jolivia•rini•hsmtmts

^hers(2)

Ricky sat on the stairs clutching his phone in his hands, his leg bounced in anxiety as he wondered if she should take Nini's advice. As much as he was angry at Nini, angry for letting him leave and most of all angry for being right. He regretted the way he spoke to her she was only trying to help him. He trembled as moved passed Nini's name on his speed dial and finally decided to talk to his mom.

The theatre was ruined, miss Jenn was spiraling and all Ricky could think to do was try to speak it into existence

"Gina okay. She's a fighter, she'll be back for opening night" He announced optimistically. He could feel Nini's eyes boring into the side of his face as he spoke. She seemed like she actually cared, but he didn't know why he was surprised. Of course, even though Gina hadn't exactly been the nicest to her she was still concerned. He was snapped out of his thought process brutally as a random sand bag came caterpaulting down way too near to where him and Nini were standing. Instinctively, he moved himself and Nini backwards away from the crashing object. Stunned, he didn't realise he still had his arm in front of Nini protectively.

Oh God.

Rehearsing with Nini, alone. After all that had happened, there was no way it could go well. He might as well buckle up for a hectic and awkward rehearsal. After accidentally making eye contact with Nini he hastily looked away as if he was looking for something else, anything else. 

Having no idea what to say as they were walking through and searching the room, he panicked and awkwardly asked "So how have you been?" and then tried to apologise like an idiot. That only made Nini more angry and passive agressive. Getting frustrated, he finally told Nini what he had been feeling for weeks (not that thing though, this is not the time) and God knows he hates the word 'buddy' and it's even worse coming from Nini's mouth. He much prefers her calling him baby but that doesn't seem very likely considering how mad she is. He tried to concentrate but all he could think about what how the words rang true to their relationship. They had become best friends in kindergarten and she was his entire reason for his passion for music and why he was in this godforsaken show. It was especially concentrate when all he could see was Nini's face. He just wanted to reach out and kiss her but that was not at all a good idea she'd probably kill him and he wasn't going to make this situation any worse. Yeah, he wanted her back but he might have damaged it beyond repair during his whole escapade. To be honest, he'd started to enjoy doing the show and it had become less about Nini and about this new experience. He'd made friends, there was Gina. Gina was an enigma, she was completely different to Nini but also somehow the same. Maybe that was what Ricky needed, but it certainly wasn't what he wanted. He wanted Nini, he wanted Nini so bad it hurt. His chest squeezed and stabbed every time he saw her with EJ. For a while, she had looked so happy he thought maybe he shouldn't be the one to ruin it. Selfishly, he was glad when it all came crumbling down. Nini deserved better than EJ and better than Ricky. But Ricky was determined to be better for Nini and he would do whatever it takes to get her to understand how he feels about her, evn it meant doing a thousand of these musicals. As they stood there, staring into each other's eyes, Ricky was begging for them to feel normal again. 

"Do you remember in kindergarten when I couldn't pronounce your name?"

Nini had always been the most considerate and kind person he'd ever met, instead of teasing him she embraced it. Their history was full with dumb anecdotes that he couldn't help but grin like an idiot whenever it was brought up. Part of Ricky will always be embedded into Nini's history and their lives will always been entwined. Both of them are responsible for a lot of each other's identities. She wasn't Ninia, she was Nini, his Nini. And he would always be her Ricky despite the circumstance. He'd always be hers. 

"You could just call me buddy"

Ouch. He really was sorry for that one, he was taking his anger at his parents and himself out on Nini. It was unfair to her. He'd done a lot of pretty despicable stuff to her: the barbie; the lemonade stand; the science project. She had stayed by his side throughout all that but he guessed this last one was unforgivable and he'd never be redeemed in her eyes. He really did love her, it consumed him everyday, so much that it hurt. Everytime he looked at her he was reminded of their history, his mistakes and how much he loved her. She was the most beautiful, lovable person and he couldn't tear his eyes off her. Like an idiot, he brought up his biggest, stupidest mistake and ruined it all. They were finally getting  slowly closer to some sort of normal. Maybe if she was reminded of it all she wouldn't want to let go. His love may appear silent, but inside  it's screaming, protesting and fighting against his brain. Having never seen a healthy expression of love from anyone but Nini and her parents, he wasn't completely sure how to prove it to her. He had been paralysed in panic and before he could absorb the information he had screwed everything up. Determined to fix it, he decided he'd find a way to show her how much he loved her. But she wanted those three words... and he didn't know how to say them. 

It would be an understatement to say that every one of his thoughts was about Nini, granted he didn't have many, but the ones he did have were always about her. Even as they were sitting at the piano he couldn't stop thinking about her. That was until Gina interrupted. And Nini brought up some drama school, that was her dream. His heart catapulted out of his chest when he found out it was in Denver, she was so insanely talented of course she was going to go. He was always good at recognising talent and Nini, she was up there with that Minnie Mouse. Being completely honest, he used to have a small crush on Minnie the Mouse but it never compared to his infatuation with Nini that had lasted nearly all his life. Time froze when she looked at him. If he wasn't mistaken she was looking at his lips. Of course as they were nearly about to, Big Red came storming in and Nini couldn't have jumped further away from him. As they started to leave and follow Big Red, Ricky realised it was now or never. 

"Nini." He turned around Nini nearly bumped into him. "I-I wasn't going to say anything, I was going to wait but now I realise if I don't say this now I might regret it for the rest of my life. And it's not what I planned, there's no gift, no stupid speech I should have prepared. You are my best friend in the entire world, and I don't know what I'd do without you. Please, let me prove to you that I love you." He blurted, looking down at the floor when he'd finished. Oh god, she was probably going to reject him and everything would be ruined. 

"What did you just say?"

"You're my best friend" Raising an eyebrow at her questions,

"No" She spat, frustrated. "After that" She pleaded.

"Oh" Ricky said, just realising he'd actually said it. Looking at her with the dopiest smile he whispered: "I love you Nini Salazar-Roberts." She stood there in stunned silence for a couple seconds, she looked like she was going to cry. 

"And I love you Ricky Bowen" She whispered as she threw herself at him. He caught her quickly with his hands around her hips. She wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck as she kissed him like she'd never done before. Between kissing her he would mumble 'I love you' to her. Sliding his hands down her back and to the top of her thighs, he pulled her as close as humanly possible to his body. They were interrupted as Big Red tripped in, 

"Hey Guys, are you c-" Stopping and staring at them astonished he didn't know what to do other than clap and yell "Finally. Oh my god! I'm so happy for you guys." Nini turned bright red in embarrassment and hid her face in the crook of Ricky's neck while he tried not to grin proudly. "So Ricky, you finally grew some balls and told her you loved her." Ricky sputtered in protest but Nini just laughed as Ricky put her down. Nudging Big Red out the door she began to talk about the pizza.

"So what were you saying about pepperoni?"

Ricky leant against the wall, he wasn't completely sure if he could move. Had he really just done that?  

"Hey Nini, wait!" He chased after the pair as they descended down the hallway. As he scooped Nini's hand into his, everything felt perfect. Everything was finally okay because he was with Nini.