Consequences
Author's Notes: New story from Zombie Hippie. I'm going to do another Karate Kid story. Now, I just had this idea in my head a few minutes ago while walking home from seeing Hot Tub Time Machine (easily one of the best comedies I've ever seen, I don't remember laughing so hard at a comedy before that one.) I then started thinking about other movies that have a sort of time travel feel to them, and I remembered one of my favorite movies made within the last decade. It was a movie made in 2004 called The Butterfly Effect, and it starred Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. And I wondered if I could make a similar type of story with Daniel LaRusso. Besides, there are only six stories total in the Karate Kid section of this site. I thought I could continue to help bring the count up. Also, this story takes place in an alternate universe from the movie series, in which the events of Karate Kid Part II and Karate Kid Part III never happen.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Karate Kid movie franchise. It belongs to Columbia Pictures and Jerry Weintraub, based off of characters created by Hollywood screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen.
Chapter 1: Change one thing
It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. –Chaos Theory
Daniel LaRusso had it all. After years of hardship, he finally had found peace and balance with his life. His life was bad ever since the death of his father. He remembered taking karate at the YMCA in Newark, New Jersey, where he and his mother had struggled to make ends meet whilst trying to take Daniel to psychiatric appointments to solve his problem with acting out in reaction to his father's death.
The psychiatrist had suggested that Daniel write down his thoughts, feelings, and experiences in journals, one entry every day. He continued that routine every single day his whole life, hoping to find some way to better himself.
His life changed dramatically when his mother announced that they were going to leave New Jersey and move to California so she could work at a new job. He met his first true father figure, Kesuke Miyagi, who would teach him karate to fight off Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai, the aforementioned Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai, the group of karate students who would continue to harass Daniel until he beat them in the All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, and finally, Ali Mills, the girl of Daniel's dreams. After meeting, falling in love with each other, sharing their first kiss, and sharing Daniel's victory over the Cobra Kais, earning their trust and friendship along the way. Daniel, in spite of all these happy things, continued to write in his journals, not out of helping himself, but out of force of habit.
Daniel LaRusso thought that he had it made, but that was soon to change for the worst. That is where our story begins.
Present day…,
Daniel and Ali were both in their junior year of college, thinking about their futures. Daniel was looking to study business as his major, and maybe even open his own karate dojo. He had his eye on the vacant space that John Kreese had left after the Cobra Kai dojo went out of business after their defeat by Daniel at the tournament, while Ali was looking to study to become a veterinarian. She loved animals of all kinds, dogs, cats, birds, fish, rabbits, all sorts, she loved them all. Daniel and Ali had also talked about their futures together. It was no secret that her love for Daniel had grown and deepened over the four years they had been together. She had expressed growing interest in marriage and having children. Besides becoming a vet, her other dream, ever since she and Daniel had started going serious, was to marry Daniel and be the mother of all his children.
Daniel and Ali were in Daniel's car, the same car Daniel had gotten from Mr. Miyagi all those years ago. It was Ali's birthday tonight, and Daniel was driving Ali to her favorite restaurant for her birthday dinner. They had pulled into the parking lot, went in, sat down at their reserved table with their respective families and friends. For Daniel, that included Mr. Miyagi and his mother, Lucille. For Ali, that included her best friends, Barbara, Susan, Johnny, (they had buried the hatchet and apologized and forgiven each other after the Cobra Kais were defeated four years ago) and Eddie. Ever since she had started going serious with Daniel, Ali had had a falling out with her parents, since they didn't approve.
Daniel had decided to save his special gift for Ali for last. Just to make sure that she believed that he hadn't forgotten, Daniel had informed Ali ahead of time that she would receive his gift last. Daniel was nervous, however. He had never done something like he was going to do before. He got more and more nervous as Ali received everyone else's gifts, and the time for him to give his gift was drawing nearer and nearer. The only person who knew what he was about to do was none other than Mr. Miyagi, since Daniel told him what he had planned to do for Ali's birthday gift.
