Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Johnny tossed the last of the luggage into the trunk of the car, closing it with an unceremonious thunk. He was dragging his feet along the pavement, trying to savor every last second he had left before getting into the car where his mom and Sid were waiting. Bobby was alongside him, coming to see him off before he departed for the airport.

“This is totally fucking bogus, it doesn’t even feel real. I dunno what we're gonna do without you, Johnny.” 

“You’re telling me. I tried everything to get out of it, but you know how HE is.” Johnny had begged and pleaded to his parents to let him stay at their home in the hills or, at the very least, with one of his friends, while they were away. Unfortunately they remained unwavered in their decision, and Johnny couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

He supposed his track record of leaving the house a mess when they’d leave on trips and almost setting the kitchen on fire making a pizza were poor indicators of his independence. Even if he were more responsible, he doubted his stepdad would’ve changed his mind. Sid was like that, always looking for ways to flex his control every now and then as a way to show that, even though Johnny was physically stronger, he had the real power. Taking sick satisfaction with each knot he added to the short leash he kept him on. 

“It’s not like it’s forever. You just hang in there for a few months, and once you come back, we’re gonna throw the most bitchin’ party you’ve ever seen. In the meantime, you'd better run up his phone bill by calling every day, and hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and meet some cute New Yorker babes.” Nudging his side, Bobby tried his best to cheer him up. Johnny was glad it was just him who’d come to see him. Had his other friends shown up, he couldn’t guarantee that it would’ve been a dignified send-off. Given the bleak nature of the situation, Johnny would have ended up breaking down into frustrated tears like a spoiled child. That was not the lasting impression he wanted to leave behind.

“Guess I should get going.” He finally mustered out. It wasn’t goodbye, but it felt like one. Clasping hands with the other, he pulled Bobby into a tight hug. It was rare to find people like them whom he connected with so seamlessly. It took 12 long years of being on his own until he found a group of friends who understood him. Having to leave them all behind this abruptly felt like a part of himself was being taken away. The blaring horn from the car signaled that time was up. 

“Will you hurry up, we don’t have all goddamn day. You can walk the 3,000 miles there for all I care.” The crotchety man yelled from his open window, irritated that Johnny was taking so long. 

He bid his friend one final wordless goodbye before crawling into the backseat. Slipping on the well-loved black headphones, Johnny tried to push down the overwhelming feelings of resentment and anger he felt building up inside. Suppressing them all down in the farthest pit of his body until it was nothing more than a fervid hunk that rattled around from time to time. 

The whole reason for this spontaneous move was because Sid had been asked to oversee production for some show they were shooting out in New York. A last-minute favor called in from one of his slimy producer buddies. From what he gathered, they didn’t want to cut their vacation in the south of France short for a sitcom that would ultimately be canceled after one season. 

Before getting the full story, Johnny was over the moon at the prospect of a whole year without the evil bastard. It would be just like the good old days, where it was him and his mom against the world, albeit with better housing. Finally they would be able to enjoy themselves instead of constantly having to walk on eggshells to keep the fucker more or less happy. 

When they broke the news that he would be required to tag along, his hopes of reliving a simpler time were crushed. His entire life was being flushed down the toilet so some prick could do lines off of Parisian babes for an extra week. In a fit of rage, he ran back to his room and punched the first thing that he saw, which ended up being the wall. His fist smashed straight through the drywall, narrowly missing one of the studs by no more than an inch. After getting that out of his system, Johnny realized all he was left with were bruised knuckles and a fist-sized hole staring back at him. A poster of Bruce Lee would have to conceal the mar until he had the time to properly patch it up. 

Though their trip was only scheduled for a year, that did little to soften his outlook overall. An asteroid the size of Mars could slam into the earth the next day and he couldn't give less of a shit, life as he knew it was over. If Johnny were slightly more paranoid, he’d swear that Sid had done this on purpose. There was no worse time to send them packing. Multiple major events were scheduled for that year. 

On top of that list was completing his senior year with all his friends. After sucking up to all the teachers he was certain that he could breeze on by without much effort. There would be no prom or graduation. It was cheesy to say, but he was bummed that he wouldn’t get to wear that ugly green robe and square tasseled hat before chucking it in the air and taking off to enjoy their newfound freedom as graduates. 

That December he was projected to win the All Valley karate tournament for the 3rd year in a row. Spending practically every spare second in the dojo, pushing himself past his limit, wound up being for nothing. He took the easy way out and wrote a note for Bobby to give to their Sensei, Kreese, once he was out of the state. Just thinking about how he was going to react to his star pupil leaving was enough to make Johnny shudder. 

Out of those things, what he was going to miss most of all was his girlfriend, Ali. He didn't have to worry so much about that now, not since a few days prior.

“This all seems so sudden.” 

“I know it is, but it's gonna be okay. There are ways around it; we just have to be creative.”

