⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

"LET me guess." stevie chuckled, closing her phone and placing it down on the table. "you pissed carmen off for like, the millionth time, and she kicked you out? yeah, i knew it."

johnny sighed as he walked towards the fridge and grabbed a beer. "nice plan, pops." stevie said. "so what now? how's he doin'?"

"he's in there, got a therapist working his legs." johnny said. "she gets free therapy from the hospital."

"which is good for him." stevie said. "it's gonna take him a while to get back on his feet again, besides physical therapy helps with recovery."

"so letting a hippie stretch his legs is therapy?" johnny said.

"don't get smart, dad." stevie said, grabbing a bag of chips from her father's cabinets. "look, unless you're gonna give him physical therapy, just leave it to the professionals."

"physical therapist?" johnny said, turning to his daughter. "that doesn't sound hard."

"no, dad, i was joking." stevie said, as she caught on to her dad's idea. "please don't tell me you're planning on doing anything dumb."

"no, no, i've got a plan." johnny said. "and you're gonna help me."

"i actually have to get to work." stevie said, looking at her watch. "so good luck with your plan, whatever it might be."

"you said you'd help out, so you're gonna help me out." johnny said, standing up and walking to his bedroom. "call chris, tell her you're taking the day off."

"i spoke too soon." stevie muttered to herself, grabbing a coors from her father's fridge.

⸻

after finishing up her bowl of cereal, isabella placed it in the sink and began to do the dishes. once she finished up, she found her mother walking in from the backyard, sweaty and covered in dirt.

"ma? what happened to you?" bella laughed, drying her hands with a kitchen towel.

"i was out doing some gardening." lisa said. "why are you all dressed up? it's early."

"i'm taking you out to shop." bella smiled. "and also to lunch."

"i have enough clothing in the closet, isabella." lisa chuckled, taking her gardening gloves off. "besides, i still have to mow the lawn."

"i'll mow it when i come back!" bella smiled. "c'mon ma, it's been forever since we've gone out, just the two of us."

"you've never mowed the lawn, i always had my son-in-law do it." lisa chuckled.

"how hard can it be? if johnny's done it, so can i." bella said. "ma, go take a shower and get ready. trust me."

lisa sighed as she took her cap off, pushing her hair back. "alright. i could use a day out." she smiled, going to her bedroom. "where are you taking me for lunch?"

"wherever you'd like." bella said.

"alright then, let's go to that burger place you're always talking about." lisa said. "i'm craving a burger."

"you wanna go to sal's?" bella said. "you sure you don't wanna go somewhere else?"

"nope, let's eat there." lisa said. "trust me."

⸻

"i cannot believe i'm actually helping you with this." stevie sighed as she sat near the balcony of the second floor, watching her father attach a swimsuit magazine to the end of a fishing rod. "a magazine attached to a fishing pole? like that's gonna get miguel walking again."

"oh yeah? watch this, kid." johnny said, lowering the magazine down once he saw miguel heading home. while miguel made his way home, johnny lowered the magazine, dangling it in front of him catching him by surprise.

"what's this?" miguel said, confused.

"this is a collection of the tastiest babes of 1988." johnny said, causing stevie to roll her eyes. "and you're not gonna get to see 'em unless you grab it."

"i can't believe i'm doing this." stevie said rubbing her temples.

"okay." miguel said as he attempted to grab the magazine as johnny reeled it in.

"you're gonna have to try harder than that." johnny said.

"y'know i can just find these pictures on my phone right?" miguel said.

"it's not the same." johnny smiled. "chicks are hotter on the page."

"ugh dad, that's disgusting." stevie said.

"you won't know unless you get off your butt, or you can just keep getting foot rubs from that pansy-ass therapist." johnny said.

"look, just try getting up, carefully." stevie said, encouraging the teen. "use your upper body strength to push yourself up. take baby steps."

miguel chuckled as he attempted to grab the magazine, which johnny pulled up again. "weak!" he said as miguel once again attempted to grab the magazine. "c'mon diaz, i thought you were the all valley champ!"

miguel took a deep breath before doing as stevie instructed him to do. he lifted himself up from the chair and once again attempted to grab the magazine. using all his upper body strength, he reached to grab the magazine once more before falling over and out of his wheelchair.

"oh shit!" stevie exclaimed as her father dropped the fishing rod and went down stairs to help pick him up. "you alright?"

"yeah." miguel sighed.

