Cruel Summer | Ricky Bowen

CHAPTER ONE | HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?

"So this guy you were telling me about the whole summer?"

Raya smiled as she walked with a skip behind her in the halls of North High as she told Gina, "His name is Ricky, he's a junior now over there at East, and... I've been in love with him for a long time."

"Come on, give me more than that," the other girl exclaimed.

Raya met Gina on one spring break spent in France with her mother and had reconnected when they ran into one another in New York on the summer before they went to 8th grade, spent most of it going sightseeing, somehow saw Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, The Prom, and Mean Girls in a span of a week, and... they may or may have not snuck a kiss or two during intermission but who wants to know that?

Why Gina chose to keep in contact with her despite breaking up was something that amazed Raya to this day.

Shrugging off the thought, she droned out, "He's a skater— I bought him his new board last summer and we wrote our ship name on it and, if you're curious, it's Rickaya. We came up with that— he lent me his clothes, a real shy one that boy, and... he has curly hair, big brown eyes— somehow reminds me of Peter Parker or maybe Bambi."

"Go on, Honey. Go on."

As she leaned against the wall, Raya added, "I don't know what else to say, there's a lot. And we have to head to our School Assemblies, Babe."

"Just one more."

"He hates musicals," she murmured, getting a horrified gasp from Gina. "But I've been trying to get him to change his mind about them. Also, I've been trying to get a hold of him but he won't return any of my calls."

Gina chuckled on the other side of the line before saying, "It's my first day here and I think I heard my first gossip over here."

"No, tell me! I wanna know."

"Yeah, there's this guy— he said something about him and his girlfriend being on a break but girly says it's a break up now because she met someone else at theatre camp a— oh."

Raya's smile fell, asking, "Oh? What?"

"I think it's your boy, Hon. That board you just told me about? I... I saw it," the girl whispered in between breaths, speedwalking away from the scene. "I am so so sorry, Raya."

"I don't... you... I'm sure it must be someone else!" The girl said exhasperatedly. "Ricky would never do that to me. He knows what I've been through enough to know not to lead me on..."

Or does he?

"Hey, it's Ricky—"

"And Raya!"

"Leave a message!"

Raya sighed as she hugged her knees, whispering, "Hey Richie Rich, it's me, Rachie Rich. I need to talk to you, so call me back, please?"

Just as she sent the voicemail, she heard EJ yell, "Ray! Some redhead is here to see you!"

"I'll be down in a minute!" Raya called out before she stood up, putting her phone in her pocket before she began running down the stairs to see EJ towering over Big Red, making her glare at him. "Dude, that's my boss' son so can you like... back off?"

EJ nodded, leaning down to whisper something to Big Red before leaving them alone at the porch. Raya cocked her head in confusion at the nervous state he was in, asking, "You good? You look a little... pale."

"We need to talk, Raya. It's about Ricky."

40 MINUTES EARLIER

"Hey, Ricky, wait!" Big Red called out before Ricky could leave the basement.

The curly haired boy made his way back down the stairs, looking at his best friend. "What do you want, Red?"

"Why did you do that to her?" The red head suddenly asked.

"To who—"

"To Raya!"

Ricky jumped at the angered tone that Big Red used— he almost never yelled at him. Almost. But today seems to be another of the exceptions.

"I started working with her last year, and I got to know her properly— I mean, of course I would because she's the girl that my best friend keeps talking about. But I'm confused to why you want to get back with Nini when Raya is right... there."

Of course he dropped her, Big Red realized before he grabbed his skateboard and started running up the stairs, storming out of the house to begin skating to the Caswell Household.

Big Red loves Ricky, he was his best friend afterall. But he had grown to care about Raya since his mother introduced him to her on her first day, and she may as well be his other best friend at this point. He was happy that Ricky asked her out and that Raya had said yes so to say that he was confused to why he was trying to win his ex-girlfriend back on the first day back at school when someone like Raya was probably waiting for a text from him was an understatement.

And that was how he found himself on the Caswell's porch, almost guilty.

"Big Red? What about Ricky?"

Big Red took a deep breath, brushing his hands against his jeans, before he said, "He... Ricky only... I think he went out with you to distract himself from his break with Nini."

Raya felt her heat drop to the floor, almost disbelieving. She wanted to think that what Gina had told her wasn't true, but if it came from Big Red, then what was she meant to believe?

"I'm... I..."

"Big Red!" The two of them heard Ricky yell outside.

Feeling her heart about to break, she quietly tells the redhead, "Thank you for your... honesty, Big Red. Really. I appreciate it."

"I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you," he responded, smiling sadly. "I'll send pizza for you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, thanks."

As Big Red openned the front door, Ricky was there, dishelved. The boy gave his best friend an almost apologetic look before he left on his board, leaving him alone on the yard with Raya.

"My brother's going to kill you if he sees you here," Raya commented as she stepped out, closing the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to—"

"You know, a good friend of mine told me this morning that she saw you, heard you and Nini break up, and I wanted to believe that you would never do me like that, you know? Because you have been my best friend since the beginning of time, you know where I hurt the most," she told him as she crossed her arms. "But Big Red confirmed it to me— I never knew about you and Nini being a thing, and I was just a fucking rebound, was I?"

Ricky frowned, shaking his head. "No, you aren't a rebound."

"So, what am I to you?" Raya questioned him, wiping her tears away.

"You're my best friend."

"Best friends don't kiss the way we did, and sure as hell don't look at me the way you do— did," she told him, almost hysterical. "I need to... You should go home, Ricky. It— It's getting late. Mike's probably wondering where you are."

"But Ra—"

Raya slammed the door close behind her, feeling herself fall to the floor as she began sobbing, hugging herself before EJ found her, pulling her into his arms, rubbing his hand on her back as he murmured, "Whoever that was outside, you don't need them, Ray."

I don't need him.

I don't need him.

But I do.

I really do.