Baekhyun has always felt blessed to have Sehun in his life. A best friend not many had in their lives, willing to take care of him, always look out for him, makes most of his decisions based on him and most importantly never letting him go through any kind of pain. He was truly thankful and he would admit it to anybody. However, having people in your life who are willing to stay by your side as your best friend and also don’t mind to help you through your heat until you find your ultimate mate can sometimes be tricky.

Baekhyun had admit to his roommate, Jongdae, who was also a fellow Omega that he had been wrong to let Sehun help him through his first heat. They had been taught in school and he had heard it from his parents how badly it could turn out for an Omega to not go through his first heat alone and let his body get used to the overwhelming sensation. He had passed exams on the matter during his high school and every time he felt a little bit worried about the time he would eventually have to go through it alone Sehun had sat him down and convinced him he would never have to. He would be there until he found his mate so he could give the responsibility to the other.

He had always swallowed the painful lump in his throat whenever Sehun spoke fondly about the time Baekhyun would be mated by someone but the pain inside his chest never died down that soon. It would always take him a couple of days to go back to pretending he was fine with the situation he had made for himself. But the fear of being alone someday never left him.

He had also lied to several people about how painful his first time had been and how thankful he was that Sehun took care of him from the second time up until now. He had lied and lied and lied when in fact his first time was filled with pleasure, moans and all kinds of blissful feelings surging inside his body. It didn’t even matter that Sehun took him to an abandoned house at the end of the street somewhere a little bit into the overgrown grasses, wild bushes and tall trees, hiding the small cottage like house that had been abandoned since they had found it.

He didn’t mind that the only thing between his back and the hard wood floor was a thin sheet he had stolen from his mother’s closet and he didn’t mind that they had to keep quiet because it was close to noon and anybody with a little bit of curiosity could have found their spot. He just soaked in Sehun’s promises of taking care of him and reassuring him that even though Baekhyun panicked and begged him to help, he truly wanted to do it and was going to suggest it anyway. He would forever be his heatmate. And nothing more than that, He bitterly thought.

“I have one more class, then I’ll be done for the day.” Jongdae snapped him out of his thoughts and made Baekhyun look up at him. “Do you have any classes left?”

“Um, no actually, I’m just waiting for Sehun. He said he’ll be done soon and we can go out and see a movie or something.”

“I thought I heard him telling some guy that they would go out when I was passing him by a couple of hours ago actually.” Jongdae thoughtfully said. “Maybe I heard him wrong.”

“We decided to go last night. If he had changed his mind, he would have told me sooner.”

Baekhyun continued to pick at his food and kept his eyes trained on the double door of the cafeteria, waiting for the man to come any seconds. His glare at the door actually worked when in just a few seconds Sehun pushed them open and entered, but he was busy talking to a shorter male with cute glasses on his nose and a set of books in his arms. He knew the guys wasn’t Sehun’s friend or classmate since he already knew all of them and it eliminated the possibilities to the only one that always made Baekhyun tremble in fear and jealousy.

“Is that the guy you saw him talk with?” Baekhyun asked with a rather calm voice. Not that Jongdae didn’t know about his feelings already.

“Yeah.” It seemed that even Jongdae had caught on to what Baekhyun had assumed and his voice was a little bit quieter than a few seconds ago.

Baekhyun continued to shamelessly stare at the both of them with hard eyes and a heavy heart and to his dismay, he had to witness Sehun obviously flirt and make the boy blush before he bid him a goodbye with a simple small peck on the cheek. Baekhyun quickly took his eyes off of the Alpha and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He always gets that peck on the cheek too when Sehun’s done chasing the heat away from Baekhyun’s body. But he shouldn’t compare himself with anybody. It wasn’t healthy and he knew it.

“Hi.” Sehun joined them with a wide smile on his lips and no tray of food in front of him.

Baekhyun gave him a half assed smile in response and went back to picking at his food again.

“He was cute. Who was he?” Jongdae asked casually while pushing a whole lot of lettuce into his mouth. Baekhyun knew he was asking it on his behalf. He always does anyway.

“Uh,” Sehun scratched the back of his neck with an apologetic smile on his lips. “He’s actually new here and I was assigned to show him around the campus a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been spending some time lately since he wanted to copy my notes and catch up with the classes.”