“I appreciate the effort, I really do, but let’s face it, Johnny, there's no way this can work. It’s not like you’re moving to Fresno or Sacramento, we’re talking all the way on the other side of the country! It’s not fair to either one of us to keep this relationship going.” 

“Can’t you sleep on this, Ali? I mean, why is it all doom and gloom with you anyway? Don’t you want to stay together? Please, I'll do anything. We can call every morning and every night. I’ll even work on my handwriting so I can send you letters and stuff. I promise it won’t even be like I left.” 

“I’m sorry, Johnny, there's just too much that can happen when you're gone. I mean, what if you meet a girl there and don’t tell me, what am I supposed to do then? ” 

“Like any girl in New York could compare to you. Can’t you show a little faith in me, in us?”

As it turned out, she couldn’t. It was a quick and clean break, there were no tears or impassioned final words, it all just ended. Her indifference to the whole thing told him that she was planning on breaking up with him all along; his abrupt departure just moved up the date.

Johnny watched as they pulled out from their familiar neighborhood and headed down the 101; the morning rush that usually took up every lane was absent. Sinking down into the crowded backseat, he attempted to drown his sorrows in whatever rock station he was tuned into.  

Once they got to LAX, things started to move fast. At the airport, they checked in and soon after began boarding the plane. Johnny followed closely behind his parents as they shuffled their way down the terminal and into first class. Sid and his mom quickly found their seats and got comfortable. Searching up and down the rows, he couldn’t for the life of him find his designated seat; none of them matched the number printed on his ticket. Looking it over once more, Johnny realized he somehow overlooked the bold word “Economy” printed at the very top of the paper. Turning around to shuffle through the incoming crowd towards the back of the plane, he could hear the faint chuckling of his stepfather, followed by the chastisement of his mother to knock it off.  

He was booked the lousiest seat on the plane. A classic dick move perpetrated by that no good bastard Sid. At this point, Johnny wouldn’t have been surprised to find that he had been checked in as a piece of luggage and hauled off to the cargo bay. Being stuck for the next five hours near the bathrooms sucked, made all the more worse by the fact that he was stuck in the aisle seat next to some mom and her snot-nosed kid whose bladder was apparently the size of a peanut. Johnny couldn’t catch a break. 

They were three lousy hours into their journey when an angel of mercy, dressed in a navy blue blazer, came walking down the aisle with their big clunky beverage cart. 

“Would you like something to drink, sir?” She ever so politely asked. 

“Can I get a Coke, please?” The stewardess nodded before she leaned down to rummage through the assortment of cans. Johnny stared into the cart and wondered if he was quick enough to pocket a few mini bottles of alcohol before the flight attendant noticed. Maybe getting a little tipsy would make the rest of the trip more bearable. She placed the red can on his tray along with a few napkins before going on to serve the rest of the people in his row. He had just taken a sip when that stupid kid leaned over to grab his own drink from the woman, accidentally knocking over his soda directly into his lap. 

“Mother f-“ biting his tongue, he hurried to unbuckle his seatbelt and pick up the now half-empty can.  Since he took so long to get up, the dark cola pooled in his seat and soaked into the fabric of his pants. 

Rushing into the small lavatory, Johnny tried his best to clean up the mess left behind. As he dabbed the liquid away, he cursed the constraints of air travel that made it both impossible and illegal to snatch the kid and give them a swirly. He returned to his seat, which had since been cleaned up. Sitting back down, he felt a tap on his arm. 

“I’m sorry, mister, I didn’t mean to.” The kid apologized, holding out their packet of peanuts as a peace offering. His eyes flicked up to the kid's mother, who gave a look of pleading as if to say, “Don’t be hard on them, they’re a good kid”. Johnny could recognize that look in a second. His own mom had the expression practically trademarked. She’d make it anytime he had royally screwed up, which was often. 

“It’s alright, kid, don’t worry about it.” What else could he do? The damage had already been done. There was nothing else to do except take the apology nuts and try to make it through the remaining hours of the flight without something else dropping on him. 

They finally landed, and he was able to reunite with his family at baggage claim. Johnny had to pull his shirt down as far as it would go to try and cover the large, dark stain left behind. This, coupled with the awkward shifting from the sticky syrup, only added to the fact that it looked like he pissed his pants. 

 Johnny took a break from watching the rotating carousel of suitcases to the large window to his left that showed him the first glimpse of the place he was forced to call home for the next couple of months. It was unimpressive to say the least, unable to tell if it was just his lack of enthusiasm painting the place in a bad light, or if it was really that bleak. The sky was starting to shift dark as it turned late in the evening, the sun setting over the horizon, back to where he’d been a few hours prior.

The thought of sneaking off to the service desk while no one was looking to book himself on the next flight home crossed his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not enough nerve or cash. 

