Victor

... and falling and falling and falling and falling—

A series of screams suddenly echo throughout my head, causing me to regain consciousness. I shoot up in surprise and rub my eyes before I take in my surroundings.

I blink. I'm not in my car. I'm not with JJ.

I'm in my bedroom. I'm alone.

I sit up slowly in my bed, continuing to look around my room. The screaming also continues and I look to my nightstand to see my alarm clock going off. Disoriented from being in my car with JJ to suddenly appearing in my room, I slap my hand down on the alarm and it falls silent.

"VICTOR, I HEARD YOUR ALARM! GET UP AND GET READY OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

My eyes widen at the screeching sound of my mother's voice.

I'm going to be late?

I yawn and stretch. What time is it? I look over at my alarm and see it's 7:30 AM.

Before I even begin to wonder how I got from my car to my bed and how it had been the evening but is now somehow morning, I suddenly remember and jump up from my bed. I make a beeline for my laptop on my desk. I open my laptop and wait for it to turn on before I type in my password.

Once I'm in, I go to Google and immediately begin typing a certain search. Several search results should pop up, including that leaked article that had been shared with everyone in school. I click search and wait.

No longer than a second later does Google finish searching.

My eyes must have nearly popped out of my head as I gape at my screen.

No results.

Not one.

Absolutely nothing came up for "Yuri Katsuki's suicide." Yesterday, that would've produced tons of results, including the article!

Maybe I'm dreaming again, like I had a dream within a dream so I'm dreaming.

I shake my head. I just gave myself a headache.

I don't think this is a dream. For one, it definitely doesn't feel like a dream, and for another, I definitely don't have the brains to dream up something this elaborate.

I just blink at my laptop as it all begins to sink in.

I shake my head. "Oh God, I'm really not dreaming... This is really happening..." I mutter to myself.

"You bet it is."

I nearly jump a mile high as I let out a shriek of surprise. I spin around to see JJ sitting on my bed.

"Would you quit doing that?" I snap at him, trying to get my heart to stop beating a mile a minute. "That... that suddenly-appearing-out-of-nowhere thing is really... unsettling!"

JJ shrugs and smirks at me. "Ah, the perks of being paranormal—you can appear out of nowhere and scare the shit out of your scaredy-cat friends," he says with an amused hum.

I narrow my eyes at him and am about to defend myself when I suddenly hear footsteps.

Before anyone can say anything else, my bedroom door suddenly swings open and Yurio walks in.

My eyes widen and I feel myself pale over. My cousin is in my room with me and JJ. How the hell is he going to react when he sees my dead friend sitting on my bed?! Yurio certainly didn't go to JJ's funeral, but he knew as well as the next guy that JJ had died. So, JJ being here right now should be very impossible.

Yurio's eyes meet mine, and I try my best to look perfectly fine and normal. "Morning, shitface. You ready? 'Cause I certainly am!" he says as he looks at me expectantly. He doesn't even glance at my bed and the dead person sitting on it.

I just look back at him. I press my lips together before I finally manage to speak. "Ready... Ready for what...?" I ask, completely drawing a blank on what he's talking about.

Yurio scoffs. "Ready for what? What the hell do you mean by that?" he gapes, now looking at me like I'm stupid. "I'm talking about the first day of school, obviously. We've only been dreading it since the first day of summer! Duh!"

I just stare at him.

"... Well, you'll be sent back right when the school year started, right on your first day of twelfth grade. From there you'll have the entire school year up to the point where Yuri killed himself to prevent it from happening..."

JJ's words echo back at me in my head.

When the school year started. First day of twelfth grade.

Oh God.

"Yurio," I start, swallowing my nerves as best as I can, "what's today's date?"

Yurio frowns at me. "You know what today's date is! You have a calendar for God's sake, and I'm not it. Jeez, Victor, can't you read?" he says, looking unimpressed with me.

Yurio is just turning to leave when I hold up my hand. "Wait!"

Yurio stops and turns back towards me. He raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Um... Does it feel earlier in the year to you? Like, we were already past this point in our lives and now we've been sent back to it...?"

Yurio blinks at me for he shakes his head. "Did you fall out of bed again and hit your head? Because it sounds like something's not right up there!" His eyes narrow suspiciously at me. Before I can utter a response and assure him my head is just fine, he turns and leaves my room, closing the door as he exits.

For a few seconds, I stare at the spot he had been standing in before I look to JJ.

JJ's eyes widen. "Oh, right!" he says, like he just remembered something. "I guess I kinda forgot to mention that only you can see and hear me and no one else is conscious of the time change... except you and me, that is. You see, it's the present for everyone around us, because that timeline where Yuri died? That didn't happen... yet. The second we came here, this stopped being the past and started being the present. And you can change anything in the present. Think of this as... a clean slate; you can literally start over and fix the things you didn't like about this year, not just Yuri's suicide. If this isn't the definition of a redo, then I don't know what is!"

