A/n: my apology gift for the previous chapter♡

Mr. Nikiforov
chapter eleven // you're worth it
   
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It's been two days. Two days since I started to ignore Victor completely. He still hasn't made much of an effort to talk to me, not that there's a reason for him to. Besides a few glances here and there, he hasn't even as much as directed a word to me. I've been trying my best to pay attention to his lessons for the most part, but I'm usually distracted by Yato and Seven. The past days, Yato has become closer to us and it seems like Seven has accepted him into our small circle of close friends. I was happy about that.

Today was Friday and like it had been since yesterday, I was writing down a couple of notes here and there when a paper airplane flew to my desk, crashing softly against my hand that was doodling on the corner of my notebook. I looked to the side expecting to see Yato or Seven staring at me, but they were both looking ahead. I was about to look away when I noticed Yato's lips twitch into a smile. I smirked.

Carefully, I took the airplane and leant back before throwing it behind Seven's head. It hit Yato's temple and I chuckled.

When I leant back forward, Yato looked at me with wide, amused eyes as he silently feigned a hurtful gasp. We both broke into quiet laughs after his small act. Thankfully, the class ended before we could make a bigger scene which would most likely get us in trouble.

"Please practice for your test on Monday." Mr. Nikiforov said loudly in a monotone. There were a few "yeah's" here and there as everyone put their belongings away and began to leave.

I was quick to stuff my notebook and pen into my backpack and jump up to my feet, silently willing Seven to hurry up as he took his precious time to finish writing something down.

Meanwhile, Yato came to my side, still smiling. We started talking about what we were doing this weekend as we waited for Seven to finish. A minute after, the three of us were walking down the stairs to the front of the class, past the few students that were still around.

"I have a date with Dr. P and my Honey Buddah Chips." Seven shrugged, some pride behind his input. I rolled my eyes in a teasing way and unfortunately met eyes with the person I wanted to avoid the most.

It was quick, but I noticed the urgency in his eyes. He was willing me to stay behind, for whatever motive he might've had, but I ignored him and continued to walk as if I didn't notice.

"Wai-" I knew what he was doing, so I quickly jumped to Yato's side, using his frame to hide behind as I hurried us both out of the classroom. Yato thought nothing of it, but before we left the room, I noticed Mr. Nikiforov's surprised look as he watched us leave.

This will show him I'm not the same as I was the last time we met.

"You got something to do after classes?" Yato asked as we stepped out of the building. It was the same question he had asked back inside when Seven told us about his 'date' but I never got to answer his question.

Before I could respond, Seven raised a hand in our direction, "Well, I'll see you guys on Monday. Adios!" We waved goodbye and Yato and I continued walking together.

Remembering his question I nodded, "I'm busy after classes."

"Oh." Yato mumbled. Half-heartedly, he added, "You've got work or something?"

It was a trivial question, nothing uncommon to ask a college student, but it still rose a bit of panic in me. I tried my best to calm down though and answer with the best uninterested tone I could.

"Uh, yeah. I work in a convenience store; it's pretty far away from here." I lied. Well, half lied since my job is far away from here. Yato nodded, seemingly buying it.

"Oh, I was going out with Yukine and a friend to watch a movie and I thought that maybe you'd wanna come with." Yato explained. I gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'd love to go, but I can't. I'm sorry." Yato shrugged it off though. He told me it was fine and he soon had to go. His class was on a different direction from mine, so I waved goodbye and went on my own.

Maybe one day Yato can know about my secret job as well...
 
  
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After my last class of the day ended, I went home and took my time to get ready. It was a tedious routine, one I wouldn't mind breaking, but it would pay off in the end. Literally. So I took a deep breath and finished taking a shower.

I needed to remind myself that this was necessary. I barely have half of my pay for this month's rent since I've been slacking off these past few weeks. The money was necessary.

I had to take the bus to work. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy myself a car and Phichit doesn't either, not that he needs one either way. On the other hand, I'm usually lucky enough to get a ride after work from either a co-worker or Erwin himself. So hopefully today will be the same.

I got to work a bit before my shift began, which was okay. It gave me a chance to go to the dressing room and change into today's outfit then walk around the club and hopefully get some extra tips here and there.

When I entered the dressing room though, I couldn't believe what I saw. I felt defeated and angry, but most of all, annoyed.

Standing in the middle of the room was Zen. He was wearing some tight, black leather pants and a black button up shirt that only had the last three buttons done, leaving his chest exposed. He looked up from his phone when he heard me enter the room and his eyes went wide.

"Yuri!" He gasped, nervously looking to the side, "I-I was just about to call you." He stuttered.

