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It was 11.30pm on Christmas Eve, and Johnny Lawrence wasn’t drunk enough. He raced along Ventura, simultaneously enjoying and despising how clear his head felt as the cool night air whipped through his hair, the warm, comforting buzz of his last beer long gone. Up ahead, a gas station appeared, a neon square under an inky sky, and Johnny pulled in. He dismounted his bike, pushed open the door of the store and strode to the refrigerator at the back, breathing out a sigh of relief when he spied the paper carton of stubby brown bottles. He grabbed the Banquets and turned towards the cash register, plonking the alcohol down on the counter.
“How much do I owe you?”, he asked gruffly.
“Which pump you at?”, questioned a familiar voice, just a little deeper than the last time Johnny had heard it.
Johnny started and looked at the guy behind the counter.
The guy glanced up from the magazine he was reading.
Recognition dawned on both their faces.
“LaRusso?”
“Johnny?”, said Daniel, gawping for a second, mouth slightly open, before he seemed to compose himself. “Uh – hey.”
“Hey”, Johnny replied awkwardly.
They stared at each other for a beat longer. Then Johnny gestured towards his beer. “So, uh, how much? I’m not here for gas, just – just the Banquet.”
“Oh! Oh, OK, that’s – that’s, uh, four-fifty.”
Johnny fished a crumpled five dollar bill out of his pocket, nearly dropping it twice as he passed it over, hands suddenly clumsy.
Daniel made a little show of squinting at the bill, holding it up to the light.
“It’s not fake!” Johnny protested indignantly.
Daniel shrugged. “I gotta check, man, it’s my job. You wouldn’t believe the kinda fakes people try to get away with, it’s crazy.”
Johnny tapped a foot impatiently against the linoleum as Daniel continued to peer at the money, until, apparently satisfied, he opened the cash register and carefully deposited the note inside.
“Uh, I only – only got dimes-”. Daniel dropped the five coins into Johnny’s outstretched palm. “Is that good?” he asked, nodding towards the beer, nose wrinkling, as if he’d already decided it wasn’t.
“Better than the light crap that’s everywhere now.”
“I kinda like the light stuff-”
Johnny snorted in derision. “You would.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “You haven’t changed, huh, Johnny?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what it means-”
Johnny took a step forward just as the bell above the door jangled and a man and woman fell into the store, clutching each other and giggling. They staggered down one of the aisles.
Johnny scowled and snatched up his beer. “Whatever, LaRusso.”
***
The apartment was apparently empty when Johnny returned to it on Christmas Day; he slumped over to the kitchen and gulped down a couple of Advil with a beer, rubbing at his temples.
“Out here”, called a voice.
Johnny trudged out to the balcony to find Dutch leaning over the railing, smoking a joint.
“Good Christmas?” Dutch asked.
Johnny took a swig of beer before he answered. “It was shit.”
“You get in another fight with Sid?”
Johnny nodded. “Yeah, fucking asshole. Told him I’d rather be homeless than take any more money from him, and I mean it this time.”
“Alright, good on you, man. Hey, I’ll ask Susan if she’s still looking for models.”
“Thanks man. You wanna swap?” Johnny held out the beer to Dutch and took the joint, inhaling deeply. “Hey, I, uh, saw LaRusso yesterday.”
“Shit, really? Danielle?”
“Yeah, working at a gas station on Ventura.”
“And?”
Johnny tapped the joint against the railing, watching the embers drift down. “Still a twerp.”
Dutch laughed, then polished off the bottle. “I’m gonna go get another beer. You wanna watch a movie or something?”
“Yeah”, Johnny murmured, although he stayed out on the balcony for a while longer, watching the twinkling lights of the city come to life as the night drew in.
***
When Johnny next entered the gas station, Daniel dropped the piece of limp tinsel that he was unwinding from a shelf.
“What’re you-”
“Relax, LaRusso. I’ve come for the beer, not a fight.”
Daniel slipped behind the counter, tinsel forgotten, and crossed his arms.
“Isn’t there somewhere else you can get that stuff?”
“They’re out of stock”, Johnny muttered. He fetched the bottles and passed them to Daniel with a ten dollar bill. “Believe me, if there was somewhere closer to my place that sold Banquet I’d be there, not here. And don’t you dare try and give me five-fifty back in dimes.”
Daniel huffed and handed Johnny a five dollar bill and a fifty cent piece. “Encino is only a five minute drive from here.”
“I don’t live in Encino anymore”, said Johnny, pocketing the change.
“Then where do you live?”
“What’s it to you?”
Daniel leant against the counter. “Hey, I’m just tryin’ to make conversation. So, uh, what you been up to since school? You go to college?”
“No”, Johnny answered flatly. “You?”
“I’m going in the fall; New Jersey City.”
“Bit late, aren’t you?”
Daniel sniffed. “I’m going as a mature student.”
Johnny tilted his head to one side. Daniel wasn’t quite as skinny as he’d been, and there were dark circles under his eyes that hadn’t been there in high school (except when they’d been made by Johnny’s fists), but he still looked barely a day over seventeen. Nothing mature about you, LaRusso.
“What, finally going home?”
“Not – not permanently, I just – just wanted to visit family, have a change of scenery, you know?” Daniel rubbed the back of one hand as he spoke.
Johnny noticed there were faint, silvery scars on his knuckles. “Why’ve you left it so late though?”
“Because – because I’ve just been doing other things, OK?” Daniel snapped.
