❝ is it possible to like two people at the same time? ❞
―
SENSEI WAS DETERMINED TO FIND THE CULPRIT.
It had been nearly two hours since Daniel LaRusso had announced that Miyagi-Do's had been vandalized. None of the students of Cobra Kai wanted to come forward and admit that they had done it. They were doing burpees—jump, squat, hands flat on the mat, plank position, push up, jump back up—over and over again. Achara's back and legs were starting to hurt. She had never been so exhausted. Decha's body felt like it was cramping up all over the place. They weren't sure how much more they could take. The entire dojo was full of the sound of pained, tired grunting and heavy breathing.
No one was fessing up. Decha thought he had a pretty good idea of who had done it, but he couldn't just make an accusation without having proof. Hawk had been furious the night before after Decha walked out on him and left him with Kreese. Who knows what kind of ideas he planted into Hawk's head.
"This could all be over in an instant," Sensei Lawrence shouted. "The decision's yours! Who trashed the Miyagi dojo?"
Nothing.
"Y'all know I'm no fan of LaRusso's, but that sort of bullshit we don't teach in here," he continued. "At least not anymore. So, I'm gonna ask you again. Who trashed Miyagi-Do?"
"It was not me, Sensei," the older student said. "I would never disrespect another man's dojo—"
"Shut your cakehole, Chubs," Sensei Lawrence interrupted him. "I'm not looking for excuses. I'm looking for answers!"
"Sensei, we really don't know who did it," Miguel struggled to say from being so out of breath.
"Somebody knows something," Sensei Kreese spoke up. "Question is...who's gonna break?"
Decha glanced over at Hawk, trying to observe his facial expressions and mannerisms. As much as he didn't want to, he needed to look at him to see if he appeared guilty or not. He didn't even have to look too closely to see that Hawk was guilty as can be. It was written all over his face. He kept looking up at Kreese, who just looked back at him, sharing a knowing glance.
Sensei Lawrence's phone started to ring. "Keep going. We could do this all day."
He stepped out of the room to answer it. The burpees continued. It seemed like they were never going to end. Achara felt like she was going to pass out. Her head felt heavy like her neck couldn't support it.
"Sensei, we need a water break," Mitch said to Kreese.
He looked at the students, struggling more and more by the second.
"Two minute break!"
Relieved sighing filled the room. Achara sat down on mat, laying her back flat against it with her arms spread. Miguel held her water bottle out in front of her. Achara smiled as she grabbed it from him.
"Thank you," she said.
Miguel smiled as he sat down next to her. "No problem."
Achara sat up to drink her water. She had never felt so thirsty in her life.
As Decha drank his water, he kept glancing at Hawk. He watched him as he walked up to Kreese and spoke in hushed whispers.
The two minute break was over in an instant. The strenuous exercise started right back up again and within a matter of minutes, they were tired and breathing heavily as if the break had never happened. Achara stood next to Miguel, swinging the workout ropes. Her arms felt stiff and heavy. They felt like they were going to fall off. Decha stood next to Aisha. He could feel sweat dripping from his face as he swung the ropes. He was starting to feel nauseous.
Decha was starting to debate whether or not he should rat Hawk out and say that he was the one who trashed Miyagi-Do. It would put an end to all of this. Was having Hawk potentially hate him even more than he did right now worth it?
"Keep going," Kreese said. "I could do this all day."
"He's not gonna let up," Miguel said. "We gotta figure out who did it."
"I bet it was shit-breath," Tory said, accusing Mitch.
"Hey, screw you," Mitch said to her.
"What'd you say?" Tory asked.
Mitch stepped closer to her. "Wanna do this right now?"
Miguel stood between them, pushing them both back. A fight breaking out was the last thing they needed.
Decha leaned in closer to Achara to whisper in her ear. "I think I know who did it."
"What? Who?" Achara whispered back.
Decha nodded his head towards Hawk. Achara looked at him.
"Hawk?" Achara asked, receiving a nod. "We have to tell Sensei Kreese. We can end all of this."
Decha nodded in agreement and opened his mouth to announce that it was Hawk but didn't get the chance to speak.
"Stop!" Kreese yelled. "Would you really like to know who did it? It was Hawk."
Hawk's face sunk. Everyone turned their heads to look at him. You could see the panic in his face and posture as he glanced around the room.
"And it was Diaz," Kreese continued. "And Robinson. And it was Nichols, the Thirasawats, Chubs, Red."
Confused looks were present on everyone's faces.
"When one of you makes a move you all make a move," Kreese said. "You live and you die with the consequences and the spoils. Because you are all Cobra Kai."
No one knew what to do or say. The group of students just stood there, looking around at each other.
