It was just another Monday morning, only a little over a month into the new school year, and it was looking like it was going to be exactly like the start of every other week since Matt had began to attend high school three years ago. Awkwardly pulling up the hood of his over sized, red sweatshirt to hide among it's folds, the teenager hoped it would help in not drawing attention to himself.

Just like the rest of the world, the school largely ran according to an unspoken hierarchy, based on one's type. Alphas, of course ranked, the highest on this scale (like always,) followed by the Betas, and finally the Omegas, but there was even a 'sort of' rankings among each gender class, and that is where Matthew Williams, a young Alpha, found himself at a loss.

Among the Alphas, the strongest, boldest, and most often, loudest, ones ran the school. Next up was their lackeys. Typical Alpha brutes, who had the bark, but not the bite to back it, and tended to sucked up to the 'top dogs' so that they would have their backs in fights. Then there was the last group, the group that Matthew was in. Either physically or mentally weak, and unable to compete with the others of their type, leaving them doom to being the whipping boys of the more dominate groups.

It was a pathetic place for an Alpha just entering his prime to be in, but Matthew had long since accepted his place in the pecking order.

Still, he was an Alpha, so when the sweet scent of a Omega in delight and open to courtship caught his nose, just like it would have caught the attention of anyone of his type. Even though he had no real intention of pursuing the smell, Matt curiously looked in the direction from which it was coming.

Seeing fellow student, Alfred Jones, confidently flirting with a few of the cute Omega freshman, Matthew felt a wave of envy wash through him. Even if he wasn't interested in those Omegas (or more to the point, they were not interested in him,) it was hard not to feel envious when they were giggling like that, and so eagerly eating up the complements the charismatic blond freely fed them, while he himself, could hardly even say 'good morning' to one, and even when he did manage, never got more then a polite smile in return... but he guessed that was really the most someone of his status could hope for.

Matthew pressed his lips together in a thin line as Alfred flashed his companions a bright smile, and absently pushed his glasses up some as he watched the other blond causally stretch, reaching up to clamp his hands behind his head in a movement that forced his white t-shirt to ride up and show off a hint of well defined abs. He would have thought the gesture innocent, except for the fact that Matt had seen Jones pull off the same shameless move dozen of times before. As expected, the young Omegas pulled out their phones and trade numbers with Alfred. Unable to stand it any longer, Matt turned away in disgust.

His disgust wasn't directed at Alfred or at the Omegas he had managed to attract, though, but at himself. After all, even if he didn't want to admit it, he was jealous of Alfred Jones, and what kind of Alpha got jealous of an Omega? Even if Alfred wasn't your typical Omega, often being more bold and fierce then the average Alpha, and had a way with his fellow Omegas that even the most popular students had trouble competing with, but still...

'Little sluts.' A darker part of the Canadian, most likely the Alpha part, thought in bitter spite as he thought of the unnatural interaction between the Omegas, but Matt quickly scolded himself. While none of them had ever really paid him any mind, they had never hut him either, so what right did he have to judge them so cruelly? Shaking his head at himself, Matthew shut his locker and let out a long sign as he hugged his books to his chest, silently bemoaning his own position in life.

Caught up in his own thoughts, the lowly Alpha turned... and walked straight into another Alpha, one of a much higher social standings. "Eh? Sorry! Sorry!" Matthew said automatically as he came back to reality, seeing no reason not to apologize since he was at fault, and then clenched his books tighter as the slightly shorter man glowered at him, as if the little bump was some big deal.

While, for some reason, it made sense to Matt to apologize for his mistakes, such an action was often taken as a sign of weakness among Alphas, and picking on someone weaker then themselves was an easy way to earn a higher spot up on the 'food chain.' Gilbert Beilschmidt, in that regard, was your typical Alpha. Cocky, head sure, and eager to prove himself.

Years ago, during preadolescence, (before any of them had been old enough for their true scents to have developed,) Matthew had suspected the albino boy of have a crush on him, considering how he had followed him around like a lost puppy, but now, it was fairly clear to Matt that he now saw him as nothing more then just another Alpha...more competition and a easy means to an end. Not even 'friend' worthy.

"You got a problem with me, Williams?" Gilbert growled, red eyes narrowed and his scent spiking aggressively, attracting the attention of passing by students, (many of whom stopped to watch,) and the Canadian could help but back up a step. It was obvious that Matt did not 'have a problem with' the other Alpha, but the blond teen bit back his comments and fought his own instinct to growl, instead looking down and cowering slightly. It was something he had quickly learned to do after being put in his place many times over the past few years.

