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The university library was brimming with life, despite being near noiseless. Only a low hum of chatter filled the grand room, students from all campuses studying hard for their chosen subjects. On one particular table in the very corner of the library sat four alphas, the medical students well-known among the student body. Around them, omegas and betas whispered in their groups, fawning over the golden foursome, while other alphas either admired or envied the popular group.
Well-aware but uncaring of their university-celebrity status, the four friends ignored the eyes that seemed to follow them throughout their student life constantly and instead focused on their revision for the upcoming exams.
Well, nearly all of them.
Hill and Tonfah, the more academically disciplined half of the group, had their noses to their textbooks and were tediously writing notes. Meanwhile, the other half of the group was less studious and more frivolous in their spare time away from classes. Leaning back in his chair, Johan scrolled through the photos on his phone, smiling at the many pictures of North from their recent vacation. Beside him, Arthit rested his head in the crook of his folded arms, nursing a hangover after a late night of drinking.
“Ugh, how much longer are we going to sit here?” He mumbled from the wooden table, trying to shield his sensitive eyes from the bright lights of the library.
“You knew we had a revision session today,” Hill said, glancing at his friend with a hidden smirk that held no sympathy, “we need to get up to chapter thirty before our next lecture.”
Arthit groaned, rising from his hideaway to rub his temples. “My head is killing me.”
“No one forced you to go out drinking last night,” Johan said, not looking up from his phone.
“I was bored,” he replied, narrowing his eyes at his friend. “Anyway, it’s so much harder going out now that I’ve lost my drinking buddy, Mr. ‘I-Spend-All-My-Time-With-My-Boyfriend’.”
An incredulous expression washed over Johan’s face, who lowered his phone while slowly turning his head toward the alpha next to him.
“North and I came out with you to MixSolo literally last Saturday. You roped him into a drinking competition, where you both got so wasted that the two of you were singing karaoke for nearly an hour before North puked on the stage and you tried to start a fight with the bouncers. I then had to carry North all the way back home while also dragging your stupid ass along with us. You crashed at our place for the night, threw up all over my couch and left the next morning after raiding the pantry,” he explained, recounting their disastrous night out with calmed annoyance. “North suffered a two-day hangover while I had to pay out for professionals to clean my sofa and to top it all off, we are permanently banned from MixSolo.”
The silence was almost laughable, Hill shaking his head while Arthit squinted, the memories from that night murky.
“Oh yeah,” he said eventually, before he grinned cheekily. “That was a fun night, do you think North would come out again this Saturday?”
A sharp cry left his mouth when Johan threw a pencil at him, the eraser end hitting him squarely on his forehead. Watching the scene, Hill held in his laughter, wary of the librarian glaring at them from her desk.
“Fuck no!” Johan hissed quietly. “It’s always a disaster when you and North drink together.”
Arthit pouted, sighing woefully at the thought of having to scout for people to convince to go out with him at the weekend.
“Anyway, I’m taking him into the city this weekend,” the other murmured fondly, his expression softening. “I’ve got some business to deal with, so I thought I’d book a hotel and bring him along with me.”
“A romantic getaway?” Arthit asked, sticking his tongue out in disgust. “Urgh, how boring.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Hill commented.
“Of course you would, you’re just as lovesick as him,” Arthit said, gesturing between his two friends. “I still can’t believe North somehow managed to tame you. You’re just as sensible as Hill now… It’s sickening.”
“It’s called growing up,” Johan said.
“Yeah, you should try it,” Hill quipped, the two of them snickering.
Their friend snorted. “Please, I’ll never be tied down—I like my freedom too much to be playing house with an omega.”
“Maybe that’s your problem.”
The voice was sharp, lacking any playful tone that the group of friends usually held when ribbing each other.
Everyone at the table looked over to Tonfah, who remained focused on his textbook, writing his notes neatly across the lined paper. However, the alpha’s posture was rigid, his jaw set firmly while he grasped his pen tightly, his knuckles white beneath his skin. His sandalwood scent, which was usually warm and smooth, was spiked with irritation, something that was highly unusual for the alpha.
Always the jokester of the group, Arthit paid no mind to his friend’s off mood, shrugging his shoulders in jest.
“If being young, single, and carefree is a problem, then it’s one I’m happy to have.”
From the other side of the table, Hill didn’t laugh off the alpha’s joke like he usually would. Instead, he eyed Tonfah beside him with uncertainty, picking up on his sour mood before casting his gaze to Johan, who seemed to also share his concerns.
Tonfah sighed with a shake of his head, still looking down at his books. “If you’re not going to take this seriously, maybe you should joke around somewhere else.”
This time, Arthit didn’t miss the bite in his words, his laidback grin dropping into a confused frown.
“Who pissed in your breakfast this morning?” He asked, trying to keep things light.
Pausing his writing, Tonfah’s scent intensified, simmering with growing irritation.
