#and so my tapestry got delivered to my parent's house my last residence

[communist-hatsunemiku]

My takepon Miku tapestry has already been delivered but i need to drive two hours to go get it, a Miku Miku Mission....

[e-king-court]

It’s that time of year again...

...and by that I mean it's my birthday.

 I don't generally celebrate my birthday. It became A Thing after my parents divorce, and since then, it is definitely a cursed day (last year I got a whole pandemic, so...)

This year, however, I decided I wanted to write me a story. Some months back, while scrolling through Facebook (I know, I know) I came across a post of a post that was a plot bunny. It was a tweet from user @JohannesEvans that read:

Hot goth in the woods that keeps answering the door and sighing and going "no, I'm not the witch, he lives over there" and points across the street to a dazzling pretty boy wearing a gold waistcoat who's waving excitedly at them

I immediately wanted to write it. So I did.

 Now, to no one's surprise, I didn't start this story until roughly a week ago, so... well, it's almost done. So, for now, just to say I've properly celebrated my birthday, please allow me to share with you the first half or so of this silly story. It's rough, really rough, and doesn't have a title. I'm not thrilled with it, but... guilty pleasures, etc. Enjoy!

Quiet. That’s what the little alternative community in the woods had offered. Peace, acceptance, solitude. Quiet.

So Locke bit back a curse when someone knocked on his door for the hundredth time that day. Poppy seeds scattered across his work bench when he jumped because of course he hadn’t used a measuring spoon. Why would he use a measuring spoon for the smallest ingredient? Obviously, pouring straight from the bottle is the best way to measure poppy seeds.

The knocking persisted. Locke sighed and set the bottle down with a thud and rattle of chains. He stomped his way up front and tugged the door open, startling the pair of young women standing on his doorstep. Their eyes widened and the three of them stared at each other for longer than Locke thought was polite.

“Can I help you?” He didn’t growl. This was good communication skills.

The two seemed to shake themselves. “Are you Mr. Devereux?”

Locke sighed. “Which Mr. Devereux?”

They blinked and exchanged a confused glance. “We, um… we’re looking for a spell.”

“Then you want the witch.” He pointed a long arm over their heads toward the obnoxious display across the street. “That Mr. Devereux.” As one, they turned and Locke followed their gaze.

Sebastian was lounging in a pool chair, a cheap thing with neon yellow piping and no pool in sight. He was surrounded by colorful plants, flowers, and enough suncatchers to make any light fairy jealous. Locke was dismayed to see that he was sunning. Long legs, waxed and bronzed, stretched up to the hem of a pair of nautical striped boyshorts. A too small gold waistcoat revealed a pierced belly button and parted with sequined lapels and a collection of charms and pendants against his chest and the hollow of his throat. Golden blond hair was classically cut, cropped close to the sides and left almost strategically messy on top. Locke was not surprised to see the flash of glitter, either put there intentionally, or polluted from the obnoxious, glittery, sun-shaped sunglasses taking over most of his heart-shaped face.

His smile was almost blinding as he waved. “Hey, gorgeous!”

Locke frowned as his face went hot and wished for the hundredth time since moving in that he was the kind of goth that wore full face makeup. “That’s the witch.”

The women gawked at Sebastian, turned and gawked at Locke glowering in the doorway, and then looked at each other.

“Umm… sorry,” the apparent speaker of the duo said, and they turned and fled across the street, whispering to each other as they went. Sebastian stood and stretched, that waistcoat riding higher and those boyshorts hugging… well, everything. Locke sighed and shut the door with a snap.

Newlight Falls was advertised as a quiet town with a village-like atmosphere, tucked away in the old growth forest and home to those who didn’t fit in elsewhere. It was home to all sorts of paranormals, which included an uncommon amount of witches, plenty of fairies, and the obligatory pack of werewolves. Being that it was only an hour away from three major cities, it had become a bit of a tourist attraction, replete with warm-weather festivals that the fairies almost exclusively coordinated. Locke wasn’t a fan, but they were good for the town and good for business.

Even with all that, Locke fell in love with the place almost as soon as he saw it. He’d found the listing on Will’o, trying to find something close to the doctors he needed, but not directly in the city. Not only was his dark little cabin perfectly suited to him, but being back in the woods meant plenty of shade and long trails that he could disappear into if the festivities got to be too much.

