Firebug: Chapter 10 - Confrontation

"Grounded" did not begin to describe the punishment Theo received for staying out all Friday night. Still, he supposed he should be grateful. Thaddeus could've spontaneously decided to move again in the dead of night. Besides, grounded or not, he could still see Roman during school hours. That, at least, made it all bearable.

As part of his punishment, Thaddeus drove Theo to school bright and early Monday morning. Adding insult to injury, he parked directly outside the school's front doors. Before Theo could slink out of the car in shame, Thaddeus caught him by the arm, stopping him cold.

"I'll be here at half-three sharp to pick you up," he said, his fingers tight around his son's forearm, "If you're even half a minute late, I will come looking for you."

Theo nodded his understanding, hurrying out of his father's rented Toyota before anyone saw him. He rubbed his arm through his jacket sleeve as Thaddeus drove off, wincing at the bruises already forming on it. The unfamiliar lack of sensation in his fingertips sent quite a jolt through him, causing him to scowl at the stiff, white leather binding his hands.

Yet another aspect of his punishment, and most definitely the worst.

"Hey, Theo! Over here!"

Theo's head snapped up with a jolt, startled by the voice. His foul mood melted away when he saw Roman, waving at him from across the school's front lawn. He returned the friendly gesture in a heartbeat, jogging over to the Student Body President quick sticks. As they exchanged their usual pleasantries up close, though, Theo got the strange feeling that there was something... off about Roman.

He seemed knackered for starters, like he hadn't slept in days. As they walked along together, Theo carried the conversation, which was a major deviation from the norm. Also, it felt like Roman was only half listening; too wrapped up in his own thoughts to really notice much of what was going on around him. When they reached Roman's locker, the Brit couldn't bear another second of it.

"Roman... i-is there something the matter?" he asked. "You just seem... I dunno... not quite yourself."

Roman stopped digging through his locker on the spot, blinking as if he were coming out of a trance. "Huh? Oh... sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind, I guess. Stuff and things. Nothing to worry about."

"I am, though," Theo blurted, "w-worried, that is. If you need to talk about it, I'm willing to listen. That's what friends do... isn't it?"

Without warning, Roman dropped his gaze to the floor. He kneaded the tense muscles in his neck automatically, a sure sign that it was bothering him again. Then, to Theo's astonishment, he realized the taller teen's olive face was slowly turning red.

"Yeah... um... about that," he stammered, "Theo, I... th-there's something we gotta-"

"There you are, Babe! I've been looking all over for you!"

Luna blindsided both blokes, zipping in between them without warning. Theo stumbled backward out of the way, nearly getting thwacked in the face by her gym bag. It was as if she didn't see him there at all... or perhaps she simply pretended not to. Once she stopped snogging Roman long enough to let him breathe, her haughty blue eyes turned to Theo.

"Oh... hey," she said, smiling sweetly, "It's Teddy, right? I saw you the other night at Chris' party. Boy, were you wasted!" She laughed at her own comment, which didn't seem a bit funny to Theo, before wrinkling her brows in confusion. "What's up with the gloves?"

Theo quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "It's Theo, actually," he murmured, "...and I'd rather not talk about it. Sorry, Mate: you were saying-?"

"Oh, Babe, before I forget," Luna gasped, ignoring Theo completely, "Luke Chang was looking for you. I think it's about his article on the Homecoming dance. He sounded uber anxious."

Roman's eyes rolled skyward with a heavy sigh. "What else is new?" he muttered, "Sorry, T. Catch you later, okay?"

Theo tried his best to smile, nodding his understanding, "Right; of course. Later, then."

Later, unfortunately, never came. Every time he saw Roman from that moment on, Luna was attached to his hip; always swooping in with a grand, uncomfortably public display of affection, then announcing another urgent crisis for Roman to dash off and solve. Theo tried not to let it bother him, though. His best mate had his fingers in a lot of pies; his time was valuable, and it was prudent to use it wisely. After the third time it happened, however, Luna's motives were abundantly clear: she was making it her personal mission to keep Roman away from Theo.

When the lunch bell rang, Theo found himself taking longer than usual to pack up his belongings and head to the cafeteria. He'd seen enough of Luna and Roman snogging that day to ruin his appetite for a lifetime, so there was little point. Just when he'd decided to spend lunch hour in the library instead, Roman nudged his elbow and slid a note across his desk. As he read it, Theo's heart skipped three beats.

"Meet me on the football field in 10. We need to talk."

It took Theo a good long while to get up the courage to step out onto that field. He didn't know what he was expecting, but Roman's note sounded worryingly urgent. In the back of his mind, Theo couldn't stop thinking about the way Roman had been that morning; quiet, distant, nervous, deeply preoccupied. His instincts were clearly right, then: something was wrong. More than that, it seemed to be eating Roman alive.

