"I don't think I can eat another bite," Harper said through a mouthful of pizza.
Despite her statement, she broke off another piece of crust and dunked it in the marinara sauce before eating it. She chewed slowly, instantly regretting taking another bite of food after having polished off four slices of pizza. Piling up her used napkins and the sauce container on top of her plate, she pushed it away. Just in case she got the unwise urge to eat more.
"I know. I don't think I've ever been this full," Demetri said with a groan as he decided against finishing off the slice.
Harper took a sip of her Coke, which was more ice water than actual soda. She leaned back against the booth of the pizzeria they were sitting in and squinted as a familiar song came on. But between the sounds of the staff yelling at each other and other conversations around them, it was difficult to make out what song it actually was.
She glanced out the window where the sun was already low in the sky. The days were getting shorter and cooler with fall quickly approaching. Despite it not getting as cold as in other parts of the country, autumn was still one of her favorite seasons. All of the holidays and decorations always brought a smile to her face even if they were centered around the one thing she didn't have: family.
Or didn't have until now.
Because now she had a family even if it did take over a decade for it to happen. This would be the first fall and winter where she wouldn't dread spending the holidays alone or with people who couldn't give a shit about her.
A smile tugged at her lips from just the thought.
That smile faltered when her mind cruelly reminded her that she had yet to tell her friends about Hawk. She'd tried. She really did but Sam's comment the other day terrified her that she'd lose everything if she told the truth.
But that was bound to happen either way because if she didn't tell then Kreese would. If her friends found out from someone other than her, it would definitely be worse. So she would have to be the one to fake courage and tell.
Just... not tonight.
For now, all she wanted was a night out with Demetri.
She nodded along while Demetri talked about a comic book he'd finished reading and pretended like she knew what he was talking about. Her phone buzzing with a text interrupted the conversation, and she smiled apologetically before looking at the screen.
"Oh, wow. You have to see this!" She said once she typed up a quick reply to Sam. Holding her phone out to him, she watched for his reaction to the pictures Sam sent over.
"I still can't believe they're actually on a date. Like together," he said with a light shake of his head, looking at the pictures of Sam and Robby in 80's attire. "Please don't ever delete these. It's- " His expression turned puzzling when another buzz announced a new message. "Hey, why is Eli texting you?"
Panic alarms went off around her.
No, no, no, no.
Harper took her phone back but only Sam's message appeared on the screen. From the looks of it, he only saw the notification and not what the text said. It made the situation better but only by a fraction. Because now Demetri knew that she talked to Hawk. The longer she sat there like a deer in headlights, the more suspicious it would seem. But she had no explanation for it unless something came to her in the next two seconds.
"I... I mean, he's just- " Harper stumbled over her words while Demetri waited for a reply. Just think of something! Her mind screamed at her. "He stole my number from Miguel's phone. That's what Miguel said, so Hawks just..."
"Bullying you through text?" Demetri finished with a frown. "I thought he'd stick to being a jerk in person but now we need to worry about virtual bullying? He's unbelievable. Literally unbelievable. He's officially gone to the dark side. I can't believe he'd do this to you when he'd literally been there a year ago."
Relieved at Demetri for coming up with a probable (though wrong) explanation, she smiled sadly. "Yeah, but it's fine. I just ignore the texts."
"Okay, but you need to block him. Seriously, Harper. You don't need to deal with that. You'll probably get bullied enough as it is by him and the rest of the Cobra jerks when school starts. Especially since you're staying for good and - hey, did I say congrats about you getting adopted? Because I think it's awesome that you're staying! But, back to Hawk and his bully texts. Ignore them. Delete them."
Harper turned the screen of her phone off and placed it face down on the table. "Already done. And thanks. I'm glad I'm staying, too."
"Do you think he's going to start bullying me through text?" Demetri asked absentmindedly. "God, I hope not. I have enough to deal with," he said with a groan before smiling apologetically. "Sorry, that was rude. But I always knew everything would work out for you."
"No, you didn't," she said with a laugh. "You're about as doom and gloom as I am when it comes to life."
Demetri smiled in reply. "No, I'm not! I think I'm pretty positive. Sometimes," he said to which she rolled her eyes. "Do you think you'll be adopted before school starts?"
