Second Chances (Ricky + Nini)

chapter 24 - what if i'm everything that i will ever need

[a/n : i really love this chapter. we're focusing a lot on ricky and his insecurities. promise the next one will be lighter, cause my poor baby ricky needs a break. will probably skip to thanksgiving.]

It had been two weeks since Ricky and Nini flew to Chicago for the funeral. Ricky was back in New York for his project with Ethan, and Nini was excited to see him and to watch him work, but she knew he was still really shaken up about his mom. Ricky was good at hiding it, but Nini knew him so well that she noticed the little details. He would slip in and out of conversations, suddenly zoning out. He ate less and mostly played around with his food. He stopped singing in the shower. Whenever he looked at her, there's a certain sadness in his brown orbs. She would ask him if he was okay and he would shrug it off.

She was glad that the project kept him busy and distracted, but she wanted to cheer him up. She just didn't know how. She'd surprised him with dinner and a movie last night, but he said he was tired and left halfway into the movie. She knew he didn't go to bed though. Even Bob couldn't cheer him up.

She had to do something. She spotted her acoustic guitar in the corner of the room. It was a gift from Ricky during senior year of high school. They were suppressing their feelings for each other at the time, both not wanting to ruin the friendship. But she remembered she was particularly sad about graduation, and feeling insecure about herself because she had been receiving a handful of rejection letters from universities despite her stellar performance and track record. Ricky cheered her up with the guitar as a gift. And just like that, she had an idea of how to cheer Ricky up. She'd better move quickly, because he was coming home in an hour.
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Ricky had the best day. The project with Ethan was going really well, they went and got to know some of the teens at the shelter, took some photos, and even helped out a little. It was one of the few moments in his 27 year old life where Ricky truly felt proud of himself.

He had been feeling awful these past few weeks, it still felt surreal that his mom was gone. It all just happened so quickly; one moment he was talking to her on the phone, then Todd had called and she was gone. He was grateful he had a second chance with her but he promised himself that he would make her proud. But it's too late.

Ricky shook his head willing those thoughts away as he reached Nini's apartment. He didn't want her to worry. He'd been trying to hide it, but he suspected that she knew, she was very attentive and observant. There's not much he can hide from her. Nini always took care of him and he felt bad for being such a downer. He wanted to have a nice evening with her and just enjoy it, so he took a deep breath and put on his best smile before opening the door.

When he came in, she was already waiting for him at the sofa with Bob. She looked beautiful in her simple white shirt and light blue jeans. She beamed when their eyes met and immediately greeted him with a hug. He didn't deserve this girl. He hugged her tightly feeling all his anxieties seep away, and kissed her softly.

"Hey Mr Mentor. I missed you today." She whispered agaisnt his lips.

"I missed you too, babe."

Ricky greeted Bob with a quick pat on the head and set his things down. Nini took his hand and led him to the couch. She made him sit in front of her while she massaged his shoulders. He sighed in relief feeling the tension slowly disappear at her touch. He really didn't deserve her.

"Did you have fun today?" Nini asked.

"Yeah. It was great. I had this idea to do some interviews with the teens at the shelter and the coordinator over there and we took some portraits of them, so there would be a story to go with each one." Ricky explained. Then, he remembered he forgot one thing. "Umm. Ethan and I were kind of thinking that maybe you could help us with the storytelling part ? Just maybe take a look at our work and polish it a little ? We're not the best writers. A picture paints a thousand words right?"