Starcrossed

Makenzie, now dry eyed with a smile, and Sophie returned to the table. Martin was grinning and Benedict was blushing. Sophie wanted to ask but Makenzie thought it best to ignore whatever conversation they had interrupted. The table was silent until Sophie took a long swig of her drink then cleared her throat.

"Tell me, Ben. Have you shagged my best friend?"

Poor Benedict nearly spit out the sip he had also taken during the odd silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Sophie!"

They yelled in unison.

"I was just curious. Since I'm her chaperone I feel it my duty. Have you shagged her?" Makenzie hissed something too low for anyone else to hear.

For a second or two, Ben questioned if Makenzie told her best friend they had done something they really hadn't. No. He knew Kenzie better than that. Sophie was outgoing and had already spoken without much thought or care more than a few occasions.

"No. We haven't," he answered, doing his very best not to be insulted.

"I ask because she's been so happy the last several days- well, what I've seen of her," the blonde smiled. "She said you didn't but I didn't believe her."

"Thanks, Soph," Kenzie muttered under her breath.

"Well, this has been fun but it's time for me to go," Martin laughed standing to his feet.

"Is there any way you could drop Sophie off at the hotel?" Kenzie asked as casual as possible. The girls scowled at eachother for a moment.

"Actually," Ben nervously spoke up. "May I see you for a moment?"

Ben threw a few bills onto the table next to Martin's generous contribution. He politely led Makenzie outside as his mate and Sophie laughed at something Martin whispered to her. The two held hands even after they were out on the street.

"I'm afraid I have some disappointing news," he frowned, something obviously bothering him a great deal. "Someone called after the two of you excused yourselves. I was asked to do something tonight that may take a while."

"I can wait up," Makenzie smiled, holding on to any hope she could. The sad way he stared at her told her that their plans to snog at Mark's place had just been changed. And then a realization. "This is good bye," she stated in a whisper. Why was she trembling? Did he notice? She didn't want him to notice her sudden change of emotion. She had done so well hiding most of them this long, surely they could wait another day to betray her.

"I hope not." He was optimistic yet his face conveyed the worry and concerns he wasn't sharing with her. "The plan is to get to bed as early as possible so I can wake up and make a mad dash to your hotel before you leave."

"That's the plan?" she laughed with a great deal of doubt. His sentiments were sweet but she didn't foresee tomorrow morning going as anticipated. Makenzie had seen firsthand how quickly celebrities' plans changed. "Don't worry about it. Really. Maybe it's just as well that this is-"

"Makenzie Daniels," Benedict sternly interrupted. "Don't talk like that," he whispered in the lover's tone she wasn't quite used to associating with him. "I'll be by in the morning. Promise."

"Don't make any-"

This time, he cut her off with a tender kiss. Pulling her towards and as close to him as possible, he tried to ease her every last worry. Benedict just had to make her understand how serious he was. Yes, the very idea of them together as a couple was mad, but he was more than ready to fight for her. If she needed to be wooed the old fashioned way, so be it. Whatever happened after she left him, it was his top priority to see her one last time before she left London- taking his heart with her.

"Alright, Romeo," Martin chuckled with a roll of his eyes.

"Aw," Sophie sighed with her hands clasped at her chest. This was the most romantic thing she had ever seen in real life.

Makenzie was first to pull away. Ben didn't release her until he had sweetly kissed her nose. A perfect blush crossed her cheeks as a chilly night breeze began to blow. She was too stunning to let go. How could any bloke let someone like Makenzie slip through their fingers? Aside from the fear of ultimate rejection from her, Benedict found himself wondering if he would ever meet anyone else like her? Would there ever be another fiery, passionate, clever, dreamer of a woman come into his life the way she had?

"I'll text you later tonight and see you in the morning. Is that clear?" Their noses were touching now as he held her in a most intimate way. "Kenzie?"

"Yeah, fine," she sighed with a little smirk. It took her a while to allow her gaze up to his but he could see the uncertainty hidden behind her mask of bravery. "But if something goes wrong or something comes up, don't worry about it. Really."

"Ring you later?" His smile was convincing and made part of her believe that this wasn’t the end; yet the voice of her better judgment echoed louder throughout the walls of her clouded mind.

"Talk to you in a while." Kenzie stood on her toes to plant a single chaste kiss on his cheek.

