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CHAPTER FIVE
"kicking boards and other shit"
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(esqueleto pt. 2)

THE ANNOYING THING ABOUT karate was that Jules actually kind of liked it. 

She wasn't sure what triggered Johnny to have a change of heart about accepting girls into his dojo, but Jules felt like she was keeping up. She was actually really impressed whenever she watched Miguel train. The boy was good, definitely a step ahead of her. 

 "Okay, so how hard can you kick?" Johnny asked, standing in front of her and holding up a wooden board. Jules shrugged. 

 "It depends." 

 "On what?" 

 "On how mad I am." 

 Miguel laughed from his spot stretching in the corner of the room, and Jules threw him a look over her shoulder. "I'm serious!" 

 "Okay then-" Johnny held the board in front of him, at stomach height. "Picture something that makes you really mad. Use that aggression, and kick the shit out of this board." 

 Jules nodded, curling her hands into fists as she adjusted her stance. She frowned. It was funny, now that she was supposed to get mad, she didn't know what to think about. 

 "Come on, don't be a pussy, kick the board." 

 Okay, well there was that. 

 Jules kicked the board, although her annoyance at Johnny didn't seem to give her the power he wanted to see. "Come on!" The man persisted, "Is that the best you can do?" 

 Jules scowled, kicking the board again. 

 "My grandma can kick harder than that! And she's dead!" 

 "Shut up," The girl grumbled, hitting the board a couple more times. She knew what Johnny was doing, she wasn't an idiot. And it was working. She hated being taunted, it was like the person was just asking to get a cup of hot coffee thrown at them. Here, Jules didn't have coffee... but she did have her goddamn feet. 

 She didn't even realize how high the board was getting until her thighs started to burn. She didn't really know that her leg could physically go up that high, since the girl has never really been flexible. Still, she kicked the damn board again. 

 "Come on!" Johnny urged, as Jules grunted, her breathing picking up. "You kick like a girl!" 

 If there was one thing that pissed her off - it was that. Anger flared in Jules's chest, triggering a scowl to form on her lips as she gritted her teeth, "I am a girl, asshole!" 

 She kicked him again, and whether it was from her anger, or just the insane need to kick this man in the face, Johnny took a small step backward at the force, a wide grin spreading across his face as Jules shook out her legs, cracking her knuckles. "Nice! You're not half bad, Monroe!" 

 Jules couldn't help the smile that slipped onto her lips. Monroe was better than Princess. "Thanks." 

"I wish I could show my mom what I did to those boards." Miguel mused as he tugged on his socks. "But if she knew where I was right now, she would kill me." 

 "My mom would probably laugh," Jules shrugged, tucking her shirt back into her jeans. "She wouldn't believe me even I took her here to show her." 

 Miguel laughed, although the sound was cut short when Johnny walked back into the room. His eyes were glued onto a sheet of paper, his eyebrows pinched together in what could either be confusion or annoyance. Miguel rose an eyebrow, "hey, what's wrong with you?" 

 "Huh? Nothing-" Johnny let his arms drop by his sides, pointing to the two. "Put your costumes on, I'm driving you to the dance. We're gonna pick up more students." 

 Miguel then proceeded to stand up and pull out some sort of costume that Jules was ninety percent sure was a bedsheet at one point or another. As Miguel pulled the mask over his face, Johnny shot Jules an alarmed look as the girl struggled to stifle her laughter. 

"What the hell is that?" 

 "It's my Halloween costume." 

 A laugh slipped past Jules's lips, and Miguel turned to look at her, pointing a finger, his voice slightly muffled from the mask. "Yours isn't any better!" 

 "What are you talking about?" Jules walked over to the front door, picking up her leather jacket and shrugging it on. She turned to Johnny, spreading her arms out and spinning in a circle. The blond shrugged. "Okay, so we have poor man-" he pointed to Miguel, who visibly sighed, "And the youngest drug dealer of the century." 

 The two teens shrugged. The youngest drug dealer of the century was better than some character from Grease. 

 "Well I can't let you go out like that." Johnny pursed his lips, turning to Jules. "Actually, you look pretty badass, it goes with the image we're trying to hold." He whirled around to look at Miguel. "You on the other hand-" 

 Miguel pulled off the mask. "What do you suggest." 

 A somewhat unsettling grin came over Johnny. 

 "Follow me." 

 ***

THE STORY BEHIND THE RELATIONSHIP between Jules Monroe and Sam LaRusso was a complicated one.  

 Before Jules's father died, he worked with Sam's dad, Daniel LaRusso. Because of this, the girls were kind of forced to be friends from a young age. They got along well enough, although they never really clicked in the way that best friends do. When Jules's dad died, they drifted apart. Jules met Demetri, and Sam stuck with Aisha... yeah, that didn't work out apparently, as Sam seemed to have dubbed herself part of the 'hot, rich girl' squad. Jules didn't understand how Sam could be friends with someone like Yasmine, but she wasn't really one to judge. 

