Archive of Our Own

Tommy had been nagging all day long. There was this cute freckled redhead from Granada Hills who had turned him down the night before just outside Golf ‘n Stuff, right after he had won a huge teddy bear at balloon darts for her, and now he was simply insufferable. Whenever a hot chick turned him down, and although Jimmy told him he should have grown used by now, he would whine everyone’s ears off or he would just sulk in the corner and throw jabs at his fellow Cobras each time they mentioned their own girlfriends.

Bobby the suave ladykiller had told him more than once that this was no way to get sympathy, or a cute girl for that matter. Dutch would burst into his high-pitched giggle as usual. Sweet patient Jimmy would just nod and listen. And Johnny-

Well, Johnny would say nothing at all. Johnny had stopped playing smart and wise a long time ago.

After the tournament the Cobras didn’t know what to do with him. They didn’t know how to cheer him up whenever he was down - most times they wouldn’t even try. They stopped egging him on to do stuff that would help him keep his ace degenerate status. He had announced he wanted to concentrate on his grades because soon he’d have to apply for college but the truth was he wasn’t himself anymore - the Cobras sensed that. Dutch had slowly regained leadership of the pack and he made a tremendous effort not to rub it in Johnny’s face - he was dying to remind him of his failure. He loved getting back on top and it was a matter of time before Johnny realized that too.

For all their reluctance to encourage Johnny to open up, not all the Cobras felt the same as Dutch. They silently agreed that Johnny deserved some sympathy after he got his ass whooped twice, at the tournament and right after.

They had all thrown their black belts at Kreese’s feet that night - he didn’t. He put them away; both the black belt and the headband were safely buried in the back of a drawer but he just couldn’t get rid of them completely. He had lost his girl, his title and his sensei within six months; the least the Cobras could do was let him keep his pride, although whenever they called him “ace degenerate” to lift his mood Johnny heard something entirely different.

Cream puff.

That’s all he remembered from that night. That’s all he heard. That’s all he could think of.

That and the kick.

Tommy’s incessant nagging was making Johnny cringe. He had been gnashing his teeth all day long so as to keep from lashing out at him. The boys were all agreeing with Tommy, shit talking every woman on the planet but their mothers and sisters – even Bobby chimed in saying how all his girls took ages to put on make up and get dressed “because they were females, that’s why”. On the contrary, Johnny was done shit talking girls. He didn’t care anymore. All he wanted to do was spend a carefree day at the beach with his friends, just like old times. It had been so many months since he had visited this place; he wanted to feel like things were back to normal, just this once.

“Hey guys,” he said as he stopped his motorcycle at the edge of the road, “cool out, man, we’re gonna have fun, alright? How can you guys be so mad at a night like this? I mean look at the stars, it’s a beautiful night. Let’s go to the beach, have a swim.”

“Is that why we’re stopping here?” Tommy complained. “I thought we’d just grab an ice cream from the Beach Store and we’d be off to see The Goonies, it’s getting late.”

“Hey, I wanna have a swim, alright?” Johnny said. “I’ve been studying all those months, I wanna have some fun.”

“You’ve been staring at the ceiling all those months more like…” Dutch slurred through his teeth and looked the other way pretending to be brushing his fingers through his yellow hair.

“What did you say?...”

“Nothing, Johnny, nothing,” Dutch said, his fake grin stretching from ear to ear.

“Okay,” Johnny said with his cold eyes fixed on Dutch’s. “Let’s go then.”

They turned on their motorcycles but just before riding down the beach Bobby stopped them.

“Hey Johnny, look who’s down there,” he warned with a wary nod, “you sure this is a good idea?”

Johnny lifted his head peering down the hill to see a skinny dark-haired boy lit by a bonfire, standing in the middle of a circle of seniors who were sitting on the sand. A couple of ten-year-olds were standing by, watching his slow moves completely entranced. He was showing them karate stances.

“Look at that bitch showing off,” Tommy sneered. “He thinks he’s quite the celebrity now, doesn’t he? I saw him signing autographs right after the tournament, pathetic. You would never do that, Johnny, would you?”

“Actually I did…” Johnny murmured to himself never taking his eyes off Daniel. “When I was champion.”

