221c - A Sherlock Fanfiction

Sherlock

"Because." I said, vaguely.

"Don't 'because' me, Sher." she retorted. "Gimme a real answer."

"Fine. What do you do with your life?"

"What?"

"I mean," I said, slowly, as if I were speaking to a child. "What do you do all day? You don't seem to have a job. Do you just stay in 221c all day?"

"I do have a job."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mostly work from home."

"Oh. What's your job?"

"I'm an online teacher of sorts."

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I teach cello and piano over Skype. I give English lessons, science lectures, maths tips, short drawing tutorials, really anything I can do."

"That's interesting. How does one become an online teacher?"

"Well, for one, you have to have a lot of one thing."

"And that is?"

"Patience."

I threw my hands in the air and fell back on the sofa. "Well, that's it then. I'm out!"

She chuckled. "I only teach teenagers, due to my lack of patience."

"Yes," I said. "Sometimes adults are like small children. They don't want to listen and they make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Teenagers are a happy medium, because they are willing to listen, for the most part. Even though the rest of society gives them a bad rap, they listen quite well."

"Funny, isn't it." Ally said. "People always say that it's teenagers who don't listen, but in truth, it is precisely the opposite. Adults are the ones who don't listen."

I nodded. She got up and walked over to my music stand, and began humming the notes on the sheet music aloud.

"Love this concerto." she murmured. "I love playing it on the piano and on the cello."

"I like it too." I said, quietly. The streetlights and window lights from the flats around us cast an interesting glow through the curtains. It created severe shadows and highlights throughout the room, giving Ally striking definition. Her profile was illuminated in a yellow glow. Her forehead, her brows, the straight line of her nose. Her cheekbones, her jaw, the side of her neck. The spaces in between were enveloped in shadow.

I feigned sleep, lost in my thoughts once more. I was only vaguely aware that she had moved from the window to stand next to the sofa. I could feel her watching me, no doubt studying me in the same manner as I had studied her.

I would not sleep tonight. I had already decided that. I knew she wouldn't either. There was too much on our minds. Tonight would be a quiet night, but not a sleeping one.

True to what I had originally thought, I did not sleep at all. Contrary to what I had originally thought, Ally did. She had fallen asleep on my chair at around 2:30.

Sunlight streamed through the window, and I heard Ally groan as she stretched.

"Morning." I said.

"Morning Sher." she yawned. She stretched her arms up over her head, before slowly lowering them to her sides, keeping them straight the whole time. A sort of circular motion.

She got up, and went into the kitchen. I heard her clanging around, and the smell of breakfast permeated my nose, filling the flat.

She waltzed into the living room, holding a tray with tea and biscuits. She set it down on the low table and then went back into the kitchen, coming out with two more trays. They both had toast and bacon on them, as well as a helping of scrambled eggs.