I Got Issues

Chapter two - meetings

Scott took Kirstin upstairs for a nap, until the others began to slowly rise, carrying her bag up with him. She didn't have a ton of stuff, and probably had to pack quickly. The nap seemed to help, though. She was more aware and alert, seemingly ready to meet the others. Maybe she was just really that tired.

Scott gave up on waking up Avi pretty quickly, instead he woke up Mitch and had him help make breakfast until Avi stirred himself. 

"Kirstin got here early this morning." He informed them. 

"Where is she?" Mitch asked, that having peeked his interest. It was a girl, and he'd always gotten along better with girls. They were often much less judgemental. Besides, it would soothe his nerves to know who he was surrounding himself with. 

"She only woke up a little bit ago, I think she's getting ready." He explained, and seemed to have impeccable timing, as she'd come downstairs soon after, led gently by Kevin. He must have decided it was time to wake her. 

"Morning." Kevin greeted the group, sitting in the free seat next to Scott.

"Hey, Kev." He nodded. "Hi, Kirstin. How are you?" Scott asked her, smiling when she gave a small, anxious smile. 

"Hi." She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. She fidgeted with her hands, tapping her foot  as she took a seat at the table next to Mitch. 

"Mitch, Avi, this is Kirstin. She's our last arrival." Scott explained, and she offered a small smile. 

"It's nice to meet you." Mitch spoke, excited to have a female in the house he could hang out with. She seemed like she'd be more clean, too. Avi was a bit more hesitant with his greeting, though. Staying quiet was helping him control his anger.  He knew Omega's didn't handle being yelled at very well, and he wasn't heartless, just easily pushed over the edge. He'd been trying to work on his breathing to keep it under control, but lately he kept losing it thanks to his new lead Alpha. Something about him always set Avi off, like he thought he was above him. 

"So, today's a pretty laid back day, and maybe tomorrow we go out shopping, pick up some things? We've got new people in the house that probably need their own things, plus we've never had a girl live with us, or an Omega, so Kirstin will probably need things." Kevin suggested. Well, it wasn't really a suggestion. He was the lead Alpha, making it more so the polite way to tell them they were going to do as he asked. 

They dispersed from the table once everyone was finished eating, Scott making a light-hearted joke to the Omega before she left. "We have to put less food on your plate, you can't eat as much as us big guys." He teased and she smiled slightly. 

She'd wandered off, smiling when she saw Mitch at the TV. He was watching America's got talent, because she got to hear people sing and watch them do all sorts of cool things, so she moved to sit next to him. 

"Oh, hey, Kirst." He smiled at her, "came to watch with me?" He asked, offering to share the blanket he'd brought down to the couch with her. For some reason, Kevin seemed to like it when the house was absolutely freezing. He knew when they touched the thermostat, too, Mitch had already tried that a few times. Luckily, Kirstin didn't Ming the cold. She did, however love fuzzy blankets so she climbed closer to be under it, mindlessly placing her head on his shoulder. 

She watched  the show with a grin, looking up at the Alpha she was resting against after a moment. He was nice. She smiled, seeing the little swirls of pink and purple hearts swirl around his head. She knew what that meant from what her therapist used to tell her, that meant that her brain liked him too. She listened to her instinct, latching onto his arm and cuddling into his side. 

Truthfully, it caught Mitch off-guard. He wasn't a germaphobe, though, so he let her stay for now. After a while, he couldn't help himself, and had to shift so he was at the same angle she was to ease his anxiety, but she still stayed latched on. It seemed as though Mitch had just made the first friend he has in a long time. 

After checking in the two, seeing that hey both seemed alright, even happy, Kevin decided to start on dinner. They were planning on introducing some sort of cooking rotation soon, as they couldn't expect Kirstin to cook three times a day, every day, for five people just because she was the only Omega. Kevin could be a rude jerk at times, but he wasn't unfair. 

Around this time, Scott had found Avi in their room, frowning as he saw him taking deep breaths. Slowly, in for two, out for three. 

"Hey, man. You alright?" He asked, but the beta didn't respond, taking another moment. Then, he looked up at the man, nodding. 

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just, get like that sometimes, I guess." He explained. "I have to get better at keeping calm, now. I've never lived with an Omega before, but screaming definitely doesn't help them feel safe." He added a half-chuckle to make his words seem at least a tiny bit less sad. He was working really hard to keep it under control today. That's why he'd been avoiding Kevin so he didn't gain any snarky comments. The Alpha kept snapping at him after his blow ups, which only provoked another blow up, and the cycle continues.

That's when Scott smiled. It was nice for him to know what he'd been reminding Kevin of all the time was true, they weren't bad people, just struggling. 

"Hey, you'll get it. How about this, until you get a better handle on things, when it gets too much, just walk away." Scott offered, immediately earning a chuckle. 

"Yeah, I don't think your friend would like that." He spoke disheartedly.

"I'll talk to him, don't worry about it man." He patted his back. He was going to continue with his plan, but Kevin shouted upstairs for them to come down for dinner. 

It was one of the most tense dinners Scott had ever sat through, but they'd made plans to leave for the shops late morning tomorrow. It seemed clear Scott was going to be the one to keep the peace.