The following day, I found myself pacing back and forth in the bottom floor of the library as the clock ticked five minutes past the posted meeting time of the Death March Study Squad. I had no idea what the hell they even did if it wasn't a study group, but I hadn't had a chance to ask. The bar had gotten busy soon after Dane had invited me, and I had to go off to serve other customers.

I paced around the library some more, and then ended up going outside to sit on the polished stone steps that ran down from into the huge grassy quad that lay in the middle of campus. A pleasant breeze rustled the nearby trees, and two alphas ran around in the quad throwing a frisbee, their uniform jackets folded neatly on top of their backpacks. It was a really nice day.

Why the hell was I so nervous about going up there?

"I'm serious, Viggo," a voice said. "It's over." I turned my head towards the source, and spotted Viggo walking towards the stairs, his hands stuffed tightly into his pockets as an omega tailed after him. They both looked fed up.

"Okay," Viggo said, flatly. The omega's mouth dropped open.

"Really? That's all you have to say? You're telling me you're not even going to try to save this relationship? You'd rather spend all your time with those two guys?"

"Yeah," he said, without hesitation. "And can we really even call this a relationship?"

He trotted up the stairs, leaving the omega standing speechless at the bottom, his jaw hanging.

"What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well… First off, it’s only been a month. Second off, I don’t feel that strongly for you. Third, I’m not an idiot. I know what’s up. So, see you.”

“Viggo!" he shouted, his hands balled up into tight fists at his sides. It looked like there were a billion things he wanted to yell at him, but all he could manage was a frustrated screech before stomping away. I felt sorry for him but I also couldn't help but be somewhat amused at the whole interaction. Tall, dark and douchey indeed.

So, what was the deal with their little trio, anyway?

"Everything alright?" I called out. Viggo looked over, shocked.

"What the? Were you there the whole time?"

I stood up. "Uh-huh."

"Well, that's awkward. Don't worry about it. What are you doing out here? Are you coming up, or no?" He walked towards the library entrance, and I quickly followed after him. Looked like my decision had been made.

"Did you just break up with your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, like it was just another daily occurrence.

"I'm sorry," I offered.

"I'd made it pretty clear that the guys would always be first, and he still wanted to go out with me. He knew what he was getting into."

"I see," I said, thinking that it was just a little bit weird. "You and those guys are pretty close, huh?"

We walked through the main floor of the library, which was cathedral-like in its construction; a church of knowledge. There were rows and rows and books, many dating back to before the school was founded over one hundred-fifty years ago. Sunlight streamed in through floor to ceiling windows and a towering skylight in the center.

"We've been best friends since high school," Viggo said. "Actually, Red and Dane have known each other since middle school. Honestly, there's no one in the world more important to me than those guys. And I know they can say the same about me."

I followed Viggo up the stairs to the third floor where the study rooms were located, trying not to feel like a massive fourth wheel. What was I doing here?

"I'm sorry, by the way," Viggo said coolly, without looking at me.

"What for?"

"I know I come off as unfriendly. I'm protective of our group."

"I really don't want to intrude," I said. "It was nice of Dane to invite me to come hang out, but it's really fine. I'm fine, you know?"

"We've already decided," he said, glancing over at me. His dark eyes were like pools of deep water. I felt drawn in, and oddly nervous. I wasn't used to dealing with alphas like Viggo. He was confident and good-looking, and just a tad intimidating. "We're taking you under our wing, at least for a little while. I get it. It's hard to be new in town and trying to get by without knowing anyone, especially at a place like this. I was there once, too, when I first moved to Elworth back in high school."

"So you aren't from Elworth, either?"

"Nope."

"Oh. So those two took you under their wing..."

"More like, I found them. You think I need to be taken under a wing?"

My face went hot. "Pff. How should I know? I barely know you."

