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Chapter 7: Matchmaking and Contemplating

Sherlock narrowed his eyes at the strange message spray-painted carefully on the white walls of the banker's office. The yellow hue was sickening, deathly. Pulling his phone from the large pocket of his blue trench coat, he snapped a few clear photos, eager to analyze them closer later. What did it mean? Why yellow? Why these specific markings? A cipher, then. But what was it trying to get across? What point was it trying to make?

"Nooooo waaaaaay…" A small voice cooed from beside him, full admiration, and his eyes instantly flashed to his right, revealing a small girl, stood in her purple shirt, black tight jeans, and bare feet.

He huffed out a rather aggravated sigh, however – of course he would never admit it – he was oddly fascinated. "What are you doing here?"

Celeste grinned happily and shrugged, "Observing."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, catching sight of the other two girls slowly striding up toward him, John behind looking completely baffled.

"Oh, fantastic," The detective drawled irritably, and added the next comment with far more sarcasm than needed, "What, are we having a party?"

John scoffed from the back of the group, and almost everyone picked up on the faint blush lacing Annabelle's fair skin.

Eleanor broke the meaning behind Sherlock's frustrated remark, "Oh, we should though."

Celeste and Bella both rolled their eyes, John smiling faintly in content, while Sherlock simply shook his head and snapped a few more photos.
Without hesitating, the consulting detective then took off down the corridor of offices, eager to further investigate, pushing past John and the three girls, as if they were not physically there.

Celeste only shrugged once more, and turned to follow; just after taking one more glance at the indoor graffiti. She observed how the line sat, dashed across the man's eyes; clearly appearing as though it was a blindfold. She laughed at the fact of it all, "The Blind Banker."
Celeste spoke the words just as she passed John, grinning pleasantly his way, "That's a good one for your blog, ay John?"

ooo

Annabelle, Eleanor and John all watched from the side, sat awkwardly next to a cublice, simply staring at both Sherlock and Celeste. Personally, both Eleanor and Bella found it hilarious. They knew the extent of Celeste's love for Sherlock – there was no extent. And so watching her live out her dreams was positively wonderful – in this case, she was following the detective around the office, head ducking up multiple times to observe the angles of which the spray paint could be seen. All three girls knew Sherlock would discover it was Eddie Van Coon who was meant to receive the message, and that the message actually meant 'dead man' and that it would also result in the death of William Shad, after spotting it in a library, and Soo Lin Yao, and also that John would receive an ASBO from spray painting.

Basically they knew everything about the case.
But they didn't dare say a word.
This was one of John and Sherlock's famous cases.
They couldn't reveal answers.
Nor could they get involved.
Well, at least not too involved.

"She's like his shadow isn't she?" John scoffed, shaking his head at the two, as they hurried around the office cubicles, receiving dirty looks from the employees.

Bella snorted out a laugh and nodded, while Eleanor continued to watch, pleasantly smirking. "They have a lot more in common than you think."

Eleanor nodded at Bella's words, "Just like you and John."

And with that, the lighter blonde disappeared, stating she was going to ask 'that Sebastian bloke' for a coffee.
John cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled a nervous smile toward the darker haired girl.

Bella bit her lip and giggled softly, blushing furiously, "I suppose we do have a lot in common."

John raised a brow politely, "How so?"

"For one, we're both doctors."

It seemed as though John mentally face palmed, his expression reddening and he chuckled, "Right, yeah."

"Also, just like you, I'm the designated adult." Bella added, grinning as she shrugged her shoulders toward him.

He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, which looked simply adorable, "What do you mean?"

"Well, without us, where would they be?" Bella flicked her head toward the detective and his 'shadow', scampering around the office like children on a case, rather than adults.

John nodded in agreement and bellowed out a sharp laugh, "OH, yes of course."

Then they sat in silence, both staring one another in the eyes, minds mentally flustered by the intimate gaze.
Bella didn't get moments like this watching the show.

You didn't get to look into the eyes of your favorite character, nor did you get to breathe in their smell, or feel their closeness.
You had to simply deal with the takes, the clips, and the images given to you.
But now Bella was face-to-face with that man she had literally said she loved, over and over and over and over again.
She could feel his warmth as he sat beside her, smell the soft scent of faded disinfectant, the rich lingering sensation of his favorite cologne.
She wanted more than anything to take his hand in her own, but she held back on the urge with a considerable amount of effort.

She snapped herself out of it, clearing her throat and looking down at the polished floor.
She had to remind herself as well: this was the episode where Sarah makes her first appearance.
And she can't get in the way. It was torture.

