* * *

Time moved really fast and before he knew it, a month had already passed since the day Reese started having lunch with Lan. Not only that, but the Alpha had also started sending and picking him up from class, leading to rumors about them being in a relationship. Some students approached him about it, and he tried his best to deny, but none of them believed him when the Alpha kept following him everywhere like a shadow.

Thankfully even though students had started talking about him, it wasn’t out of control because of Lan although he’s the reason why it was even happening. And while he was grateful for the protection, he had trouble during class groupings because no one wanted to partner with him. It seemed everyone had started hating him, probably believing he had seduced the Alpha and taken him away from Elven. Fortunately, the teacher would assign him to a group, but it’s almost the same as not having one since no one would talk to him when he actually wanted and needed to. Reese wanted to tell Lan to stop because it’s affecting him but at the same time he couldn’t bring himself to do so knowing the Alpha had been through a lot already.

“Thank you for picking me up again, Lan,” Reese sighed. Truth be told, having no friends in class was fine with him, but being avoided like this felt draining. Yes, he didn’t mean to make friends or form any close relationships with his classmates, but he didn’t want to be outcasted either. Furthermore, it bothered him, especially knowing that some lies were spreading about him. It was just a matter of time before he was going to get bullied like before.

“Yeah… Here, let me carry your things for you,” Lan nodded with a kind smile before he insisted on taking Reese’s books, making the Beta sigh in frustration. At first, Reese thought that Lan was just lonely or something, but the more they hung out, the more he suspected that the Alpha must have ulterior motives. Else, he couldn’t explain why the Alpha is getting so close to him. He wanted to confront him about it, but he didn’t have proof and didn’t want to ruin their friendship by accusing him of something he might be innocent of. Additionally, he had promised to keep Lan company, so he couldn’t back down on his word.

So for now, he took Lan’s actions as natural. Since he knew that Lan had never had a close friend before, aside from Elven who he treated so well, maybe he thought that’s just how you treat a friend.

“Anyway, how is talking to Elven going? Does he still need space? It’s been a month… Don’t you think that’s long enough? Didn’t you say you two haven’t been apart for this long before?” Reese mentioned. Honestly, aside from wanting to clear up the misunderstanding about the dating rumors between him and Lan, he also wanted all this to stop before he got used to it. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t fall for a straight man, but he was only human, and it didn’t help that Lan was making it hard for him to resist sometimes.

“I’m working on it…” Lan replied, but truthfully, even though he wanted to talk to the Omega, he couldn’t and ended up avoiding him. He hadn’t told Reese yet, but the Omega had been trying to talk to him for the past few days, and he had been purposely avoiding him because he wasn’t ready to accept that the only thing the Omega wanted from him was just friendship. Yes, he was a coward, but there was nothing he could do if he was scared. He had been in love with Elven since he was a young boy and hadn’t liked anyone else. But knowing that his feelings would never be returned hurt. He couldn’t accept it for now; that’s why he’d rather avoid it.

“Good… I hope it works,” Reese replied in relief. He didn’t know if Lan knew about the rumors spreading about them, but something told him the Alpha wouldn’t have been bothered either way. “If you want, I can talk to him to lighten up the mood a little,” Reese added, genuinely willing to do anything just for all this to stop already.

“It’s okay. You being with me like this is enough,” Lan assured, making Reese nod in response. “Anyway, what are we eating for dinner? I liked what you made last night. Do we still have that?” Lan suddenly diverted the topic, which was suspicious, but Reese decided to humor the Alpha.

“I can make it again if you want. We still have enough ingredients. Tomorrow I’ll go grocery shopping, so I’ll make sure to buy more if you want,” Reese suggested. To be honest, even though something inside him was telling him the Alpha was acting suspiciously comfortable, he was also happy that there was finally someone who enjoyed his cooking again. It had been such a long time since he had cooked for someone other than himself, and seeing that Lan liked his food made him happy.

“Really? Then should I pick you up after work? Let’s go buy groceries together,” Lan suggested excitedly, making Reese pause for a moment, though not so obviously that the Alpha would notice. This is why people think they’re dating. They’re basically already doing what couples living together usually do, and it doesn’t seem like the Alpha realizes that, which is making Reese frustrated. But then again, he couldn’t decline his offer because he could also see how genuinely happy Lan was when they did normal things together.

“You really like going grocery shopping huh,” Reese chuckled, thinking Lan was some kind of a small child who was excited to go grocery shopping with his mom. They had gone together last time for the first time and he could genuinely see his eyes sparkle as if he’s a child in a toy store.

“Of course. I miss doing it like when I was a child. Now, I can’t simply do it whenever I want. Even if I go myself, I don’t know how to cook, and we already have everything we need back at home, so there was actually no need for it,” Lan chatted, and Reese listened intently. He had heard from the Alpha before that when Lan was much younger, it was just him and his mom until his rich dad came and completely changed their lives forever. The simple things that Lan and his mom used to do together were just ordinary activities they could no longer enjoy after his dad arrived. Still, Lan was happy that his dad had come, but at the same time, there were many things he missed.