It was also supposed to be haunted, which, perfect, but so far he hadn’t experienced much more than a few things being moved and a book or two knocked to the floor. No great shakes, really.

With the image of Sebastian’s sparkling navel piercing embedded in his mind, Locke sulked back to his work room to clean up the poppy seeds and see if the tea could be saved.

“Locke!” Benji’s happy voice boomed, big arms open and face nearly split by his smile.

Locke returned his smile but stayed sequestered on the front stoop out of the sunlight. Benji came to him without question, wrapping him up in the kind of bear hug only large goblins could give. He grunted and gave Benji’s back a pat as the air was squeezed out of him. “Hey, Benj.”

“Good to see you, you look good. This place looks great,” he said, stepping back to appraise the front of the house. To most, it needed some work, but Locke was partial to the busted exterior shutters and chipping grey paint.

“Thanks, the web is real, orb weaver, real beauty,” he said, motioning to the port window overhead.

Benji’s smile went tight and strained. “Love it,” he grunted like it hurt. He cautiously turned his attention away from the spider. “Thanks for letting me come.”

“Of course! Make my favorite sibling miss Fairy Fest after listening to him whine about it for ten years? Fat chance. C’mon, I’ll show you your room,” he said, motioning Benji in.

Benji grabbed his suitcase and thundered up the steps. “This place has a guest bedroom?”

“Eh….” Locke whined and didn’t answer further. It did, but the guest bedroom was where he’d put his workroom and it would have been too small for his hulking brother anyway. Instead, Locke had cleaned up his own bedroom and got a cot for his workroom. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable, but he could deal with it for the week that Benji was visiting. It wasn’t often they got to spend time together one on one.

They wandered in. Locke waved over the small living room, through the doorway to the small kitchen and dining nook, the water closet under the stairs, and then brought him up to the attic that made his bedroom and the full bathroom for his use during his stay. Benji caught on quick, but didn’t say anything, no doubt having considered how small the house was.

“We’ll have to share the shower, but otherwise, this room is yours for the week. I, uh… can’t say I’d be real thrilled if you picked someone up at the Fest, but, I’ll be the best wingman I can be,” Locke said, drawing the curtains back from the port window to let some light into the room.

Benji chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Thanks, man, this place is great. Mostly,” he said, eyeing the spider visible through the window.

Locke smirked. “Ghost isn’t too rowdy, either.”

“Ahha, of course you’d have a ghost,” Benji said with a self-deprecating laugh. Locke’s grin went cocky and he thumped his way back down the stairs.

“I gotta make a product run when dusk rolls around if you want to see the town proper tonight. There’s not a lot except some kitschy shops, but you might like one of the little restaurants for dinner,” he said, wandering into the kitchen.

Benji hummed and sniffed the air, eyes landing unerringly on the box that took up most of the little dining table. It was full of Locke’s teas, creative little blends in labeled linen baggies waiting to be delivered to the shops in town he was contracted with. “Sure, I’d love to see the place.”

“Cool, you can carry the box,” Locke said, wandering back to his workshop. Benji’s laugh made the windows rattle.

A few hours later, with the sun set enough that it didn’t irritate Locke’s eyes and skin overly much, he was leading an easily distracted Benji through town. The whole town was decked out for Fairy Fest, covered in lights and flowers and full to bursting with fairies. They flitted about in showers of sparkling color, some already celebrating by tossing petals or handful of pixie dust over the myriad of tourists also steadily filling the streets. Locke would have felt out of place in all his black and chains, but there were plenty of darker fae around, too. If anyone stood out, it was his rather large foster brother, his impressive figure causing people to practically dive out of the way, even as poor Benji apologized.

“Stop apologizing, Benj, you’re only walking,” Locke said with a smirk.

Benji was all tight frowns. “I feel bad, though.”

“Don’t, you’re fine. This is us, though,” he said, veering for a shop door. Benji followed, uttering a few more unnecessary apologies as they went.

The dark little mystic shop was one of Locke’s favorites. It was an evening shop and sold pretty much the same stuff that the rest of the kitschy shops sold, but it was themed dark. Spangled black and purple curtains and tapestries kept most of the natural light out, the shelves all made of cast iron and mahogany. The goods skewed toward occultish, but nothing available to the general public could cause any trouble. Even the obsidian athames were blunter than a letter opener. There were more exotic wares in the back, but the owner, Ms. Gloushire, was highly selective when it came to those sales. Even Locke, who was a resident, didn’t have her convinced, but he was getting there. Not that there was anything fancy he needed for his teas.

