𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 [a rini au]

FOURTEEN

          Ricky cursed himself for looking so bewildered after Nina's question. Even though he couldn't see his own face, he knew his mystified expression could parallel one of somebody faced with the paranormal. The boy couldn't mistake Nina Salazar-Roberts for anyone else. It was always the perfect middle part that acted as the giveaway, and nothing was different  there as she walked closer to him and began to wave a hand in front of his face.

         "Hello?" she cooed, Ricky emptily blinking twice at her. She straightened up a bit, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you alright?"

          "Ye-yeah," Ricky stammered, biting the inside of his cheek as Nina continued to heatedly stare at him. "I just didn't expect...this." Ricky, what?! he yelled at himself.

          It was like Ricky's puzzled tone offended the girl, because she immediately narrowed her gaze. "Wanna elaborate on that?" Nina seethed, flames igniting in her chocolate eyes.

          Ricky's heart plummeted as he searched for a suitable response. "I–uh," he stuttered, Nina tipping her head in his direction to get him to speed up his answer. "I'm...new here."

          Nina pressed her lips together, nodding slowly. "Ah," she sighed, now crossing her arms and squatting before him. Ricky's cheeks warmed rapidly, face bug-eyed, as she inched closer to him. Her eyes weren't just plain brown as he previously thought. They held minimal swirls of olive as well, barely noticeable if you weren't within breathing distance of her. Ricky couldn't spot a single crevice on her skin, not one pimple or scar. He was about to take in the red tint of her lips until she spoke again, causing his eyes to shoot back up to hers.

          "Do you know me?" she asked honestly, mouth hanging open slightly.

          Ricky evidently swallowed the massive lump in his throat before managing to croak out his one word ad lib. "Mhm."

          Nina subtly smirked, her lips barely quivering. "I figured. They all do," she replied with a hint of cockiness. "So let me rephrase your words. This isn't what you expected of me."

         The boy's breath got caught in his lungs, but his silence was clearly enough for Nina to know that's exactly what he had meant earlier. She bounced weakly before standing up, placing her hands on her knees so she could lean down to his eye level one last time. She gnawed at the inside of her lip, body language fiery as Ricky practically trembled below her.

          "Well, forget what you thought."

She left Ricky in her dust, standing up tall and spinning on her heel to return to the window. She seemed to tower over him, although Ricky knew that if he stood, he would have her by a few inches. He watched as Nina pounded on the bedroom window, and within a few seconds, the blinds were pulled back and the glass was opened. He couldn't see who was pulling her inside the room, but once she tumbled inside, the window was shut and the curtains were closed within seconds. It was like the window's slamming was the plug that clogged his writing inspiration. Ricky then scrambled to his feet, grabbed his belongings, and rushed back to Stoneham.

          If Ricky didn't think he was able to fall asleep before he went to Kingston, there was no shot he'd be getting any rest now. Instead of even trying to close his eyes and let his startled dreams overtake him, the boy resorted to Instagram stalking of the infamous girl he had a run in with. Nina's profile was easy to find, considering her face was plastered all over the East Highland Academy Instagram page. He scrolled through some of her pictures and comments, all of his previous knowledge about her being confirmed through the content.

          Ricky didn't know why he was so intrigued by this girl. Maybe it was because everyone knew her name and her story, or perhaps the fact that she came tumbling out of the woods at 1:30 in the morning only to crawl through a random bedroom window. He identified that familiar feeling taking over him, though. The same one that gravitated him towards Kingston in the first place that night. Ricky retrieved his notebook from his nightstand, opening it and pressing his pen to the paper.

Nina Salazar-Roberts...

𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐒!
→ hope you guys are enjoying
this so far! i love reading your
comments, so keep leaving them :)
i posted on my message board
asking if anyone would
be interested in me sharing
some of my writing tips?
i can answer your questions,
offer advice, etc.
lmk here or on my message
board if you're interested!