"What are you doing here?" I asked calmly. I was trying my best to keep it together and not make a scene. Of course, I wouldn't punch him, I'm a lover not a fighter (plus the fact that he'd overpower me easily); but I would definitely give him a piece of my mind and make a bigger deal out of this than necessary.

"The reason I wasn't going to come was because a friend was moving back to town today but it turns out that their flight was moved ahead." Zen explained much too quickly that I'm not even sure if I got it all, "I only just found out about this an hour ago. I tried to call you so you would stay home but--"

"I canceled a date, Zen. You know how hard it is for a gay guy to find a decent date around here!" I whined, saddened. "I just came for nothing then?!"

Zen's lips parted before his red eyes focused on something behind me. A second after, I heard Erwin's voice as he made his entrance.

"Not exactly. If you wish, you can stay and share a number with Zen. The pay will still be doubled, as promised." I looked at Zen then at Erwin who now stood beside me. I weighed my options and made it seem like I was considering it, but I knew there was no other option. I'm already here and I need the money, so I might as well.

I sighed heavily, "I'll do it."

Erwin nodded and patted my shoulder, "Good. It seems like tonight's a full house so give it your best." Both Zen and I nodded and Erwin left, giving me a chance to change as well.

As I stripped out of my clothes and slid into some tight yet comfortable pants, I noticed that a lot of the outfits were missing. Maybe it really is a full house and Erwin called more performers in tonight?

"I really am sorry." Zen apologized for the tenth time as we walked out of the dressing room together, heading to the club's main area. The music was getting louder the further we walked down the hallway, making it harder for us to talk in a normal tone.

"It's okay. " I assured him, stopping in the middle of the hall and looking at the floor, a bit sad. "I just thought I finally found...somone worth knowing." I admitted bashfully, glancing up to take in Zen's reaction.

He was looking at me with guilt in his eyes. I didn't mean to make him feel bad so I quickly shrugged it off and smiled lightheartedly, changing the mood.

"Don't worry about it, he was fast to move on."

We left the backrooms and went out to the main area; Erwin really wasn't joking, it was packed. I don't think I've ever seen these many people here in the past two and a half years I've been working in this club. I easily spotted a few of my other co-workers; between all the 'customers' it was easy to tell us apart. Guests wore suits for the most part while employees wore more revealing clothes. Tonight, all employees were wearing black jeans with an accessory of their choice. Zen wore leather suspenders which hung loosely at his sides; I was wearing a cliche police hat--not what I would normally go for, but I was one of the last to get here so it was either this or bunny ears and a tail, and I wasn't feeling cheeky enough.

"Our number starts in fifteen minutes, I'll see you then." Zen leaned in to say so I could hear him over the pretty loud music and talking happening all around. I nodded, letting him know I understood and went our separate ways, both of us with the intention of winning some tips.

Before I got into this job I was always afraid of talking to other people and I barely even knew the definition of flirting. But with time I've gotten an edge and I've turned, if I say so myself, into quite the charmer. I didn't particularly enjoy talking to the old business men that came around looking for someone to molest or take home, but they gave good tips and were the best choice to practice your charms on. But not everything is lost once you cross those doors. There are rare times when a nice, good looking (young) guy comes along. Those are the best nights. It makes our job easier and some employees even get a fun night out of it. I've done it a few times but lately I decided I was done sleeping around and made sure I only keep things professionally.

Or well, at least until Victor came along...

No. Who cares about him, he's out of my life. Actually, he was never even part of it to begin with! I told myself.

My eyes connected with a single guy sitting at a table in the VIP zone. He seemed somewhat young, at least younger than thirty, and he looked like a decent person. But I didn't go over to him. No, I decided to see if I had caught his attention or it was mere eye contact.

After looking around my surroundings, I found my solution. I reached out and grabbed a hold of a co-workers arm, smiling once our eyes met. He was confused at first but his frown quickly turned into a big smile when he saw who it was that touched him.

"Oh, Eros, how are you?" He greeted me, using my stage name as usual. It's a rule not to use real names once we're out in the main area since we didn't want anyone to get too intimate--whatever Erwin meant by that.

"I've been good. It's been a while since I came to work." I sighed. His long blue hair was held into a ponytail behind his head, letting all of the attention go to the quite kinky choker he had around his neck. How he's able to make something so indecent look great was beyond me.

He nodded, punching my arm playfully. "I've missed you around here!" He called over the music. I chuckled and glanced to the side discreetly, noticing the guy from before was looking at me nervously, seemingly contemplating if he should walk up to me or not.

I returned my attention back to my friend, "I'm sorry, I've just been busy." I summarized. Aoba is like a senpai of mine; him and Zen were the ones who were responsible for me when I first started working here. They are part of the large group of people who have no idea that I'm underage and still in college.