"i got you, bud." johnny said, placing miguel back in his wheelchair. "alright, give me a minute, we'll go again. i think i still have my vanna white playboy, that'll get you going–"

"don't you get it?" miguel said. "you can dangle a new playstation from there, i still won't be able to walk."

miguel made his way home, disappointed and upset. stevie let out a frustrated sigh, running her hands through her hair. "okay, so that didn't work, what else do you have in mind?" stevie said.

"i don't have anything else." johnny said. "i really thought that would work."

"that was your bright idea?" stevie said.

"alright, since you seem to know it all, what do you have in mind?" johnny said, grabbing the fishing rod. "let's hear your bright ideas."

"look, i'll help you by looking stuff up online." stevie said. "we'll figure something out."

"i'm taking your word for it, kid." johnny said, following stevie into his apartment.

⸻

"here you go, ma." bella said, placing the tray of food on the table and taking a seat. "i really hope you like it because it's literally the best burger you'll ever taste."

"we'll see about that." lisa said, grabbing the burger and taking a bite. she nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed a napkin. "okay, you win, isabella."

"told you." bella chuckled, grabbing the bottle of ketchup, pouring some on the side of her fries. "what made you wanna come here?"

"you were always raving about these burgers, ever since you started dating johnny." lisa said. "now i know where you'd two run off instead of joining us for dinner."

bella smiled as she dipped her fries in ketchup. "so this was the place?" lisa said.

"one of them." bella said, with a sigh. "we used to skip gym here and just snack on fries and strawberry milkshakes."

"strawberry milkshakes were the way to your heart." lisa laughed. "remember your dad always used to get you that strawberry milkshake from that diner up in burbank? you used to love those things."

"oh yeah." bella said. "the strawberry syrup and the chopped strawberries on top of the whipped cream. that place also had the best cherries."

"you and your cherries." lisa laughed. "i knew you were gonna have a thing for cherries once you kicked after i ate a slice of cherry pie."

"speaking of cherry pie, this place has the best cherry pie and they serve it with some ice cream on the side." bella said. "i always ate the slice of pie, while johnny ate the ice cream."

lisa smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm as she sipped on her soda. "you missed this, didn't you?" she said. "you missed the valley."

"in a way." bella sighed, taking a bite from her burger. "denny's has nothing on sal's. this place just brings back so many good memories and the food, it just reminds me of the simple times."

"why all this nostalgia?" lisa said.

bella grabbed her hair and pin it up with a hair clip, taking a deep breath as she took in her surroundings. "this is the only place that i really get to be myself." she said. "i hadn't felt this in a long time. i was so used to being controlled. i was used to being bella monroe; little miss north hollywood, but around people like eric, i felt like i had to be this trophy wife, looking pretty while he handled everything."

lisa looked to her daughter and interlaced her hand with hers, with a firm grip. bella took a sip of her soda and sighed, looking to a couple sitting at a booth, remembering her high school days. she felt happy here, at home with her family and loved ones, the people who loved her unconditionally.

"this all feels like a breath of fresh air." bella said. "a breath of smoggy air."

"to me, you'll always be little miss north hollywood." lisa chuckled. "you're gonna be okay. just remember one thing, as long as you're good enough for yourself, that's the only thing that matters."

⸻

upon arriving home, stevie opened up her can of cherry coke and plopped on the sofa. as she grabbed the remote and turned on the television, lola climbed up to the sofa, sitting on stevie's lap causing stevie to smile.

"you wanna watch tv with me?" stevie said, running her fingers through lola's fur. "i could use some company after dealing with my father."

as stevie finally settled on watching a movie, she heard her cellphone ring. she groaned and stood up from the sofa, with lola following her.

"it better not be dad, calling that his laptop got a virus." stevie muttered to herself as she grabbed her phone, looking at the caller id which that read alex 🦖, causing stevie to smile.

"hey stranger." stevie said. "what's up?"

"hey." alex said. "just had lunch with the guys, while ash and daisy went shopping. we missed you today."

"sorry about that. i know ash wanted me to tag along." stevie said. "but, i was spending some quality time with my dad and his crazy ideas."

"oh, i wanna hear this one." alex said. "what happened now?"

"remember how i told you that miguel was getting that surgery? well, dad's trying to help him get on his feet again, but you know my pops and his creative methods." stevie said as she walked to her room and laid down on her bed.

"i so would've liked to see that." alex laughed. "never a dull moment, huh?"

"never." stevie smiled.

"and how'd that go?" alex said.

"not good." stevie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "he's kinda bummed about it. this surgery was like a 50/50 thing, so with time, we're just gonna have to wait and see."

"oh shit, that serious huh?" alex said.

"yeah, it's just the aftermath." stevie said.

