Jonathan lifted his head from his sketchbook when he heard the door beside his own slam close.
The neighboring room fell silent
Jonathan strained his ears to listen downstairs, not hearing anything down there either.
What happened?
He felt his curiosity attempt to pull him out of his room, but his instinct of staying put held him tighter. He returned to his notebook, again attempting to draw one of his molted feathers.
After another few doodles, his pencil hovered over the paper.
A knock gently prodded the door.
The Omega's blue gaze flickered toward the door, his nose twitching slightly as he took a deep breath of the scent that leaked under the door.
"Jon? Can...can we talk?"
The jay-wing blinked at the quiet, broken voice, milk and cherries tainted with distress beginning to flow steadily from the door.
The lock opened with a click, and Smitty's pale face peaked out from behind the door.
His white hair stuck up in odd places, and his black hoodie hung unevenly off his shoulders.
"What's wrong?"
Jon asked softly, his eyes darting up and down the hall to make sure there wasn't anyone else before settling back on the injured dove-wing.
"I...I just broke up with John."
"What? Why?"
Jonathan opened the door wider, his wings already opening to bring the hurt Omega in for a hug.
But what if he tries to kill me?
The thought made Jon hesitate as Smitty sniffled.
"He wanted me to mind my own business and ignore that you were ever attacked...and I wanted to make sure that you were safe."
Jonathan blinked, then pulled the hurting Omega close.
Arms were quick to wrap around his shoulders, squeezing him tight as his azure hoodie grew wet with Smitty's tears.
"It'll be okay,"
He cooed, pulling the dove-wing away to look into his chocolate eyes.
"I mean...I've never been in a relationship before, but I know that if John isn't the one, you'll find them eventually."
Smitty wiped at his tears, a scoff was tugged out of his throat.
"I'm older than you, I should be giving you advice."
Jon smiled, closing the door and locking it again before sitting on his bed, pushing his sketchbook out of the way so Smitty could sit beside him.
"I mean, you're 20, right? So I'm only a year younger than you."
Smitty hummed in acknowledgment, a small smile pulling at his lips.
However, the smile only lasted a blissful moment.
"Jon, I want to help you with this...this whole 'attacker' situation."
Jonathan stiffened slightly, trying to hide it by returning to his sketchbook and pencil.
"Evan had already figured out who it was. Why did he let him out?"
Jonathan dropped his pencil after asking the question, looking back at Smitty in dismay.
"Because Brock isn't the attacker,"
Smitty said confidently,
"He wouldn't do that."
Jonathan huffed, mumbling a quiet,
"That's what everyone's saying."
Smitty either didn't hear him or ignored the comment.
"That leaves either Ohm or Craig as the attacker. But how do we-"
"What about you?"
Jonathan didn't stop the question after it had bubbled into his mind.
He didn't feel like hiding his paranoia anymore.
Smitty paused a moment, his warm eyes locking onto Jonathan for a moment before saying,
"Brian Alpha Commanded me to tell him the truth. Ask him if you have any doubts about my trust worthiness."
Jonathan swallowed before nodding and turning his blue gaze back to his sketches.
"So, how do we figure out who did it?"
Smitty asked after a tense pause of silence.
"Why don't we ask one of the Alphas to Command them?"
Smitty flinched at Jonathan's question, his good wing twitching at the thought.
"No. One of them may have tried to hurt you, but they are both our friends and fellow Omegas. I don't go anywhere near Brian after he did...that."
Jonathan sighed, remembering when the Canaries had taken away his speech, and even when James had made him tell him what happened.
He hated the way he felt like a puppet.
Strung up for any Alpha to control him.
He again wished he wasn't an Omega.
"Alright, no Alpha Commands,"
Jonathan sighed.
"Then what do we do? I had finally found a place I could call home, and then they take it away from me. I feel like I can't trust anyone anymore, except...maybe you now."
