ask me again~
pairing ‣ niki x fem reader ( to avoid confusion, niki and y/n are the maknaes of their friend groups and are the same age)
ft all of enhypen, yeseo (kep1er) & yuna (itzy) ~assume school has started for only a month or two, so certain stuff (like classmates) has only been lightly established
genre ‣ fluff , slight angst
warnings ‣ none!
wc ‣ 4.2k+ (my longest fic yet TT)
a/n ‣ i worked really hard on this one so i rlly hope you guys enjoy! also ty guys sm, meeting niki got more posts than i thought it would, so expect a full storyline soon! thank you guys and have fun reading <3
the sound of electronic music blasting through the room made my head hurt.
"can we leave?" i whined, facing my friends. sunoo looked at me sympathetically, and yuna gave me a look.
"your cool older friends are taking you to your first party, and you want to leave?" yuna shook her head. "remember, we also have to find you a hot first date. i'm tired of seeing you stay at home on the weekends, reading fanfics."
"hey, not fair!" i grumbled.
"what about that guy? he dresses well." sunoo pointed.
"jake? no way, he's in my year. plus i heard he's a playboy. we want someone nice and sweet, that matches y/n's energy." yuna explained.
we were getting closer to the end of the party, and yuna and sunoo's efforts were pitiful.
"screw it. we're trying again at another party next week," yuna groaned. she disappeared into the kitchen for a bit, and i had nowhere to go.
i got a drink and sat on the porch, waiting so yuna could drive me home.
"is this spot taken?" a guy asked, smiling at me.
"no, no. go ahead." i blushed furiously, hoping the darkness would make it less noticable.
"what are you doing out here alone? it's chilly, you might catch a cold." he said, looking at me.
"i'm just waiting for a friend. and it's not the arctic, i'll survive," i joked. still, he put his jacket around my shoulders. i couldn't help but notice he was sitting so close, our thighs were touching.
we talked some more and i found out his name was niki. we were in the same grade (how did i never notice him before?).
i suddenly got a text from sunoo:
you ok? yuna's still in the kitchen, we can leave if u want rn
i quickly texted him back and turned off my phone, not wanting to break my conversation with niki.
"is that your boyfriend?" he asked.
"sunoo? nah, he's like my brother. he was just asking where i was." i explained.
"oh." he said.
we talked for a bit more, until he saw the time.
"i had no idea it was this late. do you live close? i can walk you home."
"my friends are giving me a ride, so it's okay." internally, i screamed.
"oh- um, your jacket. here," i took it off, and i was suddenly aware of how cold i was without it. he noticed, of course.
"keep it for now. you look good in it, too," he said.
"thanks," i mumbled. why was i so awkward?
niki leaned over just a little to kiss me on the forehead. he was so close, i could count the moles on his face.
"i'll see you around, yeah?" niki asked, smiling once more. and then he left.
"earth to y/n? hello?" yuna waved her hand in my face, scaring me.
"ack! yuna, what the hell?" i said.
"you were standing there like a deer in headlights. we're leaving, finally." sunoo said, behind her.
"i-i was?" i asked, dumbfounded.
"who's jacket is that?" yuna frowned, looking at the black jacket draped around me.
"no. don't tell me." sunoo gasped, immediately giggling and teasing me.
"the jacket? y/n spaced out? she was here the rest of the night, with a guy! i knew we hadn't dragged her along for nothing, yuna!" he said, clapping his hands.
"maybe. i dunno. his name was niki." i said, sighing.
yuna gasped.
"niki? the kid that barely shows up to school? no. freaking. way." she said.
"what? you wanted me to find someone, right? well i was able to do it on my own, thank you very much." i said proudly.
"right, but you found niki. there's a difference," yuna sighed.
"what do you mean? he was nice when we talked," i shrugged.
"have you seen his friend group, y/n?" sunoo asked.
"well, no."
"y/n, they will eat you alive," yuna begged.
"what's that supposed to mean?"
"jake, the playboy, is like his brother. and there's jay, and heeseung, who take cute girls like you and destroy their hearts!" yuna whined.
