Cochlear | A Cobra Kai Fanfiction

61

"I legitimately might claw my eyes out." Jesse whispered horrified as she sat next to Eli, eyes straight ahead. "Blind and deaf doesn't sound too terrible right now."

Eli barely registered the comment only nodding in agreement as he tried not to eye the two making out right next to them. The grinding blonde on his best friend had him uncomfortable... in more ways than one.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

While Eli looked over at his friend, he couldn't help glancing at his other friend as she looked anywhere but the couple with a frown on her face. He sighed as he shook his head, scooting just a little closer to the girl so he could provide some comfort. "Nah, man."

"O-oh Kay." Demetri shrugged and moved back to continue his make out, sparing no more attention to the two third and fourth wheels who barely shared the same axel.

Yasmine had a small frown as she looked over at her old best friend, Eli had a frown himself at the glance, before she looked back at her boyfriend and grinned seductively. "Come on baby. Let's go somewhere... private." She stood up quickly, leading him away from the two with only a barely perceived hesitation. And Demetri followed like an entranced sailor after a siren.

There was a quiet between the two who remained after they left and Eli pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment as he tried to collect himself. "I'm so sorry you had to see that, Jess."

Jesse only shrugged, staring down at her fingers as they played with each other in her lap. "As long as he's happy and treated like he deserves..." a big breath left her before she looked up at Eli with a smile, "then I can be happy too."

Eli struggled for a moment to find the words to continue and instead settled for looking away from the eyes that were kinder than he ever thought they could be. His hands fisted over his clothed thighs as his vision happened to fall on the curly-haired teen he had once dated. She was smiling the care-free happiness that he associated with the sun, a warmth surrounded her wherever she went and Eli longed for that feeling once again.

A warm hand fell on his shoulder and he turned to a concerned Jesse. Her eyes flickered to the girl and understanding washed over her - his stomach hurt - and her lips tipped up.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" She asked lowly, encouragingly.

"Because I don't deserved her." He answered honestly.

Her eyes wandered over to the hallway Demetri and Yasmine had disappeared through with that same face of understanding as she nodded her head. "We don't really deserve them do we?" She hummed out and immediately Eli went to take it back, argue, anything but she was quick to interrupt. "I guess it's not really about what we did before, but more about what we're doing right now."

The air was too thick, they both could feel it and even though he felt the words deeper than most, Eli snorted to cut the tension. With his left hand, he pushed her over with a loud sigh and smirked down at her. "God, when did we get so depressing, Socrates?"

Jesse rolled her eyes as she righted herself, pushing back with a laugh.

"You're a dork, Eli Moskowitz." With that final statement, Jesse stood up dramatically and offered her best imitation of Yasmine with a dramatic fluttering of eyelids, and a hand outstretched. "Come on, hunker-boy. Let's go somewhere these fools can't bother us." She teased as her other hand dug into her purse, a growing smirk on her face.

"What the h-" he winced at the way his voice cracked, clearing his throat. "What the hell are you talking about, Park?"

"Death." Jesse whispered with wide eyes - she graciously ignored the crack - before cracking a smile as she leaned back and sheepishly showed off her switch. "And a fully charged Switch." This time Jesse flourished her hand in front of her with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows up and down in an uncomfortable way. "Wanna go be losers without a date and at least have fun while doing it?"