Hi everyone! So this is the very, very first fan fiction I have ever written and decided to share online, so I hope you do enjoy this work and go along with me on this journey as I continue to grow as a writer and as we watch Yuuri and Victor grow together too.

Now, going past that cheesy introduction, I have to thank my friends L and V for the encouragement to post this work online, and the Yuri!!! On Ice Facebook group with all the lovely people who also encouraged me and are just a supportive group of genuinely kind peeps.

Enjoy!

He closed the restroom door behind him, quietly and gently, even though he knew for sure there was nobody else in there except for him. He sat at the edge of the toilet, realizing for the first time just how much he was shaking. His legs felt wobbly, his chest tight and he felt as if buckets of cold sweat were being poured down on him from above. His eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall and he cradled his head between his hands. He had to get himself together, he knew, before he would make the call. He took deep control breaths, pushing the tears back, ignoring the ache on his chest and trying to numb himself up.

After a few minutes, he finally found the courage to reach into his pocket for his phone, and dialed home. The phone run once, twice, three times before the sweet and warm voice of his mother greeted him from the other side of the line.

"Yuuri! Hi dear, how did it go?" And with that simple question, he cracked. He couldn't stop the tears that began to pour down his cheeks and the words that immediately came out of his mouth.

"I failed… I failed everything." Without waiting for a response, he hanged up the phone, letting it slide out of his hand and into the floor with an echo. He began sobbing into his hands, just letting the tears flow that he had tried so hard to suppress, suddenly all just pouring out one by one. He hated this, hated himself, hated that he couldn't stop the loud and ugly sobs coming out of him and the shaking of his shoulders and legs. But before another tear could come out of Yuuri Katsuki, someone banged his restroom door, loudly. It seemed more like someone had just tried to throw the door down with their whole body.

Yuuri screeched loudly, his crying suddenly forgotten at the rude awakening back to reality by whomever was outside the door. Just when had they come in? Had he been there so long that all the other restrooms were occupied and this person was desperate for him to come out?

"Just a minute!" He yelled to the person on the outside before quickly wiping the tears off his eyes and cheeks with the sleeve of his blue jacket. He knew his eyes were probably red at this point, and his legs still felt somewhat shaky but he was sure the person outside wasn't going to be very patient for long. He swung his backpack over his shoulder before unlocking the door and stepping out, ready to apologize but was met with a pair of bright green eyes. Eyes that looked at him as if he was absolute thrash. Yuuri froze in fear as in front of him stood a young guy, blond long hair that almost covered his left eye. He was just a little shorter than Yuuri, seemed a little younger too, but the only thought that could cross through Yuuri's mind was that he was about to get beaten up in a public college restroom by this petite and angry punk.

"You are pathetic" Were the first words that came out of the other young man, which felt like a heavy stung to Yuuri. "Aren't you an adult or something? What are you doing crying in the restroom like some kind of weak idiot? Huh?!" He screamed straight into Yuuri's face, which Yuuri himself would have found almost funny given that thee guy had to tip toed just a little to actually be able to reach him… If it wasn't of course that at this point he almost feared for his life. "You… I can't stand people like you. Do the world a favor and just quit already if all you know is how to cry like a baby. Pig!" He seemed to out extra emphasis into that last word before storming out, leaving a confused and hurt Yuuri behind, wondering who in the world that guy was.

He scrolled down Tumblr for what felt like the 100th time now, seeing the same sets of gifs and memes as he had just seen a couple of hours before. It wasn't even midnight yet and he had already begun to feel bored by the internet.

Yuuri Katsuki sat back on his chair and away from his laptop with a sigh, wondering what was he supposed to do now. He knew that in less than 10 minutes the classes would be open for registration for the upcoming Fall semester, but he wasn't sur if he could even bring himself to type in the webpage of his school without a wave of shaming drowning him. His past semester had been a mess. And it had all started with the news his sister told him from the phone back from Japan, his beloved Vicchan had died. The small brown poodle mix that he had adopted from the local shelter when he was only eleven years old and whom had been his companion all the way up until when he decided to move out of the country to go to university. After that it had all been a spiral downward. He had started stress eating, barely being able to pay attention in class, and finally it culminated with him flopping his finals and crying in the restroom. After that he couldn't bring himself to take any summer classes, he just didn't want to think about just how badly everything had gone, and so he had come back to Hasetsu, unsure if he was really going back to the university or not. Part of him wanted nothing more than to just crawl under the blankets, to stay in the safety of his room eating katsudon until the day he died. But he also wanted to go back, to finish what he had started.

He checked the time on his laptop. It was a minute after midnight. With a small sigh, Yuuri opened another tab to the school's webpage. He logged in and went straight to check the available classes. He wondered what class should he even look up first, should he try to take a class that he had failed or just something completely else? Something for fun? Something that counted more towards his major?

He thought about what had been his favorite class, and which he had been the one he failed the worst… Literature. Without allowing himself to think too much about it, he typed it in the search bar and began scrolling down his options. There were some classes available by his last Literature professor, Celestino. Celestino had genuinely tried to help Yuuri, he had tried helping him in his class, had tried talking to him and even gave him an extra day to work on his paper for the final, but Yuuri had rejected it all. He cringed at the memory of his behavior and decided that he wouldn't be able to face Celestino after what he had done the past semester. So, he kept on scrolling down, going past all the classes until a name stuck out to him like a sore thumb.

Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri immediately stopped scrolling, staring intently at the class available, a morning class at 10 AM. He probably had other one's available, but Yuuri knew that wasn't going to last long, getting into one of Victors Nikiforov's class was as hard as finding a golden ticket in a chocolate bar. Everyone wanted to be in one of his classes. There was no hesitating now.

In a couple of clicks, Yuuri had officially enrolled himself in a new literature class, with a new literature professor. He had been the 10th person to sign up for it, and watch for a moment as the number of registered students went up and the number of available spots went down.

His heart was beating faster than it should, and the palms of his hands felt sweaty.

He was in Victors Nikiforov's Literature class.

It was only seven minutes after midnight, but Yuuri knew for sure now he really wasn't going to be able to fall asleep at all.