A/N: This is the last filler chapter before the Halloween dance. And it's also Jason and Claire's first date. I decided to go with "Feel The Night" as the title for this chapter instead of "Young Hearts." Mainly because "Feel The Night" fits Jason and Claire's first date a lot more.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.
Feel The Night
Jason had been too excited about his date with Claire to get much sleep.
It was something that he had been looking forward to for the entire week.
He woke up relatively early for a Saturday.
Jason gets out of bed and gets dressed.
He picks out things from his wardrobe to get changed into for his date with Claire.
A denim jacket, a Metallica t-shirt, a nice pair of jeans and black boots were placed on and near his bed.
Jason checked the time on his phone.
He puts his phone in one pocket and his wallet and keys in another pocket.
There was still plenty of time before his date.
Jason walks downstairs and walks into the kitchen.
He grabs a bowl and spoon before pouring cereal into a bowl.
Jason pours a little bit of milk into the bowl and sits down at the dining table.
He eats his breakfast in relative silence.
After he's finished eating, he washes the bowl and spoon before drying them.
Jason puts them away and walks over to the couch and sits down.
He takes his phone out of his pocket and scrolls aimlessly for a bit.
Until he notices a text from Claire.
Jason decides to just call her instead of texting her.
There's a very short wait between him dialling Claire's number and her answering the phone.
"Hey, Jason!" Claire exclaims.
Jason's heart leaps at the sound of Claire's voice. "Hey, Claire. You looking forward to our date tonight?"
"Of course. So, where exactly are you taking me?" Claire asks.
Jason is quick to reply. "It's kind of a surprise."
"I like surprises. Hopefully it's somewhere good." Claire says.
Jason nods. "Yeah. You're really going to like it. I promise. I got your text, by the way."
"I know." Claire answers.
Jason lets out a deep breath. "So, how's your day going so far?"
"It's going pretty well. I had breakfast and I've picked out an outfit for our date. How about you?" Claire asks.
Jason smiles. "I've got stuff ready for our date. And I had breakfast. I'll go and get lunch somewhere and hang around for a bit before I get changed and go to pick you up."
"Awesome. You've met my parents already, so it's not going to be awkward or anything." Claire replies.
Jason laughs a little at that. "Yeah."
"But it's going to be your first time meeting them since we became a couple." Claire points out.
Jason thinks about it. "I don't think that's going to change anything."
"You're right. I'm not sure that it will change anything." Claire agrees.
Jason is happy to hear it. "Great. I'll see you later."
"See you later." Claire says.
They both hang up.
Jason turns on the TV and watches it for a little bit.
He wonders if it would be a good idea to buy Claire flowers.
And then he decides to buy her flowers after lunch.
Because he's still got plenty of time before their date.
….
Jason put gas in the Dodge Viper and pays for it before getting back in the car and driving off.
He drives around a bit until he sees a florist.
Jason parks the Dodge Viper at a parking space close to where the florist is and gets out of the car before locking it.
He walks into the florist and starts taking a look around at the different flowers that are on display.
"Do you need some help?" Jason could hear a voice.
He turned around and noticed someone standing behind him.
The person standing behind him more than likely worked there. There was someone else working as a cashier.
Jason nodded. "Yeah. I've got a date tonight and I'm looking for the right flowers to get her."
The person standing behind him was female and it looked like she was in her early to mid-20s.
"Well, it is a first date. So, I'd recommend something understated." The woman starts.
Jason thinks about it. "Like carnations?"
"Kind of. Or, you could go all out and get roses or something." The woman continues.
Jason scratches his head. "I guess I'll take the roses then."
"I'll get those for you. Just watch out for the thorns." The woman goes to grab the roses.
Jason watches as the woman carefully grabs the roses and walks over to where the cashier is.
He goes to pay for the roses. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem." The woman and her colleague both give him a smile as he pays for the roses.
Jason takes the roses and walks out of the building.
He walks to the Dodge Viper and unlocks the car.
Jason carefully puts the roses in the backseat and gets into the driver's seat.
He turns on the radio as he drives off.
There's still time before the date, but Jason decides to drive back to his house and get ready for his date with Claire.
He wasn't sure if Claire would eat before their date.
So, they'd probably get something to eat and then go to where their date would be.
….
Jason had a shower and got changed into what he would be wearing for his date with Claire before driving to her house.
He parks the Dodge Viper near to the driveway of Claire's house before taking the roses from the backseat of the car and walking to the front door of the house.
Jason knocks on the door and takes a step back.
The door opens and Claire steps out.
She's accompanied by Bobby and Violet.
Claire is wearing a knee length skirt, socks, black shoes and a black hooded sweatshirt with red clouds on it over a surprisingly figure-hugging top.