“C’mon, Johnny, let’s go…” Jimmy urged him putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Fuck that, I’m not going anywhere,” Johnny snapped shrugging him off as if he had just woken from a bad dream. “He can’t stop me from having a swim with my guys, this isn’t his fucking beach. Let’s go down.”

“C’mon, Johnny, C’MON!” Tommy protested. “Let’s go for that ice cream, I wanna drown my sorrows in chocolate syrup and whipped cream! You’ve never been turned down by a redhead, man, you don’t know what it’s like.”

“Shut up, Tommy,” Bobby hissed in his face as he grabbed him by the collar, looking daggers at him. Bobby the peacemaker had never lost his cool before. “Who gives two shits about your redhead? You’re the reason Johnny got into this mess in the first place, you were right here showing him Ali and Daniel fooling around when you could have left well enough alone,” he spat through gritted teeth. “Now the best you can do is shut the fuck up and let us go to that beach and have some real fun for once.”

Tommy’s eyes went dark, his mouth a dry slit of indignation. “Do not. Touch me,” he warned raising his trembling finger, his face turning into a mask of hate.

Bobby let go of his collar and turned to look for Johnny. Their defeated leader was already riding down the hill.

Daniel was balancing on one leg, showing his audience how to kick without falling flat on their face. When he was done he took a bow and the kids imitated him. Some of the older girls sitting in the circle clapped cheering him on. Johnny could tell Daniel spotted him and his friends from a distance as they parked their bikes near the trees but he was deliberately ignoring them. Obviously he was too busy entertaining his new fans to give his old enemies a second glance.

As the Cobras walked towards the beach, keeping their distance and trying not to make eye contact with Daniel’s noisy crowd, a voice stopped them.

“Hey guys, why don’t you sit with us? We have a fire.”

Johnny was already headed for the shore and ready to unroll his towel when he stopped in his tracks, wincing as if someone had just shoved a gallon of lemon juice down his throat. He turned.

“Hey. That’s quite alright,” he said nonchalantly, “we’ll build our own fire. Wouldn’t wanna bother you and your friends here.”

“Not bothering us at all,” Daniel insisted, “c’mon, we have sausages ready,” he said taking a bite and munching it. Loud wet sounds came from his open mouth.

“No, man, we’ll pass,” Johnny said with a dismissive wave.

“You sure?” Daniel asked raising his brows innocently and took another bite, wrapping his lips tight around the sausage and letting the juice run down his chin.

Dutch took a step forward. “You know what?” he chuckled clenching and unclenching his fists. “Wouldn’t want to offend you, guys. I say we join them, what do you say, Cobras?”

Johnny opened his blue eyes in utter horror as he mouthed “No!” to Dutch, hoping the dark would hide his panicking face from Daniel’s stupid fanboys.

“C’mon, Johnny, we’re all friends here, right?” Dutch insisted shrugging. “School’s almost over, we’ll all go to different colleges, it’s not like we’ll be meeting our schoolmates again anytime soon, is it? C’mon, buddy…” he said punching Johnny’s arm, a gesture that was sure to piss him off even more.

“No, Dutch,” Johnny hissed almost shaking, his cheeks flushed with rage. “I’m not going. I’m not sitting with them.”

“What, you afraid or something?” Dutch egged him on. “Didn’t take you for a pussy.”

Johnny felt his stomach clutch.

“C’mon, Dutch, don’t be like that…” Bobby intervened.

Johnny shifted his eyes nervously from Dutch to Daniel, then back to Dutch. His breathing grew heavy like an agitated huffing horse ready to kick. His knuckles went white.

“Alright. Alright we sit with them. But then we go.” He wrapped the towel under his armpit and motioned quickly towards the fire as the Cobras followed him exchanging uncertain glances.

“What the hell, man, what are you trying to prove?” Bobby said trying to catch up with Dutch.

“That Kreese was right,” Dutch snarled narrowing his eyes. “There’s a reason Johnny lost, he doesn’t have what it takes. You can hate Kreese’s wording all you like, doesn’t change the fact that he was telling the truth. Johnny is a loser, it’s time you all saw that instead of kissing his ass and pretending you care. And most important of all? He’ll see it too.”

He walked on. “Wake up, Bobby,” he said leaving him behind.

When Johnny reached the fire Daniel had already sat down, his forearms, covered in sand, resting on his slender knees. As soon as he saw Johnny he scooted on the side, making room for him to sit beside him. “Hey, sit down here,” he said patting the ground.

