Firebug: Ch. 31 - Ghosts

Surely, Theo had strayed into another dream. Perhaps his grief-riddled mind had conjured a phantom of Jason to put him at ease before taking the plunge. Or maybe Jason's soul was reaching out from the Great Beyond, eager to welcome him to the afterlife. If that was the case, however, why did he so adamantly insist that Theo stop?

The longer Theo stared down at him, the more unsettled he became. Something wasn't right. It was difficult to tell from a distance, but Jason's posture was strange. Lopsided. He kept one hand braced against a tree in the courtyard, while his other arm was tucked up close to his body like a bird's wing. The way he was leaning... it was as if he could barely stand.

In a moment of desperation, Theo reached for Jason. Forgetting where he was for a brief yet crucial second. His arms windmilled madly on their own, trying to compensate for his sudden shift in gravity. His trainer slipped. He pitched forward. A scream caught in his throat.

Theo should've fallen to his death... but he didn't.

A strong hand grabbed the back of his shirt without warning, yanking him to safety at the last possible second. The hard gravel crunched underneath him as Theo landed flat on his back - dazed, winded, but still very much alive. He was shaking violently, his mind racing to piece together what the bloody hell had just happened, when he was hauled roughly to his feet by the collar.

"Jeez, Kid, you got a death wish or somethin'?!"

It was Mr. Glover, the school's janitor. Based on the heavy odor of tobacco hanging around him and the bent, half-smoked cigarette tucked behind his ear, he must've already been on the roof when Theo ran out there. The pile of butts on the ground near the AC unit behind Theo confirmed his assumptions.

Theo forgot Mr. Glover's question the moment it was asked. As soon as he was upright, he whipped his head toward the courtyard, searching for Jason. Bizarrely, he'd vanished. It was as if Jason had never been there at all.

So it was just a figment of his imagination. He might've guessed.

The janitor's rough hand on the nape of his neck woke him from his stupor. A moment later, Theo was being frog-marched to the roof access door.

"C'mon, Evel Knievel," Mr. Glover snapped, "I got a feelin' the principal's gonna want a word with you!"

Theo was in no position to protest. He knew very well that students were not allowed on the roof, especially not during class time. All he could do was keep his head down and his fists clenched, doing his best to ignore how badly they were tingling. Before he knew it, he was there, feeling incredibly small on the far side of that massive mahogany desk. Principal Parish loomed over him with a cool yet stern air, like a judge seconds away from sending a convicted felon to the gas chamber.

He said nothing for the longest time, listening patiently to Mr. Glover's description of where and how he'd found Theo. Mr. Glover seemed to think Theo deserved to have the book thrown at him. Theo, however, wasn't sure what he deserved. He was too terrified to think. The last time he'd been sent to the office was in nursery school, and it had scarred him for life.

Theo kept shifting in his seat, his sweaty hands furling and unfurling in his lap and his heart thundering behind his Adam's apple. His pulse was so loud in his ears, he could barely hear Mr. Glover ranting about entitled, idiot children running amok in his precious school as if they owned the place.

"Thank you, Gus," Principal Parish finally said, ending the janitor's rapidly spiraling tirade, "I'll take it from here. You may get back to work."

As the janitor stomped out, still grumbling under his breath, Principal Parish sat back in his wing-backed swivel chair with a sigh. He lapsed into silence again, studying Theo over his sleek frameless readers for a long moment. Theo fidgeted again, certain he could feel those deep-set golden eyes boring into him to the bone.

"Well?" The principal asked quietly, "What's your side of the story, Theodore? I'm waiting."

Theo didn't answer readily. He wrapped his arms around himself, burying his hands under his arms preemptively. Unable to meet Principal Parish's calm yet authoritative eyes for long, he dropped his gaze to his knees. Only just realizing how madly they were bouncing up and down.

"Haven't got one," Theo muttered.

"I see," Principal Parish mused, scratching the curly black stubble on his jaw. "So, you ran crying to the edge of the roof just... for the view?"

Theo's fingertips dug deeper into his ribs, his jaw clicking he was clenching it so hard. "No," he said adamantly, "I... I needed some air. That's all. Sorry. Won't do it again."

"Right, right," the principal nodded, "that makes sense."

After a short pause, he grabbed a paper from the basket on his desk, setting it before Theo with a flick of his wrist. "Are you sure," he asked, "...that it had nothing to do with this?"

The second Theo laid eyes on the paper, his stomach twisted itself up into a painful knot. It was one of the fliers that had been stuffed in his locker; dirty, creased, and marred by a rather large shoe tread, but the same nonetheless. He couldn't bear to look at it for longer than a heartbeat before shoving it away, blinking rapidly to calm his stinging eyes.

"N-No," he said, swallowing hard to hide the crack in his voice, "Not in the least. Just... s-stupid prank, all that is."

Principal Parish took off his readers and leaned forward slowly, propping his elbows on the desk. His deep brown fingertips steepled together, his thumbs balanced on his broad lower lip. He sat like that for a long minute, just... studying Theo like a bacterium under a microscope. Theo squirmed under the principal's gaze, afraid he may explode at any second. Eventually, Principal Parish got up and came around the desk, perching on the edge beside Theo.

