#ricky x nini gifs

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

1x10 | 4x8

[333itgirl]

this is just making me really depressed

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THE MUSICAL THE SERIES (2019-)

1.01 | “The Auditions” 2.01 | “New Year’s Eve” 3.08 | “Let It Go”

[bunnysnuff]

What I've Been Looking For.

Pairing: Poly!Ricky Bowen x Reader x Nini Salazar-Roberts.

Trigger Warning: Poly Relationship, none, surprise celebrity at the end!

Request.

The opening night of High School Musical: The Musical was finally here, and you were feeling every ounce of excitement, nerves, and adrenaline. You had spent months rehearsing with Ricky and Nini, both of whom were by your side through every high and low. Being in a relationship with both of them made everything feel even more magical — like you had a team who understood and supported you no matter what.

As the audience filled the seats, you found yourself pacing backstage, trying to calm your nerves. Ricky caught sight of you and quickly walked over, his hand slipping into yours. “You’re gonna be amazing,” he said softly, giving you that signature charming grin. His calm energy always seemed to ground you when you needed it the most.

Nini joined you both, a warm smile on her face as she squeezed your other hand. “You’ve got this. We’re all in this together, remember?” she winked, making you laugh despite your nerves. It was moments like this that made you realize how lucky you were to have them.

As the house lights dimmed and the show began, your mind raced, but once you were on stage, everything seemed to fall into place. The music, the choreography, the lines—it all flowed, and the energy from the audience made it feel even more electric.

By the time the final bow came, the applause was thunderous. You stood between Ricky and Nini, their hands in yours, hearts pounding with the exhilaration of a show well done. The three of you shared a proud look before heading offstage, basking in the glow of your accomplishment.

However, as you made your way to the dressing rooms, a familiar voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Y/N!” You spun around, heart skipping a beat. Standing there, smiling brightly, was Vanessa Hudgens, your cousin. She stepped forward, arms open wide.

Your eyes widened in shock. “Vanessa?! What—what are you doing here?”

Ricky and Nini exchanged confused glances, but your cousin didn’t hesitate to pull you into a tight hug. “I wouldn’t miss your big night for the world! You didn’t think I was gonna stay away when you were performing High School Musical, did you?”

“I didn’t think you even knew!” you stammered, still in disbelief.

Vanessa chuckled, pulling back to look at you. “Of course I knew. Your mom may have let it slip, but I wanted to surprise you.” She glanced over your shoulder at Ricky and Nini. “So, are you gonna introduce me to your friends?”

You turned to your partners, cheeks flushing. “Um, yeah. Vanessa, this is Ricky and Nini. They’re... well, we’re...”

“Together,” Ricky finished, smiling sheepishly as he extended his hand. Nini gave a small wave, her own smile matching the pride in her eyes.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but her smile widened. “Well, it looks like you’ve got a great team supporting you. I’m really proud of you, Y/N. You were incredible tonight.”

Your heart swelled as you took in her words. Being related to someone who had been a part of the original High School Musical was something you’d always known but never thought much about—until now. The connection felt surreal, but standing there with Ricky and Nini, you realized that tonight was even more special than you’d ever imagined.

Ricky wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. “Looks like being a star runs in the family.”

Nini nodded, her hand slipping into yours again. “I’d say we have some pretty big shoes to fill.”

You laughed, feeling lighter than you had all night. “Well, no pressure, right?”

Vanessa grinned. “Trust me, you’ve already made your mark.” She glanced at Ricky and Nini. “And I’m glad you’ve got these two to back you up.”

As the night went on, you couldn’t stop smiling. With Vanessa’s surprise visit and the warmth of Ricky and Nini by your side, you knew this opening night would be a memory you’d cherish forever.

[blues-valentine]

Before the final season of HSMTMTS premieres I just want to talk about one of the most important scenes from last season because it really encompasses Ricky’s add, Rina and the dynamic between the OG Core 4. And the way it was filmed, was to parallel that journey.

Ricky singing Kristoff’s Lullaby, a song that says “everything I thought I did [about love] you’ve gone and changed it” which is a response to Ricky and Gina’s first duet “What Do You Know About Love?” is it. This has been Ricky and Gina’s relationship from Ricky’s perspective and arc. It’s always been about change for him. About growing up, letting go of childhood, insecurities, concepts of love.

The whole framing of this scene it’s important because this parallels auditions back in the pilot episode. The OG core 4 (Ricky, Nini, Gina and EJ) are in the same place but in very different circumstances. On the pilot, Ricky was singing a song to Nini about his feelings sort of [a song written by her, a song that couldn’t even allow them to say the word love to each other]. And Nini isn’t so thrilled by this because this is Ricky inserting himself in what she considers to be her new found space. Ricky doesn’t even like musicals. EJ, Nini’s boyfriend, was by her side, absolutely not thrilled about it, of course, this is Nini’s ex just serenating her and it awakes his own insecurities. On the other side of the stage, there’s Gina watching him, at first she was so bored but then her eyes spark at Ricky’s song because it’s something new. Gina doesn’t get intrigued but Ricky intrigues her. He feels so out of place but he has something she’s never seen. And this is the start of their dynamic, and for all of these characters in a nutshell.

