Life is but a Dream... (A Sherlock Fanfiction)

*The Blind Banker: Part Nine*

Chapter Twenty: A Green Dragon

'Who needs homework?' Sherlock had asked me when I told him I couldn't.
'I do. To keep my grade up!' I had told him.
And yet somehow I found myself in a cab with him on the way to the circus that night.
"He won't like you interrupting his date." I mumbled, staring out at the stars hidden in the clouds from the window.
* * *
We walked up to the ticket booth, where we waited for John and his "girlfriend" to come.
"Aspen?" I heard someone call, and Sherlock and I turned to see Wyatt in a maroon and white striped shirt. "What are you doing here?" He asked, as if he knew I'd be here.
"Ohh, who's this?" Sherlock asked, hands behind his back.
"Oh this is-" I started, wondering what to say.
"I'm her friend-"
"No, he's just this guy who is in my class." I interrupted, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.
"Sherlock." Sherlock said, reaching his gloved hand to shake.

"Are you her dad?" Wyatt asked.
"Well,-" I started.
"Oh, heavens no." Sherlock scoffed.
As he went to get his ticket, Sherlock looked at me with some strange expression.
"So this is what happened to my ticket?" Wyatt asked when he came back.
"Oh, um well you did drop it..." I said quietly, feeling smaller than I already was.
"Yes, but I knew you'd take it." He justified.

"Pfft. Obviously." Sherlock started. Oh god... not now. "I mean, I've never met you, but it would seem that you are dressed rather nicely, and have recently purchased a ticket for this... Event." he began.
"Sherlock-" I said.
"And since you just came to this country from the north, you would seem to want to make friends, as goes for Aspen here. So you got two flyers and when you two encountered, you purposely dropped it in hope that she'd pick it up... or else we wouldn't be here." He finished.
"Oh-well- um..." Wyatt started, then took out his phone. "Hello? Mom?" And walked away.

Before I could say anything, we heard John.
"Uh Holmes." John said, and I saw his girlfriend, who was kind of pretty, I guess.
"Actually I have four in that name." the manager said.
"No we only booked two." John argued, his voice confused.
"And then I phoned back and got one for us." Sherlock said, grasping my arm and walking into the light to he could see. "I'm Sherlock. This is Aspen." he introduced to Johns date.
"Um.. Hi." she said. I half smiled as Sherlock walked away. I could see Wyatt over leaning against the wall a meter away, on his phone. Maybe we could be friends, but that would take some time...
* * *
I waited outside the restroom for Johns date, mostly because he wanted me to "get to know her." When she came out, we spoke.
"So you're his daughter? Johns? I've seen your picture in his wallet at work." She asked. "I'm Sarah, by the way."
"Hi. And no I'm not his daughter. I'm his niece, unfortunately." I said, as we turned a corner. We found John and Sherlock talking on the stairs.
"I'm trying to get on with Sarah!" John exclaimed quite loud. He turned to see us behind him, and his face turned red.
"Hiii..." he said.
* * *
The performance area seemed less like a circus... and more like a show. There was a stage, but it wasn't used. There was a circle of candles around the floor, and the people around me were standing up in the dim room. Not many were there either, but I guess there's more viewing room.
"You said circus. This is not a circus." John whispered to Sherlock as I sat down on the floor. When I took out my phone, a message read:

Boring, huh. Some friend you have there.

It could only be from someone, and I looked behind me to see him staring off into space like the other day.

When the show started, a woman with heavy makeup and a Chinese robe walked out to the beat of someone tapping on a drum. As she raised her hand, he finished his rhythm. She walked over to an instrument covered with a cloth, and when she pulled it off, there revealed some type of cross-bow on a post. She then placed a long, wooden arrow with a white feather on it. After she dropped something into a bowl- thing, making the feather whizz across the room. It happened so fast my heart skipped a beat! As the music resumed, a man was brought out, and began to be chained to a board where the feather hit.

"Classic Chinese escapology." Sherlock spoke softly. "The crossbow is on a delicate string, and the warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires." he explained.

At that moment, the man was compleat my chained to the wall, and I had stopped listening to Sherlock show off with his knowledge. Paying attention to the act, I saw the woman slice a sand bag, and start defending to the bowl. The man was frantically trying to escape, and gets one hand free, then proceeds with his own rescue. My heart starts to rise at the sight of the sack lowering, but just as its about to fire, he falls to the floor. The arrow barely misses his head.

Sarah, John, and I both sigh in relief. I get up and turn to see Sherlock no longer there.
"I'll be right back." I said as a trapeze artist started coming down.

When I walked out of the show room, I wandered the maze-like hallways until I bump into someone. It must've been quite an impact, because I felt a pulling sensation from my eye. Bringing my hand to my face, I see a half focused boy with glasses.
"Where are you going?" Wyatt asked. I couldn't just start looking for my contact, but I didn't want to put on my glasses that I brought just in case. When I tried pushing past him though, he only followed.
"Hey I asked you. A question!" He added. At that moment, I saw someone come out of a door down the hall, and stepped back at the corner, pulling Wyatt with me.

"What-" he started.
"No what do you want?" I interrupted my voice low. "I don't know anything about you, and you don't know anything about me, at least nothing I'd want you knowing. Why are you following me? Don't you have better things to do than to look for a girl you met in school at a Chinese street show?" I ranted, then walked in the clear hallway.
"Well, why can't I?" Wyatt asked, following me. "I mean, it's just a show, and..." He stopped.
"You didn't what?" I asked, stopping, but not facing him.

"I didn't believe what that girl told me. The other day, in school. You don't seem like the kind of person to do that stuff to yourself." He said.
Some rage inside me was welling up, and I faced him with growing blurs in my eyes. "That's why we wouldn't be good friends! You don't understand. Just, please go away. I can take care of myself." I said, then made my way back to the show room.
* * *
Just my luck. John wasn't in the show room anymore. It was just an empty lot now. Sighing, I found my way out of the event completely, but had no idea where in town I was. Fingering what money I had in my pocket, I decided to do something I haven't done in weeks: I took a cab by myself.
Inside, the cab was dark, but I still saw the light pink scars on my wrist, and replayed the statement Wyatt said in my head.
"You don't seem like the kind of person to do that stuff to yourself."
The thought made my head bang with pain all over again as I pulled up to Baker Street. I haven't felt this in a while... cause I'm trying not to do this anymore.
I darted up the steps and searched for my bag, and when I found it, I dug for the socks.

The little metal trapezoids greeted me again, but before it happened, I saw a yellow line on the window. On another there was another symbol I haven't see before.
Sherlock then came up, but I hid it behind my back.
"Johns in trouble. Come on." He said, the went downstairs.
I brought it back to my sight, and looked at my arm.
"Aspen!" He called.
"I'm coming." I said, then quickly went to him.