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Liam and Niall were eating at a table full of people, and right in front of them was the new guy, Zayn. He was a bit sketchy but he looked just fine, and that’s all you could ask from a bunch of high schoolers. If you’re not an asshole, you’re good to go.
“So, what’s good about this school?” Zayn asked, causing everyone at the table to glance in his direction.
“Not much, what can you expect from a high school? It sucks, we barely survive, and there are parties with a bunch of kids thinking they’re cool for being drunk. I guess it’s okay…ish,” Liam says.
Niall agrees firmly and stops eating, putting his fork down. “But the food sucks,” he chips in, drinking the juice he had put aside and still looking disgruntled.
So that was settled for Zayn. It went from really bad to just bad. It could have been hell, but he went to an alright school with, so far, cool people. But of course there were clusters of students. You couldn’t put a large group of teenagers together and not expect them to make their own groups. That was probably one of the basics about being a high schooler. It’s shit, but it is what it is. As long as Zayn wasn’t by himself, he would be able to endure one more year in this shithole.
The cafeteria wasn’t totally silent, but at least the noise wasn’t coming from the table he was sitting at. He was a pretty quiet guy himself, he liked the peace and didn’t particularly enjoy talking without a purpose.
“There he is,” Zayn heard from his left, and turned to see what the person was talking about. That’s when he noticed every eye at his table was looking at something behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see. He wasn’t really into gossip but he was goddamn curious.
“Who?” Zayn asked no one in particular, but expected an answer nonetheless.
“Tommo,” someone answered, but it didn’t help Zayn in understanding what the hell they were talking about, or rather, who the hell they were talking about.
But in that moment, he smells it. The distinct smell of an omega. His eyes quickly find the source of the smell, and promptly widen.
“That twink over there?” Zayn asks, dumbfounded. All around him, he hears gasps, and he turns to look at the people sitting at his table. Their faces look horrified with what he’s just said. “What? He looks like a twink. And he’s an omega, isn’t he?”
Niall quickly slaps his hand over Zayn’s mouth and looks around, hoping that nobody from nearby tables heard what Zayn said. They would be so fucked if what he said went to the wrong ears.
“Shut up! Don’t talk about him like that!” Niall hisses. Liam’s eyes grow wide and his face is as pale as a sheet of paper. He looks at Zayn like he’s absolutely crazy.
Zayn takes Niall’s hand off his mouth so he can speak. “Why not?” he asks, confused. Okay, maybe it’s not nice to call this omega guy a twink, but the reactions he was getting are just weird.
“His alpha, Harry, will fuck you up if he hears someone trash talking his omega,” Niall whispers, checking his surroundings one more time before slumping back in his seat.
“Okay, so just so I’m clear, this school has a male omega and a male alpha, and they’re mated?” Zayn asks, to make sure he understands correctly.
See, it isn’t that common to see alphas and omegas these days. You can rarely find them in big cities, let alone find an alpha and omega mated together in a small town in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t just unusual, it was rare and unique, and kind of awkward if he’s being honest. Zayn himself has never met any omegas.
“Yes, they’ve been bonded since they were fourteen. They’re nice people, but don’t mess with Harry's omega if you know what’s good for you,” Liam answers. Suddenly he looks over Zayn’s shoulder and stiffens.
Zayn picks up the scent of another alpha and his arm hairs bristle. Liam, being incredibly observant, notices Zayn’s reaction and his face reaches another level of pale, if that’s even possible.
“Wait… you’re an alpha?” Liam asks quietly, and Zayn nods. Betas are what ‘normal’ people used to be called, and they can’t really notice the scents of alphas or omegas, so it wasn’t a surprise that they didn’t notice that Zayn was an alpha.
“Oh, God.” Liam, being quite muscular, shrank down in his chair. His shoulders slumped down and his eyes went back to his salad. If that wasn’t enough for Zayn to know that this Harry guy was coming towards their table, his instincts and bristled hair would assure him.
Zayn kept his stance neutral, not yet ready for that type of situation. He’s never met any other alphas. He didn’t even consider himself an alpha because he usually never had the reactions he’s having right now. It was odd, and he wasn’t comfortable with it. In that moment when Harry stopped next to him, he clearly felt like an alpha. The cafeteria was dead silent and everybody was pretending not to see what was happening.
“Hi!” says Harry.
Zayn was expecting a lot, he really was. He was expecting a confrontation from a hostile alpha, but this guy seems to be the exact opposite.
“I’m Harry, nice to meet you! I could smell you from outside,” he says, laughing. Zayn manages a weak smile, because the guy is trying to nice (and succeeding). If Harry reacted the same way that Zayn did when he scented him, Zayn didn’t know why Harry wasn’t growling at him. Zayn sure wanted to.
“Hey mate, I’m Zayn, nice to meet you too.” He extends his hand and shakes the one Harry is offering. Zayn didn’t like talking without purpose, did he mention that?
“Never expected to meet another alpha before, nice to have a pal here. If you need anything, I’m right there with my omega.”
Oh, and there it is. Harry could be the kindest guy ever, but instincts never lie. Alphas are always territorial with their omegas. Harry was being nice, but he was also setting the record straight that the omega over there was his.
“Thanks mate, I feel really welcomed by Niall and Liam already. It’s my first day, it’s been nice,” Zayn replied politely, and Harry just nods. He waves to the other people around him and throws a “See ya!” into the air, walking to the table where Louis was waiting for him.
“Dear God, I swear I was waiting for a blood bath,” Niall murmurs, breathing in and out like he was holding his breath for the entire interaction.
“We’re not animals, Niall.” Zayn rolls his eyes, looks over his shoulder one more time and sees Harry looking at him firmly, with his arms around Louis. When he sees Zayn looking at him, he snaps out of it and smiles kindly. Zayn isn’t sure he feels okay with this. “At least, for now,” he says to himself, shaking his head and looking at his now cold food, not hungry at all.
Somehow, he feels like what he said about Louis would get to Harry’s ears sooner or later, and feels totally and utterly fucked.