The Quadrants

chapter 6

**Authors note- You asked for it RedZero4. I'll update early just for you. ;-)

Rohan heard footfalls on the other side of the door, and soon it swung open. Titus stood there. His expression turned to annoyance when he saw who it was, but just as quickly, he seemed to grow worried. He closed the door over a bit and checked behind himself before speaking in a low voice. "What are you doing here, Fraser? What do you want?"

"I'm not leaving till you explain what happened today," said Rohan, determinedly.

"Piss off," growled Titus. He went to close the door but Rohan jammed his foot in it.

"How did you... why didn't you get burned?" he blurted, but Titus wouldn't answer, he just looked on edge—obviously he didn't want someone inside to hear what was being said. Rohan didn't know if the recent amnesty of Titus beating him up extended to outside of school hours, but he took the risk—what could he do to him now, anyway? Using a loud voice, he said, "Titus, aren't you going to invite me in?"

Titus frowned and leaned further into the gap. "Shut up!" he hissed.

"Tell me then... or I'll start yelling." This did the trick, because the other boy opened the door wider and squeezed himself through, closing it quietly behind him.

Titus took the lead back down the path to the front gate, or what was left of it, then he went along the sidewalk a little way before stopping to sit down on a moderately secure part of the crumbling stone wall. He turned to face Rohan, crossing his large arms over his chest.

"What do you want?" he asked impatiently, sucking at the scabbed-over cut on his bottom lip.

"I saw what happened at school," Rohan began. "So don't pretend it didn't."

Titus didn't reply. His dark eyes lingered on Rohan, however, and Rohan sensed something ominous going on behind them.

"I'm not leaving till you tell me," Rohan said, finding the courage to keep pushing the subject. "Look, this is important... you know about me... I-I don't know what's happening here. My strength... I could have killed you the other day." Titus snorted out a kind of laugh, probably because it wasn't he who had ended up on the ground in agony. "Am I going to become fire-proof soon, too? Because that's the thing... I-don't-know."

Titus still looked agitated. He turned and glanced down the path leading to his house, chewing with more intensity at his scab.

"Titus!" said Rohan, to regain his attention. His eyes swung around, and Rohan felt as if the glare he gave could have knocked him down. His mind was clearly in a bad place. Rohan spoke more quietly then, not wanting to upset him any further. "Please. I've got no one else to ask."

Finally, Titus gave a huff and rolled his eyes, then a moment later he stood and began walking away down the street, without a word of explanation. Rohan hesitated a second before jumping up and rushing after him. "How did you do it?" he asked when he caught up. But Titus remained silent, staring ahead as he strode along the sidewalk. "Look, just tell me, and I'll leave you alone."

The large boy ignored him entirely, keeping up a steady pace through the streets. Rohan quickly resigned himself to just following along. They passed dozens of houses and a park, and soon neared a small convenience store which stood on the other side of the road. Rohan noticed a strange man lingering there. He wore jeans and a black sweater with the hood up, and the sight of him gave Rohan the creeps. Rohan studied him for a few seconds as he continued along, but he couldn't put a finger on what seemed odd about him—he just didn't look like he belonged there. And then there was the fact that he was staring directly at them.