On 308, we have a similar scene but switched a bit. We have Ricky singing to someone. But this time, to Gina and it's not in her face, like he did it with Nini. He is not intruding in her space – he spends the whole season trying not walk over her own boundaries. For her and EJ. This is a Ricky that is sure about his place in theater and it’s doing it for himself. A lead role he actually put effort on. It’s Ricky singing a song about love, about meeting someone that changes everything for you, including the ways you used to view love. Gina is the representation of change. She’s been called this way multiple occasions. Ricky used to view love in a very consuming way. It’s all or nothing, even if sometimes it intrudes on boundaries. Even if by keeping that love so tight it changes you but not for a better version of yourself. Even if holding to it it’s stopping your from growing. Gina came into his life to tell him that changes can be good, that doing things for yourself are good. If a love is meant to be it will be. And he looks at Gina. Who, like before, was standing at the side of the stage. And she knows that line it’s for her. Gina knows exactly what Ricky is trying to tell her. But we also have Nini, who Ricky knows is watching too, they told him this before. But he is singing to Gina. Nini is not in his mind. But the fact that she is there makes that concept very clear. Nini is there watching him with pride because she can see too how much he has changed as a person and now belongs. And at the other side of the stage there's EJ, who’s basically on a similar situation as before but this time he knows is inevitable and he won’t do anything to sabotage that like he did before. He walks away. He knows he has.

Tim Federle loves its full circle moments and Season 4 will give us a lot of those. But this whole thing brings me to his recent interview where he says this is the first time Ricky and Gina are in love together because sometimes your first love is not exactly what you think love is. We often think our first love it's the standard of love and then comes someone that teaches you how to love. This is what Gina is to Ricky. (And I’ve made countless post about it X X X)

Nini and Ricky’s love was special but it was not helping them grow up, you could feel since the pilot how out of sync they actually were and neither of them wanted to admit that because their romance was attached to their childhood memories none of them were ready to let go. Nini was more ready to let go than Ricky was. Gina pushed Ricky to contemplate aspects of his life - and the reality that he needed to move forward and accept that things have to come the way they will come and he can't hold onto them. The song "Second Change" is also a song that summarizes the OG Core 4 arcs. For Nini, it's always been about finding her self self away for the image she created around Ricky. For Ricky, it was accepting changes, to embrace them. For Gina, it's about not running when things get too hard and finding where she belongs. For EJ, is about finding his own way outside of his parents expectations. That’s it. That’s the story. And if you didn’t see it…

[taylorkellyreporting]

i hope no one minds if i liveblog this bitch: hsmtmts 2x01-2x12

gina saying ‘i’m gonna make my mark’ while walking through nini and ricky, causing them to break their handhold…yeah.

poor gina, she likes ricky so much

that was harsh, ricky didn’t deserve that.

oh my God, nini’s ‘team kourt’ pullover is so cute

blondie has a great voice but she’s a shit person, i have to say

kourt, ash and gina did so good but i kinda wish ashs voice wasn’t at the forefront

i officially hate blondie, how dare her laugh at big red falling???

ashlyn as belle my beloved <3

I KNEW SHE WAS A SPY

the hearts on nini’s face, aw

lmfaoooo he’s in denver

‘…i’m taking it in stride’ ‘you’re dressed in all black’ pls

big red saying valentine’s day is centered around the color red so he should have it on lock and pointing to his hair was hilarious i love him

ricky definitely has some buried feelings for gina cause there’s no other reason why their scenes are now slightly awkward in that cute way it is when characters have mutual feelings for each other and don’t know how to act esp when one half is in a relationship 🤭

‘there are just some things i tell you that i don’t tell anybody else’ ‘i think we do that for each other’ who else is doing it like them? definitely not rini lmao

not ricky shushing gina cause nini’s calling??? now why would he do that if he didn’t feel slightly guilty for hanging out with her? emotionally cheating ricky we love you🫂

big red and ashlyn are so adorable together

GOD RICKY AND THE CHOCOLATES, I CANT BREATHE

the way ricky immediately sent that text to gina, he’s so fucking obvious 😭

‘love you, mom!’ seb is so cute

kourt as lead when??

ricky’s fucking face when he sees nini’s voicemail and gina’s text 😭

reds song was saurrr cute

ricky’s down so bad, gina didn’t even say anything funny and he immediately lost it

‘what, do i need to send you a random box of chocolates to prove it? 😏’ gina is literally the only one so far who brings out ricky’s flirty side

‘i go big, gina. you know that.’ GOD

kinda wanna throw hands with mr mazzara for being there for ej but not willing to be there for ricky earlier

need someone to notice something’s wrong with gina and hug her

is gina leaving again? kinda getting that vibe

gina’s performance was AMAZING

WOW i think that’s genuinely the best cover of ‘the climb’ i’ve ever heard

‘i’ve never been accused of being speechless’ 🫂

oh wow, they stole their beauty and the beast idea

‘i’m ready to come home’

‘what would you ask your future self?’ ‘trick question, gaston’s dead!’ he’s not wrong 😭

ricky’s allergic to change and it’s definitely his parents fault

‘i wouldn’t quit on us, if i wasn’t moving away’

‘nini’s back and…he’s so happy now’ SHE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY, TOO!!!!

espionage 😭😭

gina finally got a hug 🥹

ricky saying he’d ask if the beast and belle were still together in the future + nini writing that song…yeah, they were built to fall apart