“Yeah it was obvious you were just acquaintances from that kiss you gave him. Or how you were practically sending out Alpha pheromones right into his nose.” Jongdae had a teasing smile on his lips.

It wasn’t actually normal for Omegas to tease Alphas or even Betas, but Jongdae was just an exception and Sehun had learned not to mind it over time since Baekhyun had insisted on accepting his humor the way it was. He had once gotten angry that Sehun had used his overwhelming Alpha stature to silence Jongdae from his teasing.

“He’s just incredibly cute.” Sehun sighed in defeat and looked over at the table the boy was sitting on and watched him converse with his new friends he had acquired during those two weeks. “It’s not like anything’s gonna happen.”

“Why not?” Baekhyun suddenly asked and looked up at Sehun with unblinking eyes. “You ought to mate at some point. Why not with the mate you find incredibly cute?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Baekhyun. This is not the right time for me to initiate anything.”

“But why? What are you waiting for? For some other Alpha to come and sweep him off his feet?”

Sehun didn’t answer his question and stole a French fry from Baekhyun’s plate.

“Please don’t tell me you’re not gonna go out with him just because you have to be there for my heat.” Baekhyun frowned and completely abandoned his fork on his tray of food he had barely touched.

“I promised to take care of you until you find your mate Baekhyun. I’m not going back on my promise.” Sehun frowned as well and turned his body completely to Baekhyun like he was finding it odd that he was even discussing this.

“Well you can stop.” Baekhyun wasn’t sure if he said that just because the jealousy and frustration was irritating him or if it was because he had thought of doing it for some time if Sehun began to like another Omega again and yet again tried to stop anything from progressing further. “I’m set and stone for my next heat.”

“What?” Sehun’s frown deepened.

“I’ve been seeing someone.” He lied. “He’s very sweet.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” Sehun asked as the frown began to fade from his face. “Since when have you been seeing him? You’re always home, playing games.”

“He saw him in the party I took him to.” Jongdae intervened when Baekhyun was obviously struggling for answers.

“How long have you been keeping this from me?”

“I didn’t keep it from you Sehun. You’ve been busy lately and I meant to say it to you tonight when we went for the movies.”

“Oh.”

Baekhyun felt bad for making Sehun feeling guilty for nothing, but the frustration just made him go on and on. “Yeah.”

“Are you sure you trust him? Is he an Alpha?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun answered way too fast and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I think it’s gonna be pretty serious.”

“Your heat is really close though I can still help you.”

“No, Sehun.” Baekhyun gave him a tired smile. “I already have someone and you need to take care of someone else’s heat for a change.”

Sehun laughed like he had said a joke and Baekhyun laughed along just so it wouldn’t be too weird and doge questions like why are you acting strange? Is something wrong? Are you sure you’re okay? He knew he would break down and tell the truth if he’s caught lying.

“Alright then.” Sehun nodded his head and smiled. Baekhyun knew that smile all too well. The smile Sehun gives him whenever he feels like Baekhyun’s growing up too fast even though they’re the same age. Having an Alpha for a childhood best friend had its downturns. They become protective and act more like fathers than friends at certain times.

“Go ask him out.”

“He wanted to go out tonight but I told him I had other plans. I already got the tickets to-”

“Take him to the movies instead.”

“There’s no rush Baekhyun. We can get out of this phase slowly.”

“Don’t be an idiot and go ask him out already before someone else does.”

The said man blinked and for a second looked at him confusedly like he couldn’t understand his rush. “Are you sure you’re not blowing me off to go out with this guy?” He teased a bit.

“He’s new, he’s cute, he likes you and from the moment you sat down he had looked back to check on you at least three time. Just ask the poor guy out before he gives up on you and accepts some other Alpha’s request.”

Sehun sighed and looked at the table the boy was sitting at and was lucky to see the boy turn and look at him just in time for their eyes to meet each other. “Fine.” He said while he was still staring back at the boy who was holding his gaze with no effort needed but his cheeks were getting red due to the blush. Baekhyun didn’t notice it making him, self-conscious or anything though. “You’re right. I shouldn’t risk.”

