A/n: So sorry for this :)
  
   
   

Mr. Nikiforov
chapter ten // romance
  
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The rest of that day went by incredibly fast with nothing worth remembering. As usual, art class was pretty dull besides Phichit and the twins making their spontaneous conversations during videos the professor was presenting. Engineering class went by in a flash, not even Yurio made any impact on my day. I was now back at the dorm, laying in my bed with nothing to do.

I stared at my ceiling, feeling empty. Like something was missing, or perhaps someone. But of course it wasn't Victor. It wouldn't make any sense, so it definitely wasn't his sudden disappearance that was making me feel like this. And I was going to prove it to myself.

I took my phone from the foot of my bed and scrolled through my contacts until I found the one I was looking for. I pressed the call button.

Ring... ring...ring...ri-

"God Yato speaking!" The cheerful voice greeted from the other side of the line.

"Hey, um...are you busy?" I heard a bit of shuffling on the other side of the phone, followed by wind, then Yato's voice.

"Just finished my last class, why? Something wrong?" I could picture the small frown on his face and I smiled a bit.

I shook my head, forgetting he can't see me, "Just my possibility of dying from boredom." I joked and Yato clicked his tongue.

"Ah? I suggest taking some vitamin movie and maybe order some company." I bit my bottom lip, chuckling. He laughed a bit before his end went silent, waiting for my response.

"Sounds like a good plan." I whispered, heat rushing quickly to my face. "I'll text you my dorm?" I said but through my nerves it came out more like a question.

I could sense the slight shyness from his end as he mumbled an, "Of course. Always happy to help."

Soon after that we hung up and I texted Yato the address and room number of my dorm. In a split second, I rushed out and made sure the dorm was clean. In a bit of a panic, I ran to the restroom and brushed my teeth, trying to put on some deodorant at the same time. After rinsing my mouth, I tried to quickly tame my hair a bit then rushed back to my room, changing out of today's outfit and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a thin sweater. I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and not make it look like I was thinking about this too much. Which I wasn't.

I glanced around my room and bent down to pick up some scattered clothes, throwing them into my closet for safety measures. I was planning to watch the movie in the small living room, but it's never a bad idea to have your bedroom ready for...well...whatever reason.

I had just finished cleaning my room when I heard a knock from the front door. Taking a deep breath, I ran over to the front door then let it out. Before I had second thoughts, I opened the door and smiled.

"Hey." I greeted him casually, a bit out of breath. Yato smiled, clearly amused.

"Hey yourself." He teased and I opened the door wider, stepping to the side so I could let him come in.

"Sorry for dropping by without anything." Yato apologized as soon as he came in. I shut the door behind him and waved it off, shrugging.

"Don't worry. I invited you and I know you just came out of class. I should be the one apologising for just pulling you here." I chuckled and Yato shook his head, flashing me a slanted smile that nearly made my knees go weak.

"I wanted to come, so it's no problem."

Flustered, I looked away and walked past him. "You can choose a movie, I'll go make some popcorn."

I went to the kitchen a few feet away and took out a bag of caramel popcorn from the cabinet then popped it into the microwave. Yato was sitting on the floor, looking through the stack of movies me and Phichit had collected over the last year.

"Phichit isn't home?" Yato asked without looking up from the movies. I leaned my back against the counter to have a better view of Yato, listening to the kernels begin to pop in the background.

"No. He still has another class and I'm sure he'll end up going on a date afterwards." I shrugged. Yato looked up from the movies and smiled, his eyes squinting a bit.

"He got along with Kyoya quite well, didn't he?" I nodded, smiling as well. He brought up a movie, scratching the back of his neck shyly. "Is this okay? I've heard it's good, but I never really had a chance to watch it."

The microwave beeped behind me and I turned to take the bag out, "I didn't take you for a romance type of guy." I teased. "But yeah, it's good." Without looking back, I grabbed a bowl to pour the popcorn into and threw the bag aside, reminding myself to clean it later.

"And you are?" Yato's voice came from next to me suddenly. I jumped, nearly dropping the bowl to the floor but with Yato's help, we were able to stop the disaster. His palm was pressed against my hand under the warm bowl, making a pink blush rush to my cheeks. Quickly, I pulled away and tried my best to play it off.

