sun without rain - rini

secrets we needed to keep.

ricky is woken up by the alarm clock. nini is woken up by ricky trotting around the room like an elephant.

it's monday morning, the first day back at school after a rough weekend. for ricky, it feels like any other day, but for nini, she feels anxious, out of control. "ricky, are you sure you're going to be okay? this weekend was really big, and if you want to stay home you can" the brunette watches as he collects his school stuff, looking around the room for pens, paper and anything else he might need. "no it's fine, i have to go. it'll take my mind off things" he replies, heading into the bathroom. they two get ready and head downstairs, where carol is cooking breakfast. god, she looks bad. disheveled hair, dirty pyjamas. it's was almost 3 am when nini heard the front door close, and the voices of her moms slowly becoming louder.

"morning, my babies" she says, giving both nini and ricky a kiss on the forehead as she hands them some breakfast. "so, how was your weekend?" carol asks,
sitting opposite them. "yeah, we went driving and um..." nini looks over at ricky "cps came" "oh, everything okay?" "yeah, they said i'll probably be able to stay here, can i?" "of course ricky, we've already talked to them and they're trying their hardest" ricky stood up and gave carol a hug before putting his plate in the sink and grabbing his bag. "you ready to go?" he asks nini. she nods and puts her own plate away before the two of them head out the door.

all they can feel is the multiple pairs of eyes, watching them as they walk through the halls of east high. "i hate this. everyone judging us" nini says as ricky grabs his books from his locker. "i mean, you're the head cheerleader and i'm me" ricky replies. a group of footballers, led by captain ej, walk past, waving at nini, but pushing past ricky. "why are they such dickheads" nini asks him, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. this is the most that the pair have interacted at school. they always said that they should stick to their own "people" in order to protect the other one. but nini didn't want to protect herself.

she walks up to rickys first classroom, and gives him a hug before heading to her first class, where she finds gina, another cheerleader, sitting in their usual spots in the back row. "hey, what's up with you and that loser ricky?" "he's not a loser okay!" she starts to get defensive. "he's been my best friend since kindergarten, gina and he's having a really hard time at the moment. and also, tell ej to fuck off and leave him alone". gina and ej were the schools it couple. everyone thought it would be nini and ej, but nini had a strict policy regarding the footballers, after one too many failed relationships. "okay, fine" gina replies. the class starts, and nini focuses hard on her worksheets, as usual. soon, nini's morning classes are over and it's time for lunch. she texts ricky quickly to meet her outside the gym, a special spot she found for them to sit in peace. meanwhile, on the other side of the school, ricky is lying on the ground, unconscious.

ej and the other footballers stand around the boy, laughing. a crowd slowly appears, everyone eager to see who the unlucky boy is. after receiving a text from gina, nini arrives, running through the crowd, falling to her knees next to ricky. she takes him in her embrace. "who knew nini salazar roberts had a thing for losers", ej yells, receiving a laugh from the rest of the senior boys. nini stands up, and without thinking, punches him in the face. ej underestimated nini's strength, in shock when he feels the blood on his lip. "don't you ever, ever hurt ricky!" she yells, "or you won't know what hit you" she says, crying. a pair or arms wrap around her shoulders, and she is taken into an empty classroom. ricky's eye is bruised and his lip is bleeding, which even the sight of, makes nini break down into his arms. "i'm so sorry, ricky. this is all my fault" "nini, stop. that's just how people like ej are. thank you for sticking up for me". nini wraps her arms around his chest, and they stand there, comforting each other. "we should probably get you to the nurse" nini says. she takes his hand in her own, and they walk to the nurses office together.

"wow, this must've really hurt, ricky. are you sure you don't want to go home? a bruised eye is never good when you're trying to read handouts" the nurse says, as they enter the room. ricky looks over at nini. "i think you should ricky, i'll grab your classwork" nini says. the nurse patches up his lip with a bandage and sends them off to grab his stuff. "i'm coming with you" nini says, taking his bag before he has a chance to stop her. they walk out of the school hand in hand.

when they arrive home, nini suggests that  they should relax and watch a movie. they sit there, watching hsm, their childhood favourite. suddenly, nini turns to face ricky. "hey, ricky...is this the worst you've been hurt before?". he grabs her hand. "...no" he hesitates. nini's eyes fill with tears and ricky holds her. he brushes his hands through her hair as she weeps. "no one is ever going to hurt you again" "i know" he kissed her head as they lie together.

nini cries herself to sleep, for a week straight. she cannot comprehend how someone could hurt someone like ricky. her ricky.

**
a speaks!
new chapter is finally up! hope you enjoyed it! new chapters coming !!