He nodded understandably, looking up at the stage just as the song finished, "Ah, it's time for me to go up now. Gotta give the full Master performance or Erwin will hang me." He joked and I laughed with him, knowing Erwin will definitely have our heads if we fuck this up.

"See you around then, Master." I teased, finding it funny even after all this time. It was weird to call people I've known for a while by something other than their real names--pretty amusing to be honest.

Aoba left and I took another glance in my target's direction. He was holding a glass of alcohol now, sitting on the arm rest of the couch with his eyes clearly focused on me. Bingo.

Confidently, I began to approach him, making sure he knew I had noticed him eyeing me. I entered the VIP section off to the side if the building. No one paid mind to me walking into the restricted area, I had the right to go anywhere after all. Besides, most people in here were busy talking to each other or too busy hitting on a dancer. But I ignored them all and finally reached my target, smiling cheekily.

"Hi." I greeted him, paying close attention to how he would react. It was the next actions that would determine how I would continue to act towards him.

"Hey." He smiled, not embarrassed that he had clearly been caught checking me out. He was looking up at me in a calm manner, his posture persistent and proud. If we were all animals living in the wild, he'd be an Alpha wolf, claiming his territory and keeping an eye out for a good hunt; and I'll be his little prey.

Now that I was closer and had a better look at him I noticed that he was quite attractive. He was a brunette, around six feet probably, and seemed to have a great body underneath his clothes. None of this meant anything to me though. Normally I'd be excited to have such a good looking customer, but he didn't really interest me in the least.

Not much else happened. I simply stuck around him, at one point even sitting on his lap as we talked about whatever we could come up with that wasn't too personal. Maybe if I stayed a bit longer he would've asked for a private dance or something of the sort, but our time together was cut short when I remembered it was almost my turn to go up and perform.

I apologized to the guy and he was thankfully understanding and let me go. As if he hasn't been nice all along, as I was walking away he caught up to me and handed me some money with a cheeky grin.

"See you again sometime," he winked and I smiled, gladly taking the money and sliding it into the waistband of my jeans.

"Until then." I waved goodbye.

I left feeling a bit better now that I got a tip. Ignoring a few calls for me from a few men I passed by, I made a beeline towards the stage, surprisingly making it on time. As I walked to the backstage, I came across Erwin as usual who was already talking to Zen.

Their conversation finished as I strolled over. Erwin nodded in acknowledgement and gave me a quick once over, cocking his head to the side a bit with a small frown.

"You're okay with sharing the stage?" He asked me. I used to share numbers with Zen and Aoba when I first started to work here, but once I got the hang of it, I requested I got my own numbers since it meant all the tips would be mine and the money wouldn't have to be split in half. I just do better on my own; but Zen is one of the best dancers here so I think this might give good results. As long as it's only for one night.

"Yeah. No problem." I assured them both. Erwin nodded and patted my shoulder, smiling softly at us.

"Give it your all." Zen and I nodded.

The music playing out in the main area was lowered and a voice spoke from the speakers, loud and clear. "It's time for our next performance! It's been long since we last had the desirable duo on stage, but tonight they are back! Please give a loud welcome to the one and only duo, Eros and Beast!"

Our eyes met for the last time as the building filled with cheers, some probably because they knew who we were but mostly because it isn't usual for two guys to perform at the same time. Zen flashed me a knowing smile and in the blink of an eye, his attitude changed. He wasn't the caring, overprotective guy he normally is; he was now a completely new person who had a clear goal in mind: seducing. Judging by Zen's cheeky smile and look in his eyes, I knew I must look the same.

[A/n: advice: for better experience, play Earned It by The Weeknd :3 sorry, ik, i suck at choosing songs😝]

We walked out on stage as a very mainstream song played. Of course it was a cliché song, that's what works for Zen, but you can never go wrong with a classic.

We walked further out to the stage to the beat of the song as the lights dimmed, men cheering like it was the first time they'd ever seen guys. The sound mixed with the sensual music only boosted my confidence and I allowed my body to be moved by it all. There was a clear choreography that both Zen and I knew by heart; how good we performed was all up to us.

The strobe lights flickered in sync with the song and a thin smoke screen was let out by our feet for greater effect. Erwin definitely wanted to go all out. And we weren't going to go home without some great tips.

Zen and I reached our individual poles and I took a small breath, focusing on the task at hand.

'So I love when you call unexpected

'Cus I hate when the moments expected

So imma care for you, you, you'

My hips slowly rolled against the pole as I used my free hand to hold on to my police hat. I walked around the silver pole and held on, picking myself off the floor and using all my strength to climb a good ways up. Once I was high enough, I let go, allowing my body to fall back swiftly and focusing my grip on my thighs. I pulled myself back up and took the pole between my hands again, twirling my way down and landing on the floor with a split.

