𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 [𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 𝐱 𝐣𝐚𝐭𝐩]

try me .18

"ricky, get out," nini said in a stern voice. luke and ricky's jaw dropped to the floor as they looked at nini with shock. luke looked at ricky with a smirk and slowly made his way to nini's side.

"me? why?" ricky asked, looking at nini with disbelief.

"why?" nini scoffed, "it's obvious that you're going to pick julie at the end of the day so why should i pick luke over you. he's been there for me when you you were supposed to."

"nini-"

"i asked you to get out," nini spat and pointed at the door for ricky to leave. the boy saw as luke slowly wrapped his hand around nini's, rubbing his thumb over her hand. ricky looked at nini one last time before storming out of the room. he ran down the stairs and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. julie watched ricky put his jacket on and get ready to leave.

"hey! where you going?" she asked ricky. the boy shook his head and turned his head away from julie's, "ricky...are you okay?"

"i gotta go, jules," ricky muttered, "i-i'll talk to you tomorrow."

"ricky..you drank," julie told him, "i don't think you should be driving right now."

"i'm fine," was all ricky said before he stepped through he front door. julie threw her jacket on and followed ricky outside.

"no, i'm not letting you drive," julie exclaimed and chased after ricky, "ricky! where are you going?" the boy stopped in his tracks and let out a deep breath.

"i don't know."

"what?" julie breathed out. ricky turned around and julie saw ricky's watery eyes and bloodshot eyes, "ricky..."

"i don't know where to go."

"why do you have to leave, ricky?" julie asked with concern and stepped closer to the boy, "what happened?"

ricky looked at julie, "you like luke, don't you?"

"n-no! i don't," julie stumbled over her words as ricky caught her off guard, "why would you ask that?"

"julie..it's okay," ricky softly said. julie looked away from ricky's eyes and nodded her head. the boy let out a sigh and looked to the ground, "has it always been him?"

"yeah... it has."

"i understand," ricky told julie, "i don't know. things between us always felt kinda..."

"..off?" julie asked, finishing ricky's sentence. the boy nodded his head.

"why'd you ask me to be your partner?"

"... i was gonna try and persuade you to like nini so that i could get luke," julie confessed, "obviously..it didn't work out. i started to like you. luke and nini just got closer."

"did you really like me, though?" ricky asked and rubbed his hand up and down his arm, "or was i just a distraction from luke?"

"ricky.."

"it's okay, julie," ricky reassured her, "i can take it."

julie sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "i felt like i did...but whenever i saw luke and nini together i couldn't hep but feel envious of them. i don't know. everything's sorta confusing."

"i get it. i feel the same way," ricky confessed. julie gave him a smile and ricky stepped closer to her. he stuck out his pinky, "friends?"

"friends," julie told him with a smile and wrapped her pinky around his. they looked at each other with a smile. ricky slowly leaned into julie and brushed his lips against hers. julie closed her eyes and slowly kissed ricky on the lips. it was the first time their kiss felt genuine and right.

ricky pulled away and and looked to the ground, "what was that for?" julie breathed out.

"i don't know.. just wanted to make sure?"

"make sure what?"

"that we're doing the right thing," he told julie. the girl nodded her head and ricky and her looked at each other with desire.

-

"why was ricky in here?" luke asked nini. the girl let out a frustrated sigh and sat on the bed.

"i don't know! he was trying to apologize to me," nini told luke, "he thought i liked him or something."

luke's head lifted up from the ground and he scrunched his eyebrows at nini, "you don't like ricky?"

"i don't know!"

"downstairs, you said you liked him," luke explained, "now you're saying you don't?"

"luke! i don't know!" nini groaned out of frustration. the girl just wanted everyone to stop asking her to explain her feelings. she couldn't even explain it to herself.

"i'm sorry," luke calmly said and sat next to nini, "i just.. i don't really know what to do right now." nini sighed and looked at luke in the eyes.

"can we just not talk about this for the rest of the night and be together?" nini quietly said, "my hear still hurts and i'm just getting frustrated."

luke nodded his head. nini rested her head on luke's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. the both of them stared at their laps until their eyes started to get heavy.