𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 [a rini au]

- TWENTY-ONE!

"i, uh...like what you've done with the place."

aaliyah had just left ricky's apartment after spending the night following their flight home from new york when the text from nini came in. ricky was about to head to the gym, but he was thankful he hadn't left before checking his phone. he didn't expect to hear from nini again after she spontaneously texted him after the vma's. but, her reaching out again had to have meant things were advancing in carol's case, and ricky wanted to be there for her. he needed to be. instead of questioning why he was suddenly feeling this way after all this time, the boy answered nini quickly and was eventually on his way to her apartment.

the ride over was second nature for ricky. even after the last few months, he didn't need his memory refreshed with directions. he rode seamlessly to nini's apartment complex, into its parking garage, up the stairs, and onto her floor. ricky's heart was pounding the entire time, him almost ready to throw the organ up by time he reached her door. he kept reminding himself that it was her that texted him. she wanted to see him, and somehow, he wanted to see her. it was an unprecedented change in events. when he placed on knock on the door he used to have a key to months ago, ricky's mind whirled with possibilities of what to say first. after nini opened the door for him skeptically, he cringed that he resorted to a cliché as he walked inside.

his observation wasn't entirely off, though. the girl's previously light gray walls were now a shade of creamy white. she traded out her old leather sofa for a microfiber sectional. she now owned a flat screen tv that hung on the wall that used to be lined with polaroids of friends and print outs of various constellations. nini's apartment used to be decked out with astronomy and signs of ricky. the boy wasn't surprised to find the latter missing, but the fact that there was only one plastic-wrapped astronomy book on nini's coffee table was very out of character.

"thanks," nini replied, ricky almost forgetting he had even said anything. the brunette pop star stood aimlessly in her kitchen as ricky roamed into her living room. "do you want something to drink? i've got tea, soda, water."

ricky turned his head to look at nini, noticing again just how different she looked now. he had picked up on a few things during their detrimental run in at their album release parties, but being in a place much more casual and personal made ricky all the more attentive. nini's now darker hair was tied in a messy bun, and it made him miss the way her caramel highlights used to peek out of her old, milk chocolate top knots. she wore a lot of jewelry, almost too many necklaces to differentiate between each one. ricky didn't mind, but he hoped somewhere underneath all that silver her delicate star necklace could be found; she loved it so much. "ricky?"

the boy blinked back to reality, realizing that he had been emptily staring for far too long. "sorry," he apologized, shaking his curls out as he sat down on the sectional. "i'll take a water, if you wouldn't mind."

nini nodded, heading to the fridge to fill a glass with ice and water for each of them. once she did, she headed into the living room with her breath held. she handed ricky his water, their fingers brushing just barely during the exchange. nini tried not to think much of it as she buried her face in the cold beverage.

"so," ricky pursed his lips after taking a sip, placing the glass down on a coaster. "why did you want to talk?"

he wasn't wasting any time. nini copied his actions, freeing herself from her water before taking a deep breath and folding one leg over the other. "i just was at the police station back in the bay area," nini swallowed. "they're gonna charge my mom officially."

ricky stiffened his shoulders. that was the last thing he wanted to hear, but it was sadly the most probable. "i'm sorry."

"i just...i needed to talk about it with someone who understood, to some degree," nini explained, hanging her head.