It has been about two weeks since me and John have been living together and I'm not any less suspicious of him. Some of the stuff he throws out really isn't normal. He just comes out with absolute nonsense and when I give him a look that suggests that I think he's kinda mental, I'm the one who gets looked at funny.

Despite all of this though, I can't help but realise that I'm kinda attracted to him; which is really weird when you consider the fact that I can't trust him. At this point, I'd trust him about as far as I could throw him. But he's smart, he's really intelligent. He's very versed in classical literature and that is something that as an avid reader and writer that I can really get behind. The amount of times we've been talking for hours and hours in a row, until the early hours of the morning, is unreal.

He challenges me in ways that I've never experienced before. I thought I was quite an open minded person and able to look outside the box to solutions for problems, but in comparison to him, my knowledge is so minuscule. He also has this boundless energy and spirit that sometimes it does serve to tire me out, but a lot of the time, it's very energising and can really serve to motivate me and get me working on my projects.

He's travelled a lot too, and that's something I'm very much interested in. He's been to Japan and I'm so jealous of that. Being used to travelling constantly might be the reason why he can never sit still and constantly needs to be doing something.

I unlocked the door and took off my heels before padding across the laminated flooring in search of my slippers. The second I'd slipped them on, the fire alarm started going off. I sighed; this was the third time this week. I grabbed the broom and went to press the button, but just as my hand had curled around it, John Smith came bounding out the kitchen and reached up and turned it off.

"If I had of had my heels on, I could've got that."

"Well," he flashed me a smile "I'm tall enough on my own, I don't need shoes to reach it." To make his point, he wiggled his feet that had odd socks on them, as usual.

I sighed. "Well, that's just not fair." I let go of the broom. "And what a welcome home that was, that's the third time this week, John Smith."

"Well, I'm sorry Elizabeth Gwilt-Grenden." He made a point of clearly enunciating the entirety of my name. "I was frying bacon and forgot to open the window."

I ran a hand through my hair. "You're a nightmare."

"I know." He winked and I felt something twist inside. "I'll make it up to you. I'm doing pasta bake; it'll be ready in twenty. You've got time for a quick shower and to get changed."

"Aye aye Captain." I said as I spun around and went up the first step. My slipper slipped across it though and I felt myself stumbling. I lost the fight with gravity and felt myself falling. I felt hands at my waist, steadying me.

I blushed. "T-Thank you, John."

He took a slipper straight off the bottom of my foot. He looked it over then hit me on the back of the head with it. "You need to get yourself some better slippers, Gwilt."

"Indeed," I took the slipper from him and took the other one off as well before throwing them into the bin. "Perhaps I will."

"Right, well, because of that slip up, you now have fifteen minutes, get a move on."

I jumped in and out of the shower in record timing and spun around to my wardrobe, I threw my hair up into a quick ponytail as I tried to decide what I was going to wear. In the end, I settled on some comfy leggings and a long baggy t-shirt. I played around with my hair a little, so it still looked cute and framed my face, despite the messy bun. I then padded down the stairs just in time to be handed a plate of pasta as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What impeccable timing you have there."

"I could say the same to you." I took the plate from his hand. "Thank you."

I then followed him into the living room. Whilst we were eating dinner, we sat there discussing Jane Eyre. He hadn't read it, so I lent it to him the other day, as I was very shocked as the only thing he'd read by the Bronte sisters was Wuthering Heights. Which is a great novel, don't get me wrong but I thought that he should also experience something by Charlotte Bronte.

We were discussing how Charlotte Bronte's novel quite clearly reflected events of her own life and how Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights, did not seem to reflect much of the author's own life. We were talking about the reversal role present in Emily Bronte's work, when my phone started to ring.

I checked the display. "Sorry John, it's a co-worker, I should probably take this."

He nodded and made a hand gesture to suggest I go ahead.

"Hello Callum, what is it?"

I could see John supressing laughter at how formal my voice had become since answering the call. He had his legs on the chair and both hands covering his mouth but I could see from his eyes how much he was laughing on the inside. I glared at him and gestured to my eyes with two fingers to show him that I was watching him. He managed to be serious for all of two seconds before his hands flew back to his mouth.

"Dinner? As in a date?" I said immediately to his proposition. He was being incredibly shy and I needed to clarify what exactly he was saying. "I've just eaten, I'm afraid. This has come at very short notice." I listened for a while longer. "I could go for a drink with you, if you'd like." After a couple more minutes, we said goodbye.

