Day 23 - Trembling
A/N: As soon as they touched, both of them stilled. A short examination of George's thoughts in the climax of Part I.
He wished he was shaking from the cold.
His legs threatened to buckle, barely supporting his weight.
His chest ached from the sheer pressure of his heartbeat.
Hypothermia would've been preferable at this point, if it meant he wasn't standing directly in front of a thoroughly-pissed Biff Tannen, who currently resembled more of a demon than a young man.
He could barely believe that the high-pitched words coming out of his mouth belonged to him. "N-No, Biff. You leave her alone."
It took Biff a few seconds to respond, giving George the most devious smile he'd ever seen across the man's face. "…Alright then, McFly. You're asking for it."
Weakly summoning what courage he still possessed, George threw his right hand pathetically in the direction of Biff's face, only for the latter to grab it and twist it behind him. He heard the bones in his arm creak as his muscles twinged painfully, struggling to breathe through as Biff tightened his grip.
"Stop it, Biff!" Lorraine cried. "You'll break his arm!"
George heard himself gasping. His restrained fingers twitched uselessly.
Shit shit shit shit shit-
The pressure suddenly released and he stumbled backwards, realising that Lorraine had tried to intervene. Biff towered over her as he effortlessly shoved her to the ground, giggling to himself.
George's terrified expression made contact with Lorraine. The despair in her eyes, the crooked neckline of her dress, the towering man exerting his power over her-
Something inside him snapped.
BASTARD BULLY ASSHOLE-
His left hand began unconsciously curling into a fist, squeezing until his fingernails were almost embedded in his palm.
His brain didn't even register making contact with Biff's face until after the fact. The taller man barely had a chance to react before he was sent careening into the side of the Packard and collapsing into an unconscious heap at George's feet, blood trickling from his now-crooked nose.
George's stomach dropped.
Holy shit.
Am I gonna get arrested?!
He stared at his trembling fist in awe, terrified gasps escaping his throat as the consequences of his actions began to set in. I punched a guy holy crap I punched him I punched him I actually-
Lorraine!
"…A-A-Are you okay?"
It was the longest five seconds of his life before Lorraine gave him a meek and hesitant nod. The most beautiful smile he had ever seen appeared across her face as she accepted his outstretched hand, rising from the asphalt without breaking eye contact with him.
He couldn't look away either. He found himself admiring every eyelash, every blemish, every strand of hair that had fallen around the sides of Lorraine's face. How smooth her skin appeared in the dim lighting.
He couldn't get over how confident he felt.
Without hesitation, he squeezed Lorraine's hand tenderly and gently led her towards the gymnasium, oblivious to the large crowd of rubberneckers who were gathering near Biff's body.
The trembling had stopped.
His heart wasn't pounding anymore. If anything, it felt stronger.
I don't know how you did it, Marty, but thank you.