in your reflection || rini au

29. pendant

nini walked out of the studio, looking down at the message displayed on her phone screen with a sigh escaping her.

she bit the inside of her cheek, tapping the side of her device in deep thought. conflicted. that's how she was feeling.

what should i do?

curiosity was still stirring inside of her about what had happened and where he was. she wasn't going to lie about that.

nini hesitantly looked down at the phone and opened up the chat, texting him back to tell him where they should meet and she slowly walked out of the studio and to the diner for work.

when arriving, she got herself ready and tied her hair back, greeting her boss - stacey - and her co-workers as she begun to wait the tables

the ringing of the door caught her attention every time it went off, lifting her head up to see every customer come in that wasn't leo. until it finally was.

the brown-haired boy caught her eye and he made his way towards the counter, nini clearing her throat nervously and putting her notepad in the pocket of her apron.

"okay." she exhaled slowly "i'm listening."

"alright..." he nodded "well. the day i skipped the auditions...i-it was because i got a call from a scout at the royal ballet school in london. and they wanted me to audition."

nini's lips parted in surprise and she widened her eyes "leo...that-you...you've been wanting that-"

"since forever, i know." he said with a light smile "and he could only let me audition on that day. and it's working out since my dad's getting transferred by the end of the year back in england."

nini looked down "why...why didn't you say anything? you didn't text me-"

"because i was so focused on being perfect for the audition." leo finished for her "i'm sorry nini...but...i just couldn't think of that in the moment. i could only focus on me."

nini didn't like the way her heart sank at the sound of those words...but the competitive dancer in her somehow tried to reason with the bigger, better part of her. it did make sense on some level, but it stung. she was his girlfriend. and he left her alone and didn't think to include her in something that was so important to him.

a frown had formed on her face as she looked down "you didn't think maybe i would've been happy for you?"

"you did ignore me for weeks." he told her matter-of-factly "it's not like the breakup was just on me...we were shifting away from each other weren't we? you with bowen-"

"what does he have to do with any of this??" nini questioned, a sudden anger in her tone

leo raised his eyebrows and scoffed "come on, nini. you can't expect me to believe that you don't like him."

"i don't." nini snapped

"then why are you being so defensive??"

"i'm not defensive i think you're just jealous that i got along with him for a reason that's beyond me." nini replied frustratedly

leo rolled his eyes "what's that supposed to mean?"

"you both used to be best friends." nini said simply, leaning her palms against the counter "what changed?"

leo stiffened and clenched his jaw, shaking his head "he's full of it. that's all."

"ricky isn't 'full of it'." she shot back

"why are you defending him if you claim not to like him?" leo questioned

"because he's still one of my best friends!" nini exclaimed

"but you wish he was more." he scoffed

"stop saying that!" nini replied

"it's the truth." leo stated. he looked around to see that they'd gotten a few stares set on them before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes "look. me and ricky have a lot of unresolved things that we'd prefer to keep that way. i'm not looking to be best mates with him and neither is he. trust me."

nini gave him a wary look at that. what did he mean?

"but something you need to understand is that you can't run away from the truth." leo told her "and i know now that i have to stop pulling you back to stay with me when you want someone else."

"but i don't want anyone." nini huffed frustratedly "i'm perfectly fine on my own-"

"that's the thing. you think you are, but you're not. you're not able to do everything on your own nini. it'll just be your downfall. it's like the fortune teller said-"

"wait." nini froze, blinking a few times "how do you know what she told me?"

leo looked at her and opened his mouth. but then closed it back up again. nini then scoffed in realization

"the rose for our duet." she recalled, staring back at him "the bouquet of roses - it was all you acting on what she said. you were just outside the tent when i came back out that night. you overheard us."

"nini-"

"do you know how hypocritical of you that is?!" she questioned him angrily

"i thought you were going to break up with me!" he told her

"you told me yourself you didn't believe in anything fortune tellers told people!"

"i didn't but then she mentioned the rose and i thought of the one that was engraved on that necklace you keep on your nightstand-"

nini stared back at him blankly, her fingers suddenly started to tremble and she opened her mouth weakly "w-what necklace?"

"the one that's on that chest box thing. you told me you don't like anyone touching it the first time i came over."

the girl swallowed the lump in her throat and she shook her head exhaling shakily "i have to get back to work leo."

he looked back at her in confusion and hesitantly got up "okay. fine. i'll see you, i guess."

nini watched as he made his way out of the diner and she bit the inside of her cheek, trying to calm down her heart rate but she couldn't.

she couldn't stop thinking of the necklace.

the necklace that ricky had given her.