Chapter Text
Room 430, fourth floor, at the very right, the gruff security guard with hot cigarette breath told Niko earlier.
Just about how lucky he was, assigned to a "left-over" flat with only one other person. Afterall the more company, the better, for an extrovert like him.
It struck Niko that he should've applied to uni WAY earlier instead of two flipping months before uni starts so this type of undesired environment wouldn't have to happen and maybe he'd be flatmates with Kenny and George instead, but he was so stuck up on his YouTube dream and insisted he would blow up and wouldn't need university. How wrong he was after his latest video has been stuck with 50 views even until now.
Niko sighed, show-telling obvious dissapointment and regret at the same time that even the emptiest of brains would catch just by glancing at his solemn eyes.
So caught on his negativity, he snapped out of it after hearing a crunch below his feet. Lifting it up he saw an open bag of chips carelessly thrown there on the ground—as if there isn't a bin near the lift. Not to mention there's still some chips inside. Jeez. Is this the Uni life?
Thinking back, Niko received the e-mail about the accommodation he would be staying at and the name of the student that would be his flatmate just about two weeks ago.
Who was it? What was his name again? Sha— Shakil...something. Was it Shakil?
He's not sure, his nose scrunching as a reaction of his genuine puzzlement. I mean he did click off after fast-reading the e-mail for 2 seconds, so that explains.
By this point, Niko's back was aching and was just begging him to go inside already and place down all the backpacks he was carrying. Forget about trying to make a good first impression, he's not here to find a lover. He's here to redeem himself. And maybe his YouTube dreams too... But that'll have to wait.
So he knocked to give a heads-up first in case if his flatmate was already inside, then swung the door open and peered his head inside before his body does.
Niko was met with a short guy standing five feet away from him, looking taken aback, as if he was just on his way to open the door. Niko smiled as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, then briefly introduced himself.
"My name's Nikolas Omilana, but you can call me Niko."
The guy smiled back at him, slightly waving a hand, "I'm Ayaanle Shabeel, but I go by Aj."
Niko, without thinking, went to shake his hand, and for a few seconds both just exchanged glances awkwardly while waiting for the other to let go of their hand.
But.. wait.
Doesn't this short guy look familiar?
Why is this tall guy furrowing his eyebrows? But come to think of it, I feel like I've seen him before...
...Niko's latest video.
"PRETENDING TO BE AN EMPLOYEE IN A GROCERY STORE PRANK GONE WRONG!"
"George, come. I wanna prank this guy next." Niko gestured, and George complied.
George pretended to look at the cereal section of the aisle as he positioned the hidden camera to fit the short clueless stranger into the frame.
Niko snuck up behind the man and lightly tapped him on his shoulder, causing him to react defensively. "Wh— don't just touch me.." He mumbled the last part after seeing it was just an employee. Yeah, indeed...
"Sorry sir, but aren't you the intern they sent us?" Niko took his sweet time asking the question, wanting a reaction out of the stranger.
But he just calmly shook his head. "You got the wrong person." No signs of frustation yet, Niko didn't like that.
"No, no. You ARE the intern. I'm sure of it. Don't lie to me." Niko pressed, he knew he already evoked annoyance in the stranger by the way he huffed his breath at him. Oh the way Niko had to fight to hold back a smile.
Again, he shook his head, "Sir, I'm not. I promise you." His eyes casted to the left, wishing for nothing more but to go home.
"Well too bad, I was assigned to show you around and teach you how to do things around here, so you're not going anywhere." Niko made sure to lean down while at it, trying to make mockery of the guy's height and making him feel small. You know, both literally and figuratively.
Just as the stranger was about to reply, he caught a glimpse of what looked to be a small camera hidden in the jacket of a man not far away from the two of them. This may be a stretch but is he— filming them? You see how he immediately turned his head away after he was caught looking at them too?
Oh no.
It's definitely not a stretch.
