Chapter Text
Oliver
“Spaghetti again?” Oliver complained as he set his lunch tray on the cafeteria table.
“Right? I hate pasta day. They always overcook it.” Dean said with a huff, shoving his own food around sullenly with his fork.
“Hey, it’s better than the tuna patties.” Regan said through a mouthful of noodles.
“At least the tuna patties have protein.” Dean shot back.
“Yeah, this is not going to settle well after the game tonight.” Oliver laughed.
“And tuna patties would??”
It was a typical Friday in October at Central Highschool, home of the tigers. Oliver sat with his best friends like he did everyday. Dean was an alpha who was on the football team with him and Regan, a beta, had been his friend since preschool. Tonight was the match between their rival school and all the students were buzzing.
"Good luck tonight Oliver!” A girl said shyly as she walked past their table.
“Thanks!” He said back in a friendly tone.
Regan looked at him pointedly and Oliver cringed. “What? She was just wishing me luck!”
“Yeah… that was all…” Regan said, rolling his eyes. “Ollie, every girl in school is obsessed with you.”
Oliver ignored him and picked at his vegetables.
“Hey, who can blame her. You’re the quarterback and you’re attractive.” Dean added, though his voice carried a touch of jealousy.
Oliver made a face back at him then looked down at his tray to hide the blush creeping into his face. He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up being the quarterback. He’d never even really planned on joining any sports when he first started high school. Now he was in his third year of it and felt like he couldn’t quit. His dad was super proud which didn’t help the situation, he didn’t want to disappoint him.
“Hey I gotta go grab something from my locker.” Oliver said, standing suddenly and grabbing his tray. He didn’t feel very hungry anyways and he did actually need to grab his algebra textbook.
“Alright dude, see ya tonight!”
“Bye!”
Oliver dumped the contents of his tray in the trash and pushed through the cafeteria door, walking quickly down the hallway. It was empty, he technically wasn’t supposed to roam the halls like this, even if it was during lunch hour. But not many teachers ever stopped him. Being a peak alpha had its privileges he guessed. Though scent patches were required during school hours everyone still knew. It was hard not to notice when he was a head taller than most of his peers and well built.
Sometimes he hated the attention that came with a status like that. There were so many expectations about what he would become and how he should act. He often found himself wanting to disappear into the shadows, to be given a moment to be just… Oliver.
He passed the boys bathroom and heard some commotion from inside. At first he ignored it, assuming it was probably just normal roughhousing. But then he smelled it. The unmistakable scent of a terrified omega. He bristled, protective instincts raging. There weren’t many omega’s at their high school, a lot of them chose more individualized schools specializing in omega training and education. The ones who ended up at central high school usually were there simply because they couldn’t afford the private schools.
Oliver ran into the bathroom, his concerned expression turning to shock and then disgust at what he saw. An omega boy on the ground, legs flailing while he was pinning against the wall. Two alphas held his arms on either side while another had a tight grip in the omega’s hair, thrusting his hips forward rhythmically. He didn’t have to see everything to know what was happening, the boy's muffled cries and gags were enough.
He acted before he could think if it was a good idea, grabbing the neck of the third alpha and pulling him roughly backwards, knocking the wind out of the boy as he hit the ground.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Oliver snarled. His ears were roaring from the blood rushing through him, angry and frantic. But he could still make out the gasps and coughs of the omega below.
“Dude, what the hell?!” The alpha yelled at him as he tucked himself back into his pants, standing like he was going to fight only to pause when he realized it was Oliver. “S-sorry…”
“Let go of him.” Oliver snapped to the other two who immediately let go of the omega’s arms. All three alphas then ran out of the bathroom like scared rabbits. The boy in front of him stood on shaky legs, wiping his mouth and keeping his head bowed low.
“Are you alright?” Oliver asked, trying to keep him calm, though he couldn’t do much with his scent patches. His brows furrowed then, realizing that the omega didn’t have any on. He looked around and saw the discarded patches laying on the floor a few feet away. “Did they take those off?” He asked incredulously.
The omega glanced up at him with an irritated expression then pushed past him and left the bathroom without a word. Oliver was stunned. He watched the boy leave, having enough sense to know that he’d probably make things worse by following.
He made it to his locker to grab his textbook and managed to get to his next class before the bell rang. But he couldn’t focus on the numbers, only on the face of the omega as he’d brushed past him. He didn’t remember seeing him around before, but there were a lot of kids at their school. He had the overwhelming urge to protect him even though he didn’t even know his name. It was probably just stupid peak alpha instincts, but still…
~~~
He wasn’t able to focus at the football game either, missing passes left and right. His coach yelled at him and he didn’t have anything to say back. He hated that he wouldn’t have a chance to seek out the omega till Monday. That’s all he could think about.
When he finally made it home after the game his Dad gave him a lecture about slacking off and disappointing his team. He half listened to it while he browsed the books on their bookshelf, most of them were his moms and he wondered if there would be something on talking to omegas.
His mom sat quietly at the kitchen table, watching the conversation unfold between the two of them. She was always soft spoken and submissive. "Like a good omega," his Dad always said. But that never quite sat right with Oliver.
He thumbed across one that was about omega heats and alpha responsibility, hoping it would be more informative than political.
“Are you even listening to me Ollie?” His dad said in exasperation.
