My Cobra Guy

Episode Sixteen

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Miguel asked as Johnny navigated the old van through the sunlit streets. "It's only been two days since the accident."

"Yeah. It's fine," Johnny said. "I need a job." It had bothered him all last night that he somehow couldn't manage the bare minimum. He wasn't going to get anything done by staying home. He didn't want to sit in that small, cramped place by himself anyway. He had wanted to be alone with his thoughts, but last night had ended up being torture. As he tried to sleep, images assaulted his brain. He kept seeing Daniel, the look of horror on his face when Johnny fell. The embarrassed flush from yesterday. But another image floated across his mind that he couldn't quite place. Daniel, holding him close, fear etching lines across his face. He could still feel the material of Daniel's shirt between his fingers as he clutched him so tight. Was that from Sunday? Was this one of the embarrassing moments he couldn't remember? Seemed like it was best that he didn't remember.

He needed to focus on getting a job. He just needed to find someone to hire him with his age and history. Fighting Miguel's school bullies so long ago looked like crap on his record. That was more pressing than those strange memories that were starting to surface. Daniel wasn't treating him awkwardly, and for once, things seemed peaceful.

Wet cheeks, the sound of pathetic weeping. His arm wrapped around a firm waist and solid arms sought to comfort him with an embrace.

"You seem...upset," Miguel said. "What's up, sensei?"

"Got a lot of work to do," Johnny said, staring at the road and the freshly waxed vehicles in front of his clunker of a van. But all he could see was Daniel's tear damp sweater vest. Daniel didn't shove him away, but endured his odd behavior. Johnny's hands shook on the wheel, and Miguel reached across to steady it.

"We should go back," Miguel said. "Come on. We don't need another accident."

Instead of driving back home, Johnny drove to Miyagi-Do. So what if he were a few hours early? He could find something to do there, like coach Miguel.

"Why are we not going home?" Miguel turned down the music, silencing a killer guitar solo.

"I don't want to be there right now," Johnny snapped. Carmen allowed Miguel to miss a few days of school to help Johnny until he was fully recovered. He had thought the breakup would put a weird distance between Carmen and himself, but she was just as kind, and brutally honest, as ever.

Miguel typed a text into his phone and Johnny took his eyes from the road for a moment to see "Daniel LaRusso" at the top of the screen. Daniel seriously had Miguel reporting to him? Mother fucking hen.

"Where are we headed, Sensei?" Miguel asked, still focused on the message he was typing to Daniel.

"Tell Daniel we're going to Miyagi-Do," Johnny replied. He'd been tempted to lie, but he'd already put Daniel out so much. What good would lying do anyway? Miguel would just text him their whereabouts.

"Okay, you're being weird," Miguel said. "Not even a snappy remark? No sarcasm?"

"I'm not being weird. I just have a head injury."