Hey y'all!! I was listening to some lost 80s tracks that were released in 1984/85 and I got an idea. What if Daniel never hosed down Johnny in the bathroom? What if Ali actually intervened? Maybe there wouldn't have been a rivalry, maybe something else ;)
Daniel had a weird feeling about this. He, for one, was definitely not an aspiring entertainer at parties, but his sidesplitting costume said otherwise. There was no way to blend in, and he knew it. The outfit was definitely a noticeable one at that when he tried to mesh with the crowd of teenagers in the gym.
Then, a commotion of two people rushed across Daniel's eyes. One girl, petite, averagely built with short blonde braids and bangs. Daniel knew her, from the beach, from the soccer field. One of the other voices had a familiarly averting ring to it. Daniel found it belonged to a tall male in a skeleton body suit. From afar, Daniel saw wheat blond hair gracing the male's forehead and could immediately identify who it was.
"Come on, I told you, Ali. It's not like I wanted to pick a fight with the guy. It was self-defense. I don't get why you care so much!" Johnny chased.
Out in the distance of the gym, in the parking lot, Ali's voice followed, pounding out loud into the air. "Oh, so you call knocking the wind out of his chest self-defense?! Why do you always do this? You always keep fighting! For what, huh?"
Johnny watched as her anger unfolded, knowing this was the worst they had ever been. "I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't trying to hurt you."
"Just cut it out, Johnny." she snapped, "You don't even care."
"Okay, I'll stop." The blonde rolled his head back and then forward, huffing into the wind. "What do you want me to do?" he extended his arms out.
Ali shook her head slowly at his remark. "Will you stop?"
"Stop what? I'm not doing anything."
"Will you stop fighting? Are you going to promise me that you will stop fighting?"
Johnny had this deep look in his eyes, like he had just failed himself. Ali was unreadable to him now. Some days he couldn't tell if she was on one side or the other, or what she wanted. He didn't know her the way they used to know each other. On the other hand, he couldn't begin to understand why she even bothered with that LaRusso kid.
"Goodbye, Johnny." Ali said, taking her last gaze on the male before turning away. He was astounded with his lack of words, but as the blond looked back, he and the brunet stranger locked eyes. Daniel stood a few steps shy from the exit, but he was clear in Johnny's sight, prominently clear. Johnny almost couldn't move with that fixed pair of coffee orbs on him. He was well aware of those eyes. Gentle. Warm. Truthful.
They couldn't speak a single word. Actually, they decided rather not to speak. The silence was like a secondary place of comfort between them, even as Daniel figured that Johnny hated his guts. Neither of them knew why, but it was secure, comfortable.
This new atmosphere, this sensitive, broken atmosphere took a seat in Johnny's memory. He painfully recognized every feeling, every screwed up beat of his heart when Ali would speak to him like he was the dirt she walked on.
Johnny, flustered and incredibly withdrawn, forced out of the eye contact and sped away. Daniel couldn't follow, or at least, he didn't try to, even though his gut impulsively told him to follow.
Back inside the gym, Daniel searched around for Ali despite his encounter with Johnny. This intense conflict must have rattled her. Having second thoughts, Ali swallowed her feelings and looked away when Daniel asked her to dance. She acted as if he was never there to begin with, and he acted as if she had never seen him before.