Johnny glared at him. What a fucking hypocrite, pretending he wanted to be friends when he stole his girl and got his ass kicked on multiple occasions because of that. The only reason Daniel was being friendly now was to gloat. If it wasn’t for Dutch’s provocations Johnny would be taking a swim now instead of playing buddies with this jerk.

“Thanks,” he mumbled reluctantly and sat next to him.

“You want some?” Daniel said grabbing a stick with a sausage on it.

“Nah, I’m good,” Johnny muttered.

“Are you on a diet or something? I always wanted to ask, especially whenever I saw you, well… playing soccer. Y’know…” Daniel said pointing at Johnny’s abs with a timid smile. “It’s not just the karate, is it?”

Why was Daniel acting like that? Why now?

Johnny felt a light shiver crawling up the back of his neck as he realized for the first time Daniel had seen his body on multiple occasions. In the showers too. He never knew Daniel would notice a thing like that, not when the little Italian twerp was avoiding him in the school corridors like a scared rat or dousing him with a hose when he wasn’t looking. He never knew a guy would notice his body, let alone Daniel.

And it’s not like the Cobras had been showering him with compliments about his appearance either.

“I always watch my diet,” he replied.

He had never been asked about his eating habits in the past - the Cobras didn’t care, they had their own diet. There were no secrets or surprises among them, those guys were his peers, his equals.

Daniel wasn’t.

Johnny suddenly realized that from a school of more than a thousand students those boys were his only friends. The only people who had let him in their circle, a closed one at that. The only people he ever cared to know better.

He took a look around, contemplating the faces of Daniel’s friends. There was Freddy and Barbara and a couple other douchebags he knew from school but never bothered talking to. He didn’t know if they were his type or if he would hang out with them under different circumstances. He didn’t care.

“Only lean protein and vegetables for me unless it’s cheat day so I can go out for a burger and an ice cream,” he added as he wondered if Daniel even knew what he was talking about. He might as well be talking Greek to him.

“You can eat burgers and ice cream only once a week? Geez,” Daniel whistled wrapping his arms around his knees. “I doubt I’d ever be able to hold on that long.”

 Johnny shrugged. “I have to. Otherwise what’s the use of training four hours a day, five days a week?”

Time to brag a little to this newbie who got one lucky break in his miserable life. Beginner’s luck, that was the secret of the big LaRusso win.

And patience.

And peace of mind.

And focus.

Maybe you should look into those as well, Johnny.

“Four hours, five days a week!” Daniel exclaimed breaking Johnny’s troublesome thoughts. “Whoa! Is that the kind of training and diet you do at Cobra Kai?”

“Well,” Johnny said, “not all of us are on a strict diet like me. Like Bobby over there, see that baby fat in his belly? That’s just a bit too much Coke and banana cream pies.”

Daniel blinked, bewildered by Johnny’s funny side, and burst into laughter. Johnny never expected to see him giggle, certainly not at his jokes. It sounded like genuine laughter unlike what he was receiving lately. Daniel didn’t have to pretend or make him feel good about himself; Daniel didn’t care. Daniel was Daniel.

They peered through the fire at Bobby; he had sat next to Barbara, the cute blonde who was now feeding him a roasted marshmallow. White gooey strings of melted sugar were running down his chin making the girl snigger as she wiped the drops from his naked chest and licked her finger fluttering her long eyelashes.  

“Aw look at them,” Daniel joked, “they hit it off right away. I knew there was a reason we met you guys tonight.”

Johnny frowned as the thought of a certain girl hit him. He hadn’t thought of her in weeks, he was supposed to be studying, focusing on his future no matter how much harder it was getting day by day.

Maybe he just had to ask the burning question and get on with it.

“Hey, how… how’s Ali?” he slurred never raising his eyes to face Daniel.

He knew he shouldn’t be asking, it still hurt but it felt necessary, as if he had to pull out a rotten tooth – a little bit of pain and then it’s gone. “Is she here? I-I mean I don’t see her.”

“Ali?...” Daniel said. “She’s… doing good. I guess…?”

“What do you mean?”

 “We haven’t talked in a while,” Daniel admitted hanging his head as he dug the sand with his toes. “Not after she trashed my car and ran off with a football player,” he said bitterly.

