Following Viktor's POV

Darkness was everywhere. No matter where he looked. Darkness. He hobbled around, shouting and listening as his helpless shouting echoed off of whatever surface he stood on.

"Hello?! Is anyone there? Where am I?!" He called out.

Suddenly, two bright, white lights flicked on. He stumbled back from the brightness, shielding his eyes from it. Once semi-used to the light, he lowered his hands, squinting. His eyes widened at the sight.

Eyes. They were eyes. Watching him. He stumbled back again as more lights- eyes- flicked on, all staring at him. His breath caught in his throat, terrified to move. Everything in his body screamed to stay still and quiet; not to risk anything. However, he called out, ignoring his own screaming mind.

"H-hello?! What's- Where am I? What's happening?!"

Laughter filled his ears and his cane was ripped from under him, causing his to stumble and fall back, pain splitting through his leg. The laughter only grew louder, bouncing off of the surface he was sat on, clutching his leg in pain. His eyes were wide now as he watched the eyes encapsulate him.

"Viktor..."

The voices finally spoke. Viktor's chest rose and fell swiftly. He shook his head.

"No- Go away! Where am I?!"

"Viktor.."

They were relentless; laughter still echoing as they called his name. He wasn't sure how them calling his name made him shake so much. Perhaps it was because he didn't know what was happening. Perhaps it was due to the fact he felt so helpless.

"Viktor!"

They grew louder now, more demanding. Viktor struggled to keep up with his breathing, his hands grabbing at his hair.

"Stop! Gods, make it stop!"

He begged, trembling still.

"Open your eyes, Viktor!"

The voices shook him now. He gasped, shaking his head, his eyes squeezing shut.

"No- no no no. Shut up, go away! It's not real, you're not-"

"VIKTOR!"

He gasped, his eyes shooting around as he darted up, his eyes adjusting to the light. He studied his surroundings as sweat dripped down his face. Viktor was sitting in his bed, in his room. His arms shook as they supported his weight. Letting out a sigh of relief, Viktor allowed himself to collapse onto his bed, still panting, trying to calm his breathing as his eyes shut.

"Viktor?"

He opened his eyes, gazing over. Jayce stood there, a concerned expression painted over his face. Had he been the voices that were calling and shaking Viktor this whole time?

"Are you alright?" Jayce asked, shaking Viktor from his train of thought.

"Y-yeah," Viktor nodded, sitting up again.

"Are you sure? That looked like a bad dream," Jayce muttered, handing Viktor a glass of water.

Viktor took the water, sipping it. "Yeah, yeah.. What- what, uh, was I doing?"

"You were mumbling, then shouting," Jayce explained. "Tossing, shaking, and sweating. You had me scared."

Viktor let out a breathy laugh. "Oh, gods, I'm sorry. I'm fine, I swear. Just a nightmare, probably from being sick."

"Yeah," Jayce nodded, handing Viktor some medicine to take. "That'll help your fever."

"Oh, thank you. It's burning under these covers," he said, taking the medicine.

"Then.. Get out- from under the covers?" Jayce suggested, placing his hands on them, drawing them back.

"Ah, I should've thought of that," Viktor chuckled.

"You get a pass, you're sick," Jayce nodded.

Despite being hot, Viktor shook, sniffing a bit.

"Gods, I'm a mess right now," he thought, propping himself up in his elbows.

"I brought you some sweetmilk, too," Jayce said, placing a glass on the table beside Viktor's bed.

"Oh, thank you," Viktor nodded, an aching pain settling into his body.

He groaned, flopping back down onto his back, sprawling out to get cool.

"This sucks," he complained, sighing.

"It looks like it," Jayce said, sitting on the edge of Viktor's bed.

Jayce extended his hand, placing it on Viktor's forehead. The added heat to his face made Viktor tense up a bit, muttering something.

"It feels the hottest it has so far," Jayce nodded. "That's good, it means the medicine is working. Your fever should break soon now, and then you'll be more comfortable, hopefully."

Viktor nodded, gazing up at the ceiling. He sat there, just waiting for his the fever to break. Jayce wiped away any sweat on his face with a paper towel, placing a damp washcloth over his forehead.

"You playing doctor?" Viktor asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mm, perhaps," Jayce chuckled, dabbing the washcloth around.

A sudden wave of coolness passed over Viktor's body and he relaxed immediately at the relief.

"Did the fever break?" Jayce asked, removing the washcloth, placing his hand back into Viktor's forehead, nodding.

"Yes, thankfully," Viktor breathed, relishing in the coolness.

He sat up after a few moments, reaching for the sweetmilk on the table, sipping it. Taking in the sweet flavor, he moved to sit on the side of his bed, going to stand.