 Still, you could understand why it was awkward when they ran into each other at the dance. 

 Jules wasn't sure how it happened, maybe she wasn't looking where she was going, maybe Sam wasn't, all she knew was that one second she was trying to find Demetri, the next she was stepping back to avoid getting splashed by a cup of bright red punch. 

 "Gosh, I'm sorry!" Sam exclaimed, hurriedly putting her cup onto a nearby table and sighing. "I wasn't looking where I was going." 

 Jules smiled awkwardly, nervously tugging at the ends of her hair. "It's fine." 

 The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, Jules thinking that the music was too loud, and praying that Sam's presence wouldn't draw over the rest of her new friends. "Uh, I like your costume!" She had to semi-shout, and Samglanced down, running her hands across the skirt with a sheepish smile. "Thanks. It was Yasmine's idea." 

 "Shocker." 

 Sam giggled somewhat nervously as Jules continued to nervously fiddle with her hair. It was weird, how past friendships can make two people like strangers. 

  "Uh, I'm gonna go find Demetri-" Jules pointed in a random direction, waving at the girl. "Have fun with your friends, Sam." 

 "You too, Lia."

 Jules made a point to ignore the old nickname, turning and trying her best to blend in with the crowd. She spotted Eli due to the bright color of his doctor's costume, and hurried over, accidentally elbowing some dude in a pirate costume, and responding to his "hey!" with a fleeting wave of her hand over her shoulder. 

 "Thank God-" she grabbed onto Demetri's shoulder, her hair already falling loose from her ponytail. "It's like the goddamn Hunger Games out there! I almost tripped like four times!" She adjusted her jacket, crossing her arms. "What are you nerds doing?" 

 "Not asking any girl to dance." Demetri drawled, sighing deeply. "You?" 

 "Currently? Judging you." 

 "Please, I don't see you asking anyone to dance." 

"Do you want to fight about it?" 

 Demetri rolled his eyes as Jules took a dramatic step forward, holding out her hand. "Care to dance?" 

 Eli blinked, glancing nervously at the girls hand. "Uh, I don't know how to." 

 "Well shit, neither do I." Jules grinned, shrugging, "never a better time to learn than the present." 

 Although she couldn't see the majority of his face, Jules could tell that Eli was smiling as he grabbed onto Jules's hand. 

 The dancefloor was absurdly crowded, but since neither of the teens knew how to dance, it really didn't serve as an issue. 

 "-Okay, so you put your hands on my hips-" Jules placed Eli's hand in the proper position, causing the boy to blush. Jules lightly hit his cheek with the back of her hand as she rested her hands on his shoulders. "Don't blush, it's me." 

 "Yeah, well, it's not like I've danced with many girls before." Eli muttered, his quiet voice almost being drowned out by the music. Jules laughed. 

 "Don't worry, Eli, I'm sure you'll break plenty of hearts in your lifetime." 

 "Yeah right." 

 "Oh hush," Jules smiled, "it all starts with self-confidence. I saw your face when Miguel mentioned joining Cobra Kai. You should, it's actually of-" she winced, "-fun." 

 "I don't know." The boy admitted softly, "I probably wouldn't be the best at karate." 

 "I mean, if I can do it, anyone can." 

 The song ended, and Jules patted Eli's shoulders, pulling him into a brief hug. "Thanks for the dance, Eli, you weren't half bad." 

 "Thanks, neither were you." 

 The two laughed, Eli mumbling something about going to the bathroom, before disappearing into the crowd. Jules sighed deeply. She loved Eli, but the poor kid needed something to boost his confidence. He let people walk all over him, and as someone who gets mad enough to kick a board in half whenever she is even remotely taunted, she doesn't realize how he does it. 

And now Demetri and Miguel have disappeared too. Damn, do those guys have to go to the bathroom in groups? 

Jules suddenly felt very exposed. She was standing alone in the middle of a dance crowded with people that she doesn't like. She didn't even have her phone with her to try and make it seem like she had someone to talk too. 

 Her eyes drifted across the gym, coming to a stop at the snack table. A girl was standing there, by herself, looking kind of like she wanted to disappear. Jules exhaled in relief, thanking God that she had someone who she could maybe talk to. The girl has never really been that good with parties... she felt awkward at her own bat mitzvah... she could really feel awkward anywhere. 

 "Hey!" 

 The girl jumped slightly, and Jules mentally cursed herself for coming off as so enthusiastic. She winced, "Sorry. You're Aisha, right? Sam's friend?" 

 "Uh," The girl glanced into the crowd, where Sam was currently dancing around with Yasmine and Moon. "Yeah, I guess so. You must be Jules." 

 "That's me." Jules was careful to dial down the enthusiasm, leaning against the wall as she took in Aisha's costume. "I think I'm too dumb to get your costime." 

