Chapter Fifteen: Illicit

"You've got your demons and, darlin', they all look like me. 'Cause we had a beautiful magic love there. What a sad beautiful tragic love affair"

~Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift~

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Revised: July 8, 2022

Warnings: abuse, domestic violence, sexual harassment/assault, language, violence, and other mature themes

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Zion's POV

I make it to the boardwalk near the arcade where Robby said we should meet. I look around for him and finally see him over by the skee ball.

I walk over and he turns to me with a smile, "Hey, Zion. How are you?"

His arms are open - almost for a hug - but I make it clear that I'm not interested in that. He shifts away in embarrassment.

"I'm doing pretty well. How's your shoulder?" I ask nervously.

"Better. I was able to take the sling off today," he says with a small smile.

"That's good," I share his smile. "Also, I actually don't go by Zion anymore. It's just 'Z.'"

He looks at me, intrigued. "New name, new hair, new friends. A lot must have changed since the last time we saw each other."

I nod. That's an understatement. "Yeah let's hope we can catch up for the most part tonight. A lot has been going on and I'm sure it has for you, too."

"Yeah. Learning karate is new for both of us, I suppose. But I'm in the same situation with my mom not really being home and my dad being MIA in my life. Although, he seems pretty happy with the new one he's made for himself," he reveals a little bit about his dad.

I wonder if he's had contact with him since the last time I saw him because Robby would never really talk about his dad, except for the fact that he left and wanted nothing to do with him. I should be thankful because my dad and I got some bonding time and even Janice stuck around through the hard stuff, no matter how shit she is. I can't imagine what it's like. As far as I know, Robby's dad wasn't even at his birth.

"I'm sorry you're still in that situation. I actually ended up moving out of my mom's house recently."

He perks up at this. "You did? Where do you live now?"

I sigh. "It's a long story, but I ended up at Hawk's and so I've been staying there for the majority of the school year and probably this summer and his parents have been great about keeping me well-fed and everything and it's just worked great so far."

"So you just stay there? At Hawk's house? The guy who hurt me at All Valley?"

"In a guest room. I'm really sorry about what he did. He doesn't like it when people insult his mohawk because it's kind of his trademark and then he was jealous of us talking during my fight with you and it was just a mess," I ramble. 

"So you're defending him?" Robby asks.

"Well, he is my boyfriend and it's kind of justified that he would defend himself when you said that stuff."

Robby scoffs. "I can't believe you could be with him. You know there are two sides to every story, right? Did you know he was trash talking me first? And, your sensei was teaching him and that Miguel kid to fight dirty and that's the reason I lost. I could have won that."

"Maybe their tactics were a little unorthodox, but we did win and beat you for a reason. Miguel was better in that moment," I tried to compromise without being unloyal to my dojo.

Robby and I sit in silence for a moment. I hate being angry with him; he was the person who always made me smile last summer.

"I really didn't want to come and fight about this. I wanted to catch up with you and maybe the best way of doing that is to just put karate aside for the night. Talk about other things. Like, if you still skateboard?" I float an idea and he rolls with the topic change easily.

"Are you kidding me?" he asks me and I look over to see him pick up his skateboard. No doubt he rode it here. "Do you remember how to ride it?"

"I haven't ridden a skateboard since last summer." We both stand in silence, remembering that day.

Flashback begin.

"Just stand on the board and get a feel for it."

I take a deep breath for confidence before trusting Robby and stepping onto the skateboard. It wobbles slightly and Robby immediately places his hand on my lower back to stabilize me.

"So, this is how you teach me?" I turn to him with a smile as his grip tightens on my waist.

"No, I'm just helping-"

"I much prefer this," I reach over and pull him in for a kiss, savoring the taste of his lips.

"Agreed," he smirks when we pull away.

"Good," I step off the board and take his hand to lead him away.

"Nice try," he pulls me back towards the park. "You can do this, Zion."

