THEN
I ran to Maya's house after school, my brain crowded with questions and thoughts.
I have a crush on Robby. Robby asked me out...
Maya will know what to do. She's good at these kinds of things. She has a boyfriend herself; his name is Jack. He's really kind, and perfect for Maya. One might even say they're soulmates, or something close to it. They're really good together.
Hot and out of breath, I finally made it to Maya's house. I ran up to the front door, after taking a brief stop to grab the hidden key for the door. I unlocked it and went inside.
Maya's mom was washing dishes in the kitchen when she saw me. "Hi, Y/n! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed, drying her hands on a small towel. She held out her arms and wrapped me in an embrace.
I hugged her back. "Good to see you too, Kate," I told her.
She is always so warm, kind, and inviting, not unlike Maya herself. Not to mention, Maya and her mom look crazy alike. I've been friends with Maya since we were in elementary school, so Maya and her family were like a second family to me.
"Is Maya here?" I asked her quickly.
"I think she's up in her room. What's the rush?" Kate tilted her head with a smile.
"Rush? What rush? This is how I usually am." I shrugged my shoulders, my words spilling out of my mouth as I started walking backwards. Kate shook her head playfully, knowing that this, in fact, was not how I usually was.
I sent her a small wave, before turning around and running to Maya's bedroom. I opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed with her computer in her lap, video chatting with her boyfriend.
"Y/n!" Maya smiled when she saw me. She looked back at her computer, "Jack, I'll call you again later, all right?" Jack was very understanding about it, as always.
"Sounds good, babe. I love you," Jack spoke through the call. Maya said she loved him back, blowing him a kiss. Jack said a quick hello and goodbye to me too, before they both hung up.
Maya closed her laptop and looked at me, her legs falling over the side of her bed.
"You guys are almost too cute together..." I joked.
Maya laughed, blush rising to her cheeks. "So? What brings you here? Not that I'm complaining or anything..." she said, adding a chuckle.
I let out a shaky breath, hesitant so say what I was about to say. But, I decided to say it anyway. "I have a crush on Robby!" I blurted out, covering my mouth with my hands.
Maya practically jumped to her feet. "Stop it!" she exclaimed, her eyebrows raised up high on her forehead, surprise very evident on her face.
"And he asked me out," I added.
Now she ran across the room and grabbed my arms. "Shut up!" she exclaimed again. "How did this happen? Isn't he an asshole douchebag dickhead who doesn't do his work?"
I laughed lightly at Maya's colorful choice of words to describe Robby. The question seemed almost silly when she said it. He's definitely not an asshole douchebag dickhead, but she wasn't with Robby and I to see that.
"No, he's totally different than I thought at first. He's kind, he's funny, he's smart. And he's... so good-looking," I explained.
Maya pretended to wipe some sweat from her forehead. "Good thing you said that before I did," she joked. "And he asked you out?"
I nodded my head. "For tonight. He's picking me up at 6. We're going to an Ivory Traveler concert..." I said, my voice sounding increasingly excited. "And he got us backstage access passes!"
Maya's eyes blinked rapidly, her mouth falling open. "How the hell did he get those?" she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't ask; I was too distracted by the fact that he had them and he was asking me to go with him!" My hands moved around as I talked.
Maya turned and looked at the clock beside her bed, then she gasped. Her head whipped back towards me. "We have to go! We have a lot of work to do and we don't have a lot of time!" Maya grabbed my hand and started pulling me.
"Gee, thanks May," I spoke.
"Oh please," she said. "You know what I mean! You're beautiful." She raised her hand and pinched my cheek lightly. I pushed her hand away playfully.
She pulled me all the way to her front door. "I'll be back later, mom!" Maya called, before pulling me out of the house.
Maya used her car to drive me back to my house, even though she only had her learner's permit. Luckily, our houses were really close to each other's.
When we got to my house, Maya went straight to my closet and started picking out an outfit for me to wear.