"what? no way. niki's not like that. just because you hear things, doesn't mean they're true, yuna," i shook my head.
"fiine. but we're warning you. we just don't want to see you heartbroken over a guy," yuna explained.
"i finally spoke to her!" niki rushed to his hyungs, who were sitting around the couch.
"i still can't get over how goody two shoes she sounds," jay said.
"jay, shut up. so how'd it go with y/n?" heeseung said, smirking at his younger friend.
"she's just as nice and pretty as i thought. her hair smelled good, too," niki said thoughtfully.
"perv!" jake threw a pillow at niki, laughing.
"hey!" niki blushed, thinking of his kiss on your forehead. was it too awkward? too natural? could y/n suspect that he had been crushing on her for a month, from afar?
"did you get her number, at least?" jake asked.
"well, no. but she has my jacket, so i'll have to see her some time or another," niki said proudly.
"this means you'll be showing up to school more often, right?" jungwon asked. he was the responsible one in the friend group, and was growing increasingly concerned by niki's frequent absences.
"i guess." niki shrugged, wanting to avoid this topic.
"you can't do this forever, you know. you have to graduate before comitting to your dream- at least show up enough to get your degree. i can't have you spending the rest of highschool in a studio." jungwon frowned.
"what are you, my dad?" niki joked.
"he's right, you know." heeseung spoke softly.
"okay, fine. maybe i will," niki said. how did the mood turn upside down?
"psst! did you do the weekend homework, y/n?" i felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. i turned around to see yeseo looking urgently.
"yeah, i-" i stifled a gasp. a couple rows behind yeseo was niki, from the night before.
"uh, yeah, i did. here, take a look if you need." i passed the paper to yeseo, slowly turning back around. even when facing the board, i could feel his eyes staring at the back of my head. what was happening? school hadn't started long enough for me to notice all my classmates yet, much less would i notice someone who hid in the back corner. was niki always in math class with me?
brrrring! the bell rang, and it was lunch time. i quickly caught up to niki before he could slip out of class.
"niki- remember me? y/n? the party from the weekend?" i smiled awkwardly at him.
"of course!" he smiled brightly.
"your jacket is in my locker somewhere. wanna walk with me to get it? i asked nervously.
"yeah, lets go!" he said.
seriously, i was oblivious to some things, but there could have been no way i missed niki's presence at school. even when we walked through the halls, his giant self towered over the students. that's how tall he was.
"how come i haven't seen you at school often?" i asked him.
"oh, well, i have busy extracurriculars, and i'm in this training thing. no biggie, just causes me to miss school sometimes." he explained lightly.
"oh. well, here we are." i opened my locker to reveal his jacket. i reached in to grab it and give it to him.
"thanks!"
"yeah, no prob. thanks for letting me borrow it."
"of course! also, i almost forgot. can i get your number?" he touched the back of his neck and looked away, while handing me his phone. this shyness wasn't something i could have guessed was in him. i typed it in and we said our goodbyes, and i made my way to the cafeteria.
"niki is in math with me and yeseo." i dropped my backpack and lunch onto the table i shared with yeseo and sunoo.
"what?" yuna and sunoo said, simultaniusly.
"of course! you didn't notice, y/n? he shows up like, once a week, but he's been in our class for a bit." yeseo casually said.
and then i explained the whole party thing to yeseo, with yuna and sunoo filling in.
"so that explains why he was staring at you the whole time." yeseo spoke.
"well, yeah," i said, blushing.
"so? do you like him?" yeseo asked.
"i don't know yet! maybe? he's nice though, like really nice."
sunoo nodded, softening up.
"i know jungwon, who's in his friend group. niki sounds okay, actually." sunoo shrugged. "but there is jake, who yuna mentioned at the party. he's good friends with niki, and we all know the rumors about how he likes to lead girls on." sunoo frowned.
"niki wouldn't play me like that. haven't i told you guys, how sweet he is?" i explained.
"well, i think he's cute. kind of scary and intimidating, 'cause all he wears is black, but he'd be good for you y/n," yeseo said.
