Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 48: Time After Time

I found this song called "Rosalía" and I had to share it here haha ^
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It's been three days since the tournament and Rosalía's family is throwing a carne asada, or what the English-speaking world probably calls it: a cookout, to celebrate Daniel's win. Mr. Miyagi suggested that they do it at his house just like last year, so now his backyard is filled with the Juárez family, including a few of Rosalía's relatives, Lucille, Jessica, and her and Daniel's homies. Today is Jessica's last day in California before she goes back to Ohio so the couple thought this was a great way to spend time with her before she's gone.

Everyone passes the time eating and socializing. Rosalía even bought a karate gi-shaped piñata for the kids... and for her and her friends. All the children and her friends took turns hitting it and Ricky completely demolished the piñata with the help of the other guys. After cutting Daniel's cake, Jessica decides it's time for her to go so the couple and their friends say their goodbyes. Daniel and Rosalía are the last ones to say goodbye after everyone else. Rosalía pulls Jessica into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you," she claims. "Aww, I'm gonna miss you too. It was fun hanging out with you," Jessica responds. They pull away and grin at each other. "Send me a Christmas card, okay?" Jessica requests, to which the other girl nods.

"You too. It'll be awkward if I'm the only one sending you stuff," Rosalía jokes, making her laugh. "You got it," Jessica replies before shifting her eyes to Daniel. She waves at the boy and says, "bye, Daniel. It was fun hanging out with you too." Daniel grins. "It sure was. Bye, Jessica," he returns. With that, Jessica smiles at the pair one last time before exiting the house and their lives. Daniel wraps his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and they walk to his room. On the way there, they view everyone having fun in the backyard. Rosalía smiles at this. This is what she likes to see, everybody getting along and existing together in peace.

Daniel slides his bedroom door open and lets her step inside first before entering himself. The girl sighs in content as she goes to sit on the bed. "Ah, it feels nice in here. It's cold out there," she remarks, rubbing her arms. Hispanics don't care about the weather, we'll still have parties outside, she thinks. Daniel sits down beside her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into his side. He rubs her arm to warm her up and kisses her temple, causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach. They sit like this in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's company. As they do this, Rosalía's mind wanders. She thinks about different things but one certain thought invades her mind the longest.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Daniel suddenly pipes up, knowing his girlfriend's mind is never silent. Rosalía contemplates whether she should tell him or not and ends up deciding to do it. "Remember when I told you about that fight my mom and I had about college and how I was confused about what I want to do in life?" she asks. "Yeah," the boy affirms. "Well, I didn't tell you everything she said..." Rosalía trails off, lifting her head off of his shoulder. Daniel gives her a skeptical look. "Oh. Why?" he questions. The girl averts her gaze. "Because it was really hurtful," she softly answers. She can hear her mother's voice in her head:

"Que piensas? Que vas estar con el toda la vida? Que te va amar para siempre? [What do you think? That you're going to be with him your whole life? That he's going to love you forever?]." Mayra releases a sarcastic laugh. "Sigue soñando. Así no son las cosas [Keep dreaming. That's not how it works]."

Rosalía translates her mother's words to Daniel. His eyes widen in shock. "Wow... does she not like me? I thought we were getting along," he questions. The girl shakes her head. "No, it's not that. She actually thinks you're a respectable young man. It's just that she's had such a bad experience with love, so she thinks the same thing's going to happen to me... the way she words things is very rude and insensitive but I know she's just scared that I'll get hurt too so she tries to warn me in her own weird way," she explains. Daniel nods, understanding what she means.

"She thinks all men are the same, which she's not completely wrong about. And since she had shitty friends growing up, she thinks that you can't trust anyone because no one is truly your friend... So when I brought up my love for dance in our argument and said that you and my friends think I'm really talented, she said that you guys only tell me what I want to hear and want to see me fail... and then she said that you couldn't truly love me," she continues. This leaves Daniel at a loss for words. He knows her mom loves her and wants the best for her, but he doesn't get how Mayra doesn't realize how much she harms Rosalía in reality.

"For a second, I believed her. You were changing and we were fighting, so I started wondering if she was right... but now I know she's not. All couples fight, but the good ones work it out every time. And you and I are one of the good ones," Rosalía claims with a giggle. Daniel chuckles as well. "I used to be so scared to end up like my parents. I was scared I'd fall into the toxic generational cycle... but not anymore. I'm already breaking the cycle," the girl speaks. Her eyes water as she starts feeling emotional. Daniel listens intently, grabbing her hand to provide some comfort. "I'm breaking it thanks to you," Rosalía states. Daniel's heartbeat quickens as he waits for her to proceed.

"I didn't really believe in love because the environment I was in taught me that it was just a fantasy, that the real thing was ugly. But then I met you..." the girl pauses, trying to keep herself together. Daniel gazes at her with pure adoration and astonishment in his eyes. "And you taught me that love is real, that it can be as beautiful as it can be ugly. Now I'm certain that I won't end up like my parents, we won't end up like them... and hopefully, one day, my mom will realize that too," Rosalía concludes. A tear escapes her eye and she wipes it away.

Daniel remains speechless. Rosalía's speech pulled at his heartstrings. Tears prick his eyes and he blinks them away, smiling widely at his girlfriend. "We won't end up like them, we're gonna be better," he softly speaks, taking the girl's face in his hand. "You are everything to me... Your mom will have to see that one day, and if she doesn't, then who cares? It won't change how I feel about you. Time after time, it's me and you," he whispers. Rosalía smiles at this. "Look at that, we have our own saying now," she giggles. Daniel chuckles and connects their lips, pouring all his love into the kiss. "See? We're the perfect couple already," he claims in a joking tone. Rosalía laughs at this.

She still has a long way to go to completely break the generational cycle, but this is a start. For the first time in her life, she's certain that she's going to turn out okay. In fact, she's excited for the future, whatever that might bring. There's a lot she needs to work on to be able to move forward, but she's confident that she'll do it. She's not sure what's going to happen in the future, but she knows Daniel will be by her side. We're going to be okay.

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One chapter left!! The next and final chapter is meant to show the direction in which Rosalía and Daniel are moving in life. It kind of serves as a teaser... 🤭