Ali had just received her second-to-last birthday gift from Johnny (one of those joke T-shirts about getting a lousy T-shirt for doing something extraordinary) and Daniel knew that he had to bite the bullet. He had been spending his time waiting working up his courage. Ali turned to her boyfriend.
"So, Daniel," she said. "What did you get me?"
"Well, Ali," Daniel said. "You have to do one thing for me. You have to close your eyes."
Ali, intrigued, did just that. Daniel stuck out his hand and waved it a little bit in front of her face, just to make sure that she wasn't peeking. When he was absolutely sure that she wasn't peeking, Daniel decided to throw himself out for her. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small, velvet jewelry box. He heard his mother gasp in surprise, as well as Barbara and Susan.
"You can open your eyes now, Ali." Daniel said.
Ali opened her eyes, and gasped when she saw what Daniel had.
"Daniel…," she said. "Is that what I think it is?"
Daniel took Ali's hand into his own. "Ali Mills." He said. "Will you marry me?" he asked, opening the ring box. The engagement ring had a silver band with Ali's birthstone, an aquamarine, since her birthday was in March. And carefully carved into the aquamarine was a picture of a dolphin, which was one of Ali's most favorite animals.
Ali took the box from Daniel's hand, and just stared at the ring for a few seconds. Tears then began to well up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Yes, Daniel." She said. "I will marry you."
Daniel, his nervousness now replaced with happiness, and he took the ring out of the box, and slipped it on Ali's ring finger. He then pulled her into a passionate kiss. Lucille let out a small choked sob, saying something about her little boy growing up, Johnny let out a whoop, Barbara and Susan clapped politely, while Mr. Miyagi gave out a satisfied smile. "You did it, Daniel-san." He said.
Soon after, Daniel and Ali broke the kiss. Pretty soon, it was time to go home. Daniel and Ali lived in the guest room together at Mr. Miyagi's house, since there were no more dorm rooms at their college.
On the drive home, Daniel and Ali were wrapped in a deep, loving conversation.
"I still can't believe that you proposed to me, Daniel." She said. "This is like a dream come true for me!"
"Well, Ali," Daniel said. "You're the love of my life, the girl of my dreams. I just knew, when I kissed you for the first time, those four years ago, I knew that you were the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Although, I will admit, I was kind of scared you would have said no."
"Daniel," Ali said. "We've been together for a long time. You should have known what my answer would have been."
"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been just my heart that would have been broken had you said no." Daniel joked. "My pocketbook would have been too. The aquamarine that was set in the ring was imported directly from the Soviet Union, so it was expensive."
(Author's note: My story takes place in 1988, four years after the end of the first movie, so Russia was still officially the Soviet Union.)
Ali began to giggle a little bit, until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "DANIEL, LOOK OUT!" she suddenly yelled. Daniel looked over, but it was too late. A blue Ford Cadillac collided with the passenger side of Daniel's car, the side that Ali was on, so Ali got the worst of the blow.
Daniel's car was sent skidding from the impact of the crash. After the crash was over, Daniel looked over at Ali. He then did a double-take. Ali was unconscious, and there were cuts all over her body.
"ALI!" Daniel yelled. He reached over and checked her. "Come on Ali, you can't die on me, you just can't!"
Just then, the driver of the other car got out. "Are you guys okay?" he asked.
Daniel looked over. "DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE'S OKAY?!" he yelled at the other driver. "SHE NEEDS IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION! WE NEED AN AMBULANCE!"
"Don't worry, I have a cell phone." The other driver said. "I'll give them a call."
Pretty soon, the paramedics arrived, and Daniel rode in the back with Ali to the ambulance. Daniel was praying to God, asking him to save her, to do something.
Ali was wheeled out on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room. Daniel tried to follow them in, when a nurse stopped him.
"I'm sorry, sir." The nurse said. "You're going to have to stay in the waiting room."
"But that's my fiancée!" Daniel protested.
