Chapter Text
The air was filled with smog, the pool was non-existent, and Daniel LaRusso was out of place. He hated it. California sucked, and he wanted to go home, back to Jersey. He didn’t want to be here anymore, he wanted to go home, go back to school with Kenny and Kevin, and hang out with Judy.
He missed the basketball court and his soccer team, he missed training at the Y for Karate Lessons. He missed the cold weathers already, knowing that in California that would no longer exist.
Freddy was nice enough though, helping him carry his things to his apartment, offering him his friend group to hang out with at the beach. But, then again it could just be from that karate move he did, subsequently slamming the gate into his possibly new friend's face and nose.
Soccer and music, that’s what was happening and honestly, Daniel could dig it. I mean, it’s not like spending time with Kenny and Kevin, staying up late to watch horror movies. (10/10 he recommends The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1/10 he does not recommend Christine.)
Buttery popcorn, or sweet popcorn since Kevin preferred sweet, cola cans and beer, (not that his Mom knew), staying up all night, as Kenny would go through all the rules of being the Final Girl, and Horror Movie Death Warrants, as if Daniel didn’t already know.
It was all fun and games watching it by himself, but to not have the others? To not have someone to talk to about it, to share his appreciation with? It wasn’t as entertaining.
“Hey Ma,” called Daniel, walking out in jeans and white vest shirt, “I’m going to the beach with one of the neighbours.”
Lucille, his Mom, peered up from one of the boxes and smiled, “oh? Who is he? Or she?” She wiggled her eyebrows a bit, and Daniel huffed a laugh.
“His name is Freddy, lives a floor below us,” shrugged Daniel, kissing his Mom’s cheek. “We’re gonna play soccer and stay out late. Don’t wait up.”
“Alright Danny,” smiled Lucille, kissing his forehead. “Stay safe.”
He had thought it would be fun, but it wasn’t. Not nearly as much as he hoped. He felt like an outsider, he didn’t belong here. But, there was a cute blonde sitting with her friends not too far from him. She seemed pretty enough, but not enough to really like the place.
He only really saw her as one of the guys kicked the soccer ball at the group, interrupting their sunbathing, and their radio listening. Daniel was the one to collect it, being incredibly apologetic and juggling the ball between his knees.
So, he was showing off! Sue him! It was how he and Judy became friends, how Judy began to reciprocate his feelings. He mystified her with the skill. After all, Judy wasn’t much of a horror fan.
The sun was hot and beating down on his tanned arms, and all he could think was of Kenny and Kevin, and obviously Judith. It wasn’t like he was popular at school, but he wasn’t a nobody either. People looked at him when he walked down the hallway.
It all sucked, just how much everything changed.
An insane neighbour who tried to seem like a witch, and reminded his Mom of Aunt Tessy, Freddy who he just wasn’t clicking with, that old Japanese man was nice enough though, and that blonde girl who wasn’t a patch on Judy... everything was just slightly off. Not right.
But, of course he was in California, and his life was flipped upside down, his entire world going blonde. Or, blond... it should be no shock to him when his life decided to turn inside out rather than upside down this time.
Freddy had kicked the ball too far away, as it landed behind some tall grassy sand dunes. How he managed that, nobody knew, and Daniel was desperate for a breather, away from these guys.
“I’ll get it,” assured Daniel, walking backwards.
Freddy frowned, “you sure, man? Those dune’s can be hard to navigate — ”
Perfect, thought Daniel, relaxing his shoulders slightly. “Nah, it’s fine man! Really.” He smiled, as he turned and walked away, kicking up sand as he walked behind the dunes.
Once he was away from prying eyes, he sagged and ran his fingers through his brown locks tiredly. He rubbed his eyes, and groaned.
“Fuck me...”
“Well if you’re offering...”
Daniel paused, hearing a gentle voice. He turned, and blinked, seeing a boy... a large, muscular boy with blond hair (his world had gone blond), blue eyes, a chiselled jawline, a red jacket, white shirt and blue jeans, and headphones.
