Between Mervyn Loche and Takumi West, Mervyn was definitely the shameless confident jock and Takumi was the wiser reserved goody-two-shoes. So how was it that between the two, Takumi was the one to ask a lecturer out.
"You asked who out??" Mervyn shot, jaw left hanging as he gawked at Takumi whose frown didn't seem to signal his own understanding of the situation.
"Jules. And no, I didn't ask him out. I confessed. They're two different things".
"What. The. Fuck. Seriously! First Lexy, now you! What does everyone see in that guy??"
"What's Lexy in this?"
"Remember when I told you Lexy broke up with me because she fell for someone else?" Mervyn growled behind gritted teeth as Takumi's eyes widened, "Yes, that someone else is your beloved lecturer".
"Lexy also asked him ou -?"
"Everyone asked him out. Everyone! You knew this! Half of my class asked him out after only 1 month," Mervyn crossed his arms and scowled behind his big serving of cheeseburger and dirty fries, "I don't get it. What are you hoping to get from asking Julian Armes out? He's mated to three alphas. He's not going to say yes to any of you".
Takumi had thought that Mervyn, his alpha best friend who happened to be one of the most popular students in Mallow Springs University, would dive headfirst into the idea of hitting on the visiting artist. Mervyn had dated many people and had no problem making the first move toward someone he'd set his eyes on. Surprisingly, he was one of the rare few who kept a cool head about it. Everyone else seemed to have gone crazy for the prime omega famous painter Julian Armes the day he arrived in the small college town of Mallow Springs, but Mervyn had always scoffed at the whole thing.
Perhaps it was because Mervyn was an alpha born to two beta parents. Compared to the typical alpha, he rarely let his instincts and hormones led him. He was also less welcoming of strong pheromone scents, which had been the first complaint he had about Jules; something about him smelling too strong.
Then again, it could also be the fact that he had been head over heels for his then-girlfriend-now-ex, the beta nursing student Lexy. Attending the painting course was her idea, which meant Mervyn, who carried not a single artistic bone in his body, had to join her. Takumi tagged along in the last minute after Mervyn forced him out of his room in the midst of his depression.
"Confessed," Takumi weakly corrected, "I wasn't expecting anything back from him. I was just telling him how I feel".
You see, Julian 'Jules' Armes was extremely beautiful and well-established. Tall, slim, with shoulder-length blonde hair and pale features, he appeared like the angels in classic paintings. He came from a higher standing and a long line of prestigious artists, had his own Wikipedia page, and had his name mentioned next to famous people in many articles. His family name was literally copyrighted and would autofill on search bars. Apparently, there were bids on his baby pictures among top celebrity tabloids; the one that did come out to the public was valued at $10,000.
And Takumi West was a mere 23-year-old Beta. Adopted by an old white couple from the local orphanage, he grew up straight-laced and studious. He didn't have much of a dating life, except for a 2-year-long romance with a close friend back when he was in high school. Otherwise, the young half-Japanese keep himself to his books and his studies. He's not necessarily fashionable, nor was he particularly handsome. His adopted mother, Samantha, said he had the most beautiful dark eyes, but that was about it.
Takumi was not necessarily successful either. He graduated with top grades from high school, probably due to his adoptive parents being teachers, and entered university with a partial scholarship for a chemistry major. Despite all that, he was having second thoughts about his career choice and interest, even thinking of dropping out altogether.
Takumi didn't keep up with the goings-on in the world, but he knew enough from how people reacted to Jules that the omega was a respected and adored figure. Someone so average like Takumi obviously had no place being around someone like that. So, yes, from that very basis, Takumi stood no chance with Julian Armes.
Mervyn was not convinced, "Did you drop the L word?"
The hue on Takumi's cheeks deepened. Suddenly, he lost the ability to speak. He had always been able to tell his best friend of 15 years everything, yet now he couldn't form a word in embarrassment.
He remembered waiting for everyone to leave the classroom, nervously holding the flipbook he had been working on over the weekend to give to the lecturer. And when the ones left in the room were himself, the lecturer, and the lecturer's assistant, Takumi made his move.
He had the whole thing drilled to his mind, he practiced it in the morning, and he had it dancing in his tongue as he set his eyes on the 27-year-old artist. 'I love you', he had planned to tell Jules; yet the sentence died down the moment he met Jules' intense gaze. They were always icy and piercing, and Takumi couldn't help but feel bare and small whenever he was subjected to them.
