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Chapter Text

  He had always been sort of excited to attend a new school, which he had done several times. Every time, the initial sadness of leaving his companions would pass as the natural sense of curiosity set in. He was always ready for new adventures and experiences, to make new companions. Whenever he moved, the slate would be wiped clean, but something always stuck. A silly nickname he had gotten when he was just a babe, for his parents had high expectations. But he couldn't deny that he cherished being called, The Doctor.

  As he exited the main office, The Doctor looked down at his newly received locker assignment and classes. American History? he questioned, he didn't know anything about America. Well, not nothing, but virtually that. As a Brit through-and-through, an American middle school would be quite different from his British primary schools, but he guessed that he would soon adjust to the change, even if Americans drove on the wrong side of the road. The Doctor strode down the hallways, having no need for the school map the secretary had tried to hand him, for he had always had an exceptional sense of direction, almost as if The Doctor had a huge map in his head at all times. He qúickly made it to his beat-up yellow locker, swiftly spun the dial on the lock and popped the locker open. The reek of dirty gym socks hit him immediatly, and he scrunched his nose up at the smell, Ewww..., -he mildly gagged in his mouth, and delicately placed his belongings in the locker, slammed the door and tried to get away from the smell as quickly as possible.

  The Doctor scurried down the hall, clutching his textbooks and peering around, trying to find... ah! Here it is, Room 624, Science. He moved towards the door, but made no motion to turn the knob, instead just standing there, hand raised and eyes widened as he gave himself a "pep-talk". Okay, look, you'll be fine mate! Everyone will laugh at your jokes, the professor will like you, this is no different then any other first day. But the thing is, this wasn't like any other first day, this was walking into a room and being expected to interact with people that are totally different from you! What if they don't watch the same shows I watch? What if they don't know who Benedict Cumberbatch is? Or Aidan Turner? or Colin Morgan? Now he was really worried. But still, his infamous curiosity made his hand jerk forward and turn the knob.

 The door creaked open to a class of children, all staring wide-eyed in hopes of getting a glimpse of the stranger who just entered the class. The teacher turned away from the board, where just a moment ago he had been explaining the molecular makeup of sodium bicarbonate (2NaHCO3). As The Doctor hesitantly step forward, the science teacher flashed him a wide smile, " Who might you be?" the man asks, staring at The Doctor without even blinking.

 The Doctor, transfixed by the man's extremely white teeth, is pulled back to Earth and looks down at the schedule he had been clutching tightly in his hand, "Umm... is this Mr. Chesterton's first period science?" he asks quickly, his cheeks getting slightly coloured from all the attention.

  "Yes, that is my class..." Mr. Chesterton says slowly, then swiftly looks at his attendance sheet and back at The Doctor, " Oh! I know who you are!" he exclaims loudly, before pulling The Doctor to the front of the class, " You must be our new student from England! I didn't get a name on the transfer sheet, so what is it?" he asks staring at The Doctor intently.

  "Umm... well everyone at home calls me The Doctor, so you can just put me down as that." he answers, his gaze slowly moving back and forth between Mr. Chesterton and the rest of the class.

  " Oh...well.... okay then!" Mr. Chesterton answers dumbly, leaning over to scribble the name down in his roll sheet, " Well, welcome to UNIT, or Ulfurd Naton Intelligence Team!" he said, then whispered "UNIT is what we've named the special classes excelled students, like yourself or anyone in this room, are taking, because there are many different courses to take here at Ulford Naton Middle!" he laughs heartily at the end, and rises from his bent-over position. He sounds like an advertisement The Doctors queries, I wonder if they made him memorize lines?

