Sherlock x Reader

Deductions.

You were amazed at how different Sherlock was around John. Sure, he was still an obnoxious bastard but he was an obnoxious bastard with a FRIEND. Also, John acted as a little bridge between you and the sociopath upstairs. You'd even had a game of Operation with the two of them! Ironically, John lost and so it was an intense battle of concentration between you and Sherlock. Well, you say intense but it was really both if you looking smug whenever you extracted something correctly. But sometimes when you were concentrating on the game, you felt him looking at you. It wasn't John, he kept muttering to himself about how he could have let himself lose. But Sherlock's stare made you uncomfortable. Of course, he's probably deducted you had some problem being social and whatnot and was probably using that knowledge to win. Which also made you feel annoyed. Luckily, the game ended in a tie, thanks to Mrs Hudson and her endless cups of tea. You stayed for a few more minutes but left soon enough. You did have some homework to do on the latest body and your shift at the cafe would begin in a few hours. You excused yourself but just before you closed the door, you could have sworn that Sherlock was still staring. Directly at you. 

You shook your head to stop thinking about that. You were at your shift in the cafe right now, and it didn't help if you were constantly replaying scenes from earlier that day. But it intrigued you. You'd hardly ever been stared at by anyone, if you didn't count John and the people at school who were disturbed when you told them your choice of career. And you still couldn't figure out why John stared but he seemed over it now. Had a girlfriend and everything. Though you didn't know how long this could last since Sherlock kept crashing his date. You smirked and lifted your head as you heard the door open and the little bell ring. Oh no. Why. Oh god no, this couldn't happen to you.  

"Oh hello ______, I didn't expect to see you here!" That sentence literally dripped with sarcasm. "Although I really did, it was child's play to deduce." You stared at him with extreme annoyance. Or was it hate? ... Both. Both is good. Him being the arrogant, curly-haired, high cheek boned sociopath who lived in the flat above you. You took a deep breath before straightening up and putting on a smile. 

"Why are you here, Sherlock?" You said still smiling. It was already getting painful.  

"Well John and Mrs Hudson left and Lestrade seems to think he can solve his case all by himself so I'm here to see if this place can alleviate my boredom," he said looking around, his voice dropping on the last syllable. "But looking around seems to show that the only interesting person here is the woman at table 3," he pointed to her. She was regular here. Nice. "She's facing a murder charge for killing her two best friends and her husband." Well, THAT escalated quickly. You shook your head. Though Sherlock annoyed you to no end, he still amazed you with his deductions. You walked round to an empty table, collecting a couple of plates.  

"Well, she's the most interesting person here apart from you." 

*CRASH* 

What?! What did you just hear?! You stood frozen, not really hearing anything apart from your heart thudding and your rushed thoughts waiting to be heard. It wasn't until you felt a hand on your shoulder that you snapped out of your trance. You turned your head to see that the hand belonged to Sherlock. Of course it did, who else would wear black gloves all the time?  

"______... Remember, that I'm only stating fact. I say what I deduce. You shouldn't take flattery too easily. Remember." You looked up to see his face. He called you "interesting." And he said it was fact. Sherlock fucking Holmes called you interesting! All your life you were average. Yeah, you excelled in some classes but overall you were nothing special and just lived your mundane, ordinary life. You felt something like pride coursing through you but then Sherlock's face brought you back to reality. You were so caught up in the moment that you genuinely didn't notice anything else. Apart from him. And for some reason, he seemed to be looking right back at you, not analysing like he usually did but really looking, as though he found a new puzzle that had to be solved, no questions asked. You didn't notice how close you'd gotten to him. So close that you could see every single eyelash. Then the general clamour filled the cafe again and you looked away. Picking up the pieces of the plates, you quickly rushed to the back room and splashed your face with water from the sink. You looked up into the small mirror. Your eyes were wide and sparking, your cheeks slightly flushed. Did you.. like Sherlock?  

No. Of course you didn't. But..  

You couldn't work it out. Anger filled you and it you felt a rush of adrenaline going through you. And so you punched the wall. Man, that was painful! But it felt so good. And for the next fifteen minutes, you kept punching the wall, kicking it, releasing anger. Replacing confusion with the release of adrenaline. And dear god, did it hurt.