Chapter Five:

(Time Skip by two days)

"And that's how you solved it?" I asked, incredulous. "His thumb?"

"Well, it obviously had to be his thumb, wouldn't it? Or else the entire thing wouldn't have made sense." Sherlock said casually, but I could hear the pride in his voice.

"Amazing." I shook my head. "That is truly amazing."

"What about you, John?"

"What? What about me?"

"We've talked about nothing but my past cases for the last two days I've been here."

"So?"

"Please, John, don't be an imbecile."

"Well, I've certainly never solved any cases, unless you count catching Ritchie Menner steal my lunch money."

"Just tell me anything. You've peaked my interest."

I've peaked his interest. Doesn't that make me feel special. Me, ordinary, plain John has caught the interest of a man who can solve a murder by looking at someones thumb and their chewing gum habit. "Well, I don't really know what to tell you that doesn't make me sound like a boring sod." I laughed at myself, but in actuality, it was true. "You already know about Harry. You know about the rugby. You know about my family. I can't think of anything to tell you that you might not already know."

"Come on, John, you can't be that predictable."

"Shut up, Sherlock." I laughed. "Okay, well, then. When I was fourteen, I tried to run away from home."

Sherlock froze as he went to pick up one of the snacks I had brought out for us when he got here. When he had brought my things over two days ago, I asked him if he would like to come back, to which he answered, "Perhaps". The next day, he arrived at the exact same time as he did the day before and we talked about his cases, nothing but his cases. This was the most I've been interested in following through with plans since I started school here. So when he left, I invited him over again, to which he said nothing, but only smiled. And once more, he showed.

"Really?" He asked, unfreezing himself and grabbing a cookie.

"Yep." I drummed my fingers on the arms of my chair where I usually sat when Sherlock came over and we talked.

"Why?"

"I had gotten tired of the constant drinking and fighting. No one thought I would do it. So I did. Of course, I had nowhere to go, really, so I just went to the park beside my house and set up my things under the slide."

I don't think I've heard Sherlock laugh before. Well, I've heard him snort in derision but I've never heard him bark out a laugh like that. I felt proud that I could make such a usually stoic man laugh like that. I made myself a goal to try to do it more often. I quite liked Sherlock and I would like him to stick around.

"I didn't expect that answer, to be honest." Sherlock admitted.

"It's okay, Sherlock, you can't deduce everything." I laughed and shook my head, while reaching to grab a cookie, and accidentally grabbing Sherlock's hand instead, as it was still in the pile of cookies.

Sherlock pulled his hand away like he had been electrocuted and I pulled mine back slowly, muttering apologies before something awkward happened.

"Sorry," I said, looking at Sherlock who refused to make eye contact. "I meant to grab a cookie and I wasn't looking. Sorry."

"It's alright, John." Sherlock said quietly. "I just don't like being touched."

The silence that followed was extremely awkward, which was what I was trying to avoid. I racked my brain to think of something to say, but I couldn't think of anything. Not one bloody thing. Maybe I could ask why he doesn't like being touched. No, that was a very personal thing and if he wanted to tell me, he would.

"So..." I drawled out, breathing deeply and drumming my fingers against my chair again. "Has Mycroft budged on the idea of letting you go back to Oxford?"

"Unfortunately, no." Sherlock said, straightening out his shirt and worn jeans. "I'm to attend to this school until I graduate."

It was hard to remember that Sherlock was only 19, not that much younger than me. He acted more mature than most people I knew. Hell, he acted more mature than most of the teachers here. I was kind of envious, if I were to be honest with you. If I were that smart, it would make my life a thousand times easier.

"That can't be so bad, can it?"

"Easy for you to say. I'm surrounded by idiots and ignorant people at all times of the day." Sherlock grumbled darkly. I wasn't sure if this applied to me, as well, but I went against the urge to ask. I didn't think I wanted to find out.

"It's getting late." Sherlock said, suddenly, hopping up from his spot on the sofa and picking up his dark blue hoodie that he always wore. "I've got to be getting back to Greg's flat."

"Oh, alright." I cleared my throat and stood up to see him out the door. "Will you be coming back tomorrow, then?"

"Can't. I've got work to do tomorrow. What about breakfast?"

"I've got morning classes tomorrow." I said, an apology in my voice.

"No problem, then. Lunch will do."

"What about your experiments?"

"Would you like to see them?"

"See what?"

"My experiments, John." Sherlock smiled.

"Uh, sure. I've only got one class after lunch so I'll swing by then."

"Great. I'll be in Morgue."

"What?" I choked out. "Why?"

"For science, John!" Sherlock whirled around and I saw a huge smile on his face as he thought about his experiments I assume involve dead people. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon!"

Sherlock was out the door and down the street before I could honestly reply, so I just shut the door after him and made sure he climbed into a taxi before I went to sit back down. Sherlock was the strangest man I have ever met, but he was also the most interesting man. True, his deductions could get on my nerves and he commented on things that really didn't need a comment, but he always amazed me with his cases and I was intrigued. He was so passionate when you got him started on the right subject, like Chemistry or Crime history.

"But he can't remember the solar system." I chuckled to myself.

Besides that. Everything but the solar system.

Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, this is really just a chapter to keep you satisfied until I complete the plot and the construction I'm doing on the story. I've run into a few bumps with this, so I'll need some time to get it all smoothed over. It won't be that long, though, so don't worry! I hope you enjoyed! Reviews and messages are welcome!