She didn't change my hair much, because she said it looked pretty the way it already was. Then I just did my makeup the way I usually do. Maya is a big believer in inner beauty. In other words, she doesn't really believe in changing the way you look on the outside for someone.
I'm so lucky to have Maya.
I told Robby to honk when he was outside. When the time came, and I heard that honk outside, I took a quick, nervous breath in and looked at Maya.
She grabbed my hands. "Listen, Y/n. You are awesome and you look beautiful. You have no reason to be nervous." She paused. "But, I have a reason to be. Now, I don't know Robby as well as you do, apparently. To be honest, I don't really like the idea of you two together—only because of all the things I've heard about him. But you seem happy. So, as long as he doesn't hurt you and you like him, I'll like him too."
I listened to her concerns, then realized I hadn't even thought of the bad things that could come out of this. I was too excited. But now that I am thinking, I can't actually come up with any.
I nodded my head firmly, and so did Maya. She let go of my hands and encouraged me to meet Robby outside. "Stay safe," she yelled before I shut the front door behind me.
My eyes landed on Robby, who was leaning on the side of his car by the passenger door. He looked up when he heard the door, a grin spreading across his face.
"You look great," Robby told me when I got closer.
"Thanks, Robby. So do you." He was wearing black jeans and an Ivory Traveler shirt. It wasn't much different than what he usually wears.
He reached and opened my door for me. I thanked him and sat down. He made sure I was in before shutting the door and walking around to his door.
It was about a half an hour drive to The Hargrove, where Ivory Traveler was performing. We talked about random things and listened to our favorite Ivory Traveler songs.
When we got there and parked, Robby paused. I was about to open my door, but stopped when I saw him freeze. I lowered my hand, looking at him.
"Is everything ok?" I asked him.
His gaze shifted to me. "Yeah, I just... Thank you for coming with me."
A smile grew on my face after a moment. "Of course, Robby. I couldn't let the tickets go to waste, could I?" I joked.
Robby laughed. "Of course not. Ready to go inside?" He grabbed the keys from the ignition.
I nodded my head.
"More than ready," I replied.
NOW
"All right, guys! Let's start warming up," I announced over all the Miyagi-Do students.
Everyone started to find a place to stand for warm-ups. I stood on one of the decks, so I could help lead them through.
"Wait... where's Robby and Sam?" Demetri asked aloud. I glanced around, but I didn't see them anywhere either.
Honestly, I didn't really want to look for them. God knows where they are or what they're doing right now. Frankly, I didn't want to find out. But, I knew I couldn't say that out loud.
I sighed inwardly. "Start stretching, I'll be right back," I told everyone, before stepping off the deck and making my way into the dojo.
I slid open the door and took a step in, listening silently. I wanted to listen at first, just to make sure I didn't walk in on anything I didn't want to walk in on...
But I heard the faint sound of their voices talking back and forth. I started walking towards the room they were in, but my steps slowed as I started comprehending their words.
"There's this 80's night at the roller rink tonight, and..." Sam paused, "I was wondering if you wanted to go."
"Sounds cool! I'll go," I heard Robby respond. "Did you tell the others about it yet? I'm sure we'd all have a lot of fun-"
"Actually," Sam interrupted softly. "I was hoping it would just be... the two of us."
There was a pause between them.
"Oh," Robby started. "Uh, sure. Yeah. We can... we can go."
I felt a fire light in my chest. I didn't want to hear anymore. I turned around and left the way I came in, without a sound.
I walked back up onto the deck.
"Alright, guys. Let's start," I said.
"Did you find them?" Demetri asked again. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for my answer.
I cursed Demetri in my mind, before nodding my head. "Yeah. They'll be here in minute. Let's just start without them."
"Start what without us?" Robby asked suddenly. Everyone turned to look at Sam and him, who had just come out of the dojo.
I took a deep breath, looking at them. "It would be kind of nice if you guys were ready for warm-ups on time. We never know when Cobra Kai might strike again, and wasting valuable time certainly isn't gonna help us," I said, hints of impatience in my voice.