When all their luggage had been collected, they made their way out of the terminal. They walked towards a man in a dark suit holding the sign “Weinberg”, the sleek black 6-door Buick SL behind him. It wasn’t a cool limo like in the movies, just the lame kind that attorneys and people like Sid rode in when they couldn’t be bothered to drive themselves. Johnny was pressed up in the corner of the car, watching the buildings pass by as they headed down the freeway. He was starting to wonder when they would get to “the Big Apple,” everyone always talked about, because all he was seeing were industrial plants.  

“So this is New York? Looked a lot better in the postcards.” He kept his gaze locked on the outside in the hopes of seeing some skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty sometime soon. Sid had let out that all too familiar cackle he did right before something unfortunate would happen. Laura was hesitant to speak up at first, “That’s because we’re not in New York, dear, we’re staying in New Jersey.” Her voice attempted to remain cheerful through the announcement she was sure was bad enough to make her son try to jump out of the moving car. 

Johnny didn’t think it was possible with how low his expectations were for them to be lowered, but they did. He felt a whole lot worse about things now. At least when you told people you were going to New York, they thought it was exciting. The city that never sleeps with an endless array of nightclubs, culture, and rich assholes who made bank off the stock market. No one ever said anything about New Jersey, well, nothing good anyway. 

Now knowing the truth, he couldn’t look at the place with anything other than burning disdain. It was nothing like California. Any old world charm that would've come off as tasteful architecture and history to some intellectual dweeb were lost on him. There were no palm trees, no bright sun, and the so-called ocean looked about as appealing as getting a spinning kick to the nuts. Everything about this place sucked and there was no redeeming quality in sight. 

He should’ve known Sid was too cheap to get a place in the city. Instead of a cool townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, they were probably gonna be stuck slumming it at some old rundown shack in Nowhere, New Jersey. 

The LeSaber pulled up to a giant medieval castle-type house somewhere on the north side. The 3 story brick fortress looked out of place among the rest of the regular-looking houses in the neighborhood. Parking in the driveway, the chauffeur got out and started placing their luggage off to the side while they went in to look at the place. Sid put the key in the door, and it opened up to the mud room. He and his mom walked further, looking around the old house.  

“Isn’t it beautiful? With a few homey touches, it will be gorgeous. Don't you think Johnny?” Laura’s optimism in times of hardship was great when they were jumping from shitty apartment to shitty apartment around the Bay Area, but right now it was the last thing he needed. Johnny couldn’t understand why she was so giddy about filling the place up with crap. It wasn’t their house, so why go through the trouble of pretending like it was?

“Yeah…a real cozy place,” Johnny muttered, eying the cobwebs in the corner. The inside's cold interior was far from inviting. 

If there was one upside to the place, it was that it was big enough for him to avoid conflict with his eternally at odds stepdad. The rooms themselves were closed off, so he didn’t have to worry about being barely an arm's width apart at any given moment. Had they been in some cramped space in the city, like he assumed, it would’ve only tested his patience and restraint, two areas in which he was severely lacking. 

“Are you just gonna stand there? Make yourself useful for once and get the bags, dumbass.” Sid’s grave voice pierced through their otherwise pleasant conversation. 

“Oh, Sid, be nice. We just got here.” His mom attempted to smooth over any potential conflict that might arise from her husband's brash comments.

“Don’t you ‘oh Sid’ me woman, he was a brat back home and I’ll be damned if he's one here too. Maybe he can finally grow some sense in that empty lot he calls a brain. Time away from that karate shit will do him some good.”

He gritted his teeth and left without a word to do as he was asked.

“See better already.” 

Johnny didn’t have any fight left in him after such an exhausting day. Had he more energy, he probably would’ve christened the new house by knocking Sid’s front teeth loose. But then again, getting a visit from the Newark police department an hour into their stay wasn’t a good look for anyone. He had hoped that Sid would at least wait till tomorrow to start acting like an asshole, guess old habits die hard.  

 After getting their stuff inside, Johnny placed his parents' luggage in their room on the second floor before going up the extra flight of stairs to reach his room at the very top. 

Turning the creaky knob and opening the heavy oak door his new room it turned out to be nothing more than a glorified attic. barely reaching his hand above his head, had him touching the ceiling. It wasn't intended for someone his height to be up there. The windows that looked out onto the street let in the faintest amount of light that was still out. Save for an old fireplace on the back wall, the room was pretty bare. With enough caution, he could probably get away with smoking in his room if he blew it out the chimney, that was, if he could find a decent supplier out here. The room itself was pretty big, all things considered, although any room with just a mattress in the corner would look huge. 

A few of his belongings were already there, courtesy of the moving company. The words “Johnny's room top floor” were written in his mom's neat handwriting across the cardboard. Sid “generously” allowed him to take three boxes with him, which wasn’t a lot, seeing as one held his bedding. The other two were an amalgamation of mixtapes, junk, and clothing. It wasn’t like he could fit his motorcycle or car into the box so he was stuck filling it with random crap that he thought he'd need. 