Johnny suppressed a chuckle; he wanted to laugh in Daniel’s face so so bad. Ali left him as well. What a joke.

 “That was right after the prom,” Daniel continued. “I thought you would have seen us shouting at each other in the parking lot, everybody did.”

“I… didn’t go to the prom,” Johnny said furrowing his brows, his eyes fixed on the fire.

 “Oh,” Daniel said biting his lip. “I’m sorry. Didn’t know that.”

“Nah, it’s ok,” Johnny muttered as he reached for a Diet Coke. “You know,” he said trying to sound like he cared, “I thought you guys were gonna get married or something.”

Suddenly he was feeling warm inside. Ali wasn’t with Daniel anymore, he wasn’t such a big winner after all.

Everybody could be a loser.

“Married?!” Daniel said with a bitter laugh. “Don’t you think we’re a little too young to consider marriage? I haven’t even gone to college yet. Besides… I don’t think it would work out with Ali.”

“Really? Why?”

Daniel shrugged. “I’m not into-”. He bit his lip. “Well. Not my type I guess.”

“What, you’re not into blondes?” Johnny teased and brushed his golden bangs away from his eyes without thinking. He didn’t even know why he did that. Maybe he was feeling relaxed and elated now that Daniel wasn’t a threat anymore. Maybe Daniel was just another kid who got lucky, a kid who was trying real hard to be his friend.

But why?

Because he fancies you, you idiot, a mocking voice whispered in his ear.

Sh-

Shut up.

Daniel’s big brown eyes turned to him and for a moment Johnny thought that the burning light he saw in them wasn’t coming from the fire. For a moment he thought the little voice in his head was real.

Daniel’s lip curled into a slow smirk. “Depends on the blonde,” he quipped and got up shaking the sand off his shorts before Johnny could process what he had heard.

After a couple of minutes Daniel came back with more sausages to roast. Johnny’s stomach started making weird noises as he watched everyone around him devouring sandwiches, meatballs and muffins.

“C’mon…” Daniel urged him with a smile and a nod. “I can see you eyeballing that sausage. Have one, I won’t tell anyone.”

“We were supposed to go to the movies after the beach,” Johnny groaned, “we would have a proper meal at the mall.”

“Well you don’t have to eat our trash food if it’s not good enough for you,” Daniel said indifferently and took a large bite from his tuna sandwich.

“No, I didn’t say that.”

“Then have a sausage. Please. Do it for me,” Daniel urged him handing him a stick with a sausage.

“Maybe I could make this my cheat day,” Johnny said with a half smile as he took the stick from Daniel’s hand. He was starting to feel better about sharing that beach with LaRusso.

Daniel winked at him. “There you go.”

Johnny traced the sausage with his lips and flinched in pain.

“What is it?” Daniel said.

“Too hot.”

“You have to cut it to pieces, here, let me do it for you.” He pulled the sausage out of the stick and cut a morsel, blowing it to cool it off. “Here, it must be better now,” he added touching Johnny’s lips with it. “C’mon, open up, it’s not that hot anymore.”

Johnny opened his mouth hesitantly never taking his eyes off Daniel, letting him intrude his mouth with a piece of delicious pork. Daniel’s fingers touched his lips, almost sliding through them until they reached his tongue. Despite the food’s spicy deliciousness those fingers in his mouth were all Johnny could feel.

That moment he realized he’d rather be licking them than that piece of meat.

All Daniel had to do was ask.

Cold sweat started running down his spine.

How could he possibly want that? His friends would surely mock him if they knew.

“Another bite?” Daniel suggested softly bringing a second piece closer to Johnny’s mouth.

Johnny gulped down hard; he desperately needed those fingers to touch his mouth again. He was unable to speak. All he could do was nod.

A confident grin spread across Daniel’s face.

“Tommy…” Dutch said in a monotonous tone as he watched Daniel feeding Johnny. “You wanted ice cream, right? Go get a cone.”

 “I’m stuffed,” Tommy replied licking his fingers. “I just ate three sausages and two muffins, I don’t think I want ice cream anymore.”

“I said. Go get. An ice cream cone,” Dutch ordered him in a low steely voice.

“But… why?”

