It was 3 PM. The dark-haired young man took advantage to quickly gather his things and leave in a hurry. If he was late he'd miss the bus, and he didn't want to stay 20 minutes in that place. He heard the cicadas and the sun hit him full in the face as he stepped onto the street. He remembered Jared's exclamation; he was right—what shitty heat it was. He was about to put on his headphones when he felt a familiar weight on his shoulders, and the annoying brush of Jared's skin against his as he rested his cheek on the side of his face.

"Where are you gooooing?" he asked, unnecessarily dragging the "o" like a small child.

Leo tried to break free, unsuccessfully.

"Let go of me! Jared, I have to go home." At his peaceful tone of voice, Jared tried to climb on his back, but Leo, already tired, gave him a push with his own body that almost made him lose his balance. "Jared, seriously, I have to go home."

He felt the blonde's whine.

"But it's too early. You're probably going to study but there's only one exam left and it's not until next week!"

Leo snorted quietly and turned around to face him.

"Jared, for the thousandth time, I can't waste time like you. My family isn't rich and I'm not even an ultra-dominant alpha. I need to do really well, even on the last exam."

"Boring," Jared commented quietly, with a playful tone.

A voice reached them from afar—it was North.

"Hey, wait up!"

Jared greeted him enthusiastically, turned his attention back to Leo, putting his arm around his shoulders again. With a bright expression on his face he asked:

"Are you coming to the party? It's tomorrow!"

North joined in enthusiastically:

"Yeaaah, are you coming Leo?"

Leo looked at them confused. Sometimes he wondered if the two of them lacked gray matter.

"No," he responded curtly.

Both looked at him surprised, something that put Leo in an even worse mood. Hadn't he told them on many occasions that he didn't want to participate? Jared added with a honeyed tone, raising an eyebrow suggestively:

"Leo's saving himself for his special someone."

At the gesture, Leo smiled amused and nodded.

"Virgin Leo..." North added.

"Yes," Leo responded firmly.

Jared and North looked at each other amazed at that statement.

"How can you say it like that?"

Leo shrugged and responded pedantically:

"At least I don't need my pheromones to have sex with someone."

North looked at him offended.

"The omegas who go to those parties go for 'that.'"

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"You know damn well I'm not talking about the parties, don't play dumb."

He turned and kept walking. He heard Jared push the other guy and tell him he better shut up. Both had had problems with Leo over that same issue, and because of his position as "Junior supervisor," whose responsibility was to monitor student behavior, especially those with greater power who could pose a risk to weaker students.

He felt Jared's arm on his shoulders again and his hand on his neck, while his lips brushed his ear as he whispered with a firm voice:

"You should come to the party at least once. We should spend the rut together."

A shiver ran through Leo's body. He looked at him sideways while he laughed. He felt a familiar sensation in the pit of his stomach.

Jared said it with another connotation—Leo was aware of it, but deep inside he would have loved to spend the rut with Jared, although up to that moment he hadn't experienced one.

The truth was that Leo had been hopelessly in love with Jared for years, since that first encounter in 5th grade.

It had been love at first sight.