"Sorry sir, but rules are rules. Only doctors and patients are allowed in the ER." The nurse informed him. "But you can use the payphone to call somebody you know to help you cope with your fear."
Daniel used the payphone to call everyone. He called his mother, Mr. Miyagi, Barbara and Susan, and Johnny, and informed them all what had happened. Pretty soon, everyone arrived at the hospital to support Daniel.
Daniel was impatiently pacing the hall up and down, waiting for news about Ali. Just then, a doctor came out.
"Mr. LaRusso?" he asked.
"Is she all right, Doctor?" Daniel asked.
The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. LaRusso. We tried everything we could, but we couldn't save her. I'm afraid that Ali has passed away."
Daniel couldn't believe his ears. "No!" he said. "You're lying! You have to be lying!" Daniel then pushed past the doctor, looking for the room that Ali was in, ignoring the doctor telling him that he wasn't allowed in there.
He found Ali's room pretty quickly, and went inside. He saw Ali on the bed, or what used to be her. Her eyes were closed, and her skin was pale as death. That dead body couldn't be Ali, the woman he loved, it just couldn't be. It had to be someone else, someone else's dead body.
Daniel walked up to the stretcher that held the body. "Ali." He said, grabbing her and shaking her gently. "Come on, Ali, wake up. You can't stay like this, we have to go home. We're supposed to get married, remember?"
But Ali didn't respond. Her head rolled from side to side limply, according to the direction of Daniel's shaking.
"Ali?" he said. "C'mon, this isn't funny anymore. Stop it; I know you're still in there."
Just then, he heard footsteps behind him. Daniel turned around to see the doctor. "I'm sorry, Mr. LaRusso." He said. "We did all we could. There's nothing we can do anymore. She's gone, and nothing is ever going to change that. There are some things you just can't change. Now, I understand that you a very upset right now, but you're still not allowed back here. Come on; come back to the waiting room. You can discuss funeral plans with the rest of your family and friends."
Everyone was shocked and stunned about the news of Ali's untimely death. But no one was taking it worse than Daniel himself. He just couldn't stop crying, no matter what anyone said.
A few weeks later, it was time for Ali's funeral. Daniel's tears had stopped, at least for now, that is. Ali's parents had been informed, and they had come to. Daniel had requested that the funeral remain closed-casket, since he couldn't stand to see Ali's dead body anymore than he absolutely had to.
It was time for Ali's graveside sermon just before the burial, and after the pastor finished his sermon, Daniel went up to the casket, just as her parents came up at the same time. Daniel, who was wearing sunglasses, partially to hide his tear-stained eyes, and partially to hide his gaze from Ali's parents, quickly turned in a haste to hide himself from them. Ali's father, however, noticed him.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" he yelled, launching himself at Daniel. Daniel, caught off guard, received a left-hook to the cheek from Mr. Mills. Daniel felt his sunglasses fly off, and his hearing distorted, as a ringing appeared in his ears.
Daniel was then grabbed by Mr. Mills and pinned to Ali's casket. Daniel struggled to get free, but Mr. Mills' grip was too strong. Daniel then felt Mr. Mills wrap his hands around Daniel's throat and squeeze. Daniel, feeling his airway cut off, couldn't breathe.
"NO, THOMAS!" Mrs. Mills yelled at her husband.
"MR. MILLS!" The pastor yelled. "THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR FIGHTING; IT IS A TIME FOR MOURNING!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Mr. Mills yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Let boy go." Mr. Miyagi spoke up, standing up.
Mr. Mills turned to face Mr. Miyagi. Unfortunately, Mr. Mills was very prejudiced toward people of Japanese descent, influenced by his father's behavior.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU FUCKING JAP!" he yelled. "FOR YOUR INFORMATION, MY FATHER FOUGHT AT BOTH IWO JIMA AND OKINAWA AND KILLED MANY MEN LIKE YOU! BESIDES, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE A CHILD!"