“Uh...” Daniel was unsure what to say, because all he could think was he trumps Judy...
“That your ball?” Asked Blond and Big, gesturing to the soccer ball buried in the sand.
“No...” Daniel said, mind working on autopilot almost. “Well... yeah, but it’s my friend's ball...”
Blond and Big hummed, nodding his head. “Well... you should get back to them.”
Daniel picked up the ball, and grimaced. He did not want to go back so soon. “Yeah...” He juggled the ball between his two knees again, chewing his lower lip. “Yeah I should...”
Blond and Big’s eyes widened and he smiled lightly. “Hey... how are you doing that?”
“What?” Asked Daniel, looking at the tall boy. “Juggling?” He caught the ball and smiled, “It's pretty easy. You start on the knee. You just go one.” He dropped the ball, and brought his knee up, and the ball bounced up. He caught the ball again. “One at a time. Then you try two.” He bounced the ball on one knee, then he brought up his second and caught it again. “One, two. And then three and four.” He bounced it between his two knees, before he handed the ball over to the guy. “Try it.”
The guy hesitated before taking the ball, and brought his knee up, dropping it on his knee.
“Just bring your leg up.” Coached Daniel, and smiled when the guy managed to go one-two. “Good!” The ball got away from the blond, and Daniel caught it. “That was awesome!”
The guy grinned, then asked knowingly, “you’re not from around here, are you?”
“Was it my charming good looks, or my accent?” Asked Daniel jokingly, tucking the ball under his arm.
“Accent,” laughed the guy.
“I’m from New Jersey,” smiled Daniel, jabbing his thumb behind him. “My Ma got a job with some company out here. Rocket Computers. Flight of the Future. I don't know.”
The guy shrugged, “never heard of it.”
“It’s up and coming,” reasoned Daniel, sick and tired of repeating it. “So? What are you doing out here, all by your lonesome?”
“Needed to get away from home,” shrugged the guy, hands in his pockets. “Would have gone to my Karate Class, but I needed a break.”
“There’s a Karate Class?” Asked Daniel, eyes wide. Well of course there is, Karate doesn’t just disappear!
“You like karate?” Asked the guy, smiling.
“Y-yeah, but I’ve never had proper lessons. My ass’d get handed to me,” Daniel grinned, scratching the back of his head, making the blond laugh.
“You should try out - Cobra Kais...” Offered the blond with a shrug. “So... Jersey boy... how you liking California?”
Daniel grimaced and said sarcastically, “oh I love it, I just love smog and falling coconuts.”
The guy laughed loudly, “alright, fair enough.”
“You got a name?” Asked Daniel, smiling lightly.
“Johnny, with an “h”,” smiled the blond - Johnny.
“Well, I’m Daniel... with an “l”,” joked Daniel, making Johnny laugh.
“Well, I’ll see you around Jersey Boy,” offered Johnny, walking past Daniel.
“See you around, Blondie.”
So, he checked out Cobra Kai a few days later. It sucked that school was coming closer and closer, and summer was ending. He officially met the female blonde - Ali with an “I”, at the skatepark, and caught sight of Johnny at one point near a motorbike with his friends. (A bunch of burly looking guys.) He parked his bike up in front of his Mom’s cafe, and gestured to the Dojo and his Mom gestured to her watch.
“Fear does not exist in this dojo. Does it?” Yelled a man, which Daniel could hear from outside.
“No, Sensei!”
“Pain does not exist in this dojo. Does it?”
“No, Sensei!”
Daniel opened the doors and walked in, grimacing as he saw the cardboard cutout of who he guessed was the sensei.
“Defeat doesn't exist in this dojo. Does it”
“No, Sensei!”
“Fear does not exist in this dojo. Does it?”
“No, Sensei!”
He walked past the trophies and a picture of the same man in an army uniform. John Kreese...
“Pain does not exist in this dojo. Does it?”
“No, Sensei!”
“Defeat doesn't exist in this dojo. Does it?”
“No, Sensei!”