‘oh my God, is your phone hungry?!’ lmfaoooo

‘do you really think they’d steal from us?’ ‘i would :D’ pls?? gina’s so funny 😭

‘if you leave me unsupervised with their costumes i cannot promise i won’t go all gina 1.0 in there’ lmfao i love her

the way i gasped in sync with everyone else when that kid called the costume fugly 😭

ricky and nini is the worst relationship on the show

OH MY GOD???

okay, i did NOT see howie being the beast coming

‘miss jen, we didn’t break anything’ ‘would you like me to be the first?’ miss jen said her hands are rated E for everyone

‘keep our heads down and our chins up’ ‘i don’t think that’s physically possible’ ‘it’s an expression, sebastian!’ she’s so done with him 😭

rini needs to end, they aren’t good together at all

i already hate ej’s dad, he sounds so full of himself and he’s only said a few words lmao

kourt’s mom is the best parent on the show i fear

damn, all the relationships are imploding this ep

i would’ve preferred gina and ej just being friends tbh

i feel bad for nini and ricky of course, but their relationship was not it

okayyyy an andi mack reunion!! i’m here for it!

i love the song and video they made, i just wish ricky was there, too

gina is so damn shippable cause why am i here thinking her and jack would be cute together

ricky’s song is so good

ej showing up at the airport…ricky should’ve ran into gina there on his way home and they should’ve taken an uber together or something

‘i think i may have played troy at one point’ pls 😭

lily’s incredibly annoying

seblos 🥹

oh fuck, ricky fell 😭

the musical is really good

A BIG BROTHER FIGURE, I’M CRYING

lily stole the harness, didn’t she?

well.

‘i’ve always seen your name in lights’ oh my God, they’re so cute!!!

why can’t gina ever just be happy?!?

Gina and nini’s friendship (i use that word loosely lmao) is cute

nini being more upset about her and gina than ricky and gina…she doesn’t give a fuck about him dkgjfjs

oh wow, gina’s definitely gonna introduce nini to her brother

‘are you happy?’ miss jen is already better than both of ricky’s parents just by asking that simple question

i’m so glad they dropped out

oh brother

the cast performing you are the music in me 🫶🏻🥹

aww, olivia crying 🥺

that’s a wrap on s2 and if you made it to the end of this lb, pat yourself on the back lmfao

[filmmakerdreamst]

#no bc like. tim was catagorically crushing the anti-rinas okay#ik theres people that think rina came out of nowhere bc they weren't paying attention lol#but in 4x01 he literally shows the scenes where they were falling in love the first time and then reinforces it here and in the flashbacks#like- god i love it via @chaoswithpie 

HSMTMTS 4.08 | Born to Be Brave

[hrtbrkwthrs]

Second Chance: In My Head...

Ricky Bowen x OC

This is episode three of my series Second Chance.

Summary: Unexpected tension leaves both Blake and Ricky confused. Ricky leaves Nini a voicemail and ends up hurt. Trouble in paradise for Nini and EJ.

Trigger Warnings: Talks of (Blake's) BPD and therapy (like healthy coping skills), mentions of not having food at home, pills/addiction

"Five, six, seven, eight!"

The words echoed through the black box. Carlos pressed the play button on the music, starting 'Get'cha Head in the Game' from the original High School Musical soundtrack.

A group of background characters in the play, Blake included, started to bounce basketballs, attempting to bounce in sync with the music despite the blindfolds that covered their faces.

She lifted her leg up, bouncing the basketball to the other side and trying to catch it with her other hand. She was supposed to do a twirl next, but the ball bounced away from her before she could try.

Judging by the sound of other basketballs bouncing away and the squeaking rubber shoes against the floor, nobody else had much luck with the moves either.

"Alright guys, come on, get 'cha head in the game," Carlos joked as everybody lifted their blindfolds and chased after their own basketballs.

"Carlos, when can we take these blindfolds off?" A boy with white hair chuckled, basketball in hand.

"When you're able to dribble and pirouette at the same time," Carlos smiled, stating his response as if it was obvious. Blake took a second to breathe after picking up her basketball, giggling softly at his answer.

"Alright," Carlos clapped his hands together, "good reheasal today, everybody! I'll see you all tomorrow, and don't forget to read over your scripts!"

She put her basketball down in the designated bin, grabbing her backpack and waving goodbye to Carlos. She was met with Ricky outside the door of the black box waiting for her.

"Hey, how was practice?" He nodded towards her with a smile as the two of them began walking through the halls.

"Rehearsals," she corrected him with a smirk.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Okay, how was rehearsals, smartass?"

She let out a quiet laugh, "it was fun. We learned to bounce a basketball blindfolded."

"I don't even want to ask."

She shook her head, "I don't know why he's trying to get us to learn the dance blindfolded, I think it's something about making it impossible to learn at first? I don't know," she giggled.

"Hey, okay, so... do you remember how I told you I think Nini and I had a moment earlier?" Ricky quickly changed the subject as the two of them started walking down the stairs.

She hesitantly nodded, "yes...?"

"Well... I think I'm going to call her real quick," he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, stopping on the stairwell.

Blake sighed, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Ricky..." She sat on the end of the stairs and watched.

He shrugged, "what do I have to lose?" He started dialing the number in his phone.

She groaned quietly, putting her face in her hands as she listened to the little beeps of the numbers being entered.

