I Hate Myself For Loving You

Chapter 6

Johnny's alarm clock rang obnoxiously loud, startling him from his blissful dream, and with a dissatisfied groan he hastily shut it off, nearly throwing it across the room. "Who the hell gets up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday?" He grumbled to himself, knowing LaRusso was to blame. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and yawned as excitement shot through him, followed by nerves. He ransacked through his closet, throwing piles of clothes onto the floor until he found his grey button-up shirt, which made his blue eyes even more vibrant, pairing it with a black pair of pants. He stood in front of his mirror, gazing at his reflection, feeling like a lovesick teenage girl who was about to go on her first date and couldn't decide what to wear. He grabbed his backpack, shoving things into it aimlessly, and ran down the stairs, nearly plowing his mother over.

"My, oh my, are my eyes deceiving me, or is my son actually up before noon on a Saturday? Maybe I do believe in miracles after all." His mother said with a teasing smirk, ruffling Johnny's hair.

Johnny scowled while saying, "I have a history project to work on and my partner said something about the early bird catching the worm or whatever, so against my will I am up and at 'em."

"Hope your history project goes well, honey. Try and not get yourself into any trouble, okay?" His mother said with a tired smile.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be on my best behavior." Johnny rolled his eyes before smiling as his mother kissed the top of his head, pressing a hand against his cheek.

Johnny grabbed a granola bar, popping it into his mouth as he walked out the door, feeling the early morning breeze nip at his cheeks, turning them to a rosy pink as he hopped on his motorcycle. The floral shop came in view and his hands became clammy as nerves tumbled around in his stomach. He knew it was crazy to show up with blue orchids, but it wouldn't cause any harm. He walked into the floral shop before he could change his mind and saw an older grey-haired lady occupying the shop. She turned around and saw him as a saccharine smile fell upon her lips.

"What can I do for you, darling?" The florist sweetly said.

Johnny hesitantly asked, "Could I please have a bouquet of blue orchids?"

"Just blue orchids?"

"Yes, just blue orchids, please."

"She must be some pretty girl. Blue orchids are not cheap." The lady stated, putting together an arrangement of blue orchids.

Johnny nearly balked and said, "Oh, uh yes. Very pretty." He twiddled with his thumbs as he waited for her to ring his total up.

The lady handed him the arrangement and said, "Your total will be fifty dollars."

Johnny pulled out a crisp fifty-dollar bill and put it on the counter, quickly thanking her and walking out the door, clinging onto the bouquet of orchids for dear life. The luminous blue orchids danced in the breeze as the sun billowed softly around them, creating almost a halo and Johnny breathed in awe, admiring how beautiful they were. He had to admit, Daniel had good taste in just about anything. His heart pounded rapidly against his chest like a stampede of horses as he saw the apartment complex, remembering Daniel said apartment twenty. He parked his motorcycle down below and walked up the steps as his fist hovered over the door, trying to muster any courage he had left and rapped on the door. The door opened and Johnny was stood face to face with Daniel.

He foolishly held out the bouquet of orchids and let out a feeble laugh while saying, "Special delivery for Danielle LaRusso."

Daniel stood there speechless as he grabbed the bouquet, getting a whiff of the sweet fragrance that wafted from the flowers. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he cocked his head and said, "You actually bought me blue orchids?"