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Penny stumbles into her dorm room, hurriedly shutting the door behind her. She leans against it, trying to catch her breath. She’s still panting after the closet.
She rubs the lingering sweat from her brow and catches a whiff of vanilla and lavender and…
Ocean.
Her scent is still clinging to her clothes. She has to get it away from her.
Quickly, Penny pulls off her blouse and uniform and tosses them away. Her clothes land in a heap on the floor, far enough away for her to finally think without sweetness clouding her senses.
She lets out a whine and sinks to the floor.
Why did she have to be so clumsy?
If only she hadn’t bumped into the door and gotten them trapped. She didn’t mean to, but Ocean probably didn’t see it that way. God, she probably thought Penny was a huge creep now.
Just like everyone else…
She needs a shower. She still feels gross.
She takes in another breath to gather herself and pulls herself to her feet. She sets about collecting her shower caddy and towels, throws on her bathrobe, and trudges her way down the hall to the showers.
If there was one benefit to being the only person in her dorm building, she supposes it would be the lack of a queue to enter the bathrooms. Still, she hates being so far from Ezra. She misses being greeted by his familiar scent from across the hall when she leaves her dorm each morning.
Too bad all the adults in their lives were doing everything in their power to keep them apart! Something about Penny being a “bad influence” and “your brother will never become a respectable beta” with her around.
And so, her sentence was choir.
The tiled floor of the shower stall is cold under her feet. She reaches out and twists the knob to its coldest setting. A blast of frigid water hits her face. She tenses up, enduring the freezing onslaught and feeling the cold seep into her bones. After a long moment, she finally relents and turns the knob to allow some warmth to seep in.
She rubs the washcloth over her skin, lathering up with apple-scented soap. She hesitates when she reaches her neck, where Ocean had pressed her face to her scent glands. She bites her lip and wipes away what remains of Ocean’s presence.
Her thoughts return to the closet, to the girl who had begged her to press closer in that tiny space.
It was no secret that Ocean was a beta. She would proudly proclaim her status to anyone who would listen, and also those who didn’t. Penny had believed her, of course. She had no reason not to. And yet, inside that closet, the scent that emanated from Ocean was far too strong and sweet to belong to any normal beta.
It’s undeniable, Ocean is an omega.
So why? Why had Ocean hidden her status from everyone?
Well, actually, why is easy. No one would take an omega with Ocean’s political ambitions seriously. Although, Penny doubts that would have stopped Ocean.
The weirdest part was how. Ocean never had a scent that strong before this, Penny would have noticed.
She furiously scrubs shampoo into her scalp.
Nothing about this made sense!
Unless…
She pauses.
“Oh my god.”
Ocean didn’t know.
Penny presses her head to the tiled wall in front of her, her mind racing. She wishes she’d kept better control of herself, even if Ocean couldn’t. If Ocean wasn’t in heat already, she certainly would be soon.
And this would be her first heat ever.
Penny takes a deep breath to calm herself. It was honestly a miracle it hadn’t managed to induce a rut. Ocean must have been so scared in that closet, experiencing a whirlwind of hormone-induced instincts that drove her to latch on to the closest alpha who happened to be trapped in there with her.
And Penny’s own instincts had driven her to take advantage of that.
How can she face Ocean after that? Ocean will never trust her again. Penny certainly doesn’t trust herself. She has to keep her distance. It’s what’s best for both of them.
She sniffs, a small whine leaving her throat.
But Ocean needs her. She can’t let her go through her first heat alone. She has to find her and-
She bites down on her arm, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to ground herself.
Penny never wanted to hate her status. Everything was so much easier in Elysium. People didn’t hate her for existing. Here in Legoland, she was a sideshow freak at best, and a rabid dog at worst. Can’t be too confident or the omega girls will whisper, can’t be too subdued or the alpha boys will mock her, can’t do literally anything or face the sneers of judgmental betas. Her life is a balancing act on a razor thin wire, and she was now plummeting to her doom.
She rinses herself off one last time and shuts off the water. The chill of the room settles into her as she dries herself off. She doesn’t bother blow drying her hair or even redoing her braids. She simply lacks the energy.
The weight of her actions grow heavier as she makes the slow trek back to her dorm.
She slips into a fresh set of clothes, and throws her favorite hoodie over the ensemble. She nuzzles into its soft texture, seeking comfort in the well-worn fabric.
Her eyes land on her uniform, still right where she left it on the floor, tempting her with its scent.
She can’t let this continue.
She goes to take a deep breath to steel herself, but immediately decides against it. Cautiously, she steps forward and lifts her discarded clothes from the floor, holding them outstretched and keeping her breath shallow to avoid inhaling any more of Ocean’s scent.
She remembers the way it filled the tiny room, coiling around her, drawing her closer. She remembers the way Ocean felt in her arms, small, trembling, vulnerable. The way she purred against her.
She opens her eyes to find her nose buried in the fabric.
Panicked, she hurls them away.
She dives for her bed, burrowing herself under the covers to surround herself with her own scent. She curls up in the darkness and closes her eyes, but finds herself tossing and turning.
She can’t take her mind off of it. She needs to do something. Her brain won’t shut up until she does.
With a huff, she emerges from under the covers, just enough to grab her phone and duck back underneath. She squints into the glow of her screen and hammers out a quick message.
hey constance
can we talk