i believed in you || rini au

37. miss you

nini's hands fumbled at the car door outside of ricky's apartment building, her breathing was quickening with every tear that fell down her cheeks

"s-stupid-" she muttered - more to herself than at the fact that the door wouldn't open as she pulled on the handle

she shuddered a breath as it soon opened and got in as quick as she could, starting the car as she drove through the suburbs with tears falling down her face.

all that kept circling her mind was ricky and lily talking and hugging. she couldn't understand anything that was happening. if she liked him and he needed to 'process' it, why did they end the publicity dating?

nini sniffled as she wiped her eyes once more, arriving at a red light before her phone went off, looking at the bluetooth screen to see that jenn was calling her

the girl sighed as she wiped her eyes once more and sniffled again, answering the phone

"h-hey jenn," she said, trying to mask over her emotions as she spoke

"nini, hun, i just got off the phone with the manager of grace addlington, and it turns out she added you to the list of her big birthday this weekend!" the woman exclaimed

nini took a deep breath "um-do i have to go? i-i'm not really in the party mood."

"what? nini, grace addlington is an a-star celebrity! her music had been number one every time it's release, publicity with her is perfect for your career. plus, it'll help you with everything that's been happening recently and all the rumors that were circulating."

nini let out a small breath as she ran her hands over her face "um...i'll-i'll think about it."

"alrighty, the party is this friday at the grande festival field at eight in the evening " jenn informed her "call me tomorrow if you've decided,"

nini nodded "o-okay..."

"oh! also, i'll need you to post something on your instagram or twitter. the fans need to feel like they stay in contact with you." jenn told her

"got it." the brunette mumbled, soon bidding goodbye to her manager before ending the call as the light turned green for nini to get home.

when she arrived, she shut the front door behind her and threw her bag on the vanity nearby, hearing voices in the living room

"oh! neens you're home-" seb beamed as he exited the kitchen into the entry hallway, his smile soon faded when noticing nini's red eyes and tear-stains on her cheeks "what happened?!"

nini quickly shushed the blonde boy as quick as she could and let out a small, shaken breath "um-i-i didn't talk to him."

"what?" seb frowned "did jenn stop you again??"

nini scoffed "no, but a certain blonde girl beat me to his apartment."

"what did she do?" he asked wearily

nini shook her head as she felt her eyes sting and took a deep breath, pushing her tears back "i-it's not a big deal." she told him "look-i don't want anyone else to know about it okay?"

"but we all told you to go-"

"i'll make something up. just-ignore everything, okay?" she asked pleadingly

seb nodded slowly "okay. whatever you need."

nini let out a small breath of relief "thank you."

"hey is that nini?!" gina exclaimed from the living room

"u-uhm-yeah-i-i'm back." nini replied, fixing her hair and tear-stained face to make it look like she didn't cry as her and seb entered the living room

"hey! you're here earlier than we thought you'd be," carlos said

"how'd things go with ricky?" ashlyn asked

nini felt her heart drop but she covered her hurt with a smile "i didn't see him. i think it's too soon..." she lied

everyone frowned "really? maybe if you-"

nini shook her head "guys its okay." she said

she noticed that they were probably going to talk to her more so she spoke up again to try and get the subject diverted as quick as possible

"um-jenn called and apparently i'm on the guest list for grace addlington's party-"

"wait WHAT?!" carlos exclaimed as everyone's jaw dropped

"nini that's amazing!" gina laughed "you're going right?"

nini looked down down "i-i don't know..."

"you have to!" ashlyn beamed

"yeah, it'll be good for you!" seb nodded, giving her a knowing look

the brunette girl sighs "i-i told jenn i'd think about it. speaking of, i also told her i'd post something on my socials," she reminded herself as she pulled out her phone, stopping when she saw a missed call from ricky.

"you okay?" carlos asked, nini looking up from her screen before she cleared her throat

"uh-yeah-yeah," she replied, shaking her head as she ignored the notification and continued with what she was going to do.