Unintended

A week had passed since that night in Matt's apartment and I had successfully avoided conversation with him. I hadn't seen him since I ran out of his apartment that night so I was thankful for that. Though I was aware that the kiss was just a hormonal mistake, I didn't have the guts to face him yet, especially with my unsorted feelings. For me, it wasn't just a silly mistake. I felt something more than that and until I could push that feeling aside, I couldn't stand the thought of being anywhere near Matt. I needed some space to clear my head.

I had finished filming my scenes for Doctor Who as well, leaving the set with a bunch of new contact numbers. David Tennant, star of the show, kept in contact with me this past week by ringing and texting me when he was in between scenes. He really enjoyed talking to me about my current theatre work so he wanted to know more about how I was settling in. He enjoyed hearing the gossip within the RSC so I had a feeling that I was his primary source of information. I didn't mind it though. He and I were bonding quite well.

Currently, I was busy with scene rehearsals. Ianto and I were reading through the end of Act III, Scene II of our play. I was trying my best to focus on the work but I had been anxious all day, mainly because feelings of love were being discussed in this scene and I was so unsure of how I was feeling. Every time I had to read about my character's love for Orlando, I would start to think back to the night at Matt's when we had kissed. It was one of those moments I couldn't seem to get rid of, no matter how hard I tried. I had a feeling my mind dwelled on him more now because I had cut myself off from him almost completely.

"I swear to thee, youth, by the white hand of Rosalind, I am that he, that unfortunate he," Ianto read aloud from the script.

"But are you so much in love as your rhymes speak?" I replied, glancing up at him as he moved about the stage.

"Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much," he said as though he were a lovesick teenager.

"Love, is merely a madness, and, I tell you, deserves as well as a dark house and a whip as madmen do; and the reason why they are not so punished and cured is, that lunacy is so ordinary that the whippers are in love too. Yet I profess curing it by counsel," I said with a smile, as if I were actually concocting a plan.

"Did you ever cure any so?" he asked with curiosity.

Right before I launched into my long explanation of my plan for Orlando, the director stopped us from finishing the scene, snapping at one of the crew members for interrupting 'the process' as he called it. Of all the directors I had worked for so far, this one was by far the most demanding. He required long rehearsal days and if he didn't like the way one of his actors was reading a scene, he would stop us and make us approach it thirty different ways until he found the way he wanted it acted. I admired the passion he held for creating perfect stage interpretations of classic work but still, there was a point where he could draw the line.

"Should we continue with the scene or start from the beginning?" Ianto asked the director tentatively.

"No, let's just stop here for now," Gareth replied gruffly, tossing his script on the table with some annoyance. "We'll finish the scene after lunch."

With a sigh, I closed my script and walked to the side of the stage where my large purse awaited me. I pulled out my phone and noticed a new text message so I flipped it open and read it, smiling at the contents.

"Gabby- Fancy some fish and chips for lunch? My treat!"

Deciding to take up the messenger on his offer for lunch, I replied to the text message, asking where we should meet up for food before tucking the phone back into the pocket of my jeans and grabbing my winter coat from the back of the chair off-stage. Ianto approached me as I slipped my coat back on, buttoning up the front so I would stay warm in the chilly London air.

"So, would you like to go out with the rest of us and grab something to eat?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

"Oh, I would but I've already made plans with someone else," I replied regretfully.

"Secretly meeting the boyfriend in between rehearsals, eh? Just be careful that you don't get caught by the reporters. They've been lurking around here every day since the story about you and Matt broke," he said, his voice sounding a little forced but still polite.

"I've told you, Matt and I are not secretly dating and if we were, it would be no one's business but our own," I said with slight annoyance as my phone beeped, signaling an incoming text. "I'm going out to meet my friend for a bite to eat and I'll be back in time to start the scene again."

"Look Gabriella, I'm sorry if I've angered you," Ianto said sincerely, approaching me slowly. "I'm just trying to help you keep your personal life personal. From all the experience I've had with reporters splashing my life all over countless pages of gossip rags, I thought you might like a little friendly advice," he said, sticking his hands into his black trouser pockets.

I sighed deeply, running a hand through my hair, "I'm sorry for snapping. I've been a little distracted lately because the truth is; I don't know what Matt and I are. I guess I'm just trying to sort my feelings out and I'm taking out my frustrations on undeserving people."

