ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LATER AND SHORTLY AFTER ANOTHER LECTURE FROM CALLAGHAN
Victor tried to ignore the blaring sound of the alarm clock going off on his bedside table as he rolled over on his right side, his closed eyes now facing the dorm room wall as he tried to fall back into a sleeping euphoria.
But no slight movement, covered ears, or pair of sleeping eyes could block out such a thing as he groaned out in violent protest.......
Protest that was easily heard by his roommate who was standing around looking for his black loafers with wide awake green eyes and a half-unbuttoned, white dress shirt on.
And this roommate was, in every sense of the word, a lot more put together than Victor fucking Nikiforov was.
That being obvious considering the fact that the platinum haired boy was still in bed, his navy blue boxers and red striped socks rolled down at the ankles still on....
While also managing to wear a trail of drool that was stuck to the side of his face, which, as you can imagine, complimented everything else perfectly.
Of course it was no secret that Victor was as charming as a "way above average" looking teenage boy could get, and that any word that came out of his mouth sounded a whole lot better than when it came out of anyone else's.
But it was also no secret that, like every other "average" teenage boy in existence..........
He was a complete fucking mess.
"Yo Niki, get your ass up," Chris said firmly as he flung his own pillow across the room, watching smugly as it hit Victor square in the face, forcing him to wake up in frustration.
And god, was that sleep deprived hot shot of a boy frustrated.
"Jesus Christ," he muttered as he flinched at the fierce sunlight that was shining through their window, his arm snapping up to cover his eyes like he was a god damn vampire.
"You've got class in 15 minutes sleeping beauty," Chris taunted with as he leaned up against his scratched dresser and tried not to laugh at Victor's ridiculous bedhead. "Those notes ain't gonna take themselves, ya know."
"Ugh, don't remind me. I thought you were supposed to be the cool roommate," Victor said as he delicately rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms high above his head, desperately trying to wake himself up.
Even though he knew that wasn't going to happen.
At least not at 7:45 in the morning.
"Last time I checked, I think making sure the newbie got to class on time instead of letting him receive a detention for not showing up is being a cool roommate. But please, let me know if I've been mistaken, your royal highness."
Victor had to stop himself from rolling his blue, blue eyes again at the amount of vivid sarcasm and dramatic flair in Chris Giacometti's voice.
And at the fact that this boy was a total straight A, on time, perfect example of a Westview student......
Which was a characteristic he hadn't assumed for the green eyed boy on the first day they had met...
Considering the fact that Chris spent hours throughout the day, standing out in the hallway with a cigarette dripping from his lips while simultaneously making out with the Thai boy who roomed right next door to them.
In fact, he had already been kicked out of his own room multiple times because Phicit had insisted on coming inside and hanging out, which was just fucking code for "I'm gonna make out with your roomie's face until he can't speak anymore."
But of course, Victor thought, no one can resist the temptations that teenage hormones rot your brain with or how Phicit Chulanont always suspiciously smells like a perfect strawberry milkshake with whip cream on top.
"For the last time, I'm not a newbie. I've been here for two weeks asshole," Victor said as he reluctantly got out of bed and rummaged through drawers to find his wrinkled uniform.
"You're a newbie until I say otherwise," and Chris, out of the blue, picked up the half-empty beer can sitting on the ground and downed it without any sign of struggle. "Newbie."
Victor couldn't help but scoff at Chris's decision to drink at 7:45 in the morning.
It was almost humorous to him as he slipped on his shirt and tie, leaving the top two buttons open, as always.
Most of the boys at school thought the new kid dressed in a way that went against the dress code to draw attention and admiration to himself, maybe in the hopes that he would find a new boy toy to play with.
But Victor simply wore his shirt like this for himself and only himself.
Because to him, confidence was something he valued over vanity.
At least, that's what he claimed to believe.
He also claimed that there was a distinct difference between the two that people just couldn't understand.
"Real classy Giacometti. What class you got this morning that's persuading you to drink before enduring it?" Victor said as he ran his hands through his hair and grabbed his messy book bag before heading out the door..........
Chris right behind him with a smirk on his face.
"History."
"Fuck, say no more."
Both boys had gotten halfway down the quiet hallway before distantly being able to hear
a door swing open and slam shut behind them.
A door they knew undoubtedly belonged to the room of Phicit Chulanont and Luca Valiquette who, of course, were their infamous and endlessly entertaining next door neighbors.
Neighbors who seemed to be missing their third musketeer this morning.
A certain ebony haired, brown eyed, and hot headed musketeer.....