"You could be a good teacher at other things, I'm sure," I say flirtatiously, really trying to get out of this.

"Don't you trust me?" he asks softly, pushing some hair behind my ear as we face each other.

"We're not in Aladdin," I joke and he pulls me close for a kiss. 

Flashback end.

It was awful because we decided that we couldn't hang out anymore. It was due to him being too far away to continue to come up to where I live and me not wanting to leave town in case my dad needed me. At that point my dad was super sick in the hospital and Robby probably had visited a few times.

He even met my dad, but we weren't anything serious and were even questioning if we were more than friends. It was just supposed to be a fling for a month and I guess we knew that going in, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt when the day came that Robby had to head back to Reseda.

"Well, you're getting a refresher course. Let's go somewhere where there aren't as many people," Robby suggests.

"You mean somewhere where there are less people for me to humiliate myself in front of and/or run over."

"Yeah, that too," he chuckles.

I roll my eyes and run with him to a neighboring parking lot where there are not many cars. He shows me an example and I try to copy it, but fail miserably as I get scared the second the wheels start moving.

I laugh, embarrassed. I'm glad nobody from Cobra Kai is here to see this because I'm supposed to be badass and fearless and right now I am anything but. Robby comes over and helps me, grabbing my wrist and helping me back onto the skateboard.

"Just put both of your feet up on the board and trust me." I sigh, grabbing onto his arm for stability and he starts to walk so the skateboard rolls with me. I feel myself wobble and he stops, "Think about karate. You have to stabilize your base. Think about that and find your center of gravity. You can do this. Just relax and have fun with it because skateboarding is all about having fun."

I nod as he tries again and tells me to push my foot on the ground to propel myself forward. I try that and it ends up working well. Robby helps me go a little bit faster.

"I'm going to let you go. Okay?" I look at him and he nods, giving me reassurance I skate forward and he lets go of my arms.

I find my balance like I had that one day at the junkyard when I was crossing the beam. It all comes back to me as I continue to go forward. Then I let the skateboard roll to a stop as Robby runs after me and catches up. He claps as I laugh.

"That was awesome," I admit.

"Wasn't it? You did much better than the last time you tried to skateboard," he reminds me of when I tried at the skatepark near my old house when I wiped out and completely scuffed up my elbows on the concrete because I was dumb enough to not wear any pads.

"I'd say. I didn't draw any blood this time," I smile.

"Well that's a good sign. Now, let's show you your next part of training."

I raise my eyebrows as he gets on his skateboard and skates forward and then does some weird trick where the board flips as he jumps and then lands back on it perfectly. I stare an amazement and he turns back to me.

"There's no way I can do that," I insist.

He laughs, "Okay, maybe you're not quite ready for that, but you will be eventually. You just need some more training with me."

I smile at the idea of meeting up with him again.

"Are you hungry?" he asks me and I nod, realizing I haven't eaten since Applebee's earlier that day. "The good news is there is a lot of food here at the boardwalk. I don't know if you've been down here since you moved."

"I haven't been to the boardwalk; I came with Hawk to the beach twice now and it was very empty and not lit up at all and completely different than this," I explain. The guilt of not telling Hawk hits me again. He'd love to come to the boardwalk.

Robby nods, tense at the mention of Hawk. I just don't understand why they hate each other so much. I guess it's a wingman thing on behalf of Hawk to Miguel. And, Robby seems to have it out for Cobra Kai for some reason.

"Well, now you get the full experience," Robby tells me as we walk the boardwalk and pass a place that sells fries, a place that sells carnival food like pretzels and cotton candy and chocolate, a taffy place, and then a place that sells chicken on a stick. "What interests you? " he goes back to the subject of food and I sigh, looking around and everything.

I decide chicken is the most nutritious and filling out of all of them and we both walk up to the stand to order two chicken on sticks. Robbie goes to pay for mine, but I assure him I can pay for myself off of my mom's credit card.

When we get our chicken back, we sit down on a bench on the boardwalk and he brings up pretzels.

