New beginnings and new acquaintances
It was a clear, sunny day in Englishside; perfect weather for all the farmers' crops to photosynthesize and grow, while gulping up large amounts of irrigated water. Today was going to be a good day. Today was the day that Arthur Kirkland, heir to the five hundred acres that was Kirkland Potatoes, would travel to town, and begin his student life at Beilschmidt University.
Growing up in the countryside, with two parents who believed in freedom of choice and speech, Arthur had been raised without being confined to his social class of Beta. Although predefined as a Beta, through the aptitude test he took at the age of 5, and the lack of a regular heat cycle at the age of 14, Arthur was much unlike any regular Beta.
Of course he had been taught all that was expected of a young Beta male, with all the social guidelines he had to follow engrained in his long-term memory. However, his parents supported his pursual of various classically Alpha-oriented activities, such as sports, public-speaking, and debate. The result of this was a son who often spoke his mind; completely different from the regular Beta drones that always made sure not to step outside their social boundaries.
Although she had been allowing her son such freedoms in childhood, Arthur's Omega mother was worried for her son. The big city of Centraltown, where Beilschmidt University was situated, was nothing as forgiving as Englishside. The higher population density of Centraltown meant that it was easier for a loud-spoken, stubborn Beta to get into trouble. She cautioned Arthur about knowing when to hold his tongue, before tearfully sending him on his way. It would at least be a few months before she'd ever see him again.
The train ride to Centraltown was long, but the tram to Arthur's new king-of-the-hill school was even longer. After a small sample of the bustle of big city life, at the Centraltown train station, Arthur began to appreciate the pleasant familiarity of being lost among nature. The tram that Arthur was riding on was headed for the University campus, which was in the far interior of the forest canopy. The dull ache in his bum grew increasingly intense from the long commute, after having to sit for hours on continuous train and tram rides. When the tram finally pulled up to the school entrance gate, Arthur could not wait to hop out, and stretch his tired body.
The school campus was one of the most majestic buildings he had ever seen. To Arthur, it looked reminiscent of one of the castles he had seen in his childhood picture books. The towering white walls, enclosing a belt of luscious green gardens within, seemed to beckon the newly-arriving students towards the big black metal gates in the center.
As Arthur trod through the imposing steel gates, gawking at the grandeur of his surroundings, he came across a sign that led him to the front of the small two-story Beta dorm. Upon entering the building, he went up to the front desk to sign in, and to collect his keys. When Arthur finally climbed the stairs, and walked up to room 220, he heard a loud bang vibrate through the thin room door. Quickly fumbling for his keys, Arthur managed to wrangle open the door. He found a young blonde male, with shoulder-length hair, bowled over a large teak case that he appeared to have dropped.
The young Beta blushed in embarrassment, as he looked up towards Arthur, arms still outstretched in an attempt to pick up the fallen wooded case.
"Oui! You must be my new roommate, Arthur! I'm Francis Bonnefoy, mon ami." Francis slid in front of Arthur, took his hand, and gave it a quick peck. Francis flashed Arthur a smile so wide, it would put crocodiles to shame.
Arthur quickly recoiled his hand. Being the country boy that he was, Arthur was not used to the idea of skinship. "Yes, hello. My name is Arthur Kirkland. Pleased to meet you too my good man." Arthur reached out to shake Francis's hand instead.
Arthur could smell a heavy scent of roses emanating from the Frenchman's very being. As Francis turned back around to gather up his fallen case, checking to ensure that its contents of glass bottles were unbroken, something clicked in Arthur's mind. "Are you perchance a perfumer of some sort?"
"Why, oui mon ami. I am the heir to Bonnefoy Perfumes. We're currently the top perfumers in Centraltown, if I do say so myself." Francis said with a curt bow. "Feel free to come to me for all your perfume needs."
"Sure, I guess. Thanks for the offer." Arthur replied. Although he enjoyed pleasant smells, he wasn't really too interested in perfume-making. Arthur just couldn't see himself ever needing to approach this flamboyantly-dressed man for such a nonsensical thing. "So. I guess this is my side then?" Arthur asked, gesturing towards his right from the door. "Oui." Francis replied cheerfully. After setting down his things, Arthur proceeded to make smalltalk with the flashy Frenchman for the rest of the evening. After unpacking their respective luggage bags, the strange pair of new friends had a quick dinner, before turning in for the night. Getting sufficient sleep would be essential for their survival in the courses that they had scheduled the very next day.
When daybreak hit, Francis and Arthur were awoken by the loud chorus of chirping outside their window.
"Bollocks. Since when did birds get so loud?" Arthur grumbled, as he slowly sat up in his bed. Arthur would never have imagined that a simple thing like a window ledge could have such annoying disadvantages. He sure felt lucky that he had grown up without one.
Francis laughed, while rubbing the back of his neck. "Oui. I had not expected to be awoken so abruptly."
After slowly getting dressed, all grumpy from that rude awakening, Arthur decided to mosey on over to the main school building, without Francis. Francis's classes would only start an hour later, and he could afford to squeeze in another short nap before heading out.
