𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 [ 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐚𝐮 ]

all reused .03

"your fans are freaking out, are you sure you still wanna release this?" zack asked as he hovered his finger over the enter button. nini paced back and forth as she glanced at her friends who were sitting down on the couch.

"what do you guys think?" nini asked as she finally stopped pacing.

red shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "well honestly, it's kinda too late to go back now..."

"just release the song! it's so good nini," seb exclaimed as he stood up to meet her eyes. he grabbed nini by the shoulders and gave her a stern look, "this is what you do best! and besides, you've released plenty of songs about ricky. why is this one any different?"

"because people are finally speculating who it's about—"

"yeah and to them.. they're just rumors," kourtney added, cutting nini off, "literally no one knows you lived with the caswells and no one knows you and ricky even dated."

"yeah because he never posted me in the first place," nini started to say before she stopped herself from ranting yet again. the girl took a deep breath and forced a smile at everyone, "anyways.. you're all right. it's my music and i get to choose what i release. fuck ricky."

"word, fuck ricky," all of nini's friends exclaimed as they cheered from the couch. nini felt a lump go through her throat as she glanced at zack. his eyes were on the clock as he waited for 9pm to hit.

"ima press enter," zack exclaimed with a bit of anxiety in his voice.

"PRESS. THE. BUTTON. PRESS. THE. BUTTON. PRESS. THE. BUTTON," they all cheered as they stomped their feet on the floor. nini felt tension building up in her body but tried her best to hide it. she glanced at her friends with a forced smile and then at zack who was giving her one last look of reassurance. nini nodded her head and she watched as zack's fingers pressed the enter button.

"and there you have it folks!! deja vu is now out in the world," zack announced as his face lit up with glee, "oh wow, i need a drink or two after that."

"me too," nini breathed out.

"you can't drink yet," zack pointed out.

nini shot him a cheesy smile, "legally!"

"and now! i'm going to leave the room before i become a witness to any illegal activity," zack stated as he put his jacket over his body. nini let out a chuckle and took in a deep breath. zack put his hand on her shoulder, "congratulations yet again, nini. i'm so proud of you and this song. i still can't believe how far you've gotten in such a long time. this is only the beginning."

nini's face softened up and she nodded her head, "thanks for even giving me a chance," she thanked zack. the man melted into a smile before leaving the room. nini glanced at her friends who looked at her with eagerness.

"LET"S STREAM THIS SHIT NOW," nini yelled at the top of her lungs as she grabbed her phone. red, seb, and kourtney all rose from the couch as they cheered with excitement. nini connected her phone to the speaker while her friends shuffled around the room behind her.

the synth piano started to play and a small smile escaped from nini's lips as she listened.

this is either the best idea i had or the worst. there was no in between at this point. the lyrics were hinting at ricky in such an obvious yet subtle way at the same time. if ricky were to listen to my song, he would know right away that it was about him. but to the rest of the world, it's all just speculation.

for now.

"CAR RIDES TO MALIBU—"

+

"—strawberry ice cream... one spoon for two," ricky heard as he listened to the song. the boy was in the parking garage, sitting alone in his car. he knew nini's song was dropping tonight and planned to listen to it before he went home to lily. the boy's body tensed up the more he listened to the lyrics.

"watching reruns of glee... being annoying.... singing in harmony...i bet she's bragging...to all her friends saying you're so unique, hm," ricky heard nini sing. the boy furrowed his eyebrows together as he brought his hand up to the volume dial. he raised up the volume and sat more forward.

"so when you gonna tell her... that we did that too? she thinks it's special... but it's all reused... that was the place i found it first... i made the jokes you tell to her when she's with you...." the car speaker played, "do you get deja vu when she's with you? do you get deja vu, hm? do you get deja vu?"

ricky scoffed as he let out a chuckle. he crossed his arms over his chest as more jealousy and anger grew in his body. the boy leaned back into his chair and listened to the rest of the song, "i bet that she knows billy joel cause you played her uptown girl! you're singing it together, oh, i bet you even tell her how you love her... in between the chorus and the verse..."

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"ricky, no," nini argued back, "i don't wanna sign with your parents. did you see the way ashlyn and ej talked to me? people are only gonna think i got signed because i'm ricky bowen's girlfriend — not because of my talent."

"at least, let my parents talk to other record companies," ricky encouraged nini. the girl looked over at him with an unsure look on her face, "please, i promise they won't say anything about you being my girlfriend. you're only gonna be known as nini salazar-roberts, not ricky bowen's girlfriend."

"you promise?" nini quietly asked the boy. ricky nodded his head and pulled her head towards him so he could plant a kiss on her forehead. the both of them relaxed back into their seats before strapping their seatbelts on."

"where are we off to now?"

"we could go back to jenn's place," nini told ricky, "she won't be home for awhile so.."

ricky gave nini a smirk but the girl just rolled her eyes and smacked his arm, "ow!"

"you're gross."

"i didn't even say anything," ricky argued back, "you're the one thinking like that."

"i never said anything!"

"yeah, either did i!" he challenged before breaking into a laughter. ricky put his finger on nini's forehead and pushed her head back, "anyways, back to reality now."

nini just let out a chuckle and shook her head, "shut up and play uptown girl," nini commanded as she leaned into her chair. the girl pulled her seat back so she could lay down while ricky drove.

"i'm gonna play the barry allen version."

"sebastian!"

"whatever," ricky yelled back before playing "uptown girl". he looked over at nini who was jamming out to the song in her seat. ricky couldn't help but smile at the girl as he put his hand on her leg and gave it a soft squeeze, "you're so cute, i love you."

nini looked away from the window and flashed him a smile. she grabbed his hand that was once on her leg and held it in her hands. as ricky was driving, he felt nini plant a soft kiss on his hand before intertwining their fingers together again.

"i love you more," nini answered back before the two stayed quiet for the rest of the song.

︓·⠄✯∘⠄✧⠄·⠄✯∘⠄✧⠄

"strawberry ice cream in malibu, don't act like we didn't do that shit too! you're trading jackets like we used to do! yeah everything is all reused! play her piano but she doesn't know, that i was the one who taught you billy joel! a different girl now but there's nothing new! i know you get deja vu!" nini's singing rang in ricky's ears. the boy took in a deep breath as he listened to the last bit of the song before quickly turning it off.

ricky sat in silence as he stared out the windshield of his car. he slowly turned his engine on as he contemplated what to do next. before the boy knew it, he was driving across town — passing his exit to go home.