CHAPTER 40:
His fingers clench together, tightening his already perfectly closed fists that are raised defensively in front of his chin. This strange expression resembling a unique form of pain briefly flashes across his facial features, scrunching his nose and turning the inner 'corners' of his eyebrows inward toward one another while his lips curve downward. A grimace of sorts.
The way his fingertips slide across his palms as they unravel from their curled position reminds me of ice cubes melting on a tabletop. So fluidly. So easily. And the ease flows through the rest of his body, dripping the loosening off tense muscles into every fiber of his muscle memory. Hesitation to fully trust her and let his guard down displays in the tight togetherness his lips press into as the corners of them turn only slightly upward. It's a start. Especially in consideration of her that we ask assumed she'd make good on following his choice to do better.
Seeing his binary brother set down his 'weapons' in good faith, Demetri slides his arms back down to his sides and pockets his right hand. His left arm slings around Eli's shoulders in celebration of pride. Perhaps for Eli not initiating a fight. Perhaps Dem had seen the earlier struggle and was proud Eli had fought a possible natural to rekindle his position with Kreese. Any reason, his singular arm tugs my boyfriend closer to his side and a small grin protrudes on his lips.
Miguel's eyes drift to his friends who have let this whole fight thing go and he waivers until his eyes return to his firmly stood girlfriend who looks like a stone statue. Sam glowers at Tory and her fists tighten. They raise closer to her face and a snarl adorns her lips. There's light and dark battling in her eyes. She's dancing with her own devil. "So she gets away Scott free again?" It's a voice cracked grumble from her relit flame off seeking vengeance for what Tory had done to her.
"I am paying for what I've done." I can't hear the shake in her words and I know she's on the verge of losing her cool.
Sam's left leg steps forward, inching her body ever so slightly closer to that of her very still blonde counterpart. "Are you? Because last time I checked, you assaulted me and got away easily."
"And what about you princess?" Tory doesn't make any physical moves, instead choosing to inflict pain with her shadowed amusement displayed in her words. "If you think about it. Actually think about it and get off your high horse- you started most of this." Sam's pigment drains from every inch of her face, yet the glower darkens. "You just couldn't tell your daddy that you were dating a good guy from Cobra Kai. So then you got closer to Robby and ditched Miguel, only to reverse the roles later on because you give up when things get hard. You've never had a hard day in your life."
Sam hollers at Tory to shut up, tears welling in her eyes and threatening to roll down. Tory doesn't even bat an eye. "Hey! That's not fair-"
"Miguel, back down!" I warn, noting the way he fixates his posture into offensive at the verbal attack Tory is laying upon Sam.
His eyes move to me in disbelief and he scoffs. "You're taking Tory's side? The girl who beat you up?"
"No. Right now, I'm on the side of facing up to the things we did wrong." Miguel stumbles back like I've hit him square in the chest while Sam releases a sob. "Sam is a good person. And so is Tory." I gesture between the two as their babes fall from my lips. "But honestly Sam's never been held accountable for the things she did wrong like you hold Tory accountable. And in order for these two to let their hatred begin to sizzle out, they need to tell each other what they did wrong instead of using their fists. It'll never end doing it that way- as we've seen." My hand swings in Tory's direction and gesture for her to continue.
Tory doesn't hesitate one second. "I'm bitter about you. Because you only ever want more instead of accepting what you have and keeping that be something great." Sam parts her lips, prepared to argue when Tory continues, "You were mad about Aisha being my friend and instead of admitting it or getting to know me, you blamed me for taking your mom's wallet. You hoped it would make her stop being my friend. You never even apologized. And to top it all off, you acted like the innocent victim when I defended myself and you fell onto the food table. Then when I'm finally happy and Miguel has moved on from you, you destroy it by kissing him while you still have a boyfriend."
Tory throws her arm toward my direction. "Your indecision about boyfriend material almost cost the best person I've ever met- her life. And although I'm still so mad at him, Miguel is a good guy and it would have cost him his life if Zelena hadn't interfered. And that makes me furious every time I think about it." The blonde steps back from her frozen position that Sam had neared during their conversation, hands raised at either side of her head. "The next time I fight any of you will be at tournament." From my peripheral, I find Eli scooting around Miguel's frame and heading toward me.
An unknown fear begins to throb in my chest, trickling down into my stomach to start some weird malfunction that causes a wave of ill nausea to wash over me. Tory eyes him from her side view, still warily observing her main concern aka Samantha LaRusso. Eli stalks in her direction, but last minute adverts that path and steps to be at my side. His left arm snakes around my shoulders while his lips busy themselves with finding the crown of my head. A shaky exhalation floats from Sam's direction. Tory and Eli make eye contact. And something weird happens.
