School couldn't have come any sooner. Before they knew it, John and Sherlock would be starting their first day of school for the year. For John, this was unnerving. He knew nothing of the new school apart from the fact that it was highly respected, and he hoped the students would be welcoming. For Sherlock, it was both a relief and a worry. A relief because he would be away from his father; and a worry because he would be closer to the students that were at said school. He would be foolish to think that the students had matured since the junior years and were now respectful of others in their last two years of school. Sherlock knew they'd be the same. They were always the same.

John stood on the pavement in front of his house, looking for signs of the bus that was to pick him up in a matter of minutes, if it managed to stay on schedule. He shifted his shoulder bag, trying to find a comfortable position where it wouldn't slip as he shivered in the cold. His long sleeved white shirt was soft against his skin and the black blazer, pants and red tie kept him relatively warm and smart. He liked this uniform, but when the wind blew it slipped between the button-up folds and brushed along his stomach. He shuddered again.
A truck passed him, and as the back of it slipped from his view, he suddenly saw a figure across the road. The pale, lanky boy with a mop of black curls seemed to stare distantly at him. He wore the uniform suit, but over the top he had a trench coat that looked a little short for him and he had substituted the crimson tie for an almost navy scarf. A small black bag hung from his gloved hand and John wondered how he managed to fit anything in it. He looked up and down the road and saw the bus coming towards him. He crossed to the other side and waited with the strange boy. His distant eyes snapped back to reality as the small bus pulled in front of them. Sherlock got on first and was greeted with "how's being a freak going for you?" from the bus driver.
"About the same as you being a stripper- very well," he retaliated flatly.
"Don't think you can insult me-"
"I'm not," he cut in, "you've still got glitter in your hair from last night," the bus driver scowled at him. John walked on awkwardly after him, greeting with a friendly "good morning, Sir," as the driver grumbled and drove them to the school.

The bus was made to seat around twenty people. Most of them were primary students going to a nearby school, and after they disembarked, only John and Sherlock were left. John looked continuously over at Sherlock, wondering if he should start a conversation to break the silence of the trip. He opened his mouth to speak as the bus hit a bump in the road. Sherlock's small bag bounced and the contents spilled out as it landed. He quickly scrambled to collect his possessions and John's eyes quickly absorbed what was stuffed into the bag. The first thing he grabbed was a small jar filled with some black powdery substance. He then picked up a square sliding microscope, several pens, a small book and finally a pack of cigarettes. Sherlock shot him a dirty look before clasping onto his bag to secure it from any more spillages. The remainder of the trip was made even more awkward.

When the bus finally stopped, John stood in awe of the college that was laid out before him. It was like a massive castle, the sort of establishment that would be saved for universities, not high schools. The whole place had a Gothic feel to it. There were long spires sticking out from the rooves and spiked buttresses supporting the dark walls. Sherlock passed John with an air of indifference and shuffled his way through the black, metal gates. John walked after him, following him through the expansive grounds. After a while, Sherlock came to a stop. He turned to face John, still bearing his expressionless look.
"Stop following me," he droned. John looked around confusedly, "yes, I'm talking to you. I know you're the new boy who moved into the house across the road from me. I know it's your first day here and I know you have no idea where you're going."
"Yes, well-"
"Of course I know various other things about you, but now's not the time. You should be going to the assembly in the hall where all the other students are going if you look behind you. I am obviously not going. I have things to do that do not concern you, so go away and follow those other idiots," John opened his mouth to speak but then shut it again. Sherlock turned away from him and walked towards the back of the school. John also turned and found a pack of students heading off through a small archway. He jogged after them, merging with a small pack of newcomers who were nervously following the other students. When all the students came to a halt outside what looked like a small cathedral, John introduced himself to a boy near him that looked about his age.
"Hey, I'm John. John Watson," he extended his hand to the boy, who smiled and shook it firmly.
"Hi," he replied cheerfully, "my name's James. You new here?"
"Yeah. You?"
"No, I've been here for a few years now. I'll help you around, if you like."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm happy not everyone is as rude as that other boy…"
"Other boy?" James tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, "can you point him out?"
"No, he said he wasn't going to be here," James relaxed his face and rolled his eyes as he smiled.
"Oh, him. Don't worry about him; he's just a bit strange. Come on, we're going in now," John followed James into the hall, taking a seat next to him once they entered.
Once everyone was seated, the headmaster stood behind the podium and welcomed everyone to the new year at the school. He spent about an hour talking about values and the importance of uniforms and other regulations that needed to be enforced before informing them of their new Senior Timetable and Senior Locker Area. Multiple teachers headed along the rows and handed out envelopes to the students. John opened his and found a timetable and a key.
"What number did you get?" James whispered.
"221A. What's that?"John asked quietly.
"Locker 221 on the A side. Someone could have the same number as you but on the B side, meaning their locker will be opposite yours."
"Oh, right. So where are you?"
"220A. Right next to you," he smiled. After the teachers handed out all the envelopes, the headmaster dismissed them.

