CHAPTER 7
A/N – Hello my dear readers! I couldn't help noticing that some of you are getting impatient for the advertised action and plot thickening and I am too, therefore, as promised, said action and plot thickening start NOW, in this chapter, exactly as planned (because believe it or not I do actually have a chapter plan and have everything already figured out ;)) So enjoy the drama!
Walking to school that morning Alfred's excitement at the thought of seeing Arthur again was shadowed by the bitter taste his father's harsh scolding from a few days before had left in his mouth and still lingered. But it had been just incredibly bad luck! His phone battery had fully discharged after calling Arthur, thing which had gone completely unnoticed in his happy daze.
In fact, the butterflies in his stomach had made him forget that he was supposed to pick up Mattie earlier and take him home in the break before his last class. A cold shiver had run down his spine upon receiving Gilbert's short text a while later when using the public charger and realizing that all hell was going to break loose when he got home. And the prediction had proven pretty accurate – his father was absolutely fuming at his lack of responsibility, since anything could have happened while Mattie was in that state, what if Gilbert hadn't had enough restraint?
It had been a dangerous situation, but he wasn't angry with his friend, his brother was sick (Mattie's heats had always been very troublesome for some reason) and the albino just had to help him. In fact, he was quite grateful to Gilbert, even if his father had a scowl on his face at Mattie murmuring his name upon falling asleep, but even Dr. Jones had to admit that his friend had been nothing but exemplary in his behavior, if not oddly disinterested. Which was strange, because he seemed to like Mattie and even flirt a bit, albeit innocently. Alfred had figured he would have to have a talk with Gilbert on the subject at some point, but it was much too soon and Mattie was in the hospital anyway for now.
Maybe that was what should have worried him the most, even if Mattie had been taken to the hospital before when having a particularly violent heat - the young Alpha pondered – and his father was more concerned than usual because the pills his little brother was taking didn't seem to be working anymore. He had been visiting Mattie every day and he would again after school, but for now-
A certain green-eyed blond was there, by the lockers, with the rest of his group of friends, and all dark thoughts flew off Alfred's mind as if they'd never existed. He walked up to them, a wide grin involuntarily stretching his mouth as he crept behind Arthur to take him by surprise. Only Antonio saw him and for some reason burst into laughter, tipping off his crush who turned around in the last moment.
"Hey, baby! Have you missed me? " the Alpha asked, his arm sneaking around the smaller blond's slim waist while he leaned in to nuzzle his cheek and take a deep sniff of his fragrant scent. And it was absolutely endearing to see Arthur's cheeks instantly dusting with pink at that.
"Uh… yes," the other replied shyly, his hand searching Alfred's and lacing their fingers together. "Come on… let's talk," he added, pulling him away from the increasingly giggling group.
"What was that about?" Alfred asked when they were out of hearing range and Arthur was leading him towards the door leading to one of the inner yards people usually sneaked out to smoke. The devil on his shoulder fleetingly suggested the Alpha that if the two of them were to skip the first class, they would probably be alone out there.
"Nothing, they just won't stop teasing me a-about… you know…" Arthur stuttered. "Anyway, I brought your t-shirt… and it did smell great but I had to wash it, you know? Was the least I could do…" He paused, chewing his bottom lip and inwardly worried he was saying something terribly stupid just now. Maybe it had been wrong to wash the shirt? What if Jones was hoping to smell his heat scent on it? And that troublesome thought had only come to him when the damned thing was already in the laundry…
Thankfully, Alfred had other concerns momentarily. "Oh shit! I didn't think-… No one saw it, right? I-I mean, your family and stuff…" he asked, eyes wide with worry. "I… really don't want to get you into trouble!" And darn had this been a no-brainer! What if someone would have picked up his scent in the Omega's room, maybe Arthur's mother?
"No, no! It was fine, I was extra careful, no one got a whiff of anything," the green-eyed boy replied with a smile, pulling closer.
Luckily they were all alone, just as Alfred had hoped, so the hell with it. "Want to skip with me? I was thinking we could spend some time here, unbothered…"
"Mhmmm."
Hands slowly made their way down Arthur's back as Alfred leaned in and brushed his lips against the Omega's, ever-so-teasingly. Arthur was still very shy when it came to it, like a sweet bunny, but he wasn't pulling away and had taken up his offer, which could only mean that he was willing to take things a bit further. His tongue darted out to lick the other's plump bottom lip, seeking entrance for the first time.
The untouchable boy panicked a bit, his breath becoming labored (this was… Alfred was just so intense!), but then the Alpha's hand swept over his backside and the very recognizable square-shaped bulge the pack of cigarettes was making in his back pocket and he was suddenly gripped by a different sort of panic altogether. Much to his dread, Alfred pulled away with an unreadable expression and tugged his hand, walking up to a small wooden bench near the concrete wall where he sat down, making Arthur plop in his lap.