She heard the faint sound of Nini's voicemail through his phone, "this is Nini, talk to me, me!"

"Hey, it's me. Your... buddy, Ricky. Sorry to bother you, I know we don't really do voice convos," he used his free hand to animate his words as he spoke them, "but I saw you singing that song with Ashlyn today and I felt like we kind of shared, like, a moment... or a thing? I don't know, maybe a moment is kind of a thing?"

Blake scrunched her nose, an automatic reaction to the words that poured from his mouth. It was clear he didn't think this through.

"Why am I still talking?" He asked himself, whispering underneath his breath, "Anyway, whatever. if this voicemail is too much, or too soon, or you're just not into it... we can just ignore this whole thing and pretend like nothing ever happened, okay? Poof. Gone. Okay... bye."

Blake looked at him, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in as he pressed the button to end the call.

He clicked his tongue, finally moving his gaze from his phone and over to Blake, "Nailed it."

She stood up, the two of them finishing down the stairs and finally leaving the school as he continued to hype himself up, "Crushed it."

She shook her head with a laugh, but denied saying anything when he asked what it was she was laughing at as they skated home.

Instrumentals to the song 'Stick to the Status Quo' from the original High School Musical soundtrack played over the speakers as Blake and the the other extras practiced through a dance number around a cafeteria table that Gina danced on, their moves simply accenting Gina's routine that she was showing off.

Thankfully, Blake was no stranger to dancing. She had a history of ballet when she was younger, thanks to her mom, but as she grew older, she decided that dancing was more her style. Blake went to dance classes four times a week starting when she was eight years old. Just like many other things in her life, the dance classes stopped when her mom passed away. Still, it felt good to get back to her old hobby, if only for a second.

Gina finished out the last bit of the number in a pirouette with a smile as everyone quickly dispersed for a water break. Blake made her way over to Big Red, sitting next to him while he read through a script.

She took a big swig of her water, ignoring EJ sitting next to her and staring. Thankfully, his attention was pulled away from her as Nini walked through the door. Ms. Jenn quickly moved to meet her in the middle of the room.

"Nini! Where were you? We've been here for an hour."

"I'm so sorry," she stumbled, spilling out her explanation, "I lost my phone and basically spent last night living as a hunter-gatherer which, by the way, did you know that there are things that are only on TV at a certain time?"

Ms. Jenn looked at her with wide eyes as she rambled.

"Anyway, I finally picked it up at the lost-and-found and... wait, did you say an hour?" Nini's face fell.

"Gina sent you and me a text asking if we could come in early so she could talk through a new idea," Ms. Jenn explained gently, "you didn't get it?"

"No because my phone was missing..."

"Well, honey," Ms. Jenn began, "you've gotta keep better track of your stuff."

Blake noticed the way EJ's lips turned into a frown, the way he swallowed, looking down at his lap.

Before she could think about it, her attention was soon averted, her gaze now following Ricky. He walked across the room and over to Nini, who finally finished her conversation with Ms. Jenn.

"Hey, Nini, how was your night?" He asked her with a smile.

"Um," Nini pulled her jacket off, "not so hot, actually. Excuse me," she sat her jacket down and pushed past him without a second look.

Blake walked to Ricky's side, "Oh, okay," he cleared his throat as he watched her walk away.

He turned to Blake, whispering "'Not so hot'? Was that about my voicemail?" He raised his eyebrow, a sad chuckle escaping him, "I mean, is that her answer...?"

She shook her head, her mouth opened slightly. She was going to say something, she really was, but he moved on too quickly before she could respond.

"Yeah, that was her answer..." He frowned and walked away, leaving Blake standing there.

"Yo, earth to Blake!"

She had zoned out, but was quickly pulled back to reality when a small foam ball softly bounced off of her face.

"Huh?" she looked to the culprit with slight annoyance. Ricky.

"Are you even listening?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, Ricky."

"Dude, what's up with you? Where'd you just go?" Big Red's voice caught her attention.

"Was thinking about the homework I have to catch up on," She lied. She honestly just didn't want to hear any more about Nini.

She took a second, trying to think up a way to change the subject, distract them, find any thing to get them off the topic. So she looked at Ricky, figuring why not throw the ball back at him? He threw it at her first, after all.

"...What?" He asked hesitantly as he noticed the mischievous grin on her face.

She raised up her arm and threw the little foam ball as hard as she could at him. He flinched, "Hey!" It bounced off of his chest and onto the floor.

"Payback," she smiled innocently.

The three of them giggled together for a moment before Ricky started up a game of 'catch' — which was just the three of them tossing the little ball to each other in a circle from each side of Big Red's basement that they sat in.

"Okay but seriously, did you hear any of that?" Ricky asked Blake with an eyebrow raised and a smile.

"Yes, don't worry," she lied again, catching the ball from Big Red and quickly tossing it to Ricky again.

"So... what do i do?" Ricky asked both Blake and Big Red.

"Dude, just be yourself," Red looked at Ricky, "be the bigger man."

Ricky caught the ball from Blake, "Okay...." he tossed the ball up in the air and caught it, "pick one?"

Red looked at him, slightly dumbfounded, and sighed, falling backwards onto his bed.

Blake snickered at Ricky's reply, "At least you're self aware," she was only half-joking, "throw the ball!"

Ricky shook his head at her with a smile on his face, proud that he had made her laugh. He sighed and threw the ball to Big Red, "So, you think maybe it's time to move on...?"

