A Fresh Start

Theo Quill had only one goal for his senior year at Hill Academy: survive. The more invisible he could be, the better. Especially after what happened at his old school.

Academically, odds were he'd do very well here. With his grades, he should make it to graduation with flying colours. That's what he was good at. It was a role he'd played all his life: the scholarship bloke; the charity case; the brilliant-yet-piss-poor swot.

It was the other matter he was worried about.

Theo shuddered at the barest memory of last year's events, shaking out his shaggy blond curls afterward. No; he wouldn't even think about it. The sooner he could forget about "that", the better it would be for everyone. A new school in a new city halfway around the world where (hopefully) nobody had ever heard of Theodore Martin Quill was the best thing he could ask for. All he had to do was mind his own business, stay out of trouble, and-

"Yo! Heads up!!"

The cry came about three seconds too late. Theo barely had time to look up with a startled, "eh?" before an American football smacked him right in the face. His glasses and rucksack went flying in opposite directions, abandoning him just as quickly as his sense of balance. A second later, Theo was flat on his back in the middle of the quad, staring up at the little budgies circling his head and wondering, "why me?". Then, completely out of nowhere, a worried face appeared above him.

"Whoa... are you okay, Dude?!" the other teen asked, his olive face deeply creased with worry, "that was one hell of a wipeout!"

Theo cleared his throat, chasing away a groan, and flashed his best attempt at a smile up at the Good Samaritan. "R-Right... as rain," he stammered, forcing a nervous chuckle through his lips. "Thank you for asking anyway. V-Very decent of you."

He hoped the other boy would get the message and leave him to wallow in agony in peace. Instead, the tall, lanky teen offered Theo a hand up.

"I dunno, Man, you took a pretty big bonk on the noggin," he said, "...and you're bleeding. Maybe we should get you to the nurse, just in case."

It quickly became clear that the bloke wasn't just going to go away on his own. Reluctantly, Theo accepted the hand up, allowing his new schoolmate to guide him to a seated position. The moment he was upright, however, Theo wished he were still laying down.

Concussed within his first handful of minutes on campus. That would be just his ruddy luck.

Whoa," the other boy mused, bringing Theo's attention back to him, "your hands are really hot! Feverish even! You shouldn't have come to school if you were sick. I mean, it's the first day and all, but-"

Theo bit back a yelp, yanking his hand free in an instant. "No!" he blurted, tucking his hands into his armpits, "Erm, I mean... n-no thank you. I'm not ill. I just, er... o-operate at a higher temperature than most. N-Nothing to worry about at all, I assure you."

The other teen nodded, but he clearly wasn't convinced, "Oh...? Phew; that's a relief. You should still see the nurse anyway, though."

"P-Perhaps you're right," Theo admitted, probing his aching nose automatically with a wince. A shocking amount of blood came back on his fingers, dribbling from his nostrils in a constant stream. Honestly, it could've been worse; at least his nose didn't appear to be broken. The bridge of his glasses must've cushioned the blow.

"M-My glasses," Theo realized, squinting at the grass all around him, "Dash it all: I've lost them... again! Dad will have my guts for garters!"

"Hey, it's okay," the other boy promised, "we'll find them. They can't have gone far if - aha! Yahtzee!"

He hurriedly plucked something out of the grass a meter away, wiping whatever it was on the hem of his letterman jacket. The next thing Theo knew, the olive-skinned teen was gently setting them on his freckly, badly-bruised nose.

"All good," he said, giving the "ok" gesture with a warm, genuine grin, "not even cracked. Those are some good quality specs."

Fifteen minutes later, Theo found himself sitting in the nurse's office; an ice pack on his face and two wads of cotton wool stuffed up his nose. All his energy was focused on breathing - and the headache blossoming between his eyes - that he forgot to pay attention to the questions the school nurse was asking him.

"So, how did this happen again?"

"He took a stray spiral to the schnoz," the Good Samaritan answered for him. "I'm real sorry about that, by the way. Guess my arm is stronger than I thought... and my aim really sucks."

"No, no," Theo mumbled, trying to smile behind his ice pack, "A-All my fault, I'm sure. Should've been paying closer attention to where I was walking. Heh... s-so stupid of me..."

For the first time since their meeting, the other boy's deep brown eyes narrowed pensively. "Wait: that accent... you're not British by any chance, are you?"

Theo's free hand trembled on his knee, forcing him to curl it into an anxious fist. "Erm... yes?" he said, squirming on the nurse's padded leather bench. "Does that matter?"

In a split second, the other teen's face lit up, stretching in an elated grin. "You must be the new transfer student from the UK, then," he said, "Theodore, right?! I'm Roman. Man, it's so great to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you!"

