The apartment door opened with a 'click' making Daniella look behind from where she sat on the couch. Aosh sauntered in and immediately she could tell he was in a good mood.
The Alpha always wore a smile, it was a part of his signature look. Tattoos, piercings, and a killer grin, she was certain there were a lot of strangers who became enamored by him at first sight. Lately, this smile would change periodically and after some time and observation she had dubbed it his 'Tiza grin'.
He frequently wore this grin whenever he came back from wherever he went in the mornings. Aside from the change in his smile, the Alpha as a whole seemed like he was on cloud nine when he returned every morning. The air about him screamed 'idiot in love', and there was only one person that idiot was in love with. It only made sense to name it after the person who caused it.
"So I assume the lecture wasn't as boring as it usually was tonight?"
"Incredibly boring," he said, kicking off his shoes in the hallway.
"Why so happy then?"
"Tiza's going to come over on Friday." Aosh sat next to her on the couch and melted into the cushions. The weight of his hectic day slowly dispersing while he reveled in his excitement.
"Oh. That's a big step."
"I know! I went out on a limb and asked, but didn't think he'd say yes. Now I have to think about what we'll do. I said we could play video games but I don't know. Does that sound childish?"
"I mean, I don't think so, but I don't know what he likes. A nice candlelit dinner, maybe?" Daniella shot him a playful look but her words were a sharp jab in contrast.
"Do friends do that?" he asked skeptically.
"Friends with benefits might."
"Shut up." He playfully pushed her shoulder.
"Oh hey, someone came by looking for you today."
Aosh's eyebrows arched up.
"He told me to give you his phone number, so I wrote it down and stuck it on the fridge. I think his name was Hunter or something like that."
She played dumb wanting to see where Aosh would go with the information. A sigh left the back of his throat and the Alpha turned his attention to the tv.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I've been avoiding the guy. Don't worry about it."
"Why? He seemed...nice."
She didn't really know what the guy's character was like since they had only talked for a few minutes. Aosh didn't give her an answer and instead chose to flip through the channels searching for something to watch.
Aosh had been trying his best to ignore Hunter ever since he saw the Beta again at the gym. It was only a couple days after integrating his gym time back into his routine did he see the Beta at the opposite end of the free weight area. He was surprised at first since after what Marcus did the two never showed up at the gym again.
He hated how his heart felt like it jumped into his throat seeing the man. They were friends for months prior and Aosh would be lying if he claimed to have no emotional attachment to the guy. Then again he easily attached to a lot of people and so far that had only gotten him hurt.
After finishing a set of bicep curls he happened to glance over to see Hunter walking towards him and, in a panic, Aosh made a mad dash for the locker rooms. That wasn't the only time that Hunter tried to approach Aosh. In fact, it probably happened about five times by now and all of them ended with the Alpha absconding in almost absurd ways ranging from hiding in a prenatal yoga class to crouching behind the front desk until he got yelled at by the worker behind it.
The Alpha didn't know how long he could keep up this game of cat and mouse, but he did know that whatever confrontation that Hunter wanted he wasn't ready for.
Aosh had never willingly cut someone out of his life before, it was always him on the other side of the pair of scissors, begging and pleading them not to go. For some reason, Aosh felt guilty. Maybe it was because he didn't say a word to Hunter about what Marcus did or even tell him why he wasn't going to talk to him anymore. The Alpha had been on the receiving end of such treatment before but never thought he'd be the one to do it.
Aosh decided in the heat of the moment that if Marcus had to go then Hunter had to go by association. He never thought Marcus would stoop down to the level of indecency that he did that day, but like Aosh told Tiza, he guessed he didn't really know the guy as well as he thought. So with that logic how could he know that Hunter was any better? He met them both at the same time, the two of them being friends prior for years. For all Aosh knew they both could've done worse things together before they met him. Aosh didn't want to chance it and so even when his heart told him not to, he cut the ties and deleted the numbers.
Before going to bed he saw the note on the fridge while turning off the kitchen lights. He crumpled up the piece of paper and held it over the trash can for a while before pulling his hand away. Uncrumpling it he typed the number into his phone and sent a short and concise message.
'This was it,' he told himself, 'Whatever he says in response you have to ignore.'
He then laid on the couch forcing his anxiety down enough so he would be able to sleep.
His message read:
[Leave me alone and don't come to my place again.]
...................................................…
Tiza sat on his bed, deep into a novel he had been reading off and on for a while now. The cover was bathed in blood and a screaming woman with a knife to her throat, the title 'Bloody Affairs' in big block text at the top. It was a shitty horror novel filled with overused tropes and poorly written characters that he picked up at the local bookstore. Despite all of that he thoroughly enjoyed reading it, his amusement akin to someone watching a B movie, and making fun of how horrible it was.
