The Doctor made me promise to keep all this to myself. I said I would. Promised him I would. I left the store that night, shaken, but with every intention of honouring that promise.

I got home at seven. I had a chat with flatmate Steph. She works in an office, and thus doesn't have Thursday off, so didn't stay up late. I sat down in front of the telly, as planned. I ate the Minstrels as planned, allowing Steph to take a modest handful before she went to bed. I watched some garbage reality show, as planned. I went to bed at one in the morning. And I didn't sleep until gone four, waking up at seven in cold sweats.

And then I broke my promise.

24th November 2020

"No offence," Steph exclaimed, "but you sounding like a total whackjob!"

"Well I know!" I insisted. "It sounds stupid. Ridiculous, even."

"Now, Lynsey," Steph said slowly, scrutinizing me over the breakfast table, "be honest now, you know I won't tell - are you on the speed again?"

"No!" I protested. "If I was, it would have been easier to accept what happened. Coulda passed it off as a hallucination. But I'm clean of all that junk; clean as a whistle, have been for years. You know it."

Steph thought it through. She was twenty-three, two years younger than me. She was mixed-race, with long black hair which she straightened, and pale brown skin. She was proper cute. Especially now, in her skirt, tights and white blouse; she had to be at work in two hours. I was in my dressing gown, my brown hair wild like a scarecrow's, my narrow face pale. Without sounding my own trumpet, I was reasonably cute as well. I don't mind admitting that to myself, thought I'd never think of saying so. That would be arrogant.

"Well, okay," Steph said finally, "I know your straight. I do."

"Good!" I replied. "But how, therefore, can you disbelieve me? It all happened exactly as I said!"

But Steph shook her head. "Naw. You want to know what I think? Yes, there probably was a kid hiding in your locker last night. He might even have been dressed in those old clothes, though I think if you saw them now, in broad daylight, they'd look a lot more normal. Yes, two customers came in to get him, probably his parents, and"-

-"No, the Doctor was forty at least. The girl was younger than both of us, by the looks of her."

"Father and older sister then. He ran out in a strop, and the store just so happened to have a power cut at that moment. That happens. We all know it happens. But your tired, Lynsey."

"I am! Working in that dump makes me tired!"

"Exactly. Which is why I think, after a long hard slog of a day at work, you let your imagination get away with you. No, he didn't turn into a monster. Okay, maybe this Doctor did spin you a crazy tale about monsters and stuff. He was winding you up, Lyn!"

"So explain what he did with the till the other day." I said quietly, not allowing myself to get angry. Of course she'd be doubtful. Anyone would be.

"I dunno," Steph admitted, "something clever. Look, I'm not calling you a liar, bubs. I'm calling you knackered. Your worked to the bone, ain't ya? All I do it sit at a desk all day, listening to music and filling out spreadsheets. You, however, spend all day pulling stuff through a bloody till. Yet still, I earn double your yearly income. Crazy world, this."

"Crazy," I admitted. I knew I was right. I know what I saw. But Steph couldn't believe it...would anyone believe it?

Steph got to her feet, checking her watch. "I gotta go. You, just chill today. Feel free to hoover at some point though."

"I just might," I agreed, amicably enough. Steph pulled on her work jacket and grabbed her car keys from the kitchen side. We lived in a studio flat; one room which served as the kitchen, living room and dining area, with three doors off at the sides; bathroom, my room, Steph's room. It was pleasant enough. Council housing, yes. But it was in a nice area of town (more on my hometown later). The council had put me and Steph together here quite delibaratley. I was classified as a vulnerable person. Put me in a grim council estate, rife with drugs and crime, and I'd sink back to me old ways sooner than you can say "help, there's a creepy kid in my locker!". Put me in a nicer area, paired up with a sensible, straightforward nine-to-five gal like Steph, and maybe, just maybe, I'd get my life back on track.

