State Of Grace || °HSMTMTS°

Chapter 5

Ricky

It was hard to believe that the chance to kiss Nini slid from underneath my fingers and I didn't even care. If I didn't have so many other things on my mind I'm sure I would've done my best to make that scene happen, that I'd create thousand interactive fantasies about Nini and me kissing and making-up right then and there. But I had other things on my mind. 

Mainly my parents, and that thing they wouldn't tell me about last night. Also EJ. I couldn't get it out of my head, the way he stole glances at me during the rehearsal. To be fair, I looked at him once or twice too. Or way too many times, if I'm being totally honest. 

Yes, I found this EJ thing unnerving. Whatever was going on between us was complicated. But I was sure it would come to pass. It's not like we're gonna become friends or anything. The two of us being extra nice towards each other was a one-time thing. Soon enough things will be back to the way they were. 

Well, maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if we stopped hating each other after this. Not that I wanted to be a friend of EJs all of a sudden, but I was starting to think we could be okay. We both liked the same girl, so what? Should we really hate each other that much just because of that? Whatever happens with EJ won't be the end of the world. 

However, whatever it is that my parents aren't telling me might be. The thing is, me and my dad never hid things from each other. He and mom haven't exactly been the perfect couple for the last few years. Thanks to this, mom took every opportunity to travel for her job. That resulted in me being raised by mostly my dad. 

I never really minded that my mom was more than a bit absent. I loved my dad, and thanks to that whole situation we built quite a relationship. So when he was the one who decided not to tell me something...well, the truth is that I was quite scared. 

Cause I knew he trusts me. And I knew about the divorce already anyways. What could possibly hit me harder than that?

Once the school day was over I procrastinated going home for as long as possible. I hung out at Big Reds for solid 2 hours. After that, I sat on the bench in the park, thinking of calling Nini. I wanted to talk about us. I decided against that. I've hurt her bad, and I should give her space. I even thought about ringing up EJ so we could... like... hang-out or something. I gave up on that too, cause it was weird.  

With no other ideas of where to waste my time, I went to the skate house. The skate house was, arguably, my favourite place in the entire Salt Lake City. Located near the edge of the town, it used to be an abandoned warehouse. Then, 20-something years ago a group of skater kids painted graffiti all over the place and built some awesome skate-rings. The place was a part of the urban mythology of our city. 

Of course, everyone was more interested in the East High, cause High School Musical was filmed there. I didn't blame them, I just preferred the skate house. It felt way more personal, probably because it wasn't televised. Or maybe because I had so many memories that led back there. 

I remember Nini and me coming here together when we were 8 to watch the older kids skate. I remember learning to skate here myself a few years down the line. I remember Nini and me having dates here once that we were together, and I remember her coming to watch me skate. All of that seemed so distant now. I wasn't sure if Nini and I would ever be able to fix this. Even the thought of not having her around hurt me. Hell, we knew each other since pre-school, this silence between us felt devastating. I swore right then and there that I'd fix things with Nini. I needed her in my life, even only as a friend. 

Inside I watched the people skate. Everything seemed to be going as usual. Kids were doing crazy tricks, laughing, having fun. I didn't feel like it. Did I mention already that my mind was a mess right now?