Jason hands her the roses and she gives them to Violet, who walks back into the house.
"I've gotten to know you fairly well over the last few weeks and months, and I've gotten to trust you. Show me that trust hasn't been misplaced." Bobby says.
Jason nods. "Yes, sir."
"Good. I'm glad we understand each other. Have a good time on your date, you two." Bobby replies.
Jason watches as Bobby walks inside and closes the door behind him.
He turns to Claire. "Let's go."
"Yeah. Lead the way." Claire says.
They walk over to the Dodge Viper.
Jason unlocks the car and they get in.
He starts the car and they drive off.
Now their date could really begin.
….
Jason drives around the Valley for a bit while Claire points out interesting places to go or good places to eat.
He eventually pulls over and parks near the beach.
"Why'd we stop?" Claire looks around.
Jason smiles. "Well, I thought that a walk along the beach might be a good start to our date. And I think there's something here that you might like."
He draws her attention to a food truck parked near the beach.
"You're talking about the food truck, right?" Claire asks.
Jason nods. "Yeah. It's good. Trust me."
"Okay." Claire replies.
Jason opens the door of the Dodge Viper and gets out.
He walks over to Claire's side of the vehicle and open the door.
Claire walks out before Jason closes the door and locks it.
They walk over to the food truck.
"I was just about to go somewhere else before you showed up. But I saw you and I decided to stay. At least for the time being." The owner of the food truck looks down at them.
Jason smiles. "That's great. We really appreciate it."
"We hope we didn't cause you too much trouble." Claire adds.
The owner of the food truck shakes his head. "You didn't cause me any trouble at all."
Jason and Claire order their food and wait after paying for it.
They get their food when it's ready and find somewhere to sit and eat.
"This is pretty good." Claire says between mouthfuls of her food.
Jason nods. "Thanks."
They finish their food and find somewhere to get rid of what their food was in.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Claire asks.
Jason smiles. "We could go for a walk along the beach."
"That would be nice." Claire agrees.
They go for a walk along the beach before walking back to the Dodge Viper.
Jason unlocks it and they both get in.
He starts the car and they drive off to their next destination.
….
It's a surprisingly short drive from the beach to Golf N Stuff.
"No way! My dad used to take me here all the time when I was little!" Claire exclaims.
Jason looks out the window. "I'm glad you like it. Sensei kind of did suggest that I take you here for our date."
"Oh. It's still pretty cool of you to take me here." Claire says.
Jason parks the Dodge Viper and they get out of the car.
He locks it and offers Claire his hand. "You want to hold my hand?"
"Yeah. That would be nice." Claire replies.
Jason and Claire hold hands as they walk over to get arcade passes and golf clubs.
The game of mini golf goes by pretty quickly.
Claire manages to outplay Jason, but he doesn't mind.
They hand in their golf clubs and walk into the arcade.
Jason looks around. "So, what do you want to do first?"
"Well, we could do skee ball first." Claire replies.
Jason agrees. "Skee ball sounds pretty good."
They walk over to where the skee ball is.
Jason and Claire manage to land bullseyes on skee ball.
"Good job! You're pretty good at this!" Claire exclaims.
Jason smiles. "Thanks."
"You want to check out some of the other games?" Claire asks.
Jason nods. "Sure."
They go around playing different games in the arcade and win a lot of tickets in the process.
"Let's go to the basketball shooter. I wonder if you're as good at basketball as you are at karate." Claire suggests.
Jason grins. "Let's find out. I bet I can land a few baskets."
"You're on." Claire answers.
They walk over to the basketball shooter.
Jason and Claire each take basketballs and manage to get baskets.
He gets three baskets in a row. "Alright!"
"So, you are more than just a karate guy?" Claire asks.
Jason gets another basket. "Yep."
The clock ticks down as they land more baskets.
Jason lands another basket just as time runs out.
"We've got more tickets!" Claire looks and sounds pretty excited.
Jason looks happy. "I know!"
They walk over to the booth where the different prizes are.
"I'll take that one." Claire points to a stuffed lion.
The woman behind the register hands Claire the lion. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Claire says.
They both look at the lion before looking at each other.
Jason looks into Claire's eyes. "So, what do you want to do now?"
"Let's go to the photo booth." Claire answers.
Jason agrees. "Definitely."
They walk over to the photo booth and go inside.
The first photo is of Jason and Claire smiling with the lion in between them, Jason has an arm around Claire in the second photo, they make funny faces in the third photo and they make eye contact with each other in the fourth photo.
Jason leans in and kisses Claire on the lips.
Claire returns the kiss.
They kiss for a little bit after that before separating.
"Wow. That was definitely quite something." Claire remarks.
