The next day, they were back at Miyagi-Do and Tory and Molly were actually fighting.

Molly was able to not only earn a few points of her own, but she was able to get a couple punches from Tory without feeling that same pit in her stomach.

She still felt that pain in her ribs, but Molly used it for her fighting. Fuel to win this thing. Johnny watched the two girls with proud smiles, his arms crossed over his chest and nodding proudly.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about!" Johnny cheered and Molly smiled to herself as she threw another punch at Tory. Her smile grew even wider when that punch actually landed on the blonde's side.

"Hey, everybody. Gather around! The announcement just came out!" Hawk suddenly yelled, running towards the sparring deck Molly and Tory were fighting on. The two girls hopped off the deck and moved to walk off the mat so they were with the rest of the crowd, but when Molly passed Hawk, he grabbed her hand and pulled to her stand with him.

"All right. Who's ready to find out where we're going for the Sekai Taikai?" Hawk yelled and when all of the teens cheered, he pressed play on the video.

"Congratulations on your admission to the Sekai Takai. We're excited to finally announce the host for this year's competition. Martial Arts has always had a rich history in the East. And the Sekai Taki has held many tournaments throughout Asia."

Molly turned to Chris, who had big smile on his face as he rubbed his hands together, cheering to himself. "Soup dumplings, baby." He muttered just loud enough for Molly to hear it from where she was standing and she giggled.

"But in recent years, European teams have shaken up the competitive landscape, bringing a whole new style to the event. Within that region, there's one nation that has continued to stand tall amongst the pack for its growth and dominance in both junior and senior competitions. It gives me great pleasure to announce this years Sekai Taikai will be held in Barcelona, Spain."

Molly's eyes widened as all of the other teammates started to gasp and cheer. "Sick!" Hawk yelled, looking down to Molly in excitement. Since he was holding the iPad, Eli just nudged his side into Molly's as a way to celebrate, making Molly giggle and lean closer to him to get a better look at Gunther on the iPad.

"As you prepare for your journey, we'll also present the rules of registration. We intend to test your dojo's quality, not quantity, and each dojo must select seven fighters to compete." The man on the screen, Gunther, said and Molly straightened up. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked away from the iPad and to Hawk. He just looked back down to her with furrowed eyebrows, just as confused as her.

"Only seven?" Molly asked, looking to the sea of other kids that looked just as confused as her and Eli. Everyone slowly started to back away from each other, almost as if they didn't trust the people they were standing beside anymore.

"These seven fighters will participate in team events, with one boy and one girl serving as captains to enter into individual competitions, which will be televised around the world. We wish a hearty bona sort to all the competitors, and we look forward to seeing you in Barcelona."

Then, the video ended. The backyard was silent as Hawk turned off the iPad and placed it on the sparring deck behind him.

"What exactly does that mean?" Robby asked as Hawk reached out to grab Molly's hand. Immediately, Molly took it and squeezed tightly, her eyes going back and forth between Miguel and Robby standing in front of her. Miguel looked at Molly for a second before looking at Robby beside him. "It means we don't all get to go."

...

After karate, Molly's mind was racing a mile a minute. She couldn't stop thinking about how only seven people would be able to go and compete in the Sekai Taikai. She was so in her head, she hardly paid attention to the hair dye Eli bought on the way back to his place and his words blurred in her mind as he told her the plan he had for his next mohawk.

So when Eli walked out of his bathroom with an American flag mohawk, Molly somehow felt worse

Eli knew Molly hated it. He could see it in her eyes the second he walked out of the bathroom, but he reassured her that it was only for the competition and once they were back home afterward, he'd dye it a new color. Any color Molly wanted.

Although Molly appreciated the gesture, that didn't stop her from practically jogging ahead of him the next day at karate so they wouldn't walk in together.

The second training started, Daniel and Johnny had everyone partner up. Molly partnered with Devon and Hawk partnered up with Kenny. As soon as everyone was with a partner, they started to spar.

