uncover ➳ nick robinson

twenty-three ➳ real life

✦ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
REAL LIFE✧
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

nick awoke to the sound of laughter, his eyes slowly opening to the brightness of a ceiling lamp.

it took him a moment to take in his surroundings. someone's arm was wrapped around him, nick's head was laid against the person's lap, the warmth was comforting. it was the person who was laughing. he turned around to see who it was, a small grin growing on his face when he saw brandon.

"enjoy your nap?" brandon asked with a chuckle.

nick groaned quietly. "what time is it? can i still have my chimken nuggets?"

"chicken." brandon corrected him. "you were passed the fuck out for about.." he glanced at the time on his phone. "fifteen minutes. i think justin's upstairs if you're still wanting food."

nick slowly sat up, stretching as he rubbed his eyes. his hair was a mess, every strand going in a different direction, and his face tinted a light shade of pink from how he had been laying. he looked around, realizing it was just the two of them. "since no one's here, can i get a kiss, babe?" he muttered, softly.

footsteps down the stairs were an answer to nick's question. brandon didn't take a second glance at nick. nick's eyes lingered on brandon, he hated keeping this a secret. he respected brandon's choice, but he didn't like it. not at all.

nick shook his head and ran up the stairs, bumping into miles. "sorry." he mumbled behind him, racing into the kitchen.

"chICKEN!" he squeaked, knocking into justin, who simply chuckled.

"nick, you look like a fucking mess." he wheezed out. "couldn't even fix your hair?" brandon ran his fingers through nick's hair, fixing the strands that didn't seem to want to stay down. "here, just do this." he said under his breath, moving the hood from nick's sweatshirt over his head.

"gee, thanks. you're the best." he sarcastically responded, grabbing a box of chicken nuggets off the table. "where's everyone?" he asked with a mouth full, propping himself up on the counter as he sat down.

"upstairs, watching vine compilations, i'm assuming."

"hm. i've seen them all."

"all of the compilations?"

"no, vines."

"even lele pons'?" he asked.

nick gagged, almost spitting up the chicken nugget he had been chewing. "ew, god, i can't stand her." justin laughed at nick's facial expression.

"why dont you ask brandon if he wants to join the rest of us?"

"mm," he hummed. "i think he's studying. he had a notebook and shit with him when i woke up."

"oh, okay." justin paused. "did you know brandon's friends with sam?"

"sam who?"

"smith."

"the singer?" he questioned.

"yeah," justin replied. "i guess they mutually followed each other yesterday and some weird stans are freaking out over it. ever since sam came out as gay, everyone's tryna ship him with every boy they see him with."

"oh." nick muttered. "nice."

justin shrugged, a slice of pizza in his hand. he was rocking an orange nike hoodie and joggers. he looked like the typical frat boy, nick found this amusing. justin was the exact opposite, he was a giant teddy bear who played an awful person in a depressing tv series. "yeah, he's been messaging sam all night i guess? he got all pissed when keiynan tried to look over his shoulder. it was amusing."

"yeah, i can imagine it." he responded absentmindedly.

justin noticed the shift in his mood. "is everything okay?"

nick jumped off the counter and tossed the empty box into the garbage can. "yeah. why wouldn't they be?"

"you seem off."

"i'm always off." he chuckled.

"no, in a different way. is something bothering you?"

nick had tuned out justin at this point. his phone screen illuminated his face, going to text justin.

what's going on?

was all he sent, in seconds the words 'seen' popped onto the screen. it was followed with three dots that quickly disappeared.

and was returned with no reply.

"hey, buddy, i need to talk to you about something, how about we go for a car ride?"

"it's three in the morning, justin. let's not." he groaned, wandering aimlessly around the kitchen.

justin rolled his eyes. "wasn't a question. i need to talk to you about something and this isn't really the best place."

"oh."