𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 [a rini au]

chapter eight

"So, then what happened?"

Nini and her friends were all seated in her living room — save for Carlos who was there via FaceTime on Sebastian's laptop — eagerly listening to the brunette girl recount her eventful past twenty-four hours. It wasn't everyday their friend encountered the former flame they hadn't seen in years, especially when said flame was now a famous actor. None of the group wanted to miss a single detail.

"Too much," Nini replied simply, sighing at Sebastian's question. She picked at a loose string on one of the throw pillows on the couch, collecting her thoughts. "He's just as much of an asshole as he was when we last saw him."

Nini wrapped the blue string around her finger until there was no thread remaining, then unraveled it back to its original state, repeating this process over and over again. Her friends stared blankly, but an unspoken understanding to not pry hung in the air.

Kourtney, Seb, and Carlos had all been there throughout the entirety of Nini and Ricky's relationship, and as such knew how heartbroken he'd left her. When she was ready to finish recounting the events of the day, she would let them know. And they respected that. Nini wondered then if her friends knew how much she appreciated them.

She took a deep breath, and continued her story.

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"Nini?"

Nini recalled how flabbergasted Ricky had sounded to see her, as if he'd forgotten she still resided in his hometown. She refused to let her eyes meet his, instead focusing on Gina Porter, who stood idly beside him.

"Wow," Lily commented, taken aback. "Either you're insanely good at guessing people's names or you two have met before?"

The blonde gave Nini a look, and though she could only see it through peripheral vision, Nini knew it was one that said, How could you not tell me?

She almost chuckled at the thought of the freak-out Lily would have once they were out of earshot of the celebrities. "This is HUGE, Nini! You know a famous person and you kept that from me? What the hell?!"

"Yeah, we uh— We went to high school together," Ricky's voice interrupted Nini's thoughts. He seemed so calm, almost smug. His first time seeing the girl in years and he'd appeared arrogant and pompous, while she hid behind a U of U baseball cap. She could kick herself for how pathetic she must've looked.

"And elementary and middle school," Nini added, standing up straighter. Two could play at this game; she was not going to let Ricky Bowen patronize her.

"Yeah, that too."

A long pause.

"Hey, yanno what?" Gina exclaimed finally, breaking the excruciating silence. "Lily, Howie, how would you guys like to see my trailer? Give these two some time to catch up?" She had a knowing look on her face, and it was then Nini realized that Ricky's friends knew exactly who she was to the boy.

Nini turned to Lily, a pleading look on her face. Maybe she could somehow telepathically convince her blonde classmate to not leave her alone with Ricky. But Gina had Lily's full attention now, and both she and Howie were all too excited to receive a tour of the starlet's set life. Fuck.

"So..." Ricky trailed off as the others made their way on Gina and EJ's grand tour.

"So," Nini repeated. There was an undeniable awkward tension, as expected, but Ricky tried his best to conceal it with smugness.

"You look good," he said simply, rearranging his face into a haughty grin. Nini scoffed.

"Okay."

"Aren't you gonna tell me I look good?" Ricky asked.