Which was a detail that Victor couldn't help but notice, for no particular reason at all.
Along with the detail that these two boys were clearly running just as late as they were.
"Oh, you're too kind! How chivalrous of you to offer to walk us to class gentlemen," Phicit said as he waltzed up to them and linked arms with Chris, while casting a cheeky side glance at an exhausted Victor.
Luca still lingered behind them as he rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath, already mad enough at the fact that he was running late to class because of his idiotic roommate slash best friend.
I'll never understand how I ended up with Chulanont as my roomie instead of Yuri, who fucking insisted on having his own special dorm room all to himself....Luca thought shamelessly as he adjusted the strap of his book bag....Little brat.
"Seems like Yuri clearly didn't need us to walk him to class then," Chris said suavely as Luca finally caught up to them and listened in on the conversation. "Where is that princess off to this morning anyways?"
"God, I can only imagine the things he'd say, let alone do to you if you'd called him princess to his fucking face," Luca said with a deep sigh as he got Victor to somewhat laugh, much to his surprise.
"I'd pay good money to watch that play out," the platinum boy said as he elbowed Chris and held the dorm building's main front door open.
The closing of that door behind them signaled the fact that they were no longer allowed the luxuries of soft bedsheets, morning conversations, and vending machines that were lit up 24/7.
Well, at least not until 3:00 that is.
But to these boys, it felt like a lot more than just something short of eight hours.
"Alright, listen up you wankers. It's Friday today, which means freedom, so I'm gonna need y'all to dish out some weekend plans for me to pick up before we make it inside that damned school building. I desperately need something to look forward to," Phicit said suddenly as all four boys continued across the quad comfortably, their hands either in their pockets or wrapped around their book bag straps loosely.
"Going drinking anywhere in England will keep me satisfied darling," Chris responded with, a smile on his face as he gave a sneaky wink. "You already know that, of course."
"Awe come on, I know you can be more creative than that Giacometti."
Drinking sounds pretty creative to me, Victor thought as his mouth watered at the thought of washing it all away with a tall glass of brandy.
"Sorry Phicit but I'm on team Giacometti. Besides, I'm in with the manager at the night club on Broadway," Victor said casually as he observed the quad in all of its surprisingly charming, European appeal.
But he couldn't help but get thrown off by Chris tugging at his shirt like it was a lifeline and Phicit screaming uncontrollably.
"NO FUCKING WAY!" and those words echoed throughout the quad as both boys stood on either side of Victor, their minds completely fucking blown.
Because there was nothing that pretentious, boarding school boys loved more than a chance to drink their problems away at the most exclusive night club in all of England.
"Okay listen, I think you're cool and all Nikiforov, but there's no way in hell you could get us into Broadway, let alone know the bloody fucking manager," Luca, the voice of reason, stated as Victor and him walked ahead of the two other boys who were still speechless.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to trust me, as hard as that may be for you," and Victor cast a trademark smirk at the skeptical French boy.
"Guess I will," and Luca was already looking forward to his well-deserved "I told you so," he'd be giving the troublemaker later on tonight.
"And don't you dare expect me to try to get Mr. "fuck you all, especially Nikiforov," Katsuki on board with this plan."
Lucky for Luca, Victor had already given himself the pleasure of being the one to convince Yuri that he was in for the night of his life.
And he knew damn well that he was capable of doing such a thing.
Because well, Victor fucking Nikiforov was simply just as stubborn as that flaming, brown eyed boy was, a character trait that Yuri hadn't been careful enough to pick up on in the last couple of weeks.
And not only could Victor be stubborn through persuasion.........
But he could it with charm too.
Which was a deadly, deadly, persona for anyone to handle.
Especially for Yuri Katsuki.
"Oh trust me Frenchie, I've got it all under control," and Victor waltzed into first period with perfect hair, the perfect smile......
And the perfect plan.
✣
"God, I could really use a cigarette," Luca muttered as he scoffed, watching as Ethan Legrand, captain of the soccer team, made out with his pre-Madonna girlfriend, who had decided to visit during lunch break.
For no god damn reason at all.
If there was anything that Luca despised more than having to keep tabs on Phicit, it was love.
Love, love, love.
Stupid fucking love.
The one thing that had never graced his path, and seemed like it wasn't planning on doing so anytime soon, much to his dismay.
And so now, here he was, leaned up against a locker with his best friend, who had also never been lucky in love, as they both stood there fed up with the bullshit they were constantly surrounded by....
While also finding the time to gossip until their lips were on the verge of practically falling off numb.