Robby furrowed his eyebrows at me, clearly caught of guard by my sudden attitude.
I've been avoiding Robby the best I could. These were the first full sentences I've said to him since Sam confessed her crush to me.
There was an awkward silence lingering in the air, before Demetri called for everyone's attention. "Look what I found!" He held up a small object.
When I looked closer, I realized what he was holding.
"Is that Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor?" Sam asked, walking closer to it.
"It was just sitting in these rocks," Demetri added, before handing it over to Sam. She turned it carefully in her hands.
"That's crazy. We looked all over for this," Sam said as everyone gathered around her.
It was great to have found the medal, but I still didn't want to go over there.
The class went on as normal, except for the fact that Mr. LaRusso was late. He arrived with abnormally drab clothes on and dark stumble darkening his face. He's been like this recently, but I'm not too sure why. He didn't tell us.
When class ended, I was quick to grab my bag and make my way to the car. But right before I made it, I heard Robby call my name from behind me. I ignored it and kept walking. However, I couldn't ignore it the second time he called. I rolled my eyes and stopped.
He jogged up to me as I turned to face him. "What's wrong with you?" I asked him.
"I was just about to ask you that same question," he answered. He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for my answer.
I shook my head. "Look, I have to go. Ok? Have fun at the roller rink tonight," I added, before turning on my heel and continuing to my car.
Robby didn't stop me this time. He just watched me leave.
I got in the car and was getting ready to start driving, when an idea suddenly popped in my head. I needed to talk about this situation with someone, and I know just the person. I checked the time, before deciding.
I drove the way to their house, which felt further away than it ever has. The time I spent in the car just made my brain feel even more crowded with all the things I had to say.
When I finally pulled up to their house, I almost flung myself out of the car. I ran the way up to the porch, grabbing the hidden key on the way.
I need to talk to Maya—face to face.
I unlocked the door and let myself in. I looked around, before my eyes finally landed on Maya's mom, Kate, in the living room.
She must've heard my footsteps, because her head turned in my direction. A smile immediately lit up her face. "Y/n!" she exclaimed. She stood and pulled me in for her usual, warm hug.
"It's been too long! How's the new house treating you? I heard Jaxon was visiting for the summer!" she spoke. I smiled and nodded my head.
"It's good, and it's so nice to have Jaxon; I've missed him so much," I told her.
She put a kind hand on my cheek with a smile. "Aw, too bad summer is ending soon. But don't worry, you still have plenty of time to hang out with him."
I paused.
Holy shit. Summer is ending soon. When is Jaxon leaving? I've been so distracted this summer, with Robby and the dojo, I missed so much time with Jaxon.
I'll have to worry about that later, I thought. Right now, I'm at Maya's house and I'm desperate to talk to her.
"Hey, is Maya here?" I asked.
A small frown formed on Kate's face. "I'm sorry, hon. She's not here right now," she told me.
"Is she getting back soon?" I asked again.
Kate shook her head sadly. "No, I'm sorry. She's sleeping at a friend's house tonight."
I sighed, putting a hand on my forehead.
"Is everything ok?" Kate asked with a worried voice, putting a hand on my shoulder. I looked at her and nodded my head with a small smile.
"Yes, sorry. I'd better go, Mom is probably wondering where I went," I said, beginning to walk to the front door. Kate followed me there. "And also, would you mind not telling Maya I was here? I'm thinking of surprising her one day."
"No problem, sweetie. My lips are sealed!" She pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key. I laughed and hugged her once more, before walking back to the car. She watched me the whole way, and made sure I drove off safely before she went back inside.
When I was out of her sight, I groaned. I really need Maya right now. Not only have I been away from Jaxon this summer, I also haven't been talking to Maya as much. I hope she's not mad at me.
This dojo has consumed my summer.
I drove back to my house, thinking the whole way.
I don't want Robby, or Sam, or Cobra Kai, or the dojo ruin what little summer I have left.
I'm gonna spend it with Jaxon and my mom.
I'm not even gonna think about Robby.