Deduce Me

Eight: Not My Area

Sherlock

The day went by smoothly; well, as smoothly as could have been expected with all the pointless classes I was being forced to take. The good part was that I shared almost every class with John, so I spent most of my time deducing him. I found myself growing curious about him- what is that secret he's hiding, or denying?

He had startled me this morning with his confession. I could tell from his face that he'd meant everything he'd said about being my friend. No one has ever called me a friend before. Before John, I'd been completely happy with that. Everyone else is stupid, anyway. Idiots. Alone is what I had. Alone protected me.

Now, I'm not so sure.

After classes ended, John asked me if we were allowed off campus. I just smiled at him and told him to get his jacket, we're going for dinner. He smiled back as he pulled his arms through his brown jacket, and I tightened my scarf around my neck. Once we reached the front of the school, I held my arm out to stop John. I looked around for any teachers, administrators, Mycroft... I know he's only Head Boy, but he has eyes everywhere...

"Sherlock? What are you-" I silenced John by holding out my hand.

"Shh, I'm looking for teachers." Now convinced that there were none around, at least none who would care if they did see us, I pulled John foreward by his sleeve.

"Teachers? Why?"

"Well, because we're actually not supposed to leave campus on school nights. We can leave on weekends, or during breaks, but other than that..." I smirked at my roommate.

"Then what the hell are we doing?!" I walked on confidently, past the school gates and onto the main road. John, however, seemed to be slinking along behind me, his shoulders hunched and head down, as if that would hide him from any faculty who might catch us.

"We, John, are about to hail a cab-" I held my hand out, and one pulled up in front of us. John was still glancing around. "-And go eat dinner. I know a nice little restaurant not far from here." I opened the door and gestured for John to get in. He hesitated. "Oh, come on. It's not like we're going to meet a murderer! It's just dinner!" When I saw his face, though, I changed my tactic. I'd forgotten that this was John Watson I was trying to pursuade. 'Safe' was not going to get him in the cab. "You know... You're right. We should go back. Sneeking out of school... Could be dangerous."

John looked up at me- he's so short, like tiny little hedgehog with his spikey blonde hair- and I quirked an eyebrow at him. He huffed as he climbed in, and I smiled triumphantly. We sped off down the foggy streets.

~ ~ ~

At the restaurant, we were seated and Angelo waltzed up to our table. A few years older than John and I, Angelo works at his father's restaurant waiting tables. He's clearly pleased to see me here- one of the only people who are ever pleased to see me.

"Sherlock! How are you, kid? I haven't seen you in a while! Hey, anything your want, on the house. For you, and for your date." He winked at us.

"I'm not his date," John corrected, blushing a bit.

Angelo seemed to ignore his remark. "This kid got me out of suspension a few years back," Angelo clapped me on the shoulder.

"This is Angelo," I introduced. "Three years ago I successfully proved to the school board at the time of a particularly viscous burglary in one of the dorms that Angelo was in a completely different part of town, after he had snuck out of school."

"He cleared my name," Angelo smiled.

"I cleared it a bit. Can I get a coffee?" John ordered some food, and when Angelo walked off, John asked me why I wasn't eating. Rather than risk him arguing with me, I simply told him I wasn't hungry. Even though I'd only known him for a short time, I didn't want him to be disappointed in me, and I knew that if I told him the truth- that I rarely ever eat, that digestion slows me down- then he would be.

Angelo returned with our order and a candle for the table. "It's more romantic," he claimed.

"I am not his date!" John insisted to his retreating back.

As John eats, I sip my coffee and drum my fingers on the table. I think I need a cigarette.

"So..." John started, trying to make small talk. "You don't have a girlfriend, then?"

Distractedly, I answered, "Mmm.. Girlfriend? No, not really my area..."

"Mm." But then his eyes widened as he realized something. "Oh, right. D'you have a boyfriend?" I focused on John sharply. "Which is fine, by the way."

"I know it's fine," I retorted, watching him apprehensively.

"So, you got a boyfriend?"

"No." I went back to staring at the steam rising from my coffee.

John nodded. "Right. Okay. You're unattached. Like me. Fine. Good." Why is he rambling?

I looked at him suspiciously, but turned away as I replayed what just happened in my mind. Startled, I swiveled my head back to John to see him picking uneasily at his food. "Look, John, erm... I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work," (it was a lie, but I had to tell him something- I am not good at these kinds of things) "and while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm not really looking for any-" I was speaking quickly, almost babbling by the time he cut me off.

"No, no! I wasn't... asking. I'm just saying, it's fine. It's all... Fine." He made some sort of gesture with his hands and offered a small smile.

"Good. Thank you." I looked away again, but, for some reason, decided to trust this boy I'd met only yesterday with a secret I'd never told anyone else. Hesitantly, I added, "But, yes, I am, in fact, gay."

John smiled, and chuckled. I smiled, too. "Shh," I joked, holding a finger up to my mouth to motion 'shh.' "It's a secret." I winked at him and smiled. I do that sometimes... I don't know why.

Suddenly, John couldn't contain his laughter any longer, and it wasn't long before we were both in hysterics.

John

As I lay in bed that night, I replayed the night over in my head. Sherlock Holmes is gay. I smiled, happy for some reason. Why so happy? His being gay shouldn't affect me, I'm not gay.

Right?

When it comes to Sherlock, I'm suddenly not so sure.

(A/N:

Sorry to interrupt. Well, no, I'm not, really. I like talking to you guys. It would help if more of you guys would talk back...? I like hearing from you.

Have you watched the teaser clip from the Christmas special that will be coming out soon (...ish)? I can't wait! Season 4 seems like a million years away. Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend that you watch it. Moffat and Gatiss are taking it back to Victorian times... It's different, but I think I like it. I'm wondering if the Doctor had something to do with the time skip. ;)

Let me know what you guys think! Vote, comment, share, follow...

xoxo)