Chapter 15

Cleary Wood School, a prestigious private academy nestled between the Hammersmith and Barnes districts of London, was one of the few institutions that offered both a comprehensive five-year secondary curriculum and a specialized two-year sixth form program.

The sole reason Alex had managed to stay by Nathan’s side, along with Tina and Jude, was because they had all collectively decided to prepare for their A-Levels at this exact school.

Considering Nathan’s exceptionally high GCSE scores, his decision not to transfer to a more elite sixth form college had been somewhat surprising, but it had been an absolute godsend for Alex.

Eating lunch together was a sacred tradition they had rigorously maintained for the past two years. Due to the school’s system, where students generally remained with their assigned cohorts until graduation, Alex was relatively close with Tina, who shared his homeroom. Nathan, however, shared a homeroom with Jude, and consequently, with her friend Jessica.

As Alex secured a table in the bustling cafeteria and waited, Jude was the first to arrive. Because she had opted for a STEM-heavy curriculum focused on biology and mathematics, she usually spent her time trailing after Nathan, but the Beta was nowhere to be seen today.

“Hi, Alex!” Jude dropped into the seat beside him, her voice brimming with infectious excitement as she fluttered the pleats of her red tartan skirt.

“Hey,” Alex replied.

With her golden-brown hair styled with soft curls at the very ends, Jude Lawrence was an incredibly sociable, vibrant Beta girl. The mere fact that she had managed to befriend people as notoriously averse to external socializing as Alex and Nathan was a true testament to her blindingly bright personality.

“I’ve been literally waiting for lunchtime just so I could show you this. I’m so excited,” she babbled.

Desperately trying to avoid looking at the girl who was acting as though she were the one getting set up on a date, Alex shifted his gaze. He scanned the cafeteria entrance, but Nathan still hadn’t appeared. Pausing his nervous drumming against the tabletop, Alex finally voiced the burning question. “Where’s Nathan?”

Jude tilted her head to the side, letting out a soft “Ah.”

“Nathan’s with Jessica. She came looking for him right before class ended. The auditorium where she takes her drama class is pretty far from here, so it looks like they ducked out early.”

The moment those words registered, Alex’s appetite completely vanished. The jacket potato he had meticulously planned to eat, generously stuffed with baked beans and savory sauce, instantly lost all its appeal.

“Jessica is honestly incredible,” Jude rambled on, perfectly willing to supply commentary on a topic Alex desperately wanted to avoid. “The fact that she’s still dating him even after Nathan explicitly told her he wasn’t really interested… I kinda respect her for it.”

As she spoke, Tina smoothly slid into the seat across from them. The golden blonde hair, held back neatly by a blue headband, shimmered under the cafeteria lights. Her gentle, serene blue eyes curved into a warm smile as she looked at Alex.

“What are you guys talking about? Hi, Alex.”

“We’re talking about Jessica,” Jude supplied readily.

“Ah, actually, I just saw the two of them walking over together,” Tina noted softly, meticulously aligning her notebooks on the edge of the table.

Both Jude and Tina were naturally cheerful girls, but Tina possessed a far quieter, more grounded personality. She was deeply considerate, ensuring that spending time with her was never a source of discomfort.

However, Tina’s usually soothing voice was pure, agonizing torture for him today. As the conversation inevitably derailed into a barrage of gossip about Jessica, Alex clamped his mouth firmly shut.

Even though he had fiercely resolved to completely give up on Nathan, he desperately needed time. Forcing himself to watch the boy he loved sitting happily beside his girlfriend wasn’t a trauma he could simply recover from overnight. It was infinitely worse given that he had essentially delivered a botched, pathetic confession to Nathan just the day before.

Right as he was frantically debating whether he should make an excuse to flee the table, Nathan strode into the cafeteria. Exactly as Tina had described, Jessica was clinging tightly to his arm. Alex’s gaze snagged on her significantly shortened skirt and the aggressively unbuttoned collar of her blouse.

Does Nathan actually like that kind of look? If so, the physical appearance of his previous girlfriends had been wildly inconsistent. If there was one single, undeniable commonality among them, it was that they were all exceptionally beautiful.

Tina and Jude immediately waved them over. Jessica cheerfully returned the gesture. If a stranger were watching, they would undoubtedly assume the group were all incredibly close friends. A twisted, bitter resentment flared violently in Alex’s chest.

“Hi! Can I eat with you guys today too? Nate said it was okay,” Jessica chirped, directing her words specifically to Tina and Jude with a manufactured sociability she utterly lacked whenever she addressed Alex.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Jude agreed easily.

“Me neither. Hi, Nate,” Tina smiled.

Nate.

The affectionately shortened nickname was being casually tossed around by everyone. Alex knew perfectly well that only a very select, intimate few were granted the privilege of calling Nathan that. Yet, in that sudden, devastating moment, Alex realized with brutal clarity just how profoundly un-special his own position was. He was merely one of Nathan’s many friends. Nothing more.

Nathan offered a curt nod to the girls before turning his gaze directly to Alex. “Hey.”

Their eyes locked. Alex, who had been wearing a terrifyingly pale, ghost-like expression, hastily forced his eyes to crinkle. Summoning a terribly delayed, hollow smile, he greeted him back. “You’re late. You must be starving.”

The response didn’t come from Nathan, but from Jessica. Pressing her body even tighter against the Beta, she rested her cheek affectionately against his shoulder and declared, “I really am! Nate, what should we get?”

“Whatever you want,” Nathan replied bluntly. Yet, despite the cold tone, he didn’t push her away.

“Then let’s go get that,” Jessica announced brightly, physically dragging Nathan toward the serving counter.

Tina merely shrugged at the blatant display, while Jude immediately lost all interest in the couple.

“Alex, look at this. I’ve already picked out a few pictures from Instagram,” Jude announced proudly, clearly vastly more invested in securing Alex an Omega as quickly as humanly possible.

“What’s that?” Tina leaned in with sudden curiosity, and all three pairs of eyes converged eagerly on Jude’s phone screen.

“Alex asked me to set him up with an Omega!” Jude practically squealed.