Fix the things I didn't like about this year. That sounds interesting... Definitely something I've got to look into.

I cross my arms and look at JJ. "What do I do now?" I ask him.

JJ smiles. "Now you get dressed and go to school. Then the adventure can really begin," he says before he gets up off my bed. "I'll meet you there. Don't be late! You know how the teachers feel about tardies, even if it is the first day."

In the blink of an eye he's gone.

I shiver. It's gonna take some time for me to get used to him just randomly poofing to and from wherever I am...

With nothing else to do, I go to my closet and pick out a decent second-first-day-of-twelfth-grade outfit.

Once it's picked out, I get changed out of my pajamas and into the outfit. I don't need a shower because I always take one the night before, as is my usual routine. I'm just about to head to my bathroom to brush my hair and teeth when I spot my calendar in its usual place nailed to my wall over the desk where I keep my laptop.

All the days are checked off up to today's date.

August 25th, 2018

The first day of school—of twelfth grade.

I've really gone about a year back in time; it's like when someone hits the "rewind" button on a remote control.

I traveled back in time.

As I continue to let these thoughts sink in, I go to my mirror and smirk at my reflection.

Victor Nikiforov: Time Traveler!

Now, does that sound badass or what?

After I finish checking myself out, I open the door to the bathroom and walk inside. Luckily, when we moved here I ended up with my own bathroom. I knew we'd be moving into a big house, mainly because my parents never do anything small, and also because they're loaded. So, I got my own spacious room complete with a luxurious bathroom. Yurio has his own bedroom with a luxurious bathroom as well, and my parents obviously ended up with the master bedroom which is almost double the size of my room (and my room is pretty big, not to brag). They have the master bathroom, which is almost double the size of my bathroom (and my bathroom is also pretty big, not to brag again).

After I finish up in the bathroom, I exit back into my room, grab my backpack which I must have previously packed the night before like I do every night before school, and head downstairs for breakfast.

Once I make it downstairs, I go into the kitchen. Yurio is already sitting at the kitchen table, scarfing down pancakes.

Yes! Mother made pancakes! I'm going to need a good breakfast for the day I'm about to have and the long journey I'm about to embark on.

I sit down in my usual seat at the kitchen table, noticing that Mother has already set out my plate of pancakes. I dig in, hoping to be able to eat them all before it is time to leave.

A few seconds later, Mother enters the kitchen, Father trailing behind her with his coffee mug and a rolled up newspaper under his arm. He sluggishly approaches the island, pulling out one of the barstools before he sits in it, scooting himself up to the island. He waits, slumped over as he always does, for Mother to serve him his breakfast as she always does.

Mother is an excellent cook. She'd probably be able to be a professional chef if she wasn't already a doctor. Father's a lawyer, and he's NOT an excellent cook; he's a horrible cook. We're all lucky we have Mother, because if we didn't, we would've either been poisoned by Father's cooking or died of starvation because we refused to eat Father's cooking. Probably the latter.

"You want toast, honey?" Mother asks Father.

Father grumbles something incoherent. He's never been a morning person.

Mother nods. "Alright," she replies as she gets out some bread and puts it in the toaster.

That's odd. "Mother?" I ask.

"Yes, Victor?"

"Did Father finally fix the toaster? I was starting to miss having toast," I say. Our toaster broke awhile back and Father said he would fix it, but he's never gotten around to it. Neither has Mother. They're usually too preoccupied with their jobs, especially Mother. Father's the one who's usually around, but even so, he never fixed the toaster. Since the day it broke, it's been sitting on the kitchen counter collecting dust.

Mother stops what she is doing and looks at me odd. "What? When did the toaster break? I don't believe it ever broke," she says, sounding slightly surprised.

I blink. "Yes it did. I remember. It broke awhile ago and Father promised to fix it."

Father looks up from his coffee and newspaper. "I did what now?" he asks, as clueless as ever. Typical.

"The toaster never broke," Yurio puts in. "I would've noticed if it had."

You did. After it broke, you bitched for days because you could never have toast for breakfast.

"Yes, Victor, the toaster is fine," Mother says, looking at it as it toasts the bread inside it.

What...?

Then I remember. I went back in time. The toaster isn't broken, because it hasn't happened yet.

Well. Heads up, family.

I flush in embarrassment. "O-Oh. Right. It hasn't happened ye—" I stop myself before I can finish the word. I flush harder. "Er, I mean, never mind! My mistake...!"

Yurio raises an eyebrow at me as he eats his pancakes. "Are you on something? First the date, and now the toaster? What are you, an old person? You sound like a senile old man."

