worthwhile • daniel larusso

beach afflictions

let it be known that i had never actually liked the beach. which could explain, in part, why california wasn't my safe haven. if you weren't a fan of the beach, there was nothing here left for you.

i sat with ali, susan, and barbara, mostly trying to keep the sun out of my eyes, while they talked about who they were most looking forward to seeing once school started back up.

"you know, saint," barbara started, causing me to look over at her,"i wish you and johnny were still going out. you said you would introduce me to bobby, and now you never will."

ali chuckled, giving me a teasing smile, "never say never. who said they wouldn't get back together for the millionth time?"

i rolled my eyes and laid down, wanting nothing more than for everyone to stop mentioning my past relationship. sure, i had kind of brought on myself, in some way. but that didn't mean it needed to be brought up everyday.

"don't you guys have anything better to do?" i questioned, pushing my sunglasses down to the bridge of my nose, for no other purpose than giving them an annoyed look.

susan chuckled, pushing my glasses back up for me, "i think you know that we don't."

i shook my head playfully at my group of friends, knowing all their harassment was in good spirit. they just didn't know how it affected me.

in their minds, johnny and i were some kind of joke. which was fine, i completely understood why none of our friends took us seriously. they just don't get how hard it is for me to stop thinking about him.

"do you have something better to do?" barbara questioned, gesturing to the guitar that i had brought with me, "is that why you brought your little friend?"

i smiled lightly, reaching over to grab my guitar. music had always been an outlet of mine, but recently my only inspiration had been a certain on and off relationship.

"i don't know, i thought..." i trailed off, looking at the waves that ran up to the shore, "i thought maybe the beach might help me write something...else."

ali smirked, nudging me playfully, "well, if you want some new inspiration, maybe you should look to your left."

i gave her a slightly confused look, before turning my head to see daniel playing soccer on the beach.

a small smile formed on my face, watching as they slowly and inadvertently edged closer to us. i hadn't thought much about my new infatuation with daniel, mostly because i wasn't sure it could lead to anything.

but, i had to admit, he did look pretty good kicking a ball around.

"that's as good an inspiration as any." i muttered, shooting a small smile at daniel as he and his friends kicked the ball a little too close for comfort.

as the group of boys fought over the ball a mere few feet away from me, daniel stopped in his tracks, opting for staring at me instead.

as freddy took control of the ball and kicked it down the beach, daniel continued to stare. i set down my guitar, waiting for him to say something.

when he didn't, feeling like i couldn't let the silence ensue any longer, i gave him a small wave, "hey, larusso, how you doing?"

he gave me a smile, "hey, saint."

i hadn't seen daniel since yesterday, when he came into my uncle's maintenance room, saying something about a broken faucet.

"how's the faucet?" i questioned, doing my best attempt at a more playful type of flirting.