* * *

After leaving the gymnasium, Reese quickly headed to his favorite place as planned. Thankfully, since the campus was more than a thousand acres, school services drove around the campus from 6 am to 9 pm in the evening for students to use for free. Of course, not a lot of students use it since they have their own cars or motorbikes they like to drive, but for those who have nothing like him, it was quite convenient.

"Reese? I thought you're off until the weekend. Got bored at school already?" Leon, the son of the shop's owner, teased after seeing the Beta at the shop. It hadn't been a year since Reese started working at the flower shop, but he had gotten quite close to him after the Beta started opening up to him. Reese used to be so quiet but he started getting chatty as soon as they became friends.

"Tell me about it. Classes haven't even started yet, and I want to quit already," Reese replied while habitually going for the shop's apron. However, Leon quickly stopped him, raising his brows.

"No can do, Sweetheart. You're not on duty today, and didn't you beg your Mom to allow you to work here even if it was just the weekend? Don't be stubborn now; just go upstairs and rest or something," Leon chuckled before quickly messing Beta's hair.

"Tch. Look who's talking. Aren't your classes starting today?" Reese countered, struggling away from his friend. Leon may be an Alpha, but he never looked at him in a weird way. He also never questioned him when he told him he was a Beta and not an Omega, so it didn't take long for him to warm up to him. Despite their age gap, Leon is probably the only friend he has left.

"I'm a graduating college student, so I have fewer units this semester than last. My classes don't start until later in the afternoon... Besides, I'm going to be the owner of this shop soon, so I can work without worry," Leon smirked before smiling charmingly. Seeing this, Reese blushes a little, but he quickly turns around and walks towards the stairs.

"Fine. Let me stay at the usual place then. I'll just kill some time before I go back. I might end up sleeping, so wake me up if you're leaving for school, okay?" Reese said, making the Alpha sigh, but he just nodded and shooed him away.

"Go ahead. I still have a lot of orders to prepare. I'll just head up when I'm done," Leon nodded as he also received a nod before climbing up the stairs. Ever since he started working at the flower shop, the rooftop had become his favorite spot simply because it was cozy, and he loved that there was a garden that the shop owner took care of very well. The ambiance was very relaxing, and just being at the place made him forget about everything that had happened in the past three years. Well, things were still the same, but he was just glad that finally, in a year, he'd be free to do whatever he wants. Of course, not knowing that the coming year he had to endure would be an even bumpier road that might break or fortify his resolve.

* * *

"Tch, Leon, that jerk! He didn't wake me up and left without saying," Reese mumbled to himself as he got down from the school service. Thankfully, it's 7 pm, so the service is still running, and he was able to reach his dorm building without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, though, since students had begun returning to the campus in preparation for classes starting the next day, the lobby was crowded, which Reese hated the most.

Although he didn't hate people or crowded places, he hated being the center of attention. So when he stepped inside the building, thinking people wouldn't bother looking his way, he was shocked to find out that some of the students were actually staring and even whispering. Reese halted his walk and looked around, hoping that he was just imagining it because of his trauma. But after hearing some of the whispers, his face suddenly turned pale.

"Is that Lancel's new roommate? I heard the reason he got in here was because his mom married into a rich man..." one girl whispered softly, but despite her efforts, Reese was able to hear it and silently panicked.

"Hmm, so they're gold diggers. I hate those people," another girl said while the rest nodded, finally prompting Reese to move his feet so he could remove himself from the area.

"His mom probably thought if she put her son into the same room as the heir of the Mo Empire, she'd be able to get something out of it," the earlier girl added, while the rest giggled. Reese didn't know why such a rumor began despite the class not even starting yet, but he already dreaded going to class. He wanted to run away and never go back.

"Oops, I'm sorry I bumped into you. I wasn't looking..." Due to him rushing away, he didn't notice someone coming, and they bumped into each other. Reese wanted to cry, prepared to be yelled at, but the next thing he saw was a beautiful blonde boy with deep ocean blue eyes apologizing to him. Even though he didn't want to jump to conclusions because he had been mistaken as an Omega for as long as he could remember because of his appearance, he could tell the person in front of him now was an Omega.

"I-It's okay. I wasn't looking either," Reese embarrassingly replied because of his clumsiness.

"Then are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? You look pale. Do you want me to show you where the clinic is?" The blonde young man offered, and Reese could tell that he's a nice person. However, he didn't really need to go anywhere except his room.

"It's okay. I'm fine. I just want to rest already," Reese replied, and the blonde boy seemed to have understood and nodded.

