A/N: This is my first One Shot about Niff in English. I usually write in my native language, but this time I wanted to share my piece of work with a more international reading public. Also because I want to start writing or translating more of my OS or stories. I appreciate any feedback about the storyline or my writing style – but please in a fair and honest way. ;-) A big thanks to Kevin for helping me with my grammatical mistakes, etc.
I Know Something Better
"What are you doing, Jeff?" Nick asked his best friend, who was sitting on the floor in their room. Jeff's legs were stretched out, the top of his school uniform was unbuttoned and his back was leaned against the wooden wall. His eyes seemed empty and were focused on the other side of the room.
"Nothing. I ...," he uttered with his voice trembling. "Please go away. I don't want you … to see me like this."
Now Nick was worried, more worried than in the moment when he had opened the door and found Jeff in this weird state. He couldn't waste any more time on standing there doing nothing, so he went to the blond guy and leaned over his motionless friend. Jeff's pupils were dilated. No, they weren't just dilated; they were way too big and both of his eyes were circled by two dark rings. Something wasn't right with Jeff. What had happened to his roommate to get him in such a weird state? Nick brushed back one of the blond streaks that hung in Jeff's face, but the blond guy showed almost no reaction.
"Stop it! Please," Jeff answered a few seconds later, grabbing Nick's wrist in a defensive way. The blond guy drew his legs toward his chest and buried his face into them.
"Jeff. Tell me … damn, what's wrong?" Nick yelled to the completely withdrawn boy. "What did you do? Something's not right with you! Fuck!"
Jeff didn't react, instead he buried his face deeper between his thighs and held his hands over his face so Nick couldn't check him any longer.
Nick shook his friend and tried to get the Warbler's hands out of his face, so that he could look him straight in the eye. In this way he would find out what was going on. He could read Jeff's thoughts, if he got the chance to look in the blond boy's eyes.
His telepathic abilities had always helped him to understand his roommate. They were as thick as thieves. An invisible red string was stretched between him and his friend, but Nick could only help him if he look squarely into Jeff's eyes. One glance would be enough to know everything – his feelings, his thoughts and his problems.
Nick tried different times to unfix his friend out of his rigid pose, but then ... something made of plastic fell out of Jeff's pocket. A small little bag filled with something white landed on the floor. Nick wondered what it was, so he took the little plastic packet and scrutinized it - it contained a kind of white powder.
In his head Nick was putting together all the pieces of the puzzle.
He just found Jeff, who was sitting here – resolved. done – with some white powder in a little plastic bag. There was only one possible explanation for it.
Nick put the little bag aside and tried with all his focused strength, which seemed to have doubled through his increasing concern, to unfold Jeff from his crouched stance and after a few more attempts it eventually worked out.
"Please tell me that you've not taken any drugs," he shouted at the still motionless boy's face after he finally freed it from Jeff's hands.
"I, I ...," Jeff stammered, before he released no further tone.
"Fuck Jeff, why are you doing that? Why? WHY?" Nick screamed at his roommate not knowing what else to do and being overwhelmed by the whole situation.
Jeff seemed still absent and his facial features showed a cold aura, which created a frozen streak in Nick's heart. After the blond guy closed his eyes again a tear ran down his cheek and landed on his uniform.
Nick got on his knees in front of Jeff. His head was pounding and his legs were weak. His best friend was taking drugs – he couldn't believe it. Jeff took damn drugs.
Nick began to hold Jeff's head with his right hand, to once again look into the crystal clear eyes of the blond guy. Jeff looked innocent in every fiber of his pupil. There was no flaw, not a smack of guilt. But nevertheless Jeff sat here and had taken some drugs.
He put his arms around Jeff's waist to hold his roommate and give him the feeling of someone being there for him. That was when Nick realized that the temperature of his best friend was way too high. Jeff had fever. Has he taken too much of this god damned stuff?
Nick pressed himself even closer to his friend's body so he could feel Jeff's heart beat. It also beat much too fast.
"How much did you take?" Nick asked the blond boy softly in his ear.
"I don't know. But ... I'm scared. What if it was too much? Then ..., "Jeff answered with his voice still shaking.
"Psst. It's all right," Nick responded and tried to calm his best friend down with holding him quiet in his arms, "We'll pass through that together. I'll stay with you. I'll hold you until the effects wear off."
Jeff hugged his friend firmly putting his head on his shoulder and finally closed his eyes.
"That was a stupid idea, right?" Jeff asked nearly inaudible. The blond Warbler was done with everything.
"It was. It really was," Nick confirmed, slowly stroking his fingers through Jeff's hair to comfort him.
The two friends stayed an eternity so intertwined. No questions. No talking. Just being together.
- 000 -
It took a while to get Jeff's condition stabilized, but finally he was in a useable shape again and not controlled by prescription drugs. Then Nick broke away from Jeff. It was over. Everything had turned out right for Jeff, but there still remained one question Nick had to ask the warbler.
"Why? Why did you take those drugs?" Nick wanted to know showing his friend the little plastic bag and insisting on an answer. The Warbler wanted to hear the reason for Jeff's stupid drug-action so that he could help him deal with it.
Jeff had no chance to escape giving a response to his best friend, Nick – not after what Nick had just done for him.
"It's not ... I mean I can't. It can't ruin our friendship," Jeff admitted.
"You think after all these years that we've known each other anything could destroy our friendship?" Nick asked, a confident smile on his lips. "What do you just think of me?"
"It's ... you know ... I ... Damn … Nick … I love you, " Jeff burst out, looking his best friend in the eye before he broke down in tears.
Nick opened his mouth to answer, but instead of saying anything he just closed it again. He was speechless.
"Every day I see you in class, in our room and during Warbler practice … and every day my heart breaks, because I know that we'll never be together. You can never feel love for me. It eats me up. And today I tried to numb the pain at least a little. Yes, it was a stupid idea, but I couldn't see another way to get over it. It kills me. Damn," Jeff slammed his right fist into the ground and a few more tears ran down his face. He was a mental and physical wreck. And now Nick knew why he was so drained and he would probably lose his best friend forever because he told him his stupid feelings. The thought of losing Nick was excruciating.
- 000 -
However, Nick just smiled, "I know something better than drugs to anesthetize your pain."
Jeff was definitively surprised by this answer and looked at the black-haired boy the same way he felt, although his eyes were swollen from crying. He sniffed and shortly before he was able to respond it just had happened.
Nick kissed him.
And for the first time since Jeff met Nick and Nick met Jeff both felt completed again.
Like two different poles they had kept away from each other for years in order not to hurt one another and finally this was the solution to all of their problems.
A simple kiss.
As honest and innocent as the boys themselves.
An all-explanatory kiss.
No words could describe this moment. No words were created to explain this perfection.
And so Jeff knew he had never to use another drug again. His best friend Nick would be the perfect replacement.
- 000 -
"And what's next?" Jeff asked, happy again.
"We can argue about who is on top during sex?" Nick replied with a wide grin on his face.
"I'm quite sure I am!" Jeff answered laughing.
"Dream on!" Nick shouted before the two leaned their heads against the shoulders of each other and started laughing.