"Do you remember that one day we were hanging out with Jess, Katie, Brian, and Reid and it was just all of us having a fun time and then when we went to get a pretzel?" Robby asks. "And then there was that weird clown guy in front of us who kept asking for a pretzel with honey mustard and he would just keep repeating it and repeating it and it was so creepy but hilarious at the same time?" I laugh at the memory,

"Yeah! And I remember he would turn around and look at us and we would have to pretend we weren't watching the insanity. He was so loud, like how could you not pay attention to him when he's in a rainbow wig with makeup and giant clown shoes?" Robby laughs with me.

"And then Katie got all freaked out and made us leave before we could get our pretzels," he points out.

"Poor Katie always had that irrational fear of clowns," I say sympathetically. 

Robby turns to me with a smirk, "At least it isn't as bad as a fear of ladybugs." I gasp.

"I do not have fear of ladybugs!" I exclaim.

"Yes you do. I remember we were outside the hospital waiting for your mom and a ladybug landed on me and you freaked out. I tried to assure you that it was good luck because ladybugs are good luck, but you were screaming at the top of your lungs and your mom thought there was some kind of emergency," he laughs in amusement.

"I was not that bad! They're creepy with the red and black dots and how they fly and their wings are weird and there's something they aren't telling us. I can almost promise they're poisonous." He laughs and I slap his arm. "It's not funny, Robby Swayze Keene."

He rolls his eyes, "Oh, yeah, great. I totally forgot that I told you my middle name."

"Swayze," I tease him and he slaps my arm back.

"Quit it," he smiles and I smile, too, taking a big bite of my chicken.

"I'm thirsty. I'm going to go get a water. Do you want something?"

Robby nods that he does, "Sure. Can you get me a water too?" I nod and walk up to another stand. I'm about to get in line when I realized Bert is here. I don't know why, but he is and I see him with some of his other friends in his grade and I turn around, running back over to Robby. "What? Where they all out?" I shake my head,

"It's just... There's someone from my dojo over there and I don't want them to see me here because nobody really knows I'm here with you besides Aisha," I explain.

Robby looks at me in question, "You didn't tell anybody you came here tonight?"

I shake my head and he sighs in disappointment.

"Hey, you can't be mad at me. I wouldn't have been able to come if I told anybody. Hawk and Miguel would've freaked out," I remind him.

"I just wish you didn't have to hide this from them. I wish you had better friends and a better boyfriend," he mutters and I roll my eyes. 

"I'm sorry, but Hawk is here to stay," I tell him and his eyes meet mine.

He looks at me glumly and I get lost in his eyes and I realize how much I had missed Robby. It just feels so amazing to talk to him because it's literally me talking to an old friend and everything is just coming back together perfectly. He knows the real me, as one of few people who do. I try to avoid the fact that I'm falling back into these old feelings and tell myself that I'm just being crazy.

But, Robby gives me a kind smile and instead of saying something bad about Hawk, he says, "I'm glad he makes you happy. That's all I could want for you. You're a great girl and you deserve someone great."

I blush and finish my chicken. I suddenly get very awkward, which is not something that happens for me a lot. He finishes his chicken in silence and then we stand up together to walk down the boardwalk. I decide to ask a question I'm scared to ask, but I'm curious about.

"So, are you and Sam dating?" I ask and Robby looks at me with his eyes wide.

"No, no, we're just friends," he says.

I guess it's good that now Miguel has a chance to get back with Sam. It's definitely good that she wasn't cheating on him like Miguel assumed. My best friend can be happy if he wants to be, even if it's Sam. She was very sneaky with him and she wasn't nice to Hawk before he became Hawk. I just don't care for her.

"Why?" Robby asks.

"I don't know. You came to the party that one day together and I was just curious... I'm kind of glad you're not with her. And not because I'm jealous at all," I make that very clear and he nods.

"Of course not."

