…

( The Grapevine )

"… Seen his hands? The left one, I think it was, has this big scar in the middle of the palm. I mean, how do you even get a scar on your palm?"

Alex's breath hitched as he pulled his hand away sharply, waving it around through the air in an attempt to combat the biting pain stemming from it. He could see the blood beginning to slip down already, tracing the veins of his arm and creating paths to the peak of his elbow before dripping onto the rocks below him. Inspecting the wound with a critical eye, he paused before lifting his left arm towards his face and grabbing the fabric between his teeth. Then he tore it away, ripping off most of the sleeve and maneuvering it around his palm with only his mouth. After all, if his right hand let go of the tree branch he was currently clutching, he would fall down the side of the cliff and into the jagged rocks protruding from the crashing waves below.

"That's not that weird. Maybe he cut it on a broken seashell or something. I have a scar on my hand from this one time when I was little, and I…"

"No one cares, Charlotte…"

"Apparently a dog gave him that scar just above his eyebrow, but I'm not sure I believe that one. I mean, what would Alex Rider be doing playing around with puppies? Excuse me if I just can't picture it…"

Alex clung to the tree tighter than he'd ever clung to anything in his sixteen years of life. Not only were his hands closed around the rough bark, but his legs were also wrapped around the tree branch, making him appear almost sloth-like. It was just his wonderful luck that a caterpillar had decided to take a shortcut across his face, sidling along his cheek until it made it halfway and Alex's dilemma arose. Now his lip was twitching into a reluctant smile as the fuzzy insect crept just beneath his nostrils, inspiring the mantra of don't sneeze don't sneeze alex rider i swear to god if you sneeze right now you are so dead repeating in Alex's mind. Without any further warning, the caterpillar gained another inch and it's fluffy back brushed the tip of Alex's nose, tearing from him a most unfortunately timed sneeze. With a yelp, the blonde lost his grip and landed on his back in the grass, and the two growling guard Dobermans descended upon him.

"Doesn't he have a scar on his left side, too? That's what I heard. Long and skinny – like a knife wound!"

"Are you guys sure you're not overanalyzing this a little? He probably got it playing sports, or tripping in the woods during a hike."

Alex Rider squeezed his eyes shut and screamed between his clenched teeth, hands tightening into fists as he arched his back from the pain surging through his body. The sharp blade ran achingly slowly across his exposed skin, leaving a river of blood seeping down into the hem of his dark jeans and dripping onto the floor. Rigid with agony, he jerked his head away from the hot breath passing over his sweaty face as a hand pressed into his side, nails digging deep into the wound as Alex finally threw his head up and allowed a scream to be torn from his throat.

"So…" The word dripped into his mind like balsam, spoken low and deep, and Alex opened his eyes only to see black spots blotting out parts of his vision. "… Ready to talk yet?"

"No way – there's something going on with him! The guys in the locker room saw him without a shirt and – oh Jenny give it a rest would you, you act like he's some kind of Greek god – and he's got a ton of scars. You know, the kind of thing can't be explained by sports."

Right kick, duck, swipe, right hook, dodge, upper cut, block, parry, jump, left hook, drop, block, left kick, block, right hook, dodge, duck, recover, uppercut, lower cut, opening! … Wait, never mind.

"Whatever you say, James. I have a feeling they're all just rumors. Or maybe Alex's family is abusive – ouch! Kate, why the heck did you hit me!"

"Keep your voice down! Anyway, don't you know already? Alex is an orphan! And do you really think if it was something as simple as child abuse, somebody wouldn't have done something about it already? It doesn't add up, either. Haven't you heard about those three long scars on his back? Only some kind of huge animal could do something like that!"

"Oh, please. They're probably just over-exaggerated cat scratches."

Alex panted, keeping his back firmly against the walls of his prison. His golden-brown eyes flashed unnaturally brightly in the limited lighting, fixed intently on the prowling animal before him. The large Bengal tiger wasn't unlike the one he'd encountered back in Venice, only this time he was on his own, and trapped in a locked cell with it. Possibilities for an escape plan ran rampant through his head, but none of them were plausible and all he could focus on was the pain in his back and how those claws were already dripping crimson, leaving trails on the ground from where they dragged languidly over the cold, slimy cement. With a wild cry, Alex threw himself into the corner, ducking just before the tiger could crash into him. Instead, it smacked headfirst into the wall, dropping limply to the ground with a yowl that broke off once it hit the floor. With little remorse Alex took the chance to snap the unconscious animal's neck and tear out one of its claws, hastily using it to pick the lock confining him in the small chamber.

"Jake saw them with his own eyes, and swore they were as long as his arm! What kind of mutant cat can pull that off?"

"I still don't think…"

"There are also those little scars on the side of his neck, too – the five tiny, thin ones. I don't know about you guys, but they look like they came from fingernails to me."