 The girl chuckled. "I'm sodium." 

 "Ah, sodium..." she paused, "uh, right before magnesium on the periodic table."  

 Aisha smiled, "yeah, it is." 

 There was a loud dinging sound, and Aisha pulled out her phone. Jules patted her pockets, but then remembered that she was a dumbass and forgot it on her couch. Aisha's face fell, and Jules's eyebrows furrowed. "What is it?" 

 A ripple of laughter spread across the crowd, only piquing Jules's confusion. She leaned over to look at Aisha's phone, and her mouth dropped open. 

 It was a video, presumably taken right before Jules had approached Aisha. There was a pig filter over the girl's face, the bolded words 'the buffet table is under attack!' taking up most of the screen. 

 Jules's lip curled as she lifted her gaze to catch sight of Yasmine, who was snickering to her friends. This entire situation just screamed 'Yasmine', and Jules would be damned if she would let her get away with it.

 Just as she was going to storm over, she was almost knocked over by Demetri. 

 "Holy shit, Jules!" He exclaimed, his voice high pitched and frantic as he grabbed onto her bicep. "Miguel's in the bathroom right now, and I'm pretty sure Kyler's kicking his ass!" 

 "What?" She demanded, more and more anger flaring in her chest at his words. "What happened?" 

 "What do you want me to scientifically explain what went wrong in Kyler's brain the day he was born? I don't know, come on!"

 Jules cast a glance behind her at Aisha, shaking her head slightly. "Hey!" 

 Her head snapped to look at her, and Jules gestured to the table. "Give them something else to focus on." 

 She took off running alongside Demetri, but before she could get far, she reared her leg back and kicked one end of the cheap, folding table as hard as she could. There was a loud crashing sound as the contents of the table crashed to the floor, loud shouts of surprise replacing the previous snickering of the students. 

 "Whoa! What the fuck happened to the table-" She exclaimed half-heartedly, although she was more concerned about Miguel. 

 The three tore through the halls, Demetri tripping over a wet floor sign, and providing an extra complication as Jules and Eli tried to not trip over him.

 Kyler and his Squad of Dickheads were just exiting the bathroom when they got there, and Demetri muttered a quiet "shit", quick to duck behind a corner. 

 Jules, however, was too pissed to hide.

 "Hey asshole!" 

 Her shout caught the attention of the boys, as they stopped their painfully annoying laughter to spin around and look at him. The ringleader smirked as Jules as the girl stalked over, her hands curling into fists. "What the fuck did you do to Miguel?" 

 Kyler chuckled, "we didn't do anything to him."  

 "Yeah?" She glanced at the door, her teeth clenching together. "Tell me, Kyler, why the hell do you feel the need to be such a jackass all of the time?" 

 The boy smirked. "Why do you care about that little shit anyway?" 

 "You didn't answer my question."

 Jules was pissed, but she was also running out of energy to prevent her from beating the shit out of Kyler. She turned to try and push the door open, but a hand on her wrist held her in place. Kyler's voice was low, but Jules knew better than to be intimidated by his tone. "You snitch, you'll regret." 

 She yanked her arm back, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm so scared. Imagine what would happen if Sam found out about all of this."

 The boy took a threatening step forward. "Like she would believe you over me. I'm the boyfriend, you're just last weeks nobody." 

 That was pretty much it for Jules. She took a step back, rearing her leg back and bringing it back forward, hitting the boy in the knee with as much force as she could muster. He cursed, although she couldn't tell if it was from fear of shock. Jules didn't even say anything else, she just turned to shove the door of the bathroom open, running inside. 

 It took her a second to find Miguel, but when she did, she actually dramatically gasped aloud. 

 He was on the ground, seemingly unconscious, blood dripping down his face, the crimson a stark contrast to the white of his facepaint. "Shit, shit, shit-" she muttered, dropping to her knees and tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder. His breathing was coming out in raspy wheezes, and Jules was no doctor: but she was pretty sure that wasn't a good sign. 

 The door of the bathroom swung open, and Jules whirled around, her fists held out protectively in front of her. She relaxed when she realized it was just Johnny, who regarded the scene with wide eyes. 

 "We have to get help." 

A/N:

literally somebody stop me.

i don't know why i am so in to writing this story right now, but it's literally all i want to do. also, someone appreciate how i wrote a nearly 3000 word chapter in one day, like go me! also: how beautiful is odeya??? like, she's so hot i can't- 

i am purposely giving jules and eli such a wholesome relationship, because i like angst, and we all know that it's gonna all fall down when it comes to hawk being the biggest asshole in asshole history. in fact, this chapter plays a key role in a chapter i already have planned out for like... season three. 

please vote and comment to tell me what you think! i love you all, and seeing people vote and comment on this story actually makes me so happy every single time! i love you all!