Between Mervyn Loche and Takumi West, Mervyn was definitely the shameless confident jock and Takumi was the wiser reserved goody-two-shoes. So how was it that between the two, Takumi was the one to ask a lecturer out.

"You asked who out??" Mervyn shot, jaw left hanging as he gawked at Takumi, whose frown didn't seem to signal his own understanding of the situation.

"Jules. And no, I didn't ask him out. I confessed. They're two different things".

"What. The. Fuck. Seriously! First Lexy, now you! What does everyone see in that guy??"

"What's Lexy in this?"

"Remember when I told you Lexy broke up with me because she fell for someone else?" Mervyn growled behind gritted teeth as Takumi's eyes widened, "Yes, that someone else is your beloved lecturer".

"Lexy also asked him ou -?"

"Everyone asked him out. Everyone! You knew this! Half of my class asked him out after only 1 month," Mervyn crossed his arms and scowled behind his big serving of cheeseburger and dirty fries, "I don't get it. What are you hoping to get from asking Julian Armes out? He's mated to three alphas. He's not going to say yes to any of you".

Takumi had thought that Mervyn, his alpha best friend who happened to be one of the most popular students in Mallow Springs University, would dive headfirst into the idea of hitting on the visiting artist. Mervyn had dated many people and had no problem making the first move toward someone he'd set his eyes on. Surprisingly, he was one of the rare few who kept a cool head about it. Everyone else seemed to have gone crazy for the prime omega famous painter Julian Armes the day he arrived in the small college town of Mallow Springs, but Mervyn had always scoffed at the whole thing.

Perhaps it was because Mervyn was an alpha born to two beta parents. Compared to the typical alpha, he rarely let his instincts and hormones led him. He was also less welcoming of strong pheromone scents, which had been the first complaint he had about Jules; something about him smelling too strong.

Then again, it could also be the fact that he had been head over heels for his then-girlfriend-now-ex, the beta nursing student Lexy. Attending the painting course was her idea, which meant Mervyn, who carried not a single artistic bone in his body, had to join her. Takumi tagged along in the last minute after Mervyn forced him out of his room in the midst of his depression.

"Confessed," Takumi weakly corrected, "I wasn't expecting anything back from him. I was just telling him how I feel".

You see, Julian 'Jules' Armes was extremely beautiful and well-established. Tall, slim, with shoulder-length blonde hair and pale features, he appeared like the angels in classic paintings. He came from a higher standing and a long line of prestigious artists, had his own Wikipedia page, and had his name mentioned next to famous people in many articles. His family name was literally copyrighted and would autofill on search bars. Apparently, there were bids on his baby pictures among top celebrity tabloids; the one that did come out to the public was valued at $10,000.

And Takumi West was a mere 23-year-old Beta. Adopted by an old white couple from the local orphanage, he grew up straight-laced and studious. He didn't have much of a dating life, except for a 2-year-long romance with a close friend back when he was in high school. Otherwise, the young half-Japanese keep himself to his books and his studies. He's not necessarily fashionable, nor was he particularly handsome. His adopted mother, Samantha, said he had the most beautiful dark eyes, but that was about it.

Takumi was not necessarily successful either. He graduated with more-than-satisfactory grades from high school, probably due to his adoptive parents being teachers, and entered university with a partial scholarship for a chemistry major. Despite all that, he was having second thoughts about his career choice and interest, even thinking of dropping out altogether.

Takumi didn't keep up with the goings-on in the world, but he knew enough from how people reacted to Jules that the omega was a respected and adored figure. Someone so average like Takumi obviously had no place being around someone like that. So, yes, from that very basis, Takumi stood no chance with Julian Armes.

"Did you drop the L word?" Mervyn blurted.

The hue on Takumi's cheeks deepened. He had always been able to tell his best friend of 15 years everything, yet now he couldn't form a word in embarrassment.

He remembered waiting for everyone to leave the classroom, nervously holding the flipbook he had been working on over the weekend to give to the lecturer. And when the ones left in the room were himself, the lecturer, and the lecturer's assistant, Takumi made his move.