We reached room 303, and Viggo pushed open the door. Dane was sitting at one of the computers, a pair of headphones covering his ears. Spread all around him on the table were pages of notes. Red was sitting hunched over on the couch playing a video game on the big projection screen. Dane looked over and grinned when he saw me, a bright sparkling smile that suddenly made me feel at ease.

"Yo!" he called, pulling off his headphones. He stood up and, to my surprise, pulled me into a hug. "Glad you decided to come, Brendan."

Red looked over his shoulder and waved. "Hey, guys."

Viggo swung his backpack off his shoulder and tossed it into a chair. "Careful, Brendan," Viggo said. "Now that you've given him a hug he's going to expect one every time."

Dane laughed. "What, you jealous? I'll give you a hug, too." He came up behind Viggo and wrapped his arms around him.

"Cut it out. I'm gonna kick your ass." He struggled against Dane, and I could see he was suppressing a grin.

"Arm lock him," Red said. "C'mon Viggo. You gonna let him win?"

"Love me, love me," Dane crooned in a sing-song voice. Then Viggo reached down between Dane's legs and grabbed a fist-full of his package. Dane yelped and dropped to his knees, laughing.

"Viggo with the nut touch," Red said, turning back to his game. Viggo clasped Dane's hand and hauled him up to his feet.

I couldn't help but smile. It was like watching three brothers playing, and the warm, comfortable energy they shared was infectious. "Welcome to the Death March Study Squad," Viggo said to me.

Dane went back to his computer, and Viggo sat in one of the rolling chairs and kicked his feet up onto the desk. I sat down next to him. "What is this, exactly?" I asked. "Just a place for the three of you to hang out?"

"Pretty much," Viggo said. "I wanted our own private place for us to be able to meet between classes, where we could chill out and do whatever we wanted. So I made a club, and gave it the least desirable name I could think of."

"To be honest," said Dane, "I'm surprised we haven't had more people poking around, trying to add more to their workload. Keystone is filled with people who'd love to study themselves to death."

"I was looking for a club to de-stress, but in the end, I went for the most stressful sounding one."

"Well, you made the right choice," Dane said.

"This whole thing isn't really allowed, by the way," Viggo said. "If the school finds out we're just fucking around in here, they'll shut us down. But we have gotten away with it for four years, so... You know."

Dane held out a hand and Viggo slapped his palm. Over on the couch, Red raised his fist in solidarity.

"I won't say a word," I said.

"We know you won’t," Dane said. "I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't think you were cool."

"We all agreed," said Red. "We all think you're cool."

I laughed. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but you guys just met me. How do you know I'm not a complete asshole?" Viggo and Dane exchanged a look. Red paused his game. I blinked. "What?" I asked.

Dane leaned in towards me, his eyes twinkling. "I've got special powers," he said in a low voice.

"Shut up, Dane," said Viggo.

"I mean, it's kind of true?" Dane mumbled. "I want to feel special."

"Dane is really good at judging character," Viggo said.

Dane looked pleased with himself. "It's kind of a talent. I can pretty much size up a person on first meeting. I can tell if I will get along with them, and I know these two well enough that I know who will get along with them, too. And I could tell that you would get along just fine. Actually, I could tell you needed us."

"Is that right? I need you guys?"

He shrugged. "That's the feeling I got. Feel free to ignore me. But I'm usually right."

Viggo grunted. "By the way... Andrew dumped me."

Red started laughing and slapping his knee, which startled me for a second. As quiet as he talked, his laugh was really loud. Much more fitting to his size.

Dane just grinned and held out an open palm. Viggo sighed and pulled two fifty-dollar bills from his wallet. He handed them to Dane, who passed one back to Red.

"See, Brendan? Sometimes they just don't listen me."

I smiled cluelessly at them, feeling like I'd just missed the explanation of some inside joke.

"I told Viggo that dude wouldn't get it," Dane explained. "I knew it from the moment I met him. He would not be cool."

"Alright, alright," Viggo said. "I should've listened."

"But you never do. Which is fine. Beer money for me."

