The week that followed seemed to stretch on endlessly for Harper. Each day passed by in a sluggish, almost painful manner despite her best efforts to keep busy. She attended group therapy, hung out with her friends and even played mindless video games with Cole but it only distracted her for a few hours, leaving the rest of the day to drag on. It was agonizingly painful.
Every day felt incomplete, a feeling that Harper couldn't shake. She could deny it all she wanted but the truth was that she missed her morning training sessions with Hawk. But most of all she missed their friendship: their friendly banter and how she would playfully mimic him whenever he got annoyed with her and the moments when they would cut their practice short just to hangout.
She never expected for karate and Hawk to become such an integral part of her life. Now that it was gone, she felt the emptiness it left behind, the absence of a friendship that was barely given a chance to grow.
The memories that she was left with tugged at her heartstrings. It was painful and she was surrounded with too many reminders. So to make matters worse, she chose that day to walk through the park. It was a wasteland of those memories but it was the shortest point to get her from the group therapy session to the small cafe she was meeting her friends at.
With her AirPods in and a baseball cap pulled low onto her head, Harper walked at a comically brisk pace. The sooner she was out of the park, the better.
Someone fell into step beside her and grabbed her arm before she could even think to defend herself. Her heart thundering away, she looked at her attacker only to find Hawk and his stupid smile. Pausing her music, she pulled her headphones out and frowned in annoyance. "You really need to stop sneaking up on me."
"I didn't," Hawk said but was met with a blank stare. "I was calling your name for like a minute but you didn't hear me. What are you even listening to?" He tilted her phone toward himself but she pulled it out of his reach.
"Maybe I'm just ignoring you. Did you even think of that?"
"Or maybe you're just jumpy as hell."
"I'm not... you know what? Forget it. You're annoying."
Hawk grinned as if she'd just complimented him. "So, where are we going?"
"We?" She questioned, shaking her head. "No, we're not going anywhere. I'm meeting my friends for lunch so you can go away."
"Sounds horrible," he commented but she wasn't amused, especially when he continued to walk beside her. "Seriously, what were you listening to?" He tugged one Air Pod from her case and unpaused the music mid-song. A judgmental look crossed his face as he asked, "Is this Taylor Swift?"
"It's a song on a playlist."
"Right. What else do you have on here?"
Harper shook her head as he went through the playlist, silently throwing her looks of bewilderment and approval. The truth was, she didn't hate having him near her. She missed this easy going friendship between them. And that was a problem because they were officially done. Over. She was frustrated by the situation and the feelings for him that continued to grow.
A sigh escaped her lips. "Hawk, stop!" She paused the music once more and took the AirPods back, shoving the case into her pocket. "You can't do this. We're done. We broke up-"
"No, you broke up with me. You decided for the both of us that-"
"That's how breakups work!" Harper stopped and turned to face him. Forcing herself to swallow down those feelings and remember the why behind the breakup. "Look, I'm sorry but I can't do this. You're acting like nothing happened."
"Because it didn't."
Harper fixed him with a look. "But it did! Okay? You let your asshole friends beat up Demetri and didn't do anything to help."
"I stepped in at the end."
"Yeah but that was after I went to break it up myself."
"I wasn't going to let those idiots hurt you, foster."
"And that's kinda the problem." Harper sighed as she tried to get her thoughts in order. "We're always going to fight about this, aren't we? Because you're always going to side with your friends and I'm always going to defend mine. Our friends hate each other and that's never going to change. We were dumb to think we could ever make this work."
Rather than face his answer and talk this out, she opted for the mature choice. To walk away. Harper took a step back but her foot caught on the uneven sidewalk. Her arms pinwheeled as felt herself tipping backward but he grabbed her before she could fall.
"I got you, foster."
"Thanks," she said as she stupidly looked into his eyes. She felt herself getting lost in the moment despite her mind yelling at her to breakaway.
It was a battle between her mind and her heart.
And the heart was winning.
Or it would've if they didn't get interrupted by Sam and Demetri rushing to her side.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Sam said, pulling Harper free from his grasp. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine- " Harper started but before she could say more, Sam rounded on Hawk.