So far, it had worked. We'd lived together four years. In all that time, I hadn't touched an illicit substance.

Me and Steph had hit it off right from the off. She'd finally reached the top of the council housing list, and was able to finally move out of her parent's house and get her own place. But she (understandably) hadn't been best pleased to discover that she'd be sharing said place with a recovering junkie with a criminal record. She'd nearly turned down the offer and wait another five to ten years for a better home.

She was glad she hadn't. But not as glad as me. She didn't fear nor pity me, and I didn't look up to her. We were just great friends. We got on. For the first time in my life, I had a mate who wasn't always trying to get me high.

I watched as she got her things together and made for the door. I watched her go, slightly forlorn, but entirely understanding. No way would anyone believe that story. Fair enough. Nobody would believe that without having seen it for themselves.

Having seen it for themselves...

DING DING! IDEA!

"Say, Steph," I called after her, jumping up and catching her outside in the corridor. "What you up to tonight? Anything?"

Steph shrugged. "Not really. Why?"

I grinned. "What say we go shopping tonight?"

"We are so gonna get arrested." Steph moaned for the hundredth time later that day, as we sat in her car outside the supermarket, McDonalds wrapping on our laps. Midnight feast.

"Look, I didn't make you come," I hissed, "if you want out, go home. I'll be fine."

"I'm serious!" Steph said urgently. "This is trespassing! It's nearly midnight! We'll spend the night in a police cell for this!"

"It's all right, I've done it before." I said mildly.

"But I haven't!" Steph moaned.

"Then go home! I'll call a taxi or something."

"Well, maybe I will!" Steph snapped.

"Fine," I snapped back, "or don't. But I ain't arguing. I'm gonna go in, and then-"

I stopped abruptly. Across the car park, I got a flash of blonde, which stood out against the murky grey of the darkened car park. I squinted - about twenty feet away, was a familiar pair of figures; one short, blonde and dressed in a pink hoodie. The other barely distinguishable in the dark, dressed in black leather.

"Over there!" I exclaimed. "That's them!"

Without waiting for Steph, I leapt out of the car and raced across the car park, my feet slapping against the concrete loudly. "Doctor!" I exclaimed.

The Doctor wheeled around in astonishment, clutching his chest. "What you doing here?" He exclaimed staring at me in surprise. Behind me, Steph was jogging along towards us. She pointed her car key behind her and locked the car (a blue Nissan Micra).

"I came to help," I said, nodding my greetings at Rose, "after yesterday. You told me you were gonna try catching it today, right?"

"Well...yeah, but..." the Doctor spluttered. He gazed from me, to Rose and to Steph.

Rose just shrugged. "We'll need all the help we can get, right?"

"And who are you?" the Doctor asked Steph.

"Steph Johnston, Lynsey's flatmate," Steph replied sullenly - she wasn't enjoying this. Not one bit.

The Doctor sighed in exasperation. "Look, I'm touched. I appreciate the offer, yeah? But this is dangerous!"

"So you say," Steph muttered under her breath. She had her arms folded across her stomach against the cold, and her teeth were chattering. I wasn't faring much better, nor was Rose. The Doctor, however, seemed totally indifferent to the freezing November air.

He glared at Steph, and a look of understanding crept onto his face. "Ohh. Right. I get ya now," he told me sternly, "you've brought 'er along to prove a point 'aven't ya? Lemme guess; you told 'er everything, and when she didn't believe it, you decided to come here an' vindicate yourself."

I shrugged. "What of it? I still wanna help."

The Doctor tutted in frustration. He glanced at Rose. "What d'ya reckon?"

"What? About them?" Rose asked, seeming surprised to have been asked her opinion. "I dunno...I guess we will need all the help we can get."

"Yeah," I said enthusiastically, "so what's the plan?"