Tiza had never written anything in his life but he knew for a fact he could write better than this two hundred page pile of hot garbage. Was he going to try? No. Part of the fun was laughing at something so bad it was good, like this author's attempt at writing. All the blood and gore was just a plus.
There was a short knock on the door and after a couple of seconds, it opened to reveal his brother on the other side.
"Hey, so are you sure you don't want to come with us to dinner?" Sean said leaning on the door frame.
"My idea of a fun Friday night isn't being a fifth wheel on a double date. So no thanks I'm good," the Omega said without bringing his nose out of his book.
"Miranda and Katie are bringing their kid though."
"Oh, I'm sorry, the sixth wheel. I can't really have an intelligent conversation with a two-year-old now can I?"
Sean made a face at Tiza's clear attitude but tried to be civil anyway.
"We'll be back around nine. Just promise me you'll eat something before we get home. I want pictures."
"Yea, ok, have fun." Tiza shooed him away with his hand.
A few moments after the door closed Tiza put the book down and checked his phone. It read '6:00'. With Sean and Momo leaving any second now, Tiza began to get dressed. Rummaging through his clothes he settled on a rather baggy crop top and a pair of jeans. Checking himself in the full body mirror, he ran his hands over his body.
He looked...presentable. Tiza never looked good in the mirror. He tried to force himself to look at the parts he hated: his hips, stomach, and legs. The jeans felt a tad snugger than last time. Thinking about it made his skin crawl.
'It was all part of getting better,' he thought.
Although if you asked him, he would tell you he's made little to no progress in conquering his eating habits, but small progress was still progress, or at least that's what Sean told him. The Omega couldn't afford to get real help; with real help he might be doing better than he was now.
That horrid anti-bite collar around his neck only made him look worse as well. Maybe if it came in a brighter color he'd be ok with it, but the black was tacky. They said black went with everything, but Tiza's wardrobe consisted solely of light colors and whites. He only owned a few black tights but he rarely wore them; the black just threw off his color pallet.
It's not like he had a choice in wearing it anyhow, and if he tried to forcefully take it off Tiza would never hear the end of it from Sean. There was a time where he'd try to pick the lock on the back of it when he was in high school. Tiza did it successfully once but after a traumatic encounter without it on he never dared to do it again. That was years ago, times had changed, not a lot but enough to where at least in public Omega's had a little bit of protection against getting attacked, bitten, or even mated. Tiza didn't fight too much on wearing the collar again, he knew the world was far from a safe place for his kind.
The front door of the apartment opened and closed, Tiza waited a few minutes before he ventured out of his room. Going to the fridge he takes out the leftovers he is supposed to eat and throws some in a bowl, takes a picture, then throws it back into the Tupperware container. He takes a picture of the empty bowl with an added fork for good measure. It's throwing off his schedule to not eat at seven like he does every night but he'll try to remember to eat something when he gets home. Throwing the bowl in the sink he grabs his keys and wallet and leaves.
..................................................................….
It's six twenty when Tiza arrives at the door to Aosh's apartment. He double-checks their message conversation to make sure it's the right unit number. The entire walk over Tiza felt jittery, even now his phone is shaking in his hands. His nerves hadn't stopped since walking out the door, worried about being alone with Aosh in his apartment. When he finally builds up enough courage his knuckles hit the door. There was a shuffling behind the door before it opened and on the other side was another Omega.
It felt like Tiza had been punched in the gut seeing another Omega on the other side of the door. The only thought coming to him at the moment was:
'Oh.'
It was a sudden realization for Tiza, that maybe Aosh wasn't as innocent as he seemed. Maybe he lied to him all along. Maybe he was like every other Alpha who just slept around and treated Omegas like they were just objects that could be thrown away. Tiza suddenly became overly critical of her, his bad attitude kicking in place of his anxiety.
'Aosh could do better,' he thought.
She was rather plain-looking. Curly hair reached to her back and she looked Latina. Her eyes were gentle and didn't hold the hard edge that Tiza's did. She was a few inches below him which helped boost his ego seeing that he could tower over her. There was some extra weight to her, her physique laughable compared to his, even if he thought his own was not up to his overly critical standards.
As these merciless thoughts ran through his head he barely caught them as they flew by. It had been a while since he was this shrill and cruel to others. It had been a while since he felt so vulnerable as well, maybe that's why he felt the need to be so overly critical. She looked at him and smiled.
"Ah, you must be Tiza come in." She gestured for him to enter and he stilled for a minute wondering if he really wanted to go in there. Who was this person? Aosh's girlfriend, lover, mate? No, she couldn't be his mate, the Alpha's scent was the same the last time they saw each other. He still smelt of bergamot and patchouli: tart yet sweet, dark yet intoxicating.
