how you get the girl

chapter six
( takes place in 1x04 'blocking' )

"the more people that you let into
your life, the more that can just
walk right out."

- TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE

Walking to rehearsal together had become a routine for Izzy and Ricky on weekend rehearsal days. Ricky usually swung by her house to pick her up, they grabbed coffee on the way to school, and walked into rehearsal hand-in-hand. Izzy figured that that wouldn't be the case that afternoon as Ricky had texted her and asked if they could meet at his house instead and walk from there since he was running a little late, so Izzy had had to kiss her dreams of sipping on hazelnut mocha goodbye.

She had been standing on Ricky's porch for the past five minutes, after texting him that he was outside, but he still hadn't made an appearance.

"Can I help you?" A voice made Izzy look up for her absent-minded Instagram scrolling, and she turned to see a woman standing on the porch, suitcase in hand.

"Oh, I was just waiting for Ricky. You must be Mrs. Bowen. It's so nice to finally meet you," Izzy said, noticing how the woman cringed at the name 'Bowen'. Izzy hesitated before offering her hand for Mrs. Bowen to shake.

"Please, call me Lynne. And you are...?" Lynne asked as she took Izzy's hand and shook it.

"Oh, right, sorry. I'm Izzy, Ricky's girlfriend," Izzy said, plastering a smile on her face as Lynne nodded slowly.

"Oh, right, Ricky told me about you. It's nice to meet you, I'm sorry it took so long," Lynne said, but Izzy shook her head quickly.

"It's no problem, Ricky told me you were working in Chicago," Izzy said, and she noticed Lynne look down at her shoes at the mention of Chicago.

"Would you like to come in? It's cold outside," Lynne offered, but Izzy shook her head again.

"Oh, no, it's okay. I'm sure Ricky will be out any minute," Izzy said. She wasn't exactly eager to come face to face with Mr. Bowen after their mortifying first meet weeks before.

"No, please, come in, come in," Lynne said as she unlocked the door, and Izzy hesitated for a second before following her into the house, praying that Ricky would have a shirt on this time.

"Mom!" Ricky said, his eyes lighting up once Lynne walked through the door.

"Hey, you! Come here, I've missed you," Lynne said, walking forward to pull Ricky into a hug, while Izzy hovered awkwardly by the doorway. She didn't miss the way Ricky's dad's expression dropped at the sight of his wife. "Is that a hot wing?" Lynne asked as she pulled away from the hug, and Izzy winced. Another reason why Izzy and Ricky usually hung out at Izzy's house was because Ricky's house looked like a tornado had blown through it.

"I thought we were meeting at the restaurant," Mr. Bowen said, hastily bending down to pick up the hot wing.

"Well, I caught an earlier fight," Lynne said and Ricky beamed at her, before noticing Izzy standing in the doorway.

"Iz, hey," Ricky said, going over to peck her cheek in greeting.

"Hey, sorry, I was waiting outside, but then your mom said I could come in, so here I am," Izzy said through nervous laughter.

"We agreed we would do this at the restaurant," Mr. Bowen said, making Ricky and Izzy look back over at his parents.

"Agreed to do what?" Ricky asked, his smile fading, and there was silence as his parents stared at each other.

"This seems like a private conversation, I think I'll just wait outside," Izzy said, reaching for the doorknob.

"That's a good idea," Mr. and Mrs. Bowen said in unison, but Ricky caught her wrist before she could make it out the door.

"No, stay. Please," Ricky added and Izzy hesitated before nodding. She could tell by the tight grip that he had on her wrist that he needed her to stay standing there, to have someone to hold onto.

"Can we do whatever we're doing at dinner now?" Ricky asked, turning back to his parents.

"We can have dinner here. I'll order in," Mr. Bowen offered, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"No, we can go out," Lynne offered, but Mr. Bowen shook his head.

"The Thai place delivers, you like their spring rolls," Mr. Bowen said, and Izzy wished that she could be at the Thai restaurant with a plate of spring rolls instead of standing there in that uncomfortable situation.

"Not the veggie ones," Lynne cut in, and Ricky sighed.

"Guys, talk to me," Ricky said, cutting in before his parents could bicker any further. "Are we moving to Chicago?" Ricky asked and Izzy felt her stomach drop.

Ricky had mentioned that his mom had been working in Chicago, but he had never mentioned that he could potentially move there. It was crazy to think that she had barely spoken three words to Ricky a month before, but now she wasn't sure how she could go a day without him if he moved to Chicago.

"No. I am," Lynne said, and Izzy watched as Ricky's face dropped. She noticed a pained expression cross Mr. Bowen's face and wished now more than ever that she could be anywhere else in the world but the Bowen living room.

