His Safe Haven

"What a stupid look you have there, Rei..." Rei scoffed to himself, glaring at his face on the mirror of their campus' comfort room then at the eyebags forming under his eyes.

After what happened last night, he didn't sleep well and hasn't gotten enough sleep. He was trying to save all the memorize he can have last night and stares at the black-haired Alpha beside him the whole night. From the way, his fingers brush a strand of hair away from his face up to how his thumb rubs onto his soft, damp cheeks. This situation he got himself into is so fucked up. He has been following this guy, making him feel loved without expecting anything rather than being loved back. But with just a moment of silence, he clearly got what Haruo's trying to say. After what? Years? He didn't know what he was hiding but he knew there is something going on inside Haruo's mind. The question is about whether he is ready to hear it or not.

He was stressing about it the whole day and he had a hard time concentrating on their lessons. His friends can't even talk to him properly. Ah. They must be wondering what is happening. After all, Yasuko and Shiori knew every single thing going on in his life. They are one of the few people he can trust but right now? He didn't want them to know. He also feels scared.

Maybe he won't want to be judged. Funny. He didn't want to be judged by them but at the same time, he still ignored their advice. To forget about him and move on. But if it is that easy to forget someone then, he shouldn't have gone back in the first place. He was waiting for himself to get tired from all of this. But damn his competitive side! He face-palmed, loudly sighing and letting his head drop in disappointment.

"Shit!" He groaned, tilting his head back to the mirror then starting tracing the hickeys on his neck. "Just stop giving me mix signals, Haru."

He massaged his temple, feeling his headache from all the things running inside his mind. The stress towards his relationship with Haruo and the disappointment with himself just keep piling up. He should really stop overthinking. His headache is getting worse lately. His eyes widen, almost flinching when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He slipped his hand inside his pocket to pick it up and can't help but groan when he saw the person who texted. Great. Another thing to be stressed about. 

: How are you, baby?

: I miss you already. When will you talk to me again?

: I'm getting impatient with the way you ignore me.

: You know I don't like waiting, right?

'Why won't he shut up already? Isn't he getting tired?' Rei thought, feeling a chill run up his spine with the last message Souta sent. He mentally groaned before pinching the bridge of his nose. It's been like his 50th text just for today! He shook his head, putting his phone back in his pocket then wash his hands for the nth time, drying them up with a tissue.

When he went out of the comfort room, he was met with his frowning blonde hair friend and a brown-haired girl leaning on the wall with her phone in one hand.

"You're so slow!" Shiori scowled, crossing her arms but the red-haired Omega just walked past her.

"I thought you already went home without me. Besides..." Rei asked, glancing at his left to look at Shiori who followed him with Yasuko behind her back who walked towards his right. "Don't you have other things to do like join a school club or something?"

Shiori audibly groaned, lifting her palm in front of Rei's face to stop him from talking and shaking it side by side. "I don't do clubs, remember? But I do have something to do tomorrow. And don't make me remember it because I hate it!"

Rei raised a brow at the way his friend starts physically cringing but didn't bother to ask what happened. The moment they arrived in the Cafeteria, they are looking for their friends' table when a conversation between two girls made him stop in his tracks. His fist tightened on his shirt as he look towards the ground, biting his lower lip. Out of all the places and timing, why does he have to hear about those types of gossips right now? Shiori and Yasuko synchronously turned their head to look at him, looking at each other before walking closer and stopping beside him. There, they saw the two girls who are sitting on one of the tables and heard what the Omega is listening to.

"Have you heard about Mr. Katsuragi's new girlfriend?" One of the girls whispered, giggling with one of her hands on her mouth.

The other girl huffed, rolling her eyes with her arms crossed. "She thinks she's so great. Just because she is known by the owner of our school. I don't even know her name!"

"Her name is Asuka Fujimura!" Her friend who was giggling earlier then hit her shoulder, making the latter glare at her but was ignored. "Imagine the moment when the two of them married each other."

The latter shook her head, taking a sip of her iced tea. "They won't."

"How can you be so sure? I heard that they are already engaged." She shook her index finger in front of her friend, smirking before sighing dreamily at her imagination. "...Mr. Katsuragi in a tuxedo. What an eye candy!"

Yasuko and Shiori immediately turned their heads towards Rei whose eyes looked blank, almost soulless from what he heard. What the fuck did they just say? Engaged? Who's engaged? His two friends look at each other before Shiori decided to stand in front of Rei, placing both of her palms on his ears as if it would prevent him from hearing any further than what he already heard.

Rei looked straight into Shiori's eyes, her eyes angry but her face tries to remain solemn. She didn't speak and continued to stare back at him. Maybe she is trying her best not to comment about it... He then looked in Yasuko's direction, he found her glaring at the girls before turning her attention to Rei. Her face and her expressions appeared calm and serious but he knew how much Yasuko wants to kick Haruo in the balls. He turned his gaze back on Shiori and his eyes widen as he saw his friend just smile at him. 

Shiori softly smiled, shaking her head. "Don't listen to them. You know how fake news spread these days."

What was he even scared of in the first place? To be told that they are right? They are right that Haruo will just hurt him as he did before? And that he was wrong to trust him again? To welcome him back? To return by his side over and over again? Why was he scared?

That's when he thought about it: It's not wrong to ask someone to listen to his worries. He just needs to recognize who are the people who want to help him the most. Who are the people willing to listen to him without him saying anything? The people who are just there, patiently wait for him to open up and not 'force' him to open up because they are uncomfortable about him being sad.

Yasuko and Shiori are always there to protect him even if he didn't ask to be protected. It is nice that he found his safe haven. His peace and security from this society where he, an Omega, is not welcomed and criticized. And those are the people he called, Friends.