"Arthur…" He tsked disapprovingly. "You have been naughty again, haven't you?" Of course, it was a bad thing that his crush was smoking, but still, Alfred found that he rather liked the faint tobacco note mixed with the Omega's fresh, flowery scent. It gave him a sense of something forbidden and for that all the more enticing, even if Arthur was more than innocent otherwise. "You know… I never tried that."
"Cigarettes? " The green-eyed blond smiled impishly. "Would you like to?"
Of course, it wasn't like his father wouldn't totally rip his head off if he happened to smell cigarettes on him, on top of everything else. But since he'd tempted his crush to skip class with him, it was only reasonable that he should allow himself to be tempted in turn. He nodded and watched Arthur's delicate fingers pulling out the pack and taking out one cigarette which he placed between his own lips with a coy smile. His other hand dug out a lighter and lit up, meeting the Alpha's curious stare.
The Omega took a drag and leaned in, parting Alfred's lips with his thumb and blowing the smoke in before he pressed their lips together. Alfred inhaled slowly, deeply, finally given the opportunity to slip his tongue into the smaller blond's mouth and taste him fully. The kiss deepened along with the igniting sensation of the Omega's body pressed against his own and it wasn't long before Arthur found himself pushed flat on his back on the bench with the taller blond on top of him. The Alpha's hands were exploring his body in an absolutely stirring fashion, tracing his sides over the tight t-shirt and eventually dipping under the back hem of his jeans and underwear, in search of bare skin.
"N-no, Alfred… S-Stop, please stop!" the untouchable boy panted, struggling a bit to push Alfred away.
"It's okay, baby, we won't be doing anything we're really not supposed to," the Alpha reassured him gently, nuzzling his neck. "I just want to mess with you a bit."
Arthur relaxed somewhat, arms sneaking around the taller blond's neck instead, eyes closing and teeth digging into his bottom lip as his thighs were pushed apart and a warm hand slipped into the front of his jeans to fondle him just right.
The rest of the classes were a complete blur, Alfred finding himself mostly unable to hold back a face-splitting smile that got his friends asking nosy questions and certain thoughts and images from flooding his mind constantly. Messing with Arthur (more than a little bit, actually…) had been absolutely epic, even if afterwards it had required an urgent trip to the restroom for him to deal with pressing matters, while the Omega had needed plenty of cold water to make the beet red color of his cheeks fade.
The young Alpha took a deep breath, telling himself for the umpteenth time that he had to clear his head for now, after all he and Arthur had agreed beforehand to take things slow, since there would be a rather long wait ahead in their relationship. He sighed, quickening his step – for now he had Mattie to worry about, anyway.
The pristine white halls of hospitals had always made Alfred uneasy ever since he'd been a child, which was a bit of a pain seeing how he wanted to become a doctor, but he was telling himself that he would be involved in research, like his father, and consequently spared of all this. Research laboratories were bound to feel safer, without the daunting perspective of needles and bad-tasting medicine. Poor Mattie, he bore everything so stoically…
The blond made his way along the already familiar corridor towards his little brother's room, accidentally catching the odd stare one of the passing nurses gave him. He checked his watch, wondering whether by any chance the visiting hours had changed and he shouldn't have been there. But no one stopped him or said anything, so Alfred kept going until he reached Mattie's room.
Only to find the door wide open and revealing an empty bed with freshly changed sheets.
Alfred blinked, releasing a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Where on earth was Mattie?! His father would have surely texted him to inform if his sibling had been discharged from the hospital and allowed back home, but nothing of the sort had happened. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked to make sure, then dialed Dr. Jones's number.
There was no answer.
Increasingly confused and even slightly panicked, the young Alpha looked around, and found another nurse to ask about his little brother. The young man gave him a similarly odd stare before letting him know that the patient Matthew Jones had been transferred to a special facility somewhere during the early morning.
"What? What do you mean, 'special facility', sir? Can't you just tell me what happened?! Did his condition worsen or something?"
He was nearly begging at this point, gradually gripped by an ominous presentiment, but the nurse refused to provide any further explanations, instead telling him to go home and talk with his parents. After this, Alfred had no choice but to leave, but he was getting more and more worried with each step he took. This story didn't make sense at all – he'd never heard of any sort of special medical facilities – and why would Mattie be taken to one? His condition couldn't have been that serious, could it? And why was his father not answering the phone?! This had never happened before! Or maybe his father was currently with Mattie, wherever he was, and his phone was on silent mode?
Sighing, the blond decided that for now he could do nothing else but go home and wait. His father would take care of it, right?
