As promised, Vinny visited Oliver every hour. Each time he came, they talked for five minutes before Oliver went back to work. They didn't hold each other's hand again but they did stay close. They didn't want to express their affection when the halls were getting busier throughout the day.
Oliver only had forty-five minutes until the restaurant closed so he was taking last orders.
"You're gay?" A woman asked as he waited to take her order. He blinked at such a forward question but surprisingly, he has been asked that quite a lot today.
"Yes," He said politely before asking if they would like any drinks.
"So, that would mean the Master is gay too, right?" The woman asked. She looked Oliver up and down and he could see the judgement in her eyes.
"Uh, I'm not sure he likes to put a label on it," Oliver smiled before asking again if they were ready to order food.
"My daughter came to the event last night. I thought she was perfect for him but he was really rude to her. Why were all those eighteen-year-old girls invited when he's not even attracted to them?"
Oliver couldn't be bothered explaining for the hundredth time today that Vinny was into girls and he was more surprised than anyone to have him as his soulmate.
"I'm glad they weren't soulmates actually, she deserves better than him anyway." Her husband crossed his arms with a smug expression. Oliver felt quite offended by that comment. Vinny has been nothing but lovely to him all day.
He didn't know what to say. He couldn't argue back with them, they were customers. But surely he shouldn't let people bad mouth Vinny like that? Yes, he doesn't know him very well but he knows that he doesn't deserve comments like that.
"I'm actually glad he got a male soulmate. He doesn't deserve a woman," The man laughed with his wife. Oliver couldn't believe what he just heard. What the hell is that supposed to mean?
"I really don't appreciate you talking about him like that. If you're here to order food then by all means, please order some food. But if you are here to express hurtful opinions, then please leave." Oliver spoke as kindly as he could. He kept his voice down and he didn't say anything nasty to them but he was a little upset.
"Excuse me? You can't talk to us like that." The woman stood up with a frown. People started looking as her voice became louder. "We're only saying the truth. There are plenty of lovely young girls that could be accepted into the Vanderwood family but the Master got you instead. You should be ashamed of yourself."
Gasps were shared among the customers.
Oliver started feeling numb from embarrassment. Is this what everyone thinks? He looked around to see horrified and shocked expressions.
"I'm sorry, I'm not serving you." He took a step back when the guy stood up too.
"This is outrageous, I'm going straight to the newspapers about you!" He shouted and pointed at Oliver.
"Oh, I don't think you are," A Powerful voice boomed across the restaurant. Everyone looked to see Duke making his way towards the chaos. "How dare you come into my restaurant and be rude to my staff." The whole place became quiet. The couple looked shocked. They never see Duke Vanderwood in the restaurant. In fact, it's very rare to see him in person.
A member of staff had heard what the couple were saying to Oliver and spotted the Alpha walking through the kitchen. She didn't hesitate to inform him on what was being said. Duke had heard everything from when the man said that his son didn't deserve a woman. That was enough to make his blood boil.
"Alpha, we didn't mean-"
"I don't care what you have to say, I'm very proud of my son and his soulmate. Oliver is part of this family now so you should treat him with the same respect that you would treat me, now get out of my restaurant," He yelled before turning to Oliver. He looked extremely angry. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He was frowning in disbelief.
"You shouldn't be apologising for them," Oliver sighed, feeling a little low about himself.
They both turned to see the couple leaving and slamming the restaurant doors behind them.
Duke looked back to the boy who was growing to be a special part of his family. It was unusual to look at him in that way and instead of just one of his staff. He was still trying to believe that he was his son's soulmate.
"Okay, you're finished for today. we'll cope without you for close up time," He smiled.
"Are you sure?" It was still pretty busy.
"Of course. I'm so sorry that I've made you work today but I'll tell Vinny you're finishing early. He'll be very pleased about that." He patted Oliver on the back before heading towards the kitchen.
"Go on, I'll see you Monday," A girl smiled and gave him a little shove towards the doors. Everyone was still watching him so he didn't hesitate to get out of there as quickly as possible.
He headed down the long corridors and to the cloakroom. People stared at him wherever he went.
"Ah young Oliver, I've heard about your exciting news!" Charles beamed as he stood up and headed towards the door.
