“… I’ve… never really kissed anyone before,” Penny finally uttered.

Jack felt his gut turn as he recounted that the same was not true of himself. It was not Penny’s fault, but she saw the flash of recollection on his face, and immediately realised what that meant.

She reached out and framed his face with her hand once more, the touch of her monumental fingers soothing him almost apologetically.

“I care for you very much,” she said.

“I care for you too,” he said back.

“I just feel like a silly little girl around you sometimes,” she admitted, “I get so nervous.”

The irony of this gentle giantess explaining that she felt… nervous, around him, was not lost on him. She saw him only as a human and an equal; the fact she could overpower him or impose her will on him were almost alien concepts, and it was this, more than anything else, that spoke of her true character.

“I don’t know how you’d ever be in awe of me,” he replied, “With you, it’s obvious, you’re so much bigger, and you’re very pretty…”

“You think I’m pretty?” she said, trying not to cry again.

“Well… yeah,” he replied.

She blushed, “It’s not every day a cute guy compliments me… that’s all.”

“…cute?” he queried, making a face.

“Oh god, you know what I mean, handsome, not because of your size.”

She rolled her eyes.

“It’s just… my mind’s in bits right now… please bear with me.”

“Imagine how I feel,” he replied, his heart still racing.

“Well, I don’t want to scare you, Jack, but this Alpha girl thinks the world of you. I have liked you for such a long time. I didn’t think for even a minute you could ever like me back, especially not after all you’ve been through.”

“And I was worried you just saw me like some kid brother…” Jack explained, “But you’ve been… everything… to me recently…”

He could feel himself welling up anew, and sensing this, Penny brought her head down and pressed her forehead to his gently. The pair of them huddled together, just enjoying the sensation of closeness to one another.

“I really don’t want to, but I probably have to get going soon,” she whispered after a short while, her voice making his skull buzz due to the contact they shared.

“I know you do,” he said, “You have no idea what it means to me that you stayed to talk to me, Penny.”

They moved their heads apart, and he gently kissed her on the cheek. The temptation to kiss her more passionately was there, and he knew it probably would have been reciprocated, but he was already more than overjoyed at what had come to pass, and wanted to show her that this was not just about a kiss, it was what it meant.

She wrapped her arms around him, taking him by surprise and pretty much scooped him in towards her, really embracing him and holding him close. He could feel his body being pressed against the softness of her bosom as her head and neck leant down over his shoulder, and he was practically pinned in place by the intensity of her hug.

“And I want to show you how much you mean to me back,” she said, unaware of quite how forcefully she had a hold on him, even giving him an extra squeeze that compacted his lungs momentarily so he could not breathe. He could feel she was shaking; that this was her release, to hold the person she cared for, and as much as it was overwhelming for him and little much to handle, it was indescribably wonderful to experience.

She eventually released him, noticing for the first time that in her enthusiasm she had squished him a great deal more than intended.

“Oh god, I didn’t crush you did I?” she asked apologetically.

“I’m fine,” he said, faux-coughing, pretending to be severely winded, “I guess I must mean a lot to you…”

She laughed, wiping a dried tear from her eye, “Mhmm, just a little bit. Sorry.”

“Will I get to see you much tomorrow?” he asked.

“Of course, we can try and do the same sort of thing, meet in the library, I can walk you home later, I’m sure Delon will be on board,” the girl said brightly.

A sense of calm slowly began to settle in his stomach. The stunning idea that something like this could actually happen to him felt almost completely inexplicable, but it did put things in perspective. This incredible person had come into his life just in time to help him overcome something unbelievably difficult and turbulent, and whilst it would not be easy, he felt he had something to fight for other than just himself now… he had this, whatever this was.

She looked at her watch, “I do really need to leave now, just to be safe, I’m really sorry.”

He was ready for it this time, “It’s fine, I will miss you like mad, though,” he admitted.

She smiled.

“I will miss you too.”

Jack carefully stepped away from her, and made his way to the front door, not wanting to stand awkwardly to one side whilst Penny extracted herself from his room – it seemed more gentlemanly, at least.