"Sweetheart, we've decided to legally separate," Lynne said, and Izzy gently removed Ricky's hand from her wrist and threaded her fingers through his instead. He didn't pay her any mind though, his eyes were on his mom.

"I thought you were coming back here to see some counselor, to make things right!" Ricky said and Lynne sighed again.

"Can we sit down?" Mr. Bowen asked, his tone slightly desperate.

"I don't want to sit down! The last thing you guys told me-"

"We did see somebody-" Lynne started, but Ricky quickly cut her off.

"While you were in different cities? How is that supposed to help?" Ricky cried, his voice breaking slightly.

"Izzy, honey, I think it would be best if you wait outside," Mr. Bowen said quietly and Izzy glanced at Ricky, but he wasn't looking at her. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze before letting go and slipping out of the house.

Izzy let out the breath she'd been holding as she leaned back against the porch railing and tried her hardest not to overhear through the door. Her hands shook slightly as she pulled her phone from her pocket, and she nearly dropped it when Ricky walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. There was silence between them for a second as Ricky turned away from her slightly. Izzy figured that it was so that she wouldn't see his tears.

"Ricky?" Izzy said softly after a minute, and he looked up at her with a sniff.

"Yeah," He said, his voice breaking slightly, and Izzy felt her heart break with it.

"We don't have to go to rehearsal if you don't want to. We can ditch and go somewhere to talk, or not talk, whatever you want." Izzy offered, and Ricky didn't respond. A buzz from his pocket broke the silence and he sighed before pulling out his phone.

"That was Big Red. He's begging me to hurry 'cause the theatre kids are scaring him," Ricky said as he cleared his throat.

"Ricky, you don't have to go. You have an understudy for a reason, they'll just put EJ in for this rehearsal," Izzy said, but Ricky shook his head quickly.

"No, let's go. I need a distraction anyway," Ricky said, before holding his hand out for her to take. She hesitated, but she could tell that he wasn't just asking, that his eyes were pleading with her, so she sighed before taking his hand and following him down the porch steps.

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

They had arrived at rehearsal late, but it hadn't mattered because Miss Jenn had dismissed them once she'd realized that Ricky hadn't come prepared with his script and a pencil. Miss Jenn had asked him to wait in her office and dismissed the rest of them, so Izzy was waiting outside of her office for Ricky, leaning against a locker.

She looked up from her phone when she felt eyes on her and saw EJ standing a few feet away from her, and she frowned at him in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the door to Miss Jenn's office swung open and Ricky walked out.

"Hey, did she get mad?" Izzy asked, turning to Ricky, and he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm off the hook. She felt bad after I told her what happened and told me that I should go home and be with my family," Ricky said and Izzy nodded.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Izzy asked, but Ricky shook his head.

"I don't really have any interest in going home. What were you saying before about going somewhere to talk? Or not talk?" Ricky asked and Izzy sighed.

"Ricky, I think Miss Jenn is right. I don't think it's a good idea to avoid this-"

"Iz, please. I just really don't want to deal with it right now. Distract me? Please?" Ricky pleaded and Izzy hesitated, before sighing.

"Okay, where do you wanna go?"

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

"When I said we could do anything to distract you, dying wasn't really what I had in mind."

"Are you sure this is your first time in the drama club, because you're the most dramatic person I know."
Ricky had taken her to the parking lot behind a diner ten minutes away from the school, before pulling his skateboard out of his bag and offering to teach her. Since Izzy found it very hard to say no to people, she found herself standing in front of his skateboard with his helmet secured on her head, and her heart nearly slamming out of her chest as she stared down at it.

"How do I even get on this thing without breaking my back?" Izzy asked and Ricky laughed.

"I'll hold you steady," Ricky said and Izzy sighed.

"Is there not something else we could do to distract you?" Izzy asked, pushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Come on, Iz, it's only fair. Skateboarding to me is like what romcoms are to you, and remind me of how many romcoms we've watched this past month?" Ricky reminded her and she sighed again.

"That's different, romcoms can't cause you any serious damage. In fact, they heal you instead," Izzy argued and Ricky laughed again.

"I promise you won't fall. Trust me. Please," Ricky added, reaching forward and brushing the piece of hair she'd been struggling with back into the helmet, and Izzy felt her heart skip a beat against her own will.

"Fine. But, hold on tight," Izzy demanded and Ricky nodded, reaching for her hand. He went to stand on the other side of the skateboard, still keeping his hand in hers.

