╔ ——————————————— ╗
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"trust issues"
╚ ——————————————— ╝
(take a right)

TRIGGER WARNING: BRIEF MENTIONS OF PAST ABUSE

"MONROE?" 

Jules didn't even look over at first, just dejectedly leaned her head back against the brick wall, her eyes rimmed red and her chest still heaving. "Fuck off." 

 Johnny scoffed, shaking his head slightly as he crossed his arms and shot her a pointed look. "What happened, did Hot Topic discontinue your favorite grunge t-shirt brand?" 

 "There is so much wrong with that," she exhaled, her gaze still pinned ahead of her as she wiped at her cheeks. If there was one thing that Juliana Monroe hated more than anything in the world, it was the sensation of feeling weak. And she tended to push those kind of emotions to the side whenever she could, but sometimes, they are forced to resurface. 

 Johnny took a seat next to her. "Fine, if you don't tell me I'll just sit here all day and burden you with my presence." 

 Jules snorted lightly, swallowing once and putting a hand on her chest. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, before she finally gained enough courage to speak, her tone as level as her erratic heartbeat would allow. 

 "Do you remember my dad at all?" 

 "Your dad?" The man repeated slowly, his face pinching as he thought. "That was before we knew each other, 'cause you were all rich and shit." 

 "We weren't rich," she defended, "we just had a stable income." 

 "Does this story have a purpose?" 

 Jules steeled her nerves again, gently rubbing her thumb under her eyes. "Well, he was kind of-" her voice trailed off, not really wanting to disrespect her dead father's name, and exhaled sharply, groaning at how hard it was to force the words from her lips. "He wasn't really your model father, if you know what I mean. He got mad at everything I did, he cheated on my mom, and once he-" she clenched her jaw. "He got really mad and... he hit me." 

 Johnny was abnormally silent, so she glanced over to see his face, only to see that he was staring directly at the ground. His fists were clenched, and his entire face was contorted in anger as he shook his head. "That son of a bitch is lucky he's already dead." 

 "Johnny!" Jules chastised, he rose to his feet and turned to face her. 

 "Well what the hell did you want me to say? What did-" he pointed to the dojo, "he do to make you cry?"

"Nothing!" She denied, her chest tightening to the point that it was painful. "Nothing, he just said some stuff that reminded me of it, alright? It's not big deal, I'm just being dramatic-" 

She slowly rose to her feet as Johnny shook his head. "No, Monroe, you're not just being dramatic. I get the whole shitty dad thing, been there, done that... but I don't want you to end up-" his voice partially trailed off at the end, loosing it's angry edge, "like... like me."

 The wind rustled through Jules' hair as she felt her eyes soften. She pursed her lips, shaking her head ever-so slightly. "Yeah, you do suck."

 Johnny snorted as Jules smiled softly to signify that she was kidding. 

 "But still, you're the only person who has ever gotten me to tolerate them after hating them, so-" she shrugged innocently. "How bad can you be?" 

 Johnny furrowed his eyebrows, chuckling slightly. "Thanks, Monroe." He paused, before looking back at the dojo. "But if that old man looks at you the wrong way, tell me, and I'll tell him to go back to whatever coffin he crawled out of." 

 Jules smiled, feeling some of the pressure in her chest dissipate. "Thanks, I'll do that." 

 They stood there in silence, and Jules awkwardly rocked back and forth on her feet. "I feel like we should like, hug now or something." 

 "Three seconds, no one ever hears about it."

 Jules stepped forward, leaning her head on Johnny's shoulder as he carefully wrapped his arms around her middle. She stepped away seconds later, forcing a stoic expression on her face. "If you tell anyone that you saw me cry, I will plant cocaine under your bed and report you to the FDA." 

 "Fine by me, oh-" he tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms. "Do you know what got LaRusso's panties in such a twist? He kept goin' on about 'disrespecting' his Dojo - who would trash Miyagi-Do? It's so boring, there's not even anything to break." 

 Jules sighed deeply, "I don't know, but I could have a list of potential suspects to you by tomorrow." 

 Johnny smiled, "I'm glad you're alright, Monroe."

 "Thanks, Sensei." 

 And, oddly enough, that was all the closure she needed to feel her chest lighten.

 ***

"I'M GONNA KILL THAT old-ass son of a bitch." Jules managed to cough out, her face bright red as she did burpees in what felt like a never-ending fashion. Her lungs were begging for air, but she was determined to not even slow down, as she knew that Kreese was watching her like a hawk. 

 And she was determined to get her revenge, starting right that second. 

 "Two minute water break!" Kreese called, and Jules exhaled, immediately walking over to the side of the room to grab her water bottle. She slumped onto the ground, next to Miguel. 

 "Blink twice if you want me to mercy kill you."  

 The boy proceeded to blink twice in a row in a very exagerrated fashion, making Jules chuckle as she handed him the water. She could feel beads of sweat running down her back, and loosened the belt of her gi, ruffling the fabric so that air could hit her chest. 

"Here's the plan," Tory began, slumping down next to Jules; apparently putting aside her anger against the other girl due to the strenuous exercise. "We get all of these nerds into a room, strike a match, and douse them in gasoline until someone squeals." 

