That night, you let your mind drift back to the tree.
"Think only tree."
You tossed and turned, trying to ease your mind. What was keeping you awake? Why couldn't you fall into a deep sleep.
You peeled open your eyes and let them examine the bonsai on your nightstand. Staring at it intently, you tried to push away anything that wasn't on its branches. No thoughts, simply just the tree.
But for some reason, you still couldn't get your mind off of Johnny.
Your stomach growled. Maybe you needed a midnight snack.
Swinging your legs over the bed, you slid on your slippers and trudged out to the kitchen. The light of the refrigerator made you wince in the darkness. Your hand reached out for something quick on the top shelf, when a noise coming from outside stopped you in your tracks.
You couldn't exactly pinpoint what the sound belonged to, but the constant shuffling made you walk up to the door hesitantly. Standing to your full height, you peeked out the peep hole.
Not a soul in sight.
For a moment, you found yourself wondering if maybe there was a wounded animal on the other side of the door. A stray dog, perhaps? You crossed your fingers, hoping it wasn't a rabid creature that would not be so friendly.
You pulled the door open just a crack. Examining the floor, you saw no animal nearby. Peeling the door open a smidge more, your eyes needed a moment to adjust to the light.
Your eyes landed on a form resting upon the ground, shivering in the cool night air. Opening the door a bit further, you noticed the shape was a little too large to be a raccoon.
You fully stepped out into the hallway cautiously. Walking around the figure, you tried to get a good look as to what kind of large animal would be outside your door.
But what you saw was not an animal at all. In fact, it was a human. One you knew quite well.
It was Johnny Lawrence.
Johnny was laying on the ground, his eyes closed. His arms were wrapped around himself, trying desperately to grasp for warmth.
You gasped and leaned down to his side. Shaking his shoulders gently, you tried to wake him up.
"Johnny!" You whispered.
It took a few moments, but he eventually peeled his eyes open. He looked around as he tried to get a sense of where he was. When it finally registered, he looked at you sorrowfully and whispered your name into the night.
"Yeah," your voice was hushed, "it's me."
He sat up and rubbed his eyes. His hair was a mess, strands protruding in every which way. Dark circles encased his eyes. At first glance, he just looked tired.
But you saw deeper.
"Did I wake you up?" His voice was extremely sleepy.
He hadn't necessarily woken you up, but your thoughts about him did. "No... no, you didn't."
"Good." He spoke softly. Leaning his head against the wall behind him, he sighed.
"Johnny... why are you here? It's the middle of the night."
He heard the concern in your voice and frowned. You could tell he was holding back a floodgate of tears.
"Things are getting pretty bad at home."
You could sense he didn't want to elaborate, so you didn't push him. What you didn't understand was why you?
"I feel terrible, Johnny. You should've knocked, we would've let you in."
He waved you off with his hand. "Don't worry about it. I didn't want to be a bother."
You had to hold back a laugh. So now he didn't want to bother you? He was quite comical.
"Johnny I'm serious. You shouldn't be sleeping outside someone's door. Why didn't you go over to one of the boys' houses? They would've let you crash at their place."
"They would," he sighed, "and that's the problem."
Your look of confusion must have translated to Johnny, because he sat up a little straighter on the wall in preparation to explain. You got comfortable yourself, leaning against the parallel wall with your legs extended.
"Why is that a problem?" You asked.
"Because," he fidgeted with his fingers, looking down, "my step dad knows where they live."
You inhaled sharply, not knowing what to say next.
"He would've tracked me down..." he continued, "it wouldn't have been the first time."
He looked to you then, his eyes sad. "But you... he doesn't know where you live. I figured this would be the best place to go."
Sensing the uncomfortable thickness of the silence, you decided to lighten the mood a bit. You grinned at him in a friendly way, his eyes lighting up when he saw it.
"How did you know what apartment I was at?"
For the briefest moment, you thought you imagined it. But it was real: his blush. Traveling from one end of his cheeks to the other, it spread like wildfire.
"That day I dropped you off in the rain..." he drifted, "I waited to make sure you got inside okay."