Jonathan could feel Smitty's sad stare, but didn't look up from his drawing of a rain-covered window. The rough sketches of an Omega sat beside it, staring off into the graphite sky.
"You can trust Evan, and I know-"
"No."
Jonathan cut the dove-wing off before he could keep listing names.
"I...I ruined that. The attacker, ruined that."
There was a long pause before Smitty sighed.
"Then trust me. I will never do anything to go back on my vow of protecting you."
Jonathan glanced at the Omega beside him, his heart tense with distrust.
The dove-wing's eyes were still puffy with tears, his white hair messy and tangled.
He had readjusted his black hoodie so that it fit him correctly, the old design faded from use.
He looked...normal.
Nothing like the spunky and bright Omega that Jon has been introduced to the first day.
No propeller hat spun with childlike glee and no 3D glasses added the dash of innocent perception.
Smitty was drowning as much as he was.
Jonathan sighed.
They were trapped in this god-awful situation together.
"Alright. I trust you."
Jonathan said finally, brushing Smitty gently with a wing.
He didn't notice Smitty flinch away from his cerulean feathers.
"N-now that that's done with,"
Smitty started, smiling as he pointed at Jonathan's sketches.
"Where the hell did you learn to draw so well?"
Jon looked down at the loose doodles and felt his face heat up, quickly flipping to a blank page.
"U-uhm...nowhere. Just lots of long, lonely days at my old place."
"Well, they are amazing!"
Smitty said with a half smile.
"Th-thanks."
Jonathan stuttered.
He had never shown his drawings to anybody, but he guessed Smitty was the perfect one to start with.
He took a deep breath, flipping back through the pages as his own small smile graced his lips.
Through Smitty's surprisingly patient questions, Jonathan could feel his heart opening more, bit by bit.
However, he knew most of it would be kept under heavy lock and key.
Trust was hard to earn through his new azure veil.
***
Luke had whisked Ohm away after Evan had gone upstairs.
He couldn't wait another moment.
He needed answers before they ate their way out of his mind.
So, ignoring the confused look Ohm gave him as he lead the Omega into the meeting room, he locked the door behind them.
"Luke? What's going on?"
"How did you know it wasn't Brock?"
Luke hated how desperate the question burned through him, and he was about to start begging his boyfriend for answers when Ohm spoke again.
"What?"
"How did you know? You were so confident and...and it baffles me!"
Ohm's expression slowly shifted from confusion to understanding.
"I knew it because Brock is my friend, he would never do that."
"You and I both know that just because someone is a friend doesn't mean they are innocent."
Luke couldn't hide the growl that laced his words as the image of the blonde-haired Omega flashed in his mind.
Ohm flinched from the memory before steeling himself and hissing,
"Brock isn't like that. He couldn't hurt a mouse!"
Luke sighed, taking a step back and running a hand through his hair.
His emotions sparked and flared like firecrackers.
He wanted to demand clearer answers.
However, he didn't want to aggravate Ohm more than he already was.
They were both off their game.
"Well, someone did. An' if I ever find out who it was...they're going to be sorry."
Luke could feel his inner Alpha flaring up and calmed it down, taking slow, deep breaths before looking back at the Omega.
Ohm was watching him warily.
Tha Alpha sighed.
"I know y'all are really close, but I need you to be honest with me. Has anybody been acting suspicious since the attack?"
Ohm paused a moment, his hazel eyes staring at the carpet for a long while before shaking his head. Luke nodded grimly.
"Alright. Thanks for talkin' to me. This whole...situation, has my nerves in a twist."
Ohm looked up with a shrug, a small smile pulling at his lips.
"It's fine, I understand."
Luke smirked, pecking a kiss on the sinfully perfect lips of the Omega's.
"Stay safe. Anything suspicious happens, you tell me, and I break some bones. Understand?"
Ohm's cheeks stained a faint red as he rolled his eyes.
"I know mom."
Luke chuckled, catching Ohm's hand in his own before unlocking the door and slipping back into the living room.