XXIV.                                            Heartbreak Weather

      She felt like a complete failure. Like a horrible person. Since that night in his room, Odessa couldn't find the courage to talk to Robby. Whenever she tried picking up her phone and clicking his name, her heart would jerk her away. She left early that morning, leaving the sleeping boy alone. She was confused. Her heart was pulling her in two different directions. It belonged to Eli. He was her first love. What they had was something no one could replace. But Eli wasn't Eli anymore. He was Hawk. He was in far to deep to come back to who he once way and Odessa really did like Robby.

She hated being a teenage girl.

When she walked into the dojo that morning, she was forced to spot Eli out of everyone in the room. His back was facing her as he talked to Miguel. She quickly walked away before he saw her. She sat on the mat with Tory and Hailey to stretch. Seeing the nerves plastered on her face, Hailey narrowed her eyes. "Why do you look like that?" She blurted out.

Odessa titled her head. "Like what?"

"Like your going to explode."

Tory nodded her head, noticing it as well. "You like you've just seen someone get murdered."

Grayson plopped down beside her, scaring her a little. "I mean, you're beautiful as always but yeah, you look like you walked in on a murder scene." He agreed with them.

"I'm fine. Totally fine. Absolutely," the girl stammered and gave them a nervous thumbs up.

The three still weren't convinced.

She felt a certain pair of eyes on her and the nerves in her stomach increased painfully. She looked over her shoulder to see Hawk looking at her with guilt written all over his face. But she didn't look away and that's what shocked him. She hadn't looked him in the eye since the woods. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't point out but at the moment, he didn't care, because she was looking at him. He missed her looking at him.

"Alright everyone, fall in." Johnny announced when he walked out of his office.

Everyone stood from the mat and got in their lines.

"Today we'll be learning once of the most important lessons a Cobra Kai could ever know,"

"Where's Sensei Kreese?" Hawk voiced, not seeing the other Sensei.

"Mr. Kreese will no longer be joining us." Said Johnny.

Odessa took a step back in shock. People started to whisper.

"I made a promise when I became your Sensei. To always look out for your best interest. Despite how hard this may be for all of us, he didn't have our best interest at heart," Johnny continued and his tone was sad. "John Kreese may have founded Cobra Kai but he no longer represents what this dojo stands for. His Cobra Kai was old and outdated. He refused to move forward. What happens when we do that, Mr. Diaz?" He asked Miguel.

"You get stuck like cement." Miguel answered in realization.

Johnny nodded. "Exactly. To be a great fighter, you gotta learn to adapt." He turned to the large bold words on the wall. "This creed on the wall, follow it to the letter, it'll make you strong. It'll make you formidable. It will also make you an asshole." He immediately looked at Hawk. "Cause that just black paint on a white wall. But life's not black and white. More often that not, it's grey. You make mistakes, you act out, you say things you don't mean,"

Hawk looked at his shoes and felt guilty.

"You lose the sight of those who care and love for you. And it's in those grey areas where Johnny Lawrence's Cobra Kai. . . sometimes shows mercy."

Odessa smiled at the man. She was proud of him."

"Doesn't mean you can't be badass. It's still a requirement. But you have to learn to think, not just with your gut, or with your fist, but to really use this," Johnny continued and tapped the side of his head. "Which leads me to today's lesson." The man turned around and picked up a piece of wood. He broke it over his head. "Head butting." The class started chuckling. "Dess, I want you with Eli."

Odessa jerked her head forward, her eyes narrowed. Eli looked nervous. "S-Sensei, I don't want to hurt her." He stuttered.

She scoffed. "Yeah, too late for that."

The class ohed. He gave her a look.

She stood tall. "Don't worry, Sensei. I can take it. His head's as hard as his ego." She said bitterly.

"Oh god, this isn't going to end well." Miguel muttered and shook his head.

The sound of heads butting together made Odessa's teeth hurt. She stood in front of Hawk and she felt her hands start to clam up. "Don't worry, Butterfly. I'll go easy." He said with a cocky smirk.

She gave him a mocking stare. "No need." she replied and head butted him hard.

Eli stumbled back and held his head in pain. "Holy shit, that seemed really personal."

"Really? Where'd you that idea from?" She said sarcastically.

He stood tall in front of her, hesitating.

"Just do it. Don't be pussy."

Hawk got angry and he threw his head forward into hers. Odessa gritted her teeth and hissed in pain. A pulsing ache went through her head but she didn't show it. "That's the best you for?" She spat again.

"Why are you doing this?" Hawk questioned, not understanding her attitude.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe i'm still livid at you for calling me a slut!" She head butted him again.

Everyone around them stopped what they were doing and watched them.

"I didn't call you a slut!" Hawk sneered, throwing his head at her.