"There are three things that father of Ali-chan must know." Mr. Miyagi said. "First of all, Miyagi is from Okinawa himself. Second of all, Miyagi fought in 442nd Brigade during World War II against German forces. Third of all, Miyagi knows what it is like to lose child."
Eventually, the combined efforts of Johnny, the pastor, and Mr. Miyagi pulled Mr. Mills off of Daniel. Mr. Mills was reduced to tears over the loss of his daughter, and he was led away by Mrs. Mills.
Three weeks later…,
Daniel wasn't doing well at all. He had continued to write in his journals his thoughts and experiences, but things were really going downhill for him.
Daniel felt himself get thrown from the bar he was at. He hit the ground hard. He was also drunk. He had been getting drunk at whatever chance he got, trying his best to drown his sorrows and grief of Ali's death.
"AND STAY OUT!" the bar bouncer yelled at him.
Daniel began to walk down the street, his vision blurred from the effects of his excessive alcohol drinking, wobbling with every single step he took.
He had been walking for a while, when he bumped into some random person on the street.
"GET A JOB, YOU DRUNKEN IDIOT!" the random person yelled at him.
Daniel, in a drunken rage, turned around and punched the man. The man, caught off guard, and after regaining his composure, turned around and began to beat the shit out of Daniel.
Daniel was knocked to the ground, since his karate skills were impaired due to his drunkenness. He didn't give up, though.
"IS THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?" Daniel yelled. "COME ON!"
The other person, annoyed, gave Daniel a knuckle sandwich squarely in the middle of his face, getting knocked back down. He lay on the ground, in pain.
Daniel got up, brushed himself off, and continued his aimless drunken walking. Eventually, it turned out that the man he had fought with on the street had been able to get to a payphone and call the police, as a squad car screeched to a stop in front of Daniel. Two police officers got out and tackled Daniel to the ground, putting his hands behind his back and putting his hands in handcuffs. He was thrown against the hood of the car. The police officers read Daniel his Miranda Rights, and took him away.
Daniel was booked and thrown in the drunk tank. After searching his wallet, the police found Daniel's driver's license and his contact information. Pretty soon, Mr. Miyagi was called, and Mr. Miyagi explained to the police what had happened to Daniel over the past few weeks. Because of that, Daniel was released into Mr. Miyagi's custody, and Mr. Miyagi began to drive Daniel home.
After taking Daniel back home, Mr. Miyagi put Daniel in his bed, after helping him undress. "Hope you feel better someday, Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi said. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi then turned off the light and let Daniel fall into a drunken sleep.
Daniel woke up a few hours later with a very painful hangover. He looked over to the empty side of his bed, the side of the bed that Ali used to sleep on before she died. Daniel got up out of bed and walked to his desk area, where he opened up a small cabinet, looking for his secret stash of vodka bottles. But he didn't find any, because, apparently, Mr. Miyagi had confiscated all of Daniel's vodka, which he had bought to help drown his sorrows.
Daniel couldn't help it. He broke down and began to cry again.
(Author's notes: I know the perfect song that can go with this moment in the story. Just listen to the song It's Been a While by Staind. Just look for it on Youtube.)
It's been a while, since I could,
Hold my head up high,
And it's been a while,
Since I first saw you
"Why the hell do bad things happen to good people?" Daniel thought to himself.
And it's been a while,
Since I could stand,
On my own two feet again,
And it's been a while,
Since I could call you,
"Why did Ali have to die?" Daniel asked himself.
And everything I can't remember,
As fucked up as it all may seem,
The consequences that I've rendered,
I've stretched myself beyond my means
"It's bad enough that I had to lose my father, but now I have to lose the woman of my life, too?" Daniel asked himself again.
And it's been a while, since I could say,
That I wasn't addicted,
And it's been a while,
Since I can say I love myself as well,
And it's been a while,
Since I gone and fucked things up,
Just like I always do,
And it's been a while,
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you,
And everything I can't remember,
As fucked up as it all may seem,
The consequences that I've rendered,
I've gone and fucked things up again,
Daniel punched his mirror, which cracked into a few pieces, which fell out.
