𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 - 𝗘𝗝 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹²

#04

Autumn sat quietly on Ricky's bed, listening to the boy's confused rambles. Ever since the party at Ashlyn's the night before, Ricky had been a complete mess, but who could really blame him?

"First, my dad tells me we're moving. As if the divorce wasn't bad enough, now I'm losing the house that holds all my happy memories." The boy ranted as he paced back and forth in his room. "And now Nini is leaving, too?"

With a soft sigh, Autumn stood up from his bed, walked towards him, and stopped him in his tracks by placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Ricky, breathe." She said softly, watching as her best friend took a deep breath before she continued. "You know why Nini has to leave. This is a great opportunity for her."

Ricky nodded softly, a flicker of dejection passing through his eyes as he muttered, "I know."

The brunette girl sighed once more. She hated to see Ricky suffer, especially when she knew some of his problems wouldn't go away easily.

"And just because she's leaving Salt Lake, it doesn't mean she's leaving you." She reassured him, guiding him to the feet of his bed and making him sit down.

She knelt in front of him, grabbing both of his hands in hers as she did her best to get her point across. "Ricky, she loves you more than anything. I know things might be complicated at first, but you two will figure it out."

He nodded again, but she could still see a sliver of insecurity in his expression. "You think so?" He asked quietly, his eyes glistening with unshed tears and his voice trembling slightly. "What if she meets someone new?"

"Oh, Rick," Autumn mumbled softly, leaning up slightly to wrap her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a gentle hug. Well, as much as she could, as she was still kneeling on the ground.

"You can't think like that. This is nothing like last time, do you hear me? She knows you love her now. And she loves you too. It will work out, I promise." The girl whispered, rubbing his back in an attempt to soothe him.

His only response came in the form of a sob, the first indication he had started crying, and she could feel his tears falling against her sweater as the boy buried his face in her shoulder.

"There, there. You're going to be fine, Rick." Autumn whispered, still rubbing comforting circles in his back.

Ricky simply nodded, and she remained silent once more as she allowed him to let it all out. She knew he didn't cry often, and he needed it at this moment.

After a few minutes, Ricky lifted his head from her shoulder, his hands reaching out to wipe away the last of his tears before he spoke with a dry chuckle, "I thought this year was gonna be a beauty, but it's definitely lookin' like a beast."

She couldn't help but smile at his joke, knowing that he was feeling somewhat better. She stood up, tenderly ruffling his curly hair as she did so. 

"You're a dork." She replied, a soft look on her face as she looked at him. 

She knew there was a shitstorm coming up his way, and she hoped he would be alright.

﹏﹏﹏

The theater kids were spread out across two lunch tables, enjoying their official 'first back-to-school hangout', as Carlos had put it. And, yes, they all agreed the name needed a little work.

Autumn was happily chatting with Ashlyn and Big Red when Carlos suddenly stood up from his seat, clapping his hands and, quite effectively, earning curious looks from everyone.