Firebug: Chapter 13 - Sick Day

As soon as Thaddeus learned what happened in the weight room, he insisted Theo stay home from school the following day. Normally, Theo would complain about such an unnecessary inconvenience. He wasn't injured that badly, nor was he physically ill. Spontaneous human combustion tended to drain one severely, though, rendering him too exhausted to protest. Mostly, however, Theo heeded his father's orders for Roman's sake.

He still had no ruddy clue how he'd managed to produce those pinkish-purple flames that Roman described. If he'd even managed to do so at all. He hadn't the courage to read and/or listen to the plethora of messages Roman had left him, so Theo wasn't entirely certain he hadn't dreamed up that conversation. Who ever heard of fire that didn't burn anyway? It was madness, pure and simple.

For the first time since Theo entered secondary school, Thaddeus took the time to make him a hot breakfast before heading off to work. He also took the time to double check the smoke detectors, which was marginally less comforting. As he gathered up his overcoat and briefcase, Thaddeus ruffled his son's curls with a deep sigh.

"Get some rest today," he ordered softly, "...but try not to spend all day watching Telly. Keep the door locked, don't open it for strangers, and stay away from the windows just in case. If you need anything at all-"

"I know, Dad," Theo mumbled, finger-combing his mussed locks, "I've got it. Thanks."

Thaddeus nodded, hesitating another moment before rushing out the door. Theo knew he meant well, but being fretted over like an invalid was never his idea of fun. He was seventeen for pity's sake, not seven. As he picked at the dry, red skin on his palms, though, Theo couldn't shake a sudden chill of doubt.

Perhaps his father was right to worry.

There was suddenly no air in the flat, so Theo shuffled across the living room to the windows lining the back wall. Despite Thaddeus' strict instructions, he pushed back the heavy curtains covering the middle one and eased the sash up. Immediately, his blistered, raw skin was kissed with a cool morning breeze, sending a small shiver through him. The brisk wind washed over his entire person like a fresh spring rain, carrying the weight of his sour mood away with it. He closed his eyes to savor it, breathing in the scent of the new day as if he'd never tasted air before.

The city was unusually quiet that morning; peaceful even. Theo could scarcely hear the dull roar of the traffic zipping down the road from the back of the building, or the voices of pedestrians on their way to wherever the morning was meant to take them. A waft of warm, buttery bread and sweet pastries hit his nose when the wind changed direction, most likely originating from the coffee shop down the street. Despite already being full, Theo's stomach rumbled at the scent. He wondered if Roman would ever want to go there with him someday. Perhaps if things were different. Simpler.

Thinking of Roman made the clouds darken over Theo's head again. He shouldn't waste his energy on pointless "what ifs" after all. It wasn't proper, and it did no one any good. As he began to pull his head back in through the window, however, Theo happened to glance down at the alley out of instinct. A person was walking down there, staring right up at him.

No: not just any person.

"R-Roman?!" Theo squawked, smacking his head on the window he'd jumped so high in surprise, "Oof! Bugger! Roman... wh-what're you doing here?! School will be starting any minute!"

Roman smiled sheepishly up at his best mate, rubbing his own scalp out of sympathy. "Yeah, I know," he said, "Thought I'd play hooky with you today... if you'll have me, that is!" His dark eyes darted to the fire escape ladder hanging to his left, softening when they fixed on Theo again. "Is it okay if I come up? This will be easier if I'm not, y'know, yelling up at you!"

Theo bit his lip pensively, scratching at the loose paint around the window sill absent-mindedly. "I... dunno," he muttered, "Dad probably wouldn't allow it! Besides... it's not safe! F-For you!"

"Looks pretty safe to me," Roman mused, pulling the ladder down and giving it a firm, experimental jiggle, "Yup: solid as a rock!"

Before Theo could argue, the star quarterback was already halfway up the fire escape. Truthfully he was glad of the company, but he was also paralyzed with dread. It was one thing having a flare-up at school, and an entirely different matter altogether doing so at home. There were families living in the floors below him; mothers; babies; a handful of elderly people. If any of them were harmed because of him...

If Roman was harmed...

"Phew: made it," Roman flashed that knee-weakening grin at Theo again as he reached the top of the metal scaffolding, his face flushed and a bit sweaty from exertion, "that was a good climb. Kinda regretting arm day now, though."

He laughed at his own joke, just for a second or two, before slowly growing serious again. Roman could've muscled his way past Theo into the flat with ease if he'd wished, but he didn't take another step. He didn't even try to touch Theo's shoulder or cheek, no matter how desperately he clearly desired to.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Roman insisted, "When you didn't answer my texts or calls, I got worried, and... well, the truth is, I feel like I owe you an apology. Leaving you all alone at the nurse's office yesterday was a dick move. I should've stayed with you and blown off that AP Calc test. Pretty sure I bombed it anyway, because you were all I could think about."