"Okay, one foot at a time, just step on it. I've got you, don't worry," Ricky said and Izzy sighed before tightening her grip on his hand and setting one of her feet on the skateboard. It moved to the side a bit, making her scream, but Ricky just laughed and moved his other hand to her waist to steady her.

"I've got you, it's okay. Other foot now," Ricky instructed, giving her hip a comforting squeeze, and she lifted her other foot with a wince and set it on the skateboard. She adjusted her grip so that she was holding onto Ricky's shoulders instead, while he set his hands on her waist.

"Okay, this is cool, I'm ready to get down now," Izzy said, but Ricky just laughed.

"Come on, Iz. You have to try to move a little. Turn your front foot so that it's vertical, and then put your other foot on the ground to push off," Ricky explained, his grip on her waist tightening slightly as she followed his instructions and set one foot on the ground again.

She bent her knee slightly and pushed off the ground, like he'd told her. She let out a crazed laugh as she rolled forward half a foot, and Ricky laughed too. She didn't notice his grip on her waist loosening until he'd let go completley, and she let out a gasp.

"Don't let go!" She shrieked as she pitched forward, and Ricky lunged to catch her, stopping her from hitting the ground just in time, her face hitting his chest instead.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Ricky asked, his voice low, but Izzy was finding it hard to focus on her near-death experience when his hands were holding her like that and he was staring at her through his long eyelashes.

"Iz?" Ricky prompted when she still hadn't answered. He probably thought he'd given her brain damage with the way she was just staring at him, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"You owe me fries," Izzy said as she righted herself quickly, pushing his hands off of her so her thoughts could become her own again, and not those of a brain-dead zombie obsessed with eyelashes and pretty brown eyes. Ricky laughed as he righted her helmet, which had tipped to the side during her fall.

"Yeah, okay, fair enough. Let's go, they have great fries here," Ricky said, reaching down to pick up his skateboard before taking her hand and leading her over to the diner.

They got a booth near the window, overlooking the empty parking lot they had just been in, and Ricky ordered them both chocolate milkshakes and a plate of fries to share.

"Okay, after nearly breaking my face and losing my sanity, are you finally ready to talk now?" Izzy asked once the waitress had set their food down on the table.

"Even if it was broken, your face would still be pretty, Iz," Ricky said and Izzy felt her heart catch in her throat.

"Don't be cute-"

"You think I'm cute?" Ricky teased and Izzy fixed him with a look, trying to keep her face from turning pink.

"Talk," Izzy ordered, but Ricky shook his head.

"Can I ask you something instead?" Ricky asked and Izzy sighed. It felt like she was dating a little kid sometimes. Fake dating.

"Sure, go ahead," Izzy said, and Ricky's expression shifted from teasing to serious.

"How come you never talk about your parents?" Ricky asked and Izzy blinked in surprise. That was the last thing she'd been expecting.

"What?" Izzy asked, the word coming out a little strangled.

"I mean, I know everything about Camila, down to her best friend, Claudia's, middle name, but you never talk about your parents," Ricky said and Izzy hesitated. Her first instinct was to deflect and ask Ricky about his parents instead, but the purpose of their outing was to distract him from all of that.

"Well, my mom is Mexican but she grew up in California and went to college there. We lived there for the first few years of my life, but moved to Salt Lake when my dad's dad passed away to be closer to my grandma. My mom's a guidance counselor at the middle school. I don't really know what else to say," Izzy said with a nervous laugh.

"What about your dad?" Ricky asked softly and Izzy felt her throat go dry.

"Um, he was originally from Salt Lake but went to California for college and he met my mom there. He was an engineer. I'm sure you remember, but he, um...he died in a car accident when I was twelve," Izzy said, trying to speak past the lump in her throat.

"I remember. You were in my math class at the time and we all signed a card for you. Is that...is that why your hands shake?" Ricky asked, his voice gentle, and Izzy looked up at him in surprise.

She hadn't even noticed her hands trembling slightly, or the way her breathing had become more shallow. She flexed her fingers and rolled her wrists, trying to get them to stop shaking, before stuffing them under the table, aware of Ricky's eyes on her. He was more attentive than she'd originally given him credit for.

"Yeah, well, I was always an anxious kid, even before the accident. I would let my worries get out of hand. But, um, I think that losing a parent so young taught me at a young age that I don't really have much control over the big things in life and that I could lose people and not do anything to stop it," Izzy said, her voice breaking slightly.

"That must have been really hard to learn as a kid," Ricky said and Izzy nodded.

"Yeah, it used to be a lot worse, I used to get, like, panic attacks and stuff, but I got it under control and now it's just small things, like the shaky hands and the faster breathing," Izzy said, setting her hands on the table again and cursing them silently for still trembling.