"another full marks. good job, y/n." i heard my teacher say, handing me back my math test.
before class ended, mr. lee called me over to his desk. i noticed niki was there, too.
"y/n over here has been doing exceptionally well in math recently."
"thank you, sir." i said quietly.
"would you mind tutoring for this student, y/n?" mr.lee pointed to niki, standing quietly and playing with his hands.
he proceeded to explain to me the extra credit points, involved, timing, and all of that boring stuff. this time, niki didn't smile at me, not once.
around evening i decided to text him.
y/n: so tutoring, huh?
he responded almost immediately.
niki: yeah y/n: my place at 6? niki: k
was this really the same niki from before? he was being weirdly dry in our texts.
"well, you wanted to get close to her, right?" heeseung said sympathetically.
"but not like this! besides, nationals is coming up. will i even have time for tutoring?" niki groaned.
6 oclock came, and niki was running late. he had stayed in the practice studio for longer than expected.
"aeri, i gotta go."
"10 more minutes. we gotta get this move perfect, if we wanna win," the girl aeri said.
"alright," niki said.
i paced around, suddenly a nervous wreck. did i give niki the right address? did he forget it was today, or should i remind him that he's late? i ended up deciding against it, not wanting to show that i was bothered. if he wasn't going to show up, that would be him and mr. lee's problem, not mine.
minutes later, i heard the doorbell.
i opened the door to see niki sweating like he just ran a marathon.
"you're late."
"i know, i'm sorry, i got caught up with something."
"it's fine. we'll study in my room, so bring your stuff." i tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but niki looked genuinely sorry, so i didn't want to press matters.
the tutoring went surprisingly well, although it seemed niki always had something else on his mind. there was no doubt he was a smart kid. his absences from school obviously resulted in his bad grades in math, not because he was dumb.
these tutoring sessions started to happen more and more often. and niki only showed up late a couple times afterwards, but we got closer, and i found out why.
niki was training to be a professional dancer once highschool was over. he had been dancing his whole life. all the late night practices in the studio, missing school, and even nationals, it was for his dream.
niki yawned.
"practice today was four hours. can we just hang out, y/n? let's pick this up the next tutoring sesion." niki flopped on my bed. i laughed, seeing how small my bed looked all of a sudden, compared to him.
"okay, fine." i wanted to be more understanding, since i knew nationals was coming up for niki. like he read my thoughts, he said,
"y/n. come watch me perform at nationals." his eyes were half closed, and i was worried he would fall asleep.
i was taken aback. dance was something of a secret to the people around niki. people like yuna just thought niki was bad news, skipping school for fun, but it wasn't like that. that's why i had begun to understand that dance was a sensitive topic for niki. getting an invite from him was something i couldn't have expected.
"if you want me to, i'll totally come."
"of course i do, y/n," niki whispered. we were so close i could hear his breathing.
was now the time, niki thought? to tell y/n how he felt, and had felt even before they met at the party?
"y/n, i have to tell you something."
"yeah?"
niki took a deep breath.
"yn, i-" and suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"mooom," i whined, seeing my mother come through the door.
"niki! oh my goodness! y/n told me all about you, i didn't know you were here tonight!" my mom waved to niki, bringing a plate of apples.
"here. you two can share the snack while you study," she said.
"actually, it's okay ms. y/l/n, i was about to head out."
"oh! i see. well, if you haven't eaten dinner yet, we have leftovers, feel free to have y/n give you some to take home."
"thank you so much."
niki started packing his things. i was worried, had i said something wrong? then niki started reaching into his backpack, digging for something. he pulled out two pieces of crumpled paper and handed it to me.
his ears were bright red.
"these are tickets. bring a friend, like sunoo, or someone. nationals is next week. come cheer me on," he said all this very fast, like he was trying to get over it.
i didn't know how to answer, so i stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek to say yes. i quickly looked away, so he wouldn't notice how red my face was.
"and what were you gonna say to me earlier, niki?" i asked.
"oh, i dunno. i forgot," he mumbled shyly.
"that's okay. ask me again, when it comes to your mind," i said
"this is a good idea, right?" i asked sunoo.