"Are you freaking serious right now? It's bad enough that you make our life hell but now you're going after Harper, too?"
"I wasn't doing anything. We were just talking."
Demetri laughed at that but took a step back when Hawk glared his way. "Sorry, I had a tickle in my throat," he explained, proceeding to fake cough to prove his point.
"Is that what you're calling being an ass these days?" Sam shot back.
Hawk took a menacing step forward. "Watch it, LaRusso. I don't hit girls but...," he trailed off and locked his gaze on Demetri.
"Don't even think about it. You've done enough damage," Sam said.
"I haven't done anything. Yet. So don't start a fight that you can't win."
"The only one who's going to lose is you. Or are you forgetting that we kicked your butt before?"
"Let's just go," she pleaded with her friend while throwing a look toward Hawk that asked him to back off. She took a step forward and hoped that her friends would follow. It took a few agonizing seconds before Sam fell into step beside her. She threw one last look toward Hawk but refused to meet his eyes. Because it would just be too painful.
"What did he want?" Sam asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Nothing," Harper said almost too quickly. "We just bumped into each other."
"And he just wanted to talk? To you? After all of the shitty, horrible things he's done to us?" Sam shook her head. "Seriously, Harper. You can tell us if he was being an ass to you. We'll deal with it."
"Thanks but nothing happened. I swear. I kinda tripped and he made sure I didn't fall." As soon as the words were out, she mentally kicked herself. Why she told them that, she didn't know. And now Sam and Demetri were looking at her like that and she had to make it look like it wasn't a big deal.
"Eli helped you?" Demetri asked, disbelief written all over his face.
"Yeah, I know. Weird right?" Harper asked while trying to appear as surprised as they were.
"Very," Sam agreed though she sounded as if she didn't buy her answers. Thankfully, she dropped the subject after making one more comment on how Hawk but specifically Cobra Kai was up to something.
A half hour later, they were seated outside a small restaurant just across the street from the park. Their food was laid out on the table, growing cold as they were too busy talking and enjoying each other's company.
"Where's Robby? I thought he was coming with us," She asked, noticing they were missing one from their group.
"He's actually with his mom. She showed up at our house this morning," Sam said.
"Wait, are you serious? That's great!" Harper said though wondered if it was. From what she'd heard, his mom had left him alone while she went off with some guy she'd just met. And it hadn't been the first or even the third time. "It's good news, right?"
"I think so, yeah. He was obviously really surprised to see her but I think he's happy that she came back. You know, that she came back to try to make things right after everything."
"So I'm guessing he's moving back in with her?" Demetri asked, staring down at the chipped table.
Harper watched Sam with bated breath, wondering the same thing. Because as great as it was that Robby was getting another chance with his mom, some part of her (a selfish part) worried that he'd leave. That their already small group would get even smaller.
"No. His mom's actually checking herself into rehab to get better. And I'm guessing she'll be away for a while. She asked my parents if it was okay if he stays with us until she gets out," Sam explained.
Demetri smiled at the answer, a look of relief crossing his face probably for the same reasons as Harper.
"Is Robby okay with this? I mean, I'm glad she wants to get better but leaving again seems so... I don't know," Harper said with a shrug.
"Yeah, which is why he's spending the day with her. But I think he's happy that she's willing to get help. That she's doing this for herself and not just for him," Sam said.
Harper was happy to hear that. His relationship with his mom was difficult but even when he talked about the shitty things she pulled, it was obvious that they were close. Or as close as they could be given the circumstances. But any effort was good and, at the end of the day, that's what mattered. That Robby had someone who was fighting for him.
After a few minutes of talking about nothing in particular, the three of them decided to get some coffee and walk around. Needing that extra caffeine, Harper eagerly agreed even though they found themselves back in the park. They set off in search of a coffee vendor while she pleaded with the universe to not bump into him again.
The main area of the park, which was also the busiest, was known to have food, coffee and dessert stands. As they came upon that area, they weren't disappointed. The lines weren't too long and soon they each held their drink of choice.