"well, i really hope he's able to get back on his feet again." alex said. "and i also hope everything works out with your brother."

"then there's that." stevie said. "i'm supposed to go see him tomorrow, hopefully he's doing okay. from what i've heard, he's supposed to be out soon."

"if you need anything, just gimme a call." alex said. "that's why i called, to check in and see how you're holding up."

"thank you." stevie said, as she received another call, which was from ashley. "i'll call you later, it's ash calling."

"no worries." alex said. "see you later, evie."

stevie softly smiled at the nickname as she hadn't been called evie in a while. it was his special nickname for her. she felt her heard skip a beat as she ended the call. "bye, xander."

⸻

bella wiped some sweat from her forehead as she shut off the lawn mower. she took a deep breath as she looked around the yard, satisfied with her work. for her first time mowing a lawn, she smiled as she thought she did a good job. after storing the lawn mower, she joined her mother who was sitting down near the pool.

"you outdid yourself with the lawn, hon." lisa said, handing her a water bottle.

"see? i told you i could do it." bella smiled. "i am exhausted though."

"welcome to my world." lisa laughed.

"ma, you know you can call me if you need help." bella said. "i'll help you around the yard, with any repairs, i can do it."

"i'm fine, isabella. you've been a big help but i enjoy doing stuff around the house. gardening, mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters." lisa said.

"ma! i told you not to be climbing up there!" bella said, placing her sunglasses atop of her head.

"now you sound like me when you climbed that tree when you were little." lisa laughed. "remember?"

bella laughed as she took a sip of her water bottle. she sat back on the lawn chair and looking out to her backyard. "seeing you around the backyard reminded me of when you used to run around the backyard and your dad used to chase you." lisa said.

"how'd you two get here?" bella said. "from a little apartment to the white-picket fence?"

"we wanted to be close to home, something in-between van nuys and burbank, so after hunting around, we just landed here." lisa said. "when i got pregnant, we did everything possible to get out of the apartment. we wanted more for you, more than we had. it took a while, but we did this together. it was just me and him."

"thank you." bella said. "i know i never said it before because i was always looking for ways to get out of north hollywood, but thanks mom."

⸻

"i'm still offended that you were planning to go to a concert without me." stevie said, getting out of her car and fixing her hair. "if it weren't for miguel, who snitched to me, i wouldn't have known."

"i didn't think you'd want to come." johnny said as he got miguel into the wheelchair, as they entered the concert venue. "you're always out with your friends, so i figured you would be too cool to go to a concert with your dad."

"it's dee snider! of course, i'd be interested! besides, i owe it to you, who introduced me to twisted sister." stevie said. "so how'd you even get tickets?"

"who said anything about tickets?" johnny smirked.

"now it makes sense." stevie sighed. "security is really tight in these venues, how do you plan on getting in?"

"how'd you think your mom and i got into that mötley crüe concert back in the day?" johnny said.

"and i thought this place looked scary from the outside, where are we?" miguel said.

"it's a field trip." johnny said, placing a backpack on miguel's lap. "take this and follow my lead."

as they approached the door, the security guard stepped in front of the door, stopping them from going into the venue. "nice try, come back when he's 21." the guard said.

"yeah, that gonna be tough." johnny said. "he'll be dead by then."

"please don't do this now." stevie muttered to herself.

"he should be dead already. every day is a gift." johnny said as miguel then played along and faked a cough, causing stevie to softly chuckle.

johnny nudged stevie's arm, signaling stevie to play along and to hold in her laughter. "this kid has a bucket list and getting past that door, is pretty much at the top of his list." stevie said, holding in her laughter as miguel continued to play along.

"all right, go ahead." the guard said, opening the door. "good luck, kid."

as they walked into the venue, stevie smiled as she looked up to the stage and saw the one and only, dee snider performing. "this is so badass." stevie said.

"that's dee snider, the most badass rocker ever." johnny said to miguel as the teen looked up to the stage.

"how is this part of my physical therapy?" miguel said.

"it's not." johnny said, reaching into the bag to get some drinks. he opened the cans and handed one to miguel and to stevie. "just forget about that and have some fun."

"cheers!" stevie said, raising her drink as miguel and her father did the same.

after taking a sip of her drink, stevie grabbed her cellphone from her purse and opened up instagram. she took a selfies with her father and miguel, which she then posted on her instagram stories.

"can i get a copy of that?" johnny said.

"i'm gonna post them on facebook, i'll tag you!" stevie said.

"tag me? what the hell does that mean?" johnny said.

"check your facebook." miguel said.

"i don't have facebook anymore. i threw my phone away." johnny said.