“Yes Sir. Sorry, I just have a test to study for over the weekend and I’m a little distracted.
“Your grades aren’t as important as your other commitments.” His dad said harshly.
“But they’ll kick him off the team if he drops below a C” his Mom chimed in quietly.
His Dad sighed heavily then threw his hands in the air and walked out. Oliver smiled at his mom, a silent thank you, then held the book up.
“Can I borrow this?” He whispered, unwilling to let his Dad know what he was actually studying.
“Of course honey,” she said, smiling back warmly.
He clutched the book close to his chest and ran upstairs to his room, locking his door behind him before settling in his bed with the book.
Chapter one went over what age an omega's heat typically started and how often they usually were. It seemed the average age when an omega would have their first heat was fourteen. That seemed so young and he wondered how heats at that age were even handled.
He was shocked to find out that it was also a monthly occurrence. He knew that omegas were likely to skip school during their heat and thought that seemed terrible, to have to skip multiple days of school every month. They’d miss out on so much. It didn’t seem fair.
He kept flipping through the book and ended up getting almost halfway through it before he decided he had better shower and go to bed.
~~~
The weekend was rough, he felt unmoored. He didn’t really believe in love at first sight, but he couldn’t deny the strange pull that connected him to the unclaimed omega. Was that something every alpha felt? How could any omega possibly be safe in public then if every alpha felt a compulsion to claim and protect them? There had to be something else going on. But the omega had run out of that bathroom without a second thought, so it didn’t seem like he felt the same.
His dad would be pissed if he found out Oliver was interested in an omega, especially a male one. He was a traditionalist for one, and very insistent on Oliver not dating until he’d graduated.
By Sunday evening Oliver was anxious enough that he couldn’t sleep. Between learning everything he could about omegas and worrying about what his dad would think and wondering if the omega from school was okay, he barely slept. He was up till almost two in the morning and woke up at five, unable to convince his body to relax.
He got ready for school and threw the book he’d been reading into his backpack. He’d already finished it but he wanted to be able to reference back if he needed to.
~~~
He shared his first class with Regan and really wanted to talk to him about what had happened after lunch Friday but was afraid of anybody overhearing. So instead he half paid attention to the English teacher droning on, nearly falling asleep multiple times.
He kept his eye out in between each of his classes but didn’t see any sign of the omega. They obviously didn’t share any classes together. Maybe he was a grade lower.
At lunch both Dean and Regan noticed how distracted Oliver was and how he could barely keep his eyes open.
“What’s up with you?” Dean asked, taking a bite of pizza. Pizza days at school were the best.
“Just have some stuff on my mind.” He said, noncommittally.
“Mmmhmmm, like that’s not suspicious at all. Come on, tell us.” Regan said, staring right through him.
Oliver took a deep breath, looking down at his untouched pizza. “I walked in on something happening in the guys bathroom after lunch Friday…”
“Oh? Some kids doing drugs or something?” Dean asked like that was a normal occurrence.
“No, worse. There was an omega being assaulted by like three other alphas.”
Their table was silent for a few moments as the other two took in that information.
“Did you tell a teacher?” Regan asked, though he didn’t sound confident that it would have done anything.
Oliver knew that wouldn’t have done anything. Based on the sex ed classes he’d been in it seemed most teachers were all on the same page as far as what omegas were good for.
“No…” he said with a sigh. “I don’t even know what any of their names were. And I haven’t seen the omega yet today.”
The other two looked around even though they couldn’t have any idea of who to look for.
“I just… I feel like I need to protect him. I can’t explain it.”
His two friends side eyed each other but didn’t say anything.
“I’m gonna go look around before the next class.” Oliver said after a few minutes of feeling agitated.
“Can I have your pizza?” Dean asked, already reaching for it.
Oliver nodded then stood and left the cafeteria, hoping to catch any glimpse of his omega. His? He needed to stop talking like that. He didn’t even know his name.
~~~
He finally caught a glimpse of the boy after his last class of the day. Oliver was walking to his car when he saw the omega heading toward the street, probably walking home. He got in his car quickly and then drove toward the direction he’d seen him going.
He got onto the road and saw the omega walking on the sidewalk, head bowed, dark hoodie pulled over his face. Before thinking too long about it he pulled over and rolled his window down.
“Want a ride?” He asked optimistically.
The boy flinched and looked over with a look of terror. Clutching his arms close to his body before shaking his head no.
The brief moment Oliver was able to see his face he noticed the black eye, dark bruising covering half the omega’s face. When had that happened?
“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are uh- are you okay?” Oliver asked, still driving slowly to keep pace with the omega.
“Yeah.”
“I um… I was the one who helped you Friday… I can take you home if you don’t want to walk?”
“No thanks.”
Cars were starting to line up behind Oliver, honking in annoyance.
“What’s your name?” He asked, ignoring the traffic he was causing.
The omega glared at him before looking back down at the sidewalk. He was dressed in all black and seemed very closed off, which Oliver guessed he understood after reading about how vulnerable unclaimed omegas could be.
“Jude.” He said simply, then turned off to a gravel side street to avoid talking anymore.
“Jude...” Oliver whispered. Then the blaring of a horn behind him pulled him from his wistful thinking and he hit the gas, determined to find out more about the mysterious boy.