𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 [a rini au]

two

"what did you get on the physics test? i think i did fine, but if you didn't do well, then i definitely bombed it."

ashlyn caswell rambled from her kitchen as she poured a bowl of pretzels. she shot nina salazar-roberts a glance, wondering if the brunette even comprehended what she had just said. "nini?" ashlyn's voice trailed. "earth to bean."

nina, knee-deep in pre-calculus homework, rose her head slightly at the sound of her nicknames. "uh, i got a ninety-six," she recalled her exam results while she gnawed on the end of her pencil. "can you hurry up with those pretzels? i need brain power other than eraser rubber."

"first, ew," ashlyn huffed, circling out from behind her counter with the snack bowl in her hand. "second, relax." she placed it in front of nina's textbook, the hungry working girl quick to throw her hand in it. "thanks," nina smiled once she had a mouthful of pretzels.

ashlyn took a seat at the other side of the coffee table that nina occupied. before she snagged a pretzel of her own, she took out her phone to aimlessly scroll through social media. it was an unexpected instagram post that got her to perk up, eyes glistening as she squealed. nina noticed, brow raising while she placed her pencil in her textbook's binding. "what is it?"

"popsugar just posted that ricky bowen and gina porter are rumored to be dating," ashlyn eagerly explained. she flashed her phone screen to nina, who carefully leaned forward from the couch to see.

"they are both so hot," ashlyn gushed. "bi-panic."

nina often listened to her three friends rave about celebrity gossip; it was nothing new to her. however, despite how much she's heard, the girl could never remember anything about any celebrity. she racked her brain to recall the two teenagers ashlyn was showing her, but she came up blank. "i've never seen them before," nina admitted, preparing herself for ashlyn's disappointed wrath.

"you live under a rock, nini," ashlyn rolled her eyes, turning her phone back around. "you've probably heard ricky's songs, and i know for a fact that you just saw gina when we saw lonely hearts last week."

nina nodded slowly. "ah, yes," she lied, trying to appease her friend. "i remember her." nina simply gawked at ashlyn as her thumbs quickly tapped against her screen. it's not that she didn't care about pop culture. she's just been living her entire life with people that failed to acknowledge her existence. why give these celebrities the time of day when they're essentially the same?

"when you're done, feel free to help me," nina proposed, picking up her notebook again to conquer the trigonometric functions at her fingertips.