A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 46

Nini POV

The next day at school was pretty uneventful. The day passed with sweet kisses from Ricky between classes, but otherwise we had a pretty normal day. After school, I went straight to the drama room for rehearsal. The door was locked so I waited outside and EJ was the first to show up. We smiled at each other, him raising his hand in greeting. "Door locked?" He questioned. "Yeah I'm surprised we're the first ones here. Especially after spring break." EJ shrugs and I look down at my phone, texting Ricky that I'm already at the rehearsal room. "Hey Nini?" I look up at EJ. He looks pretty nervous. I look at him expectantly and wait for him to go on. "Do you think that we could talk after rehearsal? Just me and you? Maybe outside on the benches at the front of the school?" I'm sure my facial expression reads completely shocked, but I cover it up and nod. "Uh, sure." I say, right as Ricky walks up. He kisses my cheek and I get butterflies. "Hey baby." He whispers in my ear and I blush. "Hey, ready for rehearsal?" I ask him with a smile. "You bet." And right on cue, the entire drama club is trailing behind Miss jenn. "My leads!" She says greeting us with a smile. As we walk into the classroom, I can't help but think about the pending conversation with EJ.

"This is going to be a different type of rehearsal today!" Miss Jenn starts off with. "When I'm done with you, you will leave one by one today! It'll give me a chance to truly see how each of you guys are without characters, or without traditional order." Everyone nods and rehearsal begins. After about an hour, Miss Jenn dismisses me. She hands me my notes and tells me to go over them. I smile at Ricky as I leave the room and I get his beautiful smile in return. I walk out to the front of the school, sitting on a bench that EJ had requested talking to me on. I wondered if Ricky would come out next, questioning why I needed to be alone with EJ. I myself wasn't thrilled with being alone with my ex, we always had a group making things more comfortable. I knew that Ricky wouldn't be thrilled either. However, EJ was dating Gina and he's always been kind to me so there was no reason to fear whatever conversation we'd have and there was no reason Ricky needed to distrust us. I hear the front doors to the school open and I turn to see EJ. He raises his hand in greeting again and I wave back, unsure.

EJ comes over and sits down next to me. "Uh hey." He says. I smile and eye him carefully. "Hey. What's going on?" I ask. "Honestly I just really need to get this off my chest. I'm really sorry for how we ended." I know I look completely shocked. "What?" I ask him. "I treated you horribly. There was no trust between us and what's more is the fact that I was so desperate at the end. That was no way to treat you." He says. His eyes are pleading and his voice breaks a little at the end. "It's fine EJ. It really is." He shakes his head. "But it wasn't. Deleting that voicemail was a dick move and I suffocated you." I laugh lightly and smile at him. "I agree with both, but that doesn't mean you're not sorry. You're a genuine person EJ and I've learned you do the wrong things for the right reasons." He breathes out in relief. "I'm not defending any of your behavior, none of it was okay. But I know you learned from it all." He nods and looks off into the distance. "I did" he says simply. A silence spreads over us and I consider getting up but he speaks again. "Look, I know you and Gina are close. I know you probably talk and I just really don't want you to think that she's going to get hurt. And I don't want you to think that I'm just playing her or- I don't know. I just want her to be fully with me. Not worried about me being an idiot and fucking up." I nod "I've never said anything bad about you to her EJ." I place my hand on his arm. "I'd never do that. She's head over heals for you and yeah I've warned her to be careful but I'd never do that to you or her." He looks relieved and nods. "Thank you Nini." He breathes out finally. "I'm sorry, for us." He says again. "It's okay. Truly we were meant to happen." I say. "Love's intense." He says smiling. I nod and pull him into a hug. It's weird, he feels familiar but foreign at the same time. I don't fit in his arms like I once did and I find myself longing for the way Ricky touches me when we hug. This time with EJ provided closure I never thought I'd need. I hear someone clear their throat and EJ and I pull back. I look up to see Ricky. He doesn't look threatened or jealous, he just looks confused. I stand up and wrap my arms around him, kissing his cheek. He regards me carefully. "You two are special. I'm glad you found each other again." EJ says to me and Ricky. I see Ricky's face take the form of shock, but soften considerably and his arm tightens around my waist. "Thank you EJ. For everything." I say to him and he smiles to us. Ricky doesn't mention what he walked in on, he just asks gently: "want to walk home with us man?" EJ smiles again and shakes his head. "Nah I'm gonna wait for my girl." I beam at him and turn away, waving and leaning into Ricky as we start our walk home.

He speaks right away. "Everything good?" His voice is gentle, calming but concerned. "Yeah I think EJ needed some closure before he started anything with Gina. He was also worried I'd talk shit about him to her. He really needed reassurance." I say to Ricky. He nods and it's like I can see the gears working in his brain. "What's on your mind babe?" I ask as I link our hands together and lean into his shoulder. "I just have to ask. Are there any feelings there still?" His voice is soft but worried and I smile to him. I stop on the sidewalk and pull him into my arms. "There aren't any feelings there baby. None. My heart belongs to this guy right here." I pull Ricky close, wrapping my arms around him into a hug. I feel him sigh into my neck. "Just checking." He mumbles and I smile, kissing his neck. I feel his hands move across my back, in only a way that Ricky does when we hug. It just feels right.