“He’ll be lucky to have the captain of the basketball team as his mate.” Baekhyun added with a small voice and was lucky that Sehun didn’t notice the gloominess of his words and instead asked both of the guys to wish him good luck before he stood up to go to him. Unfortunately Baekhyun had to see Sehun asking the boy out in front of his friends and whole cafeteria and not privately.

--

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jongdae asked worriedly.

“I’m doing it whether you approve or not.”

Baekhyun didn’t mind Jongdae staring at his clothes, his gaze still worried. He just made sure his ripped jeans looked good and his black T-shirt with a skull printed on it didn’t clash with his blue jacket.

“I truly don’t think you’re gonna find anyone decent to take care of your heat in that bar Baekhyun. Maybe we shouldn’t go after all.” Jongdae insisted more and sighed when the other didn’t even bother to answer him. “You can’t possibly put your trust into a man you barely know and let him take you in your heat Baekhyun. What if he’s not the right choice and only takes advantage of you?”

“I hardly think so Jongdae. I’m planning on flirting with men and lure them into agreeing to take care of me in my heat. I’m the one taking advantage of them.” Baekhyun sighed and turned his back to the mirror to look at Jongdae. “Are you coming or not? ‘Cause I know I can do this all by myself anyway.”

“I’m not letting you go all by yourself are you nuts?” Jongdae rolled his eyes and put on his jacket as well before both of them got out of their dorm room and into the chilly night.

It was pretty late to begin with and never a safe environment to Omegas to wander around in the empty, dark campus towards the gates and out into the quiet city but Jongdae was more scared of the time they were going back to their dorm. It’ll be much later into the night and they would most definitely be drunk as well. There were all kinds of rumors about crazy Betas stealing drunk Omegas in the night. Jongdae made a mental note to stop reading every single horrifying news in the university’s newspaper.

They had opted on going to the closest bar to their dorm room so they could actually walk back but it may have not been the best idea. It was a cheap bar filled with Alphas and Betas much older than them. The smell of their scents was so overwhelming, Baekhyun felt like he was being suffocated. Both of them made sure not to cough from everything being stuck in their throats and went to sit at a small table in the corner.

“I hate to say I told you so but it’s practically being shoved into your face.” Jongdae mumbled as he sat down on the chair and gave a wavering look at the crowd who were mostly staring at their direction. Of course, they would stare. There was no other Omega in the bar and they just waltzed into the place with one of them even close to his heat and giving off all sorts of sweet scents.

“I need to see some IDs.”

Baekhyun looked up at the waiter and cleared his throat to get rid of the cough he so desperately wanted to let out and instead pulled out his ID to show the waiter. He was already 23 years old but he had to show his ID every single time he went to a bar. Apparently, he looked no more than 16. He sighed when the waiter accepted both of their IDs and took their orders. He always hated to be reminded of his age. It only made him remember for how many years he had made Sehun take care of him in his heat. Once every season since he was 18. That was a long time for someone to just be your heat mate and still remain as your best friend.

“This was a mistake.” Jongdae mumbled again and took another quick look at the crowd, his hands obviously trembling.

“You’re good Jongdae. You smell awfully like Minseok.” Baekhyun reassured him and ignored the bad feeling in his gut.

It didn’t even take them two minutes before one Alpha stepped forward and stood in front of Baekhyun. He had to be at least 20 years older than Baekhyun.

“You two, looking for a good time eh’?” He asked in between his hiccups.

Baekhyun gave him a polite smile so as not to offend him. “With someone in my own age, sure. With someone already mated and his pups waiting back at home, not so much.”

Baekhyun wondered what kind of strong alcohol did the man have to be that drunk and not even take his words as offensive. Instead he informed the waiter that he would pay for their drinks before the menu of the fried chicken they had there lured him to the bar stool to order one as well. He was completely out of it.

“We’re gonna die here. The image of a rusty old bar with drunk Alphas are the last image in my brain before I say goodbye to this world.” Jongdae grumbled.

“I told you not to come.” Baekhyun gave him a small smile and thanked the waiter when their drinks were set before them.

“And I asked you, are you nuts?”

“Drink your beer and loosen up Jongdae, it’ll be fine.” He said as he took a sip of his cocktail.