Despite his submission, Matt internally fumed. 'Really?' He thought what he wish he could say, 'Dozens of people are pushing and shoving their way through the hallway, and you're going to make a big deal out of me bumping into you, you dick?' Of course, the low ranking Alpha would never dare say that aloud. Matthew knew better then to say such a challenging remark, lest he wanted an out right rumble, and honestly, what good would that do anybody? Well, other then giving Gilbert the ability to talk shit about beating someone up again. "Eh?! N-No! Of course not!" He stuttered instead, his pale blue eyes darting about in search of some kind of escape or assistance, but seeing no kind of help in sight, he swallowed, his scent changing to one of unease and fear, which caused a viscous smile to grow on Gilbert's face. "Let's not fi- ...ah!" Matt held up his palms in a gesture of defeat, trying to ease the tension some, but yipped loudly when his attempt to defuse the situation failed and he was suddenly grabbed by the front of his hoodie and slammed him back against the lockers.

Red eyes practically sparkling in delight, it was clear that Gilbert was enjoying his little power play and had no intention of stopping, despite the show of submission. "'Let's not what?' Are you trying to tell me what to do, loser?" Gilbert all but spat, causing a shiver of fear to run down Matthew spine, and a feeling of glee to shot through the aggressor. Intent on making the other Alpha grovel before him, which would undoubtedly increase his own standing and popularity among those who were watching, the albino would have probably continued bullying well into the start of first period, except that his fun was ruined only moments later when a strong hand grabbed the back of his black tee by the collar and ripped him away from the weaker man, practically flinging him through the crowd and back into the wall behind them. Shocked at the unexpected interference, Matthew dropped to the floor once released and watched from where he fell with wide eyes.

"What the hell?!" Was Gilbert responds, as soon as he caught his breath after having the wind knocked from his lungs, and he quickly scrambled to get back to his feet, hoping to save face. Teeth bared and ready for a fight, he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the sandy blonde who stood boldly before him, a cocky, challenging grin on his face. "This has got nothing to do with you, Jones." The Albino growled, his scent and body language clearly showing his mixed emotions about facing off with the Omega. If he lost a fight to Alfred, the majority of the student body would taunt him for losing to an Omega, but if he won a fight against the other, then he would be shunned for beating up an Omega. It was a lose/lose situation, really.

Alfred's smile widened, amused at the doubt the Alpha now radiated. "What's wrong, Beilschmidt? Can't even handle an Omega?" He taunted, his own excitement and glee at humiliating one of the school's higher ranked Alphas tainting his own scent, the un-omega like smell throwing Gilbert off even farther. Frankly speaking, Alfred wasn't the easy target Gilbert had been looking for when he had started the fight with Matthew, but with a statement like that, so causally spoken in front of so many people, Omega or not, there was no way the albino could turn away from this fight without looking like a wimp and ruining his reputation.

Sensing new resolution behind Gilbert's glare, the Omega tensed in anticipation, his own eyes narrowing behind the wire frame of his glasses as he pushed the sleeves of his blue plaid flannel up, out of the way, in preparation for the up coming brawl.

The hallway grew silent as the Alpha and Omega held eye contact, waiting to see who would make the first move, but the bell then rang, signaling the start of class, and a teacher finally decided to poked his head out into the hallway to see what was keeping everyone. Knowing that establishing a pecking order was an important part of an Alphas development, the staff often allowed minor fights to happen, but it was still no excuse for being late to class.

The crowd dissipated with a few sharp words from the teacher shooing them away, and Alfred and Gilbert shared one last glare before the Alpha finally snorted and turned to leave, using the teacher's interference as an excuse to back out of the fight without looking bad. The teacher, a larger Beta with long blond hair, then spared one last look at the remaining two student before simply going back into the classroom, knowing that it wasn't worth dealing with Alfred (who most of the staff had given up on by this point,) and allowing the young Alpha some time alone to nurse his wounded pride.

Breathing a bit heavy, Alfred watched Gilbert's back until he was out of sight and waited for the teacher to leave before he finally turn to look down at where Matthew had slumped to the floor, curled up and hidden in his over sized shirt. "Hey, you okay?" The omega asked, using the softer, warm tone he saved for his fellow Omegas, and got down to his knees so that he'd be about eye level with the man he had just rescued.

Matthew blinked in reply, as if he wasn't sure exactly what just had happened, but then flushed bright red as a realization fully hit him. He had just been saved by an Omega in front of who knew how many people! Groaning aloud in his despair, the Canadian Alpha shut his eyes and let his head fall back against his locker with a loud clank. If he had thought his reputation was bad before, he couldn't imagine what he was going to have to put up with when word of this fight got around the school. 'Great. Just great.' He thought to himself. At least if Gilbert had beaten him up, Matt would have gotten some credit for not running away, but to have an Omega save you, well... he might as well just paint a big bull's eye on his face and let all of the Alpha within ten miles line up and take their turn using him as their personal punching bag.