"Um, not really. Phichit is, though."

Yato chuckled, following after me and taking a seat on the other end of the couch as me, most likely sensing how awkward I was being. I set the bowl of popcorn between us and Yato pressed play with the remote control, beautiful sceneries of a lake came up, signaling the beginning of the movie. I will never tell anyone this, but The Notebook is definitely one of my favorite romance films.

And so we watched the movie. We talked a bit during some scenes, even made a few jokes here and there, but besides the casual conversations, nothing big happened. Our hands never touched as we both tried to reach for popcorn, and we never accidentally made eye contact during the romantic scenes. There's no reason why that would happen. This wasn't a date or anything of the sort, but more of a hang-out meet up kind of thing-y.

A couple of hours later, the popcorn was now gone and the movie came to its end. There was a knot in my throat and tears were stinging my eyes, and if it wasn't for the slight dignity I wanted to keep in front of Yato, I would have bawled my eyes out as usual.

"That was--" I started but stopped as I turned over to see Yato, surprised to see him silently crying, tear after tear spilling from his crystal eyes. He seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly wiped his tears away, laughing a bit in amusement.

"Wow..." He whispered, sniffling. I couldn't help but smile. "It was good." Yato concluded and I nodded, facing the TV and watching the credits roll.

"It was." I agreed in a soft whisper. The relationship Ryan and Rachel portrayed was a beautiful one that held its ups and downs. They were able to stick together to the very end, despite the difficulties and differences they faced. That's the type of relationship anyone would wish to have; even an unromantic guy like me.

Realising I was putting too much thought into the movie, I shook the thoughts out of my head and stood up, taking the empty bowl with me to the kitchen.

I put the bowl in the sink, washing it quietly. I heard the movie come to a complete stop and was able to hear Yato's footsteps as he approached the kitchen. They came to a stop a good ways from me and I looked over my shoulder, my eyes landing on Yato's figure leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his shoulders as he silently examined me.

My breath hitched and I turned around again before it became awkward. I took longer than needed to finish washing the bowl and dried my hands on a small towel we kept on the side.

"It was fun." I heard Yato start, a bit nervous. "Its starting to get a bit late and my roomate is texting me so I should probably head to my place."

There's no reason for me to be so nervous, I told myself.

That's right. I took a deep breath and smiled, turning my whole body to face Yato completely.

"I understand. I had fun, too... and thanks for coming over, I feel better." I said in the most sincere tone I could muster.

We awkwardly stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what else to do or say. Yato opened his mouth but no words came out. Instead he turned and pointed over to the couch.

"Uh...I'll grab my backpack then." He mumbled.

"Oh, sure." I said instinctively. I followed him to the living room and guided him to the front door, opening it for him and flashing him a small, bashful smile as he walked out.

I leaned against the door frame and he turned once he was outside, his cheeks red and eyes looking down. I noticed his hands fidgeting with the straps of his bag. His nervousness was unsurprisingly making me feel just the same as a blush of my own came over my ears and face. Again, he took a small breath and his lips parted to say something, but he stopped himself.

What is it? I asked myself, surprised I was actually curious.

"I...uh... Thanks." He mumbled instead.

"S-sure." I stuttered out. I bit the tip of my tongue.

Stupid! I mentally cringed at my inability to properly talk like a normal person.

Yato smiled and finally met my eyes. The sun was starting to set over the horizon behind him, giving Yato a surreal glow around him that made him look like an actual God. His signature charming smile was enhanced and I felt a small tingle in my stomach.

"...Bye, then." Yato waved and slowly started to walk away. I clung onto the door frame and took a step outside, his name leaving my lips before I could actually process it.

"Yato--" he stopped on his tracks and turned around, his eyes holding some hope.

"Yeah?"

My face turned completely hot and no doubt I looked as red as a tomato at this point, but I felt like I couldn't step down anymore. So I just said it.

"Maybe we could do this again?" My offer sounded more like a question as it rung in the air. Thankfully though, Yato smiled and nodded happily.

"Sure." He grinned, tilting his head to the side a bit. I smiled back, feeling much better now.

