Careless Talk

Pauls palms were sweating, the school was in his eye sight and the pit of his stomach was in knots. He desperately wanted to turn back and go home but his dad would kill him. So Paul was walking through the doors and heading to his locker, where George was promptly sitting cross-legged under. He was banging his head quietly against another locker when Paul sat down next to him. George turned his head to look at him

"Aren't you gonna open your locker"?

"Than I'm acknowledging that we're here" Paul whined with a small pout. George sighed and looked through his books, barely even skimming it before he thrust it shut.

"I can't do this, I quit" he stood up and hunched his shoulders, Paul gave him a glance and then held out his hand. George rolled his eyes and pulled him up. With a slight curtsy of a thank you, Paul burst his locker open

"so how are you feeling?" George leaned his hand on Pauls locker door, Paul shrugged.

"Best as can be, you"?

"Awful!" George dramatically kicked his foot against the ground. Paul grinned and giggled as he slammed his locker shut. The two lads trudged down the hall, eyes drooped and tired desperately wishing that tea was warming in their grips. George was mumbling to himself as his feet dragged on the ground. Paul balanced his books on his belt and clutched his hands over the tops.

"What are you mumbling about?"

"I don't want to be here" George whined and threw his head back and Paul erupted with laughter but then the hall went dead silent. The two boys buckled in their remaining laugher and turned to look around the hall. And their was the small group of lads, smoke caressing the air around them. Paul pulled George and himself behind some lockers with a dreaded intake of breath.

"Now I really don't want to be here" George frowned, despite the situation Paul giggled again.

"We're such whiners"

"You'll be doing much more than whining in a minute" a long dragging voice said in Pauls ear, the two boys looked up to face the burned out edge of a cigarette bud.

"That sounded more sexual than you might've intended" a voice chuckled behind the tall boy.

"Eh, well the queers are used to it, aren't they?" He shot back and turned back to Paul and George.

"We're not queer!" George huffed, the boy looked down at George and Pauls close proximity

"Might wanna rethink that statement, your girlfriends getting steamed" he pointed at Pauls red face.

"You're defeating the purpose" Paul mumbled under his breath and the tall boy leaned down

"You wanna repeat that?"

"Well, you were calling us queer, but you were also trying to offend me by calling me his girlfriend...but if I was a girl we would not be queer-" the tall boy kicked his leg into Pauls, knocking him back into George. He than picked Paul up by his shirt collar.

"You need to learn to shut your smart mouth" he growled, Paul cringed and gripped his eyes shut. The back of his head banging against the wall.

"Oi! Who we gettin at?" Another voice piped up from the back, pushing its way to the front of the group. It was a shorter, broad shouldered lad. His hair tossed up and greased into a pompadour, his eyes didn't seem to know where to look. Paul was than tossed to the ground, he looked back up at the chins of the boys when the other guy gripped Pauls own chin. He pulled him up as his fingers pushed into Paul's cheeks. George stood helplessly at his side, waiting to be able to dart from the scene.