"Seriously. It's just that she bullied Hawk before he got the haircut because he has a facial deformity. And I don't know if she directly bullied him, but she hung out with the girls who made his life hell and she bullied Aisha, too. I'm just glad she's not the kind of girl you're around," I explained and Robby furrows his eyebrows,

"Sam bullied Hawk? Sam really isn't that bad. She's really sweet and nice and I think you could be good friends with her," he says and I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know if I could ever be friends with her."

He nods in understanding and another awkward silence falls between us. God, I hate this.

"Do you want to go down to the water?" he asks me and I nod.

We walk off the boardwalk and into the sand, as I take off my shoes and feel millions of grains of sand go between my toes. Robby takes off his shoes, too, and we walk down to the water.

I remember the first time Robby and I met on the beach at that party. I remember when we ran on the sand and I fell, so he came to my rescue.

I remember my first kiss with Hawk being on this beach. I remember the way that kiss felt - like fireworks.

"You know, I'm really glad we could reconnect. I hated when we lost touch and completely stopped talking because you were important in keeping me sane during those tough times with my dad and his health," I keep the conversation going.

"I'm sad we stopped talking, too. I have to admit I missed you and I ended up falling back into the wrong crowd, stealing and stuff like that. I had some bad friends for a while there," he explains.

"I'm sorry that happened." I remember Trey and Cruz and the boys he stayed with. "I think I found some good friends here and I hope you find some new friends."

"Well, I have you for now," he smiles. "And Sam, I suppose. You guys are some pretty good friends to have."

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After another hour or so of walking the boardwalk, Robby and I begin to part ways.

"Do you need a ride?" I asked him and he shakes his head.

"I can ride my skateboard home. You don't have to worry about that," he says.

"That's not safe; I don't mind at all. Come on," I tell him and he gets into the car with me.

I follow his directions to his house as we continue to talk about old memories. A blast from the past is very nice and he brings out old memories that I totally forgot about. And then I bring up something that he forgot and we laugh. 

"Do you still talk to Jess?" he asks me, bringing up my girl best friend and ex-girlfriend.

"Not a bunch. We did when I first moved, but we both started school and things got complicated. But we're always here for each other if we need anything," I explain. Jess was my first relationship, then I dated my first boyfriend who I lost my virginity to, and then came my summer thing with Robby, and now Hawk.

"That's nice. To have someone to talk to," he says.

"What about you? Do you talk to the group anymore?" I ask.

"No, we all lost touch."

When I make it to his house, it looks just about as bad as my apartment complex did when I lived with Janice. I feel kind of bad for him.

"Thank you for the ride, " Robby says.

"Anytime," I say and we meet each other's eyes for a moment, our faces dangerously close...

and then I turn away, remembering that I'm loyal to Hawk and whatever I'm feeling right now is temporary and I can't risk anything. I'm caught up in the past and while this was nice, it isn't what I want now.

Robby clears his throat as he gets out and says another quiet thank you. I feel badly, but I remember that loyalty is very important and I can't turn my back on Hawk. Especially because Hawk and I have something special. There's no way I have real feelings for Robby again.

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I make it back to the Moskowitz household. Hawk is on the couch downstairs watching TV and his mom's car isn't home. I make it over to sit with him, his face lighting up when he sees me.

"How was it?" he asks.

"It was fun."

"I'm glad. You deserved a night away."

I pull him in for a kiss. His hands move to hold me as I wrap mine behind his neck and hold him firmly. When he pulls away for air, he looks at me in confusion.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know," I say and he looks even more confused and skeptical. "Okay... I noticed something tonight."

"Yeah? What's that?" he asks. 

"I love you," I say. It rolls off my tongue easily, like I should have said it before. Hawk is taken aback and I wonder if I said the wrong thing and he doesn't feel the same way. I've only said I love you in two of my three relationships and I think this is the first time I truly mean it in a romantic sense. I scan his face for a sign of what he thinks.