“I just had an idea,” Dutch said with a crooked smile staring at Daniel who was shoving his fingertips into Johnny’s mouth, then licking them. “We’ll play a little game.”

Johnny was too distracted by the juicy “forbidden fruit” as well as Daniel’s fingers tickling his lips to notice Tommy walking up the hill. He was so flushed by the fire and the hot and spicy sensation in his mouth that he couldn’t keep his clothes on anymore – as soon as he was done eating he took off his shirt, thinking of Daniel spying on him whenever they played soccer or in the shower and wondering if he would grab the opportunity now to ogle him some more.

However Daniel didn’t react to Johnny’s shirtlessness. As a matter of fact he didn’t react to anything at all. He had his eyes fixed on the fire, playing nervously with his fingers, focusing on anything but Johnny’s broad sweaty chest.

As he got rid of his shirt Johnny felt like he didn’t have a care in the world, like he could do anything. Say anything.

“My Cobras must be really bemused seeing me eating your sausage,” he said with a casual chuckle as his heart fluttered wildly in his chest. “I’m sure that as soon as we leave this beach they’re gonna start teasing me and all that, thank god they’d never dare do that in front of you guys. There’s still some honour and respect in them.”

Daniel gazed at Dutch who was leaning backwards as two girls poured beer in his mouth. “Yeah. I guess.”

 Johnny gave him a cocky smile. “A few months ago they’d kick the shit out of you on my command.”

Daniel turned to consider Johnny’s braggart face narrowing his eyes mockingly. “You really enjoyed that, didn’t you…” he said with a slight nod.

“Didn’t you?” Johnny laughed. “C’mon, it’s all in the past now,” he continued wrapping his arm around Daniel’s shoulders.

It was a bold unexpected move done in front of everyone but it was worth it - for a brief moment he felt Daniel shiver under his touch.

He couldn’t tell if Daniel was excited or afraid. Johnny felt exhilarated having that kind of power over him. He didn’t even feel the need to defeat him anymore.

The shiver lasted a second, then it was gone. Daniel didn’t return the hug.

"Why did you do that?” he said coldly.

“Do what?”

“Beat me up, rub my face in the dirt. It was right here I think, where we’re sitting now.”

“To teach you a lesson, dude,” Johnny said furrowing his brows incredulously but his words lacked conviction.

“What lesson was that?”

“To not mess with a Cobra. You were new here. If all the newbies gave us lip and messed with our women we would have no right to be called Cobras.”

“So is a Cobra allowed to fraternize with the enemy now and eat his food?” Daniel teased with a mischievous smile. “Boy, do things change.”

Johnny shrugged. “I’m their leader. They might as well get used to it.”

“Maybe-” Daniel paused, his breath - his words hanging from his lips, not so sure if this was the right moment for them to come out. “You know… Maybe you don’t have to be their leader. Maybe you don’t have to be anyone’s leader. Maybe you’re… different than them. Did you ever think of that?”

It was a bold statement.

“How do you mean, ‘different’?”

“Different, I don’t know, everyone’s different. Why do you want to be like everyone else?”

“Those guys over there are not ‘everyone else’. They’re my friends. They’re Cobras.”

“I’m just saying…” Daniel said scratching his head as he tried to find the right words. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. You don’t have to be a leader – or a follower for that matter. Life’s not a pissing contest.”

“Not true,” Johnny shook his head, his jaw going stiff with disapproval as he remembered Kreese’s teaching. “What’s the use of training your ass off if you don’t want to compete, if you don’t want to win?”

“I don’t know… A perfectly executed roundhouse kick maybe…? Or just having those incredible pecs and abs. That’s more than enough. To me at least…”

Johnny took a moment to realize Daniel was complimenting his body again. This time he couldn’t help blushing. This was happening for real.

Daniel turned to face him, his big brown eyes engulfing him like they were the only truth in the world. The only place where he felt he could be himself.

“You don’t have to be a leader to be a winner, Johnny. All you need to do is… look yourself in the mirror. That’s what I’d do.”

For the first time in his life Johnny didn't know what to say.

He wanted to look away and shrug it all off but the truth was, he was losing himself in those eyes – another second and he’d be leaning over Daniel, for what, he didn’t know. Maybe make him shut up by intimidating him like when he gave him the “death certificate” at school before the tournament. Maybe he just wanted to feel the heat from his body.