"Main dojo, five minutes," Kreese instructed. "You're about to begin your real training."
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The first thing the twins did when they got home was take a shower. After being overworked at practice and partaking in Sensei Kreese's extreme training methods, it felt nice to be able to relax.
Achara sat in Decha's desk chair, spinning around in circles. Decha sat on his bed.
"All right, now that we don't feel like we're dying, tell me what happened with Hawk," Achara said. "Does it have something to do with what happened to Miyagi-Do?"
Decha shook his head and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "I wish that was it. He's totally guilty by the way."
"If it's not that, then what?" Achara asked.
"Hawk confessed his feelings for me last night," Decha told her.
"I knew he liked you!" Achara exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were right," Decha replied as he rolled his eyes. "What do you want, a cookie?"
"Shut up," Achara threw a pencil at him. "What happened next?"
Decha sighed. "He kissed me and then pretty much confirmed that Demetri likes me but won't date me because he knows how much Hawk likes me."
"Wait, back up," Achara waved her hands. "He kissed you?"
Decha nodded. "Yup. I didn't kiss him back though..."
"And Demetri knows that he likes you?" Achara asked for confirmation.
Decha nodded.
"Well, shit..." Achara breathed out a breath. "What else happened?"
"He asked me to give him a chance," Decha told her. "I just walked out after that...I didn't know what to say."
Achara stood up from the desk chair and walked over to Decha's bed, taking a seat next to him. She placed her hand on his back to comfort him.
"Let me guess, now you're confused about your feelings and don't know what to do?" Achara asked, hitting it right on the nose.
Decha nodded. "I like Demetri so much, but I just can't get through to him. And now Hawk told me that he likes me and after what happened at the mall? Hawk was willing to beat the shit out of Demetri over a Yelp review. A Yelp review."
"Yeah, that's pretty insane," Achara agreed. "And I mean, Demetri wasn't exactly wrong about anything he said."
Decha groaned and put his head in his hands. "Life was so much easier when I just dated someone new every week."
Achara chuckled, but then immediately got serious again. "You have to ask yourself if chasing after Demetri is really worth it or if you want to be with Hawk."
"That's the thing," Decha told her, "I don't know what I want to do. I mean, part of me thinks that trying things out with Hawk would be a good idea, but then another part only wants to focus on Demetri. What do I do?"
"I can't make this decision for you," Achara said.
"Is it possible to like two people at the same time?" Decha asked.
Achara nodded. "Of course it is. It's just a matter of who you like more."
Decha groaned. "I hate everything."
He had a tough decision to make. Did he continue to pursue Demetri, or did he give Hawk a chance? He had no idea.
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Achara couldn't help but laugh as Miguel slipped off her skateboard, falling right on his butt. She was trying to teach him how, but it was proving to be more of a challenge than she thought it would be. She walked up to him and held her hand out. He grabbed it and hoisted himself up.
"You promised not to laugh if I fell," Miguel said.
"I'm sorry," Achara apologized. "I just couldn't resist. The way you fell was hilarious."
"You're so mean to me," Miguel pouted.
"Aww, you poor baby," Achara replied, placing her hand on his cheek.
Miguel chucked beige he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Achara's lips. She kissed him back, standing on her tiptoes so that Miguel didn't have to lean down so far. Miguel broke the kiss and smiled at her.
Achara smiled back. "Ready to try again?"
"I don't know, my ass still kind of hurts," Miguel responded.
"Aww, come on," Achara pleaded. "Just one more try? You can do it."
Achara stuck out her bottom lip, pouting. "Please? For me?"
Miguel couldn't resist. "Okay, fine."
Achara grinned as she jumped excitedly. She placed her skateboard at Miguel's feet. He stepped on it, holding onto Achara's shoulders to help him balance.
"Would it make you feel better if I held your hand?" Achara asked, only half-joking.
"Like I'm a kid learning to ride a bike?" Miguel asked.
Achara nodded. Miguel looked like he was thinking about it. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and sighing.
"Actually, as embarrassing as it sounds, I'd really like you to hold my hand while I attempt to skateboard," Miguel told her.
"It's not embarrassing at all," Achara replied. "I'd be happy to hold your hand. Now, come on, move your foot."
Miguel did as he was told, pushing onto the ground, and moving his leg back. Achara held onto his hand and walked alongside him as he continued to push his leg back to move the board. When he had picked up enough momentum, Miguel placed his foot on the skateboard.
"You're doing amazing," Achara complimented him. "You've got it. There you go."
She let go of his hand. Miguel turned to look at her. He kept skating, occasionally pushing his foot into the sidewalk to gather more speed.
"You've got this, Miggy!" Achara shouted.