Kicking off his shoes, followed by his pants, Johnny fell back onto the bed. He was completely drained after nearly a full 8 hours of traveling. All he had to do was survive these next few months, and he'd be back home to pick up where he left off with his friends riding off into the sunset in comfortable 75° weather. Getting up from his spot on the floor, he ripped open the box containing his comforter and pulled it out before lying back down. Johnny curled up on the mattresses, he couldn’t be bothered to change. All he wanted to do was sleep and try to forget that this was his new reality. 

That night, he had a dream where everything had gone to plan. There was no job in New York, no weird old house, and he was still in California. He and the guys were tearing down the side roads without a care in the world, except for where to score more beer, of course. That was until he caught Ali at some beachside bonfire getting close to some nerd in a red hoodie. He had gone down to confront them and teach the unnamed figure a lesson. After Johnny had pummeled them into the ground they popped up from the sand and sucker punched him square in the face. 

He jolted awake, staring at the too-close speckled ceiling of his new bedroom. He reached up to touch his nose, which was definitely the weirdest dream he’d ever had. What was even weirder was that he could swear he could feel the faint throb of pain left behind from the strike.

 Peaking through the sheer curtains, he could tell by the low sun that it was fairly early. With a light stretch, he got up from his floor bed and opened his suitcase to pull out a clean shirt and a new pair of jeans. After getting dressed, Johnny rushed downstairs so he could use the phone, nearly slipping down the polished wood staircase. He caught himself on the banister before he could tumble the rest of the way down. With that early jumpstart to his heart, Johnny made his way into the kitchen to use the phone. He punched in Bobby’s number and waited on the line, It was a minute before anyone picked up. 

“Hello?” A groggy voice finally answered. 

“Hey Bobby, it’s me.” 

“Johnny, why the hell are you calling so early?” He looked at the clock on the stove. 

“What do you mean it’s 9:00? You’re usually up around this time.” Bobby was always getting up before them when they’d have sleepovers. Which is why they could never prank him because he’d always be the last to bed and first to wake.

“You forget we’re in different time zones now, New York is like 3 hours ahead of here. So for future reference whenever you get the urge to call me, look at the time, and subtract a couple hours before you decide to wake me up at the ass crack of dawn.” The surprise wake-up call had obviously caught the other off guard, Bobby’s usual pleasantries and lax demeanor clearly hadn’t woken up yet. 

“Excuse me, sleeping beauty, I forgot about that little detail. Anyway, get this, I’m not even in New York. Sid’s got us in fucking Jersey!” Johnny whisper-screamed into the phone, not wanting to wake up the rest of the house. 

“New Jersey? I’m sorry man, that sucks.” 

“Yeah, the place is major Sucksville, USA. I'm going out to see if this dump has anything to offer.” 

“You do that, John, I'm going to go back to bed. Call me if you end up finding something worthwhile.” A yawn was faintly audible as Bobby pulled away, so he didn’t do it directly into the receiver. 

“Yeah, right, fat chance that’ll happen. I’ll let you get back to your beauty sleep, sweet dreams, Bobert.” Hanging up the phone, he took his jacket from where it hung on the coat rack and headed out into the neighborhood with no particular plan in mind. With any luck, he’d be proven wrong and find something worthwhile in this city. 

There was no rhyme or reason to his walk; he just picked a direction to go in and went off. Certain parts of the city were better than others, as he continued his walk, the condition of the sidewalk grew more cracked and jagged. In some places it was nearly impossible to get through, and he had to take to walking in the street just to get around. 

The journey wasn’t worth the trouble it took to get there. The majority of the city was a lot of the same: old buildings, small stores, and empty lots. In some ways, it was like back home, in the sense that things were very close together with more people crammed into one finite space than seemed possible, but that was where the similarities ended. It was like a bomb had gone off, scattering trash and crumbling buildings that were at one point working factories. Now, they served no other purpose than adding to the post-apocalyptic cityscape. After doing a loop around downtown Newark, he stopped to rest on a random bridge.

Looking across from his vantage point, he could make out the faint skyline of the big city across the water.  He considered the idea of going for a little day trip to New York, but he quickly realized that without any money and not a clue how to get there, that plan was stopped before it could be started. 

Left with no other viable options, Johnny decided it was best to cut his losses and return to the house. He should probably get started on unpacking his stuff and talking to his mom about getting furniture. That would be a smarter use of his time than walking aimlessly through town. Maybe hanging up a few posters would make the old jail cell a little more tolerable. As he got up from his place on the bridge, he realized he had forgotten which way he had come. After a few hours of turning down every random street he came across, it didn’t occur to him that he would eventually have to find his way back. 

