* * *

"Excuse me?!" Reese voiced out with both a frown and a look of disbelief. He couldn't believe he just heard that.

"You are excused," the man replied before finally helping Reese stand on his own. However, since the man was too tall for his own good, Reese took a step back as he didn't want to be looking up at him.

"But am I wrong? You clearly made your way to be my roommate, and now you're trying to seduce me. I'm just saying it's useless since you're not my type," the man added again, looking at Reese wearing shorts and a tank top that showed a lot of his skin. Meanwhile, Reese was even more flabbergasted. He gets that his roommate probably has a lot of people who admire him like there's no tomorrow, and he could imagine some of those people would actually be crazy enough to do anything to be closer to him. He also admits that he had the kind of face that anyone would fall for, but that was definitely not him. That also shouldn't give him the confidence to think that everyone would fall for him. Reese had lived for so long, but this was the first time he had encountered a person like this that it's making him laugh somehow.

Chuckling at the encounter instead of getting mad about it, Reese looked at the confused man.

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know you. Also, you're not the type I would try to seduce, so calm your ass down," Reese said coldly before going to the fridge to get himself a bottle of water. After opening it to drink, he looked at his roommate up and down before finally commenting again.

"Anyway, not all people will like you, you know... I honestly feel bad for the person you actually like; he'd have to deal with that arrogance of yours. You're not even that..." Reese commented, rolling his eyes. Well, his roommate might be the most attractive man he had met, but it's true that he wasn't his type since he doesn't date straight guys. Alphas like him are better suited with Omegas. Furthermore, he can admire beauty, but he's a sucker for personality, so he was somehow glad that his roommate was like this. At least that way he can be sure he wouldn't fall for him accidentally.

"Now, if you'll just excuse me. I have better things to do than..." Reese sassed, looking at his roommate with a little bit of disdain before quickly leaving, leaving the man dumbfounded. On the other hand, the man didn't really care; however, he was hurt by the words, where he was reminded that not everyone would fall for him. It's true, he has had an unrequited love for his childhood friend for as long as he could remember, but he could tell they didn't feel the same way about him. The fact that his roommate had hit him where it hurt had opened his eyes, since it was true.

However, his actions were not unfounded, since it is true that anyone who had become his roommate, whether they were a beta or alpha, they all had motives. If not for the fact that they're trying to sleep with him, it would be his family background. Being the eldest heir of one of the most influential corporations in the country and the world, it always comes with its own cons. It's the reason why he always maintained distance from his classmates and didn't hang out with anyone aside from his childhood friend, whom he trusted, so no one could blame him for thinking that maybe this time was the same. There are a lot of empty dorm rooms in other buildings, but the Beta just had to take his.

". . ." With his roommate disappearing from his view, he sighed and went back to his room. The next day, he was planning to at least apologize for his arrogance since it's not like he was looking for a fight, but since it got awkward between the two of them, he lost his chance and went on the day without talking.

* * *

"We're taking it easy for today since it's the first day, but tomorrow I'm giving a 10-item quiz about the readings I have assigned, so make sure to read it... You can now go have your lunch," the professor announced as she fixed her things. As expected, the students hurriedly did the same, and on cue, the bell rang, signifying that the morning class had ended.

However, since Reese didn't really have any friends yet or a reason to hurry, he took some time to arrange his things and later put them back in his bag. Obviously, since it's lunchtime, he'd have to go to the cafeteria where food is served for students whose parents paid a lot of money to make sure their children eat healthy, but in the end, those children would rather buy food from partner stalls and eat deep-fried and salty meals. Lucky for him, who likes real food, it was easy for him to decide which cafeteria he was going to go to, since there are many options on campus.

Briefly looking at his school map, Reese then headed to the school service. He still had 1 hour and 30 minutes until the afternoon class started again, so he had plenty of time for leisure. Thankfully, there was no traffic inside the campus, so the drive towards the cafeteria didn't take too long. There were more students than he expected since it was lunch break, but he didn't mind as long as he wasn't in the spotlight like at his old school, where students always found a way to gossip about him whenever he went somewhere.

To be honest, he was worried that it would be the same at his new school. After yesterday, he was concerned that a rumor about him had already started spreading, so he was somewhat reluctant to go to class. However, he was glad that he chose to be brave and did so because no one seemed to know when he came to class. In fact, he even started to think that maybe he was just imagining things and was overly anxious due to the trauma he had experienced at his previous school. He hoped that was the case because he really needed to graduate and finally be free again. And in order to do that, he needed to avoid attracting attention as much as possible. He didn't mind not having friends as long as no one paid attention to him.