Benji, of course, veered right for the collection of polished stones and crystals. Locke grinned and teasingly hissed for him not to touch all of them. Benji glared at him but didn’t put down the peacock ore he’d already snatched from the display.

“Ms. Gloushire?” he called when he saw the front end empty.

“Is that you, Locke!?” a muffled shout echoed from the back.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, sliding his sunglasses onto the top of his head.

A moment later Ms. Gloushire was whacking her beaded curtain out of the way and she smiled warmly at Locke before her eyes settled on Benji. “Oh, you have a friend today.”

“Yep. My brother, Benji,” he said. “I have the tea for you for the Fest. The Starry Night, Full Moon, and Crossroads.” He set his box down on her counter beside the register and pulled back the flaps.

Her face lit up and she rubbed her hands together. “Ooh, excellent. Everything work out all right with your last check?”

“Yes, ma’am, not problems at all,” he said, smiling softly.

“Good. All this newfangled equipment. I know it’s more convenient for the Norms, but electronics and magic don’t always mix well. But if everything’s fine, then it’s fine,” she said, casting her new POS system a distrustful glare as she dug into the box of teas. Locke just chuckled and waited patiently for her to finish her counting and inventorying. Satisfied, she marked it all down and set the box aside.

“All right, dear, everything looks to be in order. If I need anything else, I’ll call you,” she said.

“Yep, you know where to find me. I gotta stop at Coriander’s. You have a good night,” he said, flicking down his sunglasses.

“You too, Locke. Pleasure to meet you, Benji,” she said with a suspiciously sharp smile. Benji tittered nervously, thanked her, and they were off.

The stop at Coriander’s was brief and uneventful. Locke handed over the second box of teas, things packaged in lighter bags with more spritely names, while Benji was one again glued to the shiniest objects the shop had to offer. Even with Coriander chatting at top speed about a new topic every few seconds, they were done relatively quickly. He said his farewells to the bubbly sprite, flicked his sunglasses down, and turned toward the door, only to be blinded anyway.

Sebastian was in the doorway, pushing his outrageous sunglasses onto the top of his head as he meandered into the shop. As soon as he saw Locke he smiled and Locke frowned at the butterflies in his stomach.

“Hey beautiful,” Sebastian said, smooth and a little high. His eyes instantly flicked to Benji and his expression went briefly blank, before he smiled again and got a little swagger. “Well, well, who is this delightful new face?”

Locke glanced over his shoulder and wasn’t surprised to see Benji’s face dark with blush. His greenish skin and purplish blood made him look a little brown, but it was definitely a blush. Locke didn’t blame him.

“Sebastian,” he said. “My brother, Benji. Here for the Fest.” He cleared his throat before his voice broke and ignored the look Benji gave him.

Another expression briefly flickered across Sebastian’s face, this time more surprised than blank, and quickly settled into a coy grin. “Brother? Well, welcome to Newlight Falls, Mr. Benji. I’m Sebastian Devereux, Locke’s neighbor,” he said, sauntering forward and offering his hand. He was a head shorter than Locke, which had Benji nearly towering, but as usual Sebastian’s confidence was unwavering. Locke figured it would have to be with a neon pink sequin sarong over those...shorts.

“Good to meet you, Mr. Devereux,” Benji said. “Which neighbor would you be?”

“The one across the street, handsome. Incase you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar,” he said with a wink. Benji grinned stupidly and Locke nervously fussed with his lip ring. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I have some tea to stock up on.” He winked at Locke, who barely resisted watching as Sebastian sauntered past. He huffed, tugging his hood closer to his face, and hurried out of the shop, leaving Benji to scurry after him. Maybe the hood and sunglasses disguised his blush enough? He certainly hoped so.

--

“So how are the infusions going?”

Locke looked up from pushing around his caprese. “Hmm? Oh, they’re fine. They’re infusions.” He cut a bite of cheese and tomato. “I had one last week and I think I’m scheduled for the week after next. Mostly vitamin D right now.”

Benji nodded, obliterating a half-pound cheeseburger and fries. “I remember summers are harder.”

Locke shrugged. “Yeah, but being here has been really great. The woods are so dense that I don’t always get a rash, so I can be outside more during the day.”