"Sorry, but I only have one cig left and I'm saving it so I can burn a hole through Ethan's oversized ego," Yuri said as he shoved his history books in his locker, rolling his eyes at nothing in particular.
As always.
"Please, that's not the only oversized thing Ethan's got," and Luca let a laugh slip out as Yuri turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk.
"What are you saying Luca Valiquette?"
"I'm saying that what stays in the soccer team locker room stays in the locker room Yuri Katsuki," and Yuri inched closer in excitement.
"Awe come on, it can't even make it past your very, very best friend? Hmm??" said the curious brown eyed boy as he begged Luca for the inside scoop. "Not even if I promise not to tell a soul?"
"Don't sound too desperate," and Luca watched with a smirk as Ethan walked down the hall, running his fingers through his hair effortlessly. "Let's just say there's a reason his last name's Legrand, which directly translates to "the big one."
And all it took were those last three words to have Yuri practically rolling on the floor in laughter and trying to keep himself together, failing miserably as some teachers gave him weird glances while waltzing down the hallway.
"That poor girlfriend of his," Yuri said as he shut his locker and finally managed to catch his breath. "That thing's probably dislocated all of her organs."
"A dick like that should have gotten her pregnant with triplets by now." Luca took one last swing of the orange soda he had in his hand and glanced at his watch, not liking the time that he was hit with.
"Fuck, we're gonna be late to fencing if we don't get our asses up to the fourth floor in under 3 minutes," Luca said as he grabbed his book bag and took off down the hallway, not caring to wait up for Yuri, who was taking his sweet time.
"Just tell Mr. C I'm absent. I'm not feeling too well," Yuri said as he dramatically fell against his locker with his arm strung across his forehead. "I think I'm running a f-fever."
And the determined French boy had anything but the patience for his friend's bullshit as he ran down the hallway to grab Yuri's arm, practically pulling him up four flights of stairs as he groaned out in protest the entire way.
"Come on, when am I ever gonna whip out my fencing sword in the real world?" Yuri said as they approached the classroom, to their immense disappointment. "it's B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T."
"You'll need it if you ever come face to face with Ethan's "Legrand." Trust me."
"Why would I want to fight that off? I'd finally be getting some action."
"Shut up, you damn wanker."
And both boys had shut the classroom door behind them the minute the bell had rung, signaling the beginning of the second half of the day and that they were in fact, not late, but perfectly on time.
As always.
✣
"Alright boys, circle up," Mr. Coleman practically yelled as all 15 boys moved and obeyed without a single word.
He was probably the only authority figure in all of Westview that every single boy was actually willing to obey whether they liked it or not, which said a lot about this damned school and the kind of kids that were being sent here.
To summarize the kind of authority figure Mr. C (as everyone called him) really was.........
He was a man who genuinely enjoyed keeping tabs on how many freshman he could make cry every year.
Yuri had heard, from outside sources, that his record to beat was 13.
And he could, not with dignity, admit that he had been one of Mr. C's victims on the third day of freshman year.
A memory that had haunted his pretty little brain ever since that fucking day that had not gone in his favor.
Hell, not even a single day of freshman year was ever in his favor.
Or anyone else's.
To this day, even as a junior, he still stood on high alert and with the water works bottled up tightly.
Because the only other thing that would get your man card ripped away from you other than being gay was crying.
Showing emotion was never an option for a Westview kind of man it seemed.
But Yuri couldn't help but show the emotion of discomfort as he squirmed nonstop in his fencing suit, not finding any solace or confidence in wearing this disappointment of a uniform.
God help us all, Yuri thought to himself as he looked around at all the guys who were wearing expressions that screamed "I'd rather throw myself off the Eiffel Tower then attempt to make it to the end of this class."
And more than anything else in the room, Yuri found himself focused on that unfortunately unforgettable head of platinum hair from across the room as his brown eyes met Victor's blue ones.
Yuri noticed that he was having a little too much fun watching him struggle (not so subtlety) in his fencing suit.
Or at least he was enjoying it way more than listening to Mr. C go on and on about the importance of the concept of defense.
God, he couldn't be any more of an asshole if he tried, and Yuri meant what he said, even when it was up in his head where no one would ever hear it.
But god, did he really want Nikiforov to hear it.
"I changed my mind. I'm burning my cig right through that Russian fuckboy's eyes so that he'll stop looking at me like that," Yuri whispered skillfully to Luca as his eyes were brought over to Victor as well, both boys staring him down.
