⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

"LOOK at you!" lisa smiled as she turned to find bella adjusting her dress. "and where are you going all dressed up?"

"well, i'm going on a date tonight." bella said as she walked into the living room, where her mother was sitting.

"who's the lucky guy?" lisa said, sipping on her glass of iced tea.

"johnny." bella said.

"oohh, now i see why you're all dressed up. where's he taking you?" lisa smiled.

"he's taking me out to dinner. is this dress too much, ma?" bella said. "does it look okay?"

"honey, you look beautiful." lisa smiled as she stood up. "don't worry too much, it's gonna be okay. i thought you two were dating already."

"no. we're just friends." bella said as she paced around the living room.

"isabella, you should look at yourself whenever someone mentions his name or whenever you talk about him." lisa smiled. "your face lights up as well as your smile. just like when you were a kid."

"except, we're not kids anymore and he's not my boyfriend." bella said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "it's complicated, that's why we're sticking to being friends."

"so, the question is, do you wanna go back to being more than friends?" lisa said. "because it's written all over your face."

bella sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, straightening out her dress. "i better finish getting ready before my date." she said. "i'll be back."

as bella walked to the bathroom, lisa sat down on the sofa once again, grabbing a magazine from her coffee table. while she flipped through the pages of the magazine, she heard the doorbell ring. lisa walked over to the door to answer it and found johnny outside.

"hi johnny, long time." lisa smiled as she invited the blonde inside the north hollywood home.

"hey lisa, it's good to see you again." johnny smiled. "is bella ready yet?"

"she's in the bathroom, she'll be out in a sec." lisa said. "have a seat. can i get you anything?"

"i'm good, thanks lisa." johnny shyly smiled as he looked around the living room. "it's been a while, huh?"

"it has been." lisa said. "so, bella told me all about the dojo, how's it going?"

"she did, huh?" johnny chuckled. "it's great. they're good kids, hardworking."

"that's good, it's good that you got into something you love." lisa smiled.

"so how've you been, lisa?" johnny said.

"aging." lisa chuckled. "i'm doing good though, keeping busy as always. everything's a bit easier with bella around."

"yeah, i know how you feel." johnny said.

lisa smiled as she looked at johnny, who's face seemed to light up at the thought of bella. "and here i thought i was the only one happy about bella being home." she said. "how's it going with you two, if you don't mind me asking?"

"to tell you the truth, i didn't expect her to come back. i really missed her." johnny said. "your daughter's a great girl and i'm still crazy about her. bella coming back is probably the best thing that's happened to me in a while."

"you make her really happy, and as a mother, nothing makes me happier than to see her happy." lisa smiled. "i know matthew would've said the same. thank you."

as bella walked down the stairs, she smiled as she looked at lisa and johnny talk in the living room. "please tell me you didn't tell him anything embarrassing about me." she said.

"oh, please. i haven't told him anything embarrassing about you since 1985." lisa chuckled as she stood up from the sofa.

"hey you." bella smiled as she greeted the blonde.

"hey beautiful." johnny smiled. "you ready?"

"yeah." bella smiled as she grabbed her purse. "ma, we're heading out."

"have a great night." lisa said. "and if you two are gonna do anything, don't forget to use protection."

"good-bye, mother!"

⸻

the worker handed stevie and alex their skates as the lights flashed around the skating rink while the dj played prince. the blonde looked over at alex, who was lacing up his skates.

"okay, you ready?" stevie smiled as she stood up from the bench.

"ready." alex said, as he slowly stood up and trying to balance himself. "if i fall on my ass, i'm taking you down with me."

"it's okay." stevie laughed as she led the blonde into the rink. "i'll go easy on you though."

stevie and alex skated side by side as the music played. she watched as alex struggled to gain balance and giggled.

"here, take my hand." stevie said, stretching out her hand. "i'll help you out. try and get some balance."

alex intertwined his hand with hers as she pulled him closer to her. "i'm horrible at this, i told you." he laughed as he held onto stevie's hand.

"you'll be fine. just find your balance." stevie smiled, holding his hand. his grip on her hand softened as he finally was able to balance and skate. "you got it. you're a fast learner."

"well, i do have the best teacher." alex smiled, interlacing his fingers with stevie's.

"shut up." stevie giggled.

the pair continued skating all over the rink, holding hands while the dj played madonna. stevie skated in front of alex, intertwining both their hands together as she was now skating backwards.

"one of these days, you're gonna fall back." alex teased as he held onto stevie.

"chill out. i'm gonna be fine." stevie laughed as she pulled alex in. "just follow me."

as stevie continued to skate, he looked into her emerald green eyes that were shining under the multicolored lights. "what am i gonna do when you leave?" he said, messing with her hands.

