I know I should be writing chapter 6 for my other story but I'm in one of those situations where you can't write anything else until you've got rid of the first idea so here it is.

Who Knows

Chapter 1: A knock on the door

Mr. Grey was slowly drifting off to asleep. The digits on the clock illuminated the room slightly and told him that it was eleven o'clock at night. He could hear the pitter pattering of rain drops on the roof pulling him closer and closer into the warmth and comfort of sleep. Tomorrow he would be back to teaching at Brookland. He wondered if Alex would be there or mysteriously disappear for weeks on end again. Alex Rider was a mystery to him. He was a mystery to most people.

Suddenly a knock at the door broke him out of his dream. At first he thought it was his imagination but then he heard it again. He struggled out of bed and put on his dressing gown. He staggered down the hallway of his little apartment and opened the door. He was confused, he wasn't expecting anyone and it was too late for anyone to decide they would come and pay him a surprise visit.

What Mr. Grey saw was the last thing he expected to happen. Someone was standing outside. The person was wearing and black hoodie with the hood pulled over their head and the black combats that covered the persons' legs were torn and dirty. The posture showed Mr. Grey that the person was confident, tired and ready to strike if anyone came at them.

"Do you think I could crash here tonight?" The voice Mr. Grey quickly identified as Alex Rider asked.

"Um… Ah…Ok, I guess," was all he could manage.

"Thank you," Alex answered. He showed Alex into the kitchen and told him to sit down at the table. Alex removed the hood and cradled his head in arms. Mr. Grey looked closely at him. His hair was dripping wet and messy. His face was dirty and a cut on his forehead was causing a small flow of crimson liquid to run down the side of his face. His chocolate brown eyes looked like he had seen a lot more than they could handle. He looked tired and half starved.

"Have you had dinner? Do you want something to eat?" Mr. Grey asked realizing that Alex probably half starved.

Alex was about to answer yes but he looked down at his hands that were now resting on his lap. They were red from blood. The handcuffs that had once been around them had broken and bruised the skin. Alex didn't like lying but if Mr. Grey saw his hand he would become suspicious and start asking questions Alex knew he couldn't answer. Instead Alex said, "No thank you, I've already eaten."

Mr. Grey had seen Alex look down at his hands and he knew straightaway Alex was lying to him but he had come up with a plan so he decided not to ask any questions because he knew Alex wouldn't give truthful answers. "You must be tired. Would you like to go to sleep? I'm afraid I don't get many guests so you have to sleep on the couch, is that alright?" Mr. Grey asked.

"The couch would be great," Alex answered hoping that he wasn't being too rude. 'Of course not,' he thought, 'you only knocked on a teacher door at eleven o'clock at night asking if you could stay at a their house for the night.'

They both got up from their seats and Mr. Grey showed Alex to the lounge. Alex pulled down the sleeves of his hoodie and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He tried not to wince when the broken flesh scraped again the black material.

"Do you think you could give me a hand with the bed sheets," Mr. Grey asked putting his plan into action.

Alex's eyes suddenly sharpened. He was stuck, he couldn't say no because that would be rude and it would get him sent back out in the cold. He couldn't say yes either because his hands were covered in dried blood. He hesitated and then his eyes widened when he suddenly realized why Mr. Grey wanted him to help. Alex slowly and carefully pulled his hands out of his pockets.

Ha ha I am holding the rest of the chapter at ransom, if you want it (though I highly doubt it) you must review. Please do not worry there is a sensible and well planned plot to this story and my other story ('Revenge' for the unfamiliar) will be updated as soon as possible (probably this weekend).

R&R