Make You Happy - a Rina story

After the Quinceañero

Monday at school
Gina wanted to sit alone throughout lunch, but Ashlyn insisted she sits with the crew. Fortunately for her, Ricky was absent, for whatever reason. ,,You were amazing out there on Saturday, Gina!" said Kourtney. ,,Aw, thanks Kourt!" replied Gina. ,,Yeah! And your speech was so heartfelt." added Nini. Gina looked her directly in the eyes, trying to maintain the little smile on her face. ,,Thanks. I meant what I said." she replied, then buried her look in the mashed potatoes on her plate. ,,You guys, we should do something fun today!" said Carlos cheerfully. Everyone else happily nodded. ,,Actually— I'll be busy today, I have to do something... time-consuming..." replied Gina and everybody's mood fell down a bit. ,,Don't worry about it, you can just go without me, haha." laughed Gina, slightly hysterically. Most of the group just shrugged and started planning out their day, except for Ashlyn. ,,What "time-consuming" thing do you have to do?" she asked Gina. ,,Oh! Um. I promised my mom I'd call her today and, uh, she wanted to hear about Carlos' birthday party, so it's probably going to take a while." Gina grinned, hoping Ashlyn would believe the lie she just told her. Ashlyn gave her a weird look, then smiled and said: ,,Moms, right?" Gina nodded with a smile and then looked away again.

After lunch
Gina was walking to her locker when she heard an all familiar voice that she didn't really need to hear today. ,,Gina! Wait up!" the voice said. Gina closed her eyes, bit her lips for a second and then turned around. ,,Ricky! Hey..." ,,Listen, Gina... I wanted to apologise for what I asked at the barn. It was inappropriate of me. You had your hands full with the celebration plans and-" ,,It's fine, Ricky." Gina said, almost turning around. Ricky grabbed her arm turning her back to face him. Tears started forming in her eyes. She held them back. Ricky was staring at the ground, thinking about how to say what he's about to say. ,,What is it, Ricky? I have classes to attend." Gina said impatiently. Ricky looked at her with a neutral expression. ,,Do you have feelings for me?" he asked. Gina almost chocked on air. ,,What?" ,,Do you - Do you feel something for me?" ,,Why would you ask me that?" Gina asked, taking a step back. ,,I- I don't know. You reacted kind of weird. As if it hurt you that I was talking about Nini. Why else would it hurt you?" Ricky said. ,,I was just focused on Carlos' birthday. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me." Gina turned around but Ricky gently grabbed her arm again. This time he didn't let go. Gina looked at her arm, then at him and said: ,,Ricky, I seriously-" ,,I know, I know. You have classes. Before you go, I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, okay? We're still friends. I know we are. I'm sorry if I pushed you away, I didn't mean to. If you need to talk about anything, please, call me." Ricky said, letting her arm go. Then he smiled and left her standing in the hallway, still in shock after his words. "We're still friends" echoed in her mind.

Ashlyn's house, after school
The house was empty. Everyone was at the gathering except for Gina. She went into her and Ashlyn's bedroom, sat down and started thinking about all that has happened that day. When EJ bought her the plane ticket, she thought she'd just come back, watch the show, say goodbye properly and leave again. Instead miss Jenn let her participate and Ashlyn offered her to stay at her house. It all seemed like a dream come true - up until she saw Ricky with Nini at the New Year's celebration. She thought she could get over it but couldn't. Everything reminded her of the times they spent together. They were so close, what went wrong? Was this her fault? That day, when Nini came back, she knew she couldn't take any more of this. She called her mom and told her she'd move in with her again. But today? Today changes everything. Or does it? ,,Ugh, why does everything have to be so complicated?!" Gina yelled, throwing her bag on the ground and lying down on the bed. Did Ricky mean what he said? Would he act like her friend again? Even if he did, that still didn't change the fact he's dating Nini, which hurt. A lot.
The plan was simple: get home early, pack up and leave. Of course Ricky had to complicate things again. Should she really leave? This was the first time she has ever felt comfortable at a place. Moving with her mom was her normal, but staying at one place had its perks; you knew the people there, you made friends and you had fun. If she left, all of that would be gone. Forget about Ricky. What would she do without Ashlyn, Carlos, Sebbie, Kourt? Was moving really worth it? Then again, forgetting Ricky is not so simple.

,,Why do boys have to complicate everything!" she yelled, covering her eyes with her hands. ,,Who's complicating what?" said a voice next to her. Gina jumped on the bed. ,,Ashlyn! Nothing. No one. What are you doing here?" Gina said. ,,Well I know you said you're going to call your mom but I had a feeling that you would enjoy some company, so I cancelled plans with the group and came home early!" Ashlyn said cheerfully as she sat down on the bed next to Gina, who gave her a long, thoughtful stare. ,,I can leave if you want." Ashlyn said, getting up again. ,,No, no! Of course I want you here. Just didn't expect it." ,,Okay, I'm glad you say that because I brought your favorite smoothie and we can't let it go to waste." Ashlyn laughed and ran downstairs to get their smoothies. Gina couldn't believe what has happened. Did Ashlyn really leave the group just to spend some more time with her?