kid krow | rini

sixteen

"Nini, for the last time, it wasn't a party," Ricky said. "We literally had dinner and played games at Gina's house. It was literally just our friend group."

Nini was upset, to say the least. Ricky hadn't once mentioned Heather which bothered her considering the fact that it had been a full week since they met. She hated the type of girlfriend she was becoming, but Nini just couldn't let it slide. "Heather's part of your friend group?" she questioned.

Ricky scoffed, slightly appalled by Nini's attitude. "Heather is EJ's cousin, okay? There's nothing wrong with me making a new friend. Why are you grilling me right now?"

"I feel insane," she laughed out bitterly. "Ricky, you met a girl, you gave her your number, all in the same night that you just ignored my texts for hours? When I thought you were just with EJ?"

"Don't you think you feel that way for a reason?" He didn't like what Nini was implying in the slightest. He didn't mean to become so defensive. "Nini, this is ridiculous."

She felt bad all of a sudden. Why was she reading into these things so much? Could she really not just calm down and trust him? She let out a heavy sigh, running her fingers through her hair. "You're right, I'm sorry," she admitted. "I don't like feeling so jealous, Ricky."

"So don't," he told her. "I'm with you, aren't I?"

The following Monday, Heather was at school. They'd officially settled her enrollment into East High and there she was, roaming the halls with the other plastics. She seemed so excited when she saw Kourtney in the hallway at Nini's locker.

She approached the two girls. "Good morning, Kourtney! Thanks again for doing my makeup on Friday. I felt so pretty and got a lot of compliments!"

"Yeah, that's true. A certain someone spent the whole night talking to her," Gina said, a smirk cast upon her face. "Glad she caught his eye."

Nini cleared her throat uncomfortably and began to shove her books into her backpack from her locker. This drew more attention to her than Kourtney. Heather turned to her. "Hey! I'm Heather Caswell, it's really nice to meet you!"

This was the very first time that Nini was happy to be in the presence of EJ Caswell. Before she could respond, he walked up, tossed his arm over Heather's shoulder, and said, "Don't talk to that one, Chandler."

"God, Eli," she scoffed as EJ pulled her away. "I made you watch Heathers one time, do not have people in this building walking around calling me Heather Chandler."

And later, Nini was far from pleased when Heather followed EJ into history. It wasn't surprising, though, because one could assume that Elijah Caswell would pull strings for her, too. She flashed a friendly smile at Nini and sat in the seat right behind EJ which, unfortunately, happened to be the seat just to the right of Nini. She leaned over a little bit and whispered, "Hey! I'm sorry about Eli, earlier."

Nini gave her a tight-lipped smile. "It's fine," was all she said.

She turned her attention to her notebook and started to set up her notes for the day, preparing to finish the lesson from the last class period. Heather leaned the other way and began to chat quietly with EJ and Ricky. Nini scowled and pressed her pen down harder. Her grip got tighter and tighter every time Heather giggled and Nini found herself annoyed by how musical it sounded.

"You should totally come to our basketball practice," Ricky suggested. "EJ said Gina was gonna drive you home, but she can't drive for shit. Sticking with us would be better for your safety."

Heather giggled at his joke and said, "Oh yeah? Should I make a sign that says 'go Ricky Bowen' during my free period?"

"Maybe not for practice today, but I don't think East High has nearly enough signs at our games," he chuckled. "I would like to see my name in glitter paint during the tournament. That sounds like an incentive."