Love is a Much More Vicious Motivator (Teenlock AU)

Chapter 9

Hello again,

So, there's a body! Let your Sherlockian minds start deducing, see if you can work out what happened... I won't tell you if you're right, obviously, because that would spoil the surprise.

I've changed a couple of tiny things in previous chapters, so review them if you want, but it isn't 100% necessary.

Many, many, chocolate coated apologies for the lateness, but my beta reader is in America ATM so she only just got back to me with this. Subsequently, the next chapter may also be a teeny bit late, sorry!

Enjoy the show,

~The Effect

***

It wasn't an accident.

The shadow cast by the police presence at the school had lingered for three days before the official email went out to the students. The death of Laura Pullman, aged 17, was being treated as suspicious. The girls' dorm was off limits, now the scene of a potential murder, so the girls had been allowed to sleep in the assembly room, or in the boys' dorms, as long as there was no "funny business".

Diana had chosen to stay in Chris' room, and Chris had, being the chivalrous gentleman he was, given up his bed to allow her to sleep in it. He was sleeping on the floor, on top of some wadded up duvets, and judging by his posture, it wasn't five star comfort.

Svetlana was staying in Tim's room, only after a very public, very heated, argument with her twin sister in rapid-fire Russian. Sherlock had observed from the ever-growing crowds, and had translated for John. The fight was over whether or not Iveta had the right to "keep an eye on" Svetlana. From Sherlock's translations, it appeared to John that Iveta was only trying to protect Svetlana, maybe in slightly the wrong way, but she had Svetlana's best interests at heart. Svetlana, however, had flown off the handle, saying that her sister was "pushy, overprotective, controlling, and possessive," and that she had no right to be that way, given she was "only six minutes older." Svetlana had then stormed from the foyer, Iveta's demands of "вернись!" ignored.

John and Sherlock were staying alone, given most of the girls-including Iveta, at the moment-were staying in the assembly room. They had been allowed to pick up the bare necessities from their dorms, and only after the detectives had been over everything twice, so the female half of the school was starting to look a bit the worse for wear.

No one really spoke much. The lessons had resumed, but people had turned up purely as a matter of duty, and took notes robotically and carelessly. Everyone's mind was elsewhere, on the events of the past week.

Sherlock had gone very quiet. So quiet, in fact, that John was starting to get a little concerned.

Directly after the incident, Sherlock had taken up residence in the armchair, eyes fixed on something only he could see, speaking to no one in particular about glass, and how the break was all wrong, and her wrists, and how they were broken, but not cut, so not broken by the glass, and her neck was broken, and so on until John had questioned him. Sherlock had shot him the filthiest look, then fallen silent.

He hadn't, as far as John was aware, uttered a word since then. That was five days ago.

Presently, Sherlock was hovering in the chemistry classroom beside John. Diana, as per usual, had sat in front of them, as had Svetlana. Iveta, conversely, had moved herself to the back corner of the room, as far as it was possible to sit from her sister. Being as stubborn as they both were, neither of the twins was admitting their fault, and their usually close relationship was strung out tight.

Chemistry had just ended, and the girls' and boys' teams had rugby training the following period. The boys were training for a match later that week.

Sherlock had started rugby tentatively, and Chris hadn't rated his chances on the team. However, true to form, Sherlock had picked up the skills quickly, and had already developed an advanced spin pass, off both hands, and could tackle with aggression and commitment.