When We Were Just Friends

"I didn't know someone could eat fries so angrily," Cole said with a lighthearted laugh.

"Shut it, pretty boy," Robin grumbled between bites.

"But you look like a hamster!" Cole continued, unperturbed.

Robin's face scrunched up even more, which was impressive, as he continued to nibble at another fry. "Are you making fun of me because I'm short? I'll fucking kill you," he swore as he quickly munched another fry down with tiny, furious bites. Cole just laughed again. He was used to his friend's bad moods at this point and knew he didn't mean anything by it.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked as he leaned his elbow on the table between them and rested his head against his hand. "I mean, sure the health teacher was a jerk but he's always like that."

"You wouldn't understand, you're an Alpha," Robin groused, drawing his legs up to his chest. He was small enough to actually manage that in the cramped booth they sat at.

Cole ran his free hand through his wavy hair and looked at his friend. They'd known each other since Cole had moved to town when he was a little kid. They hadn't gotten along at first. Despite his moms best efforts, Robin had been a rude and combative kid. 'Just going through a phase,' he'd heard Robin's Ma tell his own dad. Well, that phase had yet to end. Still, he couldn't really have blamed Robin for not getting along with him at first. Cole had been pretty blunt as a child too. He hadn't known how to talk to people either. It got him into fights all the time, especially with Robin's older sister. But Cole had mellowed out as he grew up. Maybe it was because Robin hadn't changed that he felt like he had to. He'd started opening up to others more, and was now generally considered a friendly, if quiet, guy.

"If I won't understand," Cole said as he held out his hand to Robin and smiled gently, "why don't you explain it to me?"

Robin glared down at the proffered hand, then sighed. "Fine." Cole gave his friend's hand a squeeze when Robin took it. "It was more than just him being a dick today. He outed me, Cole. To the whole class!" He slumped against the table, sulking now instead of rage eating.

Cole cocked an eyebrow as he watched his friend. "But, it's not like you were trying to hide being an omega."

"But to do that after... after..." He trembled, a blush spreading across his face. Cole cringed, finally putting it together. Yeah, that was pretty bad.

The two of them had come to get something to eat after school, but earlier that day, they'd had a special health class together. It was pretty standard stuff. The teacher explained the difference between the four sexes, how reproduction worked, and so on. Honestly, most people in that class already knew the basics and figured they were too old to be lectured at, but it's not like they were given a choice.

"So the majority of the population are either male or female, collectively known as betas. Then a small part of the population are alphas. On average they tend to be bigger and stronger than others. Some people think they're smarter than others too, but that's not exactly socially acceptable to say these days," the teacher said, pointing to a chart he'd put up on the board. Robin glanced at Cole from the side of his eye and scoffed to himself. Smarter? As if.

"And then," the teacher slapped his hand against another part of the chart, making Robin and a few other students who hadn't been paying much attention jump. "There's the smallest group, the omegas. On average they're smaller and weaker than the typical beta. They also go through a period of 'heat' once a month, releasing potent pheromones to attract a mate. They can also get pregnant during this time, regardless of their genital configuration. Betas aren't usually affected, but alphas are drawn to them. It's inconvenient, at best, and disastrous at worse, but fortunately there's medicine that omegas can take to keep that under control. They wouldn't be able to go out in public otherwise. It'd be too dangerous for everyone around them!"