"Uhm, I don't know. I don't think so. It's kinda a long process but Olivia and Lucas submitted all the paperwork so it's just a matter of waiting." Nothing was standing in the way of her being adopted but she hoped it would hurry up all the same. After all, life had a funny way of sneaking up on her and causing problems.
"It'll be okay," Demetri said as if somehow reading her mind.
Harper forced herself to believe that as well but if her unpredictable life taught her anything, it was to expect anything. "Ready to get going?"
Together, they walked toward the exit just as more people walked in, making the already busy pizzeria more packed. With summer winding down, everyone wanted to make the most of the last few weeks of freedom before school restarted.
The sun was low in the cotton candy sky. It slowly dipped behind the buildings until the next morning came and it was time to rise once again.
Hugging her jacket to her, Harper walked in comfortable silence with Demetri. Now and again, they would talk about school or comment on how Sam and Robby's date was going. They even joked about spying on them but without 80's attire, they would stick right out.
"What are you looking for?" Demetri asked, watching as she patted her pockets in confusion.
"My phone."
"You mean the one you probably left inside? On the table. You had it there," Demetri said.
Harper sighed, frustrated as they'd already walked a couple of blocks. "Yeah, you're right. Do you want to come with me?"
"No, I'll just wait here," he answered.
With a quickened pace, Harper retraced her steps back to the pizzeria and hoped that her phone was still there. The bell dinged above the door though it was muffled amongst the music and laughter all around. The table they sat at earlier was already occupied by a group of people and her phone was nowhere in sight.
Harper approached the counter and asked one of the workers if anyone had turned in a phone. She drummed her fingers on the counter anxiously, the seconds feeling stretched out as she waited. A sigh of relief left her lips when her phone was placed down in front of her. Thanking them, she exited the pizzeria for the second time to an even darker evening.
She sent Demetri a quick text letting him know she was on her way, to which he replied with a thumbs-up emoji. For the second time, she started down the street. The sound of footsteps sounded behind her, and she tilted her head to listen as they got closer. She didn't dare look over her shoulder though her heart sped up with fear. Perhaps it was irrational since the strip of shops on the street was busy with people coming and going but she still felt it. Against her better judgment, out of pure stupidity, she slowed down just enough for the person to close the distance between them.
Please just pass. Don't stop, keep going, she thought, wishing it to be someone who was in a hurry to get someplace and they'd walk around her.
Then a hand found itself on her waist just as someone said, "Hey."
Harper stiffened while her adrenaline went into overdrive. She brought her elbow back and smiled triumphantly as it roughly connected with the person's chest.
"Jesus, foster! What the hell?"
She whirled around to find not some stranger but Hawk. His jaw was clenched and he held his right side. "Ohmygodimsosorry," she said in a breath, her eyes wide. "Why did you sneak up on me like that?"
He lifted his eyes to her face, his eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "What are you talking about? I didn't. Shit, I was just trying to say hi but you sucker punched me instead."
"No, but you kinda did. I honestly thought you were some creep following me so I... I don't know, I panicked and defended myself."
"Yeah, well, I think you actually broke my ribs this time."
Harper rolled her eyes at the dramatics. "I'm sorry," she offered again before a laugh escaped her lips. She clamped her mouth shut when he glared down at her.
"You really think this is funny?"
"No." Harper shook her head, trying to appear serious but lost the battle when a smile broke though. "I mean, kind of. Maybe just a little bit funny. But not because you got hurt because I didn't mean to hit you. It's just... you snuck up on me, okay?"
His lips pressed into a thin line at her rambling.
"But, hey, at least we know the training's working, right? I can defend myself, which is good," she added with a smile that disappeared from his icy stare. Clearing her throat, she continued to talk even though her mind told her to shut up. "But this whole thing is kinda your fault. It was your idea that I learn karate so I know how to defend myself and I did. I mean, I was able to keep myself from getting hurt. So it's not my fault that I just reacted because I thought you were some psycho ready to kill me. Not that you're a psycho because I didn't know it was you behind me."
"That wasn't even karate. You just elbowed me."
"But maybe it should be. It kinda did the trick, right?" She asked with a halfhearted laugh but was met with silence. Chewing on her lip, she stood there uneasily.
Please don't really be mad at me, she thought because saying it aloud would make her sound pathetic.