"Theodore, Your record speaks for itself," he said, "you're an incredibly bright, dedicated student. These past few weeks, though, several red flags have been raised: you've skipped classes, your grades have dropped dramatically... and there's the matter of what happened in Mr. Hastings' class. I understand you set a book on fire?"

"That wasn't my fault!" Theo blurted.

A muffled crackle from under his arms made Theo jolt in his seat, just as a slight whiff of smoke tickled his nose. Immediately, he stuffed his hands under his backside, hoping the principal hadn't noticed.

"Erm... wh-what I meant was-"

"It's okay," Principal Parish said, "On paper, that matter is officially settled. Frankly, I'm more concerned about what happened a few days ago, before the tornado."

He looked back at his desk then, pulling the flier closer again. Theo tried to hide an angry shudder, looking away from it immediately. Apparently, that was the only confirmation Principal Parish required.

"Theodore, I take bullying very seriously at my school," he said, his tone quiet but firm, "Are you absolutely sure there's nothing you want to tell me about? Nothing at all?"

Theo's jaw wagged silently, his eyes darting from the principal's kind face to that horrid bit of paper. How could he even begin to make Principal Parish understand what he was going through? Supposing he did, telling the principal every sordid detail of what Jasper and Luna did to him wouldn't guarantee that it would end. In Theo's experience, it would only get worse if he told.

On the other hand, Principal Parish did genuinely seem to care. More than any school official he'd met before. That was a rare quality indeed. Perhaps he could really help. Or, perhaps not. If Principal Parish cared too much, he might assign Theo mandatory counseling. He may put Theo under constant supervision to ensure he wouldn't harm himself or others, making him even more of a social pariah than he already was. No matter what Principal Parish chose to do, it was a guarantee that Thaddeus would receive a call from him.

Theo couldn't bear that.

His throat was too tight to speak, so Theo simply shook his head. Principal Parish seemed remarkably disappointed, but thankfully he didn't pry.

"Okay," he sighed, nodding his understanding, "in that case, you're dismissed. You've got a class to get to anyway."

Theo jumped to he feet immediately, more than eager to put the principal's office behind him for good. He didn't get far - though - before Principal Parish laid a lean brown hand gently on his shoulder.

"...if you ever change your mind, though, my door is always open," he said, "Do you understand me, Theodore?"

"It's Theo," Theo said sharply, "...and... yeah. I-I mean, yes sir. Thanks."

He hurried out of that oppressive little room as fast as his feet would carry him. That conversation was all he could think about until the end of the school day. He kept turning it over in his head, wondering if he'd done the right thing by not grassing Jasper up. Maybe if Roman had been there, surely he would've known what to say. He was much better with words than Theo, and he was the Golden Boy of Hill Academy to boot.

Thinking of Roman just brought Theo's thoughts circling back to Jason. From his desk, he stared out the window at the courtyard, zeroing in on the tree where the vision of Jason had appeared. In the heat of the moment, it seemed so real... but it couldn't have been. Theo had seen Jason die with his own eyes. He'd attended Jason's funeral; a closed casket service, for obvious reasons. He'd mourned Jason, and was just beginning to move on.

So why - after all this time - was he seeing his dead former lover's apparition with his waking eyes?

By the time the last bell rang, Theo thought it best to just put it out of his mind altogether. Thinking of Jason right now was just too painful. Too confusing. Jason was gone; he'd lost him, and nothing would change that fact. But he would be damned if he lost Roman. They needed each other to survive. And right now, Theo knew they needed one another urgently.

As he trudged down the hall toward the main exit, his mobile chirped with an incoming text. It was Thaddeus, letting Theo know he was in the queue at the front of the school to pick him up. Knowing Thaddeus, he was probably first in line. Theo stopped in his tracks and scowled at the message for a long minute, barely noticing the students pushing past him in the corridor. With a deep exhale, he just shut his phone off and turned around, heading for the school's rear entrance instead. As he ran, the key to his and Roman's flat bounced against his chest under his jumper.

If Thaddeus wouldn't take him to see Roman, Theo would just have to find a way to hospital on his own. First, though, there was something he needed to do. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

"Wait for me, Romeo," he murmured, "Please."

A shadowy figure peered out from behind the school's back gate, watching Theo board a bus heading downtown. He was overjoyed that Theo was unharmed, but deeply worried all the same. Earlier in the courtyard, he'd shaved things quite close. Too close. The last thing he ever wanted was to bring Theo more pain, even if keeping his distance was excruciating. Even now, it took all he had to stay hidden.

But, honestly, it was for the best.

He couldn't bear to be seen like this. A ruined, twisted husk of his former self. Besides, he'd foolishly given Thaddeus his word, and the miserable old codger would wreak Hell on earth - literally - if he reneged. Of course, Theo may never forgive him either, if he knew the truth.

When the time was right, maybe he'd be able to pluck up the courage. For now, though, he was content just watching Theo from afar. A smile curled his lips as he rolled his wheelchair just a tiny bit closer, his eyes locked on Theo's face framed handsomely in the bus's second to last window.

He'd never seen such fire in the Pyro's eyes before. It was a welcome change.