Mino, Behind The Reality (Maddie and Gino)

Chapter 12

Gino's POV
(2 days after the post)

  "BRRRRRIIINGGGG!" my phone rang.

  I groaned audibly. I rolled over with my face down on the pillow.

  "BRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGG" my phone rang, louder than before.

  I put the pillow over my ears, covering them tightly.

  "BRRRRR-"

  Before the next ring could finish, I snatched up my phone. Who in the world calls at 3 in the morning?!

  I didn't even look at the name on the screen before picking up the phone.

  "What!" I whisper-yelled.

  "Gino! Finally!"

  "Who's this?" I questioned.

  "Luther. Bro, check your Insta now. I was supposed to keep it a secret for Lucas, but you're my better buddy, so I'm telling you now. Go. Check. Your. Instagram. It's spread to yours..."
(A/N:For those who forgot who Luther was, read the previous chappie)

  I put down the phone immediately. Luther doesn't call at 3 a.m. for fun. I log onto Instagram and look at my feed.

  As I scroll, my heart sinks deeper and deeper. Lucas...how could you?

•••••

Gino's POV

  My dad has been pounding on the door for ages.

  "GO AWAY!" I screech.

  "Gino, don't try to shut me out, I know what happened," he speaks, calmly.

  "IF YOU DO KNOW, THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU SHOULD LEAVE ME ALONE!"

  "Gino...please."

   I hesitate. After a long pause, I get up from my bed, wipe the tears off my face, and proceed towards the door, my feet dragging behind dejectedly.

  The moment I open the door, my dad engulfs me in a hug. I can't help but let the tears stream once again. This is one of the rare times he actually has shown affection to me.

  "Lucas...he...he was one of my best...friends," I manage to stutter between my tears.

  "I know, I know. Luther called to tell me," my dad says.

  And it's just me, sobbing into my dad's old, white T-shirt from the petrol station, and my dad, stroking my hair rather awkwardly, due to the several years of no practice.

  Before I even questioned why he suddenly showed me affection, he spoke, "I was in a similar situation some time ago."

  He continued," Although I don't approve of you liking a girl from ALDC, I think it's good that you're behaving like a normal boy your age."

  He patted my shoulder, and said, "In this situation, from my experience, I think you aren't able to judge properly yet. It's not the end of the world if someone close to you like Lucas likes the same girl as you. It shows that the two of you have alike minds. It shows that you know more about each other than you know. Don't be like me - immediately breaking my friendship. Talk about it.  Try."

  Those were the longest and most meaningful words my dad had ever said to me. Between father and son, for once, we actually bonded.

  I snapped back to my senses and nodded my head quickly, filling a warmth creep into my heart.

•••••

Maddie's POV

  "MADDIE!" a group of girls screamed and rushed towards me.

  I smiled, having the reminder of my fans.

  They took out pens and notebooks for me to sign. They looked genuinely happy to see me. My smile grew brighter and I signed in my best handwriting.

  Just as I was signing the second notebook, a girl asked,"So are you with Lucas or Gino? They're both quite handsome, but I personally think -"

  "None," I replied curtly, my tone full of annoyance.

  The girls seemed taken aback, so I composed myself and told myself to calm down. I continued signing the notebooks, however with slight haste.

  When I finished signing the notebooks and was about to leave, I noticed one of the girls giving me a strange look...a pitiful one.

  The girls beamed and turned to leave. That girl didn't move an inch.

  My eyebrows furrowed and I asked her,"Is anything the matter?"

  She left her trance and looked a tad embarrassed. She looked around and realised her friends had left. She began to blush a deep shade of red.

  "So sorry! I was too absorbed in my thoughts. I better get going, my friends are leaving, without me!" she spoke.

  "Hold on, before you leave, could you please tell me what you were thinking about?" I asked.

  "I would if I could...but my friends...You know what? Never mind. Maddie Ziegler wants to talk to me! I can miss my friends for this, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" the girl squealed.

  She then called out to her friends,"Girls! I gotta go, see y'all in school kay?"

•••••

Maddie's POV

  The girl, whose name turned out to be Rachel, and I went to get an ice cream each from an ice cream shop before finding a corner in the mall to sit.

  I raised my eyebrows, prompting her to start talking.

  Instead, she asked, nervously,"Are you here with anyone? I don't want to interrupt if you are, it's not right."

  I shook my head and gave a slight chuckle. "I'm not, Just decided to come to the mall to buy some snacks for myself and Mackenzie because we had a long day at dance. Just a breather of some sorts, because of, well, drama."

  There was a slight pause before Rachel spoke. "Is it the 'Lucas betrayed Gino' thing?"

  I nodded sadly.

  Rachel then continued, "That's exactly what I was thinking about actually. Being in this situation is the worst thing ever. Like I didn't ask for any of them to like me, why the drama? And like it's not my fault that any of this happened, because I didn't control them or anything. And of all people, why me? Like I don't get why -"

  She cut herself off halfway and started blushing again. "I was blabbering, wasn't I? Sorry, I promise it won't happen again. I had been in a similar situation myself, and I absolutely hated it."

  I giggled. "It's fine, and yes, exactly the same thoughts!"

  We went on talking for ages, and I had laughed countless times. We even exchanged phone numbers.

  I had found someone who understood me just like Daphne did. I definitely needed to introduce Daphne to Rachel. If she liked her too, our squad would have another member.

•••••

Harro! My exams are over and now I'm a wild child! Both Gino and Maddie felt understood in this chapter, what a coincidence! (hehe) Comment on whether you think Rachel should join the squad! Please vote too!

Stay true to yourself,
experienceddazzler ☆