Unease

In the classroom.

After the lunch break ended, two classes came and went, now that the last class was nearly over Felix had yet to return.

Though the omega had told Elliot that he was just going to the washroom, he had not come back for the classes.

Perhaps there was no need for him to be worried about Felix, but Elliot could not ignore the worried twist in his gut which told him that his best friend's delay was very, very concerning.

Especially considering that state he had been prior to his trip to the washroom.

The worry twisting in his gut was nearly overwhelming to the point where Elliot could barely bring himself to focus on the lesson being taught by the teacher.

He couldn't focus, over and over again, his mind wandered towards Felix and his heart sank further with each passing second that he was absent.

Elliot tightly clenched the pen in his hand and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

'Felix,' he thought, swallowing thickly as a bad premonition in his heart grew stronger. 'Where are you?'

Then, he took a deep breath and tried to take the notes he knew both him and his omega best friend would be pouring over later.

Where are you? Where are you? Where are you—

Elliot blinked, staring at his notebook which was now filled with the same phrase he was repeating in his mind over and over again.

He took another deep breath, his throat felt tight as his worry for his best friend grew. Fifteen minutes until the last class was over for good.

Then— then he would be able to go and look for Felix. Yes, yes. He just needed to hold on for a few more minutes.

Yes. Surely, nothing too bad must have happened.

…Right?

Wrong.

The moment the last bell rang, Elliot bolted out of his seat, pale with worry as he swiftly hoisted his and Felix's bag on his shoulders and ran out of the classroom, leaving his bewildered classmates to look at his back.

Felix hadn't returned until the last bell. The omega did not come back even when the last class came to an end.

Elliot frowned hard, clutching the backpacks' straps tightly as he sprinted through the hallways, resolutely ignoring the loud reprimands of his teacher.

Something was definitely wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. And rarely were his, an alpha's, gut feelings — intuitions — incorrect.

Something must have happened to Felix, something must have gone wrong for the omega to skip the classes and not come back, even if just to get his backpack.

The Felix Altan Elliot was extremely familiar with was no one to bunk classes and laze around. Especially with his dream of entering law school and becoming a lawyer.

Just like his father. And just to get out from under his mother's thumb.

His Felix wasn't like that. Never. The Felix he knew was like that.

Elliot took in a harsh breath, lungs burning from running across the school as he pushed past the throes of students.

"Hey, Elliot—"

"—Excuse me—" he slipped past his friends "—I'm sorry!" He grimaced as he bumped into another and kept running.

Elliot's other friends looked at his rapidly retreating back, feeling somewhat bewildered as they turned to stare.

"What's wrong with this guy?" One asked, blinking slowly. "Why's he in such a rush?"

Another shrugged. "No idea, buddy. Wait… Where's Felix??"

The alpha frowned. "Yeah, aren't they, like, always together, where's Felix?"

"No idea, I haven't seen him since lunch break."

"He… might have gone home, you think?"

The two of them left the school, talking with each other, ignorant of the thin trail of blood lining the blood. Someone might have needed their help when they were busy.

…

On the other side of the school.

Elliot stood in front of the Omega's washroom, holding two backpacks as he panted harshly. A bead of sweat trickled down his temples as he swallowed, heart thundering against his chest.

His heart was beating frantically, thudding against his ribs as he tried to regulate his breathing. His sternum seemed to protest against the rapid pace of his heart.

Closing his eyes, the alpha took a deep breath and took a step towards the closed door.

"Fe, Felix?" He called out, keeping his voice low and tone cautious. "Are you there?"

Yes, maybe he was just resting there, after all he hadn't been feeling the best when he went in, was he?

Elliot tried to console himself, unsure of why the bad feeling in his heart wouldn't go away.

"Felix, I, I am coming in… Are you all right?" He asked once more, resting his hand on the doorknob as he twisted it slowly. "Felix, I'm coming in. Let's go ho—"

All the words he had intended to speak became stuck in his throat as soon as he pushed the door open.

Elliot froze, his mind blanked as he clenched the doorknob tightly.

The very moment he took a step into the washroom, all his senses were ruthlessly assaulted by the overwhelmingly intense scent of Felix's pheromones.

But that was not that problem. No. It wasn't.

The problem was the magnitude of intensity of Felix's pheromones pointed at one thing—

—His omega best friend had gone into estrous. He had gone into estrous when Elliot had not been by his side.

Not only had Felix gone into estrous in Elliot's absence. He hadn't been alone either.

Elliot rushed in, following the scent as he shuddered. One bad thought after another assaulted his mind.

Felix wasn't alone. There had been some alpha in here.

The deeper he walked, the more intense Felix's scent and that unknown alpha's scent became. Nausea rolled in Elliot's stomach, knees turning weak as he stood in front of the mirror, eyes wide with horror.

His gaze stuck to the unused, discarded inhibitor thrown on the floor.

And most importantly, the glaring red blood staining the floor as it gathered in a pool mixed with something white which he could only identify as...

... Semen.