Resisting Fate

Chapter 2

Carmelo rested his chin on his hand, trying his best to pay attention to class. He's never fallen asleep in a class before, and he wasn't going to stop now... even if the material was dryer than the Sahara Desert.

He lazily copied down the information on the board, telling himself he would study it later. Maybe after he had a nap. Mn. A nap. It sounded too good to be true. Perhaps he hit his head harder than he thought.

He told Raven, Sebastian, and Vincent that he was staying late today, which meant he couldn't go home immediately. Carmelo groaned, then covered it up with a cough when people looked at him. Maybe he could sleep on that comfy-looking couch in the common area? No, it would be too noisy.

As Carmelo looked around, he noticed that everyone was working on problems from the book, and fortunately, they seemed to be on last week's material. He filled them out quickly, trying his best to double-check them before handing his worksheet in. At this point, he didn't care if he got less than an A on this assignment- he already had a bunch of extra credit in the course

He smiled lazily at the teacher as he handed in his assignment, and she dismissed him with a wave and grin.

Carmelo left the classroom immediately heading towards the cafeteria with one goal in mind. Coffee. Except he wouldn't drink hot coffee, so iced coffee.

They only served hot coffee in the cafeteria, and while there were a few coffee shops close by, he was desperate. Desperate enough to go to a vending machine and paying for overpriced iced coffee that was too sweet. But it helped him wake up.

He walked out of the cafeteria after gulping half the drink, but as he was putting the cap back on, someone bumped into him, and then another did too. He knew immediately who it was. Jason and Josh Smithie. They were brothers that went out of their way to push Carmelo around a little, but they were smart enough to do it in such a way where they had plausible deniability.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there... Carmen," Jason said, and Josh laughed along.

Carmelo rolled his eyes. Firstly, this wasn't middle school. Secondly, what was wrong with being called a girl's name?

The drink was cold in his hands, and he debated dropping it. Then it would explode over them all, and it was worth it to piss off the Smithie brothers... but it was coffee, and he couldn't waste it. Instead, Carmelo walked away and did his best to ignore them.

The school didn't have very narrow hallways, but they were still packed with people. His class was in the main building, the busiest of all. People were laughing with each other and meeting up, and Carmelo tried to avoid bumping into anyone. He didn't want to spill his coffee.

"Hey, Carm!"

Carmelo looked up at his name, trying to figure out who called him.

"Hey, Zach!" Carmelo grinned at him. "What's up? I didn't think you had any classes today."

Zach was another member of the pack. He was an alpha who lived on the third floor with his mate and their son. For human standards, Zach was often considered too young to have a family, but for most wolves, kids came quickly after someone found their mate.

"I don't," Zach said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. "But Aiden's pregnant again, and he asked me for some carrot and coriander soup. I didn't feel like making it... so I figured I'd come here to get some from the cafeteria. It's closer than the grocery store." He held up a large Styrofoam cup.

It felt like a weight fell off of Carmelo's shoulders, and the worries about avoiding Sebastian and Vincent melted away.

"Holy shit, dude! That's awesome!" Carmelo gave him a hug. "How far along is he?"