Or kiss him and piss everyone off.

Now that would be a sight worth seeing.

After all it was nothing, just a kiss. All he had to do was get closer to those wet lips and-

“Hey, listen up everybody, how about we played a game?” Dutch’s voice rose above the others breaking the spell.

Johnny sat up straight and cleared his throat. Dutch had just saved him from making a fool of himself.

When Tommy came back with the chocolate vanilla swirl the little kids were gone and Barbara and another girl were kneeling in the middle of the circle, kissing.

“What is this???” Tommy asked with a broad smile as the melting vanilla ice cream ran down his fingers.

“What did you think? Truth or dare, and you came right on time. Those shitheads are too drunk to turn down any challenge,” Dutch replied with a wicked giggle. “Even Jimmy’s drunk, look at him.”

Tommy gazed towards the shore where Jimmy was lying on top of a girl with ponytails who broke into a loud snigger as he fondled her thighs.

“That’s rad! Can I join those girls?” Tommy said wiggling his eyebrows. “I got ice cream, I sure wouldn’t mind having them lick my cone.”

Dutch winced as if he had just found a dead cat in the trash bin. “Keep your pants on, the ice cream is not for you, genius,” he snarled and grabbed the cone. “Besides it’s my turn to choose who’s next, and you’re not on my list. Hey girls!” he yelled. “Your time’s up, gotta make room for the next player!”

Every boy in that circle gave out an “Awww!” of protestation.

“Ah yeah?” Barbara said wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “And who is that?”

Dutch’s lips twisted in a devilish grin. “The Cream Puff over there.”

Tommy snorted out a giggle licking the white cream from his fingers as he heard Dutch using the nickname he came up with the night of the tournament. Dutch was awesome, he did cute little things like that.

Johnny froze, his smile fading away.

“C’mon!” Dutch urged him. “Get up! Your turn. You afraid or something?”

That was the second time in one evening Dutch was challenging him.

Johnny got up and dusted the sand off his jeans.

“Truth or dare?” Dutch asked.

Johnny sensed his fellow Cobra would easily embarrass him if he chose truth. Dutch knew way too much about him and he had been watching his moves all evening. Nothing good would come from truth.

“I choose dare.”

“Great!” Dutch clapped his hands with a wide grin. “Tommy, c’mere, gimme that cone.”

Tommy approached throwing nervous glances at Bobby and Johnny. His fingers had turned white and brown and sticky from the melted ice cream.

“You eat that ice cream…” Dutch said handing Johnny the cone, “… with sensei Danielle over there.”

Johnny’s breath hitched.

“You’ll eat it together,” Dutch continued. “But there’s a rule, no biting until you get to the cone. Use your tongues. The smaller the ice cream gets, the closer your kissers will be so we’ll be watching closely, whoever backs out first is a pussy.”

Johnny felt cold sweat coming out of his pores. Dutch knew. He had seen them.

He turned to face Daniel - he had the same petrified look.

Johnny licked his dry lips. Another moment of hesitation and Dutch would know he had won this match. Everyone would know he wasn’t just a loser, he was also a coward.

He glanced at Daniel again. As if reading the tension on his face Daniel sprung to his feet.

“C’mon,” he urged Johnny, his voice warm and unexpectedly calm. “Let’s do this. You and me. They were watching anyway so let’s give them something to watch, huh?”

“I can’t… I can’t ask you to do this,” Johnny muttered taking a step back. “This is too much. I can’t eat that ice cream, I can’t-”

“Hey, you said it’s your cheat day, right?” Daniel joked. “A little ice cream won’t hurt you.”  He patted Johnny’s shoulder whispering softly in his ear. “Don’t sweat it. I got your back.”

Johnny let out a deep breath, relieved to see Daniel was on his side. Relieved and grateful.

His broad handsome smile revealed a set of perfect white teeth. “You’re the best, LaRusso…”

“Nope,” Daniel grinned proudly. “Not when you’re around.”

Dutch thought Johnny would piss his pants and back off; he truly believed he could regain leadership that easily, he had been waiting for that day for ages.

Well. Apparently that was not that day.

Johnny raised the ice cream towards Daniel who wrapped his fingers around his hand holding the cone steady. “After you,” Johnny challenged him.

