─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
"hey." mickey spoke softly as she walked into the bedroom. she had a giddy smile on her face and she could not wait to tell her friend about her date. the first thing she noticed was how messy the room was, which was unusual as gioia took pride in a neat room. there were clothes on the floor, hanging on the door and even on the desk. her plushies were all over the room, scattered in a disorganised way.
the owner of the room was lying face first into her bed, not bothered by her surroundings. the television was aimlessly playing in the background and gioia didn't even move an inch when she heard the door open.
"hey, love?" mickey quickly grew concerned. "what's happened?"
gioia let out an inaudible noise from the bed. mickey moved closer and sat down beside her.
"gioia, are you okay?"
the girl slowly turned herself around. mickey could now see her red puffy eyes and mascara-stained cheeks. her face dropped and she immediately pulled gioia into her arms.
"i'm a terrible person." gioia sobbed.
"why would you think that?" mickey questioned. "what happened?"
gioia sniffled. "it's just... i've messed up, mickey."
"you can talk to me. what happened?"
"it's about karate, and i don't know how to say it." as much as gioia loved mickey, she wasn't ready to tell her the full truth.
"whatever it is, we'll figure it out together. you're not alone." mickey reassured her.
"i've betrayed everyone. i did something that goes against the team, and i can't tell you what it is." gioia explained.
"you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." mickey explained, gently stroking the girl's hair. "but we all make mistakes. what matters is owning up to them and making things right. you're not the first person to mess up."
she wasn't. tory, mitch, robby and even her boyfriend, eli had betrayed their karate team.
"i'm so scared they'll find out and hate me."
"friends forgive, gioia. we'll find a way to make amends, and maybe it won't be as bad as you think." mickey told her. "you're worth more than your mistakes, and i'm here to support you no matter what."
"thanks, mickey." gioia mumbled.
"you have to start putting yourself first, gioia." mickey started, gently wiping the girl's tears. "i hate seeing you like this. you have to start thinking about yourself instead of others, okay? but not like in a selfish way, more of a self-care way."
"okay." gioia nodded.
mickey had no idea, but her words were the confirmation gioia needed to continue attending cobra kai training. so she could start thinking about what she needed rather than what others wanted from her.
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
the next two weeks were some of the worst weeks of gioia's life. she had been attending eagle fang karate training once or twice a week, telling johnny she had been at gymnastics meets and competitions. he was not happy with this, but once miguel told him how gioia would be flipping through the air during the tournament, he let it slide.
see gioia was spending some of her time doing gymnastics. but most of her time was spent at cobra kai karate. she wouldn't train with the rest of the students, silver wouldn't let her. instead, she was in the back gym room, working out and sparring with the dummies.
"where are you going?" bianca asked her daughter from the kitchen.
gioia had begun to slightly distance herself from her family and friends. she was barely home, her parents rarely saw her and she and eli hadn't hung out one-on-one since their unsuccessful bagel date.
the girl flung her pale, yellow backpack over her shoulder. inside of it was a plain white gi, a knee brace and a wrist compression strap. "i'm just going to train with sensei."
"are you? because johnny said you have not gone to training at all this week." bianca pointed out. "said you have been at gymnastics."
times like these, she hated that her mother and sensei were friends. "that's what i said- what i meant. i'm going to gymnastics." gioia explained. "we have a competition soon."
"figlia." bianca sighed. "is everything okay? dr hanson mentioned that you came very late to last session and you did not attend this week's."
"i forgot."
"and you have not been taking your vitamin supplements." bianca continued.
"i forgot."
"and you have not been present at the english after school classes to make up your grade."
"i forgot! okay?!" gioia snapped in frustration. "i have to go, or i'll be late."
"gioia!" bianca called out to the girl before she could touch the door handle.
"what, mamma? what is it?!"
"your shoes."
gioia looked down to see her lack of footwear. she was even wearing mismatched socks. and not on purpose. "yeah, i forgot." she rubbed her forehead in embarrassment.
"have you forgotten you need to eat breakfast too?" bianca reminded her.
gioia shook her head as she pulled on her new balance sneakers. "i'm not hungry. i'll have something at the meet. coach always has the best snacks,"
"baby, i am worried about you." bianca sighed. "you could skip practice today and we could talk. i am not in work until evening."
"weren't you just complaining about how i've been skipping things?" gioia remarked. "i should go."
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
"this is about power, control, and most importantly, fear. the cobra kai way." silver told her.
gioia was exhausted. she entered the dojo with dishevelled hair, dark circles under her eyes indicating fatigue, and a weary expression. her knuckles were bruised and her feet aching, reflecting the physical toll of overwork. paleness and a lack of vibrancy in her skin suggested the strain on her well-being. there was a sense of detachment in her gaze, mirroring the toll on her mental health.
"why would i want to feel fear?" gioia huffed out as she sent a fourth sidekick to the dummy.
"because it is a powerful motivator, barbusca." silver told her. "embrace it, channel it. it'll make you unstoppable."
"yes, sensei." she replied, robotically.
"what's your biggest fear?" silver questioned, circling around the blonde girl.
kresse was teaching his students in the main front room. he didn't understand why silver was wasting so much of his time on a girl who was still affiliated with the rival team. she was living a double life.
"losing the people i care about." gioia confessed, striking the dummy in the face.
"the people you care about." he laughed. "that's sweet. yet the people you care about, they're not winners. they're mere fighters."
"but we're a team, and we support each other to be better." gioia said, thinking back to devon lee.
"but are they pushing you to be the best? johnny lawrence labelled you a beginner." silver reminded her, getting under her skin. she regretted telling him that. "it's been over two weeks and i think it's time you join officially cobra kai. you'll continue to experience this level of training and discipline that will elevate you to heights you never thought possible."