“Alright, fine, whatever man.” Johnny picked up the Banquets and turned towards the door.
“Hope that store near you starts stocking those beers again soon!”, Daniel yelled after him.
“Yeah, I hope so too, LaRusso.”
***
“I’ll take over from here, Marcie”, said Susan, striding briskly into the room. “You go see to the other guy.”
Marcie handed over the comb she’d been using to style Johnny’s hair and left.
“So”, Susan continued, coming to stand behind Johnny and tugging at his locks. “Heard you saw Daniel LaRusso the other day.”
“Ow!”, Johnny exclaimed, frowning at her in the lightbulb-studded mirror.
Susan started to tease Johnny’s hair just a modicum more gently. “So, Daniel?”
“Uh, yeah, I saw him. Why do you care? And how do you even know-”
“Dutch told me”, Susan said, before going back in for another attack with the comb. “Look, just be – just be careful with him, OK? I’ve heard he’s been through some shit since high school, there was this older guy-” she cut herself off as if realising she’d said something she shouldn’t have. “Just – just take it slow, yeah?”
“Take it – what are you talking about? I just stopped by the gas station he works at to buy booze a couple times, I’m probably never gonna see him again-”
Susan looked sceptical. “Oh yeah? So you’re not planning on picking up where you left off?”
“We left off with him kicking me in the face in front of hundreds of people, there’s nothing else I’ve got to say to that twerp”, Johnny grumbled, trying and failing to will away the blush that he could feel creeping up his neck.
“Mmmm hmmmm”, Susan replied, stepping back. “OK, your hair’s done and your costume is on the rail over there. And don’t forget to oil up properly this time, yeah?”
***
“We’re ninety dollars short on rent this month”, Dutch said bluntly as he and Johnny watched TV.
Johnny sighed. “You mean I’m ninety dollars short on rent.”
“Look, I can spot you if you need me to for another month, man, but after that-”
“It’s fine”, Johnny interrupted, running a hand through his hair, ruining Susan’s careful styling. “I’ll get it.”
***
Johnny banged the Banquets down on the counter. “And I’ll have a hot dog, too”, he said, pointing at the sausages keeping warm under the heat lamps.
Daniel pulled a face. “Really? You eat that crap?”
“Yeah”, Johnny said defensively. “What, you too good for gas station food?”
“Yeah, I am”, Daniel answered primly, walking over to the grill and gingerly picking up a dog with a pair of tongs, depositing it in a bun, wrapping it in paper and handing it to Johnny.
“You’re the one who works here”, Johnny pointed out.
“That doesn’t mean I have to eat here. I prefer proper food.”
“The fuck is proper food? All food is food, LaRusso, you eat it and then you shit it out.”
Daniel sighed in a long suffering way and took Johnny’s money. “Eloquent as always, Johnny.”
“Did you just call me an element, LaRusso?”
“What? No, I said eloquent-”
“Yeah, element-”
“That’s – that’s not what I’m saying-”
“It is-”
“Why would I call you an element, huh? That doesn’t make any sense-”. Daniel shook his head, then glanced out the window and frowned. “What, no Honda tonight?”
Johnny took a large bite of hotdog, chewed obnoxiously for a minute, and then swallowed. “No.”
Daniel put his hands on his hips in a way that he probably thought made him look confident, but actually made him look like a kid playing at being grown-up.
“Yeah, bet you’ve got a whole selection of bikes and cars, drive a different one every week, right?”
“Wrong”, Johnny snapped. “I’ve only got the Firebird now, actually.”
“Oh yeah, what happened to the Honda, huh?”
Before Johnny could answer, the bell jangled and a woman with short hair and a lip ring entered.
“Hi Kate”, said Daniel with a strained smile.
“Hey. How’s it been tonight? Quiet?”
“Yeah, mostly”, Daniel replied, narrowing his eyes at Johnny.
Kate slipped behind the counter. “Alright, you get going, kid, get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
***
“My store is getting Banquet in next week”, Johnny said by way of greeting.
Daniel didn’t look up from his magazine. “You know the date?”
Johnny frowned. “What, today’s date?”
Daniel glanced up. “No, not – I mean the date your store is getting your disgusting beer. I wanna mark it on the calendar, plan a party, you know? Have some cake, get a few party hats, celebrate never having to see your stupid face ever again-”
“What’s your problem, LaRusso?”
“You, Johnny.”
Johnny started rolling up his sleeves. “Alright, let’s settle this, right here, right now-”
“I’m not fighting you in a gas station!”, Daniel protested.
“Why not?”
“Well, I work here for a start. If we break anything, I’m the one who’s gonna have to clean it up-”
The bell tinkled and a tall man with a ponytail walked into the store.
Daniel stopped speaking abruptly, as if someone had suddenly pressed the mute button on the remote that controlled him.
The man strolled over to the cash register. “Hey, can I get some Marlboros?”
Daniel stared him and then started to shake.
“Uh, are you OK?” asked the man.
Daniel didn’t answer.
Johnny vaulted over the counter and landed next to Daniel. “Hey, what’s up, man? Ignore him, he’s the new kid.” He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and thrust them towards the man. “Uh, here’s your smokes. That’ll be five dollars.”
“Five dollars?” the man said incredulously. “And these are Lucky Strike, I asked for Marlboro-”
“You want them or not?” Johnny asked menacingly, jutting out his chin and baring his teeth.