All the houses looked the same, and the narrow streets went on for miles. There were no landmarks that he could recall seeing, and he was evidently stuck wandering around a glorified maze until he would eventually recognize something that would trigger his memory to get back home and proceed to stay in his room for the foreseeable future.

 Johnny turned into some random neighborhood. It was lined on the left-hand side with a couple of cars parked in front of a row of apartment buildings. Walking down the road, he could feel that he was being watched. Making it a few steps further, he whipped around to confront whoever it was leering at him from behind. At the end of the street was a young boy blocking the entrance. Soon, more began to appear from behind the cars and buildings. They wore similar grins, elated that someone had fallen into their trap. Johnny counted 5 in total. 

“Did ya’ make a wrong turn to the salon, blondie?” One called out.

“Yeah, what's your business on Franklin Avenue? Don’t you know you gotta pay the toll to enter?” A particularly cocky boy asked as the group closed in on him. 

Johnny could feel that familiar surge of adrenaline hit his bloodstream. Dealing with these Junior high rejects wasn’t the ideal way of spending his first day in the city, but he also wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to use one of their faces to let out his frustrations. The group was far from intimidating, Johnny could tell just by their stance. They couldn't be older than 15. Based on their uncoordinated and novice tactics, they were obviously relying solely on the element of surprise to intimidate their victims. 

There was no doubt in his mind that he could wipe the floor with them without breaking a sweat. That confidence wavered when he spotted the glimmer of a switchblade in the hand of one of the boys. Johnny still wasn’t afraid, maybe if he got into a bad fight, his mom and Sid would have no choice but to send him back to California. At this point, he’d take a stab just to get out of this place. Just as he was about to step up to one of the kids, someone interrupted. 

“Cesare DelConti, you leave that guy alone!” A voice shouted from the alley. Emerging from the shadows was a scrawny kid in a blue cut-off shirt, running to his aid with his fists balled at his sides. As he intervened to break up the enclosing circle, one of the little wannabe gangsters rolled their eyes. 

“Oh great, LaRusso the tattletale is here to save the day again . Don’t you have something better to do than get in our way?” Cesare complained. 

“Maybe if you stopped acting like a chooch all the time, I wouldn’t have to. I bet your mother would love to know that you were out causing trouble again. That goes for the rest of yous’ too. Beat it before I start making calls and knocking on doors.” The boys visibly paled at the mention of their mothers. Dropping the tough guy act, they lowered their defenses and began to retreat with their tails tucked between their legs. 

“Forget you. Let’s go, boys, he's not worth it.” They all followed his lead and turned around, muttering curses. The mysterious kid who had come to his defense stayed with his hands on his hips, staring the fiends down till they were out of sight. He finally turned to ask, 

“You alright?” 

Johnny stood dumbfounded, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d seen this kid somewhere before. Which he knew couldn’t be true, as they lived on totally opposite sides of the country. Not to mention the interaction was weird, like something out of that West Side Story movie Ali made him watch. He hoped no one would burst out into song anytime soon. Realizing he was stuck standing there with a dumb look on his face, he wised up and finally responded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The kid relaxed, looking in the direction the group fled. He outstretched his arm to usher Johnny to move toward the sidewalk in order to get out of the way of an incoming van. 

“Don’t mind Cesare, he's just like that. Oh, sorry. I’m Daniel LaRusso by the way, nice to meet you.” Daniel stuck out his hand, waiting for him to reciprocate the gesture. 

“Johnny Lawrence.” He replied, giving a quick and polite handshake. 

“I haven’t seen you around. Are you new here?” 

He nodded, “Got off the plane last night.” 

“Really? Sorry, your first day had to be kinda shitty. You just let me know if he tries anything again, I’ll set him straight.” Daniel assured him, striking a closed fist against his palm. From the look on his face, Johnny guessed there was a long-standing history between those two. 

“Thanks for the offer, but I can take care of myself. I’m a black belt, won two karate tournaments in a row.” He could never pass on an opportunity to brag about his achievements. Apparently, this was big news to the brunette, who looked up at him as if he’d said he could walk on water and cure the blind. 

“Wow, really? You’re like the real thing, then, a regular Bruce Lee. I’ve only done a few classes down at the Y. I don’t think I even qualify for a belt. I didn’t get to do much since I was too small for the weight class. You gotta show me some of your moves sometime. So where are you staying at?” Johnny found it difficult to keep up with the barrage of questions the guy was throwing his way, so he just answered the one he heard last. 

“Somewhere on Ballantine Parkway… I think.” He hadn’t asked what their new address was, so his guess was as good as any. He wasn’t too worried about it, he’d know it when he saw it. 

Daniel whistled, “That’s a nice place. I'll walk you there. Sometimes Cesare and his jamoke friends like to ambush people on their way out. Follow me.” They were about to start the lengthy walk back when the sound of his growling stomach stopped them before they could go any further. 