Who knew who she was or what she was to Aosh. Why did Tiza care if she was in a relationship with Aosh anyway? He chalked it up to being nervous and disappointed that the Alpha had been deceiving him with his white sheep act this entire time.
'Aosh was different my ass,' he thought.
The female Omega looked behind where Tiza still stood in the doorway, contemplating whether he should stay or leave.
"Don't worry I don't bite."
Tiza saw that as a challenge. He'd never been around other Omega's before, and he felt intimidated. Like he had to prove himself or show her that he was the superior Omega. It had to be his instincts, and nothing else could convince him otherwise.
He came in without a word closing the door behind him.
" I was just about to leave but I'll let him know you're here," She smiles again and enters a room towards the back of the apartment. Tiza looks around, his arms coming to cross in front of his body. It looked rather clean for a single apartment of a full-time college student.
'Although he probably has his girlfriend do the cleaning,' he thought.
There were several plants littered about the apartment. Tiza wasn't surprised, Aosh had proven to him on more than one occasion that he knew his fair share about the subject. It was fitting that the Alpha cared for them as well. It was still an odd field of study as far as Alpha's were concerned, usually, they aimed for positions of power or leadership.
While he walked around, a giant pot of flowers close to a window caught his eye. They looked like the same flowers Aosh had tattooed on his cheeks, and like the ones, he gifted to Tiza weeks ago. For the life of him, he couldn't remember their name, but the plant in front of him was beautiful. He reached out a hand to touch one of the large flowers but stopped when he heard a loud voice, some giggling, and shushing sounds from beyond the door. The other Omega emerged from the room, grinning wide.
"He'll be out in a bit, your more than welcome to have a seat." She gestured to the couch as she gathered her phone and a set of keys in her hands before leaving through the door.
Tiza stared at the front door, still contemplating if he should do the same and leave when there's a 'CRASH' and a 'THUD' from the back room. Aosh opens the door looking flustered and freshly out of the shower.
"Sorry about that, you came early!" he forced a laugh out, trying to cover up how embarrassed he was for not being ready yet. Tiza chooses not to comment on that and instead says:
"Nice apartment."
"Oh, yea? Thanks. It's ok it does what it needs to, ya know."
'I mean as long as you have a roof over your head to fuck your average looking girlfriend under anything would be fine.' Tiza thought.
Ok, that was a little passive-aggressive.
"Anyway, so take your pick. Movie or video games?" The Alpha held up his hands like a scale, and gestured them up and down. The �� video games' hand went higher and he wiggled his eyebrows. It seemed like Tiza didn't have a choice.
"Video games, I guess."
"I was hoping you'd pick that." Aosh grinned wide, wiping his drying bangs away from his face. He went to the entertainment center and retrieved two folded up plastic mats with wires sticking out of them. Tiza watched curiously from where he stood, not sure what they were or why he was bringing them out. Aosh turned around and motioned for Tiza to come over into the living room. The Alpha then began to move the coffee table and the couch so that there was an open area in front of the tv.
He laid the plastic mats down on the floor and plugged each one up in what Tiza assumed was a gaming system. Aosh got up and announced he was done while he rummaged around the living room for the remote.
"What is all this?" Tiza finally asked.
"Well I figured you taught me how to dance, so I'll return the favor and teach you. Assuming you haven't played DDR before."
"Dee Dee Are?"
"Yea, Dance Dance Revolution."
Tiza was genuinely confused and Aosh tried not to laugh at how cute the Omega was when he looked that way. Turning on the tv he booted up the system with the game inside. The tv lit up with colorful graphics and 3D characters dancing along to the music on the screen.
Aosh stepped into the middle of one of the mats then turned to Tiza, pointing at his shoes.
"You're gonna wanna take your shoes off, this game is best played with socks." He lifted one foot off the ground and wiggled his covered toes for emphasis. That confused face only grew on the Omega and Aosh couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a chuckle.
"Don't worry it'll be fun. I promise."
"Mnm." Tiza slid his shoes off and placed them next to the couch and then joined Aosh on the second mat. Aosh explained how to play, although most of it went over Tiza's head since he'd never played this game let alone any video game ever. He didn't think phone games counted.
"We'll pick a slow one so you know how to play first."
"It's just dancing, I know how to do that."
"This dancing and your dancing are two different things. That's why I said I'm going to teach you."
"It's cute you think I can't do this. I've been dancing before you could walk."
"Tiza, we're the same age. I'm pretty sure we learned to walk around the same time."
"...It's a figure of speech. Just start the game."
Aosh used his foot to pick the song and readied for the music to start, giving sideways glances in the other's direction.
