Hello, hello! Back with another chapter. Things have been a bit hectic at home, but the good news is that my summer classes have ended! Except I still have quite a bit of AP summer homework to do still...But writing is never a chore! Thank you everyone who's favorited, followed, or reviewed this story. It means a lot to me and it gives me motivation to write more and faster. So here you go, the next chapter of this story.
Sherlock Holmes and Janine Hawkins sat eating dinner at the Watson residence. The room was pregnant with unspoken words, curiosity, tension, and awkwardness. The guests picked up the food with their utensils and mechanically chewed. John spent most of the time just staring curiously at Janine, still trying to figure out what on Earth she did to get Sherlock Holmes to date her. Mary continued making feeble attempts to start conversation, despite absolutely despising the situation, but none so far were successful.
Sherlock gave a inaudible sigh. He didn't want to be here. Not that he had anything against the Watsons, but he didn't want to be faking a relationship to a woman he detested in front of them; Mary and John were after all, some of his closest friends. He tried eating quickly, but that was a bit hard when Mary's cooking today was slightly less on par than usual, which was odd since her food was usually delicious, and Sherlock had little appetite. He made a mental note to punish John later for inviting him and Janine over for dinner. Perhaps he would leave the leftovers of an experiment in his fridge. Thumbs, perhaps? Sherlock also found himself straining to lie and act like his relationship with Janine was real. Usually, he could pull off the whole fake relationship thing and fool everyone. But with Mary present, it was so much harder. Sherlock shifted uneasily in his seat as he recalled the words Mary said to him while they were wedding planning. "I'm not John. I can tell when you're fibbing." Just a few more days, he reassured himself. Just a few more days and then he could stop lying to everyone he cared about.
Janine st perfectly poised, taking small, ladylike bites of her food. She was enjoying every moment of this night. Making Mary serve her and feed her, all with her new superstar intelligent boyfriend Sherlock sitting next to her. The night really couldn't be better. She enjoyed making Mary squirm. It was all too good. Janine had to often stifle a laugh as Mary continued trying to make small talk. Janine glanced at the clock. Nearly twenty minutes had passed since they started dinner. She would have to make the announcement soon, if Mary wasn't going to.
Mary sat as still as a statue, the tension gripping every muscle in her body to pure stillness. She steadily gazed at Janine, watching her every move like a vulture, waiting for its prey to die before the feast began. Janine smugly smirked at her with the knowledge that Mary couldn't do anything to harm her. Mary tried not to let the anger and hatred radiating off of her be noticeable to the boys. She politely tried to make conversation, but each attempt failed and Janine would just keep rubbing it in Mary's face with her stupid smile, wordlessly reminding her that she knew Mary's secret. Mary gripped her fork tighter, hard enough to bend the handle. Just keep smiling, Mary told herself. How did she do it anyway? How did she get the Sherlock Holmes to go out with her? The only woman to ever do that was Molly. Maybe Janine has something on Sherlock and is blackmailing him to go out with her...but what? An idea popped into her mind. Aha! The drugs! Sherlock is going out with Janine because she knows about the drug use, and threatened to tell the media and tabloids. Sherlock has a reputation now and can't afford to screw that up. Mary smiled, a genuine smile this time. It was the only thing that made sense, so it had to be true. Right? There was no other reason why Sherlock would ever date someone as low as Janine. Mary let out a small exhale of breath as she remembered the kind of person Sherlock was. He wasn't the type to be blackmailed without a fight. And plus, he didn't care about what the tabloids thought of him. She must be a rebound from Molly then, Mary thought smugly. Well, no matter what the reason was, Mary took comfort in the fact that she knew it wasn't going to last long. Just a few more days, Mary told herself. Just a few more days of putting up with Janine and then she would never have to see her again. Mary inwardly rejoiced as she went through her foolproof plan again in her head for the umpteenth time.