“You hungry?” The kid asked, amused by the overwhelming sound of Johnny’s body telling him he needed to eat. 

“A little,” Johnny replied, slightly embarrassed. Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten since the day before. He guessed his need to get as far away as humanly possible from that house and the unsightly hobgoblin that lived in it had taken precedence over being hungry. 

“Well, we can get you something quick from the deli, come on.” Daniel led him down the same alley he had emerged from and down the street. In hindsight, following a random boy he’d met 5 minutes ago through a dark alley and into some unknown location probably wasn’t the smartest thing he could do, but it wasn’t like he had anything else going on.

The brunette led him along till they reached a storefront where two old men were sitting in front of a little table reading the paper. 

“Salve.” He quickly greeted the men before going inside. Johnny quickly ducked in after him. It was like they were transported into another world. 

Daniel and the man behind the counter got into a lively conversation, the likes of which Johnny could barely understand. He could pick up the few English words that they sprinkled in here and there. that were intertwined with what they were saying. 

By the end of the interaction, Daniel was given half a sandwich that was wrapped in white paper. 

“You be good little LaRusso, tell your mother her order will be ready tomorrow.”  

“I will, Mr.Cammareri, thank you.” As they exited the store, he finally felt like he could talk again. 

“ You speak Italian?” It was kind of a dumb question to ask, as he’d actively seen him speak it. 

“Eh, not really. I understand it better than I speak it. As long as you know the basics, you can get by. A lot of the older folks ‘round here speak it exclusively, so I kinda had to pick it up.” 

“Here you go.” Daniel gave him the wrapped food, he hesitantly took the sandwich from his hand.

“ I- uh, don’t have any money on me right now, but I swear I’ll pay you back once I get to my house.” 

“Don’t sweat it. Think of it as a welcoming gift, from me to you.” He unwrapped the paper and took a bite of the mysterious food. It wasn’t bad, better than nothing. 

“So what’s with the little rascal crew?” 

“Tough to say. There are a lot of little Caesars roaming the streets nowadays. I remember not 2 years ago the kid was glued to my hip, always crying about something or other. Then he got those friends of his, and they started calling themselves the East Side Strikers. Thinks it makes em’ tough to push people around, pretending like they’re big shots. In reality they’re just a group of poor suckers like the rest of us. Buncha’ wanksters with nothing better to do.” He spat. 

Despite not being the subject of the conversation, Johnny couldn’t help but feel targeted by Daniel’s scathing criticism of the boys. 

“Well- I mean, he could have a good reason.  Maybe he felt like he needed to be a part of something bigger than himself, or was looking for a way to protect himself. Can’t blame a kid for wanting backup when they get into it…or something like that.” The brunette was silent for a few moments, staring at him suspiciously. 

“Sounds like you know a lot about this kinda stuff. Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you perhaps speaking from experience?” He probed, a small knowing smirk appearing on his face like he had cracked the code. 

“No way I’m not in a gang.” Johnny denied, taking a big bite of the sandwich to try and get out of talking about it anymore. 

“Oh really, then what’s that fancy symbol you got on your jacket? Not from any brand I’ve ever seen.” Daniel’s finger flicked at the embroidered patch sewn to the left side of his red jacket. A symbol of pride and strength that only the top students of Cobra Kai were allowed to wear as a sign of their dedication to being the best of the best. He moved away from the others' touch and swallowed. 

“It’s for my dojo. And no, we’re not a gang. We all wear the symbol on our jackets and hang out. The only time we fight outside of the dojo or tournaments is protect our turf from any assholes is all.” Now that he said it out loud, maybe he was in a gang, well, gang adjacent. 

“Oh, I get it, you’re just a group of karate enthusiasts with a penchant for violence and a killer sense of style. My apologies for not seeing the difference.”

“Whatever, at least we don’t go around shaking people down with a knife.” Johnny was more lethal with his hands than steel anyway. 

“I guess that would put you a step above them,” he smiled, that’ll show LaRusso not to sell him short. 

“Thank y-“

 “, but not by much.”  His face fell back into a frown again. 

When he was still a weak crybaby of a kid, he took to karate almost immediately. Not only was it badass to tell people he knew martial arts, but he also never had to worry about getting hurt again. Soon, those kids he practiced alongside became his life, long-time friends. Moving together as one well-oiled machine, they always had each other to depend on. Never showing mercy to those who dared cross them.

 At some point, he realized he wasn’t just a part of Cobra Kai, he was Cobra Kai. He lived, breathed, and ate every lesson Kreese had taught them to the letter. He wore the snake symbol with pride. It was more than a cool patch; it was his life, his reason for being. Now that he was on his own, it was all he had left. The image that struck fear in the hearts of those in the Valley meant virtually nothing here. At face value, people probably thought he was just really into snakes. 

