angels like you (rini au)

T W E N T Y O N E

~chapter twenty one~

"Okay, remember what I said. You are a confident, outspoken bad bitch who is not going to take any shit from any boys, especially not white ones. No matter how cute they may be. Got it?"

Nini breathed deeply as she nodded, forcing herself to agree with what Gina was saying. "Nina! Do you understand me?" she repeated, putting her hands on Nini's shoulders and shaking her vigorously. "Ah, stop. You're gonna give me a concussion," she sighed. "I mean it.  No matter how much love you have for that boy, don't show it. You deserve better. Do I make myself clear?"

She sighed, before taking her eyes off of her friend, and letting them fall to her feet. Beside her, she watched as hundreds of East High students walked through the halls and she started to feel anxious. "Gina..he's going through a lot right now. I don't want to upset him-"

"Are you forgetting all the shit he said to you? Him having a lot going on doesn't give him a reason to treat you like that, you aren't his punching pillow, Nini. You're my friend. I don't want you getting hurt like that, especially by someone who doesn't care about you the same way you do about them," Gina argued with her.

Nini's mind flashed back to the conversation she had with Gina the day before. She had picked her up from school that day, and didn't hesitate to wipe her tears from her puffy, reddened face. Gina didn't hide the anger on her face as Nini told her exactly why she was upset in the first place.

She felt used, but she did not fully understand why it was hurting her that badly. That was until Gina pointed it out to her.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" Gina offered, to which Nini shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not? It's not like it's gonna help," she scoffed, sniffling as she wiped her nose. The taller of the two girls took the tissue box out of Nini's hands, to hopefully try and calm her down.

"Neens...the reason you're sitting here, crying your eyes out over a stupid boy..is because you love him."

Nini's eyes widened as she lifted her head from between her knees, which were pressed up against her as she curled into a ball on Gina's bed. "Gina, not the time for joking," she warned, which made Gina laugh slightly. "It's cute that you think I'm joking."

She turned her head to her (one and only) friend who had just said quite possibly the dumbest thing she'd heard in a while. "I'm not in love with him," she denied. "I never said you were in love with him," Gina corrected. "The whole reason what he said to you hurts so much is because you love him. When someone you love hurts you that badly, it's gonna hurt more than it would for any old person," she explained to her.

"Okay, so you're telling me that I love someone who doesn't even love me back? Wow, that's embarrassing," she groaned, banging her head against the wall. "See, this is why I don't open up to people. I always end up getting hurt, this was the dumbest thing ever. And now I have to go the rest of my life moping around because some stupid boy who I thought might like me back pretty much implied that I meant nothing to him. Wonderful," she added.

"Woah woah woah. Who said anything about moping around?"

And here they were now. Nini was beyond scared to confront Ricky, as Gina had advised her to do. He was just acting out the same she used to when she is in a dark place, and she didn't want to push anymore. Pushing him past his limits was what led to them having this fight in the first place.

But then again, she was starting to learn her self worth. And she was not about to let some average (really really cute) boy make her feel like she was absolutely nothing. She deserved to speak her mind. If he could, then why couldn't she?