The man held up his palms in surrender. “Uh, yeah, sure – here-”. He threw a bill at Johnny and hightailed it out of the store.
Johnny turned his attention to Daniel. The shaking had intensified, and his gaze was still fixed on the spot where the man had been standing. Johnny waved a hand in front of his face. “Uh, earth to LaRusso.”
Daniel didn’t respond.
Johnny tapped him lightly on the arm. When that didn’t work he punched him in the shoulder.
Daniel blinked. “Wha – what-”
“You alright, man?”
Daniel’s lower lip started to wobble; a second later he burst into tears.
“Oh, oh shit, OK”, said Johnny, trying not to panic. “Is – is that woman starting her shift soon?”
“Not – not for another hour”, Daniel stuttered between sobs.
“Uh, right. Do – do you have a number for her or something?”
Daniel nodded under the counter as he continued to cry.
Johnny reached down and pulled out an address book. He flipped it open, found Kate’s number and dialled it on the store phone, crossing the fingers of his free hand that she’d be at home.
“Hello?”
Johnny exhaled in relief. “Hey, uh, Kate, is it? Could you – could you come to the gas station, like, uh now?”
“Who is this? Where’s Daniel-”
“Daniel’s not – uh – not feeling too good-”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
Johnny hung up and looked at Daniel. The shaking had mostly subsided, but tears were still streaming down his cheeks.
“Alright, man, I think – uh – if you just – just wait out back -”
He steered Daniel down a narrow corridor into a staff room not much bigger than a broom closet, and sat him in a yellowed plastic chair. Johnny cleared his throat loudly, then realised he had no idea what to say. He stood awkwardly for a moment while Daniel gazed at the floor, eyes glazed over, then walked back into the store.
By the time Kate arrived he’d served three other customers, distractedly assigning random prices to their purchases (the guy who got a full tank of gas for two dollars seemed particularly happy, the woman who was charged three dollars for a stick of gum less so).
“He out back?” Kate asked.
“Uh, yeah-”
She walked briskly to the staff room; Johnny sidled after her, listening in as she talked to Daniel in a low voice.
“Look, I know you’ve said you’re fine, kid, but this is the third time this has happened now-”
“I am fine”, Daniel insisted in a small, wavery voice. “I just – just had a moment, that’s all, but I can keep working-”
“Yeah, no”, Kate said firmly. “You’re going home. Your friend can take you.”
“He’s not my friend”, Daniel said sullenly. “He’s just – uh-”
“His high school karate rival”, Johnny supplied, making his presence known.
Kate looked between them. “Right. Well, that makes about as much sense as anything, I suppose. Make sure he gets home safe, OK?”
“I’m fine”, Daniel repeated, standing up. “I don’t need any help getting home, especially not from him-”
“I wasn’t offering-”, Johnny replied scathingly.
“Both of you out, now”, Kate said firmly, shooing them towards the back door. “Take tomorrow off as well, OK Daniel? I’ll call you on Friday.”
Daniel just nodded and walked quickly down the corridor, Johnny hot on his heels.
“What the hell was that about, LaRusso?”, Johnny asked as Daniel bounced off towards a boxy yellow Ford.
“What it’s about is that I’ve probably lost my job, no thanks to you!” Daniel retorted as he yanked open the door of his car.
“Hey, don’t blame me! I was the one who rescued you back there when you went all weird-”
“I didn’t need recusing!”, Daniel yelled, throwing himself into the driver’s seat. “I’m fine.”
Johnny strode over to the Ford. “Oh yeah? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure I’ve seen roadkill look more fine than you-”
Daniel gripped the steering wheel tight, the pearly spider web of scars on the back of his hands standing out starkly, white against brown. “I’M FINE!”, he screamed, right before he started crying again.
“Oh shit – right, come on-”. Johnny leant over and wrapped his arms around Daniel’s torso, full-bodily lifting him out of the car.
“What the hell are you doing-”
“You’re not driving-”
“This car has doors, you know-”
Johnny dropped Daniel unceremoniously on the concrete before catching him again when he nearly toppled over.
“Johnny-”
“My car’s this way”, Johnny said shortly, guiding a reluctant Daniel around the side of the store.
“Let go of me-”
Johnny pushed Daniel into the Firebird.
“I’m-”
“If you say you’re fine one more time I’m gonna leave you by the side of the road to fend for yourself. Now buckle up, LaRusso, I drive fast and I don’t want you flying forward and getting blood on my windshield on a sharp turn.”
Daniel snapped his seatbelt into place and glowered at Johnny. “Pretty sure I’d still be safer driving myself.”
***
Johnny was leaning over the balcony, sipping a mug of bitter coffee, when Susan appeared and slapped him around the side of the head. He dropped the mug and it sailed downward, splintering on the concrete far below.
“HEY!”, someone shouted up.
Johnny ignored them.
“Ow!”, he exclaimed, turning to Susan. “What was that-”
"I told you to be careful with him, Johnny, not to fuck him!”
“Wait, what-”
“And don’t try and deny it, he’s in the kitchen eating toast.”
“Really? I thought we were out of bread-”
Susan raised her hand again threateningly. “Don’t change the subject, John Lawrence-”
Johnny held his hands up in what he hoped was a placating gesture.
“Jesus, we didn’t – didn’t do anything, OK?”
Susan looked sceptical.
