Chapter 20

Dio didn't speak anymore, fiddling with his fingers and pushing up the sleeves of his nightshirt to get at his wrists.

Louis placed a stretchy ribbon in his hands, his own hair wasn't long enough to be held up but he had lots of scrunchies and hair ties in different colors just for Dio. It also helped that the stretchy hair ties helped to distract him from scratching his wrists, it was quite versatile.

He effortlessly gathered Dio's hair in a low ponytail, a skill that came from years of doing it.

Dio's hair was long the first time they met, they were just four years old at the time. His hair had been horribly matted and tangled and when Louis took him to his mother, his mother had been horrified and had to have it all chopped off.

His hair grew fast though and the length grew on Louis so whenever it was time for a haircut, Louis asked for a trim for Dio and it had been that way ever since.

"Do you want to go to bed now?" Louis asked, getting up to return the silver comb.

He straightened up from the dresser and turned around to find Dio in his personal space again. Louis was long used to this so he was unfazed but this time he could see Dio's eyes, it fascinated him every time he saw them. His left eye was black while the other was emerald green, it was eye-catching.

"Can I…" Dio started to ask and then trailed off, staring unblinkingly at Louis.

"Alright, let's push the beds together so there's more space," Louis answered calmly like he had heard the full sentence.

Dio moved quickly when he heard that, pushing the heavy dresser in between their separate beds out of the way like it weighed nothing. Louis didn't even have to lift a finger because Dio pushed the beds together all by himself and hopped on them, staring at Louis with expectant mismatched eyes.

"I need to change out of my uniform first…"

-*-

"You three don't intend to spend the night here, do you?" Errol asked nervously when Valentin, Audie, and Nael got comfortable in his room.

"We'll leave, we just want to have a few words with Seton," Audie said magnanimously, always the instigator.

"There's no need for that." He nervously said. "You must be tired from your strenuous day, you should all get some rest."

"A few more minutes, wouldn't hurt." Valentin shrugged nonchalantly, his deep blue eyes flashing. "We want to ask him why he asked you to wait when he had no intention of returning."

Errol's pupils trembled slightly. "That's no big deal, he most likely got distracted by his club members, it's resumption day after all."

Nael had gotten comfortable in his usual spot against the wardrobe on the ground. He let his head hang down and said nothing, fiddling with the carpet threads.

Valentin scoffed. "He hung out with them every day of the holiday, that's not an excuse."

"Just leave!" Errol finally cracked, he couldn't let them run into Seton. "It's fine, I said I don't mind."

Valentin and Audie went silent at this outburst, they shared looks with each other and then got up to leave.

"Fine but we'll be here first thing in the morning," Audie grumbled, starting for the door first.

"Please don't…" Errol started to dissuade them but he was already gone.

"Hey! Audie! Wait up! Don't abandon your roommate!"

Nael was left behind, he reluctantly got to his feet, still looking down. "You should eat more, Errol, you barely ate anything at dinner." He said quietly.

Errol was caught off guard by Nael's odd tone but what made him more concerned was that he had noticed his eating habits. "I eat enough, Nael, you don't need to be worried about me." He smiled, the expression strained. "Keep an eye on the other two for me, will you?" He waved Nael off, closing the door behind him with a big sigh.

It was like having three younger brothers who were too nosy for their own good. Errol was the older one here, he could take care of himself.

Errol got undressed, and took a shower, taking the braids out of his hair. He was certain that Valentin would go right to bed with his braids in and end up waking up with his hair in a horrific state.

The person responsible for their braids was their youngest sister, Celine, whom both of them couldn't deny anything.

An unbidden memory of Seton saying a snarky comment when he saw the braids in his hair rose up in his mind and he pushed it down. Seton wasn't a bad person, he was just going through a lot.

He dressed in a pale pink nightshirt with frills, forgoing pants, and wearing high socks instead because Seton preferred it.

As he got into bed to wait anxiously for Seton to return, he reminded himself that he was lucky to be with Seton. Alphas weren't meant to be together by society's dictations after all.

Errol curled into himself, trying to remember the last time he had genuinely smiled around Seton. It had to be when Seton asked that they both be in a relationship, it was the happiest day of his life but now… now he was starting to lose sight of what he wanted in the first place.

The door handle turned and Errol jumped reflexively, his palms starting to sweat as he sat up. "Seton? You're back."

Seton paused almost like he hadn't been expecting Errol to still be awake, he was a tall, built Alpha with dark hair and soft brown eyes. "I'm sorry for making you wait for me." He immediately came over to Errol's bedside, his voice soft.

"I… um… I went to dinner… be-because Valentin and his friends' ma-made friends with the Prince and I couldn't turn down his request." He explained, dread starting to build in his middle.

Seton's eyes immediately turned cold. "You went to dinner?"

"I-I planned to wait but…"

"It's fine." Seton cut him off crudely. "I shouldn't have expected you to wait for me." He stood up and walked away to his side of their shared dorm, undoing the buttons of his shirt.

"But I waited for you." Errol reached out, feeling terrible that he had disappointed Seton.

"It doesn't feel that way," Seton said coldly, taking off his undershirt.

"I didn't eat m-much, I couldn't enjoy my food without you," Errol said in a little voice, fiddling with his fingers.

Seton paused on his way to his bathroom, turning around to walk back to Errol's side. "Pardon me, that was a little too harsh." His voice regained its soft quality as he bent over to press a kiss into Errol's hair.

"You're not mad anymore?" Errol asked hopefully.

"I wasn't angry, just disappointed and a little hurt. Will you wait for me next time?" Seton cupped his jaw.

Errol agreed immediately, his hands cupped in front of him. Although he knew exactly how it would go every time, he accepted it anyway.

It had started right around the time they got together, Seton limited his interaction with other people because he easily got jealous. He also made comments on Errol's eating habits and physique, impressing on how slender he looked, almost like an Omega.

Without realizing it, Errol started eating less and less because he didn't want to lose Seton's approval. Toward the end of their first year, Seton took it a step further and stopped allowing him to go for meals unless he was there to go with him. He showed up less than half the time, and each time he didn't show, he was always so apologetic and kind, it almost made Errol look forward to him not showing up.

But it was fine, he had to make himself presentable for Seton because he was an Alpha so no other Alpha would want him. Seton was still the best thing that happened to him, they just had their differences.

They just had their differences… he repeated to himself when Seton slipped into his bed and held his waist in a punishing grip, one that was sure to leave bruises.