By Zephyria Koi tensed up without realizing it and scanned everyone’s faces. As expected, his friends stared at each other with blank expressions, then looked at Ashley’s face, and then back at each other again. Bill was the first to react, as expected.
“…Manifestation? You?”
“Yeah.”
Ashley nodded, and the other guys looked even more bewildered. As if they couldn’t have imagined such a thing.
Well, having a Manifestation itself isn’t common.
Koi thought. And Ashley’s case is even more special. If this gets out, it could cause quite a stir. That’s why only the principal and Koi knew the truth, and Ashley intended to keep it a secret as well.
Because of this, he only revealed part of his secret to the others, including his friends.
He had no choice. This would answer most of their questions.
“I became an Alpha. That’s why I couldn’t play in the games, sorry.”
“Oh…”
It wasn’t pleasant to see the usually boisterous guys so quiet. Koi felt uneasy and looked back and forth between Ash and them. What if he became estranged from his friends?
〈Then there’s nothing we can do about it.〉
Ashley said nonchalantly, but Koi was anxious. He thought it would break Koi’s heart even more if he grew distant from the guys he had been so close to before his Manifestation.
Ash said he only needed me…
Koi didn’t think so. Even if that was what Ashley really felt, Koi felt differently. He was different from Koi, who only had Ashley as a friend. He had always been with people, and he had always been at the center of it. Koi didn’t want him to change.
He was waiting for a response, feeling anxious, when Bill suddenly turned to look at him. Koi was startled by the sudden eye contact, and Bill frowned and asked.
“Koi, did you know?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, everyone was looking at him. Koi blinked in confusion at the unexpected situation. Oh, what should I do?
He hesitated, then looked at Ashley, who gave him a brief nod. Everyone must have noticed from that reaction alone. Reluctantly, Koi lowered his gaze and answered softly.
“…Yeah.”
“Haa…”
Bill let out a deep sigh. The other guys also looked at Ashley with obvious disappointment.
“Hey, how could you not tell us?”
One of the guys complained, and others chimed in, agreeing.
“I’m really disappointed. I didn’t know we were just acquaintances.”
“You told Koi but kept it a secret from us? Is that okay?”
“Even if you like Koi that much. We’re the Buffaloes, or, we were!”
Koi didn’t sense any atmosphere of distancing themselves from Ashley in the guys’ reactions. Rather, he felt the kind of resentment that only close friends could have, and his heart gradually lightened. Ashley also seemed a little flustered for a moment, but then he gave a wry smile and apologized.
“I wanted to tell you sooner, but I couldn’t come back.”
“Why were you in the East for so long? Was it because of your Manifestation?”
Bill asked with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Ashley nodded again.
“Yeah, you guys know. Pheromones are unstable for a while after Manifestation.”
“We know.”
“That’s what they said.”
As Betas, it wasn’t an area they could fully understand, but they seemed to be forcing themselves to cram the facts into their brains for the sake of their friend. That’s a relief. Koi completely relaxed and watched them comfortably. Soon after, another guy asked.
“So, are you okay now?”
“Yeah, how’s your body? You look a little thinner.”
“Why is that? Do you lose muscle mass when you have a Manifestation?”
“Hey, does anyone have a protein bar? Give it to Ash, quick.”
Watching the guys fuss over Ashley and try to keep the conversation going, Koi couldn’t help but smile. Ashley was the same way, and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. A tremendous sense of stability washed over him.
This is it, what I’ve been missing.
The everyday life he had taken for granted had finally returned to him. Ashley turned his head and met Koi’s eyes. Seeing Koi’s face beaming with happiness as if everything was going well, he felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.
I don’t want to lose this.
He thought. Couldn’t things stay like this forever? Without ever leaving for the East.
But Ashley also knew the reality. The sweetness of the moment wouldn’t last much longer. His Father had only given him a grace period “until graduation.” And this was his last freedom.
It’s okay.
Ashley comforted himself as he exchanged trivial words with his friends. It’ll be okay, I won’t become a monster like them. I’m different from my father too. I have friends like these, and I have Koi.
I’m different from them.
He was strongly convinced. The chaotic and bizarre Pheromone parties that had been constantly replaying in his mind seemed to be fading little by little. And Ashley thought that he would gradually forget them. Just like all memories.
“Oh, it’s time for class.”
Unfortunately, the reunion had to end here. At someone’s words, everyone promised to continue the conversation during lunch and put the rest of the talk on hold.
“See you later.”
“See you.”
The remaining guys watched Ashley and Koi walk away side by side and muttered in low voices.
“Could it be that Ash said he liked Koi because he had his Manifestation?”
“It’s possible. Alphas and Omegas have lower barriers to same-sex relationships.”
“Koi didn’t have his Manifestation, did he?”
“No, he didn’t.”
Everyone had the same thought at the same time. Someone voiced it.
“Did Koi accept Ash? They came together, so…”
“Koi knew he had his Manifestation, remember?”
Bill sighed and replied.
“We don’t know. Let’s keep our mouths shut until Ash says something first. Maybe Koi’s just overlooking it because they’re friends.”
“That’s right, probably.”
Another guy agreed.
“If I were a Beta and an Alpha or Omega of the same sex said they liked me, it would be very difficult.”
“Let’s pretend we don’t know.”
“Yeah, let’s pretend we forgot.”
They reaffirmed their friendship and headed to their respective classrooms.
Whether Ashley had his Manifestation or not, they were still friends, and whatever thoughts he had when he confessed, that was Ashley and Koi’s problem. They intended to respect their friend’s feelings as much as possible. And they were right.
*
“I’m glad, right?”
Koi said as they headed to class together. Ashley looked down at him and smiled.
“I told you, it would be like this.”
He had told Koi in advance, but Ashley himself couldn’t guarantee it.
You can’t know what’s in a person’s heart until you experience it. Even though they had been close friends, having been on the same team for years, it was no different. He had only said that to reassure Koi, but when they actually showed him more than just friendship, Ashley was also happy.
I could have told them that I had a Manifestation as an Extreme Alpha.
I can’t help it. The secretary warned that if it became known, he would increase his security.
Extreme Alphas are often the target of unnecessary attention because of the special nature of their species. There are many people who are hostile to them due to their promiscuous private lives or other reasons, so bodyguards are almost essential for their safety. Of course, making such a fuss at the ordinary high school that Ashley was attending was something that only idiots who were “look at me” would do.
Ashley wasn’t such an idiot, and he wanted to be able to go to school and graduate as quietly as possible, just like before. That’s why he had no choice but to keep it a secret.
“Hey, you’ll tell me when you graduate, right?”
Ashley nodded at Koi’s question.
“I’ll be free then.”
“Yeah.”
Ashley opened his mouth to Koi, who nodded along.
“When we graduate, Koi.”
“Yeah.”
There was no one around. Ashley gradually slowed down as he stood not far from the building where classes were held and asked.
“Won’t you come to the East with me?”
“What?”
At the sudden question, the feet that had been slowing down came to a complete stop. He was dumbfounded by the unexpected proposal. Ashley continued, looking at Koi, who was staring blankly up at him.
“Let’s go to the East together. I’ll take responsibility for your life there somehow.”
Ashley added, seeing that Koi was still unable to speak.
“Including college tuition.”“That’s…”
Koi didn’t know how to react. He didn’t want to break up with Ashley.
He knew that Ash would be returning to the East Coast. But he’d only imagined seeing him during breaks at best; going to the East Coast together wasn’t even an option he’d considered. At the sudden news, he could only stare blankly up at Ashley.