Poison & Wine//A BBC Sherlock fanfic

Then

Then

Cosette had never been a violent person, but in that moment she had never wanted to slap someone as much as she wanted to slap him.
Him was Sebastian Wilkes, a slimy wannabe banker who thought he was the greatest thing on Earth. He sat opposite her in the library, his friends beside him, and he was trying to get her attention. She ignored him, though, concentrating on her books. This wasn't the first time Sebastian had pined for her attention. It seemed that ever since he had laid his eyes on her at a party a few nights ago he had been everywhere, always in her peripheral vision, not allowing her to have a moment alone except for when she was in her dorm or attending a class. Even then, though, he continued pestering her like a bug.

"Come on, Frenchie,"  Sebastian grinned, making Cosette roll her eyes before returning to her books. "Say you'll come with me to the party."

"I am not going," she replied coolly. "And even eef I was, I would not go with you."

"You're a heartbreaker, Frenchie," Sebastian said as his friends cackled at his rejection.

"As are you, I 'ave 'eard. Maria told me zat you 'ave a zing for getting together with a girl for a night before kicking zem to ze curb ze next morning. Is zat what you weesh to do with me?"

"No, of course not!" Sebastian cried, a horrified look on his face. Cosette could see the gleam in his eyes, though, and her face darkened. Standing, she closed her books and picked them up, kicking her chair back into place.

"Goodbye," she said curtly before flouncing off, pony tail swinging from side to side. She had just walked out of the library and out onto the empty courtyard when she felt someone grab her elbow, spinning her around. Sebastian held her arm firmly and she scowled, tugging it out of his grasp.

"Are you stupid? I said no, Wilkes," Cosette spat.

"Don't be like that, Frenchie-"

"And stop calling me zat! I find eet offensive-"

"Go out with me, then. Or at least come with me to the party," Sebastian said, trying to make a deal with her. Cosette, though, wasn't having a bar of it.

"You really must be stupid. I said no, so go find yourself some uzzer girl to show off zat night," She snapped, glaring at him. Sebastian stared at her, his friends nudging each other as they watched the scene before them. Sebastian let out a little chuckle, running a hand through his hair before shrugging.

"You know what? Screw it, you're not worth it, Frenchie," he said, as though he was commenting on the weather. " I'd rather not have somebody else's leftovers. Who knows how many men you've shagged your way through in France-"

"One."

Although he was standing quite a distance away, Sherlock's voice managed to carry itself towards the pair. Sebastian looked past Cosette and towards his old roommate from their first year at Uni with a scowl. When she looked over her shoulder and her golden eyes landed on him Cosette couldn't help but smile brightly. He always made her smile whenever she saw him around the grounds. Even though they hadn't spoken since her first week Cosette still had a keen interest in Sherlock. She wanted to talk to him, to find out more about him like what he was studying, but every time he walked past her she would lose her courage and chicken out.

'e's 'ere now, though, she thought as he began walking towards her and Sebastian. Now 'ees your chance!

"What?" Sebastian said before Cosette could open her mouth and ask Sherlock how he was. Sherlock's eyes- which had been on Sebastian this whole time- flickered towards Cosette, looking her up and down before returning to Sebastian.

"One man. That's how many men she has shagged her way through at France. One. They had gone out during high school but split when they headed to different Universities. Since then she has shagged no one. One man and you go and call her a slut. How many girls have you shagged your way through, Sebastian?" Sherlock asked, looking down at him.

"More than you, virgin," Sebastian replied harshly, a cruel smile on his face. His friends laughed and yet again Cosette had an overwhelming urge to hit him. "Anyway, what the hell do you want, freak?"

"I've come to inform you that judging by how flushed and flu-like you look, your obvious lack of appitite, your aching muscles and the way you are walking you have an std and you may want to go get it checked. Also, I would inform all women who have slept with in the past six months to go and get themselves checked just in case they have one too. Might be a difficult task, seeing as you've slept with so many. You might want to stop that. Sleeping with a dozen woman every month isn't going to fill that hole inside you, Sebastian."

Sebastian glared at Sherlock but Cosette could see the blood flooding his face in embarrassment. Behind him his friends had finally shut up, looking down at the ground and scuffing their feet against it awkwardly. Sebastian cleared his throat, trying and failing to compose himself, and his dark eyes fell on Cosette.

"I'm guessing he's going to be number two, huh?" he said, before looking at Sherlock. "Frenchie and the Freak. Might want to go easy on him, Frenchie. He wouldn't know what to do when you open your legs for him."

With a searing look at Sherlock Sebastian stormed off, his friends following close behind. It took a moment for Cosette to recover from what Sebastian had said to her but when she did she was furious. She stared at the direction Sebastian had walked, watching his figure become smaller and smaller. With a little yell of anger she sent a stream of French swear words in his direction, only stopping when he had finally disappeared from sight. Whether or not he had actually heard her she didn't know, but after she was done she felt much better. The heat in her cheeks had cooled and with a sigh she looked up at Sherlock. During this time he hadn't said anything. His eyes had been glued on Sebastian the whole time and he hadn't even winced when Cosette had started yelling. Now he looked down at Cosette, his face unreadable. It was slightly unnerving for her and did make her feel a little nervous but she swallowed it down. She would not be a coward, not after he had come to her defense.

"I- um- I must zank you, Sherlock, for what you did. Zat was very kind of you, getting rid of him like zat," she said, smiling at him. He didn't return the smile, his eyes piercing into her skin. Swallowing, Cosette looked away.

"Um, listen, Sherlock, I was wondering eef you wanted to, um, to 'ave tea with me sometime-"

"I don't like tea," Sherlock said curtly. Cosette blinked, looking back up at the tall man. She twirled a piece of stray hair around her finger, biting away at her bottom lip nervously.

"Oh, well, coffee zen-"

"No thank you," Sherlock replied, turning away from her. He paused, looking over his shoulder at her. "By the way, I didn't do that for you. I wanted to get Sebastian back for stealing my cigarettes. You had nothing to do with it."

"But-oh- I just, I thought we- um..." Cosette said blankly, quite shocked by how harsh he sounded.

"You're quite dull, aren't you?"

"I- excuse me?"

"You're excused," he answered before walking off. Cosette watched him leave, her lips parted slightly and her eyebrows drawn together in confusion and hurt. She never once imagined him to be so... so stony and cold. She never thought he was normal, but she never thought he was mean. She just thought he was different.

'e's a jerk, she thought sadly, frowning and watching as he turned a corner and disappeared from sight. She couldn't believe how dismissive he had been, and when he had told her that he didn't do it for her? He did it for himself?!

'e could've at least lied or not told me at all, she thought, shifting her books in her arms. With a sigh she walked away, heading back to her dorm.
Although she tried, she couldn't help but feel affected by the way Sherlock had treated her. She pushed it away though. She had no space in her mind for worrying over a boy, she had her studies and they came first. Studies first, distractions later. The issue with Sherlock could wait until she lay in her bed at night. Then, and only then, could she worry about it. She could worry about it until she fell asleep.

Author Note: Well now, that wasn't very good, now was it? Poor Cosette, and rude Sherlock! I wonder if they'll sort things out. Only time will tell, right my lovelies? Stay tuned..