Big Red caught the ball, "I mean, I wouldn't. But you also have that other thing..." he threw the ball to Blake, "pride."

She caught the ball and shook her head. While the conversation was undoubtedly silly and made her giggle, she couldn't deny that she was annoyed, too.

"No. Nini clearly isn't into you anymore, Ricky. She deserves to have her boundaries respected. You're just gonna push her away more," Blake sighed, tossing the ball to Ricky before standing up.

She looked away from the two boys, walking to her skateboard, backpack, and helmet.

"Where are you going?" Red sat up, the boys looked at her curiously.

"I'm outta here. Got homework," she shrugged.

"I - Wait..." Ricky tried to stop her, but she was already halfway up the stairs.

It didn't take but a moment before she had swiftly waved goodbye to Red's parents and headed out the front door. Her skateboard hit the ground.

Before she could get her helmet on, Ricky's hand was on her shoulder, "Blake..."

She sighed in frustration, but turned to face him with a smile on her face nonetheless. "What's up, Bowen?"

"What happened?" He genuinely seemed to be concerned, but she shook it off.

"Nothing, it's just late," she assured him.

She could tell he wasn't buying it, but he slowly released his hand from her shoulder and nodded. "Uh, let me go grab my stuff and I'll go with you?"

She shook her head, "don't worry about it."

"Come on, you know I hate it when you skate alone at this time of night."

Blake sighed, "fine."

He smiled at her and ran back inside to grab his things. He usually skateboarded along with her when they left Red's place, he says he hated for her to be alone in the dark. 'It's not like I have to go out of my way for it', he always argued when she'd try to protest.

When the two of them finally arrived to their houses, she kicked up her skateboard, catching it and grabbing her keys from her pocket. "Bye," she tried to be as quick as possible.

"Your dad still isn't home?"

She sighed. "Guess I'm on my own for dinner tonight again," she shrugged, the joke a little more sinister than she meant for it to be. As if she somehow wouldn't be on her own for dinner, even if her father was home.

She was about to turn away, walk inside, do her homework, shower, and sleep. She didn't have time to care about any of this. But Ricky stopped her... again.

"Come over tonight. You know Dad wont mind."

She puffed out a short, sarcastic laugh and looked to the ground beneath her feet. "Yeah, I think I'm good, Ricky. I'm not really hungry anyways," she shook her head.

His worried expression on his face evident, he spoke up, "Look, I don't..." he looked at his house and then back at her, lowering his voice a little bit, "I don't want to be alone tonight, anyways. It just feels so... empty in that house. Like something's missing."

He wasn't lying. But he also wasn't telling the full truth. He was worried about her, he was worried she was starting to isolate again. He knows her history with BPD, and he feared for her. So he told her the half-truth. He knew it'd persuade her to stay, so he said it.

Besides, something was missing. His mom. Hiding away in some other state, neglecting to be there for her son who very clearly needed her. Blake knew how much the past few weeks of this mess had been bothering him. So she sighed, she hesitated but her eyes met his again and she caved.

"Fine."

Ricky unlocked his door, letting her step inside first before following and closing the door behind them. His dad, Mike was asleep on the couch, the tv running Breaking Bad and a box of takeout noodles sat on the coffee table in front of him.

Ricky sighed at the sight of him. "C'mon," he lead her to the kitchen and grabbed two plates, opening up his fridge and pulling out frozen chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs.

Blake giggled, "The dino nuggies!" she cooed, a smile on her face. She was reminded of back when they were kids. Her mom would make dino chicken nuggets for the two of them after school every day and bring it out to them in the treehouse. Blake hasn't had any since she was little.

Ricky smiled at her, "you remember the dino nuggies? Your mom used to make them for us all the time..." he began, and Blake finished his sentence along with him.

"...and we would make them fight before we ate them," they said in unison before laughing with each other. He picked up one of the dinos and looked at her expectantly.

She chuckled at his antics but didn't hesitate to join in, picking up a dino and play-fighting with Ricky's. It was silly, but it had the two of them laughing together as they both relived those memories.

"Okay, I think it's time to cook them," she finally stopped, trying hard to contain her laughter in hopes that it wouldn't wake Mike.

Ricky nodded and put them in the microwave, he leaned back against the counter after pressing start on the six minutes. Blake moved over, pushing herself up to sit on the counter next to him, her legs swinging back and fourth softly.

The quiet between them almost became awkward, but Ricky's sleepy father interrupted it when he walked in groggily. "Hey, Ricky," he nodded towards his son, "hey, Blake, you spending the night?"

As if she hadn't agreed to it already, she looked to Ricky for clarification. He looked at her expectantly, hoping she hadn't changed her mind.

Her lips curled up in a small smile before she looked back to Mike and nodded, "Yeah."

Mike only gave a thumbs up in response, yawning as he walked out of the kitchen and to his bedroom.

Blake and Ricky laughed at the awkward encounter right as the microwave went off. When their laughs settled, he turned to the microwave and pulled out the hot dino nuggets, separating them onto two plates.

He went to the fridge and grabbed the ketchup, turning back to the plates and squirting some onto each plate.

"How'd you know I wanted ketchup? What if I wanted mustard?" Blake teased him with a grin, her legs swinging back and forth.

