Firebug: Chapter 11 - The Truth

"Sorry, Babe," Roman grinned, waving at Luna. "Wild ball! I've really gotta work on my... aim..." his grin faltered in surprise as his sentence petered off, but he screwed it back into place as quickly as he could.

"Theo," he gasped, gone from confident to shitting a brick in a split second, "Y-You came. That's... That's amazing!"

"H-Hullo," Theo stammered, tossing the wayward football back to him, "I was just-"

"Leaving," Luna interrupted, "Isn't that right, Teddy?"

Theo looked like he was going to say "no" at first. He looked very annoyed with Luna in fact, probably for being called "Teddy". Her nauseating, sing-song tone wasn't helping things either. A few seconds later, though, he suddenly seemed to lose his nerve.

"Erm... yes," he mumbled, "I suppose I was. Be seeing you, Mate."

While he packed up his books at breakneck speed, Luna sat back with her legs crossed, watching the flustered Brit with an almost sadistic kind of glee. Roman knew she could be kind of a Mean Girl at times, but it was usually toward pervy, dumb jerks who deserved it. A sweet, shy guy like Theo was the last person Roman would have expected her to give the Regina George treatment.

In the back of his mind, he was aware of a small but persistent spark of outrage at her behavior. The same kind he felt a few days ago when Chris was bugging Theo in the hall. Before he knew it, Roman jogged up the bleachers like a staircase and gathered up the rest of Theo's books for him.

"Hey... before you go, can we still talk?" Roman cast a sideways glance at Luna before adding, "Alone?"

Theo's jaw dropped open, working soundlessly for a moment or two. The look on his face telegraphed a loud and clear "yes", but he couldn't seem to get the word out verbally. Almost as if he were choking on it. He never even stood a chance trying to, though. Two seconds later, Luna's hands were wrapped around Roman's bicep.

"Oh, Babe, I just remembered: you haven't bought your suit yet for the Homecoming dance! I saved a few on my Pinterest page, just in case. Why don't we go look at them now? Together?"

"That sounds fun, Lu," he said, doing his best to smile, "We can look at them after school. Right now, I'm a little busy, though."

Luna looked like she'd been slapped. That expression of mingled shock and rage didn't stay on her face for more than a second, though, making Roman think he might've imagined it. In a blink, she was smiling sweetly, both arms coiled tighter than pythons around his.

"We shouldn't wait too long, Ro-Ro," she insisted, digging her nails into his flesh, "What will we do if we order your tux, and it doesn't arrive in time for the dance?"

Roman shrugged, both to show his indifference and to hopefully loosen her grip. "Ah, it's no big," he insisted, "Mom's already sent me a few of my dad's old suits. I can always wear one of those."

Luna recoiled suddenly, staring at Roman like he just barfed up a live scorpion. "Are you insane?!" she screeched, "There is no freaking way you're going in one of those crusty, dusty, moldy suits! They're from, like, the 70's!!"

Roman felt his hackles rise a little, but he brushed off the comment as best he could. "They're not that old," he promised calmly, "and some of them are actually pretty nice. If it means that much to you, though, I'll pick one up in town later. I saw one in the window at Marv's the other day that's on sale. Even matches your dress."

"Marv's?!" Luna rolled her eyes with a disgusted groan, "You cannot buy a 'new' suit at a thrift store, Roman!! It's tacky!" With a heavy sigh, she brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulders and shook her head, "It's fine: I'll just take you to Lacey's after school and pick one out for you. Let's go study their online catalog and see what they have in stock."

"Okay," Roman muttered, defeated, pulling away when she reached for his arm again, "...later." Before she had the chance to protest, Roman turned his back to Luna, offering the books he was still holding to Theo.

"If you have the time, I'd really like to talk," he murmured, "...please."

"Uh, hello?! I'm still here!" Luna snapped, "God! Rude much?! Whatever you have to tell him, you can say in front of me!"

Theo shifted his weight quietly, picking at a loose thread on the cuff of his left glove. It might've been from sitting in the sun, but Roman was positive his freckled cheeks were a lot pinker than normal.

"I, erm... was actually on my way to the loo," he stammered, his soft, blue-green eyes flicking over to Luna nervously, "...b-but if it's really that urgent-"

"Perfect," Roman grinned, "A bathroom break sounds pretty good to me right about now, too. C'mon: we can use the one on the weight room."

Luna was still sputtering as the boys walked off together. Roman thought he heard her shout about something not being fair, but he didn't pay much attention to it. In all honesty he did have to go, and the boys' restroom was about the only place on campus he could get away from his overbearing girlfriend for a few minutes.

