euphoria. [ rini au ]

chapter fifteen.

Ricky woke up Saturday morning to a pounding headache, a scratchy throat and a swollen tongue, in a room he vaguely recalled being in once before. Rolling from his stomach to his side, he cringed away from the bright window and buried his head in the pillow. A hundred thoughts whipped and slammed through his brain and it hurt too much to separate them into actual facts.

Groaning as the jackhammer in his brain moved to a higher setting, Ricky gripped the pillow in his fists and tried to calm the rolling in his stomach that was less from the alcohol and more from the migraine. He could hear voices below, most likely in Carlos's kitchen and he tried to recall how he got from Jacob Toldi's party to the current bedroom he was in across the street. It was Carlos's guest bedroom, he knew that, he just couldn't piece together what had occurred after. . . . .

Oh, God, had he really done jello shots with the cheerleaders? That was the final clear memory and then everything else seemed fuzzy and surreal. thinking was too hard but he could remember flashes of E.J. taking him upstairs and then there had been puking followed by . . . well, he wasn't sure what had followed because it was nearly impossible and idealistic of him to think that Nini had been in the bathroom with him. Yet it was what his sore head was telling him. If it was true and the alcohol wasn't lying to him, then everything was back to being perfect and he could run back to her house and kiss her senselessly while apologizing for vomiting in her presence. If it wasn't, then fate was cruel and he would have to wait until he didn't feel like screaming to run to her and apologize anyways. He liked the idea that everything had been worked out. Call him lazy, but at the moment it seemed like less effort.

"We got food going downstairs if you're game," E.J. announced, surprised to see his friend up and functioning like a sober person. "Although I would suggest putting some clothes on first." Ricky looked confused before glancing down to see he was just wearing a pair of sweatpants with a Juilliard logo on the front top corner. Most likely Carlos's. He shot a questioning look at E.J. who just threw his hands up. "Hey, don't look at me. It's not like I undressed you or something. I was just going to toss you on the bed and let you sleep but she insisted on making you comfortable."

"She?" Ricky asked, the sound coming out in a whisper.

"You don't remember? Dude, you need to pull it together unless you want to ruin what happened last night. Nini would kill you if after all that, you forgot," he warned.

"Neens? She's - Wait, that was all real? She actually talked to me? I thought that was all in my head, like a weird hallucination from mixing shots or something," Ricky blurted out. "She was really there in the bathroom? she really - Oh, God, I puked on her."

"Well, you didn't puke on her," E.J. informed him. "But she did make sure you aimed for the toilet and she let you pass out on her. And then she helped us get your drunken ass back here and dressed you. Either way, you owe her."

"Did I say anything to her? Anything stupid? Anything she's mad about or that I didn't mean? Is she still mad at me?"

"Uh, no, surprisingly," E.J. admitted. "She's all floaty and smiley and happy. Whatever you did, it worked. She keeps mentioning how drunk people are more honest than anyone else and she has no problem with you getting hammered."

"Seriously? You have no idea. I woke up this morning and I thought I had dreamt every moment with her," Ricky told his friend, relief lessening the headache.

"Don't worry about it. You and Neenster can work out everything that happened later. Right now I want food and she won't give it to me until you get down there."

Grinning, Ricky grabbed a t-shirt from the bag he brought, pulling it over his head and following E.J. out the door, down to the kitchen. Heads looked up and the laughs stopped as the two entered, Ricky's eyes searching only for one person.

"Hey, you're up," Nini said, looking over her shoulder as she scooped pancakes onto a plate for the table. "How do you feel?"

"Shitty," he admitted, watching her for any sign of anxiety or hesitation but coming up empty as she smiled at him. "Where are my chocolate chip pancakes?" he asked, sounding slightly whiney.

"You don't get any," Big Red called out as Nini pushed the toaster down. "Nini's orders."

"What? Why?" Ricky cried out as E.J. tried not to laugh with his mouth full.

"Because you're hungover and pancakes always make you sick when you're in that state. So you, Hotshot, get some eggs and toast. Enjoy," Nini announced, sliding a plate under his nose.

"Stupid vodka jello shot," Ricky grumbled, not noticing the smile tugging on Nini's lips as she picked up that he could remember at least that far. She didn't want to pry and dig into his memory, knowing that even if he didn't recall everything now, he would probably later on. He obviously knew that they had reached a truce in their argument but E.J. could have said something while getting him from upstairs.

"Blame the beer too," Carlos added. "It had its fun time in your system too."

"Haha," Ricky retorted, thinking it was anything but fun, "Was I the only one completely smashed?"

"No, the cheerleaders were fully clothed in the pool when we left - seeing how you graciously left them fifty jello shots," Gina replied. "And Brett Anderson was pretty trashed after Nini rejected him in front of all his friends."

"He hit on you?" Ricky spit through his teeth, trying not to be annoyed at the sigh that escaped the brunette who was sitting on the counter behind him.

"He tried to teach me to play pool and I didn't like how close he was. I didn't reject him, I just told him I needed to use the washroom and I never came back," she supplied, watching his face relax.

"How long did it take him to figure out you weren't going to?" Ricky asked, failing at hiding his obnoxious smile.

"Not long. Toldi's girlfriend came outside looking for E.J. and told him that Nini was in the bathroom with you,"Gina told him. "His buddies had been harassing him all night for hitting on your girl."

"Gi," Nini interrupted quietly, "not here, please."

"Fine," she sighed, nibbling on a piece of fruit. "I'll wait until you've done the whole 'awkward after fight chat'."

"Have you had any Advil yet?" Nini asked quietly, seeing the tense lines around Ricky's eyes. When he shook his head, she glanced at Big Red before standing and putting her plate in the sink. "Come on, I'll find you some," she offered, waiting for him to leave the table and follow her.

"Whoa, what?" Gina called, looking perplexed. "I didn't expect you to do it now."