euphoria. [ rini au ]

chapter eleven.

Nini's fury bubbled under the surface Friday night as she sat at the Caswell's table, cutting her meatball into tiny pieces on her plate. Around her, the Caswell's and her mother were chatting while E.J. kept his mouth in a grim line. There was a lull in the conversation as her mother left to grab the forgotten garlic bread from the kitchen and Sue Caswell turned her attention to the two sullen teens.

"You two seem quiet tonight. Tough track practice today?" she inquired.

"Uh yeah, Mom. Lots going on and stuff," he rushed and his mother gave him an odd look.

"You too, Nini? Your mother mentioned you've been up early every morning this week to run as far as the Bowen's and back for training," the woman continued politely.

"Yup." Nini's voice was short and clipped as if it took great effort to be polite.

"Mom, Nini and I were thinking we may sneak over to her house after dessert and watch a movie or something. That cool with you?" E.J. asked.

"Of course. Anyone else invited? Ricky? Big Red? Ashlyn?" Sue asked as she scooped some more salad on to her plate.

"Actually, it's just me and Nini. I think everyone else is busy." E.J. told them.

"Oh," his mother sounded slightly surprised. "I thought Lynne had mentioned that Ricky would be alone for the weekend while her and Mike drove down to Provo for a wedding tonight and tomorrow. You should text him and see if he wants to stay with us for the weekend."

"Mom, I'm sure Ricky can handle the dark," E.J. replied, shoving food into his mouth at a record pace to end the meal before Nini exploded.

"Aw, E.J., I didn't know the little bas- Ow!" Nini cried out as E.J.'s foot connected with her shin under the table. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know your leg was there," he replied innocently before looking back to his parents. "I think it will just be me and Nini tonight."

"If you're sure," Sue replied, seeing the look Dana was giving her daughter and how her own son kept glaring at the quiet girl on the other end.

"Definitely sure," E.J. growled as Nini returned the vicious kick.

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Ricky contemplated the note on the kitchen table from his parents for the third time before pulling out a frozen pizza from the freezer and popping it in the oven. He could go to Nini's for dinner and face not only her wrath but possible death while no one was looking, or he could sit at home alone on a Friday night and eat pizza and wallow in a mix between self criticism and frustration with her. He chose the latter. Reaching for his phone, he scrolled through his contact list to find E.J.'s number.

"Hey, man, what's up?" E.J. said, trying to sound nonchalant as he answered.

"What are you up to? I was thinking some X-Box or we could check out some of the new releases at the movie theatre in town tonight," Ricky responded, checking his pizza and wishing for it to hurry up. He had spent the evening shooting baskets until he could barely lift his arms, but he could still only think of her.

"Oh, actually something came up." Ricky rolled his eyes at his friends inability to lie, even through the phone. Then he heard a muffled voice call to E.J. and he sighed.

"She's there, isn't she?" he asked.

"Uh, who? No one's here," E.J. insisted, almost convincing Ricky until he heard Nini threaten to put on Moana if he didn't hurry up.

"Moana? Enjoy that by yourself, dude," Ricky snapped, ticked that E.J. was back to playing peacemaker and keeping them separated.

"Nah, Nini is too mad at you to sit through Moana. Just watch, she'll choose X-Men or Underworld or something equally violent."

"Whatever. I guess X-Box is out?" he asked, pulling his pizza out of the oven.

"Yeah, sorry, man. Next time. You're not mad, are you? because I could always try and pawn her off to Gina or Ashlyn."

"No, it's fine. She's mad at me and you'll let her vent," Ricky assured him.

"You're not pissed at her? You're not going to go off again about how she overreacts and makes a big deal about everything?" E.J. said, seeming taken aback, having expected another repeat of the argument from that afternoon.

"No, I am. But I'm being the big person and giving her space. She'll come around," Ricky insisted.

"Dude, I don't think you understand. She is mad. Like kicked hornets' nest mad. Like my parents last year when they found out about the party. If you wait for her to 'come around', you'll be eighty and in a wheelchair," E.J. informed him before another threat came from the brunette. "Look, I have to go but just think about apologizing or something?"

"Sure, but I'm waiting for the flying pigs first," Ricky retorted. "Go and watch the stupid movie with Neens before I consider showing up for a rematch."

"You're still calling her Neens," E.J. teased.

"Well, yeah," Ricky growled, disliking the name on anyone else's lips. "What else am I supposed to call her?"

Slamming his phone on the countertop, he glared at his pizza before glaring at his phone. His fingers itched to grab it and dial her number but instead he threw it across the room. She was an expert at driving him insane, whether it was with her temper or her fingers trailing across his skin and he was nearing the limit. He hated that part of him that wanted to apologize and grovel for a peace treaty but the other part spurned him for contemplating backing down. He never backed down to Nini. they hit impasses, dead ends, ran out of things to say before repeating their favourite insults, but never would one of them willingly cave to the other. How was he supposed to do that now? How could she expect him to do it now?

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He wasn't going to give in any time soon, Nini realized on Saturday morning when she reached the intersection where she normally met Ricky for their morning run. It had been stupid of her to expect him to be there, but the tiny part of her mind that said she wanted him back had told her that maybe he would show up.

Not likely, she knew. He was a stubborn ass when he wanted to be - which was most of the time. He was cocky and arrogant and impulsive and possessive. He made her blood fizzle in a way that made her want to scream and kiss him at the same time. The way his fingers dove into her hair every chance the got made her want to tear into him like there was no escape. She hated this sense of losing control he always gave her.

It wasn't something new. Their history had the two of them battling for an edge, for power, for control over something neither understood or could label. Neither ever won. Neither ever gave in and that thought brought tears to her eyes. If they were repeating history, then everything would go back to the way it was. They would yell and fight and sling hurtful words that they meant but went deeper than anyone realized. They would clear rooms and separate friends.

Slumping to the curb, Nini rested her face in her hands and tried to push past the tears and feel anger instead. Searching her heart, she tried to find a smidgen of hate, of resentment, of anger to throw at the smiling picture of Ricky in her head. She had never cried for Ricky Bowen. She had sworn it would never happen and yet, here she was, crying on the sidewalk for a boy she wanted to strangle as much as she wanted to kiss him. She ignored the sound of feet on the pavement as someone ran by, knowing it wasn't him because she had given him to reason to come.

Wiping a hand across her eyes, she stood shakily and turned back to her house, her feet heavier and clumsy as she jogged. He wouldn't come to her, she told the naive part of her that argued otherwise. He would wait for her. He would try to prove that he had done nothing wrong, or at least nothing to warrant having his balls kicked in. He would wait for her and she wasn't ready to go to him.