The chocolate was on Daniel’s side but after a moment’s thought he held Johnny’s hand, twisting the cone to get to the white part. “Sorry, I only eat vanilla,” he said innocently. “If it’s whiter than me, it’s good enough to lick,” he added staring into Johnny’s eyes.

Mesmerized by the proximity, Johnny watched him take the first lick, a long swipe of the tongue that was slowly turning white, and that’s when he noticed how big Daniel’s eyelids were, like a baby’s.

“You too, Johnny!” Dutch yelled and crossed his arms on his chest, giggling at Tommy who looked more concerned than amused.

Johnny stuck out his tongue and licked the melting chocolate. Daniel was lapping at his side greedily and his mouth was getting dangerously close to Johnny’s. Johnny felt heat in his pants – another inch and their tongues would be touching. As if hearing his thoughts, Daniel raised his eyes on his and shoved his tongue deep inside that ball of ice cream until it reached Johnny’s tip. Johnny would have flinched if he wasn’t so aroused. Without another moment of hesitation he responded to Daniel’s touch, teasing the boy’s tongue as they both dug into the ice cream. Daniel moaned but Johnny knew he wasn’t just trying to take a deep breath.

They were biting down the cone now, biting and licking and sucking on the creamy substance. Daniel was practically attacking the ice cream with such aggressive bites that Johnny had to hold him by the waist to keep him steady. Daniel didn’t resist his touch – he welcomed it. Johnny spread his fingers over Daniel’s ribs pulling him closer, slightly pushing his knee between Daniel’s legs. He felt Daniel shivering at that subtle but intimate touch. He could hear the girls cheering them on and he knew that people would think it was nothing but a stupid game of provocation. After all it was happening too quickly, the ice cream would soon be devoured to the last crumb even if it seemed like a sweet eternity to Johnny.

Jimmy and the girl in ponytails were done making out and had joined the group. Jimmy was drunk enough to find amusing the sight of their leader smooching Danielle over a shrinking ice cream cone. Dutch, who had lost all enjoyment in the game, was frowning, his arms still crossed on his chest. He wanted to look away but as it goes with most disgusting things, he was strangely attracted to what was happening at the center of the circle.

“Look at those fucking pansies…” he grumbled.

Bobby, who had left Barbara behind the bushes to relieve herself, was now standing next to him. “To be honest, I think it’s kinda hot,” he shrugged casually.

“Shut up!” Dutch barked elbowing him hard in the ribs. “Are you a fag or something?”

“What, you don’t find it hot?” Bobby provoked him with a playful smile.

“Shut the fuck up, Bobby, or-”

“Or what?” Bobby retorted. “Kick me out of the Cobras like Kreese tried to do with Johnny when he lost? There are no Cobras, Dutch, wake up and smell the coffee. We’re going to college now. You think anyone cares about your stupid power games?”

Meanwhile Johnny and Daniel were down to the pointy end of the cone but the game had been so enjoyable to both of them that they didn’t care anymore if everyone was looking. Daniel pursed his lips around the tiny cone wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and leaned towards Johnny as if inviting him for a kiss.

That’s all Johnny needed to see. He licked the chocolate cream from his lips half-closing his glazed eyes and palmed both of Daniel’s cheeks, pulling him closer and wrapping his lips around the tiny piece of wafer probing out of that delectable mouth. Daniel chewed down on whatever was left of the wafer and soon found his tongue lapping at Johnny’s because Johnny wouldn’t let go of him even when the ice cream was over. Daniel sighed and moaned in Johnny’s mouth, his head trapped between his warm palms, resting his hands on the blond boy’s naked ribs.

The guys gaped in shock.

The girls clapped and cheered.

Bobby, his eyes open wide in amazement, shook his head and whistled. “Now that’s a dare that’s hard to top.”

“Guys…?” Jimmy said hesitantly. “I’m afraid this is more than a dare… Much more.”

Bobby turned slowly towards him and flashed him an amused smile as he patted his shoulder.

“You know what, Jimmy? You’re very perceptive, man. Veeeery perceptive,” he said gazing at Daniel and Johnny who were still lost in their deep kiss, their hands timidly exploring each other’s skin with slow caresses, their hungry mouths too busy to care about the cheering and the jeering around them.

Bobby had guessed right. Johnny was having some real fun for once.

He looked at the stars.

It was indeed a beautiful night.