Hey!! Long time no see, !! Anyways, I've been lusting over Nichorello these last few days and after such a inconclusive end to their storyline I wanted to drop a little seed of hope. I basically have completely disregarded the last few seasons, more just using the idea of the characters rather than their actual storylines.

This fic is based around Phoebe Bridgers's song Sidelines which I definitely recommend checking out.

I do not own OINTB, any of these characters or Phoebe Bridgers (though I wish!)

Sat in her empty apartment, Nicky Nichols realised she could wasn't afraid of humane things- not even if the flat caught on fire or if she found herself back to her pre-prison days. Being locked up teaches you that crying is week, asking for a beating, so Nicky had held those small, fleeting fears close to her chest like a hand of cards till they evaporated.

Observing the world had always been easier than living in it. Sitting up in her mother's high rise, she could float somewhere between the floor and the ceiling. That was before Lorna.

Lorna, with her doe eyes and painted lips, made Nicky feel like she had something to prove, something to live for. Something she could lose.

Hearing her phone ping, she stared into the luminescent screen.

Home in 30. Love you

Something about Lorna made the world feel more real. When she pressed her small hands against Nicky's warm cheeks, Nicky realised she had never been this alive. Heroin could never make her feel this alive.

Pressing her socked feet against the wood floor, she turned to the plant next to the TV.

"Dude, the world's fucking weird. One day you're stuck in a lesbian mosh pit and the next you're in love with a Snow White impersonator. Be glad your little chloroplast heart can't feel"

Grabbing her phone again, she typed out a hasty reply to Lorna-

Hope work was okay. See you soon baby.

The time reflected back in Nicky's wide eyes. She had just received her timetable for the next semester of her psychology course (something Lorna had pushed her to apply for) and she knew she should make a start on dinner before Lorna got home.

Something life surprises you in the most bizarre ways. Sometimes life is better when you get off the sidelines.