𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 | 𝚁𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝙱𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚗

𝙰𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 | 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟿

"Whose are those?" Kinsely asked, pointing to the shoes.

"Ricky's." Andrew said slowly.

"Why are they here?" Kinsely asked with raised eyebrows as Tobias walked in with Ricky's bag and skateboard and set them down on the couch.

"Because the rest of him is in the bathroom changing into pajamas, or whatever else I gave him to wear." Tobias said, trying to remember exactly what he had given Ricky.

Tobias was always the most forgetful one out of the group.

"Guys." Kinsely complained.

"Hold on, hold on. There's something going on at home." Lilian said, stepping toward Kinsely and grabbing her younger sister's hands. "His mom is back, but I don't think she's going to stay very long. And we talked to his dad and he said he's fine with him spending the night here..."

"Spending the night?" Kinsely questioned in slight annoyance. "Lily, no, I can't deal with any more drama today please..."

"Kenny..." Lilian started softly.

"I have had the worse day ever." Kinsely said as tears pricked to her eyes.

"Kenny, I'm guessing not as bad as his." Andrew said from behind Lilian, and the four stopped their conversation as Ricky walked down the stairs, but he paused when he saw Kinsely standing there looking at him.

"Hey." Ricky said to Kinsely, who did nothing in response.

"Well, I gotta say that looks better on you that it does me." Tobias said, changing the subject as he gestured to the oversized UTAH hoodie Ricky was wearing with the gray sweatpants that totally did not match the red and yellow of the hoodie.

"It's comfy." Ricky commented, touching the front of the hoodie.

"So are my Birkenstocks, but let's draw the line here." Lilian commented, and Ricky chuckled at this as she smiled at him.

"Yes, well... Sleep tight." Andrew said as Lilian and Tobias also nodded.

The three made their way out of the living room and towards the kitchen, leaving Kinsely and Ricky alone. The two stood in silence before Ricky spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I should've probably called you and asked if you were comfortable with me spending the night." Ricky said sheepishly as he fiddled with his fingers.

"No, it's okay, you wouldn't have reached me. I turned my phone off. It's fine, really, um..." Kinsely trailed off as she glanced in the direction of the kitchen before pointing to her back door. "Wanna go get some fresh air?"

"Yeah." Ricky said quickly, and Kinsely made her way to the door.

Kinsely walked out first, and Ricky followed her. Kinsely smiled as the fresh air hit her face, she swung her arms back and forth. She made her way to the swing set she had since she was a little girl. Ricky leaned against the pole  of the swing as he looked at it, and Kinsely swung on the swing next to him.

"Can't believe this thing is still up. I remember when we were seven and your dad built this for us." Ricky said, looking at the swing set before his gaze landed on Kinsely who was barely moving on the swing.

"Yeah, remember when you tried to do the 360 swing, but you ended up failing." Kinsely said, remebering the memory, "I also specifically remember you having a tantrum for 3 hours after that."

"Oh, haha. What was I supposed to do, I was a kid." Ricky said, putting his hands in his pockets as he shrugged, but a small smile made its way to his face.

Kinsely giggled at his reaction, and their laughter quieted down.

"So, what's going on at home?" Kinsely asked, causing Ricky to let out a sigh. "How long is your mom staying?"

"I don't..." Ricky said, trailing off, and he walked to the swing on the other side of Kinsely.

"Well, if things ever get really tense, you know you are always welcome to hang out here." Kinsely said, gesturing to her house that had most of its lights out. Ricky took a seat on the swing with a sigh of disappointment.

"I'm really scared. I'm really scared this time. It feels different already. But..." Ricky said as he used his feet to push himself on the swing slightly.

"I mean, that's all it is, right? Different? I mean that's not necessarily bad." Kinsely said, trying to bring Ricky up and make him feel a bit better.

"It's really hard to take about, you know? Not with you, but anyone else, it's like..." Ricky trailed off, not really knowing what to add or say, so Kinsely spoke up to break the silence. She reached her hand out and took is as their joined hands fell into his lap.

"Well, you can always talk to me about anything anytime, okay?" Kinsely said, and Ricky glanced down at their conjoined hands nervously.

"I know, things are kind of weird between us but, we're friends, right?" Ricky asked, and Kinsely's eyes slightly widened in shock.

"Yeah. Friends." Kinsely said quietly, but Ricky still heard her.

The two fell silent as the only thing that was heard was the constant cars driving on the street in the front of Kinsely's house, and some birds and slight sound of wind.

"Um, it's getting late, and I have early practice, so..." Kinsely said as she stood up from the swing, and Ricky followed her actions.

"Yeah, uh." Ricky started and he began to scratch the back of his neck.

The two fell into an awkward silence as they stood in front of each other, their hands still clasped together. The two began to slowly lean in, but Kinsely quickly diverted her head as she realized what she was about to do.

"No, I shouldn't." Kinsely muttered, and Ricky let out a few small mutters as well.

The two went back into silence, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Um, uh... uh... Good night, Ricky." Kinsely said, nervously as she sent him a quick smile before making her way inside.

She rushed up the stairs as quietly as she could to be quiet enough so her siblings wouldn't wake up. She turned off her lights and got under her covers as she looked at her nightstand lamp that was still on. She thought for a moment as she heard the downstairs door open and shut, and she assumed that it was Ricky coming inside. She sighed as she stood up and quietly made her way out of her room and down the stairs as quietly as possible.

"Hey, Ricky, I'm really sorry about..." Kinsely said, but she trailed off as she looked to the couch where she expected Ricky to be, but he wasn't.

Instead, sat a pair of fold clothes that Ricky had only been recently a few moments ago. Kinsely sighed as she leaned on the banister and stared at the empty couch, and she glanced at the backdoor.

"your parents. I'll always be there for you." Kinsely muttered as she finished her sentence that she had originally started.

She then turned to walk back up the stairs as she turned the lights off and made her way back to her room.

~~~