"I've noticed you weren't quite yourself these days," he said with a smile. "Look, I know you're still unsure of what's going on between you and Bellamy but if you want my advice, I wouldn't get romantically involved with anyone right now. Between play rehearsals and his recording the new album, there'd hardly be any time for you to spend with each other. I'd hate to see you two fall apart before you even really had a chance to begin."

"Thanks for the advice Ianto but I think I'll try and figure this one out myself if you don't mind," I replied, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get going. I've got someone expecting me."

"Of course. I'll see you when you come back," he said with nod.

I pulled the straps of my large, black purse over my shoulder and flipped my phone open to read the location of my lunch date. When I realized that the restaurant was a tiny, little shop only a few minutes away, I realized that my friend was in the area. I headed out of the theatre and walked out into the crisp London air, the chill sending a shiver down my spine as I looked around for reporters.

Ianto had been correct when he mentioned the increase of reporters lurking around, especially since Matt had recently returned from Italy. Many of them hoped they would catch a glimpse of the two of us together at my rehearsal or something. It forced me to laugh at the reporter's assumptions. I couldn't quite figure out why, if Matt was recording the album in Soho, he would travel out of his way for a visit in a theatre nowhere near his work. It didn't make much sense to me. I would've thought they would've been cleverer in tracking our movements.

When I realized that there were no reporters around, I smiled to myself and began walking up the street towards the fish and chips shop I was supposed to go to. It was a fairly nice walk through the busy West End. The countless advertisements for different plays and musicals at the various theatres that lined the street added color to the grey, cloudy skyline. There were a fair amount of people walking along on the sidewalks, talking on their cell phones and chatting with their friends as I passed them by. It was actually nice to walk along in the street without worrying about reporters and people recognizing me. In the West End, people were too busy with their own little world of the stage to actually worry about anyone else.

After about five minutes of walking, I finally made it to a little, unknown fish and chips shop that the text message named. I opened up the door and looked around, noticing the shop was quite full despite how small it appeared passing by on the street between a large musical theatre and a bank. I carefully looked amongst the crowd for a free table until I spotted what I had been looking for at the back of the restaurant.

In a pair of plain blue jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt was David Tennant, The Doctor himself, sitting at one of the back tables with a black baseball cap on his head, masking his appearance a bit to the other patrons of the restaurant. He looked up and spotted me near the door, waving me over to him with a large grin on his face. Shaking my head at his behavior, I maneuvered myself through the maze of tables, finally stopping in front of him as he stood to hug me.

"I'm surprised you haven't been spotted in here yet," I said, pulling away from him. "I would've expected half the women in this place clamoring to get a piece of The Doctor."

"Shh," he said, taking his seat on the stool once again. "Don't speak too loudly. You'll blow my cover and then we're both screwed," he said lowly in his natural Scottish brogue.

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be on the other side of the city for filming?" I asked seriously, unbuttoning my jacket and slipping it onto the back of the chair.

"We ended early for the day. I had a meeting with the Hamlet director about production on filming and decided that I would take a chance and see if you wanted to get some lunch with me," he replied with a grin.

"Well you know I can't deny an offer of chips," I smiled.

A waitress arrived to take our orders. I looked to David as he ordered our food for us. He seemed very familiar with this place so I didn't mind what he ordered, especially since I wasn't picky about what I ate. While he placed the order, I took a moment to look around the small restaurant, glad that we could enjoy a meal without media attention. It would've been bad for David and me if we were spotted together because then, we would be the new rumored couple and I didn't wish to see my name in anymore headlines of the entertainment section of the paper. David shifted my attention back to the waitress as she took my drink order, writing it on the notepad in her hand. She shuffled away nonchalantly, heading back to the kitchen to place the order.

"So, how's the play coming along?" David asked, comfortably leaning back in his chair.

"Oh you know, it's slowly pulling itself together," I shrugged. "Now, I thought I've worked with difficult directors before but I've never worked with someone like Gareth Detricks. That man is working me to the bone!"

"Ah yes, good ol' Gareth," David laughed. "I worked with him during Love's Labour's Lost. He is very specific about what he wants from his actors but I'm sure he's a little more lenient about things since Ianto is the star of the production. He loves working with Ianto Marks."

"I was wary about working with him, given his reputation, but once you get over all that, he's not that bad a guy. I like working with him, especially since he stopped hitting on me every ten minutes," I said.

"Yes, well, Ianto does love to chat up pretty girls so I can see why he would try to speak to you," he said as I blushed at his compliment, "but according to my sources, you're already involved with a romance involving a certain famous musician."

"What sources do you have?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I know some people close to you and your so-called 'beloved'," he replied teasingly.