She got to the front door and grabbed her bag, shimmying through and standing up to her full height. Once outside, she stretched her arms out wide after being cooped up in his room for a little while, something he realised she did without any protestation, purely to be with him.

It took him a moment to realise that this huge figure was the very same person he had just shared such an intimate and touching experience with… what on earth compelled such a towering girl to have anything to do with him?

The look on her face answered his question completely. She was so happy, like she couldn’t contain herself. He felt himself smile back up at her, so there they were, two smiling idiots just stood outside a little bungalow, not sure how to part from one another.

“I’d kiss you again, but what would the neighbours think?” she joked, bending over slightly and grinning. Her giddiness was infectious.

“Go on, get going,” he told her, “Don’t be late.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” she insisted, crouching down in front of him on the pavement leading to his house.

“I will see you tomorrow,” she reassured him, taking his hands in hers and squeezing his little fingers gently. “Please don’t worry, everything will be fine. I just… I have a feeling, ok.”

“I believe you…” he said, watching her stand up again. She pressed a fingertip to her lips but couldn’t decide whether to blow a kiss at him or not, so just spun on her heel and started walking off.

She looked back at him briefly and they both grinned again, it was corny really, completely stupid, but for once, he couldn’t give a flying fuck.

Penny liked him.

She really really liked him.

And there was nothing anyone could do to take that away from him.

He closed the door behind him, his head an absolute whirlwind of ‘did that really just happen?’ and ‘am I even awake right now?’.

He pinched himself hard in his side, winced, and took a sharp intake of breath. The throbbing pain reassured him of the reality of what had transpired, and he could not be happier that it hurt…

As he reached his room, he heard the front door open, which completely threw him. It couldn’t be Penny, had to be one of his parents or something…

He turned around and took a few steps as his mother walked in. She was most definitely early, and this was not in any way a regular occurrence… he couldn’t remember her being home at this sort of time for maybe 6 months, perhaps even a year.

It hit him straight away that he was incredibly fortunate this hadn’t happened five or even ten minutes earlier. He didn’t even want to imagine how awkward it would have been, and said a silent prayer to whoever it might be up there to thank them for not delivering that reality his way.

“…hey Mum,” he said, a bit confused by the commotion, “Everything ok?”

She dropping her bags on the floor in the hallway and took off her coat. She seemed a little out of breath.

“Had to leave early, there was a bit of a… dilemma, but it’s all sorted now,” she explained.

She’d obviously been in a rush, which wasn’t unusual for her, but he sensed there was something else going on. She looked at him a couple of times, and she didn’t really know what to do with her bags.

“Oh, right, well it’s good it’s sorted anyway,” he said

“Yep,” she said abruptly, eyeing him up suspiciously. Now she was unburdened, she seemed poised, as if to strike.

“Jackie,” she said, looking at him square in the eye.

“Mum…” he said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

“I might be going mad, but I swear I saw a very tall Alpha girl walking away from this very house not 30 seconds ago…”

“Oh…” said Jack. Not a very convincing response.

She looked at him, and he could see a slight smile, like she was amused, but still incredibly suspicious.

She was giving him ‘the look’.

Jack hated ‘the look’.

“Oh you mean… that was my friend from school. She needed something so she dropped by,” he explained, feeling his face flush slightly red.

“Your friend, eh?” she said, holding back her smile like a dam might hold back millions and millions of gallons of water.

“She was very tall… not too tall for you, is she?”

“It’s not like that…” he said, rapidly growing annoyed at his mother.

“Sure sure, I know… well whatever,” she said, shit-eating grin still threatening to break through.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, “And anyway, she’s my friend, what’s her height got to do with it?”

“Well, Delon’s got a nice Beta girl, are you sure he can’t hook you up with someone?” his mother suggested knowingly.

“Because there’s no Beta girls at school,” he spat, “You should know that by now.”

“Alright alright, no need to get angry,” she protested, her smile diminishing but not disappearing. Her inquisitiveness was becoming truly unhelpful, and she’d unleashed this old can of worms again.

“I’m just saying a nice Beta girl would be… good for you… that’s all,” she reiterated, “I don’t mean anything by it, I’m sure your Alpha friend is lovely.”