"The Sekai Taikai is coming. It's up to us to pick our seven most badass fighters." Johnny said, walking through the backyard as he watched all of the students partnered up and sparring.

"And there are no easy decisions. We know you all want to go to Barcelona." Daniel continued as Johnny started to walk toward Molly and Devon. A big smile on his face as he watched Molly fight. Watching her notice tremors in Devon's moves so she was able to take her down.

Once Molly earned a point against Devon, striking her in the chest, Johnny's smile grew, proud of Molly and he continued walking. "Some of you think you're shoo-ins, that you're at the top of your game, that nothing or no one can stop you." Johnny said as Kenny won his fight with Hawk. Johnny's eyebrows shot up, something both boys noticed before he continued walking.

"And some of you think you're the underdogs, and you don't know if you have what it takes, and that you feel left out and left behind." Mr. LaRusso spoke as Devon ran towards Molly, throwing handfuls of punches. Molly focused on blocking her upper half and when she noticed Devon prepped to go to the floor, Molly kicked her leg out and swept Devon's feet out from under her.

"But it's a level playing field. Anything can happen." Johnny said as Molly got on her knees and punched Devon in the stomach. Daniel, who was standing a few feet away from the girls, locked eyes with Molly as she stood up, her arm held out to help Devo n stand. Daniel nodded at Molly, making her smile.

"Each and every one of you has a shot. So, as we make our evaluations, do your best." Daniel yelled as he walked away from the girls and towards the sparing deck.

"Now is not the time to puss out." Johnny yelled, meeting Daniel on the deck. The two of them stood on the steps and looked over their students.

"Even though we're competing against each other, we are still one dojo. And it's time to bring out the best in all of us." Daniel said, not wanting any new rivalries to start because only seven students can go.

"So, which of you has what it takes to be in our top seven?" Johnny asked, a big smirk on his face.

...

"There's no shot you two aren't going. Or Miguel, Sam, Robby, Tory..." Demetri listed and Molly held back laughing, but she did roll her eyes. WHen she looked back to Demetri, his eyebrows raised and he sighed. "It's really only that seventh spot up for grabs."

They were at Eli's locker before school started, Demetri and Molly on either side of him. As Hawk closed his locker, Molly walked around her and the second she was by his side again, Eli reached out and grabbed Molly's hand, finding it without even having to look down. With his other hand, Eli playfully punched Demetri's arm.

"Yeah, and it's yours for the taking." He said as they all started to walk down the hall, Hawk in the middle, both him and Molly looking to their right to talk to Demetri. The taller boy sighed, his head dropping low.

"I appreciate the support, but I ran a statistical analysis. And while there is a 15% chance you're right, the smart money is on Kenny." Demetri said before he looked to specifically Hawk and gave him a lopsided smile.

"I mean, he did beat you in that head-to-head. Cheap shot notwithstanding." He quickly added that last part with a raise of his finger when he saw Molly open her mouth to speak up, already knowing what she was going to say. Hawk rolled his eyes, shrugging off Demetri's worries and turning to him with a small smile to go with it.

"And so what? Payne's got power. But so do you." Eli encouraged and Molly instantly nodded her head in agreement. She let go of Eli's hand and walked behind her boyfriend to get to Demetri.

Molly jumped at Demetri, not really going for a piggyback ride, but a playful twist on a hug. "Don't count yourself out, Dem." She giggled and gave him a small but sweet smile.

As she moved to stand side by side with the boys again, Molly wound up in the middle now and when she looked up to Demetri, she felt her heart swell seeing how happy he got from her words. But Demetri couldn't let Eli and Molly's words get to him. He couldn't get too cocky. Demetri shrugged and looked ahead of him.

"I prefer to focus on something actually achievable, getting into MIT." Demetri hummed, looking over Molly, which was a little hard for him to do since the two of them were only an inch apart in height, and to Hawk. "Early Action decisions come out any day now, you know."

Molly turned her head to face her boyfriend and her eyebrows furrowed as she watched Eli's face fall and he looked to the floor guiltily. Eli sighed, licking his lips nervously.