I sighed, shaking my head, "I never should have introduced you to Dom and Chris."

He laughed, "I'm glad you did. I quite like those guys. They're so full of useful information about you."

"You guys talk about me?" I questioned with surprise as the waitress returned with our drinks.

"From time to time. They've been quite curious about your behavior on set over the last few days, especially since their mate has been acting quite strangely as well," he said casually, taking a sip from his straw.

"What?" I asked.

"According to Chris, he said that Matt has been acting rather odd- well, odder than usual," he said, scratching the back of his head. "They've just been curious if you've been acting strangely as well."

"And? What did you tell them?" I asked, trying to urge more information out of him.

"Oh he told us that you've been actin' just like Matty boy," Dom's voice said, making me jump in fright.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, clutching my chest as Chris took a seat beside me at the table. Dom took a seat next to David, laughing at my reaction along with David. "Where the hell did you come from? You scared me."

"David called and invited us for lunch," Chris said, taking off his jacket.

"And we figured since we haven't seen or talked to you much since our triumphant return from Italy, we decided to take him up on the offer when he mentioned your name," Dom smiled.

I looked around for Matt, wondering where he was at the moment. It was quite unusual for the guys to go out separately. It was a rare occasion that Dom and Chris wouldn't invite Matt along for a meal with them.

For some reason, though things were in an awkward place for our friendship, I still found myself wishing to see him. It had been a week without seeing him and I felt almost as if I was going through withdrawal. Over the last few months I had known him, Matt and I grew incredibly close at a rapid pace. Since we lived next door to one another, we would be able to chat in the hall as we were leaving or returning. It was enough to get me through the day but now, with things complicated and awkward, it was almost like he never existed in my world; back to how my life was before I met him and I didn't like that one bit.

Chris's laughing snapped me out of my thoughts and made me look at him questioningly.

"If you looking for Matt, he's not here. He decided to go back home to Devon to visit his parents for a few days," he said.

"Oh," I said, feeling disappointed that he wasn't here.

"You've got it bad, mate," Dom laughed, stealing a sip of my soda.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Oh don't deny it Gabby," David said, stuffing his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. "You were completely distracted the entire last day of filming and I know it has something to do with that date you had with Matt before."

"It wasn't a date," I replied quickly.

"Oh it was a date," Chris said knowingly, also stealing a sip of my soda.

"Will you two stop drinking my soda?" I said, slapping Dom's hand away as he tried to reach for it once again. "And it wasn't a date," I added, glaring at Dom and Chris.

"Did he cook dinner?" Dom asked.

"Yes but-"

"And it was just the two of you in his apartment?" Chris interrupted me.

"Well, yeah but that doesn't mea-"

"He made his specialty pasta, didn't he?" Dom interjected.

"Yeah, he did but still, none of this means it was actually a date," I replied.

"Oh, it was a date," Chris stated with certainty. "Dom, would you say that it was a date?"

"I concur," Dom said with a nod. "David, what do you think?" he asked, turning to the grinning Doctor Who star.

"It sounds like a date to me," he replied.

"How would you even know? You haven't met Matt in order to gage his personality or his behavior!" I said, stirring the ice of my drink with my straw.

"No man goes through the effort of cooking a meal for a woman just as a friendly gesture. He was trying to impress you," David explained. "If it was just a regular meeting amongst friends, he would have just ordered take out or met you somewhere for the meal. The fact that he invited you to his flat for a home-cooked meal says something more than, 'let's be best mates'."

"I don't believe that," I replied, shaking my head. "I've prepared food for him so he could've just been returning the favor."

"Oh God, don't remind me about those sandwiches," Chris said, glaring directly at Dom.

"I made enough for you guys that day," I said.

"Yeah but some stupid bastard ate my sandwich while I was laying down bass tracks," he said, still glaring fiercely at Dom, who in return, just smiled innocently like he had done nothing wrong.

"Don't worry Chris. I'll make another one just for you," I smiled with a wink, placing my hand on top of his.

"Aw! Not fair!" Dom whined.

"Tough!" I replied.

"Oi! We're getting off topic!" David said, looking around the table at everyone.

"He's right. We're here to talk about Gabriella and Matt, not about stolen sandwiches," Chris said.

The waitress brought our orders out, which is when I realized that David had ordered a basket of fish and chips for Chris and Dom while I was looking around the restaurant. If I had been paying attention, I would've noticed him ordering a lot more food than the two of us could eat by ourselves. I should have paid attention to David's order rather than think about how lucky I was to not be near any reporters.

