the flaw in being perfect - rini au

seventy three

"Have you talked to Nini today?"

Red and Ricky are currently at Red's getting ready to meet up with the girls for group photos before Homecoming.

"We texted a little this morning, but I'm trying to give her some time to hang out with Kourtney and Ash. I'm hoping she and Ash are getting along fine now that they're talking again."

Red laughs. "Bro, when did you get so whipped? I knew it was bad, but you really like her."

Ricky rolls his eyes. "Yes, Red, I really like her. I wouldn't be dating her if I didn't."

"How long has it been since you started dating?"

Ricky shrugs, straightening his tie in the mirror. "Like a week I think."

"Wow, has it really? It feels like it's been longer."

"I mean I've liked her for longer." Ricky shakes his head. "Things were just... Complicated."

"Okay, Avril Lavigne," Red teases.

Ricky laughs. "Oh, shut up. Are you ready to go meet the girls?"

Red nods. "And see you drool over your girlfriend? Absolutely."

Ricky pushes Red jokingly before walking out of the house and to his car, not willing to respond.

Red follows with a dopey smile.

It doesn't take them long to get to Ashlyn's house (where the girls are getting ready), but when they do get there, Ricky is nervous.

He takes a deep breath as he turns the car off.

"You good, dude?" Red asks, turning to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Ricky nods, opening his door.

They head up to Ashlyn's door, knocking.

"One second!" Ashlyn calls from the other side before opening up.

"Hey," Red greets with a goofy smile.

"Hey, come on in," Ashlyn invites.

Ricky looks around, taking in the clean interior. His dad's place is not nearly this nice.

"Hey, Ash, do you know where my phone is?"

Ricky turns his head to see Nini coming around the corner in her white dress and heels, her hair pulled back in an intricate updo and her face glowing with natural makeup. He can't help but stare.

He's looking at the most beautiful girl he's ever seen float across the floor like an angel.

Ricky continues to stare with a starstruck look on his face.

Nini looks up and over to Ricky, her face twitching slightly in a way that feels curious. Ricky knows he's confusing her by staring like he is.

"Are you okay, Ricky?"

"Just give him a second to reboot. I think you broke him," Red informs her.

Nini rolls her eyes, coming over to take Ricky's hand.

"Wow, you're— Wow," Ricky finally gets out.

Nini chuckles, squeezing his hand. "You can do better than that."

Ricky squeezes his eyes shut for a second before re-opening them.

"Rebooting," Red says in a robot voice.

Ashlyn laughs, but nudges Red. "Come with me to the kitchen?"

Red catches the hint and goes with her.

"You okay?" Nini asks. "You seriously just short-circuited there for a second."

"Yeah," Ricky breathes out with a slight laugh. "I'm sorry. I was just feeling anxious coming into this and seeing you looking like that just shut me down, I guess."

"You were anxious coming into this?" Nini asks, cocking her head to the side.

"Um, yeah. It's not a big deal, though," Ricky tries to shrug off. "My last school dance I just got stood up."

"Someone stood you up?" Nini asks concernedly. "Who the hell does that?"

"Ni, it's not a big deal, really. Can we just focus on now?" Ricky changes the subject. "You're stunning and quite literally took my breath away."

Nini feels her cheeks tinge pink. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"It's not my fault the truth is flattering." Ricky smiles.

Nini rolls her eyes playfully, reaching up to wrap her arms around Ricky's neck. "You don't look too shabby yourself."

"Good to know." Ricky nods along.

"I can't believe my date to Homecoming is the King himself," Nini teases.

"Oh, whatever." Ricky laughs.

Nini leans up to kiss him, smiling into it. "Thank you for being my date tonight," she murmurs into his lips.

"It's my honor, princess," Ricky murmurs back.

"Oh, gross!" They hear Kourtney say from the staircase.

They laugh, pulling apart. Nini looks over to Kourtney. "What's the problem, Kourt?"

Kourtney scrunches her nose in disgust. "I'm all for you being happy, but save the lovey dovey stuff for when y'all have alone time."

"They were having alone time, Kourt! You walked in on it!" Ashlyn calls from the kitchen.

"Could you us hear that whole time?" Nini calls to Ash.

Ash takes a second before responding. "No."

Nini laughs again. "Sorry, we'll try to be gross in a more private setting next time."

Ricky shakes his head. "This friend group is so not normal."

"Was there ever a time you looked at a single person in this group and thought 'oh yeah, that one is normal.'?" Nini challenges.

"Fair point," he submits.

They all know that tonight will be far from typical with the group they've gotten together. None of them have a single idea of what to expect.

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homecoming !!!!!!! i think that was my note last time but , homecoming!!!

-jenna