Chapter Two: The Enemy

Veronica Smith sat very still. She was currently in her principal's office, alone, or not really alone, but with a stranger. A weird man, he was, with mood swings almost as outrageous as hers.

He was also the Doctor.

The one thought that kept her from busting the man's brains out was the flashback the played in her mind of the little girl lying in bed, asking for her mother only for her father to say, "I'm sorry sweetie, but mom's not coming home." Little Veronica hadn't understood it then. But then she'd asked again one day where her mother was, and her father had told her she'd run off with her Doctor, or that's what he said the note had said.

The Doctor.

Veronica's silence was eerie and the Doctor gave her a funny look. "Usually people react very differently to my name, they don't fall into creepy silence."

"You're the one who took my mother away from us?" Veronica whispered. Her eyes were trained on the floor as she tried to collect her thoughts. "The Doctor. Hm, try home-wrecker," she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me, I've done no such thing!" the Doctor said. But then he looked away, his hands shoved in his pockets casually, and muttered, "Well, never on purpose."

Veronica's face crumpled when she heard this. He was so cheerful, even though his very presence made her heart clinch. It was like ripping apart families was normal. His arrogance made her blood boil, but she was too curious to act out on those emotions. "So...you're the doctor my mother ran away with?"

"Yes," he said, "of course. Is there anyone else named the Doctor?"

Veronica ignored his question and looked down at her feet. "So...what did my father do to you?" She glanced up to see the man's reaction, but the Doctor was confused.

"What does-Oh!" The Doctor fixed his bow tie, but didn't say anything. "This is just awkward."

"Why are you trying to ruin his life?" Veronica asked. "I mean, you are trying to right? First taking away his wife, then his daughter? What did he do to you?"

"Uhmm, nothing. Your father has done nothing to me. It's just that-" The Doctor cut himself off and looked everywhere else that wasn't Veronica. "Your mother was very insistent on me taking her with her for one last final trip." The Doctor's voice was low. He sat down across from her in his chair. He didn't say anything more.

Veronica stayed silent too. Her eyes were on the Doctor, and her mind was going crazy. She wanted to say something. The silence killed her. The Doctor stared at her, waiting for her to say something, waiting for her to explode like her mother would have. The Doctor, though, as he sat there for a moment longer realized that while she looked so much like Elisa, Veronica wasn't her. She was her daughter.

They must have sat no longer than a minute, both too impatient to wait any longer. Veronica was the first one to break the silence. "Well, it was..." she trailed off while she stood up, and walked towards the door. "...to meet you." She glanced back at the man, her face, as he noticed, was devastated. But she only gave him a glance, knowing it was easier for her to not look at this stranger.

This horrific stranger, she thought. This bastard that took my mother away. I'm not my mother. I'll never be that tramp. Veronica was out of the room faster than she had thought possible. She passed all of the other kids in a rush, and tried to ignore their curious eyes. But she couldn't.

This was too much. This was something that she didn't need. If she had gone through life knowing that her mother had just left, ran away with a doctor, it would have been fine. But...him...That awful, stupid, miserable bastard of a man had to come up and-

A hand reached up and grabbed Veronica's arm. "Hey-" Veronica whipped around, and ripped her arm away from the person who had grabbed it. She was going to punch him, but she froze when she saw who is was. "Whoa," Alex said, looking over his friend. She was in pretty rough shape. She was just about to burst into tears, he could see that. Alex backed away from her a bit, afraid to get caught up in Veronica's hormonal outburst. "Sorry, hey, what's wrong?"

Veronica glanced up at Alex, intimidated by his height, and embarrassed that he saw her on the verge of tears. "Nothing," Veronica lied. "It's nothing." She glanced up at Alex again, and grabbed one of her elbows. "Just...personal problems, if you count the guy who came in and wrecked your family coming to school and convincing the principal to let her speak to you - and lying while he's at it, just to talk to me. I mean, I get why he would go after my mother, she was gorgeous, but me? I'm only a little kid. So it obviously has something to do with my dad. I need to speak with my dad. I-" Veronica stopped talking and then wiped away at her eyes. "Did...did I just..."

Alex nodded, and Veronica turned away to leave, afraid she had said enough, but he stopped her. "I don't know what else to say other than good luck."

"I'd prefer good aim," Veronica retorted. "It took a lot not to bust open his head on the spot. I mean, how could he just show up?" Veronica felt like venting all of her problems to Alex, knowing he'd listen. He was a good guy, and while he wasn't crazy on helping people, he would always offer a shoulder to cry on if needed. But now wasn't the right place or time. They were still in school. School. "You have to get to class," Veronica exclaimed. "You've got whatever, and it's two hallways away, run, or you'll be tardy. Don't worry about me. I've got my problems under control." She flashed him a smile to show that she could handle herself, even though she knew it was fake, and she knew that he could see right through her.

"Well," Alex said, shooting her a friendly smirk, "if you need anything let me know." His face lit up. "And I've got ice cream at my house. Enough for you to eat your heart out, and for me sit back and enjoy some myself."

Veronica smiled, despite herself, and nodded. She thought about saying, "I don't like sharing," to joke a bit, but Alex rushed away. He always loves his precious last words, Veronica thought, but she quickly tried to get her mind from Alex. She frowned and watched as kids filtered away into their classrooms. She really was lonely, she noticed. Seeing people walk away and leave made her feel more alone than she thought possible. Seeing the number of people around her dwindle made the Doctor's offer tempting, but Veronica would never go with that man. He was the enemy, whether he ever meant to be or not.

Author's Note: This is just a short story I'm writing. I will most likely make a lot of mistakes because I'm trying to get it out of my head before I lose it, but I will go over it again and again. So do not worry!

Also, I hope you enjoy reading it. I mean, why else do I post it? :)

Have a great day - and criticism is welcomed.

I know I'm not perfect, and it's okay to point out my flaws.