It was incredibly dangerous, not just because Roman was standing on a rickety, rusty death trap. Theo's brain told him to close the window and back away, but his heart didn't listen. Before either bloke was fully aware of what was happening, Theo grabbed the front of Roman's jacket and yanked him into a kiss. It was every bit as wonderful as the day before, but he resisted the urge to snog Roman for as long as he wished. When he broke the embrace, his hands were already tingling, and both teens were gasping.

"A-Apology... unnecessary," Theo murmured, "get in here already, before you catch cold."

While Roman squeezed through the window and shut it behind him, Theo hurried back to the kitchen. Fearing water alone would not be enough to quench the Curse, he made a beeline to the freezer, dunking both hands into the ice bin. Within seconds, all the cubes inside it had melted to a watery slush.

"Theo... you are okay," Roman asked cautiously, "Aren't you? I mean, you still look kinda crispy around the edges. Not judging, just saying."

"Physically? I'm knackered," Theo sighed, kneading the frigid water glumly, "The pain is long passed, though. Luckily, I heal quite fast. By tomorrow, I'll look marginally less... er... 'crisp'."

"Really? Wow; that's cool."

Theo traced Roman's movements around the flat purely by sound, starting with the quiet zip and shuffle of his jacket and shoes being removed. For someone so tall and broad, Roman was startlingly light on his feet. He moved as quietly as a tom cat over new-fallen snow, with only the occasional creak of a floorboard telegraphing his footsteps. It came as a great shock, then, when Roman's hands suddenly curled around Theo's shoulders a minute later.

"Don't," he begged, pulling away and whirling around on the spot, "Please... I-I can't bear the thought of hurting you!"

Roman made no attempt to touch Theo again, but the longing in his eyes was palpable. "I'm not scared," he said, "If I get burned, that's on me. Deep down, though, I know that won't happen. You have more power over the Curse than you realize, Bello; I've seen it. Don't let it own you."

Theo's breath caught, forgetting - just for a moment - that he was afraid. "What did you just call me?"

Roman blinked a few times, that warm, loving smile creeping back onto his lips. "Bello," he rumbled, "It's what my Nonna used to call my grandpa. Sorry, it just slipped out. If you don't like it-"

"Say it again... please."

Roman moved closer, slowly wrapping his arms around Theo. His grip was so strong; so gentle; so reassuring. Before Theo knew it, the taller teen's lips were brushing his ear.

"Bello," he whispered, "I can say it all day, if you like... Bello."

Theo's eyes rolled back into his head, letting the word sink into him to the bone. He wasn't sure what it meant, but hearing Roman say it made him feel things he hadn't felt in a long while. Things he never thought he'd be able to feel again.

Safe... wanted... loved.

He wasn't sure how it happened, but eventually they wound up on the couch together. They didn't really talk, nor did they engage in any scandalous behavior. As new as Roman was to dating boys, Theo didn't want to pressure him into moving forward before he was ready. He was too weary for frisky business anyway. For most of the day they just sat there in comfortable silence, snuggled up under a blanket watching rubbish daytime Telly. As three o'clock neared, and Thaddeus' arrival was imminent, Roman eventually untangled his limbs from Theo's.

"Oh, before I forget," he said, breaking their hours long silence, "You never gave me an answer yesterday."

"Answer?" Theo frowned, "about what?"

"The Homecoming Dance," Roman's lips twitched in a small, apologetic grin, "I, uh, asked if you wanted to go with me on the way to the nurse's office. Guess you didn't hear me, on account of you, y'know, passing out in my arms. No big deal. You couldn't help it."

Theo sat up suddenly, his heart fluttering with mingled shock, joy, and disbelief. "Y-You want to go... w-with me?" he stammered, beaming as joy won out over all, "Yes! O-Of course! I'd be delighted!" Dread crushed his joy to dust an instant later, however, when a thought suddenly struck him. "What about Luna? Haven't you already promised to take her?"

Roman's face slackened with shock, eventually rearranging itself into an uneasy frown. "Oh... y-yeah," he muttered, "I guess I did. It'd be rude to back out on her now, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely," Theo mused. He wrung Roman's hands with a sigh then, shaking his head. "We'll have to tell her about us eventually. It's not right, carrying on behind her back."

"Tell me about it," Roman groaned. After a few more minutes of silent thought, the olive-skinned teen's eyes lit up with inspiration. "I'll do it at the dance," he decided, "She'll be in a great mood, surrounded by all her friends for support. It'll be perfect. Just... promise to save a dance for me?"

"Promise," Theo grinned, pecking Roman on the lips, "It's a date... Romeo."