Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 2: Hey Neighbor

Daniel arrives at school and chains his bike to the rack. As he commences to walk into the school, he happens to spot Johnny and his friends by the curb. He pauses for a moment as he watches them, but then turns around and slips away silently, disappearing in the sea of students. Rosalía walks through the parking lot with Kara and Marissa, parting ways when they near the front of the building. The last time she stepped foot on this campus was freshman year, before she moved, so it feels weird to be back. Now she's returning for her senior year, and to say she's nervous is an understatement. Johnny catches sight of her coming in his direction and immediately straightens up and puffs out his chest. "Hey, Lia," he calls out, wearing a flirtatious smile.

Rosalía looks in the direction of the voice, and furrows her eyebrows, forming a look that says "ew" when she sees Johnny. How dare he act like nothing happened last night? She continues walking, hoping she could pass by them fast, but all hope is lost when Johnny dashes toward her and tries to sling his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Li-" he cuts himself off when he is roughly pushed away by Rosalía. "Ew, get off of me!" she yells. Johnny stands there and gawks at her, completely shocked. "Ugh, as if!" she exclaims as she proceeds to walk away.

Rosalía rapidly makes her way through the crowded hallways, trying to get as far away from Johnny as possible. She looks behind her to make sure he's not following her and accidentally crashes into someone. "Woah," utters the person as he latches onto her arms to make sure she doesn't fall backward. She looks up at the person, startled, but relaxes when she realizes who it is. "Hi," he greets, gazing at her dreamily. "Hey, neighbor," she responds, beaming at him. She takes note of the sunglasses. "Are you wearing those to cover a black eye?" she acknowledges. Daniel scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, I was trying to hide it from my mom," he replies as he slowly removes his glasses. Rosalía gasps when she sees the black and blue on his eye. A mixture of guilt and anger brews inside her.

Daniel chuckles at her reaction and reassures her, "it looks worse than it feels, trust me." She sighs and shakes her head. "I'm so sorry. It's my fault he hurt you. I should've just went and talked to him when he asked the first time," she apologizes. Daniel is quick to disagree, "no, no, no, it's not your fault. You didn't tell him to hit me. And don't say that; he can't make you do anything you don't want to do, right?" Rosalía lets his words sink in and smiles warmly at him. "You're right, he can't. I do whatever I want," she confidently states. "There you go," he eggs on, chuckling. He can't help but admire her charisma and confidence.

Their conversation is cut short by the bell ringing. "I have to get to class but um... see you later?" Rosalía pipes up. "Definitely," Daniel answers. The girl waves goodbye and walks away. Daniel watches her go, smiling to himself, then turns the opposite way to go find his class.

*Time skip*

Rosalía usually goes home with Kara and Marissa, but Marissa has cheerleading practice today. So, she and Kara wait for her since she's their ride home. They walk onto the field and up to the cheerleaders to find Marissa. When they find her, the three girls hug and start up a conversation. "Hey, Rosalía," a feminine voice calls. Rosalía spins around and comes face to face with Ali Mills. "Oh, hey, Ali," she greets. "Uh, listen, I wanted to say thank you for standing up for me when Johnny broke my radio," Ali expresses. "Oh, no problem. He had no right to speak to you that way, especially after going WWE on your radio like that," Rosalía answers. Ali giggles at her sentence and replies, "yeah, he can be a real jerk. I'm sorry he treated you that way. I know all about his Cobra Kai fury too and it's just so frustrating."

Rosalía had heard that Ali and Johnny dated for two years but doesn't know the context of their breakup. "Wait, is he bothering you too," she asks. Ali shakes her head, "not anymore, but he did for a while after we broke up, until you came back. I was relieved that he finally left me alone but now I realize he's doing the same thing to you." Man, that boy's got some nerve, Rosalía thinks. Harassing Ali wasn't enough, he has to bother her too to feel satisfied.