Chapter One:
Stranger Danger
___
EVERLEIGH HAD NEVER BEEN A PEOPLE PERSON.
Her peers would always question why she preferred to sit at home, with her curtains drawn in the middle of the day, watching movies or reading books rather than going out; socializing, and partying. And her answer was always the same.
"Why on earth would I want to stand in an overcrowded room - sweaty, claustrophobic and uncomfortable when I could watch Chris freakin' Hemsworth on my TV screen from the comfort of my bed whilst stuffing my face with junk food?"
This resulted in her not having many friends. Okay, that's a lie. No friends, no friends at all. Not that Everleigh minded though, she preferred it that way. It's easier when you're on your own, she says. No hassle, no betrayal. Even as a child, she hated other people. Just the thought of having to socialize made her feel physically nauseous.
Maybe this all started when her mum left. Everleigh had waited up until midnight so she could celebrate the beginning of her fifth birthday when the shouting began. Her parents were arguing, which wasn't a rare occurrence, so she hadn't thought anything of it at the time.
But when things started smashing, and their voices turned to screams of relentless fury, she began to worry. Within the flash of a second, the haunting sound of thumping footsteps and then the violent slam of a door echoed throughout the small house.
And then it was silent.
Newly-turned five-year-old Everleigh slipped out of bed, clutching her stuffed alien teddy to her chest for comfort and approached her bedroom window. Tentatively pushing aside the soft blue curtains, the little girl caught a glimpse of a woman practically sprinting away from the house with a suitcase before she swiftly got into a taxi.
She didn't even look back.
And that was it. The last time Everleigh saw her mother. It was from then on, that she stopped getting close to people - too afraid that she'd come to care for them and then they'd leave without so much as a goodbye. She lost all faith in humanity on her fifth birthday, you could say.
Everleigh's dad shortly fell into a state of depression after her mum left. Drinking was his only source of comfort and he soon forgot all about his five-year-old daughter, who was distraught by the sudden absence of her mother. One minute, he'd become easily agitated and snap at the frightened girl, or completely dismiss her existence the next.
That's why, as soon as she was granted the opportunity, Everleigh moved out of her childhood home at eighteen, to London - into the student accommodation right beside her university which she had earned a fully-paid scholarship for with lots of hard work.
And she couldn't have been more content with her new life. Two years later and the girl was currently sat in the furthest corner of the local library, nose stuck in a book of which she wasn't quite sure what was actually happening. Everleigh's eyes scanned the words, but all her brain saw was delicate swirls and circles.
Clenching her eyes shut and leaning her head back against the wooden beam behind her, Everleigh sighed tiredly. It was one thing to be taking a degree in English Literature, but it was another thing when you can't even read properly. She was an utter failure.
Everleigh's doctor was convinced that she had dyslexia, but the blonde wasn't so sure. Dyslexia didn't run in her family and there was no problem until she turned twenty, about two weeks ago, when it just suddenly spiked up. And Everleigh had thoroughly researched its symptoms and she wasn't seeing letters and words mixed up or reversed, she was seeing intricately drawn shapes and loops. Like it was a whole other language altogether.
Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm her racing mind. If Everleigh didn't manage to keep up her above-average grades, the university could easily revoke her scholarship so this supposed 'dyslexia' really had her on edge.
Everleigh scanned the empty library, deciding that it was late anyway and she should begin making her way back to the dorms. She tucked her book away into her bag and zipped up her jacket, it was September in England after all. On her way out, she bid a goodbye to the friendly librarian, Mrs. Derlak, one of the few people Everleigh could actually tolerate in the world.
It was cold outside, but it wasn't an unbearable kind of cold, thank god; her jacket is only thin. Tucking a strand of her wavy, blonde hair behind her ear, Everleigh started up the dark road. Her eyes were glued to her scuffed converse, refusing to look at the creepy, empty street ahead of her.
It wasn't the safest idea to be roaming the streets of London at half-past eleven at night alone. Mind you, Everleigh never was one to pay any attention to danger. She had only been living in London for two years and she's already been rushed to the hospital three times and nearly ran over six.
Thank god for the NHS or she'd be screwed.
It was an eerily silent night and Everleigh had a sudden yearning for her trusty earphones. Her eyes mindlessly flickered towards the vacant, starless sky. The girl could barely remember the last time she saw a starry sky, she only caught sight of a few stars occasionally and it was often a helicopter or plane anyway.
It was quite saddening actually. Everleigh remembered as a little girl, she was obsessed with anything to do with space and stars. Her infatuation was fuelled from her mother, she supposed. Sarah Elias was an astronomer. So when her mother abandoned her, Everleigh quickly became bitter and deserted her love of anything extraterrestrial. Just as her mother had deserted her.
Feeling bored, Everleigh watched her breath swirl in the cold air for amusement. Five grueling minutes passed and she was finally nearing the entrance to her apartment building when a loud, jubilant shout startled her.
"LEIGH!"
The voice was close and very male which concerned the blonde since she didn't know many guys. Before Everleigh could even consider turning around, a pair of strong arms looped around her waist, lifting her from the ground with ease. The unknown stranger laughed happily as she shrieked, clutching onto the man's arms as he spun her in the air.
The person eventually put Everleigh down, her back to his chest, which is when she slammed her heel onto the man's foot. He let out a girlish yelp and that's when she turned around to assess her attacker. Everleigh was stunned for a moment because she was expecting a huge bloke, wearing all black with a ski mask to cover his face. Yes, she watches too much TV.
