Us In Red | Gini

Two

It might as well be my other home, Kourtney's house. Well, it practically is, I guess; I sleepover here at least once a week, and her mom knows all the foods I refuse to eat and the ones that give me allergic reactions, so she always prepares dinner with those in mind when I'm there. And when I'm not at Kourtney's house, she's at mine, inviting my moms to join our game of Smash Bros or offering her help with cleaning up the dishes after dinner. The two of us must've been sisters in another life—at least that's what we've concluded. She always has my back, no matter what half-baked decision's gotten me into each situation, and I always have hers.

Kourtney spins around, holding a bright orange turtleneck sweater up in front of her.

"What about this one?"

I lie on my stomach on her bed while she presents multiple different outfits to me, asking for my opinion.

"It's cute," I respond, "but you still haven't said what this is for?"

A smile spread on her face, and she twirls her way over to drop down next to me.

"I have a date."

I gasp in excitement. "Kourtney! With who?"

"Rico," she answers.

"As in the guy who played Ryan?"

"That's the one," she confirms. "It's funny, 'cause I never really thought of him that way, but then yesterday he sat next to me in math class, and we ended up working on a problem together, and I learned a lot about him that I didn't know before. Like, did you know he's drumline in the marching band?"

"Really? Carlos is in that, too, right?"

"Captain of the colourguard," Kourtney affirms. "Couldn't forget that if I tried. He invites me to every one of their shows. Strangely enough, I didn't notice Rico there."

"Well, I like the orange sweater, and I think Rico will love it too."

"Yeah?" She lifts up the sweater again before getting up to hang it on her closet doorknob. "Thanks, girl. You're the best."

"Oh, it's no problem," I say. "You've done my makeup for me before dates with Ricky more times than I can count. It's only fair that I return the favour, although, I wouldn't recommend getting me to do your makeup." I laugh.

Suddenly, her bedroom door swings open, and her sister pokes her head in, not being phased at all by my presence. She's used to seeing me around, but even though I'm always here, I feel like I hardly ever see her. Well, I see her, but I never talk to her. It's always single line phrases from her, typically aimed at her sister. The most I ever get is a nod of acknowledgement or a general question of how I'm doing. Even during last semester's production of High School Musical, when she played Taylor, her and I never really spoke aside from running our lines.

"Kourtney, can you clean your hair out of the bathroom sink before it ends up clogging again? Thanks."

She pulls the door shut almost as quick as she opened it, and Kourtney rolls her eyes. 

"Gina thinks my hair's getting in there when I brush it, but I'm pretty sure it's hers," Kourtney explains to me.

"How can you tell the difference?" I ask.

"'Cause I don't shed," she replies.

I follow her comment up with, "But you are the one obsessed with her beauty routine. Wouldn't you spend more time in the bathroom than her?"

"When she tells me that there's eyeshadow staining the sink, I'll take full responsibility."

Interrupting our laughter is a gentle knock on the door, and Kourtney's mom is there this time.

"Hey, I was wondering if Nini is planning to stay for dinner," she says.

"Thanks, Sherry," I respond, "but Momma C is making my favorite pasta tonight."

"Oh, well, I don't want to get in the way of that," Sherry says with a smile. Then she looks to her daughter. "Kourtney, honey, do you want me to drive you tonight? The roads are pretty slippery."

"I'm fine, Mom," Kourtney answers, "but thanks."

"You sure?"

Kourtney nods, and Sherry accepts it. Kourtney's mom has always been kind of overprotective of her daughter. Kourtney gets annoyed because she thinks Sherry treats her like a kid, but treating her like a kid also includes bringing home treats for us to try whenever she's considering carrying new foods at her cafe, so I'm fine with it. Sometimes she gives me extra to take home with me, and I bring it over to Ricky's house for us to share while cuddling and watching a movie.

"Okay, well, be safe," Sherry says before carefully closing the door again.

"Is it really that slippery out?" I say when she's gone.

"The sun was out during the day, and now it's below freezing," Kourtney responds, "so there's a bit of ice, but I've driven on ice before."

"Rico didn't offer to pick you up?" I ask.

"No, he doesn't drive," Kourtney answers. "He put off getting his learner's for too long. I wouldn't be able to handle not being able to drive. I don't know how I ever stood bussing everywhere."

"Hey, not having a licence isn't that bad," I say.

"That's because you have a boyfriend as your taxi driver," Kourtney responds with a chuckle.

"Hey, he doesn't always drive me," I refute.

"True. Sometimes I drive you."

"Okay, fair," I say. "But Ricky never has a problem with it."

"That's because he's so head-over-heels in love with you."

She's not wrong. Ever since we got back together, Ricky's made it evidently clear how much he loves me through several means. The first is, of course, playing the song he wrote for me, which left me humming it non-stop for days after. Second was the goodnight texts, which now have those three beautiful words incorporated into them. Most recently, he was telling me about the new car he wants to get, and he made a promise to me that he'll take me somewhere special once he saves up the money to buy it. Of course, he'll have to get a job first before he can start making progress, so that goal is some distance away, but it's his intention that matters. He cares about me, and he wants me to know it. He doesn't need to do as much as he's doing, but he wants to, and that's why he has my heart.

"Okay, maybe," I say with a grin.

Kourtney chuckles as she stands up and goes over to her dresser to search her jewelry box. After looking through it a moment, she turns back around with a look of annoyance.

"Did Gina take my necklace again?"

Clearly the question is rhetorical, because she storms out of the room before I can say anything. Left alone, I look around the room at the familiar surroundings, and I see the open jewelry box. Dangling out of it is a red gemstone pendant, and I go over to get a better look. The chain actually holds two charms, one being the gemstone, and another being a silver heart with an inscription engraved on it. Happy birthday to my favorite sister – Love, Gina. I let out a little laugh. She's her only sister.

A/N: If you haven't figured out yet, this is gonna be a VERY slow burn. This chapter also takes place before the prologue. The next will take place after the prologue. I thought this chapter was cute just for introduction purposes. Anyway, I'm really tired, so have a good night, and I love you all!