False Confidence

Unbearable

Azriel Huang

"You're seriously not going to do anything?" Nora exclaimed, brown eyes widening along with the raise of her well-groomed eyebrows. She was sprawled out on my bed like a lazy cat on a Sunday afternoon, phone in one hand, while her other resided in a bag of chips. Her feet kicked up and down in a fluttering motion, as if doing some half-assed ab workout on my memory foam mattress would combat the hot Cheetos she was shoveling into her mouth.

"Wouldn't it be strange if I threw a party? I've been MIA for months." I scoffed, flopping backwards beside her, mindful not to crash my head into Aniya's knee.

"Who gives a fuck, you only turn 18 once—you also only find a mate once." Aniya retorted with her own scoff of disbelief, discarding her phone on the nightstand closest to her in order to fully focus in on the conversation before her.

I grimaced at the mention of my mate, the unveiling of said individual, less than a week away. I was always excited about my 18th birthday, ever since I was a pup, just like everyone else. Constantly starry-eyed at the idea of someone so unbelievably perfect for me. A soulmate that connected to me like the missing piece of my giant, elaborate puzzle. That elation had slowly began to fizzle out once I had discovered that your mate wasn't the only romantic pursuit one could follow, with the great help of my social standing and physical appearance, I had taken my time in exploring a broad variety. This had led my childlike idealization of the concept to completely burst, coming to the realization that there could not be someone "perfect" for you. Everyone, with all their different thoughts and feelings, so complex and intricate beyond words, would not find another half that they were entirely compatible with. That along with my intensely confusing situation regarding Wren, an undeniable attraction that left me anxious over the birthday which I could not delay.

I could only hope my mate was halfway across the world.

"I mean—if I were to be thoroughly shocked with a surprise party..I would not mind." I supplied playfully with a shrug, hoping the conversation would shift elsewhere. It was a source of constant concern for me, and perhaps if i shirked the responsibility of having to do something on my birthday to someone else, it would lessen some of that worry.

"Your wish is my command, Alpha." Nora chirped sarcastically , retracting her hand from the bag of chips to offer up a mock salute. It only earned a snort of amusement from me in return.

"What gender do you think Az's mate will be?" Aniya prompted curiously, using the tip of her foot to nudge Nora.

I internally groaned, the conversation had in fact, not shifted.

Nora turned off her phone just as quick, rolling on her stomach in order to properly face Aniya. Her eyes had seemed to light up with interest, the snack at her side being completely forgotten.

"Honestly, I just think it's going to be a really twink-y dude...like mega twink. If not a guy, which it probably will be, a girl with thighs twice the size of his head." Nora mused ebulliently, nibbling on the nail of her thumb as she spoke. I frowned down at her nearly offensive prediction, tuning out the chuckles that had spilled out from Aniya's plush lips.

"Probability aside, I think it would be really fucking funny if Az got some beefy ass dude for a mate. Total Alpha, so alpha, he gets out alpha'd." Aniya paused in thought. "Which...actually that would not be too hard. You're a fairy, Az." Nora immediately fell into a fit of giggles, only strengthening the slap I planted on Aniya's thigh. She let out an uncharacteristically high yelp of pain, returning an equally stinging swat to my shoulder once she had processed my act of retribution. I huffed out the slight pain, glaring at her as I massaged the burn out of my skin.