Heyyy this idea has been in my head forever and I was going to publish it after I finished Haze but,,, why not have 2 slow burn multichapter fics going on at once because i hate myself . I've also posted this on AO3 under the same name (jadedcrystalide) if anyone prefers that site.

Trigger warnings: self harm, abuse, depression. Your general angsty stuff. If any particular chapter contains anything else I'll mention it at the start.

All the students are characters of the show, in this fic they are aged between 16-19 and aged down if necessary. Chris is the sex ed teacher, Yuuri is the therapist. I havent placed Phichit yet but I'll find a way.

Anyway I hope yall like it!

The peeling paint, crumbling staircase, and sobbing woman he encountered while walking up the main corridor didn't exactly paint positive pictures in Viktor's head as he tried to navigate his way to main reception. For some reason the staff members tried to change his mind when he dropped in his application form at the school a couple of weeks ago, but he had persisted, so here he was. Viktor Nikiforov: newly qualified cover teacher at Sandbrook High. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about.

Teaching had been his dream career since he was a teenager, and now it had finally come true. His work timetable detailed that he would be working primarily in class E2, which was strange; didn't cover teachers usually hop around from class to class depending on teacher availability? Unless this class had a teacher who was sick or on holiday. Either way, he was excited to make friends with the pupils and make his employers thankful that they had given him a chance.

Luckily he managed to find the reception fairly quickly, and put on his most cheerful heart-shaped smile as he approached the woman sitting slumped at her desk. She had bleached hair that was pulled back by a headband and was glaring at the magazine below her, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Viktor said, smiling at the woman- who's name badge gave away that she was in fact called 'Mari'- and pulling his ID out of his coat pocket.

She looked up at him, blinked wearily, and put her pen down with a sigh. Not exactly the most professional behaviour, but these were his co-workers and he wasn't about to judge them at first glance.

"You here to pick up a kid? That brat Johnson? He's in the sick bay." Mari asked him and jerked her head to the side to indicate the room she was referring to.

"No, actually. I'm here as a cover teacher."

"Come again?"

"Viktor Nikiforov?" Viktor handed her his ID as well as the letter of acceptance that came in the mail a few days previously. Two women who were working behind Mari suddenly froze and turned towards him, sharing equal glances of concern. As much as he hated making assumptions, Viktor couldn't deny that this place was unlike any other school he had visited. It seemed like the staff members were constantly either on edge or desperate to go home and preferably never come back. The principle who had interviewed him, Mr Feltsman, seemed like he was purposely trying to convince Viktor to turn around and try someplace else. Someone who wasn't as passionate as he was would have gave up weeks ago.

Mari glanced briefly over the papers and made a displeased sound at the back of her throat, then handed them back and stared at him through narrowed eyes.

"There's only one class in this entire school that needs a cover teacher, and I don't think someone like you…" she didn't disguise her disgust as her eyes swept over him "could handle them. Are you sure you got confirmation from the principle, Yakov Feltsman?"

Any other time he would have pointed out such blatant rudeness, but he only had one chance here. Instead he willed his smile to stay put and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Class E2, if I'm not mistaken."

"Let me see your timetable." Mari demanded, handing her hand out and not leaving much room for debate. The two women behind her were still staring, though their faces had lost the expression of shock and had instead been replaced by one of horror. Once again, Viktor let the receptionist look through his papers and supressed the urge to ask what the problem was.

"You're scheduled for class E2 pretty much all week…. Except for a block on Thursday where you're teaching C4, but that's only because the sex education teacher comes in on Thursdays to E2. Not that he makes any difference." The last sentence was muttered and concealed under the rustling of papers as Mari handed the letter back to him, along with a single silver key. "That's the key to the classroom, make sure to lock it up at breaks and once school has ended, but trust me, I doubt you'll be needing it for long." She turned back to her magazine and Viktor took that as a sign that he was dismissed.

"Such a nice looking fellow. Foreign, too. I hope they don't drive him out like they did with all the others."

"Don't be optimistic, he'll hardly last an hour."

He only just heard the exchange between the two other women as he began to head in the direction of the E block, and their words did nothing to settle the apprehension growing in his stomach.