Arthur slowly made his way over to the school cafeteria, looking to grab a quick bite before class started. As Arthur basked in the warmth of the sun, he took in his bright surroundings with half-lidded eyes. Suddenly, the sky went dark as he slammed right into a wall of warm, hard flesh.
"Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" A flustered voice exclaimed. Two firm hands swiftly gripped onto Arthur's shoulders, stopping him from rebounding onto the hard concrete floor.
"Bloody hell! Watch where you're going!" Arthur retorted in his shocked and confused state. He looked up to see a tall, dirty blond male; sporting a pair of half frame glasses, and a brown bomber jacket.
Judging from the strong smell that this individual was giving off, Arthur could tell that he was definitely an Alpha. This shocking realization sent a little tremor of fear through Arthur's body. It was almost unthinkable for a weak little Beta to stand up to a big and strong Alpha. However, the stubborn vein in Arthur allowed him to steel his senses, and hold up to the man's strong gaze.
"Um. Like I said before, I'm sorry. How 'bout I buy you a burger, and we'll call it even?" Arthur started feeling a little remorseful, upon hearing the stranger's apology. He was half the reason that the collision actually happened in the first place.
Arthur sighed. "It's okay. I was spacing out as well. Let's just leave it at that." He shrugged the two leather-gloved hands off his shoulders, did a little sidestep past the stranger, and continued on his way. He didn't really want to make such a big fuss out of nothing at all.
Immediately, he heard the loud thudding of heavy boots, as the Alpha grabbed onto his shoulder from behind. "Please wait! Let me grab you that burger. I'll feel really bad otherwise."
Arthur couldn't for the life of him understand why this stranger was being so persistent about getting him a burger. But if that's what it would take to get the dirty blond off his back, he guessed he could handle that. "Fine." Arthur was resigned to his fate.
"Awesome! I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. Second year business student. What's your name?" The glasses-wearing senior inquired, his voice peppered with a suspicious dose of glee.
"Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. I'm a first year accounting major." Arthur massaged the spot in between his characteristic caterpillar-like eyebrows. Alfred seemed like an alright kind of guy, but Arthur just knew he was going to be a handful.
By the time Alfred and Arthur had reached the cafeteria, which was still rather empty, Arthur felt as if he had practically heard Alfred's whole life story. From Alfred's adoption from the orphanage, and his reunion with his blood-related brother; to what kind of pranks he pulled on professors in his first year of university, Alfred covered almost everything. Some parts were actually pretty fascinating. For example, how coincidental was it that Alfred, and his Omega brother Matthew, had had a chance to grow up together? The two brothers, who were a single year apart in age, had been brought to the orphanage as babies, after their parents had died in a car crash. When Matthew was 5, and Alfred was 6, they were adopted out by two separate families. Alfred had been adopted by a rich and famous banker, while Matthew had been adopted by a middle-class florist. Although the two adopting households were financially vastly different, the two heads happened to be very close friends. This gave Alfred and Matthew the chance to continue growing up as brothers, which resulted in them being so close, even to this day.
Of course, all the interesting little tidbits were embedded within fantastical tales of Alfred being ridiculous. For example, when Alfred was small, he hid a frog in the shoe of a boy that he did not like. Horrified by the slimy green lump he found in his footwear, the boy had ended up flinging the shoe right on top of Alfred's head. Alfred pouted, recalling the smelly shoe on his face, while Arthur had to hold back a loud snort. Alfred was being such a dope.
"Hehe. You're laughing, aren't you?" Damn. Alfred was just a cheeky little bastard after all.
"No I'm not." Arthur turned away, embarrassed that he was getting swept along in Alfred's pace.
While Arthur found a cozy table to sit at, Alfred went up to the cafeteria counter to order them some grub. In the blink of an eye, Alfred was surrounded by a growing horde of Omegas, who were obviously trying to flirt with him. Arthur could almost see a literal sweat drop form on the Alpha's forehead, as he tried to politely refuse the various breakfast invitations. With a loud sigh, Arthur got up from his seat.
'I guess, this should make up for the burger, huh?' The Alpha, who was tightly clutching his paper bag full of food, suddenly felt a hard yank on his hand. Alfred soon found himself jogging behind Arthur, who was sprinting aimlessly.
As the Beta in front of him started panting loudly, completely out of breath, Alfred pulled him to a stop. "You don't even know where you're going, do you? Come. I'll show you my secret hideout." Alfred offered. Arthur scowled at the insinuating remark, but nodded, as it only was the truth.
After climbing up the seemingly countless flights of stairs, Arthur was red in the face, and gasping for air. He silently rejoiced when they finally stopped at the entrance to the rooftop. Alfred swiftly whipped out a set of keys from his pocket. Arthur could only ogle at the breath-taking view, as Alfred slowly pushed the grey aluminium door open.
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Alfred led the way to the quiet corner he usually sat at. The pair of boys sat down to have their burger breakfast.