"Be nice. Victor is not a senile old man. He's just forgetful," Mother scolds Yurio. Then the toast pops up from the toaster.

Yurio scoffs. "Whatever you say..." he mutters under his breath.

***

I sling my backpack over my shoulder as Yurio does the same. We each bid my parents goodbye and head out the door and to my car, which I've had for only a couple of months rather than more than a year.

This whole thing is going to take some getting used to.

Once Yurio and I are settled in the car, I drive off in the direction of our school.

Soon I'm entering our school's parking lot and parking in my usual spot. Once I'm parked, Yurio and I get out, grab our backpacks, and head into the school.

The second we get inside, Yurio cuts through a random group of students and disappears. He probably doesn't want to be around me when my friends swarm me as they usually do.

Again, I have no idea why Yurio seems to have always hated my friends, but maybe one day I'll find out.

As I walk the halls of my high school, I notice everyone around me doing what they always do on the first day of school: looking at their new schedules and attempting to find their new classes.

"Let's do this!"

I flinch in shock as JJ suddenly appears beside me, walking with me down the hall.

I glare at him. "I told you to stop doing that!" I whisper, trying my best to be quiet because it would be really weird to see someone walking down the hall, talking to a seemingly empty space of air next to him.

"No, you asked me to stop doing that. You never told me to do anything!" JJ says, cocking his head to the side. "So, why would I stop?"

I clench my fists. Even DEAD he's insufferably annoying.

"Just... please," I say quietly as we continue to walk. "This is already stressful enough as it is without you popping out of nowhere all the time!"

JJ just smirks and crosses his arms. "Well, it's about to get a lot more stressful," he says before he uncrosses his arms and points in a random direction.

My eyes land right where he points, and I swear to God I nearly faint.

Yuri Katsuki.

Yuri Katsuki is standing at his locker and going through his things. He's completely focused on what he's doing and doesn't even notice me gaping wide-eyed at him.

There Yuri is, at his locker, very much alive.

I feel as if I had the wind knocked out of me. I stumble back as if someone hit me.

"Calm yourself, Victor," JJ says, watching Yuri still getting his things, "because this is only the beginning."

I continue to just stare. Yuri. At his locker. Alive. As if all this is completely normal. It was only a short while ago that I attended this guy's funeral, watched his family and friends mourn him, seen his coffin.

Yet here he is now. Alive.

As I struggle to keep myself from fainting, JJ suddenly nudges me. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go over there!"

What? I blink. "Huh? You want me to what now? To... to go over there?" I gape.

JJ nods. "Yeah," he says in reply, not seeming to even notice the definitely-surprised look on my face.

I feel myself pale over. "Um, no! I can't! I... I just can't...!" I shoot back, my nervous eyes shifting from Yuri to JJ to Yuri again.

JJ raises an eyebrow. "Why not?"

My eyes shift to him again, probably looking terrified and only slightly insane. "B-Because he's actually there and I'm actually here and this is actually happening...!" I mutter, once again trying my best not to completely flip out because of this entire crazy situation.

"Look, it's not hard. Just go over, say hi, and...," JJ's voice trails off as he struggles to think of something more to say. Then he frowns and narrows his eyes at me. "Hey! Why am I doing all the thinking? This is your assignment, and I'm not allowed to help, anyway!"

I run a hand nervously through my hair. Just go over there and say hi? What kind of plan is THAT? Why would Yuri want to just casually talk to me—one of his tormentors—randomly for no particular reason? I'm pretty sure if I walked over and greeted him as if I did it everyday, he'd be MORE than just a little dubious.

"So... what? Just go over there, greet him, and ask him to be friends?" I ask sarcastically.

JJ nods. "That'd be nice and quick, yes."

"I wasn't being serious! There's no way I can just do that!" I spit back, looking at JJ like he's a crazy person.

"Whatever. I think making friends with him is a good idea. I mean, someone with a friend would want to stay alive, right? Because they have a friend?" JJ says, thinking about it.

"He already has friends. You know; Takeshi, Yuko, Phichit..."

"And that's all," JJ says, giving me a that's pathetic look, and it is. "He isn't exactly a candidate for the Most Friends Ever Award! Besides, everyone could always use another friend."

I look at Yuri again before I turn back to JJ. "Do you really think I can do this...?" I whisper, nervous and definitely intimidated.

"I believe you can figure it out," JJ replies calmly, although he seems nervous and intimidated as well. Of course he is—his butt is on the line here. "Just... be nice and patient; I doubt he'll want to be your friend within the first second. You did bully him, after all."

Before I can protest another time, JJ is suddenly pushing me towards Yuri. I struggle a bit against him and surprisingly find he won't budge. I continue to struggle until it becomes clear that I'm not going to be able to get away.