Jason smiles. "Yeah. And you're not too bad a kisser, yourself."
"Whatever." Claire looks a little embarrassed.
They get out of the photo booth with the stuffed lion and take two copies of the photographs.
Jason points to the photo where he has his arm around her. "I think I liked this one the most."
"I liked this one the most. For sure." Claire points to the photo where they're kissing.
Claire is holding the stuffed lion as they walk outside.
Jason puts an arm around her.
They walk back to the Dodge Viper.
Jason unlocks the car and opens the passenger door for Claire.
He watches as she gets into the front passenger seat before getting in the Dodge Viper himself.
Jason starts the car.
He doesn't turn on the radio because he wants to hear, and savour, Claire's voice.
….
The drive back to Claire's house goes by in what seems like no time at all.
Jason parks the Dodge Viper outside of the driveway of Claire's house before getting out and opening the door for Claire.
He watches as Claire exits the car, taking the stuffed lion with her.
Jason wraps an arm around her as they walk up the steps to the front door.
"This was pretty good as far as first dates go." Claire remarks.
Jason nods. "I think you're right."
"Don't worry, you've more than earned another date." Claire teases.
Jason smiles. "I'm looking forward to it already."
"Same here." Claire says.
This time, Claire leans in and kisses Jason.
Jason returns the kiss and they kiss before separating.
He looks down. "That was pretty good."
"Yeah. You know, you're pretty good at this whole "romance" thing." Claire has a smile on her face.
Jason is smiling too. "I think I am. I'll see you on Monday."
He walks back to the Dodge Viper and watches as Claire knocks on the door of the house.
The door opens and Claire walks inside.
Jason unlocks the Dodge Viper just as the door closes.
He gets into the car and turns on the radio.
Jason drives off.
There are only two places he can think of going that aren't home.
….
Jason buys a few beers in the bodega that's in the same strip mall as the dojo before driving over to Miguel's apartment.
He parks just across from Miguel's apartment and gets out.
Jason remembers to take the beers out of the car as well.
He places the beers a few steps back from the door before knocking on it.
There's some noise on the other side of the door before someone opens it.
"Hey! How'd your date with Claire go?" Miguel asks.
Jason grins. "It went great. She kissed me twice. Nonconsecutively. And she said that she wants a second date."
"That's awesome. I'm happy for you." Miguel gives Jason a big pat on the back.
Jason goes to get two beers, one for him and one for Miguel.
He hands a beer to Miguel. "Thanks. And, it's probably a given that Claire and I will be going on another date."
"Of course. Speaking of girls, I kind of want your opinion on something." Miguel starts.
Jason opens his beer and takes a long gulp before answering. "Sure. What do you want my opinion on?"
"I like Sam, but I'm not sure if I should try and talk to her again. On account of the whole Kyler thing." Miguel replies.
There's a short pause as Miguel opens his beer and takes a drink.
Jason finishes his beer before he says anything. "Don't worry about Kyler and the assholes he hangs around with. They're all in the one group because they can't do anything on their own. Just show them who's boss and they'll back down."
"And what about Sam?" Miguel asks.
Miguel finishes his beer and Jason hands him another one before taking a beer for himself.
Jason takes a drink and thinks about it. "Look at it this way, the worst thing she can say to you is "No." And she might be interested in you, too."
"But she's going out with Kyler. And there's a pretty good chance that they're going to the Halloween dance together." Miguel points out.
They take sips of their respective beers.
Jason sighs. "I know. But what if they're not going to the Halloween dance together? I'm sure that Sam and her friends will be going as a group. Maybe they'll dress up as cheerleaders or something."
"Maybe." Miguel says.
Jason gives Miguel a pat on the back. "That's the spirit. Just remember to do one thing, though."
"What's that?" Miguel asks.
Jason smiles. "Do it afraid if you have to."
"Okay. Thanks. I guess I'm a little new at this kind of stuff." Miguel looks down at his feet.
Jason finishes his beer. "But you'll learn. It's really not that difficult at all."
He watches as Miguel finishes his beer.
"Thanks for the encouragement. It really means a lot. I never really had friends until I met you and everybody else." Miguel sounds grateful.
They get rid of the empty beers and walk back to where they were standing before, more or less.
Jason leans against the wall of the building. "I've got your back. No matter what."
"Thanks. I'd better go back inside. See you on Monday." Miguel says.
Jason nods. "See you on Monday."
He unlocks the Dodge Viper and gets in the driver's seat.
Jason watches as Miguel knocks on the door of his apartment after giving him a wave.
He turns on the radio and drives off as the door of Miguel's apartment opens and Miguel walks back inside.
The night had been pretty successful.
And he was really looking forward to the Halloween dance.