Although he expected the place to be desolate in the middle of the school day, Theo was shocked to see quite a few students milling about on the field. They were split into two groups: the smaller consisting of mostly girls on the sidelines, working on a cheer routine in their concerningly skimpy navy and gold uniforms; the larger was chiefly boys, deadlocked in a heated scrimmage mid-field... and Roman was right in the heart of the action. Obviously both groups were getting in some extra practice for the Homecoming game, which was only a few days away. And it was no great mystery whose idea it was.

Theo scowled at Luna atop the human pyramid, who seemed far too busy shaking her pom-poms to notice him. At least, he thought so at first. When her eye caught him at last, the perky blonde gave him a triumphant little wave, grinning like the cat who ate the canary.

This was definitely her doing alright. Again.

Theo acted as if he hadn't seen her at all, making his way to the bleachers with his head down and heart heavy. As he took a seat, he reasoned it wasn't a total loss. The sky was quite clear despite the bitter chill in the air, and the sun was warm on his back once he got settled. Frankly, this seemed an ideal spot to clear his head and get a jumpstart on his homework.

At least, in theory.

As hard as he tried to keep his eyes on his textbooks, Theo couldn't keep them from wandering to the field. He'd witnessed Roman's athletic prowess before, but never like this. Roman was an absolute machine, barking orders to his teammates and executing maneuvers with calculated, militaristic precision. It was breathtaking to watch, even though Theo knew absolutely nothing about American football. Soon, he'd forgotten all about his books, totally engrossed in the scrimmage and Hill Academy's star quarterback. Trying not to think about how fast his pulse was racing.

"Uh, hello?!"

Theo jolted in alarm, nearly sliding off his metal perch at the sharp, annoyed female voice. One of the girls had come off the field and walked up beside him without his notice. The petite, dark-skinned girl stood right over him, fists on her hips and her pretty face screwed up in a glare, as he scrambled after his wits.

"What're you doing here, Nerd?" she snapped, "This is a private practice, or didn't you notice?!"

"S-Sorry," Theo muttered, gathering his books hurriedly, "I-I wasn't... I mean... A-All I wanted was-"

"Lay off, Tiffany," a new voice ordered, "I'll handle this."

Theo's head snapped toward the newcomer, not at all shocked when he realized who she was: Luna, once again inserting herself into his affairs. It was getting quite annoying, really.

"Teddy," she giggled, flashing that pretty, insincere smile at him, "Ro-Ro told me you'd be hanging out today." Her big blue eyes flicked across the field then, locking on Roman for barely a second before meeting Theo's again. Although the smile stayed on her face, her eyes turned cold and dangerous, like a tigress stalking her prey. "Enjoying the view?"

"I-I... w-well..." Theo struggled to find the correct words, or any words for that matter. Eventually, he looked down at his books, managing to squeak out a halfway coherent word at last. "S-Studying."

"Oh, I know," Luna nodded, her tone suddenly as icy as her gaze. She waved Tiffany away, waiting for the other girl to jog out of earshot, then sat down beside Theo. She was uncomfortably close, her polished pink talons wrapped threateningly around Theo's shoulders.

"Just look at that him," she sighed, her eyes never leaving Roman as she spoke. "I don't blame you for always wanting to be near him. You'd be crazy not to. Not only is he the most popular guy in school, but he's super smart... selfless... funny... drop-dead gorgeous..."

"I-I don't know what you're insinuating," Theo muttered, unable to stop his face from warming, "Roman and I have... s-strictly platonic relationship."

A heavy sigh trailed out of Luna's throat, her free hand cupping her brow. "God: why are all the smart ones always so stupid?!" she groaned, "Let me spell it out for you, Genius: I pick who Roman's friends are, because they're supposed to make him look good. And if he looks good, that means I look good. Dorky, pathetic losers like you ruin his image, which ruins my image. And nothing is more important to me than my image."

Without warning, her nails dug deeper into Theo's flesh. Luna's grip was shockingly strong, earning a quiet whimper from Theo. He tried not to squirm, as the intense pressure aggravated his already bruised shoulder. Still, it was frightfully difficult not to.

"Y-You're hurting me," Theo stammered, biting back a strangled grunt.

"Trust me, Teddy, you don't know what pain is," she hissed, "Whatever this little thing you have with Roman is, whether it's a man-crush or a real crush, it ends today! Do. You. Understand?!"

Before Theo could think of a response, a brown, oblong object whiffed through the air past his head, missing it by centimeters. Luna leaned back with a terrified screech, as the leather projectile nearly struck her as well. While Theo struggled to piece together what just happened, the offending object bounced off the benches behind him, ricocheting into his lap. He caught it instinctively, if only to keep it from causing more bodily harm. When Theo looked up again, his heart shot clear up his throat and in between his jaws.

Roman was jogging right for him.