RIVAL .ᐟ ricky x GN .ᐟ reader     GENRE .ᐟ rivals-to-lovers     TW .ᐟ you do something stupid, slightly suggestive (?)     WORD COUNT .ᐟ 1.3k

Ricky was a menace.

(Status: Guaranteed. Source credits: You; classmate and rival, or more commonly known as someone who wants to shove his face down a fucking toilet).

You didn't even know where to begin with him. It's like your whole relationship has been built on the dynamic of A: Ricky, his superiority complex, his shit-eating grin, and the constant need to remind you that he could score a point higher than you on a Calculus test that you didn't even care for; and B: you, your competitiveness, your no-nonsense approach on just about anything and, well, your absolute hatred for person A. What started out as a question, almost like a demand, for a rivalry between two top-notchers by Ricky, turned into a face-off that didn't just end with academics. You name it, you've probably already fought about it. He's lucky you haven't really pushed his head into a toilet hole and gave him a swirly but it sure sounded tempting, given all the insults he's thrown your way like:

"You know there's a typo on one of your essays, right? You're that careless?”

or

"I'd explain my side of things, but it'd be cruel because you'd be too narrow-minded to understand."

And the most obnoxious of it all:

"You know, you'd be pretty if you just kept your mouth shut."

Ricky was a menace and it was no wonder you didn't like him. You had no reason to!

You could agree that he had the looks, though. Sharp eyes, slim face; his name had been going around as the most attractive guy in your department. Ricky even got your friend to gossip about him, which said a lot because your friend never gossiped about things in your entire life, and you would've felt the same way, to be honest. He had both the charm and the brain to stand out. If only his inside looked as good as his outside.

Even now as you were enjoying a night outside a convenience store, Ricky still had to make sure you knew about it.

"For someone who likes to make fun of me for liking lollipops, that you hope I get diabetes from them, you sure do eat a lot of ramen."

That voice.

You hated that voice. You recognized it so well that you didn't even need to look up from your food to know whose it was.

There was always a drawl when Ricky said things. Like he didn't even have the energy to put up with anyone, the energy to put up with you, especially. It made you pull your cap down to your face, hiding behind it to whisper things that would get you in trouble if anyone were to hear them. And when he laughed? It made your skin crawl. It was always airy, like he was taking his time tormenting you. "Well, I hope you get a tract infection from that." He yawned, digging his hands into his pockets before he shot you a smirk. "Wouldn't want all of those additives into your body, am I right?"

"God, he's such an asshole," You scoffed as you finished the last strings of noodles inside your ramen cup. He had already left when you started talking to yourself but that didn't stop you from seeing him head into the convenience store. Didn't stop you from seeing him wink when he noticed your staring, too. It almost made you wish for murder to be legal, because the only thing that seemed to be stopping you from using your chopsticks against him in a violent way is the law. He should be thankful that you're such a model citizen. If not, he would've been dead meat by now. Perfect food to give to the stray cats around that neighborhood that you always seemed to forget to feed.

"Hey.”

You held a breath in.

You shouldn't say anything. Not in public. (Sure, your stupid excuse of a relationship has been pretty open for the past couple of years, but you'd rather not deal with him while you were trying to make time for yourself). So instead of responding, you just stared, throwing away your trash before trying to leave, seconds away from rolling your eyes at him in secret if Ricky hadn't snatched your cap from around your head, letting your gasp and turn to look at him as he began to wear it.

"Give that back!"

"Hey," Ricky repeated, holding onto the visor as he began dragging his stare across your face. You noticed the lollipop stick between his lips as he spoke, somehow still able to make you see the way he grinned as he tried to provoke you. You hoped that he could see the desperation on your face to kick him on the shin. Too bad that'd start a commotion. "Get it? Hey? You have ears.”

"I don't have the energy to deal with you today, Ricky. So could you please hand me my cap back?"

"Hm, tempting." He moved the lollipop to the other side of his cheek, all while admiring the work he's made on your face. The work being the tense expression that you were trying so hard to contain. "But not that tempting, sorry," he laughed, throwing his hair back while you began biting on your lip. "Besides, I look better with it, no? The color really brings out my eyes."

"Ricky."

"What?"

Ricky leaned in towards you. That was one of the things you'd hated about him. How he'd need to bend his knees a little to meet eyes with you, hands on his thighs as he tilted his head to look at you better. "What are you gonna do about it? Hm? Are you going to cry?"

"Very mature," you scoffed.

"I know, right? More mature than you.”

"Give it back before I make you."

"Then make me.”

You didn't know what you were thinking when you said that. Of course, there were a lot of things you could have done to get that hat off of his stupid head. Like what you've considered: kicking him on the shin. But instead of doing so (you'll regret this later, watch), you reached over and pulled on the lollipop stick. It was annoying you like he was. When you managed to pull it out, you'd stuck it between your teeth, not even realizing what you'd done. Not until you tasted the flavor of strawberries inside your mouth. Not until you looked back at him and saw that he was turning red. You had never seen Ricky blush before, and my God was it contagious. You ended up taking back your hat while he was too stunned to say anything, too stunned to do anything, actually, wearing it back on your head before you pulled the visor down to hide your face from him, not wanting to find out what godforsaken thing he'd say when he'd get over it.

"Thanks for the lollipop."

Turning around, you bit onto the stick as you walked away, cursing yourself for whatever you had just done, and whatever you had just started from it. Because as you started to leave, you'd left Ricky standing there. Ricky, who was trying his best to contain himself as he tried to comprehend what just happened, what that meant for him, what that meant for you. But would it really be that easy if you, yourself, couldn't even make sense of it?

"You’re such a menace," he uttered, covering his face with a hand as he threw his head back to laugh. To laugh at the situation you've just gone through. To laugh at how stupid your
form of retaliation was. And to laugh at how hot his face was feeling over someone that would try their best to make sure that they'd never talk to each other, that they'd never see each other.

"A fucking menace," he continued, sighing as he rummaged through his pockets to find another piece of lollipop to snack on. "What am I going to do with you?”

NOTE .ᐟ if you've read this before, no, you haven't. it's an old one-shot of mine that i've rewritten. i wanted to get back into my old writing style so i brought it back.