But, no. This man was quite the opposite. He was about six feet tall and he sported dark trousers, a faded-blue shirt, a tan tweed jacket, and a proudly-worn scarlet bow-tie. His hair was dark and floppy and he had eyes of jade green. And, not to mention, he was hopping from foot to foot, whining childishly in pain. All in all, this guy was the definition of a bit of an idiot.
"Ow, Everleigh! What was that for? There was no reason to hit me this time!" The bow-tie-wielding man complained, fondling his foot.
Everleigh immediately slipped her backpack off her shoulders, holding it in her hands threateningly. In her defense, it was the only choice of weapon she had. "Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?!" She exclaimed with wide eyes and a pale complexion.
Everleigh watched as his foot slowly returned to the floor once again and then his eyes filled with panic and uncertainty as he examined her face before looking her up and down carefully.
"No." He gasped comically, stepping closer.
Everleigh tightened her grip on her backpack and clenched her jaw but she was guessing he hadn't noticed since he was still advancing towards her.
"You don't know who I am?" He asked the girl softly, his tone mournful. His eyes looked deeply into Everleigh's with a certain kind of desperation.
"Should I?" She replied harshly, raising her eyebrow in caution. After all, whoever this guy was, he knew her name.
He ignored her and stepped closer and bent down slightly so that he could gently take Everleigh's face in his hands. He took a closer look into her stormy, grey eyes and gasped dramatically, making her jump. Their noses were now mere centimetres away from each other.
His minty breath fanned Everleigh's face as he rambled, "Oh, look - at - you! You're so young - so brand new. Oh, the things I'm going to show you, Everleigh Elias! Oh-ho, Brilliant! You are--"
By now she had abandoned her backpack on the floor and had interrupted the stranger with a sharp slap to the face, his head snapping to the side with a deafening crack. "Stranger danger, dude!" Everleigh yelped.
He cradled his cheek with his hand and looked at her in shock before mumbling, "Jesus, I forgot how physical you are."
"Listen, you strange man, I don't know who you are or how you know who I-"
"Oh sorry, I'm the Doctor." He had suddenly perked up now, he smiled brightly at her and stuck his hand out for a handshake, as if she hadn't just smacked him across the face.
"I- what?" Everleigh asked, dumbfounded for a moment.
"The Doctor. That's me. Hello." His chirpy tone and grin remained as strong as ever, almost as if he were expecting her to waver at his introduction.
"That's your name? The Doctor?" Everleigh asked suspiciously, eyeing the weird man wearily. She began to relax slightly, coming to the conclusion that this man was clearly harmless, just a little mad.
"Yep." He answered brightly.
A couple of seconds passed as we just stared at each other, blinking slowly.
Everleigh inhaled a deep breath and smiled tightly, "Right, well, I'm not one to judge. Hello, Doctor. I am Everleigh Elias but, apparently, you knew that already."
The Doctor pouted slightly and mumbled, "I like it when they say 'Doctor who?'"
The pair stood in awkward silence for a few seconds again.
"So, are you going to tell me how you know my name?" Everleigh asked tiredly, tugging her backpack back on her shoulder.
The Doctor pondered her question for a moment before wincing slightly, "I would, but you wouldn't believe me."
A scoff-like laugh escaped Everleigh's lips before she could stop it, and she took a step towards him, "Try me, bow-tie boy."
His eyes scanned every inch of her face with an unknown emotion before he gulped roughly. "Fine."
He took a theatrical deep breath in.
"I am a time-traveler. I know you because I have already met you before, on multiple occasions, but the reason you don't know me is that it hasn't happened for you yet. Your future, my past. Time is a very complicated, wibbly-wobbly... thing and our timelines don't quite match up so we keep on meeting in the wrong order."
Another silence.
Everleigh pursed her lips, looking the Doctor up and down. "How much have you had to drink, mate?"
He sighed, rocking on the balls of his feet. "I'm not drunk, Leigh."
"Okay, first of all, time-travel does not exist. Second of all, you are off your rockers." Everleigh laughed in his face obnoxiously, appalled by his explanation.
"No, it does. I can travel in time. Well, my spaceship can." He states proudly, adjusting his bow-tie with a small smirk.
"Your spaceship? What are you, an alien?" Everleigh scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Did I not mention that?" He questioned simply with a serious expression.
She blinked at him, "You're an alien?"
"Yep, I'm a species of alien called a timelord and my spaceship, well it's a time-machine really, is called a TARDIS."
Everleigh gaped at the man who must be drunk or high or something and for the sake of getting home tonight, she decided to humor him. "Okay... so you're an alien called a timelord, you have a TAR-DIS, and what, you just travel in time with future me?"
A small smile made it's way onto his face as if he were reminiscing something, "Yes. We're, uh, good... friends. Really close. Best friends! That's what we are!"
Before Everleigh could say how crazy this man was, the Doctor clapped his hands together and looked at her with an excited grin.
"Right, shall we get going then?"
"Get going? Going where?" She tentatively asked, her grip on the backpack straps tightening.
"Out there," He motioned to the sky above him like a loony idiot, "All of time and space at our fingertips. Anywhere, anywhen. I know how much you love the stars, Everleigh. So what do you say?"
His smile was wide and playful, his bright green eyes gleaming with a child-like wonder and before Everleigh could process it in her brain, her answer already came tumbling out her mouth.
Sweetly and simply.
"No."
AUTHOR'S NOTE !
And so it begins!
I just wanted to let you guys know that this is my first attempt at actually writing anything like this, so there will probably be many grammatical mistakes and such - so just, please, bear with me. <3
Thank you, loves