"I thought you were complaining about your lack of male attention. That right there is pure male attention, just so you know," and Luca wasn't sure if he wanted to listen more to Yuri's exaggerated problems or Mr. C's aggressive voice.
And of course, the answer was neither.
So he simply just blocked everything out.
"Ugh, I don't want his attention." Yuri stopped talking to Luca to look back over to the topic of discussion, the troublemaker himself, and saw that he was now focused in on Mr. C.
And god, the next words that came out of that man's mouth were enough to have each boy in that classroom's worlds crashing down in flames.
Especially Yuri's.
"We're going with partners today boys because there's no better way to practice defense then having something to defend yourself from," Mr. C said as he rolled his eyes at the collective amount of groans that spilled out in the room. "Shut up and listen, I'm going alphabetically."
"I hope I get paired with Todd. I'd love nothing more than an excuse to touch that fine looking son of a bitch," Phicit, out of fucking nowhere, whispered into Yuri and Luca's ear as they spun around in surprise.
"Bloody hell Phicit," Luca gasped as he shoved the Thai boy's face away in disgust, and Yuri quietly laughed to himself. "You show up 10 minutes late to class and somehow still manage not to get your ass handed to you?"
"Just my luck darling. No need to be jealous," Phicit said, pinching Luca's nose in amusement as he dodged another shove from the French boy.
Sometimes it was hard to distinguish the two boys between being best friends or siblings.
And no one cared enough to try since it was way too much fun watching them battle it out anyways.
"I respect you babe. I really fucking do," Yuri said with a smile as he clapped Phicit on the shoulder, all three boys unaware of the fact that Mr. C was standing right in front of them, already caught up on their bullshit and ready to lay down the law.
A law that they clearly had no intention of obeying.
"Katsuki! Valiquette! Chulanont!" and that voice rang in their ears and echoed off the classroom walls as they whipped around in terror, knowing damn well what was coming. "Do I have to repeat myself?"
Repeat himself? Yuri thought as he sniffed back any trace of a tear that might sneak its way out at any minute.
He could shiver at how dead and quiet the classroom had grown as he looked around, seeing that every boy had their eyes focused in on the crime scene in front of them.
Pure humiliation.
"W-What was it that you said, sir?" Phicit broke the silence with, his boyish charm oozing out immediately. "I'm afraid we were not listening."
"You don't need to fill me in on the details Chulanont, I know damn well that y'all were having your own separate conversation," and he towered over all three of their terrified faces.
"So let me repeat myself one last time.........
Valiquette, you're with Johnson.
Chulanont, you're with Wilson.
And Katsuki........
You're with Nikiforov."
And Yuri just stood there, waiting patiently for his soul to leave his body peacefully and calmly.
He cursed the alphabet for putting their last names so close together and he despised fate for continuously keeping them intertwined.
And more than anything else, he cursed Nikiforov for having the nerve to look over at him in that moment and smirk at him like he knew exactly what this was doing to him.
Fuck. My. Life was all Yuri's mind could manage to say in that very moment and for the rest of class.
"Mr. C, is there any way I could....." he started to say before he felt a hand clap his back and push him over to where he was supposed to be, practically stumbling over his own two feet as he came face to face with those evil blue eyes.
"Play nicely, boys," Mr. C taunted to them as he walked around the classroom with fierce eyes, leaving them alone and moving on to cause more chaos.
And by putting Yuri and Victor together, he had already done just that.
"Looks like you're stuck with me for the next 25 minutes Katsuki," came that deep, irritating voice as Yuri turned to him with a deathly glare and his sword pointed right at him.
"Not if I stab you and cut our time together short."
"Oh, is that a threat?" and Victor bit his lip and laughed at the boy in front of him, who was practically cherry red in anger.
God, this is gonna be so much fun Victor thought, knowing that his plan was already going so much better than previously planned.
"Just put your mask on and shut up for once," Yuri said as he put his own mask on, looking forward to the advantage he had on the new kid.
He wasn't amazing at fencing, but surely he had more on Victor who, to his knowledge, had probably never even touched a sword in his life.
He came from Nashville, for God's sake.
The only thing that boy had learned was how to ride horses.
Is that how Nashville even works? and Yuri found himself going on a tangent as to what exactly Victor had transferred from, since he hadn't really completely thought about it yet.
But before Yuri could even judge further, Victor had flipped his mask on and stepped up to him, barely missing his uniform as the sword grazed his hip.
"What the-" Yuri managed to say as he dodged Victor, almost falling back in surprise. "Are you kidding?!"
