the next day is a sunday. ma needs to go shopping and is dragging daniel along with her.
he begrudgingly hops in the car, wrapping arms around himself to keep the morning wind at bay.
it heats up as they drive and he takes off his hoodie, shoving it into the back of the car.
ma pulls into the supermarket parking lot and it's half empty, she likes to go real early in the morning so there's not as much of a queue.
daniel grabs a cart from the lines and follows her inside.
ma goes through the whole shopping list and then double checks to see if she's got everything. after analysing everything she realises she forgot the strawberry's.
they make their way back to the fruit section, a few people mingle around, their carts almost bare. which signals to daniel they've only just started their shop.
"lucille!" a voice calls from somewhere by the vegetables, ma and him turn around at the same time to see a woman with blonde locs walking towards them.
daniels first thought is ali, but the woman is much older and has a son who is flirting with the fruit and vegetable assistant.
it's johnny. daniel would recognise that hair, that body, that smile, that posture, those eyes anywhere.
"laura" his ma replies hugging johnnys mother while holding out her strawberry's to the side "how are you? we need to catch up"
"i'm good, just like to get in before the queues. how about we get breakfast, im not doing anything today and the boys can come"
ma smiles "sounds great, i just need to pay for my shopping, i also like to get here before the queues"
they smile at each other knowingly, like all mothers have some sort of telepathic connection.
"we have to pay too," she turns to johnny "johnny come on"
johnny runs up to her with paper in his hand, the assistant is bright red and mixing up all her vegetables.
johnny looks at daniel for the first time and his eyes widen in recognition before shrinking and he smiles.
"danny, how are you?"
for all the time he spent wondering about johnny yesterday, at the moment he would 100% genuinely rather be as far away as possible.
"good."
"daniel. be nice" his ma scolds him with a slap around the head
"that's alright lucille, i don't mind. i get grumpy in the mornings too" johnny smiles
grumpy? daniel? somehow only when the blonde haired boy is around.
ma laughs "teenagers"
laura gives her that knowing look again.
About 1/2 hour later they're all sitting in a booth in a diner around the corner from daniels house.
daniels eyes roam the menu, only flicking up to land on johnnys face 2 or 3 times. maybe a new record.
johnnys squinting and his nose is scrunched slightly, a confused look on his face. it makes him look more like a child, daniel wishes it was like that more often.
"so daniel, any girls?" laura makes an over exaggerated winking face at him and he laughs
"just one at the moment"
heat crawls up his neck as he feels johnny's eyes shoot above the menu and stare unflinching at his face.
"you found the one huh? lucky boy. johnny's always coming home with different girls, can't seem to hold them down for longer than an hour."
"ma" johnny whines
daniel bites down on his lip as ma and laura laugh.
the waitress comes over before the tension between him and johnny can become any harder to ignore.
"is everyone ready to order?" the girl asks, but she can't seem to take her eyes away from johnny. he couldn't have before but right now, daniel can understand why.
johnnys wearing his blue jeans, a white hoodie and his cobra kai jacket, his black hair band is still visible underneath his wind-tousled hair. he looks... hot, to say the least. weekends look good on him.
they all order and lucille laughs again "i see what you mean, that girl couldn't keep her eyes off your boy"
there goes the knowing look again. what do they both know that daniel and johnny don't.
"i told you, new girl every hour. first the shop assistant now the waitress"
something burns a little in daniels gut, but he dismisses it as hunger.
when their food arrives, daniel and johnnys order gets mixed up, daniel notices first and clears his throat awkwardly while their ma's chat way about ma things.
"uh i think they mixed our orders, this is yours"
johnny looks up at daniel, whose holding out the plate to him, and frowns.
he grabs the plate slowly and his cold fingers brush against daniels. a shiver runs down the younger boys spine and he puts his head down, pretending to be interested in something on his plate.
they finish their meals, neither daniel or johnny join in on the conversations, choosing instead to push their food around the plate.
"well why doesn't Johnny come around to our house?" ma asks, daniel looks up trying to signal to her to stop without being to obvious but she doesn't notice.
"well, if it's no trouble" laura smiles
"none at all, im working till 6 but they'll be fine alone, the beach isn't far either so they won't get bored"
"thank you lucille, your truly an angel" laura says standing up and planting a kiss on the top of johnny's head before paying her bill and leaving.
YOU ARE READING
lawrusso
RomanceDaniel's just trying to fit in at his new school, he never asked for johnny and his friends to beat him up every other day, he never asked for any of it. the multiple detentions, which have him spending up to 2 hours alone with johnny, are definitel...