You felt your heart drop. Sitting there in the quiet night, you tried to think of a way to thank him for the small, yet sweet gesture. Your eyes drifted down the narrow hallway and onto the open balcony. You were only on the second floor, so it wasn't too hard to see your door from the street. And even yet, the thought of Johnny making sure you got in alright made your heart dance.
You didn't know what to say, so you stood to your feet and walked over to the door in two long strides. Twisting the knob quietly, making sure not to wake your mother, you pushed the door open gently. It creaked loudly and you winced, hoping it wasn't loud enough to interfere with her sleep.
"Where are you going?" Johnny began to scramble to a standing position. He almost seemed worried that you were leaving him.
You said nothing. Instead, you gestured inside. He looked at you sorrowfully before nodding his head and backing away.
He still doesn't get it.
Before he could sink back to his place on the floor, you grabbed his arm and pulled him close. His eyes widened as you gestured to the door again.
"You... want me to go inside?" He whispered.
"Come on." You laughed quietly before leading him into the kitchen, shutting the door quietly behind the both of you.
He stood and looked around the room, a part of you was embarrassed. Johnny was rich. And from what you saw of the exterior of his lavish house, you couldn't even imagine the inside.
You stepped up behind him and held your breath. As he looked down to you, his grin was anything but taunting. Instead, he beamed back at you radiantly, his smile was genuine.
"I like your apartment."
"Stop lying, Lawrence."
"I'm not lying."
You took a solid look at face, examining it for any faltering smiles, practical joking features, anything. But there was nothing indicating a fib. Johnny wasn't lying to you.
In the darkness of your apartment, only the light of the moon filtering in from the windows illuminated his face. You couldn't help but stare at his features for a moment.
He looked as though he had been crying. His tears were all gone, but a hint of them remained in the light. Those same eyes looked at you. Through you. Like you were his anchor for the night.
"Follow me." You whispered into the quiet room.
Johnny followed you down the hall to a small door. You opened it wide, revealing a storage closet. Standing on your tiptoes, you reached up onto the tallest shelf. Only your fingers grasped nothing.
Next to you, Johnny let out a light chuckle. He reached up over you and grabbed what you were searching for with ease. Pulling down a navy blue blanket, he held it up and raised his eyebrows.
"Wow, princess. I thought you were supposed to be helping me."
It took everything in you not to smile. "Shut it, Lawrence."
You grabbed the blanket from his hands and walked into the living room. He trailed behind you, careful to not make much noise. When you reached the couch, you puffed up the decorative pillow and set the folded blanket down on the cushions.
"All yours." You smiled.
He smiled at you, clearly not knowing what to say next. The silence that followed was awkward as you nodded your head and pressed your lips into a thin line. "Well, goodnight."
You practically darted out of the room, but not before Johnny grabbed your arm gently. Pulling you back in front of him, he gulped.
"Thank you. I mean it."
Now you were the one that didn't know what to say. "You're welcome. If you ever need to crash here again, don't be afraid to knock."
He hesitated for a moment. What you weren't expecting him to do next, was hug you.
But that's exactly what he did.
He wrapped his arms around you, his chin resting on your shoulder. After the moment of surprise wore off, you hugged him back. You felt his face bury into his shoulder as if your hug was the only thing he needed in this world.
"Johnny," you whispered, "I don't have my keys on me so you can't take them this time."
You felt his laugh in your neck. "I wasn't trying to take your keys... this time."
The two of you pulled apart. He looked you deep in the eyes, thanking you without words.
"Goodnight." You said again.
"Goodnight." He whispered in return.
And with that, you walked past him and down the hall. You felt his eyes on you the entire way.
When you got back to your room, you shut the door quietly and processed what exactly just happened. The thoughts became too much, so you looked at the tree on your nightstand.
"Think only tree."
Falling back to sleep, you kept your mind clear. Whatever was happening with Johnny, at least you were there for him. For all you knew, he could turn around again tomorrow and be bitter toward you. It hurt, but you knew it was just his natural reaction to people wanting to help him. He wasn't used to it, so he didn't know how to accept gratitude from others.
But he took a large step tonight. Just by showing up outside your door, Johnny exhibited that he trusted you to some extent.
You fell into a deep sleep with that thought in mind.
•••
You awoke from your nightmare.