"I-I love you, too," he says sweetly. He only stutters because he says it softly, a bit of Eli peeking through. It's adorable. "I mean, I love you, too," he says more confidently and I beam. "You mean everything to me, Z. You're everything I never thought I'd get; I have everything my past self would have never dreamed of. And it's all possible because of you." I blush as he gives me a passionate and tender kiss. 

"It's all because of you I'm here, too. You helped me by giving me strength and inspiration to leave my mom. You're helping me grow as a person and I truly know what love is now," I say. "I wouldn't change anything about right here and right now. Because you make everything perfect."

Everything I'm saying is so cliche, but it's crazy because this is exactly how I feel. I feel like I'm one of those girls in those lame romcoms, but I'm not even mad about it. Hawk is everything I want and need.

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The next day, we have karate, but Hawk had the great idea of getting ice cream and then riding scooters to Cobra Kai today. Of course, Miguel wanted in and third-wheeled, not that I minded at all. Now, we ride the scooters to the front of the strip mall and park them. 

"All right, so I get my license next week. My mom's gonna give me her Sentra. I think I'll put a blue racing stripe down the middle, hood to tail," Hawk says.

"Subtle, I like it," Miguel says and I laugh with him. 

"What do you think?" Hawk asks and I meet his eyes.

"I think it's a great idea. We can use that temporary stuff they use to write on cars and write something like 'Cobra Kai Never Dies,'" I say and he nods.

"I like the way you think, Z," Hawk says and then looks ahead. Some new people are outside the dojo, our age. I scan for girls, not seeing any. Damnit. 

"Looks like we got some new students," Miguel says and I nod.

"Fresh fish," Hawk says as we walk forward. Two of the guys closest to the door turn to us and the look they give us makes me feel like a celebrity.

"It's the champs," the one says with a smile. I feel powerful.

"Check this out," Hawk whispers and I know he's going to mess with them.

"Don't," Miguel says as we walk up and Hawk ignores him.

"Hey, mouth-breathers, move it," Hawk says.

"Sorry about that," the one says and instantly moves.

I smile and the other one grabs the door handle, "I'll get the door."

Hawk, Miguel, and I stop to look at them. I can tell I like these guys already because they show the same respect for me as they do for the boys. I really appreciate that.

"So, you guys wanna be Cobra Kai, huh?" Hawk asks. Hawk lunges forward, ready to punch and they both flinch in fear. "You got a long road ahead of you."

I smile, remembering when Hawk and I were new to this. So much has changed since then already. I give the two a welcoming smirk as we enter the dojo. Everyone is already in their gis, I notice. I should go change.

Then we walk by a burnt wall where the mirror was. Well, the whole corner of the dojo is burnt. It's a mess.

"What the hell happened here?" Miguel asks Aisha as she walks over to us.

"Looks like Sensei threw a party," Aisha says.

"Must've been pretty sick if fire got involved," Hawk states.

We set down our things and move to the mats with the rest of the Cobras.

"You guys had a fun girls' night, right?" Hawk asks Aisha and me.

"What girls' night?" Miguel asks and I look to Aisha for help.

"Aisha and I had a girls' night," I say. Aisha nods, her face a little panicked and I pray she won't tell what I really did. It's not like I cheated. Of course I feel awful about lying, but Hawk is the one I love, anyway.

"It was a bunch of fun," she says and I smile.

"QUIET!" Sensei yells as he walks out of his office. "The dojo's closed to new students today." 

"We just wanted to sign up after we saw the tournament," the one guy from outside says.

"Do I need to say it again?" Sensei asks.

"Yes, sir... Sensei!" the other boy says. "Come on, let's go." They begin to walk out and I'm confused as to why Sensei is turning away business.

"Let's go, move it. Come back tomorrow. And bring your checkbooks," he says. "Everyone fall in!"

"Must have been a rager, Sensei," Hawk says.

"Were you celebrating all weekend?" I ask.