"Thanks for the treat." Arthur gratefully received the burger that Alfred handed over to him.
"No need to thank me! It's all part of my apology. I hope you like it though. It's my favorite, the super hero burger!" Alfred winked, and waited to hear what Arthur thought about it.
"Well, it certainly is huge." Arthur carefully unwrapped the hefty-sized burger, and revealed a fully-loaded monstrosity. With bacon, ham, sausage, hashed browns, onion rings, and much much more, finishing this burger was going to be a real challenge. Arthur cautiously took a bite out of his food.
"Wow. It actually tastes pretty good!" Arthur was shocked. Although burgers were not part of the usual breakfast fare in his house, Arthur was thinking that he could get used to this.
"Yes! I told you, right?" Alfred grinned from ear to ear, before starting on his own meal.
As the boys finished off their burgers, they began chatting once more.
"By the way, does that always happen to you?" Arthur asked suddenly. The quizzical expression on Alfred's face was the signal for Arthur to elaborate. "With all those Omegas, I mean."
"Oh, right! That!" Upon understanding what Arthur was talking about, Alfred finally responded using words. With the floodgates now open, Alfred began pouring out his relationship troubles to Arthur.
Apparently, Alfred was one of those kids who had been brought up believing in monogamy, and that fornication was a big no-no. Of course, not all families worked like that. In fact, in this day and age, an Alpha having two or three mates was the norm. And with most Omegas looking to marry into a rich family, the number of available Alphas became less and less. Alfred could not remember when it started, but one day, everyone started throwing themselves at him.
"It sure sounds like you're bragging to me..." Arthur had a very unimpressed look on his face.
"I'm not! I swear! It's my dream to find my one true love. We'll date, get married, and spend the rest of our lives together." Alfred started to get a dreamy faraway look in his eyes.
"Hah! What a kid!" Arthur may have said those words out loud, but the slight blush on his cheeks gave away the fact that he had very similar views on relationships.
"Oh, come on. Don't you wish to find your true love too?" Alfred suddenly leaned closer to Arthur, and started sniffing at his nape. "You sure don't smell like you have a mate."
Arthur gave Alfred an almighty shove. "Yeah! Okay! I wouldn't mind finding someone! But haven't you ever heard of respecting someone's personal space?" Arthur's face was beet-red at this point.
"Owie~ You're pretty strong for a Beta, huh?" Alfred sat up again, rubbing his shoulder that had been shoved. "But this is awesome! Everyone I know either already has a mate, or just wants to throw themselves at me!" Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes at Alfred's very non-subtle boasting. "We could totally be relationship buddies and all!"
'What on Earth is a relationship buddy?'Arthur thought, as he struggled to comprehend what Alfred might be suggesting.
"I'd really rather no-" Arthur began, eyebrow twitching in exasperation. But Alfred began putting on a large-eyed puppy dog face. Arthur sighed. "Why don't we just start out as normal friends first?"
After having their hamburger breakfast on the roof, Alfred and Arthur finally parted ways, to attend their various classes. The first class Arthur had was Math. Wanting to absorb as much as possible, Arthur chose to sit near the front of the lecture hall. The people who chose to sit at the back were probably slackers, and would only serve as a distraction to him. After finding an empty seat with a good view of the blackboard, Arthur found himself seated next to an obviously mated Omega, who sported a rather impressive-looking curl in his chestnut-brown hair. After deciding that it would be okay to talk to this harmless-looking individual, Arthur decided to strike up a conversation. Who cared if he was an Omega anyway? Arthur, like most other people, felt the urgent need to form his friendships fast. He needed to do so before all the various cliques were formed, leaving him alone in the loner squad.
As it turned out, the chestnut-haired Omega was pretty easy to talk to. His name was Feliciano Vargas, and he was also a first year accounting major. Feliciano had started out as the son of an impoverished baker; his family constantly struggling to make ends meet. However, when Feliciano started high school, he met the love of his life. His husband-to-be was a sweet German boy, who ended up saving Feliciano's whole family from poverty. As he listened to Feliciano gush over his mate of two years, Arthur felt a pleasantly warm feeling well up inside his heart.
A mere five minutes before it was time for class to start, a light-haired unmated Omega, entered the lecture hall. Arthur thought that the Omega bore an uncanny resemblance to Alfred, and the cogs of his mind started turning. As the Alfred lookalike sat down next to Feliciano, Arthur was completely unsurprised when the newcomer was introduced as Matthew Williams, son of a middle-class florist. Arthur had already been given an amazingly detailed introduction to Matthew by Alfred himself.
After class was over, the trio took a walk down to a nearby cafe together. As the new friends sipped on their various caffeinated beverages, Arthur proceeded to share his experience on meeting Alfred with the two Omega boys, which sent the boys into fits of giggles. Waiting for their next period to start, the three boys swapped their different experiences with each other, slowly emptying their drink mugs.
As the day went on, Arthur found himself to be having a real blast at the University. He could tell. Matthew and Feliciano were certainly going to be his two best friends in the whole school.