bittersweet • rini au

13

the words she sang kept repeating itself's in his head. small salty tears felt into his lips. it hurt, seeing her hurt. he had never thought about it, how much they meant to each other. how first the first time in a long time he had found someone he could actually open up too. he suddenly, realized how much she weighted in his life. only two months that felt a lifetime.

he had transformed all thanks to her, he was a better person, he was a good guy, he had changed his life altogether. in between, ricky found himself falling in love with nini. he too deep. in matter of minutes, she had become the oxygen to his lungs and the melody to his movie. but without her, it just felt. empty. there was no longer color in his life and the past few days had been hell.

a whole week had passed and she found a way to ignore him and their friends. with the same sad eyes and droopy smile, she barely looked up. she thought she went unnoticed. but ricky couldn't take his eyes off her, he needed to know she was okay, eating and taking care of herself. he tried asking help, talking to kourt and seb, but they all knew she wasn't gonna go crying into their arms. she needed time.

he had lost focus, falling and losing his balance in practice, even though semi-finals were just two weeks away.

nini noticed this as well. she knew he deserved a chance, but something inside her kept telling her it was a mistake. she was in too deep. this tall guy had changed her life. he flipped over, her little town of her suddenly felt like a big city if he was by her side. he opened up her mind and made it better. she couldn't understand why seeing ricky at the party with that girl had upset her that much.

in the past few months, ricky went from her long time nemesis to her best friend, but in a night we went to a stranger causing excruciating pain. she remembered what her grandmother had told her a while ago.

"butterfly, you'll see, one day a very special someone is going to change your vision. it will feel as if rose-colored glasses were put permanently in your eyes. everything will feel good. the positives will outweigh the negatives. that someone will make you feel things you have never hurt before. sadly, love, this person will also cause de most fatal of pains, where you feel your heart shatter into a thousand million pieces. but that's how you know. if it hurts, it matters. and if that someone moves mountains to heal you, then you have found a very special one butterfly. so don't let them go."

she looked at the pictures they took on their silly sessions, and her breath would be taken away every single time. was she in love? if only things had gone differently.

---

nini kept pacing around her room. her sister was officially coming back. the admission letter had to come soon. the last ap scores for the semester were coming. and this time, she didn't have a sweet boy to help her cope.

she was left alone trapped in her room, in that little town with high hopes of a brighter future. a soft melody was playing from her computer, a mellow melody that filled her void. she kept writing in the little journal of hers, pouring out her feelings and containing all the emotions she was so afraid to spill.

a few droplets fell into the paper, and she felt her body weaken. nini had had enough. she just wrote the only phrase running through her mind: i'm still hurting.

she heard her doorbell ring, but ignored it, it was friday night and she was not expecting anyone anyway. it was probably a delivery for her moms or something.

she carried on looking at the words in her journal. why was she still hurting? the song was coming to an end when a soft knock broke her train of thoughts. her moms never locked that lightly and if they did their voices could be heard from outside.

a soft deep voice asked to enter, and she hates to admit she recognized hid voice instantly.

none other than ricky bowen was standing in her doorway holding a small bouquet of daisies and a red velvet cupcake on the other. she was caught off guard.

suddenly, she stood up and closed the journal in front of her. she turned around drying her tears hoping he didn't notice.

"ricky-, um. what are you doing here?" nothing else came out of her mind and she couldn't understand why the boy she had been trying to avoid was staring directly at her.

"look before you say anything else, just let me explain," the girl crossed her arms, still deciding whether it was worth a shot, she nodded indicating he could continue. "i know i messed up, i know i invited you and arrived incredibly late, gina forgot my dad needed me for something, then the chloe incident, she wanted to kiss me but it didn't feel right but she grabbed me to make seem like we were and you saw something that was wrong neens. and after you left i went home, right after you left and tried contacting every single person to know you were okay,"

nini's expression softened and ricky took a step forward, her face fell showing immediate regret. ricky didn't want her to blame herself, it was his fault but he knew she would feel guilty regardless. "hey hey, neens," he searched for her eyes, seeing the small tears coming out of her eyes. she felt safe, she could be vulnerable with him and everything was just a misunderstanding.

"don't put the guilt on yourself, you weren't thinking clearly and i wasn't there for you," she let out a small smile reconnecting their eyes together. "and i wanted to talk in school, but i didn't want to put you on the spot, even more with so many ridiculous rumors flying around, so i figured, you deserved these." he handed the small bouquet to the brunette who was holding back the tears.

"you're so extra bowen, but thank you," she chuckled taking the flowers. his smile grew wider as he saw her glossy eyes shine. "and well, i couldn't leave out the cupcakes, red velvet of course, these time normal red one, and i tried making seb's creepy but then-"

before he continued rambling, nini launched herself at his arms. he was home. suddenly, his nose was filled with the vanilla scent he had missed. her face leaned in is neck and could feel the hot breath she as releasing. he put the cupcake in her dresser and hugged her tighter. yet again, it felt right, they fitted, right into each other's arms. then, in between a runny nose and small tears, she whispered: "thank you."

he held her closer. " anything for you golden girl," she broke the hug to playfully slap his arm. she picked the flowers and put them in her night table. she had to put them in water later.

"i missed you idiot," he chuckled, looking at her confirming he did as well. "but it's friday, what are you doing here, isn't there a party to attend somewhere?"

he felt his cheeks redden, it was now or never. "well, and only if you want, i kinda had something planned for us tonight, only if you want to,"

nini froze, he didn't say if it was a date or a regular hangout. but one thing was certain she wanted to be with him. so she pushed the question to the back of her mind and went along with it.

"i swear bowen if you're pranking me, you're a dead man," he laughed and offered his hand.

"you'll be home by midnight, don't worry princess,"

"oh shut up," and with that, she grabbed a hoodie and her phone and left her worries behind.

it was going to be a night to remember.