Following Jayce's POV

After his second class, Jayce was walking for the cafe to grab something to eat when movement ahead caught his attention. Two figures, one he recognized as Viktor, seeing as they had a cane, stood ahead of him, lost in deep conversation. Jayce blinked and continued forward, closer to the two before slipping, unnoticed, onto a bench to listen in on their conversation.

"What do you mean?" Viktor's accent was clear as day to him.

"I'm just saying that you'll probably get no work done with him as your partner for this project," a voice replied, a woman's.

Jayce blinked, his eyes narrowing as he kept listening.

"Well, we haven't had time to work together yet," Viktor countered. "Though we've spoken, and the man seems actually interested in the work."

"Stop trying to defend him," the woman replied. "We both know how he is. He's just going to dump all the work out on you."

"I am defending no one, Ms. Young. I am simply stating facts. I haven't worked with Mr. Talis enough to judge him so harshly yet. I don't know his work ethic, I only know what he is like outside of that. Frankly, I don't see why you care this much."

Jayce blinked. All the interactions between him and Viktor had been negative besides the ones in their first class today, and Viktor was really sticking up for Jayce?

"I- Viktor, you're one of the smartest people at this academy. I'm just trying to help you. I've seen and heard the things that him and his friends have done to mess with you. I'm simply suggesting that-"

"You've suggested enough, Ms. Young," Viktor cut in.

"But-"

"Good day, Ms. Young."

Jayce heard a sound of frustration escape this "Ms. Young's" throat as she walked away, not noticing Jayce sitting right there. Her hands were balled into fists.

"Bogi, pomogite mne," Viktor muttered, walking in the same direction the woman had gone, hobbling right past Jayce.

Jayce blinked, only ever being able to wonder what those words meant. He shrugged, standing to his feet. Slowly, he caught up with Viktor, placing a hand on his shoulder. Viktor flinched away at the touch, stumbling slightly before rebalancing himself.

"Did we not talk about startling people in our first class?" Viktor hissed, facing Jayce.

Jayce shrugged a bit, laughing.

"Yeah, I think we did," Jayce nodded.

"Is it like a Talis-family thing?" Viktor asked, puzzling Jayce.

"Huh? Is what like a Talis-family thing?"

"Oh, you know.. Not learning how to stop scaring others," Viktor replied.

"Hey! I'll have you know, my mother is the nicest person on this planet. She'd never purposefully go out of her way to scare someone," Jayce said replying quickly.

"Ah, so it's just a Talis-boy thing, rather than a Talis-family thing," Viktor shrugged. "Duly noted."

"Hey, I'm not a boy-" Jayce defended, though he was cut off by an arm wrapping around his neck.

"Ayeee, Jayce!" Scott's voice rang in Jayce's ears. His expression dropped a bit.

"Heeey, guys," he replied, turning his back on Viktor to face his friends.

"How come you're hangin' out with the cripple?" James asked, eyeing Viktor who stood behind Jayce.

"Eh, no reason," Jayce shrugged.

He heard a small scoff come from beside him. Turns out he wasn't the only one, seeing as James lifted his hands defensively towards Viktor.

"Whoaa, whoaa, don't get so angry, man. Why are you so pressed over the word cripple?"

Jayce turned to watch the scene unfold. Viktor took a step back, away from James, shrugging.

"It's-" Viktor couldn't even get two words in before James cut him off.

"You're pathetic," he snorted. "You get so mad over the smallest things. Stop being so fucking sensitive."

Viktor seemed to shrink back at the words, and Jayce watched as his eyes burned holes into the ground beneath him.

"Hey," Jayce spoke up, stepping forwards to rest a hand on James' shoulder. "Why don't we all just- let's go to that cafe?"

James scowled, gazing over at Viktor and then back at Jayce, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, I wasn't in the mood to make fun of him today anyways," he scoffed, pulling away from Jayce's grasp.

"Perfect! Why don't you three go ahead? I'll catch up, I just need to stop by the academy's office real quick," Jayce nodded.

James shrugged and began walking off, Scott and Mark trailing after him. Jayce looked around, noticing Viktor had slipped off somehow during Jayce's and James'conversation. He saw Viktor in the near distance, limping towards the dorm building. He jogged over to catch up with him.

"Hey, you alright?" Jayce asked.

No response.

"Viktor?" Jayce pressed, gazing at the man. His eyes flickered with silent rage.

"I'm fine," Viktor said quietly, continuing on. Anger pierced his words. "Go hang out with your goons."

"I- Look, I'm sorry if what they said hurt your-"

"I said I was fine, Talis," Viktor hissed, his eyes narrowing at the ground below him. "I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me."

Jayce nodded. "Alright.. Well, if you say so. I'll see you back at the dorm, Viktor."

When Viktor didn't reply, Jayce scoffed and turned, running to catch up with his friends.

_______

He groaned, tired from football practice. Upon entering the dorm, he was met by nothing but the silence and the faint smell of black coffee as always. Jayce headed straight for his room, grabbed a towel and new clothes, heading to take shower.

After having showered and changed into new clothes, he relaxed on the couch for a while, allowing his body the rest it deserved. His eyes grew heavy and he yawned, rolling over onto his side, falling asleep with his head resting in the armrest. What only felt like a few minutes to him was actually a few hours in real time.

When Jayce woke, his neck ached from the way it had been resting. Rubbing it, he stood up, gazing around the dark living room. He checked his phone. Nine forty-eight p.m. He grumbled, walking to the kitchen to eat.

It was about ten fifteen when he'd finished eating and getting ready to head to bed for the night. Walking back from the bathroom, he noticed light shining through the small cracks in Viktor's doorframe. He blinked, suddenly remembering he told Viktor that they would work on the project together when Jayce got back. Walking to the door, Jayce knocked on it.

"Viktor? Can I come in?"

No response.

"Viktor, I know you're awake. I saw your light was on," Jayce called again.

He heard a sigh and then feet shuffling, the sound of Viktor's cane growing closer. The door opened a crack.

"I'm working," Viktor said, gazing up at Jayce.

"Need any help?" Jayce asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I completely forgot about helping. It won't happen again though, I swear."

Viktor looked unconvinced. He gazed back at his desk, opening the door wider so Jayce could step inside the room. He studied it for a moment. Black curtains blocked any potential light that threatened to seep into the room. Papers were pushed to the side of the desk, the only thing laying in the middle of it being the sketchbook and pencil.

"I've only just made some improvements to the.. Creation," Viktor shrugged, hobbling heavily towards the desk.

Jayce nodded, following shortly behind Viktor, standing beside him at the desk. He observed a page of the sketchbook. Viktor had dedicated a whole new page to it, having decided on that being what the project was about. Mathematical equations littered the page around the drawing. Jayce gazed at the page beside it, blinking.

"What's that?"

"Oh, well that's the machine that'll actually power this- energy-orb thing," he nodded.

Jayce nodded, it made sense that something else would help power it. His eyes skimmed the desk again, landing on another sketchbook.

"Does this have your work all in it, too?" Jayce asked, reaching for the book.

Viktor looked up for a moment. What Jayce was holding must've clicked in his mind suddenly and he reached for the book, stealing it from Jayce's grip.

"Oh, no- nothing important in this book," he replied quickly, tucking the book under his arm.

Must be important stuff in there if Viktor was so protective of it. Jayce eyed the sketchbook, making a mental note to himself that he'd, one day, see what laid within the pages, hidden away from the world.

"Ah, I see," Jayce yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed. I suggest you get some sleep too, Viktor."

Viktor only nodded slightly and Jayce turned, heading for his own bedroom.