3 TOWNS, 4 HEARTBEATS [RINI AU]

seven

Rushing into the apartment in distress, practically leaving the front door open behind her, Nina ended the call with her mothers. An exasperated sigh escaped from her lips as she passed by the living area of her shared apartment, catching the eyes of Kourtney, who looked up from her magazine to examine the predicament before her. She got up, following Nina into her bedroom, only to see her flopped onto the bed like a rag doll, Kourtney taking a seat beside her.

In Nina's eyes, Kourtney was the ultimate best friend, and the trait that Nina most admired in her best friend was her sixth sense. Kourtney always seemed to know when something was wrong with her or any of their friends for that matter.

It had been a little over a week since Nina had broken the news to her roommates about the baby and her one night stand with Ricky Bowen.

She hadn't expected three starkly different reactions.

Carlos wanted to know everything about the hook up and seemed to care less that Nina was eleven weeks pregnant. He made sure Nina spared no detail of the night, everything down to the very last detail, such as the color of Ricky Bowen's sneakers and the shade of lipstick she had been wearing . Of course when she was done explaining everything that had gone down in the penthouse suite did he ask about the baby and Nina's plans for it, but Nina knew he was asking as a formality. Sure he cared, of course he did, but he cared more about how she landed herself in the situation rather then the situation itself.

Ashlyn had been emotional, breaking out into tears and asking more about the baby and less about Ricky Bowen. Ashlyn was also very clearly team "tell Darren about the baby right away", which Nina wasn't sure that she was ready for quite yet. She was happy that she still had him as a constant in her life, and giving him up would mean that she would lose a sense of comfort. When she was with Darren she could pretend like the baby didn't exist, and Nina found peace in those moments.

Last was Kourtney's reaction to the news that her best friend of twelve years was knocked up by the hottest celebrity. Nina wasn't quite sure how her best friend was going to act. Was she going to grill Nina on the experience like Carlos had? Would she threaten to end Ricky's life like Gina had suggested, or would she simply shrug her shoulders and make no further comment?

Of course the latter was far out of character for Kourtney, for what she actually did was envelope Nina in the biggest hug the girls had probably ever shared, quietly whispering in her ear a soft "Everything is going to be okay. We're in this together," while she stroked her dark brunette hair. Kourtney reminded Nina that there was no rush to do anything, although she expressed that reaching out to Ricky, especially now that he was in New York City, might not be the worst thing in the world.

However, Nina refused. And Kourtney understood, at least she did for the time being.

Kourtney had sensed that Nina was having a tougher week than normal, especially after witnessing the aftermath of what appeared to be a stressful phone conversation that Kourtney could only assume took place between Nina and her mothers. Kourtney had just finished making a cup of hot chocolate for herself, but decided to offer it up to Nina instead, considering she looked like she needed it more.

Kourtney grazed Nina's leg after a few minutes of letting the girl wallow. "Hey Neeners, everything alright?" Kourtney asked, the brunette sat up slowly, shaking her head. Kourtney put an arm around her friend, rubbing her back gently, and passing her the cup of hot chocolate. "I made this for you."

Nina peered into the cup, before gratefully accepting it. "Thanks Kourt." Nina smiled softly, before gingerly taking a sip.

"You wanna tell me what's up?" Kourtney raised an eyebrow, not wasting any time beating around the bush.