over the years (rini) | ✓

nine || eighth grade

Nini felt weird.

Okay, maybe weird wasn't the best word to describe how she was feeling. Confused was more like it.
She felt different around Ricky and she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.

Before, she used to be so comfortable around him. Mind you, she still felt very safe and happy around him, but now everytime he looked at her she felt her face heat up and whenever he smiled at her, she practically melted on the spot. There was something about his smile that always made her stomach flip.

She used to ignore those butterflies in her stomach, but now they were always going crazy and she didn't know how to stop it. That feeling never happened around any other boy. Only Ricky. An explanation for this creeped into her mind, but everytime it came up, she shut it down instantly.

None of this confusion would've happened if Kourtney never said anything in the first place.

"Nini," Kourtney had muttered, "Just friends don't look at each other that way."

It was only one line. It was one sentence, but it was enough to make Nini freeze and rethink everything. Did she look at Ricky in a different way than everyone else? Possibly. He's one of her good friends for crying out loud!Of course he means more to her than anything, but was there something more?

Kourtney would say yes.

Nini couldn't stop thinking about it. So much to the point where she constantly spaced out when she hung out with Ricky. It always went down the same way. He had to shake her out of her daydream, she would be shocked, then he would laugh and tease her, and she would look away embarrassed. Mostly because her face turned red when she heard him laugh.

Her face was probably a tomato whenever she was with him. She hoped he didn't notice.

»»»

This week in middle school gym was everyone's favorite: square dancing.

That was a lie. Whenever the gym teachers announced that, there was a collective groan. Nobody liked the square dancing unit.

Nini didn't like square dancing either. It was boring and she usually ended up with some sweaty guy that she had to reluctantly hold hands with. Like her classmates, she didn't understand the point of the unit. It was a waste of time.

This year would be better than last year, Nini told herself. At least Ricky was in her gym class and she had a partner to dance with who she knew.

When their gym teacher told their class to stand up and find a partner of the opposite gender, Nini reluctantly stood up and sighed. Time to get this week over with. She started to walk over to Ricky, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lucy walk up to him. Nini watched horrified as Lucy proceeded to ask Ricky to be her partner. Ricky looked hesitant and he nervously met Nini's eyes from across the room. He looked torn.

Nini didn't know what to do either. So she did what she normally did. She panicked and turned away, walking as far away from the situation as possible. She didn't want to be that girl who controlled her guy friend's every move. Besides, Lucy was nice and Nini didn't want to get on her bad side. Lucy had a big crush on Ricky.

"Hey Nini!" someone said. Nini looked up to see Big Red standing in front of her, giving her a toothy grin. "Do you want to be partners?"