Chapter Text
Zach sighs as he walks along the pavement, kicking a few small rocks on his way. Making ends meet is getting more and more difficult these days, especially in an expensive city like LA. He still believes that one day, his big break will finally come, and he won’t have to work 2 or 3 jobs and go to every casting call in the city at the same time. Although there are moments when he begins to wonder if his life would turn out like the countless actors who never find a big break in their career and have to spend the rest of their lives playing people in the crowd or insignificant roles that only have a 2 – second screen time. He respects those people, he really does, because without them there wouldn’t be a movie, but still, he doesn’t want to end up like them. And that is not counting the fact that he has to hide who he is all the time.
Zach snorts as he rounds a corner. Growing up as a gay Alpha has never been easy. He has to constantly hides who he really is, both as gay and as an Alpha. The gay part is not too bad, since the world has become more and more open to gay people, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe and comfortable being gay. He’s not ashamed, he just doesn’t think it’s anyone’s business who he sleeps with, yet he still has to hide it since he knows that being out is like murdering his own career (that is, if he has a career). Big as it is, Hollywood is still homophobic as fuck, and Zach just doesn’t want to take that chance. Luckily for him, his half – Irish, half – Italian heritage helps him quite a big deal. With his dark, intense look, nobody thinks he’s actually gay. In fact, people tend to steer clear of him if possible. But it’s his looks that gets him in trouble, because people also assume that he’s an Alpha, and even though they’re not wrong, he never misses a chance to correct them. “No, I’m actually just a Beta.” – he would say with the gentlest smile he could pull off.
Because being an Alpha is like the worst thing ever.
The society still think of Alphas as primitive creatures who are harmful to everyone else around them once they go into heat (even though an Alpha only goes into heat if he / she catches the scent of an Omega in heat), and the fact that Alphas are naturally stronger and tougher than Betas and Omegas does not help one bit. Not to mention a high percentage of crimes and bad deeds are indeed caught by asshole Alphas, which only worsen the society’s opinion on Alphas. Granted, not all Alphas are the same, but one nice Alpha isn’t going to change everyone’s opinion, especially a nobody like him. Zach actually counts himself lucky since he has a stronger resistance to Omega pheromones than most Alpha, that is he doesn’t immediately react to it, which lets him excuse himself to move to a safer distance where it doesn’t affect him anymore. It’s thanks to this that he never has any incidents, and has been successfully hiding his true identity. But he still wishes he were a Beta like Joe. Life would have been much easier.
Zach shakes his head, getting rid of all the pessimistic thoughts. He needs to stay optimistic, he’s going to find a huge role that suits him, and he’s going to make a name in the industry. He didn’t spend all those years at Carnegie for nothing. Smiling to himself, he’s about to round another corner which lead to his apartment building, when he hears it. He follows the ‘thud’ ‘thud’ ‘thud’ sound, and finally comes to one of those sketchy alleys not too far from his building. And even though it isn’t exactly light out anymore, he can still make out the 3 figures standing above another figure, who is lying unmoving on the ground. Zach’s eyes widened when he sees one of the 3 figures is doing something very similar to opening the fly of his pants.
Oh no. Not gonna happen.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” – Zach growled, outright growled, using the deep rumble voice that he almost never uses, his face forming an angry frown. It has the desired effect, as the 3 figures turns towards him, and their cockiness immediately turned into fear.
“Fuck! An Alpha!” – they immediately scrambled away, leaving the unconscious guy on the ground. Zach doesn’t bother to give chase, as it’s not his purpose. He immediately kneels down on the ground to check on the unconscious guy, who is lying face down on the ground. He doesn’t appear to have sustained any dangerous injuries, probably just a concussion at most, and his belongings seem to be intact. Sighing in relief, Zach is about to turn him around to make sure his front doesn’t sustain any other injury when the scent hits his nostrils.
An Omega.
Zach’s first reaction is getting ready to bolt. He can’t afford losing control in public, it would end everything he has worked for. But he calms down as soon as he realizes that the Ome… the other guy isn’t in heat, it’s just his natural scent. A case of going too long without his suppressant. Zach shook his head. Does this guy want to get himself in trouble? Everyone knows that an Omega without suppressant is the easiest to attract all sorts of… bad guys. Sighing, Zach kneels down on the floor again and turns the guy’s face up to make sure he doesn’t sustain any other injury when his breath hitches.
Because in front of him right now is the most beautiful guy he has ever seen in his life.
Brown hair cut short, face clean – shaven, all of which make him look much younger than his real age, Zach assumes. His lips are a little swollen and he has a black eye, but that doesn’t make him any less attractive. And he looks so young and vulnerable lying there on the ground, it stirs something within Zach. He suddenly has an urge to protect this guy, to cherish him, to not let any harm come to him ever again. Zach has to shake his head a few times to clear all these urges. Nope, this guy is just a stranger. Can’t do anything. Have to get him to a hospital.