"Look here Nightingale," Dom said, pointing one of his French fries at me as he spoke, "I know you and Matt are rather invested in your careers right now, especially since we're working on the new album and you're busy with that bloody Shakespeare play but did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, your friendship with Matt could transcend into something more?"

"Wow," I said, looking at him with admiration. "That's the first time I've heard you speak with an excellent vocabulary and so seriously."

"This is what happens to him when he hasn't been doped up on sugar and caffeine," Chris replied, chewing on a French fry.

"Stick to the subject!" Dom said.

"Right," Chris said, clearing his throat a bit, "so, anyways, like Dom was saying, don't you think you should give Matt a shot? I mean, the poor man has only had work to focus on as of late and I think a little romance could do him some good," Chris explained.

I sighed, pushing around the battered fish into the small container of vinegar that came with my meal. I started thinking back to what Ianto said before I left the theatre earlier and realized he made a good point. Matt and I were too wrapped up in our own projects that we wouldn't have the necessary time together to make a relationship work. It would just be a big inconvenience that would eventually lead to resentment on both ends because we wouldn't have a lot of time together. I didn't want to ruin a friendship with him because we impetuously jumped into something we couldn't devote time to. It seemed like the wrong thing to do.

"I don't have time for a relationship right now. I'm so busy with this play that it wouldn't be fair to either of us to start seeing each other now," I said finally, glancing up at the three men that had been staring at me.

"Oh c'mon, you know that's just an excuse," David said, unconvinced of my reasoning.

"It's the truth! Besides, you guys are in the studio so you should be focusing on the album rather than whether Matt and I should be together or not. It's just not the right time for anything to happen between us, not that I'm saying it ever would. I think you guys are still reading way too much into things," I said, taking a bite of my fish.

"Think what you will but I still say Matt fancies you in more than a friendly manner and if he doesn't do something about it soon, I'll jump in and snatch you from him," Dom said, shoving more French fries into his mouth.

"You're only saying that because you want her to cook for you," Chris laughed. "She made it clear the first day you met her that she will not become your Queen or your concubine."

"You never know. My charming demeanor might change her mind one day in the future," Dom grinned.

"I hate to break it to you Dom but you too much like a child to have any hint of charm that could possibly change my mind," I replied.

Dom seemed to grumble something under his breath, angrily munching on his fry as Chris just laughed at his expense. David shook his head at our exchange and went about eating his fish and chips.

"Take it from me, someone with lots of experience in this industry," David began, gaining my attention, "things don't ever slow down."

"Meaning?" I asked, inquiring for more information.

"Meaning, if you use the excuse 'I just don't have the time in my career right now to have a meaningful relationship' then you're just missing out on a golden opportunity. You're still a young actress and there's plenty of time for you to continue with plays and other roles in your career. You need to get out there and experience life a little bit," he explained.

"Yeah Gabriella. David's got a point. You should listen to him. He is The Doctor with all the inside knowledge to the universe," Dom said seriously.

"Trust us when we say that Matt's a good bloke cuz he is. He's a really nice guy and easy to get along with so if something more did happen with him than friendship, you should really consider letting it happen. I have a feeling you two are matched rather well together," Chris said with a small smile.

"You should listen to Chris. He's the one that's been married for all these years," Dom nodded.

"So I'm supposed to listen to Chris because he's been married and I'm supposed to listen to David because he's The Doctor. Is there any specific reason I should listen to your advice Dom?" I asked seriously.

"You should listen to me because I'm just that awesome to listen to," he shrugged.

I laughed, shaking my head at his response.

"Basically, don't dismiss this opportunity so easily just because the timing might not be the best," David advised. "You know what they say, love arrives in our lives when we least expect it."

"I'll take it into consideration but as I've said before, I think you guys are reading too much into this thing," I replied.

Chris changed the topic of discussion to something related to David's work on Doctor Who, allowing me the time to let my mind wander. I started thinking about everyone's suggestions, wondering if they were right about Matt's intentions. Was there more to his gestures than friendship or were they reading too much into his actions? I couldn't know for sure. All I knew now was that in order for anything else to happen, I needed to speak to him and resolve the awkwardness between us.

Though the kiss was one moment I couldn't seem to erase from my mind, I knew I could push it aside, as well as my confused feelings, in order to gain my friend back. I just wanted things to go back to how they used to be, before things were complicated. This was the one thing about being an adult that I hated.