"That fear of lack of control, is that why you're only really close with a few people in your life, like you said?" Ricky asked, reaching across the table for her hands. They stilled under his soft touch.

"Well, yeah, I guess. The less people you love, the less people you lose, right?" Izzy said weakly with a shrug, and Ricky frowned slightly. They stared at each other for a moment and the silence between them made her skin prickle with discomfort. She hastily pulled her hands out of his and hid them under the table again.

"Are you ready to go home yet?" Izzy asked, breaking the moment, and Ricky blinked as he leaned back a bit. She hadn't noticed how close they'd been sitting before.

"Not yet," Ricky said, stuffing a fry from their untouched plate in his mouth.

"Ricky, it's late, you should really get home," Izzy said, glancing out the window at the sky, which had grown darker since they'd sat down at the table.

"Uh, I actually don't think I'm gonna go home tonight, I think I'll just call Big Red and see if I can crash at his place, if he's not too mad at me for ditching him in rehearsal today" Ricky said, scratching the back of his neck, and Izzy frowned.

"You don't have to do that, you can come to mine, if you want," Izzy offered, but Ricky shook his head quickly.

"It's okay, Izzy," Ricky said, smiling weakly.

"No, really, it's closer anyway," Izzy insisted, and Ricky hesitated.

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, of course. We're friends, this is what friends do," Izzy said and Ricy nodded slowly.

"Right. Friends. I'll just get the bill and then we can go," Ricky said, standing and reaching for his wallet.

"Wait, Ricky?" Izzy called, making him pause and turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Can you not...can we just keep that conversation between us? It's just...it's not something I like to talk about a lot and it's not easy to talk about and the last person I talked to about it was EJ and I just...I don't know," Izzy said, her voice trailing off.

"Don't worry, I get it. I won't tell anyone, I promise," Ricky said and Izzy smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, Ricky. Really," Izzy said, and he nodded, before walking over to the cash register to pay.

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

None of Izzy or her mom's clothes would fit Ricky well enough to sleep in since he towered over both of them, so Izzy went hunting in one of their old closests for something more suitable while he was in the bathroom. She hesitated as she bent down in front of an unlabeled box before she pulled it open.

The smell of him hit her immediately and made tears fill her eyes. It had been four years, but the box had captured the scent of pinewood and coffee and held on to it. The smell and the conversation with Ricky earlier was enough to make her heart ache and the pit in her stomach grow. Her grief was always there, but it was easier to hide from some days. She wasn't hiding today, though. She had spoken about him more today than she had in four years.

She let out a sigh before shutting the box and standing up, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in her arms. She made sure to seal the box tightly so that any of the remaining smell would stay inside, before stepping out of the closet and shutting the door behind. She walked down the hallway to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Ricky? I've got some clothes for you," Izzy said, not mentioning that they were her dad's because she knew that he'd never take them.

"Thanks," Ricky said, popping his head out of the bathroom and taking them from her, and Izzy nodded.

She walked back into the living room to where she'd taken out some sheets to turn their couch into a bed for Ricky. She was halfway through fitting a sheet through the cracks on the couch when her mom walked in.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked and Izzy froze mid-tuck before slowly turning to face her mom.

"Hi, Mom. Um, would it be okay if Ricky spent the night here tonight?" Izzy asked, but her mom was already shaking her head before she could finish her sentence.

"Izzy, my rules haven't changed now that you have a new boyfriend. No boyfriend sleepovers, period." Elena said firmly.

"Mom, please, just for tonight, he has some stuff going on at home-" Izzy started.

"Is he in trouble?" Elena cut in, and Izzy shook her head quickly.

"No, nothing like that, Ricky's not like that. There's just some issues going on between his parents right now and he doesn't want to be home tonight. Please, Mom. Just for tonight," Izzy pleaded and her mom hesitated.

"Fine. But he stays on the couch all night," Elena said finally, and Izzy nodded.

"I promise," Izzy said, and Elena sighed before leaving her to finish  making up the bed. She was just setting the blanket on top of the couch when Ricky entered the room.

"Hey," He said, knocking on the doorframe. "You didn't have to do all this, I would've been fine with just the couch," Ricky said, gesturing to the make-shift bed she'd made him, but she shook her head.

"It's fine, really," Izzy said and Ricky sighed as he went over to stand in front of her.

"Thank you for everything today, I really appreciate it," Ricky said, but Izzy just shrugged.

"I didn't really do anything. If anything I should be thanking you for listening to me talk today," Izzy said but Ricky shook his head.

"Don't thank me, I liked hearing you talk today. I wish you'd do it more," Ricky said and Izzy laughed softly, taking a step closer to him.

