Klein

Chapter 8: Klein

When I stepped outside of the conservatory, my arm was almost immediately caught up in an iron grip as I was pulled to a stop and spun around to face a familiar scowl. Theo looked pissed. His dark eyes appeared even more intense than normal, and his handsome face looked like he'd just lost the biggest game of the season. I was familiar enough with his moods to know he was on the precipice of blowing like a volcano but had no idea why he was so upset.

"What are you doing here?" I sniffed slightly and moved to push some of my hair back behind my ears. "Have you even seen the music conservatory before?"

Since we shared a room, I knew he practiced as much as I did. I knew he worked as hard as I did. I knew he sacrificed much of his teenage years to pursue a greater dream the way I did, but I could never seem to keep my mouth shut when it came to teasing him about being a dumb jock. The truth was, he actually deserved to put his fist in my face long before now, and I was lucky he was hard to provoke.

Theo's scowl deepened as his grip on my arm tightened, and he pulled me after him as he stomped down the front steps of the building and guided me around the side of the massive stone structure. I grunted in surprise when he whipped me around and put one of his hands on the center of my chest, pushing my back against the side of the building as he loomed in front of me. I frantically lifted a hand and tried to pry him off me, but it was like moving a marble statue. He wasn't going anywhere as he quietly demanded to know, "Have you seen Mac at all today?"

I struggled against his hold, frowning back at him. "No. I haven't seen him since the day we crashed into each other, and he warned us something bad was going to happen." I stopped struggling for a second and cocked my head to the side to study him. "You were supposed to meet with your coach today. Did you get expelled?"

Theo pushed off my chest, causing me to grunt, as he lifted his hands to rub them over his short, dark hair in aggravation. "I was about to. Coach was fucking gloating about it. I was literally about to be shown the door when all of a sudden, the entire team started to brawl in the locker room. There was no way he could suspend me or expel me when everyone was throwing punches. He'd have to forfeit the rest of the season, and there's no chance of that happening. I thought I saw Mac in the hallway, which makes me think he had something to do with my sudden good fortune. I can't track him down, though. Neither Bash nor Edge have seen him either."

I straightened my now-wrinkled shirt and cleared my throat. "I haven't seen him, but I also got out of getting kicked out of school because of some sudden good fortune. The end-of-the-year performer threatened to pull out of the concert if I was suspended. I don't know him, or know anyone who has the kind of contacts to make that happen." I sighed. "Except for Mac. Mac could make that happen."

There were others at this school who might have the same kind of pull the redhead did, but none were as weirdly obsessed with getting into my business the way Mac was.

Theo swore and moved around me so he could kick the side of the building. I lifted my eyebrows and tried to hide a grin when he swore again, this time in pain, as he hopped around on one foot.

"He told us that if he fixed this mess for us, we would owe him… no questions asked." Theo sounded doomed, and the frown on his face turned to a look of actual worry. Mac was unpredictable and untamed. Being indebted to him for anything was not a place anyone wanted to be. There was no telling what kind of crazy he was going to ask us to pony up in return for saving our asses.

Almost desperately, I muttered, "But we didn't ask him to intervene. It doesn't count if we didn't ask for help, right?"

Theo sighed heavily and gave me a hard look. "You've met Mac. Do you think he plays by anyone else's rules? If he got involved, there was a reason, and you and I will be the ones who pay the price."

I jolted when he reached out and grabbed my cheeks between the fingers on his uninjured hand, squeezing and forcing me to make a kissy face. He suddenly gave me a lopsided grin as I tried to pull away from him once again.

"You better brace for impact, Rockstar. I have a bad feeling about what's about to happen."

I swatted his hand away and tried to keep the rising panic at bay.

"He wouldn't help us to stay in school, only to turn around and hurt us… would he?" I wasn't really asking Theo the question, but he answered anyway.

"It's Mac. No one knows the way his mind works."

And that was almost as scary as the prospect of getting suspended or expelled.