Match Made in Heaven

L͟e͟t͟'s͟ R͟u͟n͟ A͟w͟a͟ ͟y

you've probably heard of Romeo and Juliet. you know, the story of two star crossed lovers, by Shakespeare? this is a similar story.

two feuding families, but no one really knows why. that's between the parents of each family. not even their kids know why. that's why it was so easy for the two of them to fall in love. it was their not-so-little secret. they met up every chance they could get, whether it was sneaking off in between classes, or sneaking out of the house at night, they did whatever they could to see each other. it had been going on for over a year, and they had managed to keep this secret from everyone.

Nini was just putting books in her locker after rehearsals when she felt arms wrap around her waist. "hey, i missed you today." Ricky said as he placed a soft kiss to her neck. she closed her locker and leaned back into his chest. "i missed you too."

luckily for them no one else was in the halls. Nini turned around in his arms and looped hers around his neck. "are you free tonight? i wanna show you something." he asked her. "i'll try and sneak out later tonight, but my moms want me to have dinner with them tonight." she replied. "good because i think you're gonna like this."  "can't wait." she said. "i'll park down your street at around 8:30, okay?" he asked her. "got it." she said. "awesome!" he said before placing a kiss on her cheek and leaving.

+

"moms i'm home!" Nini yelled as she walked through the door. "oh good Nini, have a seat! dinner will be ready in a few minutes!" Momma D told her. Nini nodded and took a seat at the table. her moms came in and set the food down on the table.

they sat in silence as they ate before Momma C spoke up. "look Nini, we know that lately you have been having interactions at school with that Bowen boy. we just want to make sure nothing is happening with you two." "of course not... what it be such a bad thing if there was?" she asked. "honey, you know things aren't good between our families. it's-" "but why though? why do you guys hate them so much?" she asked cutting her mom off. "sweetie, you just wouldn't understand. it's something that happened before you born." her mom explained. Nini just pretended to understand and nodded.

after dinner Nini told her moms she was heading to bed for the night. luckily for her, her moms were too busy watching Criminal Minds to notice that she would be gone. Nini slipped into one of Ricky's hoodies that she only wore if she was home alone and some sweatpants before opening her window and slipping out. she made her way down the street to see Ricky standing leaning against the car door.

"hey you." he said wrapping her in his embrace. "hey." she replied before leaning in to give him a kiss. he smiled as they pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. "let's go."

they drove in a comfortable silence. Ricky's hand clutched onto her leg while hers rested on top of his. she stared at the out the window as they drove through the city. he hadn't told her where they were going, but she wasn't surprised. he always kept their dates secret, so she was used to it by now.

he finally pulled up to a clearing in the woods. they got out of the car and interlaced their fingers as he led her through the trees. after walking for about five minutes they came to a stop on a cliff that overlooked the rest of the city. she looked at the view astonished. "Ricky it's beautiful." she breathed out. "yeah." he said looking at her. "i used to come here all the time before we started dating. most of the time i sat here thinking about you." he said. "well i love it. thank you for bringing me here." she responded. "anything for you. i love you." he said as he pulled her close to him be her waist.

"i love you too." she said as she melted into him. they sat together and looked at the view before heading back to his car. the drive back to her street was nice. they sang along quietly to the songs that came onto the radio. as they got to her street he pulled over, so he could say goodbye. Ricky got out and walked over to her side to open the door. as she stepped out of the car he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug.

"i'll try and see you this weekend if i can come up with an excuse to my parents." he said into her hair. "i wish we didn't have make up excuses." she replied. "i know. me too. i just wanna be able to be with you in public." he told her. "someday. after we graduate we'll be able to leave this town and be together." Nini said. "Nini i don't want to wait. graduation is a year and a half away. i want to be with you now. i'm tired of our families stopping us from being happy! i want to be able to tell the world that you're my girl! i want to be able to tell my family that i'm in love, and that you're the one for me." he said as tears started spill from his eyes.

Nini stroked his cheek with her hand. "i know Bubba. i do too. i want to be able to hold your hand and hug you in public. okay? i know it's hard, but we just have to hold on." she responded as tears started to fall. Ricky pulled her close to him before an idea sparked. "what if we run away?" he asked. "huh?"  "what if we run away. we can leave it all behind. we can take my car and we can go some place where we can finally be together!" he told her. she chuckled at his comment. "Ricky, you know we can't. as much as i want to be with you without having to hide it, we can't leave. as much as i want them to let me be with you, i love my moms and can't bare to leave them. i know you feel the same way about your family. besides, where are we gonna go? we don't have any money." she said. "i know. i just-"  "Bubba it's okay. i get it. if i could leave it all behind to be with you, i would, but we can't."

+

as Nini climbed back into her window she was greeted with both of her moms sitting on her bed. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Momma D yelled. "i- i uh... um... was at the library...?" she said not so confidentially. "okay, now tell the truth." Momma C said. "okay, okay. i was out with... Ricky Bowen." she said that last part quickly hoping they wouldn't understand her. "YOU WHAT?!" her moms yelled in unison. yep. they definitely understood her. "why were you out with the Bowen kid?! and why did you lie to us?" Momma D asked. "um... him and i are uh... kinda of together."

her moms stayed silent. they just looked at her in disgust before one of her moms spoke. "you are grounded for lying to us, and you're not allowed to see him anymore." she said bluntly. "what? no you can't do tha-" "i believe i just did." her mom said before grabbing Nini's phone and walking out of her room.

Nini could hear the bedroom door lock from the outside. she flopped down onto her bed as she cried. she opened the drawer to her nightstand and looked at the picture of her and Ricky that she keeps hidden. she thought about the day the picture was taken. they met up at one of the parks on the other side of town where no one would recognize them. they had a nice little picnic in one of the isolated areas of the park. they had a great time planning out what life would be like if their families weren't feuding. they would be happy and together where everyone could see them. after high school they would go to college near each other. then after college they'd get married and move to California. they'd buy a house and start their family. they would open up a music school together where they could teach their kids and other kids about playing and making music. that was her favorite day.

before she knew it she was off of her bed and packing a bag. she wrote a note for her moms before leaving.

"dear moms,
i'm sorry, but i can't change who i love. i'm sorry to disappoint you.
love,
nini"

the next thing she knew she was outside of her window with her bag and picture before running down the street. she let her feet take her, and soon enough she ended up at Ricky's house. she grabbed a few pebbles and started throwing them at his window. after a few he came to the window with a confused look on his face. he quickly noticed the tears that ran down her face. he climbed out of his window and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"Nini, what's wrong?" he asked. "you still wanna run away? because i'll go. i'll go right now." she said. "woah, woah. where's all this coming from?" he said holding her face in his hands. "my moms. they know! they said i can't see you anymore. they'll know if i'm lying to them Ricky! i left a note telling them i'm leaving. i can't go back. they won't let be with you! i can't live li-"  "Nini, calm down! you don't have to go back! you wanna run away? i would love to run away with you!" he said before climbing back into his window. "wait right here."

it wasn't long before he came back out of his window with a bag full of stuff. he grabbed her hand and led her to the car. they both got in before starting the car and driving off. "Nini where are we gonna go?" she thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. "i think i have somewhere we can go."

part 2 coming soon