“Some of us actually want to graduate with good grades instead of barely scraping a pass by the skin of our teeth,” he replied, the insult clear in his tone.
Sensing the rapidly building tension, Hill cleared his throat, preparing to diffuse the situation before it turned ugly. Before he could get a word out, however, the scent of singed tobacco leaf filled the air. It was a scent they were all familiar with, usually occurring when their friend had too much to drink and found himself in the middle of an argument that would always quickly spiral into a fight.
Arthit sat up straight, any trace of amusement wiped from his face as he puffed his chest to his friend.
”So what? I’m still passing my classes while having fun at the same time.”
“That’s your problem—you just don’t care,” Tonfah muttered dryly, finally tearing his eyes away from his books to meet his friend’s heated gaze. “Maybe if you spent more time studying rather than partying, you wouldn’t waste your life away exhausted and hungover all the time.”
Beside him, Hill cringed at the low blow, while Johan’s eyes widened ever so slightly, shocked that Tonfah went there. Even Arthit appeared taken aback, the disbelief and hurt flickering across his face briefly. It was out of character for the alpha to say such a thing, especially towards someone he considered a close friend.
The silence that followed was heavy, the words marinating in the air. Suddenly, Arthit gripped the wooden table with force, anger radiating from him. The veins in his arms protruded like tree roots, scent burning and mouth bared into a snarl as he leaned forward, dark eyes glaring at his friend.
“What the hell is your problem?” He asked, voice lowering into a growl.
Replying with the beginnings of a rumble deep in his chest, Tonfah dropped his pen and curled his upper lip, his revision that he had been so focused on a moment ago long forgotten.
“Stop.”
Before the situation could escalate any further, Johan’s authoritative voice cut through the tension that threatened to boil over between his friends, strong but quiet. Shoulders squared and head dipped, he pushed out pacifying pheromones that smothered the cloud of ire that had formed around them, though there was a subtle threat mixed in that he would intervene physically if they didn’t quickly settle down.
On the other side of the table, Hill placed a firm hand on Tonfah’s shoulder, not to push or pull, but to simply ground him.
It worked, for the low rumbles at the table died off, the two irate alphas backing down. With a huff, Arthit threw himself back into his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, while the anger completely melted from Tonfah.
Seemingly coming to his senses, it dawned on him what he had said and what his actions had nearly caused. Instantly, a downpour of shame drenched him, Tonfah fighting to stop his scent curdling from the guilt that replaced his previous irritation.
No one said a word, the silence so uncomfortable that it made him want to claw out of his skin. Arthit glowered at him, while Johan stared at him perplexingly, like he didn’t recognise his own friend, and it made Tonfah feel like shit.
Thankfully, it was Hill who saved him, still keeping his hand on his shoulder while offering a lifeline.
“Ter and North’s classes will be finishing soon, so maybe the two of you should go and get a table with enough room for all of us outside,” he suggested, turning to Johan and Arthit.
Tearing his critical gaze away—something Tonfah was grateful for—Johan shared a short, silent conversation with Hill before finally nodding. Shoving his unopened textbook into his bag, he lightly elbowed Arthit, who still sat rigidly with a hard expression marring his face. Sucking his teeth, the offended alpha jerked his head and pushed away from the table, stalking towards the doors. Johan followed him closely, though he threw one last glance over his shoulder at Tonfah before disappearing through the doors.
Releasing the breath he had been holding, Tonfah sagged in his seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hill turn towards him, his hand dropping from his shoulder.
“What was all that about?”
It was stupid of him to think Hill wouldn’t pry about what had just happened. The alpha was just as level-headed as him, probably even more so given their current situation, so of course he would want to get to the bottom of his problems.
Nevertheless, Tonfah didn’t feel like talking, the embarrassment making him feel sick.
“Nothing,” he said, picking his pen back up, “just stressed over exams.”
The lie was flippant, so unbelievably easy to see through that he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.
“And you decided to take it out on Arthit?”
Well, at least Hill wasn’t sparing his feelings.
“I didn’t mean it.”
And it was true—Tonfah hadn’t meant any of the hurtful things he had said to his friend. They were just awful word vomit, an ill reaction to a situation that involved no one but himself… and the person who had been on his mind constantly.
Hill was quiet for a moment, seeming to mull over his answer, before leaning close into Tonfah’s space.
“So, it wouldn’t have anything to do with Typhoon then?”
Tonfah froze, his pulse jumping and his scent spiking.
“You know, your younger brother that you’ve been so clearly worried about,” Hill pushed, sticking the knife straight into his gut.
Of course, Hill knew.
While his friend was perceptive, even a blind man could probably see the change in Tonfah. It’s not like he had been hiding it either, his demeanour slowly changing over time to cold and indifferent whenever Typhoon was in his presence, making it painfully obvious that something was going on between him and the freshman.
“What’s wrong, Fah?” Hill asked quietly, smelling his distress that leaked into his scent. “You can tell me.”