Daniel came to a stop at the entrance of the training room, students in white karate outfits and black cobras were sitting on their knees, as Kreese dressed in black yelled and stalked around.
“Prepare.” Yelled Kreese, and the students jumped up to their feet.
Kreese turned around, and stalked down the lines of students. “What do we study here?”
“The way of the fist, sir!”
“And what is that way?”
“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir!”
Daniel leaned against the wall, eyes transfixed on the group of teens.
“I can't hear you.”
“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir!”
Kreese moved forward, “Mr. Lawrence.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
“Warm them up.”
Daniel slowly sat down, prepared to watch.
There was a loud yell, and the students bowed, and at the front of the dojo, leading the class was Johnny. Daniel stared at Johnny, and smiled slightly, and Johnny smiled back, eyes twinkling.
“Fighting positions.” Johnny yelled, standing straight again. “Jab punch. Ready.”
Daniel stood, going to the checking desk as the students began punching and yelling loudly, mimicking Johnny. Daniel could feel blue eyes piercing into his back, as he looked at the payments, before he frowned.
How could anyone afford this? It was ridiculous... but, then again these guys seemed rich as fuck... with a defeated, and quiet sigh, Daniel walked to the door, opening it and walking out, shooting Johnny one last look, seeing the blond frowned in confusion.
“And the girl situation?”
That was the only thing Daniel had registered his Mom saying. Something about the karate place, and Kevin and Kenny, and now girls?
“It's okay.” Offered Daniel, as he poked his fry into an egg.
“Just okay?” Asked Lucille amused and smiling. “To me it looks like the whole world turned blonde. You got your eye on anybody?”
Immediately Daniels’ thoughts landed on Johnny, blond and blue eyed Johnny.
“Oh, cute?” Grinned Lucille.
“No, not cute.” Daniel grinned, “well... she's beyond cute.” He couldn’t let his Mom know the cute blond was in fact a guy.
“But she's blonde, right?” Asked Lucille.
“She's got blonde hair,” grinned Daniel in thought of Johnny’s locks.
“Lucille, let's go, here they come!”
Lucille stood up quickly and whispered, “is she as pretty as Judy?”
“She buries Judy in a second,” he said knowingly. Johnny was the best looking guy he’d ever seen.
“She buries Judy? Tell me about it later.” Lucille said, taking his chin in her hand. “I love you. Careful how you ride home.” She rushed off.
Daniel was now faintly aware his Mom left, and so he mumbled, “he's got an excellent smile. He’s really smart. I'd say he's beautiful. I think he's beautiful. Handsome... I think he's something else. He's hot. Definitely hot.”
He turned his head and paused, seeing Johnny waiting outside the dojo. He set his fork down, and walked out the restaurant quickly, and rushed over.
“Johnny with an “h”,” greeted Daniel, confused and surprised.
“Daniel,” smiled Johnny, hesitating. “Why’d you leave?”
“Couldn’t stay long anyway,” shrugged Daniel. “Promised my Mom I’d visit her...”
“You signing up?”
Daniel frowned, and shook his head, “nah man... can’t afford it...”
Johnny frowned, “oh... aw man, I’m sorry — ”
“It’s fine,” promised Daniel, waving a hand. “Hey uh... you wanna hang out at some point?”
Johnny smiled lightly, and nodded, gripping his bag. “Sure... you ever heard of Golf N’ Stuff?”
“Yeah,” smiled Daniel, nodding. “Yeah I have...”
Life was strange, such as Dutch running Daniel off the side of the road the week before school, (he had no idea why Dutch hated him so much, maybe because he was skinny, new and couldn’t afford Cobra Kai), and starting karate with Mr. Miyagi from downstairs - how he got roped into fighting in the All Valley Tournament, he has no idea. (And he has to go against Johnny.) Life was equally as strange as Johnny sobbed to him one night, head buried into his chest with The Evil Dead playing in the background.
Daniel held Johnny close, rocking him back and forth. The guy literally just showed up, and immediately fell apart. Daniel didn’t question, and just held the blond close.
