All About Us [Yuri Katsuki x Reader]

134 - Die hard

Checking his phone every once in a while is more than just a habit, it was a lifestyle. It was something that he found himself regularly doing when he had nothing to do. He wouldn't go as far as to say that he was obsessing over his phone, always trying to see what's new in his feed, a new photo, a new trend, or if someone sent a message his way. He wanted to always be in the loop. But he does have some self-restraint unlike other people. However, he is beginning to find that all that discipline that he had to upkeep was starting to wear rather thin.

Phichit Chulanont did not want to worry. In fact, the very word should not even be in his vocabulary. He wanted to see the world in a 'glass-half-full' sort of way, always looking at the brighter side of things. But just what was he supposed to think when he hasn't heard a peep from you ever since the Cup of China? He wanted so desperately to reach out, to be able to speak with you, to hear your voice but he hadn't seen hide nor hair of you since the competition. It was as if you had just vanished into thin air. He tried chatting with you but you were never online anymore. He tried calling you but the annoying machine voice kept saying that your number could not be reached.

He did not want  to worry. He wasn't supposed to, not with everything that was going on, he had a lot of things in his mind already. He did not have the luxury of being able to worry. But he was overly concerned. His mind was already conjuring up scenarios of what could have happened to you, one thought even grimmer than the one prior. With all of his thinking getting in the way, practice was disastrous to say the least. He could not concentrate, he could not see clearly. He was, in every sense of the word, a mess. And his coach noticed it as well. 

How could he have not? This has been going on since Beijing.

It was music to the Thai Skater's ears when Celestino called it a day and that he could pack up his stuff. His muscles felt tight and sore and as he glided towards the rink's exit, he nearly bumped into some of the other skaters on the way. It may have been a bit severe, but he felt like a dead man walking. He was just that tired. He might as well have had easily pulled off a zombie, a dead man walking except that the zombie was wearing skates. 

Dead on the inside, but subconsciously awake.

The usual chipper and energetic Phichit was now rather subdued and it was weird. He felt like a stranger under his own skin now. He was just that worried.

After finally putting away his things and heading back home, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Even if he was dead tired, he easily slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and fished out his phone with his free hand with such practiced ease. He did not think much of who was on the other end of the line but in hindsight, he wished that he had. Maybe he could have spared himself the heart attack when he had heard your voice.

He nearly dropped his things and his phone trying to compensate for the shock. He concluded that he must have been dreaming. He was so exhausted from today's training session that his brain was starting to play tricks on him. He pinched himself in the arm to make sure that he was in fact, very much awake and that you were speaking to him.

"Um...Phichit? Are you still there?" you asked, "Hello?"

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tightly, he could feel his head spinning. He tried to get his thoughts together, "Uh yeah, I'm still here."

You let out a sigh of relief, "That's great. I thought I lost you there for a while," you chuckled softly, "I just wanted to check if you were okay-"

"My god, (Y/N). You can't be serious!" He exclaimed, garnering odd stares from some other patrons who were also by the lockers. He sent them an apologetic glance and resumed speaking in a more hushed tone, "You of all people shouldn't have the right to ask that. You just disappeared! No calls, no messages, no anything! I've always known that you love to do your little vanishing acts and it's all fine and dandy but then you suddenly decide to come back from the dead and ask how am I doing and if I'm okay? Surely you can see what is wrong with this picture."