The Way You Make Me Feel

Request from @KelsaFord

I had fun writing this one. Hope you enjoy it!

-

Working wasn't too bad, really, Jim had discovered. The people were nice (some were very, very nice) and the hours were okay. Jim worked from nine til five on a minimum wage but he still like the job.

All the eighteen year old had to do was stand behind the till and ring up all the orders, being pleasant and friendly to every customer that he interacted with - although that was occasionally harder said than done. Then, when the orders were done, he'd hand the customers their tea, coffee, milkshake or any food that they ordered.

Jim wasn't sure what the place he worked in could be classed as. It was like a local café but also a fast food restaurant/milkshake bar.

The whole place had a red and white theme that really shouldn't work but did. The floors were tiled, all white and perfectly in line with each of the tables. In the centre of the large room, five or so metres from the counter, were tables in alternating colours. Some tables were white with red chairs and some were red with white chairs. The tables ranged from ones for two people to ones for four people. Either side of the cluster of tables, lining each of the walls, were a total of six booths designed for six to eight people.

Music emits from a jukebox sat in the corner, just beside the long counter, giving the whole place friendly atmosphere. The windows helped with that too, as they covered the whole front wall of the café and the centre of the ceiling. The large window in the roof really opened up the place and sometimes they placed a red silky sheet over it to give the place a redy/orangey glow as the sun set. That really filled the two seater tables.

Yeah. Jim didn't mind spending eight hours a day here, five days a week with the occasionally extra day.

Besides, that meant that Jim got five days out of seven to stand and oogle Sherlock Holmes, one of the regulars to the place. He was very very easy on the eyes with those lush curls and sharp cheekbones. Not to mention that he was always nice to Jim - minus the occasionally snide jab that Jim was a tad on the stupid side (but Sherlock did that to everyone, so...)

To this day, Jim remembers the way he'd blushed like a little schoolgirl when Sherlock approached the counter on his first day of work here. He'd squeaked out a greeting before rushing to get Sherlocks order, nearly spilling the boiling coffee all over his hand. After handing it over with a nervous smile, Jim had received a wink from the handsome boy which made him turn a darker shade of crimson before Sherlock wondered over to a booth where two girls and two boys sat that had arrived about ten minutes before. Sherlock had sat beside the girl with brown hair, offering her a brief smile before he began to speak to the blonde boy across from him.

It didn't take long at all for Jim to become acquainted with the group. They were in the place almost everyday and they were always here during Jim's shift, usually towards the end. Soon, Jim learnt all of their names (including Sherlock's) from the oldest among them, one of the boys, called Greg.

The group of five had warmed to Jim quickly, befriending him with open arms. Jim was certain that all of them knew he liked Sherlock - the way they smirked at him after Sherlock said something to him just gave him the idea they knew.

Turns out, there was another reason they smirked at him so much and it was only a matter of time before Jim found out.

*

"Hey, Jim..." trails off the very familiar voice of a blonde Jim knew.

He looks up immediately from his spot where he'd been sat behind the counter, reading. Standing, Jim crosses to the till and smiles at the girl. He then frowns, noticing that none of her friends were around like they usually would be.

"Just you today, M?" Jim asks, looking to the door and expecting Mary's boyfriend and the rest of the gang to stroll in.

Mary chuckles. "They'll be in soon. They're at Sherlock's parents - barbeque or something."

Jim raises an eyebrow. "And you weren't invited?"

"I was. But I had work today."

"Oh." Jim nods before he grins again. "The usual?"

The blonde girl nods and leans on the counter. "Yeah, please, and if you're alright with it, I'll stand here and chat with you til they get here"

Jim laughs. "Fine by me"

It was Wednesday, which always seemed to be a slow night, so the place was deserted minus Jim and now Mary. So he'd definitely appreciate the company. He was miles ahead in his collection of 'new' books and he knew he wouldn't have the money to buy more anytime soon, since he was working on perfecting his new flat.

Two minutes later, Mary is sat on the spare chair behind the counter with her hands cupped around a large, creamy and sugar-loaded Mocha. How the girl didn't have diabetes yet, Jim wasn't sure. She only ordered things high in sugar or fat and yet she was a perfectly healthy twig. It drove Jim, who had to spend four months at a gym and still went every weekend to get to where he was now, absolutely crazy.

"How's the decorating going?" Mary asks, raising an eyebrow.

Jim shrugs, reluctant to admit how little he'd got done over the weekend. Instead, he was curled up in bed with his book and a steaming cup of tea.

"You're still painting the living room, aren't you?" The girl across from him laughs.

Jim glares before it melts away as he gives a sheepish nod at his friend. "Yeah. It'd be okay if I could stop caring about Claire, Shane, Eve and Micheal! Then on top of that I'm hopelessly in love with Myrnin!" He holds up his current book.

"You realise I have no clue who you're on about?"

Jim nods and chuckles again. "Yeah. Sorry."