 The Doctor still puts on an enthusiastic face though, as Mr. Chesterton leads him towards the only empty seat in the class, a seat right in the back of the class, next to a blonde-haired girl with her face stuck in a book. She doesn't even look up as he sits down and places his stuff on the desk, smiling politely to Mr. Chesterton before focusing his attention on the mysterious girl. As soon as Mr. Chesterton strides away, the book comes down immediately and The Doctor gets to see the mystery girls face. She has blonde hair, with oval shaped eyes overwhelmed by black eyeliner. Her lips are rosy, and plump, and she has a beauty mark on one side of her mouth. She peers at him, almost as if she's scanning him before pointedly sticking out her hand and saying, "Hello, I'm Rose Tyler" she then pauses to smack the strawberry chewing gum thats in her mouth before continuing with introductions, " Who are you?" she asks.

 The Doctor clears his throat, because in all honesty, this girl is very pretty, before extending his hand in greeting and replying, "Hello Rose, I'm the Doctor".

 Rose smiled warmly at him, the skin around her eyes scrunching up into pretty waves, so that he knew it was genuine. She turned back to her book, and suddenly the Doctor noticed what she was reading; it was one of his personal favorites, a book called Who-ology, that was a book about a man who traveled in space and time. The Doctor would love to be a time-traveler, and save planets and lives, being a hero to everyone, everywhere. He taps Rose on the shoulder and points at her book, lowering his voice to the whisper as not to alert Mr. Chesterton to their conversation, " You like Who-ology?" he asks, and she nods in answer, before putting her book down so he could continue, "I love that book! Its the best, I've always wanted to be a time-traveler!" he said brightly, and Rose's face lights up at the sound of his quiet giggle.

  "Yeah," she says slowly, "I've always wanted to be a time traveler too".

Chapter Text

(POV Rose)

"So who's this new guy-the Doctor?"

"Oh, he just moved here From England, he's really..... cool"

"Really? Getting a crush on him already? So fast Rose!"

"Oh shut up Mickey! I don't have a crush on him, he's just really....nice" Rose sighed at the end and blushed as she saw Mickey staring at her incredulously. Do you have a crush on him Rose? You guys did have a "moment". And he is very good looking...but come on Rose! You hardly know the guy, he just moved here and so far you only have one class with hi- Rose's thoughts were interrupted by the person she was just thinking about, the Doctor. He sauntered up to their table and smiled down on her and Mickey.

"Hallo Rose" he said brightly, before nodding in acknowledgment at Mickey, "Hi, I'm the Doctor, and you are?".

Mickey shot a look at Rose and she opened her eyes wide, pleading with him not to mention their earlier conversation. If he dares to say anything about it I will gladly tear apart every single baseball card he owns and- Rose stopped plotting her revenge when she saw how icily Mickey was treating the Doctor. "So," Mickey says haughtily " how's America doing for ya? Or are we too-too... stupid for you british?!". Rose didn't know where Mickey was getting this nonsense, but she didn't like it. I didn't tell him to bully the Doctor! Mickey! I have a crush on him you stupid dipstick! Rose looked frantically at the Doctor, but was suprised to find that he wasn't fazed. He didn't even look mad, on fact, he was chuckling a bit!

"Well, you people are a little obscure," at that the Doctor winks at Rose and Mickey bristles with frustration "but, so far most everyone here has been very polite." the Doctor gives Mickey a steely glance before adding, "Most". He then preceded to set his lunch tray on the table and plop down next to Rose, OMIGOSHOMIGOSH HE'S SITTING NEXT TO ME OMIGOSH Rose had a freak out in her mind, hoping she didn't smell and that her hair looked nice. After thoroughly ignoring Mickey and making small talk with each other, Rose smiled and introduced her other friends to her new crush (though she didn't tell them that), the Doctor.

"So Amy and Rory here have been dating since..." Rose looked at her friends quickly, hoping for them to help her, but they all shook their heads and shrugged, " Well!" Rose laughs, " I guess they've been together for what seems like forever!". Rose then motioned to the girl sitting across from the Doctor, a girl with big fizzy hair "That's River, she's a year older than all of us but chooses to," Rose puts air-quotes around this statement "Grace us with her presence."

