Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is quite short. Please do review, I reply to all reviewers with a nice thank you message. I might even throw in a smiley face if you want! Thanks!

Drama was nice and relaxed; they had to get into pairs so Sherlock and John went together to perform the speech between Benedick and Beatrice in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. They were meant to go in boy/girl pairings but there were more boys than girls so Sherlock ended up having to play Beatrice. John had giggled all lesson at Sherlock's high pitched woman voice and his sassy walk. John played Benedick very well; the teacher suggested he audition for the school musical, John scowled which made Sherlock laugh a lot. Lunchtime arrived and John and Sherlock went to the hideout. The net was stashed behind the bench so they retrieved it and walked around the pond searching for newts. John spotted one first and Sherlock walked over, crouching beside his friend. The net swirled in the water and the newt moved in panic. John was transfixed as Sherlock moved the net swiftly through the water and the newt flailed as it was lifted out, before being plopped into a water filled Tupperware box. It stayed completely still as John peered down and Sherlock made notes. The newt catching and studying continued until the end of lunch. The boys returned the newts to the water, packed away their kit and made their way out of the hideout.

"We have P.E next." John stated with a slight frown. Sherlock looked over at his friend.

"I thought you enjoyed P.E?"

John sighed.

"I guess it's not so bad, but Anderson and his goons are in my group."

Sherlock patted John softly on the back.

"You shouldn't worry about it…" Sherlock started but John interrupted.

"Yeah I know, but we're doing Rugby and they see it as a legitimate excuse to pummel me…"

Sherlock stopped walking and turned to John with a sly grin.

"Then surely you have a legitimate excuse to pummel them back?"

John smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose."

Sherlock nodded in earnest.

"I'm not kidding. You're pretty strong. You can take on Anderson and win any day!"

John shrugged again and carried on walking to P.E. He reached the door and Sherlock winked before walking off to his class. John went into the changing room and got changed in the corner in silence as the other boys ran riot. Anderson kept glancing over at John but the teacher walked in before anything could happen. The room fell silent.

"Right then lads, Rugby today. Team Captains are Anderson and Watson."

John's head looked up from the floor in confusion and some of the boys murmured. The teacher noticed.

"Don't look so shocked lad. You're a good player Watson; you deserve a shot at being captain. Right you two, pick your teams."

Anderson's eyes narrowed when John was appointed captain of the opposing team. The two of them took turns choosing players, Anderson picked all of his burly mates. John got stuck with three fat kids and a wimpy kid who hated Rugby. He at least had five other lads who were pretty strong, albeit reluctant to be on his team. The boys made their way out to the pitch and John got his team in a huddle and gave out positions, leaving scrum-half for himself. He put the wimpy kid as a substitute. The boys aligned themselves in position and Anderson's team had the first kick. The game started and the ball careered across the pitch. Dave, one of the larger lads on John's team caught the ball and charged forward. John followed quickly and his team kept position well, as the ball flew backwards along the line. Anderson headed straight towards John as the ball landed in his arms. John could have sworn he saw Anderson smirk as the other boy bent down, charging his shoulder into John's stomach. John flew backwards and rolled, placing the ball backwards and quickly covered his head as a commotion of boys scrambled for the ball above him. Pete, from Anderson's team managed to push Dave backwards and win the ball. John scrambled to his feet and shouted for his team to recover their positions. Pete ran forward and John ran, ducked and charged his shoulder into Pete's thigh, grabbed his legs and lifted. The other boy lifted into the air and landed hard on the ground, rolling the ball back towards Anderson. John stood up, stepping over Pete and facing Anderson head on. The other boy bent down to pick up the ball as John moved forward, pushing Anderson's shoulders back. Anderson seemed to growl and grabbed at John's arms, pushing back but John quickly stopped pushing and sidestepped, causing Anderson's momentum to propel him forward onto the floor. John stooped and grabbed the ball, running forward. He was a fast sprinter and his team weren't quick enough to keep up. Two boys came at him from both sides but he managed to step and evade them. John was clear and scored a try. Anderson stood up off the floor, muddy and positively seething. John smiled as his team cheered and patted him on the back. He walked past Anderson who had turned red. Normally John would be worried, but to be honest, he didn't care anymore. He didn't care whether Anderson hated him, or whether Anderson was about to pummel him. Looking over at the skinny boy, who was muddy, red faced and had a black eye from two days before, John pitied him. He smiled over at Anderson and had never felt so alive in his life. After the kick, the game restarted and Anderson was roaring like a bull in an abattoir. John's team scored another try thanks to the quick feet of Ryan, his winger. The game was halfway through and John's team were on the attack. Anderson had murder in his eyes as the ball came to John. He caught it and ran forward.

"John!"