Mary waves it off. "I'm used to it. My boyfriend doesn't shut up about his books sometimes." Her smile widens at the mention of her boyfriend.

Jim leans forward, showing Mary she had his attention. John and Mary had only been together a few weeks and for those weeks Jim had only heard John be referred to as 'my boyfriend' by Mary.

"So things are going well?"

Mary hums, sipping her drink. "Things are great." She pauses for a moment. "What about you?"

Fidgeting, Jim frowns. "What about me?"

She rolls her eyes, clearly not convinced that Jim didn't know what she was talking about. She sets her cup down on the counter before facing Jim, looking as serious as his mother had when he'd 'accidentally' thrown his dad's favourite white shirt in with all her coloured dresses.

"How's your love life? You've never said much about it, past telling us that you're gay when Greg asked if you had a girlfriend." She pauses and when Jim doesn't say anything, Mary continues. "Are you seeing someone now? Dating? Interested in someone? Or do you have a fu--"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Jim pushes himself forward, putting a hand over Mary's mouth to stop the next question.

Mary grins before licking his hand, making him pull it back with a disgusted face.

"So...?"

"There's no-one" Jim answers, turning red because that was kind of a lie considering one of Mary's questions had been asking if there was someone he was interested in.

And boy was Jim interested in that tall and devilishly handsome curly haired friend of Mary's.

Much to Jim annoyance, he was completely crap at lying and Mary saw through it in a flash.

"I knew it! You've got your eye on someone, don't you?" She was too excited for Jim's liking.

With a sigh, he nods.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell m--"

"Okay! Jeez! Just shut up, okay?"

Mary nods rapidly, unable to keep the grin off her face.

Jim bites his lip, hesitant being an understatement of how he currently felt. What if Mary told Sherlock? Or she told John or someone and they told Sherlock? As nice and kind as Sherlock was to Jim, he didn't think that his not so little crush would be appreciated.

"I.. It's.. Sherlock.."

"Oh my fucking God!" Mary squealed, her manicured fingers reaching out and digging into Jim's bare arm in her excited state.

He just has time to say 'ow, ow, ow' before the door to the building opens and the rest of Mary's group enter in their typical whirlwind fashion of laughter and smiles. Jim panics and his hand grabs Mary's upper arm and he pulls her close.

"Not a word. Please." Jim pleads desperately.

Mary nods before she stands and rushes to greet her boyfriend with a large smirk and a sweet kiss. John picks her up and spins her with an equally large grin. Jim smiles at how inseparable those two are before he stands, brushing away invisible dirt and he moves to the till to take their orders.

It's done quickly, as they all get there usuals. The group is about to make their way to their usual booth when Greg turns back to Sherlock, who had been the last to order and was stood closest to the counter.

"You" Greg points at him. "order something to eat, or I'll order the biggest meal they have and shove it down your throat. Got it?"

Sherlock mock salutes before he pivots so he's facing Jim again. This was a regular occurrence. Sherlock wouldn't have eaten for the past few days and his friends would force him to eat here - he'd stopped fighting it when Greg had actually force feed Sherlock a quarter of a burger. Even though Jim hated the fact Sherlock didn't eat regularly, he loved the extra face time it gave them. 

Jim prayed he didn't turn red when he saw Mary shoot him a wink as the group crossed the room.

Sherlock's eyes were scanning the board, not really looking. He never seemed interested. He usually just asked Jim what was small but looked like it was a decent size when put on a plate.

Jim counts from three in his head and when he reaches one, Sherlock slumps and leans on the counter on his elbows. He's chin is resting on his hands and he's looking at him with pleading eyes, as if Jim could suddenly stop his friends from caring whether he ate or not.

"It won't kill you to eat a burger, Sherlock." Jim laughs and if there wasn't a counter in the way, he'd have pinched Sherlock's practically nonexistent stomach.

"It could. There could be poison in it. Or I could get food poisoning because the meats bad. Or.."

"Just get something, you idiot" Another chuckle passes Jim's lips as he shakes his head and taps his fingers on the side of the till.

"Hmm..." Sherlock hums, looking over his shoulder to the group. Jim follows his line of sight to see Mary quickly ducking her head. So much for subtly.

"W-what is it?" Jim asks.

"Mary keeps looking over at us... Like she's expecting something." Sherlock explains, looking back to Jim with a small frown.

Jim can't stop the nervous laugh that bubbles past his lips. "That's ridiculous."

Sherlock's eyes lock onto Jim then, studying him. Jim had feel himself flush under the attention, his pulse racing and thumping in his ears. He's sure his cheeks are quite obviously aflame but it's not like it's the first time Sherlock's made him blush heavily, so Jim hopes that he ignores it.

Those blue eyes dart over Jim's face for a few moments, as if Sherlock was mentally debating something. Probably whether to press on the Mary subject or not.

"It's interesting" muses Sherlock.

"What is?"

