Matt shook his wrist a little, still rather conscious of the bracelet. He touched the charm gently and gave a half smile. He never really imagined that his life would ever be so crazy. He'd mostly imagined that he'd go off to college and become something boring like a doctor. He was sure that at one time he'd had it all planned out, but right then, sitting in the middle of History, thinking of only the four supernatural beings that wanted to claim him, he had nothing planned out. He had no idea where his life was headed and he wasn't sure he minded at all.

He tried to focus on Alaric's teaching, but he couldn't. He was too busy worrying about what was in store for him after school. It was hard to imagine Tyler showing up after his embarrassing moment this morning, but who knew? Matt didn't understand how the heat thing worked, but he guessed it drew the vampires and hybrids to him without their consent, which meant that Tyler could be doing a lot of embarrassing things if the heat compelled him to. Matt briefly grinned. That made him sort of powerful, didn't it? He shook his head and rolled his eyes. Don't get full of yourself, he silently chided himself.

The bell rang in its loud, obnoxious way, effectively shaking Matt from his thoughts. He started for the door, but was interrupted by Alaric calling out to him. Matt inwardly groaned. Great, just what I need, I lecture on paying attention in class, Matt thought miserably. He swung back around and shuffled to Alaric's desk with dread. Alaric waited patiently for all the students to leave before he began to speak.

"Hey, you doing ok?"

Alaric's soft voice shocked Matt. He was expecting a reprimanding not comfort.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered.

"No, no," Alaric said, "You misunderstand me: are you ok, down there?"

His eyes flicked down briefly, not really resting on anything before meeting Matt's again. Matt blushed scarlet and turned his head away in embarrassment.

"I-it still hurts a bit," he admitted quietly.

"Bit of a sore ache?" Alaric suggested.

Matt looked up in surprise.

"How did you know?" he questioned.

"I've been there," Alaric confessed in an almost defiant tone.

"What happened?" Matt blurted before he thought.

His eyes widened and he sputtered slightly.

"Oh-oh shit, sorry!" Matt said hastily, "That was rude. Sorry. Stupid. Just ignore me."

"It's ok, it's ok," Alaric assured him.

Matt gave him a sad, sympathetic expression and Alaric smiled gently.

"I was fifteen when it started," Alaric said, his voice going firm, "It was horrible. He was horrible. I endured it until I was eighteen. Then I ran. A teacher. History teacher, actually. Isn't that funny? I think I became a History teacher to try to even out the world or something. Hoping that one good one would cancel out one bad one. Kind of stupid, I know. That's all there really is to it."

Matt's chest ached and he threw his arms around the pretend stoic.

"I'm so sorry," Matt said, his own voice breaking, "I'm so, so sorry."

Alaric staggered slightly, stunned by the sudden hug. Matt felt his eyes burning as tears started to form. He sniffed and squeezed Alaric harder.

"It's j-just so unf-fair!" Matt wailed, "Wh-why d-did this h-have to happen to y-you?!"

"Oh, Jesus," Alaric muttered, "Matt, you need relax. This is just the heat. It's sent your hormones haywire. Calm down. Deep breaths."

Matt took some shuddering breaths, trying to calm himself and pushed away from Alaric.

"Shit, sorry," Matt muttered, rubbing at his eyes.

One fist was still curled tightly in Alaric's shirt and Matt stared at it as though to will it to uncurl. Apparently, his will wasn't strong enough because it stayed where it was, seemingly content to stay nestled in Alaric's shirt for eternity. Matt looked up into Alaric's chocolate eyes. Matt felt himself slip into them like the Chocolate River on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He shivered. Alaric is…Matt's thoughts stuttered to a halt as he suddenly became aware of how close and how hot Alaric was. He turned beet red and jerked away, crashing into a desk.

He lost his balance and unceremoniously fell on his butt. He winced horribly and muttered something about hybrids. Alaric offered him a hand, which he took hesitantly. Alaric hauled him easily to his feet and patted his shoulder.

"You alright?" Alaric questioned, his voice coming out smooth and sweet like honey.

Matt shoved a hand against Alaric's chest, pushing him away.

"J-Jesus," he stammered, the redness in his face far from disappearing, "This…thing has got me all fucked up. Don't be so close. Sorry, hormones I guess."

Alaric gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's alright," he assured him, that sweet, sweet voice filled with concern, "Being a teenager doesn't help either."

"And I just realized I'm gay," Matt burst out.

He was pretty sure his face was going to be dyed permanently red at this point.

"Oh, well, yeah, that can't be helpfully for the entire thing," Alaric agreed, "And I hate to tell you, you aren't going to have it easy until you've been claimed."

Matt groaned in frustration (more than one type) and realized hazily that his hand was still on Alaric's chest. He once again focused on the offending limb. He flexed his fingers slightly as he stared.

"Damn, your chest is really hard," Matt said, embarrassed at the slight moan in his voice.

"I am a hunter," Alaric laughed, "You should probably remove your hand now, Matt. You have class."

Matt really didn't fully register what Alaric said, but he slowly and painfully removed his hand from the older man's chest. Oh god, if he ever wanted to…Matt halted the thought before allowing it to derail and crash into a fiery gay mess. He started for the door, staggering as he went.

"Right, class," he stumbled into a desk and scrambled to stop it from falling over, "Sorry, class. Jesus."

He tripped through the door and strode as quickly away as possible. His face was scarlet and he couldn't help but wonder what the hell he'd done to deserve this embarrassment. Unbeknownst to him, Alaric was chuckling softly and shaking his head.

"Poor kid," he muttered half-sad and half-amused, "This is just the beginning."

Little note: So I'm not even sure what I'm doing any more with this fic. Let me know if ya'll think it's gettin' crazy. XD Anyway, you all are great with the reviews, follows and favorites! I LOVE YOU ALL!