You can't fool someone who's experienced in your field. The stranger is so sure he knows what it is already; a youtube prank about pretending to be an employee and harassing the customers inside yeah? Has to be..
Yeah no he's definitely right. Which surprisingly calmed him down.
He scoffed, all the annoyance leaving his body once he figured out what was actually going on. It is funny, so he'll let it slide...
He then simply walked away, ignoring the man calling out after him, exiting the store and deciding to find another store to shop in. Well while he did find it funny, he didn't want to be on the receiving end.
Meanwhile, Niko giggled to himself. "Aw man, he was cute, I wish I got his number."
And back to now.
Niko's flatmate, Aj—
Was the same person he pranked a few months ago.
It was so absurd that Niko couldn't help himself and burst out laughing, letting go of Aj's hand in the process. Not long after Aj catched on too, realizing who the man in front of him was, he started to laugh as well, and just like that all the awkwardness and tension that lingered in the air left the room in an instant. How could such coincidences happen?
"Oh dear me.. you remember me, don't you?" Niko asked after catching his breath, his smile prolonging.
Aj nodded, "You know why I left so fast? Cause I realized it was a prank. Swear though, it was funny as hell!" He grinned.
Hearing that, Niko let out a sigh of relief.
He thought Aj would dislike him for what he did but to his surprises, they may actually be good friends now! So thank goodness he can take a joke, that's what Niko likes the most about people.
"Didn't expect that you figured it out. Yeah I think we're gonna get along really well!" Niko's confidence in his statement showed, you can tell just by the dynamic of his voice. He was met with an approval in the form of a sentence, "I know we'll do, since I used to be a youtuber myself." Oh how quick then Niko's mahoganies gleamed with utter joy that Aj found it cute. His reaction. Not the guy himself. Promise.
Uh, the awkwardness came back.
Niko's silent stare was ceaseless and it creeped Aj out a bit, so he decided to cut it before it could go on any longer.
"You should...unpack your stuffs first." That was what it took to snap Niko out of his little trance.
"No yeah, you're right."
Getting lost in Aj's eyes somehow made his back pain vanish.. and he just got a little distracted there.
But now that Niko's back to reality, he's looking around his surroundings to see if his environment for the next three years would be tolerable or not. Despite being a left-over flat, it seemed...okay. Or maybe it's just Niko who expected no effort to be put into the making of this flat. Well it's pretty cramped.. but this is a two-people flat, why go all big for only two residents. Ah, speaking of which, what about the rooms? Niko was about to go check them out, but before he could, Aj stopped him.
"About that, which room do you want? I haven't picked since I thought I would wanna wait for my flatmate's opinion first." Oh wow, how considerate of Aj. That explains the duffel bag placed near the dining table.
"I'll.." Niko put a finger on his chin to make it seem like he's having a hard time to decide when in fact, he's already made up his mind. "I'll take the one on the left. You can have the nicer window view." He so-courteously offered, interlocking his fingers, flashing them pearly whites.
"Alright."
Oh well Niko expected an expression of gratitude at the very least, what a shame. "You're welcome." He winked.
Aj threw the duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way to his room, unbeknownst to him, his every steps and moves were carefully watched by Niko as if he were a museum attraction.
Once inside, Aj pulled out his phone to check what he's missed since he told his friends he would go get the door.
WHATSAPP
untitled gc👌
+23 New Messages
Aj's willing to bet his entire life savings that Sharky spammed at least 20 of these messages, too bad he won't be reading any of that. He's just set on telling his friends about his cool flatmate!
On the other side, Niko was musing about his sudden infatuation on Aj. What, why, or how; didn't matter to him. He feels this irrational itch to just go and talk to him again no matter what. They had just met and yet the elation Niko felt when talking to him was intense. Maybe it's just the excitement of meeting a new person, or meeting someone with the same hobbies as you. Either way, he can't deny, that Aj's so adorable.
Niko then opens the door to his room, officially starting a new chapter in his life.
Who knows, maybe this could be better than being a YouTuber.