 Jules couldn't help but grin, "god, I hate you, but I like the way you think." 

 Tory shot her a look, "hate you too, Princess." 

 "Who are you calling a princess-" 

 "I don't have enough energy to break up this fight," Miguel gasped, his dark hair slick with sweat as he laid his head against the mat. "I'm just gonna lay here forever, I live here now." 

 "God, you're a dork-" Jules rose to her feet, gently kicking the boy's side and outstretching a hand, pulling him to his feet. She put a hand on his shoulder, taking another drink from the water. "Seriously, if someone doesn't think of a good plan soon, I'm gonna kill someone. Like, actual murder. All of you would have to go into witness protection."

 "Fine," Miguel turned to glance at both Tory and Jules. "Any ideas?" 

 They both rose their hands, so Miguel sighed. "That don't involve murder?" 

There was a pause that the girls used to awkwardly look over at each other, before both of them put their hands down in nearly perfect unison. Miguel groaned, and just then the door reopened, and Kreese exited. 

 "Follow me." He said, and the teens all muttered their own form of obscenity as they filed into the small room. Jules laced her hand with Miguels, which he squeezed reassuringly as the familiar scent of the workout room invaded her senses. 

 Kreese crossed his arms, "what are you waiting for?" 

 Jules didn't even hesitate, pulling Miguel along by their linked hands and directing herself to the weights, grabbing a bar and holding it with her hands. She glanced at her boyfriend, "It's better than more cardio." 

 "I don't even think I can lift that." Miguel said, before grunting as Jules shoved the bar into his hands, raising an eyebrow. 

 "Diaz, do I seriously have to teach you how to do a bicep-curl?" 

 Miguel stared at her innocently, a smile quirking at his lips. He continued to smile at her, until Jules couldn't help but chuckle, grabbing the bar from his hands and holding it out in front of her, curling it upwards and handing it back to her boyfriend. "You have to have at least a little bit of muscles in those scrawny arms." 

 "Ana, words hurt. Beside, I know you love me despite my scrawny arms anyway." 

 Tory, who was working on furiously waving a heavy rope up and down, sweat dripping down her face, groaned, yelling to no-one in particular, "we have to figure out who did it!"  

 Jules took the weight from Miguel, curling it upwards and sighing, "no shit, you absolute genius."

 Tory ignored her, throwing the ropes on the ground and sending a withering glare towards the corner of the room, "I bet it was Shit-Breath." 

 Mitch didn't waste a second, stalking over to the girl with a glare on his face. "Hey, screw you!"  

 Tory narrowed her eyes, "what did you just say?" 

 Jules groaned, setting the bar on the ground and taking a threatening step towards Mitch. He immediately flinched, backing off as hsi finger dusted over his black eye. Jules smiled sarcastically, looking between the two. "Ladies, are we really gonna fight right here? You both look seconds from passing out."

 Mitch crossed his arms, although his voice was more timid than he probably hoped. "Who are you calling a lady?" 

 He then winced as a small ball was thrown at his head, courtesy of Miguel. "That's a compliment, Shit-Breath." 

 Jules stared at him, exhaling softly, "god, I'm so attracted to you right now."

 "Enough!" Kreese barked, catching the attention of the sweating teens as he stopped at the front of the room. His vulture-like gaze flitted over the group, a contempuous smile on his thin lips. "You really want to know who did it?" 

 There was a pause, and his eyes focused on Hawk, "it was Hawk." 

 The boy stiffened, and Jules immediately felt her chest thrum with hot anger, pushing Mitch from her way and stalking over to him, grabbing the front of his gi. "You asshole! I should have known, was your ego too hurt from when I kicked your ass that-" 

 Kreese's voice cut her off, "and it was Diaz." 

 That confused Jules. She let go of Hawk, turning to give her boyfriend a questioning look. He had nearly the same expression on his face, confusion emitting from every pore of his being as he scrunched up his face. "Qué?" 

 "And it was Monroe," he gestured to Jules, who bit her lip and held a steady glare as she crossed her arms. "And Robinson, Nichols, Chubs-" his hands rested on his belt, "when one of you makes a move, you all make a move. You live and you die, with the consequences and the spoils. Because you are all Cobra Kai."

The room was dead silent, but Jules was still breathing heavily as she shared a look with Miguel, who shrugged. 

 Kreese pursed his lips. "Main dogo. Five minutes... be prepared to begin your real training."

***

WATCHING TORY KICK the shit out of Mitch actually did help lift Jules's mood. But it didn't counteract her skeptism as she waited for the mic-drop on what Kreese's true intentions were. She knew for a fact that it wasn't anything good. 

 Tory had scored a point, Mitch doubled over in front of her; on his knees. As Miguel called the point, Kreese spoke up. 

 "Hit him again." 

 Jules felt it then - the 'ah, I was right' moment that made her eyebrows furrow. Thankfully, Tory wasn't a complete psycho, and shot their Sensei a confused look. Jules watched her intently, mentally praying that the girl didn't do anything stupid. She may not like her all that much, but Jules figured she could at least learn a thing or two about her character. 

