Is it better to be a Beta?

1.15 End

After that, as promised, barely anything changed in their relationship. Jia Hyson had been wary at first, after all he has had more than his fair of rejected admirers turn into stalkers before. However vigilance was very stressful and energy consuming, not to mention he's always been naturally at ease around Monroe so he shoved his wariness to the back of his mind and slowly relax. If there was anything that Jia Hyson would say has changed, it was that Monroe had become incredibly distant interspersed randomly with short periods of time where he became incredibly clingy.

Jia Hyson would be a liar if he didn't say he enjoyed those small moments filled with vulnerability and desperate affection. Then again, he is a liar, so he won't say it. ╮(╯∀╰)╭

The strange new status quo between them settled surprisingly well. Both were busy people after all. Monroe had been accepted to intern at a large technology company and Adrian has been flooded with friends, coworkers and jobs now that his phone is back online. Uncle Christopher and Jenna were especially interesting to catch up with.

During the episode where Jia Hyson reveals to Maddy that Drake had been pretending to be Jacob all this time, obviously Christopher and Jenna had questions. Poor Jacob was blindsided by this, it turns out he got paid a huge amount of hush money to go out of the country and play around. The only saving grace he had, that prevented his dad from beating him half to death for this conspiracy, was that he actually got a job as an aquarist- essentially an aquarium architect. During this time Jia Hyson finally got to meet the elusive Jacob. He was definitely handsome, and about two to three points similar to Drake but truly he couldn't compare. Still, given his recent overseas traveling, Jacob was fairly fun to talk to so they exchanged numbers.

However no matter how packed their schedules were, Jia Hyson insisted on having family dinners again at least thrice a week if they could help it. It was practically habit at this point, and he had to admit that now that he's gotten used to it, eating alone was a little harder to bear than in his original life.

Eventually time passes and an email inviting them to come to Home-cooked Miracle to watch their loved one participate in the semi-finales and, or, the finale depending if they pass. Jia Hyson's mouth twitched. So if the contestant doesn't pass the family has to immediately leave after only a day? He couldn't tell if the show was being stingy or extravagant with their budget here.

Of course he and Monroe accepts. This time Jia Hyson is more prepared for the ride back to the Miracle Kitchen and brings some over the counter anti-nausea pills. Of course, they don't work.

"Mphlerbleh," Jia Hyson presses his face onto the car window, wishing for death. Monroe considerately massages his stiff neck with a large hand while the other is busy typing into his phone. Jia Hyson feels resentful to everyone who can actually read while in a car without feeling ill. Such powers are beyond his comprehension, clearly it is a sign of witchcraft.

Bebe: 'Bebe thinks your inability to deal with a car ride longer than twenty minutes is beyond anyone's comprehension than anything else.'

Jia Hyson slowly sips some cool water offered by Monroe while giving his system the middle finger in his mind. Dammit, aren't systems meant to be cool and emotionless or cute and silly? Why did he get this irritating dumbass that doesn't even have facial recognition? His phone has facial recognition! His f*cking dog has facial recognition!

"Adrian, you okay?" Monroe murmurs as he rubs soothing circles to his back. It didn't help but the thought was nice. Jia Hyson takes a deep breath and smiles weakly.

Once they finally arrive Jia Hyson couldn't help but silently weep. How come it felt even longer than last time?

They're the second to arrive, a fairly sizeable group of elites had already gathered in front of the door. As Jia Hyson ungracefully stumbles out, he could already sense these people were richer than god. As someone who had been once similarly successful in life and had also been poorer than dirt, he has a good sense for these things. Better than his gaydar anyway. F*cking useless thing couldn't figure his brother and his close friend were in love with him. It was almost as bad as Bebe.