Theo's lungs quivered in his chest, refusing to allow him to breathe. It wouldn't have done any good to try anyway, as he'd somehow forgotten how to exhale. Vivid, painful flashes of memory ravaged his psyche, each one a brutal stab to his cerebral cortex.

The scorching heat in his fingertips... those horrible flames, wreathing around his entire body... the acrid stench of smoke and charred flesh...

...Jason...

Theo should've realized it was impossible to flee from his past. Something like that was fated to follow him forever. Even across an entire ocean. If this random bloke knew about it, he could bet every student at the Academy already knew, too. It was only a matter of time before it all started again: the whispers... the accusatory glances... the crude, disgusting messages painted on his locker...

"Theodore? Hey..." Roman murmured, his enthusiastic grin replaced by an uneasy frown, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you feeling okay?"

Roman's hand was on Theo's shoulder a moment later, which was enough to set Theo off. In a split second, he felt a surge of heat flooding his fingers; a horrible sensation he knew all too well. Instinct took over automatically, forced to the surface by his rampage of panicked thoughts. Theo didn't even recall leaving the nurses' office. One moment he was sitting there across from Roman... and the next, he was racing through the halls at breakneck speed like a champion thoroughbred.

Theo had no idea where he was going. He just needed to flee. When his blocked nose forced him to stop and breathe for a moment, he was in the school gymnasium. There were a handful of students milling about the space, all of whom looked over at Theo strangely when he burst through the doors like a madman. Unable to bear their confused, judgmental stares, Theo forced his body to crack on. When he stopped to breathe again, he found himself in the boy's locker room. It - thankfully - was deserted.

Alone with his thoughts at last, Theo found his way to a shower stall. Once his back was pressed flat to the cool, stark white tiles, he slid down them, crumpling to the floor in a tight knot. Begging his hands to stop burning, while hot tears brimmed threateningly behind his lower lids.

Perhaps he could just stay there for the rest of the day. Not the most comfortable nor glamourous of hiding spaces, granted, but at least it was safe. There wasn't much coursework to do on the first day of classes anyway; just introductions and collecting syllabi. No one else need know that he was even at school that day.

"Theodore?"

Theo's head snapped up with a gasp at the sound of his own name. Despite his best efforts to hide, Roman had found him. He pressed his back tighter to the wall and scrubbed his eyes with his knuckles, bracing for the barrage of insults that was sure to come. To his surprise, however, Roman just knelt in front of him. Offering a packet of tissues.

"I'm sorry," Roman said, and it seemed very likely that he meant it. "I don't know what I said to make you so upset. Sometimes my mouth just runs away and takes me along for the ride." He tried to laugh, but the hollow, humourless sound died quickly in his throat. "Seems like I'm making bad impressions all over the place today. Some Student Body President I turned out to be, huh?"

Theo blinked at Roman, utterly confused, before shaking his head. "Y-You what...? No; no, it... it isn't you at all. I'm the problem, and you ruddy well know why."

It was Roman's turn to look puzzled. "Um... no?" he frowned, "Dude, I just met you. I mean, I know of you. Well, as much as the principal told me." His smile returned - quite a bit softer than before - as he lost himself in his ramblings, "You got, like, a perfect score on the entrance exam. Which has never happened before in the entire history of the school, FYI. Also, you're British, which is awesome! I've never met anybody from another country before. That's why I volunteered to give you the grand tour when you arrived. Of course, that was before I nearly broke your-..."

Roman paused suddenly, blinking for a second, before a series of snorting chuckles overtook him without warning. "Man: there I go again," he laughed, scratching his coal black scalp nervously, "Sorry; I get diarrhea of the mouth when I'm nervous... in case you didn't pick up on that already."

Roman's laughter was so highly infectious, Theo couldn't help but smile back. It was a calming sound, warm and deep like a bow being drawn across cello strings, putting him more at ease than he'd been in months. Mostly, he was simply relieved that his horrid secret was still a secret. From the student body, at least. He didn't even notice the sizzling sensation in his fingertips had stopped the moment Roman started speaking.

"N-No worries," he insisted, taking one of the tissues Roman offered with a snuffling chortle. "Blimey, I feel like a cad; r-running off like that. Suppose my, erm... m-my nerves got the best of me. Again. Sorry about that, really."

"Ah, it's fine," Roman promised. A moment later, he jumped to his feet and offered Theo his hand for the second time that morning. "Maybe we should just start over from scratch," he grinned, "Roman Durant."

Theo took Roman's hand, shaking it with a shy grin, "Theo Quill. Only my dad calls me 'Theodore'... and I actually rather despise it."

"Believe me, I understand," Roman chuckled, "It's awesome to meet you, Theo. Welcome to Hill Academy."

"Likewise," Theo said quickly, "...and thank you."

With no effort at all, Roman pulled the shorter teen back onto his feet in a single, swift yank. "My pleasure, really," he grinned, "Now: let's get this tour started, shall we?"