As he walked down the alley towards their house, Alfred noticed the black unmarked van with dark matted windows parked on the side of the street and thought it was somewhat of an unusual sight, but aside from that he gave it no importance. And indeed, there was nothing suspicious to be noticed, until he saw that the front door was slightly ajar. Looking around, the blue-eyed Alpha saw his father's car parked in the driveway, so he must have been at home, but then why…? Suddenly a lot of things didn't add up.
Yet he had no choice but to continue up the path, all the while seeing no one around, and to make his way inside the house. His father's keys were lying on the small table next to the entrance as usual, but the vintage umbrella stand was knocked over on the floor and a corner of the carpet was turned as if someone in a hurry had tripped on it.
"Dad?" Alfred called cautiously, advancing with slow steps down the narrow hallway towards the living room.
There was no answer but a faint rustling sound could be heard coming from upstairs, all the more ominous since the rest of the house was dead quiet.
"Dad! Are you home?!"
The coffee table in the living room was lying on the floor in pieces, while the books from the shelves were scattered on the ground in a blur of torn pages. The couch had been moved and its pillows turned, and there were many other signs that someone had been keenly searching for something, but for what?!
A cold shiver ran down the boy's spine and he gulped, eyeing the stairs. The sound could be heard clearer now, and his legs carried him up the steps even if his reason debated against the idea. But maybe there was a reasonable explanation for it after all? Surely his father would-
The door to Dr. Jones's study was wide open, hanging off its hinges even, and the pile of papers on the floor was spilling into the hallway. More mess was inside the room, but what drew the young Alpha's gaze instantly was the large pool of darkened blood at the foot of the desk and the pale familiar hand still wearing the wedding band.
"DAD!"
The shock of that however was overshadowed as Alfred wheeled around at the sound of heavy footsteps and he was suddenly faced with a soldier in full combat suit. Several male voices broke down in the hallway, but for now all he could see was his own horrified face reflected in the man's black helmet visor. The full armor was masking his scent too, this was why Alfred hadn't picked up any unfamiliar scents upon entering the house.
"Alfred F. Jones?" the soldier asked, his voice distorted by the closed helmet. "You're coming with us."
"Wha-..?! No! What happened to my Dad?! Hey, let go-"
The blond struggled to free his arm from the man's grip, but his fight was stopped short when the butt of a shotgun hit the back of his head and he was instantly rendered unconscious.
A blinding lamp was hanging low from the metallic ceiling, making the atmosphere with stale, heated air even more unbearable. Alfred was horribly dizzy, but still made an effort to lift his head, squinting. His glasses were gone and he was strapped in a steel contraption of sorts, which rendered his body almost completely immobile, on a reclined medical table. His nostrils and throat were burning at each breath, as if he'd inhaled some foul, toxic substance and his head was absolutely pounding from the blow. Was this some sort of nightmare? Because it couldn't have been real… What could he have possibly been doing tied up like that in this sinister room with a fully armored soldier standing guard at the door? No, nothing made any sense whatsoever and his father… his father was…
"Alfred? It's Alfred, right?" A unknown middle-aged, bespectacled man was hovering over him, cold features contorted into an awkward grimace which had been meant to be a friendly smile but hadn't come out quite right. "Can you hear me, son?"
'I'm not your fucking son' the young Alpha wanted to shout in his face, but only an unintelligible mumble came out as he first opened his mouth. It took some effort until he was actually able to form words.
"W-What happn'd…? My dad…? Why did you-… Why am I here? And Mattie-… where's Mattie…?"
"We will get to that later, Alfred. For now you'll have to answer some questions for us, because you see, I'm afraid they're of utmost importance for us in this moment."
The man smiled again and Alfred panicked. Why was he restrained?! And it was so hot, just burning hot, he needed-… "I've done nothing wrong, I swear!... done nothing, please!"
"I don't know about that, my dear boy, but we have serious reasons to believe that your father has. And we need to ascertain to what extent he has been involving you in it as well. See, we know that he intended you to become a doctor and follow in his footsteps. So then, we need to know how much he's told you about his work."
The young Alpha gulped. It was absurd, his father would never have done anything bad, he was a good man! Just who the hell were these people?! "I-I don't think my dad did anything wrong! And he never… I'm… I'm still in highschool. Yeah he wanted me to work with him later on but for now he said I should fo-focus on stuff at school. He never told me-… no."
"Alfred, I tried to be reasonable here, son, but don't think it's going to work that way," the man stated, sighing and motioning with his head and another soldier entered the boy's view. The next thing he knew was the atrocious pain which erupted when said soldier slammed the barrel of his shotgun in his stomach.
To be continued
A/N – yes, I am a horrible person, but you have been warned about this in the very summary of this story. So there.
