“You know, I can kind of understand his perspective.” Aaron continued to write on the page without looking up.

Interest piqued, Sol looked over.

“Carter’s I mean.”

The chair screeched as Sol made to get up. He didn’t want to have to go through another fight. 

“It’s just that it makes sense. If you’ve grown up with a person and you’re not who they rely on in a time of crisis, you might be a little upset.” Aaron glanced at Sol to examine his expression. “Do you know what I mean?”

“...I guess. But that’s not the only reason he was mad.” The omega slowly sat back down, surprising himself at how calm he was being. 

“Well, it was a factor. I don’t think the other things matter as much when you can tell he was clearly taught to think that way, not that that’s how he truly is. How could he be friends with an omega otherwise?”

“It explains it but it doesn’t excuse the fact that what he said was wrong. Besides, are you not even going to talk about how he’s clearly in love with Bo?” It honestly was a big part of the problem.

“That was an assumption that you made. Just because he didn’t know how to react doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“Well it’s obvious if you’ve been around them for long enough. Clearly you haven’t. So remind me again why you’re stating your opinion on the situation?” Sol was starting to get a little bit annoyed. He had patience for his perspective at first, but well it’s not like he’s actually involved in the situation is he?

“Okay you got me there. I’ll shut up.”

“Good.”

While their study session wasn’t particularly productive in terms of the project, it did make Sol go through a realization. He already knew that Carter’s parents were an issue, so he could imagine that it would extend to impacting Carter’s mindset. What he hadn’t expected though was to feel some sort of empathy for him. How miserable his life must be, hating someone for existing. This is especially true if the sole thing he hates is the closest friend he’s ever had.

Staring up at ceiling while laying on his bed, Sol thought about how the fight with Carter could have gone differently. He put words in Carter’s mouth for a good portion of it if you truly look. 

Feeling a buzzing in his pocket, Sol went to answer his phone only to find that it was a message from Carter asking to come over. Sure, Sol was feeling bad for him at the moment, but it wasn’t quite enough to make him completely forgive him. Dropping his phone back onto the table, he rolled over in bed to physically distance himself from it and the curiosity that came with Carter’s message.

It wasn’t much later that Sol heard a knock at his door. Coming in before he could answer, Carter showed up with a bag in hand. 

“Hey. I wanted to talk.”

“So talk.” Sol had little to no patience for whatever he was going to say if he wasn’t going to admit his faults.

“Okay well I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the whole fight. It was wrong of me to suggest that you two break up. I guess I’m just a little confused as to what you think my reasoning behind it was. Apart from making a scene with the whole situation and fighting with both you and Bo, I only said that your relationship was a little strange, not bad. I just want to know why you would ever say that I… like Bo.”

“Hmm. If I have to point out your feelings before you’re even able to realize them, I will. It’s obvious to me and to pretty much anyone who is around you long enough. Not only do you just like him, but I think you’re in love with him.” He was objectively right of course. Sol had seen Bo and Carter interact enough times to know. 

“I’m not! Atleast, I don’t think I am. But you can’t tell me what I feel or don’t feel. It’s purely platonic between Bo and I.”

“Sure it is. Like how the sky is green. Besides, why did you even come here if you were just going to waste your breath on lies?” He totally could tell him how he feels. The omega wasn’t stupid.

“It’s not lies! It’s- I- I’m just trying to be friends with you again. Why are you making this so hard?”

“Maybe it’s because you don’t actually want to be friends again. You just want to not be lonely.” Trying his best to put on a straight face, Sol squeezed his fists in frustration. 

Carter froze. 

“It hurts to say but I don’t know if you ever actually wanted to be friends with me. I thought we had a bond, but I guess not.” Sol was starting to feel the pinging pain of tears behind his eyes. He was really pouring his heart out here.

Carter, unable to think of what to say, stood there twiddling his fingers, having dropped the bag earlier. 

Looking back, he found Sol still staring at him, now with tears flowing freely. 

“I’m sorry.” Carter stared down at his feet. Feeling powerless, he left out the door. 

Sol immediately started to loudly bawl. He slammed the door in faux anger to try to replace his sadness with other emotions. Kicking the bag that Carter had left, it took him a second to realize what was inside it. When he went to open the bag, he momentarily stopped crying as he found a picture of the three of them smiling happily. It was taken during the summer and it must have been a nice day outside judging by the sun shining in the background. 

Holding the picture close to his chest, Sol thought about what it would be like if Carter and Bo were dating instead. Maybe then they would be happy and there wouldn’t be this constant fighting.