“Look, I was just getting beer at the gas station last night and he freaked out. I tried to drive him home but he didn’t want me to take him there, so, uh, I brought him here. He just slept on the floor-”
“He slept on the floor?”
“Well, yeah, I’m not giving up my bed for that little twerp-”
Susan pinched the bridge of her nose. “Right, OK, whatever, Johnny. I need some coffee.”
She walked back into the apartment.
Johnny followed, and was greeted by the sight of Daniel munching his way steadily through a large plate of toast slathered with jelly.
Dutch was sitting on the sofa, eyeing Daniel as if he were something he’d just scraped off the bottom of his shoe. He turned to Johnny. “What is it doing in my apartment, and why has it eaten my breakfast?”
“Mmhgh!”, Daniel exclaimed.
Dutch narrowed his eyes. “And now it’s speaking in tongues-”
Daniel swallowed a large mouthful of bread. “Dude, I’m right here-”
“I’m gonna take a shower”, Dutch continued, ignoring Daniel. “And it would be great if my home is free of worms and fungus by the time I get out.” He stood up and stalked over to the bathroom.
Susan sighed and started to make a fresh pot of coffee.
Johnny sat down heavily at the kitchen table and snagged a piece of toast from Daniel’s plate.
“Hey! I was gonna eat that-”
“It’s my bread. And where would you even put all of it? You’re too tiny to eat that much food at once-”
“Actually, it’s my bread”, Susan said, joining them at the table and grabbing the toast out of Johnny’s hand. “Anyway, I can’t have you filling up on carbs this morning, remember you’ve got a job in a couple of hours-”
“A job?” Daniel asked, wiping crumbs from his lips with the back of one hand. “Don’t you have a rich daddy who just gives you everything?”
“I don’t have a rich daddy, I’ve got a rich stepdad who’s a real piece of shit", Johnny shot back. "I don’t get anything from him anymore and I don’t want anything from him.”
“Oh”, said Daniel. “I- I just figured you were still living the life, fancy cars, motorbikes-”
“Yeah well, I’m not.”, Johnny said curtly.
Daniel looked abashed. He chewed slowly on a mouthful of toast before he spoke again. “So, uh, what do you do for work?”
“He takes his clothes off”, answered Susan.
“Oh, so you’re a stripper-”
“I’m not a stripper, I’m a model-”
“I mean, technically you’re a model who strips-”, said Susan, grinning.
“I guess you might as well use that body for something useful”, Daniel commented loftily as he stood up.
“Hey, I use my body for a lot of useful shit, LaRusso-”
“I bet you do-”
Susan pushed her chair back, the legs scraping across the floor. “Right, I got stuff to do, I don’t have time to listen to you two flirting-”
“Jesus, we’re not flirting!”, Johnny objected, but even as he denied it he felt his cheeks turn pink.
Daniel got up quickly, his face similarly beetroot coloured. “Uh, I better – better call home. Can I use your phone?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. It’s on the wall there, make it quick.”
Daniel crossed the room and began punching numbers into the keypad. “Hey, Mr Miyagi? Look, I’m really sorry I didn’t call last night, I should’ve let you know – oh, Kate called you? Oh, well, that’s – that’s good-”
Susan winked at Johnny before sauntering into Dutch’s bedroom. Johnny held up a middle finger at her departing back.
Daniel replaced the receiver in its cradle with a click. “Uh, so, I – I better be getting home now-”
“Uh, yeah, right”, said Johnny. “Is your sensei gonna pick you up?”
“He’s not my – well actually, I suppose he is, but I don’t call him – but, uh, no, he’s busy today…” Daniel trailed off, looking expectantly at Johnny.
“Fine. I’ll give you a ride back to the gas station. But we gotta leave now or you’ll have to stay here with Dutch until I finish my job-”
Daniel stuffed the last slice of toast into his mouth and was by the door, cramming his feet back into his sneakers, before Johnny had even finished his sentence.
***
Daniel was unusually quiet for most of the drive. When they were only a few minutes away from the gas station, Johnny decided to break the silence.
“So what was that about yesterday, huh? Why’d you freak out like that?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it”, Daniel muttered.
“But it was something to do with that guy, right?”, Johnny persisted. "The one with the ponytail?”
Daniel didn’t respond.
“Fine, whatever, man, I don’t care. If you’ve got a weird fear of ponytails that’s your problem-”
“I don’t have a fear of ponytails, Johnny-”
“Oh yeah? Then what was it?”
Daniel shifted uncomfortably. “I – uh – for a moment I thought he was someone else.”
I heard he’s been through some shit since high school, there was this older guy-
“Was – was it that, uh, old guy who you were – uh-”
In his peripheral vision, Johnny saw Daniel turn to look at him sharply.
“How do you know about-”
“Susan told me-”
“How does she know-”
“Because she just – she just knows things. Like – like that guy with the crazy hair who was always sticking his tongue out. But with gossip-”
“Guy who – wait, are you talking about Einstein-”
“So this guy”, Johnny interrupted. “The ponytail one, not the tongue one, he live around here?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“He got a name?”
Daniel hesitated for a second before he spoke. “Silver. Terry Silver.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Really?”, said Daniel, sounding surprised.
“Should I have done?”
“I – I just thought you would have, considering he was – he was-”
They stopped at a red light. Johnny glanced curiously at Daniel. “Considering he was what?”
“Nothing”, Daniel muttered.
The light turned green and Johnny put his foot back on the gas.
