Y/n and Daniel wandered away from the noisy party, finding a quiet spot near some trees. Y/n crossed her arms and leaned against one, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Let me guess. You're about to give me a big lecture about sneaking out like I'm five years old, right?"

Daniel tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

"Well, yeah! You did sneak out. And not just by yourself...you snuck out with Mike. The guy you just met! Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Dangerous? What's Mike gonna do, ask me to break another window on the way out?" She scoffed.

"I'm serious, Y/n. You don't know him. And sneaking out? What were you even thinking? What if your parents found out?"

Y/n threw her hands in the air.

"Oh, please! You and Johnny act like Mike's the worst person on the planet. What's your problem with him? Did he steal your pudding cups in the cafeteria or something?"

Daniel sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't know, okay? Something about him just rubs me the wrong way. And Johnny clearly feels the same."

"Oh, well, if Johnny doesn't like him, he must be pure evil. Thanks for clearing that up, Daniel." She smirked.

"Don't turn this around on me. You're the one sneaking out and making bad decisions!" He scoffed.

"Bad decisions?" Y/n said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Like when you decided to punch Johnny last year because he said you had weak kicks? You looked like a flailing chicken, by the way."

Daniel's jaw dropped.

"I won that fight, thank you very much!"

"Did you, though? Because Johnny tells it very differently."

Daniel pointed at her.

"You know what? This isn't about me! You're deflecting!"

"Oh, please, Daniel. You're just mad because I have a life outside of being stuck in your drama with Johnny."

"Drama? You're the one sneaking out with drama magnet Mike!"

They both glared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily from the argument.

Finally, Y/n threw her hands up in frustration.

They stood in awkward silence for a moment, each too stubborn to apologise or back down.

But then, a thought crept into her mind. She suddenly realised how crazy Johnny could be sometimes.

Her eyes widened slightly as she played out the scene in her head.

Johnny, smug as ever, strolling up to her dad and casually mentioning how he saw her sneaking out of the house with Mike. Her stomach twisted at the idea.

She turned to Daniel, who was already starting to walk away.

"Wait!" she called out.

Daniel stopped and turned around.

"What now?"

"Uh... listen. Johnny's... kinda nuts, right? I mean, he might actually tell my dad about this whole sneaking out thing."

Daniel shrugged, clearly not interested.

"Maybe."

"So... maybe you could, I don't know, talk to him? Ask him not to?" She asked.

Daniel gave her a dry look.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're the 'nice guy,' and you love helping people?" Y/n tried, though it sounded more like a question than a reason.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"You got yourself into this mess. You can deal with it."

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Y/n standing there, dumbfounded.

She groaned, dragging a hand down her face.

"Great. Just great." She muttered under her breath.

It was clear she'd have to handle Johnny herself.

The thought made her stomach turn but there wasn't much choice.

She really didn't want to talk to Johnny but it was the only way to make sure he wouldn't run to her dad about her sneaking out.

"Alright, Y/n. You can do this."

She pushed open the door and stepped back into the party. As she scanned the room for Johnny, something caught her eye.

Heather, standing near a table suddenly ducked and dodged as someone accidentally swung a cup her way. It wasn't just a reflex...it was smooth, almost too smooth. Y/n's jaw dropped slightly.

"What the... does Heather know karate?" she whispered to herself.

Before she could process it, she saw Dutch and Jimmy make their way over to Heather. Both of them clapped their hands and started laughing.

"Nice moves!" Dutch said with his usual smirk, leaning in like he was inspecting her.

"Yeah, didn't know you had it in you!" Jimmy grinned.

Heather looked nervous, backing up a bit and waving her hands.

"Oh, no, it's nothing! Just... I don't know, instinct or something."

Y/n couldn't stop staring, still trying to wrap her head around it.

Heather? Karate?

She shook her head, snapping herself out of it when Bobby walked up beside her.

"Surprised?" Bobby asked, giving her a small smile.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, Heather? Karate? What's that about?" Y/n said, crossing her arms and glancing back at Heather, who still looked flustered.

"You're not the only one surprised. Everyone is. Guess there's more to Heather than we thought." He shrugged.