Golf N’ Stuff was a semi-regular thing between them, and sparring on the beach was an evening activity that led to quietly listening to music, and watching horror movies and talking about The Final Girls in them were a regular. He’d seen Johnny happy, annoyed and angry, but not... upset.
“Ali...”
Ali with an I... right. She was Johnny’s ex, for about two months now. Met her on the beach, talked to her, and her friends - Susan and Barbara. “What about Ali?”
“Her Mom,” sniffed Johnny. “My Step-Dad’s been pulling away from us, and I finally found out why... her slut Mother has been fucking my Step-Dad! Her slut Mother is the reason my biological Dad up and fucking left!” He snapped, hiding his face in Daniel’s chest. “He left us... moved away... and Sid’s pissed, because she wants to break it off...”
Daniel rubbed his back comfortingly, “hey... it’s gonna be okay...”
“I don’t know what to do... she’s ruined everything...” Sobbed Johnny, devastated.
“What do you feel like doing?” Asked Daniel softly, running his fingers through Johnny’s hair.
Johnny frowned and pulled his head away, looking at Daniel with careful eyes. “I wanna kill her...” He shook his head, and laughed bitterly, “how messed up is that?”
“Really messed up,” mused Daniel, nodding. “You know you can’t go stabbing all carefree right? It needs to be thought out, or else we’ll just be some losers stabbing a woman in the shower like in Psy— ”
“Psycho,” nodded Johnny. “We could be infamous like Michael Myers,” he said, before shaking his head. “We shouldn’t be striving for that — ”
“Well, why not?” Asked Daniel, “it’s only illegal if you get caught.” He grinned, thinking. Where has Johnny been all my life?
“Daniel — ”
“Why’d she stop sleeping with your Bio-Dad and Step-Dad?” Asked Daniel suddenly, making Johnny frown.
“Uh, because my Mom found out, both times, and Ali’s Mom called it off,” shrugged Johnny.
“So, Ali’s Mom isn’t actually stopping is she?” Offered Daniel, “she’s gonna continue...”
“But, who would she go with?” Asked Johnny.
Daniel thought, “everyone knows there was something fishy about Ali’s Mom, a slut, and she’s been hanging around Freddy’s Dad a lot...”
“You think she’s gonna sleep with Freddy Fernandez’s Dad?” Asked Johnny, unsure and Daniel nodded.
“Yeah... and Ali’s Dad is out of town, right?”
“Meeting for a couple of days,” nodded Johnny. “Why?”
Daniel grinned, “during that time frame, Mr. Fernandez is no doubt going to go to the Mills, and Ali goes out on the weekend. We can kill her then, and frame Mr. Fernandez for murder.”
Johnny frowned, and thought, before shrugging. “Why not?”
“Hey Daniel,” greeted Ali, smiling.
“Hey Ali,” smiled Daniel, backpack over his shoulder. The Tournament was a month away, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to care, more focused on Ali and Johnny. He didn’t care if he won or lost, he just needed to calm himself for killing Ali’s Mom.
“Hey, so Susan, Barbara and I are going out on Saturday at 7, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us?” Offered Ali smiling, as she twirled a piece of her hair.
“I uh... I’d love to, but I promised I’d have movie night with Mom,” smiled Daniel, and held his grin back. Saturday at 7. “Maybe another time?”
Of all the things Daniel thought he’d be doing on his final night of summer, staking out the Mill’s place with Johnny at his side was not one of them. Daniel was right, and he followed Mr. Fernandez to Mill’s.
“You got what we need?” Asked Daniel, glancing at Johnny.
Johnny held up a butcher's knife and grinned, “yeah.”
They quietly watched the house, it had been a few hours, and they were getting antsy and nervous. The longer it dragged on, the more likely Ali was to come home. Shit...
“He’s leaving,” Johnny said, making Daniel perk up.
“He left his jacket,” Daniel realised, seeing Mr. Fernandez leaving without a coat. “That’s fucking perfect... we’ll sneak in through the open window, you’ll kill her, and I’ll wear the jacket and leave. That way people will blame Mr. Fernandez.”
