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I slide the helmet off of my head, careful to not disturb the two French braids I'd woven my hair into. Ali and Daniel lean against the gate beside the entrance to Golf N' Stuff and the dread is prominent on his face when he spots Johnny and I walking toward them.
"Hey, guys." I greet the couple, attempting to make the interaction as casual as possible.
"Hey." Ali smiles, but she purses her lips when she notices the glare the two boys exchange. I kick Johnny's shoe and he snaps out of whatever face-off the two were partaking in. "Um, we should probably go in." She glances at me for assistance wearing a lavender headband to coordinate with her top and I take the lead.
We walk in a horizontal line, Ali and I in the middle and the boys on either side of us. "Nice ride." She mutters to me with a wink, proving her prediction to be true about the motorcycle, but who knows if the theory itself is even accurate.
Johnny insists on paying for me, although I was planning to do so myself and the four of us wander into the amusement center with what seems like all the options in the world to choose from. Daniel and Ali are drawn to a boxing game and Johnny and I take the machine beside them, mostly to observe the other couple as they play. Eventually, Ali's figure knocks out Daniel's and it was a cute moment until Johnny leans down to mutter in my ear.
"So nice of him to give us a preview of the All Valley, don't you think?" I try to contain the grin that creeps onto my face, but it grabs Daniel's attention through the reflection of the game screen.
"You got something you wanna say, Johnny? Because I'm all ears, honestly." He insists, causing Ali to brush it off for him and it would've worked, but Johnny takes the opportunity to strike again.
"I was just reminding her of the known fact that two months won't make a difference. You don't have a chance at the All Valley, no matter how hard you train." He snickers and Ali's eyes scan Daniel's body language to predict his next move.
"Johnny." I scold him and Ali attempts to pull at Daniel's arm.
"This is why you should've listened to me." He states with no context toward me.
"What're you talking about?"
"August you wouldn't even think about messing with someone like him and now here we are."
"Why is this being blamed on me now just because you can't keep your temper in check?" I seethe, suddenly growing angry at his assumptions.
"I shouldn't have let you accept the deal." He shakes his head.
"That has nothing to do with this. "You're just pissed because he proved that you should stay out of other peoples' business once in a while and you can't deal with that clearly."
"Fine, you want me to stay out of everyone's business? I will." He throws his hands up in front of his chest as he begins walking backward. "She's all yours, Lawrence. You might have more in common than I thought." He scoffs wearing a smile of a mixture of shock and anger behind it.
"Fuck you, LaRusso." I turn on my heel and Johnny follows beside me as I put as much distance between Daniel and me as possible. Out of all the things that could've happened tonight, arguing with Daniel wasn't even in the top ten scenarios.
"I shouldn't have pushed him." Johnny attempts to reason, but I'm so angry at Daniel that I can't even think clearly.
"It's fine, Daniel has been like this since I started training again."
"Since you've been around me so much." He corrects and I tilt my head to the side signaling that he wasn't so off from the truth.
"I just need to get my mind off of it." I scan the area around us for something to do and Johnny does the same.
"Hey, what about that?" He points across the room, practically referencing everything in that area.
"Which one?" I scrunch my eyebrows and suddenly, I feel his hand on my waist, yanking me to the inflatables. He pulls me into a bouncy house and I stumble behind him.
"It's fourteen and under in here, Lawrence."
"I don't see anyone stopping me." He throws his hands up in confidence. "You said you could beat me the next time we spar, prove it."
"You're insane." I laugh,
"Come on, you'll feel better. Take your anger out." I debate for a second while he drops into a ready position. "Stall all you want, but I'm not letting you leave until you beat me."
"You're kidding," I complain playfully, but I do as he says, taking the space in front of him to mirror his position.
His strong suit is attacking and mine is defending so the cycle continues for a minute or so until I finally decide to punch, but he catches it with ease and flips me around, tapping my back for what would be considered a point.
It goes on somewhat like that for a couple more rounds until I'm basking on the neon orange surface of the bouncy house with my limbs spread out in defeat. Johnny towers above me, flashing a smile that never fails to make my stomach flip, and offers me his hand.
I take it, but instead of getting pulled to my feet, I yank him down just as I sweep his leg. He tosses me over him and rolls to hover above me, his heavy breathing fanning a minty aroma into my face as his hair falls into his eyes.
"Not bad," He exhales and I attempt to slow my racing heartbeat that I was almost certain was noticeable from his point of view just by how hard it was pounding. "Just not good enough." He smirks and I narrow my eyes at the dig. "You feel better though, don't you?" He asks and I nod after a second, our eyes not leaving each other until he flickers across my features, taking the sight of me in.
"Yeah, I'd say so," I mutter in response, being sucked into the moment.
"Good," He pulls away and abruptly hops to his feet. "That's good." He swallows, collecting himself at the same time.
Throughout the next few hours we kind of just wander, once in a while picking an activity to partake in, but I guess we both felt that talking was more than enough to keep us busy. Believe it or not, Johnny's actually fun when he wants to be.
