When Sherlock arrived at school on Monday morning, he'd decided to simply ignore John. He wouldn't explain anything, wouldn't return his greetings or answer any questions. He would just say nothing. John would assume he was in one of his moods, and eventually he'd get sick of the silence and leave Sherlock alone.
At least, that was what Sherlock hoped for.

He was just taking his books out of his locker when John walked up.

"I can't believe it's Monday already. The weekend went way too fast, didn't it? Didn't even get to have a proper sleep in. What did you get up to?" John babbled away.

Sherlock shrugged, heading off towards class. It didn't throw John off; he followed Sherlock like a lost puppy.

"We have History first, right? Or was it Maths ..."

Sherlock shrugged yet again, although he knew it was History. He turned into the classroom and chose a seat up the front. John followed, sitting next to him.

"I managed to finish the homework, though. Did you? Oh, of course you did. That was a silly question." He laughed.

Still, Sherlock did not respond. He simply opened his book and began reading.

John took the hint, falling silent. Throughout the rest fo the class, he threw worried glances at Sherlock out of the corner of his eye. As they headed to their other classes, John did not ask what the problem was. In fact, he said nothing at all. He remained silent, doing his work quietly, not seeming bothered by the coldness radiating from Sherlock.

It was this that first made Sherlock question his decision.

It was Wednesday, and still Sherlock had not uttered a single word to John. And yet he remained with Sherlock, walking next to him in the halls at school, sitting next to him during class, occasionally lending him a pen. Sherlock was beginning to worry that John would never give up.

But what made Sherlock worry the most was that no matter what his brain told him, his heart knew that deep down, he didn't want John to give up.

He enjoyed John's company. Never mind the fact that he'd denied other's friendship since he could walk, he genuinly enjoyed having John sitting next to him, whether he be silent or babbling about the weather. But most of all, it was the fact that John shared things without being asked. When John shared his lunch, it was almost as if he actually worried about Sherlock not eating, like he actually cared. Sherlock had never recieved any sort of care like that from his family.

Sherlock was pondering this on Thursday morning, sitting in the common room. The common room was where the students went if they had a free period, to study or to read.

John was late. Sherlock wasn't worried, he'd brushed it aside and blamed it on a missed bus or forgotten book. But when John did turn up, what Sherlock saw wiped those conclusions out completely.

John shuffled into the classroom, keeping his head down. Instead of joining Sherlock, he went straight past him and sat by himself over the other side of the classroom. Still not looking up, he seemed to reach into his bag and take out a completely random book, open it and staring at the words, not taking a word of it in.

Without thinking, Sherlock jumped up and hurried over, filled with concern.

He sat next to John, turning his chair so he faced him. John did not look up.

Sherlock frowned. "John?"

John kept staring at the book. "Hello, Sherlock," he replied. His tone was casual, which scared Sherlock even more.

And, for maybe the third time in his life, Sherlock uttered the line. "What's wrong?" But this time, he truly cared.
John still did not look up. "Nothing! I don't know what you mean. I'm fine. Just trying to finish this book, that's all."
Sherlock looked down, then back up. "John, you finished that book yesterday. I saw you."

John shrugged.

Sherlock snapped. "John, I demand that you look at me. If you don't, I will take this book and hit you with it until you look at me."

John winced. Then, slowly, he turned and looked up.

Sherlock gasped.

A huge, dark bruise was forming over John's left eye. He had dark shadows under both his eyes; he obviously hadn't had any sleep last night. He looked so scared and fragile that this, on top of everything else, made Sherlock angry.

He grabbed John's wrists. "Who did this. John, who did this to you?" he demanded.

John shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he said softly.

"Doesn't matter? John, don't say that. Like hell it doesn't matter! Who did this to you?" Sherlock snarled.
John looked back down at his book. Suddenly, Sherlock jumped up, his chair clattering to the floor. He dragged John into a standing position.

"Who did it?" Sherlock shouted.

By now, the whole class had gone silent, staring at the two of them. A few caught sight of John's bruise, gasping quietly.

John bit his lip. "It ... it was Jim and Sebastian."

Sherlock's face went blank. "What?"

John shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. It does matter, John. It matters a whole lot more than you think."

And with that, Sherlock ran out of the classroom. Down the hall, past all the doors, around the corner, until he reached the English classroom. He knocked on the door, tapping his foot impatiently.

The door opened, revealing Ms Stonem, the English professor. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, Sherlock?"

Sherlock attempted to steady his voice and appear calm. "Miss, I need a quick word with Jim. Jim Moriarty. It's about a science assignment," he lied.

Ms Stonem sighed. "Very well, but be quick. I'll go and get him."

She disappeared, closing the door behind her. When it reopened, Jim walked out, a blank expression on his face. He closed the classroom door.

"What do you want? I don't know anything about science, so why - "

Sherlock cut him off by punching him in the face, hard. Jim stumbled back, massaging his jaw.

"What the fuck was that for?"

"You know perfectly well what that was for, Jim," spat Sherlock.

Just as he said this, John and the rest of his classmates appeared around the corner. John ran to Sherlock.

"You mean that? Jim laughed, pointing at John. "Come off it. Why would you care? He deserved it -"

Jim was cut off by Sherlock launching himself at him, slamming him into the wall, pinning him there.

"Don't. Touch. Him. Ever again. Do you hear me? Don't go near him. Don't even fucking look at him," Sherlock snarled.

Jim chuckled. "Getting a little protective, are we?" he whispered.

Sherlock threw another punch at him, and this time, Jim responded in kind. Soon, fists where flying, and they were soon on the floor, kicking and yelling. John tried to break them apart, but one of his classmates pulled him back.
Suddenly, the classroom door flew open and Ms Stonem ran out, screaming.

"Stop it! Stop it now! What do you think you're doing?"

She pulled Jim off Sherlock, yanking him into a standing position. Sherlock lept up off the ground, panting.
"Disgraceful behaviour, both of you," Ms Stonem huffed. "Headmaster's office. Now."

She turned to shoo everyone else back to their classrooms. Sherlock turned, stomping off up the hallway. Jim followed slowly after, but not before catching John's eye and giving him a wink.

Sherlock stalked into the science classroom, saw John sitting up the back, and headed over, muttering his excuses to the teacher. He threw himself into the seat with a huff, slamming his books down onto the table.
John turned to him. "That was a bloody fool thing to do. Why did you go and do that? Have you been suspended or anything?"

Sherlock shook his head. "No, just a detention. Jim and Sebastian have been suspended, however."

"Really?" John gasped. "Well, serves them right, I suppose."

Sherlock turned to him. "When did it happen?" he asked softly.

John turned back to his work. "After school, yesterday. On my way home. They came out of nowhere ..."

Sherlock surprised himself by placing his hand on John's shoulder. "Well, from now on, I'm going to walk home with you. I can't let that happen again."

John turned and looked gratefully up at him, smiling.

And it was at that moment that Sherlock realized just how much John meant to him. And he would do anything to protect him.

Once again, a huge thank you for the reviews! They give me the warm fuzzies, knowing that people enjoy my work :)
I tried a new layout for this one, because I was reading some other fics and noticed they were done a little differently, and I found it easier to read. Let me know if you think it's better or not!
Happy reading! :)