Chapter Text
The first day of classes for DMD University was a blazing hot day in August. The sun relentlessly beat down onto any and all uncovered areas. The pavement sizzled silently making the air distorted from a distance. No breeze made itself available for any kind of relief. The worst part, though, was that it wasn't anywhere near noon. So, the day would only get more sweltering.
Por's parents had helped him get an apartment that was only a few minutes walking distance from campus. Even with the AC constantly running, the oppressive heat from outside still made its presence known. Por tidied up his dishes from breakfast and drank another glass of water before heading out.
As soon as he went to open the door, he realized he had forgotten his scent blocking patch. He rolled his eyes at himself and detoured to his bathroom. Scent blockers weren’t required in university, but they were encouraged. A classmate in high school once commented on Por’s scent saying it was cloyingly sweet and went so far as to cover up their nose in reaction when he had just returned to class after his first heat. That same classmate had instigated others to avoid Por as much as possible. Por was already introverted by nature, but the forced isolation still stung.
Since then, Por had almost religiously worn some kind of scent blocker. He knew most omega scents were on the sweet side, but his own scent was apparently sweeter than most. He didn’t just smell like ripe strawberries. It was more like a 10-gallon vat of strawberry preserves. Concentrated, sugary, and fruity.
With his scent blocker patch fixed over his scent gland, he was finally able to leave his apartment. When he approached the intersection where he needed to turn left, he saw an agitated guy looking at his phone and then looking at the different directions available. He seems lost. Por studied the guy for a moment. He was a little taller than Por with light brown hair and lightly tanned skin. His build looked more athletic than lanky with broad shoulders leading down to slender hips. Could be an alpha or a beta. I can’t smell anything on him. Por’s eyes caught on the guy’s hand holding the phone. His phone looked tiny in that wide, veiny hand with long, thick fingers. Okay, leaning more towards alpha now. STOP LOOKING AT HIS HAND, POR!
At this point, Por was only a few feet away from the guy and he had decided to say something to help out this attractive, but hopelessly lost soul.
“If you’re looking for DMD U, it’s that way.” Por said quietly and pointed in the correct direction.
The guy looked up from his phone and gave Por the most blinding smile he had ever seen on a human being. “Holy shit! Thank you so much! I was so confused because the street sign is messed up.”
“No problem” Por replied, a little stunned by the reaction.
“Are you heading that way as well? Are you also a student there?” the guy asked.
Por just nodded.
“Awesome! I have to hurry to join some friends, but remind me to buy you a coffee or snack or something later!” he called out while speed walking away.
Por couldn’t help but let a confused smile form on his face. “You don’t have to.” he said to himself as the guy had already walked away even if he turned around randomly to wave. Just talking to me like anyone else is already enough.
DMD University had a special program for incoming freshmen where the first two semesters would be spent taking general education credits with the same group of students based on the time you chose to start. Meaning, the group of students that chose the class starting at 10am would stick together for the first two semesters regardless of their eventual majors. Por was nervous. He liked the idea that he could take time to get used to his fellow classmates, and hoped he would be able to make a friend.
Por entered the classroom to find only a handful of others scattered in the room. The classroom had five rows of gray tables that stretched the width of the classroom. Each row was slightly higher than the previous to ensure all students had a clear line of sight. Por went to the furthest end of the third row where no one else had taken a seat. He noticed the tables had outlets on top and took out his laptop. He hadn’t gotten around to joining the class bulletin board that the “homeroom” professor had sent out. He rolled his eyes and groaned internally when he saw that the first assignment due that evening was a self-introduction. The only silver lining was that the post at least had to follow a few guidelines and answer specific questions.
As he was reading through the assignment questions, he caught the scent of whiskey with a hint of leather that he was very familiar with.
“Por?” a familiar voice called from the row in front of him.
“Auau? I didn’t realize you would be here.” Por said looking up at the one person who hadn't avoided him in high school.
“I didn’t know you had decided on DMD U. This is awesome!” Auau said with a kind smile. The alpha had always treated Por kindly and talked to him normally.
Por smiled. “I’m happy to know I’ll have one familiar face for the next two semesters.”
“Me, too. I was so nervous for the first day. The campus is nice, though. Are you staying in the dorms?” Auau asked.
Por shook his head. “My parents found an apartment close by.”
“That must be nice. I got a random roommate and the guy never showers. It’s disgusting. I don’t know how the guy doesn’t smell it himself!” Auau complained.
Por made a face and shook his head. Auau was used to Por not contributing much to a conversation. So, he settled down into the seat in front of his friend.
A few minutes later, the silence was shattered when a group of five walked into the classroom. They all talked boisterously and laughed together. Each of them held some kind of coffee cup with similar logos meaning they all knew each other. Por looked up and was surprised to find the same guy he helped with directions in the middle of the group. When the guy saw Por, he gasped.
“My savior!!!!” the guy said loudly and rushed to the row Por occupied. “If I had known we would be in the same class, I would have brought you a coffee now or gotten you to come with me to meet everyone! I’m Teetee, by the way.” He held out his hand in greeting
“Por” he responded shyly and shook Teetee’s hand lightly feeling a small tingle from the physical contact.
“You already saved someone, Por?” Auau asked. He had turned around in his seat when he realized the loud guy was talking to his painfully shy classmate.
“You have no idea! I was so lost. I could have been walking for years if it wasn’t for Por pointing me in the right direction.” Teetee said. He had taken the liberty to settle into the seat right next to Por. “Is it okay if I sit here?” he asked only after he had already taken the seat.
“Sure.” Por said. With Teetee so close now, he still couldn’t detect any hint of his scent which meant he was using a scent blocker like Por was.