"Okay, sorry to keep you waiting," the blonde boy said, apologizing again, urging Reese to go.

"It's really okay, it's not your fault... A-Anyway, I'll go now. Bye," Reese immediately excused before rushing towards his dorm room door and hurriedly swiping his card to open it. When it did, he quickly stepped inside before sighing a sigh of relief, not realizing the tall, handsome man standing a few feet away from him was surprised at the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar figure.

He thought his friend had left something and was about to greet him back when this short guy abruptly stepped inside, even sighing in relief as if he was in his safe place.

"Who are you and why are you in my room?"

"AHHHHH!" Shouting in surprise before throwing a kick out of reflex, Reese was shocked when he saw his leg hanging as the man he was about to kick caught it before letting him go, causing him to fall on the floor.

"What is wrong with you?" The tall man asked again with a deep frown on his unblemished forehead. Fortunately, this time Reese was finally able to look at the man's face, and he was shocked to find out that he was the same guy who gave a speech earlier at the school orientation. He was the senior high school's student representative, but he wondered why he was in his room?!

"T-This is my room too..." Reese managed to say. He already knew the teenage boy was handsome, but seeing him up close, his previous opinion seemed poor. In fact, he could not believe there was actually someone on Earth who looked like this. He was both in awe and disbelief.

"You're room?!" The guy repeated as if he didn't understand what Reese was talking about, but soon he briefly realized that the person in front of him now was actually his new roommate. When he realized this, his guard quickly went down before he turned around. Seeing this, Reese was flabbergasted as he remained on the floor.

"Just don't bother me and we're good," the tall man only said before finally leaving Reese's sight, causing the Beta to be even more in disbelief. The guy didn't even bother to try and help him up and just left like that, as if he was some insignificant insect.

"What the hell is his problem!?" Reese muttered to himself, quickly standing up and dusting himself off. His new roommate might be the most handsome man his eyes had laid on, but he definitely has the most rotten personality ever... and it hasn't even been five minutes since they met.

"Tsk. Whatever!" Reese only said and quickly proceeded to his room, which was on the other side of the room, before shutting his door close. He initially wanted to get along with his roommate, but now his mind had changed. He didn't care anymore. Besides, he had other things that he needed to worry about, like how people knew him already, even calling him and his mom a gold digger.

He was positive he didn't know anyone on this campus since he grew up in a poor neighborhood, so no one should know him.

"Unless..." lying on his bed now and thinking about what had happened earlier, Reese suddenly mumbled to himself, thinking of someone who might have spread such words. This person obviously didn't like him and tried their best to isolate him, but he never really thought they would spread rumors like that about his mother since this person seems to act close to his Mom, as if they have already accepted her.

"Stella might hate me, but she doesn't act the same towards Mom... or does she actually hate Mom too?" Reese thought, putting his arm over his eyes. He really wanted this one year to be as peaceful as it can be, but it didn't seem like it would be possible now, especially when he suspects it was his step-sister who is trying to ruin his reputation.

"Dammit!" He cursed, not knowing what to do. He tried to avoid Stella because they simply don't get along well, but to think that she might be doing this to him, he felt hurt. Not to mention, she's also spreading false rumors about his Mom. He's wishing it wasn't her, but there is no one else he could think of that would do something like this, especially when she already did it at his previous school.

"I have no evidence yet, but I might need to confront her," Reese said again to himself before he sat up from his bed. It's already one in the morning, and his classes start at 8:30, but he still couldn't fall asleep thinking about what happened to him earlier.

". . ." Thinking of getting a glass of water, Reese went ahead, trailing the way to the kitchen. However, since the whole room was dimly lit with only a few tiny warm lamps on, he didn't bother opening the lights and went ahead to the fridge, not realizing a certain silhouette was watching him trail towards him. A frown quickly formed on his forehead, and when they were finally a few feet away, it was only then that Reese realized his roommate was awake, and in panic, he almost fell. Thankfully, for some reason he didn't, as he managed to grab onto something.

"I don't know if you're purposely doing it, but stop it now. I have no interest in you, and I already have someone I like. I'll never like you, whatever you're trying to do," the handsome silhouette said with his deep and Alpha voice. For a brief moment, Reese was mesmerized by his deep and sexy voice, but as soon as his sentence registered, a deep frown formed on his forehead.

"Excuse me?!" Reese only managed to say, unable to believe that he just heard that. He could not believe that he'd actually meet someone as egotistical and narcissistic as the person in front of him right now in his 19 years of existence.

* * *

To be Continued...