"Fast learner, I guess," and Victor, even with his mask on, still managed a charming smirk that Yuri could hear and envision as he tried to resist slamming Victor down on the ground.
"Okay, that's it." Yuri flung back at him and his sword hit Victor's shoulder square on, provoking both of the boys into a back and forth battle between evenly skilled opponents.
Their fight had grown so obnoxious that every other boy in the class had stopped their own fights and were watching curiously, waiting to see which one would eventually slip up and lose.
Luca sighed at what he knew was most definitely coming, knowing how easy it was for Yuri to break and lose all control around Victor.
And Nikiforov made it even easier for the brown eyed ticking time bomb to go off at any given moment.
"Give up Nikiforov," Yuri said through gritted teeth and with frustration as he dodged another lunge, both of them completely unaware of their surroundings. "You're not winning."
"God, stop lying to yourself," and Victor ran towards him, trying to gain the upper hand. "I always win."
But it was very unclear of who had the upper hand in this fight.
"Fuck you, Nikiforov," Yuri cursed as he pushed up against Victor and Victor pushed back, both of them in a battle as their swords collided.
"Jesus, what have I ever done to you?" Victor said, no longer amused but flat out angry at Yuri's stubborn persona as he tried harder and harder to win, not knowing if he was failing or succeeding.
"Like you don't know," and Yuri managed to push Victor backwards, coming one step closer to the success he could already taste.
"You know what you are Yuri Katsuki?" and Yuri found himself immediately distracted as he stopped to listen to what came out of Victor's mouth next. "You're just a trust fund, annoyingly stubborn asshole who's too insecure to admit anything.
So why don't you, for once, admit to yourself that you don't even have a reason to hate me?"
Yuri latched on to the words trust fund and stubborn and shivered at the sound of insecure.
He could feel himself burn up as he lost all of his well-kept control and lunged towards Victor with only his hands and not his sword......
"I am NOT INSECURE!"
And the whole class gasped as Victor hit the floor and Yuri fell on top of him, tearing his mask off as he raised his fist and threatened to punch the blue eyed bastard.
Even though he knew he could never go that far, in any situation.
"Take it back, asshole," Yuri said as he grabbed Victor's mask and pulled it off, taking his sword too as he straddled him.
"Not gonna happen darling," and Yuri was now the one hitting the floor as Victor pushed back and pinned him to the ground, both boys now in a power struggle that seemed like it would never end.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Luca muttered, covering his eyes with his hands in disappointment as he sunk in to one of the benches at the side of the room and gave up the role of being the good best friend.
Yuri had gotten himself into deep shit now and it was nuclear bomb against nuclear bomb as both boys continued strangling and straddling each other.
Meanwhile, Phicit enjoyed not only watching the sexual tension unfold in front of him, but also found joy in standing abnormally close to Todd Wilson, who was looking especially good in the warm light of the classroom it seemed.
"Get up. Now," Mr. C screamed as he yanked Victor off of Yuri, both boys slowly regaining themselves as they stood up and avoided eye contact with arms crossed over their chests.
But they couldn't avoid the burning gaze of the angered authority figure in front of them that had plans for their extreme tendencies.
"You know what I think that fight deserves? Detention, right after school for taking defense into a full on offense against each other and my class," and Mr. C's face was now just as red and angry as theirs was.
Yuri could feel his heart sink and his vision blur at the word "detention" as he stood there, completely silent.
And even if he hadn't been silent, there was nothing Victor Nikiforov or Yuri Katsuki could do when it came to changing Mr. C's mind.
Absolutely nothing.
"Do I make myself clear?" Mr. C yanked their swords away and threw them behind himself, looking into both boys eyes as he waited for the response he so desperately wanted to hear.
"Y-Yes sir," they both said in defeated unison.
"Mr. Laurent will see both of you at 3."
And all Yuri could think as he sat at the back of the class, completely up in space and completely defeated was.........
Fuck. My. Life.
✣
So, it's been a hot minute.
I'm sorry I neglected this story for awhile and couldn't upload.
I had this chapter perfectly written up in my head but it's a lot more easier said than done to actually write it here.
Regardless, I got over my weird block with this story and I finally got this chapter out and I'm surprisingly really proud of it.
Thank god I had a snow day so I could have some down time to read over it and get over my crippling self doubt haha.
Anyways, I missed you guys and let me know if you enjoyed the chapter! I love it when you guys comment, it makes me so happy!
Hopefully it made your Monday just a little bit better 😉
I'll try to have the next one up sometime next week.
I love youuuu 💋
~ audrey