"Yeah, I know." He muttered. Figuring Eli was just nervous about decisions coming out, Demetri shook his head reassuringly, a small smile on his face. "Hey, come on, man. Have no fear. I may not have confidence about becoming a world karate champion, but I know that MIT cannot turn down the Binary Bros."

When they reached the end of the hallway, Demetri started to turn right, leaving Molly and Eli. He looked back at the two of them as he walked away, surprisingly not running into anyone as he walked backwards.

"I'll catch you guys at lunch!" He yelled and Molly waved Demetri goodbye as he headed toward his Econ class. She kept her smile up until her and Eli turned down a new hallway.

She turned to Eli beside her and grabbed his hand again. Molly stopped walking and pulled Eli toward the wall of the hallway so they weren't blocking anyone's path and her face twisted. "What's up with you? You've been really off whenever Demetri brings up MIT."

Molly asked and Eli turned to the floor guiltily. He looked over his and Molly's shoulders, double checking who was in the hallway with them before he leaned closer to Molly. Getting the hint that whatever he was about to say was a secret, Molly stepped closer to Eli, their noses inches away from each other's as Eli sighed.

"I didn't apply to MIT." Eli admitted, his eyes softening as soon as the words left his lips. It felt real saying it out loud.

Molly blinked three times before her eyes doubled in size looking at Eli. "What?" Molly asked in a whisper. Even though Eli just checked down both ends of the hall, Molly's head snapped back and forth, making sure Demetri wasn't around to hear him. Eli struggled to look Molly in the eyes and he fidgeted with his hands.

"After the frat party... I realized there's a whole world out there. I've been thinking about MIT since I was 5, I never even looked at other schools and now that I'm older, there's more things I have to consider now." Hawk admitted, shrugging defensively.

Eli finally looked into Molly's eyes and he finally let himself breathe when his eyes locked with hers. He didn't know how to tell her one of the things that was stopping him from being fully committed to MIT was that it would be so far from Molly. It'd make Molly feel guilty, and he didn't want her to feel guilty about feelings of his own that neither of them could control.

"I just haven't told Demetri yet. I couldn't find the right time to tell him." Eli said, shrugging his shoulders nervously and deciding not to bring up all of the reasons that were stopping him from wanting to go to the East coast. Molly nodded in agreement, understanding where the boy was coming from. Demetri has been talking about it nonstop and the guilt has probably been eating him alive.

"The perfect time will come up." Molly added and Eli nodded, Molly's words not really reaching him. "Yeah..." He muttered.

But then Molly smiled and Eli felt a weight he didn't even notice was there lift off his shoulders. It was a small smile and when she shrugged, her shoulder raised almost to the edge of her ears.

"It's okay if MIT isn't for you. Whatever makes you happy. No one else." Molly told him and Eli looked up at Molly with wide eyes, his entire body relaxing in relief. He stared at Molly as a warm feeling spread through his chest and he felt himself smiling at her.

Without saying anything, Eli wrapped his arms around Molly, pulling her into a tight hug. Molly let out a surprised laugh, the hug catching her by surprise, but she returned it immediately, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you." He murmured into her hair, the words barely audible but Molly could hear him and she smiled into his shoulder.

The bell ringing made the two of them pull away. Molly looked up to the bell, then down the hall to their classroom that was still four rooms down, and then she looked back to Eli. "Shall we?" She asked, a small smile on her face and her elbow playfully out for Eli to link with that made him chuckle.

He leaned in for a quick kiss and when he pulled away, his arm linked with Molly's and they started to walk to their class. "We shall."

emily speaks...
NEW CHAPTER WITH THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER
i adore molly and eli so so much

what will happen????👀(i say this as if there's any way mollys not getting into the sekai taikai😭)

i'm SO excited for part two though so im hoping to get to that soon because the plan i have😼🤭(if you want a sneak peak, you should check out my tiktok. it's the same user as my user on here)

ILL SEE YOU GUYS SOOON!!!