I can only apologise for how long this chapter took - real life has to be more important than writing fics, despite however much i wish it otherwise. Still, hope you enjoy it, review if you want to and my tumblr url is greatbigouterspacedunce.
Once they were back in the library Rose collapsed onto a desk, clutching the stitch that was causing a stabbing pain in her side. They had sprinted all the way back, Rose leading them around the edge of the school to make sure they were out of the way of whatever distraction the Doctor was going to set in motion.
They took a few seconds to catch their breath, Martha and Jack slumping down in chairs whilst Donna simply sat down on the floor, legs splayed out in front of her and red hair covering her face as she tried to breathe normally again. The silence remained long after their regular breathing patterns had been resumed.
"Still got that screwdriver thing?" Rose asked Martha, for want of any other conversation.
Martha held up the device for Rose to see. The light coming in through the windows glanced off the bulb at the end, and for a few moments Rose allowed herself to stare blankly at it, eyes fixed on the reflections but not really seeing what was there.
From outside the room the sound of footsteps could be heard, making their way closer towards the library swiftly. It became clear very quickly that there were not one but two sets of feet advancing along the corridor, the louder set clipped and sharp as they hit the polished floor. The other set of feet were familiar, and Donna's shocked eyes found Rose's as they both recognised the slap of rubber soles that indicated that the Doctor had been caught.
It was only then it dawned on them that they had assumed the Doctor would get away easily. The idea of him being caught wasn't really one that Rose had entertained for long – she had been much more concerned with getting the others back to focus on the Doctor's predicament. However, with the levels of hatred that Mr Saxon held for the Doctor (they had been enemies since the Doctor had first set foot in the school) his punishment was certain to be something serious – much more serious than just another detention.
Rose was jerked roughly out of her thoughts by a loud bang, and she looked up in shock as the door slammed open and Saxon came storming through, dragging a mutinous looking Doctor by the elbow. The Doctor was dragging his feet and showing as much resistance as possible without dragging his arm out of Saxon's grip and running away.
"Get your things," Saxon ordered the Doctor sharply, before turning towards Rose and the others with a smile that reminded Rose strongly of a shark. "I'm sorry to inform you that Mr Smith will not be joining you for the remainder of the day." It took Rose a second or two to remember who "Mr Smith" was.
The Doctor looked up and waggled his eyebrows at the rest of them, letting them know he was OK. Rose smiled, and she heard Jack's muffled laugh from where he sat to the left of her.
Saxon, who had a face like thunder and seemed eager to rain on someone else's parade, rounded on Jack, furious. "You think he's funny? You think this is cute? You wanna see something funny? You visit John Smith in five years time; you'll see how damn funny he is."
The Doctor draped his coat neatly over his arm while Saxon was talking, studiously ignoring what was being said and shrugging off the hand that Saxon attempted to place on his shoulder. He glanced around the room, locking onto Rose's eyes for a second before being shoved into the store cupboard at the front of the room, Saxon following him inside and shutting the door firmly behind him.
Rose looked around at the others and saw that Martha's face echoed the shock that she knew was apparent on her own. Donna had her hood up again, but she was glaring at the cupboard door with her brow furrowed, eyes bright. Even Jack looked worried.
"I hope he's OK." Jack muttered it quietly, but it was an accurate expression of what they were all thinking. Despite their varying degrees of friendship with the Doctor, the idea of him being in trouble had shifted something, their mutual worry bringing them closer together as they waited anxiously at their desks.
Once inside the cupboard, the Doctor headed right to the far side, as far away from Saxon as was humanly possible. He turned around and sat down on a pile of boxes that probably held staples or something equally as dull, pulling one knee up to his chest and resting his chin on it. His eyes looked up at Saxon, so dark they looked almost black, and filled with reproach and anger and frustration and a thousand other emotions that were flooding like poison through his veins.
Saxon acted liked he was so superior just because he was a teacher and he demanded respect because of his position – the Doctor felt that, if Saxon did not merit the level of respect that he expected from his students, then why should anyone have to give it to him? Saxon was mean, bullying, spiteful and dictatorial, with not the slightest ounce of compassion for his students. The Doctor found it hard to believe he had ever been a child himself.
"That is it."
"That's what? You'll have to be more specific, you could be talking about anything." It did occur to the Doctor that he might not want to wind Saxon up even more than he had already, but the little voice in his brain that was putting forward this argument was crushed under the weight of the rest of his brain, which was already planning the next sarcastic insult that he was going to throw at the sadistic teacher.
"That is the last time you make me look like an idiot in front of them," Saxon snarled, jabbing his finger at the closed door. "You are nothing, Smith. You might feel safe from me right now, you might think teachers aren't supposed to fight students, but you're not going to be at this school forever. And one day, when you've left and you've forgotten all about this place, I'm going to find you, and I'm going to make your life a living hell."
The Doctor glanced up at him, eyes dark with fury. For an 18 year old boy, the amount of anger in his gaze should have shocked Saxon. In reality, seeing that he had gotten to the Doctor only spurred the teacher on, making him go to even greater lengths in his attempts to get a rise out of his furious student. If Saxon could just get the Doctor to take the first swing, that would be it. Self-defence, restraining a violent pupil, he would have more than a dozen excuses for beating the boy to a pulp right there in that cupboard, with no witnesses apart from perhaps the other students who were no doubt listening outside the door, and who could easily be talked out of making any sort of statement. To Saxon, all the trouble would be worth it a thousand times over if he could somehow give the Doctor just a tiny amount of the grief and trouble he had caused over the past 6 years.
"Are you threatening me?" The Doctor asked, weighing each word carefully and allowing a small amount of confusion to creep into his otherwise self-assured tone.
"What're you gonna do about it? You think anybody's gonna believe you? You think anybody's gonna take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here, they love me."
The Doctor let out a derisive laugh, smirking as he saw a vein twitch in Saxon's forehead.
"Oh, you're a real tough guy. Let's find out how tough you are! Come on!" Saxon was right up in the Doctor's face, bending down a little so that they were nose to nose, eyes boring into the Doctor's. He seemed to be waiting for the Doctor to take the first punch. Unknown to him, the Doctor did not really like violence, and definitely didn't approve of fighting anyone, especially teachers. Some people suspected it was because he could never win a fight, while it was rumoured by some that he could knock someone out using only his little finger. Either way, the Doctor stood by his principles, however much it pained him to let Saxon think that he had won, and remained sitting down, shoulders drawn up and tense.
"That's what I thought." Saxon's self-satisfied smirk made the Doctor want to leap up and hurl something heavy at his head, but he remained silent, not moving an inch. Saxon turned swiftly and wrenched the door open before slamming it shut behind him as he left the small cupboard. The Doctor heard the door being locked from the outside.
He waited a couple of seconds, taking in his surroundings calmly, before leaping up and jumping onto the pile of boxes next to him. It only took him a couple of well place shoves to break through the grate above his head that led to the heating duct. He jumped up and clung onto the edge of the opening, feet in their converse trainers swinging freely. Even in this precarious position, the Doctor began to smile. Escaping was one of the things he did best.
Out in the room, Rose waited until Saxon was long gone before tiptoeing over to the door to see if she could unlock it and get the Doctor out. Before she had even attempted to open it however, there was an almighty crash, and the skinny figure of the Doctor came falling through the ceiling in a flailing windmill of limbs, landing on the upper level with a smack. He leaped up brightly, brushing off his suit and bounding gleefully down the stairs. He stopped on the bottom step, seeming to suddenly become aware of the 4 pairs of eyes that were staring at him, though Rose guessed it was for effect.
"Forgot my pencil."