The music started, a mid-tempo song about partying. Aosh's feet hit the arrows with the timed skill of someone who has played the game more than just a few times. Tiza on the other hand couldn't figure out how to play! He kept missing the arrows underneath him and couldn't get a feel for the rhythm. It was so awkward to dance on this plastic mat! This brought shame to dance! He couldn't even put any finesse into his moves that's how horrid this was!
By the time the song ended, Tiza felt hot and out of breath. Putting way too much concentration and effort into trying to hit at least one arrow the entire time. Aosh looked fine, his side of the screen showed a big 'A' rank and Tiza's showing a big 'F'.
"Looks like you had a hard time."
"Shut up! This is hardly dancing!" Tiza retorted, his cheeks flushed at the insinuation that his dancing ability was lacking.
"Calm down, I'm only joking. I think you're being way too technical about it. It's not supposed to be all pretty like ballet. DDR is supposed to be hot and sweaty, with manic foot-stomping to get the arrows before they fly off the screen. The more ridiculous you look the more likely you're going to win."
Tiza pouted not answering even though he listened to what the other said. Aosh thought that Tiza was a bit of a sore loser and while some would find that annoying he thought that little pout was beyond adorable. He just wanted to peck those lips until the pout went away.
'That not what friends do dammit!' Aosh reprimanded himself.
"Hmph. Pick another song. I know how to play now; don't pick an easy one!"
"Alright, but you asked for it."
Aosh picked another song, a dubstep song set to a faster pace the song being a higher difficulty. Both men readied themselves and sprang into action as the screen lit up and the bass dropped. Tiza tried to throw his formal training out the window focusing solely on the rhythm and hitting the arrows.
An hour went by and the two ending their gaming session sweaty and legs numb from fast and jerky movements. Tiza fell back onto the couch cushions with an exclamation.
"Ha! I got an 'A'! Let's see your girlfriend do that!" Between deep breaths. Aosh sputtered in surprise while he was midway down onto the couch, missing it completely and landing on the floor. Tiza didn't mean to say that last part out loud. Oh well.
"My what?! I- I don't have a girlfriend!!"
"Yea, sure."
"No, really I don't!"
"Then what about the woman who was in here when I came?"
"Daniella?? No no no no she's just a friend who's staying with me for a while!"
"Mmn. And you expect me to believe an Alpha and an Omega are just living together? Platonically? That's hilarious. Don't lie, you're sleeping together at the least."
Aosh became more persistent.
"I swear I'm not with her. She's mated."
"Oh, that's more interesting. You're with someone who's mated? Didn't take you to be the type to like these sorts of illicit affairs."
"No! It's just... a long story," he sighed, getting off the floor and onto the couch.
Tiza looked at the Alpha unsure why he was trying so desperately to convince him they weren't together. He tried to play off his slip up as a joke, but he guessed it didn't come across as such.
"Well," Tiza looked at his phone and it read '7:45', "I've got time."
..........................................…..
It takes a while for Aosh to explain Daniella's situation. He didn't know if it was appropriate to talk about her business like this so he tried to keep her privacy about the matter where he could.
"So now she's staying here because she has nowhere else to go. I've been meaning to help her get back on her feet but I've been...uh, busy."
"You still think it's safe for her here even if she's mated? Have you been around an Omega in heat before?" After saying it Tiza realized that Aosh has been around at least one Omega in heat before or one that was about to go into heat.
"It's still safer than where she was. The fact that she took abuse from her mate every day and I could barely handle a small confrontation with him means that she's strong and can handle herself. Still, a person can only handle so much. Plus she'll have the place to herself when she has her heat. I'll figure something out." He shrugged.
Tiza's mind suddenly connected the dots to the reason why Aosh was sporting a black eye and bloody knuckles a few weeks ago when he returned the phone to him. This guy really took a beating for her. For an Alpha to do that for an Omega he didn't even want to mate, well, that was kinda ridiculous.
A small voice inside berated him for being so unnecessarily cruel to the Alpha. It was becoming increasingly clear Aosh is as pure as they come. And all the assumptions Tiza had made about him keep being proven false.
Tiza felt really out of touch. He had formed this friendship partially to get over this problem he had being around Alphas, but as it turns out Aosh was the most un-Alpha Alpha out there. He knew he was projecting his biased opinion onto Aosh, and he shouldn't be at fault for doing so because literally, every Alpha acted that way. But he felt a little bad now.
The Omega sighed out loud feeling exasperated with himself even more so than the intense hour of gaming that had preceded this conversation.
"You're a good friend Aosh." At least from what Tiza considered what friends were supposed to be like.
"..."
"..."
Tiza glanced next to him wondering why the other had gotten so quiet.
Aosh was crying.