I Understand Now (Ricky Dillon Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

I try to speak, but I am lost for words. I gape at him.

"You....what?" I finally manage.

"Wow, Ellie, do you speak English or not?" Ricky jokes. A half-breath, half-laugh escapes my lips.

"Yeah, I-I do," I reply. "I'm just.....shocked."

"Oh God, I was too soon." Ricky turns away and covers his eyes with his hand. "I always make that mistake."

"No no, it's fine," I assure him, gently grabbing his arm and pulling his hand away from his face so he can look at me. "It's not that. I'm just really surprised because....no one's ever said that to me before." I gaze into his eyes, and he looks right back into mine. I step forward and kiss him before he can speak. He kisses me back instantly, and for a moment, I forget about the world. The anger that was building up inside me after what Sarah said has vanished. There is no one in the world but me and Ricky, and everything is okay.

He pulls away quickly, too quickly. I'm about to go back again but think better of it. Instead, I just smile as he wraps his arms around my waist.

"Don't listen to Sarah," he reminds me. "She's just trying to make you feel bad."

"I know," I say. "Believe me, she'd been trying to make me feel bad for a long time before you arrived." I stretch out the word 'long'.

Ricky nods. "I believe you," he says. "Sometimes, she can be so stupid." I bite my lip to stop myself from sighing out loud at his lisp. It's adorable, and it stands out when he says something with a lot of s's.

He notices, though. "What?" He says with a smile.

"Nothing," I answer. He chuckles and gives me another quick kiss. Ricky Dillon might love me, but I don't think I'm ready to say it back to him yet.

...

A few minutes later, we each say our goodbyes and drive each other home. When I arrive, Mum opens the door for me, and then looks at me expectantly.

"What?" I question her.

"Well, how'd your little date go?" She asks. I roll my eyes.

"It was hardly a date, Mum," I inform her. "We're just friends."

"From what you've told me about what's been happening at school, it sounds like you're taking a fancy to him," she teases.

"Whatever." I roll my eyes again, but I'm laughing this time. "I've also told you that I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment just yet."

"Oh, come on," Mum pleads. "Most girls your age at least have a crush by now."

I bite my lip and look down. "Well, I suppose he's kinda cute."

"Oooooh," Mum smirks.

"Shut up," I laugh, and she laughs as well.

"I'm only joking," she assures me. "I'm not the one to tell you how you feel. You're 18 years old-you can work that out."

"Gee, thanks," I joke, and we both laugh again.

During the day, I hadn't even noticed that my phone had gone off a few times. I pull it out and see that I have 4 text messages, all from Jen.

*ELLIE I NEED YOUR HELP!!!*

*SERIOUSLY I'M FREAKING OUT*

*Omg pleeeeeeease answer your phone 😩*

*ELLIE HELP ME*

I frown, wondering what Jen needs help for. It's probably just because she can't find her concealer, and now has to go out somewhere with dark circles under her eyes. I text her a quick response saying:

*Calm your farm, Jen. Sorry, I was out. I'll call u.*

Once it says 'read', I press 'contact' at the top of my screen and then press the little phone icon to call her. She answers instantly.

"Oh my God Ellie, thank you so much for calling," she says, sounding breathless.

"Jen, what's going on?" I ask her. "Just relax and tell me."

"Um..." She pauses. "I need some help with asking a guy out."

"Ok, who is it?" I wonder.

"It's that new guy," she answers. "I think his name's Ricky."

My heart stops.