┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ 🔮⛓🪩 ༉‧₊˚✧ ꒰ 𝓓ancing 𝓠ueen ꒱
𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗇 ⎯⎯ 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝖼𝖾
THE SUN basked over the beach in a warm embrace. Venus let out a content sigh as she leaned back, bathing in the golden streams of light. The waves flowed softly in the background. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach; it wasn't too hot or cold. It was just right.
"Demetri! Serve the fucking ball already!"
Eli's annoyed call snapped Venus from her trance, and she looked over at her partner, who was taking his sweet time trying to gain the perfect serve. Rolling his eyes, Demetri huffed and sloppily served the ball, hitting the net pathetically, "Uh...Mulligan. Send it back."
Venus giggled at the boy, "There's no mulligans in volleyball, 'Metri."
Waving the girl off, Demetri scoffed, "Yeah, yeah." Walking away, he muttered, "Water break!" Leaning down, he grabbed a Cobra Kai towel and patted his face as two girls strolled by.
Pausing, the one in the orange top tilted her head, "Cobra Kai? You guys won that karate tournament, right?"
Slowly, Demetri lowered his towel, looking back at Venus with wide eyes, who pulled down her heart-shaped sunglasses and threw him a wink. His stare returned to the girls before him, "Uh, the All-Valley? The Rumble in Reseda?" He smiled with a nod, tossing the towel to sit on his shoulder, "Yes, uh...we, uhm...we certainly did." Awkwardly he leaned against the net's post and shrugged, attempting to play it cool.
"Cool!" The brunette smiled, "We're going for a swim, but maybe come play with you later?"
Venus felt pride swell in her chest as Demetri talked to the girl. Feeling like a proud sister as he smiled and accepted the girl's offer.
"Look at you, player." Moon giggled, walking up to the boy, her smile still as bright as ever.
The bubblegum-pink-haired girl pouted playfully, holding one hand to her chest and the other going to pinch Demetri's cheek, "Oh, mi pequeño is growing up."
Swatting her hand away with a scowl, Demetri's face grew hot as he stared shyly down at his feet. Only for his joy to be ruined by Eli's harsh voice, "It'd be nice for you to earn the Cobra Kai cred you're so happy to take. When are you ever gonna sign up?"
Sighing to herself, Venus' heartstrings tugged, knowing how bad Eli wants Demetri to join and how against it the latter is. She slightly shook her head and prayed the two wouldn't start an argument.
Demetri didn't match Eli's seriousness and lightly chuckled, "I don't know, I'm kinda enjoying the gain without the pain."
Eli opens his mouth to retort, but Miguel strides over to him, "Hawk."
"Hey, there's the man!" The mohawk-wearing boy grinned.
"Hi, Miggy!" Venus waved, moving to give the boy a hug. She frowned and noticed his tense state, "Dude, what's up?" Leaning back down from her tip-toes, she pushed her sunglasses to rest on her head as she squinted at him, "You good?"
Eli noticed too, and he scowled, "No. No more of this." He motioned to Miguel's state, "Look, it's a beautiful day out. The beach is packed with babes. No more sulking about Sam." He scolded.
Miguel shook his head, "I'm not sulking about Sam. It's about Sensei."
Eli raised his eyebrows, "Is it about his rap sheet?" He questioned, "My parents read it online. I think it makes him more badass."
Venus furrowed her brows at Miguel's grim face, "Seriously, Miggy. What happened? Did Sensei get hurt?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she worriedly pulled her lip between her teeth.
Miguel grumbled, "it's about him and Robby Keene."
Venus' stomach dropped as Miguel explained what he found in Johnny's apartment. She's sure her face paled as Miguel's tone grew resentful, and a sinking feeling pulled at her chest. Biting at her painted nails, Venus shut her eyes and walked away from the two boys, shuffling over to lie beside Demetri with a huff.
This was not going to end well.
⎯⎯⎯
Venus sat between Miguel and Eli the following day at practice, stretching out her legs; Miguel scrunched his face up at her, "It's not fair that you can move like that." He complained, watching as Venus quickly reached over and held her feet like it was nothing.
Leaning back up, she moved her right leg out and sank all the way down until her hand fully held her foot; from her spot, she stuck her tongue out at Miguel with a giggle, "Sucks to suck."
