A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and follows! I didn't expect so many. Jack will be making an appearance eventually, though not for a while. Martha, Donna, Amy and Rory won't be appearing for a while though may be put in during random chapters for future reference or just when I need a character to do something!

I should also warn you that I don't usually update every day, I'm just lucky that I'm not getting loads of homework at the current time though I do have four tests coming up soon so updates will start to become spread out.

Reviews would be greatly appreciated – I'd like to know what you think of it!

Now then, on with the chapter before I write a whole essay!

Rose had never been a big fan of drama – she didn't believe she had very good acting skills – yet she was glad that she was now stood outside the drama classroom, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Rose wasn't just waiting for the teacher to arrive, she was also waiting for the Doctor to show up. So far, there had been no sign of him and Rose was starting to think that he may be off school ill. She didn't know the Doctor that well but she knew him well enough to know that he liked to make an entrance so she didn't worry too much.

The door into the building was just around the corner from where Rose stood. Every time she heard the heavy door bang shut she would get hopeful that the Doctor would round the corner with his daft long brown coat. But every time she'd get a spark of hope, a student she didn't know would walk around the corner, not the Doctor.

After two minutes of this process repeating itself, the teacher showed up and the class were bundled inside.

Rose spent the drama lesson working in a group with Elisabeth and Louise. She felt a little guilty that she wasn't listening to their ideas but she wasn't in the mood for drama.

The drama lesson passed by and the Doctor still hadn't appeared.

~CHS~

The Doctor had been preoccupied – sat in his cupboard, scoffing jelly babies. After looking at his watch and noticing half of the first lesson had gone by, he had decided to just skip the first lesson.

He finished another packet of jelly babies and stuffed the empty, crumpled packet back into his pocket before checking his watch: five minutes to go until the next lesson started.

In the six months he had been at Coal Hill School, the Doctor had skipped a total of five lessons and had enough experience to know it was safer to leave your hiding place five minutes before the next lesson started than reveal your hiding spot to fellow students.

Pushing the door open a crack, the Doctor made sure that the corridor was completely clear. After double checking, he grabbed his bag and left the cupboard, pushing the door shut gently behind him.

He then set off for the stairs, heading for the Geography department.

~CHS~

By the time the drama lesson (and, in Rose's opinion, torture) had finished, Rose wasn't in the best of moods. Elisabeth and Louise had gotten annoyed with her for not listening to her and the Doctor was still nowhere to be seen. No dramatic entrance into the lesson had occurred unlike she had first suspected.

Feeling miserable, Rose set off towards the Geography department. At least she'd be able to talk to Mickey at break once Geography was over.

By the time she'd reached Geography, the class had already entered the classroom. Apologising to the teacher, Rose then hurried to her seat, catching a flash of brown in the corner of her eye. Once she'd sat down, Rose looked to see what the brown had been.

There he sat, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded and grinning at her as if he hadn't just skipped an entire lesson, acting like everything was normal. Trust the Doctor to do that! Rose looked at the clock. Fifty five minutes until she could question him.

~CHS~

The Doctor was glad when Geography had finished and he could escape from the classroom. He didn't like classrooms – they were too classroom-y! He waited beside some lockers, opposite the classroom door, for Rose to exit. He didn't have to wait long as she soon exited. She scanned the crowd before spotting him and a smile spread across her face. The Doctor smiled back as she made her way across the flow of the crowd.

"Where were you?" Rose demanded when she finally reached the Doctor after pushing her way through the crowd. He had to wait for her in the most awkward place to get to, didn't he?

The Doctor looked clueless, "What do you mean?"

"You didn't show up for drama," Rose answered slowly, emphasising the word drama to get her point across. "The lesson before Geography."

"Yeah, I didn't, did I," The Doctor nodded, clearly getting what she was asking now yet he looked reluctant to answer.

"So, where were you?" Rose asked again. The Doctor pulled a face, as if he was debating something inside his head before grabbing her hand.

"Come on! I'll show you!" He grinned, pulling her towards the stairs.

Rose was slightly hesitant. She felt like she was forgetting something. "Mickey!" She called out suddenly and began to pull him in the opposite direction.

The Doctor stopped and let go of her hand, turning to face her. "What?"

"I told Mickey I'd meet him," Rose explained to the Doctor. "Come on."

"Mickey who?" The Doctor asked as he strolled after Rose, hands stuck in the pockets of his long coat. He recognised the name Mickey.

"Mickey Smith," Rose replied as they walked out of the school building. She was heading straight towards the silver gates which led out of the school.

Unlike earlier, the gates were now closed but that didn't bother Rose, she wasn't looking to get out of the school.

Mickey wasn't there so Rose leant against the brick wall to wait. The Doctor stood a bit further away, watching her and not making a fuss but Rose could tell he was desperate to show her something.

Five minutes passed and Mickey still hadn't showed up. The Doctor now looked uncomfortable and was rubbing the back of his neck. "He hasn't shown up," the Doctor pointed out the obvious. "He's probably ditched you."

"He'll show up," Rose insisted, still leant against the wall. "He's not the ditching type."

"He ditched you yesterday," The Doctor shrugged, moving to lean against the wall beside her.

"He was ill yesterday," Rose defended. Why was the Doctor always in a hurry to do something? She knew he had no patience, it was easy to see that but she couldn't help but wonder why he had no patience. She didn't ask though, she was too busy scanning the crowd for Mickey, just as she had done two hours ago when looking for the Doctor. But, just like the Doctor two hours ago, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Rose, listen to me. He's most probably ditched you so can we please get out of this cold weather?" The Doctor questioned, looking towards the lucky people in the warm canteen.

"You can talk when it comes to ditching!" Rose argued. "You disappeared for the whole of the first lesson."

The Doctor didn't respond and looked even more uncomfortable. Rose stared in disbelief. It was unlike him to not have anything to say. She watched him closely, soon becoming suspicious when he avoided eye contact with her.

"You know something, don't you?" Rose questioned, staring at him. "You know where Mickey is."

Once again, the Doctor didn't respond. He stared straight at the people in the canteen, his eyes dark and cold, full of fire and anger. Rose subconsciously backed away from him: it was strange how much emotion eyes could hold.

"Where is he, Doctor? What happened?" Rose shot questions his way, fear showing in her voice. She couldn't help but think about what Clive had told her two hours ago:

'I wanted to warn you: he's dangerous.'

'Everyone he gets close to gets injured.'

'Be careful.'

But she hadn't been careful. She hadn't even thought to listen to Clive and now her best friend could be in danger. "What did you do to him, John?" Rose demanded, trying to push the panic out of her voice. She wanted to sound tough. She needed to sound tough.

The Doctor turned to look straight into her eyes. She could see the anger in his eyes but behind the anger was something else, like pain. "Who said I did anything to him?" The Doctor replied, the cheerful, youthful tone he usually had was gone, replaced by a tone full of pain and anger.

"Well you know something," Rose replied, more calm now, feeling guilty for suspecting the Doctor of, well, she didn't know what she had been accusing him off. "Please, Doctor. He's my friend. Just tell me what you know."

"No one ever acknowledges it," The Doctor spoke. "It's right in front of them but they never acknowledge it. Keeping their heads down, pretending it's not happening because they're too cowardly to get involved."

"What is it, Doctor?" Rose asked. She just needed a simple answer but it was clear the Doctor wasn't going to give her one. He was looking around the school grounds, his head turning quickly.

"It's happening even now but no one bothers to step in and help," The Doctor told her, turning back to look at her, calm now, almost caring but he was making her panic even more. What had happened to Mickey?