"Hey, look, Takumi, it's fine," Mervyn muttered, looking bored. He had always been able to read Takumi like a book, even back when Takumi refused to speak after his adoption. "He's nice to look at. I don't blame you for liking him. Everyone did. Heck, I even heard the other lecturers had also asked him out that he now had to stay in a separate room from the other lecturers between classes. You tend to see the good in people and you're honest. So I get it. I get why someone like you would fall for someone like him. It's just so like you". He then grinned, "But holy fuck! Takumi West, you moron! You actually did! Oh my Goooddd. Our baby Takumi; asking the hot lecturer out!"
Mervyn was loud enough to attract the attention of the few college students who walked past their table, successfully adding more depth to Takumi's cheeks. They were sitting at the outdoor seating of their uni's café; anyone could hear them if they were too loud.
"Shut up, Merv," Takumi whined, suddenly growing more interested in his iced americano, "I'm telling you this because I don't know how I'm going to face him next time in class".
"You mean you're still going?" Mervyn looked surprised. Takumi wouldn't be surprised if he dropped the course altogether; he was only there because of Lexy, and after the breakup, there was really nothing else that could keep Mervyn from leaving the class.
Unlike Mervyn, however, Takumi loved art. He drew in his spare time, had 5 whole sketchbooks, had a thing with drawing comic strips back in high school, and had a whole embarrassing DeviantArt phase. Painting, however, was a whole new area for him. Yet, it reawakened something in him. It was the first time in a while that he felt like doing something. That class was the reason he could even leave his bed.
As if realizing this, Mervyn hurriedly added, "Yeah, you should still go. That kind of thing, that's more a you thing," he paused and looked thoughtful, "I think you have nothing to worry about. Everyone asked Jules out. That seemed to change nothing. He treated everyone the same, still".
And maybe that was for the better – yet somehow Takumi felt like it would disappoint him.
"But, I want you to know," Mervyn added, "Prime omegas, especially male ones, are so rare so I can't say I know them like that. But seeing that I've met a prime alpha, I'll tell you this: prime omegas would be so good at making you think you're head over heels for them. If an omega is attractive, a prime would be magnetic".
"So I want you to be smart about this, Takumi. When a Prime seems to pay you a special kind of attention, most likely they're not. Don't get it over to your head. They make people go… all crazy and obsessed".
" – I'm not obsessed," Takumi disrupted.
"Of course you're not, you're you. But they said alphas are knotheads, but prime omega? They're the worst. They're obsessive and they make people go obsessive," Mervyn mixed the contents of his tall iced coffee glass with the paper straw and continued ranting, "And it's not enough that he was prime, he's also a male omega. That doubles the problem to me. He's mad attractive though, I'd give you that".
Takumi let that sink in. Unlike Mervyn, who was extroverted and open, Takumi did not have the same level of dating experience. His understanding of the other genders was limited to textbook explanations and lessons from gender studies.
"And he has three alpha mates. Three. All alphas. I can't even imagine how that would work and I dated an alpha once – a female alpha by the way – and boy, you don't last in that kind of relationship unless you love the power struggle and the tension. You know what? I heard his three mates are obsessed. Like, aren't there rumors of them shutting up people left and right if they ever even slighted their mate? People actually lost their jobs for saying something about Jules".
That sounded extreme, "I… don't know? I don't know him enough to make these observations, Merv. Like, how do you know this much about Jules?"
Mervyn's lips thinned, "Lexy. Lexy cares a lot about Julian, remember?"
Ah, so Mervyn was jealous. Everything suddenly made a lot of sense.
"Hey," Takumi smiled, "Look at me. It's not like I'm going to be married off to Julian Armes, am I?"
Mervyn snorted, "You wish".
They snickered and the mood lightened up. That was right, that stupid move Takumi made on Julian? He'd get over it. After all, why would someone like Julian Armes even pay attention to someone like Takumi West?
XXX
The thing was, how could he not fall for it?
When Takumi first saw Julian, Takumi was mentally in a dark place. Being in that class helped him see the light. Not only did it reawaken his love for anything art, but it also helped him realize that he was good at something. In that dark place, Julian was the bearer of a torch. And that was when his name planted itself into Takumi's brain; among notes from his classes that he spent nights memorizing, the periodic table, and numbers, there was Julian 'Jules' Armes, 27 years old, a painter, and a God.
Takumi was grateful that the talk with Mervyn sobered him up from this… feelings.
Because why did he think he could even try with someone like that? So, how did anyone, let alone dumb, inexperienced college students, become so delusional as to even ask him out?
"I think Christa is going to confess today".
Takumi did not expect that out of all things Amy would tell him that morning in their next class together, it would be that. "Okay?"
"She is. I can see it. She's well-prepared. She planned to do it last week, but I think she got scared".
