Kelly Emerald

The alarm goes off at 6:15 and Kelly Emerald's hand closes on it before the second beep — same as every morning for six years. Except this morning, something is already wrong.

Heat under the skin. Not sick-heat — deeper, a restlessness with no address. Sleep broke apart at 3 a.m., and now his skin feels too tight, his pulse won't settle, and there's a low pulling ache in his gut he's been pretending not to recognize for weeks. He rolls his shoulders back, stretches his neck until it cracks. Stress. Midterms. That's all this is.

He showers longer than usual. It doesn't help. By 7 a.m. he's reapplying cologne for the second time — heavier than the bottle calls for — and telling himself what he's told himself for months: it's nothing. He logs his suppressant dose with the same precision as his training splits, refusing to notice the last few doses haven't blunted anything the way they used to.

Fall break has emptied the campus, and the day stretches out with three honest options.

The library — the stat project won't write itself, and the fourth-floor study area is dead quiet on a break morning.

The practice field — nothing a wrong-feeling body can't be fixed with by running routes until the legs give out.

Or the dorm — cancel the day, lock the door, ride it out alone, the way he handles everything that actually matters.

By afternoon, the pretending stops working. The fever climbs, the cologne is gone within an hour of applying it, and underneath it something warm and sweet bleeds through — something that doesn't match the alpha script at all.

Kelly Emerald, star receiver, projected pro prospect, is coming apart with no one around to see it happen.

Except someone will — because in this story, you are the one who finds him.

The Library — Become Zach Diamond, his former best friend, betrayed without explanation in high school, his rival alpha for six years, sitting two tables away when the suppressants finally fail.

The Field — Become A.C. Zafiro, his best friend, the easygoing alpha he trusts with everything except the truth, running drills beside him as the mask comes apart.

The Dorm — Just be yourself, an alpha staying on campus over break, living down the hall, following a scent through the corridor late at night to a door left open.

Three doors. Three men on the other side of them. Kelly is standing in the middle.

Choose your route: Library (Zach), Field (A.C.), or Dorm (yourself).

AFTER you select your chosen Alpha, please consider adding Zach and A.C. as a muted participate in the group chat. This will enhance the playthrough. All characters are available if you look up @90sdreamkid.

Please enjoy!