Martin hailed a cab for the girls as his best mate said his farewells to the mysterious beautiful student. Sophie found someone walking on the street and pulled them towards their group. Quickly, she asked them to take a photo of their little group of four. Benedict and Makenzie were nestled close with Sophie standing beside her linking arms with a laughing Martin.

"Sweet dreams," Kenzie whispered to Ben just before he surprised her with one last lingering kiss on the lips.

"Bye Martin! See you again sometime, yeah?" Soph teased hopping into the backseat.

"Have a lovely night, ladies," her Sherlock sang out just before the door closed.

---

"Can you believe it?" Sophie giggled laying on her bed staring at the recent photo. "We have proof. Not that we'll show anyone but- Look at us, Kenz!" When she glanced over to her best friend, the brunette was brushing through her curls staring outside the window- possibly her favorite view of London. "And you and Benedict looked like a coup-"

"A couple of people who will never see eachother again," she sighed. It wasn't a bitter tone but one of longing and filled to the brim with secret thoughts on the matter. "But it was amazing while it lasted."

"He promised to come in the morning, didn't he?" She was doing her best to lift her soul sister's spirit. When that didn't work, Sophie put the mobile away and walked over to the kettle. "Tea?"

"Please."

"It's not tea from a Hilton or anything," the blonde tried to tease. "Oh wait, that was last night."

"No more talk about him, yeah?"

"Are you sure? If I didn't know any better-" Makenzie silenced her with a single deadly look.

The rest of their evening was spent drinking their nightly cuppas and looking at eachother's photos on their phones. A few laughs and a bit of teasing later, Sophie released a dramatic yawn. Every last bit of the tea was gone and the room was the perfect temperature for sleep.

"As Martin said, 'this has been fun'. But I need my beauty sleep for tomorrow. Dr. Thick will be suspicious if both of us exit the lift looking hungover."

"We won't look hungover, Soph. We haven't had a single drink since we got here."

"Well, not a physical drink. But I think one of us is a little love drunk." Kenzie threw a pillow across the room at her giggling friend. "How is it three in the morning?"

"It's three?"

"Yeah. Time to call it a night. Or a day. Or a week. A holiday? Oh, nevermind. Good night, Kenz. Love you."

"Love you too, Soph."

They got settled into their beds smiling like two fools, each for different reasons. Sophie began her light snores only minutes after the lights were off. Makenzie, on the other hand, was still deep in thought when her mobile buzzed. At first she didn't answer. He was calling now and would probably call in the morning to tell her he couldn't make it to see her off. What was the point?

Benedict was perfect but he wasn't real. She had kissed and touched him most of the previous night and more earlier in the morning yet she had so much more doubt than hope. Hope had become a thing of the past. This week had been a dream but it was almost time to wake up. Her time in London would always be remembered as the best week of her life but that's all it could ever be, despite the way her heart longed for him.

She stared at his name on her screen. Ben. After all her time as a devoted fangirl, she finally got to know just Ben. Guilt tore at her as her phone ceased its screaming and shaking. What fangirl ignored a call from Benedict Cumberbatch? But she was so much more than a fangirl now. She knew him. She meant something to him. She-

Quickly, the girl threw on her jacket and ran downstairs with her mobile and door key in hand. Her fingers tapped on the screen before she was even out of the door. One ring. Was he already asleep? A second. Would he ignore her as she had done to him. Already she regretted doing so. The third ring.

"Kenzie!" He sounded so pleased. She could imagine his bright eyes and all those smile lines.

"Hello. Sorry, was almost asleep," the girl lied.

"Oh, terribly-"

"Don't be. It's quite alright. Really. How did your thing go?"

"Very well. Had to make a call about a project that was just approved.

"Another movie?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," he teased with a very official secretive voice. "But yes."

"Say no more. Congratulations," Makenzie smiled, the slightest hint of the laugh he loved playing in her voice.

They talked for a few minutes before he yawned, "Well I need my rest. Have to see some girl off before she leaves."

"Some girl, huh?" she challenged.

Ben noticed her dull tone. She didn't sound excited or the least bit pleased with his little joke. This was another opportunity to remind her just how serious he was about her.

"Well… not exactly just 'some girl'. More like the women I wish I could call my girl." Her blush could be heard over the phone, even though he knew she was fighting it this very moment. "But she's very stubborn."

"Good night, Ben," she giggled.

"See you in a few hours."

She would never admit it to anyone but Makenzie Daniels fell asleep with a smile on her lips that night. Benedict Cumberbatch wanted her to be his girl.