Benji’s face lit up. “Oh! That’s really cool! Mom and dad will be happy to hear it. See? I told them this was a good move for you.”

Locke huffed. “What, me telling them how great it is wasn’t enough?”

Benji waved him off. “You know how they are, they always worry about you.”

It wasn’t unwarranted. Locke had been a sick kid with all kinds of health issues and sensitivities, not the least of which was chronic anemia. At the time, being in and out of foster homes like he was, it had been difficult to narrow down his symptoms. Until Dan and Lori snagged him, the pale, scrawny, constantly exhausted thing that he was, and gave him a solid foster home to grow up in. Within the first year they’d discovered he had vampire heritage, which explained the majority of his weird symptoms. It wasn’t enough that he had to have transfusions, but it still meant he was anemic and allergic to too much direct sunlight. After that, with the support of his new foster family, Locke improved enough that he was able to finish school, and even got a degree.

Now, with a healthy lifestyle, he could live pretty normally, even if he still needed to be monitored monthly. Newlight, on top of being paranormally inclusive, also happened to be an hour away from the office that handled his case, which was still better than the two and a half hours he’d been traveling while still living near Dan and Lori. They might not have adopted him, but they still considered themselves his parents, and made quite the fuss when he moved so far away from them.

“Well, I really am doing great. You can tell them that I'm happy and healthy and even the ghost doesn’t bother me too much,” he said.

Benji snorted. “Lori would flip her lid if she knew you had a ghost.”

Locke grinned and didn’t think Lori would honestly be too surprised.

Other than the caprese salad, the choice of restaurant had been deliberate. It sat across from a stretch of woods with a marked path, and that path just so happened to let out a few yards from Locke’s house. The dark fae of Newlight loved to fill it with all sorts of mischief, some of which was quite pretty depending on the mood. With it being tourist season, and the endless woodland trails a huge attraction, Newlight had strict ordinances for what was and wasn’t allowed on the public paths. Benji was hesitant to take the woods home, but Locke assured him it was quite safe so long as they stayed on the path.

True to form, the woods were full of eerie giggles and mysterious lights, shrubs shaking and twigs snapping in the shadows along the lit path. The usual lamps that ran along the ground had been replaced with overhead string lights, zigzagging back and forth  like a trail of will-o-the-wisps. Since the sun had finally set, Locke was able to shuck his hoodie and take off his sunglasses. Extreme temperatures had never really bothered him, but the summers could be pretty oppressive. It was nice to feel cool night air on his skin.

Half way home, a fairy appeared, a curvy woman in a diaphanous lavender dress and long, curling black hair. She hovered her way across the path, watching them with a wicked grin and shining black eyes.

“Evening, Iris,” Locke said casually. Benji made some choking noises behind him and Locke suppressed a grin, imagining his brother was blushing so hard he was almost purple.

“Hello, Locke. Who’s your friend?” she asked, moving a little closer.

“This is my brother, Ben.”

Her grin got even more mischievous. “Nice to meet you, Ben,” and she was off again, disappearing into the trees on the opposite side of the path. A symphony of chittering laughs hit them and Locke snorted.

“Wow,” Benji huffed as they kept moving, eyes nearly glued to the spot.

“She works in Mrs. Gloushire’s sometimes,” Locke said with a shrug.

“Oh yeah?” Benji mumbled absently, still searching through the darkness. Locke wanted to tease him, but it was his turn to blush when another fairy appeared.

“Hello, Galena,” he nearly deadpanned, glad it was so dark.

Galena was tall and willowy, built lean like a swimmer and burnished like bronze. He was dressed in what Locke could only call a poison green loincloth with a braided rope of poison ivy draped across him like a sash and pinning back half of his long, curling brown hair.

“Hello, Locke.” He did a little spin, purple wings beating wildly. “What do you think of my Absinthe costume?”

Locke blinked. “Isn’t that the same costume from last year?”

Galena scoffed. “You’re no fun!” he snarked, but blew Locke a kiss anyway and darted off again. Locke sighed and picked up the pace.

“Are the woods always like this here?” Benji nearly whispered to a chorus of laughter.

Locke shrugged. “No, they’re just excited for the Fest. It’s pretty quiet outside of tourist season.” Benji just hummed softly and got a little closer when something shrieked nearby.

