10- Catcalled

Either way, Michael got the hint and they sat talking of common place things as the Michael's dye set. Rayan had put his collar back on. With summer nearing full swing, work at the shipping company was sure to slow down a bit. Rayan was hoping his hours wouldn't get cut too much since he only worked two nights a week. Michael was almost full-time, not enough to earn benefits, but he was hoping for some down time to work on some projects he had. Michael was always working on something, and kept up a fairly healthy Instagram account. Seeing what his friend was up to was the only reason Rayan used Instagram.

At long last, it was time for the foils to come out. Michael and Rayan both "Oooed" at the very wet preview of Michael's new look. While Michael was getting the excess dye washed out, the next appointment for Rayan's chair came in, so he had to go back to the waiting area.

"Mick! I'll be waiting on you up front!" Rayan called.

From back at the sinks Michael flashed a big thumbs up. Rayan kind of tried to sit where he could still see what was going on, but the layout of the shop made it difficult. He could catch glimpses, but the stylist stayed between them for the most part. It wouldn't be too much longer now anyway. Good thing too, Rayan was starting to get hungry.

He pulled out his phone to pass the time. He hadn't actually checked out Scott on Facebook yet, and he wondered what could have been posted for Mick to so quickly declare him a "hottie." Not that Rayan thought Scott was unattractive, but still, the more you know about what you're getting into...

There wasn't much there. A few pictures, some articles about birth control and fertility, a few video game memes, and... okay, this definitely qualifies as hot... It was a picture from Christmas with the caption: "My folks know me so well! Check out my new Minecraft pants!" And under that, there he was, in a pair of pajama bottoms printed all over with pixelated dynamite, dopey grin on his face... without a shirt, flexing. It was dorky, and adorable, and, and... Damn. Ripped wasn't the right word, but "solid" fit pretty well.

Rayan knew Scott didn't have more than an inch or two on him height wise, but if Scott wanted to force Rayan to do something, he'd probably have no trouble doing so. Rayan shivered just a little, pushing the thought away as he continued scrolling.

Rayan's internet snooping was interrupted by a familiar hand waving in front of his screen, the colorful woven bracelets being a dead giveaway. He looked up as Michael struck a pose.

"Well," Michael ran his fingers through his now vibrant hair, "looks great, right? It ALWAYS turns out better when you come along!"

"That came out amazing!" Rayan oogled at the way his friend's hair shifted when he ran his fingers through it.

"I paid already, so we're good to go. I'm craving Micky D's sooo bad right now!"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry too."

"My treat, but ten dollar limit, 'kay?" Michael led the way out of the salon and started towards the direction of the restaurant a few blocks away. Rayan followed, matching his pace. It was barely noon, but the air was warm, and even in the city you could hear the cicadas singing.

"Then I'm treating for the dollar ice cream cones." Rayan couldn't let his friend pay for everything, after all.

"Only if you send a selfie to your boy-toy."

"Pfft-! What? We don't know each other that well! He's not my boy-toy!" Rayan had to stop a second to gather himself. Michael kept walking. "Hey!" Rayan had to jog a bit to catch up.

"If this guy really likes you, getting sent a picture when you're all fresh from the salon is going to make his day, right?"

"Maybe?"

"And if you let me be in it, he'll know you have backup. Like, 'Hey I'm feeling super cute right now and you need to see but also here's my friend and he will fuck your shit up if you mess with me,' you know?"

"Have you ever actually been in a fight?"

"Semantics."

"Huh." Rayan laughed a little. He didn't get to do much hanging out, but with Mick, things were always interesting. "So, you really think Scott would like it if I sent a selfie to him?"

"HEY YOU!" the call came from somewhere behind them. "HEY, YOU PARROT-LOOKIN' FUCKER! IM TALKIN' TO YOU!"

Rayan tensed slightly, but didn't alter his pace. In a hushed voice he said, "Don't pay any attention to him, you'll only encourage it."

"Dude, I know," Michael responded in kind. "Not my first time."

"HEEEEY! BOTH Y'ALL FUCKERS WEARIN' COLLARS? Y'ALL OMEGAS?" There was the sound of glass breaking. "I'LL SHOW YA' MY DICK'S BETTERN' AAAANYTHING AN ALPHAS GOT PACKIN'!"