Why must I feel this way,
Just make things go away,
Just one more peaceful day,
Daniel picked up one of the shards, and decided what he was going to do. He knew what he was going to do.
And it's been a while, since I could,
Look at myself straight,
And it's been a while,
Since I said I'm sorry,
And it's been a while,
Since I've seen the way,
The candles light your face,
And it's been a while,
But I can still remember just the way you taste,
And everything I can't remember,
As fucked up as it all may seem,
To be I know it's me,
I cannot blame this on my father,
He did the best he could for me,
Daniel had gotten a pen and paper and written his suicide note, getting ready to check himself out.
And it's been a while,
Since I could hold my head up high,
And it's been a while,
Since I said I'm sorry.
Daniel, all ready, picked up one of the mirror shards. "Ali, I'm coming with you!" he said. He then pressed the sharp end of the shard and pressed hard, cutting it. Daniel gasped loudly in pain, before cutting the other one. His blood, the red life-giving liquid that was so important to his survival, spilled out of his cut veins. He then felt himself passing out, getting ready to join the love of his life, wherever she was.
Mr. Miyagi had heard Daniel gasping loudly, and went to check on him to see if he was all right. "Daniel-san." He said, walking into Daniel's room. "Are you all r-," Mr. Miyagi began to ask, before he saw Daniel lying on the floor, his blood staining the floor of his room.
"DANIEL-SAN!" Mr. Miyagi said in alarm. He then ran to call an ambulance.
The next thing that Daniel knew, he woke up in a hospital bed, and he noticed that his wrists had been stitched up and bandaged, and that an IV tube was stuck inside of him, replacing the blood that he had lost.
"What the?" he said. "What the fuck is this?"
"Daniel-san." He heard Mr. Miyagi walk into his hospital room. "You should learn to watch your language once in a while."
"Mr. Miyagi?" Daniel asked. "Did you call the ambulance for me?"
"Hai." Mr. Miyagi said. "Miyagi called ambulance for you. Saw your suicide note, couldn't let that happen to you. Your mother, she very concerned about you as well."
"Well, why'd you do that?" Daniel asked. "I wanted to die. I wanted to see Ali again, I wanted to be with her again. I can't stand a life without her at my side."
"Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi sighed. "You must be strong. You have to move on."
"But how am I going to?" Daniel asked. "Ali was my life."
"Take it one day at a time, Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi said. "Time will heal all wound."
Daniel just couldn't look at Mr. Miyagi. He was ashamed that he had scared Mr. Miyagi, kicking himself for being so selfish, for not thinking of how the other people who cared about him would react.
"Mr. Miyagi," Daniel said. "You lost your wife all those years ago. How did you cope?"
"Miyagi took it one day at a time, had support from many friend." Mr. Miyagi said. "Miyagi also remember all good time Miyagi had with Mrs. Miyagi."
Daniel knew that that was what he was going to have to do. He would have to move on, no matter what.
"Mr. Miyagi," Daniel said. "Do you remember the day that I came to your house, at the anniversary of your wife and unborn son's death? What was that song you sang? You know, the song you called Japanese Blues?"
Mr. Miyagi chuckled, and then began to sing the song that he hadn't sang in such a long time sober, in his native tongue of Japanese. This lulled Daniel back to sleep, which is something he desperately needed. After he fell asleep, Mr. Miyagi smiled. "Be strong, Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi said. "You'll be better again some day."
Three years later…,
Daniel had gone an extra three years at college, studying psychiatry. He decided that he wanted to become a psychiatrist or psychologist, hoping to help other people cope with what he went through, since he hoped to help people who went through the traumatic experience of losing the love of their life, whether they were male or female.
His mother, Lucille, was finally convinced that Daniel wasn't going to try suicide again, had went back to work, and she had secured a promotion at work, and based on what she had been telling Daniel in their past few phone conversations, she was seeing someone, and thinking that she may have a new boyfriend. "Well," Daniel thought to himself. "If mom can get over dad and find a new boyfriend, maybe I can finally get over Ali and find someone else."