He simply, firmly, and only once, bobs his head in her direction. In confirmation.
"The last time we didn't listen to Zelena, I looked like an idiot. We all did." His arm tightens around me. Tory slowly nods back at him, agreeing with his words. My right arm untucks from between our bodies and circles around him from behind. His head tilts downward to finally meet my eyes. "If she trusts Tory's words, we should too."
Mentally acknowledging it may not be the best time to do so, I still lean on the tops of my toes and press a chaste kiss to Eli's lips. "Wow, she really did kiss Lip and that gross scar of his." At the taunt from Kyler and the non accidental slip of his old nickname that he thought he'd left behind him with the birth of Hawk, Eli's body tenses everywhere.
THIRD PERSON POV
Everyone examines each breath the red mohawked boy takes, awaiting some sort of explosion from within. Shared knowledge floats between all several teens occupying this girl bathroom at how much this one thing affects him so deeply. Kyler smirks and chuckles under his breath at the unreadable expression across Eli's face though Zelena can tell how nervous her boyfriend's lack of immediate reaction uneases the school bully. Just to amuse herself, she lifts her right foot, remaining completely still otherwise, before slamming it back against the tiled floors.
Kyler's feet lift off the ground, a small shriek escaping his lips at the sudden thud echoing the room as he curls into himself slightly. Zelena titters under her breath, comforting herself at the noted sensation of Eli's muscles releasing their tension. "The only thing that's gross Kyler, is you." Her left hand lifts upward, interlacing her fingers with Eli's that are hanging off her shoulder. His fingers squeeze hers lightly in gratitude and solidarity with her voiced opinion, grateful to have her back at his side.
Part of her wants to tell Kyler how amazing Eli is and how great of a kisser he is. How he is the epitome of boyfriend material. But she knows deep down it's useless and her most recent commentary suffices as impactful. So she leans further into Eli's side and presses a gentle kiss against his chest to silently instruct their leave.
His gray blue-green eyes draw away from Kyler's glare to the movement happening beneath his chin where Zelena moves in, allowing her lips to press against the black fabric of his jacket that covers his chest. Swallowing hard, he forces himself to think past the thudding of his heart against his rib cage and focus on the silent words she'd intended. He notes the direction her eyes move toward and places the pieces together.
This has been a long time coming and now the rest of their group would understand Samantha's frustration with Kyler and why Miguel has been important to her even when they weren't on speaking terms. And more importantly- why she'd been so upset and distanced with Miguel following his stint at the bonfire party Aisha had thrown. He'd been acting like Kyler who had tried to her with her after she'd made out clear she didn't want it.
Zelena cheers Sam on mentally, but closely watched Miguel whose face twists into disgust then an anger Zelena recalls seeing him exhibit when she would give up on herself during her physical therapy. His dark brown eyes happen to catch Zelena's intent gaze by accident, however he reads further into it, deciding its best to do so instead of crossing the distance and actually punching Kyler for his disrespectful actions against Samantha. D Sam could hold her own and he certainly didn't want to take her power further away from her. 'How long have we been in here? And where are the workers?' Eli thinks to himself, his arm tugging Zelena impossibly closer the second he notes Kyler's roaming glare. He then slides his arm down hers until their joined hands rest on her hip. He easily begins to walk, intentionally pushing her along and aligning his body to stand directly behind hers with each step they take. Just in case Kyler gets a hair up his ass and wants to attempt something.
Zelena paves the way for the exit between Miguel and Samantha, finalizing the decision for the group to just leave. Samantha rolls her eyes, releasing a shaky breath instead of crying in frustration. "We'll beat you at the tournament." The promise rolls off her tongue in ease and such firmness, she no longer prioritizes her defensive stance and allows her fists to lower down to her sides. She is halfway through her turn to follow her best friend when that voice she can't believe she ever trusted breaks through the silence.
"Not a chance. You couldn't hurt a fly." Kyler murmurs, swallowing sharply when his eyes settle on the slowing movements of the black fabric clad, Hawk. If he stopped, that meant Zelena had too. Flashes of her quick movements- the yank of his arms, the sweep of her feet, the pressure on his back when he'd landed on it after she flipped him over her- haunt him in the present. An unpleasant shiver runs down his spine. Kyler stuffs his hands in his pocket, mentally chanting to keep his eyes focused upward, in front of him rather than the instinctive lowered gaze.
