Hey, I'm in the same boat here!
I think the NSC might depend on your nationality (or countries you lived in) so the timelines may vary. I've been waiting for almost 7 months now, my NSC was initiated on 13 April. My officer said that he'll keep checking every day for the results and that at the moment it took about 7 months for other cases he's got so he's hoping to get mine back soon (but who knows). My previous officer (yes, it's been so long and I've had more than one CO since people come and go *sigh*) also said it should take around 6-7 months.
I've got a super straightforward case (they don't have any questions), I've lived in NZ since I was 15 and I've only left the country for short holidays. I'm also short on time since I was hoping to go back to uni in Feb (and I've only got a couple of months left to enrol) but there's nothing I can do. It is painful and frustrating but we just have to keep waiting.
Good luck to us - that's all I can say