Ivory's POV

The room is spinning around me. I can see flashes of faces, dad, his friends, Xavier. I can feel their hands on me, the cruel words in my ear. My dad is here, he's going to punish me! Disgusting slut, worthless bitch, his words played over and over in my mind. I tried to remember where I was. I was smelling something, it was so good. Warm and comforting. I need this, burying my nose in the pillow I was holding. More, I need more.

Suddenly I can hear his words, over the sound of my dad screaming at me. He's asking me something. He wants to come closer. He smells so good... but no, he'll turn on me. I can't. I don't answer and he speaks again. "Look at me, can I come closer?" Look at me. That's an order. I don't want to make eye contact, especially with an alpha, but he told me to. I force my eyes to meet his, praying he will give me permission to look away soon.

"You can trust me." Maybe I can. I've never met an alpha that would have stayed away this long. He says he wants to help, should I let him. The tiniest half nod and he's coming closer. No no no! But his hands... they're gentle. He lifts me up, wrapping his strong arms around me. This feels different, why is he being kind? I haven't felt a gentle touch like this since...

I don't have the pillow anymore, now I have the real thing. It's working! I can feel his scent calming me down. I need more! I nestle into his neck, getting as close to the source as possible. Suddenly, I'm hit with a wave of tiredness. But he hasn't given me permission! If I do fall asleep he'll wake me up with...with

Tyler's POV

Tyler sits still on his bed, holding the sleeping omega close to his chest. He wonders again why he can hardly smell the little thing. He knows about scent blockers and heat suppressants, but those are supposed to have dangerous side effects.

The garage door opens downstairs, and Tyler knows his dad is back from work. He lays Ivory down gently on his bed, pushing his pillow close and wrapping a blanket around him. Standing up and crossing the room, Tyler pauses as he realizes his predicament. How is he going to explain to his father why he has an injured omega in his bed?

Much to his surprise, Tyler's dad seems more concerned than suspicious when Tyler explains that his 'friend from the basketball team' fell during practice and twisted his ankle. Taking his dad up to his room, he opened the door quietly to find Ivory still fast asleep on his bed.

Mr Dunwood approached, gently moving the blanket to look at the omega's ankle. He frowned, considering the injury before turning to his son, "The good news is that it's not broken or dislocated. Looks like he got a pretty bad sprain. Ice it down and tell him to sit out of practice for the next few days." Tyler nodded, grateful that it wasn't any more serious, "Thanks dad, I'll tell him when he wakes up.

Tyler's dad nodded, closing the door silently behind him as he left his son alone with Ivory. Turning to look at the sleeping boy, Tyler sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do in this situation? He didn't even fully understand what was going on. He had some ideas, of course, but he was still hoping he was wrong about them.

Ivory slept for about an hour, finally stirring while Tyler finished up his math homework. Turning to look at his bed, Tyler saw the omega, eyes still closed but clearly awake, cuddling his pillow and burying his nose in it. Blushing heavily, he pretended not to stare as Ivory's eyes fluttered open.

He hummed softly as he awoke, stretching like a cat and wincing from the pain in his ankle. "Good morning sleeping beauty." Tyler chuckled, startling Ivory, who apparently had forgotten where he was. The boy's eyes widened, searching the walls for a clock, "W-what time is it?" "Uh about 3:30, why?"

Jumping up from the bed, evidently ignoring his ankle, Ivory scrambled to the door, "I h-have to g-go, now!" Tyler was confused, "Wait, give me your number before you go!" Breathing heavily, and clearly not thinking straight, he threw his phone to Tyler, who frowned at the cracked screen and lack of password. He quickly entered the omega's number into his phone and handed it back asking, "Why do you have to go so suddenly, can't you stay for a few minutes?"

"No, I'm already too, too late. I'll b-be in more t-trouble. Please just l-let me go!"

Tyler raised his eyebrows, wondering why he thought Tyler wouldn't have let him leave. He tried to reassure the trembling boy, "It's alright, you can go if you need to." Just like that, Ivory was out the door and down the stairs, limping painfully from his ankle, and leaving Tyler alone at his bedroom door.

Downstairs, Tyler heard the opening and closing of the front door. He hurried to his window and saw Ivory crossing the street. He was clearly trying to hide his limp, and avoid being seen, but it was clear he was in pain, and Tyler wished he could help.

~

The next morning, Tyler awoke determined. He was going to talk to Ivory today, find out what the hell was going on, and figure out some way to help. He dressed quickly and rushed downstairs for breakfast, hurrying through his usual routine in the hopes of arriving at school early.

Ivory was still on his mind when Tyler parked his car and made his way to home room. Looking around carefully as he walked, Tyler was disappointed when he didn't see the omega anywhere. He tried to shrug it off, maybe he was just late, or went to his first class early.

This, however, was not the case. Tyler did find Ivory, and as soon as he saw him, every thought of questioning him immediately vanished. The omega was curled up on the floor by his locker, like he had been when the two had first met. His head was resting on his knees, and Tyler didn't see the boy's face until he called out his name, rousing him from his thoughts.

As soon as he saw Ivory's face, he froze, shocked at the sight of a brand new bruise blocking across his left cheek. When he saw Tyler, he immediately tried to move away, making himself as small as possible against the wall.

"Please, T-Tyler, just leave-leave me alone." He murmured something under his breath that Tyler couldn't quite make out, but one thing was certain. He definitely wasn't leaving, he needed to help, to do something, so instead of turning around, Tyler took a step forward.

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to do. Ivory turned away from him, hiding his face in his hands as his shoulders shook. "Ivory please, let me help you, you can trust me." He shook his head, responding in a tiny, trembling voice, "N-no, please. I'll-I'll be in t-trouble again." Tyler took a deep breath, "I'll help you, you don't have to be afraid. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

From down the hall, Tyler heard a voice, "Dunwood! We need to see you in the office for a moment!" Exasperated, he turned around with every intent of telling the person to wait, but he saw the headmaster waiting for him at the door. Looking back down at Ivory, wishing more than anything that he could stay, he whispered, "I'll be back, just... just wait here." With this final request, he turned on his heels, and followed the headmaster reluctantly down the hall.