**Hello friends, it is I, chapter 7 and I still own nothing, drat!**
The Elevator
Louise looked up at the staggeringly tall hotel building, which must have been at least 30 floors high. Too elegant and posh to be considered a tower block, yet not of such magnitude to be called a skyscraper.
"Why the fuck am I here again? I don't want to be here, why have you dragged me here?" She demanded an answer, not moving a muscle from the pavement, placing a hand on her hip, tapping her foot in irritation, with an exhausted scowl on her face. She was tired, hungry and feeling extremely underdressed in her hoodie and jeans, watching the rich Chelsea Friday nightlife pass her by.
Sherlock stopped just short of the revolving doors and gave her an exasperated sigh. "Because, the message was for you, so the killer obviously made the crime scene for you. It's like a gift, so you just have to suck it up and accept it. Plus you being there, you may be able to shed some light on evidence that may be specifically directed to you. I could have sworn I'd already gone through all this in the taxi." He explained matter of factly.
Louise huffed in a childlike manner and begrudgingly shoved her way past Sherlock in through the revolving doors, not at all taking to the concept of seeing a crime scene up close and personal. "What floor was it again?" She asked timidly.
"The 30th. Why the sudden change in demeanour? Scared of heights?" He smirked, pressing the button to call the elevator and taking a step back to wait for it.
"No actually. I love heights. I love to abseil and flying is my favourite thing in the world, plane travel is quite wonderful!" Lou defended, applying an air of false confidence, puffing out her chest a bit and raising her chin slightly as the elevator 'dinged' and opened; she walked through with purpose now as if she had something to prove, Sherlock following suit with a knowing smile.
Louise pressed the button for the 30th floor and took a deep breath in as the door closed.
"Claustrophobia then." He chuckled lightly, figuring he'd sussed her fear out.
"No, you arse." She snapped through gritted teeth, gripping the side bar of the lift tightly, her knuckles turning extremely white from the pressure and tapped her thumb on the bar to the droning of the elevator music.
They rode the lift in silence, that was until all of a sudden it ground to a shuddering halt, the music stopping and the lights cutting out.
"No no no no fuck no no." Louise chanted, dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes and held her head between her hands. "It's okay, it'll be okay, someone will come and fix it, and we're not going to fall…" She continued under her breath, attempting to reassure herself.
"Oh of course, just a fear of elevators then, not just any old confined space. I'll bet good money that you got stuck in one as a child, I'm going to say 7 years old." He deduced, ignoring the heap of nerves on the floor. "Do compose yourself will you, the odds of us plummeting to our untimely deaths is rather slim."
"You're not helping at all you motherfucking self-absorbed worthless piece of shit, you're an egotistical fucking cunt." Louise barked out through sobs as she felt a panic attack coming on. Closing her eyes even tighter, she tried to think happy thoughts, but to no avail as the presence of the man she'd just verbally attacked was very noticeable in the atmosphere. "S-sorry…" Was all she managed to wrestle from her vocal chords, as all of a sudden the lights and music reappeared, with the lift remaining stationary.
Though this however did not prove to be of any comfort to Lou, as the previous instrumental music had been replaced with something far more sinister.
'Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said I'd like to
Smash every tooth in your head
Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed'
She felt a familiar tightness on her chest as she struggled to breathe. Attempting to grasp for air, she found her efforts to be futile, as every shallow, quick breath made her feel all the more sick and dizzy.
'And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
And her Walkman started to melt'
Louise jumped slightly as she felt a hand on her back, obviously Sherlock's as he rubbed it in circles soothingly.
"Slow your breathing to one breath every five seconds." Sherlock advised, seeming rather unamused and irritated by the inconvenience of her ailment.
'Bigmouth la la la la la, bigmouth la la la la
Bigmouth strikes again
And I've got no right to take my place
With the human race'
"I-I-I Can't." She managed to choke out after giving the technique a try, her throat and chest aching more with each attempt.
Sherlock rolled his eyes at her response and took her hands from the sides of her head. He placed one hand on her stomach, just below her ribs and the other on her chest, proceeding to remove his own hands from hers.
"Take a deep breath through your nose. As you inhale, let your stomach push your hand out, but keep your chest still." He instructed. The last thing he wanted to be doing was playing therapist or nurse to the forensic scientist that sat before him. He'd much rather have been with the body and getting on with the investigation, but he figured the young Miss Bell would have been no use to him at all, if she'd have passed out.
'And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know of Joan of Arc felt
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt'
Louise followed the advice given to her and found that slowly but surely her breathing was returning back to almost its natural rhythm.
Removing her hands from her chest and belly, she wiped the tears from her eyes and brushed the mess of hair that had gathered in front of her face back behind her ears. She grabbed a hold of the side railing of the lift and pulled herself up, experiencing a slight head rush as she did.
'Bigmouth la la la la la, bigmouth la la la la
Bigmouth strikes again
And I've got no right to take my place
With the human race'
Shuffling on her feet slightly and biting the inside of her cheek, she finally spoke up. "Thanks for that. You know. Sorting me out." Lou mumbled, looking forwards towards the doors.
"No problem at all. I often have to deal with women losing their breath when locked in a small room with me." Sherlock smirked, looking towards the forward facing Louise, who turned her head to meet his gaze, before the both of them burst out into a fit of laughter.
"The great Sherlock Holmes, cracking jokes! Whatever will people say?!" She exclaimed, her laughter fading into minor chuckles.
"When the mood suits me I've been told I can be quite humorous." He smiled, turning to face the door again.
'Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said I'd like to
Smash every tooth in your head'
"Sorry again. For calling you a cunt." Louise apologized sheepishly, tapping her foot to the second run of the music, as disconcerting as it was.
"I do believe the exact wording was 'motherfucking self-absorbed worthless piece of shit, you're an egotistical fucking cunt'" Sherlock quoted back to her, placing his hands behind his back.
'Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed'
Lou winced slightly at that. "Yeah, well I don't handle well under stress and pressure. And if it's any consolation, I'm quite a casual cunter. I really am quite liberal with the word. If anything, coming from me it's a term of endearment!" She explained with a smile, sad but true, her one major vice was her use of profanity.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from the Essex girl." He jabbed, poking fun at her and catching her give him a smile at the constant normality of him belittling her home county.
They stood in silence for the next minute or so, letting 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' run its full course. As the song finished, the lift shuddered to life and continued on its upwards journey.
"Oh thank fuck for that!" Louise shouted, to no one in particular, a grin spreading across her face and went back to gripping the side bar tightly, just in case.
Unbeknownst to her though, it was our of the frying pan and into the fire.
Okay, chapter 7 done and dusted, do let me know what you think, you lovely readers, you!
Also, to Ally and everyone else who was wondering, this is indeed set before Sherlock has met John, but he will still be in this fic! This is really a case to get to know Louise before A Study in Pink and then we'll be getting into series 1!
Many thanks to angel897 and Ally for reviewing! Ally I'm glad you like Louise, I did try to make her somewhat likable ha-ha! You rock a lot and I appreciate your reviews!
DeathFrizbee