Amy was an extremely timid omega that Takumi found to be a little… different. She barely spoke at all. The reason they started talking was that Takumi, being a creature of habit, tended to sit in the same spot. So did she. So they naturally became acquainted.
Still, they barely exchanged words until recently. The first time they finally said something to each other was when Takumi needed a pencil and had to borrow from her. Her voice trembled when she offered him one.
"It's a good thing she didn't have her chance last week, wasn't it?"
Takumi whipped his head to look at her and the face that gazed back told him that she knew something. Takumi's eyes grew wide as his face grew hotter, "Fuck, please don't talk to me about this –"
" – you know! O-one day, I want to be able to speak for myself. To speak my mind!" She continued hurriedly, "I'm not like you guys. It's hard for me to find my voice, but one day I…"
The clock struck 9.05, and in entered their beloved lecturer. In an instant, Amy's expression grew soft. "I want to stand up and express myself better".
Oh. She likes him too.
It was an offering of camaraderie.
Takumi pulled down his mask to uncover his face. He joined this class all depressed, thinking he wouldn't make friends with anyone. But who said he had to go through it all alone?
"I think you can do it," he said.
"You think so!?"
"Yeah. I think you'll do just fine".
The whole class had been a little energetic today, perhaps due to the fact that it's near the end of exam week. Everyone had probably finished their last round of exams and was now in a celebrative mood. Takumi did not take any substantive enough course to have any meaningful exam this semester.
It was 9.05 am when Jules entered. Almost everyone bid their, "Good morning," before the man did, causing him to look at them with curiosity as he sipped from his paper cup. "Ooookay that's new," Jules commented. Some students giggled and someone pointed out that they just finished their last test.
"So you're going to a party tonight?" Jules lifted his paper cup. Someone hollered and someone else shouted, "7 PM at Maple Lodge!" which was welcomed with a loud 'woo!'. "You're invited, Jules!" Someone else exclaimed, and instantly everyone responded with 'yeah's.
This was how everyone in the class interacted with Jules despite half of them having confessed to him. The lecturer behaved accordingly; friendly and welcoming. There was never anything awkward between them; almost like the confession meant nothing – like it never happened.
Maybe, when you're loved by many, those love lost its meaning and so it's easy for one Julian Armes to ignore the fact that half of these people were desperate for his attention. He probably had no idea every smile, every reply, every interaction he gave to them would further charge their admiration for him.
"…When a Prime seems to pay you a special kind of attention, most likely they're not. Don't get it over to your head…"
"Naaah, someone'll be upset if I go," Jules replied, not even addressing how inappropriate it would be for a lecturer to hang out with their students when alcohol was involved.
"You mean some 'people'," A girl chimed in. The girl next to her giggled. They all seemed to know that the artist had more than one mate.
"Maybe," Jules smiled cheekily, and everyone 'ooh'-ed in chorus.
Takumi's eyes accidentally met Jules, and he quickly looked down. Jules could be heard laughing from the front of the class.
Soon they all returned to painting. The task was to finish the painting they started last week. Amy Bale was mumbling under her own breath about what she was planning to do. "Use your favorite color," she sounded nervous as she repeated one of the prompts Jules gave her, "Yes, pink. Pink, pink, pink; where are you, my beautiful pink?"
Takumi dipped his brush into a splotch of grey. It was when he was about to put that grey onto his canvas that he realized that the silhouette of Julian Armes was about to take form in the middle of the work he had done. Jules himself had called him out on it. The realization brought an instant sense of embarrassment.
He needed to change the direction of his painting.
"Hey".
The tap on his shoulder almost sent him jumping.
But Takumi didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"So, are you going to any party?" He could feel Jules hovering over his head.
"Uh," Takumi froze, brush stuck to the canvas yet unmoving as he felt caught in the middle of doing something wrong, "No?"
"Hmm. Good," Takumi felt the taller man shift behind him, almost like he was about to leave him and move on to the next student, but before he did so, Takumi felt his long slender fingers brush against the side of his neck; where his scent patch was. They teased the borders of the patch, almost tickling the skin around it. They were cold, fleeting yet full of purpose. Takumi's breath hitched. "Good boy".
Takumi's heart rammed violently against his ribcage that the sound rang in his ears. The heat rose to his face that it started to make his eyes water.
He swiftly turned his head to follow Jules' form right next to Amy. Amy was sporting a very deep blush on her apple cheeks after Jules made a very short comment about her painting. But, there was no touching nor whispers exchanged.
So what was that, 'Good boy' about?
"…When a Prime seems to pay you a special kind of attention, most likely they're not. Don't get it over to your head…"
… maybe he was imagining it.