Eli cleared his throat, his gaze moving between the two before settling on Miguel, "So, I did a deep dive online, and you were right. Sensei is definitely Keene's father."
Venus felt herself grow rigid, and she moved to stretch her left leg with an uncomfortable feeling encapturing her body.
Miguel sighed, hanging his head low, "I just don't understand why he wouldn't tell us."
Venus bit her lip, refraining from saying because he was an absent father.
Eli shrugged, "I don't know, but it explains why he's giving us shit for kicking Keene's ass at the tournament." He sneered with a roll of his eyes, "Show no mercy unless it's his son. Then we gotta be pussies."
A scoff fell from Venus' pink lips as she gazed at the two boys, "Did you idiots ever think that maybe he's giving you shit because you attacked your opponent's weak spot? Cheap shot, by the way," She raised her eyebrows at Miguel, who shrank under her stare as she moved to glare at Eli, "Or the fact that you got yourself disqualified from the championship for being a temperamental mess?" Venus even grew shocked by her words, defensiveness tracing her tone as she spoke, her friendship with Robby lingering in her mind as the two began to blame him for something that wasn't his fault, "Don't be stupid. Son or not, you two would be getting shit from him either way." Rolling her eyes, she huffed, "And if you guys keep whining about it like pussies, I won't deal with it."
Venus took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, frowning at her sudden burst of anger and instead fiddled with the hem of her gi. Both boys stared at her with wide eyes and stunned, confused faces. Eli's jaw clenched with fury as she defended the Keene kid, scowling with outrage as his disdain for Robby grew. He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Aisha's irritated voice.
"You guys, have you seen the commercial?" She rushed up to the trio, her face scrunched up in annoyance, "Sam's dad started his own dojo and dissses Cobra Kai!"
Venus threw her head back with a whine, "Of fucking course he did because no adult in this town knows how to properly regulate their emotions!"
The three teens stared at her, puzzled, ignoring her outburst, and handed Miguel the phone. The four watched quietly, silent judgment forcing its way across their faces. Daniel announced as the video neared its end, "Because, at Miyagi-Do, it's not about the money. It's about karate."
Quoting the LaRusso Man, Eli sneered. "Snake in the grass?" Clenching his fist till his knuckles turned white, he scoffed, "Who the fuck does he think he is?"
Miguel snarled, "He's not gonna get away with this. No, Sensei won't let him."
"The way these two are acting feels like an episode of desperate house-wives," Venus shrugged, continuing to stretch, "Let's just pray no one ends up dead or in jail."
Sensei stormed into the room, "Fall in!" His voice was sharp as he took a deep breath and paced in front of the students barking out orders left and right until Aisha stood recording Johnny for Cobra Kai's very own commercial.
Strutting into the camera frame, Sensei's voice boomed, "There's been a lot of talk around the Valley about free karate. But everyone knows that in life, you get what you paid for."
Venus pulled her lips into a thin line, trying to suppress her giggle as the blonde man pointed a finger at the camera.
"You wanna really kick the competition?" He questioned, swiftly turning to the poor boy whose job was to hold the bonsai tree Daniel LaRusso had gifted him. Sensei swung his foot up, kicking the plotted pant, making it shatter. Venus frowned as the ceramic pot and soil flew into the boy's face. Eli leaned back, pulling her with him as some ceramic pieces narrowly missed their bare feet.
Turning back to the camera with clenched fists, Johnny nodded, "Then you need to get your ass over to Cobra Kai. Screw that lame nmeditation bullshit. What you need is bone-crunching, face-smashing, good-old American karate." Harshly, the man struck a dummy in the face twice before elbowing it, "Enough about self-defense, learn self-offence. Don't be a pussy! Join Cobra Kai and let me teach you, the way of the fist."
Aisha smiled, ending the recording, "And, cut!"
"All right, great. Just make sure the Cobra Kai snake comes in at the end, 'mkay? I want it to really pop." Sensei emphasized, earning a quiet giggle from Venus. "Make it chrome. And throw "Thunderstruck" behind it."
The bubblegum-pink-haired girl frowned; raising her hand, she softly reminded, "We'd have to buy that, y'know., to avoid copy-right. It could end with us getting fined. Plus, the rights to the song, might cost too much."