The seconds ticked by as Hawk continued to watch her with a blank expression. After what felt like an impossibly long time, the hint of a smile tugged at his lips before he shook his head and broke out into a wry smile. "You're a real pain in the butt. Remind me never to sneak up on you again," he said with a chuckle as he pulled her into a hug that she melted into, a relieved sigh escaping her lips. "Wait, did you really think I was mad at you?"
"No," she said, her voice was small because she didn't want it to betray how much of that was a lie.
"Come on, foster, you know I'll never hate you. You're stuck with me."
"Good." Harper felt content as she stood there with her arms wrapped around him. All of her worries and troubled thoughts disappeared, at least for those few seconds because, at that moment, nothing else seemed to matter. Not this supposed war between the two dojos or the secrets she was keeping from her friends.
But the intensity of her feelings scared her.
It might have been because she was officially staying and allowed herself to feel everything more deeply.
Harper's phone buzzed with an incoming text. Without breaking the hug, she took a look at the message from Demetri asking her where she was and cursed under her breath.
"Who's it from?" Hawk asked.
"Demetri. I kind of forgot that he's waiting for me." She shot him a look before shaking her head with a warning. "Don't."
"Don't what?" He asked innocently, a mischievous smile playing on his face.
"Say something mean about Demetri. Like how he's easy to forget or something like that. Just... don't."
"I wasn't going to. You kinda said it for me."
Narrowing her eyes, she poked him on the side but he shook with laughter. "I feel bad enough as it is for leaving him waiting for me like two blocks away. So don't be a jerk."
"I promised to back off, remember?"
Harper nodded after a moment, smiling with contentment. She then explained how she'd left him to come back for her phone which she'd left at the pizzeria and that she'd been on her way to meet up with him until Hawk showed up. "Shit. He's been waiting forever. I need to go."
"Yeah, okay. I'll walk with you," Hawk said. "I'm actually meeting up with some friends, too."
Harper had an idea of who those friends were and she looked around nervously as if they might appear out of thin air. The very thought scared her enough to break the hug, and she took an unsteady step back. "Maybe I'll just go by myself. You know, in case they see us. Together."
"That's kinda half the fun, foster," he said with a lopsided grin. Before she could protest, he planted a quick but sweet kiss on her lips.
One moment she was worried about getting caught and the next she was smiling against the kiss. There was something about her being with him that erased all of her fears and made her feel safe. Not just safe but like nothing bad could ever happen.
He beamed down at her as he took her hand and started back down the street. They walked in a comfortable silence, content to just be together. Now and again, she would look over at him and catch him watching her.
They were finishing making plans to hang out that didn't involve karate training when Harper realized that she never told him about the adoption. Excitement bubbled within her as she turned toward him. "I almost forgot to tell you what-" The sound of yelling broke apart her words. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah. It kinda sounds like someone's getting their ass kicked."
She turned toward the direction the sounds were coming from. Between bouts of laughter and taunts came a familiar cry for help. "Demetri." She cursed under her breath and took off down the street, sidestepping around the people who were out for a late afternoon walk. Her heart was in her throat from worry for her friend.
The voices grew louder with each step she took until she rounded the corner and found Demetri surrounded by five of Hawk's friends. They shoved him back and forth, occasionally throwing a punch here and there. Punches and hits that Demetri futilely tried to block.
Harper clenched her fists, feeling the sting of her nails as they cut into her palms. She took a step toward the group but got pulled back almost immediately. "What are you doing?" She asked, finding Hawks' hand around her wrist.
"What are you doing? You can't help him without getting hurt yourself, foster. Don't be stupid."
"So I'm supposed to just do nothing and watch as he gets killed by your idiot friends? That's not gonna happen." She started for the group but his grip on her wrist tightened, keeping her from the fight. "Hawk, let me go."
"No. I'm not gonna risk you getting hurt."
"I can-"
"Take care of yourself. Yeah, I know. But you're not ready to defend yourself against a group of them."
Harper let out a frustrated breath, hating to admit that maybe he was right. She ran a hand through her hair as she watched Demetri struggling to defend himself. "So help me. You can break this up. You know they'll listen to you if you tell them to back off."
"I - Just give him a sec. He'll be fine... I think," he said. His lips pulled down in a frown as he watched the disaster before them.
But Demetri wasn't fine. He was losing what little strength and determination he had to hold his own in this unfair fight. And he was losing.