John opened his locker once they were in the locker area, which turned out to be an extensive hallway in the eastern wing of the school. The black lockers were taller than John, and each had gold numbers and letters to show which locker was which. The inside of the locker was also black, and featured five shelves with at least half a meter of space between them.
"How the hell am I meant to reach to top?" John mused audibly. James chuckled next to him, "What?" John asked.
"Here, I'll show you," James led John out of the way and locked the door hinges in place. He then pushed a metal stopper on the outmost bottom corner of the door before pulling out a foldable ladder that was attached to the door. John stared at it in awe before stepping onto the ladder to test its stability, "and you just reverse the process to close the door. The ladder has small magnets on the legs that attach to the door when you fold it up so you don't hurt yourself. But they're not so strong that you struggle to unfold it."
"Clever," John noted.
"Yeah, a previous school dux designed it and they've been used ever since. Mycroft, I think his name was…"
"Mycroft?"
"Yeah, you know him?"
"No… The name's just familiar to me," John shrugged. James smiled at him and led him to his first lesson.
There was still half an hour before the lesson was due to start, so James took this opportunity to explain the time table to John as they wandered.
"So each room has a combination of letters and numbers. The first character is always a letter. It tells you which block it's in. The second character is either a number or a letter depending on the floor the room is on, and the last two are always numbers as they represent the room number. So for example… E107 is room number seven on the first floor of E block, and… HG11 is the eleventh room on the ground floor of H block," he explained.
"That seems pretty simple. So the rooms have the numbers on them?"
"Yep."
"So room E107 actually has 'E107' on the door?"
"That's right. It's so new people don't get lost as easily."
"Thanks, James. You're a really nice friend," John smiled. James seemed uncomfortable as John said this, "oh, sorry, I just assumed you were my-"
"No, it's fine. It's just… If you want to be my friend, I think I should tell you something first," John stopped and looked worryingly at James.
"What is it?" John asked. James looked away and blushed.
"Well… I've never had many friends because… because…"
"Because what? You can tell me."
"Because I'm gay," James stated sharply. He winced away from John, seeming defensive. It was as if he expected John to hit him. John chuckled lightly, and it eventually grew into a loud laugh.
"That's it?" he laughed. James looked at him quizzically, "that's all you wanted to tell me? Mate, I don't care. You're a nice guy, it doesn't matter to me who or what you're interested in, you're nice and that's all that matters."
"Really? You really don't mind?"
"No, James," smiled John as he wrapped a friendly arm around James and patted his shoulder, "no it doesn't."
"Please," grinned James, "call me Jim. Jim Moriarty."

Gah, I'm so sorry. If you've looked on my profile, you'll have seen why I can review heaps but not upload. I planned on getting this and the second chapter of LG done and uploaded last week but every time I wanted to either no computers were available or one of my friends joined me and I really don't like people watching me write. My mind basically screams "DON'T JUDGE ME! ;A;" So yeah… well by the time I've uploaded this I'll have either finished or nearly finished the next chapter. I really had planned this to be longer as well, but I'm so restricted D:
If I had my computer all the time, I'd reply to each of your reviews and maybe even put the reply up on the chapter, but as I do not, I just have to thank all you lovely people for reading, reviewing and favouriting! Nyan cats to all of you ^3^
Stick with me and I'll try for you!
~The Science Of Seduction~
SH