He felt himself react and tried to mask it. She was so much lovelier than his parents would ever have expected; he simply didn’t want them to know… they should stay out of it. He wanted to keep it secret from them, at least until he had figured things out better, so they wouldn’t ruin anything, ask annoying questions… generally just make things super difficult.

“I’m just gonna get on with my coursework, ok?” he announced huffily, and walked back to his room, closing the door behind him, and crashed onto his bed.

His mood was so up and down, from the elation of 10 minutes ago, to the frustration of his mother’s unexpectedly early return. He reached over and turned on the TV, and zoned out for a bit, running through the events that had transpired over the last 12 hours or so.

Dinnertime arrived soon enough, and he skulked into the main room to sit with his parents as they fussed over a casserole.

“Are you sure it’s meant to be in for 55 minutes, I thought that was from frozen?” his Dad piped up.

“Feel free to read the instructions on the packaging if you think I can’t manage,” his Mum called out exasperatedly from their utility room.

“Um… nah, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” his Dad backtracked, the possibility of having to actually get up and verify the information seemingly one chore too many.

Jack sat down opposite his father, and after a few minutes of small talk about school and the weather, and his Grandad being pretty much on the mend, his mother dropped him in it completely as she served the casserole up.

“Oh Jackie, tell your Dad about your ‘friend’ who stopped by,” she said, with particular emphasis on the word ‘friend’. A dollop of casserole splatted onto the china as an audible full stop to the silence that greeted her words. It would have been funny if not for the frustration that coursed through him the moment she had said it.

He glowered at her, his father slowly cottoning on that this was more than just general gossip.

“A ‘friend’, so… not Delon?” he asked, his curiosity piquing.

“It was a girl,” his Mum blurted out, placing a plate in front of her husband and grabbing the next one to serve up her son’s portion.

“A girl?” he said, making an impressed, but highly exaggerated face.

“Yep,” Jack said angrily, snatching his plate from his mother’s grasp, “And what of it?”

“She’s an Alpha,” his Mum added, “You should have seen the size of her.”

Hearing Penny treated like a freak, no matter how innocuously, really lit a fire under him, and he felt his fists clench under the table.

“An Alpha girl, eh? Well, I guess you’re not gay then,” his Dad joked.

His father’s grinning visage really sank into Jack’s vision.

One straw too many.

Not today.

Jack picked up his plate of food in both hands, and slammed it down onto the wooden tabletop so hard he cracked the plate right down the middle.

He was breathing like he’d run a 4-minute mile, eyes aflame.

“Jack! What the hell?” his mother yelled at him, shocked at what she was witnessing.

He stood up, almost astonished at his own reaction, and unsure whether he was going to fall down and cry or scream. He made a snap decision to vacate the premises before he did anything else untoward, and walked to the front door, opening it before stepping out onto the porch.

“Jack?” his mother called out, but he closed it before she could say anything further, and just marched along the pavement and down the street.

He walked and walked, until he reached a bench by a tree near the park, and sat.

His heart rate was still through the roof. He was so unbelievably upset.

It was already rather grey, but almost as soon as he sat, the rain started to fall steadily, completely soaking him through.

He didn’t care anymore.

He’d lost his temper, and he wasn’t even sure what he’d lost his temper about, now that he thought about it.

His mother was antagonistic, but she meant well. His father too. They always teased him, and though he disliked it, he’d never really been upset by it to this extent before.

His feelings for Penny were still so raw, it was like they were poking fun at him about her, even though they didn’t know anything at all. They didn’t know her name, they didn’t even know there was anything going on, they were just prodding him… because like it or not… this was new territory for him.

It wasn’t just he who would be shocked that this towering girl saw him that way, his parents would be too.

Delon would probably understand, as he’d been there throughout all of this, but other kids would probably think it was hilarious, Alpha and Beta alike. Mixed-scale couples did exist, but rarely between everyday smaller men and Alpha women, and in a smaller, provincial city like this, the prevailing opinion was that it was a bit weird, and neither group was particularly ok with it, especially from an Alpha perspective.

He can’t possibly satisfy her, he imagined people whispering.

Oh, she probably just took pity on the poor wimp.

He must be rich or something, how else did they end up together?

Wait till she gets with a real man, then he’s history…

The tears flowed freely.

