𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 [𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐚𝐮]

01. | the last summer

nini dug through her suitcase, filing through the neatly folded clothes and necessities.  ej laid on her bed, aimlessly scrolling through twitter while nini's perfectionist self kept overthinking whether or not she should bring her sunglasses. she decided to stuff more clothing into her tiny suitcase. after she was certain she had everything, she sat down on the bed, a creaking noise echoing through the room. 

"neens, you alright?" he asked, softly chuckling.

"yeah." she forced a fake smile.

ej sat up, legs crossed, to look her in the eye, a sympathetic look on his face, "come on, you'll be fine. it's your last year at camp, just take a deep breath and calm down. it's gonna be fun!"

she followed his directions and inhaled deeply. "thanks ej, you're the best." she leaned in and gave a quick peck on his lips. he smiled back then turned back to his phone. nini opened her mouth to speak but quickly silenced herself.

"what if i don't get into duke?" nini whispered, staring down at her lap.

ej looked up from his phone, turning his head towards nini. "even if you don't get in, and i know you will, it'll still be okay. we'll facetime every day and always visit each other."

"promise?" nini asked, turning to look into his eyes, face scrunched up, about to cry. 

"promise," he said, smiling.

nini smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull ej into a tight hug. ej wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his face into the crook of her neck. for the rest of the evening, the sound of a movie on netflix was heard from outside the room. ej had his arm possessively wrapped tightly around his girlfriend's shoulders. her soft snores acted as white noise in the completely silent room. ej removed his arm, careful not to wake her, as he laid her figure onto the restful bed. he covered her petite frame with the flamingo pink bedsheets. he then planted a kiss on her forehead before sneaking out the window. he left the peaceful teenager in her slumber, for what would be last in months. 

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the curly-haired boy and girl sat on the couch as they watched high school musical, per gina's request. ricky doesn't particularly like the choice, but it was his girlfriend's chance to choose today's movie for their weekly movie night. gina laid on ricky's lap as he fed her homemade popcorn. ricky had promised her his "undivided attention", but this was all a lie. he checked his phone periodically during the movie, to cure his boredom. finally, the movie ended, ricky's brain silently cheering. gina lifted herself off of her boyfriend's lap and sat up straight. ricky imagined her walking into the kitchen to grab a drink. he waited for the pop and fizz of the soda. instead, she rested her head on his shoulder as his arm draped around hers.

"i'm gonna miss you, bowen." she said, looking up at him.

he stared down at her dark eyes, sighing, "i'm gonna miss you too, porter."

she smiled as ricky placed his hand on the small of her back. the couple both sat there in silence, each of them enjoying the other's company. gina slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep in her boyfriend's presence. ricky smiled, gently picking her up to lie her down on the couch. he grabbed their fallen blanket, covering gina's body with the cozy wool. once he saw that she was content, he slipped away. 

ricky's skateboard zoomed across the sidewalk back to his neighborhood, a click sounding every time he passed a crack in the sidewalk. he kicked his skateboard up, catching it in his right hand when he arrived at his driveway. he stepped up to his front porch, unlocking the oak door so he could step inside his humble abode. he walked up the steps, trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake up his father. he slid into his room, closing the door behind him. he flicked the lights on to reveal a room that was unorganized and extremely messy. he leaned his skateboard against the wall as he fell backward onto his soft bed. he made a mental list of everything that was going on the next day. he jumped, eyes focused on the ceiling. the castaway camp. he had already forgotten. he stared at his empty suitcase as he immediately shot up and started to stuff essentials into the case. regret haunted him from not packing earlier when he got back from school. finding items was like playing hide-and-seek because of the messiness of it all. 

an hour later, he finally managed to pack all the things he needed for the departure the next morning. he let out a long yawn, expressing his exhaustion. he fell onto his bed, not even bothering to change into his pjs. in a matter of minutes, he fell asleep, the morning the only thing that awaits.