Niam One-Shots 2 ||

[197] Deja Vu

Prompt: Story based on Olivia Rodrigo's song that I absolutely adore. Her music is my thoughts and feelings right now, so expect more separate stories based around her songs. Enjoy x

~*~

Niall remembered the days when he and his ex were together.

They'd take car rides to Malibu for the scenery, share strawberry ice cream bowls with a single spoon, and trade jackets to laugh at how the other looked in the smaller attire.

During the evenings, the simple binge-watch of reruns of Glee would keep them in their spirits, and they never wanted those nights to end. They'd sing in harmony with the actors, smiles plastered across their faces in full joy.

These memories flashed back into Niall's train of thought when seeing Liam, his ex, and the new man that replaced him. They were doing what he and Liam grew used to, and Niall couldn't help but chuckle at how cliche Liam turned out after all those years together.

But at the same time, Liam was unique, and that's why Niall grew so fond of him. He just wondered when Liam would tell his new boyfriend that the stuff they did wasn't so special and unique as it seemed.

They went on those same dates, did the same actions, and yet this new man seemed to think it was special. Niall chuckled again, admiring the gullibility of this person. He felt deja vu just viewing all of this. He wondered if Liam did as well.

He wondered if Liam called his new boyfriend by Niall's name, because their names were similar after all, and they were both actors.

Also, Niall noticed Billy Joel's lyrics in one of the posts, and Niall was the one who showed Liam that same artist. This was all so confusing yet intriguing for the single man. Uptown Girl was his and Liam's song, after all.

Niall knew that Liam would tell this new man I love you in between the chorus and verses of his songs because Liam did that with him. Everything was the same, and Niall didn't know whether to feel good or bad about this, because maybe Liam missed him. Maybe he did.

Maybe after all the similarities, Liam realized how much he missed Niall and would get back with him. But he hadn't called him nor gave a quick text to start a simple conversation.

Niall grew confused, head pounding due to a sudden headache and voices screaming throughout his already cumbersome thoughts.

Strawberry ice cream in malibu was their thing, why was Liam acting like it never tied to us? Why would they be trading jackets like how I would always wait for during a cold night?

Everything was all reused and Niall felt unimportant, forgotten, never to be seen or acknowledged again by the one man who made him feel loved and cherished to an extreme extent. Why did this happen?

Why would Liam play Billy Joel to his new boyfriend on the piano? I was the one who taught him everything in the first place. This new guy is just a version of me, but one that doesn't belong there.

His thoughts continued to erupt for the next ten minutes before he found himself underneath warm sheets and falling asleep. He needed rest and he needed to stop thinking about this, for now.

The next morning, Niall went to the ice cream shop that he and Liam used to travel to every week. He parked his car closest to the shop itself and entered, recognizing the vehicle outside.

His eyes wandered to the cashier with his feet making their way towards her, a smile etching across Niall's face.

“Good morning, Olivia. Having a good morning? And the usual, please.”