Sensei waved her off, "No, I already own it. Cassette's in the car. Oh! And put one of those hash browns at the end."
Venus blinked, doe eyes glazing over with confusion, "A hash brown?"
The blonde man nodded, "You know, like, Hash Brown, Team Cobra Kai or something." Walking towards his office, he pointed his finger up triumphantly and yelled, "And then send it to the internet!"
Watching him waltz away with a scrunched-up face, Venus turned to her friends and muttered, "I just—I just don't," She stammered.
Aisha nodded in agreement, throwing an arm over the short girl's shoulder, "Me either, girl," A sigh left her mouth as she shook her head, "Me either."
A frown formed on Venus' pink lips as Eli angrily walked back into the room, with a solemn Miguel trailing behind. The girl strolled beside him, picked up her pink duffle bag, and asked, "What happened?"
"Miguel and I have to clean the mats for two weeks," He grumbled, roughly clutching his own bag; he sighed, "You were right, you know."
Venus nodded, "That's usually the case," She slyly grinned at him, her eyes growing brighter as she caught the corners of his lips twitching up, "But, what about?"
The two headed toward the restrooms, "Sensei said that even if Robby wasn't his kid, he'd still have punished us." Eli explained, stopping before the door and allowing Venus to proceed, "Still, it's such bullshit."
The short girl hummed, "E, what did I say about whining over it."
The boy groaned, rolling his eyes, gesturing for her to continue. Her gaze softened, and she reached a hand out to rest on his bicep (which she so didn't cop a feel of) and shrugged, "Listen, I know you hate it, but honestly, it could be a lot worse, right?" Begrudgingly, he nodded, earning a small smile from the girl as she patted his arm, "Good. Anyways, excited for movie night tonight?"
The boy stilled for a moment, "Uh," Scratching the back of his neck, he sheepishly cleared his throat, "I, uh, can't tonight. Got a date with Moon."
Venus's smile fell, "Oh." She murmured quietly, ducking her head down in embarrassment. The silence in the air felt suffocating, and Venus suddenly noticed how fast her mood had shifted. Swallowing down her emotions, she forced the grin back onto her face, although it lacked gleam, "Well, another night then, yeah?" She didn't let him respond as she patted his arm twice before pulling away, "Good luck!"
Rushing away from Eli, she changed as quickly as she could, hastily left the dojo without saying goodbye to her friends, and ventured on to walk home.
The familiar sight of her front door reached her gaze, and she finally felt like she wasn't suffocating. Breathing deeply, Venus paused, opening the door and shutting it as she held her chest. Attempting to match her breath with the soft beating of her heart, the girl closed her eyes tightly.
Opening them, she stilled, leaning against the front door, as she gazed at the random man asleep on her couch. Before she could scream, her mother stumbled out of the bathroom, yawning as her feet patted against the carpet. Celia didn't acknowledge Venus as she made her way to the man, patting down his pockets before grabbing something her daughter couldn't see.
"Mamá?"
Turning around, Celia gasped, clutching a hand to her chest as the other went behind her back, "Ay dios mío! Venus, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Inconspicuously, she tucked the bag of pills into the waistband of her pants as she moved forward to Venus, scowling, "Don't sneak up on me."
Venus frowned at her mother, nodding at the man on the couch. She grimaced, "Who is that, and why is he on our couch?" His patchy beard and scruffy wardrobe gave Venus the chills, "He looks like a predator."
Dismissively, Celia waved her comment off, "Nonsense, mija. He's..." She froze, attempting to recall the man's name before coming up empty and clearing her throat, "He's just a friend. Who has overstayed his welcome," She huffed, smoothing her shirt out; she sniffled, "I didn't expect you home so soon, I thought you were going over Eli's?"
"I was, but something came up," Venus' voice trembled as she stared into her mother's dilated eyes, fear creeping into her tone, "Are you okay?"
Celia's hazel eyes narrowed into slits, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop asking that? I'm fine," Her voice came out harsher than intended, and she faltered, watching Venus' petite frame shrink, "I'm sorry, just—you know I don't like you worrying about me."
Venus nodded, glancing down at her scuffed Converse, the reality of the situation holding her hostage as she wondered up reasons as to why her mother's pupils were so dilated and why her nose was so red. She tried to come up with anything. Literally anything else, then the fact that Celia could be high.