Samantha LaRusso notes the surge of warmth rising in her entire body at his audacity to belittle them- the dojo and her power. Her feet move before sh eprocess the sudden the speed she closes their distance at. But then she does think of Eli's earlier words and Zelena; Zelena somehow cool, calm, and collected poise that had helped them, their dojo, their family- heal. The high pitched squeak of rubber sole stopping suddenly against the tiled floor screeches in the room. "A fly didn't harass me at the theater or start rumors about a non-existent blowjob at said theater because he was mad that I said no and didn't take his bullshit when he tried his moves on me anyway." Satisfaction, only slight but mighty, possesses her at the gobsmacked expression painting itself across his paling face. "A fly also didn't ambush me and my family in my home." Though her back is turned and her friend can't see her face, Zelena grins widely while silently applauding Sam. Now everyone would see the boy Kyler really is.
Beach salt singed with plumerias clouds Zelena's senses as her fellow brunette strolls past her paused position. A firm chest presses against her back, fingers lazily secured to her hips suddenly tighten further. "You okay?" Eli's breath fans across her ear and the top of her neck, sending shivers in a massive break out across her body.
Zelena's lips push gingerly against the flesh on the underside of her boyfriend's jaw in response to his sweet check in inquiry. Her hands cloak his, further securing them to her body as she falls more and more in love with the comfort and safety she feels with him. A strange, reminscent familiarity. The second time his girlfriend's lips press at the underside of his jaw, it clenches instinctively in hopes of keeping his wits (and not his hormones) about him.
The pair follow Samantha LaRusso and Miguel DIaz out of the restroom, every one of them wondering where any of the workers or any of the management is. When the group turns the corner, Eli's arms immediately move backward, pulling his girlfriend flush against his body. At first, the brunette held between his arms is confused by his sudden movement until her brain fully processes the collision she'd barely avoided with Miguel's halted back.
Robby Keene stands still as a statue before Samantha and close enough that Miguel could reach out and punch him if he wanted to. Miguel's right arm slightly jerks, his fingers on both hands curling inward toward his palms. Fear swims in the irises of the handsome teen, darkening the cerulean to an odd shade Zelena doesn't recall seeing in his eyes before. Except- the night Kreese sliced my arm- she thinks to herself.
A harsh tension continues to rise in the air, suffocating every teen who is frozen in anticipation of who will make the first move. "If you're looking for Tory's she is in the girl's bathroom with Kyler. She is okay." There's a small pause where Eli's fingertips twitch against their still sturdy hold on her hips and Zelena considers the action that flowed so naturally from her- thoughtlessly- in fear she might have ruined something. But watching the tense everything on Robby ease just barely causes the right corner of her lips to quirk into a small smile. "Although," She intentionally pauses to pull Robby's eyes away from Miguel's fight prepped presence to her guarded friendly expression. "I can't say the same for Kyler. His ego got a little bruised." At the softness of her words, Robby smiles half-heartedly but in full gratitude of her kindness he silently acknowledges he doesn't deserve.
"When isn't Kyler's ego bruised?" His body knowingly quakes while his lips make the joke. Only Zelena cracks her somewhat guarded composure to expose her own amusement at the playful banter he's contributed to. The others remain emotionless and their bodies tense enough to instill the belief that they could go into fighting mode at any time.
He lets himself imprint every facial feature of Zelena's into his consciousness, comparing it with the images that haunt him daily. The red liquid smeared and dotted across Zelena's skin from open cuts crafted from Tory's ruthless pounding fists accompanied by the bruises that had and had yet to splatter beneath all that are much more faded, nearly non-existent. But Robby Keene still can place every. Single. One. Robby's heart thumps against his rib cage. His mouth runs dry so he bows his head and hurries past the group.
Rage burns within Miguel at the audacity Robby has to stand there and joke with Zelena after all the damage he had caused her. The fall, keeping Hawk from her when Tory was beating the daylights of her, choosing Kreese over her. She always avoided the topic when he tried to bring it up.
' The breeze blows the loose tussles of her hair into her face, covering her eyes for a split second. Her fingertips expertly curve down and around, collecting them once more and tucking the strands behind her ear. "Thanks for sneaking me out."
Clad in dark clothing always seemed the most inconspicuous and was how he had snuck in and back out to see his mom during her work hours. Miguel nods his head once, "No problem."
He observes her closely as she lifts her head, putting her face to the night's wound and allowing her eyes to shut. Her arms remain at her sides but relax with every deep inhalation that puffs her chest out and deflates her stomach. 'She looks so peaceful' He thinks only to himself, fearful of disrupting it especially after everything that had happened to her in the last seven hours.
