Mylo is up early as usual these days, he tries his hardest not to make a sound each time he is preparing to leave for school.
It was the weekend and he knew he had to mentally prepare himself, challenge himself to have a meaningful conversation with Anya later tonight.
He can't weird her out!
He hung his school bag, his cheap worn out trainers in his hands as he padded on the floor with his socks to the door. He is opening the doorknob slowly when Baldwin clears his throats, his hair tousled from sleep.
Mylo froze.
Baldwin crossed into the kitchen, taking out a bottle of his favorite beer, he took a swig, his eyes boring holes on Mylo's back, "You have been leaving too early for school lately, what is going on?"
Mylo knows he can't tell his father he goes to school early so he could clean the toilet on floor 3 and mop the whole floor before other students arrive. And that he has to kneel with a hamburger in his hands for some Alpha to come and take it.
"School work," Mylo replies dryly.
Baldwin observes him, annoyed at the boy's lack of sensibility, "You don't talk to an elder with your back on them. It's rude."
Mylo turns around quietly, his head down.
"Good," Baldwin takes another swig of his beer, "Whatever you do today, be back home at 6 pm. Your mother and I are going to have a house-to -house fellowship in the neighborhood. We will try and gather as many members as possible and officially open the door to our church on Sunday."
"What?" Mylo gasped loudly and bit his bottom lips to control himself, his fist bawling tightly beside him. He couldn't do this… He can't stay back from that party… He wants to go… so badly.
He doesn't want to go to this fellowship
"Can I not go, father?" Mylo dares to ask, his tone hopeful, "I have school work and night class. I promise I will return home before 10 pm."
Baldwin gives Mylo a murderous stare, "How dare you make demands? What right do you have here?" Baldwin is surprised at Mylo's boldness to talk back at him.
Mylo was really going overboard with his attitude and he has to investigate what has been going on with the boy in the last few days at his school.
He just hopes he hasn't joined a bad gang or doing faggot bullshit.
"I wasn't asking you to come, I was telling you to. Now leave my face and don't be late."
Mylo didn't say anything further, he turned around and walked out of the house. He walked miles to school, his exhaled breath creating a misty fog under the frigid weather.
The corner of Mylo's lips lifted at Zeke waving at him from the school gate.
They run into the building together, an unfair game as Zeke holds onto Mylo's shirt, stopping the younger from going into the door first. They struggled, laughing at their own silliness. They cleaned the whole building, leaving everywhere sparkling clean.
"Here, he is going to be here soon," Zeke passed a hamburger bag and hot chocolate to Mylo.
"Where are you getting the money to buy this? I won't repay you."
Zeke beamed, "My mother gives me money daily and I know you don't have money and if you don't buy it Alpha Ryker will have his Beta beat us up again," Zeke also thinks about the doctor's words, he can't let Mylo get hurt again.
"But what he is doing is wrong. Isn't he rich or something?" Mylo takes the bag, his stomach crawling at the smell of the hamburger hitting his nose.
Zeke laughs at the sound Mylo's stomach is making, passing him another bag , "This is yours. You should be lucky Alpha Ryker didn't ask you to buy his basketball or his basketball shoes. They cost thousands," Goosebumps wash over Zeke's skin at the thought of asking such an amount from his mother.
"Why is he like that?"
"I don't know many details but some people said that he changed when he returned from seclusion."
"Selcuison?"
Zeke looks at Mylo patiently, biting on his own hamburger, "Every Alpha eligible to become the Alpha King goes into seclusion for fifteen years. The same goes for Alpha Royce and Alpha Ryker. They went into one when they were just five years old and surprisingly they both came back alive."
"Surprisingly? What do you mean?"
"Usually if five candidates are sent in, only one returns."
Mylo wants to say something when the door opens to Alpha Ryker standing there with his hands in his pocket, his Betas behind him. He scrambled to stand up, rushing to the door as he kneels before the Alpha. He raised up the hamburger bag and hot chocolate in both hands, his head low.
Zeke hurries to hide the one he and Mylo were eating, his eyes on the ground.
