Rina

"He said we all saw this coming. But I didn't. Not that night in your car after homecoming. Or when I made you that hat at Thanksgiving and the floppy little ears looked so dumb, but it was, honestly, the cutest thing I've ever seen. God, Ricky Bowen, you have been a surprise since the day we met. You weren't the plan. You were never the plan. Plans change. And if you want me to shut up, I'll shut up, but I don't have "maybe" feelings about you. You aren't a maybe. You're a yes. And I like to know where people stand with me. And so now you know where you stand with me. And so I'm going to walk out of here with my head held high. And I'm never gonna look back again. Unless you stop me."

- Gina to Ricky

Rina is the het ship between Ricky Bowen and Gina Porter from the High School Musical fandom.

Season 1
During auditions for East High School's production of High School Musical: The Musical, Gina is visibly intrigued as she watches Ricky's performance. While Ricky is cast as Troy, Gina is cast as Taylor and the understudy for Gabriella.

After Gina hears Ricky telling Carlos that he is going to drop out of the show, she goes to see Ricky at the skate park to convince him to stay, in the hope that his ex-girlfriend, Nini, who is playing Gabriella, will quit because of him and allow Gina to assume the role of Gabriella. Gina tells Ricky that she was glad when he got cast, since he is an outsider like her: she is a transfer student while he never did theater before. She says that he does not need Carlos to tell him how to move since he has his own style.

When Ricky sees that Gina has brought EJ as her date to the homecoming dance, he tells her that she can do better. She retorts that he is not one to give relationship advice and that she will ask when she wants his opinion. He says that he thought that she was classier than this but it turns out that she really is what people say she is: a little too ambitious for her own good. This hurts her and he regrets what he said. Ricky later sees Gina storming off after pouring a drink on EJ's head and goes after her. He finds her in the coat check area and apologizes for what he said earlier. He says that it is not any of his business who she hangs out with and she asks why he is making it his business then. He replies that he does not know but says that because he is an outsider to theater and she to East High, he thought that they sort of got each other. Ricky then drives Gina home and thanks her for convincing him to stay in the show. She says that she meant what she said at the skate park about him having his own style but admits that she did not know how much she meant it when she said it. She then kisses him on the cheek before heading inside.

When Ricky suggests that Nini sing a solo acoustic version of "When There Was Me and You", Gina is the only one who votes for it. She later asks him if she can hear the acoustic version of the song and he plays it for her. When he is done, she says that she wishes that she could play guitar like he does and he says that she is good at everything else like acting, dancing and throwing drinks in people's faces, referring to when she poured a drink on EJ at homecoming. When she says that she was hoping that he forgot about that, he says that he cannot forget about anything that happened at homecoming.

On Thanksgiving, Gina goes to Ricky's house so that they can walk to the party at Ashlyn's house together. She gives him a hat that she made for him because of the cold. Ricky is, however, upset that his mother has a new boyfriend and Gina says that she understands him: he is mad at everyone and everything because just when he is getting used to things changing, they change again. She says that she knows what he is feeling because she had to move multiple times due to her mother's job. She suggests that they ignore their problems and go to the party, to which he agrees. He then puts on the hat that she made for him and she laughs at how big it is on him. At the party, Gina learns from her mother that they are moving away again, which deeply saddens her. Ricky asks her if she wants to talk about it but she refuses to. He is visibly crestfallen as she leaves after telling him that there is no point in calling her anymore.

Gina comes back on opening night and tells Ricky that she is back for one night only. He says that he did not think that he would see her again and she says that she thought the same. When he does not know what to say, she tells him not to say anything and urges him to go get ready for his performance.

After seeing his mother with her new boyfriend in the audience, Ricky opts out of the second act of the show. Gina finds him in the hallway and suggests that they go watch the second act together. He agrees and admits that he is glad that she came back. When they return inside, Nini encourages Ricky to get back on stage and Gina watches their performance. Ricky and Nini get back together after the show while Ashlyn offers Gina to stay at her house for the next semester so that she does not have to leave.