Miguel did not in fact have it. The skateboard flew out from under him, sending him onto the concrete once again. Achara ran up to him and helped him up.
"Are you okay?" Achara asked.
"Yeah," Miguel responded. "I think I'll just leave the skateboarding to you. Sorry Avril Lavigne, but I don't think I can be your skater boy."
Achara laughed and pecked his lips. "Don't worry, I like my karate boy just fine."
Miguel smiled at her before kissing her once again.
"Are you still okay with coming over for dinner?" Achara asked. "My mom is really excited to see you again."
Miguel nodded. "Of course."
Achara pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. "It's five-thirty. We'd better get going."
"Let's go," Miguel said as he grabbed Achara's hand.
Achara leaned down to grab her skateboard, tucking it under her arm and gripping the side. She walked hand in hand with Miguel to her car, smiling the entire time as their arms swung back and forth.
When they arrived at the Thirasawat house, Decha was in the middle of setting the table while their mom finished dinner. Decha and Miguel greeted each other, shaking hands and then pulling each other in for a chest bump.
"How's it going?" Miguel asked.
Decha shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"You guess?" Miguel questioned. "Everything okay?"
"Romance drama," Achara chimed in.
Miguel gave them a confused look. "With Demetri or...?"
"That's part of it," Decha answered. "Hawk told me he likes me and asked me to give him a chance. I'm trying to decide if I should or not."
"Wait, I thought you liked Demetri," Miguel said. "Do you like Hawk now?"
"I still like Demetri, but I'm trying to figure out if I like Hawk," Decha explained. "Does that make sense?"
Miguel nodded. "Yeah. Good luck, I guess?"
"He needs all the luck he can get," Achara said.
"Miguel!"
Their mother walked out of the kitchen.
"Sawasdee khap, Mrs. Jintara," Miguel greeted her.
She smiled. "Sawasdee! It is so great that you are learning Thai."
Miguel nodded. "Well, I have a pretty awesome teacher."
He turned to look at Achara. The two stared at each other sweetly. Decha fake gagged, ruining the moment.
"Where's Pa?" Achara asked her mother.
"He will be home in a minute," she responded. "Had to work a bit late."
"Okay," Achara replied.
"Help me bring the food to the table?"
"Of course, Mae," Achara responded, following her mother into the kitchen.
As they were bringing the food to the dining table, Achara and Decha's father walked through the door. He kissed his wife on the cheek. He gave Achara a hug. He nodded in Miguel direction, expressing excitement to see him again. Decha got nothing.
His mother may have changed and became proud of him for sticking with Cobra Kai and actually doing something else with his time that wasn't partying or drinking, but his father was not. He received the cold shoulder just like he always did.
They sat down to eat. Miguel and Achara were the talk of the table. Decha felt like he was just there. Even though things were better, sometimes it still felt like he didn't exist.
"Miguel, it is so nice to see you again," the twins' father spoke.
Miguel nodded. "You too, Mr. Kiet."
He smiled. Their father actually smiled. It was such a strange sight to see. He held a conversation with Miguel as if he were a friend from the country club that he had known for years. This was only the second time they had met. Decha couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Since when had this father become such a talkative man?
"You're such a nice boy," Kiet told Miguel.
"Thank you, sir," Miguel replied.
Kiet nodded towards his son. "When will you introduce us to someone, huh? Always out doing who knows what, sneaking out at all hours."
Jintara gave her husband a look. "Honey..."
"Huh?" he asked. "The boy has never brought anyone home, yet dates left and right. He is never serious about anyone or anything. It's a surprise that he's been in karate for so long."
Decha clenched his jaw.
"Pa, Decha's been working very hard at Cobra Kai, and he hasn't dated anyone in months," Achara defended her brother. "He's actually been very serious about this one boy—"
"Chara, just save it," Decha interrupted her. "He'll never care. I'll always just be the screw up kid. The problem child who can't compare. But you know what? I'm done craving his validation."
Decha slammed his fork down into his table, causing a loud clatter as he pushed his chair out and stood up. He put his shoes on and opened the front.
"Where are you going?" Achara asked.
"I don't know!" Decha shouted as he slammed the door shut.
The table was left in silence. Achara and her mother stared at Kiet, giving him disappointed looks. Unsure what to do, Miguel just stared down at his plate and shoved his mouth full of food.
— EMILIA'S NOTES
my baby decha :(
i neeeeed to know who we're shipping more: decha and demetri or decha and hawk??
i already have plans for them but i'm just curious what y'all are thinking. :)
also yuuuup their father has a name now. introducing kiet pronounced as key-et.
you'll likely see me referring to their mom and dad as jintara and kiet a lot more often instead of saying "mother" and "father" all the time.