if i can't have you || rini au

47. all too well

before nini could even process it, the new year and next three months passed by like a blur. it was the same as before; spending the school days with her friends and ricky then the late afternoons with him in the café, occasionally going out for evening walks in the snow that had yet to melt away as they talked and talked or just had fun together. she'd spend her free time in her room doing work and reading or spending time with her aunt.

she'd gotten many many calls from her mother to check in; some face time calls to ensure her safety and well being and she never failed to check in with benjamin too.

the more time that went by, the more she'd gotten closer specifically gina, kourtney, seb and ashlyn. she wasn't going to lie in saying that she was disappointed and a little annoyed that gina had been the source of everyone knowing her secret, but nini didn't like conflict. she hated having to be confronting with arguments or being put on the spot in the midst of one, so she chose to let it be. but that didn't mean she didn't note to be aware of who she told what to...she was glad she'd learn that while being here.

as salt lake city began to enter the month of april, nini had begun to feel herself becoming more and more frightened and nervous to leave. her birthday was arriving in the next two and a half months which meant she would be leaving no later than in 71 days - yes, she was counting because that meant that there was 71 days of her and ricky's relationship to hold onto.

nini was deep in her thoughts on a saturday afternoon, sitting at a booth at the back of the café with her eyes on the pages of her book but she wasn't really paying attention to the words she was apparently reading.

the sudden sound of something being placed on the table in front of her made her jump, her clouded mind going clear and attentive as she saw the curly-haired boy wearing his army-green sweatshirt, jeans and his apron, sit down opposite her and pointing to the plate of puff pastries

"okay, so there was a bunch of leftover dough from the apple turnovers and nothing but cheese left in the fridge since erica went to do the groceries right about now, so, i improvised and came up with these." he grinned proudly

nini blinked a few times, shaking her head out of her thoughts again as she just cleared her throat "oh! um-that's wonderful...!"

ricky knit his eyebrows together, seeing how off she was and how she didn't contain her usual excitement and content spirit "hey, you okay? what's up?"

nini put on her signature smile and let out a light airy laugh "why would you think something was up?"

"because one; you look like you've seen a ghost and two; you didn't start questioning me about how i came up with these." he said, pointing to the plate of pastries that was in front of them "and you're also sitting at the back of the café which is weird-"

"i'm alright, ratatouille ricky." she said softly "i'm just...um...just thinking about my book..."

ricky sighed "please tell me you're not going to cry about a fictional character's death again? because it's not real princess," he chuckled

nini gasped "it was real to me!" she whined "she literally knew she had to let go of him in order for him to survive!! she sacrificed herself for him but they were supposed to be together forever!" she exclaimed "plus she was my favorite character, she shouldn't have had that ending..."

ricky shook his head with a light smile as nini took a deep breath, looking at him in slight confusion

"...what?" she asked quietly

"nothing." he said, his smile still on his face as he leaned forwards and kissed her lips softly, nini closing her eyes and smiling as she returned the gesture before he pulled away