"Whoaaaa, whoa, where are you going?"

"To the kitchen," Viktor said, reaching for his cane.

"No, no, no," Jayce took up Viktor's wrists, keeping him from grabbing his cane or leg brace.

"But-"

"What do you want? I'll get it for you. You need to rest," Jayce said, cutting him off.

Gentle hands pulled Viktor back onto his bed, a hand pushing him back down. Viktor mumbled something, letting out a sigh. Stubbornly, he tried to prop himself back up, but the hand pushed him back down again.

"Rest," Jayce said. "What do you want from the kitchen?"

"Just anything," Viktor replied vaguely.

"Like something cooked, just some cereal, a bagel?" Jayce prompted.

"You can cook?" Viktor lifted a brow.

"I sure can! I make some nice waffles too," he said, giving a confident nod.

Viktor chuckled, shrugging. "You'd probably set the dorm on fire."

"No, I won't. Stay here, I'll be back soon. Keep drinking your water or sweetmilk."

The hand holding him down drew away and Jayce stood, walking towards the door, once again slipping through it quietly. Viktor coughed, his throat sore. He sat up slowly, grabbing his sweetmilk, taking long, slow sips of it.

He coughed again, letting out a groan. The smell of something sweet drifted by him, causing his stomach to growl a bit. Once finished with the sweetmilk, he began sipping at the water he had. He leaned on the wall, taking a few moments to wallow in self-misery. Deciding it'd get him nowhere, Viktor pushed it aside and grabbed his cane, getting out of his bed.

His whole body shook and he felt weak, but he also tried to push that aside, hobbling slowly over to his desk, sitting down. He dragged his laptop towards him, opening it. Viktor squinted at the dim light that assaulted his eyes whenever he opened a bright page. He went over the work he'd missed, muttering.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Jayce's sudden voice made him jump. He gasped slightly, shaking his head.

"Glupyy chelovek!" He rolled his eyes, going back to his work.

"Do I have to confiscate your laptop?" Jayce asked. Viktor heard the light clinking of a plate being set down, Jayce's footsteps growing closer.

"Nooo, you already take my books on weekends, you're not allowed to take my laptop too! It's not even the weekend!"

He felt the pressure of hands on the back of his chair. Jayce tipped the chair backwards so he was gazing directly down at Viktor. One of his eyebrows was cocked.

"Sick days count as weekends now, then."

"That's not fair!" Viktor protested, gazing back up at Jayce.

"Mmm, I think it is," Jayce nodded, still tipping Viktor's seat back.

"Damn, I can't do anything around here, can I?" Viktor asked, a playful tone to his voice.

"Nope, not while you're sick," Jayce replied, the chair now leaning against his chest.

"Hey, wait- Why aren't you in class?"

Jayce let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "Don't worry about that."

"But I want to worry ab-"

Jayce placed a hand over Viktor's mouth, his other hand raising to his lips.

"Shh, I said don't worry about it," he whispered, the chair still tipped against his chest.

Viktor felt his face suddenly grow warmer by the prolonged contact and he adverted his gaze, staring at the wall. Jayce chuckled a bit, removing his hand and tipping the chair back to it's original position.

"Anyways, you hungry? I made waffles like how my mother made them," Jayce asked.

"Yeah, I can try to eat," Viktor coughed.

"I'll go get some cough syrup soon," Jayce said. "Don't want to make you get even more sick from medicine, though."

Viktor nodded and pushed his chair back to stand, wobbling a bit. Jayce held out his arm and Viktor took it to help himself balance, walking over and sitting on his bed. Jayce handed him the plate of waffles, nodding encouragingly. Viktor stabbed at the waffles, taking a bite.

"These are really good, actually," he commented.

"Actually? What is that supposed to mean?"

Viktor chuckled. "Don't worry about it."

"I-" Jayce gave an annoyed facing, seeing what Viktor did. "Ok, you don't get to do that."

"Oh, I don't? Well, what can I do then, hm?" Viktor asked, setting the, now empty, plate on the table beside his bed.

"Hmmm.. You can sit there and be pr- smart. Sit there and be smart," Jayce said quickly, blinking.

"Hm, what was that?" Viktor asked, an eyebrow raising.

"I- nothing," Jayce stepped back.

Viktor chuckled and Jayce tensed a bit. Viktor noticed his ears turn a light shade of red.

"Ok, another rule, no doing that," Jayce said quickly, trying to recover what little confidence he had left.

"No doing what?" Viktor asked.

"You know what I mean," Jayce muttered, grabbing the empty plate, stepping towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit. Try to get some more rest."