15

Chapter 2

Victor stared intently at the screen before turning his attention to his food. He hadn't eaten much yet and the anxiety eating away at him made it difficult to swallow. He glanced over at Yurio.

"Are you going to eat or do you plan to waste my food again like last time?" Yuri snapped at him as he pushed aside the rest of his rice.

"Sorry." Victor muttered guiltily before returning his gaze to his plate. There wasn't anything particularly special about the food he usually ate, but the fact that it was from his mom was enough to make him appreciate his mom's efforts. Still...it was different from what he grew up eating. He wondered briefly why he was still in America. Perhaps it had something to do with his dad being a Russian exchange student but he doubted that.

Yurio rolled his eyes, picking up his chopsticks to stab at his food. "So tell me more about that loser. Where did you meet him?"

Victor shrugged, taking a bite of rice. He'd already answered the question multiple times but Yurio always seemed insistent. Why did he want to know so badly? Victor swallowed his bite before replying. "We've been classmates for a while now. We both moved here shortly after we finished high school."

"Why did you move here though?" Yuri asked suspiciously.

"For the same reasons I guess. My father got transferred and I was afraid of leaving Russia. I'm only happy now because I met Phichit and met you." He smiled slightly at his friend.

Yurio scoffed but didn't argue with him. Instead they lapsed back into silence. A minute later Yuuri walked into the room, setting down a book bag on the table beside Victor. He slid into his seat next to Yurio and picked up a notebook.

"Have you done any homework?" he asked gently, eyeing the boy who seemed determined to ignore him.

"Nope. Not since I got here." Victor replied, shoving another piece of chicken into his mouth. He was beginning to regret not having grabbed more.

"Oh ok then. If you need anything or anyone to talk to I'm usually at the library or the cafeteria. Here." Yuuri held out his hand.

Victor eyed it suspiciously before reluctantly taking it, surprised by its warmth. It was surprisingly soft compared to Victor's calloused hands. Yuuri pulled out his phone and showed Victor a picture of himself sitting in the grass surrounded by flowers. "This is one of my favorite pictures of myself. I use these pictures as inspiration whenever I work on my art. So, what are your interests?"

It suddenly became very hard to swallow and he found himself glancing down at his desk.

"Ah um," he hesitated as he tried to think of something to say. "I like animals. Well, I used to. I was an animal lover when I was younger but then my mom died."

Victor didn't look up, expecting the conversation to be over after saying that. Yuuri was silent for a few moments.

"That must have been rough. Is your mom still alive?"

"She passed away a long time ago actually." Victor responded quietly.

There was another few seconds of silence and Victor glanced up to see that Yuuri was looking intently at him. "Can I hug you?" He asked.

"What?" Victor blurted out before clearing his throat. "Um yes. Sure." He replied awkwardly.

"Great! I hope you don't mind. I don't really know anyone who isn't close with their parents, so...here we go."

Victor's heart raced as Yuuri scooted forward and wrapped his arms around Victor, pulling him close. The shorter boy was a bit smaller than Victor, so it wasn't unusual for him to be so close. Victor felt tears pricking at his eyes as he leaned his face against Yuuri's chest and hugged him tightly. Even after a year of living together they never cuddled like this.

Yuuri stayed silent throughout the whole thing, only moving when Victor had no reaction.

Finally they parted and Yuuri gave him another smile before starting to open his textbook.

"How much longer does everyone have left?" Victor asked nervously, glancing at the clock above the professor's podium.

"Probably not much longer. Everyone finishes earlier than us." Yuuri replied.

A couple more minutes went by, each one making Victor more nervous.

"Are you alright?" Yuuri looked at him curiously.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Victor laughed weakly, fiddling with the edge of his sweater sleeve anxiously.

"It seems like you haven't gotten very comfortable with public displays of affection recently...so to speak."

Victor tensed, hoping desperately that Yuuri would forget what he said as soon as possible. Unfortunately that was not the case.

"What did you mean by that?"

He sighed before continuing. "Nothing really, I was just surprised when you first started talking to me. You're a lot different than people expect you to be."

"You're right. People don't usually act like they want to protect someone like that." Yuuri's lips quirked upward slightly. "I'm probably the last person you should compare me to, huh?"

"No, you aren't. I was just saying things out loud because I can't really keep quiet."

After that neither said anything else until the bell rang signaling the end of class. Yuuri gathered his supplies and followed Victor out of the room. After grabbing his coat and backpack he turned to face Victor.

"Thanks for helping me today, Yurio." Yuuri smiled softly.

"Whatever, piggy."

Victor's heart fluttered at the nickname, he had never been called that. As he reached the locker room he heard someone calling out to him.