the flaw in being perfect - rini au

sixty three

Nini has a feeling something bad is going to happen today.

She doesn't know exactly why, but she feels uneasy. Her stomach is practically churning.

"You okay?" Kourtney asks in the hallway before their first class.

"Yeah," Nini says slowly.

That's when it hits. Her phone dings and she sees a notification from her cheer group chat.

Lilliana
gina, i heard youre with ej now???

Gina
i don't date, but i'm not going to deny that we've messed around a bit 😏

Emma
omg

Tiana
so he's slept with you AND nini now? ugh how can i get in on that

Nini stares at her phone, disgusted.

"What happened?" Kourtney asks.

"Gina slept with EJ."

Kourtney scoffs. "Of course she did."

"What the hell is she trying to do here?" Nini asks.

Then it dawns on her.

Nini looks up from her phone. "She's trying to tell me I'm replaceable."

Kourtney furrows her eyebrows. "I mean, I guess that makes sense.

Nini quickly types a message into her phone.

just a reminder that this chat is for cheer purposes! but while we're on the topic, i'm happy gina was able to get my sloppy seconds :) she deserves to have a bone thrown to her every once in a while. see you all at practice later!

Kourtney laughs, watching over Nini's shoulder as she sends the message. "So you're bold bold today."

"I'm done letting her walk all over me," Nini determines. "She has no idea what kind of hell she's just released."

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It's lunchtime now, and Nini has a plan.

It's time for operation: ruin Gina and EJ.

Step 1– talk to the cheer coach.

"Coach Jen, I hate that I have to be the one to tell you, but I can't keep it a secret now that I know. Gina has been cheating in most of her classes by getting the answers from different sports team members. As far as I'm aware, that's plagiarism and punishable for academic demerit," Nini tells her seemingly innocently.

"Are you sure about this, Nini? That's a big accusation," Jenn warns.

"Jenn, I would never do this without understanding the situation fully." Nini shakes her head worriedly. "I just don't want her to be the role model for new girls on the team when this is how she's getting good grades."

"Thank you for coming to me, Nini. I'll make sure your tip stays anonymous through this process."

Step 2– get the football team to believe Nini over EJ and Gina

"Grant, I know you had some kind of relationship with Gina. How are you doing with that rumor about her and EJ?"

Grant furrows his eyebrows. "She's with EJ?"

"Oh my gosh, did you not hear?" Nini widens her eyes. "Gina and EJ are together. I don't know how long it's been going on."

Grant scratches his head. "Oh, wow. Okay."

"Gina and EJ honestly suck. I'm really glad I'm not friends with them anymore. I just wish they'd stop trying to spread rumors about me. I think they're scared I'll start telling the truth about them." Nini grimaces.

"Have they all been rumors?" Grant asks.

"Yeah. Especially the one where I slept with EJ. I only went on that date because I was scared of what would happen if I didn't," Nini sheepishly admits — well, so that Grant would see it as sheepish, anyway.

"Oh my God, Ni, why didn't you tell anyone?" Grant asks, concerned.

Nini shakes her head. "I should have, I know. He just holds some kind of power over people."

Now, Grant just needs to start leaking that to the team. Sure enough, Ricky tells Nini about a message he receives less than ten minutes later in a chat of the entire team... minus EJ.

"It says 'idk about y'all, but EJ kind of creeps me out.. nini told me something about him that you may want to hear.'" Ricky looks down to Nini with a smile.  "It worked."

Nini snuggles farther into him as they sit against the side of the bleachers. "I knew it would. We'll have to wait and see if the Gina part works."

"I can't imagine it won't. I can't believe she's been cheating in all her classes."

"I can't believe I haven't had to lie to get people to hate them," Nini laughs in disbelief.

"Honestly, I can. I just can't believe how long they've been in power over the school."

"Me either. Why do people just succumb to the mean group?" Nini asks genuinely.

"That's how it was at my old school, too. I dated the queen bee for a solid month before realizing it was the worst idea I'd ever had." Ricky rests his hand on Nini's leg.

"How many exes do you have?" Nini asks, playing with his fingers.

"Just two. Lexi, the queen bee, and a girl named Cass."

Nini nods. "When was the last one?"

"Cass and I broke up a few weeks before I moved, but it wasn't anything crazy. She just liked another guy, and we weren't really meant to last, anyway. I think I just dated her because I felt like I should."

"Are you dating me because you think you should?"

"Princess, I have a feeling no one at this school had a bet on us dating."

Nini lets out a small laugh. "You haven't called me Princess in a while."

"If that's an open invitation for me to say it more often, don't think I'll pass it up, Princess." Ricky squeezes her leg playfully.

Nini looks up at him behind her. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"It's always good to hear." Ricky smirks.

"Oh shut up," Nini laughs before leaning in for a kiss.

It's sweet and innocent, but that doesn't stop the warmth growing in Nini's chest. Gosh, she could kiss him all day and never get tired of it.

The two pull apart, resting their foreheads together.

"Hey, lovebirds," a voice calls.

They look over to see Red jogging towards them.

"A little birdy told me Gina Porter was suspended."

"Already?" Nini raises her eyebrows.

"Do you know anything about it?" Red asks.

"No..." Nini drawls suspiciously.

Ricky laughs from behind her. "What else did you hear, Red?"

"She thinks one of the guys she stood up narked on her because she's been cheating in her classes." Red smiles. "She's out for a week."

Nini looks to Ricky with a smile.

Gina has no idea it was her. Honestly? That sounds pretty great to them because Gina won't know who to come for when her suspension ends.

"Why am I always missing something?" Red complains.

"You don't want to know, Red. Don't worry about it," Ricky waves it off.

Nini can't stifle her laughter.

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feeling: maniacal

rini is such a power couple

-jenna