“What about you, you got a ‘gang’?” Johnny asked, trying to take the spotlight off himself and his pending identity crisis. 

“Me? Nah, I like being on my own. Got that lone wolf kinda thing going for me.” He bragged. 

Johnny couldn’t stop himself from cracking up. trying to stifle his laugh with the remainder of the sandwich, but failing. While Daniel proved to have a lot of guts, he was far from threatening. Try as he might, Johnny had a lot of trouble picturing the short, skinny spitfire as the “lone wolf”. Instead, the only image that came to mind was a pint-sized chihuahua. 

“What? What’re you ragging on me for?” Daniel asked 

“It’s nothing. Go on, tell me more about you being a big, bad wolf and all.” He teased 

“This is the thanks I get for feeding and saving your ass? Next time I’ll tell ‘em you got a Rolex in that fancy jacket of yours.” Daniel half-heartedly threatened, trying to grab at the almost finished sandwich in Johnny's hand. 

“Nuh uh, can’t take away a gift.” He shoved the remainder of it into his mouth. They crossed the bridge and were back in the center of Newark. 

“So what do you do for fun around here? Is there like an arcade nearby or like mini golf?” At the very least, this place should have some knock-off version of Golf n’ Stuff that he could hang out at when he needed some space. 

“Nah, nothing like that. There used to be an arcade over in Ironbound, but it closed down not too long ago. You’d have to go to Coney Island or down to Seaside Heights for that kind of stuff.  Other than the Y, there’s not much to do around here.” 

“That’s a shocker. What about fishing, anything in the river?” He pointed back to the dark colored water that was strangely void of any wildlife on the outer banks.

“Oh well, last month the EPA sent out this letter calling it a “superfund site” cause the old Alkali factory dumping agent orange shit into the water. No one really touches it now. Cesare went around the block showing off a two-headed fish he caught in a bucket. 

Johnny remembered Kreese mentioning something about Agent Orange during one of his Vietnam War stories. From the way he described it Johnny knew it was some serious shit. Apparently, he was a little too lost in thought as Daniel tried to save the city's image. 

“Sometimes we'll have a game of baseball in one of the old lots, but usually by the time we get to the 7th inning, someone gets mad about a play and starts a fight. Not as many soccer fans, so I can’t really play anyone.” Daniel was also in the middle of his own realization that Jersey was kinda lame, “I do have my bike, best I got.” 

“No way, you have a bike?” Finally, something to pique his interest. 

“What guy doesn’t?” Johnny wondered if sucked up to the kid enough he’d let him ride it around for a while. At least it was something to do instead of twiddling his thumbs in the attic. 

“What kind of motor does it have?”

“Motor, who am I Evel Knievel? I mean like a regular bike.”

“Oh, a bicycle . That’s nice, I guess.” It was a little outrageous to think that a kid who was living in an apartment the size of his living room would magically be able to afford a motorcycle. Johnny couldn’t remember the last time he rode a regular bike. It was way too slow-paced for him now. He loved living from moment to moment, constantly riding the cusp between danger and excitement. He couldn’t get that type of thrill from a tricycle. 

“Don’t be dissing my bike, man, she's a beauty. You’d be lucky to even ride on my handlebars.”

“Well, if I’d had my bike here, the only thing you’d be able to see is my taillights. I’d be out of this place, ride all the way back to Encino.” 

“That quick, hm? What’s in Encino that’s so great anyway? How come you’re set on getting out of here?”

“How could I not be? It's not like I wanted to be here. I was forced to come along.” Johnny shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to avoid the big cracks in the sidewalk. 

“Why’s that?” Daniel asked in sincerity, his voice softer than it originally had been. 

“Stepdad got a job in the city. So I'm stuck here for a year. 

“I understand, my ma’s been talking about going to where the work is n’ all. I’d be pretty pissed too if I were you.” Commiserating only did so much. Johnny could bitch and moan all he wanted, but it didn’t change the fact that he had no idea what he was going to do. 

“I had it made back home, but now I've got nothing. Less than nothing because I don’t even have myself. The real me is back in California, now I’m just Johnny the nobody. My friends are probably all living it up without me. This isn’t fuckin’ fair !” He kicked a forgotten bottle as hard as he could, sending it hard against a brick wall where it shattered. Daniel jumped, startled by his outburst, but soon placed a gentle hand on his back. 

“I know this place might not be as fancy as California, but I swear I’ll show you a good time. Consider me your personal tour guide, I won’t even ask for a tip. Not that they’re not welcome, of course.” His lame joke finally got Johnny’s gloomy demeanor to crack.  

“Here’s a tip: don’t quit your day job, kid.”

The rest of the way home, Johnny got to telling Daniel about life back in California. 