Mr. Miyagi was now living in a Veteran's Retirement Home, and Daniel still paid regular visits to him. Mr. Miyagi even had his own little karate class which he taught to the grandchildren of the other veterans.
And Daniel, now twenty-five years old, co-owned a townhouse with Johnny, who was also helping Daniel cope with the loss of Ali, and Johnny hoped to help Daniel finally move on. And Johnny thought that tonight was finally the night that Daniel would find someone new.
Johnny walked over to Daniel's room and knocked on the door. "Hey, Daniel." He said. "Put something nice on, you're going out with me and the rest of the Cobra Kai gang tonight."
He then opened the door and peeked in, and saw Daniel hurry to hide something in his desk drawer. "Okay, Johnny." Daniel said. "Just give me a second."
Johnny heard, through the door after shutting it, Daniel moving around in his room, opening his closet and throwing on some new clothes. He then walked out, sporting a new outfit.
"You were looking that picture of you and Ali again, weren't you?" Johnny asked.
Daniel sighed. He couldn't hide it. No matter how much time passed, he just couldn't stop looking at that picture of him and Ali together in the photo booth from Golf n' Stuff from time to time.
"C'mon, Daniel." Johnny said. "It's been three years since she died. You need to move on eventually."
"I know, it's just hard." Daniel said. "I'll never stop loving her. She was my fiancée, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Johnny said, patting Daniel on the shoulder.
Daniel, more than eager to change the subject, asked, "So, how do I look?"
Johnny smiled. "As good as I can say you look without implying that I have any homosexual feelings about you." He joked. "But seriously, you look great, you're gonna knock the socks off of a lot of ladies tonight."
Daniel was driving Johnny and the rest of the Cobra Kai to a dance club they went to all the time so that the Cobra Kai could get chicks. Daniel didn't know this, but Johnny had been talking to Barbara and Susan, and they had set up a blind date for Daniel with a new girl that they had met.
Daniel and the Cobra Kai had arrived at the dance club they had hoped to go to, and parked in the parking lot. Whilst traversing said parking lot, Daniel was wondering what he could do in order to turn down girls without hurting them. He never told Johnny or the rest of the Cobra Kai this, but he just couldn't date another girl, it would feel like he was cheating on Ali.
When they entered the dance club, Johnny saw Barbara and Susan sitting with a third unknown girl.
"Hey, everyone," Johnny said. "There's Barbara and Susan. Let's go see them."
Daniel, Johnny, and the rest of the Cobra Kai walked over to see Barbara, Susan, and this unknown girl whom they had never seen before.
"Hey, guys," Barbara said. She pointed her finger at the unknown girl. "This is Kelsey, and she's new here. She just moved here all the way Bellingham, Washington."
Everyone said hi to Kelsey, and then Johnny clamped his hand on Daniel's shoulder and pointed towards Kelsey. "Daniel," he said. "Meet your blind date for tonight."
"My what?" Daniel asked. He looked at Kelsey. Yeah, she was cute and all, but he didn't want to date anyone right now. He still considered that cheating on Ali.
Daniel turned to Johnny. "Johnny, can I talk to you for a second?" Daniel asked. "In private?"
Daniel and Johnny walked over to the bathroom area. "Johnny, what are you doing?" Daniel asked.
"What?" Johnny said. "I'm doing you a favor."
"Johnny, I can't date anyone right now." Daniel protested. "It wouldn't feel right, it would feel like I'm cheating on Ali."
"Daniel, Ali is dead." Johnny said. "You have to move on. Come on, try being with another girl. I'm tired of you being sad all the time. You need to move on. It's what Ali would have wanted for you. Do you think that she is looking down on you from Heaven right now, happy with what you are doing with your life? No, she would have wanted you to be happy, to move on and be happy."
Daniel sighed. "I don't know, Johnny."