She grabbed her throbbing head. "You implied it!"

"I'm sorry, okay? How many times do I have to say i'm sorry?"

"Your apology means nothing to me!"

They went back and forth with each other, their heads hurting to the point they could explode. "Should we stop them?" Grayson uttered.

Hailey held her hand up. "No. No, this needs to happen." She stated.

"What do you want me to say, huh? That i'm an asshole? That i'm sorry I disrespected you and Keene? Guess what, Dess? I'm not sorry because I know there's something going on between you too." Hawk almost yelled and his words spilled like a word vomit.

"So what if there is? It's none of your business!" She snapped and head butted him again.

He ignored the pain in his head and got in her face. "It is my business because you're mine. You'll always be mine and i'll always be yours. No freak like Robby Keene is every going to change that."

"You're wrong about him!"

"How would you know?"

Her mouth gaped open but no words came out. Her heart beat increased. Hawk's cold eyes softened and for a split moment, she saw Eli come back. "No, you didn't. . ." He trailed.

Everyone was watching them. Miguel and Johnny stood at the entrance of the office and watched the interaction, feeling confused. When Hailey put two and two together, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

Odessa's eyes filled with tears as she watched the boy in front of her crumble. "You did, didn't you?" He asked angrily but also sadly.

"Eli—" She was cut off by him storming out of the dojo. She followed him quickly. "Eli, wait!"

When they got outside, he stared pacing back and forth. "You slept with him!" He threw at her.

"It was an impulsive decision. You can't say anything. We're not together!" She shouted at him.

"We haven't even been broken up for a week, Odessa!" His tone made her flinch.

"I'm sorry!"

He pointed at her. "No, you don't get to do that. You say my apology means nothing? Your apology means nothing to me."

He walked away, storming off, and she watched him with sad eyes. "You're going to treat me like the bad guy when all of this is your fault in the first place?" She shouted with a broken voice.

Eli paused him his step with his back still turned to her. Odessa could see his shoulder slump and he continued walking away. A loud sob came her lips. She raised a shaky hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt somes grab her shoulders and pull her into them. Odessa stood there crying with Hailey rubbing her back.

Oliver would always be on her side. He was her best friend. They were brother and sister. He's seen her at her lowest and he was still always there for her. At a time like this, Odessa needed him the most. He stood on the other side of her bedroom door and knocked on it. "Can I come in?"

Odessa laid in her bed when she heard his voice. She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Like you'd leave if I said no," she said loud enough for him to hear.

Oliver grinned and entered the room. "You know me so well." He shut the door behind him and raised two bags in his hands. "Okay, so I brought brownie ice cream, two unusually large spoons, and Love, Rosie, Pretty Woman, and Five Feet Apart on dvd. I know you have them on your tv but they use dvd's in the
movies—Also why is your head bruised?"

Odessa rubbed her tender head. "Johnny's lesson today was head butting." She sat up and winced when all the pain rushed to the front of her head.

Oliver sighed. "God, I miss that man." He sat on the bed. "So you really slept with Keene? I'm not judging you, he's hot as fuck, but he had his really sad look on his face all day today."

That made the her wince again. "Yes, we did. It was an in the moment thing." She explained.

"Do you like him?"

She shoved a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth. "Of course I do. He's a great guy. Do I regret what happened? No. . ." She hesitated. "Do I regret doing it knowing i'm not completely over someone else? Yes."

Oliver nodded, understanding her. "You're just having teenage girl problems. You and Hawk aren't together so there's no reason to feel guilty about that. And i've been around Robby long enough to know he would understand. No one wants to be in a relationship with someone that's not 100% all in."

Odesa looked at him with narrow eyes. He spoke like he knew the feeling. "Why do you say it like that?"

Oliver went quiet and he termed his spoon in the ice cream tub. He wasn't as loud and crazy as he usually was. There was something weighing on his mind. Odessa watched him carefully. "Asher and I broke up." He uttered.

She gasped. "What? When?"

"It was today. Earlier today. He said he didn't feel like he was ready to be in a relationship right now. He's still having problems with his parents accepting him and he doesn't want me to be in the mix. I told him I understand. I do, really, but it feels like shit." He explained and his eyes flickered to her bed cover.

"Ollie, i'm so sorry," she blonde expressed and wrapped her arms around him. "I feel like i've been so caught up in Cobra Kai and boy drama that I haven't been noticing my best friend."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, Dessi. You can't get rid of me even if you tried. . . But i'm serious. Tell Robby how you feel. Even if Hawk is a complete asshole, you're not over him yet and it's okay. Just don't string Robby along, okay?" He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Good.  Now, come on, I want to sob till i'm dehydrated when Will leaves Stella."