Unfortunately, that was all just wishful thinking because as soon as he took his meal and chose a table in the corner to eat quietly, he noticed a few students who came in started whispering and looking at him. Reese tried to ignore it, thinking he might be overly sensitive, but when one of the students made eye contact with him and gave him a disgusted look, Reese immediately went pale. He was even more certain the girls were talking about him when they passed by and whispered "golddiggers" before laughing. It couldn't be a coincidence—they had plenty of paths to choose from, but they deliberately walked past him.

Immediately standing up, unable to bear staying in the cafeteria any longer, Reese abandoned his meal, which he hadn't even had the chance to eat much of, and hurried towards the comfort room. Sweating profusely and with trembling hands, he felt short of breath. After finding solace inside a cubicle for a while and regulating his condition, he realized it wasn't wise to linger there. The comfort room had been his sanctuary at his old school, a refuge from the relentless attention outside, but now he had to summon the courage to face the world again.

Luckily, his new school was much larger than his old one, offering more places where he could retreat from the crowds. If he could just find a spot away from prying eyes, he might be able to calm down.

"You can do it, Reese... It's only one year... One year and you'll be free. You can go to a place where no one knows you and start your own small shop alone," Reese told himself as he looked in the mirror and as if his words really worked, he smiled and nodded imagining the life he had always envisioned for himself. Besides, he even spent almost a year moping around in his room so he was positive a year would pass without him knowing. He just has to endure for now and surely everything will turn out fine in the end.

"That's right! Cheer up!" Reese continued to cheer himself up and it actually worked this time, so quickly leaving and buying himself a couple of sandwiches, he finally went ahead to find a quiet place to eat. He was thinking of a place that has not a lot of students around and maybe with trees and flowers he could admire. Luckily he soon found a place and was happy to run towards a huge tree that had a perfect shade to eat into. Of course, he quickly settled. He was confused why other students avoided the place but lucky for him, he didn't mind it at all.

"Uhh.. Hi?... Oh, you're that guy I bumped into yesterday," Reese was about to enjoy his sandwich when suddenly a beautiful blonde boy approached with a friendly smile. And just like he had said, he remembered him as well.

"Oh I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just thought there's no one here today. It's our spot since it's relaxing, it's nice to eat lunch here and there's not a lot of students," the blonde boy said, to which only made Reese stare at the stranger before his eyes landed onto a looming  silhouette of a man. When he recognized him, Reese couldn't stop himself from frowning, to which the blond boy noticed.

"Oh, do you know Lan?" The blonde boy asked even though there was no surprise for that since everyone knows who Lancel Mo is. But the fact that the Beta frowned the moment he saw his friend, somehow intrigued him.

"Uhh... he's my roommate," Reese replied at the end.

"Ohhhh, you're Lan's new roommate! Nice to meet you. My name's Elven Denvey and you probably know him already, right? Have you two introduced to each other?" Elven excitedly chatted while taking the picnic basket his friend was carrying for him and put it down the grass.

"We haven't actually..." Reese replied confused as Elven began taking out a blanket and lay on the ground but as soon as he heard his reply he frowned and looked at his friend who was still standing there.

"Lan? You didn't introduce yourself? Were you being rude to your roommate again?" Elven asked in disappointment which the Alpha must have found worrisome so he finally shifted his expression and replied hesitantly.

"... No... It wasn't like that... We just... didn't have the time to introduce ourselves..." 

"Really? Then let's have lunch together today so we can all get acquainted..." Elven cheered before he looked at Reese. "So what's your name? I want to be friends with you since I often visit Lan at his dorm room. I was actually there yesterday too when we bumped into each other," Elven added before pulling his friend to go ahead and have a seat after he had set the blanket for them to sit on

"Uhh, my name's Reese... A-Anyway, I don't really want to interrupt you two so I'll just go ahead and find another place," Reese said and was about to excuse only to have the blonde boy hold his arm to stop him.

"Please don't leave... I really want to make friends with you and besides, you're the first one here..." Elven expressed, "But, if you really don't want to, we can leave instead..." He added at the end with a pout, making Reese unable to decline.

"B-But wouldn't I be interrupting you two?"

"Of course not! Right, Lan? Tell him, and why don't you introduce yourself to your new roommate? He seems nice so let's be friends with him," Elven encouraged that although the Alpha seemed reluctant, he looked at Reese as if he had not just accused him of seducing him last night.

"My name's Lancel Mo. If you don't mind, please stay and have lunch with us. It's true that you came here first," he said, making Reese a little but dumbfounded seeing the change of behavior. He seemed well behaved unlike what he showed last night. Reese looked at his roommate then to Elven and he immediately figured out. Still, he didn't really care.

"Okay... I supposed I can do that you if you insist," 

* * *

To be Continued...