the flaw in being perfect - rini au

thirty eight

Nini and Ricky have been hanging out a lot lately, and people at school have started to notice.

It's a bit hard not to notice when the most well known girl in school and one of the best football players on the team are together often. Rumors about them were inevitable.

The two really don't care what anyone is saying about them, especially considering most of what they're saying is true.

"Ni," EJ calls out as he sees her.

"Hey," Nini smiles, heading over to him.

"I need to talk to you about something."

Nini furrows her brow. "What's up?"

"That Ricky kid you've been spending time with. I don't like him."

Nini raises a brow. "You don't?"

"No. There's something off about him. I feel like I see him everywhere. Does the guy ever go home?"

Nini isn't about to spill about the reason Ricky is hardly home, so she decides to ignore that and push the conversation forward. "What are you trying to get at, EJ?"

"I don't want you hanging around him anymore."

"Excuse me?" Nini asks, trying to give him a chance to take it back.

Some people nearby have started to pay attention to their conversation, wondering what's going to happen.

"Bowen is bad news, Nini," EJ continues.

"You don't get to tell me I can't hang out with someone without solid reasoning behind it, EJ. Especially not when you've been as distant as you have. You have no right trying to barge back into my life for this."

"I haven't been distant, you have," EJ argues.

"What? Because I stopped being the one to reach out first and suddenly it's my fault you don't try to talk to me? I'm doing just fine, EJ. If you wanted to hang out, you could have just asked," Nini rants.

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

Nini blinks a few times. "What?"

"Tomorrow, Saturday. Go on a date with me."

Nini really wasn't expecting this.

"EJ..." Nini trails off, looking around. So many people are watching, waiting for her answer.

"Just one date. Give me a chance to show you I'm better than Bowen."

Nini chews the inside of her cheek. "I, uh... Sure."

A huge smile splays itself across EJ's face. "Great! I'll pick you up at 9 on Saturday."

EJ then walks away, leaving Nini alone and uncomfortable at his locker.

What the hell is she supposed to do?

Nini puts her head down and walks away, knowing word about this interaction will get around fast. Little does she know just how fast that is.

"You're going on a date with EJ?" Kourtney asks within five minutes.

"Gee, great to be talking to you again, too, Kourt. How's Ashlyn?" Nini responds, frustrated.

"Nini, why are you going on a date with EJ?"

"It's complicated." Nini sighs. "There were so many people around and I didn't want to make him look bad."

"You'd rather go on a date with him than make him look bad?"

"I don't know Kourt, I said it was complicated."

"I thought things were going well with Ricky," Kourtney mentions.

"They were! They are. I just... I didn't know how to say no to EJ. He's been there for me through so much and—"

"You don't owe him anything for being a decent human being, Nini." Kourtney sternly reminds her.

Nini groans. "I need to text Ricky before he hears anything."

"He already knows," Kourtney tells her.

"What? How?" Nini panics.

"Hayden Grant is the one that told me about it. EJ boasted in the football group chat as soon as it happened."

"Of course he did," Nini breathes out. "I'm texting Ricky."

Nini pulls out her phone, quickly typing a message.

hey, can we talk? i wanna explain the date with ej

Nini chews on the inside of her cheek as she impatiently waits for his response. What feels like a few minutes later, her phone buzzes.

Ricky
there's nothing to explain lol, it's not like we're a thing

Nini feels her heart drop.

"Damn it."

"What? What is it?" Kourtney asks.

Nini shows her the phone.

"Oh. That's not good." Kourtney grimaces.

"He's right. We're not a thing. I don't know why I thought he'd be on the same page as me."

Just then, the bell rings, signaling that the two girls are late for class.

"Perfect." Nini covers her hands with her face.

"Hey, I'm really sorry to do this now, but I sort of can't afford another unexcused tardy for this class so I need to make something up at the nurse's office real quick," Kourtney butts in.

Nini uncovers her face. "Yeah, I get it. Go ahead."

Kourtney scurries off.

Nini has this class with Ricky and she knows that's not something she should be doing right now.

She needs to go somewhere she can think. The one place she feels the most clear minded is not at this school, but she knows she can get there.

And so, she leaves campus to go to the graffiti spot.

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it's time to add more drama <33

pls don't hate me 😳

-jenna