[paradisobound]

Light in the Dark

Summary: Phil is the RA (Resident Advisor) for his local college where he manages the residents in his dorm building. But his junior year in college is about to take a turn when one of his residents, who’s named Dan, is blind. Soon, Phil develops a friendship with Dan as he soon discovers that they were meant for much more than just a platonic relationship. He just hopes that his Alpha abilities won’t scare away the timid Omega. 

This is a chaptered work. This is chapter 1. 

Word Count: 2,706

Warnings: medical disabilities (blindness). Nothing else should be but if you spot one, let me know! 

Pairing: omega!blind!dan and older!alpha!phil

This story updates every Wednesday and Saturday. 

Authors Note: I don’t know how I came up with this fic? And why it began so easily compared to anything else I have written? But I’m enjoying writing it so far. I was taking with some friends and I asked them if the trope of blind!dan was over done and they actually told me that they thought it wasn’t done enough so I was like “well, hell yeah, sign me up then!” I really don’t want to offend anyone and as someone who can see–mostly–normal, I don’t want to have anyone be upset with me. I’m doing as much research as I can and I’m hoping to do Dan justice as such an OC character with a disability that I’ve never experienced and don’t know anyone to have experienced around me. With that disclaimer out of the way, I really do hope you guys enjoy this! 

Picking up the last box, Phil walked inside the now not so vacant dorm room and set it down beside all the others. There was an ache in his back now, one that would stay for the next twenty four hours at the use of exercise that he tries so hard to ignore.

He looked around, processing the fact that he was back in the same dorm for a second year in a row. But he guesses that that is what he gets for being an RA (Resident Advisor) for his dorm building again.

He didn’t think he had brought that much stuff with him, but looking at the boxes, he now knows that he brought way more than he actually needs. And on top of that, the freshmen arrive on his floor tomorrow at 11 so he needs to unpack everything before then.

This is his first year being an RA to freshman: last year it was sophomores. And to say he was intimidated was an understatement. He knew that he had no reason to be, he was an alpha and was meant to be strong. But he was still intimidated by the flood of students that had no idea how a college worked.

And he always had one who had no idea how their body worked either and he’d have to deal with the consequences of an in-heat Omega and Alpha’s that don’t know how to take their pills to control the scent of their ruts.

But he’d deal with that later if need be.

Phil sat down, plopping his body onto the cold tiled floor as he opened the first box and noted that it was all shirts. Pushing that aside, he went to the next one and so on.

Pawing through each box, he began to put things away in his dresser and decorate the rest of his dorm with miscellaneous other items that he brought from home. He was only an hour from his actual house but he still felt homesick. He was now even more homesick as an RA because he never quite got the opportunity to go home as often as he would like.

But he enjoyed his job.

He was just finishing hanging up his tapestry when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Peeking his head out of his door, he spotted a young male with brown curled hair walking slowly down the white stretch of walls. There was a tall blonde next to his side and they were both heading to a dorm room just down from Phil’s.

He was confused because freshman don’t move in today.

Walking out of his room, he slowly followed them as they turned into a room, the brown haired male hanging on to the hand of the blonde and they shut the door behind them. Phil continued down the hallway until he got to the room they disappeared into and read the name on the door.

Dan

Okay, this guy was Dan. Good to know.

Knocking on the door, he waited as he heard footsteps come. The door finally swung open as the female stood and looked at him from the doorway.

“Hi,” Phil began, “I’m the RA on this floor but I’m just curious as to why you’re moving in already?”

Phil looked around saw all of the totes and other boxes crammed into the small seven by nine room.

The girl perked up and smiled. “Oh! Dan had special permission to move in early and get used to the halls. The college told him he was allowed to given his circumstances.”

Circumstances? Phil wasn’t told that one of his residents had special circumstances.

Phil peered behind her again and saw Dan standing next to his bed. His eyes were staring straight ahead and he was folding a shirt in his hands, his fingers feeling every last stitch to get it right.

“Oh, that’s fine!” Phil finally spoke. “I was just curious because the college never told me they had someone moving onto my floor early.”

The blonde waved her hand away. “It’s fine. My brother just needs some time to adjust but he’ll be okay after a few days. He’s learned to adapt really fast to new surroundings and he’s really excited to start college! He never thought he’d have the opportunity.”

Phil nodded and forced out a smile. “Happy to hear that.”

Phil quickly said his goodbye just as a voice from the inside called shakily, “Beth? Who was that?”

Phil was gone down the hallway before he heard Beth reply.