"Just give it a try, Daniel." Johnny said. "And besides," he said, pulling something out of his pocket and pressing it into Daniel's palm. "You just might get lucky."
Daniel had looked into the palm of his hand, and saw that Johnny had given him a brand new condom. Before Daniel could say anything more, he saw Johnny go rejoin the rest of the Cobra Kais, trying to pick up chicks.
Daniel sighed, and put the condom packet in his pocket. He then went onto the dance floor to get to know Kelsey better, if anything just to get Johnny to shut up about the subject.
Surprisingly, Daniel and Kelsey hit it off pretty well, so well, that Kelsey hinted that she wanted to do it with Daniel.
Daniel and Kelsey went back to his house, as Johnny and the rest of the Cobra Kai had all found girls to go home with. Daniel knew that Johnny would come back sometime the next day, bragging about the great night of sex he had with whatever girl he was with that night.
Daniel and Kelsey walked backward through the door to Daniel's bedroom, making out. Daniel then gently pushed Kelsey onto the bed and joined her.
"Do you have any condoms?" Kelsey asked, looking under Daniel's bed.
Daniel began to reach into his pocket to pull out the condom he planned to use that night, ready for his night of fun, when he saw Kelsey pull out from under the bed a composition book.
"Oh," Daniel said. "That's private."
"Yeah, most guys hide porn magazines under their beds, but you have comp books?" Kelsey asked quizzically.
"Yeah," Daniel said. "They're my journals, I've been writing in them since I was eight years old, after my father died."
"Oh," Kelsey said. She then passed the journal to Daniel. "Hey, read me something."
Daniel hesitated for a second. "Come on, Daniel," Kelsey said, pinning Daniel to the bed, reaching into his pocket to pull out the condom. "It could make for good foreplay."
Daniel, who now had a hard-on the size of the Space Needle, just couldn't resist.
"Okay," Daniel said. "Let me just find something worth reading." He said, taking the journal from Kelsey and opening it to a random entry. The entry he opened to happened to be the day that he found out he was going to move from New Jersey to California.
"Today, I came home from school and found out that mom wanted to move to California in order to take a new job with some company called Rocket Computers. I'm kind of excited, but at the same time, kind of scared."
All of a sudden, Daniel started to feel a little weird. He noticed that the words that he had written in his journal all those years ago were starting to quiver.
Next thing Daniel knew, he had teleported back in time to that fateful August day when his mom announced their move to California.
"Isn't that great, Daniel?" his past mom asked. "We're going to live in a place that has a swimming pool when we get to California."
"What?" Daniel said. "I thought we were already in California?" he asked.
His mother looked at him confused. "Are you okay, Daniel?"
The thing then suddenly changed, and Daniel was back in his room with Kelsey, convulsing, and having a slight nosebleed.
"Are you okay?" Kelsey asked.
"What the fuck happened?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know." Kelsey said. "One moment, you were reading me what was in that journal of yours, next thing I know, you were passed out, and then you come back, spazzing out and having a nosebleed."
Daniel couldn't say anything. Where was he? What had happened? Did he just go back in time?
"So," he heard Kelsey say. "Are we going to do it, or not?"
Daniel, however, wasn't going to hear any of it. "I gotta go." He said, and he got up off his bed and ran out the door, closing it behind him, leaving Kelsey there, cold turkey.
Author's Notes: Cliffhanger. Yes, again. I can't help it, I just like to intentionally piss you guys off with these. Read and review. Now, for some random trivia.
-Kelsey is the name of a girl that the author, zombie hippie, had a crush on from the third grade to the sixth grade.
-She came to California from Bellingham, Washington, which is the city that Ralph Macchio's successor to The Karate Kid movies, Hilary Swank was born.
-While browsing on the internet for the music video for It's Been a While by Staind, the author saw the new trailer for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, in which the main character, Sam Fisher, is voiced by Michael Ironside, the actor who played Colonel Dugan in The Next Karate Kid.
So, once again, read and review!