hide and seek ↠ clifford a.u

➳ alleyways

                    t w o

New York, 2014

Rain lashed down all around me, soaking every inch of my exposed body or clothes. I pulled my coat around me tighter, trying to keep some warmth. A bin toppled over up ahead, but seen as the wind was whipping around like crazy I thought nothing of it.

It wasn't until I heard distance shouts that I realized I wasn't alone. My first instinct was to run considering the fact it was almost midnight and I was out on the streets, but instead I started to slowly creep towards the source of all the noise.

As I got closer I heard dull thumps which were followed by struggled grunts and it seemed to be a repeated pattern. Although I had a pretty clear idea of what it could be I continued to inch closer and it was typical that the scene in front of me was taking place in a dark alley.

There was a boy lay on the floor with his back against the dirty concrete wall, his bloody hands were trying hard to cover his face but when one of the other boys kicked him roughly in the stomach, his hands instinctively flew to where the blow had landed. It was then that one of the other boys hit him directly in the temple, the impact causing his head to bash against the ground.

I should've fled the scene but the poor guy on the floor looked completely helpless. I marched over and pushed hard on one of the bigger boys chest, guessing he was the leader of the pack seen as he seemed to know what he was doing more than the others.

"Leave him alone you dick!" I could hardly see his face in the dim lighting but I recognized him easily.

"Flynn! What the fuck are you doing?" Flynn Tuckerman was your stereotypical school jock, his whole build was large and intimidating, being a year older than me I had never really interacted with him. I would always see him with his flock of friends, who I guessed were the guys now stood around us.

"Do you know this chick Tuck." The boy who just spoke spat at the ground and I scrunched my face in disgust, holding back the temptation to insult him on his actions.

Flynn's eyes scanned my hidden body, the only thing in sight was my black boots, the bottom of my jeans and my parker coat.

"Yeah she goes to our school, bit of a trouble maker herself." He stepped towards me, and put two fingers under my chin, tilting my head upwards so the rain was now falling heavily on my face.

"You're that Burrows girl, right? I've heard a few things." He bit his lip hungrily, of course he'd heard a few things. I wasn't exactly the schools saint Mary and everyone knew it. I whopped his hands away and crouched beside the hurt blonde.

"Do yourself a favour and fuck off Flynn." The boy on the floor snorted and one of Flynn's friends ran at him.

Having taken a few karate lessons when I was younger I knew exactly how to handle the idiot. Standing up straight I grabbed his arm and twisted it backwards until I heard it pop and his scream echoed through the empty streets.

"Hey there feisty! You shouldn't get involved with this." I let go of the dark haired boy, roughly throwing his arms back down by his side. He whimpered in pain and backed behind the group, caressing his dislocated arm.

"I said fuck off." Flynn held his arms up in defense and began walking out on to the lit road, his gang of sheep quickly following after.

"See you at school Burrows." Instead of responding, I crouched back down again.

"Are you okay?" I held a hand out to the still body on the floor, the only way I knew he was alive was by the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest.

I could just make out the shadow of his lips turning up into a smile, "Peachy perfect." He tried to sit up but his body was weak and limp. After I helped him to his feet, I flung one of his arms around my shoulders while I supported him with my arm around his waist.

"Where to blondie?" I wrapped my free hand around his wrist for extra safety not wanting him to fall over at any time.

"Here's fine." He shrugged and I rolled my eyes,

"Where do you live?" I looked up at him, his blackened eyes were looking at the tarmac floor.

"Deansgate." I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Everyone knew Deansgate was where the oldest hostel in town was, but instead of questioning him I started to move one foot in front of the other.

_____

Normally it would've taken me 10 minutes to get here but with an injured boy weighing me down it took me about 20. We arrived at the shabby building and he instantly took his arm from around me and tried making his way up to the door.

His legs dragged as if each one weighed 20 tonnes but he seemed persistent to get to the top.

"Need some help?" I leaned against the stone pillar, folding my arms over my chest.

"Nope, you can go." My nerves tingled, was he even going to mention the fact I just saved his life.

"Are you forgetting something?" I held my arms open even though he couldn't see me.

"Oh right sorry. Goodbye." He was still struggling to get up the steps but he carried on,

"You're quite the little fighter aren't you." I heard a quick laugh escape his lips as he finally reached the door,

"Goodbye Cora." I was about to say you're welcome but my words caught in my throat, something about his sentence bothering me a little.

I gave him a quick nod and turned on my heel, heading back to my apartment which I shared with my best friend Lenny.

It wasn't until I was half way home that I realized just why I had been so bothered.

Flynn only mentioned my last name, so how did this stranger know my name was Cora?

-

cora is played by elizabeth gillies bc she's fab and i love her.

dedicated to ava bc she is the best ever and i love her

remember to vote and comment :-)