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

12. from a dream

R I C K Y 'S P O V

INSIDE RICKY BOWEN'S PHONE

--

little orange (big red 🙄)

hey are u coming over later??

fortnite just got updated

i cant man

y not

i may or may not have a date 😳

NO WAY

NO FUCKING WAY

WITH WHO

WHAT POOR GIRL

SHUT TF UP

ill tell u everything later

ok well good luck with that

--

yeah, i'm definitely gonna need it.

i look over at the roses i set down in my passengers seat along with some other cute additives as i drive, wondering if i over-did it. look, i know this isn't a real date, okay?! i'm just saying:

hypothetically, if i tried really hard and made it the best night ever, maybe it would help nini realize...

i don't know. i'm doing my best here.

i pull up to the curb in front of nini's house, nervously walking up to her front porch and ringing the doorbell. i anxiously put my hands in my pockets, hearing the sound of nini's quick little footsteps towards the door before she--

oh, fuck.

wow.

"are those for me?" nini smiles after she opens the door, her eyes glancing down at the roses in my left hand. i would try and describe to you how she looks, but..i just..

i really don't think there are any words that could accurately depict how just gorgeous she looks right now. fuck, i can't even think of any good metaphors.

she looks like..like something from a movie? or a painting? no..more like from a dream, you know? like the good kind, obviously. the best kind. the kind where you get really sad when you wake up and realize that none of it was real, because everything was just so amazingly perfect.

but here nini stands in her doorway, about to go out on a date with me. in real life.

"how'd you know i like roses?!" nini says, snapping me back into reality as she brings a hand up to the side of my hair, fixing a curl that had fallen out of place.

"had a hunch," i mumble, referring to the fact that nini's favorite color is primarily red (well, sometimes it's blue and pink, too--oh, and then there was that phase she went through in seventh grade where she was obsessed with yellow. but now it's mostly red).

"nini hun, you forgot your pho--ricky??" one of nini's moms says with a smiley confused expression on her face, coming over to the door from the kitchen to hand nini her phone.

"hey carol!! oh, here," i grin, pulling a rose out of the bouquet and handing it to nini's mom.

"aw, how sweet!! i'm sorry, i'm just a little confused.." carol chuckles, "i thought you said you had a date tonight, what happened to--"

"friend date. we're just going out as friends, mom," nini corrects, obviously trying to avoid having to explain it to her parents. and yeah, i don't blame them for being confused. carol looks back into the kitchen where dana is, the two of them exchanging knowing looks. i mean, it was only a matter of time until this happened, there's no shock in that. again, it's just the elton john of it all.

"oh, okay then," she says, starting to usher us out the door, "say it with me now, eleven o'clock?"

"eleven o'clock," nini and i say simultaneously as she reaches down, gently grabbing my hand.

"okay, have fun!!"

"not too much fun," dana adds from the kitchen, earning a laugh from carol and a groan from nini.

"MOM!! it's a friend--"

"i know, i know! sorry!" she yips just before nini shuts the door.

"i can't with them," nini shakes her head in amusement, letting me lead her by the hand back over to my car.

"oh, here, let me.." i say, opening the car door for her.

"wow, what a gentleman," she giggles, "wait, what's all this?!"

"oops, forgot that was in the seat," i extend the car door further open, bending down and grabbing the box of chocolates and white teddy bear sitting in the passenger seat.

"you did not!" her jaw drops open, her eyes widened with happiness. the white teddy bear is a parallel to my childhood bear franklin (who i obviously still have in my room, because nini thinks it's cute). it's not the same bear, franklin being beige and this one being pure white.

"i definitely did," i chuckle.

"with the little glasses too!!" she readjusts the tiny thick black glasses on the bear.

"well, duh. frankie needs to be able to see!"

"oh my god, that's perfect," she laughs, clutching the bear to her chest. this isn't just any gift, though. here's the kicker; i sprayed it all over with throb, so now every time nini holds it it'll smell like me. so, she'll have something that reminds her of me (and how amazing i smell) right next to where she sleeps.

boom.

genius, i know.

N I N I 'S P O V

"this is just..wow," i sigh out, looking at ricky (who's leaned up against the car door).

"we haven't even left your house yet nins, this is just the beginning," he grins, holding up the box of chocolates in his hand and tapping the front with his fingers. i bite my lip, not even trying to contain my bright smile anymore as i grab it and sit down in the passengers seat.

"mm," i giggle as i try one of the chocolates from the box while ricky drives.

"don't fill up on those neeners, we're literally on our way to dinner," he laughs.

"that one's newer, i like it," i say, licking the chocolate off my finger.

"what is?"

"the variations of my name you keep making up. nins, neenie, neener, neeners, and then of course nini--"

"hey! i couldn't help that one!" he says over my laughter, "besides, i have to keep making new ones. your boyfriend keeps taking mine."

"i'm not complaining," i shrug, grabbing a chocolate from the box. ricky opens his mouth and tilts his head towards me, suggesting that i give him one. i do (obviously), holding a chocolate with my thumb and index finger and letting him take a bite as he drives.