While he focused on unpacking and finishing up his room, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about this. He was confused as to why the college was letting someone move in and not telling Phil ahead of time.

He went into his phone and checked his email, making sure he didn’t miss anything. Which he didn’t, like he suspected. But that still didn’t help his confusion.

Maybe he’d go and talk to Dan tonight and get to know him. There is no hurt in that.

Phil sat down on his bed and pulled out his laptop, throwing together a quick email to his residents, welcoming them to move in day. He then finalized his list of things to go over at their first floor meeting the next night and decided to shut his eyes for a quick nap.

Phil never went to see Dan that night. He instead found himself too busy wrapped in in finalizing the candy goody bags for all of his new residents. By the time he was finished, it was already heading for eight in the evening so he assumed it was probably too late to bother Dan. So he ordered himself a pizza to be delivered and devoured that instead.

The next morning, Phil woke up to his alarm clock blaring at seven. He groaned and quickly shut it off before he catapulted out of bed and headed to the shared bathroom in the middle of the hall with his shower equipment. He had to admit that sharing a bathroom with fifteen other males was definitely not appealing. So he was happy to have to the first shower of the year to himself.

Or so he thought.

Wrapped in his dark blue rope with his slides on, he opened the door to the bathroom and was greeted by Dan, stood at the sink, washing his hands. He stared at him for a moment, wondering if Dan was going to say anything to him. But when Dan didn’t speak, Phil just ignored him and headed to the first shower, yanking back the curtain.

But apparently doing that frightened Dan because suddenly, Dan was grabbing a thin black cane from the counter and rushing out of the bathroom with it looming in front of him.

Phil watched as Dan exited, his breathing so heavy that even Phil could slightly hear it.

And that is when it hit Phil all together…Dan was blind. The cane Dan was using was his guide. Which completely explained why Dan needed extra time to get used to the campus.

Phil’s mind was blown…in a way. Mostly this was due to the fact that he can say he’s never been around someone who was blind. So to have a resident who was blind might be a challenge. Phil didn’t know if Dan was comfortable around others in such a small setting as the lounge. He also didn’t know if Dan would be able to read—no scratch that thought because a blind man can’t read anything Phil!  

He would have to rethink his entire plan as an RA. All of his special notes he slips underneath his residents door won’t work for Dan. All of his movie watching nights wouldn’t work for Dan…or so he thinks.

But Phil wasn’t worried about that right now. He was more focused on getting his residents moved into their rooms and getting them situated. So he hopped into the shower, undid his robe, and started the water.

Nothing can be really as difficult as it seems, right?

Well, he was totally wrong.

Within the first half an hour of freshman moving in, he already had on student threaten to ‘kick the shit’ out of his roommate because his roommate moved one of his totes. Phil immediately took their names and contact the area director to separate the two males—clearly both Alphas. Then he had another student begin to cry when his parent’s left and Phil instantly had to comfort him…the male also reeked of omega which made Phil’s head spin a little bit. But he let it slide. And then lastly, he had another student break the door off from their dresser by doing God knows what with it so he had to put in a maintenance call. So it’s been a semi-productive morning for Phil and he already wants a nap and it’s not even noon.

But in this complete and total chaos, he never saw Dan once. He saw that at one point, the door to Dan’s room was slightly open but it was soon shut. Phil figured that was probably for the best considering that Dan shouldn’t get into he middle of this.

Phil had to knock on Dan’s door that afternoon though. For all of the other residents, he had just slipped the simple notice under their doors saying that they had a mandatory meeting at seven tonight, but he couldn’t do that for Dan.

When Phil knocked on his door, he was pleasantly surprised with how fast Dan opened it. And when Dan appeared in the doorway, Phil couldn’t help but see the beauty in him nearly instantly. His brown eyes were wide open but glassy and cloudy in the light. His brown hair was tousled but also neatly done in curls.

Phil had to admit that he was proper attractive. But he couldn’t think like that right now. He just needed to tell Dan of the meeting and then go.

“Hey Dan. This is Phil…your RA.” Phil managed to spit out. “All of the residents have a mandatory meeting at seven tonight in the lounge.”

Dan stared blankly at him before nodding slowly. “Okay. I’ll be there.”

And then Dan shut the door and Phil was left standing there.

Well, that went semi-okay.