As he sits across from me in a metallic booth behind the food court, I lean my chin against my palm and listen to whatever he wants to talk about. I found it adorable how his face lit up anytime he spoke about anything karate-related or his friends, Bobby and Tommy more specifically. He explained how the three of them had been friends almost their whole lives and how he had been the one to convince the other two to try karate after he'd been training for a while.
I think it was at that moment that I finally realized what Ali really saw in him, but more at the same time. He wasn't always the jealous prick trying to pick fights, but rather, once in a while he'd get comfortable and allow that subconscious filter to fade. It's one that I wish wouldn't revert once we left here because I could actually see myself enjoying the company of this version of him.
Eventually, we finish our slurpees and manage to avoid Ali and Daniel all night, occasionally spotting them through the crowds of people and intentionally turning the other way.
In the parking lot of Golf N' Stuff, Johnny hops on his bike and I take the second seat behind him as I did on the way here. "It's almost eleven, we aren't gonna make it back in time," I mention as I slip on my helmet.
"We will, but you might want to hold on." He suggests and I raise one eyebrow in suspicion, causing him to shrug carelessly.
"Suit yourself." He takes off down the main road and I abruptly wrap my arms around his waist, pressing the front of my body against his to not fly off the bike. His body shakes as he laughs at my sudden action and he glances back at me, my head leaning against his shoulder.
If it were anyone else driving this erratically on a motorcycle, I'm sure I'd be pale-faced and have clammy hands by the time I stepped off of it, but, somehow, I can't seem to wipe the goofy grin off of my lips as we speed down the glowing side streets of downtown Los Angeles.
It's eleven on the dot by the time we arrive at my house, most of the others surrounding us don't even contain a singular lit-up window at this time of night. When I take off my helmet, I become self-conscious about my flyaway strands of hair and subtly attempt to tame them before Johnny notices, but of course, I'm unsuccessful, knowing my luck.
"Your hair looks fine, Emmerik." He assures me, not having to even glance at me to know what I was doing.
"Well, it was near perfect when we left. It still would be if you didn't drive like a maniac." I raise my eyebrows at the boy who has his back turned to me as he messes with something on his bike.
"Your dad said eleven, we're here by eleven." He responds,
"I'm getting the feeling you're starting to like my dad more than me."
"For once, you're right." He turns around with a questioning expression. "You think he'd be up for a few rounds of pool sometime?" He asks and my jaw drops at his humor as I shove him away.
"Go ask him yourself. Maybe he'll want a ride on the back of your motorcycle too." I fake an enthusiastic expression and he shakes his head.
"How do you always manage to one-up me?"
"Because I'm always right and just overall better." I grin, wanting to challenge him just a little bit. His focus reverts to my hair and his face scrunches up at the sight of it, causing me to mirror his expression.
"Well, one thing you were right about: your hair is a mess now that I look at it." He smiles and I throw my hands up to cover my jumbled-up braids with a growing tint of pink on my cheeks at the embarrassment.
"You're not funny, Johnny." I scold, but he holds his torso as he laughs at my reaction to his joke.
"Here, let me fix it." He insists and I hesitate for a moment as he steps forward. He smooths a few strands off of my forehead and tucks a piece behind my ear, allowing his hand to rest on the side of my jaw for a few moments as his eyes wander my features.
I could feel the heat of his body as he neared me, intensifying as he narrowed the space between us and separate from the California humidity engulfing the area. As his face lowers to mine, I feel my body tense up, causing a rush to shoot through me, assuming it's for all the wrong reasons and I begin to panic.
I raise my hand and gently wrap it around his wrist as I close my eyes. "Don't,"
"Why not?" He asks gingerly, not moving an inch away from where he paused.
"Because you're gonna complicate things." He leans his forehead against mine, a sigh releasing from his chest as I acknowledge regret settling into every inch of my body that begs me to give in.
"What things?" He asks, pulling away to meet my gaze.
"Everything," His attention flickers between my eyes, and a cold expression invades his face.
"This is because of Daniel, isn't it?" He drops his hand from my jaw, leaving a cool sensation in its absence once the air hits my skin.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Or is it Tommy?" He asks, wanting a genuine answer.
"This is my choice, Johnny. Either accept it or don't, but this can't happen. There's just too much going on." The hurt is visible in his eyes as he gazes down at me, but he refrains from showing it in his body language, choosing to act as if nothing happened.
"Got it," He nods, reverting his attention to something in the distance.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," I assure him, but he doesn't respond as he slips his helmet back on while I make my way up the driveway. I don't hear the engine of his bike rev down the street until the front door is shut and I toss my sweatshirt onto the clothing rack beside the entrance.
I didn't only say all that because of the pact I made with myself or even everything with Daniel. I physically was unable to allow myself to trust him enough to let my guard down completely, at least not yet. I didn't want to face Erik and how incredibly disappointed he'd be. But, most of all, I didn't want to face my feelings.
The thought terrified me, but also I felt a pit in my stomach for not accepting them when I was given the opportunity. The war in my mind lasted through part of the night until the thoughts overwhelmed me into complete exhaustion and I sunk into the sheets of my bed.
a/n:
I have a love-hate relationship with this chapter and all the emotions. Johnny's so sweet though, man. I'm gonna sob. 🥲🥲