Mostly stuff about strange and funny situations he and his friends got into, his car, and of course, karate. Daniel hung on his every word, big eyes lighting up whenever he’d tell him something interesting. The guy wasn’t so bad once he got to know him, but man, did LaRusso have a mouth. For every story he'd tell, he would have at least 10 follow-up questions lined up and ready to ask. Daniel was like a little kid in that regard, despite being technically older, he found out. 

Johnny felt himself getting lost in their conversation, for a moment it was like he’d completely forgotten that he was in New Jersey.  To the point that he didn’t notice that they were in front of his new house until Daniel pointed it out. 

“So I’m riding down the street with my friend Tommy,”

“ Uh John-“

“And this truck pulls out at the last minute,” 

“Johnny isn’t-“

“Which is like such a dick move. So me and Tommy both skidded and nearly-“ 

“Johnny!” The shorter yelled out. He stopped abruptly, waiting for an explanation for his outburst. 

“What’s your problem?”

“Sorry, not that I don’t like hearing your stories n'all, but we’ve passed this place like three times already. Isn't this your house?” Motioning behind his head, Johnny turned around to see that it was, in fact, the big ugly house he now lived in.

“Oh. Right, I guess this is mine. Thanks for looking out for me, not that I needed it or anything.” Johnny could hear Daniel scoff. He was about to walk away when the kid spoke up.  

“Hold on, are you going to Newark Central this year?”

“ I think so.” In hindsight, Johnny would need to ask a lot more questions going forward if he were going to get by. 

“ I could come back tomorrow and show you how to get there, if you want to.” He offered, big brown eyes watching him hopefully as they waited for a response. 

“I guess, do whatever you want.” Johnny didn’t want to come off as overly eager, it wasn’t like he spent the past hour and a half telling him his life story or anything embarrassing like that. 

“Cool, I'll be here at noon. See you tomorrow, Johnny!” They called out as they went back the way they came.

 Johnny stood on the front steps of the porch watching the brunette cross the street and go back home. Had he met Daniel LaRusso in California, he couldn’t say for sure if they would be friends. Seeing as there weren't any other options, he guessed the kid wouldn’t be the worst person to hang around with. Time would tell if they could manage to make their unlikely friendship work. 

Entering the house, his mom was in the kitchen, dressed in one of those funky robes she still had. A small piece from old Laura’s wardrobe, before her closet was filled to the brim with Chanel and stuff from the Bloomingdale's catalog. 

There you are, Johnny, I thought I’d have to send someone to look for you.” She walked up to him and fixed his stray bangs out of his eyes. “Were you doing some exploring?”

“Sorta. Where’s Sid?” 

“He’s already out, went to check out his new office downtown. I wanted to wait for you to come back, and our groceries should be delivered soon, so I can make breakfast or lunch now. She laughed. Guess I should probably put something else before the delivery man sees me in my bunny slippers.” She gave his cheek a kiss before going back to her bedroom to change. 

Checking the time, Johnny did some mental math and decided that now was a more appropriate time to call Bobby again. 

“Johnny?”

“Who else would be calling you from New Jersey?”

“I dunno, maybe you got bored and wrote my number on some bathroom stall for kicks. So what’s up, how’d the mission go for you, Rambo?” 

“Pretty much what I expected, trash. You would think a place that’s a few miles removed from NYC would be more lively. The most they got is a toxic sludge river and tetanus fields. it wasn’t a total bust, though, it’s not so bad once you get someone to hang out with.” Twisting the phone cord around his finger, he thought about Daniel. He wondered if he would get home alright. 

“Ooh, did Johnny Lawrence meet someone?” Bobby asked with mischievous interest. 

Ahem, “No, I just met this kid and they helped me find my way back to the house.“

“Was she hot?”

“No, HE is not.” Johnny clarified. 

“Oh, didn’t know you swung that way. Guess I can’t blame you for wanting to try out something new. Good for you, buddy, as long as you’re happy I’m cool with it. 

“Will you shut up!? Jesus, you’re worse than my mother. It’s just this kid I met. He's not so bad for being from Jersey and all.” Johnny was thankful that he couldn’t see how red he’d gotten through the phone. 

“Hm.” Bobby cheekily responded, knowing that there was more to the story that the other was intentionally leaving out.

“So, how did the note thing go with Kreese?”

“Oh, you know, after he broke a few of the mirrors and nearly tossed Aaron out of the window, he was fine. I think he’s set on making Dutch the new you, I wouldn’t be surprised if he started making him wear a headband to class.” It made him feel a little better that someone was having a worse reaction to him leaving than he was. 

“Like Dutch could pull it off.” Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

“Johnny, could you get the door, please?” His mother’s voice called from upstairs.

“Gotta let you go, Bobby, the food is here.” 

“You sure that’s not code for your new boyfriend?” He teased. 

“I swear Brown, I’ll make it on the next flight outta here just to kick your ass.” 

“I’d like to see you try.”