And that’s when Zach realizes the nearest hospital is a 30-minute drive away, and he doesn’t have a car. And carrying an unconscious guy on public transport isn’t really an option.
Zach sighed as he looked at the guy again. His injuries don’t seem to be too bad. Running his hand through his thick hair (he probably needs a haircut soon), Zach lets out a frustrated noise before he lifts the guy up in his arms and begins to head for his apartment. Guess he’s sleeping on the couch tonight.
Fortunately, he doesn’t run into anyone on his way home.
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Zach is cooking dinner when he hears his bedroom door open. Guessing that his guest has awakened, he turns off the stove and moves out of the kitchen, only to see his guest standing at his bedroom door, glancing around. He startles a little bit when he sees Zach, but he quickly regains composure, yet his eyes still seem wary. Talking about those eyes…
Zach suddenly forgets how to breathe as he stares into the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen.
Cerulean. Bombay sapphire. The deep end of the pool. The most beautiful shade of blue he has ever seen.
Realizing he is staring, Zach clears his throat, feeling his cheeks heating up.
“Uhm… I see you’re awake. That’s good.” – Zach is berating himself on the inside. Where the fuck does all his confidence disappear to? – “You… Do you feel better? Do you need to go to a hospital?”
Instead of answering, the guy just eyes him curiously before glancing around the house.
“This is your apartment? You brought me here? Last thing I remember, I was trying to fight off those thugs when one of them hit me in the back of my head and I can’t remember anything else after that.”
“Yeah, I think that hit was what I heard, so I followed the sound to see what was going on.” – Zach runs his fingers through his hair – “They were about to… Anyway, I scared them away, and I couldn’t just leave you lying there unconscious… I thought your injuries were not to bad so I didn’t think it was necessary to take you to a hospital, but if you need to, I can accompany you. I don’t have a car, but I can show you the way via public transport…” – Zach trailed off, noticing that the guy was narrowing his eyes – “What?”
“You… scared them off?” – the guy asked warily – “As far as I can tell, they were all Betas since I doubt any of them can take me down alone. The only way for you to scare them off so easily… You’re an Alpha, aren’t you?”
Zach winces. Damn it! He shouldn’t have slipped like that!
“Er… No? I just threatened to call the police, yeah! So they ran off. I’m not an Alpha, no. I’m just a Beta.” – Zach said, laughing nervously, but even he knew that he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“How dumb do you think I am?” – the other guy just crossed his arms in front of his chest – “I kind of suspected it anyway, there’s no way a Beta or Omega guy could fight off all 3 of them at once.”
Zach sighed. He knew there’s no getting out of this one.
“Okay, I’m an Alpha. But I’m not… I mean, I’m not what you usually hear about Alphas. I swear…” – he rushes to explain, but the other guy just holds his hand up, signalling him to stop ranting. And… is he smiling?
“My clothes and my belongings are intact, and apparently, you saved me from… something really bad. Honestly, I don’t know what would become of me had you not interfered. So yeah, I can tell you’re a decent guy. No need to explain yourself, I understand.” – the guy grinned, and Zach is taken aback. His smile is… blinding.
“Oh, okay. It’s…. That’s good. I guess.” – Zach is having trouble forming a reply. Damn it, where is his usual eloquence?
The other guy just nods, still smiling. He glances out of the window before turning back to Zach.
“Hey, do you mind… accompanying me home? I can tell from the view that your place isn’t too far from mine, and normally I don’t have any trouble, but… you know…” – the guy says, gesturing all over himself – “I don’t have my suppressant with me. And you probably know how dangerous it is for an Omega without suppressant to wander the street, especially at night.”
Zach blinks. It takes him a few seconds to finally register what the guy is telling him, and when he does, he can’t nod his head fast enough.
“Sure! Of course, I’ll walk you home.” – Zach says, and is rewarded by another blinding smile. But he doesn’t want to part ways so soon, so he gestures towards the kitchen – “I’m making dinner though, it should be done soon. Do you want to… have dinner first? I’ll walk you home afterwards.”
The guy seems to be contemplating Zach’s offer, and Zach puts his hands in his pockets to hide the fact that he’s nervous as fuck. He can feel his palms sweating, and damn it, what’s wrong with him? He can’t remember ever being this nervous. He’s used to being confident, damn it!
“Sure, I guess.” – the guy smiles, and Zach lets out a breath he doesn’t realize he has been holding. He nods and turns towards the kitchen when the guy speaks again.
“My name is Chris, by the way.”
“Oh. Hello, Chris.” – Zach grins back – “Call me Zach.”