She ran a hand through her bubblegum-pink curls and shuffled around the woman, "I'm gonna go lay down." Tears prickled at her eyes, and Venus clenched her fist. She was so sick of crying. The kim-possible text tone sounded from her phone. Eagerly, she reached for it. A message from Miguel flashed across her screen, alerting her to head to the fairgrounds with her black gi.
Eyebrows furrowing, Venus looked up from her phone, only to see her mother still staring at her, "Actually, I have to go—"
Celia cut her off, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly, "Okay!" She babbled, ushering Venus out of the house as she felt the baggie she hid in her waist burn, reminding her of its presence, "Don't wanna be late! Be safe. Love you." Shutting the door, Celia slammed her back against it. Her heart beating erratically against her ribcage as she hastily grasped the bag and closed her eyes tightly.
After calming herself down for a few minutes, she let out a large exhale of relief. Venus didn't know. Celia told herself, barely believing the comforting words as she mumbled them as if they were a prayer. Celia thought she wouldn't get caught if she spoke it into existence. She wouldn't have to see that heartbroken look in her baby girl's doe eyes.
Only after Celia crushed the small pills in the bag did she remember that the thought of asking Venus where she was going had never even crossed her mind. The woman felt herself freeze, the powder she was shaking out of the bag falling sloppily onto the kitchen table.
Celia was a horrible person. Fat tears dribbled down her cheeks as she choppily sliced up lines; her only thought was, what kind of mother doesn't ask where their child is going? She was so roped up in not getting caught that Celia completely disregarded the most important thing in her world.
Her daughter.
⎯⎯⎯
Venus was out of it. Her mind constantly replayed her mother shoving her out the door and slamming it shut, not bothering to ask where she was going or who she would be with. Venus' heart broke into a million pieces as she gazed down at her shoes. All her emotions hit her at once. Eli, Moon, her mom. Everything was shit.
In a daze, she awaited her que, now clad in the signature black Cobra Kai gi as the group planned to counter against Miyagi-Do dojo's showcase.
Finally, as the sound system for Daniel's performance shut down, the group jogged down to the festival grounds in rows of twos, chanting in unison, their voices blended together loudly, "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"
The class advanced to the front of another stage, the crowd following behind them with hoots and hollers of excitement. An enormous Cobra Kai banner dropped from the scene, lights dancing across each student's face as they reached the center of the stage.
Sparks shot out from the sides of the scene; the group on the stage continued their routine, the rest of the students, including Venus awaiting their call time before rushing out into the light.
"Cobras! Show them what real karate looks like!" Sensei intructed.
Venus hurried out from behind the curtain, rushing into her fighting stance as she and Miguel sparred until he knocked her down with a kick. Eli and Miguel continued to take down each opponent until Miguel was the only one standing victoriously.
The crowd roared with cheers, the glow sticks illuminating their faces as they egged on the show.
Next up, Aisha punched and kicked wooden boards blindfolded. Perfectly striking each one in half.
Soon, it was Eli's turn. Smirking, he hopped onto the stage, yanking a scared-looking Demetri by his shirt collar and handing the tall boy a board. Venus watched nervously as Demetri held it up gingerly, as far away from his form as possible.
Eli ran forward, jumping off another student's cupped hands. He flipped and skillfully broke the panel with a kick.
The group launched t-shirts and banners into the crowd as Johnny prepared for his grand finale.
"Cobra's, light it up!" He called, standing in front of four stacked cement blocks. The audience gasped as they set ablaze. Sensei thrusted his fist down, successfully breaking through each block. The crowd erupted into frenzied cheering and screaming, "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"
The Cobra Kai kids lined up next to their Sensei, Venus next to Eli as she gazed into the crowd, her mind blank. The group all bowed, soaking in the yells of the people. When she returned to her standing spot, her classmates cheered triumphantly; all the while, she stood still, her usually soft features stuck in a 100-yard stare. She could hear everything around her, although it was muffled, and she felt every clap on the back she received.
Still, whenever she breathed, she felt her chest rise up and down. Her mind, however, felt empty.
Venus felt numb.
001. 𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹'𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬. posted july 29, 2023
i am sooooo tired but i edited this and posted!!! let me know your thoughts and recommendations!!! love you all 🤍