John continued unashamedly staring at Janine. What on Earth does Sherlock like about her? Not that there was anything wrong with Janine, it was just that it was Sherlock. He didn't like most people, and most people didn't like Sherlock. John didn't exactly see the connection between them either. He didn't doubt the validity of the relationship of the pair, but he didn't see how a relationship formed between them in the first place. The atmosphere also felt a bit awkward and unnatural. He briefly wondered why. Sherlock was dating Janine, and Mary and Janine were friends. So why was no conversation taking place? John pondered some more, and then came to a conclusion. It's me, isn't it? Janine knew everyone else at the table; she knew everyone except John. Maybe I'm the reason it's so awkward. I mean, I have been staring at her. A bit rude, I suppose. John straightened up and was determined to make Janine feel welcome in the home. He slightly sagged his shoulders once more when he thought of Molly. He missed her. Things were never awkward between the four of them, and things didn't have to be strained. It was all natural. But that didn't mean he couldn't try with Janine.
"So, Janine," John began. "How did you and Sherlock meet?"
Janine smiled, a hint of maliciousness in the gesture. John Watson, Mary's fiance. She wasn't quite sure what exactly she didn't like about him, just that she didn't like him. "We bumped into each other at a club-"
"A club?" John asked, disbelief in his tone. Sherlock Holmes didn't go to clubs.
Janine's forced smile twitched when she was interrupted. "Yes a club. Anyways, it was dark, I was walking along a hallway and then I turned a corner. Immediately, I bumped into Sherlock! He was such a gentleman. He apologized and introduced himself. We just clicked and spent the rest of the night talking." Janine fibbed a bit at that. She and Sherlock didn't really click instantly. She was actually quite pissed at having been bumped into, but all her anger dissipated when she learned that the tall stranger in the dark was none other than Sherlock Holmes. She couldn't let an opportunity to further associate herself with him slip away. One, he was famous. And two, he was close to Mary. Janine spent the rest of the night faking her way into his good graces.
Mary narrowed her eyes at the recount of the story. She didn't quite believe it, but she wasn't getting the sense that Janine was lying to her either.
Sherlock chimed in. "And the rest, is history." He forced himself to wrap his arm around Janine's shoulder and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. It wasn't really by chance that he bumped into her in the corner at some low-class urban club. He did his research beforehand and found out that Janine frequented the the establishment every Friday. Sherlock then planned a date and set the future meeting. He pretended to have a connection with Janine after purposely bumping into her in order to get closer to her and investigate her association in Lady Smallwood's blackmailing. And the rest, really was history.
John opened his mouth to ask some further questions when Janine suddenly spit out her food. The whole table flinched, taken aback by her suddenness and the unsanitary spray of food. Janine grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. She grinned evilly when her mouth was under the cover of the paper, but the grin was quickly replaced by a frown as she removed the cloth. "Ugh. That food was horrible. Possibly the worst I've ever had in my life. I didn't want to say anything at first, but then I couldn't just stand it anymore. Were you drunk when you made that or what? There has to be some reason for the pure atrocity of this meal. Or maybe it's just your natural incompetence. You never were really good at anything."
Sherlock clenched his fist underneath the table. It took all his strength to not let the harsh words swirling his head burst out to insult Janine and put the arrogant prick in her place. John also frowned, the neutral look in his eye replaced by a harder, less understanding one. No one insulted Mary or her cooking. How was Janine even Mary's friend in the first place?
Janine looked pointedly at Mary, waiting to see her reaction. Mary meekly smiled, knowing what Janine wanted her to say. "I apologize." Sherlock and John widened their eyes at her words. Mary continued, "Is there anything else I can get you? Anything that wasn't made by me? Some leftover Chinese in the fridge or ice cream?"
Janine shook her head. "No, your meal put off my appetite. I think I'm done eating." Janine pushed her plate away. "Now, Mary. Is there an announcement you'd like to make?"
Mary twitched her eye. "Yes," she said slowly. She knew what Janine was hinting at. "I've finally decided on a maid of honor for my wedding." Mary took a huge breath and forced her next words out. "It's...Janine."