"sure." sunoo munched on a popsicle as we sat on the bus, on the way to niki's dance academy.
niki had been at the studio all week preparing for nationals. nationals was in one day, and i wanted to surprise him by bringing him some ice cream before the big day. i brought sunoo along for emotional support.
sunoo and i got off the bus and arrived.
"wow. your boyfriend must be good," sunoo said, looking at the dance studio.
"he's not my boyfriend!" i blushed (although maybe i wanted him to be).
"sure, that's why he's so nice to you for no reason." sunoo rolled his eyes.
i looked at the studio company, and it was huge. like a professional entertainment company.
we entered, and there was a lady at the front desk.
"excuse me, what studio room is riki nishimura in?" i asked.
"sorry, no visitors allowed," she said in a monotone voice.
i looked at sunoo pleadingly, what do i do?
"actually, she's niki's girlfriend. it'll just be a quick second, she has to deliver something." sunoo said, pointing at me.
"oh. in that case, you have fifteen minutes. you're lucky, the dancers have a tight schedule today but they're on break right now," she explained.
i got my visitors badge and sunoo gave me a thumbs up. i shook my head at him.
"was lying the right move for this?" i whispered at sunoo.
"pshhh! it was hardly a lie. plus it's for the greater good. and don't be nervous! you've known niki for a while now. i'll be here, waiting for you."
"okay," i said, still getting a bad feeling from it all.
i made my way through the huge halls. i now understood why niki had taken his dancing so seriously at the academy. it looked like an expensive company, training the elite of the elite.
i found the room, and i could see niki through the tinted window. i didn't push open the door yet, because i saw that he was alone in the room with a girl. they were talking about something i couldn't hear.
they seemed to be talking in hushed voices, but i couldn't see the girl's face. but niki's face was serious and concentrated, looking at the girl.
and then niki hugged her, and stroked her hair. i didn't want to see the rest so i backed away and left.
"so? was he tooootally surprised?" sunoo looked at me excitedly, as i walked out of the hall. then he noticed that the icecream was still in my hand. i hadn't given it to niki, and it was starting to melt.
"oh dear," sunoo mumbled.
i could feel tears welling up as i explained to sunoo what i saw.
"that thing i agreed, about visiting niki being a good idea? i take that back," sunoo said.
"thanks, sun," i laughed halfheardetly. "yuna was right. niki is bad news," i choked.
"but you liked him so much! yuna's a drama queen, okay? well, i am too, but think about it before you jump to conclusions. i know jungwon, and i just don't think jungwon and his friends are the type of people to do this. yes, even jake."
"sunoo, i dunno."
"i'm sure niki cares about you, either way. he opened up to you. jungwon told me that he and his friends, jay, sunghoon, and all the others, have to beg niki to invite him to nationals every year. don't just drop niki like that, y/n," sunoo said.
"i don't know. it looks like he dropped me first," i whispered.
From niki:
ur coming right? y/n? hellooooo? ticket reception is starting soon i don't see u yet y/n?
i looked at his messages, head still blurry from yesterday. could niki really be this evil, stringing me along, probably like he was doing to the other girl at his studio? sure, we weren't dating, but we were friends. and do friends kiss each other once or twice? was i crazy to think we were more than that?
and suddenly i got a text from sunoo:
sunoo: im at your door y/n: WTAF?? sunoo: im driving u to see niki perform y/n: KIM SUNOO.
i threw on my bag and rushed out the door to meet sunoo.
"you're kidding. even after what he did to me, you're still taking us to see him perform?" i folded my shoulders at sunoo, who was waiting for me in his car.
"listen, i talked to jungwon. i'm-we're sure you got it wrong. i don't know what you saw, but we know niki likes you, like, really likes you. plus niki's kind of freaking out that you're not there right now. jungwon told me," sunoo explained.
"jungwon said this, jungwon said that. have you ever thought that niki, never once, tried explaining these things to me? why do i have to hear it secondhand through two other people? how unfair is that?" i said, tears forming again.