Johnny stared at him, blue eyes shining. “Okay, perfect.”
Getting into the house was easy, disturbingly easy, and they heard the shower running, and moving about in the master bedroom. The two teens walked over, slow and quiet, and the blond pushed the door open.
There was Mrs. Mills, taking off her lingerie, and picking up a towel. In the corner, thrown on a chair was a jacket, belonging to Mr. Fernandez.
Daniel noticed how tense Johnny was, and before he could react, the blond slammed the door open, and ran at her with his knife.
“You bitch!” He roared, and she turned with a scream.
Daniel watched as Johnny tackled her onto the bed, and pinned her down as she struggled.
“Johnny! Johnny! Get off of me!” She yelled, thrashing about.
Daniel didn’t think twice when he rushed over, and covered her mouth with his hands, and looked at Johnny, noting his surprised face.
“We don’t have all night, Johnny,” Daniel reminded, tensely. “You need to make it quick.
Johnny stared at Daniel with soft eyes, “right...” He looked down at Mrs. Mills' terrified face, and brought his butcher's knife up, before bringing down and stabbing into the woman's stomach.
She howled in pain, the thrashing more intense, and Daniel tightened his grip on her. Logically, Daniel knew it was wrong, he shouldn’t be doing any of this, he should be focusing on the upcoming tournament he had against Dutch (seriously, why is Johnny friends with him?), but Daniel found himself enchanted with the dark macabre.
He watched as Johnny violently stabbed Mrs. Mills over, and over, and over again, the blood seeping onto the bed, and flying onto Johnny’s face, and Daniel was... scared and horny... huh!
Johnny ended it all by digging the sharp end of his blade against her throat and slicing. Daniel felt a sick sense of satisfaction as Mrs. Mills choked on blood, spitting it onto his hands, though he let go just as quickly.
He peered out the side of the window, and panicked. Ali...
“She’s coming back...” Daniel whispered, harshly.
Johnny looked up, panicked. “What?”
“Go out the window, I’ll put on the jacket and leave through either the backway or the front... I’ll go into the woods and I’ll circle back around, and dump the jacket in Fernandez’s car.” Daniel said, rushing over and picking up the jacket and throwing it on.
“What car — ?”
“It’s a few houses down, Fernandez was drunk when he left, he won’t risk driving...” Daniel said, eyeing Johnny’s bloody face. “Go, now...”
Johnny hesitated, “I’ll wait for you in the woods...” He promised, and pushed open the window.
They heard the door shut, and Ali yelled, “Mom! I’m home!”
Johnny climbed through the window, and Daniel sneaked out of Mrs. Mills room. He crept downstairs, seeing Ali move to the kitchen.
“Mom?” Ali called again.
Daniel sneaked to the front door, before hearing Ali move over. Quickly, he hid between the sofa and wall, and watched Ali move upstairs.
“Mom?! Are you in the shower?!”
Daniel moved to the front door again, and quietly opened it, before he heard a shrill scream. He got to moving, rushing through the door and closing it, before walking down the pathway with his head down, feeling eyes on his back.
He rushed into the woods, before running off and tugging the jacket off. He sneaked back around, seeing Mr. Fernandez’s car and pried open the window, dumping it in the passenger seat.
I can’t believe I just did that...
With a slight smile, he moved back into the woods, and whispered out, “Johnny?! Johnny? Where are you?”
Two strong arms wrapped around his waist, “that was... amazing...”
Daniel looked over and grinned, “yeah?”
Johnny lagged lightly, “is it messed up I enjoyed that?”
“Yeah,” nodded Daniel, wiping blood off of Johnny’s cheek. “But, I enjoyed it too... you look good with blood on you.” And wasn’t that a messed up thing to say and think?
Johnny stared at him, blue eyes wide in amazement before bending down and oh...
Lips...
Johnny’s lips were on his, blue eyes closed, with blond lashes against his cheeks. And Daniel didn’t hesitate. He closed his eyes and kissed back, giving just as much as he was given.