"i'm not leaving forever." stevie laughed.

"yeah, but these past few days have been so cool." alex smiled. "it's kinda like old times."

"don't be a stranger and call me." stevie said. "i'll be back before you know it."

⸻

bella and johnny walked across the restaurant, hand-in-hand as the hostess led them to their table. johnny pulled out a chair for bella, while the hostess handed them their menus. bella straightened out her skirt before looking at the menu and ordered a margarita, with johnny ordering a banquet.

"it's like you read my mind. i've been craving mexican food for a while now." bella said, looking at the menu.

"you sure this is fine?" johnny said. "we can go somewhere else if you want."

"this is fine, don't worry." bella smiled as she reached over the table and interlaced her hand with his, with johnny placing a small kiss on her hand. "so, stevie's been going on and on about the dojo. seems like she's having fun being co-sensei."

"it's great. she's been a lot of help." johnny said.

"it's always been both of you guys' thing." bella smiled. "ever since she could walk."

"she's gotten better over the years, she's kicked my ass a few times." johnny said. "

"she's a good kid." bella smiled.

"i think you mean woman." johnny said.

"right." bella sighed. "she's grown so much that i sometimes forget that she's not a kid anymore, she's a woman now."

"she'll still be our kid." johnny said. "but it's hard to keep up with her."

"yeah, no kidding." bella chuckled. "she's always doing her thing, like she's hanging out with alex again."

"alex, he's that other kid right? not the one that two-timed her, but the one before." johnny said.

"yeah, him. you're surprisingly very calm about this." bella chuckled.

"just as long as he doesn't break her heart again." johnny chuckled. his smile soon disappeared as he saw daniel and amanda walk into the restaurant. "you've gotta be kidding me."

"what's wrong?" bella said as she turned around, letting out a sigh as she saw the couple. "please don't start."

the hostess showed daniel and amanda to their table, which happened to be the table next to where bella and johnny were sitting. daniel scoffed as he looked at the blonde. in order to try and break the tension, bella smiled and greeted the couple.

"daniel, amanda! it's so nice to see you again." bella smiled. "i love your earrings."

"oh, thank you! it's nice to see you too, bella." amanda smiled as she greeted the brunette.

"do you have any other tables?" daniel spoke up.

"sorry, we're completely booked." the hostess said. "we might have some standing room at the bar. is this table going to be okay?"

daniel sighed as he then turned to look at johnny. "i don't know, will it?" he said.

bella turned to look at johnny, giving him a look. he looked at bella, before finally giving in with a nod. "it'll be fine." he sighed.

"do you two know each other?" the hostess said.

"they have warring karate dojos." amanda said. "i'll take a cadillac margarita, big glass."

"it's gonna be a long night." bella muttered to herself.

⸻

"i still can't believe we did that!" stevie laughed as she sat on the hood of alex's car, looking out at the skyline. "how did we not get caught again?"

"you knew the ways in and out, you even told me yourself." alex laughed.

"yeah, thanks to my father, former west valley student." stevie laughed. "i still remember him explaining to me the ways in and out, when he dropped me off on my first day of freshman year."

"the lawrence method for ditching class was useful though." alex chuckled.

"my folks were crazy in high school. they probably did all that crazy shit that every teenage couple in the 80s did." stevie said. "i would've loved to meet them in their prime."

"they had good taste though, like this little place, it's probably the best view in the city." alex said.

"they loved this place." stevie said. "the first time they brought me up here i was a few months old. i just remember seeing the skyline with poison blasting on the radio of my dad's old pontiac."

"how'd they find this place?" alex said.

"dad used to run over here whenever sid pissed him off, which was often." stevie said. "he used to sit in his avanti and just listened to music. he and my uncles used to come here to smoke, but one night, he snuck out, snuck my mom out, and drove over here. after that night, they came over her whenever they wanted alone time. there was even one night where they spent the night here."

"is this going where i think it is?" alex chuckled.

"no." stevie laughed. "mom says that night was super rare; it was pouring that night. long story short, they drove over here and fell asleep cuddling in the backseat, listening to music and the rain. mom says it was the most romantic moment she's spent with dad."

"this little place is romantic though." alex smiled as he intertwined his hand with stevie's

"yeah, i guess it is." stevie smiled, placing her head on alex's shoulder.

⸻

after the tension cleared between the two senseis, the two couples burst into laughter as they began to reminisce about their days back in high school. bella took a sip of her margarita as she softly giggled.

"then he smeared blueberry pie all over my shirt." johnny said.

"that's because he put it on my chair. he's leaving out the details." daniel said.

"so that explains the giant blueberry stain." bella said. "should we order another round?"

