HAPPY HEARTS DAY ━━ 𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐈

𝐢𝐱. 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗅𝗈𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆

ooo.    ❝ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 ❞ ♡༉∘
❪ 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗅𝗈𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 ❫ ━ 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲

      ❝ Hearts and tickets for sale! There's only a few left now!" Lily shouted, clanging two bin lids together. She walked up and down the halls, shouting, "Get your Valentine's Day hearts before they're gone! Everyone's buying 'em! Get one or die alone!"

Nini hushed her, grabbing her shoulder, whispering, "You can't call tell people they're going to die alone, Lils. You have to pass them the news gently. Calm and collected." She demonstrated a deep breath. "Remember? Just like we practiced. Now, where are the posters you're supposed to be giving out?"

Lily could've been the her Nini was talking about in her song. They'd been talking a lot lately since she had joined the dance committee, and she was starting to notice now that they got along quite well. At least, as well as anyone could get along with Lily.

The blonde girl copied her deep breath, looking very zen for all of two minutes until she turned around and resumed clanging the bin lids in the other direction down the hall. "Hearts! Come get your hearts, idiots!"

Nini walked back towards the table, where she'd left Gina to watch the whole ordeal, shaking her head. She opened the money box and started to count all the loose change. "God, that girl is going to drive me crazy..."

Gina laughed. "She's a tricky one."

"She might be the weirdest person we know..."

"But, she's kind of cute, right?" Gina bumped Nini on the shoulder, and she looked at her, narrowing her eyes.

"Lily?"

Gina leaned back and tilted her head like she was supposed to know what she was talking about, but Nini had no idea. Did Gina think she had a crush on Lily? Lily of all people?

No, no, no. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Nini was looking at Gina, and she thought she might explode then. She almost did a few days ago, when she asked her if she had someone special. She might've done it right there if another customer hadn't popped up in front of them.

"Can I get a heart and two tickets, please?" A voice asked.

Gina almost gasped out loud when she looked up and saw Ricky Bowen standing there, smiling, holding a twenty dollar bill in his hands for the taking. Of course, he didn't come prepared with any coins. It was so very Ricky Bowen of him to show up━as one of their last sales of the day━happy to let Nini count so much change.

"Keep the change," he insisted, though. With a smile on his face.

"How very charitable of you..." Gina handed him a heart and his two tickets, letting their skin touch as briefly as possible.

"Eh," Ricky said, shrugging. "It's a fundraiser, might as well do what I can." He pointed around the table, smiling at the heart origami cutouts and the pink confetti. "This dance is gonna be pretty big then..."

"Yeah..." she agreed, putting her focus on arranging the hearts on the table.

"I mean, you guys are doing a great job. Everybody's thinking about who to give their heart to..."

"I know."

"You know who you're giving your heart to?" Ricky asked and Gina looked up━wondering why he was still there. Why did he think he could ask things like that? It was a brave question, and he knew that.

"Haven't thought about it," Gina said, smiling a little. "But I know I won't be giving it to the same person again."

"I didn't say you would." Ricky huffed, tucking his heart into his back pocket. He rocked on his feet, taking a breath. "But I'll be here if you change your mind..."

"For how long this time?"

"G..."

"Mr. Bowen. We're busy. We're working. And, you're holding up the line," Gina snapped at him. He had a lost puppy look on his face. "See you later..."

Ricky smiled, he clutched the two tickets in his fist as he walked down the corridor, and Nini watched him almost bump into someone before he turned around the corner. Gina's focus was back on the customers, smiling at the next customer as though nothing had happened.

"Are you okay?" Nini asked, shuffling through change for a five-dollar bill.

There was a long pause, and Gina gave the little sophomore girl her change and her ticket before she looked back at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she told her, but when her hand fell back onto the table. Nini squeezed it anyway, and Gina smiled at her.

･｡ ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶｡ﾟ

"She read it!" Nini shrieked, slapping a hand on her forehead. "God, this is so embarrassing..."

"Calm down━you don't know for sure," Kourtney argued, trying to calm her friend down. She had been at her house for ten minutes, and she had been standing around. "She could've just been curious. You know how some people think lesbians like anyone who's girls..."

"You really think Gina is one of those people?"

"Hmm, not really. But, she's probably just curious. You have been spending a lot of time with Lily lately..."

"Yeah! And everyone else on the dance committee!" Nini sighed, finally slumping down on her hammock, rocking a few times before she was up again. She picked up her song journal from where it sat on her dresser, flicking through the pages. "Look! This is the only song I've written about a girl! And, I was writing about it when she was in the room."

Kourtney started laughing. "You should be lucky she doesn't know it's you."

"But how can she not know?" Nini flopped onto the bed, dropping her head into Kourtney's lap. She looked up at her friend, when she tapped her on the head.

"If you want her to know, you know what you need to do."

"I don't know, Kourt. I just thought when she asked if I was leaving...it meant that she wanted me to stay. I don't know. Like, maybe, she wanted me or something..." Nini covered her pink face with her hands.

"Just ask her! You know I would've never gotten anywhere with Howie if I hadn't been direct and honest..." Kourtney pushed Nini, so she rolled onto the pillows. "Come on."

Nini buried her head into her pillow.

She didn't want to think about how confusing it all was. She wasn't going to get up. Until her phone pinged. The girl groaned, walking around her bed so she could grab her phone on the bedside table.

"That's weird," Nini said, showing Kourtney her phone screen. "Jamie just texted me. He said he's in town and he wants to talk..."