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“So, why don’t you carry suppressants with you?” – Zach asks as they walk along the sidewalk towards Chris’ place. Like Chris had suspected, his scent has been attracting quite a number of Betas, and even a few Alphas, but all of them turn the other way as soon as Zach shoots them a glare.
“I do, but I have been out of town for a couple days now.” – Chris shrugs – “I thought I had brought enough, but I ended up one day short. It was just one day, so I don’t want to waste a lot of money on it, and I thought I could make it home in time and replenish at my local store, but it’s just my luck I ran into those assholes. And to think it was only a few blocks away from my place too.” – he grunted the last part.
“Well, I guess it was fortunate I came across you then.” – Zach puts his hands behind his head.
“Yeah. I can’t thank you enough.” – Chris sighs before looking at Zach quizzically – “Aren’t you affected by my pheromones though? Are all the things we hear about Alphas going crazy whenever they smell and Omega’s scent just a lie?”
“It’s not a lie, just… an exaggeration, I guess?” – Zach shrugs – “The urges only become uncontrollable during an Omega’s heat, or so I’ve been told since I’ve never been in such a circumstance, and I try to keep it that way. If it’s just an Omega’s regular pheromones, then yes, it does affect us, but no more than finding someone hot, actually. We can choose to act on it, or not.” – Zach sighed – “Sadly, a lot of Alphas and Betas choose to force themselves on the unwilling Omegas, and then blame it on the Omegas for using their scents to seduce them. It’s not the Omegas’ fault, just because they’re giving out these pheromones doesn’t mean they’re inviting you to come and do it. Not without explicit consent.”
“Ugh, I know right?” – Chris groans in frustration – “I hate the fact that I have to take my suppressants every single day. In fact, today is the first day I go without it, and look what happened. Granted that it’s much cheaper if you have a local store to register to, but that doesn’t mean everyone can afford it. And we shouldn’t have to take it just because Alphas and Betas can’t control themselves.”
“They can, they just choose not to. It’s not your fault, it’s theirs.” – Zach says as they reach Chris’ apartment building – “However, with the world being the way it is, it’s best if you keep on taking your suppressants. Don’t go around without it just to prove a point that you shouldn’t need it. I agree with you, but you’re more likely to get yourself attacked than actually proving anything.”
“I know. I’ll be careful. And thank you so much for what you did today. It’s nice to know there are still nice Alphas out there.” – Chris smiles, and Zach’s insides is doing a somersault. He doesn’t want to say goodbye, but he guesses time’s up.
“I… guess I’ll see you around?” – Zach says and puts on a smile, hopeful that Chris would suggest spending time together sometime. But Chris just nods, so his smile falls a little bit. He waves at Chris before turning around to walk home, trying not to let his disappointment show. Damn him and his habit of crushing on unobtainable people.
“Wait, Zach!” – Chris calls out when Zach had only taken a few steps – “I… err” – Chris is trying to find words, and… is he blushing?
“I… work out at the gym a few blocks away. You know it, right?” – Chris asks, and Zach nods. It’s the only gym in the area, and he works out there too. Wonder why he hasn’t seen Chris before?
“Do you… uhm… want to hang out sometime?” – Chris asks, and there’s no doubt he’s blushing. And Zach can’t help it. He grins. Widely.
“Sure!” – is all he said, and he is still grinning as Chris writes his number on a piece of paper he tears from his notebook.
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“Zachary!” – Chris grins as he sits down next to his friend at the bar.
“Go fuck yourself.” – Zach grunts, but it only makes Chris grin wider.
“Wow, someone’s cranky today.” – Chris whistles before waving at the bartender – “I’ll have what he’s having, please.”
“Why are you so cheerful today anyway?” – Zach sighed, still not looking at his friend – “You finally finished this grand novel you’ve been planning to write since, I don’t know, before we met?”
“Oh shut up. I will get around to it someday.” – Chris is still grinning – “But no, it’s not it. Guess who was cast opposite Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries 2?”
“Disney? Princess Diaries?” – Zach snorts into his beer and shakes his head – “I don’t know if I should offer you my congratulations or condolences.”
“Oh shut up.” – Chris laughed as he punched Zach’s shoulder – “So how’s 24?”
“My contract is for this upcoming season only, so I don’t know. We’ll see if I get to extend it or not.” – Zach shrugs, and the bartender chooses that moment to arrive with Chris’ drink. As Chris is about to pull out his wallet, Zach stops him.
“Nah, let me.” – Zach says, throwing a bill on the counter – “I gotta congratulate you on your new job, right? Take all those Omega stereotypes and shove it up their asses. You got it.”
“Thanks, Zach. That means a lot to me.” – Chris smiles, and Zach just grins back, and Chris wonders if Zach knows how beautiful his smile is. It’s moments like this that make Chris fall for Zach even more.
If only Zach feels the same, Chris thinks sadly to himself.