"i know, i know, but let's just go and cheer him on for now. you agreed to it, think about how confused he is if you don't show up. talk to him in person when we're there, yeah?" sunoo glared at me knowingly. "and if you really didn't want to see him, why did you bring your bag out, like you're ready to leave?"
i climbed into his car without saying anything, because i knew he was right.
"you're lucky he hasn't performed yet." sunoo said, finally.
niki's friends, jungwon, jake and heeseung greeted us at the entrance.
"y/n! nice to meet you. niki goes on in five," heeseung said.
"hi! jay and sunghoon have your spots saved inside, go ahead," jake said excitedly.
"thanks guys," i smiled.
niki's friends seemed nice and supportive. i would have to tell yuna this some other time.
"niki! you were amazing!!!" jake said, clapping niki on the back.
"our golden maknae! congrats on first place!" jay said, hugging niki.
"thanks guys, thanks for coming," niki said, smiling ear to ear.
"where's y/n?" niki asked sunoo.
"she was here a second ago," sunoo frowned. "wait no. i think she left right after you performed."
it didn't take long before niki ran out the parking lot, hoping to find you. luckily, he spotted you.
i heard niki call me before he ran over.
"y/n! you saw me right? i won!" niki grinned.
"congrats."
and suddenly niki saw the expression on my face when i looked at him.
"did i do something wrong? was i worse than you thought i'd be?" niki joked.
"no. you were perfect," i said. even when i was mad at him, i couldn't lie. niki's performance was truly good. "i guess all that practicing yesterday at your academy payed off."
"thanks, it- wait. how did you know i was there the whole day yesterday?"
i said nothing.
"y/n, did you come visit me yesterday?" and suddenly niki's expression changed, like he knew, he knew who and what i was talking about and his confusion vanished.
"is this about aeri? oh god. let me explain. it's not what you think, really, it-"
i cut niki off.
"you don't owe me an explanation, okay?" i forced a smile to niki, but i could hear my own heart shattering. would i regret what i was about to say?
"i'm proud of you today. i really am. but i don't think you need me anymore, so you don't have to come over for math, and ever have to offer me your jacket again, and be nice to me when it's not in your heart. a true weight lifted off your shoulders, right?" i laughed harshly, unaware that this made niki's heart break.
and then i stepped away.
From niki:
y/n
please
before you block me let me explain
aeri, the girl you must have seen, is just a friend i've known since i've joined the academy
i see her as my sister
it was the day before nationals and she was stressed, its her last year at the studio and she really really wanted to win her category. she was crying and breaking down and i happened to be there for her as a friend
delivered 2 hrs ago
y/n?
my eyes were puffy from crying. i had clicked my phone off since i talked to niki. suddenly i heard soft tapping at my window. i wiped my tears to get a better view.
it was niki.
reluctantly, i opened the window so he could climb in.
"niki, are you crazy? it's 11 pm, my parents will kill me." i whisper-shouted.
"y/n, i'm sorry, i had to. did you get my message?" he asked me, looking at me pleadingly.
"what message?"
niki reached to my desk and grabbed my phone, handing it to me. i opened it to see missed texts and calls. mainly from sunoo, yeseo and yuna, wanting to comfort me, and texts from niki. i opened it and read it slowly.
"y/n." niki looked at me.
"i'm sorry," i whispered. sunoo was right. how could i have jumped to conclusions?
"it's okay, i know how it looked," niki replied softly. "but i have to tell you something."
"yes?" i wiped my tears that had formed again, this time out of guilt.
"i like you. i've liked you even before we met at that party, i noticed you in math from the start of the year, it's always been you and i'm so grateful i suck at math because it was an excuse to get close to you. i like you, a lot, y/n," niki finally said.
"i like you too." i felt relieved to finally admit it. "i like your charm and your secret softness, and that's why i freaked out yesterday, because i thought i got it all wrong and you never felt that way and i was wasting your time."
"hanging out with you is never a waste of my time," niki said.
we talked for longer, until i noticed the time and he had to leave.
"y/n, i have to ask you now."
"hmm?" i asked, tired from the long day.
niki grabbed my hand and held it.
"you told me to ask you again, and i'm doing it now. y/n, will you go out with me?"
fin <3
@gudetamaworld