He had the whole thing drilled to his mind, he practiced it in the morning, and he had it dancing in his tongue as he set his eyes on the 27-year-old artist. 'I love you', he had planned to tell Jules; yet the sentence died down the moment he met Jules' intense gaze. They were always icy and piercing, and Takumi couldn't help but feel bare and small whenever he was subjected to them.

"Hey, look, it's fine," Mervyn muttered, looking bored. He had always been able to read Takumi like a book, even back when Takumi refused to speak after his adoption. "He's nice to look at. I don't blame you for liking him. Everyone did. Heck, I even heard the other lecturers had also asked him out that he now had to stay in a separate room from the other lecturers between classes. You tend to see the good in people and you're honest. So I get it. I get why someone like you would fall for someone like him. It's just so like you". He then grinned, "But holy fuck! Takumi West, you moron! You actually did! Oh my Goooddd. Our baby Takumi; asking the hot lecturer out!"

Mervyn was loud enough to attract the attention of the few college students who walked past their table, successfully adding another layer of red to Takumi's cheeks. They were sitting at the outdoor seating of their uni's café; anyone could hear them if they were too loud.

"Shut up, Merv," Takumi whined, suddenly growing more interested in his iced americano, "I'm telling you this because I don't know how I'm going to face him next time in class".

"You mean you're still going?" Mervyn looked surprised. Takumi wouldn't be surprised if he dropped the course altogether; he was only there because of Lexy, and after the breakup, there was really nothing else that could keep Mervyn from leaving the class.

Unlike Mervyn, however, Takumi loved art. He drew in his spare time, had 5 whole sketchbooks, had a thing with drawing comic strips back in high school, and had a whole embarrassing DeviantArt phase. Painting, however, was a whole new area for him. Yet, it reawakened something in him. It was the first time in a while that he felt like doing something. That class was the reason he could even leave his bed.

As if realizing this, Mervyn hurriedly added, "Yeah, you should still go. That kind of thing, that's more a you thing," he paused and looked thoughtful, "I think you have nothing to worry about. Everyone asked Jules out. That seemed to change nothing. He treated everyone the same, still".

And maybe that was for the better – yet somehow Takumi felt like it would disappoint him.

"But, I want you to know," Mervyn added, "Prime omegas, especially male ones, are so rare so I can't say I know them like that. But seeing that I've met a prime alpha, I'll tell you this: prime omegas would be so good at making you think you're head over heels for them. If an omega is attractive, a prime would be magnetic".

"So I want you to be smart about this, Takumi. When a Prime seems to pay you a special kind of attention, most likely they're not. Don't get it over to your head. They make people go… all crazy and obsessed".

" – I'm not obsessed," Takumi disrupted.

"Of course you're not, you're you. But they said alphas are knotheads, but prime omega? They're the worst. They're obsessive and they make people go obsessive," Mervyn mixed the contents of his tall iced coffee glass with the paper straw and continued ranting, "And it's not enough that he was prime, he's also a male omega. That doubles the problem to me. He's mad attractive though, I'd give you that".

Takumi let that sink in. Unlike Mervyn, who was extroverted and open, Takumi did not have the same level of dating experience. His understanding of the other genders was limited to textbook explanations and lessons from gender studies.

"And he has three alpha mates. Three. All alphas. I can't even imagine how that would work and I dated an alpha once – a female alpha by the way – and boy, you don't last in that kind of relationship unless you love the power struggle and the tension. You know what? I heard his three mates are obsessed. Like, aren't there rumors of them shutting up people left and right if they ever even slighted their mate? People actually lost their jobs for saying something about Jules".

That sounded extreme, "I… don't know? I don't know him enough to make these observations, Merv. Like, how do you know this much about Jules?"

Mervyn's lips thinned, "Lexy. Lexy cares a lot about Julian, remember?"

Ah, so Mervyn was jealous. Everything suddenly made a lot of sense.

"Hey," Takumi smiled, "Look at me. It's not like I'm going to be married off to Julian Armes, am I?"

Mervyn snorted, "You wish".

They snickered and the mood lightened up. That was right, that stupid move Takumi made on Julian? He'd get over it. After all, why would someone like Julian Armes even pay attention to someone like Takumi West?