"They're a bunch of kids, Viktor. You're being silly." He firmly told himself, and was about to start listing off the reasons why he wanted the job so badly when he turned a corner and was met with a bright red banner which had the letter 'E' embroidered onto it. This must be the E block.

Finding the second classroom was easy- it was just a few metres away to the right of E1- but before he turned the handle, Viktor stopped and…. Listened. And was met with silence. Blocks A through D seemed to be constantly bustling with noise, the laughter and shouting of children echoed off the walls and undoubtedly drove the teachers crazy, however it was pleasing to hear. The heart and life of a school was the sound of pupils of all ages enjoying themselves, and Sandbrook High held kids from infancy up until their late teens. Block E in comparison sounded like a wasteland.

That is until a huge bang from inside the classroom made Viktor flinch and step back, sounding alien in amongst the silence. The bang was followed by a chorus of laughs from voices that sounded predominantly male, and definitely on the older side of the kids who were taught here.

Any thoughts of teaching cute, naïve ten-year-olds flew out of the window.

Taking a final deep breath, he placed his hand on the metal door handle, and twisted it open before he could find any reason not to.

The scene inside was like something out of a war photography magazine: tables lay on their sides, papers were scattered across the floor, the curtains were hanging off their railings and the blinds were so ripped that they looked more like rags than something you'd use to keep the sun out. In University they'd taught Viktor that classrooms were always colourful and walls were plastered with display boards, pupil's work and education materials. Here it seemed to be the exact opposite: it wouldn't have been too bad if they were just plain white, but instead the walls were a gross grey colour and patches of plaster could be seen from where it had peeled away. If he'd turned his head he'd be able to see a huge penis graffitied behind the door, accompanied with the caption 'Guang Hong sucks cock 2k17' and a badly drawn picture of the flag of China.

But the décor was the second thing Viktor noticed; the first was the students. There weren't many of them, granted, maybe 10 or so, however they seemed to fill the space very sufficiently. A handful were sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls, laughing amongst each other and showing one another images on their phones. One or two sat alone and seemed to melt into the background as if they were desperate to stay out of the way and not be associated with the environment around them. In the corner, a short, skinny girl stood on a table and seemed to be glaring down at a terrified-looking boy below her. Whoever she was, she clearly had some authority over the group- and this sight made Viktor spring into action.

"Hey! You! Off the table, now!" He demanded, putting on his best authoritative teacher voice and pointing a finger in the direction of the girl. If he'd expected an immediate response he was going to be very disappointed.

"Who the fuck are you?" A deep voice growled in his direction, and Viktor was glad that he didn't outwardly gender this person because now he was facing him, it was evident that he was a guy. The blond hair that hung to his shoulders had been off-putting, as had his small structure and apparent fragility, however it was obvious now that this boy wasn't someone who was going to be told what to do. Viktor swallowed and tried not to be put off.

"I'm your new cover teacher." The smile had slipped off his face the moment he entered the E block, and in its place had formed a grimace which only deepened as the rest of the pupils slowly turned their attention to him, one by one. Usually Viktor hated deviating from his trademark charm and flattery, although occasionally he could be very blunt and intimidating. It seemed like that was the attitude to take from now on.

"Cover teacher? Oooooo." A boy in the corner mocked, waving his fingers in a pantomime expression of seeing a ghost. He was met with another chorus of laughs and Viktor was very quickly beginning to lose control.

"What are you gonna cover, dude? That huge bald patch on your head?"

It was clear that none of these students had been disciplined before, not by a teacher and definitely not by their parents or carers or whoever looked after them. Judging by a scruffy-looking boy who looked like he hadn't brushed his hair for weeks, Viktor probably wouldn't be incorrect in assuming that some of them didn't have parents.

The blond boy still hadn't stepped down from the table, and was looking at Viktor with a mocking smirk, as if he could read his mind. Below him stood another boy; he looked maybe a couple of years older, appeared to be Asian and wore a leather jacket that was most definitely against dress code. Learning the names of these students was something he had to do before he even began to earn their respect… but in order to talk to them, he'd have to get them to listen.

