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

37. three, two, one

G I N A 'S P O V

meanwhile

"so..how'd it go?" ashlyn asks me after the group disperses in the hallway, finding their rides to ashlyn's afterparty.

"pretty fucking terrible, ash. i'm pretty sure she left with ricky, so..i guess there goes my only chance."

"well, it's not your only chance, g. you've still got all of next week."

"yeah, about that.." i say, playing with one of the rings on my fingers.

"what? you're not staying?!"

"my mom booked my flight early, i didn't really have a part in the decision. which sucks."

"how early is early?"

"..a couple of hours," i frown.

she thinks for a second, "you know what? cancel it."

"you know i'd love to, but i don't know even have a place to stay."

"you can spend the night in my guest room."

"wait, deadass?!"

"honestly, you can stay through graduation if you want," she jokes, "or, actually.."

"what?"

"i just had the craziest idea."

ONE MONTH LATER, NINI's HOUSE

R I C K Y 'S P O V

"did all of yours come in?!" nini asks me excitedly as she opens up her front door, a couple of white envelopes in both of our hands.

"duh!"

"then get in here!"

nini tugs me inside and up the stairs to her room, sitting down on her bed and sprawling out all of her letters. we're both super nervous-i mean, why wouldn't we be? these pieces of paper are quite literally going to determine whether or not we can stick together for college, and it's scary as fuck.

"okay, did you get one from UCLA?" she asks me, leaning over to sort through mine. we had decided to save all of the letters and open them all at once together, since we applied to all of the same places. UCLA and pepperdine were both of my top options (because california, obviously).

"yeah, it's right here," i breathe out.

"okay-three, two, one!"

we rip open our letters together, our eyes looking through the paragraph of words that would decide our future. my face lights up when i read the word accepted, my heart pounding in excitement before i look over at nini's sunken expression.

"i didn't get in.."

"hey, hey, it's fine. it's just one school, we've still got a few more letters. don't freak out."

"you're right, let's just..did you get one from nyu?"

"isn't that the one who's scout liked you?" i sort through my pile, "i've got it."

it's also the one e.j got a waterpolo scholarship to, but i couldn't care less about that. it's kind of her dream school, because she'd be closer to broadway (of course).

she breathes in deeply, "one, two, three.."

i open up the letter anxiously, my eyes scanning the paper until i see the word waitlisted.

"I'M IN!!" nini squeals, jumping me from across the bed and hugging me tight.

"i'm waitlisted.."

she pulls away a little, "that's not bad, there's still a chance!! oh my god, oh my god-i've got to.."

nini grabs her phone, hopping up from the bed and dialing some number from her contacts.