"Okay walk faster." Mick grabbed his friend's hand to pull him along.

Rayan agreed. "Where's a cop when you need one?"

There weren't many other pedestrians out on the street. They seemed to be turning a blind eye to the spectacle. Michael and Rayan were just some random omegas, and things like this were commonplace. It was hard to tell if the guy was drunk or drugged out, but the voice wasn't getting any further away.

"Y'ALL BOTH DUDES OR IS THAT RAINBOW-LOOKIN' FUCKER A CHICK? I DON'T CARE I'LL PLOW ASS OR PUSSY AAAALL NIGHT LONG! BITCHES BE PAYIN' ME TA SLEEP WHID'M!"

"Dude, shut the hell up. There's kids out here." A different voice piped up from somewhere. Rayan and Michael sent a silent thanks to their unknown defender.

"NAW MUDDA-FUCKA YOU SHUDDUP! I'M FINNA' GET L-A-I-D BITCH! OMEGA SLUTS STAND IN LINE TO SUCK MY DICK!"

"I bet those two didn't do anything to you. Leave them alone."

"FUCK YOU!"

Thankfully, whatever was going on behind them, the shouting was getting further away. Whatever that bystander was doing, it was keeping the catcaller's attention.

"Let's book it." Rayan quickly suggested.

"Sounds good." Michael let go of Rayan's hand as they took off down the sidewalk and around the corner. Their destination was in sight. They didn't stop until they were safely inside the building, both of them having to catch their breaths.

"That... Was terrifying..." Rayan panted.

"Yeah... Lucky for us... That guy stepped in..."

"You think he'll get arrested?"

"Not a chance." Michael wiped the sweat from his brow. "Ugh, my color's gonna fade faster if I get all sweaty."

"Let's just get our food and sit down. The AC feels great in here."

In no time, they were sitting in a booth near the back of the restaurant with their meals, somewhere they were out of sight of the front window, but in a good location to watch the door just in case. A large fries was dumped out on the tray between them. Michael had a huge burger, while Rayan had a chicken sandwich.

"Mmm..." Michael tucked into his food. "Running sure builds up an appetite."

"One way to think about it," Rayan chuckled.

"Hey, let me see your phone, I'll take that selfie for you."

"What? Can we eat first?"

"Show off your nom face. That's totally trending right now."

"... Really?" Rayan gave his friend an incredulous look.

"What's trending is the one thing you can trust me on."

"Fair enough..." Rayan opened the camera on his phone and handed it over.

Michael fiddled with the settings a bit then swung around to sit next to his friend. "Okay, so fries in hand, pose like this, and one more thing..." He pulled the band out of Rayan's hair. "Gotta show off your haircut, see if he notices."

"I doubt he will."

"Consider it a test." Michael held Rayan's phone out at arm length and pressed his cheek tight against his friend's. "Okay, three two one, smile!" He pressed the shutter button several times.

"Cool, now give me my phone back."

"Wait, I'm going to send the best one to myself first. I need something to upload later today." Michael slid back over to his seat, messing with Rayan's phone. Rayan went back to eating with a sigh.

"Are you going to put one of those crazy filters over it?"

"Probably. Huh, is there only one contact in here called 'Scott'? No cute nicknames yet?"

"Alright, give it back." Rayan snatched his phone away, only to see the picture had already been sent. He shot his friend a dirty look. "You could've at least let me see it first. I would have sent it to him."

"Just making sure you deliver on your promise. I want ice cream!"

--------------------

Scott's phone had two notifications by the time he got back to his office. He smiled when he saw who they were from. He opened the text app, and when the picture loaded you could practically hear his heartbeat as he grinned from ear to ear. He didn't have to wonder what Rayan's hair looked like when it was down anymore.

The message under it read:

RAYAN – [Sorry, my friend sent this without letting me see it first. Hope you're having a good day at work!]

Rayan's friend must be the other guy in the picture. He was certainly flashy, from his bright hair to his embellished collar. From the way he was posed, it looked like he was the one who took the picture. Scott sent a silent thanks, then replied:

SCOTT – [My day got even better knowing you're thinking of me <3]

SCOTT – [Did you get a haircut?]