Following Viktor's POV

He couldn't believe it. Anyone. He could've been partnered with anyone. Hell, he didn't even really want a partner. Not that it would've mattered anyway. No one would've wanted to partner with him anyways.

Viktor made his way to the dorm after his second class, muttering to himself. He'd end up doing all the work in this project by himself. He always did. As Viktor carried on, he heard someone call his name. He ignored it, figuring it was just another person messing with him.

"Viktor, wait up!" The voice called again.

Fast approaching footsteps caught his attention and he turned, noticing a girl from his first class running towards him. He recognized her but didn't know her name. She stopped next to him, catching her breath before speaking.

"Hi! You might not know me. I'm Sky Young! We have the same first class together," she said smiling slightly, holding out her hand.

Viktor nodded and took it quickly, shaking it before dropping it.

"Huh, name's Viktor.. Though, you already knew that," he replied awkwardly.

The girl- Sky laughed a bit, nodding.

"I heard you got partnered with Jayce Talis," she said, rolling her eyes a bit.

"Oh, yeah, I did," he nodded.

"I feel bad for you. He seems.. What's the word I'm looking for-" Sky paused and Viktor cut her off.

"Arrogant?"

"Yes! Arrogant," Sky nodded. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to work together? I know you have a partner already and I do too, but we could always give each other some tips and ideas!"

Viktor blinked, shrugging slightly.

"Eeh, I'm not sure. I appreciate the suggestion, Ms. Young, but I think I might turn it down. I just seem to work better by myself."

She blinked, seemingly at a loss for words for a moment before nodding, taking a step back.

"Oh, alright. No worries! Maybe some other time. Uh- if you change your mind, just- just let me know," she dipped her head and turned, walking off.

Viktor watched her walk away quickly, her head down a bit. He shrugged and turned back, carrying on his way towards the dorm building. He watched the ground as he walked on, only looking up occasionally to make sure he wasn't about to run into anyone or anything and to make sure he was going the right way.

He reached his dorm in about ten minutes, unlocking it and slipping inside. Viktor made himself some black coffee before isolating himself to his room as always. He sat down at his work desk, clearing some papers to the side. He grabbed the grid paper sketchbook he had; the one he used when it came to doing schoolwork.

He opened it, flipping past drawings of athletic-induced injuries to a new page. At the top of an empty page, he labeled it "Brainstorming:" and began to sketch potential ideas. Professor Heimerdinger had said that it didn't have to be realistic, and Viktor used that to his advantage, taking up three pages of his book to draw ideas, writing down small notes beside each one.

_______

Viktor looked up from his work, the sound of the dorm's door being unlocked, opened, closed, and locked again disturbing his brainstorming. He glanced at the clock on his phone, squinting at the bright light it emitted. Had he really been working for three and a half hours? Letting out a sigh, he stood and winced, his bad leg cramping up due to the lack of movement.

Viktor grabbed his coffee mug and, leaning heavily on his cane, left his room to go to the kitchen. He noticed Jayce flopped down on the couch, sweat coating his face. A disgusted look wormed its way onto his face. He turned, heading to the kitchen. Grabbing the coffee pot, Viktor poured the last remaining coffee into his mug and stuck it in the microwave, putting it in for a minute.

He leaned against the counter, his back brace clanking against the granite through his clothes. Viktor's train of thought trailed off as he waited, thinking of more ideas for the project.

"Can you shut that thing off?" An irritated tone called from the living room.

Viktor blinked, once again being dragged from his thoughts. The microwave chirped every ten seconds, alerting Viktor that the timer had stopped already. It beeped again and Viktor contemplated leaving it just to piss of Jayce, but in the end, he opened the microwave and grabbed his coffee, sipping it.

"Fucking finally," Jayce muttered.

Viktor rolled his eyes, hobbling back towards his room. He opened the door, pausing when Jayce spoke.

"Back to being a recluse, hm?" Jayce asked, opening his eyes to gaze at Viktor.

Viktor shrugged, gazing at the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Jayce muttered, still eyeing Viktor.

Viktor shifted under the weight of Jayce's gaze, nodding slightly. His hand was still on his bedroom doorknob. The two sat in the awkward silence. Well, it was awkward for Viktor at least.

"Well, go on then," Jayce shrugged, standing.

Viktor watched as he vanished into his bedroom for a moment before returning to his own room, closing himself away from the rest of the world. He hobbled over towards his desk, sitting down. Once again, he let his work consume him. For the next few hours, he continued to draw out designs and ideas, marking down mathematical equations to use while creating it. His eyes narrowed as he scribbled down essentials for the creation.

He sighed, being slightly satisfied with the work he completed. Pushing it to the side, he turned to focus on his sports medicine work.

Sleep wove its way under Viktor's skin. His head bobbed up and down as he fought the sleep, shaking his head. He muttered to himself as he stood, caving. He walked towards his bed, collapsing onto the mattress, throwing the cool, sleek sheets over him. He watched the ceiling for a few moments, yawning as he shifted, getting into a comfortable position under the sheets.

He allowed sleep to loll him off, slipping off into a light, though peaceful, sleep.