from holnnes on tumblr: I need teen!Sherlolly slow dancing to Linger by The Cranberries (rated T cause they're teens...but that's the only reason, it's really K+ at best)

The dance was almost over, and Molly's so-called date had long since vanished with another girl. She resigned herself to once again being nothing but wallpaper to all the boys she fancied, but watching Tom leave with Janine had really hurt. True, they'd only been dating for a month, but still, getting dumped at a dance wasn't exactly how she'd imagined this night turning out.

She fingered the airy fabric of her bright yellow dress, wishing she'd worn something less eye-catching now that she just wanted to fade into the woodwork while she waited for 10:00 and the end of her father's shift so he could pick her up. Watching all the other kids dancing was painful, especially whenever a slow song came on.

She mustered a smile as John and his girlfriend Mary stopped by where she was sitting, but shook her head as they tried to coax her onto the dance floor with them. "You don't need a third wheel hanging around," she said firmly, making shooing motions with her hands as "Oh What A Night" came on, an oldie she knew both of them loved. Thank goodness the chaperones didn't actually listen closely to some of the lyrics of the music they allowed the teenaged DJ, a lanky boy two years older than Molly named Sherlock Holmes, to play!

She looked over at his set up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him wearing something other than a scowl on his face, but was surprised to find someone else behind the table - it looked like Billy Wiggins, Sherlock's second-best friend after John Watson.

"I needed a break."

The voice came from close behind Molly, and she jumped a bit, gasping and turning to see who it was. "Sherlock," she said, surprised and flustered at seeing him so close. She'd spoken with him before, of course, especially since they shared a chemistry class, but other than that and the occasional awkward chat in the hall between classes, this was the closest he'd ever been to her. She knew she wasn't the prettiest girl, although she was vain enough to think that she looked particularly well tonight, and she wondered if she'd actually caught his attention or if he was just bored and wanted someone he'd once declared 'not an idiot' (herself, she was very proud of that backhanded compliment for some absurd reason) to talk to.

Before she could ask, the music changed to 'Linger' by the Cranberries, one of her absolute favorites even if it was rather sad. Sherlock grabbed her hand and started tugging her to the dance floor while she stared at him. "Come on, Molly, I know you love this song," he said impatiently. "I saved it until now so we could dance together, after that idiot you came here with finally got the balls to ask Janine Mortimer out."

"Oh, you know about that," Molly said in a small voice, not moving, eyes on the floor. Sherlock wasn't known for being nice, but just this once it appeared he was trying to do just that, and she supposed she should be thankful since she'd basically worshipped him from afar since first meeting him at the beginning of the school year, but she didn't want pity from anyone. Especially not him. "But you don't have to, to pretend you want to dance with me, it's all right. I'm fine," she lied.

He huffed and rolled his eyes impatiently before tipping a finger under her chin in order to raise her face up so their eyes met. "Listen to me very carefully, Molly Hooper," he said. "Because I'm only going to say it once. This isn't pity, and I'm not pretending. I've been waiting for you to figure out that Tom was only dating you because Janine was going out with that Magnussen kid, the one who transferred to a different school the other day." He smirked as if there was some secret meaning behind that statement, but rushed on before Molly could demand an explanation. "I wanted to tell you he was only using you, but John said it wouldn't be kind, that it would be better to let you figure it out on your own. I disagreed, but since he has more experience with girls than I do, so I let him convince me." He looked uncomfortable for the first time since...well, since ever, actually. "Which was clearly the wrong thing to do, as I could have been spared the tedium of acting as DJ and been dancing with you the entire night instead."

Molly stared at him in wonder. "Wait, you mean if I hadn't been dating Tom you would have asked me to the dance?"

Sherlock nodded, an errant curl bouncing on his forehead. "And the song is nearly halfway over, Molly, so will you please come dance with me?"

She nodded eagerly and allowed him to pull her across the crowded floor, stopping only when they were in front of his erstwhile station. Billy nodded at the two of them, grinned, and stopped the disk. At the disappointed chorus of "awwwws" he shouted, "Sorry! I'll start it over again!" Then he did just that, and Sherlock took Molly in his arms.

By the time the song ended, Molly's head was resting on his shoulder and he was holding her closely enough that one of the chaperones felt obliged to come over and chide them into separating. But even Mrs. Hudson's gentle admonitions couldn't stop Molly from letting Sherlock kiss her, right there in front of everyone.

It was the best dance she'd ever attended, and she looked forward to the next one with a great deal of anticipation.