"Go ahead. Ask."
"Huh?" Miguel awkwardly murmurs in response to his closest friend's simple statement.
Her eyes don't open to spare a glance in his direction. "I can feel you staring at me. So whatever you have rolling around in that noggin of yours- ask."
"Noggin?" He snorts at her choice of word, wondering once more if she really was a 70 year old in this teen girl body. He exhales shakily, breathing out all his concerns and nerves for asking such a deep question. "Robby chose Kreese over you and you aren't talking about it."
There's a pause. Subtle in her pacing, but enough to tell Miguel there is in fact something lingering there. "Because I don't want to." There's a previously unexpressed pain in her whisper that tugs at Miguel's heartstrings but his inability to perceive things as she does creates this blurred vision that leaves him unable to stop himself from further discussion.
"Why didn't you stop Robby from going into the dojo?" He notes her feet stumbling over one another when the words leave his lips. She teeters to the left and he rushes across the distance between them to catch her before she falls onto the uneven rooftop. She didn't need to be snuck back into her room with a twisted ankle on top of the bandage wrapped around her badly wounded arm (though the stubborn brunette would never admit it is 'bad'). He uses his chest to steady her and instead of looking up to thank him, she doesn't meet his eyes at all, muttering the token of gratitude rather quietly.
She doesn't know exactly how to relay the situation she sees Robby fighting in. "He is in a complicated position."
"So was Hawk and he joined us." Zelena pushes herself away from Miguel, still unsteady but feeling much safer at a distance while discussing this than being steadied in his grasp. The heat of his own frustration had begun to swamp her in waves that roll off him absently.
Her throat expands as she harshly swallows to distract her from her own threatening tears beginning to well in her eyes. "It's a different circumstance."
There's a long pause. Zelena finds the wind blowing around the pair of them much icier than the one she'd been enjoying moments before was. Surprisingly Miguel's formulated response is gently spoken as though he is trying to understand, but his words prick at her thickened skin. "He is on an opposing side."
"He isn't an enemy, Mig."
His tongue peeks out from between his lips, giving himself a small enough break to recollect his thoughts but not to remove himself from their illuminating conversation. "Not everyone is your friend." It sounds harsher than he intends and he has half the mind to apologize. He didn't want to hurt her- just remind her. However, she speaks before he can.
"I know. But I also know that not everyone is my enemy because they made a choice differing from mine." It's barely above a whisper and is drifted away by the heavy rush of wind traffic per the height of the building's rooftop. Her eyes meet Miguel's with a softness to ensure an avoidance of any discomfort- any negativity between the pair of them. "If that were the case, you and I would have stopped being friends when the words 'join Cobra Kai' flew out of your mouth."
Miguel recalls her initial inquisitive nature when he had begun to pester (influence) the trio to join Sensei Lawrence's dojo. She had been one of the few who listened. In fact, she had been the only one to actually listen and not just for a few seconds to let him 'delude' himself. Still, after all her forgiveness and understanding she gifts him with, his head continues to nago on at this. "Robby just-"
Instead of wasting her breath arguing with one of the most stubborn, persistent people she's ever met, Zelena takes one last deep inhalation of fresh air and turns promptly on her heel. Silently, she crosses the distance between her placement near the edge of the rooftop and the staircase door they exited out of.'
And here they are, watching the boy with his head down and scurrying past them unapologetically. Miguel moves that direction to follow Robby Keene. A pale hand grips his wrist just in time to keep Miguel beside his friend group instead of a Coba infested girl's restroom.
Eli didn't like Robby's awe of Zelena's friendliness anymore than his second best friend did. Yet he chose to acknowledge starting a fight is getting them nowhere. He trusts his girlfriend infinitely.
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"I feel like tonight was successful." The brunette offers, breaking the peculiar but comfortable silence that had been between the couple the entire way home and into his home. Her sock clad feet pad along behind her boyfriend as he turns right to enter his bedroom.
Zelena 'tries' to avoid staring or rather ogling as Eli cooley grabs the head hole of his shirt behind his neck and slides out of the red fabric so smoothly. Though not impressed by the meaning and impulsivity of his back tattoo, Zelena did admit the line work and overall art of the massive predator is beautifully done. Still aware of their surroundings, Zelena shuts the door figuring they had had enough confrontations for the evening and didn't need one from his mom should she happen to walk by and see her son's secret back tattoo.
Eli's heart skips a beat as his brain processes the source of the soft click his ears had perked up at. His hands reach for his night shirt and sweatpants, setting the latter atop his drawers' top, before turning to actually face her. "Why'd you close it?"