"Whatever. I would've ended up using that money to buy you guys drinks, anyway."

Red started his game up again. Dane smiled at me. "This is what you need to get through Keystone. Family."

Viggo nodded in agreement, and then reached out and patted my thigh. I felt an unexpected shiver tremble up my body at his touch. "We'll look out for you."

I felt completely overwhelmed, like I'd been pulled into a passing tornado and all I could do was hold on for the ride—but then again, that'd been my entire experience so far since coming here. Was that just how life was in the city? I was still running to catch up with all the craziness happening around me, but I had to admit: despite the fact that I'd only just met Viggo, Dane and Red, there was just something about them that made me feel safe.

Viggo and I sat and talked at the conference table in the middle of room 303 as Dane worked on a class project and Red played his video game. It was pretty amazing how being in a private environment like this could help wear away the vice-grip of stress and worry. I still had a crushing amount of studying and work I needed to do but knowing there was this sanctuary I could come to on campus really did wonders to put me at ease. Turned out, this was exactly what I needed. I felt a bit silly about how wary I'd been about coming here.

Still, as fast as it'd been to get comfortable around them, I did feel out of place. They were easygoing and fun, but that didn't change the fact that they definitely looked like typical Keystone students. Clean and sharp in their uniforms, they could've been the trio of smiling models on the front of the school catalog. Meanwhile, I was short, out of shape, and my uniform didn't fit me properly. I didn't have a cool haircut like Dane, or the smooth confidence of Viggo, or the hunky athletic build of Red. I was just me. I hated thinking of it in high school terms, but I felt like the odd man out in a group of cool jocks. In fact, they probably had been the cool jocks back in high school.

"You're really not upset about your boyfriend dumping you?" I asked Viggo.

"Nah. I saw it coming. Anyway, I should've ended it a while ago. It was pretty obvious we weren't meant for each other. I shouldn't have wasted his time."

"It seemed like he was pretty upset. He seemed to want to work things out."

"There was no working things out. He didn't get me at all."

"Because of... your trio?"

"Exactly."

"I don't understand. Did you not want to spend time with him alone at all?"

"He wanted me to stop hanging out with these guys. And he refused to come hang out here. He didn't believe that I should be close with anyone other than him. He was jealous of what I have with Red and Dane."

It definitely didn't sound very healthy, but I had to admit, it was still hard for me to wrap my head around the bond that the group had, it was so beyond my experience. What was it like to have such close friends? People who you cared for so much, who were so important that even romance couldn't shake your devotion to them? Maybe that was love. I didn't know. I'd never been in love.

"Well, that's too bad," I said.

"Whatever. It's better to be single, anyway. It's too hard to keep a relationship at this school. There's just way too much to do."

I examined Viggo's face and those dark eyes that made me feel slightly fuzzy inside and thought that I was fine with him being single, too. Not that I could ever expect anything with a guy like him, but it did make me feel pleased. It made me wonder about the others.

"Do they have anyone?" I asked, nodding towards Dane and Red, who were both heavily involved in their own activities.

"You can ask them that question," Viggo replied.

I felt my face go warm, and I said nothing. All three of them could easily get any of the hot and classy betas or omegas that went to this school. If Dane and Red were taken, it wouldn't surprise me. I guess I wasn't curious enough to directly ask them such a personal question all of a sudden.

"And you?" Viggo asked. My warm cheeks were now hot with embarrassment, and I squirmed in my chair, feeling that sense of being completely out of place. Here I was with a guy who'd just gotten dumped and treated it like it was no big deal. And it wasn't, because he'd probably dumped and been dumped by plenty of people. I, however...

"No," I said. "Uh, like you said. There's just no time for that sort of thing. Honestly, I should probably be studying right now..."

"Go for it," Viggo said. "Feel free to study here whenever you want. As you can see, we screw around, but we also do work. This is our private refuge from the insanity. It's yours now, too."

I nodded, still feeling slightly dazed, a warm feeling in my chest.