Meeting Me Halfway (HSMTMTS Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

Ricky
"Oh shit.." I say quietly as the group of people in front of us slowly give us their undivided attention.
"Nini?" The voice asks, letting me know exactly who it was.
"Ashlyn.." Nini says quietly, walking forward.
"What are you do-"
"HE'S HERE!" EJ's voice shouts from the back, allowing more people to focus their eyes upon us. "Ricky! Hey ma-"
He stops when he notices Nini standing by me in shock.
"Nini? What are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to come?"
"You invited her?" Ashlyn chimes in, confusing both me and Nini.
"Yeah, of course I did," EJ responds. "What are you guys doing here together?"
"We um. We go to the sa-"
"Coincidence.." I interrupt. "We got here at the same time."
"Oh. Um. Come join us."
I begin walking with them when all of a sudden Nini grabs my arm and pulls me back with force I didn't know she even had.
"Ricky!" She shouts quietly. "Did you know they were going to be here? And "coincidence?!" What are you lying for!?"
"No! Of course I didn't know they were going to be here! And look, I..I told EJ that I go to Tampa University okay? I didn't want him to know that we go to the same school."
"What!? Why?" She asks, constantly looking at me and back at the group of theater kid sitting down.
"I just didn't!"
"Whatever. I really don't want to sit with them. Big red is over there!"
"It's just for a small lunch. It'll be quick. C'mon." I try to convince.
"I already agreed to basically seeing them everyday. Skipping one lunch with them won't do any harm."
  "Nini. It's awkward, I know. It is for me too but it'd be rude for us to leave just because they're here."
  "No Ricky. You don't understand," she begins more seriously, "I don't want to sit with them."
  I sigh before glancing at the group.
  "How are we going to tell them that?"
  "You can go eat with them for all I care. I'm going to the car. Unlock it for me." She responds, turning around.
   "What? Nini no. I'm sure we can find a way out." I say, running in front of her.
  "No. Unlock the car for me. I'm serious. Go eat with them." 
   "Nini literally j-"
   "Unlock the car for me Ricky!" She shouts, leaving.
   I sigh a frustrated sigh before turning back to the group and clicking the unlock button on my keys.

"Where's Nini?" Kourtney asks as I approach the table. "I heard her voice."
"She um. She had to go." I sit down. "So it's just me."
I glance at the table, remembering all the good times we shared, the tears we shedded together..it felt weird.
   "Alright. Well. Are you coming to the rehearsal today?" Big Red asks.
  "Uh yeah of course. I wonder who the leads are." I say, grabbing a menu.
It's not as awkward as I thought it would be with me and Red. I'm sort of happy with that.
"Mrs Jenn already told us. Some kids named Hunter and Willow." EJ responds out of no where. "They also had what you and Nini..had. Luckily..there's no me in the situation."
I fake a laugh, but I could tell from everyone else's that theirs weren't.
"About that.." Gina says quietly. "Was seeing Nini awkward?"
I knew she was holding something back. No one in the corner of a booth can not have something on their minds.
"Uh yeah." I lie. "Its going to be...extremely awkward working with Nini again."
EJ gives me a look. A look that would tell someone to back off, but after quietly thinking about it, I must've taken it incorrectly.
"Shall we order?" I say out of the blue.
I quickly order and consume my food.

"I'll see you guys in a bit!" I shout, waving back before opening the door.
I ate quickly, in hopes that I didn't leave Nini hanging for too long. When I arrived at the truck, Nini was resting her head on the window.
"Hey.." I say quietly as I enter the vehicle. "You alright?"
"Mhm.."
"Are you cold? I don't think I turned on the AC."
She nods, still with her head rested on the window.
"Are you mad?" I ask, my head turned.
"Mmmm..." she hums, not giving me any hint what so ever.
"Are you?"
I got no response this time, causing me to sigh.
"Nini Salazar- Roberts....are you mad at m-"
"YES! Of course I'm mad! You fucking just took merely an hour in there!" She shouts, interrupting me. "The least you could've done was not take as long as you did."
"You could've gone w-"
"I couldn't have! I'd rather wait an hour more before seeing them Ricky." She says, lifting her head off of the window.
"Okay. But still. You really don't have a reason to be m-"
"Holy shit! Yes I do!" She cuts in once again.
Give me a god damn break woman.
"Are you going to ever let me finish my sentence?" I ask, starting up the truck. "Nini. When you said you didn't want to go in, I didn't think you were that angry or that serious about it. You could've told me."
Her face changes from I'm tired to I'm pissed.
"What do you fucking mean I could've told you?! Was the 'Unlock the car!' not good enough for you!? You may not have noticed that sure, I guess you didn't notice that I was angry, but you knew that I was in the car..WAITING..FOR..YOU!"
I drop my head back on the seat padding in response to her argument. I couldn't do anything except do what I couldn't do before. Apologize.
"Look. I'm sorry. I should've know. Now can we just go to East High and look..at dancing teenagers? I don't know okay? Let's just go. It's not that big of a deal." I say, backing out of the parking spot.
Almost immediately, I regret saying the last sentence. It is a big deal. I left a merely 115 pound girl in a freezing cold truck, so I probably should take this more seriously.
"I'm sorry. It is a big deal."
"It's fine. Whatever. Let's just go." She responds annoyed, sitting straight in her chair.

I put the car in park as I glance over at Nini, who was resting her head on her hand.
"Stay here." I say quietly, opening my door. I walk around and go to her door before opening it.
Opening the door, Nini's face slowly becomes visable. It was obvious she was ready to punch me.
She gets out without a thank you and makes her way into the school with ease. It took me a while since it's been quite a bit.
I follow Nini into the drama room, instantly giving me flashbacks I sometimes wish I didn't see. Everyone arrived before us, allowing eyes to set upon us once again.
"Hey Guys!" I say forcefully, walking towards the group. I hug everyone I couldn't before, starting with Ms Jenn. I hadn't seen her for a while and I feel guilty that I didn't warn her about my dads temper.
"So," I say as Nini stands beside me. "Where are our leads?"
I finally got a chapter on time😂
Chapter 16 Ladies and Gents. Enjoy!

Shoutout to:
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