He gave her a knowing look. "I've known you since we were babies. We grew up on dino nuggies. Why wouldn't I know if you wanted ketchup or mustard?"

She jumped off of the counter, grabbing her plate of nuggets as he poured two glasses of lemonade. He grabbed his and they moved to the table.

The two of them sat in mostly silence as they ate, the nuggets being one of the only meals Blake has had the past few days. She hadn't had the time to sneak a few bucks from her dad and buy some groceries recently.

After they both finished their food, they cleaned up and put their dishes in the sink to be washed tomorrow.

Ricky looked at Blake with a smile, "I got you something."

She tilted her head in question, smiling back. "What?"

"Follow me," he said as he led her out of the house and to the backyard, into the tree house.

The two of them climbed up the ladder, only to be met with a box.

"What's this?" She asked him curiously.

"Well I figured since we finally got the tree house cleaned up, but none of the lights worked anymore... maybe I could get some new lights? I got the LED kind, too." He began unpacking the box, grabbing the little remote that came with the new lights, showing it to her. "You can even change the colors," he told her excitedly.

She giggled, taking the remote from him and looking at the colorful buttons on it. "Ricky, this is so fun," she smiled.

He started to unpack the lights, unraveling them and not hesitating to get to work, putting them up on the walls.

She moved quickly to help him and when the two of them finally finished setting the lights up, they plugged them in and used the remote to turn them on. Blake switched through all the colors they could be set to.

"We are actually children," she laughed as they both reacted a bit too excitedly at the different colors. He laughed too, grabbing the remote from her and finally setting the color to a nice blue.

She sighed, "I think it's time for me to take a shower. Mind if I use yours?" she asked him, knowing he wouldn't want her to go home right now anyway.

He nodded, "always."

She smiled at him as he turned the lights off, both of them climbing down the ladder of the tree house and heading inside.

She grabbed some of her clothes from the pile in Ricky's closet that she left for nights like these, and stepped into the shower.

Ricky fell back onto his bed, letting out a small groan of frustration. He tried to focus on the noise of the running water from the shower, or the sight of the ceiling fan whirring above him. Anything to distract him from his mind.

He thought about the other day, when Blake held his hand as she wrapped it up, taking care of his bruised and swollen knuckles. When his stomach turned as he watched her. The way she smiled, or her feather-light touch as she focused on him. He was captivated by the way she made him feel. Safe, loved, cared for. Captivated by how much he wanted to kiss her right then and there. To hold her in his arms with his lips pressed to hers, giving in to his impulsivity.

He could have sworn it was just the moment, just the overwhelming thoughts and feelings from a rough day. He could have sworn it didn't mean anything. So why couldn't he shake the thoughts?

Blake ran her fingers through her hair, washing out the conditioner she just scrubbed into it. The refreshing feeling of the water running down her back made her sigh in relief. Something to focus on that wasn't Ricky.

Ricky.

He didn't make this easy for her. The way he protected her from EJ, albeit in an incredibly stupid way, or the little things he did, like buying new lights for their tree house. The way he noticed that she was sad, insisting she didn't skate home alone. He made her feel safe. He made her feel loved. He made her feel cared for.

It was the safety that scared her. She hadn't been safe since the day her dad decided to take pills, opioids, after her mom died, washing it down with a bottle of vodka. Not that he'd ever hurt her, but the neglectful nature that followed his addictions had clouded any sense of safety she could ever find within him again.

Ricky being the only person left that she felt safe with after she lost both her parents was terrifying, to say the least... because what if she lost him, too?

She finished washing the soap off of her body, turning off the water and grabbing the towel she picked up on her way in. After drying off, she brushed her teeth and got dressed in fresh clothes, discarding her dirty clothes in Ricky's clothes hamper. He'd just add it to the pile again, anyway.

Turning the knob, she opened the bathroom door, the steam flowing out and no longer suffocating in the bathroom. She saw Ricky, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

"You okay?" She asked him gently, running a hand through her wet hair as she started to braid it.

He sat up, slightly alarmed at her voice, as if he hadn't noticed that she had already left the bathroom. He nodded, "I'm fine. How was your shower?"

The exchange was confusingly awkward as she answered quietly, "refreshing," she shrugged, sitting on the edge of his bed and continuing her braiding.

Ricky moved, sitting next to her as he watched her fingers move swiftly through her hair, perfectly lacing her locks in a delicate pattern.

"What is it?" She asked him softly, and he didn't even realize he was staring until she spoke.

He opened his mouth to say something, to say anything, but nothing came out. Not a few seconds later, his phone chimed. 'Saved by the bell', he thought.

He didn't hesitate to grab it, reading the text he had just received.

"It's Nini," he informed Blake, the confusing tension that once filled the air was gone in an instant.

"Oh," she breathed out as she finished braiding her hair, wrapping a hair tie around the end to hold it together.

"She said 'hey'... What does 'hey' mean?"

She shrugged, "Not sure. I wouldn't think too much on it, though," she advised him.

For a moment, she almost thought that he'd taken her advice, but she was quickly proven wrong when he began typing, then promptly deleting his own message. He tried again, but his message was gone once more. She watched his thumbs slide across the screen of his phone as he had written out multiple different messages, every single one of them seemingly not up to Ricky's standards.

She sighed, "I'm going to sleep, Ricky. You should, too."

