14

He'd been doing well until he was shoved into a locker. It had happened so quickly he didn't have time to react. He fell to the ground, pain shooting through him. The other student laughed cruelly at him before leaving the locker. Victor looked up to see an unfamiliar boy staring at him in concern.

"Hey are you alright?" the boy asked as if he wasn't mocking a victim.

He nodded, wincing as more of his bones snapped back into place. "Just fine. Thank you for asking."

The stranger smiled kindly and sat next to him, offering help with getting up.

"No problem." He said. "My name's Yuuri by the way!"

"Victor." He replied, taking Yuuri's hand and allowing him to pull him up.

Yuuri gave him another smile, holding out his hand as if he expected Victor to take it instead. When Victor didn't he dropped it sheepishly.

"So do you live around here? I could show you where your classes are…" Yuuri mused.

Victor was about to respond when the teacher appeared.

"You two! Are you aware that it's bad manners to be this late?! What were you thinking! And on a school field trip too?"

Yuuri ducked his head. "I'm sorry sir. We'll leave right away." He turned to leave only to be stopped by Victor.

"I can go to class by myself. You don't need to bother yourself with me." Victor stated firmly, not wanting Yuuri to feel guilty. Besides, he probably couldn't walk all that way himself anyway. "I promise to meet you after class."

With that he ran out the door, not caring if anyone saw or heard him. He knew the teachers would give him trouble anyways. His father owned quite a few shops so there were some students who thought it'd be funny to tease him and cause him trouble. They would also try to get him alone during break time which made them even worse. At least Yuuri was nice and tried to ignore their antics; unlike most people who would just leave him alone. Victor really wished someone else had noticed him. He'd rather be bullied than constantly ignored.

As if he'd known what Victor had been going through, his phone buzzed. Looking down, he found that he received an email from his mother.

'Son, please come home for lunch. Your father and I miss you terribly! Please make sure to bring your books with you today. Love Mama, MOM

Victor sighed, wondering how he could get out of spending time with his parents but figured it couldn't be helped. He needed a break after everything he'd had to deal with at school.

It took less than five minutes to find the school parking lot and grab his backpack, locking the front door behind him. Luckily the halls were empty and he managed to make his way to his homeroom classroom without anyone noticing. Once inside he collapsed into his chair. He let out a sigh of relief when he was finally able to relax. He leaned his head against the window.

He felt a tap on his shoulder causing him to snap out of his tired daze. Turning toward the intruder he almost gasped when he saw Yuuri standing there, holding out his phone.

"Your mom wanted me to tell you that she misses you, Vitya! She hopes you're feeling better!"

Victor stared at him for a moment before accepting the phone from Yuuri.

'I'm glad you understand. Thank you Yuuri.' Victor typed into his own message thread and sent it.