if_inconvenient | (no subject)

Sherlock does not want to be at school today. For once in his life he is something less than indifferent to the occasional stare and snicker, the looks of familiar contempt from those who have been around long enough to get used to him. His mood has been fluctuating wildly between rage and despair since yesterday morning. He knows his self-control is good enough to keep him from reacting to any taunts with violence, but nothing will stop him from wanting to. Which is unsettling in itself.

He has a duty, though, one that cannot be ignored. And if he is going to show up at school again, he may as well do the job properly. He is on time for every class before lunch, polite if not friendly when circumstances call for conversation, crisply dressed—in trousers, thank you; he does not think he could bear the reactions to another skirt. The only signs that anything is wrong are the dark circles under his eyes and the tension that stands in sharp contrast to his usual indolence.

At noon on the dot he is in the cafeteria waiting for Bella Swan.

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"Safety is an acceptable consideration," she tells him. "The rest we will need to discuss more in-depth" - she glances at the clock on the dashboard - "later, because Charlie is already on the fence about my spending time with you, and his deciding that you are a bad influence that causes me to skip class may render further conversation a moot point."

She turns off the air conditioner and pockets her keys.

"Granted." He smiles slightly. "And while my other friend was vastly amused at my having to break into his home to avoid the notice of his mother, I doubt you will feel the same. Biology, then?"

. . . his having to what?

"You are correct," she says firmly. "Biology."

She opens the door and gets out of the truck.

"I will not break into yours unless the question is one of safety," he says as he follows.

"My father is the chief of police," Bella points out as they head inside. "My level of safety at home is higher than most."

"True. And until you have looked into the trends in Sunnydale's violent crime, there is little more I can say on that subject."

Something else to start work on soon. Bella takes a moment to organize things in her head:

Talk to Tony to hear his perspective in his own words. There may be a nuance in his telling that is lacking in Sherlock's that will help her decide if she truly believes in this entity.

Concoct a halfway reasonable warning for Charlie. Tell it to him over dinner. Be unruffled by his inevitable amused or concerned reaction, as it will not change the fact that, if the entity exists, he is better off with the warning than he is without it.

Intersperse research into Sunnydale itself with things like homework and other activities that come first in day-to-day life, including discussion with Sherlock about the sanctity of privacy.

"I'll get started on that this weekend," she decides.

Being around someone with such a well-organized mind is, Sherlock observes, very relaxing. Even if he can't tell exactly what she is thinking, he can infer by now that she is doing it in a sensible and logical fashion. It's lovely.