I took my hat and, as I always did, tossed it randomly to the sea of men. I heard a few of them cheer as a couple of hands tried to catch it midair. My eyes were glued on the black accessory as it flew through the air for a second or two before it was eventually caught by someone. I smirked and lowered my head to see who the lucky guy was, my smirk dropping the second our eyes met.

Victor?!

He looked a bit scared, like a deer caught on headlights. Like he had been trying to hide from me all night and had been caught red handed. Is that what he was trying to do?

The cheers from the crowd broke me out of my momentary trance and I looked away, a bit flustered. I continued dancing against the pole, trying my best to push him out of my mind to focuse back on my job. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as I'd expected; after a few seconds, I was lost in the music again. Time slowed down as I rolled my body, thrusting my hips to the beat. The crowd continued to cheer.

'Cus boy you're perfect

You're always worth it,

And you deserve it,

The way you work it,

'Cus boy you earned it'

Maybe it was the fact that I knew Victor was watching me, or maybe not, but I felt like my whole body was on fire. Suddenly I could feel everyone's eyes on me and, somehow, I felt turned on.

The song came to the bridge and I knew what was coming next.

I strolled over to the middle of the stage and Zen did, too. We met in the middle and our hands, almost greedingly, caressed each other's body. His body was hard and a bit sweaty, but at that moment, I wanted to devour him. My mind was clouded by desire and I just wanted to be touched. I couldn't fathom why I was feeling like I was or what I was doing at this point. Zen's hips grinded onto mine and the crowd lost it, as we hoped they would, and I was gone at that point.

Maybe something in me wanted to see the kind of reaction Victor would have, but Zen had never looked better. I knew there was a limit to how far we could go, but I couldn't stop myself from leaning up and pulling him closer to me, flushing our chests together as I pressed my lips to his neck, kissing it sensually. From the corner of my eyes I saw money practically rain down on stage, but I didn't care. I turned my head sideways and glanced at the crowd until my eyes met Victor's and I saw the exact reaction I was waiting for. His lips were parted and his eyebrows were raised in surprise, but even from afar and in the darkness, I could see how tense his shoulders were and I could practically hear his heart skip a beat.

Proud of myself for making him have such reaction, I had come to an end with my little show. I looked back at Zen and was met with a casual look, as if what I did didn't bother him and wasn't something out of the ordinary. I didn't question it and we simply moved on with our choreography.

We returned to our places and the rest of the song went by in a blur. By the time we were walking backstage, my adrenaline was diminishing and the reality of things were finally kicking in.

Both Zen and I were receiving some compliments and a few teasing jokes here and there from a few of our fellow strippers that happened to be backstage. I chuckled softly at their praises and astonished exressions.

With my 'Eros mode' long gone, I blushed a crimson red and glanced at Zen. I was expecting it to be awkward or for him to lash out at me for suddenly getting too close in front of the crowd, but he didn't look bothered at all. He was gladly accepting the compliments that boosted his ego, and being the narcissistic ass he's always been, he was enjoying it profoundly. Domt get me erong though; even with his conceited personality, everyone here loves him, including me.

Glad nothing was wrong between us, I took a sip from my water bottle. I wanted to be happy for such a great performance and the undeniably large tips we would get by the end of this night, but the thought I had managed to push back when I was on stage came crashing back down on me.

I was beyond confused. Why was Victor here? And why the hell do I feel so happy about it?

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A/n: god, this is by far the longest chapter I've written for this story! T_T  around 4,300 words~ but I dislike this chapter so much but for the life of me, I just couldn't make it better . I'm sorry xc

Anyway, no, Yuri and Zen won't have anything going on between them! Remember I'm still Victuri af and having Yato in this is more than enough. But of course, no reason why we shouldn't make Victor a little more jealous😉

I honestly have no idea what I wrote there and holy fuck writing stripper scenes is pretty hard ._. They're probably not very good, it's more like one of those "it seemed like a better idea in my head" kind of thing xD so sorry if its sucky

On a little side note, Thank you guys so much for 20k+ reads!!!💙😙😭😭 I now have WiFi at home so I'll (hopefully) be more active (since I kinda have a life..yeah, I checked, there's no return policy so I'm stuck with it *sigh*)

Thank you so fuckng much for reading and as always being so patient and supportive😙 like boi call me Momma Sai cus you all my babys now and I love every single one of you💞💞(yes, even you little ghosties who just read by without being noticed♡ love you) 

See you next update my loves x

-sai