Smiling wearily to herself, she adjusted her position, just as her eyes flickered up to catch a glimpse of both Sherlock and Celeste trotting toward her.

"You ready?" John grunted as Sherlock approached him.

Bella couldn't help but smirk faintly at the scene, remembering their conversation. It was as though Sherlock was the child on the playground, tired and exhausted, approaching his father with a pout, as dad simply asked if his little ankle-biter was ready to leave.

Annabelle glanced at John and then decided to do the same, turning to Celeste with a warm smile, "All done?"

John instantly busted into a chuckle, while Bella blushed furiously and couldn't hide the wide grin sprouting across her features.
Celeste narrowed her eyes at the infantile treatment, same as Sherlock, and both merely nodded.

At that point, Bella felt another figure grow nearer to her, and spun around to come face-to-face with a rather nonchalant Eleanor, taking a sip of her coffee and holding out a slip of paper. Bella arched a brow and gently took hold of the sheet. It was a check, messy handwriting spelling out the numbers of quite a large amount of money.

"Eleanor!" Annabelle exclaimed, and Celeste immediately tripped over towards her, straining to catch sight of the check's worth. "Why the hell did you get a check for 500 pounds?"

Eleanor's features immediately broke into a smug grin, and she took a long drag of her coffee, before pulling it away from her mouth with a long sigh of contentment. She then flipped her hair, "I'm gorgeous; that's why."

Both girls blinked in confusion, and the two men standing behind them stared with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows.

She groaned, and shook her head, "The Sebastian guy gave it to me."
She reached for her check, taking it from Bella's small fingers, and then held it close, smirking with pride, "He took a liking to my unattainable good looks."

Celeste rolled her eyes, and scoffed in amusement. Annabelle couldn't help but smile, same as John.

Sherlock only kept a straight face, "Perhaps it would suit you better to be more feminine, John. You'd certainly make better money that way."

With that, the detective took off through the corridor of cubicles, eager to get a move on and away from the mundane conversation.
Celeste held back a laugh, and quickly jogged after the consultant, whose insults she found so amusing.
Bella simply cleared her throat, smiling hesitantly at John and then followed in a slow-paced pursuit.
John got up from his chair with a sigh, shaking his head in both irritation and embarrassment, and went to follow, only to be stopped by Eleanor's hand gripping tight on his stared at her in suspicion.

She handed him the check with a small smirk. "Take it, John."

He chewed on the insides of his cheeks, and then held up both hands, "I couldn't."

Eleanor, seemingly aware how desperate he was for a good income, groaned and sighed, "John Watson, take the damn check."

John's eyes widened and he reached for it, only to be stopped once more by Eleanor's sharp tone, "Wait, you have to promise me something."

John froze and shrugged, shaking his head, "Alright..."

El raised a brow mischievously and tucked the check gently in his palm; patting it in conclusion, "Use it to take Annabelle out to dinner. Clear?"

John leaned back, bemused by her request. He then nodded, somehow perfectly satisfied with the thought of treating the quite extraordinary, darker-haired girl to a meal out in a fancy diner.

"Crystal." He responded and grinned, closing his fingers around the paper, eyes sparkling in excitement at the idea of asking Bella, now clearly informed that she was falling for him quite profusely. Just as he turned to follow Sherlock and the other two, however, Eleanor grabbed hold of his wrist once more. He turned back, startled at her stern expression.

"What?"

"One more thing."

John scoffed, "You know, you are a very demanding woman."

Eleanor smirked, "Yes, I take pleasure in it."

"Let's hear it then."

Eleanor took a deep breath, "Help me play matchmaker."

"Sorry?"

The lighter blonde grinned and further explained, trying to play the role of a persuasive and sexy young woman (she really didn't need to pretend), "Your flat mate and my friend. I'm sure you want more than anything to see Sherlock succumb to a young lady. Am I right?"

John blushed and chuckled sincerely, releasing a meek, "Yeah."

"Someone to order him around, someone he will fall submissive to?"

John snorted, "That would be quite the sight."

"Well, I assure you. Celeste would be more than willing."

John raised his chin in understanding, and was suddenly grinning ridiculously, "Ah, I see."

"So?" Eleanor chimed in, smirk still present.

John nodded, "Of course I'll help you."

"Good." Eleanor let him go and John winked at her before hurrying to catch up with the others.

The blonde was ecstatic.
Perfect.
She was playing matchmaker with everyone and they didn't even realize.
John and Bella would be an absolutely brilliant pair.
Sherlock and Celeste? Two peas in a pod, if Sherlock could open up to his emotions.
That was her set goal, however, and she always accomplishes her goals.

A/N: Hi friends :) Lemme hear your thoughts!