Chapter 1 - Regret, don't forgive

He should have known that coming to class was a mistake. It always was a mistake.

"Look at little Lili, so small and frail!" A girl chuckled out as she pushed the young boy into a corner, two other ladies getting closer.

"Look at him, trembling like a leaf. No wonder he's an orphan, who would want such a waste of space!" The second girl yelled as she stepped closer, cornering the poor boy even further.

"I-I didn't mean to bother... Please, I just want to go to class." He asked softly, tears threatening to follow his words.

"Oh Lili, you never learn, do you? Your existence is a bother. We would all be better off with you dead." The taller girl said with a laughter that threw shivers down the young boy's back.

"Narcia, please let me go to class... I can't be late again." He whined before her hand collided with the boy's cheek.

Terror filled the boy's eyes as he collided with the floor, his small body trembling as he looked up in horror. They were laughing at him, with no regard to his flaming cheek, or the tears that flowed down his face.

Liam jumped in his bed as the alarm echoed, slamming his hand on the retched thing. A groan left him as he rubbed his face. Of course, he couldn't sleep peacefully on the first day in university. That would have been too good for the oh so unlucky boy.

He left the bed in sweats, dragging his feet as he made his way to the bathroom. It had been two years since he last saw Narcia and her gang. She had tormented him all throughout his school life, but this would be different. He had made sure to take this university because it was outside of their hometown.

He turned on the sink, splashing cold water on his face. He had to forget this nightmare. He refused to let the past damage him again.

He was different now.

His green eyes looked at the face projected in the mirror. His jaw was sharp now, no longer round like it was when he was 16, he had grown by a foot and now reached 6.2 ft. No one could look at him and see the little boy he was 2 years ago. He had even worked out to get in shape, his six-pack was a proof of it.

He smiled as he looked at himself. He knew he could finally start a new life and begin to explore his dating era. He could finally explore the world with joy. No one would call him small, and no one would stop him from socializing. By no one, he meant Narcia. She had been the one controlling his life for as long as he could remember.

He shook his head in annoyance, Liam had to keep her out of his head. She would not ruin his first day in university. With that in mind, Liam tied his sunset colored hair into a bun, letting his black shaved hair exposed. He liked his new mixture of black and orange, better than his regular natural orange hair.

He dressed himself with a black button-up shirt and some nice dark blue pants before walking out into the dorm. He had only settled in yesterday, so the dorms were a bit confusing for him still. Liam managed to make his way down the hall and into the common area where a few boys were already eating.

One of them in particular had caught his eyes. The boy was staring at Liam after all. Curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to approach the man.

"Hey."

"Hi, are you a freshman?" The boy asked Liam.

"Yeah, this is my first day..." The boy before him nodded with a smile at Liam's response. He definitely looked older than him, with the beard and all.

"I'm Devan. This is my 3rd year here." The man said with a hand out, wanting to shake Liam's hand. Liam caught the guy's hand and shook it with a smile.

"I'm Liam, what have you been studying?" He asked as the man chuckled, Devan had a very husky voice. It made Liam wonder if the man smoked.

"I study to become a neurologist, but I need to do 4 years of psychology first. That's what my parents wanted. What about you? What are you studying?" Devan asked as he leaned his head to the side, sniffing as though he was smelling something.

Liam felt suddenly uncomfortable, like a shiver was running down his spine. He looked around, confused as he had never felt this before. This reaction caused Devan to look around as well, frowning as Liam rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry, I thought... Never mind, what did you ask again?" Liam said with a nervous chuckle.

"What are you here for." He repeated himself.

"Oh right, well actually, I am not sure yet. I have a few classes of different subjects. I mostly ran from my hometown... So I am not sure yet what I want to study for." He admitted.

"Ran from home, huh? Did you have a bad ex or something?" Devan said with a chuckle, causing Liam to shake his head.

"More like a bad case of bullies..."

"You? Being bullied? Stop it, mate. There's no one in their right mind who would bully you." Devan said as he grabbed a cup. He seemed to have forgotten it on the table.

"Trust me, I was different at the time." Liam said with a bit of uneasiness. He didn't like talking of the past. Devan noticed and cleared his throat, drinking the remainder of his cup.

"It's alright, no need to dwell on shit from the past, aye? Welcome to your new home, or hell. Whichever it'll be for you." Devan said as he gave a few pats to Liams back before he walked towards the door, looking back at Liam expectantly.

"You going to class soon, or are you the afternoon type of guy?" He asked as Liam snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh crap, I forgot all about classes!" He said as he ran out the door that Devan was holding open. He had a feeling him, and this Liam guy would get along pretty quick.

Devan followed after Liam. The boy seemed to be nothing but a regular human by what he could smell, yet something attracted Devan towards him, like some sort of familiar feeling. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, as far as he knew, none of his relatives ever mated with humans.

"Hey Liam, what's your family name if you don't mind me asking... You just remind me of someone but I can't but my finger on it..." Devan asked, causing Liam to jump a bit at the sudden intimate question, Liam turned with a look that showed he was uncomfortable.

"I... Don't know."

Silence settled between the two boys, Devan sighed as he continued walking. It didn't take a genius to know what he meant.

"I'm sorry I asked..." He said softly as he put his hand on Liam's shoulder, giving him a light comforting squeeze before continuing towards the university.

"So um... You said you study psychology, right? Do you have any other classes?" Liam asked as they walked through the doors. Devan looked over and smiled at Liam, he loved bragging.

"Of course, I have chemistry this morning, followed by sociology, I have psychology just before lunch and then I have neuroscience and latin. The rest of my day is usually empty until work around 5pm." Devan said as Liam's jaw dropped, he definitely had small class subjects compared to that.

"Wow... You really study strong subjects, huh?" Liam said with a chuckle.

"Bah, it's nothing really. You have to keep the mind sharp, mate. What about you, I know you said you weren't sure what to do yet, but surely you have some classes to attend before you make your choice, right?" Devan asked as they approached an intersection.

"I have math right now, and then PE... I think I also have later around 3pm, but that's all so far." Liam responded as they halted.

"Ah, well my classes are this way. I know math is the other way. Do you think you will be fine making your way there Liam?" Devan asked, not wanting his new friend to get lost. He knew plenty of shifters would love to play with a naive human like him, he seemed so gullible.

"Ah... That sucks... Well I do know my way though, thanks for offering. Maybe we can meet up at lunch, that would be nice." Liam said with a smile. Devan nodded and waved as he left, he'd hope to get to see Liam still as joyfull once lunch came around.

Liam sighed as Devan left his sight, he was alone now in this huge university building. He turned around and started heading towards the stairs, math was on the 3rd floor.

"Class 345M... 340H... 341I.. 342J.." He started counting as he passed by classes. When he approached class 345M, a shiver he had felt earlier passed through his body. He had no idea if it was anxiety or if there was a breeze somewhere that seemed to cauze this trembling in his spine.

Without a second thought, Liam walked into the room. He would have never thought for a second to see the person that stood before him, his eyes lowered down to meet the grey eyes that looked at him in shock.

"Is... That you? Lili?"