Chapter One

I groaned and rolled over as the alarm clock on my bedside table interrupted my dreams. Too comfortable in the soft, warm sheets, I closed my eyes and laid there for a moment. Then I remembered what day it was. Moving day. A nervous, but excited feeling entered the pit of my stomach. I pulled the covers back and got out of bed, padding to the kitchen to boil the water for hot chocolate. I made myself a quick breakfast as I thought about what the day would bring. I remembered the day I first decided to move to London. I woke up one day realizing nothing was holding me back from a fresh start. I was finally ready to move on and build a new life. I started researching places to live in London that day and after quite a while of searching I found one.

I was taking a chance, and it was the most adventurous thing I've ever done, deciding to suddenly up and move my life.

Finishing breakfast, I went to shower quickly and get dressed. I examined myself in the bathroom mirror until I was finally somewhat satisfied with how I looked. I don't consider myself pretty, just average. I have dark brown hair that falls to my shoulders, hazel eyes, and normal facial features. I'm a pretty normal height, maybe on the shorter side, and a normal weight. I changed into comfortable clothes to wear on a plane and tucked the remaining items I needed for this morning in their respective boxes. Looking around my empty apartment for the last time, I took a deep breath.

Well...here goes nothing! I thought.

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Before I knew it I was almost moved into my new apartme-flat. I could get used to the view of London outside my window, I decided, with all the black cabs, pedestrians, tall buildings, and the cloudy London skyline with the perfect view of the London Eye. I had finished unpacking and was proudly looking around my new home when I heard a small knock on my door. Getting up from the couch, I went to answer it. It was a beautiful and shy looking young woman.
"Hello," she greeted me with a friendly smile.

"Hello" I answered, smiling back.

"My name is Molly Hooper. I just wanted to come welcome you to London." she said sweetly. "I live in the flat that's attached right next to yours. You're Alexandra, right?"
"Yes, oh thank you so much!" I could already tell I liked this girl.

"If you ever need some advice or help getting to know London, I can always help. I can see how it would be overwhelming to someone." she laughed.

"Yeah, just a bit" I chuckled. "Thank you so much! Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
"That would be lovely, thank you!"

"Wow, I really like your flat!" she complimented, looking around.

"Thank you so much!" I set the kettle on, still chatting with my new neighbor.

"What made you want to come to London, Alexandra?" Molly asked.
"You can call me Alex" I told her warmly. "And I don't know, I think I just really wanted a change. I've always loved travel, and I've always wanted to go to London, so…"
Molly nodded understandingly. "What do you do?" she asked.
"Well I've done a lot of stuff, but I'm a writer" I admitted. "What about you?"
"I'm a pathologist at St. Bart's Hospital"

"That's interesting!"

"I love it, it makes me happy" she shrugged.

When the kettle started to whistle, I poured it into a cup and let Molly fix it the way she likes it.
"Not having any?" she asked, eyeing me.
"I'm not one for tea" I confessed, finding a packet of hot chocolate in the cupboard.

"Living in London you'll learn to, trust me" Molly teased.
We chatted for a little more as we sipped our drinks and got to know each other.

"So what's it like being a pathologist?" I asked curiously.

"Oh it's interesting. It's pretty quiet all day, but I like giving closure to the families of the victims and everything. It's not very exciting unless Sherlock comes in" she shrugged.

"Sherlock?" I asked politely.

"Oh Sherlock Holmes. He's a detective who goes around solving a bunch of crimes. He's quite brilliant. He likes to use me to get body parts or other things he might need for experiments he does" she blushed.

"Oh? And do we have a crush on this Sherlock Holmes?" I teased, my eyebrows raising.

She blushed an even darker shade of red.

"Is it that obvious? Yes, for a few years now." she admitted. "He's tall, dark, and handsome and he can look at you and tell your whole life in just one glance. It's rather quite remarkable. When he looks at you it's like he's seeing through you!"
"Sounds like quite the Romeo, eh?" I laughed, nudging her playfully.

"Yes, but the brilliance comes with a price. He's a sociopath- he has very little knowledge on how to interact with people. He can be very insulting and blunt and he doesn't know when to stop sometimes, but I can never stay mad at him or blame him because it seems like he's trying…"

"I hope I'll have the pleasure to meet him someday" I smiled.

We continued to chat, and when I found out Molly had a cat, I asked her if she could bring him over. She brought Toby over for me to meet, and he was as sweet as her. At my assurance that she wasn't intruding, Molly stayed for dinner as well. After we had finished cleaning the dishes- Molly insisted on helping- we noticed it was pretty dark out.

"Well I guess I should retire for the evening" she chuckled. "I wasn't expecting on intruding for so long!" she apologized.

"Please don't apologize- I'm glad I've made a friend here!" I laughed.

"Like I said, if you ever need anything…"
"Thank you so much" I gave her a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow" she called back, giving me grin as she departed.

That night I fell asleep with a smile on my face- I had already made one friend in London.