Falling - Benny and Nina - An Adapted In The Heights Roleplay (COMPLETE)

1 - Falling On the Inside

Vanessa was walking around, about a half-hour before her shift at the salon started.

Nina walked around, head down, trying to go unnoticed. Her long black curly hair fell around her face, what she thought would be the perfect cover.

Vanessa, thinking it was Nina, but not 100% sure, slowly walked over to her.

Nina looked up slightly, seeing Vanessa walking towards her, and tried to escape, not wanting to talk to anyone.

"Nina?" Vanessa called after her best friend.

Nina walked faster, her heart pounding in her chest.

Vanessa followed her. "Nina?"

Nina clutched her chest from nerves, finally stopping, but keeping her head down. She didn't speak.

"Nina honey? Is that you?" Vanessa said, her voice filled with worry.

Nina brushed away the hair on the side of her face that Vanessa was on, but still stayed silent. Though her head was down, Nina turned her head to the side, as if to show that it was, in fact, her.

"Oh my gosh!" Vanessa squealed, running up to Nina enveloping her in a tight hug. "I missed you!"

Nina hugged back, but hesitantly. "Um, I missed you too, Vanessa" but in her mind she was thinking of someone else who she missed even more.

Vanessa smiled wide while Nina feigned a smile, asking, "so, how's everyone doing around, er- el barrio?"

"We're doing fine, everyone's missed you loads. It's not the same without you here. But how's Stanford?"

"Um, it's alright. Stressful though." She let out a nervous laugh too scared to tell her what had happened.

Vanessa nodded "I bet."

Trying to take the subject of her and college, Nina awkwardly said "Are you still working in the salon?"

"Mmhmm" 

"When do you have work?, I kind of want to go around the barrio, but have no idea where to go," she wondered how to say what she was going to say discreetly, but didn't know how, so said it outright. "The barrio almost," she stumbled over her words, "It feels desconocido. Unfamiliar."

Benny was heading over to the bodega, when he saw Nina talking to Vanessa outside the salon. He knew something was up with Nina after what happened earlier in the dispatch. He noticed that she was looking upset and nervous.  She was clearly trying to tell Vanessa something, so he wandered over.

"Hey ladies, everything okay Nina?" he asked in a very concerned and worried voice.

"Hey Benny" Vanessa responded first, with a smile.

"Um, yeah, Benny, I'm... I'm okay," Nina said, in a semi-panicked voice stuttering on her words.

"Alright, well I'll be either in the dispatch or the bodega if you want to talk okay, I'm always here to help" Benny gave Nina a hug. Realizing that probably wasn't the best move to make, parted and ran into the bodega without saying anything else.

Vanessa continued from where she left off "I start in 15 minutes but I can get off..."

"It's alright, Vanessa, I can wait!, When does your shift end?, We could go out together later, if you don't have any plans." She realized that she was going on a nervous tangent, and stopped.

"About 2ish depending on how busy it is."

"But do you have plans? I wouldn't want to interrupt them."

"No, I don't have any plans for this afternoon after work."

"So, about 3? Meet up at Bennett Park?"

"Sure!"

"Alright, you should probably get going, make sure that Dani doesn't get mad. I'm going to go to the bodega. See you later."