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

38. you

N I N I 'S P O V

THREE WEEKS LATER

i rush downstairs when i hear the doorbell ring, opening the door to see ricky in similar comfortable attire for the warmer weather. his smile widens when he sees me, immediately pulling me into a hug and lifting me up off the ground in his arms. i squeal as he lightly kicks the door closed with his foot before setting me down when he sees momma c standing over in the kitchen. as if on cue, she looks up from the sink (having been doing the dishes), a proud, knowing grin on her face when she sees him.

"well, hey kiddo! can i fix you guys something to eat, or.."

"i don't know ricky, will we be hungry?" i ask him, jokingly trying to get a vague idea of where he's taking me for our little friend date (because of course he didn't tell me, he's ricky).

"no mom, we may or may not be eating later. what time do you want her home?" ricky says, directing the answer to momma c. i feel my cheeks heat at the sound of him calling her mom (for some reason), smiling happily to myself as i hold on to ricky tighter.

"just anytime, hun!"

"yes ma'am," ricky jokes as he opens the front door, his keys jangling in his other hand while he carries me down the sidewalk. i squeal when he sets me down, opening the car door for me before running around to his side. i get in the passenger's side and look behind me to see the back rows of seats folded down with an air mattress covered in soft pillows and blankets placed on top of it, giving him an excited look.

"hey, no sneak peeks!" he says, starting the car. i hold onto his arm as we drive, laying my head down on his shoulder and enjoying the peacefulness that comes with just being with him. the radio's got some random pop song playing softly, and the bright orange and pink sunset casts warm light onto my skin. i can't help but smile when ricky pulls into a mcdonald's drive through.

"is root beer still your favorite soda, or did it change again in the past week?" he chuckles, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

i roll my eyes playfully, biting my lip to try and contain my already wide smile.

"oh, make sure you get nugs too," i tell him, putting my chin on his shoulder when he pulls up to the microphone order thing. he does just that, getting a large root beer and twenty-piece nugs for the both of us.

"if i had known we were sharing i would have made you order your favorite, luvie."

"yeah, i know. that's why i didn't tell you," he jokes, making both of us giggle before the worker hands us our food.

~

my jaw drops when ricky pulls into a big neon-lit drive in theater, parking the car with the trunk facing the huge screen. i immediately unbuckle, excitedly hopping out of the car.

"do you like it?" ricky asks me with a smile, opening up the trunk. he's got a whole bunch of fluffy pillows and blankets piled on top on the air mattress and around the edge of it, which just makes everything a million times better.

"of course i do, you're the best."

"oh, that's not even all of it," he grins, moving to set me on the edge of the trunk. he leans over, switching on the fairy lights (that had been unnoticeable before) that were hung in his dad's car all along the edge of the air mattress and ceiling. i can't even describe the feeling i get from just being with him, my heart just flutters every time he looks at me-and i'm actually the luckiest person alive right now.

ricky jumps onto the air mattress with me, pulling me up by some of the pillows. we slip our shoes off (leaving us in our matching pair of fuzzy socks, of course) before we both get under some of the blankets. ricky reaches behind us, grabbing our root beer and chicken nuggets.

"a nug for my bub," ricky jokes, his cheesiness making me burst out into giggles while he holds one out of me. i take a bite, being careful not to accidentally bite his fingertips. he smiles brightly at me (probably because i'm eating without even thinking about it), putting the other half of the nug into his mouth as the movie starts on the big screen.

i look at him for a second, admiring the way the light hits his face before his arms unexpectedly snake around my waist and gently pick me up. he sets me down in between his legs, both of us snuggled up under multiple blankets with my back pressed against his chest. his warm arms wrap around me (which is the single best feeling in the world).

i rest my head back on his collarbone, holding our drink in front of me as we watch the movie. i hold it up for him after i take a sip, ricky resting his chin on my shoulder so he can drink from the straw too. i relax back into him, enjoying the feeling of being this close. he presses a quick kiss to the back of my head, nuzzling his nose into my hair and holding me tight.

everything's finally back to normal, and it's the best.

"you're my favorite," i sigh.

i feel him smile into my hair, "that's so weird, because you're my favorite, too."

R I C K Y 'S P O V

i play with nini's long braids as the movie goes on, running my fingers down her soft hair. she relaxes back into me and closes her eyes as i take the soda from her and put it in the cup holder. i hold her hands on her stomach, encouraging her to cuddle into me even more (which she does, obviously).

and no-i still haven't told her how i feel yet. i know, i know, this is basically self destruction at this point, but now just isn't the time. nini's been recovering from..you know, and there's just been all of the stress that comes with ending high school; and right now..nini's needed a best friend more than anything. so that's what i've been.

i can't even explain it, it just..it hurts to be close to her like this now, you know?

like every time we cuddle, or hang out, or do anything really-i'm constantly reminded of the fact that i don't have the balls to tell her how i really feel, and even if i did, there are a million things that could go wrong. therefore, i'm reminded of the possibility that this will never be anything more than platonic (which is my worst nightmare). it's like this never ending cycle of terrible feelings, and i don't know what to do.

and what sucks even more is that it just keeps getting worse. i can't help it, it's like i fall more in love with her everyday-

so it hurts more everyday.

"what're you thinking about?" nini says, tilting her head back to look at me on my chest.

"you."

"shut up," she giggles.

do you see what i mean?! any hint i try to drop just gets shot down automatically.

nini leans over and grabs her phone when she gets an alert, typing out a response.

"is that carlos again?" i laugh.

"no, um...it's kind of e.j, i guess?"

"you unblocked him?"

here we go again.

i can't help but think that maybe..maybe it's not the worst thing to ever happen in the world that i got waitlisted from nyu? i mean, i don't want to be away from nini, ever, but..

maybe it's the push i need for moving on.