Both of their head turned to the sound of a chair being pulled on the floor in a high-pitched sound before their eyes set upon a man sitting himself at their table, with his front pressed against the backrest of the chair. His hands folded on top and his face morphed into a smirk Baekhyun was very familiar with. His whole body screamed arrogant.

“This is not a good place for an unclaimed Omega.” He said while looking at Baekhyun and the boy could visibly see Jongdae relax in his peripheral vision.

“it is not.” Baekhyun agreed. At least the man didn’t look too old. He was actually quite handsome. “Are you offering to protect me from the big bad world?” He flirted back with a small smile.

“Depends on how much of a good Omega you are.”

“The best you could ever find.”

“Confident huh?” The Alpha raised his eyebrow and chuckled. “I like that.”

Baekhyun should have continued. He was doing great in flirting like he always did but something inside his stomach flipped and he was quite familiar with it. He just didn’t expect to have to deal with it this soon. His inner wolf was rejecting his choice in men and when his nose couldn’t pick up the musky scent of Sehun, his heart began to hammer against his ribcage. He blinked his eyes and opted on just smiling and taking another sip of his cocktail.

“how would you like me to take care of you back at my house?” The Alpha asked as his hand slowly caressed Baekhyun’s thigh.

Baekhyun gripped at the front of his shirt right on his stomach with his left hand and frowned. This had happened only once before. Back when he had fought with Sehun over something silly, he had flirted with an Alpha right in front of him and plainly informed him that he wanted his heat to be taken care of even though he truly didn’t mean to have any other help than Sehun. He had successfully made Sehun madder but his body completely rejected the boy right after he had flirted.

However, Sehun didn’t get mad at Baekhyun because he wanted to be his mate, he simply got mad because Baekhyun had to put more thought into who gets to take care of him for the rest of his life and that it’s a sacred thing and he should respect it more.

Maybe his body already knew there would be no one there to take care of him anymore. Maybe his inner wolf missed Sehun too much or maybe he was way too jealous that Sehun went out on a date. Whatever the reason, his body didn’t react well to the touch of the Alpha and he felt a painful sting into his guts.

It wasn’t a good choice to suddenly stand up and let his chair screech against the floor as he took a step back just so the hand on his thigh would fall down. And it also wasn’t a good idea to leave Jongdae in the bar without informing him he wanted to leave right then. He just simply ran out of the place. He was quick enough to dodge the hand the Alpha lifted up to grab his forearm and he was thankful to know Jongdae was as fast as him.

He ran half of the way to the dorm as Jongdae ran behind him, yelling for him to slow down and when he was out of breath he fell down on his knees and panted hard before a set of tears filled his eyes.

“Baekhyun!!” Jongdae grabbed him by his shoulders and panted. His eyes were wide in shock of what had happened and his hands shaky because he had never seen Baekhyun act so weird. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m ed…” Baekhyun gulped and looked up at the boy with eyes filled with tears to the brim.

“What? Why?” Jongdae looked around the dark empty pavement before forcing the boy stand on his feet again and wrap one of his arms around his shoulder. “We have to go back to the dorm. Can you walk?”

“Oh God…” Baekhyun panted more as the realization set more into his body. “This cannot be happening.”

“Baekhyun you’re scaring me.” Jongdae confessed and looked behind them to check if they were followed or not before taking another look at the empty street, his head turning every time a car passed by them.

It took Baekhyun a couple more minutes of Jongdae calling his name and finally a gentle slap to his face to finally snap out of it and walk the rest of the way back to their dorm. But when Jongdae opened the door to their dorm and let Baekhyun in, the boy stood frozen in the living room.

“Now can you tell me what happened?!” Jongdae panted as he locked the door and walked in front of Baekhyun. “You scared the crap out of me in there.”

“My body rejected him.” Baekhyun mumbled out, his lower lip trembling slightly as the fear engulfed him whole. “I felt like I was stabbed when I allowed him to touch me.”

“Oh dear!” Jongdae seemed to understand the situation now and stood frozen as well.

“I can’t have this kind of reactions. I just can’t.”

“Maybe…maybe it’s not because of Sehun. Maybe i