"Mary was probably here for, oh, fifteen, twenty minutes with only you as company. You were talking, obviously, since she was behind the counter with you. And now... She's trying to subtly look at us - which she's failing at. So, it's obviously about something the two of you discussed." Sherlock explains.

Even though it was a simple conclusion, the way Sherlock went through it never failed to make him sound superior and far more intelligent than everyone else who wouldn't just said 'well, you were talking and now she's staring, so...'

Jim just shrugs, not trusting himself not to become a stuttering mess the moment he opens his mouth.

"Your silence speaks volumes" Sherlock chuckles and straightens, still looking at Jim. "So, why's Mary suddenly staring at us?"

"I don't think she's s-staring at us. Just you. Probably worried you haven't eaten at all..." Jim hoped he didn't sound as feeble to Sherlock as he did to himself.

Sherlock shakes his head, smirking. "Nope. She's looking between us."

Jim feels himself flush all over again. "How can you even tell? She's behind you!"

The git just continues to smirk. Jim clenches his jaw and opens his mouth to ask what the hell Sherlock was going to order when Greg shouts over.

"Oi, Sherlock! Stop flirting and buy something to eat, you skinny twat!"

Jim wonders if Sherlock had somehow annoyed Greg because usually they'd all let Sherlock stand and talk for a good while before they'd urge him to hurry up. Plus, that flirting comment was unusual - making Jim narrow his eyes at Mary.

Sherlock looks over his shoulder and when he turns back his cheeks are just a tad pinker. Jim's heart was hammering inside his chest, his mind screaming Sherlock is blushing! He's blushing because they suggested he's flirting with you!

He forces himself to remain calm as he offers Sherlock a small smile.

"Um.." Sherlock trails off a little, going pinker. "The burger from the children's menu, please" Sherlock asks quietly, eyes dropping to the counter.

Jim nods and rings up the total, taking Sherlock's money before rushing off to give the chefs the order. The men in the kitchen groan and set to work, telling Jim it may be a while because the ovens were currently stone cold after not being used all day.

Jim tells Sherlock that before Sherlock thanks him and walks off without looking him in the eye. Jim's heart goes wild again when Sherlock not so subtly kicks Greg under the table.

*

Before the group leave, Mary strolls up to the counter and questions Jim. Which turns into Jim scalding her for the staring and such. She quickly rushes out an apology before promising to be more subtly - Jim also gets her to swear not to even tell John or Molly about this. Mary rolls her eyes but nods.

The group leave and Jim let's out a low sigh, leaning his forehead on the counter and groaning.

"What. A. Day."

"Wasn't that bad, was it?" A familiar voice chuckles.

Jim freezes, his heart going crazy, before he slowly lifts his head and smiles at the other boy.

"I-It was fine. I guess..."

Sherlock laughs again and opens his mouth but gets cut off by someone banging on the window outside. They both look to see a grinning Mary, John's arm around her shoulders. She sends the pair a thumbs up and then a wink before the whole group walk off.

"Um..." is all Jim can say.

Sherlock's laughter is more nervous this time and he looks back to Jim, a hand on the back of his neck.

"I... Well, I want.. I was hoping to get coffee." Sherlock nods, fumbling over his words in a way that was completely un-Sherlock like.

Jim jumps up and looks down at the till. "Just a black coffee?"

Sherlock looks thrown off balance for a moment before he swallows, collecting himself and shakes his head. "No. I meant.. Us getting coffee. Like a.."

"Like a.. date?" Jim asks doubtfully, frowning a bit.

Typical. She couldn't even wait a whole day before she starts to meddle in this whole thing. Jim was going to kill Mary. Who raises a guy hopes like that?!

Much to  Jim's surprise, Sherlock gives a meek nod.

Jim snorts. "Okay. Tell Mary she's not funny."

"What?" Sherlock looks confused and Jim mentally congratulates him on his acting skills.

"Mary. She's obviously talked you into this..." Jim trails off, biting his lower lip.

Now wasn't the time to get upset, he tells himself, now is not the time to act like a baby.

"You're right. She did talk me into asking you in a date.. So why am I telling her she's not funny?" The curly haired boy questions, leaning forward with a determined look on his face.

Jim freezes all over again. Mary convinced him.. just not for the reasons or in the way Jim assumed. So, that's why she reacted the way she did. She knew.. She knew that Sherlock liked Jim back.. and wants to date him.

Well, Jim feels stupid now. Why he always assumed that his friends would eventually turn on him and pull some horrid trick was beyond him. Actually, no, it wasn't. He was used to things happening that way. Still, he should have known that none of these people would do that. They've proved as much, time and time again.

"You... really want to go on a date with me?" Jim asks, sounding and feeling like he had as much handle on his emotions as a toddler did.

Sherlock nods, eyes on Jim's. "Of course. I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

A grin takes over Jim's face and he nods. "Great. When?"

Sherlock looks behind Jim to the clock. "Well, your shift ends in five minutes so how about then?"

All Jim can do is smile and nod again.