Y/n nodded slowly but before she could say more, Bobby shifted the conversation.

"So...Why'd you sneak out with Mike, anyway?"

She blinked, suddenly feeling caught off guard.

"Oh, uh... I don't know. He offered to help and I didn't want to miss the party..." She trailed off, avoiding Bobby's eyes.

Bobby tilted his head slightly.

"Just seems... I don't know, risky? Especially with everything going on. Johnny's already worked up about it, you know."

"I know. I just... I don't know. Maybe it wasn't the best idea."

Bobby gave her a small pat on the shoulder.

"Well, for what it's worth, Mike seems alright. Just... be careful, okay? This group's got enough drama as it is."

Y/n nodded, appreciating his kindness but knowing she still had a lot to handle..starting with Johnny.

Everything felt like a tangled mess. Johnny was angry, Daniel was frustrated, Mike was... Mike and now Heather had some secret karate skills.

She needed a moment to breathe and Bobby seemed like the only person who wasn't caught up in the chaos.

"Hey, Bobby." She said, tugging on his sleeve.

He turned to her.

"What's up?"

"Can we, like, talk? Outside? I need a break from... all this." She gestured vaguely to the party.

Bobby gave her a small smile.

"Sure. Let's go."

The two of them stepped out.

"Okay...I don't get it. Why is everyone so... dramatic about Mike? Johnny hates him, Daniel doesn't trust him and now I'm caught in the middle. Like, what's the big deal?"

"You really want to know? It's not just about Mike. Johnny and Daniel...they've got a lot of history. And Mike... well, he's new and Johnny probably sees him as competition. And Daniel? He's just protective, especially of you." He shrugged.

Y/n groaned, throwing her hands in the air.

"Why does everyone think they need to protect me? I'm fine! I don't need Johnny or Daniel breathing down my neck."

"You sure about that? Because sneaking out with Mike wasn't exactly the smartest move."

"Okay, yeah, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But still! Johnny's acting like a crazy person, Daniel's acting like my dad and now Mike's stuck in the middle of all this." She sighed.

"Look, Y/n, you've got to understand something about Johnny. He's not good at handling jealousy. And Daniel? He cares about you, even if he's over the top about it sometimes. As for Mike..."

"What about Mike?" Y/n asked, narrowing her eyes.

"He's new to your life and you're the first person to really give him a chance....I sense.  That probably means a lot to him. But it also puts you in the spotlight...Johnny and Daniel are gonna notice."

"Great. So, no matter what I do, someone's going to have a problem with it." She huffed.

"Pretty much." Bobby said with a small laugh.

Y/n pouted, kicking at a pebble on the ground.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated? I just wanted to come to this party, have some fun and maybe not have Johnny yelling at me or Daniel giving me lectures."

"Life's messy, Y/n. Especially with this group. But you're strong..you'll figure it out. Just... try not to add fuel to the fire, alright?"

"Thanks for talking. You're like... the only sane person around here." She smiled.

"Someone's got to be." Bobby replied with a wink.

Y/n bit her lip.

"Hey... can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Bobby said, turning to her with a curious look.

"If I ask Johnny to, you know, not tell my dad about sneaking out... do you think he'll agree?"

"Johnny?" He said with a small chuckle.

"Honestly, it depends on his mood. If he's still angry about Mike, he might just use it to mess with you."

Y/n groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Ugh, why does he have to be like this? He's such a pain!"

"He's always been like that...stubborn, hot headed. But..."

Y/n peeked at him through her fingers.

"But what?"

"If you catch him in the right moment and actually talk to him..like, seriously talk to him then he might listen. Johnny's not all bad, you know. Just don't push his buttons too much."

Y/n sighed, dropping her hands.

"So basically, I have to beg him."

"Or just be really convincing. Good luck with that." He smirked.

"Great. This is going to be a disaster."

"It doesn't have to be." Bobby said, patting her shoulder.

"Just be honest with him. And maybe don't bring up Mike while you're at it."

"I'll try. But if he makes this harder than it already is, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough." He laughed.