𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 [a rini au]

- FORTY-NINE!

nini was no stranger to live performances. in fact, the stage was her favorite place to be. however, as she stood in front of her dressing room vanity, fishnet-covered hands intensely gripping the wobbly desk portion, the singer felt like was going to throw up.

it was the opening night of her very first tour–a world tour, to be precise–in london and it was only minutes until her set was to begin. not only did nini have that pressure weighing on her, but given her current circumstances in the media, she felt the spotlight eating her up in more ways than one. ironically, though, nini knew that the only person who could truly calm her nerves was the boy enhancing her notoriety.

"nini, we need you backstage in five," the girl's dressing room intercom spat unnerving static that managed to pull nini out of her trance. she gave herself one final look in the mirror, toying with her chocolate curls until they were perfectly placed across her purple sequined outfit. you got this, nini, she thought to herself as she forced a face of confidence and exited the room. it's just you and your music. 

as nini jogged through the backstage hallways of the o2 arena, she received encouraging cheers from the stage crew until she approached the entrance to the wings. waiting for her with bright smiles on their lips, just as she expected, were two of her best friends. "showtime, nini girl!" margo cheered, blond hair flying as she shook nini's shoulders aggressively. even after an electric set of her own just minutes before, margo possessed all the infectious energy in the world. 

"we'll be having our own little dance party here in the wings," mia grinned, snuggling absentmindedly into margo's side. "you're gonna kill it!"

nini swallowed the lump in her throat, smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt and trying to drown out the sounds of "nini, you're on in three!" coming from various members of state crew. "have you guys seen ricky?" nini's mind naturally drifted to the one person she needed to see before heading onstage.

"ricky? who's he? should i be jealous?"

a new voice snaked into nini's ear just as a pair of familiar arms did the same around her waist. more chills joined the already present ones on nini's body as she felt her nerves seep into ricky's chest. the brunette spun around and faced the curly-haired singer, his own flushed cheeks complimenting his supportive smile. "i got myself a nice spot in pit tonight, if that's alright with you," the boy pretended to dance in place. "i don't have enough room to bust a move back here."

"nini, thirty seconds!"

nini shoved ricky's shoulder playfully. "don't distract me out there," she ordered. "we all know you can't dance."

ricky couldn't fake offense for long. "break a leg, hon," the old nickname slipped off his tongue like no time had passed at all. it was so natural, just like the butterflies that made a home in ricky's stomach as he took in the girl's beauty.

nini's lips tugged upwards to the point of exhaustion. she didn't need to say anything else. not because if she didn't move she'd miss her cue, but because everything ricky said always completed her.