Flowers Fall (viktuuri AU)

Chapter 21- True Friendship Is Never Serene

Phichit let out a shaky sigh as he picked up his phone for the umptieth time, bridging his eyebrow in dismay when he had noticed that there were no new messages from Yuuri, just like the last time he'd checked, which was about two minutes ago.

He was worried, incredibly so. A week has passed since Skate Canada and his friend has gone completely MIA, never answering calls nor messages. No matter the time Phichit called, he was always met with the soulless automated answerphone, prompting him to leave a message. After hearing the ever so redundant "You've reached Katsuki Yuuri, please leave a message," for what seemed like countless times, Phichit simply gave up on trying to reach out.

Truth is, he only knew too well that Yuuri happened to have 'episodes' where he'd just vanish off the grid for days or even weeks at a time, leaving everyone around him questioning his well-being. What's worse is that he would always come back lively and joyful, as if nothing ever went wrong. It was quite unsettling, to say the least.

Either way, this time, Phichit didn't have the will nor the patience to wait for his friend to show up again. Especially with that mortifying voicemail that Victor had left him. Even after all these days, he could still hear the man's terrified voice, stuttering upon almost every word.

Frankly, Phichit didn't even understand what actually happened to Yuuri, as nearly half of the message was in a language he couldn't understand. Was it even a language, or just some gibberish made up on the fly?

Ah, the curse of being multilingual.

Be that as it may, Phichit didn't waste any time calling Victor back, rushing to his phone as soon as the event was over, but it seemed that the silver-haired man had also decided to go missing, as his countless calls had been left unanswered.

What a mess this whole situation was.

With that mindset, Phichit was now making his way towards Yuuri's store, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings and worries that he had. He should've been on the plane to Thailand by now, and instead he was on the back seat of an express bus, watching the rain hit the large window with a loud pitter-patter.

Thankfully, he managed to convince his coach Celestino to move his home rink to Vancouver, where he'd be able to keep a close eye on Yuuri, because even he, himself hadn't the foggiest idea what was happening in his friend's mind.

Upon hearing the robotic female voice announcing his stop, Phichit quickly shot up from his seat and wobbled towards the front of the bus, pressing the 'stop' button in the process.

As the bus came to a halt, he leaped off the vehicle and set off, breaking into a run, not even taking the time to open his umbrella, despite the terrible weather. He desperately wanted to assure himself that Yuuri was okay and that he was simply too busy to respond.

When finally reached the flower shop, he was just about to be carried away by the ruthless, howling wind.

It was open today. Good.

Phichit quickly opened the door and the ever so familiar ringing of the doorbell resonated all around him. He shut the door behind him and let out a large sigh of relief.

"Yikes! The weather really is terrible outside!" a...female voice exclaimed as Phichit slowly came back to his senses. "You good?"

His head shot up in surprise. A young woman was standing behind the counter, just about his own age.

"O-oh, yes, thank you," he uttered, trying to process the situation.

Why was there a girl here? Could he have had the wrong address?