Realising he had been pressing the tip of his pen into his notebook so hard that a splotch of ink had formed across the paper, essentially ruining his notes, he dropped it once more, a shaky sigh blowing past his lips.
“I’ve tried so hard,” he started, swallowing the lump stuck in his throat, “to try and carefully edge my way back into his life, but every attempt I make is shut down. Every time he sees me, I can see him panic and the way he tries to avoid me.
“I’m already on the outskirts of his life and I’ve tried not to push or force my way back in. I’ve kept my distance and tried not to hurt his boundaries, but he won’t talk to me or even acknowledge me, Hill.
“And the worst thing is, I still don’t know what I did wrong—I have no idea what I did that hurt him so much and for him to treat me this way,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “It’s tearing me apart and I don’t know how to fix it, but I’m starting to think maybe I can’t. Maybe I’m just wasting my time and I should just give up and leave him be.”
Finally vocalising his true feelings and thoughts that have tortured him over the past few weeks provided him with some relief, like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. However, in the same aspect, speaking his worried thoughts out loud gave them life and made them feel all too real. For some time now, he had been avoiding on what he should do about Typhoon, the thought of completely giving up on him pushed to the back of his mind.
The more time that had passed, after every time Typhoon had ignored his existence, the more that option crawled to the forefront.
“Does that feel right?”
Hill’s question pulled him from his spiralling thoughts, Tonfah looking at him with a frown.
“Huh?”
“Giving up on Typhoon,” Hill reiterated, “does that feel like the right thing to do?”
Tonfah thought about that day when he woke up alone, rushing over to the omega’s apartment to plead with him through the door. The words that Typhoon spat at him rang loudly in his head, his heart aching just like it did that day. He thought about every encounter with his nong since then and how Typhoon disregarded him, barely even managing to look him in the eye.
The answer should have been obvious.
Then, he thought of his childhood with Typhoon, growing up with the omega by his side. He thought of the pain he went through the first time he left him. He thought of the night he reunited with him at the markets and how ecstatic he had felt. He thought of Typhoon’s smile and his gentle, meek personality, as well as his soft vanilla scent.
Inner alpha whining at the memory, at the loss of his friend in his life, Tonfah knew he had his answer.
“No.”
A small, rueful smile appeared on Hill’s lips, glad that his friend was finally being honest with himself.
“Ter’s really worried about him,” he revealed, watching how Tonfah looked at him sharply, “he thinks a lot is going on with Typhoon that he won’t say, but most of all, Ter thinks he misses you a lot.”
“How does he know? Did Phoon say anything to him?” Tonfah asked, the urgency clear in his questions.
“No, but let’s just say, Ter is really… perceptive when it comes to his friends,” Hill said, his smile turning fond at the thought of his boyfriend.
While it wasn’t definitive proof, it was something that sparked his desire to keep trying and not give up on Typhoon.
“But, I don’t know what else to do,” he whispered hopelessly.
“I think you need to dig a little deeper about why he shut you out, because I have a feeling it’s more complicated than you think,” Hill suggested, his tone serious. “Then, you need to change your tactics with Typhoon, but most importantly, you can’t give up. I tried so many things to get back on Ter’s good side. It was hard, but I kept trying because I didn’t want to lose him again.”
The alpha’s words resonated with him and Tonfah could kick himself for not speaking to his friend sooner.
“You’re right” he said after a few seconds, turning to smile warmly at the fellow medical student, “thank you, Hill.”
“Of course,” Hill replied, though his expression waned into something more serious, “but, first things first, you owe Arthit an apology.”
Tonfah winced, the guilt hitting him full force once more.
“I know it seems like he doesn’t care about a lot of things and treats life with a blasé attitude, which I think we all know the reason for that,” Hill explained, the unspoken explanation making Tonfah feel worse, “but one thing I do know is that he really does appreciate us as friends and he didn’t deserve what you said to him.”
“I know,” he sighed, rubbing a hand harshly over his face, “I was frustrated and took it out on him. I really do feel awful, Hill; I didn’t mean it.”
“I’m sure he knows that, but it’s better if he hears it from you himself,” Hill said, beginning to close his books and preparing to put them away in his bag. “On the bright side, it’ll be water under the bridge once you buy him some lunch.
Also closing his books, Tonfah chuckled lightly, knowing that Hill was right—again. Once he sincerely apologised, he knew Arthit would forgive him with no grudges held and it made Tonfah feel all the more like a terrible person for his stupid behaviour.
Instead of sulking and stewing in his own misery, causing him to lash out at those closest to him, he now realised that he needed to be proactive. The last thing he wanted was to lose Typhoon forever, so in that moment, he swore to himself that he would find the root cause of his nong’s problems. Tonfah would find a way to reconnect with him and rebuild their relationship from scratch, no matter what it took.
However, before he could do any of that, he had some serious apologising to do.