Ryker watched them curiously, his expression calm. He looks down at Mylo, noticing the cheese stain on the corner of his lips.
He blinked, looking away from the boy's clumsy state.
He coughs as his throat is suddenly dry.
He snatched the drink and bag from Mylo, his eyes avoiding Mylo's face, especially his lips. He couldn't help but notice how unearthly pretty cherry looking they are.
"Get lost!"
Mylo and Zeke didn't need to be told twice, they picked up their bags and rush out of the restroom on floor 3. With a deep sigh of relief.
Mylo is rubbing his hand on his chest, trying to stop himself from passing out. He fears the Alpha with everything in him.
Mylo looks up at Zeke as he is silent, a deep frown forming on the friend's forehead, "What's up?"
"I think Alpha Ryker is going easy on us. He found us eating in his yard and he didn't punish us. He didn't inspect our job and told us to leave."
"I don't see how he is going easy on us," Mylo knows this feeling, he knows it's one of those days your bully is tired of bullying you but it doesn't mean they hate you less, it means they just can't stand you so they avoid you.
Mylo returns back to their lecture hall to see his course mates gathering around his seat.
His heart dropped at the scene.
One of the students noticed him, "Oh, he is here!" And just like that everyone disappeared from his seat, going back to theirs.
Zeke walks to Mylo's seat first, holding in his laughter.
Mylo, who didn't notice this as he was keeping his face down from all the attention he was receiving. He drags his feet to his seat, ignoring the comments falling on his ears.
"He is just a human from a no name city. How is he doing it?"
"I can't believe someone in our class level is receiving gifts from Alpha Royce. Do you think he is pursuing him?"
One of the students slaps the other on the wrist, "Do you think the Alpha will go after a mutt? Tch, we are talking about the future of the Waning Moon Pack here, not the orphanage."
Mylo paused on his steps at the big designer white bag on his desk. He could see the smiley face card with Royce written on it.
He picks up the bag without bothering to know what is inside it. He walks straight to the dustbin and dumps it there, returning to his seat.
The whole class gasps, looking at each other with surprised faces.
Zeke immediately runs to pick up the bag from the dustbin, keeping it beside him.
Anya watches everything quietly from her seat, worried about Mylo.
~
It was 5 pm when Mylo's finally finished with his classes but he didn't move from his seat, unlike everyone hurrying to go home.
Anya stops by, her tone unsure, "Mylo, I will see you in a few hours, right?"
Mylo nods, his face flushed, "Yeah," He answers her as if convincing himself. He knows he is going to face hell if he disobeys his parents, he knows God is going to hate him if he stays back from church fellowship.
He is going to commit a great sin if he doesn't go home.
And he should when he still has the time.
But he can't bring himself to turn down the thoughts of spending time with Anya, or not going to a party he was invited to.
Zeke watches as Mylo packs his books reluctantly, zoning out of reality. He gently smacks his note on Mylo's head as Mylo was still looking in the directions that Anya had longed disappeared from.
"Ouch," Mylo eyes Zeke, picking his own book to smack him back.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Mylo fidgets, the weight of sins weighing on his shoulders.
"Are you sure you want to go to this party?"
"I want to."
"Then why do you look like you're about to pee in your pants?"
"Don't say that," Mylo croaked, unable to share his weight.
"What are you wearing to the party?"
Mylo looks at the blue shirt and faded jeans he is currently wearing, "This ofcourse," Mylo tells him the obvious.
Zeke shakes his head, speechless, "Do you want to go to my house?"
"What?"
"Don't worry, my mother has a night shift. She won't be home by the time we get there."
"No… I can't."
"Don't be silly, Mylo. You are not planning to wear this to the Party, are you? Do you think they will let you in? Anya's father is the Northern Lantern City Top Journalist. Her family is packed."
Mylo is rethinking his decision.
"Come to my place, I will give you my clothes, shoes and fix your hair a little and then we will get a taxi ride there," Zeke chided, fishing out his phone.
"You…" Mylo stops himself from uttering nonsense, unable to express how grateful he feels to have someone like Zeke, "Thank you."
"If I don't go with you, you might get into trouble."