 Kreese narrowed his eyes, "do you have a problem with that?" 

Tory glanced back over at Mitch, and a small inch of pride itched into Jules's chest, before it was shoved to the side as Kreese took her hesitation as a personal offense. "A fight isn't over until your enemy is finished. You show your enemy no mercy." 

 Tory nodded, lunging at Mitch - but before she could deliver the final hit, Miguel spoke up. "Wait!" He shouted, holding his hands out slightly, "this isn't what Sensei Lawrence has been teaching us."

Kreese narrowed his eyes, and Jules took a half step forward, prepared to defend Miguel. "Excuse me?" 

 "There's no honor in being merciless," he said, standing his ground. "Tory scored a point. It's over."

Jules smiled at him, adoration clear in her expression. Kreese chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Sensei Lawrence is right, of course. In a tournament, the fighting stops when you win a point. But in the real world, it's not about scoring points. It's about being a winner, or a loser." He steadily began walking closer to Miguel, who angled his chin upwards and stubbornly held eye-contact. "There are no losers in this dojo."

Jules could name at least a dozen losers in the room with her right now, but she figured being shot wasn't on her to-do list for the day, so she didn't say that out loud.

 Instead, she cleared her throat, "the real world isn't black and white," she said, trying to choose her words carefully. She wanted to challenge Kreese as much as possible, to show that just because he tugged on a taunt string from her past, it didn't mean he had any power over her. 

 He turned to her, "what was that, Monroe?" 

 Did I stutter? "The real world isn't just you show mercy or you don't," she shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm just saying - you're out here preaching about the real world, but the world doesn't require you to beat the holy hell out of anyone who wrongs you. Sure, some creep tries to attack you, you knee him in the teeth - but if you take things too far under the wrong circumstance, shit can blow up in your face."

 Kreese didn't say anything for a few minutes, turning so he was standing over Jules, "and Monroe, tell me... what experience do you have with the real world?" 

 Oh, I don't know - hiding from my dad whenever he got angry, having to buy pepper-spray because I live in a bad neighbourhood, not having enough money, but not being complacent enough to keep a good job. Having assumptions made about my mom and I, being looked down upon because of my morales-

 She offered a tight-lipped smile, "more than you would think." 

 And she left it at that.

***

"HEY, DON'T YOU THINK that Sensei Kreese's lesson was a little... off?" Miguel asked, his tone quiet as the two sat on Jules' couch. He had his arms wrapped around her middle, his head resting on her stomach as he laid stomach-down on the couch, Jules sitting with her back against the edge - her fingers running through his hair as she absentmindedly hummed. She ran a hand through his hair, and he sighed in contentment, making the girl smile to herself. 

 "Definitely, but he's a sociopath, so I don't know what I was expecting to begin with." 

 Miguel chuckled, the act making butterflies erupt in Jules' stomach. He glanced up at her, his face still partially obscured by the fabric of her t-shirt. "Did you mean what you said? About the real world?" 

 She pursed her lips, "Yeah. I've just had to deal with some shit in my life. But that's over, and it's better now-" she smiled, "because I have you."

A grin spread across Miguel's face as he steadied his hand on the couch, leaning up to press their lips together. Jules tilted her head to the side, putting her hand on the side of his face as his fingers gently brushed over her jawline. They pulled away, and he sighed, his voice coming out soft. 

 "God, I love you." 

 In that instant, she swore she felt her heart stop. Then, it restarted again in a fast and sporadic manner, as if trying to make up for the second of time it lost. She swallowed, her eyes widening as she blurted out a, "what?" 

 "What?" The boy repeated, his face turning red as they stared at each other. 

 Jules didn't know what to say. She had never really known what love felt like before... unless it was from her mother. She didn't know what it felt like to have someone love you - to have someone think about you when you aren't around, or be the face someone calls to their mind when they need a smile to grace their lips. She didn't know what love felt like.

But she knew how she felt around Miguel; how he could calm her down when fire was rushing through her veins in a replacement of blood. She knew how her heart sometimes caught in her chest when he smiled, and how she knew without a doubt that he would defend her even if she was wrong. 

And she figured that was pretty damn close. 

 So she laughed in slight disbelief, shaking her head and speaking before she could overthink her words. "I love you too." 

 And that was one think she was absolutely certain of.

A/N:

anyway, i'm single, someone hmu.

i posted a heroes of olympus apply fic!! if any of you like percy jackson you should like... totally go apply <3

i am so excited for the next chapter you have no idea. it's been one that i have been planning for a long time, and i am positively filled to the brim with ideas. shit starts to get interesting from here, and i can't wait for you guys to see!

AND IF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH ANY FORM OF ABUSE FROM A PARENT, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! you are valid and important, and you need to tell someone that you trust! i know it feels hard, but i swear to god that it will be better for you in the future <3 if you ever need to talk my pms are wide open!

also, johnny and jules and their weird father/daughter-in-law (bc he's gonna marry carmen, obviously) relationship is insane and i adore it. they are chaotic and they own me.

thank you for reading, and lots of love!