The Doctor scoffed. "No real plan. Just gonna try our luck and 'ope for the best. We know how to catch it. It's jus' the doing it which will be the problem. Basically, when it gets to midnight, we go in. I'll set off the fire alarms with me sonic screwdriver, get all the night-workers out. Then I'll use it to lock all the doors, trapping the Whispering inside."

"And us with it, of course." Rose added sarcastically.

"Right. When it's cornered, it'll probably show itself fairly sharpish. Think of it as a wild animal; it's flight or fight, innit? When flight's off the cards, all that's left it fight. Remember - it doesn't look dangerous, but it is. Do not be fooled by the cute kid act. It's not a child. Do not let it fool you."

"Question." Steph interjected suddenly.

The Doctor looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Go ahead."

"Now, I'm not saying I believe any of this crap. But just say that I did for a moment - why are you handling this? Wouldn't it be a job for the army?"

"Yeah, probably," the Doctor admitted, "but they'd do something stupid like try and kill it. We mustn't."

"Why?" I asked.

"Coz if it's killed by any violent means, it'll explode with the force of fifteen nuclear bombs. Trust me - I know. Me an' Rose 'ave been chasing it for ages now, and it's been very tempting to kill it. But we can't. Not here. We need to capture it, and destroy it humanely. Do think of it as a bomb. Whack it on the side, it'll explode. But isolate it and defuse it, you'll be destroying it safely. That's what I'm gonna try and do - destroy it by defusing it, rather than destroying it by settin' if off. You get where I'm comin' from?"

"I guess..." I lied.

"And we catch it," Rose said, beaming, "with these!" She pulled a small, grey metal ball out of her pocket. There was a blue button on top. She tossed one each to me and Steph. "Hit the button and throw it at the Whispering. It'll be sucked into it. These are dimension traps. But it's fast - darn fast. That's why we've taken to long to catch it."

"But today's it, for sure." The Doctor said. "This has gone on long enough. We're not leaving the supermarket, and there ain't nobody comin' in until we get it."

"Like I said," Steph said weakly, gazing at the ball in her hand, "spending the night in a police cell..."

"Final chance," I said to her, "I'm going with 'em. If you want out, I don't mind."

Steph considered. I could tell she was half an inch from backing out. I could see how much she wanted to just go home. It was a work night! She should be in bed! Not breaking into a supermarket. I could see in her eyes how close she came to backing out. I always remember that. Looking back, I wish so much that she had, that I'd never brought her her at all.

But tragically, she shook her head. "Whatever," she replied finally, "I'll come."

I grinned. She half-returned it. She knew she was making a mistake. She didn't know that she'd lose her life as a result of it. Nor did I, at the time. How could I known that? You think I'd have brought her if I had? I trusted the Doctor! I trusted him to keep us safe...

The Doctor's Diary, Entry 1972 Part 1

Oh, girls, I'm so sorry...

I should've sent them home...I really, really should. I wish I had. Me and Rose were about to head in when they rushed us in the car park. Frightened the living daylights out of me! And I did something stupid - I let them help! What's wrong with me? Why did I do that?

I'm arrogant. That's what it is. I'm an arrogant fool. I was flattered that Lynsey found me interesting enough to come back for...her mate knew it was a stupid move. She went along with it anyway. I was flattered, and I led them into danger, and I shouldn't have.

But I did it nonetheless. Rose handed them a dimension trap each, and into the dragon's lair we went...

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note: Just with regards to the title, this story is a very loose sequel to a previous story of mine, titled "Will You Come?" (for obvious reasons, recently renamed "Will You Come? I").

To clarify, whilst this is set in the same "canon" as the first one, it's got no strong connections to the previous story. The first one was the story of Clara asking several former companions, and a future Doctor, to come and help her defeat an evil Time Lord. This story puts an entirely different spin on the question; it's the story of the Doctor asking Lynsey to come with him, and the adventures they share together (or so it seems).

There is absolutely no need to read the first story before starting this one. This one will stands up just fine as it's own story. But if you want to read the first one, by all means do! :)