In Theory • Doctor Who

TWENTY-ONE

       

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
❝An Early Winter Morning in Hampstead Heath❞

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The stars never disappeared.

Every night Clara turned her head to the sky and counted the stars she could see through breaks in the blanket of clouds. Each night she counted twenty-four stars which was surprisingly good for the fact that London was covered in not only an artificial snowstorm but also smog and light pollution.

Those twenty-four stars lingered in the sky each night as tiny pricks of light upon a cloak of black. It could only be taken as a positive sign; Death hadn't extended its pernicious hands towards Earth and as long as the stars danced about their heads, the virulent touch of cessation would not reach the blue and green planet that she called home.

She was still alive which meant Rose Tyler had found success; she had found her Doctor after too long apart.

On this particular night, the snow clouds had parted, allowing the blanket of stars to dimly light the December night. Snow still lingered within London, the sidewalks were slick with old grey snow which slowly bled into puddles. Even though the sky above was clear, the world below it was damp and chilly.

Clara was hand in hand with Amelia Pond, walking through deserted streets of slick asphalt roads which reflected Christmas lights strung from building to building. They had ditched the end of semester Christmas party that Amelia had forced upon Clara in the early hours of the morning in favour of walking along the streets of northern London.

"Did you see the blonde that was trying to get with Rory?" Amelia giggled, her step wavering as a stiletto slipped between a crack in the road.

"Why didn't you intervene?" Clara asked, leaning into Amelia so she wouldn't fall.

"It was pretty funny, seeing him try to escape," Amelia shrugged; a grin evident on her ruby red lips.

"You're a terrible girlfriend," Clara giggled in response.

"He handled it very well," pride coated her words, "Rory is a smart guy. He know's what he is giving up if he decided to do such a thing... oi C, where even are we?"

Although alcohol still coursed through her veins, inebriating her senses and making the world around her a lot less precise, Clara was sobering up enough to answer Amelia's question. "Hampstead. If we keep walking straight we should hit the high street and then we could take either the Northern Line or the Overground back into the city."

"Nah, too much effort," Amelia sighed. "What about Hampstead Heath? That shouldn't be too far from here."

"It's 5AM in the morning and you want to go to a park that's not well lit?"

"That isn't a no," Amelia smiled and tugged at Clara's hand; pulling her in the direction of the Hampstead Heath Overground station where they had gotten off at earlier in the evening.

"I'm blaming you if we get murdered," Clara muttered. "Or lost for that matter, the heath is massive!"

"You'll thank me when the sun rises," Amelia countered.

"That isn't gonna happen for another few hours," Clara sighed; she knew when she was defeated, especially when Amelia was involved.

"Stop being so negative. You can visit multiple universes but you're scared of a dark park?" Amelia giggled. "The only scary thing we'll run into is those insane morning joggers who insist on their morning run before work even if it is minus two and snow won't budge from the ground. Anyway, we'll probably be the scary ones. Imagine what we look like to them; two students dressed up as Mrs Claus wrapped up in their warmest coats. We probably look tragic to anyone who notices us."