“He hurt you?”, Johnny asked.
He heard Daniel let out a long exhale of breath. “Yeah.”
“Those scars, on your knuckles-”
“Yeah.”
They drove in silence again until they reached the gas station.
“Thanks – thanks for the ride, Johnny”, said Daniel as he got out of the Firebird.
Johnny watched as Daniel disappeared around the side of the store. He stayed parked in the gas station until he saw the yellow Ford drive away, only leaving once it was out of sight.
***
“You didn’t get fired, then?”
Daniel looked up from his magazine.
“Oh, no.” He grinned. “You here to check up on me, Johnny? Come all this way just to make sure I’m OK, huh?”
“No-”
“Then why are you here?”
Johnny felt his face turn crimson. “I’m just – just here because you owe me, LaRusso!”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “I owe you?”
“What, you think bread is free? And I gave you a ride back here, and gas isn’t free either; you should know that, working in a gas station-”
“Whatever Johnny. I’ll pay you back when I get paid, alright?”
Johnny folded his arms. “Fine. Just make sure that you do, LaRusso.” He shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot and fixed his gaze on a ceiling tile that had a spot of damp in the corner. “So, uh, are – are you OK now, though?”
“Yeah, uh, kinda. I’m just – just trying to focus on getting through the summer and going to college.”
“There are men with ponytails in New Jersey as well, you know-”
“Yeah, but not as many as L.A.-”
“That’s – actually, that’s probably true-”
They smiled at each other for a beat. Then Johnny coughed and turned away.
“Right, uh, see you, LaRusso. And don’t forget you owe me!”
***
A few days later, Johnny was in his bedroom, putting his pants on, when a car horn honked loudly several times outside his apartment. He ignored it, figuring it was for someone else in the building. When it sounded again, Dutch barged into the room without knocking.
“Fucking LaRusso is outside”, he said, face screwed up in a scowl.
“What? Why?”
“Says he’s here for you.”
Johnny pulled a shirt on and hurried over to the door, just as Daniel was leaning on the horn again.
“The hell are you doing here?”, Johnny yelled.
“Paying you back!” Daniel shouted. He leant over, grabbed something from the backseat and threw it up. Johnny just caught the loaf of bread before it hit him in the face.
“Come on!”, Daniel continued. “I gotta give you your ride!"
“This isn’t what I meant when I said you owed me, LaRusso”, Johnny called down. “I just wanted the money-”
“Yeah, well, it’s what you’re getting. Susan gave me the address of your next job, so come on-”
Johnny was about to protest again when the elderly lady from the apartment next door poked her head out of the window.
“Just get in the car already! Some of us are trying to sleep!”
Johnny stomped back inside, grabbed his wallet and keys and stamped his feet into sneakers. He thrust the bread into the hands of a thoroughly perplexed Dutch and then left, going down the rickety staircase two steps at a time before jumping into the passenger seat of the Ford.
“This car has a door, Johnny.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve said that already”, Johnny replied. “So, are we going or what?”
***
“OK, gonna need a bigger smile, Mr Lawrence. That’s it, perfect! Now, hook your thumbs in the belt loops of your pants and lean forward just a little – oh, that’s great, that’s perfect!”
The photographer took the picture, and the grin slid off Johnny’s face.
“OK!”, shouted Susan, bustling over. “We gotta set up for the next round of shots. That beach backdrop needs swapping out for the one with the palm trees, and I want him in white jeans-”
Johnny grabbed her by the arm as she walked past. “What is he still doing here?”, he hissed in her ear, inclining his head over to where Daniel was sitting.
Susan looked at him with faux innocence. “I invited him to stay. I thought as you two are getting along so well now-”
Johnny grimaced. “We’re not-”
“I mean, you did arrive together-”
“Only because you told him-”
“Look, he’s not causing any trouble. And no-one else is bothered by him, although I think that might be because the crew think he’s someone’s kid; I did see Marcie offer him a juice box earlier. But if he’s particularly bothering you-”
“He’s not bothering me, I don’t care-”
“Great!”, said Susan, already starting to stride away. “He can stay then.”
***
Johnny didn’t do his best work that day. He couldn’t seem to stop glancing at Daniel, although he didn’t realise how obvious he was being until the photographer sighed wearily and asked him in a tone of frayed patience why he had apparently lost the ability to look straight into the camera. (“It’s technically your body that’s the focus here, Mr Lawrence, but if you could face forward for just a moment that would be greatly appreciated.”)
“So that’s work for you, huh?”, Daniel questioned on the drive back. “Pretty sweet deal, man. Hey, you think I could-”
“No-one is gonna wanna look at a picture of your match-stick body, LaRusso, you gotta have actual, like, muscles-”
“Hey!”, Daniel protested. “I got – I got some muscles-”
“Oh yeah? Where?”
Daniel tutted but didn’t respond.
Johnny closed his eyes for a second, tipping his head back so he could feel the evening breeze on his face.
“I could use a drink.”
“Uh, yeah”, Daniel said. “OK. I know a place.”
***
Johnny frowned at the row of gleaming vintage cars in what appeared to be a junkyard.
“The hell kind of bar is this, LaRusso?”
Daniel slid out of the Ford. “It’s not a bar, Johnny”, he called back over his shoulder as he rounded the side of a wooden house.
Johnny followed, blinking in surprise when he found himself standing in an ornamental garden. “What – I thought you said you knew a place?”
