Chapter Text
John hadn't seen Sherlock at all the night before, so it came as a surprise to wake up to him sitting on the end of his bed.
"Bonjour, Jean." Sherlock said as soon as John opened his eyes. "I trust you slept well."
"Yeah," John agreed, clutching at his chest to calm his racing heart. "Waking up, though..."
"Excellent," Sherlock interrupted. "You shouldn't go to school today."
"I...what?" John frowned, sitting up so he could better see Sherlock. "Sherlock, it's only the second day. I have to go."
"Not if you're in danger," Sherlock replied. "That branleur is planning something."
"The what?" John asked in confusion.
"That ghost boy that was following you," Sherlock said. "He looked practically murderous, and I don't think it's wise for you to be around him."
"I've dealt with angry ghosts before," John shrugged, sliding out of bed and stretching. "One tried to push me out a window once. I'll be fine."
“But, Jean-"
"No," John interrupted. "I'm not going to let one ghost keep me away from school, especially when I haven't done anything wrong."
"You are stubborn," Sherlock groused.
"Part of my natural charm," John replied cheerfully.
"Fine, if you won't stay away from school, the least you can do is stay away from that boy," Sherlock said.
"Jim?" John asked, raising an eyebrow. "I haven't actually been pursuing him. That's all on his end."
"You were holding hands, hérisson,” Sherlock said accusingly.
"He grabbed my hand, and I let it go," John corrected. "Anyway, why do you care if I hold some other blokes hand?"
"I don't care about that," Sherlock said haughtily. "I'm just concerned that you're going to go and get yourself killed by some idiot, and then you'll be stuck here forever."
"Thank you so much for your concern of my welfare," John snorted. "On that note, get out. I need to change."
With a roll of his eyes, Sherlock disappeared, and John's room was blissfully silent.
The day passed in relative normality, or as normal as one can get when they can see ghosts. John was almost disappointed something hadn't happened, for all the fuss Sherlock had made that morning.
In fact, John had barely seen Jim all day. He figured (rather irrationally) that Jim was avoiding him, until Sebastian cornered him later that afternoon.
John was washing his hands after using the toilet when he happened to catch sight of Sebastian in the mirror. He sighed lightly, checking quickly to make sure that the toilet was empty before rounding on Sebastian.
"Okay, look. You've got to stop." John said, amused as Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise.
"You can see me," Sebastian said, "I knew I wasn't going crazy when you looked at me yesterday!"
"Yeah, lucky me," John muttered. "You need to stop haunting your ex-boyfriend. It's getting creepy."
"Don't worry, you won't see me for much longer," Sebastian said, a look crossing his face that made John's stomach turn to ice. "I know how to take care of my boyfriend."
John frowned at the way he stressed boyfriend, as if they were still dating. "Look, you need to move on. This isn't good for you."
"I'm waiting," Sebastian said, "I can't leave without Jim."
Before John could say another word, Sebastian vanished, leaving only the faint smell of his cologne.
John groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. How do you tell someone that their dead boyfriend is planning on killing them?
John didn't have to wait long until Sebastian put his plan into action.
It was only two hours later when John caught sight of Jim Moriarty. Classes were done for the day, and Jim had managed to get out of the building before John, weaving between the students expertly. John watched him from his view at the top of the school's lobby stairs. It was just as Jim stepped into the street that he saw it.
A cab was speeding down the road, going much faster than John had ever seen. He glanced at the driver, his stomach dropping when he saw Sebastian Moran sitting behind the wheel, eyes fixed on Jim.
"Shit." John leaped down the flight of stairs, breaking out into a full run. His heart raced as he tried to dart around the other students, bumping into a few on occasion.
"Jim!" John cried out. "Watch out!"
Jim turned to look, a small smile crossing his face at the sight of John, which then fell off his face as John ran straight into him, knocking him out of the way of the cab. John managed to twist them just in time so that their shoulders scrapped against the pavement.
"You okay?" John hissed, as he assessed the damaged to his shoulder. Bleeding and bruised, but at least both their skulls remained intact.
"We have to stop meeting like this," Jim teased, sounding out of breath. "What was the matter?"
"Cab," John explained, unwinding his arms from Jim's. "It was going to hit you."
A screech of tyres grabbed John's attention, and he looked up to see the cab wheeling around and racing at them once more.
"God, not again." John groaned, grabbing Jim's lapels and tugged him into a standing position. "Come on!"
Jim swayed a bit in place, and John wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him upright. This only served to annoy Sebastian, and he picked up the speed.
John pulled Jim out of the way just in time, sending Sebastian crashing into a lamppost. He could hear the car trying to reverse, but it seemed like Sebastian had gotten the car good and stuck. With one last glare and a two fingered salute, Sebastian vanished, and the car went dead.
"You saved me twice there, Johnny boy," Jim said, looking impressed. "Thank you."
"Yeah, well, I also scrapped up your shoulder," John said.
"And yours too," Jim pointed out. "You're a regular hero."
"You're an imbécile," The sound of Sherlock's voice made John jump, and he turned to look at his ghostly roommate.
Sherlock stood there, looking intimidating in the bright afternoon sunlight. The light that shone through his translucent body made the silver of his waistcoat gleam brightly. His arms were crossed tightly in front of his chest, and his eyes were narrowed in anger. John swallowed nervously, averting his eyes.
"John, you okay?" Jim asked, squeezing his shoulders with an arm that had somehow wrapped around him during the action.
"I...yeah. I just have to get going." John said, ignoring the people that had stopped to watch the drama unfold.
"I'm pretty sure we'll have to give statements to the police," Jim said, looking amused. "And I still have to thank my hero somehow. Perhaps a date?"
"Sure, yeah. A date would be fantastic," John agreed, a small smile forming at the loud scoff from Sherlock.
"Great!" Jim said. "I'll be right back, I just have to pick up my rucksack from the street."
John removed his arm from around Jim, watching as he walked away. As Jim past Sherlock, he shifted slightly, as if avoiding the touch of the ghost.
"What did I tell you, Jean?" Sherlock asked as Jim walked away. "That Sebastian is dangerous, and you flirting with his boyfriend is not helping matters."
"I didn't realise saving someone's life was considered flirting," John said, rolling his eyes.
"No, but going on a date with them is considered flirting," Sherlock huffed.
"I don't see what the problem is," John said. "I'm not dating anyone."
"The problem is that he has a murderous ex-boyfriend," Sherlock said. "And I'd rather keep you alive, if it's all the same to you."
"Yeah, right." John said, "Don't want to be stuck with me for an eternity, got the message already. It's like having an obnoxious guardian angel."
"I'm hardly an angel, hérisson." Sherlock said.
"Neither am I," John said. "Which is why I figure I can see ghosts, so I can be the bad guy."
"What do you mean, Jean?"
"I'm going to have to exorcise Sebastian Moran," John said.