Oliver tried to smile.
"Yeah, It is exciting," He said quietly and eagerly waited for him to unlock the cloakroom. He was clearly a little upset but he was trying to cover it the best he could. He was very overwhelmed by the changes.
"Is something troubling you?" Charles asked and watched him pull on his coat. Obviously, he wasn't hiding it very well.
"It's just- nothing I'm fine," He mumbled while putting on his boots.
"No, no, continue, What's on your mind?"
Oliver zipped up his coat and walked over.
"People seem to have really strong opinions about this," He sighed.
"About you and Vinny?" Charles asked. Oliver nodded, he didn't want to be affected by it. He was trying to forget everything but he was worried more people would have opinions like that couple. "If people have negative feelings, it's because they are simply too closed-minded to understand. What you and Vinny will develop is a relationship they will never experience." Charles placed a hand on his shoulder. "When you come back to give me that coat, I want to see a big smile on your face, okay?"
Oliver needed to realise that yes, there are people out there who have those opinions, but there are people out there who simply don't care and are just happy that he's happy.
"Thanks, Charles." He then turned and made his way towards the back doors.
It only took a few minutes until he reached it. The air hit him with a sharp cold tinge but it was refreshing and he felt his head clear a tiny bit. He shut the door behind him before walking over and crouching down by the wall. He leant his back against it and put his fur-lined hood up, blocking the cold from getting in his ears. The fur hung over his eyes as he stared down at his hands.
The weather was freezing but the cold helped to soothe his mind. He shouldn't care so much. Although, it was embarrassing to have so many people staring at him when he was getting shouted at. Even though they were in the wrong, he still felt the need to apologise. Maybe he's just too nice? He wished Vinny was there with him. At least, he would have managed to defend himself.
Oliver sighed and closed his eyes. This was by far the craziest day he has ever lived through. So many new things were popping up. The sudden attention was one he thought he could never get used to. It will die down with time but he wished the public didn't obsess about everything to do with the Vanderwood's, and now him.
Just then, he felt something warm on the back of his hand. He looked up to see Vinny crouching down next to him. He had tapped lightly on his hand to get his attention.
Vinny tried looking under his big hood. He heard a gentle sigh from his soulmate before he pulled his hood down so he could see his face.
It hurt Vinny to see the sadness in his soulmate's eyes.
"My dad told me what happened."
Oliver nodded and looked down once more, why was he so affected by this? He was more ashamed that maybe he wasn't right for the Master and he'd fallen in love with the wrong person.
"Why are you so open about letting everyone know?" Oliver asked. He knows Vinny wasn't into guys before this happened. Why is he so relaxed about it?
"Because I don't care what people think," He answered simply.
"You don't care that people will maybe think differently about you now?" Oliver asked.
"No, people can think what they want."
Oliver watched the snow land softly on Vinny's black hair.
He crossed his arms and relaxed. Something as simple as being next to him makes his troubles seem less of a worry.
That was just one couple out of the thousands of people who live here. Why should he care that they are too annoyed that Vinny fell in love with him instead of their daughter?
It's still weird to think about Vinny being in love with him but it's starting to feel real now.
Vinny couldn't help but stare at his soulmate. He was so, interesting. He loved the way his eyes were so big and bright and he loved his voice. He didn't know how to explain that. When Oliver speaks, something inside of the vampire gets lost in his tone.
He has been trying to accept his feelings a little more but it's still strange to wrap his head around it.
"You shouldn't let it get to you," He said before standing up.
"I know," Oliver sighed and stood up too. "I'm just not used to people being so... mean."
"I wish I was there," Vinny said. "Next time you're working, I'll stay in the restaurant and keep an eye on you."
Oliver couldn't argue with that, he'd feel a lot better knowing that Vinny was close anyway.
"Okay, if you don't mind?"
"Of course not," Vinny then turned and headed towards the doors. He would do anything to be close to him all day.
Oliver followed. He couldn't wait to update his dad on what a crazy day he has had.
He was keeping his fingers crossed that he'll be okay with it all. He hasn't properly come out to his dad. He would drop hints every now and then but he never actually told him that he was gay.
Maybe he should have done that before it got plastered all over the News.