"i don't know. the last time i went 4 rounds with larusso, i caught a foot to my face." johnny laughed.

as the couples continued to sip on their drinks, a salsa band began to play. amanda's face lit up as she heard the music play. daniel took amanda to dance as bella placed her drink and purse down.

"let's go dance." bella smiled as she stood from her chair, extending her hand.

"no, i'm not a dancer." johnny said.

"shut up, i know you can dance." bella laughed. "i'll teach you, c'mon."

johnny gave the brunette a soft smile and placed his hand in hers as bella guided him to the dance floor. "since when do you dance salsa?" he chuckled.

"one of my girl friends back in miami, she took us out for drinks and dancing." bella smiled as the pair took their place on the floor.

"tell anyone, you're dead." johnny said to daniel as he and amanda danced.

bella softly laughed as she picked up on johnny's nervousness. she grabbed his hands, which calmed him down a bit.

"of course, he can dance." johnny said.

"don't worry about him." bella said. "focus on me, okay?"

bella interlaced her hands with his as she began to move. "this is the basic salsa step; forward, together. back, together–"

"oh, damn it." johnny sighed as he looked down at his feet, his nerves taking over.

"hey, look at me." bella smiled. "when you're fighting, do you look down?"

"no." johnny smiled, looking into bella's eyes.

"exactly, you always look into their eyes." bella smiled.

once johnny felt comfortable, he spun bella as the brunette smiled. he pulled her closer to his body, looking into her eyes. bella bit her lip as the blonde spun her once more.

"hey, another round." johnny smiled.

"make that two!" bella said.

⸻

"so how'd it go with alex?" aiden said as he and mark rummaged the kitchen for snacks and drinks.

"i'm not sparing any details." stevie chuckled as she packed her suitcase.

"did something finally happen between you two?" ashley said, organizing her makeup case.

"you mean, he finally grew a pair." mark chuckled as he opened up a sofa.

"not if he took advice from you." ashley said, throwing a couch cushion at mark. "so what happened?"

"nothing!" stevie said. "we only went roller skating up in burbank, that's all."

"nothing? we all see the little starry eyed look you get whenever you're around alex." ashley laughed as she helped stevie place clothing in her suitcase.

"it's no surprise that he still has a thing for you." aiden said, turning the tv on.

"what?" stevie said.

"um, nothing." aiden said, stuffing a handful of chips in his mouth. "forget i said anything."

"you opened your mouth, now you have to spit it out." ashley said. "he told you?"

"he still has a thing for me?" stevie said.

both guys stayed quiet as they looked for something to watch on the television. ashley threw the same couch cushion at her brother as he complained.

"i'm gonna tell mom." aiden said.

"don't be like that, tell me!" stevie said.

"alright, i'll tell you before ash kicks my ass too." mark spoke up. "after the party, he told me that he felt something, that same feeling he got while you two were a thing. long story short, he still loves you."

stevie took a deep breath as she continued packing. there was a brief silence as the tv was the only thing heard. "i kinda figured." the blonde chuckled. "i just wasn't sure."

"stevie, it's not secret that he still has a thing for you." aiden said.

"i know." stevie sighed. "but i just got out of a relationship and it's just all too recent."

"maybe you two can see how it goes as friends, then you can base whether or not you two'll go further." mark said.

"wow, something smart came out of your mouth for once." ashley teased as he tossed the cushion back at her.

"i mean, you're right. i can take things slow." stevie said as she continued packing. "i just got out of a relationship, so it'd be nice to not rush into anything."

"you see, there you go." aiden said. "oh, by the way you're out of chips."

"yeah, you owe me a bag of chips now." stevie said, taking the bag of chips away from aiden. "you both owe me a bag of chips."

⸻

"well, don't you look happy." bella smiled as johnny walked her to her doorstep.

"must be the blood rushing to my head from all the dancing." johnny laughed.

"you're a fast learner." bella said.

"i do have the best teacher." johnny said. "what am i gonna do when you're gone?"

"it's not like i'm leaving forever." bella said. "i'll be back. when i come back, maybe we can try something more advanced."

"i'd like that." johnny said. "well, the night's still young, you wanna go somewhere else?"

"i still have tons of packing ahead of me." bella sighed, running a hand through her hair. "i leave tomorrow afternoon and i haven't packed a single thing, unless you wanna help me?"

"i've never been good at packing, so i'll pass." johnny laughed as he held her hands. "i'm gonna miss you."

"so am i." bella said as she pressed her lips against his. after pulling away, johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for another long kiss. he kissed bella as if this would be the last time he would kiss her.

"i'll see you tomorrow morning before i leave." bella smiled.

"alright." johnny said. "good night beautiful."

"night, darling." bella smiled as she pressed her lips against him once more.