Hold My Hand

Chachi Arcola leaned back self-satisfiedly in the booth at Arnold's. He'd been 15 for all of a month, and he'd finally gotten some third-base action with a comely young blonde cheerleader. At least he was keeping up family traditions; maybe one day he'd be close on par with Fonzie- well, maybe, he thought to himself. True, he didn't much like the girl- she was cloying and overly peppy- but, action was action, that's what he figured. That's how Fonzie seemed to play it, so what was the harm?

Joannie came up about then, her eyes suspiciously swollen and red. He sat up immediately, frowning.

"Hey, you been cryin'?" he demanded.

"No..." she lied, her voice thick.

Chachi sighed, putting an arm around her. "What happened? Do I get to go beat up that twerp you've been dating?" he asked hopefully.

Joannie smiled up at him. "I'm not dating him anymore, and he's two heads taller than you. But, thank you." she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, offer still stands, Blue Eyes." Chachi said, one hand going up to stroke her soft ebony hair.

He liked the hairstyle she had at the moment better than the last one- this one reminded him of that Snow White movie, and it was so cute on her.

Joannie snuggled closer into the warm- and surprisingly strong- embrace. She liked when he was like this, like when he walked her home a lot of days, not all pickup lines and come-ons. He was a really sweet guy, and even though she'd never tell Jenny- really close to being her best friend. But, their moment was short-lived when Cassandra Morton came up, looking absolutely livid.

"I'm gone for ten minutes, and this is what happens? What the hell, Cha-Chi?" she shrilled.

Joannie's eyes bulged, and she started to get up out of embarrassment, but Cha-Chi's strong arm kept her in place.

"I'm not your boyfriend, Cas," Chachi said smoothly. "And, even if I was, Joannie is my best friend, that wouldn't change."

Joannie got an absolutely melty look up at him.

"No, no, no- best friend my eyeball!" Cassandra yelled, starting to make a real scene, and Cha-Chi finally let Joannie sit up, himself moving to a standing position. "I let you grope me in the ladies' room, and you're going on the proper date with little flatsy patsy?"

"You groped her in the ladies room?" Joannie demanded, eyes huge.

"She let me." Chachi blurted, embarrassed now, and ran a hand over his flush face.

Joannie bit her lower lip, and turned to Cassandra. "We weren't on a date, Cassandra, okay? It wasn't like that, first of all. Second, I didn't know the locker room rumors were true." she said coolly.

Cassandra opened and closed her mouth several times, like a fish out of water, unable to think of a good comeback.

"Chach, apologize to Cassandra, obviously she has self-esteem issues." Joannie said.

"I'm thinner than you!" Cassandra spat. "And, a cheerleader, and an accomplished dancer- I'll probably be valedictorian! And, I've talked to boys she's dated- you know for a fact you'd get further with me than her."

"Yes, I do." Chachi said, finding his voice after a shocked moment. "But, I'd rather just walk Joannie home, carry her books and maybe hold her hand, than what we just did, because she's... her."

Joannie's blue eyes widened in shock, and her face absolutely melted. That had to have been the most sweet, romantic thing anyone had ever said to her in her entire life. And, everyone had heard it, no less, because a crowd had gathered by now... One of her hands went to his t-shirt, clutching it lightly. He smiled, putting one of his hands over hers, as their eyes locked.

Cassandra huffed, grabbing some milkshakes from a nearby table, and threw them on Joannie and Chachi. "Choke on it, both of you." she said, shaking with anger, and stomped out. Chachi's head went down and Joannie scraped milkshake off her cheek.

"Ew..."

"All right, get back to your little lives, people; show's over." said an authoratitve voice, followed by a loud snap.

And, the people obeyed. Chachi looked miserably up at his favorite cousin and surrogate big-brother. "Uh... hi?"

"Yeah... hi... park yourself. You too, Shortcake."

Joannie looked at Chachi like a deer in the headlights and mouthed "Me?" at him, but sat obediently.

"You weren't particularly respectful of little miss pom pom." Fonzie pointed out.

"It was her idea to go make out- and then she yelled at me! I didn't promise her anything, I swear!" Chachi said defensively. "Girls don't do that to you..." he grumbled.

"Is that what this is about?" Fonzie asked gently. He put a hand on the back of his little cousin's neck, and then winced when he got a cold, gummy bit of milkshake on his fingers. "Kiddo... you're too young to be like me, first off. Second- you're not me. Okay?"

"Yes, yes... I know..." Chachi sighed.

"And, third, and most importantly: Women don't expect things of me because they know me, okay? I have the rep built up. It's one night at a time, and that's all they're getting."

"What? I'm supposed to take an ad out in the paper?" Chachi asked sarcastically, and Joannie frowned at him.

"That's what you really want, is it?" Fonzie asked him gently.

"... no." Chachi admitted.

"Then stop tryin' to be somethin' you're not, and walk Shortcake home." he said, gesturing to the door. "If that's okay with Shortcake..."

Joannie gave a small smile. "Yeah, it's okay. Besides, you kinda owe me to keep the neighborhood cats away with all this cream on me." she joked weakly.

Chachi smirked, and stood up. "I'd protect you with my life." he said, walking out the door with her.

And, Fonzie sat back down at his table, and smiled...