“Teetee, why do you have to be so dramatic? When you told us what happened, it was walking for days, now it’s years?” one of the others in the group said sarcastically. The guy was the tallest of the group with sharp features and dark hair. The hand on the back of the chair where the pretty guy sat next to him seemed vaguely possessive. Alpha, probably. Looks like they’re together.
Teetee rolled his eyes and addressed Por instead of responding to his friend. “Por, these are the friends I was rushing to meet up with. That’s North, Otto, Wave, and Save.”
Por gave a small wave and smile to the group. North and Otto had settled into the second row while Wave and Save had seated themselves next to Teetee on the third row. “Oh, this is Auau. We went to high school together.” Por provided.
“We’ve all been friends since high school, too.” Wave said with a smile. Por caught a faint hint of peaches from him when he gestured to the group. Omega, like me.
“Well, all of us are friends, but North and Otto are daaaaaatiiiiiiiiiiiinnnning.” Teetee said, teasing the friends in the second row.
North swiped at Teetee who quickly jumped back with a laugh. Por couldn’t help but smile at their antics.
“Have you guys seen the assignment yet?” asked Save.
“The self-introduction?” Auau asked.
“Yeah, it’s due today. I’m surprised it’s that quick.” Save said.
“Seriously? An assignment already? It’s only the first day.” Teetee whined. “Do you have it pulled up on your computer, Por? I didn’t bring mine with me.”
Por nodded and pushed his laptop towards Teetee. Instead of touching anything, Teetee leaned towards the screen with his hands placed on top of the table. It’s like he’s trying his best to be respectful and non-threatening. Maybe he is an alpha. It’s just hard to get a read on him.
Por could see Teetee’s lips moving slightly while he read the assignment post. He glanced around to see everyone looking at their own phones or laptops. So, he just sat quietly and waited for Teetee to finish reading. Pretty jaw line.
“Doesn’t seem too bad.” Teetee said softly and straightened back up in his seat.
Por nodded even if the statement wasn’t meant for him. “The questions and guidelines seem straightforward.” he said in a similar tone.
Teetee looked at him and gave a small smile. “I’ll look forward to reading yours. Will you read mine?”
Por broke eye contact and moved his laptop back in front of himself. “Sure.”
Teetee leaned over slightly and whispered, “Am I making you uncomfortable? If so, just tell me. I won’t be mad. I know I can be a lot for some people.”
Por raised his eyebrows in surprise. No one had ever asked him that. He shook his head and responded quietly, “No, I’m not uncomfortable.”
Teetee smiled at him again. “Okay, good. As long as you don’t mind, I’d like to get to know you better. We’ll be in the class together for a while anyway. I’m a total extrovert so collecting introverts is like Pokemon for me.”
Por snorted before he could stop himself and then covered his mouth. Teetee laughed and Auau turned around in surprise. Por had never made that noise before in his life. Thankfully, the professor entered the classroom then, so Por was saved from having to address the ungodly noise that had previously escaped him.
The first class was short as it was the first day. Their “homeroom” professor had gone over the structure of the program and expectations. Por noticed that Teetee didn't sit still very well. His whole body seemed to fidget every few minutes. A bouncing leg or shifting foot. Hips adjusting in his seat. Head nodding like he was listening to a song only he could hear. But the one thing that was extremely distracting for Por was Teetee spinning a pen through his fingers.
Por was fascinated by Teetee's hands. It wasn't just that they were wide and long. It was the sharp angle jutting out from his wrist under his thumb, the way his knuckles pushed at the subtly darker skin, and how the veins appeared and disappeared and shifted with his movements. Por's hands had always been slender but more elegant. Teetee's hands looked strong and a little rough in ways that made Por curious as to how they would feel.
See, Por had a secret. He liked writing fiction. Sometimes it was based on books, movies, or music artists. But he liked building worlds and bringing characters to life. And in all of his stories, there were intense smut scenes. It's almost like he liked writing the rest of the story just as a build up and cool down for the sex scenes. His imagination was endless for ways two bodies can connect with each other. He'd done all kinds of pairings like BL, GL, Alpha x Alpha, and Omega x Omega. To the outside world, Por showed a completely innocent face because he honestly had never done anything sexual with another person. But his mind was pure filth. And right now, he could think of at least 50 ways he wanted to use the image of Teetee's hands in his writing. None of them were innocent.
Usually, when his brain ran wild with story ideas like this, his body never responded. Today, he was struggling and he knew the scent blocker patch on his neck wouldn’t do shit for him if he started releasing slick. So, as soon as the professor released them, Por started to pack up his stuff so he could run back to his apartment and start furiously typing on his non-school laptop in private. A tap on the desk in front of him spelled ruin for his plans.
“Want to grab lunch with us?” Teetee asked with a cute, hopeful smile.
“Umm…. “ He's inviting me to eat with them? But….my stories, he whined internally.
“It's okay if you don't want to go today. I'm sure you already have plans, but I really want to do something to thank you for this morning.” Teetee said bashfully.
Why is he so nice?! “You already thanked me. That's enough for me.” Por said honestly.
Teetee shook his head with his cheeks slightly puffed up. “It's not enough for me. Do you like coffee?”
Por nodded.
“He has an addiction to Iced Americanos.” Auau threw in with a wink to Teetee.
Teetee's smile was brilliant. “Then I'll bring you coffee from now on! See you tomorrow, Por!”
From now on? Por gave a tiny wave and watched the chaotic group of friends exit the classroom before he slid a disapproving gaze over to Auau.
Auau just chuckled behind a fist. “I'm not wrong. Just wanted to help the guy out.” He said with a shrug and started walking away, too.
Por sighed and walked back to his apartment. His well-behaved fictional characters awaited and he needed to paste Teetee's hands onto an incredibly handsome fictional alpha for his own sanity.