Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 39: Maybe Love Isn't Scary

I present to you Rosalía's favorite song of 1985 hehe ^

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Daniel called his girlfriend to invite her on a morning run. Rosalía isn't a fan of running but she accepted the invitation for him. Now here they are, jogging through the park together, occasionally taking small walking breaks, of course. Daniel has been venting about Mr. Miyagi refusing to train him the whole time. "I just still can't believe he said he can't. I need him!" Daniel claims. "I know, I didn't expect him to say no. I guess this is his way of showing his disapproval of the tournament," Rosalía opines. Daniel scoffs. "I would've preferred a 5-hour lecture," he states.

His breathing becomes heavier as he gets tired and slows down. The girl slows her pace when she notices, jogging alongside him. This feels like PE class, she thinks as she tries to catch her breath. "I'm sorry, I've been talking about myself the whole time. Is there anything new with you?" Daniel pipes up, realizing that she hasn't had a chance to talk about what she wants. He last saw her yesterday, but so much can happen in a matter of a few hours. "Nah, You know I love when you share with me," the girl replies, smiling warmly at her boyfriend.

Daniel returns the smile, feeling his face heat up at her words. Rosalía appreciates that he asked because she does have information to share with him. "So I've been thinking..." she commences, and Daniel hums in response. "I mean, I would randomly think about it sometimes but I thought a lot about it last night and... I want to start dancing again," she concludes. Daniel sends her an approving grin. "That's great! You should definitely do that, you're so talented," he eggs her on.

Rosalía lightly giggles. "I know I've said it before but I actually mean it this time. I'm considering taking classes at some dance studio or maybe changing my major to dance since they have classes at school. Although I think my mom would beat my ass if I did that since she doesn't think dance is a real profession," she mentions, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I would like something else to fall back on once I can't dance anymore but I don't know. This career shit is hard," she whines.

Daniel nods. "Ain't that the truth. But we still got time to figure that out so I try not to stress too much about it. You're still pretty young, relax," he tells her. Rosalía can't help the scoff that escapes her throat. "Yeah, I don't really have that option thanks to my mom," she remarks. Daniel slightly nods, knowing how overbearing her mom can be. "Yeah, but hey! She can't control you forever, right? And if you do everything she says you should do, you'll never get to do anything you actually want to do. You can't be happy that way. So in the end, you have to do what's best for you... because it's your life, not hers," he explains.

He's making a lot of sense, Rosalía thinks, taking in his speech. She's always felt the need to please others, especially her parents. She doesn't want to disappoint them after everything they've done for her. They endured the difficult journey of crossing the border and worked themselves to death so she could have a better life than they did. They didn't go through all that just for me to do nothing with my life, she always tells herself. Her biggest dream is to take care of them so they don't have to work anymore. She can't fail them. She stops in her tracks, making Daniel stop too. "I just don't want their sacrifice to be for nothing," she quietly speaks, a solemn look on her face.

The boy steps closer, taking her face in his hand. "It won't be," he assures her, smiling kindly at her. Rosalía searches his eyes, finding nothing but sincerity in them. She smiles, feeling way better than she did a second ago. Daniel always somehow manages to make her feel like everything will be okay. The boy's smile broadens and he kisses her forehead. "Thank you... come on," voices Rosalía, tugging on his hand to continue jogging. Her boyfriend groans and complains, "I'm so tired." The girl chuckles and responds, "this was your idea, genius."