Chapter Text
The auditorium of Nova City University, NCU, was jam-packed with people. There was only one that Nick was focused on though, his boyfriend, his nightlight.
Seth sat in the front row, Jazz and Gibby were seated next to him, and Nick watched them from where he stood in the wings of the stage. One of the freshmans was on the stage singing some song, not the best lyrics but their voice made up for it. Nick was on next and he was getting a bit more nervous than he'd expected.
He breathed in and out, a repeating breathing exercise. The backstage crew started to pull the first wing back. It was the cue for the singer to move up to the front of the stage and for Nick to get on and set up his drumset. He had only a minute and a half, a third of which had been heartily bargained for and he was increasibgly grateful to have.
Waiting until the curtains were fully closed, he and a few stage hands quietly rushed in and scrambled to get everything in place. As the final, extended notes of the song lifted through the air Nick positioned himself in front of the drum and waited for the curtains to open.
Pulling the mic to his lips he said into it, "This is 'Nightlight' by Livingston, and it goes out to my boyfriend, my nightlight. Back to the days we would stay up til midnight listening to Livingston's music, and when this one came out we fantasized it's connection to a, now cannon, ship from a childhood series we read together. Maybe Will was Nico's nightlight, but I now you're mine, too," I blew a kiss to Seth at that, he laughed and blew one back at me.
Radjusting the mic, Nock grabbed his sticks out of his pocket, cueing the people in the booth to start up the track.
The intro played and he began with a simple, steady rhythm to match the song along with a little extra spice for funzies, waiting for the first lyric. He let himself focus in on the snare as he went through the motions, zoning into the music he knew better than his own brain. Thats not high praise, really, his brain makes very little sense most days. Nonetheless, the familiarity soothed him into the upcoming addition to his act.
There was a break in the music, time used to adjust the mic, once more angled towards his mouth. Then he began singing, the rhythm speeding up along with his sticks. Glancing up, his eyes locked on Seth in the audience, who flashed a smile.
"I stood my ground till you walked past me,
Used to be the master of my fate before you trapped me,
In you I'm found, no longer the past me,
Stuck in the middle of it all,
We were just kids singing,
I'll be the last thing you see when you fall asleep,
Don't you forget me,
I'm stuck back at seventeen,
Baby kiss me now like this is the last time,
Cause we can't be kids for a lifetime,
And if you run back when the time's right,
I will be waiting here by the nightlight,
Cause I'm not afraid of the dark,
But it's the last time that I saw into your heart,
So if we can't be kids for a lifetime,
I will be waiting here by the nightlight."