"Yeah, you might wish that now, but then when we watch a movie you'll be begging me to shut up," Izzy said with a small smile.

"That's not true. I always want to hear what you have to say," Ricky said, his gaze soft, and Izzy felt herself melting under it slightly.

"The same goes for you. I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk," Izzy said softly and Ricky nodded.

"Thank you," Ricky said, reaching for her hand. She looked down when he began gently drawing circles on it with his thumb, the way he'd been doing last week when they were watching the movie together. When she looked up at him again, it was like the whole world had gone silent and it was just the two of them.

She wasn't sure if it was in her head, or if his gaze had dropped down to her lips before returning to her eyes. Maybe it was in her head when he moved his other hand to sit on her hip, sending electricity up her spine. Maybe it was in her head when he leaned down ever so slightly and she leaned up to meet him.

"Mom told me to come check on you and make sure you weren't doing anything nasty," Camila's voice came from the doorway, making Izzy and Ricky jump apart.

"I said anything inappropriate!" Elena called from the kitchen.

"No, you said nasty. And they weren't, they were just kissing," Camila said and Izzy was sure that everyone could hear her heart with how hard it was beating.

"We weren't kissing," Izzy said quickly and Camila shrugged.

"You were about to," Camila said and Izzy glanced over at Ricky. They locked eyes for a second before looking away, both blushing slightly.

"Okay, well, it's late, so I'm gonna get Camila to bed and go to sleep myself, but I'll see you in the morning," Izzy said, reaching for Camila and steering her towards the door.

"Goodnight," Ricky called after them.

"Goodnight!" Izzy called back.

"Why are you blushing? Haven't you guys kissed before?" Camila asked loudly and Izzy felt her cheeks turn redder.

"Shhh,"

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

It had taken Izzy hours of tossing and turning the night before, before she'd finally fallen into a restless sleep. She woke up before her alarm and pulled a hoodie on before going downstairs to check on Ricky, keeping her steps quiet in case he was still sleeping. She found her quiet feet hadn't mattered when she walked into the living room and found the sheets and blanket folded up with a note on top. It was from Ricky saying that he was grateful for everything she'd done for him, but had decided to just head home. Izzy wasn't sure why, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Izzy spotted him immediately when she walked into school an hour later, standing at his locker. She hesitated, unsure of whether or not she should approach him, but he spotted her before could decide and waved her over. Awkward silence fell over them once she reached his locker.

"I'm really sorry, I don't want you to think that I'm not grateful for everything you did for me yesterday, I am, I swear. I just wasn't in the right headspace yesterday and I thought it would be better if I just went home," Ricky explained, his words tumbling out in a rush. Izzy listened carefully, wondering if the "right headspace" comment was about what had almost happened between them the night before.

"Did you talk to your mom?" Izzy asked, deciding to ignore the comment for the sake of her sanity.

"She said she's staying until the end of the week and she made me dinner, but we didn't really talk. I'm not really sure what I want to say to her." Ricky said with a shrug, and he hesitated for a second.

"I just wish...everything was finally settling down again after that shitty start to the year. Things were becoming normal and I was settling into a routine, now everything's changing again. I just wish everything would stop changing." Ricky said with a sigh.

"Change isn't always a bad thing, Ricky. Sometimes it's the thing that keeps you going when your life feels stuck," Izzy said softly and Ricky snorted.

"That hasn't been my experience with it," Ricky said and Izzy started to respond, but her phone buzzing cut her off. She looked down to see a text from Cara.

cara the explorer 👑
did you hear the news? ej and nini officially called it quits!

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ricky asked when Izzy's mouth dropped open slightly.

"EJ and Nini broke up," Izzy said, looking up at him, and silence fell over them again.

"So, what does that mean for us?" Ricky asked finally and Izzy shrugged.

"I guess that means our job is done," Izzy said quietly.

And, once again, everything had changed.

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

author's note!

ew the ending is cringy, but it's fine. i loved writing this chapter and i felt like it flowed a lot more smoothly than the other one! i also loved how the lines are starting to blur with izzy and ricky, that's always my favorite part in fake dating romances.

also i'm sorry for the longer chapter but i didn't want to split this one in two because i felt like it would feel more awkward, so longer chapter for this episode!

this might be my last update for a while since the homecoming episode isn't completely plotted out yet and i'm also starting school again soon and i'm gonna be super busy. i say this now but then might update again tomorrow, i'm so unpredictable.

but yeah, i really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, thank you all so much for reading, voting, and commenting! i'll hopefully see you guys in the next one!

- maya 💗