In My Blood (Eli Moskowitz/Hawk FF) (Cobra Kai)

Chapter 38: Moving On

Demetri swallows hard, forcing his eyes to roll like he doesn't care, even snorting to really sell it. Samantha and Miguel smile softly, clearly buying the well practiced facade though he can see Eli is on the verge of buying while Zelena isn't buying it at all. "Why are you staring at me like it affects me personally?"

He watches the way she slides away slowly from the red-mohawked teen and stands on her feet, almost lightly, like she's walking on eggshells. It's a distance but she crosses it with ease- too much ease that unsettles him. "Dem, he's still a good guy. Deep down-"

"Still a good guy?" Eli abruptly rises onto his feet, the soles of his shoes even bouncing off the floor with the force he uses. Everyone's eyes fall onto him, except for Zelena who lowers her head and takes a shaky breath. Fear courses through Demetri. He couldn't tell if she was breathing to hold back tears or breathing to hold back her anger. "He attacked me in the shop and kept me from protecting you as Tory attacked you!"

Zelena shuts her eyes, summoning all her willpower to force the words crawling up the length of her tongue to remain hidden and unseen. She didn't want to bring up Eli's past, knowing the reiteration of his mistakes would only darken the already murky waters. Yet she couldn't help herself to thinking of the parallels between Robby and Eli. The whole once being good, listening to Kreese who tainted every storyline to fit his own narrative and make them fit in his narrative too; the change of perception of friends to foes, the inner fight, the physical fighting that always seemed hesitant. She didn't know what to say that wouldn't upset her boyfriend. "Demetri, he was your friend. And him making a mistake doesn't negate that."

"He attacked you. Not me." The raven haired boy states definitively, hoping to end this conversation before it can begin. He didn't want to go through this again. He had barely been able to make it through Eli's breakdown. And even that had caused Demetri to lose sight of himself and who he wanted to be- all that he could be. Robby had just been there, temporarily. Right? He lightly elbows Zelena in an attempt to 'playfully' get her away from him. At least enough to save him from the eyes she would draw who had already believed his story.

An internal flame ignites in her. She wants to continue this conversation because she could see how much despair his eyes held, but his eyes hold so, so much despair. It isn't worth it. "Yeah, you're right." Her admission shocks every single person in the room and Demetri much more when she steps back from his body willingly. He assumed there would be more he would have to do before she gave up this conversation. "I'm sorry." She turns around, shaking her head side to side to ward off all the thoughts piling up. 

Her left hand runs over her mouth, resting on her chin for a moment to file away the residual concepts for a later time. Her hands then rise and flail in the air as she spins back to face the group. "Enough about that. If everyone is okay with it, I think a quadruple date sounds fun."

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Laughter bounces from every inch of the circular table the party of eight crowds around, appetizers and drinks filling the once empty surface of it. Zelena lightly pushes her elbow against Eli's chest to playfully warn him about his tittering at Demetri's expense. He leans into it, pressing his lips to her cheek from behind and intently observing the way the red spreads across her skin. Knowing his intent, Zelena swats her right hand blindly to the side of her head to jokingly get him away.

Sam wriggles her eyebrows at the couple, smiling at the meant to be pairing. Yasmine places her cup back into its empty spot on the granite table top and hums to herself. "You're not going to give her a real kiss?"

Demetri snickers behind the cover of his soda cup where his lips are wrapped around the edge and busies himself with downing a gulp of his sprite. He purposely sets his cup beside his date's and shakes his head, prompting a quizzical raise of the aforementioned blonde's eyebrow. "Zelena has a rule about dating and kissing."