“I do”, Daniel replied, disappearing into the house. “My place. Come in and help me with the drinks.”
“Your place?”, Johnny asked incredulously as he trotted inside and Daniel handed him a glass. “You live here?”
Daniel walked over to the refrigerator. “Yeah. Well, I mean, technically Mr Miyagi lives here, I live in the guest house-”
“We coulda’ just gone to a bar, you know”, Johnny muttered.
“Bars are expensive and neither of us have any money. Besides, they always think my ID is fake-”
“That’s because you look about twelve.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and held out a beer. “Here, have a Banquet.”
“Uh, thanks”, said Johnny, placing down the glass, flipping off the cap and drinking straight from the bottle. “Hey, why do you even have these-”
“You like them so much I thought I’d try one”, Daniel answered, pulling out bottles of spirits from the fridge and placing them down on the kitchen counter.
“And?”
“Tastes like battery acid.”
“Hey, it’s the best beer there is-”
“Then I definitely don’t ever want to try an inferior one”, Daniel replied haughtily.
Johnny watched as Daniel began mixing the spirits together in a glass before dropping in an olive and a little brine from a jar. He stirred it slowly with a spoon then took a sip and sighed contentedly, his shoulders dropping as the tension seemed to ease out of him.
“Dirty martini”, Daniel said reverently as they went back into the garden and sat on the decking. “Best recipe there is. One of the few good things he taught me.”
“He? Oh, you – you mean the ponytail guy-”
“Yeah.”
Johnny took a gulp of beer. “So, uh, this guy, was – was he your-”
“Yes.”
“You don’t know what I was going to ask-”
“I do, Johnny.”
“Shit.” Johnny finished his beer and then, needing something to do with his hands, started fiddling with a loose thread on his sleeve. “I didn’t know you were, uh-”
Daniel raised the glass to his lips and smiled. “Lots of things you don’t know about me, Johnny.”
“Oh yeah, like what?”
“Well, for starters, the summer after high school I chopped through six sheets of ice with one hand-”
“Fuck off, you couldn’t chop through cardboard with those scrawny wrists-”
“And after that I was in a fight to the death-”
“You what-”
Daniel cut him off with a kiss. He tasted both sweet and bitter, an odd combination that, Johnny realised, was very distinctly him.
“Tell me to stop and I will”, Daniel murmured, pulling back. When Johnny didn’t speak, Daniel crawled into his lap and pressed their mouths together once again.
***
Johnny cleared his throat. Daniel paused in the act of refilling the spirits shelf and turned around, a smile spreading across his face.
“Hey.”
“Uh, hey.”
“Here for the beer?”
“No-”
“Hotdog?”
“No, LaRusso-”
Daniel’s smile turned into a smirk. “Then what could you possibly want from me?”
Two men strolled up to the till; they took their time paying for gas, one of them carefully counting out cents and nickels in a way that made Johnny’s hands curl into fists. He was seconds away from punching both of them when they finally left, and it was just him and Daniel alone again. Without another word Johnny jumped over the counter and grabbed the collar of Daniel's shirt, pulling him out back for a make out session that lasted until their lips were numb.
***
“So, you and Danielle, huh?”, Dutch asked one night.
Johnny dropped the bag of corn nuts he was munching on, the yellow kernels scattering across the carpet.
“Uh-”
“If you think you’re being quiet, you’re not. I had to wrap a pair of sweatpants around my ears the other night to try and drown out the sound.”
“We’re not-”, Johnny started.
Dutch gave him a look that made it very clear there was no point in denying anything.
“Why him, Johnny? Of all the people in this fucking city, why that little shit?”
Johnny thought back to the night before, the sensation of Daniel’s lips on his cock, the view of Daniel’s messy thatch of hair bobbing up and down between his legs, the intense rush of feeling when he came, pure pleasure mixed with something else, an emotion he wasn’t quite ready to admit to.
“I don’t know”, he said, shrugging. “Hey, we got any more corn nuts?”
***
Johnny leant back against the cigarette display, idly flipping through Daniel’s magazine. Raised voices floated into the store, and he glanced out of the window to see Daniel arguing with the guy who had come in a few minutes before, demanding help with the pumps. Johnny jumped over the counter and dashed outside.
“It’s stuck! It’s stuck in my Lamborghini! I got an appointment I can’t be late for in twenty minutes, so I need you to fix this, now-
Daniel was gripping the nozzle handle, pulling with all the might his slender arms afforded. “I’m trying, OK? But – but it won’t budge-”
“We got a problem, here?”, Johnny asked, glowering at the guy.
“Yeah, we sure do! I gotta be somewhere but this pump is stuck in my Lambo and this fucking idiot isn’t doing anything to help-”
Johnny pulled the nozzle out of Daniel’s hands and yanked it out of the fuel filler, gasoline spattering across the concrete. He flicked it in such a way as he placed it back in its holder that a generous splash ended up coating the front of the man’s shirt and pants.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU-”
“Fuck off!”, Johnny yelled, “and take your stupid car with you to your pansy-ass appointment! And if you ever come back here I’ll punch you in the face so hard you’ll be shitting your teeth for weeks, understand?”
The man stared at Johnny in petrified silence for a few moments before quickly scrambling to get into his car and starting the engine.
“I’ll report you!” he yelled as he pulled out onto the road. “I’ll report both of you and get your crazy asses fired!”
