Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter song the killers: uncle jonny "you feel a burning in your body's core / it's a yearning that you can't ignore"
1983
Nikki barreled offstage hyperventilating and trying to stop himself from passing out from pure adrenaline overloading his body. He handed off his bass to the tech and reached to grab a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. Tommy was bouncing off the walls and raced over to Nikki and jumped on his back.
"Duuuuude! That was sick as fuck!" Tommy howled.
"I fuckin' know, man! Best show we've ever played!" Nikki was on cloud nine. No one could wreck this feeling he had. Well. No one except for her.
"Hi, Nikki," Paula, the backstage whore, purred as she dragged her nails down his chest.
Nikki grunted. "How many times do I have to tell you to fuck off?"
"Come on, baby. I just want to show you a good time," she pleaded as she gave him fuck me eyes.
"My girlfriend shows me plenty of good times," Nikki replied, "I'm good."
"Well, I don't see her anywhere."
"Because she has her own life. Maybe that's something you should invest in and stay the fuck out of mine," he grumbled.
Nikki headed toward the dressing room and Paula skipped behind him. "Okaaaay, well, what if we just hang out? I'll be good."
"What could you possibly be good for other than sex?" Nikki scoffed.
Paula pulled out a rig from her handbag and teased it in Nikki's face. "Drugs, of course," she smirked.
Nikki's eyes flashed between her and the rig. "I don't shoot up. That's where I draw the line."
"Just try it! Please," she stuck her bottom lip out, "for me? I'll leave you alone if you just try it once. I don't like to be alone when I do it."
He mulled over the idea in his head. El would be pissed, he thought. I can't do that to her, she's already dealing with Ezra. But, Nikki's bad tendencies always had a way of destroying a good thing. El's not here. It's just one time. She doesn't have to know.
Nikki looked to Paula and sighed. "Fine. Follow me."
-
Nikki was out of his mind. He couldn't formulate a thought, speak any words that made sense, and he felt like if he went to bed, he wouldn't wake up. But on the flip side of that, he felt the demons in his head silence for the first time in years. Every ache, worry, and fear that he had calmed almost as soon as the syringe left his arm.
"So much for not shooting up," Paula giggled. "How do you feel?" She was slurring her words a bit.
All Nikki could do was nod his head and mumble an Mhm. His head slowly turned to the phone on the wall that began ringing. He knew it was El. Who else would it be? The serenity vanished from his body and was replaced by sheer panic. Shit, shit, shit, he thought. He knew he made a mistake. What was he going to do? He couldn't answer the phone! Paula stood up and walked toward the phone and took it off the hook. Nikki raised his arm up and told her no, but it was already too late.