Phil just turned around and went back to his room for the next few hours before the meeting began. He just hoped he wouldn’t do something to upset Dan in anyway. He doesn’t know why he was suddenly feeling protective over someone he didn’t even know, but he felt deep down that he needed to help Dan.

He hoped he wasn’t wrong.

Phil was surprised to see everyone show up for the meeting, and at a decent time too. By 6:55, all of his residents were sitting somewhere in the lounge, whether that be on the floor or in a chair. The only person who wasn’t there was Dan.

But when Phil heard the careful walking down the hallway and spotted Dan moving with his cane in front of him, he wasn’t worried about Dan not finding his way or showing up. In fact, he was almost shocked at the fact that Dan was now stood in the lounge and knew where he was.

“Okay, everyone!” Phil began looking around the room. “My name is Phil and I’m the RA for you guys this year. I’m currently a third year English language and linguistics major with a minor in video production studies. We can all go around the room and introduce ourselves and our majors. And then at the end, you are all allowed to ask me any question you would like!”

Phil clapped his hands together happily, hoping all of the rest of the room was just as excited for him. He looked around and noticed though that no one was speaking. So he took the initiative to call on someone.

“Dan!” Phil called. Dan’s head shoot up as he processed who was speaking to him. “Can you begin?”

Dan nodded. “I’m Dan and I’m studying law.” It was short and sweet and he wasn’t too keen on speaking anymore. So Phil let it move onto the next person.

As each person in the lounge said their name and program, Phil found himself noticing a trend. Many of the students were here for some type of English program or film program. This made Phil happy because he could connect more with his residents.

At the end, he allowed for them to all ask his questions but none really said anything. Not until a muscled blonde by the name of Brendon rose his hand and asked. “What did you present as?”

Phil at first was reluctant to answer but he decided to anyway. “I’m an Alpha.”

At that he could see many of the guys around the room grow excited with their expressions. “Wow. Don’t look like an Alpha.” Brendon retorted with a sneer.

“You don’t have to look like an Alpha to present as an Alpha.” Phil said with a chuckle. “Which is a good thing for everyone to know. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason but that doesn’t mean you have to fall into them. I’m an Alpha and I’m sure there are some in this room right now. But I’m also sure that there are some Omegas in the room too that do not appear to be Omegas but are.”

Everyone just started at Phil as he looked smug at his residents. He always loved when he could turn a negative comeback into a positive pep-talk. He clapped his hands together and smiled at them all. “Okay. Let’s end the meeting on that note. Everyone should go back to their rooms and get some rest for the night. Classes begin tomorrow and everyone needs to be prepared. If you are ever wondering where I am, I will leave my location on my door.”

One by one, all of the residents left the room and soon it was just Phil sitting there. Phil began picking up the discarded candy wrappers that were left from his goody bags being opened when he noticed that Dan was still standing in the corner.

Phil stood up from his crouched position and looked at Dan. “Hey, Dan. You can go back to room now.”

Dan turned his head towards the direction of Phil’s voice. But he looked hesitant to speak.

Phil waited and watched to see if Dan would say anything. Eventually he did.

“Are you really an Alpha?”

Phil nodded—which didn’t make any difference because Dan couldn’t see anyway—and said, “Yes, I’m really an Alpha.”

“Are you strong?” Dan asked almost immediately after Phil was done speaking.

Phil laughed to himself. “No. In fact I’m far from it.”

Dan smiled, a small petite smile. “I’ve never met an Alpha outside of my family before.”

“Not in school?” Phil asked.

“I was home schooled.” Dan said softly. “My parent’s always told me Alpha’s were big and powerful.”

Phil laughed at that and shook his head. “Most are but I’m not.”

Dan smiled at him before pulling out his cane and beginning to walk away. As he began to walk, Phil decided to call after him. “Why are you so curious about Alphas?”

Dan stopped in his tracks. He spoke quickly. “I’m an Omega.” He then trailed down the hallway to his room and left Phil standing in the lounge by himself.

For some reason, Phil felt pleased with that information. He wasn’t sure why but he liked knowing Dan was an Omega. Maybe it was because at the mention of such a thing, Phil suddenly got a whiff of sweet pheromones in the air that made the hair on his arms stand up straight.

But he wasn’t going to look that much into it or think too much about those minor details. He was going to head back to his room for the night and get ready for his first day of classes the next morning.

He could tell this year was going to be different for him. In a good way? He couldn’t tell just yet.

Next Chapter  |  Masterlist