𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 (𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚) || hsmtmts au

4. our last summer

•••••

R I C K Y 'S P O V

NINI'S HOUSE

nini hums along to the radio on the drive home, a content look on her face that i've come to love over the past thirteen years. well, i mean, i love all of her faces, but this one is definitely one of my favorites.

we finally pull into her driveway, the sun starting to set on the horizon. she unbuckles and grabs her backpack while i do the same, meeting her at the front of the car to go inside.

"you know what we should do?" she says. instead of going in, she skips over to the back gate and tries to reach up to open the gate door.

"what are we doing?" i grin, coming up to her and reaching to pull up and open it. she gives me a thankful look and excitedly gestures to the tan treehouse we used to play in all the time when we were kids.

"can that even still support us?" i laugh while we walk over to the latter. she shrugs and gives me a look that reads i guess we'll see, handing me her backpack. nini carefully climbs up the old latter, with me and our backpacks following close behind her.

"oh my god, we haven't been here in so long," she giggles, sprawling herself out on the floor with a wide nostalgic smile on her face--that i wouldn't miss for the world.

"i don't remember there being this much dust," i joke, sliding nini's pink backpack over to her. i lay down next to her on the wooden floor, taking in the view of the pink and orange sunset coming in through the old fogged window.

"yeah, dust," she jokes, looking back at me.

"what else would it be?"

"i don't know, asbestos?!" nini giggles.

"i honestly wouldn't be surprised, this treehouse has seen so much go down," i laugh, shaking my head and looking over at her. she's wearing her comfy pink cardigan and mom jeans, her loose curls spread around her head. the two of us are laying on our backs staring at the ceiling.

••

"...i just can't believe them sometimes, you know?"

nini's been ranting about something, but i'm honestly not even bothering to pay attention. she just looks too gorgeous when the light hits her skin just right, and that combined with the little faces she makes when she's going off about something just takes all of my attention.

"uh-huh," i sigh.

"ricky? hellooo?"

"uh-huh."

"you'll literally never believe what happened," she says.

"uh-huh."

"i robbed a bank."

"uh-huh."

"oh, after that, i assassinated the president."

"uh-huh."

"and..i'm pregnant."

"wait, what?!" i say, snapping myself back into reality. nini reaches over, gently smacking the back of her hand on my chest in a fit of giggles.

"gotcha!"

"nina salazar-roberts!!"

"you should've seen your face!"

"that's not funny! you scared the shit out of me!!"

"it's kinda funny though," she smiles, turning her head to look at me.

"really? 'cause i don't think so," i say, my tone getting quieter as i scoot closer to her, not breaking our eye contact.

"i don't know, i think so," nini says under her breath, our foreheads and noses pressed together on the floor of the treehouse. i could just go for it right now if i wanted to.

um. not that i want to. i don't.

i shouldn't, right?

it's kind of ironic, this is where nini and i had our first--and only--kiss.

FLASHBACK - SUMMER OF EIGHTH GRADE, NINI'S TREEHOUSE

nini and i are sitting in her backyard treehouse on a breezy salt lake city afternoon, the smell of outdoor air and nini's lavender scent to be inhaled everywhere.

nini's sitting right next to me, the two of us propped up against the wall of the tiny wooden building. we're making friendship bracelets, an activity that nini loves--i don't think it's that fun, but nini really enjoys it--and i like seeing her happy. she leans over and turns up the music from her ipod, playing dancing queen by ABBA.

"is this the one from the movie you made me watch about the beach?" i ask.

"you mean mamma mia??" she says, getting up off the floor and reaching her hand out for me.

"yeah, that one," i smile, taking her hand and standing up with her. she giggles as i spin her around to the music, the two of us just enjoying each other's company. i grab her waist without thinking and pull her close, not wanting this moment to ever be over.

"ricky!" nini yips as i accidentally step on one of the stray green friendship bracelet beads on the floor, sending us both tumbling to the ground. i land on top of her--thankfully, my hand's cupped around the back of her head--so neither of us were actually hurt.

"oh my god, nini, are you okay?!" i say, not even thinking about moving.

"uhm, yeah," she breathes out, "i'm better than okay."

the two of us make eye contact that feels like it lasts forever--but the good kind of forever, the kind where i would never even think about looking away, ever.

"you're..really pretty," i blurt out, still on top of her with my hands framing her head. the only sounds that can be heard are our heavy breathing and the birds chirping in the trees outside.

"you're pretty, too."

she takes a moment before she quickly leans up and presses a kiss to my mouth. it catches me off guard at first, but i kiss her back as soon as i realize what's happening. the two of us pull away after a second, our involuntary grins stopping us from continuing. we smile at each other, soaking in the enjoyable moment that i knew--even then--that i'd never forget.

"mm, i'm hungry, are you in the mood for bagel bites?" nini says out of the blue after a while of us just staring at each other, bringing us both back into reality.

PRESENT

after that, we went inside and ate pepperoni bagel bites, neither of us ever bringing it up again.

don't get me wrong, i tried to do it again. i really did. i guess.. i guess i liked kissing nini--

i mean, it's not like i could just kiss the prettiest, kindest, most amazing girl on the planet and just forget about it the next day.

it's just...it's so nerve-racking bringing that kind of thing up, especially when you have so many years of friendship that you've built. of course i was going to get around to it someday;

i just thought i had more time to do it.

and now she's with e.j. it's fine, really. no big deal. it's not like i'm in love with her or anything, she's my best friend. and she looks happy. so i guess, in a way, i'm happy.

i think.