AGONY OF DESIRE ; cobra kai

46 ― everything comes back to you.

Almost two hours later, Achara pulled into an unfamiliar driveway. She turned her car off and locked the doors before she took a deep breath and walked up to the front door. She rang the doorbell, smiling instantly when she saw her old friend appear through the glass door.

The front door opened. "Achara?"

Achara smiled, a sense of familiarity washing over her as she looked at Aisha. "Hey."

Aisha embraced her in a tight hug. Achara couldn't help but smile as she hugged her back. After Aisha had left the Valley, the two girls had promised to stay in touch. They texted back and forth for a while, but the messages soon became very rare until they were nonexistent. Achara couldn't remember when the last time she had talked to her was.

"How are you?" Achara asked as she pulled away from the hug.

"I'm doing okay," Aisha responded as she opened the door wider. "Come in."

Achara stepped inside, waiting for Aisha to close the door before she followed her into the living room. Aisha gestured to the couch. Achara sat down, unsure of what to do. Even though Aisha was her friend, there was still a sense of awkwardness that lingered in the air. Achara looked around the room before turning to Aisha and smiling.

"I can't believe you're here," Aisha spoke up, an excited tone to her voice.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch more," Achara replied, staring down at her shoes. "Things have been kind of crazy."

"It's okay," Aisha responded. "I didn't really keep in touch either. What's been going on? How are things going with Tory? I saw on your Instagram that you're dating now? How'd that happen?"

Achara shrugged. "I don't know. She kind of just told me that she likes me, and we kissed and then she asked me to be her girlfriend. I think the Honeymoon phase is starting to wear off though..."

Aisha gave her a confused look. "Oh? How come?"

Achara sighed. "It just seems like she's shutting me out. Everything was going well, but now it's like she doesn't communicate with me. I don't know what she's thinking. We hardly see each other outside of practice. I don't know. It's

"I'm sorry to hear that," Aisha said with a frown, but it didn't last for too long. "How're things with Sam? You know, she stopped by to visit me earlier. She mentioned you."

Achara let out a small chuckle and smiled slightly. "We're doing okay now. We even agreed to be friends, but I don't know how well that's going. We haven't really talked much. I don't hate her guts anymore, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah, she said you two were on good terms," Aisha nodded her head followed by a smile. "I'm glad. Between our friendship being rocky and everything that happened with Tory leading up to the fight, I'm glad that you're getting along now."

Achara smiled back at her. "So, how've you been? How's Santa Barbara been treating you?"

"It was hard at first, but I've made new friends," Aisha told her proudly. " I even have a new bestie."

Achara grinned. "That's great."

"Don't worry," Aisha told her. "You'll always be my bestie. Nothing will change that."

"Yeah, I know," Achara nodded. "Don't worry. I'm happy for you."

"And I want to be happy for you too, but I don't know if I can do that," Aisha replied.

Achara's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Aisha placed her hand on top of Achara's. "You aren't happy with Tory or at Cobra Kai—it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. It's not where you're meant to be. I learned to take control over my life, and it made me a better person who wasn't afraid to voice my feelings. I might not be wrapped up in the karate drama, but I've learned lessons that have helped me."