A/N: Not beta read. Thanks for reading!

4. Sincerity

"What is he like?"

"What?" Molly looked up from her book when she felt her friend nudged her in the arm. They were studying in the library, but her friends' interest wasn't on their textbook anymore.

"That freak, Sherlock Holmes! You were in a group with him for your biology project. What is he like?" Sandra said, keeping her voice low.

"Oh, um…" She bit her lip. "Why?"

"We are just talking about how scary he is. God, I accidentally had like, one second eye contact with him this morning and-" Katie rubbed her arms and pretended to shiver.

"You got the death stare? You're doomed."

"Stop! Don't scare me."

"You spent a month working with him, Molly. How did you manage to escape his curse?" Sandra asked again.

"Wait. Didn't you like, catch a cold or something the day after you sat next to him?"

"What? No, it- it's not like that…" He was intelligent and quick. He was just a bit socially inept. He wasn't a spooky freak. His skin was a bit pale, but he had a pair of gorgeous eyes. He also had cute little quirks.

"I don't think he's bad person." Zoe, who hadn't spoken a word since the beginning, had finally joined their conversation. "I dropped my books one time. He helped me to pick them up. And he has nice hands and his eyes… His eyes are very beautiful," she said softly. There was a blush on her face.

"He is indeed quite handsome. And his fluffy hair." Sandra giggled. "If he isn't this scary, maybe I would want to run my fingers through his curls. I bet you would too. Am I right?" She winked.

Molly blinked and her heart beat faster. She knew she shouldn't do this, but she couldn't stop herself.

"What? No!" She leaned forward to her friend and frowned. "His stare. Gosh. It's as if he's stripping you with his eyes and it's the creepiest thing ever. He can tell your past in one look, and then he'll criticise every choice you've made in your life. 'You shouldn't have bought that lip gloss if it meant you would need to skip lunch, Molly, even though it can make your lips look fuller'." She spoke quickly in a deep voice, imitating Sherlock Holmes. "The least thing I want is to run my hand through his hair."

"Er, Molly…"

"And he can get grumpy easily if something doesn't go as he likes. He wants everyone to follow his order. He's rude and intolerable and he always says the cruellest things." To act more convincing, Molly grimaced.

"Molly…"

"What?"

Sandra pointed at Molly's back.

She turned around and felt the blood drain from her face when she saw who was standing there.

"You left this in your seat," said Sherlock Holmes. His tone was cold and there was no emotion on his face as he handed her the notes.

How long had he been standing here? How much did he hear?

She was frozen in her spot, unable to react, just staring at him with her widened eyes.

He put the notes on her desk and left when he didn't get a response.

It was until the door of the library closed after him that she finally stood up, shoved her belongings into her bag, and ran after him.

It wasn't surprising. Really. It wasn't news that people didn't like him. Sherlock had stopped caring about what the others thought of him since long time ago.

Then why did his chest feel heavy?

He took a deep breath and tried to huff the stuffy feeling away, but it didn't work.

Rude… Intolerable… Cruellest…

Molly's words were repeating in his ears. Was that what she thought about him?

If she disliked him, why did she bake him cookies? Why did she text him, telling him the trivial things that happened in her day? Why did she smile so brightly at him?

He thought…

Sherlock shook his head. Wasn't it good? Her face under the mask was revealed, and she wouldn't need to pretend she liked him anymore. He wouldn't keep getting those annoying texts again. His ears wouldn't have to suffer from her stammers.

Sherlock!

She wouldn't have to say his name with a big smile. She wouldn't bother him with works that she was supposed to understand. He could finally be alone. Wonderful.

"Sherlock! Wait!" Someone pulled his sleeve.

"If you're worried I would take away your name from our project, you don't have to. Because even though I'm rude and intolerable, I don't cheat," he said without looking back.

"No, it's not- Sherlock, I'm sorry! I didn't-" Molly sniffed, still trotting along after Sherlock.

Sherlock didn't stop walking, and Molly sobbed aloud when she couldn't keep up with his pace.

"I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry. I'm a horrible person. Please don't be mad at me."

People were watching them, pointing fingers, and snickering. Molly didn't seem to care at all. She just kept saying sorry while crying.

Sherlock sighed.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

Molly blew her nose before she nodded slightly.

They were sitting on the bench by the little garden in the campus. She cried for at least ten minutes before she subsided, all the while kept asking for Sherlock's forgiveness.

She said she didn't want to say those words. She said she didn't mean them and wish she could still be his friend.

Well, first thing first – since when did she become his friend? Since the day they were assigned in the same group, since the day he gave her his number, or some other time?

He didn't ask her. Judging by her emotional state, she wouldn't be able to give him a clear answer.

"Are you ashamed?" He asked.

"What?"

"Are you ashamed to be seen as my friend?"

"No!" She quickly said, shaking her head. "I was just being stupid in the library. I wasn't thinking straight. They were asking me questions a-and how could I tell-" She stopped mid-sentence and chewed on her upper lip.

Sherlock watched her for a while. She didn't seem to be lying right now. It seemed she really wanted to regain his friendship.

"Please, forgive me. I just… I-" She buried her face in her hands and wept again.

Sherlock took a deep breath. He hated dealing with emotional people, but for some unknown reasons, he just couldn't leave her alone.

"There, there," he said, patting her on the shoulder, which caused Molly to look up at him.

He found he couldn't get mad at her when she looked at him with puffed cheeks and watery eyes.

Not that he was mad at her in the first place. He was just… confused.

"It's alright." He gave her a small smile. "But next time, don't say things that you don't mean, okay? It… it's not… it hurts."

Molly nodded and her face split into a wide smile.

The heavy feeling on his chest vanished at the sight of it.

"I don't suppose you'd like me to hug you in order to properly express my gratitude?"

"…No."

"Okay."

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