It had been another overwhelming day, full of stress. It was so incredible to know that his feelings were reciprocated, and he had to remember to hold that fact very very tightly to his heart and never let go of it.

The joy that he felt was key to this – nothing could take that away from him. Not even Caitlin would be able to remove it from him. The dark fears she represented still churned away beneath everything, rippling the waves, and were probably the root cause of all the anguish and the depth of his emotions today.

He sat as the rain fell, and contemplated things for some time.

Eventually, the sheer folly of sitting out in such inclement weather forced him to come to terms with his outburst and head home. He trudged back, and knocked on the door, to see his mother’s troubled face.

“Oh Jesus, Jackie, you’re wet through.”

She welcomed him in and scampered off to fetch him a warm towel, which she had draped over a radiator nearby

“We were so worried about you… Jack, your Dad wandered up and down the road with an umbrella for an hour, we were just going to get in the car and go searching,” she explained, wrapping the towel around his shoulders.

Water dripped from his damp hair, and his mum scrabbled his locks with one end of the towel to dry them off somewhat.

His Dad rounded the corner with a wet coat on, clearly just about to head out again, car keys in hand.

“Bloody hell. Thank god you’re safe,” he said with audible relief, coming over and hugging his boy, all traces of what'd happened earlier were completely gone.

“I never meant to upset you, I know you’re under a lot of stress, don’t scare us like that again,” he said.

“I’ll t-try not to,” Jack mumbled, shivering from his cold, wet clothes.

“Come on,” his mum instructed, walking him back to his bedroom where she’d laid out some clean pajamas for him to change into.

“I’ll be back in a minute, put these warm clothes on,” she instructed, heading out of the room and pulling the door to behind her.

As he pulled the fresh nightclothes on, he could hear his parents’ voices. His mother’s was raised, as if berating his Dad, whose voice was much fainter and less easy to judge the tone of. He got the feeling his Dad hadn’t fully accepted that it was something he said that had triggered Jack’s outburst, and his Mum was making him keenly aware. He didn’t want to get involved, they’d both managed to torpedo his feelings… it had been a team effort.

All he really wanted to do now was to fall straight to sleep, and with some luck… dream of Penny, and how she had held him so close, and made him feel so safe.

The door opened a short while later, as he was tucking himself into bed, and his mother came in and sat on his bedside to talk to him, placing a bowl of casserole on his side table.

“I’m sorry, Jackie, I know we were teasing you, and this isn’t the easiest time of year, but I think you’ve overreacted. We were very… well… your Dad and I are worried something’s up, something serious. Is there anything we should be concerned about?”

He still didn’t really want to confide any of what was on his mind to his parents, it would make things more complicated, and he wanted to spare himself the inevitable intervention and upheaval to his life that would surely follow.

He wanted the freedom to be able to see Penny, and not have his every move scrutinised or fretted over, despite the other risks and worries he had.

“I’m just under a lot of stress,” he explained, “It’s schoolwork, exams, everything, all of it…”

“So it’s not one thing in particular, your Dad and I… or this girl, perhaps?” she ventured.

“It’s a lot of things…” he said, trailing off, not wanting to give specifics.

“Are you mad at us?” she asked, looking particularly upset.

He looked at his mother. She was not a bad person, much as she upset him sometimes.

“No,” he said, “I’m just under a lot of pressure… I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”

“We couldn’t eat much after you left…” she said, giving a sad smile, “You might not be hungry either so I’ll just leave this here,” she explained, meaning the bowl she’d placed down.

“I know this is a crucial period of your life, Jackie boy, I wish I could make it easier on you. I promise we’ll shut up and stay out of your way if your friend comes round in future, she’s very welcome, and trust me, your father has been given a stern talking to regarding his ‘gay’ remark…”

“Ok,” he agreed, a pang of resentment at his father’s words threatening to rise up within him, but he forced it back down.

“Now, you get some rest, and we’ll put this all behind us. We love you very much, we just want what is best for you, and we’re sorry if we’re adding to the pressure you feel…”

“I know…”

“I love you, Jackie,” she said, bending down and giving him a peck on the forehead.

“I love you too, mum,” he replied.