Season 2
On Valentine's Day, Gina shows up at Ricky's house and apologizes for not calling beforehand. She tells him that her mother, who is still away for work, usually gives her a gift on Valentine's Day but this year she seems to have forgotten to send her something. Ricky says that he understands what she is feeling and she says that she knew that he would. She admits that there are things that she tells him that she does not tell anyone else and he agrees that they do that for each other. They are interrupted when Nini calls Ricky to tell him that she will catch up with him a little later than they had planned. When she hangs up, Ricky tells Gina that he had this song that he wanted to play for Nini and Gina tells him to call Nini back and play it over the phone. She says that every girl likes a sweet gesture and that she is speaking from experience. He says that she will get hers too and she puts on a smile as she leaves his house. Gina later finds a heart-shaped box of chocolates at her door just as she receives a text from Ricky thanking her for her advice. She thinks that the chocolates are from him and sends him a text to thank him but then she opens a text from her mother informing her that she sent the chocolates.

Although Gina is embarrassed by the situation, chocolates become a running joke between her and Ricky. When Ricky compliments Gina's dance, she is hesitant to believe him so he jokingly asks if he should send her a box of chocolates to prove it. Later, while looking for supplies during the snowstorm, Gina runs into Ricky and Big Red. Despite Ricky's attempts to stop him, Big Red asks for Gina's opinion on a text that Ricky wants to send Nini. Gina is visibly hurt as she listens to Big Red describing the text and she tells Ricky not to send it. He thanks her for her advice and apologizes for dragging her into this. She changes the subject by jokingly saying that the chocolate that she found near her locker must be Ricky's latest Valentine to her, causing him to laugh nervously and say that he goes big.

As Kourtney prepares Gina's outfit for Carlos' quinceañero, Gina tells her that last semester, on the opening night of High School Musical: The Musical, she did something that she wishes that she could take back because at that time she did not know that she was staying. Ricky later approaches Gina to ask for advice on something that he wants to do for Nini behind her back. He tells Gina to imagine that they are dating and asks if she would be flattered if he went behind her back to do something for her. She says that she would be but reminds him that they are not dating and that there are better people to confide in about Nini.

Hurt, Gina begins distancing herself from Ricky. She tells Ashlyn about the thing that she did last semester because she thought that she would never see Ricky again. Gina went to find Ricky after the show and complimented him for his performance. She then started to cry as she confessed her love for him, saying that she would not quit on her and Ricky if she was not moving away. She told him that she would give him a tight hug and then walk away with her head held high. Ricky agreed and they hugged. Ashlyn asks if she and Ricky talked about it since then and Gina replies that he seems happy with Nini so there is nothing to talk about.

Ricky and Nini decide to break up when they realize that they are holding each other back while Gina grows closer to EJ, whom she later dates.

Fanon
Rina had a devoted following since the first season of the series, and fans were hoping that the two would end up together in later seasons, which eventually happened in the third season. This came as a surprise to some people who did not think that Rina would happen because Gina began dating EJ at the end of the second season, and also because they were expecting Ricky and Nini to get back together. Fans have, however, stated that since Ricky and Gina's feelings for each other were left unresolved in the first and second seasons, they were bound to resurface eventually.

Interest in the pairing grew considerably after the release of the third season, and Rina went on to become a beloved and fan-favorite couple. People who had never watched the series were drawn to the pairing after coming across fanworks involving the pairing and became so deeply invested that they started watching the series.

The chemistry between Ricky and Gina is often cited as the primary reason for the pairing's popularity. Fans point out that Ricky and Gina understand and trust each other deeply, which showed when they bonded over their similar situations. The slow burn nature of their romance allowed their relationship to develop and their bond to deepen as they connected emotionally but later fell apart and eventually grew close again before rekindling their buried feelings for each other.

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 * Ricky & Gina | Their Story {1x01 - 3x08}