God! For a ghost, he's got some serious strength! Do you just suddenly end up with super strength after you die?

JJ continues to push me until we arrive at Yuri's locker. His back is turned to me as he goes through his things, looking for something. He hasn't noticed me.

JJ gives me one final shove before I glare at him and face Yuri.

I take a deep breath. Okay, Victor. Just breathe. You can do this. You can do it.

I reach out my hand to tap Yuri on the shoulder and get his attention.

Right when my fingers are about to graze his shoulder, my hand stops moving and freezes in the air, hesitating.

What is with you? This is Yuri Katsuki! You've seen him and talked to him before! He's not intimidating in the slightest!

My hand continues to remain frozen in the air, poised to tap Yuri's shoulder.

Oh my God, Nikiforov, quit being a wuss and just DO IT already! He's just YURI.

He shouldn't scare me. Not at all.

I take another deep breath.

Just do it. It's quick, it's painless.

So why am I terrified?

JJ gives me an unamused look. "Today, maybe?" he says with a groan, clearly tired of waiting.

I shoot him another glare. Just give me a second!

JJ rolls his eyes. I turn back to Yuri, and I take one more second to compose myself before I begin to move again and my fingers brush his shoulder.

"H-Hey," I let out in greeting, trying not to pass out.

Yuri turns slightly and stops what he is doing to face me. The second his eyes land on me, they widen and his face pales over. Within two seconds, he looks like he's about to wet his pants.

Great start so far.

Yuri instantly takes a step back, hands trembling as he holds on to his things. He struggles to meet my gaze. "V-V-Victor! I-I don't want any trouble...! Please..." He continues to take steps back until his back is against the lockers.

I watch him, eyes widened. He's really scared of me. Then again, I don't really blame him—being bullied by the same person for four years doesn't exactly make you want to become BFFs with them.

I calmly take a step forward, and Yuri shrinks back.

I hold my hands up in a don't be scared gesture. "I don't want any trouble either. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not going to insult you, I'm not going to do anything like that. Not anymore. I promise."

Yuri's eyes widen even further, gazing at me before he blinks dumbly.

"It's just me," I whisper, trying my best to soothe him. "None of my... friends are here. It's only you and me."

Speaking of my friends, WHERE the heck are they? I'm glad they're not with me right now, but where could they all possibly be?

The look on Yuri's face only grows more doubtful as if he thought, at any second, that my friends would jump out of nowhere and beat him to a sorry pulp.

I take another step forward. "Look, I just need to—"

The bell rings before I can finish.

Yuri immediately closes his locker door before he turns with his things and takes off down the hall like his butt is on fire, going to class I believe, or simply just trying to get away from me. Could be both. If it is, it's not surprising. What else did I expect from him? Not many people would be over the moon to have a chat with one of their tormentors.

"Yuri, wait!" I call after him. I try to chase him, but too many people are trying to get to class and are blocking me. Soon, Yuri disappears into the crowd and I lose him.

Damn it!

I just stand there for a moment, dumbfounded at how I had just talked with Yuri Katsuki, who's supposed to be dead; Yuri Katsuki, who ran off at the very sight of me.

JJ comes up next to me. "Great job, Victor. Really, just stellar..." he speaks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

I narrow my eyes at him, snapping out of my dumbfounded feeling. "Really? Well, I'd like to see you try to have a conversation with one of the people you've bullied for years. See how that turns out!" I snap, not in the mood for someone to be sarcastic with me.

JJ sighs. "Well, what now? I was expecting that to have gone over a lot smoother."

I stand there at Yuri's locker for a moment, thinking to myself before I sigh also. "I'll... I'll figure something out... I will. I promise," I say, taking in a deep breath before I let it out. "I... I can do this, we can do this...," I clench and unclench my fists in an attempt to calm myself down and give myself some confidence. "I can do this, I can."

JJ raises an eyebrow, looking slightly concerned. "You sure? A lot is riding on this," he says in response, also looking a bit doubtful.

I reply, nodding before I speak again. "Yes. I'm sure. Besides, I know what I signed up for and already signed up for it, so there's not exactly any turning back that can be done. Also, I have to do this. Not just for Yuri, but for myself. I just... I know I have to do this, so I am. It's final."

No turning back now. Too late for that.

At that, JJ seems to calm down a little. "Let's do this then."

I nod again, agreeing. "Let's. Besides, I get almost a whole year to do what I need to do. I got this!" I say, trying my best to sound reassuring and confident. "I can do this," I repeat, letting the words try to comfort me.

I've got this. I have a YEAR. Almost a whole YEAR—that's plenty of time. I can do it. This is going to be easy...

I mean, how hard could it be?