"but my friends-"
"your friends have no faith in you!" he raised his voice, making her flinch back. "you've got fire in you, but it's being smothered by mediocrity. cobra kai will ignite that fire and turn it into an unstoppable blaze. don't settle for less when greatness is within your grasp."
"johnny's been there for me since the start." gioia told him, peeling off the compression strap from her wrist. "even if he said i was one of the beginners, i still can't help but feel loyal to-"
"family, loyalty– those are just sentimental illusions. what do they offer you?" he questioned. "strength, power, victory– that's what cobra kai provides. to find your true potential, you must cut ties with the past."
gioia hesitated, visibly torn between loyalty and ambition.
"do you want to be just another face in the crowd, barbusca? or do you want to stand out, be remembered?" silver questioned.
"i want to stand out." she whispered.
"that's the spirit!" silver smirked. "now, put the wrist strap back on and let me show you a new technique that will make you unstoppable."
"i want to stand out, i do." gioia repeated. "but not if it means hurting my friends."
"you won't be hurting them; you'll be helping yourself. imagine the power coursing through your veins, the thrill of being unstoppable." silver illustrated for her. "i've trained the best fighters, turned them into champions. you have the potential to be one of them. don't you want that?"
"i just wanted to be stronger, but not at the cost of losing myself. i wanted to get better at karate, not become someone i'm not." gioia explained. "these two weeks have been mental torture. you don't even care about me, you just care about making me into some soldier."
"strength comes from embracing who you truly are, barbusca. and who you are now is at a crossroads." silver said. "make the right choice, and cobra kai will be your true family."
"no." gioia shook her head. "i won't let you manipulate me anymore. i've made a mistake, but i won't let it define me." she began to pack her things into her backpack.
silver laughed. "you fear of losing and hurting your friends. but how do you think they'll feel when they find out you've spent most of your time training with the rival team?"
"i just won't tell them." gioia muttered.
"they'll find out, mark my words."
gioia gave him one final look before leaving the back room. the sound of the door opening grabbed everyone's attention. the cobra kai students had now lost focus in their lesson and were watching the girl push straight through them. she slammed the dojo door shut in outrage as terry silver made his way to the front room.
"what happened?" kresse asked his partner.
"she's too weak." silver shrugged. "i'm afraid she's just not cobra kai material."
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
when gioia got home, she immediately tore off her cobra kai training gi and threw it straight into the trash. the girl was so blinded by rage that she didn't even notice the trail of flowers on the ground.
once she had thrown her backpack onto the couch and kicked off her shoes, she accidentally stepped on something. the blonde girl looked down to see a sunflower under her sock. gioia let out a huff of irritation that she had stained her fresh white socks. then she saw.
there wasn't just one sunflower on the ground, there was a trail of them. and it was leading to her room. gioia crouched down and began to pick them all up as she made her way over to her bedroom. with a look of confusion, she pulled down the door handle and found her boyfriend standing with a bouquet of peonies.
glancing around, she noticed that her once messy room was now spotless, tea lights lit up in the room and the sweet smell of all the flowers lingered in the air.
"gia, will you go to prom with me?"
prom? she had completely forgotten about the event. gioia was even surprised that the boy spent the time asked her, since they barely spoke lately.
"here." he spoke again, placing a carving of an elephant figurine in her hands.
then it all made sense. the sunflowers on the ground, like the dress that she had worn on their first unofficial date to the tattoo parlour. the wooden figurine was a reference back to the maze runner, the film the two watched the first time gioia went over to his house. and the elephant shape, like the elephant tattoo she had on her stomach.
gioia momentarily forgot all the physical and mental pain she was going through as her eyes widened with surprise, a delighted gasp escaping her lips as she took in the scene. a radiant smile spread across her face, and a joyful giggle bubbled up from within. unable to contain her excitement, she nodded enthusiastically.
"yes, absolutely!" the happiness in her eyes reflected the joy of being asked to prom in such a thoughtful and special way.
"oh thank God." eli breathed out in relief. "you took so long to think i thought you would say no."
this gesture was exactly what gioia needed to remind her that her friends and loved ones were so much more important than a karate rivalry. the boy pulled her into a warm embrace, elated that she had accepted his proposal.
"this is so sweet, eli. thank you so much." she beamed.
"i noticed you've been quite down over the few weeks, so i was hoping this and prom would cheer you up." eli explained, planting a kiss on her forehead.
"it did." gioia nodded. "and you cleaned my room?"
"with mikayla's help, of course." he explained. "i was originally going to come to surprise you at your gymnastics class, but mick told me how your room was when she came a few weeks ago and wanted to see if she could do anything to help."
"how did you-"
"your dad let us in before he left." he explained. "you know, i weirdly think he likes me more now that my hair is shorter."
gioia laughed. "it is a cute look."
"thanks, gb." he smiled, placing the flowers into a prepared vase on her desk. "now, tell me about your day."
gioia froze. "what?"
"how was gymnastics?" the boy questioned, taking a seat on her bed.
"oh, it was good." she quickly replied, making him quite unconvinced.
"are you sure?"
"yep." gioia nodded, not wanting to think about the session she had with silver. we should watch the maze runner but the death cure, since it's the best."
"you think the death cure is the best?!" eli exclaimed in surprise while drawing her into his arms. "you have never been so wrong."
"which one is the best then?"
"the first and the original one, of course." he scoffed.
"you are so boring!" gioia laughed at him.
"shut up!"
⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
sorry if her cobra kai era seemed short. it just pained me to write her with silver.
although it was short, the consequences of her time at cobra kai are everlasting xx
ELI AND GIA ARE SO CUTE I COULD CRY