This was nice. Very nice.
Daniel’s knee was busted, but not broken. He won in the All Valley, and Johnny was furious. Not at Daniel, never at Daniel, but at Bobby, at Kreese. At everyone who hurt Daniel. And, he still hated Ali... maybe Johnny should just let Mrs. Mills go, let it all go. But, he couldn’t.
Johnny lost - good, but he hadn’t won anything overall and that sucked. He lay in his bed, phone to his ear, before he began dialling the number.
Two rings later and a female voice answered, “hello?”
“Uh, hi this is Johnny Lawrence, I was wondering if Daniel was there?” Johnny bit his lower lip, wondering if Mrs. LaRusso would be angry. After all, Johnny swept Daniel’s leg after Bobby sprained it. (He was dumb, stupid, and pissed at himself as well...)
“Yes, hold on...”
There was a gentle call and rustling, as a breathless male voice answered, “Johnny?”
“Hey Daniel,” smiled Johnny, flushing lightly. “I uh... I was wondering... remember what we did?”
Daniel’s cocky Jersey voice came through, sounding smug, smirking no doubt, “you’ll have to narrow it down Blondie, we’ve done a lot.”
Johnny flushed, as he gently brushed the hickeys he had covered using his Mom’s powder. He twirled the phone coil, before saying, “I mean... the last day of summer...”
Daniel went silent, voice a bit tight, “what about it?”
“Wanna do it again?”
Halloween played on the television, as Johnny kissed Daniel tenderly. Daniel’s eyes were closed as he wrapped his arms around the blond, and licked his lower lip. Obediently, Johnny opened his mouth, and Daniel traced his tongue against Johnny’s.
Johnny wined and pushed Daniel into the sofa, but jumped as a loud honk of a car came from the television, making them look over. Right, Annie Bracket, strangled and stabbed in her car...
Daniel licked his lower lip, and caressed Johnny’s face. “So... you really wanna kill Ali?”
Johnny scoffed, and buried his face into Daniel’s neck. “Yeah, I do... I wanna kill them all...”
“Besides the very general plan of killing everyone,” hummed Daniel, running his fingers through Johnny’s blond hair, “what’s the actual plan?”
“Haven’t a clue...” Admitted Johnny.
Daniel sighed and looked at Halloween silently, eyeing the butcher knife and mask. He swallowed. “Well... every great slasher has a mask... and a weapon, like a knife...”
Johnny blinked and looked up slowly, eyeing the movie. “Huh... and, we could have a thing... like how A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy appeared in dreams, or Friday the 13th when Jason's Mother killed to avenge her son and killed people at that camp.”
Daniel looked at him, “and...? What would our thing be?”
“One could call,” said Johnny. “Ask questions. They get them wrong, they die — ”
Daniel grinned, “they get them right... they die. And the other does the killings...” He turned serious, “but we can’t just kill... we need a way out of this... we need to pin the blame on someone, and it obviously can’t be Freddy’s Father...” He chewed his lower lip, before smirking, “oh...”
“What?” Asked Johnny, holding himself up, over Johnny.
“We wait...”
“Wait?” Asked Johnny, annoyed.
Daniel pressed his index finger to Johnny’s lips. “Yes. Wait... we wait until the last day of summer, before killing Ali, before killing Mr. Mills, and pin the blame on him. Say he went insane with grief upon the one year anniversary of his wife's death.”
Johnny stared at Daniel with wide, blue eyes. “Y-yeah?”
“Yeah,” smiled Daniel, burying his nose in Johnny’s neck, inhaling the cologne. Cinnamon and apple. “We can kill anybody... one calls, and distracts and while one does that, the other sneaks in and goes for the kill.” He looked Johnny in the eyes and cupped his face, framing his cheeks with his hands. “Who do you want to kill?”
Johnny stared Daniel in the eyes, his blue eyes softening with half-lids. He swallowed, “Ali... Barbara. Bobby... Bobby should never have hurt you...”
