A Study In Love - A Johnlock Fanfiction

Chapter Seventeen

Hi! So, I just wanted to say sorry that this update is a little late, though only by some hours. Well, a lot of hours because I try to update in the mornings, and it's night time now... sorry! But, it's here!

Also, thank you to everyone who's read/voted/commented on this! You guys rock!

Aaaaaand, since you guys seem to like the idea of a Sherlock POV thing, I suppose I'll do it. But only after I finish this, cause it might be a bit confusing if I wrote it now. But it'll be coming!

Okay, enough talking, here's chapter seventeen!

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John and Sherlock were to leave for the cottage on Saturday. The plan was to leave the flat in the morning, arrive at the cottage sometime that afternoon, then spend a few days there and return to London sometime on Tuesday. In the days leading up to their departure, Sherlock seemed to grow more and more excited with each passing day.

When they'd first met, Sherlock had told John that sometimes he wouldn't talk for days on end, and John had come to find that he was telling the truth then, but he hadn't known that Sherlock was also capable of talking nonstop for several days straight as well. When he wasn't going on and on about how beautiful the countryside was, Sherlock was telling John about how much he was going to like the cottage. It was strange to see Sherlock so animated, but John didn't mind sitting silently in his armchair and watch Sherlock pacing back and forth in the living room with an excited smile on his face, and his brilliantly beautiful pale eyes lit up as he talked about how wonderful the trip was going to be.

On Friday Sherlock went to see about getting a rental car for the weekend, and of course John came with him, unable to resist tagging along and admiring Sherlock's face in secret while he was out in the sunlight. Though it pained him to be so close to the man he felt so strongly for and not be able to reach out and touch him, to run a hand through his dark, curly hair, John had decided that it would be best to keep his feelings hidden, for fear of ruining his friendship with Sherlock.

Only once before had John developed romantic feelings for a friend, and it hadn't turned out favorably. Her name was Tabitha. She had bright red hair and big blue eyes that were the color of the sky on a beautiful spring morning. They'd been friends for years, but John had only realized his crush when they were hanging out one weekend. They were at her house, in her living room watching some movie and eating popcorn. She had started to laugh at something she found to be incredibly humourous, and John had noticed then just how gorgeous she was when she laughed. From that day on his crush grew and grew until he felt that he would go mad if he kept his feelings a secret any longer.

Finally after two years of torturing himself, John invited Tabitha out to a picnic in a park near her house. They'd sat underneath an oak tree and talked for a while until John had finally built up enough courage to make his move. He'd looked deep into her eyes, and told her how he felt, then kissed her underneath that oak tree. Tabitha had just sat silently for a moment afterwards, not looking at John, before telling him that she 'valued their friendship too much to jeopardize losing it due to a breakup'. Then she'd stood up and left John sitting alone on that picnic blanket under an oak tree, surrounded by uneaten food that the ants had already started to attack.

Of course, John had been completely humiliated, and thus swore to himself that he would never endure that pain again. As a result of this, John made sure to never date any friend of his, and whenever John did date someone he made sure they weren't friends first, so that if the relationship went south there would be no friendship lost. He figured it was better this way, so no matter how much it hurt to keep his feelings hidden, he knew it would be worth it to have Sherlock as a friend instead of not at all.