"What on Gallifrey was up with your voice?"

"Excuse me? Gallifrey?"

His eyes widened for a second and then he waved an incredibly dismissive hand. "Never mind that. You totally put on a posh voice."

"I'm a woman of business, what did you expect?"

"You work at the bottom of an editing company."

"…So?"

"So, there's no need to put on such ridiculous airs."

I just pouted and started gathering up the dishes.

"It's okay, I can sort that, go get ready for your date."

"Nah, you cooked for me. I deliberately set a time to meet so that I can wash up first."

A little while later, I had finished washing up and I was getting into a nice black dress to go and meet Callum for a drink. I'd managed to get the dress up, just past my bra, but I couldn't get the zip the rest of the way up. I finished getting ready and headed back down the stairs because I hadn't heard Smith move from the living room.

"Erm, John?" I asked as I leaned over the banister so just my head was visible from the living room.

"Yes?" He said as he jumped to his feet.

I swear this man has way too much energy.

"I know this is a little awkward, but I can't reach up to get the rest of the zip. I injured my arm the other day, could you give me a hand?"

"Yeah, sure." He came over and I moved my hair out of the way.

I couldn't help the slight flush of heat on my cheeks as I felt him pinching the dress together before gently zipping it the rest of the way up.

"T-Thanks a bunch."

"It's no problem." He leaned against the banister. "So, where are you going on this date then?"

"Just to the pub downtown, it's only a twenty minute walk away, it's the closest one for both of us."

He patted the banister railing and shot me a massive smile. "Well have fun! Go break a leg!" He looked really confused for a second, "no, no, hold up. That's drama you say that for."

I carefully moved his hand as it was blocking my way from getting down the last stair. "Sorry John, I need to go, or I'm going to be late."

He nodded, "of course, of course, go and have fun." He shot me a bright smile.

I couldn't help but be a tiny bit annoyed about how he didn't seem to care at all about the idea of me going on a date with someone else. Despite the inner turmoil I was facing, I gave him a smile of my own and set off out the door.

The date ended up being very awkward, we both admitted that we got along during work and worked together well as a team, but outside of work, we didn't have much in common. Callum didn't really have any interests outside of work and that was fine, but when I was trying to talk about my interests, he just wasn't bothered and was barely paying attention. So after we'd finished a couple of drinks, we said our goodbyes and said we would see each other on Monday at work.

It was about eleven pm at this point and I left the pub and started making my way home. After a little while of walking, I realised I was being followed. I deliberately took several awkward turns, thinking that surely I was just being paranoid and maybe they weren't following me, specifically. But no, they were still following me and at this point I was still a good ten minutes away from home because it was all up hill on the way back.

I started panicking and reached for my phone, trying to make it look as natural as possible. I phoned Smith. It took a little while, but eventually he picked up.

"Hey Gwilt, what's up?"

"Where are you? Are you running late? I'm nearly there now." I tried making the conversation as natural as I could as I knew that my pursuer might be able to hear me. But I also desperately needed John to catch on that something wasn't right. Please John, you're clever, you can read deeper. I need you.

"Right. I'm gathering you're in some kind of trouble. I'm leaving now. Hold on, Elizabeth."

"Okay." I replied and I heard the line go dead.

Two minutes later, I heard someone running down the road. Since it was dark, it took a while before I could make out John Smith running down the street with his white converse hammering into the road and his long coat billowing out behind him.

As he reached my side, I saw him look over my head, before he turned around, took my arm in his and started walking us both up the road.

"Sorry for being so late." He made an effort to say.

"That's okay, thanks for meeting me."

A few seconds later, we both heard whoever had been following me, turn off and head back downtown.

Once John had declared the coast clear, I fell against a nearby lamppost and tried to steady my frantically beating heart. I rested my hands on my legs in a desperate effort to steady them and to try and get them to stop shaking so hard.

"Liz, are you okay?" I felt John rest a concerned hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah." I said as I took in a deep breath. "I'm okay, just a bit shaken up. I was so scared, that was terrifying."

He wrapped his arms round my back and pulled me into a hug and I buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Thanks so much for coming down. I'm really glad you understood something was up."

He hugged me tighter and rested his head on top of mine as he rubbed circles on my back with his knuckles. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you lose composure, Gwilt-Grenden."

I couldn't help the small chuckle despite myself. "Yeah, I guess so."

He pulled away and took my arm in his again and gave me a small smile. "Let's get home."