Matt's action startled Alfred, and the Omega quickly shuffled forward, practically crawling into the other's lap in his concerned, and reached up to cup Matt's face between both hands. "Whoa, did he hit you or somethin' before I got here? You got a concussion, maybe?" He asked, and Matthew opened his eyes in surprise at Al's sudden closeness, and was then forced to face his concerned savior face to face, close enough that he could feel the other's breath upon his lips. He hadn't expected his heart stop for a split second before speeding back up twice as fast then normal.

That wasn't the face of the tough guy who picked fights around the school and flirted endlessly with his own type, but the face of a healthy, young omega with bright blue eyes that were shining with concern, lightly tanned skin that was slightly flushed from effort, and was absolutely gorgeous in every way... Matt wasn't sure how he had missed something so obvious before. And he was sitting in his lap. 'Oh Maple.' Matthew thought and swallowed hard.

Confused by how the other was acting, the omega breathed in deeply, trying to use the other teen's scent to help determine any sort of injuries as he looked him over. While Alfred hadn't seen anyone hit the stranger, (at least Al assumed he was a stranger, since he was fairly sure he had never seen him before,) as much as Alfred hated to admit it, he had been a little distracted by the man's appearance, and might have missed something. To be perfectly honest, this guy was just Al's type. Even hidden under the hood, Alfred could see blonde hair that curled cutely at the ends and looked soft to the touch, fair skin, and he had a demure personality, meaning he probably was very sweet. True, Alfred typical preferred his love interest to be shorter then him, but he wasn't going to concern himself with such a minor fault...

Alfred's thoughts and concerns came to an abrupt stop and his whole body tensed at a much too familiar smell. With the crowd no longer surrounding them, and the air no longer holding the stink of an aggressive Alpha, only their own scents remained in the hallway, and what he smelled was certainly not the neutral smell of a beta, nor the sweet scent of an omega.

"Holy shit! You're an Alpha?!" Alfred exclaimed, flinging himself away from the other teenager and wrinkling his nose in distaste, as if he had smelled something foul. Matthew couldn't help but feel a little insulted at that.

Pushing himself up to his feet, the Alpha's own nose easily picked up the odd mixture of confused emotions radiating from the Omega at his discovery, and Al's own unease forced Matt's own body to leave off it's own defensive scent, causing the omega to furrow his brow and scowl at the Alpha.

"Of course I'm an Alpha." Matt said in a tone that could almost be considered forceful, but at the sight of the smaller man's body tensing aggressively, he dropped his eyes to the floor as he would do for any Alpha that would have given him such a look. "Sorry." He muttered. Even if Alfred was being a little rude, the guy had just saved him, (even if it was probably going to make his life hell,) so he should at least be polite in return... especially since this particular Omega probably could beat him up if he wanted to, and having an Omega beat him up would probably be the only way his situation could even get any worse then it already was.

The act of submission caught Alfred by surprise, since no self respecting Alpha would so willingly bow down to any Omega, but it made the sandy blond relax some. Alpha or not, this guy had obviously found himself at the bottom of the pack, judging by his reactions. Still, an Alpha was an Alpha, and Alfred wanted nothing to do with their silly kind. Which was a shame cause this one was kind of cute. "Yeah, well, whatever." He muttered, running a hand through his hair as he glanced away from the pathetic Alpha. "'nyways, don't go starting fights that you can't finish. I ain't always gonna be around to save you, ya know?" The Omega called back as he walked away, leaving Matthew where he stood, and gave a halfhearted wave as he went to get on with the rest his day, already planning on putting the whole morning's events behind him and out of his mind.

Matthew frowned, looking up at Alfred once more as he heard his footsteps signaling his departure, and opened his mouth to defend himself, to tell Al that he hadn't started the fight and that he didn't needed his help, but the only sound that came out was a sigh. Sparing the Omega once last glance, (and finding himself unable not to appreciate Alfred's back side), Matt shook his head at his foolishness. No Omega found a wimpy Alpha attractive, and with the toughest Alphas in the school unable to win Al's attention, what chance did someone like him have? It was best not to even humor such thoughts.

Gathering his books, Matthew took one last deep breath, then headed towards his class, hoping that word of his humiliation hadn't spread yet, but upon entering the room and finding 'hygienic slick pads for omegas' decorating his desk with words like 'wimp' and 'pussy' written on them, he knew that was not the case.