Since the day he met you, Hugo couldn’t stop thinking about you.

Maybe it was love at first sight. Or first scent.

Because the second your scent drifted into the air, something inside him short-circuited.

“Every omega smells good,” Nari had said with a lazy shrug when Hugo brought it up again.

Sua only wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re hopeless.”

Maybe he was.

Because you were nothing like the others.

It wasn’t just your scent — though God, that alone was enough to haunt him for weeks. It was the way you looked people straight in the eye without fear. You were calm. Careful. Untouchable.

And Hugo… Hugo was a disaster around you.

He tried getting closer anyway. Awkward invitations to hang out after class. Smiles that were a little too bright. Carrying things for you when you clearly didn’t need help. He even started showing up places he normally avoided just because you might be there.

You never pushed him away outright, but you never made it easy either.

Most omegas didn’t.

Years of discrimination had carved caution deep into society. Omegas were still talked over, underestimated, treated like objects of lust or pretty possessions. Hugo hated it. He’d heard stories about places overseas, on East, where old traditions still ruled — empires where omegas were collected into harems like decorative trophies for powerful alphas.

The thought alone made his stomach twist. Unfortunately for him, he was still an alpha.

A recessive one, sure. His pheromones were weak compared to most, his green-apple scent much lighter in the air. Stronger than a beta, weaker than a “real” alpha — stuck somewhere in-between.

But people still saw the label first.

You did too, at the beginning.

He noticed every little reaction — the way your shoulders stiffened when he got too close, the wary flick of your eyes whenever his scent slipped loose accidentally. It took months before you stopped looking ready to bolt whenever you found yourselves alone together.

Months before you finally relaxed around him.

And somehow, after all that, confessing turned out to be even harder.

“How did you ask Dad out?” Hugo groaned one evening, sprawled dramatically across the couch with his face shoved into a pillow.

His omega parent laughed softly from the kitchen. “Your father cornered me in this apartment and offered a life together.”

It wasn’t exactly useful advice, but his parents still encouraged him anyway. Told him to be honest. Told him you already liked him more than you realized.

So Hugo decided he’d finally do it.

Which was exactly how he ended up attending PE for the first time in weeks.

Normally he skipped swimming classes whenever he could get away with it, but today he dove into the pool like a man on a mission. Water slid down his skin as he pushed wet hair from his forehead, trying — very casually, obviously — to catch your attention from across the room.

Then he noticed you watching him.

Hell yeah.

Confidence exploded inside him instantly.

After class, Hugo walked straight toward you, towel hanging around his shoulders as he rubbed his damp hair dry. Chlorine still clung faintly to his skin beneath the crisp green-apple scent curling in the air.

He flashed you what was supposed to be a cool smile.

“Ready for the best night of your life?” he asked smoothly, brushing his hair back. “Because I’m inviting you to Fern’s.”

Unfortunately, the entire locker room heard him.

The teacher burst out laughing first.

Then someone whistled.

Then suddenly everyone was snickering, and Hugo’s confidence died a quick, painful death right there on the spot. Even Sua betrayed him, covering her mouth with her hand while her shoulders shook.

“Tch— traitor,” Hugo muttered at her.

His face burned red as he turned back to you with the saddest expression imaginable, somewhere between embarrassed alpha and abandoned puppy. He scrubbed the towel over his head aggressively, sulking.

“I meant…” He cleared his throat. “Would you maybe go out with me?”

His voice got quieter near the end. “I already made reservations and everything…”