and I probably always will. There has always been a part of me, deep down, that believed I was here for bigger and better things." I allowed myself to freely cry as I spoke, his attention fully on me. When I met his eyes again, I felt myself speak before I thought over it. "And I'm starting to think that you are the reason for that."
"Pardon?"
"You are my reason for feeling like I'm here for bigger and better things. You are the proven fact of it, now. It explains everything."
"Oh my dear," he said, grabbing me around and pulling me closer to him. He laid me down next to him as he held me, making me feel better. "You are going to do well on that test and in life." He whispered before I drifted off into the sleep I had been wanting for a couple of hours.
When I woke up, I found him asleep next to me, his arms still wrapped around my body. My cheeks heated, even to my dismay, and I crawled my way, carefully, out of his arms. I got myself ready for school, but when I realized I was an hour early, I peeked over at the Doctor again. He was still sound asleep and that's when an idea I hadn't wanted in a while popped into my head. I quickly got to work, busying myself, and I finished before he even woke up. He did, though, almost right when I put on the last touches, and he blinked, watching me with half open eyes. "What did you do?"
I moved the paper to show him the painting I did, one of him sleeping from his collarbone and up. Even I was amazed at how real I made it look. He gave me an amused and approving grin and I couldn't contain my own.