Harper happily sipped her iced coffee. It was her second cup of the day but the buzz from her first drink was long gone. She walked side by side with her friends, smiling at the banter between them as Demetri argued how his karate skills were still at zero percent while Sam insisted that he just needed to believe in himself more.
"Harper, tell him not to give up!" Sam said.
"Don't give up," Harper said to which Sam rolled her eyes.
"Very helpful," Sam muttered before looking toward Demetri. "Stop wanting to quit. You've been doing this for like over two months and you'll-"
"Exactly! I've been doing this for months and still can't get the basics down. I don't know, you guys, it's just hopeless at this point," Demetri said with a defeated sigh.
Harper listened to the argument for a few more minutes while throwing a few encouraging words at Demetri. She doubted that he'd quit considering he'd been quitting for months now. At the same time, she wished she could help him somehow without giving away her secret. Because once she started to give him pointers, it would be obvious that she knew what she was talking about. And with her fight and breakup with Hawk to the looming karate war that Kreese threatened them with, it felt like it would be too much to handle.
So she kept quiet.
They circled the park and their conversations changed topics about a dozen times. Some were about karate, others about a new show that would be premiering in the fall. Nothing important but entertaining at the same time. Harper listened to them talk, zoning out when her phone pinged with a text. Her heart beat faster as she hesitated on whether to check who it was from. Telling herself it could be her foster family, she threw a cautious look at the screen only to frown at the name.
Hawk. Again.
Harper quickly deleted the message without glancing at it and put her phone away. In that short time, the topic had changed entirely and now Sam was looking at her expectantly.
"Sorry. What?" Harper asked.
"Who texted you?" Demetri asked instead, noticing the look of panic on her face.
"It's...." Harper paused when she knew she'd have to lie. Again. "Cole. He just replied to a text I sent him earlier." Eager to change the topic to something else, she asked, "So what did you ask me before?"
"Oh, right. Moon's party is coming up in a few days," Sam explained excitedly.
Harper nodded, not entirely sure what the question was.
Sam tilted her head at the lack of response or reaction. "You're still coming, right?"
When she agreed to that, she didn't know. "I don't... it's not really my thing," Harper said with a shrug, hoping to convey how much she really didn't want to go.
"But you have to come! You said you'd be there when she asked. Come on, Harper, it'll be fun. Her end of summer parties are amazing. Everyone we know will be there-"
"Like everyone from Cobra Kai?" Demetri asked hesitantly, and Harper was thankful that she didn't have to voice that question.
But Sam quickly shook her head. "Moon promised they wouldn't be there. It'll just be us and a few other people. So are you coming or do I have to drag you there?"
Harper laughed. Rather than answer, she looked at Demetri. "If you go, I'll go."
"I don't know," he said slowly. "I haven't been to a party since like second grade ever since I fell face forward in the birthday cake. I had cake and frosting everywhere. Every time I blew my nose or sneezed for the next month, cake came out. But I'll go if you go."
Harper narrowed her eyes at her comment being thrown back at her. "Will Robby be there?" She asked instead, taking the last few sips of her coffee which was mainly melted ice that lightly resembled coffee.
"He doesn't know it but yeah, he'll be there," Sam said with a grin.
Harper took a deep breath and let it out. The hopeful look Sam wore had her nodding in agreement before she could fully think this over. "Yeah. Okay, I'll go." She laughed at the happy squeal Sam let out.
Looping her arms through both Harper and Demetri, Sam continued their walk through the park. She talked about the previous parties that Moon held and how she couldn't wait for the one coming up in just a few days. Harper listened but couldn't help but feel a little anxious over having agreed to go. She didn't do well at parties or around huge crowds of people but she hoped this would be different. She told herself it would be because she'd be there with friends so most likely she wouldn't end up in a corner having a forced conversation with someone she didn't know.
It'll be fun, she told herself.
"So should I bring board games or something? I have a whole closet full of them," Demetri said, the idea of the party seeming to grow on him. But perhaps that was because Harper agreed to go, too.
** This chapter is a bit on the shorter side but I still hope you guys like it! Please continue to leave comments, votes, etc. because I like hearing your thoughts and ideas! **