He let Theo go first, waiting in the weight room for the Brit to finish so things wouldn't be awkward. It gave him the chance to think through what he had to say. What he'd been gathering the courage to say all day. The last thing Roman wanted was to screw up something this important. Still, part of him debated if he should say anything at all.

Roman was by no means ashamed of his feelings toward Theo. Far from it. Nor did he really care what anybody else thought. In the back of his mind, though, he kept wondering if he'd misread the signals Theo had been sending him. Maybe Theo didn't have a crush on him after all. Maybe he wouldn't feel comfortable hanging out around Roman after learning the truth. Maybe Theo would panic, fearing that Roman might try to take advantage of him just like Chris did. Roman would never do such a thing, of course... but Theo might not believe that.

What if they could never be friends again?

Roman was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he nearly leapt out of his skin when the bathroom door opened. Theo flashed him a shy smile (damn, he had such a nice smile), tucking a loose curl behind his ear as he walked out.

"All yours, Mate," he said, "the last sink is out of soap, though, so-"

"Yeah... thanks," Roman nodded, hopping off the weight bench immediately. As he put his hand on the bathroom door, Roman swallowed his nerves with a heavy sigh. "Actually, um... I'd better get this off my chest first, before I talk myself out of it again."

Theo nodded, clearly uneasy, as he took the seat Roman vacated. Once he was settled and waiting patiently for Roman to continue, the olive-skinned teen ran a hand through his dark, unruly tresses.

"The other morning in my room," Roman started slowly, "...you said... 'I love you'. You meant that, didn't you? Like... romantically?"

Theo's pale face turned as red as a ripe tomato, his eyes darting down to the gloves resting in his lap. "I... erm... well..." After a few more minutes of hemming and hawing, Theo's shoulders deflated with a sigh.

"Bugger," he muttered, "Roman, I... I'm so sorry. Everything is just so easy with you... so comfortable... so... wonderful. And... wh-whenever I'm around you, I always feel..."

Theo shook his head suddenly, looking dangerously close to tears. "What the bloody hell is wrong with me?!" he growled, tugging at his blond mop in frustration, "It isn't right at all! You're my only friend... you're in a deeply committed relationship... and you're not even into blokes!"

Roman shuffled his feet, rubbing his neck with an anxious wince. "Well, you've made a few good points," he admitted, "...but you are wrong about one or two things." He sat down beside Theo then, letting his hand rest on the Brit's trembling shoulder.

"Luna and I have been together a long time," he said, "I mean, a really long time. She asked me out at her thirteenth birthday party. At the time, I wasn't into girls yet, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings so... I said 'yes'. I thought I would learn to like her eventually, and I did."

Roman leaned back against the wall, letting his hand slide off Theo's shoulder with a heavy sigh, "...but I've never loved her. Hell, I'm not even attracted to her really. Looking back, I've never had the hots for any of the girls I've known." Shaking a little with nerves himself, Roman slowly let his fingers crawl toward Theo's knee, resting them there timidly.

"If I'm being honest with myself... there's only been one person so far that's made me feel that way," Roman rumbled, "...and... I'm looking at him."

Theo's eyes flicked rapidly from the hand on his knee to Roman's face, growing bigger than basketballs. Roman wasn't even sure he was breathing anymore. Part of him thought that Theo had passed out sitting up. A million panicked thoughts raced through Roman's mind, convincing him that he'd come on too strongly. He was absolutely positive that he'd screwed the pooch, and that their friendship was irreparably shattered.

"Th... Theo?" he stammered, wetting his parched lips cautiously. "L-Look, uh... I'm sorry if I made you-... I-If I made things awkward, you can tell me. I'm more than happy staying just friends, if that's what you want. If... you're not ready, I mean."

He expected Theo to burst into tears, or laugh in his face. Anything except the terrible, awful silence hanging in the air between them. Roman was seconds away from bolting, planning to barricade himself in the bathroom until he died of starvation he was so riddled with shame. Before he could move an inch, though, Theo's arms were suddenly around his neck. A startled gasp left him as the shorter teen yanked him forward without a hint of warning...

...and the next thing he knew, their lips were locked together.

It wasn't Roman's first kiss. Not by a long shot. Luna had kissed him at least once every day for the past five years. This wasn't like any kiss Roman had ever had before, though: it was warm... tender... breathtaking. Heart-stopping. Like he was on fire from the inside out. As cheesy as it was, Roman actually heard songbirds and bells chiming somewhere off in the distance. It was as if he'd been wandering in a vast desert all his life, and Theo's lips were a lush, cool oasis spring. A spring he drank from deeply and with gusto.

Roman could've kissed Theo forever. He probably would have, too... if the hands wrapped tightly around his head weren't suddenly engulfed in flames, that is.