Nini stood at the brown door to Ricky's apartment. Before knocking, she had double-triple checked that she did, in fact, have the right number. Next to the door, there was the number 610 colored in a deep bronze. 

She knocked twice, and could've sworn she heard a rushed gasp. A few milliseconds passed, and suddenly Ricky was at the door. He was wearing thick gray sweats and a big black hoodie. His cheeks were pink, which Nini attributed to his fever.

"Hey, Nini!" Ricky said enthusiastically. He internally pinched himself to see if he was dreaming. Was Nini really here, standing in front of him? The sunlight coming from the dingy window down the hall was just bright enough to shine light onto her face, almost as if it were an impromptu halo on an angel.

"Come on in." He smiled. Nini shyly stepped into his apartment and looked around. It smelled like him, she noticed. "Sorry about the mess."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. I came unexpectedly. How are you doing?" Nini looked into his eyes.

"Just tired." He said, eyeing the bags Nini was carrying.

"I brought some things." Nini said, listing off the items she bought at the store.

"Nini! You didn't need to! I'd hug you right now, but I don't want you to get sick."

"It's no problem at all. It wasn't expensive compared to all the coffees."

Ricky blushed. "I see a cute girl. I give her free coffee. Sue me." 

Nini could've passed out right then and there of happiness.

"Come on, sit down." Ricky gestured to the couch. 

"What do you wanna watch first? Your pick." Nini yawned as she sat down. Ricky sat down beside her, getting a blanket and draping it over their bodies.

Ricky shrugged, taking a sip of soda. "We can watch this one." He said, pointing to a documentary that Nini had googled and found had 3.7 stars on IMDb. It was about the lack of academic freedom, and according to one of the comments, was full of "Lies, high bias" and was "the very definition of idiotic". This made Nini decide to pick it.

"Alright." Nini said and they began to watch the documentary, occasionally making witty comments to make each other laugh when they saw fit. 

Eventually, the credits rolled.

"The IMDb reviews I read online were not wrong." Nini laughed.

"Seriously. If it wasn't for our creative and hilarious commentary, that would've been a waste of time for both of us." Ricky snorted. "You read IMDb reviews?"

"I made sure every movie I picked out was appropriately bad for us to make fun of." Nini said. "If it had less than 5.5 stars and had horrid reviews, it was in the running. I had a whole system."

"We are so different." Ricky laughed.

"I know we are. That's what makes us good..." she paused. "Together." She looked deeply into his eyes. 

"We are pretty good together, aren't we?" Ricky grinned. "Big Red never stops asking if we're dating yet."

Nini laughed. "He's sweet."

"Ever since he got together with Ashlyn a few months ago, he stopped asking as much, but that kid is relentless."

Nini didn't really know how to respond to this. She wanted to ask him if he liked her so badly, if he wanted to make her dreams (as well as Big Red's, apparently) but she couldn't get her courage up to do it. She could hear Kourt in her head pressing her to do it, but her overanalyzing self ultimately won their internal battle.

"So, next we have the selection of children's movies. It's a genre we have had yet to delve into with our destructive comments, so I decided today is as good as any to begin." Nini pulled three children's movies out of her bag. "We have the Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld. The Emoji Movie. Here's a less well known one; The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan."

"Ooh, that one."

They turned it on and began to watch while having a conversation with one another.

"How many movies did you actually get?" Ricky asked.

"So many. I only picked cheap ones, so I could get tons of movies."

"Makes sense." Ricky said, popping a dorito into his mouth. Nervously, he carefully lifted his arm and put it around Nini's shoulder. Nini felt her face burn. She smiled to hide her anxiousness of ruining this moment of bliss. She put her head on his shoulder.

They sat and watched the movie in silence for a few moments. But neither of them were really watching the movie. Both of them were deep in thought about each other.

Eventually, without Ricky's comments to keep her awake, Nini felt herself drift away to sleep. She succumbed to the warmth of the blanket and the comfort of Ricky's body.

"Can I have my usual please?" Nini asked politely. 

"Duh. Just go sit. Ricky will be out in a few minutes. I'll pass on the message that you're here." Big Red said, smiling at the next person in line. Nini went and sat down. She pulled out her laptop and opened it to see her essay for her english class. She began working on it for a few minutes until a familiar voice interrupted her. 

"Hey. Nini. Can we go outside for a sec?" Ricky asked her. Nini was sure that he could detect the nerves in her voice as she agreed. He led her to the parking lot.

"So, what's up-" Nini was cut off by Ricky's soft lips on hers. The kiss was passionate and warm and felt like all the good things that have ever existed. Fairies, angels, pastel pink sunrises and a Christmas morning with snow on the ground outside. Warm summer mornings when the sun shines through the curtains onto the bed. She kissed him back with as much passion and wonder as she felt at that moment. She felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"Are you okay?" Ricky gasped after they had pulled apart for air.

"I'm the best I've ever been." Nini breathed and pulled him back in.

"Nini." She felt a shaking, and her eyes opened. Ricky hadn't moved, and the credits were rolling on the screen. 

"I'm so sorry," Nini started, embarrassed. 

"Don't worry about it. Want me to make you some dinner?" 

"You don't have to."

"Might as well show off my mediocre cooking skills." Ricky shrugged, and pulled out a box of pasta.

"Pasta is pretty much the most mediocre anyone could get." Nini laughed.

"Don't laugh at me! I am trying to impress you." Ricky laughed and started the water. "There'll be sauce and meat and garlic bread as well."

"Wow, fancy." Nini blushed.

"For our first date, I had to go all out."

"Our first date? We aren't dating." The words wounded Nini as they came out of her mouth.

"We can tell Red we are. Bet he would pass out."

"I'm in."

Roughly thirty minutes of cooking and conversation later, Ricky led Nini to his tiny dining room table.

"Here you are, Madame Nini. Enjoy your meal." Ricky said in an awful French accent.

"Aren't you gonna eat too?" Nini laughed.

"Do not ruin le illusion!" Ricky hissed with a grin on his face as he set his own plate down.

They ate with the glow of the TV illuminating them as they discussed everything that their minds came up with. The movies, work, school, life after school and how terrified adulthood seemed. Eventually after they cleaned together (at Nini's insistance), Nini checked her phone, and realized it was 9 pm.

"Shit. I've been here for like six hours. I'm so sorry." Nini laughed.

"No, no. I had the best time! Please come by whenever you want. I have like four friends so I'm always free!" Ricky rushed to reassure her.

"I should probably go. But I'll see you tomorrow. And I hope you feel better." Nini smiled and walked towards the door.

She walked out, and Ricky was left with the memories of the day. He smiled to himself. Nini cured him.

aaaaand that's part two! i hope it was good! both were pretty long but i was bored and i don't wanna do my ap lang homework lol school be feeling mad optional rn

this story is probably a like 75% done at this point and im starting to think about my next story. as of now i am planning to write a timothee chalamet fanfic so if you would read that please comment!!!

ciao! stay safe! thank u for reading <3