"Listen to me, all of you." Viktor said with a raised voice. "It seems like no-one else in 20 miles wants to take on this class. That much was evident by the surprise in the principles voice when I called in asking for the job. I'm certain all of you are worth the effort, but we need to work together. And that can start with putting these tables upright." A wave of his hands towards the upturned furniture caught the attention of everyone else who had tuned out his words. "And then we can get to know more about each other."

"Yeah, I'm sure JJ would love that, he can't stop talking about himself."

"Shut the fuck up Mila!"

Viktor quickly sensed a fight breaking out between the red-headed girl- Mila, he presumed- and one of the boys who was slumped against the wall at the back of the class. He must have been JJ. Viktor slammed his palm against the nearest wooden surface and didn't hesitate to raise his voice again.

"Get a move on, now! And you: get off the table!"

Surprisingly, they cooperated without much of a struggle. Their efforts to arrange the tables into neat rows was disastrous, but at least they weren't on their sides any more, a development that Viktor wasn't going to complain about. They had probably been assigned a seating plan at some point, which was obviously not even considered as they seated themselves wherever they felt like it.

The blond boy and the Asian boy had sat down far away from the rest of the class. Viktor really had to learn these kids' names. Referring to them based on hair colour or race wasn't the most professional thing to do.

"Okay, thank you. I'll start. My name is Viktor, but you can call me Mr Nikiforov-"

"Bless you."

"-or sir. Sir will be fine." He resisted the urge to narrow his eyes as the messy-haired boy who was grinning at him from his seat by the graffitied penis.

"I wish to know all of your names, so we'll start with the obvious one. Who is Guang Hong, and why is there a dick around his name on the wall?"

The victim was easily identified by his bright red face and the jeers that were aimed in his direction. Poor guy, he was clearly an outlier amongst the bullies that surrounded him, and Viktor hoped that he wasn't ridiculed too much. It was his duty as their teacher to care for his pupils and defend them from being the butt of a joke.

"… Lovely. Well, nice to meet you Guang Hong. You, what's your name?" He pointed to the messy-haired boy.

"Emil. Nice to meet you, madam." The grin on his face made him seem more like the class clown than a thug.

"Okay. Next. You." Another point in the direction of a boy with two-toned hair who seemed to be vibrating in his seat with how much he was fidgeting.

"Minami. Minami Kenjirou, sir." Like Emil and Guang Hong, Minami appeared to be harmless and completely out of place in the classroom. Viktor had to establish quickly who to keep an eye on, who was the 'leader' or the class- because there always was one. First lesson of teacher training: locate the leader and take away his or her authority.

He was introduced to JJ, Mila, Michele. All three of them seemed rowdy and easily angered, but there was something about them that suggested that they would be easy to push over if you knew the right thing to say. Especially Michele, who was very protective over his sister Sara, as Viktor came to realise quickly. A dark-haired quiet boy named Seung Gil didn't give off intimidating vibes either.

So, there was only two people left, and Viktor realised that he should have started with them to begin with.

"And finally, you two. Names?"

"Yuri Pliestsky." The blond stated in a monotone voice that suggested a boredom so extreme that Viktor was surprised he was still awake. Who knew such a fragile-looking person could prove to be such a problem.

"And this is Otabek. He ain't gonna talk to you so don't bother." Otabek nodded in Viktor's direction, either in greeting or in agreement to Yuri's words. Even without knowing their backstories or anything about them other than their names, Viktor got the sense that he was working with a bunch of kids who were way out of his comfort zone.

But instead of leaving immediately, he sighed, picked up the whiteboard pen and considered how he was going to approach this basic algebra class. None of them even had books. Very few of them were holding a pen, and the lack of school bags scattered around suggested that most of them turned up their phones, earbuds and a packet of chewing gum at most.

He sighed, said a small prayer, and got to work planning the lessons for these fucked up kids.

Viktor Nikiforov was nothing if not determined.

pls review if you can because id love to hear ur guys opinions on this? Idk whether itd be something yall are interested in

I'll update this when i can, however Haze will remain my priority atm, but I find writing this to be slightly easier tbh. The chapters won't be as long as Haze so i might find myself updating more frequently than I thought I would

Anyway i hope you guys liked this! love you all