Good Panic

   SFG, the Soulmate Finder Gene was carried in 16% of the world's population, and was duplicated 40 times over in someone's DNA in about 5% of the said population. Soulmates hadn't been prominent in present culture for over 400 years, so people loved to romanticize SFG. 'People who didn't suffer from it', Louis thought bitterly, as he lined his neck with the strongest pheromone neutralizer on the market. He, unfortunately, lived the truth of this disease everyday.

   This lifelong illness caused an extremely heightened sense of smell, luckily just pheromones, and made everyone except their supposed Soulmate smell rancid, or the combined scents overpowering and panic inducing. Along with the most detrimental symptom, an alluringly strong scent that apparently attracted every Alpha close enough to scent it. Oh yea, it also only affected Omegas, and it has only been cured by the Omega finding their Soulmate, so far. Nobody likes to acknowledge the fact that most of the Omegas that had been cured had been 13-16 years old, and all of which had some form of sexual trauma occur due to SFG, before they found their Alpha.

Once the sticky tape neutralizers were in place on his thigh, and neck Louis started to dress. Being a severely late bloomer hadn't afforded him the time to fully accept his condition. Three years isn't long enough to come to grips with the understated rough beginning, or the optimistic parents that thought this was more of a blessing than a curse. Even after everything that happened when he presented.

Louis knows he's lucky that he worked ever since he was of age, and packed away every cent he earned. Almost like he knew he would have to run from the parents he once thought would protect him. Once they denied him the basic medical treatments that would keep him safe from any more misled Alphas, he knew, the moment he was old enough he would have to escape their selfish delusions.

The thought of his parents hangs heavy in his mind as he slides on his vans. The tape of the pheromone neutralizer pulling at the skin of his neck as he ties the laces. The safety they bring him is the only reason he handles the discomfort silently. At the age of 20, and two years into college, things were starting to look up.

Louis stopped at the table by the front door that held his keys, and medication. He popped two of the pills that blocked the pheromone receptors in his nose, and took a deep breath. 'Today will be a good day.' He thought before opening the door to head to his chemistry class. 'No matter how many people stare at the neutralizer on my neck.'

-

Now sitting in his second, and favorite class of the day, Botany. His professor is excitedly telling the class about the "humongous fungus", a 3.5 square mile fungus that is found in Malheur National Forest, and the world's largest living thing on the planet. It had taken a year to figure out what he had wanted to major in, but once he learned about plant biology the year prior he just couldn't get enough. It was all so interesting. Clearly his professor had been bitten by the same botany bug.

Louis smiles to himself as Professor Styles gesticulates dorkily as he goes over all the ways that the study of fungi has helped, and continues to help in many different fields, but most especially in medicine. The man wears his passion on his sleeve, Louis hopes he'll be able to remain just as interested, and dedicated to this field over the years.

So far it had been a good day, just as Louis had claimed it would be before he left his apartment. The judgement stares from the people around him rolling off of him easily. They just don't understand. They see SFG as a blessing that Louis is just throwing away by covering his scent. Who wouldn't want to find their Soulmate, right? Even if that means being groped, and raped repeatedly in the meantime.

Living in fear is not something he's willing to go back too, and he refuses to feel guilty about it. Three years ago sitting in a classroom with so many people would have been impossible. A panic attack would have ensued just from the scent alone, not even counting the fear of being in an enclosed space with what he assumes are several Alphas. Now he can giggle at his Alpha Professors antics, rather than cowering in fear of the man. A million shitty judgements couldn't make a dent in that kind of relief.