At that moment, John was drinking his water, trying to cool off some of his steam after Janine had blatantly and rudely insulted Mary and her cooking. But when he heard Mary's announcement of who the maid of honor was, he took a sudden intake of breath, causing him to swallow the water in an wrong way and choke on it. John quickly set down the glass of water and started coughing, trying to get the burning and odd sensation of water where it wasn't supposed to be out of his throat. There was an awkward pause of no words among the group, and the only sound that could be heard was John's fierce, violent coughing. He finally got his problem under control and cleared his throat.
"Did you say Janine?" John asked weakly.
Mary stared directly at the wicked smile of Janine. "...Yes."
Sherlock grinned widely. "Well congratulations, both of you!" He could feel something off about the atmosphere. He could sense anger radiating off John, and felt something else he wasn't quite sure off radiating of of Janine and Mary. He was also a bit confused. Why would Mary name Janine as the maid of honor? Something was off, and he needed time to plan and think. Better get out of here. Sherlock glanced at the clock on the wall behind Mary's head. "Oh, look at the time. We better get going, Janine. " Sherlock abruptly stood up and wrapped his scarf around his neck.
Janine followed his lead. She couldn't stay if Sherlock, her protection, was leaving. She smiled at John and Mary. "Thanks for having us over for dinner. I would say it was lovely, but..." Janine left the bewildered couple at the table and walked to the door, hand in hand with Sherlock. She turned before going out the front door. "See you at the wedding." She flashed a pearly white smile and disappeared, walking into the night with Sherlock in tow.
Molly Hooper sat alone in the pub, attempting to drink her sorrows and worries away. She had recently heard from John that Sherlock was dating someone new, a woman named Janine Hawkins. Molly laid her head down on the table and thought. She thought Sherlock loved her? He even admitted so weeks ago. Molly said she needed some time, and then Sherlock went and started dating someone new. Perhaps he's trying to make me jealous?
After Molly found out about the relationship, she did her fair share of snooping into Janine's life. Molly looked up social media accounts, news, and basically anything regarding Janine. Molly was dismayed at what she found. Janine was pretty, quite pretty really. And she worked as an assistant to one of the most powerful men in Great Britain at a huge newspaper corporation. Molly struggled with her alcohol induced brain and tried to remember the name of the man Janine worked for, but then stopped when she figured that it didn't matter anyway.
Molly placed her index finger on the hardwood table and traced figure eights. She was so confused. And stressed. Her romantic life was in tangles, and she hadn't heard from the person blackmailing her in a while. The waiting for a sign, or for her life to fall apart was killing her. And Molly had no idea what to do about her situation. Could things possibly get worse? But there was one hope she had, that the blackmailer simply knew her secret and had no evidence to back it up. All those years ago, nobody saw her doing the deed, and the real cause of death of her father certainly wasn't on paper.
Molly also had to wrack her head for reasons why someone would want to blackmail her. Did she ever do anything wrong to others? Molly always aspired to be kind and nice, and while that philosophy often times sacrificed her wishes in order to help others, it was a good way to live.
The pathologist fished around in her purse and threw some bills on the table before leaving the pub. It was late, and she was drunk. She needed sleep, and worrying wasn't doing any good for her. Molly recalled a few words her father told her before he died. She had been standing by his hospital bed and crying. She was a little girl then and her dad's illness hadn't been quite so serious. Her dad had woken up from his surgery and lifted Molly's chin up with his firm, gentle hands. Molly looked up at him with her big sad eyes. "Look up, sweetheart. Don't be sad. Things will get better. They always do. You just have to be strong." Molly stumbled into a cab she waved over a bit earlier. She collapsed onto the seat cushions and silent tears ran down her face. Was this what being strong looked like?
So how was that? What's Sherlock's plan to investigate Janine? And what's Mary going to do about Janine blackmailing? Could things get any worse for Molly? Hint: yes. Leave a review telling me what you think of the story or what you think might happen!