Now faced with the frontal view of her boyfriend's fit torso, the response forming in her head jumbles itself up momentarily- tied together on her tongue. The longer her eyes trail up and down his torso, the slightly guiltiest she feels for indulging in the view at his expense. She still hadn't given him an answer although the cutest of pink shades flush through his face and in splotches across his neck and chest, signaling he had at least caught on to the deep attraction his small choice was pulling him from his girlfriend. "Your mom still has zero idea that you have a bird on your back."
'Hawk' he corrects her mentally though his own tongue is tired by the absent-minded lay painted seductive expression on Zelena's face as her eyes unapologetically roam. Other times girls had done this- Moon, Piper at Moon's party, the girls at the beach- he easily smirked and made some snide comment about liking what they see, thriving under their gaze. Yet here, in front of Zelena and under her gaze, he is melting along with his sense of brain and the concept of thoughts. He couldn't recall what her commentary had been about when they first entered the room, he just knew there was commentary.
His mind instructs him to pull on the shirt, but then the corner of Zelena's mouth quirks upward devilishly and she begins to inch closer to him. His chest tightens and every muscle in his body tenses. Dumbfounded by this new captivity his best friend turned girlfriend holds him in, Eli stands completely still and examines every step she takes, holding the forgotten shirt awkwardly in front of his chest and balled between his tightening fists.
Her feet pause when they are nearly toe to toe with his and her hands land on his shoulders for support as she rises on the tips of her toes. Her eyes close as her face draws closer to her boyfriend's, her lips pressing to his for the kiss of gratitude she had wanted to give him all night for standing with her and even stopping Miguel from fighting Robby.
The act of thanks unfreezes Eli from his awkward stance and he clutches his shirt tightly in his left hand, wrapping his arms around her back to close the space between their bodies. Against his own lips, Zelena's puckered ones begin to thin out slightly the more they curve upward into a smile. The gentleness of this girl between his arms and firmly secured to his bare chest causes his heart, oddly enough, to squeeze then swell simultaneously in his chest. He would never comprehend how he got so lucky to get a second chance to be in her life and the miracle of being her significant other.
Just to mess with him a little, Zelena snakes her right hand up his neck and the back of his head where she curves her hand to press him further into her. Surprised by the contradictory grip to secure his lips closer against hers and the softness of it tracing upward moments prior, a gasp is stolen from his throat. Satisfied with his response, Zelena seals their small make out with a single peck before leaning back against Eli's firmly placed arms. She crosses her arms behind his neck for extra security though they hang fairly loosely there.
Her earlier words come back to him and he can't stop the pull of his lips into a smirk as sly as he felt. "I'd say that was successful."
It takes Zelena a moment to process the reason for her boyfriend's smirk as her body tries to recover from the reel it'd been in from their kissing. "Well that was a thank you for standing with me."
For a second he nearly jokes with her again, via a smart alleviates comment however his eyes drink in the glimmer of adoration in her eyes, causing a shudder to rumble through his body. The way his cheeky smirk falters and the shudder runs its course through his body, Zelena internally panics for a moment. "I meant what I said."
Nervous, but unwilling to completely show it, "Your use of Edmund Pevensie's words or...?" Comes cheekily out of her lips.
He smiles breathtakingly and mockingly, 'ha-ha-ha's' at her clearly unnerved tease. "Yes. But I meant-" He exhales shakily, knowing she already knew it but it meant more than as said on the surface. "I trust you." Suddenly his breath leaves his lungs at the admission and to momentarily distract himself from the oncoming response, he pokes his tongue between his lips to wet them.
His chest sharply rises against hers before deflation and she examines the way his eyes avert to the space behind her. Her hands slide back around the sides of his neck, tracing upward until each side of his face is gingerly held between each of her palms. Zelena slowly pulls his head closer to hers and more directly back in her line of vision until their foreheads rest against one another. Fear reflects in his now gray-blue eyes and a guilt begins to chew away internally in sympathy for him.
"I trust you too, Eli." He sharply inhales at the softly whispered words and at the shining in her eyes he knows he doesn't deserve. The internal part of his chest swells once more, becoming even bigger by the second when she smiles at him. Then he's hyper aware of how close her lips are to his and the intertwined position of their foreheads pressed against one another. She tilts her chin toward his slightly, allowing their lips to meet once more in a tender kiss he easily melts into, not knowing Zelena does too.
Neither of them hear the creak of the door, having been whisked away into their own little world by their sweet, sort of short kiss. "Sorry. I didn't realize I would be walking into my son kissing his best friend."