𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 [ 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘶 ]

as it was .01

"—my cousin, ashlyn," ej chimed in as he pointed to all of their pictures, "oh and her friend, nini."

"nini," i repeated, eyeing her picture. i let out a chuckle and shook my head, "damn, i forgot about her. remember how i used to have like the biggest crush on her?"

"do i remember?" kourtney sarcastically asked, "the whole reason you joined the talent show was to impress nini. only you never talked to her and then you got shipped out to la a few months later."

"and they thought romeo and juliet was a tragedy," i joked, making everyone roll their eyes. i continued, "how is nini anyways? i haven't seen her since then?"

"oh... i forgot you weren't there..." seb quietly said.

"what?" i nervously asked, looking at everyone's long faces. "did something happen to her?"

"uh... her parents actually... they passed away like a few months after you left," kourtney revealed. my face fell and i looked at the old picture of nini below us.

"oh... that's terrible..." i quietly muttered. i could tell they didn't want to talk about it anymore so i decided to drop the conversation. the one thing i clearly remember from childhood was how great nini's moms were. they were the moms that always threw the pizza parties, chaperoned on field trips, and brought themed baked goods every holiday.

we went back to unpacking in silence.

+

✧ nini;

it was rush hour. all of the corporate workers were walking down to the bart station. [subway or train in the bay area, california]

always the perfect time to do some pick pocketing.

everyone's eyes were always glued to their phones: worrying about their next work project, family, meeting time, dogs, or their ex's new significant other.

i watched from afar as ellie purposely bumped into the middle aged women—both of them dropping their belongings to the floor. i let out a smirk and started walking towards them.

ellie constantly apologized, secretly grabbing the women's wallet and passing it to gina who was walking by the two. gina handed the wallet to me and i quickly stuffed it in my jacket pocket. i put my hoodie over my head and entered the bart cart. ellie and i smirked at each other as she helped the middle aged women up.

the women entered the same cart as me. she started to dig through her purse as she realized her wallet was missing but it was too late. the doors started to close and she quickly ran up to them, banging on the glass.

"STOP THE BART! STOP THE BART!" the lady yelled, earning annoyed looks from everyone, "THAT KID STOLE MY WALLET!"

but we were in bart and this was san francisco. bart doesn't stop for anyone and the city could care less if you got robbed. it was just another day in this shitty city i'm forced to call home.

i gripped onto the women's wallet in my pocket and smiled to myself. i watched as the lady gave up and fell down to a seat at the end of the cart. my eyes focused on my phone like everyone else. 

✧ ricky;

"ah, is that the last of everything," carlos whined as he fell back down into my couch.

"yeah, it looks like," i answered as i scanned my new organized room, "thanks again, guys!"

"yup! no problem bro," ej excitedly said as he jumped to his feet, "and i know the perfect way you can repay us."

i cocked an eyebrow at him as the four of them all eyed each other with excitement, "what now...?"