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The classroom buzzed with idle chatter as students trickled in. Zayn slid into his usual seat at the back, legs crossed, sunglasses still on, even though they were indoors.

His friends were already waiting.

One of them leaned over with a teasing grin.

“Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.”

Zayn smirked lazily and pulled off his sunglasses, tossing them on the desk. “When am I not in a bad mood?”

Everyone laughed.

Another friend elbowed him. “I mean it, Zayn. You seriously need to date someone. Liam’s not a bad guy."

Zayn cut him off, voice sharp and dangerous. “Shut up before I break your pretty face.”

He smiled sweetly, then added, “I don’t date anyone. That’s a rule.”

Before anyone could push further, the classroom door opened and walked Rhys..... Zayn’s best friend. The only one who dared to challenge him.

“Zayn,” Rhys called, voice urgent but calm, “come here. Now.”

Zayn raised an eyebrow. “What now?”

Rhys didn’t answer. He walked straight up, grabbed Zayn’s wrist, and pulled him out of his seat.

“Hey wait..Rhys!” Zayn protested, but followed anyway.

They stepped out into the corridor. Rhys let go of his hand and turned to face him, arms crossed.

Zayn rolled his eyes. “What happened, baby? Why the drama?”

Rhys didn’t smile. “What happened? Zayn, this is too much.”

Zayn blinked, confused. “Too much of what?”

“You’re destroying yourself,” Rhys said, voice tight. “And all because.”

“Don’t say a word, Rhys.”

Zayn’s voice dropped, hard and cold.

Rhys sighed, frustrated. “Fine. I won’t. But you need to understand something this... this lifestyle, these random guys, the way you push people away... You can’t keep doing this.”

Zayn looked away, scoffing. “I don’t care what people think.”

“Really?” Rhys stepped closer. “Because half the campus talks about you like you're some broken toy. Like you’re nothing more than an omega who sleeps around. Don’t you care even a little?”

Zayn chuckled and faced him again, his eyes empty. “Let them talk. I like being the bad boy. No strings. No pain.”

Rhys shook his head. “You keep pretending you don’t care. But I know the real reason behind all this.”

Zayn’s smirk returned sharp and sarcastic. “Yeah, yeah. You think you know me. Good for you.”

He winked. “Gold star.”

Rhys's jaw clenched. “Seriously, Zayn? I’m trying to have a real conversation and you’re cracking jokes?”

“Why not?” Zayn shrugged, starting to walk back. “It’s the only thing keeping me sane.”

Rhys called after him. “Whatever. Just come back to class before the teacher gets another excuse to hate us both.”

Zayn didn’t turn around. “Too late. He already does.”

---

“Alright, class, settle down,” the professor said, walking in with a file in hand. “We have a new student joining us today, so please help him adjust. Be decent.”

Zayn didn’t even look up. He was lounging back in his chair, scrolling through his phone like he was in his bedroom and not a lecture hall. The world could fall apart around him and he’d still be half-interested.

Rhys, sitting beside him, leaned over to the new guy and offered a kind smile.

“Hey, I’m Rhys. Don’t worry, the people here aren’t too terrifying.”

The new student smiled back politely. He looked calm, tall, clean-cut  the type who probably had rules for everything.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Elior,” he said. “Alpha.”

That made Zayn’s thumb pause on his screen.

Alpha?

He glanced sideways for a second. Just a second. Then went back to pretending he didn’t care.

The professor’s voice cut through the air again. “Zayn.”

Zayn ignored him.

“Zayn. This is a classroom, not your living room.”

Zayn looked up, finally, and rolled his eyes. “I’m aware, thanks.”

“Then act like it,” the teacher snapped. “Stand up.”

Zayn groaned dramatically and stood, clearly not caring. “Happy now?”

“This isn’t your palace. This is where students study, not your personal playground.”

Zayn gave a lazy shrug. “Whatever.”

“Zayn,” Rhys whispered harshly, “Shut up.”

But it was too late.

“You’re talking back?” the professor barked. “I am your teacher!”

Zayn tilted his head and said, voice cold and sharp,

“Oh, shut the fuck up already. Just hand out whatever you plan to give and spare us your morality lectures.”

Silence.

The room froze. No one even breathed.

“Zayn!” Rhys’s voice cracked through the tension.

The professor looked stunned eyes wide, mouth slightly open. He looked like he just got slapped.

“Out!” the professor finally barked. “I’ll see you at the principal’s office. Now!”

Zayn grabbed his bag without a word and walked past the rows of shocked faces, cool as ice.

“This class was fucking boring anyway,” he muttered as he walked out.

The door slammed behind him.

The silence lingered like a heavy fog.

Elior blinked. “Who… was that?”

Rhys sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “My best friend.”

Elior looked half amused, half horrified. “That’s your best friend?”

“Yeah,” Rhys said quietly. “He’s… not a bad guy, really. Just...”

Elior cut in, “That’s the worst guy. Who talks like that to a professor?”

Rhys didn’t answer. He just looked toward the door Zayn had walked out of, expression unreadable.

---

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