[Warning; Sexual Harassment]
"Welcome, dear! Oh my! Hasn't my sweet boy grown taller since the last time I saw you?!"
Arthur smiled shyly as Aunt Carol—who was a good friend of Aunt Kelly—hugged him tightly and pulled him inside, the others following close behind.
It was always like this.
Even when Aunt Carol visited their house sometimes, she always asked for him first. Then she'd start teasing him, which Arthur never really minded. Aunt Carol was such a kind lady. Just like Aunt Kelly. They were such a good pair of friends.
Arthur wasn't very chatty with others. Absolutely only Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kelly knew his true, chaotic self. To the outside world, he was just this quiet, innocent man. Not that he was pretending — he just shut himself off involuntarily. It just… happened.
He couldn't bring himself to act "normal," even around Aunt Carol, who he had no doubt cared for him as much as Aunt Kelly did. It was just how things were.
"It's been such a long time."
Arthur heard the somewhat familiar voice of Lily, who had approached Natalia with a big grin. Natalia returned it with a warm nod.
He remembered they used to be friends—mostly because Aunt Kelly and Aunt Carol had been close for years and often brought their children together. That's also how Uncle Kevin ended up with a new friend—Aunt Carol's husband, an alpha.
Natalia never really had a big friend group, despite being popular and everyone jumping at any chance to just stand next to her. Arthur actually thought she was cool for being like that, instead of acting like a celebrity just because others found her attractive.
Well… he was kind of scared of her too. Not exactly of her, but… a lot of things.
Sigh…
Arthur looked around the beautiful living room, feeling kind of bored. Everyone seemed occupied with their own conversations and laughter. It felt kind of out of place for him.
He pulled out his phone to pass the time, updating his notebook when he heard the sound of a door opening and Aunt Carol's cheerful voice.
"Hello, Jax!"
Arthur looked up from his phone and watched as two people entered. Their faces felt very familiar.
Arthur frowned, staring at them for a moment until one of them saw him and stared back, eyes wide.
"Teacher Arthur?"
The taller one smiled widely, his voice filled with surprise and enthusiasm.
Arthur smiled and nodded, realizing both of them were actually his students. He remembered a few students well, but not all. It was hard to recognize everyone sometimes.
He felt a little bad about it, but seeing the two teenagers smiling at him, he felt it was okay.
But now Arthur had a lot of questions. Why were they at Aunt Carol's house? From what he knew, Aunt Carol and her husband had only one child—Lily, same age as Natalia, and also an alpha.
"The one who talked to you is a distant cousin of Lily. His house is just five houses away, but I kept him here because his parents are abroad to see his sick grandmother. Until they come back, he'll be staying with us here. The other one is his best friend, Jax. He comes often to visit. I didn't know Arthur was their teacher."
Arthur couldn't help but feel a little proud of the way Aunt Kelly was looking at him now. He saw how she smiled when the student recognized him, his voice filled with respect for him.
Aunt Kelly was sure proud of him. And it made him proud too.
"Ah... I see."
Arthur replied, smiling as his eyes caught Natalia's. She was also watching him, and even though she showed no expression, her eyes basically held him.
Arthur's heart skipped a beat and his cheeks heated up. Trying to hide it, he looked down and stared back at his phone, just scrolling through the chats.
Seriously? He must first learn to control his blush or this shyness if he wanted this to be a secret until he felt confident enough to tell others about it. He might end up exposing them just by blushing like an idiot. Or worse, looking like a creep who was obsessed with her and had no self-control.
'It is scary.'
Arthur sighed, now distracted by all those various thoughts—but soon he got company.
Well, Arthur would have been happier if it were Natalia, but she had just been called by Uncle Kevin, maybe to discuss some business with Uncle Josiah.
It was Lily's cousin. And his best friend.
His students.
"I didn't know Teacher knew Aunt Carol. This is crazy. It's nice to see you, Teacher. You are my favorite teacher!"
Arthur felt flattered by the boy's enthusiasm, but also like it was too much. Well, he'd never been this excited to see a teacher, let alone to be close to one.
'Young people these days are so weird.'
Arthur smiled and continued the conversation with fewer words, not wanting to offend the kid even though Arthur wasn't really into sitting that close or having someone admire how cool he was.
However, this wasn't an issue. Absolutely, he could sit through this.
But it did become an issue when he felt something.
A small, almost unnoticeable touch.
On his waist.
On the side where the other student was sitting.
Arthur thought he was being paranoid or just mistaken, but his heart was pounding. He was scared.
He couldn't even hear what the kid was babbling because his ears were ringing and his mind was trying to focus.
And, he was now sure...
That other boy...
That one named Jax...
He was touching him. His waist...
Arthur couldn't help feeling so down and scared. Even though this was basically a child, and he shouldn't be treated like this, and he shouldn't be scared—
"Arthur. Come here."
Arthur was startled when he heard Natalia's cold voice. This was the most dominant her voice had ever been since their interactions. It was chilling but relieving at the moment as he quickly got up without a word, walking to her quickly as she walked away, forcing him to follow.
He didn't even look back. He couldn't.
This was all so ridiculous.
He'd just gotten harassed by another student of his, hadn't he?
Arthur's chest tightened as a muffled, mocking chuckle left his lips, his throat burning.
"You are fine now, Arthur. Don't worry. We are outside and no one is around. Relax."
Arthur just collapsed the next second. Natalia held him close, his head buried in her chest. He didn't even doubt her words about them being out of others' eyes, even though he didn't even pay attention to where they were now, so appalled by what had happened.
But this was nice and comforting.
"You're safe now, Arthur."
Every word from her, now from a completely different tone than before, completely broke Arthur.
He didn't know a hug from her would make him feel so much better.
He felt really safe.
'...I am fine...It's okay.'
'She is here...'