“Yeah yeah, I know… But let me choose what to get next time. We’ve bought so many unnecessary things because of you,” Reese laughed, causing Lan to pout in response. The Alpha was about to retaliate, but as they climbed the stairs to their dorm room, Reese was still laughing and lost his footing, falling and scraping a part of his shin. Thankfully, Lan was able to catch him, preventing a more serious injury.

“Are you okay?” Lan asked in concern, quickly kneeling down to see if Reese had more scrapes, making the Beta feel a little bit shy at the Alpha’s attentiveness.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a little scrape. Thanks for catching me,” Reese nodded, examining the blood on the affected area. It was a bad fall, but not enough to prevent him from walking, so he quickly reassured Lan, hoping to stop him from overreacting.

At that moment, Elven appeared, heading directly toward them with concern evident on his face as he witnessed the fall. He had been waiting for Lan to arrive to talk about what had happened a month ago when he saw Reese fall. Observing how concerned Lan was for Reese surprised him. Having grown up with Lan, Elven knew him well; despite Lan’s kind appearance and words, he rarely showed genuine concern for anyone he didn’t care deeply about.

The fact that Lan was showing so much concern for Reese indicated to Elven that Lan had truly warmed up to him, and Elven was genuinely happy for his friend. Lan had rarely made friends since fifth grade, having learned that people around him, including teachers, often had hidden agendas. As a result, he had closed himself off and never formed bonds with anyone except for his cousins and Elven. Seeing Lan now, Elven was glad that his friend had finally made another close friend.

“Are you okay?” Elven asked, approaching them. Lan froze upon seeing him, a reaction noticed by Reese.

“I’m fine. Just a tiny scrape. No need to worry…” Reese replied, glancing at Lan.

“Anyway, I should go and quickly sanitize it. Lan, you should stay here and talk with Elven,” Reese added quickly, seizing the opportunity for the two to talk. Not wanting to make himself the focus, he started to limp away without waiting for a response, but suddenly a hand pulled him back.

“What are you talking about?! You can’t even walk properly,” Lan frowned, and without warning, lifted Reese into his arms and began walking away.

“W-what are you doing!? Elven wants to talk to you!” Reese protested, looking at Elven, who seemed more amused than offended by Lan’s action.

“You’re hurt… Anything else can wait,” Lan said firmly, making Reese helplessly look at Elven, who eventually nodded and urged him to let Lan do what he wanted. In the end, Reese was carried helplessly until they finally reached their dorm, where Lan put him down on the couch.

“You’re overreacting. I wasn’t even hurt that bad. You blew your chance to talk to Elven!” Reese said, frustrated. Lan remained silent, walking to a cabinet and pulling out a first aid kit. He then silently returned to Reese and began dressing his injury.

“It might not be too late, you know. You can still go and talk to him. Thank you but I’m really fine,” Reese suggested, looking at the Alpha who seemed to be not listening to him.

“Hey…” Reese tried to catch Lan’s attention but to no avail, he’s still being ignored. “I said I’m fine. You should talk to Elven before it’s too late… maybe he has changed his mind—“ Reese continued but his words were soon cut off as the Alpha cut him off.

“It hasn’t…” Lan only managed to say. Although it still hurts to admit, he knew for a fact that Elven’s decision had not changed and the only reason he wanted to talk to him was because he didn’t want to lose their friendship.

“...How can you be sure if you haven’t tried to talk to him?” Reese frowned. He knew Lan was hurt but he shouldn’t lose hope. As long as he doesn’t give up, there’s still a chance for the Omega to return his feelings.

“How long do you think I’ve been with Elven? I’ve grown up with him and I know him quite well. I know all his reactions even from the slightest bit,” Lan replied with a sigh. It’s the reason why he knew the Omega would reject him since he knew that the way Elven looked at him was different from the way he looked at him.

“Still…” 

“I know you want to help me, Reese… but I don’t think I’m ready to talk to him just yet,” Lan said, sounding melancholic. He liked Elven, but Lan was the type to respect someone’s feelings and not insist if they’d already expressed their emotions. Lan respected Elven’s decision but wasn’t ready to accept it, and the more he looked at him, the more his heart ached.

“Fine… but you at least have to tell him how you feel about talking to him rather than avoiding him. Elven might take it negatively. I don’t want you to lose the friendship you’ve built since you were young,” Reese said, hoping Lan would listen. After a few seconds of silence, Lan finally nodded in agreement. Once he had helped Reese disinfect and dress his wound, Lan left to talk to Elven, leaving Reese in the dorm to make dinner. Although he wasn’t sure if Lan would come back soon, he decided to make what the Alpha liked and waited.

* * *

To be Continued…