"Celebrating what? My students are a bunch of pussies," Sensei says and I look in confusion, meeting Hawk and Miguel's eyes for why he would say that. "Diaz, Hawk, up front." I watch as they move to the front of the class, facing us. Sensei is mad and I don't know why. "Hawk. Did you attack your opponent when his back was turned?" 

"Yes, Sensei?" Hawk asks, confused as I am.

"Diaz, did you purposely attack your opponent's injury?" Sensei asks Miguel.

"Yes, Sensei," Miguel admits.

"You think that makes you badass?" he asks quietly. Hawk and Miguel exchange a look of confusion. "What's the matter, too tough of a question? Maybe you need some help." Sensei turns to me and I tense. "Z!" 

"Yes, Sensei," I say strongly.

"Two cobras in the jungle. One kills the strongest lion, the other kills a crippled money," Sensei says and I wonder what he means. "Which cobra do you wanna be?"

"The... one that kills the lion," I say like it's obvious.

"And why is that?" Sensei asks me.

"Because it killed a stronger animal," I admit, realizing he's mad at Hawk and Miguel for what they did to Robby. I have to say I agree, but he taught us no mercy and now he's just changing it around. This is what we were taught. Eat or be eaten.

"Correct!" he yells and Hawk and Miguel looks worried because they're in trouble. "Cobra Kai is about being badass. And the baddest badass if the one who beats his opponent when he's at his strongest. Not when his back is turned," he yells in Hawk's face, "not when he's injured!" He gets right up in Miguel's face. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei." We all respond.

"That means no more cheating. No more fighting dirty." Why is he changing what he told us? "From here on out, those are pussy moves and you don't wanna be pussies, do you?"

"No, Sensei."

"Good. It's why I had you wear your white belts. We're staring over. Z, go get changed," he looks at me angrily as I rush out of my formation and grab my bag. "Diaz, Hawk, fifty pushups on your knuckles. Miss Robinson, warm them up." I stare in shock that they have to do that as punishment, but I hurry to the bathroom before Sensei yells at me again. I got off easy compared to my boyfriend and best friend. 

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After class, Miguel tells us what Sensei told him when he went to ask about the sudden change of heart about the "no mercy" lesson. He wants us to be the best we can be and he's also still learning, so we just need to trust him and the process.

Sensei also told us to watch some movie called Over the Top, so Hawk suggested his place since his mom is probably working late tonight again. I'm a bit sad it's taking away from our time together, but everyone seems excited for it.

I walk out of the dojo with Hawk, his arm wrapped around my waist. I look over to see Aisha talking to Sam LaRusso. I don't even think she really knows me, but I don't like her and her privileged, rich ass. She made fun of Hawk and hurt Miguel. I don't care if she stood up for me that one time; I don't trust her or her family, and she seems selfish. He's better off without her. I just hate that Aisha and Robby are trusting her.

"So, are you still pissed at Sensei even after what Miguel told us?" I ask, the look on his face still angry.

"I still don't get why we were wrong for beating up Robby Keene," Hawk says.

"It was an illegal move," I say.

"Screw that. Miguel's was a legal move. Winning is winning," he says.

I reach up and kiss him deeply. We hold our kiss for about twenty seconds before I pull away.

"Feel better?" I ask, hoping that it calmed him down.

"Hell yeah. You're amazing," he says.

"No, you are the amazing one. I'm so lucky to have you," I say, thinking about how I don't deserve such a great guy.

"Ready to go?" Miguel walks out and I nod, as I volunteered to give him a ride.

"Shotgun," Hawk says and Miguel groans.

"Damn. You always win at that," Miguel complains.

"Come on, you two," I say with a laugh.

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A/N: Any Season 3 predictions? The trailer came out and I'm so excited, despite no official date of the release being publicized. They had January 8 and now it isn't there anymore :(

Also, I thought this was a cute moment for Zion to choose between Hawk and Robby a little. Do you think this is the end of Zion and Robby?