The World Below [DNF]

Chapter 6: Full of surprises

George POV

So after the lunch, George, Nick, Clay, the third guy (whose name apparently was Alex) and surprisingly even Karl headed to the famous skatepark. Everyone was in a good mood and to his surprise he found himself relaxing in their company. Sure, he had friends in Brighton but they were basically only friends because of their shared disinterest in the academical world. He strongly doubted that he would've been friends with them if he'd gotten another choice. 

During their walk there, George was quizzed by Alex on everything imaginable, he tried to dodge every question regarding his family situation and the reason he moved to the US. But he figured that some information would probably not be harmful to share. However, he was cautious, he'd only just met these guys.

He soon spotted the park from around the corner. It looked like every skatepark ever with some ramps and graffiti everywhere. But the faces of the people around him lit up at the sight. Alex, Karl and even Nick, despite his injuries, didn't hesitate for a second before putting down their boards. George, who first of all didn't know how to skate and second of all didn't own a skateboard, just sat down on a bench where he could watch all of them. To his surprise, Clay sat down beside him. He'd just assumed that all of them skated but upon further inspection he saw no board belonging to Clay.

"You don't skate?" George asked. Seconds later, Alex laid on the ground which made the blonde guy beside him wheeze out of laughter and George felt himself smiling. If it was from the Alex falling or the bizarre laughter was something he'd never know.

Clay managed to answer the question after his laughter-attack. "No, or well technically. I own a board and Nick have been trying to teach me but I find just as much enjoyment just watching them". George could see why; they were definitely better than he ever could be but there was plenty of fails as well, which was amusing to watch.

"How about you, is skating something you British people enjoy or is it just tea drinking competitions that you prioritize?"

George quirked an eyebrow at the bad generalization before he answered the question. "Can't really speak for 56 million people, but me personally, no I don't skate."

"Then what do you like to do?" He could feel those green eyes burrowing into his soul. Most likely trying to figure out who he was talking to. The sad part about the question was that George didn't really know what he liked to do. Yes, he liked his knives and knife-throwing but it felt too invasive to admit. When he was younger, he actually did enjoy drawing. That and numbers were one of the few things that he was forced to do in school that he wasn't half bad at and didn't mind. But he stopped drawing at the same time that he started skipping school. For some reason it made him feel exposed. He had liked to draw people the most, the individuality that every human possessed made every new portrait a challenge. But he never felt comfortable showing others, so he'd bury that hobby deep down along with his feelings.

He decided that he didn't want reveal too much about himself so he just answered that school was his primary hobby back home, which definitely was a blatant lie.

"Bullshit, I bet money that you barely even went to school. C'mon you can tell me; I won't make fun of you" Clay said jokingly. George got both surprised and annoyed that this Clay-boy seemed to see right through him, it was usually him that was on the other side of the spectrum. He debated with himself how he should proceed, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he revealed the knife-throwing, but he felt like he'd lose an advantaged. However, he didn't have to decide on his next move just yet because what looked like trouble had just arrived.

A group of three guys had just arrived. They started shouting at Karl, Alex and Nick. Although Nick definitely looked like he could handle it and Alex felt impulsive enough to at least not give up easily, it appeared that the odds weren't in their favor. The new guys were all fairly tall, and had the typical sporty built. He figured that a blonde boy with a white hoodie and multiple bruises probably was Luke. Beside him stood a black-haired guy with a slight confused expression, like he wasn't exactly sure on how he was supposed to act. The third one however, looked nothing short of pissed, he was also the biggest one. Nick, Alex and Karl had all stopped skating and especially Karl started to back away. Both George and Clay had got up. The trio was getting closer to Alex and Nick and before anyone could interfere, the biggest guy gripped Nick's collar.

"You think you're so tough, don't you dickhead?!" The boy yelled. Nick tried to get away but he was obviously caught off guard. Alex tried to help but one of the guys gave him a hard punch that hit his nose, causing him stumble backwards and trip over one of the rails, fortunately Karl managed to catch him before he hit himself too hard. Clay tried to get the guy off Nick but Luke was quicker and blocked his was which seemed to anger Clay a lot. He pushed Luke hard, but he regained his balance quickly and returned the favor by punching Clay in the stomach, making him fall to his knees. 

George watched how everything got out of hand. Even Karl tried to help but the black-haired guy had stepped in and pinned his arms harshly behind his back, making him unable to move and Alex was drifting somewhere between conscious and unconscious. George didn't know these people very well but they had been nothing but nice towards him so far, so he felt the need to step in. The guy was shouting insults left and right as he aimed punched at Nick who tried to defend himself. But it ultimately led to him falling to the ground and the guy placed his knee on Nick's throat, blocking his airways.

George reacted fast and reached down to his left ankle, where he kept his butterfly knife and because everyone was so occupied, he managed to sneak close. He figured that Clay could handle himself at the moment and the one who was in the most critical position was Nick. As quickly as he could, George sneaked up behind the guy that was currently strangling Nick and put the dagger against his throat. He could sense the guy's surprise.

"Everyone will fucking stop with what they've doing and slowly back away from each other or this motherfucker will soon be feel a slight pinch and some blood loss from his neck." Everyone stopped in their tracks and all eyes were on him.

The guy that George currently held at knifepoint was the first to speak "Put your goddamm toy down, you British fuck". George wasted no time, he had dealt with people like him before and knew the type. He let the blade press harder against the skin and as blood started to appear the guy seemed to lose the attitude. He slowly lifted his leg from Nick's throat who then rolled away and gasped for air. Everyone had stopped and stared at what was happening. Karl, who was no longer restricted, ran towards Nick to help his friend, but the rest of them looked like statues. Blood kept on pouring from the cut but George knew that he hadn't hit any arteries judging by the amount of blood. He leaned closer to the guy and whispered in his ear.

"If you so much as dare to lay a finger on anyone here again I might just slip and hit one of your arteries or maybe even your aorta. Oh and did you know, if the injury is bad enough you'll bleed to death I less than three minutes."

It had the effect George was hoping for, the guy freaked out and the other two seemed to sense it as well, because they were slowly retreating from the skatepark. George removed the knife and pushed the guy as hard as he could forward to gain some distance in case the boy would try something. He thankfully didn't, and with one last look at George he also decided to leave the park.