Chapter 35

"Hospital? Why? What's wrong? What happened yesterday? Which hospital is it?" Theodore asked with a shocked look on his face as he felt his entire body turn cold.

His heart thumped loudly as he waited for Paris' response. It hasn't been that long since he woke up, but he felt like he immediately came to reality as soon as he heard the news about Yuri.

Paris came to the dorms first thing in the morning to inform him about Yuri's situation. Although he could have just told him about it via phone call or text, he figured it would be better if Theodore were to hear about it in person.

"Well, yeah... I just found out about it this morning too. It's XX Hospital, the one near the school," Paris said as he avoided Theodore's eyes, feeling a bit guilty that he didn't bother calling his brother yesterday. 'I should have just called him. I didn't know Yuri would end up in a hospital,' he thought as his eyes strayed all over the place.

"You still didn't answer my question. What happened yesterday?" Theodore asked once again. "The school nurse told July that Yuri's body must have been really shocked yesterday. It was too early for him to get his first heat, so it's understandable that there was a side effect from having his heat. He had a fever on top of being in heat, so he's not really in the best condition," Paris explained.

Theodore hurriedly wore his hoodie and grabbed his wallet. He put it inside his hoodie's pocket and headed to the door.

As soon as Paris realized that Theodore was heading outside, he ran to the door and blocked so his friend won't be able to pass through.

"What are you doing?" Theodore asked as he clenched his jaw and glared at Paris. "I should be asking you that. What are you doing, Theo?" Paris asked as he glared back at the alpha.

"I know you're worried, but please be rational enough. It's still the second day of your rut and Yuri's heat hasn't ended yet. You were told to stay in your room for two days, and now you wanna leave and go to an omega in heat? Have you lost your mind?" Paris said, raising his voice gradually as he spoke.

"Stay here and go visit him when you're back to normal. You don't wanna make things worse, do you?" Paris sighed.

Theodore remained silent.

"I'm..." He lowered his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. My body moved before I could even think about it properly," Theodore said and sighed.

'He... apologized?' Paris thought as he started to question himself whether he really heard it right. 'The prideful Theodore apologized? And it's because of Yuri?' he thought.

"Do tell me if you hear anything more about him. It was my fault, after all," Theodore said and slumped back to his bed. He lay on his stomach and buried his face on his pillow as he was consumed by guilt.

'He has a fever... and he's in the hospital,' Theodore thought as he felt his heart tighten just from thinking about Yuri's situation. 'If I didn't go there, this wouldn't have happened to him. But then again, even if I didn't go there, this was still bound to happen because I...'

"I like him," Theodore mumbled in a muffled voice, still burying his face on his pillow.

"Did you say something?" Paris asked as he walked towards Theodore's bed. Theodore lifted his head a little and said, "I said, you should leave already. It's almost time for class." He then buried his face on his pillow once again and sighed.

Paris stared at his friend for a while and let out a sigh. "I left some suppressants here. Remember to check your phone from time to time since your parents might come and visit you. Also, don't go out unless it's necessary. Your rut might affect other omegas," he said as he headed to the door.

"I'll come to check on you later since the others might not be able to handle your pheromones. I'll head out now, Theo," Paris said and opened the door. "Yeah, bye," Theodore said as he lifted his head once again so Paris could hear him properly.

He heard a clack, meaning that the door has already closed and Paris has already left.

"They might not be able to check on me, huh?" Theodore mumbled as he turned his body and laid on his back. 'Even though Chesca and Rain are betas, they'd still be able to smell my pheromones since I'm dominant,' he thought as he stared at the ceiling.

'Yuri must have had a really hard time because of me... I should apologize to him once my rut ends,' he thought as he sighed.

Theodore covered his eyes with his arm and sighed once again. 'I didn't know liking an omega would be this hard when you're an alpha... I wish I were a beta. If I was... then he probably wouldn't get his heat earlier than he's supposed to,' he thought as he clenched his jaw.

"I hope I'd get to see you soon..."

*****

Meanwhile, Yuri, who was still staying at the hospital, was having his breakfast on the hospital bed.

Sadly enough, there was no one next to him because he had no family nearby. Both his granny and uncle were in the province and he doesn't even know if the school had informed them about his early heat.

'I feel better after resting and taking medicine for my fever. The only thing I have to worry about now is my heat,' Yuri thought as he chewed his food. 'I haven't heard any news about Theodore yet, but July said he'd come and visit me later. I should ask him about Theodore once he gets here,' he thought as he turned his head to the window.

Suddenly, Yuri heard a knock on the door. He turned his head towards it, and before he could even ask who it was or tell them to come in, the door opened.

Standing by the door was someone whom he hasn't seen in a while—someone whom he spent his childhood with, someone whom he shared his first kiss with, and someone who's surprisingly still persistently pursuing him to be his lover up until now.

"It's been a while, Yuri."