A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 56

Nini POV

On Wednesday, I decided to plan a movie evening for Ricky. We had a two hour delay on Thursday morning so we were both able to stay up a little later without worrying about being sleep deprived. I think Ricky knew that I was just desperately trying to get his mind off of his mother's engagement, but I didn't care. I was worried about him for sure, he was spacing out a lot more and spending less time with his dad. He wasn't pulling away from me though and I couldn't be more grateful for that. However, I was suddenly thinking way too hard about how I should act around him. I know that he doesn't want to be pitied but it's also way too overwhelming to act like life is great when it's not. Movie choices were starting to scare me as well because I didn't know which genre to pick. Any romantic film of any kind might make him upset because I already knew that he was doubting love after his mom moved on so quickly. I decided on a scary movie since Ricky loved those. I thought about all of this during school, my mind already exhausted from overthinking. When I got home from school though I ran around the house, collecting blankets and setting up my room perfectly for our night.

Ricky came over for dinner that night, my moms welcoming him into the family like they always do. We ate dinner with loud chatter which I was grateful for and the entire time, Ricky's hand rested on my leg. Like I had said before, it was comforting to know that Ricky was still looking to me for comfort instead of isolating himself. When we finished our meal he gave me his beautiful smile, asking what our evening plan would be. "Movie night baby!" I said happily and he laughed, pulling me into his body. My moms looked over from their spot in the kitchen and I saw Momma D smile directly at us. We hear Momma C whisper "my have they grown" and I blush into Ricky's sweatshirt as I feel his hand graze my back. "We're gonna head up, moms" I say and they nod waving us out of the room. Ricky and I race up the stairs like we're five years old and he laughs when he enters the room. My bed is piled high with blankets and a laptop directly in the center. "Your attempts are adorable" he tells me with a smirk and I mock offense. "Excuse you! This is more than a attempt. I succeeded in the perfect movie night set up." I say raising my hand up to my chest and smiling. He rolls his eyes and plops down on the bed. "Yeah it's not perfect till your body is right next to mine." I giggle and roll my eyes back, throwing myself into the bed next to him and bringing a blanket over my body. "What do you want to watch?" He asks me while looping his arm around my shoulders and bringing us much closer. "Anything, your pick. We can even watch a horror one if you want." He raises an eyebrow. "But you hate horror films." I shake my head. "Hate is a strong word, and besides we always watch what I want to watch it's your turn." He brings his lips up to my temple and I feel them turn up into a smile. "I'm not winning this am I" I giggle. "Not at all." I say curling into his chest as he turns on some film about a haunted doll. How bad could it be?

Turns out it could be really bad. We were only about an hour in and I was hiding in Ricky's chest, gripping his sweatshirt. I had a blanket on top of my head and I was trying to block the sound. "Okay no more." He says and he sits up to pause the movie, turning on Lemonade Mouth, and laying back down to collect me in his arms. "What? We could've finished it." I say to him. "Babe you were literally shaking in fear." I meet his eyes and blush earning a smile from him. "You're adorable." He says quietly and his nose rests on my cheek. I close my eyes in content and before I know it I'm being pulled into a deep sleep.

"Nini, Nini come on wake up babe." I jolt out of my sleep, my heart pounding and my forehead sweating. I sit up holding my head and then look at Ricky, realizing he was shaking me awake."You were having a really bad dream. You were shaking and crying baby." He says and he rubs my shoulder. I rub my own arms feeling goosebumps on my skin and I wipe under my eyes and realize that I had been crying in my dream too. "Damn I'm sorry if I woke you." I say quietly, while placing my hand over my heart trying to calm myself. "God no are you kidding? Come here baby." He says and he opens his arms. I throw myself into his comfort and involuntarily cry out from the safety. The horror film must've really done a number on me and Ricky rubs my back in a soothing way. "You're okay my Nins it was just a dream." I nod against him and he feels the back of of my neck. "You're burning up, do you want to take your shirt off?" I was grateful for his offer and nodded, quickly slipping off my shirt. The cold air hit me and I felt like I could breathe again, moving to find my home back in Ricky's arms. He moves just slightly to pull off his own shirt and he brings us both to lie back down. Kicking off the sheets, his body stills as he strokes my hair calmly. "No more horror films." He says quietly with laughter present in his voice. I press into him further. "I think I know the answer to this, but why were you so insistent that we watched one?" He follows up quietly. His hand keeps moving in a reassuring way and I tell him the truth. "I just want you to be okay. Maybe I over planned." I say shyly. "Maybe?" He says with a chuckle. "Nini, you're incredible. I'm okay when you're okay." I nod against him and as k begin to drift off again I hear him calmly say "everything's okay with you."