𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 [a rini au]

- TWENTY-EIGHT!

"who's going?"

jeez, does it matter? the voice snapped again, ricky having to shut his eyes to control it. "uh, gina, aaliyah, some of the good girls cast," ricky answered peacefully.

nini nodded, dark hair sprawling out on her satin pillowcase. at the beginning of his stay in this city, whenever ricky saw that pillowcase on the couple's mini facetime dates, he'd wish he was there lying next to nini. however, that longing wasn't pinching him this evening. he didn't know if that was a point for team portwell and company.

"cool," nini responded with hesitance, which it didn't go unnoticed to ricky. it seemed that nini was hoping it would've, because her face muscles immediately tensed after the fact. ricky knew exactly where she harvested her doubt. he'd seen this film before.

ricky turned on the sink, running water over his hands so he could splash his heating face. nini watched as he looked back up at her, grinning devilishly, but not in the seductive way. "nini, please don't tell me that voice crack was because you don't want me to go," his lips flattened.

"no. i just miss you, that's all, and you're hanging out with our friends without me," she winked playfully, praying some light humor would ease her nerves. "maybe i'm a little jealous."

"well don't be, alright?" ricky mumbled, starting to regret his tone the moment he let the words out.

nini froze on the screen, and if ricky hadn't known any better, he would've thought they lost internet connection. "excuse me?" she whimpered with confusion.

ricky stood up straight, hands gripping the edge of the vanity so he could lean closer to the phone. "if this is because of aaliyah, i'm not hashing it out again," ricky let his thoughts fly. "i don't know how many times i have to tell you she's my friend before you can start trusting me."

"woah!" nini objected. "never once did i say this was about aaliyah," her voice faded again when she said the actress' name.

"when you're nervous about something, you talk in this tiny voice," ricky exposed her, nini's face wiping when he realized he peeled back her layers.

the girl squeezed the bridge of her nose. "okay, i'm sorry," she confessed. "i–i know there's nothing going on between the two of you, but recently, with social media, it seems li–"

"holy shit," ricky grumbled, backing away from the mirror. "social media?! that's your defense to justify you're thinking that i'm being unfaithful? give me a break."

"sorry, ricky!" nini yelled cynically. "it's not often i let my guard down, so god forbid i get a little uneasy when i see another girl flaunting my boyfriend around!"

ricky licked his lips. "i just don't understand why you're being so...so possessive over me."

"possessive?!"

"like i can't hang out with my friends, even if they're girls, because you'll get sad that you're not here and then somehow fucking think i'm cheating on you!"

nini jolted up in her bed. "do not go and pin this on me, not when i've spent my whole life knowing that even the people that are blood can't be trusted."

"so i can't be trusted, then?" ricky said matter-of-factly.

"i didn't say that!" nini shrieked. "too often people have broken my trust without me doing anything to try and stop it."

ricky threw his hands in the air. "then why are you trying to do something now if you trust me?"

"because i love you!" nini screamed, for whatever it was worth in that moment. when ricky went silent, nini's voice rose. "i love you! is that the worst thing you've ever fucking heard?!"

ricky sighed, teeth latching into his bottom lip. the sentiment sliced the air, opening a wound that neither of the two singers thought would ever exist. "if i let up, i could lose you," nini whispered with finality.

the curly-haired boy watched as nini's eyes got watery. "look, neens, let's just put this thing to bed, okay?" he softly spoke. "i'm sorry. i shouldn't have snapped."

nini nodded infinitesimally. "okay."

"okay," ricky picked up his phone, happy that his screen was cracked enough to make nini's saddened face less readable. "i'll talk to you later. love you."

"mhm," nini shut her eyes before ricky could say anything more, the ending of the call tagging along with it.

nini had thrown her phone across the room multiple times that saturday night, but checking snapchat a few hours after her facetime call with ricky was the final straw. nini sat at the foot of her bed in fury, tears swimming in her eyes as her heart caught on fire. it didn't matter if she thought ricky made a point about her being too possessive when it came to who he hung out with in new york. stubbornness was genetic for her.

for that reason, instead of chucking the phone at her closet doors with the intention of smashing it into a million pieces, she flew through her app pages until she reached her contacts. her thumb flicked across the screen until she landed where she was headed, pressing the call button quickly.

"nini? hey!"

"hey, uh, is that party still on for tonight?"

𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐒!
→ buckle up, people.
that's all i'll say.