 The girl, River, smiles cheekily at that and sticks her hand out to the Doctor, " Hello sweetie!" she says brightly, and giggles at the Doctors flustered look. " Haha, there are a few more things you should know about me," River says, almost ominously "First of all, I call all the cute boys sweetie" she then winks at the Doctor, making his cheeks tinge a darker colour," Secondly, I don't really go to class, I bounce around, sometimes even go to my classes in a backwards order-".

At this the Doctor looks at Rose, and she nods before whispering, "The teachers don't really care, but the principle sure does, he's been after River for some time now. He's caught her a couple times, but she always gets away." the Doctor nods in understanding before redirecting his attention to River's "rules" speech.

"Lastly, I will never help you cheat on homework, cuz' you guys know my philosophy" She smiled evily, and everyone groaned " Spoilers!" she laughed, her lips a dark red, pulling out to the sides of her face. Rose rolled her eyes and motioned to River-

"Well, now you've met River!" and grins, before moving on to the girl seated across from herself, a girl with firey red locks, "and that's Donna Noble" the girl smiles and waves "She's an 8th grader like River, and next to her..." the dark-skinned black haired girl next to Donna sat up straight "that's Martha, she's a 6th grader, but we let her hang out with us because she's really cool." Rose confirms, and Martha smiles at the Doctor, her eyes slowly blinking in a- seductive way? Ooh you better back off Martha, he's mine! Rose subtly glares at Martha as the Doctor engages in conversation with Rory about the new Star Trek movie. For some reason Rory knew exactly who Benedict Cumberbatch was and could list his entire cinematogrophy. Whatever, at least the Doctor has found some stuff in common with my friends.... Rose stares at him, staring at his dreamy hair before crashing back down to Earth, as River touches Rose's arm.

"Hey Rose," River says tentavely "You okay? You were basically shooting daggers at Martha, and Mickey seems really pissed. What happend?" River removes her hand from Rose's arm, and waits for Rose's reply.

"Well" Rose starts, " Mickey, for some unknown reason, despises the Doctor, and Martha...well..." Rose looks up to see River's expectant gaze and decides to tell River about her crush, "I was mad at Martha because-" River cut her off, and Rose, suprised, looks up at River " Hey! I was trying to tell you-"

River looks at Rose excitedly and cuts her off once again "Rose- before, before you say anything I want to tell you something. I..I-" Rose looks at River confusedly, waiting for what she has to say, and River leans in close before whispering in Rose's ear, " I have a crush on the Doctor!" River then leans back, blushing furiously.

Oh.

Chapter Text

The sound of birds faintly buzzed from the trees outside, and the Doctor outstretched his neck, in hopes of catching a bit of the cool breeze whispering in from the window. He was sitting in the percussion section of the band room, all the way in the back, and was studying the...stick? Drum stick?...the stick whats-its-name that someone had thrust into his hand upon him entering. As the Doctor stared at the xylephone in front of him, he tried to remember what the band teacher, a Ms. Da Pompadour, had told him during his 5-minute crash course into percussion. He felt guilty for not remembering something so blatantly important to his grade, but the teacher had been so enchanting, he couldn't possibly keep focus! 

The Doctor, growing more and more worried as time waned on, took an experimental hit at the instrument in front of him. There was a sharp ding! and the students sorrounding him turned and shushed him, before turning back to their respective instruments. The Doctor looked across the room to where Rory was sitting, and tried to communicate with him telepathicaly; Come on Rory! Look over here, pleease, I need you to help me! . The Doctor, desperate, tried one last time, but it seemed as though he did not posses the power of telepathcy or that Rory was too caught up in his conversation to hear him. Just as the Doctor was considering bunking off, a sharp finger jabbed him in the shoulder.

"Hey," a deep voice said "Ain't you that new kid?".