"you know it's on your computer too, right?" miguel said.

"i'll show you, don't worry." stevie chuckled.

⸻

after taking a shower, bella made herself a cup
of chamomile tea and sat on her mother's recliner, putting her feet up and sinking into the sofa. she closed her eyes for a brief second before taking a sip of her tea. bella heard her phone ring, receiving a text message from stevie as she reached for her phone and placed her mug on the center table.

Stevie

attachment : 1 photo
dee snider concert with
dad and miguel 🤩🎸🖤

bella softly chuckled as she looked at the selfie that stevie had sent her. lisa looked at her daughter, who was smiling at her phone as she sat down on the loveseat. "what is it, hon?" she said.

"it's stevie." bella said. "she's at a dee snider concert with johnny."

"who?" lisa said.

"y'know, dee snider from twisted sister." bella said. "it's this band from the 80s, one of johnny's favorites, actually."

"that girl's a carbon copy of her father." lisa laughed. "since when do you know a lot about rock bands?"

"try living with that for 10 years." bella laughed. "we used to sit around listening to rock for hours. ratt, guns n' roses, black sabbath, you name it. i really cherished those moments."

"yeah, i still remember the way you two would lay around and watch mtv for hours." lisa laughed. "you with madonna and him with his rock n' roll. even your music tastes complemented each other, differently, but the same."

"ma, it was like polar opposites." bella laughed.

"but it was perfect." lisa said. "it was like me and your father. your father loved the doors and the rolling stones, meanwhile i preferred the beatles."

"that's still rock." bella said.

"oh, you get the picture." lisa said. "what i'm saying is that in everything, you two were different, but in a way the same."

"no, different but different." bella sighed, taking a sip of her tea.

"you both are stubborn with an attitude, i'll give you that." lisa chuckled. "you two were hot-tempered."

"still are." bella laughed.

lisa stood up from the love seat and walked over to the closet and while she grabbed some boxes out of the closet, bella replied to her daughter's text.
Stevie

attachment : 1 photo
dee snider concert with
dad and miguel 🤩🎸🖤

wow! that's cool!
have lots of fun tonight ❤️

bella closed her phone and placed it aside as lisa walked back to the living room, holding a small shoebox. "i was cleaning the other day and this fell out from one of shelves." she said. "i know you're gonna wanna see this."

lisa handed the shoebox to bella as she opened it. the brunette smiled as she looked through the box, finding notes, ticket stubs, along with more momentos from her time in high school.

"i hadn't seen this box in years." bella said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"you're also gonna want to open this one." lisa smiled as she handed bella another box, which was bigger than the shoebox and contained all her memories from when she and johnny were together.

"i can't believe you saved it." bella said, tears streaming down her eyes.

"i remember you were sitting in your closet, crying and looking through this box when you were packing up." lisa said. "these were both important times in your life so i wanted to save them, so you can then decide what to do with them."

"is it alright if i take them with me?" bella said, cleaning the tears from her eyes.

"they're your memories." lisa said. "you decide what to do."

⸻

the concert had been a success and a memorable night. mid concert, miguel had begun to tap his feet, meaning he could finally move it. after the concert, stevie and johnny took miguel home and showed his mother what he had done.

upon entering the apartment, stevie grabbed a soda for herself and a beer for her father. "this might've been your best plan yet." she smiled. "i had fun."

"you see?" johnny said, opening up his beer bottle and flicking the cap to the side. "now tell me, was this just as fun as hanging around your friends and blondie?"

"it was so much more – how'd you know about alex?" stevie said.

"i overheard you talking to him." johnny said. "you two back together?"

"no, just friends." stevie said. "anyway before you freak out, i'm gonna head home. i had fun, but i'm sleepy now. i'll see you in the morning?"

"bright and early." johnny said, embracing his daughter and placing a kiss on her temple. "night kiddo."

"night dad!" stevie said as she closed the apartment door.

johnny turned on his computer and logged into facebook, just like stevie had taught him. "what the hell is a tag?" he muttered to himself as he went to his facebook page and found the pictures stevie had posted, tagging him and miguel.

as he was about to log out, he noticed a notification on the top left corner of his screen. he dragged the mouse and clicked on it, seeing that he had a new friend request.

johnny barely used facebook so he wasn't really expecting a friend request. as he clicked on the friends request icon, he was surprised to see who the request was from: ali. johnny then remembered sending her a message and accidentally sending her a friend request, but he doubted that she would respond. this was the first time in 30 years that they had spoken to each other.

1 new friend request : ali mills schwarber
accept or decline