Ceilings- AJxNiko

Part 32

After seeing Niko at the speak-easy Aj had been very attentive in case he saw Niko again. He didn't realise how angry he was until that night. He had put everything on pause for a man who didn't seem to care. Any time he went anywhere he looked around to see if he could find him, hope resurfacing. Any time he was in public, he felt a pair of eyes on him, kind of stalker-ish. He brushed it off as the social anxiety of being who he is. Another issue was, they technically hadn't broken up, so even if he could move on, he wouldn't be able to. 

The other boys were pissed off too. Sharky, who had seemed to be the most effected by Niko leaving, minus Aj, didn't care about seeing Niko again. He had muted him from his heart, his heart shattering with hope every time he suspected Niko would come back. 

Chunkz and Kenny too didn't care. Kenny had missed his brother, and just wanted to see him again, and Chunkz was annoyed on behalf of Aj. When he saw Niko, it was as if he'd seen him yesterday. As if Niko had gone on a trip for a couple days and he'd just come back. 

...

It was 2 weeks since Niko had come to see Aj, and Aj was preforming again today. He'd spent the last 2 weeks writing and perfecting a song. He prayed Niko would be there tonight, to hear his song, to beg him to come home. 

Aj walks up onto the stage, and looks around, specifically underneath the exit sign in the back corner, his heart sinking as the spot underneath was empty. 

He coughs before announcing, "Hey guys whats up!" He smiles as an applause rises through the audience, he'd become a regular and the crowd loved him. "Uhm, so there will only be one song tonight, but it's a new one. So, yeah. Uhm, who here has experienced heartbreak from a person you never broke up with?" He asks the audience, hearing a loud 'yeah' and applause throughout the crowd. "Yeah, well that's what this song is about. A heartbreak where you're still connected with that person, you're still with them, and you feel like you see them everywhere you go. You can't escape, and every essence of your heart wants that person, when in your mind that person has already gone. They've left without a trace. So enjoy, and yeah. This is 'WYD Now'."

Aj clears his voice as music floods the room, 

I saw you in the back of my show last night
Standin' underneath the exit sign
I know it wasn't really you, though
'Cause you would be in the front row

He starts to sing, scanning the room. He can't see the familiar face anywhere. He's praying with every bit of his heart that he would be there, somehow listening to the song he wrote about him.

And I don't wanna be lookin' for love online
But maybe some of them are real good guys
They're never gonna be like you though
You set the bar above the moon, so

He starts to tear up. He knows if he could he would move on from Niko. But he didn't want to. Niko was his drug and he was addicted. 

I don't wanna be twenty-somethin'
And still in my head about
Seventeen in my bedroom talkin'
You said that by now we'd
Paint the walls of our shared apartment
You're still everything I want and
I think we could work it out
So what are you doin' now?

He starts to remember the talks he'd have with Niko, even before they were together, how if they ever moved out the Beta house (or got evicted again) they would move in together. Niko said he always wanted to be around Aj, and Aj wasn't complaining.

Now that you finally got the job you like
I'm makin' money off the songs I write
I know you said that I could call you
I wonder if you wanna call too

He remembers that day Niko called him, the only words muttered being an I miss you. Niko was playing with his heart like a yo-yo, the second Aj was able to somewhat live his life, he  came back and did something to draw him back in. But each time, Aj was getting further and further away.