Chapter 18

"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" the man said as he smiled at Yuri. The omega looked up to see his face and looked behind him to see if he was really talking to him.

"Are you, perhaps, talking about me?" Yuri asked as he pointed himself. "Who else?" the man chuckled. "May I have your number?" the man said, still smiling.

'What's wrong with him? He's obviously in his mid or late 20's. Why is he asking for a 15-year-old's number?' Yuri thought as he tried not to make a disgusted facial expression.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a phone," Yuri smiled and faced straight once again to focus on the line. "That can't be, though? You bought all those clothes, and yet you're saying you don't have a phone?" the man chuckled as he stepped closer to him.

"Are you slow? He's not interested. Give it up, old man," someone behind Yuri said as he pushed the man lightly.

The man moved a few steps away because of the push. He lowered his head and chuckled softly, finding the teenage boy insane for pushing him.

Yuri looked at the person who pushed the man and was shocked to see Theodore standing behind him. 'Why is he here?' he thought.

"Hey... Did you just push me?" the man said as he raised his head and glared at Theodore. "Obviously. Was it a kick, then?" Theodore said sarcastically as he looked at him as if he was some kind of insect.

"Wow, this bastard..." the man mumbled, still glaring at the alpha. "What does an old man like you want from my younger brother?" Theodore said as he looked directly into the man's eyes. "If you want something from him, you can talk to me about it," he continued.

'Younger brother?' Yuri thought as he tried not to laugh because of what Theodore called him. Although he knew that he was trying to help him drive the man away, he found it funny that he called him his brother.

"Mister, I've been listening to your conversation since earlier, but don't you think you're too old to be hitting on a minor?" the person in line in front of Yuri said as she faced the man.

"That's right! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? The boy is probably just half your age," one of the people in line added.

People started whispering about the man as they looked at him with judging eyes.

"What the hell... Just for a number, hah..." the man scoffed. "What a bad day," he mumbled and started walking away without saying another word to them.

"Thank you for helping me," Yuri smiled at the people who stood up for him.

Yuri looked down and thought, 'Had Theodore not interfered, those people wouldn't have helped me either. Although I'm thankful that they helped me shoo that guy away, I can't help but think that they only did it because someone like Theodore stepped up for me. I noticed that before he came, they were just turning a blind eye to what was happening. When he came and helped me, they suddenly decided to do the same. What a rotten world.'

'I was gonna drive him off anyway even if nobody helped me. Now, I'm just gonna wait for him to tell me that I should have rejected that guy and stood up for myself instead of smiling awkwardly, trying to be respectful even if he was—'

"You did well. It was a good decision not to give him your number. Avoid people like him as much as possible," Theodore said as he looked in the direction where the guy headed earlier. 'That trash... He should just lock himself up in his room and never show up in society ever again,' the alpha thought.

Yuri blinked a few times, still processing what Theodore said.

'Judging from his personality and sharp tongue, I thought he'd be all sarcastic again and blame me for why I got approached by that guy. This is a bit... unexpected?' Yuri thought as he blinked.

"Are you sick?" Yuri said as he looked at Theodore weirdly. The alpha turned his head to look at him and raised a brow, unable to understand why Yuri thought he was sick. "I'm not," he responded.

"Then, why are you acting so weird?" the omega asked, still looking at him weirdly. "Suddenly helping me like that and even telling me I did well... Did you hit your head somewhere? You even called me your brother," he continued.

Theodore felt his eye twitch. A sarcastic smile formed on his face and scoffed, "Would you have liked it better if I just let you be, then? Plus, I just called you my brother because he'd probably feel more intimidated if I was related to you. That's how people like him are. Can't you just thank me instead of telling me that I'm sick?"

'Again with people like him... I was right to feel offended before. Now I'm a hundred percent sure that he said it in an offensive way,' Yuri thought.

"Thanks, I guess. But you clearly hate me, so I was just wondering why you did that for someone you didn't like," Yuri said and faced the line again.

"I'm not that trashy," Theodore mumbled. "Whatever, I'm leaving. Head to the restaurant after that. They're waiting for you there," he continued and sighed.

Theodore started walking away, leaving Yuri alone in the line.

'Apologize, my ass. No way I'm gonna apologize to him. Helping him is probably enough,' the alpha thought as he walked away. 'I'm gonna go home. I don't want to look at any of them.'

Yuri watched Theodore's back disappear among the people. He smiled a little, remembering what Theodore did earlier.

"Hmm... 'I'm not that trashy', huh?" he whispered to himself. 'Did he think I didn't hear that?' he thought and shook his head a bit, still smiling a little.

'Well... I guess I can agree that he's not that bad of a person.'