the exception

24. oh no...

-sorry kinda a short filler chapter. more interesting stuff coming soooon

{Tuesday}

Ricky's pov

The sunlight shines through my blinds and I slowly open my eyes. I go to turn over but feel weight on me. I look to the side and see Nina lying close next to me. I softly smile to myself as I look at how peaceful she was sleeping. Soon, the smile fading at the memory of last night. My heart broke for her...and I wish I knew what happened. I push the thoughts away for now as I slowly get up and begin to get dressed, keeping quiet so I don't wake her.

Eventually, I had finished getting ready and I walk back into my room to see her still sleeping. I sit on the bed next to her and gently rub her arm.

"Hey Nina...", I whisper.

I see her lashes flutter a little before her eyes open, squinting from the morning sun. She blinks and few times and her eyes fully open. I slightly smile down at her.

"You okay?", I ask.

She clears her throat before mumbling, "I-I don't know...what happened?"

As she finishes asking that, I could see her expression change immediately.

She remembers whatever happened.

Her face quickly changes from confused to pure sadness. I see the glow in her eyes slowly disappear, becoming glossy instead. She bites her lip and looks away from my face and down at the bed.

"Nina...", I speak, "D-do you wanna talk about it?"

"It's kind of a long story and y-you need to go to uh school though...right?", she asks.

"No, I don't. If you're not going then I'm not going.", I answer.

"R-Ricky just...go to school. I'll be fine, I'll just- I'll go home...", she says.

"Nina, no. I'm not leaving you alone! Did you see yourself last night?! I'd be an idiot if I left you...", I argue.

She sighs, "Ricky, it's a long story...and I don't feel like- like talking a-about it..."

I see as she gets choked up on her words and I can tell she wants to cry, so I try to move the conversation away from this.

"Okay, that's alright. But, I don't wanna leave you alone. We'll...do something fun!", I suggest.

She slowly nods her head, "Okay...but you really don't have t-"

"Nonsense", I chuckle.

Nina's pov

After a few minutes, I had gotten up and changed into one of Ricky's t-shirts. I'm standing in his bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I see the bags under my eyes and how red they looked. I wish I could tell him what happened...but I'm not ready.

I walk down the stairs to see him doing something in the kitchen. I smile to myself before he turns around and I wipe it off my face.

"Hey...I made uh pancakes.", he smiles, setting a plate down.

I take a seat at his kitchen island and look down the plate of fluffy, warm pancakes. I look back up at him and grin.

"Thanks"

He takes a seat next to me and we begin to eat in a comfortable silence. Every now and then I would glance over at him. Sometimes he'd already be looking, and in that case, we awkwardly turn away. But, other times he wasn't looking, and I'd get caught in a daze.

"Nina?", I hear him say, throwing me out of my thoughts.

"Uh y-yeah?", I reply, embarrassed.

"Do you wanna go walk around the park?", he asks.

I shrug, "Sure, why not?"

He chuckles at me before taking both of our empty plates and setting them in the sink. He snatches his keys from the kitchen counter, and we walk out of the doors, into his car. The car ride there was filled with silence, minus the radio quietly playing.

Soon enough we arrive at the park. He parks his car, and we get out, beginning to follow this path. I love coming to the park during the week. It's so...empty? Nobody's here and it's peaceful. Ricky and I were walking under beautiful oak trees and the sun was shining bright. It was a gorgeous day outside.

Too bad I didn't feel the same way inside...

We continue walking down the pathway, just admiring the scenery. We finally stop at the lake and take a seat on a swinging bench. Staring off at the lake, I being to get lost in my thoughts about what happened and how I was feeling.

"You okay?", he asks.

I snap out of my thoughts and look at him, "I guess so..."

"Nina...", he breathes, "I'm not forcing you, but whenever you're ready to talk about what happened, I'll be here..."

I slightly smile at him, "Thanks Ricky..."

Ricky's pov

We finally arrived back at my house, and I decided I needed to let Kourt, Los, and Seb know about Nina. We both sat on my couch, and I handed Nina the remote to the tv.

"Here, turn something on...I'll be right back. Holler if you need me...I'll just be a minute.", I say, getting up and rushing to my room.

Once the door shuts behind me, I quicky call all three of them in a group call. It was lunch time at school, so they should pick up. After a long minute of ringing, they all finally pick up.

"Ricky?! Where are you? Why aren't you at school?", they all speak.

"Listen, Nina's here. With me. She's safe and good, but something happened. She's not ready to talk though.", I quietly explain.

"Wait what?! Oh my gosh-", Carlos exclaims.

"I'm glad she's safe...", Kourtney lets out a breath of relief.

"Watch over her Ricky...", Seb says, sternly, "I know where you live."

"I will...I promise.", I assure them.

"Keep us updated. Gotta go", Kourtney says before they all hang up.

I take the phone away from my ear and shove it in my pocket, walking downstairs. I enter the living room to see Nina asleep on the couch. I smile to myself before I take a blanket and gently cover her. I turn the volume on the tv down and shut the lights off before I take a seat next to her and go on my phone while she sleeps. Every now and then I glance over to still see her peacefully sleeping. I can't help but smile wider. She looked so...cute?

I love the way her eye lashes flutter while she's sleeping. I love the way her eyes glow when she's happy or talking about something she's passionate about. I love how determined and outgoing she is. I love how she's caring. I love how she gave me a second chance and now we're finally friends. I just love-

Oh no...