Sitting up in bed swiftly, you tried to slow your heart rate down. The sweat dribbling at the corners of your forehead made you feel weak as you trembled. What was your nightmare even about? The moment you awoke, it had left your memory almost completely.
You only knew of one minor detail. In your nightmare, Johnny was in danger. He took camp outside your apartment door, and you let him inside. The rest of it was a blur, except for the feeling you had started to become aware of whenever he was around.
The feeling of your heart fluttering in your chest. The way it did leaps and danced around when he was near. Could you possibly...
No. You couldn't.
When you looked at your clock, you realized that it was only 4:52. You still had some time left before your alarm would go off for school.
You shook off the nightmare and tried to calm yourself. Your throat was terribly dry, so you decided that maybe a cold glass of water would soothe your senses. Besides, you didn't think you would be falling back to sleep anytime soon.
Walking into the creaking hallway, you approached the kitchen. A figure on the couch in the other room caught your eye as you walked past. Just then, the trembling returned.
It wasn't a nightmare. Johnny was actually on your couch.
You walked into the living room with quiet steps. There on the couch, was Johnny. His arms were wrapped around himself the way they were in the hallway mere hours before. Although he was sleeping heavily, he was still somewhat shivering.
You looked to the ground where your navy blue blanket must have fallen. Without giving it a second thought, you picked up the blanket and draped it over his body.
He immediately melted into the blanket, still sound asleep. You couldn't help but watch him for a moment, making sure he was okay. His breathing was normal. Up, down, up, down, and up again. His features seemed much more relaxed then they were when he was sleeping in the hallway. If anything, you would say he looked at peace.
Satisfied with a safe Johnny, you walked back to your room and managed to fall back to sleep.
•••
When morning came, you smiled as you awoke.
Just last night, you helped Johnny. Really helped him. He let you get somewhat close to him, no strings attached. No games, no taunting, no mocking, just the two of you being friendly.
But apart of you believed that maybe there was something more.
The other part thought you were crazy. This was Johnny Lawrence. You didn't want there to be anything more then just a game with him.
Right?
Jumping out of bed with a new sense of perspective on your bond, you began picking out your clothes for school. Your mood was chipper this morning, so you decided to dress your best.
You decided to pack some clothes for the record shop later. Mr. Miyagi and Daniel were supposed to come back over to continue painting. At this rate, you weren't sure if it would ever get done.
Your mother on the other hand needed some major help with the shop. You felt guilty barely being there, but she encouraged you to go out and have fun. As long as things didn't get too hectic, you were fine for the moment.
That's when it hit you.
Oh no. The record shop.
Your mother was probably on her way there now. Which meant she had to walk past the living room. Meaning, she would've seen Johnny.
Without context, the situation would've looked very skeptical.
You practically ran out of your room. When you caught sight of your mother in the kitchen, you froze. So far there were no concerning glances or lectures, had she not seen the boy in the apartment? Instead, she took note of your sudden change in speed and questioned you.
"You alright, sweetheart?"
"Yeah," you breathed out, "I was just... going to say goodbye to you before you left for the day."
"Oh..." she laughed nervously, "well goodbye. I'll see you after school."
"Right! Right."
She smiled at you again before heading to the door, shutting it behind her. The minute you heard the door handle click, you ran into the living room.
Where you came face to face with an empty couch.
It was as if no one was there. There were no smushed pillows or crinkled cushions. Everything was pristine.
You sprinted to the storage closet, swinging the door practically off its hinges. You pulled yourself up onto your tippy toes, peeking over the shelf. In the far back, folded neatly, was the navy blue blanket you had draped over him just a few hours before.
But what didn't belong, was the note taped to the front of it.
You heaved yourself up, jumping to grab the paper. When you unfolded it, a large smile grew infectiously on your face. It was so contagious, that even your heart didn't know how to catch up. Swallowing your fear, you opened the note slowly, scared that maybe something would jump out at you. Instead, you were just greeted with surprisingly neat handwriting.
Hey princess. Thanks again for letting me crash here last night. I'll keep your place in mind if I ever need a favor. 'Casa de princess' has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Johnny
You don't know why, but your smile grew impossibly bigger. But it wasn't the note itself that made your heart jump.
It was the writer.