“Yeah, well, I don’t even work here!”, Johnny shouted back. “LaRusso is the only one who actually-”
A hand clamped over Johnny’s mouth; he licked it and Daniel pulled it away with a small noise of surprise as Johnny laughed. Daniel scowled and stalked back into the store.
“What an asshole, right?”, Johnny said as he followed Daniel inside. “I showed him, though. Did you see his face? I thought he was gonna piss himself. Might’ve done, actually, I couldn’t tell because of the gas-”
Daniel stomped behind the counter and turned to glare at Johnny with the full force of those big brown eyes.
“You couldn’t leave it alone, could you, Johnny? Now – now he’s probably gonna report me to the cops, then I’ll definitely lose this job-”
“Jesus, relax LaRusso, he doesn’t know who you are-”
“Yes he does!”, Daniel screeched, jabbing at his name tag.
“Oh, right. But he doesn’t know your surname-”
“You literally just gave it to him, Johnny!”
“Oh shit, yeah-”
“Get out”, Daniel directed sharply, pointing at the door. “I should never – just get out, Johnny.”
“What? Why? I was just looking out for you-”
“Yeah, but I didn’t ask you to! I told you that I don’t need to be recused, Johnny. I’ve dealt with worse guys than that by myself, I can handle it without your help – which isn’t actually help, by the way, you just make things worse!” Daniel rubbed at his eyes. “Just – just go, Johnny-”
Johnny folded his arms. “And what if I don’t want to go, huh? It’s a free country, I can do what I want-”
“If you don’t go I’ll kick you in the face again!”, Daniel yelled.
They glared daggers at each other, and then Daniel surged forward, feet coming up; for a moment Johnny thought he was going to make good on his threat, but then long legs wrapped around his waist and Daniel crushed their mouths together before he let Johnny carry him into the back.
***
“We can – uh – you know – if you want to”, Daniel panted between kisses.
“What?”
“You can – uh-”
“What-”
“I want you to fuck me, Johnny.”
Johnny sat up so fast that he nearly knocked Daniel off the bed.
“Jesus!”, Daniel exclaimed, clinging onto the headboard.
Johnny pulled him back onto the comforter. “Oh shit, sorry, I just – are you serious?”
“Not the kind of thing I tend to joke about”, Daniel groused, settling back down.
“Have you – have you ever done it?”
“Uh, yeah. Just - just once, with-”
“The ponytail guy”, Johnny supplied.
“Yeah, but that – that was before I found out about all the secrets he was keeping, all the lies-”
Johnny flipped onto his side and curled a hand around Daniel’s hip. “And how do you know I’m not keeping secrets from you?”
Daniel shuffled closer, pressing their bodies together. “You’re not that deep, Johnny.”
“Hey, are you calling me stupid-”
Daniel kissed him again. “Just shut up and put your dick in me”, he murmured against Johnny’s lips.
Johnny huffed. “I thought you were supposed to be the element one.”
“It’s eloquent, Johnny-”
“That’s what I said!”
“It’s not.”
“It is…”
***
The next morning, Johnny sauntered into the kitchen to find Susan standing by the coffee machine, hand on one hip. She raised her eyebrows at him.
“Alright”, Johnny admitted, putting a slice of bread in the toaster. “I might have fucked him this time.”
***
“There-”
“No, that’s a plane again.”
“Oh. There-”
“Another plane, Johnny.”
“Why are there so many fucking planes-”
“Because we live in L.A.” Daniel shifted and winced. “The hood of your car is not a comfortable place to sit for hours on end. Tell me again why we’re here?”
Johnny waved vaguely at the night sky. “I thought – thought we could see the stars, you know? Thought it’d be – uh-”
“Romantic?”, Daniel supplied, grinning. “Never had you down as being the mushy chocolates and flowers type-”
“I’m not”, Johnny insisted emphatically. “I’m – I’m-”
Daniel shivered. “The take your date out into the middle of nowhere without adequate seating or heating type?”
Johnny wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulders, pulling him in. “Uh, yeah, something like that.”
Daniel snuggled closer. “It’s only a month until I go to college.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“And I probably won’t be able to come back to visit before Christmas, so I’ll have to spend Thanksgiving with my Uncle Louie and my cousin-”
“Right. I mean, whatever, LaRusso, you gotta – gotta do your own thing.”
“Yeah”, Daniel said softly.
They sat in silence for a while.
“Hey, I think that’s a-”
“It’s a plane, Johnny, they’re all planes!”
“No, not that one, that one-”
“Oh! Yeah, I think – think that one might actually be a star-”
Our star, Johnny thought dreamily. But he didn’t say it out loud.
***
“Where’s the bread gone?”, Johnny asked, rooting around in the cupboard as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.
“Oh, was that yours, Johnny? I thought it was Susan’s-”
Johnny whirled around, nearly tripping over his own feet, to see Ali Mills sitting in his kitchen.
“Hey Johnny”, she said, flashing him that familiar megawatt smile.
“Uh – uh-”
“Hey, you know where my other sock is, Johnny? I can’t find it anywhere and I’m not wearing those grey things of yours. Have you even bought any new ones since high school-”
Daniel came to a sudden halt, gawping at Ali.
Ali took a delicate sip of coffee. “Well, this is awkward. I honestly didn’t think Susan was being serious about you too being together, but-”, she shrugged and picked up another piece of toast. “I can’t say I’m that surprised.”
