𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 [a rini au]

SIXTY-FIVE

Nini didn't like trekking through the snow covered woods, but she was grateful one of the boys offered her his jacket to keep her somewhat warm until they reached town. She didn't know what the plan was as she quietly followed the group down the sidewalks, but all she cared about was getting away. As she traveled, she passed both the "vacation home" and the café, memories trying to swim inside her and remind her of Ricky, but she put her guard up. Now wasn't the time to think about Ricky. Hell, she figured he clearly he wasn't thinking about her when he wrote whatever he did.

The group came to a stop by a lamppost on the sidewalk. "Griffin should be here with the rental car soon," one of the boys enlightened her, and as if on cue, an expensive Escalade blasting rap music rolled up to the sidewalk. Nini couldn't see the driver due to the boys crowding her view while piling inside, but it appeared they were taking the back seats, allowing her the front. Just as she got a clear view of the passenger side, she almost stopped herself from entering, for sitting groggily in the front seat was the boy she resented the most.

"Surprised to see you here," Charlie Kingston's jaw clenched as he saw a livid Nini next to the rolled down window. "You in or what?"

Nini knew better than to get into that car with a clearly intoxicated Charlie. She knew what he was like drunk, how his sweaty hair flopped over his face, the way he anxiously tapped his fingers against any surface–the surface being the wheel, in this instance–available, how his features were just limp. But, the alcohol was starting to kick in, and since she hadn't drank in a while and was running on a semi empty stomach, it was hitting the girl a lot faster and stronger. For that reason, her clouded judgement sent Nini barreling into the car, slamming the door shut just loud enough to show how unhappy she was with the circumstances.

"Pass them around!" a boy from the far back yelled, handing Fireball shooters to everyone in the car. In desperate need of something to intensify her drunkenness, Nini snagged one of the shooters, immediately downing it and earning whoops from the peanut gallery. However, in that course of action, she failed to see Charlie take one of his own, finishing it almost quicker than she did.

"To the park we go!" a different boy cheered, Charlie shifting the gear into drive and swerving onto the clear road.

Nini was too delirious to comprehend anything happening in the moment, but she had all the fire in her to snap back at whatever Charlie said. The driver firstly made a comment about the gala that struck a nerve. "Gala too prestigious for you?" he said to Nini, his voice almost masked by the sound of aimless, drunken chatter from back of the car. "You know, since you're this saint now."

"I don't wanna hear it," Nini began to slur, scavenging through the cooler at her feet and pulling out a Truly to sip on. "What the fuck are you doing here, anyway?" she sneered as she attempted to pry open the can's tab, fingers failing to grasp it correctly. "You should be expelled."

"I did nothing wrong," Charlie coughed, almost drifting into the bare other lane from the sensory disruption, "according to the letter my dad wrote to Administration."

Nini groaned, splashing some of the Truly on her white shirt. "Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "I wonder what you wrote in the letter to fucking Harvard about trying to get me in."

Charlie laughed, breath stinking of beer. "First of all, it was a call. Second of all, it was my dad. Third of all, I did facilitate it, but I took it back. Not gonna help you when you choose to make the wrong decisions with the wrong crowd."

"Why did you even try to meddle with my application?" Nini questioned, the girl now seeing two of Charlie. "I can do shit myself, Charlie. I can get into that school on my own."

"Well, we'll see now, won't we?"

Nini glued her eyes back on the road, although it was really no help. As they entered further into town, more cars started to appear on the street. Nini couldn't even feel how shaky Charlie was behind the wheel; nothing was clear to her. "What brought you here, anyway?" Charlie continued to angrily probe as he made an irrationally sharp right turn. "Shouldn't you be with Academy's newest good boy?"

Nini's mind slowly went back to Ricky and what happened at gala, but she immediately repressed it. "I can do things without him, you know," she answered. "Couldn't do that when I was dating you."

Charlie scoffed. "Nice cover up. Now, what was the fight about?"

Nini hated Charlie for being able to see right through her. Before her rationality could catch up to her mouth, she was spewing words. "He said shit about me....without telling me," Nini tiredly bobbed her head.

"Okay, whatever that means,"' Charlie grumbled. "When will you admit that I was right about him being bad news?"

"Because you're not," Nini defended Ricky, but she couldn't stop her head from leaning against the window and her mind begging for sleep. "He's....not...."

Charlie bit his lip before absentmindedly pushing his foot to the gas harder. There was suddenly no oncoming traffic in sight, but it wasn't like his drunk self could notice anyway. Nini was just about to pass out when Charlie spoke once more.

"Man, not a day goes by where I regret punching that dude across the face."

"You did what?!"

The next few seconds were a blur. All Nini could process was her head jolting up from the window, Truly can flying from her hands and spilling all over Charlie. For a quick moment, Charlie whipped his head towards her in fury, foot cemented to the gas. There was one scream audible from the backseat party of drunken basketball boys, but it was no use. Both Charlie and Nini failed to spot the hanging traffic light that was glowing a deep yet prevalent red. In no time, they were flying underneath it. They didn't see the previously empty intersection slowly illuminate from the left side, and by time Nini was able to make out the light beaming from behind Charlie, it was too late.

The girl could barely hear the frightening crash before everything went black.