"Maybe Alex's date just got a little too… excited…"

Alex allowed himself to be thrown onto the bed, watching as the girl in front of him whipped her shirt over her head and melted back down onto top of him, fervently pressing her soft glossy lips against his own chapped ones. With a guttural growl he rolled over so he was on his elbows and knees just above her, fingers entangling themselves into her long, silky hair. Her own hands slid up from where they were currently unbuttoning his jeans, tracing over his toned abdomen and scarred chest until they wrapped around his neck, drawing him even closer. Alex bit down on her lower lip, drawing a moan from the body below him as her fingernails dug deep into his skin – hard enough to draw blood. Breaking the kiss off, he ducked out of her grip, placing a hand against the wound and sending her an exasperated look. She had the decency to blush, looking properly abashed before explaining sheepishly, "… Sorry. I got a little carried away."

"… Uh-huh. How come you're so sure it's not something bigger than that? It could be some kind of huge conspiracy – maybe Alex is a world renowned thief or an assassin or – or some kind of government spy!"

"Ha, ha, Kate. Very cute. Blimey, what do you expect me to believe? That he's in a gang or working as a hustler? Don't you remember what Alex was like before all this crap sprung up about him? He was nice. Friendly! The guy was a pacifist. No way could someone like him hold his own in a street fight."

"Oh yeah? How do you explain his nose?"

"…The hell's his nose got to do with any of this?"

"It's different than before! Haven't you noticed? It's crooked!"

"… I haven't noticed it…"

"You're blind."

"No, I just have better things to do with my day than ogle some overexposed baby-faced nutbag like Alex Rider! His nose looks the same as it always has!"

"It does not! He must have broken it! I bet he was fighting with some thug and–"

"You're crazy–"

"Oh would you both just SHUT UP already–"

"Where – is – Jack – Starbright!" Alex enunciated each word with a punch to the man trapped below him's face, jerking it right and left with the force of his fists. He looked like a cornered, half-starved animal with his dark circles, bloodshot eyes, bruised face and various other light injuries from fighting his way in. The man below him continued to struggle while Alex proceeded to completely wail on the brute, bloodying his knuckles and spattering his own face with the blood stemming from the man's nose. Eventually the man passed out and his head lolled uselessly on the ground, leaving Alex sitting on his chest panting. He slowly began to stand up, but the moment Alex's weight left his opponents body, the dark-haired man surged forward, this time crushing his fist into Alex's nose and sending him reeling back into the wall. "You moron!" he shrieked. "Jack Starbright escaped hours ago! You tell me where the fuck she is!"

"This is stupid. Why don't we just ask Alex how he got all those scars?"

"Are you kidding? Like he'll ever tell us the truth. He's had plenty of time to think of excuses, after all."

"Yeah? I'd like to see him try and explain away that scar on his chest."

"You aren't talking about the… the bullet wound, are you?"

"Bullet wound?"

"The one that's supposedly right above his heart?"

"Nu-uh. No way. I don't buy that one for a second. Who would want to shoot Alex Rider?"

"Maybe he joined the mafia, and then tried to leave. I bet someone put a hit out for him or something – to keep him silent!"

"Have you guys heard the rumors for that one? Supposedly some kid was accidentally shot outside that bank on the corner of Liverpool a couple years ago, and pronounced dead the next day. They said he died in surgery."

"What does that have to do with… oh."

"They're saying it was Alex?"

"Alexandra McKay in year nine saw the boy get shot, and swears on her grandmother's grave that it was Alex."

"Yeah, but she has a bigger mouth than you do, Kate…"

"Wait, that's not…"

"Shh!"

Just then, Alex Rider came limping around the corner, his arm casted and resting comfortably in a sling tied around his neck. There were so many signatures on it that you couldn't tell what the original color of the fiberglass was – however, nobody was looking at the cast.

"Hey Alex, how'd you get the black eye?"

Alex's attention flickered over to the group of gossiping juniors. "Same way I broke my arm," he informed them, lifting up the aforementioned appendage. "Hit by a car."

"Ah."

Alex stumbled back from the blow, placing a hand over his throbbing eye and gritting his teeth against the headache it inspired. "You're gonna pay for that," he snarled, leaping forward and tackling the man that had thrown the punch. Unfortunately their chase had taken them deeper into the city than they'd thought, and the two barreled onto the sidewalk and rolled out into the street, throwing punches as both scrambled to gain the upper hand. At the sound of a loud car horn, Alex's head snapped up, and he managed to throw himself out of the way just in time to hear the sickening sound of bones breaking as the semi crushed his opponent under its weight. Clutching the arm he'd landed awkwardly on in his haste to get out of the way, Alex took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the gory mess that was once the multi-millionaire Oleg Constantino. Now who knew cement trucks were so heavy?

FIN.

Oddly enough, this was not one of those nagging plotlines at the back of my head or half-developed one-shots saved to my hard drive that I randomly decided to finish. I wrote this one-shot between 2-4 AM on a whim :P Hope you enjoyed! If so, please drop a reviewing telling me as much! Makes the insomnia all worthwhile :)

Monster Mads