***
“That – that should be everything now”, said Daniel, closing the trunk of the Ford. I just gotta – gotta go to the gas station to pick up my last pay envelope.”
“I’ll come with you”, Johnny said quickly. “I’ve – I’ve gotta fill up the Firebird.”
“OK”, Daniel replied. “But if you try and turn it into a race I’m not gonna take the bait.”
“Oh, you would, LaRusso”, Johnny grinned. “You always do.”
***
Johnny leant against the gas pump machine, watching as Daniel said his farewells to Kate before exiting the store and walking across the illuminated square of concrete.
“I guess – I guess this is goodbye, Johnny.” Daniel stepped forward, but then a car pulled up to the next pump along and a small army of frat boys spilled out. Daniel stuck out a hand instead. “Uh – see you.”
Johnny shook the hand firmly, letting his thumb rub across Daniel’s palm as they parted.
“You can call – I mean, if you want. Here – here’s the number of my uncle’s house.” Daniel passed Johnny a small piece of paper.
“Yeah”, Johnny said shortly, pocketing the paper, already knowing that he wouldn’t call. He wasn’t good over the phone. He never knew what to say.
Daniel smiled weakly. “Bye, Johnny.”
Johnny looked at him, at the strange, remarkable, beautiful creature who had already been so many things to him in the short time they’d known each other; enemy, rival, friend, lover. He wanted to ask him to stay, wanted to ask him to never leave again, to move into his and Dutch’s shoebox of an apartment until they could find a place of their own, to always be by his side. But instead he just nodded.
“Yeah. Bye, LaRusso.”
***
“Phone, Johnny!”, Dutch yelled.
Johnny spat his mouthful of toothpaste into the sink and slouched out of the bathroom.
Dutch passed him the receiver. “It’s Danielle”, he said, loud enough for Daniel to hear.
Johnny’s heart skipped a beat.
“He ever going to stop calling me that?”, Daniel complained.
“Uh, probably not.” Johnny indicated silently for Dutch to leave the room. “So, uh, you alright?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m good. I’m really enjoying my course, so, uh, yeah.”
“Oh. Good.”
Daniel sighed down the line. “You never called, Johnny.”
“Neither did you!”
“I didn’t have your number! I’ve only got it now ‘cause I was able to find Susan’s and she gave it to me-”
“That desperate to talk to me, huh, LaRusso?”
There was a long pause before Daniel replied.
“Maybe.”
“Oh, right. I thought – thought you’d have found someone else by now-”
“I haven’t.” Daniel’s voice was low, husky. “Have you?”
“Uh, no-”, Johnny replied, thinking of the one person he had almost hooked up with since Daniel left. They’d been making out behind a bar when Johnny had stuttered something about needing to take a leak and run off. It had felt wrong somehow. Like a betrayal. “-no. I guess – I guess not.”
“OK”, Daniel murmured. “Well, I’ll be back on Christmas Eve. I got a few shifts at the gas station while I’m home, and I’ll be working that night. You could, uh, come see me, if you want.”
“Uh, yeah”, said Johnny, leaning against the wall, already thinking about Daniel’s lips, hips, cock. “Maybe.”
***
Johnny jumped out of the Firebird and forced himself to saunter rather than sprint towards the store.
As the bell tinkled, Daniel briefly glanced up at him from behind the counter before going back to his magazine.
Johnny blinked. “Uh, hey, LaRusso.”
Daniel didn’t respond.
Johnny cleared his throat loudly.
Daniel turned his magazine around, apparently scrutinising the pages from a different angle.
Johnny’s face flushed with anger. “What, you beg me to come down here tonight and now you’re not even gonna look at me-”
“I didn’t beg you to come here, Johnny. Besides, why would I want to look at you fully dressed when I can look at you topless?”
Johnny’s brow furrowed. “What’re you-”
Daniel flipped the magazine over so Johnny could see the large picture of himself that graced the centrefold.
“Susan just dropped it off”, Daniel said, grinning. “Personally I preferred the shot with the white jeans and the palm trees, but I gotta admit you’re still hot pretty hot in this-”
Johnny grabbed a stick of gum and lobbed it at Daniel’s head.
Daniel ducked it, laughing. “Hey, this is just the start, Johnny! Soon you’ll be on the front cover of Playgirl and then I can tell everyone I’m sleeping with a proper model-”
Johnny held up a middle finger. “Fuck you, LaRusso.”
Daniel’s tongue darted out, wetting his lips. “OK”, he said, throwing something small at Johnny. Johnny caught it, and realised it was a key. “Lock the door and turn the sign round. I’ll be out back.”
By the time Johnny had hurriedly completed his tasks and raced over to the staffroom, Daniel was already halfway undressed. They kissed, passionately. When Daniel lowered his mouth to Johnny’s neck, sucking a hickey into the skin, Johnny became aware of Christmas music playing tinnily from a radio.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la
“What even is a bough?”, Johnny muttered as Daniel’s lips travelled lower.
“You would ask that”, Daniel replied archly, burying his face in Johnny’s chest.
“I meant ‘bough’, not ‘bow’-”
He stopped talking when his pants were pulled down and Daniel sunk to his knees.
“Merry Christmas, Johnny Lawrence”, said Daniel with a smile, before his mouth became occupied with another task.
Johnny’s eyes fluttered closed as he enjoyed the best Christmas present he’d received in years. “Yeah”, he said faintly, breath catching in his chest. “Merry Christmas, LaRusso.”