John heard the shout and turned, seeing Sherlock on the sidelines, waving stupidly at him. His focus was distracted just for a second and all he felt next was Anderson's full weight bear down on him. His arms enveloped John's chest and pulled him to the floor with a thud. Anderson rolled off John and he stood up. A throng of bodies surrounded the action, attempting to grab the ball. Anderson sensed his opportunity and kicked John's head, disguising it by pretending to push Dave back. Blood tricked slowly down the back of his neck. John tried to roll away but Anderson forced his boot down onto John's knee, causing the stud to dig in and the bone to grind. John kept his hands over his head and clenched his teeth until the crowd dispersed and the game continued. John stayed on the ground, his head in his arms and his breathing rapid. Sherlock ran on to the pitch, seeing John not moving and the teacher stopped the game. Sherlock crouched beside his friend and touched his arm.

"John?"

John lifted his head out of his hands slowly, groaning as he rolled onto his back. A crowd of boys had gathered over him, including Anderson who was smirking. The teacher walked off to call for the nurse as Anderson stepped forward and spoke to Sherlock.

"It was your fault freak. If Johnny boy hadn't been distracted by his gay feelings towards you he wouldn't have got hurt."

Sherlock stood up, fists clenched.

"What did you say?" Sherlock said through gritted teeth. John rolled on the floor and moaned, talking through shallow breaths.

"Sherlock… leave it…"

The youngest Holmes stared Anderson straight in the eye, who was grinning.

"I said that he's a gay b…" Anderson didn't get to finish the sentence as Sherlock threw himself forward onto Anderson and pinned him to the ground. He screamed in his face.

"Shut up! Leave him alone!"

John had rolled over to see the commotion and tried to shout to Sherlock to stop. Anderson lay on the floor grinning with Sherlock kneeling on top of him, fists clenching his shirt.

"Don't you dare hurt John Watson!"

Anderson chuckled.

"Why do you care?"

"Because I love him!" Sherlock didn't think before he spoke. The crowd surrounding went silent and Sherlock stood up quickly off Anderson, who had a predatory grin. John looked up at Sherlock, his face displaying confusion and shock. Sherlock took a deep breath and hurried away, pushing through the crowd and running into the school. The teacher arrived back with the nurse and both crouched down as the rest of the boys whispered and talked. "Where are you hurt love?" The nurse asked. John was too shocked to speak, staring down the field where Sherlock had fled. The nurse tried again.

"John, love, you need to tell me where you are hurt."

John blanked her and stood up, his knee was bruised and felt numb but he was able to limp on it and the blood from the cut on the back of his head was drying.

"John?" The teacher asked as he started to limp through the crowd, the way Sherlock went. The boys parted and John walked down the hill towards the building, the nurse followed him, asking pointless questions and the P.E teacher restarted the Rugby game. John opened the door to A-Block and made his way down the corridor before the nurse's hand landed on his shoulder to stop him.

"John, I think we need to go and speak with Helen for a bit, ok?"

John shook his head.

"No, I'm fine thanks. I hurt my knee but I can walk. My mental health is fine. I need to speak to Sherlock."

John shrugged her hand off his shoulder and continued to limp down the corridor as the Headmaster rounded the corner.

"John! What are you doing out of lesson?"

John stopped and sighed. The nurse answered for him.

"Headmaster, John got injured in P.E and I think he may need to speak to Helen…"

The headmaster looked puzzled.

"Who's Helen?"

The nurse restrained a sigh.

"His counsellor Sir. I think he…" John interrupted and spoke forcefully.

"I said I'm fine. I don't need to speak to her. I need to speak to Sherlock…"

The headmaster blocked the corridor to stop John from sidestepping around him.

"Now John, we don't dismiss advice from the nurse. That knee of yours looks pretty swollen and we remember what happened last time you got angry, so I need to you take a deep breath and go with the nurse and see Helen."

John tensed and clenched his fists, shaking his head. Control yourself John. Control your anger.

"I don't want to see Helen. I want to see Sherlock."

The headmaster crouched down to John's level after seeing John tense up. The small boy's cheeks were flushing red and his breathing quickened.

"Now John. You can talk to Sherlock later; right now you need to think rationally." The headmaster was starting to worry; he could see John getting more worked up.

"I need you to take a deep breath…."

John shouted.

"I don't want to take a bloody deep breath!"

The headmaster grabbed John's arms and John struggled out of his grip.

"No! Not again. Please I just need to see Sherlock!"

John began to hyperventilate and knew a panic attack was coming. The headmaster instructed the nurse to find Sherlock Holmes quickly as John slumped against the wall breathing heavily. The headmaster sat beside him, still pinning both of John's arms to his side as if he were about to lash out. To be honest, John wasn't sure if he would himself.

"Calm down John, everything is fine. Sherlock's on his way."

John's breathing started coming out in short gasps and he managed to start slowing it down, thinking of Sherlock's green eyes and unruly curls. Then the face was there, in front of his. His deep voice filling John's ears.

"I'm here John."
John looked up at Sherlock.

"I'm here john it's ok."

John's breathing slowed and he swallowed apprehensively.

"You… love… me?"

Sherlock glanced away momentarily as John controlled his breathing. The headmaster let go of his arms and took a step back. Sherlock nodded.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make things awkward…"

John sat up and shook his head, taking Sherlock's hand in both of his own.

"You didn't. I…"

John swallowed, licked his lips nervously and his face flushed an even deeper red. His blue eyes glanced up and met Sherlock's green.

"I just… I love you too."