Pretty Boy [j.l + p.m]

xv

     "So fucking him is better than telling me where the hell you've been the past two days!?"

Paul pulled away from John's lap, widening his eyes when he saw George at the doorway. "You said you locked it, John."

"I never told you that." John laced his fingers behind his head and frowned at Paul.

"Anyone could've-"

"Paul!" George cut him off. "Why did you ditch me at the party?"

Paul approached George. "I went to the hospital. I thought you've heard by now."

"The hospital, for what?" George glanced over to John. "You had too much alcohol?"

"No, 'e was choked. You didn't see anything?"

"That's laughable. But believe it or not, Paul can actually defend himself without you." George chuckled, shooting a glare at John and crossing his arms. "What really happened, Paul?"

"John's right." Paul shifted his weight from foot to the other and kept his eyes downcast.

George gawked at Paul. "How? You're pretty strong, mate."

Paul scratched the back of his head. "I dunno."

"You two should get to class." John tapped on his watch. "I'll see you later, Paul."

Paul nodded and tugged George towards the door. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

George followed Paul into the hall. "I'm sorry for not-"

"McCartney, I need to talk with you."

Paul furrowed his brow at Mick. He didn't seem bubbly, like he usually was and that unnerved Paul. "Okay." He turned to George. "We'll talk later, alright Geo?"

"Yeah." George backed away from Paul and Mick.

"What do you want to talk about, then?" Paul asked, leaning against the lockers.

Mick glanced around and leaned towards Paul. "I heard what happened to you. 'S crazy, innit?"

"What are you on about?"

"I know who did it, Paul. But you've gotta do something for me first." Mick whispered, pressing his lips on Paul's ear.

Paul shoved Mick off of him and glared. "Fuck off."

"What? You don't believe me?" Mick stepped forward again, grinning at Paul. "You think I'd lie to you?"

Paul shook his head, lifting his arms to put space between them. He didn't want Mick close to him.  "I've got to get to class. I don't have time for this."

"Don't you want to know? It might be someone you know... they could do something again." Mick warned.

"You say that like you're the one who choked me." Paul straightened his back. "Was it you?"

Mick shrugged. "I can't tell you until you've done what I want."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to break it off with John." Mick deadpans as he catches Paul's wrists and pins them to the wall.

Paul craned his neck. "What the fuck? We haven't even had sex yet." Paul twisted his wrists free and pushed Mick further away. "I'm not breaking up with John over something dumb like that."

"Don't be stupid, Paul." Mick grinned. "We both know you're just waiting to get back to being a whore. You dropped your job an' your little prostitution gig for what? Some loser?"

"He loves me. That's better than messing around with you." Paul scoffed. "Don't you need to go teach?"

"No, I've got a free period."

"Well I don't. I'm already late, so..." Paul sidestepped away from Mick.

"You're making a mistake." Mick clicked his tongue and walked away without waiting for a response.

Paul watched him leave and chewed on his lip. There had to be more than just one person if Mick had done it, he wasn't that strong.

Paul made his way back to John's classroom, standing at the door and thinking about what he was going to tell John. He opened the door and flushed when everyone looked at him.

"Mr. Lennon?" Paul called out.

John turned away from the chalkboard, a confused look on his face. "What are you doing here, Paul?"

"I, uh, need to talk to you about something." Paul averted his attention from John to the students. They had no clue what he and John did, and that made Paul flush even more.

"Okay." John faced the class. "Finish writing the problem on the board, I'll be back soon."

Paul felt relieved when he went out into the hallway and away from the crowd of eyes. He waited for the door to close before explaining. "I saw Mick earlier."

John raised an eyebrow. "And? He does work here, it's nothing new."

"He knew about what happened to me, and claimed he knows who did it." Paul had a strong hunch that Mick was part of it, but didn't want to find out how John would react.

"Yeah, right. Mick barely knows anythin' except how to properly do a push-up." John crossed his arms.

Paul focused on the red marks on his wrists. "I don't know John, he seemed pretty serious."

John lifted Paul's chin up, not even caring to check his surroundings. "Then why didn't he tell you? Sounds like a lie to me."

"Because he wanted me to do somethin' first."

"That's typical of 'im." John dragged his index finger along Paul's jaw. "What did he want?"

Paul took a hold of John's hand. "He wanted me to end it with you."

"What an idiot. Doesn't he know I'm a force to be reckoned with? With a request like that, do you honestly think he knows?" John laced his fingers with Paul's.

Paul laughed softly, liking John's touch. "I guess not. But don't do something to confront him about it, okay?"

"Alright, I'll just bash his head in. C'mon let's write you a pass for class." John released Paul's hand and reached for the door, examining him. "I can't wait to get you alone later."

"Neither can I."