"See you tomorrow in class." Yato waved one last time and left, this time leaving completely out of my sight.

I walked back into the dorm and leant against the door, smiling to myself as the tingle in my stomach died down. I was surprised at myself for suddenly asking him to hang out again. But that's all it was, hanging out, so I guess there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe if things get better over time, I might consider a relationship, but what we have now is purely platonic.

Seeing as there was nothing to do, I decided to clean the slight mess we had made. I was surprised Phichit wasn't back yet and hadn't even contacted me once. But what can I do? Phichit will be Phichit.

As I slid the movie back to the stack behind the TV, my phone vibrated from the couch. I went over and turned it on, shaking my head half heartedly.

Speak of the Devil.

BBIT: im out with kyoya so i
won't be home til a bit later :)

"Well no shit." I whispered to myself, laughing. The phone vibrated in my hand again and my eyebrow raised in curiosity at the new text.

BBIT: isnt your french teacher
that hot guy with the
gray hair?

Yuri: yes, why?

BBIT: *new image*

My eyes widened a bit at the picture he sent me. It was clear where this was taken, a restaurant a bit far away from here near the train stations and airport. In the picture were plenty of random tables and people dining in them, but as I scanned the picture, I caught a glimpse of that unmistakable gray hair in the background. It was Victor, sitting by himself on a table, looking to the side as if looking for someone. I thoight maybe he'd be home, sick; but here he was, wearing casual clothes and nothing looking out of the ordinary.

Does this mean he's actually been blowing me off? Why did he really miss school today?

BBIT: seeing teachers outside
school is like seeing a
dog walk on its hind legs xD

Yuri: what is he doing there?
he didn't show up to the lesson
today

BBIT: don't know

BBIT: we left already but i
think he was having dinner with
some guy but the guy left
somewhere a bit ago

I took a seat on the armrest of the couch, staring at my phone with a blank expression. I felt numb. I couldn't tell exactly how I felt, but I knew it wasn't good. I kept staring at the picture, question after question running through my mind.

The first thing I did feel was guilt. I couldn't help but think this was my fault. I had accepted his offer to go out then I cancelled saying I had work. It obviously seemed like I was playing with him all along. He probably took the day off to have fun somewhere else.

But well, it's not like I blame him.

Phichit told me they were still going to go watch a movie and I told him I was already going to bed. I ignored his texts saying it was too early to sleep and slid into the comfort of my bed. Without much thought, I stared up at the plain ceiling I had become too familiar with over the last few days. As I laid there in silence, a feeling slowly began to grow from my chest and stomach. It was a deep feeling. One that left me feeling nauseous and out of breath.

It was a feeling I was far too familiar with. And I hated myself for it.

I forced myself to close my eyes and sleep, trying my best to ignore the feeling of my heart aching. This was for the best. It was stupid for me to think someone like Victor could ever see something in me. And I didn't blame him. I was definitely not a good catch and simply a waste of energy to even get to know, so I'm glad Victor didn't waste anymore of his time on me.

Tomorrow I will act like nothing ever happened and turn to how things were supposed to be since the first day. I have Phichit, Seven, and now Yato, who will be there to help me if I ever feel down. I don't need Victor.

And so starting now, he will be nothing to me but Mr. Nikiforov, my French teacher.

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A/n: another update so soon🙈 hope you guys liked this chapter:) btw, BBIT is Phichit, just making that clear :3 Yuri has him saved like that. any guess what 'BBIT' means?

Kay, so we're at the point where victors and Yuris relationship is going to start to thicken ^-^ there won't be many (if any) new characters introduced from other fandoms from now on since I'm going to start to focus on Yuris and Victors relationship now. I kind of railed off the idea of the story for a bit but I'm back on track now (finally, I know >.<) The strip club will also come back along with the fab stripper, Eros xD so no worries

Thoughts on Yaturi? they're not official so don't get your knickers in a twist if you're against the idea lol but tbh I kind of ship it👌

And who do you think Victor was having dinner with? Why do you think Victors doing what he's doing and hurting poor Yuri?😟

Adios my bootyful babus😙

-sai♡