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She had come back for him, she had turned her back on the school of her dreams all for him. The fact the long distance thing worked for the time it did - worked is a strong word, was enough to convince Nini that they were just better in person. Which is fine, relationships weren’t easy, even the most seasoned couples struggled with long distance. It was no big deal, she was here now, they were together, and they were happy. They really were happy.
Nini can’t pinpoint the exact moment she realized her and Ricky’s happiness were from different sources. He was trying, he was and she knows it, he was trying to love her back and be a good boyfriend, but it wasn’t enough. Even the blindest of men could see his love and adoration he held for Gina Porter, and he could deny it all he wants, but he’s a terrible liar, and he’s been lying to her face for the past 3 months.
Nini doesn’t blame Gina, sure they started off on the wrong foot, but she would never deny the boundless talent and beauty that was Gina Porter. Nini herself could’ve fallen for her, but she didn’t. Her boyfriend did.
Nini remembers when her and Ricky were on break, how he wasn’t supposed to be at homecoming, how dejected he’d been the whole time. She remembers the Monday after homecoming, how everything had seemed to change; Gina and Ricky sat a little too close together, the shared glances and secret smiles when they thought no one was looking, holding onto each other much too tight for their relationship to be strictly platonic. She never actually found out what happened the night of homecoming and she thinks it’s the universe's way of sparing her sanity.
Her and Ricky had gotten a little back on track after that, not necessarily towards a relationship, but friends nonetheless. There it was, it was all in her head, she still had Ricky. Gina was just a fluke.
She never intended to spy or intrude on the two of them, she’d been looking for Ricky, maybe to ask him to hang out, when she was stopped by the sound of Ricky’s voice and Gina’s bright smile. She began to reminisce about her relationship, the look in Gina’s eyes paralleling how she used to look at Ricky, and Ricky. Goodness, Ricky was just as enamored with her, she can’t remember the last time Ricky looked at her like that. Gina Porter was definitely not just a fluke.
She never told Ricky or Gina what she saw, she wouldn’t be able to bear the look on Ricky’s face as he thought back to the moment. She remembers the look on Ricky’s face when he heard Gina was leaving, the color draining out of his face at the seemingly earth shattering news. He hadn’t shown up the rest of the week, she’d only gotten updates out of Big Red, never Ricky himself. She couldn’t help but feel for Ricky, she hadn’t seen him so sad in a long time. Though part of her, while incredibly selfish, was glad that Gina was out of the picture, now things could go back to normal. They’d be Nini and Ricky again, perfectly happy.
Now that Nini thinks of it, she doesn’t think she ever truly had Ricky back, whatever happened while they were separated clearly left a piece of Ricky’s heart completely overtaken by Gina. She knew everyone in the play knew something was up with Ricky and Gina, there was no way she was the only one who saw the stares when they were sure the other wasn’t looking, their complete avoidance of each other, how their faces would light up briefly when the other spoke, only to become devoid of emotion once they seemed to remember how they got like this in the first place.
Nini was here for Ricky, she’d dropped everything for Ricky, on a prayer that their problems were just growing pains, that these times would eventually just be funny stories they tell their kids. And it was, it almost was, his relationship with Gina, or lack thereof, was taking a toll on Ricky, So he poured himself into Nini, making sure he knew she was his top priority. Nini took it, choosing to ignore the fact he was only doing this as a way to get over another girl.
Gina was standing in for Ashlyn at rehearsals, she truly looked beautiful, Nini smiled at her, Gina didn’t deserve Nini’s animosity. They were practicing the waltz, Nini tried to rationalize that this would be good for Ricky, Gina was the most talented dancer of the group and Ricky was the most uncoordinated person she’d ever met. Plus, they’d barely spoken and Nini knew this for a fact, nothing could happen here, they’d mark this as quickly and professionally as possible and go their separate ways once again. She drastically overestimated Ricky’s ability to think clearly when faced with a pretty girl.