He didn't look from his phone, standing up and saying, "alright, goodnight," before walking over to the futon in his room.

He kicked his shoes off, haphazardly taking off his shirt and discarding it somewhere on the ground, lying down and throwing a blanket over himself.

Blake had to remind herself to breathe, the sight of her best friend shirtless in front of her was nothing new, but it still gave her butterflies all the same. That, paired with the frustration of him actually responding to Nini, however... Well, it was a confusing mixture of emotions, to say the least.

So she crawled into the bed and turned off the lamp on Ricky's bedside table. She bundled up underneath the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Can you believe she actually told EJ about the voicemail I left her?"

Ricky paced the halls as he let out his anger while Blake leaned up against a wall and listened.

"That's really fucking disrespectful," she replied, matching his frustration.

"Right? You know what? I'm gonna go tell her that right now," He almost yelled.

It was evident that his anger was building more and more, and she knew that the best thing to do to help him was to help calm him.

Ricky didn't realize it, but she knew exactly what to do when he's upset. It's been the same routine since the two of them were young. It wasn't exactly difficult for her to figure out, considering she was the same way.

There were step-by-step rules to it:

1. Match his energy; get angry with him (while staying calm).

2. Validation; remind him that he's allowed to be upset.

3. Breathe; remind him to take a breath, to not let his thoughts consume him (which really isn't easy).

She pushed herself away from the wall, walking towards him. "Okay, Ricky, hey," she stood in front of him, stopping his pacing. Her hands went to his shoulders, "breathe."

His eyes met hers as he complied. He sucked in a deep breath, slowly releasing it.

"Good," she nodded. "I know it's infuriating that she betrayed your trust like that," she spoke calmly, sympathizing with him, "and you are one-hundred percent allowed to be angry. I'd be angry, too. Hell, I am angry. What she did wasn't at all fair to you. But you have to remember to breathe. Exploding is only going to make you feel worse. Don't let this consume you."

Blake and Ricky were similar in that aspect. Easy to let thoughts and emotions take over every inch of their minds.

He nodded at her words, his breathing had calmed down at the sound of her voice. Her sympathizing had worked in making him feel less alone.

"Now that you're calm, if you still want to go and talk to Nini, you should. State your boundaries, tell her that what she did wasn't cool, and then walk away. Alright?"

He agreed, flashing a small smile at her as a silent 'thank you'. She followed him through the halls as the two of them set off to find Nini. They watched as she exited through the front doors of the school, and Ricky dashed to catch up to her.

He pushed through the doors with Blake following closely behind, "Hey! Nini!" He called out to her, "I have to say something to you."

He finally reached her as he began his speech. "I know we're not a couple anymore, okay? I get that. You've been very clear," he sighed, "but... I thought there was a little trust left between us. I thought that I still meant something to you."

Nini sighed at his words, "I just can't do this right now..." She tried to walk away, but Ricky stopped her.

"Fine. Okay. But the next time I spill my guts out to you in a voicemail, do me a favor and keep it to yourself. I don't need to be hearing from EJ that it's wrong and stupid."

"Wait," Nini raised her eyebrow in confusion, "what voicemail?"

Blake wasn't standing far behind when she heard her question him, remembering Nini telling Ms. Jenn that she had lost her phone, and seeing EJ's reaction to the news.

"What do you mean?" Ricky asked her.

Nini answered his question with another question, "you heard this from EJ?"

Ricky's eyebrows furrowed as thoughts flowed through his mind but for Blake, it had already clicked. EJ stole Nini's phone.

. . .

To Be Continued...

[louniie]

🍓 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 —

﹒i have other priorities and therefore, i may be a little slow with writing, updates, etc. so please be patient with me.

﹒fem!reader is my default when writing requests unless specified, so please specify when requesting otherwise so i can adhere as well as i can to your vision.

﹒i am not obligated to write requests when: requests are closed, i am not comfortable writing them, or i just don’t have the inspiration or knowledge to write them.

🍒 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 —

❨ bold: most frequently written ❩

﹒celebrities: harry styles, louis tomlinson, niall horan, joshua bassett, austin butler, more to be added

﹒riordanverse: percy jackson, annabeth chase, clarisse la rue, luke castellan.

﹒hsmtmts: ricky bowen, nini salazar - roberts, ej caswell, gina porter.

﹒friends: ross geller, rachel green, monica geller, chandler bing, joey tribbiani, phoebe buffay.

﹒mcu: peter parker, bucky barnes.

i will NOT write character x character, sensitive & serious topics ❨ racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. ❩

[guildfordd]

“A lotto ticket? It’s the last thing on my bucket list.”

— RICKY (& NINI) in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Season 3, Episode 8)

[bunnysnuff]

High school musical: the series.

18+

Send requests.

Ricky Bowen.

What I’ve been looking for. (Imagine).

Nini Salazar Roberts.

What I’ve been looking for. (Imagine).