Daniel’s cheeks turned pink.
“Dutch, fucking Tommy - when he said to put you in a body bag...” Johny frowned, “Jimmy...”
“Susan as well... she’s close to Ali,” reminded Daniel, softly.
“Right, Susan...” Johnny nodded, cupping Daniel’s hand against his face.
“We need outfits,” Daniel said thoughtfully, “and it’s better to get them sooner rather than later...”
Johnny leaned up, and stared at Daniel, “I love you.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, “what?”
“I love you,” Johnny said, eyes soft. “Like, holy shit... I know we’ve been fooling around, but I wanna go steady with you...”
Daniel flushed, and he stared at Johnny. “Oh Johnny,” he pulled Johnny in for a deeper kiss, “I love you too...”
And Johnny melted, like putty, as he pressed his lips to Daniel’s, sinking into Daniel’s body, melding together.
Johnny pulled back again, “Danny?”
Daniel looked at Johnny, smiling, “yeah?”
“You need to ask Ali out...”
Daniel’s face fell, and he drawled out, “what?”
“Ask Ali out, so that way we can have a voice on the inside,” reasoned Johnny.
Daniel scowled, “fine...”
Daniel walked up and down the aisle’s of Spirit Halloween, eyeing the Halloween costumes. It was a new store, and was a long drive, though it would be worth it if there was anything.
Zombies, skeleton onesies, voodoo priest...
He came to a stop, seeing a white mask, with an elongated black mouth, and wide black eyes, and a black cloak almost. Ghostface... that’s what the outfit was called... and it was $17.49 each. That’s $34.98 all together. And, they still needed a phone. An actual phone to take around with them.
That would be a Motorola DynaTAC, from what he’s read it takes 10 hours to charge, lasts for 30 minutes of talk-time, stored 30 numbers and costs $4,000. And, while Daniel didn’t have that money, he knew Sid - Johnny’s arsehole Step-Father - did.
As he picked up the costumes, he thought of a good lie that Johnny could use to convince Sid he needed the phone.
Johnny wanted to marry him, there and then, when he was shown the outfits and told the lie.
“Why are you helping me with this?” Johnny had asked, confused. He had motive. As far as he knew, Daniel had none.
Daniel had joked, “peer pressure, I’m far too sensitive.”
As he ate his meal with his Mom - Laura - and Step-Father - Sid - he wondered how to approach the topic. With a nervous cough, he looked up.
“Uh, Sid — ”
“What?” Came the sharp, snappy voice of his Step-Father.
“I uh... I was wondering if I could have a phone. Like a Motorola DynaTAC?” Swallowed Johnny, and nearly jumped when Sid slammed his fork down.
“What?!” Roared Sid, “that’s a fucking lot! You got some nerve — ”
Laura was shaking, “Sid, Johnny — ”
This is where Daniel’s lie came into place. “It’s only because the guys have a phone, and I wanna be able to talk to them as well... it’s strange, y’know? Me not having that... it feels wrong... like they know I’ve not got money.”
“Well, you don’t!” Snapped Sid, “I do!” It was silent for a moment, “they all really have a phone?”
“Yeah,” Johnny nodded. “I don’t know who else I’d call.”
Sid scowled, “you break that phone, you’re dead.”
“I got the phone. You gotta ask Ali out...”
“I know...”
“Hey Ali,” smiled Daniel, sitting next to her.
Ali looked up with a sad smile, “hi Daniel...”
“How are you?”
“Tired, sick of it all,” sniffed Ali, wiping her eyes.
She had never really recovered from losing her Mom, but it had been months. So, Daniel frowned softly. “You wanna get out of here? Take a breather?”
Ali smiled, “I’d like that.”
“It could be a date.”
Ali looked over and smiled more, “really?”
“If you want it to be,” grinned Daniel, teasingly.
“I’d love that,” smiled Ali, and Daniel helped her stand.
As Daniel led her to his car, he saw Johnny standing with his friends and grinned. Johnny grinned back.
It was all coming together...