Incredulous, she shook her head but decided to trust him. But with each second that went by, Demetri took more shoves and hits without landing any defensive moves himself. Not able to watch her friend getting hurt, she turned to Hawk. Taking his hand, she forced him to look at her. "Please," she whispered, asking him to step in and help with just that one word.
"I-I can't," he said, looking away from her.
Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head as she tried to make sense of his words. "Your best friend is getting beat up and you're just... you can't? You're seriously going to let this happen?"
"Demetri's not my problem, foster. I'm not his keeper, okay? And it's not my fault that he can't defend himself. It's actually kinda pathetic that he's had twice the training you did and he can't block a simple attack."
"You're being an ass."
"How? I'm not doing anything!"
"Just because you're not throwing the punches doesn't make you innocent, Hawk. I thought you were better than this but you're still trying to look like a badass in front of your new friends. It doesn't matter if someone's getting hurt, does it? Just as long as you live by that stupid Cobra Kai motto."
His expression hardened as his lips pressed together. It looked like he was fighting an internal battle but it was hard to tell with the scowl on his face what he was thinking. What he was deciding to do.
Harper blinked back the tears that clouded her vision while still holding out hope that he'd help. That he'd do the right thing but the longer she stood there, she knew it wouldn't happen.
"Nothing? You're seriously not going to help?"
"I can't. You know why I can't. They'll know something's up and...." Sighing, he reached for her and frowned when she stepped out of his reach.
Harper looked up at him as if seeing him for the first time. And she began to wonder if this is what it would be like from now on: with her being in the middle between her loyalty to her friends and her feelings for Hawk.
She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "We were delusional to think this would work. I can't do this anymore."
He blinked. "Okay, wait. We can work this out," he said but Harper shook her head with a sad smile. "Look, I'll tell them to back off and we'll figure this out."
"No. I shouldn't have to beg you to do the right thing," Harper said as she wiped away a traitorous tear. "But it's probably better this way."
"It's not," he insisted but she didn't listen.
Harper blinked against the tears and ignored the ache in her heart. It was for the best but it didn't make it hurt any less. Taking a shaky breath, she hastily wiped at her eyes and walked toward the fight that Demetri was horribly losing but not before looking over her shoulder. Hawk watched her and as soon as their eyes locked, she wanted to take back everything she said. But she knew this was one argument they'd have over and over again.
Despite how heartbroken she felt, she looked away.
"Knock it off!" Harper yelled, wincing at the shakiness of her voice.
As one, they turned toward her and she took an involuntary step back. She was in no way able to take on five of them but she stood her ground either way. Because she needed to help her friend and, if she got hurt, so be it.
"You really want to do this, stray?" Mitch asked with a sneer.
"No, but I will if you don't get out of my way and leave Demetri alone." When none of them moved, she let out a frustrated sigh. "You idiots had your fun. Just... leave him alone."
Mitch laughed along with his friends. "That's not gonna happen," he said. Taking a menacing step toward her, he shoved her into one of his friends who quickly shoved her forward.
Harper struggled to find her balance but she refused to back down. She swallowed down her fear even as they stepped closer and pathetically waited for one of them to attack.
But nothing happened. Because just then, a shadow fell over her as Hawk put himself between her and his friends. "What are you idiots doing? We need to go," he said, causing his friends to look at him with confused expressions.
"What? But the fun just started," Mitch protested, cracking his knuckles as he leveled her with a glare. "We didn't even touch the stray yet."
"Yeah, you can throw the first punch," another one of his friends suggested.
"No one's touching her," Hawk said, his tone icy.
Mitch laughed uncertainly. "Since when do you defend her?"
"I'm not defending her. There's too many people around," he said, gesturing to the curious onlookers who passed by the area. "Let's go. Now."
Mitch tried to protest but grumbled an okay before following after Hawk and the rest of his friends.
Harper let out a sigh of relief as Cobra Kai retreated. Catching Hawk's eye, she quickly looked away because this didn't fix things between them. Turning to Demetri, she frowned as she took him in. Bruises started to show up on his face mixed in with some cuts that bled. "I'm so sorry, Demetri. Are you okay?"
"What makes you think I'm not okay?" Demetri asked with a quick laugh but winced at the movement. "I'm okay. Just a little bruised up but I'll live. You know, I kinda defended myself at the beginning. But there were too many of them."
"I know," Harper said with a sad smile, the guilt over leaving him sweeping over her. "Let's get you home."
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