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Rini + Hugs

[oliviarodrigostan]

✌🏼😆💜✌🏼😆💜

[filmmakerdreamst]

#I noticed the contrast right away when I rewatched s1#it really highlights that Ricky wasn't trying to win Nini back bc he loved her but bc she was familiar#I'm honestly not sure anymore if he loved her romantically at all via @@curtsies-from-princess-ashlyn /

RICKY + his reaction to Nini's song for him vs his song with Gina

[rlnacore]

Rinis are so weird... conveniently the day wdykal (rina duet) comes out & people are praising it saying it is or might be one of the best duets on the show and rinas chemistry is amazing, they all remember s1 rini songs and start tweeting about how no duet on the show will ever come near, or how Ricky would choose Nini over Gina any day, or how the show will never be able to come close to a ship like rini in the chemistry department. Its honestly very bitter and kinda disrespectful to Sofia. In saying all that you're implying that Gina isn't good enough, but also this is her first season as the female lead and she already spoke about how challenging wdykal was for her, so to try and discredit her hard work in an attempt to take the spotlight off of Gina and rina, in favour of a duet that you've had 2 going on 3 years to praise is incredibly weird.

[titansarmy]

HSMTMTS + ao3 tags

[livcosmos]

HSMTMTS Season 1-3

Ok, honestly I enjoyed this more than I should have…I was sceptical in the beginning and I mean very sceptical but I wanted to know what all the fuss was about so I watched it and well… it became my whole personality in the past few weeks.

"Finally Free” is my new favourite song, Gina is my new role model and "Gotcha Head in the Game” why new motto!

But let's start with the beginning because it took me a little to get here…soooo if you have read any of my past posts you know I absolutely love Joshua and his music. I am totally on his side in all that Olivia drama (even though I also love Olivia’s music) and yes I'm fully aware that the offscreen drama has nothing to do with the show but I can’t help but draw some connections I'm sorry...

Alright so season 1 wasn’t my favourite, yes I enjoyed it and I cried at the end but seasons 2 and 3 were absolutely amazing, they were soooo much better! I totally shipped Ricky and Nini I was all there for them even though, Ricky is kind of annoying sometimes and he freaks me out with his indecision and his moping around all the time but on some level, I do get him. Nini on the other hand…well I didn’t quite like her she just annoyed me with her going away and coming back and all that and there was also something about her that kept me from fully liking/connecting with her. Now please don’t come for me but I don’t buy that Olivia wasn’t around that much in season 3 because of the tour, I think that she just didn’t wanted to be on the show anymore because she got where she wanted to be and she doesn’t need it anymore. Please don’t get mad at me but I am kind of happy she left the show …again I totally shipped her with Ricky they made sense together all the history and all and I cried when they broke up in the treehouse (by the way that episode is one of my favourites) the breakup felt soooo real I'm almost sure there wasn’t that much acting in that scene. Oh and I also cried when she came to the opening night in season 3 and talked to Kourtney and the cards OMG and of course the lottery ticket for Ricky…it made me so emotional and yes I would have liked for her to stay but on the other hand, I think its better that way. I just feel sorry for her friends, especially Kourtney!

Wow I said I was going to start with the beginning but here I am talking all over the place… so if I already did it I might as well keep on going soooo let's move on with my favourite ship of the show, the ship that unfortunately didn’t survive and I'm very very upset about it!!!! EJ and Gina!!!! Those two OMG their relationship in season 2 was everything for me! I didn’t like EJ in season 1 but season 2 EJ was my everything. It's the same with Gina I didn't quite like her in the beginning but now I love her so much she just motivates and inspires me to give my best in everything and ahhh I was soooo happy when they finally got together they matched so well! Yes of course I understand why they broke up and Gina had her point but still I’m so sad that they broke up I really really hope that  EJ will at least be in season 4, I need him there, he has to be there he just has to! And yes Gina and Ricky make sense but I'm forever and ever Team Gina and EJ no matter what!

OHHHH and I love Kourtney sooo much, I love her attitude and that she is into fashion and I relate so much with her! I love how they address mental health in this show and Kourtney’s anxiety…. I could relate so much! I love her friendship with Giana and Ashylin there are so great together and I love how they support and help each other up, it’s so beautiful! And Carlos omg I love him too his adorable!

Oh and of course, another favourite of mine is Miss Jenn of course, I love her she is the best! I love how she cheers them up and OMG when she came to camp to help EJ and ohhh her talks with Nini! Why don’t teachers like her exist in real life? OOOHHH and most importantly can she please get together with the robotics teacher what’s his name...Benjamin right, I like them together and they make way more sense than she and Ricky’s dad!

Now let’s talk about my favourite songs I loveeeee "Finally Free” as I said in the beginning but I also adore "1-2-3” and „Different Way to Dance” oh and of course "What do you know about love"!

By the way can we please talk about the guest stars OMG like Chad and Rayen!!! And Jackson from Hannah Montana and Mitchel from Modern Family!!! I love the troughbacks in this show, they brought up so many things from my Disney childhood and I loved the Camp Rock vibes in season 3! It's so nice that they bring up and honour the shows that we 2000s kids grew up with!

Omg the reality show episode in season 3 was also one of my favourites it was so funny (ohh another absolutely hilarious moment was Ricky performing "Bet on it”!), and episode 8 from season 2 is also one of my absolute favourites, as I mentioned before because it made me so emotional! As for my favourite season, I can’t quite decide between season 2 and season 3 they were both equally amazing!

I feel empty now that I am done watching all episodes, I need more! I can’t wait for season 4! And God, please let EJ be there!!! I know it’s a silly hope because it’s probably not going to happen but ahhh I wand EJ and Gina to get back together! They are my favouriteee!!! But the only thing there is left to say is: I trust the process! So what comes will come but let's hope it comes soon!