Zodiac

Chapter One

TW: Mentions of violence and blood.

This life was not meant for him.

George was glaring at the boys in front of him, painfully aware of how cornered he was - there was absolutely no way out of this.

One of the boys sneered, the sign of the lion glowing brightly on his wrist in his excitement. A Leo, George thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

He hated Leo's.

"You're not supposed to be out here, Scorpio," the boy said, spitting out George's sign like it was the foulest word he could ever think to say. "Leo's only on this side of town. You know the rules."

George huffed and pressed his back further against the brick wall behind them - the boy's breath smelled worse than the alley they were in. "I'm visiting someone," he said coldly, eyes narrowing. The other boy drew closer, getting in his face.

"We don't care," he snapped, reaching out to grab a handful of George's hair and giving it a firm yank. George hissed and grabbed the boy's wrist to try to pull him off. His efforts were futile.

"We don't want you over here," the other said, grabbing George's other wrist and twisting it painfully in a direction it wasn't supposed to bend. George whined through his teeth as pain shot up and down his arm, like needles stabbing into his skin.

"It's not illegal," George bit out, too stubborn to know when to shut his mouth. He kicked out a foot, grinning as it made contact with someone's shin. The man twisting his hair between his fingers yelped and loosened his grip minutely.

That was all George needed. He took his opening while he could, using his free hand to shove roughly at the other boy, forcing him back a few steps and booking it down the alleyway.

But George had never been the fastest. He cried out in surprise as arms wrapped around him and tackled him to the ground, his nose colliding painfully with the pavement. He groaned softly and pressed his hand against the flow of blood that now fell from it. The arms around his waist retracted and a weight settled on George's back, gripping at his hair again to pull his head back aggressively.

"You're really terrible at listening, aren't you?" the boy said condescendingly, shoving George's head back down against the ground. George inhaled sharply as the asphalt cut into the tender skin of his cheeks. "We said your Sign doesn't belong here. Are all Scorpio's this dumb?"

"We're actually quite smart," George remarked, his voice muffled from his face being pressed harshly to the ground. "Bill Gates, Pablo Picasso, Theodore Roosevelt - they're Scorpio's."

The second boy, who had been hanging back to let his friend do the talking, stepped forward to grind his heel against the back of George's neck, making it difficult for the Brit to breathe.

"Shut your mouth," he snapped. George gasped for air when the boy retreated, watching the mouth of the alleyway for anyone who might possibly walk by.

"Here's what's going to happen," the Leo on his back breathed, leaning down to speak into George's ear. His head was wrenched back further, making him cry out. "We're going to teach you a lesson, and then maybe, if you're smart, you'll stay out of this side of the city. Got it?"

"Andy," the boy at the end of the alley called suddenly, jogging back over to them and grabbing his friend by the arm. "Someone's coming, we need to go."

Andy shoved his friend away and George's eyes grew large with panic as he pulled a small switchblade from his jacket pocket, pressing it close to the skin on his throat. "I'll finish this," he said angrily, watching with interest as a small bead of blood fell down George's neck. "You get out of here. I'll catch up."