The Doctor turned, and was faced with a well-dressed blonde boy, who had a screwdriver in one pocket and sunglasses. The boy was sorrounded by a menacing posse of burly boys, each one with a splintering toothpick in their gob. The Doctor faced the boy, who was obviously the leader, and extended his hand "Why yes I am, and you must be the MI-5!" the Doctor joked, and smiled brightly, before letting the smile slip off his face as a smirk slipped onto the leader's.

"Haha!" the boy chuckled maniacally, and grimaced as Ms. Pompadour entered the band room. He quickly turned to the Doctor and smirked once more, "I'm- well, you don't need to call me that!" his smile got wider as he thought for a moment, "Hey, you can call me... Master, Doctor " he winked before returning to his spot behind a large kettle drum, as his posse quickly disbanded and found their seats. 

The Doctor stared at the boy, the- the Master all during class, earning him several scoldings from his new teacher, and an extra piece of homework. But he couldn't help it- Who is that boy? he wondered to himself, as he trudged through crowded halls, getting jostled this way and that. He looked so familiar, and what was with those sunglasses? It wasn't sunny or anything, why would he need to wear those? the Doctor didn't know, so he could probably ask one of his new friends, if they even were his friends. Rory didn't even say hi, he was to busy talking to one of his actual friends, that chubby kid. I just met them, the Doctor conluded, suddenly low-spirited.

 I hardly  know them, and vice-versa. They might not even like me! Suddenly the Doctor was reminded of how much a pain in the arse socializing was, but lonliness didn't suit him. 

The Doctor sighed, and continued shambling through the halls, until he walked pass a door marked "Library". His curiousity piqued, he pushed on the heavy wooden door, and stepped into the large room. It was quiet, and calm, and just what he wanted. The Doctor stepped over to the shelves and shelves of books, his fingers running delicately over the spines. He had always loved books, almost as much as he loved a good adventure- though, books themselves are adventures he realized, as he grabbed the nearest one and slid down to the floor. He fingered through the pages, the comforting scent and texture of the paper on his skin making him nostalgic.

He flipped to the front of the book and was beginning to read when a women's head peeked at him from around a bookcase. Startled, the Doctor shut the book quickly and scrambled to his feet, before directly his attention to his (suddenly) interesting plimsoles. " I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to-" he jabbered.

Suddenly, the woman laughed and the Doctor looked up, suprised, "Are you apologizing for reading?" she asked him, her laughter dying, but her warm smile staying plastered on her face.

"No!" the Doctor said defiantly, " Well, yes, but it t'was only because I thought you would be angry, but I now know that I can read these books, so I no longer have any need to apologize " confident, he raised his head slightly, and the woman laughed once more.

" Well," she chuckles " You sure are right about that!" she smiled at him once more before raising a hand to her mouth and exclaiming, " My stars! I haven't introduced myself! I'm your school librarian, Ms. Herriot, and you, young man" she yaggled a finger at the Doctor " Can come here whenever you want, as long as you keep being as quiet as you were!" she winked at him before turning to the cart of books behind them and pushing it away, returning books to their correct places.

The Doctor stared after the librarian, and smiled to himself, before looking around at the books closest to him and touching them fondly. He lowered himself to the floor and let his head fall back against the bookcase behind him. He suddenly remembered something his father had said to him years before, a phrase he had kept close to his heart all these years...

" Books make the best weapons " his father had said to him randomly, as the father and son shared each other's company in their spacious library. That's when they were living in Cambridge. That was before the army. That was before the war, before the arguments started. Everything used to be peaceful, and then-

The Doctor shook his head, forcing the memory back to the deepest, darkest depths of his mind. He didn't like to think of the past very often, at least- not his. The past was complicated, always full of could've been's and what-if's. The future was much more hopeful, with it's unknowingness and possibilities. Anything can happen in the future.

The Doctor suddenly realized something, something that had been alluding himself and his father. They didn't like confrontation, the Doctor had come to terms with that. And while the Doctor loved looking back on happy memories, there was something he had always been running from, he and his father. Not the war, not his mother, not the government.

The past.