#ive been thinking a lot about the ali/johnny confrontation honestly

[thebentleyao3]

But I'm a Cheerleader! AU 📣 Part 2/?

also known as "But I'm the All Valley Champ! 🥋" in my notes app, title idea courtesy of my older brother

part 1 can be found here

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Johnny hadn't even been at the camp for a full week and everything was already going to shit.

He knew why he needed to be there at True Directions, the brochures had all said it was the best way to fix what was wrong with him, the only way. His mother had made Sid promise not to tell anyone where he was going too, though that hadn't been too hard. Who could stand anyone finding out he had a stepson who was queer?

Missing 3 months of school and karate plus being away from all his and friends wasn't ideal, but he was figured he was just gonna have to tough it out. Most of the kids at True Directions were alright, and he was really starting to warm up to the idea of spending an extended period of time around them.

He was so, so close to getting through the program without anything in the way. Of course something had to go wrong.

Johnny ran shaky hands through his hair, letting out a sigh. He couldn't bring himself to sit with the others during free time after group therapy. He knew that eventually Ali would want to talk to him, and because he hadn’t acted like enough of a coward already, Johnny had hid from her. He'd been curled up behind the house in a secluded area in the garden out back for the past 20 minutes.

What was the point of putting so much effort into keeping people back home from finding out he was gay when the one person he would’ve wanted to find out the least ended up right where he was?

Suddenly, Johnny heard a faint rustling in the bushes. Straightening up and out of his crouch, he looked up to see a familiar brown haired boy, pushing through the shrubbery. Johnny furrowed his brow in confusion as the two stared at eachother.

"Hey, there you are,” Daniel said, grinning at him. “I’ve been looking all over for you, blondie.”

Johnny scooched over to the side, silently making room for Daniel to sit with him. Once he’d set himself down with a comfortable sigh, Johnny spoke. "Why?” He replied, and then like an afterthought, “And I already told you, stop calling me that.”

Daniel shrugged, and with a start Johnny realised he looked kind of shy. "Was worried about you, is all. You seemed kinda," He trailed off.

"What, rattled?" Johnny offered, raising an eyebrow at him.

Daniel let out a soft huff of laughter, "I was actually gonna say freaked out of your mind, but yeah. Rattled works too."

"Right, well," Johnny replied, "You'd probably be a little freaked out of your mind too if you were me."

Daniel shoved him lightly, laughing again. "What's wrong? You know the new girl or something?"

Johnny couldn't help but laugh then too. More than you'd guess, he wanted to say. Instead, his response was soft.

"She was my girlfriend back home," he said, "Technically still is, actually."

The worst part of it all was, sometimes Johnny could make himself think he really did have feelings for Ali. He could talk to her, really talk to her, and she made him want to be a better person, one who didn't have to punch out all his problems.

Sometimes, on those nights where he'd be driving her back to her house, both hands on the wheel so she wouldn't try to take one, he'd look over at her, at her pretty eyes and her bright smile and wonder how he could possibly not love her. He had to be straight if he loved spending time with her so much, right?

But over time it had gotten harder to pretend. He'd stiffen up when she kissed him, instinctively pull away if he thought she was going to try and pull him into a hug. He started dreading seeing her, dreading her easy affection because deep down he knew she didn't deserve this, he was such a liar, she should hate him, he was all wrong and he was going to ruin her with it, he just knew.

Daniel laughed, incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"Sure am. Our 2 year anniversary was back in June." Daniel's expression was so priceless, Johnny almost laughed despite the pit in his stomach. Almost.

Johnny watched as the other boy scoffed in disbelief, head leaning back against the wall.

"You're really something else, Blondie." And yeah, he kinda was, but still.

"It's not like I don't," Johnny could feel his face warming up as he spoke. "I do like Ali okay. So much. She's smart, and she has a killer sense of humour-"

"And she's got just about the greatest tits you've never seen!" Daniel cut in, sparkling. Johnny flushed immediately, opening his mouth to tell the other boy off when Daniel continued, deadpan.

“Look, I don't need you to give me the straight boy speech. You're not gonna fool anybody. Not here."

Johnny shut his mouth, speechless. Funny thing was, the worst part of this whole conversation wasn't even the fact that he was being lectured by some shrimpy loudmouth from New Jersey.

(Seriously, Daniel was tiny. Johnny's hand could probably circle his whole wrist, he could probably lift him all the way off the ground without breaking a sweat if he tried. Johnny wasn't gonna kid himself either. He knew full well what he'd do to him if they'd first met back home and Daniel tried talking to him the way he did at True Directions.)

The worst part was that Johnny couldn't even deny it. He'd never been attracted to Ali, as hard as he always tried. And denying it at the one place where he could be honest about himself was gonna get him nowhere.

"Alright, fine, Larusso!" He flapped his hands in Daniel's direction, as if he could swat him away like a fly. "Lay off me, will you?"

Johnny swallowed thickly. "I get it, I'm an asshole. I just-- I just thought if I pretended hard enough then eventually I wouldn't have to pretend anymore." He said, voice low. "But that's why I'm here now, right? To get better, so I won't be pretending anymore."

The two boys sat in silence for a few beats. As much as Johnny made jabs at the other boy for his constant chatter, the quiet was unnerving.

Finally, Daniel let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes. "Right, well. Good luck with that one."

Johnny furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes at the boy. "What are you talking about?"

Daniel huffed out a laugh. "This crap doesn't work, Johnny. You are who you are, man, the only trick is not getting caught.

He brushed off his blue shorts, and started to get up. His tone was the only thing that betrayed any bitterness in his words. A slight edge to them. For not the first time, Johnny wondered what Daniel had done to get sent to camp.

Whatever dark mood Daniel had been in vanished as soon as it came. Once he was up, he grinned brightly down at Johnny, extending a hand to help pull himself up. Johnny accepted it wordlessly, pointedly not thinking about the warmth of his hand in his as he got up. The flowers just behind Daniel were looking real nice at the moment.

"I should. Probably go talk to Ali." Johnny said as they made their way back to the group.

Daniel stayed silent a beat, before hesitantly responding. "I know I gave you a ton of grief about it before but," He tried for a smile. "It'll be okay. She's here too, man, so she can't be too mad at you."

Maybe it sounded dumb, but up until that point Johnny hadn't really thought about what Ali's presence would mean for her feelings about him. He'd been so focused on how much she'd hate him now that she'd found out his secret.

Daniel reached out to him and squeezed his right hand lightly. It was small, and he'd pulled away immediately, but it was enough to fill his chest with warmth. He nodded once, and made his way over to the blonde girl sitting across the garden.